The Local Weekly The heart and soul of our communities with news and information about the Sunshine Coast

The Ministry of Children and Family Development has added $1.4 million to a bursary fund that helps B.C. youth formerly in government care pursue educational and vocational studies. The money will help fuel B.C.’s Youth Education Assistance Fund (YEAF), which is available to young people between the ages of 19 and 24 who were in ... Read More »

When fully implemented, more than 200,000 students each year could benefit from the open textbook project, each saving hundreds of dollars in textbook costs. Fifteen open, online textbooks in subject areas ranging from math and chemistry to marketing, psychology, and business have been reviewed by post-secondary faculty and are now freely available for download from BCcampus. ... Read More »

If you listened closely in the last days of August you could almost hear the collective groans of children and relieved sighs of parents everywhere. As schools open for the new academic year, we’d like to offer students some perspective on how the rules have changed over the years. Here are some of the rules ... Read More »

Back to school means back to figuring out how to pack a nutritious lunch children will actually eat As they prepare to send children back to school, parents are once again wondering how to create healthy lunches the young scholars will enjoy. Because school lunches must compete with far less healthy yet widely available alternatives, parents ... Read More »

Board Chair, Silas White is seen above at the ground breaking ceremony for Gibsons Elementary School last month.   Photo Jim Dorey Our board always places the best interests of Sunshine Coast students as our top priority. Silas White, Board Chair  The Sunshine Coast Board of Education is looking forward to having a student voice ... Read More »

Capilano University’s Health Care Assistant program starts in January.   Photo submitted This will be our last column until the Fall Term in September 2013. It’s a good time for some ideas and inspiration to set educational goals. Last month we discussed laddering when making an educational plan. Laddering is when you study in a ... Read More »

The grade 1 children of the Sun Haven Waldorf School dressed up in costume and gave an wonderful performance of the Brothers Grimm fairytale, The Queen Bee. The whole play was memorized by the young students and involved the playing of flutes along with some very entertaining acting.  It had been planned to take place ... Read More »

Fynn Mansbridge-Fafard of Madeira Park took the gold medal in epée for the boys Y12 age group at the Okanagan Valley Fencing Championships in Vernon, BC on May 12. He also picked up a silver medal in the team competition. Fynn is coached by Jonathan Hutchinson of the Sunshine Coast Fencing Club in Gibsons. Jim ... Read More »

As their final event in this year’s fundraising blitz to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the Maddie’s Monsters team will host a Trivia Smackdown and Dinner Saturday, June 1, at Celebration House, 924 Gower Point Road in Gibsons. Tickets are $20, include a BBQ-style dinner and dessert, and available at Giggle ‘n’ Bloom ... Read More »

Madeira Park Elementary School is a hub of activities these days involving kids, parents, dogs and community friends. The community garden is ready for planting thanks to the generous fencing donation from GBS and the four yards of soil local Don White gifted the school. The Grades Five and Six classes from Madeira hosted a ... Read More »