I hope you are all doing well and for many of you, students have finished the first semester courses and have requested the second semester courses or are past the halfway point in courses finished before summer holidays. With 4 months to go the end of school year date of June 14, 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.
As we are past the halfway point in the school year, I will be 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 am working on the grades 12s as a priority to ensure our students intending to graduate have a clear picture of their educational plans and to help with course planning for the next school year if relevant. For students carrying on for the next school year these will be useful for course selections which will happen in May.
REQUESTING NEW COURSES
By now students should have requested their new courses and be well underway in them to finish by June 14. We are seeing some courses reaching capacity, making it challenging to add new students. Remember, as you finish a course, or drop one that you are not going to work in, that frees up space! As the priority is to complete your current course load, students need to be 80% or more complete in a course before a new one will be added.
EBUS does run summer session every year where students can take 1-2 courses with teacher supports in the summer, with a firm commitment to finish by August 23. Registration will open in early May and more details will be in the April newsletters.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
Every year EBUS has more than $25 000 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 10. 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 will go out by email soon. If you have questions, contact your academic advisor.
COURSE SELECTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2024
For students continuing into the 2023-24 school year, EBUS will be doing grade presentations and course selections 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 process to select courses 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 February or March. 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.
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
- February 19 Family Day – EBUS closed, courses open
- March 1 deadline to request new courses – sooner is better
- March 1 work submission deadline for term 2
- March 15 term 2 report cards published
- March 23 – April 7 Spring Break EBUS closed, teachers not available but courses open
- April 15 Grade 12 scholarship applications due
- April 26 Pro D – teachers unavailable, courses open
- First week of May summer session registration opens
- 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) in a quarterly fashion, meaning by the end of term 3 or on April 19 students should be 30% complete. Those working on a semester fashion should be about 20% complete. And for students working in a linear fashion to complete by the June deadlines, they should be about 65% complete at this time.
PHONE APPOINTMENTS
I am working from home, so 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. 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 Friday March 1.