First Term Physical Activity Log

Term 1 is coming to a close quickly, and your term 1 physical activity log will be due this Thursday, November 29!

If you have lost your form, you can print the file that I have saved online (click here to view, download, and print).

Completed forms need to be submitted to Mrs. Duncan by November 30. But since November 30 is a non-instructional day, I would suggest you to do so on the 29th at the latest.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to see Mrs. Duncan or myself. Thank you!

Info from SFU's Counsellors' Conference

I was at SFU's Counsellor's conference on the 22nd. Many of you have probably attended SFU's info session on Post-Secondary afternoon, so some of the info here would be repeated info that you have heard already.

• Application Fee: Application this year is set at $75 for all faculties. Board-based admission is extra.
• Self-reporting: Like many post-secondary institutions, you can self-report your grades when you apply. The self-reporting portal of SFU opens December 15 this year. 
• Grade 11 courses: while the COMPLETION of some grade 11 courses is a requirement for various programs at SFU, your grades from these courses would NOT be used to calculate for admission.
• Challenge Exams: SFU is still accepting the grades you have earned from challenge exams towards admission calculation. 
• Faculty vs. Degree Requirement: Some SFU faculties offer multiple degree programs that have different admission requirements. For example, the faculty of health science offers both a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts degree. These two degrees have a different math entrance requirement. It will be very important for you to check carefully the faculty and the degree you want to apply to make sure you have met the application requirements (or to make sure you are taking courses to fulfill these requirements)
• International Students: SFU uses a different calculation formula to calculate the admission averages for international students. The admission averages posted on SFU's website may not reflect accurately the marks international students need to have to be granted admission.
• Admission requirement for English and Math: In order to be admitted to SFU, students must obtain at least 60% in English 12 and 60% in one of the following math courses (Pre-Calculus 11 or 12, Foundations of Math 11 or 12). Please note: meeting the admission averages does NOT guarantee admission.
• English Requirement: All SFU students need to take an English-writing course (called a W course) as part of their degree requirement. In order to be eligible to take the W course, you must either obtain a 75% BLENDED mark in English 12, a 75% mark in English Literature 12, or complete a Foundations of Academic Literacy (FAL) course or the LPI. 
• Math Requirement: All SFU students need to take a quantitative and analytical skills course (called a Q course) as part of their degree requirement. In order to take a Q course, you must have a 70% mark in one of the following: Pre-calculus 11, Foundations of Math 11, Pre-calculus 12, Foundations of Math 12. For students who do not have 70% in one of those courses, you must take a non-credit course or write a placement test.
• Entrance Scholarship: SFU has changed the format of its entrance scholarships: for students who have a 96% or above average, an automatic entrance scholarship (no application required) valued at $5000 will be given. For students who have 90% or above (this includes those who have 96% or above), you can apply for the major entrance scholarship, called the Deans Excellence Entrance Scholarship, valued at $12,000.

I have some additional information obtained from several faculties. The general advice I have received from many of SFU's advisors is to check the SFU website regularly for updated information. Go to www.sfu.ca for more details! 

Bell Schedule for November 7

As you should know, Wednesday, November 7 is our first parent-teacher night of the year. The interviews will take place between 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the school's library. Counsellors will remain in their offices for interviews as well.

As a result of the parent-teacher interviews, the day's schedule has been adjusted. Below is the bell schedule for Wednesday, November 7:

Period 1: Block G (2.3) 8:40 - 10:00 a.m.
Break: 10:00 to 10:15 a.m.
Period 2: Block H (2.4) 10:15 - 11:35 a.m.
Lunch: 11:35 - 12:20 p.m.
Period 3 (shortened): Block E (2.1) 12:20 - 1:00 p.m.
Period 4 (shortened): Block F (2.2) 1:05 - 1:45 p.m.

