Tumbler Ridge Secondary

February 13, 2026

Dear Families,
As we head into the weekend, we want to reach out again to all our families. These early days continue to be incredibly difficult, and our priority remains supporting our deeply impacted community. With our community partners, we will continue to offer support for students and families at the Recreation Centre, open daily from 8:00am–10:00pm.

We know some families will want the stability of school routines, while others may not feel ready. We will share plans over the next week that prioritizes emotional and physical safety through a trauma informed lens. As we create our plans, the expectation is that we will not be returning to the current high school site.

Please continue to talk with your children about healthy coping strategies and how they can support themselves and others with kindness. With ongoing public attention, we encourage conversations about limiting exposure to media coverage, as it can be distressing. This is also a good time to reinforce digital safety if they see something or hear something, they should report it to a trusted adult or through the ERASE Report It tool. We ask parents and caregivers to help reinforce the message: “report it, don’t repost it”.

Sincerely,
Christy Fennell
Superintendent

Our community experienced a tragic and deeply traumatic event. We recognize that the trauma and impact of this loss are immeasurable. There is no timeline for how each of us will process this grief and immense loss, both individually and as a community. While words often feel inadequate in the face of such loss, coming together can help reduce isolation and remind us that we are not alone.

We have created a space at the Tumbler Ridge Community Centre (340 Front Street in Tumbler Ridge) to allow our school community to come together over the next few days and as needed. All will be welcome to attend and connect. Mental health professionals will be present to walk alongside and provide support. 

Our priority at this time is taking care of each other and re-establishing a sense of safety in our community. It can be especially difficult to know how to reassure our children when we ourselves are trying to process and make sense of such profound loss. Children may experience a wide range of emotions in response to what they hear or see, and they will look to the adults in their lives to help them feel safe and understand the world around them.

Over the coming days or weeks, we encourage families to remain attentive to any changes in their child’s behaviour that may indicate a need for additional support. As a parent or caregiver, you may feel unprepared to support your child during this time.

Please review the strategies and resources listed below to help guide conversations with children, with the understanding that responses will vary depending on age, development, and connection to this tragedy.

School District No. 59 (Peace River South) has cancelled all career events planned at Northern Lights College on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. This includes the Skills Competitions, Try A Trade, and Women in Trades events.

February 10, 2026

Due to the tragic events that unfolded in community of Tumbler Ridge today, Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Elementary School will be closed for the rest of the week. 

The district will make supports available and once we have the locations for where the supports will be we will put that information on social media. 

The 2026-2027 Proposed School Calendar was developed in accordance with the requirements of the School Act and in consultation with Peace River South Teachers’ Association. 

The calendar reflects the current collective agreement language around start, end, and break times with special approval for the two-week spring break. This language includes that Winter Break starts on the Monday preceding December 26th and that Spring Break starts on the third Monday in March. In addition, the 2026-2027 proposed calendar reflects the collective agreement language that all days shall be scheduled between the Tuesday after Labour Day and the last Friday in June, unless the last Friday in June falls on or before June 25th, in which case the school year will end on June 30th. 

Section 87.01 (7) of the School Act requires consultation on school calendars. A board must make public a proposed school calendar for one month prior to submitting it to the Ministry. During the consultation period, a board must provide parents and board employees the opportunity to comment on the proposed calendar before it is adopted by the Board of Education and submitted to the Ministry of Education and Child Care by March 31st. 

Written feedback must be sent to Jan Proulx before February 26, 2026 to be considered. The proposed calendar will be brought back for review in the board meeting scheduled on March 11, 2026.

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Address
180 Southgate Street
Tumbler Ridge, BC V0C 2W0
Canada
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No data is available at this time. This may mean that school buses are not running today, or current information is not yet available.

The StrongStart programs are running as scheduled.