Calendar of Events (November)

The following are some important dates for the month of November - please mark them down on your calendar:

• Nov 3 (Wed): Take Your Child to Work Day (consent forms must be filled out for you to participate)
• Nov 9 (Tue): Secondary Band Festival @ PW
• Nov 9 (Tue): PAC Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
• Nov 10 (Wed): Block Rotation - 3-4-1-2 (or C-D-A-B)
• Nov 11 (Thu): Remembrance Day - school not in session
• Nov 12 (Fri): District Closure Day - school not in session
• Nov 15 (Mon): Block Rotation - 3-4-1-2 (or G-H-E-F)
• Nov 15 - Nov 23: Grade 9 Guidance Classes, 1st Rotation - I will be visiting your English class for the first guidance class of the year
• Nov 16 (Tue): Grade 9 Immunization Clinic (morning only)
• Nov 17 (Wed): Afternoon classes shortened for the parent-teacher conference (6:00 - 8:30 p.m.)
• Nov 18 (Thu): Instructional Planning Period (students start school at 10:00)
• Nov 22 (Mon): December's Lunch Envelopes due
• Nov 24 (Wed): Mini school info night - 7:00 p.m.
• Nov 26 (Fri): Non-instructional Day - school not in session
  

Interim Reports, Parent-Teacher Forms

There will be a brief homeroom class at 3:00 p.m. today for all students. Grades 8 to 10 students will be receiving their interim reports - please take them home for parents to review and sign. Counsellors, teachers, and administrators are available to discuss with you and your parents on any concerns that are raised from the interim reports.

A parent-teacher interview form can also be found among the package students take home today. The first parent-teacher interviews will take place Wednesday, November 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Appointments with teachers, counsellors, and administrators can be made on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please return completed parent-teacher interview forms to the office as soon as possible.

Bell Schedule for Oct 29

Below is the adjusted bell schedule for Friday, October 29:

• Period 1 (Block A, or 1.1) - 8:35 - 10:00 (unchanged)
• Break: 10:00 - 10:15 (unchanged)
  
• Period 2 (Block B, or 1.2) - 10:15 - 11:40 (unchanged)
• Extended Lunch - 11:40 - 12:41 (extended 16 minutes for the mini carnival in the old gym)
• Period 3 (Block C, or 1.3) - 12:41 - 1:51 (shortened 8 minutes)
• Period 4 (Block D, or 1.4) - 1:57 - 3:07 (shortened 8 minutes)

Please note the bell schedule, and make sure you are not late for any of your classes!

November's Bus Pass

November's bus passes have arrived. You can come to my office at your convenience to pick yours up.

Students may request for a bus pass if they a) are in a distract program; b) live more than 4.8 km from the school, and c) have a financial need. A proof of address and documentation supporting financial need must accompany an application for a bus pass. If you have submitted an application for a buss pass but is not receiving one, please see Mr. Mustapich.

As November 1 is a Monday, please come to pick up your bus pass before the end of this week to ensure you will have a bus pass on November 1 when you take your morning bus to the school.

Halloween Dance Canceled

The Halloween Dance that was scheduled to take place this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. has been canceled. In replacement of that, student council will hold a mini-carnival in the old gym Friday at lunch. Please see the student bulletin for more details.

For students who have purchased dance tickets, you may go to the front foyer Wednesday and Thursday during lunch hour to have your tickets refunded. You would need to bring your ticket, as well as your go-card, with you for the refund.

As a result of the Friday's mini carnival, the bell schedule will be adjusted. I will write another entry about the bell schedule once it is announced.

Drop Everything and Read

Next week marks the beginning of the National School Library Week. To celebrate this, Templeton is hosting an event called "Drop Everything and Read" next Monday, Oct 25.

Bring a novel, a non-fiction book, a magazine, or whatever other reading materials that may be of interest to you to your 2nd period class. At 11:00 a.m., all students can drop whatever work they are doing, and read for 20 minutes for your own pleasure!

So, bring your books, and... happy reading!

November's Lunch Envelopes

Lunch envelopes for the month of November are due Thursday, November 21. Please have your completed lunch envelopes ready, and drop them off at the box in the main office.

Late submissions may result in you not having a lunch card on November 1. Please submit your lunch envelopes as soon as possible.