Calendar of Events: November 2012

The leaves are falling, and the temperature is dropping... It is November, and term 1 will be over before you know it! Here are some important dates for this moth:

• Tuesday, November 6: Block Rotation - C-D-A-B (or 1.3, 1.4, 1.1, and 1.2)
• Wednesday, November 7: Block Rotation - G-H-E-F (or 2.3, 2.4, 2.1, and 2.2)
• Wednesday, November 7: Parent-Teacher Night
• Friday, November 9: District Closure Day - school not in session
• Monday, November 12: Remembrance Day Statutory Holiday - school not in session
• Wednesday, November 14: Mac & Cheese Cook-off
• Tuesday, November 20: December's lunch envelopes due
• Thursday, November 22: SFU Counsellor's Day - I will not be in school
• Friday, November 23: Instructional Planning Period - students begin classes at 10:15
• Thursday, November 29: End of Term 1
• Friday, November 30: Non-instructional Day - school not in session

Please note: Although November 29 is the official "cut-off date" for term 1, some teachers would need to complete their marking before that day to ensure their marks can be submitted for reporting purposes. If you have outstanding assignments that need to be submitted, please speak to your teachers ASAP. Let me know if you require any assistance. Have a nice finish to term 1!

Quick Info from BCIT Info Day

As you know, I was at BCIT for its high school counsellor's conference last Friday. There were some news, and some important information, about BCIT that you should know. Without going into great lengths in explaining each point, I will just list them in point form below; if you have any questions, please come to see me, or write down all your questions, and ask the BCIT representative on post-secondary day on October 31:

• BCIT currently has about 1000 students who enrolled into its program straightly after high school graduation. 
• Two important stats of BCIT's success that should be noteworthy to you: 91% of BCIT's degree programs' graduates are employed in the field of their studies. This is substantially higher than the 79% provincial average. 
• 95% of students who completed an apprenticeship programs at BCIT are employed within 2 months in their chosen trades. 
• BCIT offers programs in different lengths: 1-year certificate programs, 2-year diploma programs, and 4-year degree programs.
• Many programs allow students to complete a diploma in two years; you can then decide whether you wish to continue to complete the degree in the same area, or choose to leave with a diploma to go to another program or enter the work force (which is very different from most universities, where if you leave after two years, you will be leaving without a degree or any sort of certification of the work you have completed)
• Many programs have excellent job prospects; students who complete a program at BCIT can often find a job with very competitive wages 
• Program admission requirements vary: because of the variety of programs offered, it is very important for you to check your pre-requisites when applying

One impression I want to share with you from my visit to BCIT is that people often are not aware of the jobs that a BCIT program can train you for. BCIT focuses on hands-on, application skills training, and graduates from BCIT often are hired based on the skills they have obtained from a highly intense program. Students who have met a program's optimal admission averages are expected to be offered admission very quickly. This is a big plus that is not seen in other schools.

Because of its highly hands-on nature, it would be highly beneficial for you to explore for yourself what each program has to offer. BCIT offers several services to help you learn about the school. They include:

• BCIT tours - take a tour around BCIT's Burnaby campus to learn about its program (Go to bcit.ca/tours to sign up - click here)
• BCIT Big Info Day - all programs, all in one place for your to learn about (Go here to register for the October 24 or February 27 info day)
• BCIT Spend-a-Day - become a BCIT student for a day! Faculty would pair you up with a BCIT student currently enrolled in the program of your interest to take you through a day of classes. (Sign up here)

Info on the Language Challenge Exams

The packages for the language challenge exams have arrived - you can visit your counsellor for the registration package. Here are some important information for you to know before registering:

• The challenge exam is for students who have never received course credit for the course they wish to challenge (i.e. you cannot challenge for French 11 because you are not happy with the mark you received last year in the course)
• The challenge exam is not for students who have been granted credit equivalency for a course they are being given credit for
• The challenge exam's results may be used towards fulfilling an admission requirement by a post-secondary school, but it is NOT to be used for admission calculation
• A refundable deposit cheque for $50.00 is to be made payable to the Delta School District when you submit your registration. A refund will be issued when you show up to write the challenge exam.
• International students wishing to write a challenge exam must provide a $155.00 NON-REFUNDABLE cheque payable to the Vancouver School Board when registering
• P.7 and P.8 of the registration package are to be reviewed by your counsellor to determine your eligibility - it must be filled out completely and accurately.
• P.9 and P.10 of the registration package needs to be filled out ONLINE and printed to go along with your hand-written registration package. The online portion of the registration form can be accessed at this website: http://web.deltasd.bc.ca/schools/secondary/challenge-exams (click here to enter)
• Completed registration packages must be submitted to your grade counsellor by Thursday, October 25 at 3:03 p.m. (no exceptions). Completed packages need to be sent off Friday morning by your counsellors, so we cannot accept late registrations.

