Our Spring Break is a week away, and I hope you get some meaningful rest and time away during the two weeks. With less than 3 months remaining until the June 14 year-end assignment submission date, 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. 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. Students going into grade 10 will have their session on the morning of Tuesday May 7, students going into grade 11 Tuesday May 7 in the afternoon, and students going into grade 12 will be the morning of Wednesday May 8. The Teams links will come out in future 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 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 before summer holidays.
And for students wondering about registering for the June grad assessment session, a separate email with how to register will come by email the week of April 8.
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 25 to April 5, with teachers returning Monday April 8. 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 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 the flexible scheduling at EBUS Academy, 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 more than $35 000 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/2023-24-ebus-scholarships/ The deadline to apply is April 15. Scholarship winners are announced at our grad ceremonies or contacted by mail after June 23. 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.
EBUS is intending to host an in person grad ceremony Saturday June 1 at Van Deusen Gardens in Vancouver, Saturday June 22 in Kamloops, and if there is enough interest, one in Vanderhoof Saturday May 25. To express your interest in a Vanderhoof ceremony, please email cmushumanski@sd91.bc.ca soon. To participate, students need to be approximately 75% complete all grad requirements by the end of April. Notices to all grade 12 students went out by email earlier in March. If you have questions, contact your academic advisor.
SUMMER SESSION 2024
EBUS will be running summer session in 2024, 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 7 and the list of courses offered will be announced on the website above by the end of April, but generally nearly all courses are offered. Full time EBUS students can email me after April 26 with the course name to register for a summer session course. It is strongly recommended students take one course only as you will have a very high success rate of completion.
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 2 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 7 cannot be moved to summer session.
WELLNESS PROJECT PHYSICAL HEALTH
This month’s wellness project focus is on physical health, particularly the importance of sleep. Getting 7-8 hours or more of good quality sleep a day is shown to greatly improve a number things in our lives. We encourage you to learn more about ways you can improve the length and quality of your sleep and get into that routine!
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!
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
- March 23 – April 7 Spring Break EBUS closed, teachers not available but courses open
- April 10 June grad assessment registration begins
- April 15 Grade 12 scholarship applications due
- April 26 Pro D – teachers unavailable, courses open
- April 26 full time students can email their summer session requests
- May 7 summer session registration opens at www.ebus.ca for cross enrolled students
- May 10 Pro D – teachers unavailable, courses open
- May 20 Victoria Day – EBUS closed, courses open
- May 25 grad ceremony in Vanderhoof
- June 1 grad ceremony in Vancouver
- June 10-14 Graduation Assessment session
- June 14 year end work submission deadline
- June 22 grad ceremony in Kamloops
- June 28 EBUS closed for the school year
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 3 times a year; December, March, June and for summer session courses only, September.
As I get asked this often, if your student plans to finish their course(s) 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
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.
Keep well, the next newsletter will be Monday April 8 as I am on holidays April 5.