December, already?!  Some times that calendar flies by doesn’t it.  I hope you are all finding positives in your day, smiles on the faces you see and reasons to be grateful.  

As we head into the last 2 weeks of this month before Winter Break, I recommend you watch for announcements from your teachers.  EBUS will be closed from the end of the day Dec 16 and will reopen Tuesday Jan 3.  During this time, courses are open, but there are no teachers scheduled to work, set up tests, mark assignments or answer questions.  If you are looking at setting up a test or needing your teacher’s input or guidance for something over the Break, we recommend reaching out to them before Dec 12.  Often after a holiday like this, teachers come back to a higher than normal email and marking load; we appreciate your patience as we try and catch up as quickly as possible after the break.  While many students may be looking to this time to catch up or get ahead in their studies, I do encourage you all to take some meaningful downtime.  All work and no play makes an EBUSer less than top notch 😊

As a fulltime student with EBUS, I will email you each a credit check detailing your progress in the graduation program showing the courses and required assessments completed, courses you are registered in and what remains to be complete to meet graduation requirements.  I have emailed all our fulltime grade 12s and am more than halfway through the grade 10s and11s.  Watch for this important email in the coming weeks if you have not already received one. 

IMPORTANT – REQUIRED GRADUATION ASSESSMENTS

Students graduating under the 2018 graduation program will need to complete a total of 3 assessments to meet graduation requirements; Literacy 10, Numeracy and Literacy 12.  These assessments must be written in person under the supervision of a teacher and are written in high schools across BC. 

Students need to complete these only one time.

EBUS will help our fulltime students find a seat a local high school for the January and June sessions.  You can get all the details at https://ebus.ca/welcome-package/grade-10-12-homeroomnews/graduation-assessments-provincial-exams/

For students looking to write in the January session, EBUS can help you find a school close by for you to write in.  You can register for that at www.ebusgradassessment.weebly.com  between October 4 and December 15. 

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.

We appreciate that COVID will be a big factor in both student comfort in writing during the set sessions and also schools welcoming our fulltime students into their cohorts.  Our guidance at this time is to register for the session you plan to write in, and we will work with our students, partner schools and the Ministry of Education to deal with this grad requirement safely.  It is not a requirement for grade 10 or 11 students who are concerned to write this year, and for grade 12 students, if the January session cannot work, there is another in June 2023.

WHAT ABOUT?

Lots of new things to being a full time online student.  And often you only realize the questions you have after you’ve been in the learning trenches for a bit to then see the things you don’t know.

Sooo…what about effective online learning practices?

EBUS has worked with families online since 1993, and over those years we do see some common threads among students who are successful, because online is quite different than a brick and mortar education.

Motivation is a huge element to success for all students, but online looks different.  Everyone has internal and external motivators that are unique to them, and with online learning, students and families have the opportunity to see what works more closely.  What motivates you or your learner?  How is that being provided in the online setting?  What are ways this can be strengthened?  How does the student feel rewarded for the progress made?  What are the celebrations of learning that can happen?

Another huge piece is structure, in the form of a schedule and dedicated workplace.  High school students should be aiming for at least 25 hours of learning time each week.  If it helps, write down the blocks of time of when you will be doing your course work and make sure it adds up to this amount.  Create check in dates where you plan to be ___% through your course and assess these.  A dedicated place for school work that is distraction free and supportive of learning is also important.    

And as always, any plan needs to be checked and reassessed.  When is the last time the questions like “what did you learn in your studies today?  What does that mean? What was the most interesting thing you learned today?” get asked?   Regular engagement is important for everyone.

MENTAL HEALTH MINUTE

How is your mood of late?  Certainly understandable if you or others notice you are not yourself, maybe a little down or anxious.  Completely understandable and very common.  Looking for a few boosters to pick things up for you?  Try any of these, especially in combination.  Get outside in the sunshine and outdoors; connect with someone close you have not heard from in a while; think of things you are grateful for, maybe make a list; do something you get totally lost in; do something creative; listen to a song that totally fills your heart and makes you sing happily; find a video or story that makes you laugh so hard you are in tears.  Regardless what it is, I encourage you to find some way to pick up your day, even just a little bit, it will feel better.

2022-23 WELLNESS PROJECT DECEMBER – Manage Disappointment

For the month of December, the focus is on learning to navigate life’s detours by slowing down, staying steady, adjust your route around a challenge and resume your trip.  Try it! You can find the student handbook in your moodle dashboard homeroom.

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES

• Dec 8 Grades 10-12 assembly 11AM link HERE
• Dec 15 deadline to apply for January grad assessments register HERE
• Dec 19-January 2 Winter Break, teachers unavailable, courses open to students
• Tuesday January 3 2023 EBUS reopens
• Jan 23-27 required grad assessments register HERE before Dec 15
• Jan 27 end of Term 2 – all work handed in on or before will be marked for report cards
• Thursday Feb 9 school assembly 10:30am link on your dashboard
• Friday Feb 10 Term Two report cards available
• Friday Feb 10 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
• Monday Feb 20 Family Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
• March 1 deadline to request courses for this school year
• SPRING BREAK March 20-March 31 EBUS staff unavailable, courses open

• Note that Term end dates are guidelines for students to finish courses, if you do not finish by the November or January term end date, continue with your studies without penalty and finish the course(s) as soon as possible.  New courses are not automatically added at the Term change, students must request them as they finish current courses.

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 2 mid January, they should be about 40% complete.  For Sept starts with a planned finish by the end of semester 1, students should be about 70% complete.  And for students working in a linear fashion to complete by the June deadlines, they should be about 40%+ complete at this time. 

PHONE APPOINTMENTS

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 as “no caller ID” but I will call at the time you request.

Keep well, the next newsletter will be Friday December 16 before Winter Break begins.