Hi everyone, I hope you are using the flexibility of EBUS to enjoy the spring weather! We are down to 10 weeks of classes before the June 16 deadline for course completion this school year. Lots for full time high school students at EBUS to be aware of, please make sure you keep on top of the newsletters and announcements. The remaining newsletters will go out by email April 21, May 5 and 19th, June 1st and the final one for the school year is June 16th.
GRADUATION ASSESSMENT
Students graduating under the 2018 graduation program will need to complete a possible total of 3 assessments to meet graduation requirements; Literacy 10, Numeracy and Literacy 12. These assessments must be written under the supervision of a teacher and are written generally in high schools across BC.
The next session EBUS will arrange for students is June 19-23 2023. EBUS can help you find a school close by for you to write in. You can register for that at https://forms.gle/f4vWXjVDWh26KEkc9 by June 1 2023. Someone from EBUS will respond to your request in June once we hear from schools.
You can get all the details about the assessments at https://ebus.ca/welcome-package/grade-10-12-homeroomnews/graduation-assessments-provincial-exams/
For students looking at post-secondary education, UBC requires students applying there must score a 3 or better on the Literacy 12 assessment, with no requirements for the Literacy 10 or Numeracy. Currently, other colleges and universities have not indicated the Literacy 12 result will be used as part of their admissions requirements, and students are responsible to research their future college or university to ensure you meet all admissions requirements.
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.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
This year EBUS has up to $40 000 in scholarships and bursaries available for our full-time students who meet graduation requirements by June and the requirements listed in the scholarship booklet. The booklet was released in the homeroom and at
https://ebus.ca/2022-23-ebus-scholarship-package/ and the deadline to apply is April 15. Scholarship winners are announced at grad. We strongly recommend all students who will graduate by June apply for any scholarships they are interested in as we often have scholarships not applied for each year. While EBUS Parent Advisory Scholarships have requirements for the number of courses you need to take with EBUS, the District Scholarships do not, so we encourage all students graduating with EBUS to apply for these. Note students who receive an EBUS PAC scholarship must use the funds up by Dec 31 2023. If you have questions contact your academic advisor.
With COVID considerations this year EBUS has booked Van Deusen Gardens in Vancouver on Saturday June 3. To participate, students need to be approximately 75% complete all grad requirements by the end of April. Notices to all grade 12 students and their parents have been emailed. Depending on interest we will host a grad ceremony in our hometown Vanderhoof Saturday May 27 as well, if you have not emailed me your interest to attend the Vanderhoof ceremony, please do so asap, we will decide soon if the Vanderhoof ceremony will run. If you have questions, contact your academic advisor.
SUMMER SESSION 2023
EBUS will be running summer session in 2023, info found at https://ebus.ca/online-learning-programs/summer-program/ Full time or cross enrolled students can take 1-2 courses with teacher supports in the summer, with the firm expectation to finish by the end of August. Registration will open May 1 online and the list of courses offered will be announced mid-April, but generally nearly all courses are offered. Once registered, the student is immediately put in the course with access to the first unit. Around June 20 the rest of the course will be opened and then on July 1 they will have full teacher supports. As teachers return to their regular school year job in early September, it is essential students finish their course by August 25. Note that due to ministry policy, courses started between September and May 1 cannot be moved to summer session.
COURSE SELECTIONS FOR THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR
For students continuing with EBUS for the next school year and wanting to do your course selections, we have arranged the following presentations:
Students going into grade 10 Tuesday May 9 10AM Pacific Click here to join the meeting
Students going into grade 11 Wednesday May 10 10AM Pacific Click here to join the meeting
Students going into grade 12 Tuesday May 9 1:30PM Pacific Click here to join the meeting
For students considering leaving EBUS for the next school year, I recommend you contact the new school you are considering as they will be doing course selections much earlier, often around now. If you plan to leave EBUS at the end of June, please be sure to send your advisor a heads up so we can transfer your file. If you are staying with EBUS, all you need to do is course selections by the June deadlines.
MENTAL HEALTH MINUTE
This month’s wellness project focus is on physical health, particularly the importance of communication. The 4Ts of talking helps guide you with improving your communication skills. Timing, Tone, Technique and Truth are concepts to explore in the lifelong goal of improving communication for everyone. Take some time this month to reflect on your communication methods and consider how you can improve in this vital life skill.
With the weather improving, temperatures rising and spring spreading across our communities, one of the wise things everyone can do is start getting outside more often.
Over the years we have collected a number of free online resources to help with mental health. I encourage you to email me if you have a great free resource not listed here!
IMPORTANT DATES
- April 13 school assembly 11AM – link on your dashboard
- April 15 EBUS Scholarship application deadline
- April 20 end of Term 3 – all work handed in on or before will be marked for report cards
- April 28 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- May 1 summer session registration opens https://ebus.ca/online-learning-programs/summer-program/
- May 5 Term 3 report cards available
- May 9 10AM course selections for students going into grade 10
- May 9 1:30PM course selections for students going into grade 12
- May 10 10AM course selections for students going into grade 11
- May 11 school assembly 11AM – link on your dashboard
- May 12 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- May 22 Victoria Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- June 3 graduation ceremony in Vancouver
- June 8 school assembly 10:30AM link on your dashboard
- June 16 end of Term 4 and school year – all work handed in on or before will be marked for report cards
- June 29 Term 4 report cards available
- June 30 EBUS closed for summer break
PARENT ACCESS
Parents, you can access your student’s progress and report cards on the EBUS parent portal: https://my.ebus.ca/parentportal/login.php We recommend parents log in with their student at least once a week to stay actively engaged in their learning and progress. Students, you can access your report cards from your dashboard, look for the A+ icon in the upper right-hand corner. Report cards are published 5 times a year; November, January, March, June and for summer session courses only, September.
As I get asked this often, if your student plans to finish their course(s) in a quarterly fashion, meaning by the end of term 3 or on April 20students should be 90% complete. Those working on a semester fashion should be about 50% complete. And for students working in a linear fashion to complete by the June deadlines, they should be about 80% complete at this time.
PHONE APPOINTMENTS
Currently I am working from home. To book a phone appt with me, use https://tinyurl.com/yyrbnz7p and select the appropriate amount of time you need when you are available for my call. My calls will show up as SD91 for School District 91. EBUS Academy as also set up Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone calls so I now have a phone number you can reach me at! I am available at 1-250-567-4413 ext 7409. Booking a phone appt is the easiest was to ensure you will reach me, but I will answer calls during the workday when available.
The next newsletter will be April 14. Have a great extra long weekend.