Dear families,

Colder weather often brings thoughts about travelling to warmer destinations. Here’s what you need to know if your child is not yet vaccinated and what it means for returning to school from an international destination.

We follow federal travel guidelines around COVID-19. These guidelines state that:

unvaccinated persons, including children, who travel outside of Canada cannot attend school for 14 days following their return.

This restriction also applies to:

• day cares and camps
• settings where they might have contact with vulnerable people (e.g. long-term care facility) or those who are immune compromised.
• Large crowded indoor or outdoor settings (e.g. amusement parks, sporting events)
• Crowded public transportation that does not ensure physical distancing

*Unvaccinated youth ages of 12-17, must fully quarantine for 14 days.

If you decide to travel internationally with your unvaccinated children, please coordinate with your teacher and school before you leave to ensure your child stays on top of schoolwork while they are away and for the 14 days following their return. There is not an option for virtual or hybrid learning.

For more information on federal guidance and restrictions, visit canada.ca/coronavirus. For provincial measures, visit bccdc.ca/covid19 or call 811.

It is the responsibility of parents and families to know and understand the federal and provincial guidelines and regulations before they decide to travel. SD62 follows the regulations in the links listed above.

Sincerely,

SD62 Communications Team

Dear Families,

From October 4 to November 12, 2021, all B.C. students in Grades 4 and 7 will participate in the Ministry of Education’s Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA). Based on the BC Curriculum, the FSA assesses students on three key areas of learning: reading, writing and numeracy. The assessment is designed by teachers, experts and the Ministry of Education.

Each assessment is made up of four parts: 1) Collaborative activity, 2) student booklet, 3) interactive online questions and 4) a student self-reflection.

Students do not need to prepare for the FSA in advance.

What is the FSA?

The FSA is simply a “snapshot” of how students are doing so far in their school career. It does not count towards your child’s marks/grades, nor does it provide a complete picture of your child’s ability or the type of learner they are. The information collected through the FSA is used by the school district and the province to align resources to improve student learning.

Some parents may receive materials from the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation. Please keep in mind that administration of the FSA is directed by the Ministry of Education, via a Ministerial Order. It is the School District’s legislated responsibility to ensure that this Ministry assessment is administered, students are supervised, and the data from the assessments is collected and transmitted to the Minister.

While the Ministry of Education expects all children in Grades 4 and 7 to write the FSA, it approves the following exceptions:

1. Students who learn in a manner significantly different from provincial curricular standards and, that is documented in their Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
2. English Language Learners who are not yet proficient in reading, writing or numeracy in the English language.
3. Students experiencing extenuating circumstances, for example a family emergency or lengthy illness.

School principals will determine which students, if any, may be excused from participating in the FSA.

Your support as a parent is highly valued. Here are some links that you may find helpful:

• FSA Brochure
• Sample FSAs
• More information about FSAs

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s school principal for more information.

Sincerely,

Scott Stinson
Superintendent of Schools/CEO
Sooke School District

Dear Parents/Guardians,

As Halloween nears, please take a moment to read the following guidelines. We would appreciate if you could go over these points with your child(ren).

These are general, district guidelines – please check with your child’s school if they have further recommendations or do not permit costumes.

SD62 Costume Guidelines for Secondary School Students:

• Face makeup is okay as long as it isn’t too scary (students must be identifiable).
• No costume masks are permitted. Students must continue to wear non-medical face masks.
• Friendly clowns, jesters, mimes, etc. are okay. No scary clowns please.
• No imitation weapons of any kind will be permitted.

Please use your best judgement to ensure costumes are appropriate for school wear.

For the safety of everyone, these guidelines are in place so that students can be easily identified. 

We do our best to create comfortable and safe environments in our schools and we thank you for helping us to do so.

Sincerely,

SD62 Communications Team

School District No.62 (Sooke) is in need of more Education Assistants.  If you have an Education Assistant Certificate or have completed the Community Support Worker Program, we are most definitely interested in hearing from you.  Please see the full job description and required qualifications on our website @ www.sd62.bc.ca, click on Employment.

Recently immunization consent packages for grade 6 students were sent home from the school. If you have not already done so, please return the completed consent form to the school in a sealed envelope as soon as possible by October 12/21. Students in grade 6 will be offered immunizations in school-based clinics with the consent of a parent/guardian/representative.

Immunizations will be provided at the school for grade 6 students on October 26/21.

Contact the local Health Unit at (250) 519-3487 if you have any questions.

October Arrives: Welcome to October at Journey! For those planning Halloween costumes, we will update the district expectations later this month. Thank you to all of our staff and students for their participating in the National Truth & Reconciliation events we held on Sep 29^th at the school. A huge thank you to our Na’tsa’maht Indigenous Education teacher along with students and staff for welcoming the Tour de Rock Riders with drums and singing; a touching addition to the events of the day! This month we also welcomed the return of some of or school sports – keep an eye on the ‘Upcoming Events’ section (beside this blog) – we will update this with school sports as well as activities within the school. Happy October!

