FAQs
Why is the new school named Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt? What does the name mean? How do you pronounce it?
On April 28, 2020, the Board of Education approved Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt (pronounced “stee-tahs lah-lem tot-ilt”) as the name for the new school. This choice was based on a unanimous recommendation from the Naming Committee established as per Board Policy 809 and Board Regulation 809.1 – Naming and Renaming of Facilities.
The Naming Committee expressed a strong desire to select a place-based name, with preference for one with Indigenous significance. The committee received a submission from the community for Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt. This Halq'eméylem name fits well with the location and purpose of the new school.
Stitó:s means “Place of Crossing” and refers to a site near where the Chilliwack River breaks through between the Promontory and Vedder Mountains to meet the Vedder River. It was at this site that the Ts’elxwéyeqw (Chilliwack) people constructed a tall tower to serve as a lookout. Stitó:s provided people with advanced warning of dangerous coastal raiders, and of the arrival of friends and family. It allowed people to take care of and protect those communities situated along the Vedder and Chilliwack Rivers, and to coordinate the flow of new information carried to Chilliwack that youth and others needed to become fully informed members of their community and to develop the skills they needed to succeed in the world.
Lá:lém totí:lt directly translates to “House of Learning,” and is holistic, inclusive and representative of the traditional culture of how Stó:lō people learn as a community.
Further background on the history and symbolic meaning of Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt can be found here.
Will my student be able to attend Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary/Middle School?
All students who live within the proposed boundary for the school will be able to attend Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt.
Will Promontory students who go to MSMS in September 2021 be automatically transitioned to the new middle school in September of 2022? Will there be a choice?
We will ensure the legacy practice of families continuing at their current elementary/middle schools with the caveat that bussing will not be provided for students that choose not to transition to their new catchment school -Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary/Middle school.
My kids are not in Promontory Elementary because of overcapacity. I'm curious if they will be considered Promontory catchment for the new school for grade 6? Or will they have to go to Mount Slesse?
The current Promontory Elementary school boundary will not change; students in the Vedder Elementary catchment will transition to MSMS in grade 6 and students from the Promontory Elementary catchment will transition to Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary/Middle School in grade 6.
If we have Promontory students who go to MSMS for September 2021 and they have to or choose to stay at MSMS do the parents who also have younger kids get a choice for which middle school the others go to?
Promontory students who go to MSMS in September 2021 may choose to stay at MSMS instead of transitioning to their new catchment school - Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:ltElementary/Middle school, with the caveat that bussing will not be provided to MSMS.
Any siblings currently attending Promontory will be transitioned to their catchment school -Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary/Middle school.
Will Cultus Lake students be able to attend Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt?
Based on enrollment data, and to ensure enrollments at Mount Slesse Middle and Vedder Middle are balanced, it essential that Greendale Elementary grade 5 students transition into Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary / Middle at grade 6, as opposed to Cultus Lake Elementary.
We live on Anglers Blvd which is in the new catchment area for the new school, as our son will be going into grade 6 next year and presently goes to Unsworth which school will he end up going to?
Your son will transition to Stitó:s Lá:lém totí:lt Elementary/Middle School for grade 6.