Hi everyone

Here we are at the halfway mark in September!  We hope you all are settling into your courses, connecting with your teachers and getting into the routines of successful learning!  Great to see so many new families joining us this year, as well as all those returning, we look forward to connecting with you and journeying with you with education!

To speed up the way we connect with you, we are continuing to use Microsoft Bookings to take phone call appointments.  You can book a 10, 20 or 30 minute phone appointment with your academic advisor:

Leal (for students with last names A-K) can be reached at lbaumann@sd91.bc.ca or book a phone appointment HERE

Chris (for students with last names L-Z) can be reached at cmushumanski@sd91.bc.ca or book a phone appointment HERE

Given the incredible interest and demand for seats with EBUS, either full time or cross enrolled students, all students will see encouragement to get active and stay continually active in all the courses on your dashboard and finish your courses as soon as you can.  We ask that you only sign up for the courses you will be actively working on for now, and email the list of the courses you want to add later in the year.  We will have space in courses for later starts in the school year for full-time students.   Please note those students who do not log in, start work and submit assignments within SIX WEEKS of the course showing up on your dashboard, risk being withdrawn from the course and the seat given to another student wanting that course.  If this is a concern for you, please reach out to your advisor and your teacher and we will work to support you in moving ahead with your education.

For students wanting to see what courses we offer, you can see each grade as listed below.  Further information can be found in the Grade 10-12 Homeroom on student dashboards.  If you have not done so already, please email your course selection to your academic advisor. 

Grade 10 https://ebus.ca/online-learning-programs/high-school/grade-10-courses/

Grade 11 https://ebus.ca/online-learning-programs/high-school/grade-11-courses/

Grade 12 https://ebus.ca/online-learning-programs/high-school/grade-12-courses/

REQUESTING COURSE CHANGES

For full time students wanting to change courses, please use the “drop course” button on your dashboard and email your advisor the new request.  Be sure to put the full student name and the specific course you are requesting, like English New Media 10.  Courses will only be added if the student is dropping one or is substantially complete in a current course.  We appreciate your patience as we work through the new applications, phone calls and emails. 

NEW STUDENTS and GRADE 10 STUDENTS

Are you a grade 10 student, or brand new to EBUS Academy?  We have just the webinar for you!  Our admin team and academic advisors will present how EBUS Academy and your dashboard are set up with features there to help you customize your learning experience and make you the productive student you can be. 

Sept 29 10:30-11:30 AM

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/256346181118906?p=6QryiZimr0nH8n2QSu

Meeting ID: 256 346 181 118 906

Passcode: NY9DW2HS

COURSE REMINDERS

This year it is essential students get started in all the courses on your dashboard given the volume of new students we are welcoming this year.  Note that students who have not submitted any work within 4 weeks of adding a course risk being withdrawn and not getting that course for an extended period of time.  If you need help with something, reach out to teacher right away, or if you need to make a course change, let your advisor know.  We want to support as many learners as we can this year, so please make sure we know what we can do for you.  As a guideline students working in 3-4 courses should be scheduling 30-35 hours each week for learning time and aim to finish these courses by January 25 and then request new ones to finish by June 11.

STUDENT SUCCESS

EBUS wants to see our students as successful in their learning as they can be.  With that in mind, we find that successful students have some similarities I would like to share with you.  Successful online students:

• Start their course within a week of it arriving on their dashboard
• Are motivated, proactive self-starters who reach out to the teachers when they have questions
• Create a regular check in process between parent/guardian and student
• Contact their teachers soon if you have questions or problems or will be away from your studies for more than 2 weeks
• Log in to their course and submit work every 1-2 school days
• Have a course completion date in mind, and regularly check their progress against that
• Have a school year to complete their studies but we encourage students to work towards finishing courses by the mid June deadlines of each school year at the latest.  Note students who are not active in their courses for more than 6 weeks risk being withdrawn from that course
• Check the homeroom regularly for updates, found on their dashboard or at https://ebus.ca/category/10-12-homeroom/
• If you have log in or tech issues, or change your contact info, contact the help desk at 1-250-567-4413

WELCOME PACKAGE

As we get going with your EBUS courses, I want to remind our students and families of a few things.  Our website is the main point of contact for information.  To access the EBUS welcome package, you can find that on our website www.ebus.ca at this link: http://ebus.ca/welcome-package/

This has lots of useful information, such as the school year calendar, course resources, who to call when you have a question, and more!

HOMEROOM

When there are announcements, we will use the Grades 10-12 Homeroom.  This is not a course, but a forum to pass along information to students in grades 10, 11 and 12. Please check the homeroom regularly so you are keeping up to speed with all things happening this school year, such as grad assessment dates, scholarships, and extra-curricular activities around the province.  Students and parents can also access the information for the Homeroom on our webpage at http://ebus.ca/welcome-package/grade-10-12-homeroomnews/

GRAD ASSESSMENTS

As part of the high school graduation program, students need to complete 20 grade 10, 11 and 12 courses, as well as 3 graduation assessments.  The 3 assessments all students must write in person are Literacy 10, Numeracy and Literacy 12.  The assessments are to be written in either January or June, with registration for January starting in November, and registration to write in June beginning in April.  More info on the assessments will be posted in the homeroom on your dashboard closer to the dates. 

LEARNING SUPPORT FUNDS

For full time EBUS students, the ministry provides learning support funds for new courses you are currently active in.  The process of accessing these funds has changed so please be sure to read all the info on our website.  Detailed information on the funds, how many courses you need to be active in, what you can use the funds for and more, is available at http://ebus.ca/welcome-package/learning-support-funds/ We encourage you to read all of the information on this.  Students who are actively working in 4 or more new courses (more than 10% complete in the curriculum) will be eligible for the funding for 3^rd party vendor invoices.  The intent of Learning support funds is to support the current year’s learning; funds become available after Thanksgiving, and all support funds must be applied for before Spring Break. 

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES

• Sept 17 school assembly, Teams link will be on your dashboard
• Sept 21 summer session report cards on student dashboards
• Sept 18 EBUS secondary newsletter
• Sept 25 District Planning Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open to students
• Sept 29 new student/grade 10s Teams webinar
• Sept 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open to students
• Oct 5 newsletter sent
• Oct 12 Thanksgiving – EBUS closed, courses open
• Oct 19 newsletter sent
• Oct 23 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
• Nov 11 Remembrance Day – EBUS closed, courses open to students
• Nov 20 Pro D Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open

You can find the full year school calendar at

District Calendar

PARENT ACCESS

Parents, you can access your student’s progress and report cards on the EBUS parent portal: https://ebus.ca/information-for-parents/   Students, you can access your report cards from your dashboard looking for the A+ icon in the upper righthand corner.  Report cards are published 3 times a year; December, April, June and for summer session, September.

PHOTO ID REQUIRED

For the required graduation numeracy and literacy assessments, all BC students will need government issue photo ID.  A BCID card or a public school ID card will qualify.  If you need a school ID card please send a current colour photo to ebusresources@sd91.bc.ca well in advance of your assessment date.

Newsletters on the 1^st and 3^rd Friday of each month by email to students and parents on file, please watch for that to keep up with all that EBUS has to offer. 

PHONE APPOINTMENTS

If you have any further questions, or any changes need to be made, please let us know Leal (for students with last names A-K) can be reached at lbaumann@sd91.bc.ca or book a phone appointment HERE

Chris (for students with last names L-Z) can be reached at cmushumanski@sd91.bc.ca or book a phone appointment HERE

We wish you a successful, rewarding, engaging and productive school year at EBUS Academy!

Have a great September, the next newsletter will be Monday Oct 5.