Update to Pemberton Woods Neighbours 101122

October 12, 2022

GNS

School life is back in full swing and we wanted to keep you informed about things that have happened or will be happening around the GNS Pemberton Woods Campus.

Municipal Election

With the municipal election upon us, on October 15, 2022, GNS will host a municipal election polling station at the school from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Here is a map showing options for bike or car parking, and where the polling station will be located on our campus.

Transportation

As mentioned in our post on September 28, the City has recently installed two “Arrive in Five Walk & Roll Zones” in our neighbourhood—one in the 1700 block of Gonzales Avenue and one on Richardson Street at Pemberton Park (see image on the right). Similar to what has been implemented in other local neighbourhoods, the intent of the City is to improve vehicle congestion during peak pick-up and drop-off times at schools. We have included this information in our weekly announcements to inform our school families and continue to strongly encourage our parents to take advantage of this approach. We encourage neighbours to feel free to reach out to the city transportation department directly with any feedback (positive or negative) they may have.

Regarding pick-up and drop-off generally, we have seen a rise in bus ridership this school year, which corresponds to a reduction in individual single-car traffic. The school is continuing to encourage greater use of bussing as an alternative to families driving their children to the school.

Activities at GNS

Continuing to be a strong contributing community member is important to GNS. This fall we welcome various community groups including Bays United Soccer, Victoria Sport and Social Club, the Pickleball Association, the Don Leppard Big Band and the Soul Source Band utilizing the school facility on evenings and weekends. We are fortunate to be able to support these groups to the benefit of the whole community. If neighbours are interested in participating with any of these uses, please feel free to contact the groups directly. If neighbours are interested in renting our facilities, we also encourage you to contact facilities@mygns.ca for more information, or visit our facility rentals page here.

We hope this update helps to provide our neighbours with information on the variety of activities happening at and around the school as they relate to the neighbourhood. If you have any questions or feedback please feel free to contact us through neighbours@mygns.ca, or call the school reception at 250-370-6800.