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