For more information, or to pick up your registration package, please come and see me ASAP.

Info/Facts from the UBC Counsellor's Conference

I was in attendance yesterday at the UBC's High School Counsellors' event. There are some important information that prospective students of UBC should know. UBC will be visiting Templeton October 10 (Wednesday) at lunch, so you can listen to this information yourself, first-hand. The following are some of the highlights that you may want to know coming into the meeting next Wednesday:

• New Bachelor Program: Starting in September 2013, UBC will open a new degree program called Bachelor of International Economics (BIE). It is a cohort program that will only accept 80 students; the program offers students who want to study economics in a more global sense to begin a program right at the start of year 1.
• Application Process: Starting in 2013, all applicants would require to complete an academic profile along with their regular application, which would be used to ensure you have the proper prerequisites needed for the program you are applying to.
• Application Process (continued): Also starting in 2013, most faculties would require students to complete a "personal profile," which would be used for UBC's board-based assessment in determining admission. The personal profile will help determine successful applicants into a program at UBC.
• Application Process (continued): Also starting in 2013, application for admission and application for entrance scholarship would be consolidated into one single application.
• Reporting of Grades: When filling out your academic profile, UBC only wants you to include COMPLETED COURSES. When self-reporting your grades during application, IN PROGRESS COURSE MARKS also need to be reported. 

There are also some proposed changes to the application and admission process that are currently being discussed, and may affect you when you apply for September 2014 admission (as well as current applicants for September 2013 admission):

• Conditional Admission: there may be increased conditionality in UBC's offer for admission
• English 12 Marks: Students who perform substantially worse in the English 12 provincial exam may have their admission retracted.UBC may also choose to use ONLY your provincial exam mark to calculate admission averages.
• Faculty-specific Minimal Mark: Many faculties have specific grade 12 courses used to calculate admission requirement, plus other provincially-approved courses that you can choose from your course load. UBC may set a faculty-specific minimum mark for those required courses when evaluating your application for admission.

There is a lot to digest, I know. Please don't hesitate to come by to ask me any questions, and remember to attend UBC's info session next Wednesday to have the people from UBC answer all of your questions.

Calendar of Events: October 2012

Before you know it, one month of school is in the books! I hope the first month has been a successful one for you. Below please find some key, important events for the month of October. Please jot these dates down:

• Monday, October 1: I'll be at the UBC Counsellor's Conference from 10:30 to 16:00
• Friday, October 5: Grade 11 class yearbook picture at 11:25
• Monday, October 8: Thanksgiving Day - school not in session
• Tuesday, October 9: Photo Re-take Day
• Wednesday, October 10: UBC School Presentation (lunch time in the auditorium)
• Friday, October 12: Instructional Planning Period: 8:40 - 10:00 
• Friday, October 12: I'll be at the BCIT Counsellor's info session from 8:00 to 14:00
• Thursday, October 18: Great BC Shake-Out Earthquake Drill @10:18 a.m.
• Friday, October 19: Non-instructional Day - school not in session
• Monday, October 22: November's lunch envelopes due
• Friday, October 26: First term interim reports sent home
• Friday, October 26: Deadline for language challenge exam application
• Wednesday, October 31: Post-secondary Day (all p.m.) for grades 11 and 12

You may notice that there are a number of post-secondary-related events that will be happening in October. While you don't need to begin applying for a post-secondary institution yet, preparation for your future educational programs should be starting very soon, if not already. Stay tuned for all upcoming events - I will do my best to update you as well.

Work/Volunteer Experience Info Sheet

By now, you should have heard from me explaining to you on how to fill out the work experience/community service time sheet. For those of you who were not in your English class when I visited, here's a brief reminder of what you need to do:

As part of the graduation requirement, students are required to accumulate at least 30 hours of either work experience and/or community service (volunteer) time while in grade 11 and 12. To better record this information, all grade 11 students are given a time sheet to fill out. The time sheet looks like this:

The form itself is fairly explanatory. Basically, you need to fill out all the relevant information, and then ask your supervisor to sign at the bottom. That's it!

