Welcome to the 2026/27 School Year

‘Uy’ skweyul, Bonjour, Good day, Families and Caregivers, 

On behalf of the Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District, it is my pleasure to welcome students and families to the 2026/27 school year in the Cowichan Valley School District. 

This time of year is always exciting. For some, this new school year will be the one that ends with a graduation celebration. For others, it will be the first time parents and caregivers say goodbye in the morning as their little ones head to kindergarten. Whether you’re at one end of this journey or the other, or somewhere in between, please know that we are committed to helping every student find success during their time in our schools. 

While school sites have been a little quieter in the summer, our Operations staff and the district staff that support them continued to be hard at work. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes to make sure schools are ready to welcome everyone in September and we a grateful to our staff who work hard at this. As we have come closer to the first days of school, Principals, Vice-Principals, teachers and all the other school staff have been preparing for students’ return and are looking forward to welcoming everyone back to a new school year.

There is much to celebrate as we start the new school year. There are several new programs that we are rolling out this year including place-based learning, technology certificate program and trades training in partnership with VIU. Our trades training program keeps local students learning in our own community and benefits our own businesses. We are excited to support students in these new ways. 

We hope that all students and families are as excited about the new year as we are, and we wish you the very best in the 2026/27 school year. 

Huy ch q’u, Merci, Thank you, 

Cathy Schmidt, Chair of the Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District 

Board of Education for the Cowichan Valley School District 

Elizabeth Croft, Vice-Chair

Randy Doman, Trustee 

Cindy Lise, Trustee

Eduardo Sousa, Trustee

Jen Strachan, Trustee

Joe Thorne, Trustee