THE City of Surrey is providing a variety of activities on Thursday May 29th in response to the BC Teachers’ Federation one-day strike. Below is a list of one-day camps for preschool and school-aged children at our Recreation Centres.
Available Camps:
Cloverdale Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp (with after camp care) – Barcode 4376381
Guildford Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4376330
Fraser Heights Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp (8:30am-3:00pm) – Barcode 4376595
Fleetwood Community Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4376331
Newton Wave Pool
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4353285
- Camp Connections – 7:30am-9:00am – Barcode 4376535
- Camp Connections – 3pm-5:30pm – Barcode 4376536
Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4376388
- Discovery Science Camp – (3-5 yrs old) – 9:00am-11:30am – Barcode 4376713
- Animal Safari Camp – (3-5 yrs old) – 12:30pm-3:00pm – Barcode 4376715
Bridgeview Community Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4376403
South Surrey Recreation Centre
- Fun Zone Day Camp – Barcode 4356162
Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex – Arena
- Swim and Skate Camp – Barcode 4376489
- Stick n Puck: 10:00am-11:30am
- Public Skate: 11:15am-12:45pm
- Stick n Puck: 1:15pm-2:45pm
South Surrey Arena
- Stick n Puck: 10:00am-11:15am
- Public Skate: 11:15am-1:15pm
- Public Skate: 5:45pm-7:30pm
Location: City of Surrey
Time: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Contact: Call your local Recreation Centre or the City of Surrey Call Centre for more details: 604-501-5100
Website: Online Registration Available
Category: Kids and Family Recreation and Sport Youth
ON Thursday, May 29, Surrey teachers will be joining their colleagues around the province on picket lines. Teachers say they didn’t make this decision lightly. “Teachers are frustrated by the lack of progress at the bargaining table,” said Surrey Teachers’ Association, President Jennifer Wadge. “They feel they have no choice but to take a stand. The provincial government and the BC Public School Employers’ Association have been unwilling to offer any real improvements on the critical issues for teachers.”
Of particular concern, is the government’s refusal to table any improvements to class size, class composition, and staffing levels for specialist teachers. “Surrey teachers gave up salary increases in previous rounds to ensure good working conditions and support levels for students. That language was stripped from our agreement and twelve years later, we are still waiting for it to be returned,” said Wadge.
Surrey teachers have been fighting for class size improvements since the 1970s. In 1974, prior to unionization, Surrey teachers travelled to the legislature, with then president Lloyd Edwards, to protest large class sizes. We were successful in pressuring the government of the day to negotiate a commitment to reduce the Pupil Teacher Ratio in the province by one in each of the next three years. This resulted in a huge improvement to classroom conditions across the province.
“We are at a critical juncture, yet again,” said Wadge. “Surrey is a growing district, yet we are facing a funding crisis. The district is making $8 million in cuts. There are decreasing resources, overcrowding, and a huge number of layoffs, double previous years. Several helping teacher and teacher librarian positions have been permanently cut. We expect more cuts to come.” Meanwhile, per student funding in BC lags $1000 behind the national average. If BC funded Surrey schools to that average, the budget would be increased by $70 million in this district alone.
“Teachers are committed to reaching a fair deal at the negotiating table that respects our work and provides better support for our students. The way to ensure labour peace is by offering teachers a fair deal. We’ve been at the bargaining table for 16 months. Christy Clark needs to give her negotiating team the mandate to get a deal done,” said Wadge.