Several have asked me about work experiences they have accumulated prior to this September would count or not. Basically, for the current grade 11s, all work/volunteer experiences that you have done from July 2012 would count towards this 30-hour requirement. That is, had you been working this past summer, you could well have completed this portion of your grad requirement already!

For those who had a summer job this past summer, and can no longer obtain a supervisor's signature, a copy of your pay stub to prove your employment would be sufficient. Please bring your pay stub in to see me; I will make a photocopy of it, and attach it to your form.

All completed forms will be filed into your student folder. Towards the end of your grade 12 year, the admin will check to ensure that all students have completed this part of their graduation requirement. My suggestion to you is to complete this form early to get it out of the way.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to come by my office to ask me. Thanks!

Canadian Universities Event (CUE)

Students in grades 10 - 12 and their parents are invited to attend the Canadian Universities Event (CUE) held at Notre Dame Secondary on Wednesday, October 24, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

This annual event will feature over 35 post-secondary institutions across Canada in attendance. It is held in a fair format so you can visit from booth to booth to gather information and to speak to university representatives.

You may also attend a 20-minute presentation for up to three universities of your choice.

Workshops will also be held to give you tips in applying strategically to universities.

This is the only CUE event held in the area where you do not need to be a student of the host school to attend - please take advantage of it!

For more info, please visit the CUE site (click here)

Physical Activity Log Direct Link

Several of you have told me that it has been very difficult to find the daily physical activity log from the school's website. To assist you, I have uploaded the form onto Google Docs, which you can easily view, download, and print.

To go to the file, you would need the following link to the document:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4uoJ0hDTgAJaXZ2dE9rRFlDYnM

Please let me know if you are still having trouble. Thanks!

Junior Leadership Program at Kiwassa

Kiwassa Neighbourhood House is currently accepting application from students in grades 10 to 12 for its youth leadership program.

The program is a 3-month program aimed at helping youth gain the skills and experience to work with children and increase their chances of gaining meaningful employment. Those accepted into the program will be given an orientation and training and will be placed in the Children's Programs and the Pre-teen Program to help lead activities for children ages 5 to 12.

No prior experience working with children is necessary. All training, including first aid training, will be provided. All successful candidates must attend an orientation Thursday, September 27. You will also be required to volunteer 2 hours once a week after school (3:30 to 5:30) from October 1 to December 7.

This is a great way to receive free first aid training and to obtain volunteer hours, not to mention that it will equip you with some valuable skills and to give you a chance to give back to the community.

For application forms, please come to your counsellors' office. Deadline for application is Monday, but program coordinator has advised me that the deadline can be extended closer to the date of the orientation. 

Physical Activity Log

As a part of your graduation requirement, ALL students need to submit a physical activity log each term.

The form can be downloaded from Templeton's school website. Under the "important" tab, you can find it as the first entry (see screen shot below):

From the "important" tab of the school's website, you can find the entry to the daily physical activity log

Click onto the link, and you will be re-directed to the document. Print it, and begin filling it out. Submit your completed first term log to Mrs. Duncan by November 30, 2012.

Here's a screen shot of how the log looks like:

As the form indicates, if you are currently taking PE11, you do not have to complete the table below. Fill in the top part of the form, and you can submit it to Mrs. Duncan right away.

For students currently NOT taking PE, you need to record your weekly physical activities (e.g. playing tennis with a friend, biking to school, etc.). You should aim to have 150 minutes of physical activities per week, but if you have done less one week, and more another, it will be acceptable too.

Remember, the physical activity log IS A PART OF YOUR GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS!!! All students are expected to complete it.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come in and speak to me.

Updated Timetable and Bell Schedule

The bell schedule has been adjusted for the 2012 - 2013 school year. Please note the new times:

• 8:40 - 10:00: Block 1
• 10:00 - 10:15: Break
• 10:15 - 11:35: Block 2
• 11:35 - 12:20: Lunch
• 12:20 - 1:40: Block 3
• 1:45 - 3:03: Block 4

Please note that the start and end time for school has been changed. This change took place as the number of district closure days has changed. 

Calendar of Events: September 2012

Welcome back, Templetonians! Welcome to those of you who are new to this vibrant school! And welcome back to those of you who I have worked with last year!