Volunteers for Oct 26: We are looking for 3 parents to volunteer to assist with the Grade 6 immunizations that occur every year. If you are able to assist, please contact our VP, Mrs. Abell at kabell@sd62.bc.ca. Thank you!

Pro D Mountain Biking Course: Youth for Sooke and Nolan Riding invite you to a Pro D Day Mountain Bike Workshop on October 22^nd. For information or to register, please go to emcsprograms@sd62.bc.ca. More information is on the attached photo.

Creative Mask Day, Friday Oct 8^th: This Friday is Creative Mask Day at Journey. The masks need to be functional and the same size as the ones we are wearing now. Decorate it up for Friday! Prizes for Most unique, Most creative, Weirdest, and Most beautiful.

Dear Families,

As you are likely aware, student summary reports and more are stored in MyEducation BC, also known as MyEd BC Portal or Parent Portal. Please familiarize yourself with your MyEd BC Portal as it is a key source for information during your child’s education journey.

Sign in

Visit this link to sign in: MyEd BC Portal

Find your password

We have developed a tool to help parents/guardians look up their temporary MyEd BC Portal password. If you have never accessed MyEd BC Portal, please visit the MyEd BC portal page on our website here. Looking for your password? Use our password tool. If you continue to experience difficulties signing in to your MyEd parent portal, please contact your child’s school directly. 

Double check your personal information

While you are in your parent portal, please double check that all information (contacts, address, etc) is correct. If you need to change your information or need further assistance, please contact your child’s school.

Please familiarize yourself with your MyEd parent portal as your child’s information and summary progress reports are located there.

Sincerely,

SD62 Communications Team

Journey Middle has raised $25.00 online (as of September 20, 2021)

Great job! Thanks so much for all your hard work to fundraise for your Terry Fox school event this year. Let’s keep the momentum going!

We are proud to share that Journey Middle has raised $25.00 so far for this year’s Terry Fox School Run. Let’s keep it going! Please help our students build school spirit as they fundraise for cancer research. Donate today at: http://www.terryfox.ca/JourneyMiddleSchool #terryfoxschoolruns @terryfoxfoundation

On Thursday, September 30th, all SD62 schools and buildings will be closed to commemorate the history and ongoing trauma caused by residential schools and to honour those who were lost and the survivors, families and communities who continue to grieve. Our school year calendars have been updated

Hello Parents, Aug. 24, 2021

We hope you are all doing well and having a wonderful summer. The office will be open again on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. If you have any questions, please call the school and we will be happy to assist. We sent out an information email regarding 2021-22 in June, but the end of the year was a very busy time, so you may have missed that email. We do have one important scheduling change for Grade 6 parents below regarding the first day of school and we want to be sure the information regarding start up is very clear.

Please see the attached memo from our Board Office. Also, please continue to watch for emails from Journey Middle School or from the Sooke School District. As we get closer to September, we will have detailed information regarding the COVID guidelines and restrictions (let’s hope we will be back to somewhat of a normal year).

Start-Up for 2021-22
A staggered start to the year was one of the best decisions we made last September. For all students, the first day of school can be a little overwhelming, and for our new grade 6 students, the transition to middle school is always a little unnerving. Especially when they are surrounded by 590 other students. Last year, we were forced to stagger the start times and it actually created a calm, safe, successful start to the year. It allowed us to focus on the different needs of each grade level and it was the perfect way to welcome our new students to our school community.

So, for week one, we are planning to organize the following:
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Tuesday, September 7 – Grade 6 students only. Students will arrive for an 8:43am start time and will stay at school until noon. Bus schedule is yet to be determined, so parents may want to arrange rides for the first day. We are hoping to have buses running for the morning, which would be on the early dismissal schedule (regular morning schedule, and 3-hour early pick-ups starting at Noon). If your child is a bus student, this is the perfect day to ride the bus as it will only be new Grade 6 students riding the bus in this day.
Wednesday morning, September 8 – Grade 7 students only. Students will arrive for a
9:00am start time and will stay at school until 11:00am. We are hoping to have busses
running in the morning, but transportation will not be available for an 11:00am pick
up. Parents may want to organize rides for this pick up time.
Wednesday afternoon, September 8 – Grade 8 students only. Students will arrive for a
1:00pm start time and will stay at school until 3:00pm. We are hoping to have the buses
running for the after school pick up, but transportation will not be available for the
1:00pm start time. Parents may want to organize rides for the 1:00pm start time.

We realize this schedule may not be convenient for a few parents, but we feel this staggered start time is best for all students of a large middle school. We thought if we gave plenty of notice, parents would be able to arrange rides and child care for the first two days of school if needed.

