Out of Office Notice: April 27

I'm sorry, but I am not feeling well today, and thus would not be in school today. For assistance, please see Mrs. Robertson, Mr. Mark, or Ms. Foster. For emergencies, please contact an administrator, or any office staff.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Easter

This is a reminder that school will NOT be in session for Good Friday (Friday, April 22) and Easter Monday (Monday, April 25). Happy Easter, everyone!

May's Lunch Envelopes Due

Lunch envelopes for the month of May are due Thursday, April 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 May 2. 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.

Summer School Math Courses Offered

The summer school office has just announced the math courses that will be offered this summer. Please note: these are face-to-face summer school courses that will be offered at various school sites. For online courses with VLN, registration has begun and you can register by going to VLN's website (click here).

Summer school courses fall in three different categories, and for each category, the courses offered are different:

Preview courses: for students who want to learn the key concepts and get a head start on a course they will be taking in the fall. Please note: preview courses are NON-CREDIT courses. Completion of a preview course does NOT give you the course credit. Math courses offered this summer include:

• Math 8 and 9
• Foundations of Math and Pre-calculus 10
• Pre-calculus 11
• Foundations of Math 11

Completion courses: for students who wish to obtain course credits. Students taking completion courses usually have a heavy academic load, and use the completion courses to lighten your load in the fall. Courses offered this summer include:

• Foundations of Math and Pre-calculus 10
• Apprenticeship & Workplace Math 10
• Principles of Math 11 (please note: this course will no longer be offered in September 2011)
  
• Principles of Math 12
• Calculus 12

Remedial courses: these are courses offered for students who have taken the course, but are receiving a unsatisfactory mark that need to be improved, either for the purpose of taking the next level course, or to obtain permission to take a more challenging course. Courses include:

• Math 8 and 9
• Foundations of Math and Pre-calculus 10
• Apprenticeship & Workplace Math 10
• Principles of Math 11 (please note: this course will no longer be offered in September 2011)

To register for summer school courses, call 604-713-4550 or register online with the VSB (click here). To register online, you must have your provincial examination number (PEN), which can be found on your report card. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.

A Note about Course Requests

Quite a few students have come in to ask me about course requests for the 2011 - 2012 school year. Here are the answers to a few of your more common questions:

• Can I change a course request right now? - Yes, you may! Please discuss with your parents/guardians, and if an agreement is reached that you should choose a different course from what you have initially requested, come by to see me, and I will change the course request for you.
• I have heard about a course that seems interesting, can I learn more about it? - Absolutely! You can come by to ask me and I will do my best to answer your questions on a specific course. Alternately, you can ask the teacher(s) who teach the course you are interested in to find out what a course has to offer.
  
• Can I change my mind about a course in September? - Generally speaking, the first week of school is reserved for students with incomplete timetables. Switching courses for students who are given a full timetable would not occur until all students are given a complete timetable. If you know you want to sign up for a different course, it's best to notify me now rather than September.
  
• I want to be in the same class as my friend, can you arrange that? - Unfortunately, I cannot do that. The student information system, BCeSIS, generates the timetables of students to ensure every student would be placed in courses they have requested for. The system does not attempt to place students in the same class as their friends.
• What about summer school classes? Can I take summer school classes to "get ahead?" - Yes, you may. To allow timetable builders to build the most workable timetable for staff and students, counsellors would appreciate if you can tell us ahead of time what course(s) you are planning to take in the summer.
• If I fail a course this year, does that affect my course request for next year? - If the course you fail is a pre-requisite for a course you have requested, it will obviously affect your course requests. At the end of the school year, counsellors would review the list for course failures, and your course requests would be adjusted accordingly.
  
• What if I fail a course right now, but pass the remedial course during summer school? - In the final week of the summer break, counsellors will be in their office changing students' timetables based on summer school results. When you have passed a remedial course in the summer, bring your report card into the counsellors' office, and we will change your timetable.

Please come by to see me if you have any further questions.

Instructional Planning Period

This is a reminder that there will be an instructional planning period (IPP) tomorrow morning, April 14 (Thursday). As a result, students will NOT have to report to their first period class (2.4, or block H). School will begin at 10:15 with students reporting to their 2.3 (or block G) class.

Block Rotation Reminder

Please be reminded that, next Monday, blocks will rotate for the final time this school year.

For Day 1, blocks will go 4-3-2-1. That is, you will have periods 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, and then 1.1 (or blocks D-C-B-A in the old A to H block format).

For Day 2, blocks will go 4-3-2-1. That is, periods 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, and 2.1 (or blocks H-G-F-E in the old A to H block format).

Please review your timetable carefully, and don't go to the wrong class Monday morning!

Grade Assembly

A friendly reminder that there will be a grade assembly during the second period (period 2.1 or block E) for grade 9 students tomorrow, Friday, April 8.

During this assembly, I will tell you about registration for summer school online courses. I will also give you an update to the course request process. Ms. Ward will tell you about the principal's list and honour roll students for term 2, and Constable Avelar will give you an update on some of the issues regarding student safety.

If you are going to miss the assembly, please come by to my office so I can update you with any important information that may be of interest to you. Thank you.

Calendar of Events (April, 2011)

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you have had a restful and rewarding two weeks. Before you know it, it is April, and if previous years are any type of an indicator, time after spring break will be flying by very, very quickly. Before you know it, it will be the end of this school year, and we'd be off for the summer!

But before that, there are two months and a half left of school we need to work hard for. Below is a calendar of some of the important dates in April:

• April 4 (Monday) - School re-opens. Please be reminded that this will be a Day 2
• April 6 (Wednesday) - Dinner concert
• April 7 and 8 (Thursday and Friday) - 30-hour famine
• April 11 and 12 (Monday and Tuesday) - Final block rotation: 4-3-2-1
• April 12 (Tuesday) - PAC meeting @ 7:00 p.m.
• April 13 (Wednesday) - Math contests, fashion show @ 6:00 p.m.
• April 14 (Thursday) - Instructional Planning - school begins at 10:00 for students; Grade 7 conference
• April 20 (Wednesday) - Spring Fling: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
• April 21 (Thursday) - May's lunch envelopes due
• April 22 (Friday) - Good Friday - school not in session
• April 25 (Monday) - Easter Monday - school not in session
• April 27 (Wednesday) - Talent Show @ 7:00 p.m.
• April 28 (Thursday) - Jean's Day