Below are some of the important dates for the month of September. Please jot down these important dates:

• Tuesday, September 4: School opens. Grade 11s report to their homerooms at 9:00
• Wednesday, September 5: First instructional day. Block rotation is A-B-C-D
• Thursday, September 5: First Day 2. Block rotation is E-F-G-H. Lunch envelopes for September due
• Monday, September 10: Photo Day for all students
• Friday, September 14: Instructional Planning Period. Students report to school at 10:15
• Thursday, September 20: October's Lunch Envelopes due
• Monday, September 24: Non-instructional day

Writing practice provincial exam online

Some of you may have started practising for writing your provincial exams. Did you know that you can now practise an e-exam online? Here's a step-by-step guide to how you can do so.

First, you need to log on to the Ministry of Education's provincial exam website: (Click here)

Once you are at the site, choose the link for sample exams, which would take you to the following page that looks like this:

Here, enter the grade of the course you want to practise (e.g. click 10 if you want to practise for the science 10 exam, and 11 if you want to practise for the pre-calculus 11 exam). Make sure you click the button to agree on the copyright terms too!

 

You will now be prompted to choose the exam to which you want to practise on. For math courses, please be very careful in choosing the proper course. This year, Templeton students are only offered Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 10, and Foundations of Math and Pre-Calculus 10. 

 

Here, you can choose an exam to practise on. If you prefer, you can choose to download an actual exam to work on. Or, you can click on one of the e-Exam link to practise for the exam online. 

 

You will now be prompted to enter a PEN. Do NOT use your actual PEN for a practice exam! Instead, simply type in a number between 1 to 100,000 as your PEN. For each practice exam, there is a password. Enter that password for the particular exam (see the above diagram, where I have entered the password of Release A 2011/2012 exam).

 

Click login, and you will enter into your practice exam! It's that simple!

 

 

Calendar of Events - June 2012

Before you know it, we are approaching the end of the year. Here are some important dates to jot down:

• Wednesday, June 6: Mini School year-end celebration at 6:00 p.m.
• Thursday, June 7: VSB Aboriginal Achievement Celebration at 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, June 13: Grad Rehearsal at 3:07 p.m.
• Thursday, June 14: Graduation Ceremony
• Friday, June 15: Last day of instruction for term 3; end of term 3
• Monday, June 18 to Wednesday, June 27: In-school final exams and provincial exams
• Friday, June 22: Yearbook Distribution in the small gym and cafeteria
• Thursday, June 28: Report Cards Issued
• Friday, June 29: Administrative Day - students not in session

The end is near, very, very near! Keep pushing - only 11 days of instruction remain!

Summer School Registration begins TOMORROW!

Just a reminder to all of you that summer school registration begins tomorrow, Wednesday, May 23.

While you can register for courses a variety of ways, the fastest way is to register online. To do so, you must have a credit card ready, and have your provincial examination number (PEN) with you. To find out what your PEN is, simply look at the top left corner of your most recent report card.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to come in and see me.

June Exam Schedule (Revised)

The revised June exam schedule (for in-school and provincial exams) has been released. Below are the dates and times of the various exams:

Monday, June 18:
9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: French 8 - 11, Spanish 9 - 12 (including beginners' Spanish) in the new gym
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: History 12, PE 10, Physics 11

Tuesday, June 19:
9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: Science 9 (all sections) in the new gym
Math 10 Mock exam in the cafeteria
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Chemistry 11 and 12 in the new gym

Wednesday, June 20:
9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: Biology 11, Geography 12, Math 9 in the new gym
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Physics 12, Pre-calculus 11, Foundations of Math 11 in the new gym

Thursday, June 21:
9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: Math 12 and Math 8 in the new gym
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Social Studies 11 provincial exam in the new gym

Friday, June 22:
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: English 10 Provincial exam in the new gym
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Communications 12 Provincial exam in the new gym

Monday, June 25:
9:00 - 12:00 p.m.: English 12 provincial exam in the new gym
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Science 10 provincial exam in the new gym

Tuesday, June 26:
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Foundations of Math and Pre-calculus 10: e-exam for sections 2, 4, 5 and enriched - in rooms 132, 221, and library
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Foundations of Math and Pre-calculus 10: e-exam for sections 1 and 3 in room 221 and library

Wednesday, June 27:
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 10 provincial exam: in room 132 and 221

To find out which math section you are registered in, please see your class teacher (Ms. Bains, Mr. Jensen, Mr. Lawrence, or Ms. Belanger).

