Our Spring Break is just around the corner, and I hope you get some meaningful rest and time away in the coming two weeks. With less than 3 months to go to the June 15 year-end deadline, it’s important for all students, parents and guardians to assess the progress made to date and make a plan for assignment and course completion for the remainder of the school year.
I am updating student credit checks 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 finished the grade 12s and am partway through the grades 11s and then the 10s. For students carrying on with EBUS Academy for the next school year these will be useful for course selections which will happen in May. The presentation will go over graduation requirements, course selection considerations, thoughts on learning after high school and more. Watch for details announcing the specific grade presentation dates and the process to select courses in MyEd in the April and May newsletters.
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 you advisor a heads up so we can transfer your file. If you are staying with EBUS, all you need to do is course selections before summer holidays.
WHAT ABOUT?
Lots of new things to being a fulltime 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 Spring Break at EBUS?
School District 91 has established our break from March 21 to April 1, with teachers returning Monday April 4. During this time, all teachers and staff are away for holidays, so no one will be setting up tests, answering emails or phone calls or marking. You may notice these dates may not be the same dates for the local schools where you live. In fact, Spring Break across BC stretches over 4 different weeks, not every district is the same.
So what does that mean for you? First, I do encourage all students to take some holiday time, rest and recharging is vital. With EBUS’ flexible scheduling, a student can take off a different week than when EBUS is off, and then work on their courses during EBUS’ Spring Break. Remember, there is no one to answer questions, set up tests or mark assignments during our Spring Break, but with some planning, students can take a good holiday when it fits your schedule.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
Every 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/2021-22-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. If you have questions contact your academic advisor.
With COVID considerations this year EBUS has booked Van Deusen Gardens in Vancouver on Friday 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 will be emailed soon. Depending on interest we will host a grad ceremony in our hometown Vanderhoof as well, if you have not emailed me your interest to attend the Vanderhoof ceremony, please do so asap, we will decide after Spring Break if the Vanderhoof ceremony will run. If you have questions, contact your academic advisor.
SUMMER SESSION 2022
EBUS will be running summer session in 2022, 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 2 at our website, www.ebus.ca 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. On June 15 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 the end of August. Note that due to ministry policy, courses started between September and May 1 cannot be moved to summer session.
MENTAL HEALTH MINUTE
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. Even with the COVID protocols, outdoor exercise is one of the highly recommended activities to benefit you mentally and physically. Give it a try!
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!
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
- March 18 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- SPRING BREAK March 21-April 1 EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- April 15 EBUS Scholarship application deadline
- April 15-18 Easter Break – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- April 22 Term 3 deadline for report cards
- April 29 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- May 2 summer session registration opens
- May 5 Term 3 report cards available
- May 13 Professional Development Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- May 23 Victoria Day – EBUS staff unavailable, courses open
- June 3 in person grad ceremony in Richmond
- June 13-17 grad assessment session, registration info coming
- June 17 Term 4, Semester 2 and yearend deadline
- June 27 report cards available
- June 29 EBUS closed for summer holidays – staff unavailable until Sept 6
- Note that Term end dates are guidelines for students to finish courses, if you do not finish by the April term end date, continue with your studies without penalty and finish the course(s) as soon as possible.
You can find the full year school calendar at
https://ebus.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/EBUS-2021-22-School-Calendar.pdf
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 22 students should be 80% complete. Those working on a semester fashion should be about 40% complete. And for students working in a linear fashion to complete by the June deadlines, they should be about 75% complete at this time.
PHONE APPOINTMENTS
As COVID related changes were announced by the Province, I transitioned to 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 as “no caller ID” but I will call at the time you request.
Keep well, the next newsletter will be Friday April 1, it will be a short one.