A few more details regarding the first day of school – UPDATED
All Journey Middle School students will be expected to arrive at school on their designated day. All staff will be meeting and greeting the students outside when they arrive on day one. Our staff will help the students find their Advisory number and then students will be directed to their Advisory number that will be posted on the field. At that point, the teachers will show their students to their classrooms and spend the rest of the morning providing all the details and information needed to begin a successful year at Journey.
On a regular day, our first bell will ring at 8:40am. We will have students waiting outside until their teachers welcomes them in for the day. This will be the routine throughout the year, so we suggest students arrive as close to 8:40am as possible. All students will eat their lunch in their classrooms, and all students will be outside during the scheduled lunch and recess breaks. We ask that students come prepared to be outside throughout the year. The day ends at 2:58pm Monday to Thursday and 1:58pm on Friday.

Cell Phones at Journey
From the first bell to the last bell each day, we do not allow students to have cell phones out, so all students will be leaving their phones in their locker (if they are in use this year) from 8:43 to 2:58pm (1:58pm on Fridays). If lockers are not in use this year, students will be asked to keep their cell phones in their backpacks. Please discuss this expectation with your child over the summer in preparation for this policy.

School Supplies
A school supply list is posted on our website under “Links”. Students will not have to bring their school supplies on the first day, but we suggest they bring something to write with. Advisory teachers will be going through the school supply list with your child, so if anything is missing, you will get notification from the teacher.

Locks
If lockers are in use this year, all students will be given a school combination number to use on their lockers. Locks are built into the lockers at Journey, so your child does not need to bring a lock to school. More information regarding locks and lockers will be covered on the first day of school.

Agendas
Journey will not be selling school agendas. Over the past few years, we have spent a lot of money on school agendas, but we have noticed that very few students use them. If your child would like to use an agenda, please add this to your school supply list.

Transportation
All bus information can be found on our School District 62 Website including scheduled times and pick up and drop off locations. Buses will enter and exit the Journey property off Throup Rd. Students will be dropped off and picked up right on our school grounds.

Parking
Parking for parents, staff, school buses and visitors is always a challenge at Journey. We simply have no space available for the many vehicles trying to park, drop off and/or pick up students before and after school. For the safety of our students, please arrange for an alternate pick-up and drop-off location with your child. The parking lot on the school property is for staff and school buses only. This will be strictly enforced. We recommend arranging a drop-off/pick-up location by the baseball diamond or nearby, but not in the parking lot. This really helps with the congestion during our busy times. Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.

Student Fees
Payment for athletic fees, yearbooks, and lost textbooks/library books will be done through the online payment structure. Please refer to the instructions for online payment on our school website.

Class Lists
Our class lists for the upcoming school year are completed and no changes will be made at this point. Our team works very hard to balance classes and ensure start-up runs as smooth as possible for all students. However, if enrolment continues to increase, we may have to make some changes within the first few weeks of September.

Space at Journey
We are very close to being full in some of our grades for September 2021. If you know you will not be coming to Journey in September, could you please let us know as soon as possible.

Journey Website
We will be updating the Journey website over the next couple of weeks. Please become familiar with our website and visit it regularly throughout the school year.

A few dates to mark in your calendars:
Photo Day – Friday, Sept. 21st
Non-instructional Day – Monday, Sept. 27
Thanksgiving – Monday, Oct. 11
Non-Instructional Day – Friday, Oct. 22
Photo Re-take Day – Friday, Nov. 5th
Remembrance Day – Thursday, Nov. 11
Early Dismissal (noon) – Thursday, Nov. 18 (Student-Led Conferences for Parents)
Non-Instructional Day – Friday, Nov. 19.
If you need further information, have questions, concerns or ideas, please call the school office. Our clerical staff are amazing and they will be happy to assist you in any way. The office will be open again for parents and students on Monday, August 30th, 2021.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you again in September.

Pamela Gerrits, Principal
Journey Middle School
pgerrits@sd62.bc.ca (250) 642-5881

Further to the District’s message regarding school on Tuesday, June 29, we wanted  let you know that should you choose to keep your child at home because of the heat they can still come to school and pick up their personal belongings.  All belongings not picked up will be bagged and tagged to the best of the teacher’s ability and available for pick up at the front door on Wednesday, June 30 or Monday, July 5.

The school is open tomorrow and students are welcome to attend.  On days like today, some students arrived to find that they may have been the only student in attendance in their class and phoned home.  We want to assure you that students can spend the day at school and we will make arrangements to keep them cool as possible in a building with no a/c.  They may be placed into a cohort other than their own.

Breakfast and lunch programs will be available, but the day will not look like a regular day.  Buses will not be running.

Not the way we thought we would end the year!