Important Summer School Dates/Info

Many of you have come to asked about registering for summer school courses. Below are some pieces of important information, dates, and so on.

Summer school calendars are expected to arrive at the school on Friday, May 11. Registration for summer school begins Wednesday, May 23. In order to register for a summer school course, you would need your provincial examination number (PEN), your legal names, and birth dates to register.

There are three types of summer school courses you can choose from:

• Preview courses: for students who want to prepare ahead of time, to get a "sneak peak" at a course they wish to take the following school year. Completion of a preview course does NOT earn you course credit. Courses run from July 9 to July 27.
• Remedial courses: typically for students who are not passing a course they are currently taking. The maximum mark you can get from a remedial course is 63%. Courses run from July 9 to August 3.
• Completion courses: for students who wish to obtain a full course credit to "get ahead" in their academic program. Evaluation would be the same as a regular course. Courses run from July 4 to August 10.

If you are taking a remedial or completion course that has a provincial exam component to it, the provincial exams in August would take place during the week of August 13 to August 17.

The course calendar is available for viewing right now (click here). Please note, you cannot register for a course online until May 23.

On registration day, courses will fill up very quickly. The best way to register for the course(s) you want is online using a credit card.

For more information, go to www.continuinged.ca for details.

Big One at Two

Please be reminded that the annual "Big One at Two" earthquake drill will take place tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Your teachers should have gone over the safety procedures with you in class. If you are not certain on what you need to do, please speak to your teacher.

Elementary Sports Day

Franklin and A.R. Lord are looking for student volunteers to assist them in their sports day.

• Franklin: May 17 from 9:00 to 2:00. Lunches and snacks will be provided. 
• A.R. Lord: May 17 from 8:30 to 12:30. Lunches and snacks will be provided.

If you are interested in volunteering, sign-up sheets have been posted outside Mr. Mark's office. Please sign up as soon as possible though, as volunteers are recruited on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Calendar of Events - May 2012

Below are some important dates in May that you wish to note in your agenda/calendar:

• Thursday, May 3: Big One at Two (Earthquake Drill)
• Friday, May 4: Term 2 Report Cards handed out
• Wednesday, May 9: Pro-D Day - school not in session
• Friday, May 11: Instructional Planning Day - students report to school at 10:00 a.m.
• Friday, May 11: Summer School pamphlets arrive at school
• Thursday, May 17: Keep Vancouver Spectacular + First Nations Family Night
• Friday, May 18: District Closure Day - school not in session
• Monday, May 21: Victoria Day - school not in session
• Wednesday, May 23: Summer school registration opens
• Friday, May 25: Library books due
• Wednesday, May 30: SACY Parent Workshop

Reminder: Pro-D Day Tomorrow!

This is just a reminder that tomorrow will be a district-wide professional development day (Pro-D). School will NOT be in session.

When school returns on February 20, it will be a Day 2.

Please also note that the lunch envelopes for the month of March will be due on February 20 as well.

Thanks!

Course Planning: FAQs

Finally, some answers to the frequently-asked questions regarding course planning:

Q: Can I take more than one science/math course?
A: Yes. For post-secondary application, some schools actually require a completion of two science 11 courses, in addition to a science 12 requirement. Please check with the post-secondary institution directly to make sure. For math courses, any one of the math 11 courses would fulfill graduation requirement. For admission requirements at various post-secondary institutions, please check their admission requirements directly, as they may change without prior notice.

Q: How many courses am I expected to take at Templeton? Can I have a spare? CS?
A: Full-time students generally take eight courses at Templeton. If you have an off-timetable course, one of those courses will not be meeting during regular scheduled times, thus giving you a slot where you can use as study. The service course for grade 11 students is peer-tutoring 12; community service (CS) is a service course reserved generally for grade 12 students only.

Q: Can I change my mind on courses I want to take after I submit my course request form?
A: You can. However, I would encourage you to think very carefully before submitting your course requests. When course requests are collected, the administrators use the submitted information to determine the courses that would be offered for the next school year. By not submitting your course request for a course, there is a possibility that your desired course(s) may either be full, or may not be running at all.

