Back to School Information 

I take great pride and joy in welcoming you back to the 2024-2025 school year! I would like to extend a special welcome to all of the new families joining Harold Panabaker this year and welcome back all of our returning families as well! It is exciting to be part of a great learning community and our Harold Panabaker staff is looking forward to working with you and your children and supporting their academic, social and emotional growth. 

Here are a few things that we would like to communicate with you before we get started on Thursday, August 29. 

School Hours: 

Monday to Thursday: 9:15 a.m. – 3:54 p.m. 

Friday: 9:15 a.m. – 1:10 p.m. 

All students will attend the first day of school. Thursday will be a full day; Friday will follow our half day schedule. There is no school on Monday, September 2 for Labour Day. 

Admin Team

Shelly Li                                                                                              Principal

Megan Roach                                                              Assistant Principal

Karen Weatherhead                                                   Administrative Assistant

Learning Leader Team

Bryan Doerksen                                                           LL – Humanities

Chelsea Ray                                                                 LL – Math/Science

Tammy Broks                                                              LL – Phys.Ed/Health/Lifeskills

Kerry Dickson                                                              LL – Special Ed Programs/Literacy/Resource

Vicky Law                                                                    LL – Mandarin Bilingual Program                  

Teaching Staff

Shyla Bruvall

Steve Deighton

Kailey Dowson

Robyn Easton

Luke Egener

Cassandra Fenwick

Jennifer Fischer

Maura Godwin

Tina Duan

Suzanne Hall

Tess Han

Carmen Hansen

Sarah Hougen

Peter Kohler

Keegan Nickerson

Brooklynne Pearson

Steven Privat

Support Staff

Education Assistants

Patricia Sefel    

Baiba Korns

Bookkeeper

Linda Webster

Library Assistant                                           

Cherise Belisle

Food Services Supervisor

Aaron Molina

Caretaking Staff

Michael He                 

Bryan Mydland

School Supplies 

Grade five and six students are provided with classroom supplies. Grades Seven to Nine students will need: 

• Backpack 
• Change for gym: shirt, shorts or pants, athletic shoes 
• Calculator  
• Binders 
• Lined paper 
• Paper 
• Pencils 
• Pens 
• Erasers 
• Pencil Crayons or Markers 
• Pencil case 
• Water bottle 

Parents dropping off and picking up student(s) for the Fall 

Parents we need your assistance in keeping all our children safe. Please chose safety over convenience. It is not safe to drop children off in the staff parking lot or in the bus zone (directly in front of the school). Please drop off and pick up your child(ren) on the east side of Sackville Drive or along the school field. Having a plan identifying an area for the student(s) to be picked up further away from the building will support the distancing measures. 

Who is my child’s teacher?

Please expect a special message from your teacher on Tuesday, August 27. 

Student Placement: A great deal of time and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2024-25 school year. Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. We have tried our best to balance classrooms academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level. Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping him or her understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. All of our staff work hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher. 

Best ways to stay informed.

Please make sure to take advantage of all of the avenues of communication that we offer. 

• The Harold Panabaker website is full of great information and we encourage you to check the website often for news and updates. 
• Make sure to check your email regularly!  We send the vast majority of our communications home via School Messenger. 
• Please be sure to read our Week at a Glance.  All Harold Panabaker families will receive a weekly email, we urge you to read the newsletter.  This is our primary mode of communicating important announcements and event information to parents, and we appreciate you taking the time to "stay in the loop!” 

Student Lunch Options 

Lunch hours are from 12:39 to 1:20, Monday to Thursday. While we have an open campus policy, allowing Grade 7–9 students to purchase food from local businesses, we encourage students to remain on campus to participate in the various intramurals and clubs offered during lunchtime and to purchase lunch from our tuck shop. 

Our food services supervisor is a professional chef who prepares hot, nutritious, and delicious meals every day at a reasonable price. Monthly menus will be shared with families at the beginning of each month. We strongly recommend that students buy lunch from our tuck shop. 

Grade 5–6 students will be supervised on campus during lunch hours.  

I hope your child will find Harold Panabaker a positive, safe, warm, supportive and caring place to learn and grow. 

To all Panthers, let’s make it a great year! Looking forward to seeing all our wonderful students on Thursday, August 29.   

Sincerely,  

Shelly Li, Principal