Hot lunches for the month cost $70. For students in families with financial difficulties, a $35 fee is recommended. If you have any questions, please talk to me, or Mr. Mustapich, the vice principal in charge of the school lunch program.

End of Course Changes

Mrs. Roberts has announced that course changes will no longer be accepted unless due to exceptional circumstances.

Students who wish to change into a different course because of exceptional circumstances must now obtain a course transfer request form from me. Completed forms with a detailed explanation to the reason for the course change request, together with a parent/guardian signature, will be reviewed by an administrator. A final decision to grant/deny the change will be made, and you will be notified of that decision.

This deadline has to be implemented because, as the year moves forward, it is becoming increasingly difficult for students to catch up on missed work; it is also extremely disruptive for teachers to have students still entering and leaving classes almost two months into term 1. Thank you very much for your cooperation and understanding.

Take Our Kids to Work

Hosted by The Learning Partnership, a national non-profit organization dedicated to championing a strong public education system in Canada, the 16th annual "Take Our Kids to Work" program will take place this year on Wednesday, November 3.
On that day, grade 9 students can spend the day at work, job-shadowing a parent, a relative, or a family friend.

Students who are interested in participating in this program can come and Mr. Hayes in the Career Center, or you can come and see me. A consent form will be issued to you. Completed forms must be returned to me by October 29 (Friday).

Please note: Unfortunately, we will not be able to arrange a placement for job-shadowing for you. You and your family must try to arrange for the day if you are interested in participating. For more information, please come to speak to me or Mr. Hayes directly. You can also visit the Learning Partnership's website (click here) to find out more about the vision and purpose for the "Take Our Kids to Work" program.

Instructional Planning Period

Just a reminder to all of you that there will be an instructional planning period (IPP) tomorrow, Thursday, Oct 14. Teachers will be having department meetings and collaborative time, so, unfortunately, they would not be able to meet with you during that time.

All students are expected to report to their SECOND PERIOD CLASS (i.e. Block B, or 1.2 class) at 10:15, the normal start time for second period.

Challenge Exams Information

Information packages for the language challenge exams are now available from the Delta School District's Challenge Exam website (click here).

Language challenge exams that will be administered include:

• French 11/12
• Mandarin 11/12 (Traditional and Simplified Chinese)
• Spanish 11/12
• German 11/12
• Japanese 11/12
• Korean 11/12
• Punjabi 11/12

All exams will be written in Delta between January 22 to 30, 2011.

Ms. Foster, our grade 11 counsellor, will be the school liaison person for the exams. Students must fill in, electronically, pages 10 and 11 of their application (click here) before printing them out.

Ms. Foster will announce the Templeton deadline for all forms to come in. If you require the application form e-mailed to you, please send me an e-mail at eleung@vsb.bc.ca - clearly tell me your full name, and the exam you are planning to challenge, and I will e-mail the student application form for you.

Please note: you can only challenge for each subject once - and the mark you receive from the challenge exam will become your official mark for the course. For Grade 12 challenge courses, you have the option of writing the optional provincial exams - in that case, your challenge exam's result will become your school percentage (worth 40% of your blended mark).

Reminder: District Closure Day Oct 8

Just a reminder to all parents and students that Friday, October 8 will be a district closure day for schools in Vancouver. School is not in session that day, and staff would not be available either.

School will return to session next Tuesday, October 12 following Thanksgiving Day. Enjoy the added day off, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Photo Re-takes: Tuesday, October 12

Photo re-takes will take place next Tuesday, October 12, in the morning only.

The following students can take part in the photo re-take session:

• If you are a new student at Templeton and have missed the school's first photo session
• If you were not present on the first day where student photos were taken
• If you wish to re-take your picture and order a new photo package

As far as I know, you cannot re-take your picture if you want to use it for your go-card only. Please check with the photographers from Artona for more details and the official answer.

Free Math Tutoring

Mr. Handscomb has informed me that, starting this week, math tutoring will be available EVERYDAY at lunch in his room (Room 224). Senior students will be in the room assisting you with various levels of math. You do not have to be a student in Mr. Handscomb class to attend.

You can bring your lunch, bring your friends, and of course, bring your math homework.

A big "thank you" to the math department for providing this service, and an even bigger "thank you" goes out to the peer-tutoring students who are sacrificing their lunch periods to assist you. Please take full advantage of this free service provided.