Q: What grade 11 courses should I be taking to prepare for post-secondary school?
A: The best way to find out is to visit these school's websites directly. Most post-secondary institutions' websites have designated pages for prospective students. There, you can browse through the different programs that the school offers, and the admission requirements for each program. A list of post-secondary schools and the links to their websites can be found on the right panel of this blog. (see red circle on the screen shot)Q: What about summer school and/or online courses? How do they affect course planning?
A: You can take a maximum of two summer school courses. Some students take remedial summer school to pass a course they did not pass during the year; others take a completion summer school course to "get ahead." If you are taking a summer school or online academic course, please notify me. This can potentially free up your timetable so you would have more room to choose an elective course, or an academic elective.

Course Planning: Off-timetable Courses

There are five off-timetable courses you can pick as an elective for your grade 11 year. Off-timetable courses can be used in one of the following ways:

• As your ninth (or tenth) course on top of the eight courses you are taking
• As your eighth course - this would allow you to have an empty block during the regular eight-block schedule, thereby giving you a slot where you can use as a study block (Please note: having one such block does NOT mean you have a spare).

Students may choose one or more off-timetable courses as their electives. Of course, you should carefully consider your overall course load - a course load that is too heavy may result in you not being able to do as well as you want.

The five off-timetable courses are:

• Chef de Cuisine (home economics)
• Annual Production 11/12 (fine arts)
• Choir 8 - 12 (off-timetable option) (performing arts)
• Jazz Band 10 - 12 (performing arts)
• Theater Criticism 11/12 (performing arts)

Course Planning: Academic Electives

For students entering grade 11, there are a number of academic electives that you can take, in addition to the required courses you must take in the four core academic areas (language arts, social studies, science, and math).

English Electives (in addition to English 11/Communications 11):

• English Literature 12
• Writing 12

Social Studies Electives (in addition to Social Studies 11/Canadian Studies 11):

• First Nations Studies 12 (can be used as a grade 12 elective, or to fulfill the grade 11 socials requirement)
• Social Justice 12
• History through Film 12

Science Electives (one of the following must be taken to fulfill graduation requirement; additional science courses can be taken as electives):

• Biology 11
• Chemistry 11
• Physics 11
• Science and Technology 11
• Astronomy 11 (can only be used as an elective, not a science requirement)

Mathematics Electives (you must complete one of the following to fulfill graduation requirements):

• Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 11
• Foundations of Mathematics 11
• Pre-Calculus 11
  

Course Planning Basics (Part 2)

In this entry, I want to talk about the differences between graduation requirement, post-secondary admission requirement, and post-secondary program requirements.

What is the difference? In a nutshell, graduation requirements mean the courses you would need to complete to obtain a graduation certificate for high school. Post-secondary admission requirements are the school-specific requirements they have to review a student's application. Finally, post-secondary program requirements are faculty or department-specific requirements for students who are interested in entering a specific faculty or program. Basically, just because you have completed the graduation requirements does not mean you will qualify to be admitted into a post-secondary school; and just because you have the basic admission requirement does not necessarily mean you will be admitted into a program of your choice.

Here are two examples to illustrate the differences:

• Student A wants to study to become an engineer, and wishes to enter UBC's Faulty of Applied Science. For high school graduation, he would need to complete the 80 credits of grades 10 to 12 courses (see my previous entry for details). When he applies for UBC, he must ensure that he has English 12, and three other UBC-approved grade 12 courses. That is the general admission requirement. However, to enter the Faculty of Applied Science, his approved grade 12 courses must include Pre-Calculus 12, Chemistry 12, and Physics 12. These three courses would be used to calculate whether he would be admitted or not.
  
• Student B wants to go to SFU to study business. For high school graduation, she would need to complete the 80 credits of grades 10 to 12 courses. For general admission purposes at SFU, she must complete English 11/12, a Language 11, a science 11, Pre-calculus 11 or Foundations of Math 11. For admission into the Bachelor of Business Administration program, she must have completed English 12, Pre-calculus 12, and two additional SFU-approved grade 12 courses.
  

As you can see, every school, and every program, probably has its own specific requirements. The best way to find out what program-specific requirements are for the program(s) you are interested in is to check the school's website - all BC post-secondary schools have very up-to-date websites that provide such information.

