Learning to Lead Program

Are you a female grade 11 student who wants to learn more about leadership skills? Do you inspire to become a leader in BC using your energy and vision? The Minerva Foundation for BC Women is hosting its 12th annual Learning to Lead program from May 24 - 26 at St. John's College on the UBC campus.

This all-expense paid opportunity is for grade 11 female students to meet and interact with graduate students, young professional women, and accomplished community leaders for a weekend of inspiring speakers and workshops.

In order to attend, you have to submit an application. The organization is looking for students who have demonstrated leadership skills in the past and present over different areas, and show some of the following characteristics of leadership:

• self-directed and responsible
• strong communicator with good interpersonal skills
• action oriented and able to motivate others 
• self-reflective 
• risk taker 
• good listener
• ability to manage conflict
• integrity, flexibility, intelligence, creativity, focus and emotional intelligence

To learn more, you can go to Minerva Foundation's website (click here) to see for yourself. If you are interested in applying, please come to see me ASAP. Thanks!

Term 1 Honour Roll

The list of students who have achieved principal's list or honour roll status has been published, and is now posted outside of the main office as well as my door. Congratulations to all the grade 11 scholars who have worked hard to achieve this outstanding results!

Please check the principal's list and the honour list carefully - if you feel you should be on the list but is not, please come by to see me ASAP.

As per explained in the student agenda book, the grade 11 principal's list and honour roll are calculated based on your seven best courses (except peer tutoring, community service, ESL, and SDC courses). Students must also achieve a minimum of "satisfactory" work habits in all courses to be eligible.

Students who achieve a 90% or higher average, with no mark below 60%, will be on the Principal's List. Students who achieve an 80% to 89% average, with no mark below 60%, will be on the Honour Roll.

Once again, congratulations to all the scholars of grade 11 who achieved this outstanding feat! Great job!

Youth Mental Health Summit

Are you interested in learning more about mental health issues? Are you interested in making connections with those who work in the area of mental health and are passionate about breaking down barriers and creating connections? If you are, here's a one-day workshop that you may be interested in!

The Building a Mindful Community Youth Summit 2013 is a one-day workshop that includes multi-media presentations, idea sharing, and other fun activities that will center on mental health and strengthening community connections. You can also build your own leadership and capacity skills through group discussions and creative activities.

The Youth Summit is inclusive and open to students of all backgrounds. It will take place Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 at the Chan Centre for Family Health Education, which is located at B.C.'s Children's Hospital at 938 West 28th Avenue in Vancouver. The summit will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Templeton can send up to 5 students and 1 staff member to this youth summit. Snacks and lunch will be provided, and attendees will receive a certificate of participation.

For further details, you can visit this website for information (click here).

If you want to register, please come to see me. I will pass your names to Mr. Davis, who will register the group on your behalf.

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!