Drivers, be extra alert starting next Tuesday School’s back in session Sept. 4, which means school zone speed restrictions are in place weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and police will be paying attention.
THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS Au revoir, Quebec?
A kickin’ long weekend
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 20
AUG. 31, 2012 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE Letters/12 Market Fresh/22 Your History/23 Sports/42
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A great deal of work goes into getting schools ready for the Tuesday after Labour Day. For instance, Mahesh Rahu (left), custodian at Central elementary school in Port Coquitlam, polishes the floors to a high shine. It takes two days to wax and polish one hallway, he explained, and next Tuesday, approximately 260 students plus teachers will be walking along those shiny floors to their classrooms. They’ll be greeted by Ceri Watkins, Central’s new principal, who has also been putting in time over the summer holidays. For more back-to-school coverage, see pages 3 and 4.
Back to school... back to normal? THE DISTRICT: Plenty of projects on the go in District 43
THE TEACHERS: Glad to have 2012 turmoil behind them
By Diane Strandberg
By Diane Strandberg
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
School District 43 superintendent Tom Grant is welcoming back thousands of students, teachers, administrators and support workers with a full plate
of projects and plans. Next Wednesday will be the first full school day after Tuesday’s brief introduction, when heads will be counted and classes organized. With teachers’ contract talks off the table
until the next spring, Grant said he’s optimistic teachers will be back in the classroom ready to teach and projects that were put on hold last year can be dusted off. see DISTRICT 43 43,, page 3
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Teachers in School District 43 will be returning to the classroom Tuesday refreshed and looking forward to the new school year — including the extra-curric-
ular activities that make school special for kids but were dropped last year — says the president of the Coquitlam Teachers’ Association. And despite some unhappiness about the way in which a new contract with the province
was reached late June, most teachers are relieved that the disputeridden 2011/’12 school year is behind them, Teresa Grandinetti told The Tri-City News on Thursday. see TRI-CITY, TRI CITY, page 3
SO, WHAT IS PROJECT X? Coquitlam Mounties are on alert about a giant party planned using social media. See page 6