As a general advice to you, it is best to think about what area(s) of studies you are planning to go into. It is always a good idea to keep several options available too. Don't hesitate to come in to see me if you have any concerns/questions.

Course Planning Basics (Part 1)

There are many pieces of information you need to know during the course planning process. In this entry, let's talk first about the graduation requirement for all students.

In British Columbia, under the current graduation program, a student must complete 80 course credits. For a linear school such as Templeton (i.e. where courses go from September to June), each course you are taking are worth four credits. This means, in total, you would need to complete 20 courses, required and electives, to qualify for graduation. The breakdown of these required credits go like this:

Required Credits

• Language Arts 10 - 12: 12 credits
• Social Studies 10 and 11 or equivalent: 8 credits
• Science 10 and 11: 8 credits
• Mathematics 10 and 11: 8 credits
• PE 10: 4 credits
• Planning 10: 4 credits
• Applied Skills or Fine Arts 10/11/12: 4 credits
• Graduation Transitions: 4 credits
  

Elective Credits

• Grade 10/11 Electives: 16 credits
• Grade 12 Credits: 12 credits

People are sometimes confused over how the elective credits can be calculated. Here are a few examples:

1. Student A has taken Food Studies 10 and Mechanics 10 in his grade 9 year. In this case, one of his courses can be used towards the applied skills/fine arts credit. The other course, subsequently, would be counted towards his grade 10/11 electives credit.
2. Student B is taking Biology 11 and Chemistry 11. In her case, one of these courses would count towards her science 11 required credits, while the other will count towards her grade 10/11 credits.
   
3. Student B went on to take Biology 12 and Chemistry 12 in her grade 12 year. In this case, because she has already fulfilled her science 11 requirement, both her courses would be counted towards her grade 12 elective credits.

One final, but very important note about graduation requirements: completing your graduation requirements does NOT mean you have met the basic admission requirements nor the program-specific admission requirements for post-secondary schools. I will talk more about admission requirements in my next entry.

Course Selection Calendar

As we begin the course planning process, I'm please to let you know that the course planning calendar for 2012 - 2013 can now be viewed online on the school's website!

Go to the school's website at templeton.vsb.bc.ca. Once you are at the site, you will find a tab called "course planning guide" (see screen shot below). Click that button, and you will see a list of all the courses listed in the course calendar. Click each course's link, and the course's description will come out.The course selection calendar can be viewed from the Templeton website twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Of course, if you have additional questions about a course, you can always come to see me during the school day, or ask me when I visit your English classes to go through the course planning process with you.

See you soon!

Mr. Leung's Course Planning Schedule

Course planning for the 2012 - 2013 year will officially begin next week. I will be visiting your English class during the week from February 7 to February 10 to talk to you about graduation requirements, post-secondary course requirements, and courses you can take in grade 11 and beyond. Below is a rough timeline:

• Week of Feb 7 to Feb 10: I will visit your English classes to give out course request forms and to introduce you to courses available for next year
• Week of Feb 13 to Feb 16: Time for you and your family to discuss course request choices for next year, and to ask me any questions regarding course planning
• Week of Feb 20 to Feb 24: Collection of signed and completed course request forms
• Feb 24 (Friday): Last day for me to collect course request forms from you.

I will be visiting your English classes on the following dates:

Date	Block	Teacher	Room	Time
Feb 7 (Tue)	2.1 (E)	Vadacchino – English 10	223	10:10 – 11:35
Feb 7 (Tue)	2.4 (H)	Smith – English 10A	305	12:20 – 1:41
Feb 8 (Wed)	1.2 (B)	Bird – English 10	202	8:35 – 9:55
Feb 8 (Wed)	1.1 (A)	Smith – English 10	305	10:10 – 11:35
Feb 8 (Wed)	1.3 (C)	Bird – English 10	202	1:46 – 3:07
Feb 9 (Thu)	2.2 (F)	Leung – English 10 modified	131	10:10 – 10:50
Feb 10 (Fri)	1.2 (B)	Ramsey – English 10 mini	326	8:35 – 9:55
Feb 10 (Fri)	1.4 (D)	Ramsey – English 10 enrich	326	12:20 – 1:41

See you all soon! Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding course planning!