Thank you to all the families who dropped off bottles for Mr. Sulzen’s bottle drive on the weekend at EMCS.  Your donations were very much appreciated.

Learning Commons Update:  We are very excited to be hosting the Salish Weave art collection (box sets 1-3) in the library learning commons this month.  “Salish Weave is a large private collection of contemporary Coast Salish art that weaves together the distinctive art form, designs and style of established and emerging artists. The collection stems from and mostly resides on traditional Coast Salish territories of British Columbia.” (https://salishweave.com/about-salish-weave/)  Students and classes will be invited to the LLC to view the collection, explore the themes, and learn about the artists.  If you would like to join in the learning you can view the collection and learn more at https://salishweave.com/.

Monday 

Cohort Zone rotation change for recess and lunch

Parent Advisory Council – Join us this evening for our Annual General Meeting.  We will elect a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.  Everyone is welcome to attend our virtual meeting at 7 p.m.

Microsoft Teams meeting  Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Thursday 

Popcorn Day – over 500 bags of popcorn will be delivered to classrooms today to all the students and staff who pre-ordered.  Thanks to Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Crocker for organizing this delicious event. 

Friday – Professional Development Day (no school for students)

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – even more staff were vaccinated this week than last so hopefully the end is in sight!

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Popcorn Sales – We are selling Popcorn from Kernels in sealed bags.  Flavors are: Kettle corn; Caramel’ Dill pickle; Ketchup; White cheddar; Butter/salt; and Jalapeño jack.  $2 per bag delivered on Thursday, May 13, but your order must be in by this Friday.  Forms have gone home, and extras can be picked up in the office.

Learning Commons Update:  In May we will be celebrating everyone as a reader and working to help all students identify as a reader at the Journey LLC.  Reading can take many forms and be for many different purposes, it doesn’t just mean reading a novel in print!  We encourage you to have conversations with your students about reader, share how you are a reader and help them find their identity as a reader.  We will be inviting people in our school community to finish the sentence “I am a reader because…” and would love to hear from you as well!  If you would like to contribute your I am a reader statement to help show students that reading can mean many different things to different people, please email Mrs. Wallace at nwallace@sd62.bc.ca.

You may also want to check out Brightly’s article How to Foster a Love of Reading in your Children and the link in the article with reading related podcast recommendations.  Happy reading and thank you for all your support with our efforts to help our students grow and develop as readers! 

Spring Out of Hunger!  Help us help EMCS get out the info to help our Local Food Bank.  Campaign ends on Friday.  EMCS Spring Out of Hunger Online Donation Link

Monday 

Cohort Zone rotation change for recess and lunch

New and final FAST rotation begins today!

Gym closed for Band National Filming 

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Gym closed for Band National Filming

Teacher Appreciation Day

Wednesday 

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Grade 5 Parent Info Evening via MSTeams.  7 p.m.

Thursday 

At 9 AM, David Bouchard will join us on Microsoft Teams to present to the whole school!  David Bouchard is a Metis author who lives in Victoria!  Our AbEd teacher, Ms. Fraser has been offering a series of fun activities related to David Bouchard’s books 1) “The Elders are Watching”, which is about environmental impacts, and connects to our Elder in Residence, Elder Bill, who is currently part of the Fairy Creek blockade.  2) “The Seven Sacred Teachings” (Love, Humility, Courage, Trust, Wisdom, Respect, Honesty);  3) “Nokum is My Teacher”, which connects to honoring important women, like mothers and grandmothers.  

Friday 

Last day to order popcorn! 

Mr. Sulzen is organizing a bottle drive on May 8^th at EMCS parking lot from 10am to 3pm. All funds will go to upgrading and improving the garden space. Our goal is to raise $2,000 to match our PAC’s generous donation. All safety protocols in place for safe drop off and pick up by recycling company.  Thank you in advance for your support. 

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – more staff were vaccinated this week than last so hopefully the end is in sight!

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Our Vision is Run to Be Here, and our Mission Statement is ASPIRE.  This week we wrap up our Litterless Lunch campaign in celebration of Earth Day (month) and hope new habits have been acquired by bringing food in reusable containers.  Our garbage accumulation was significantly reduced, and we thank you for your support. Thank you to BC Parks, the CRD and Journey’s PAC for sponsoring the prizes.

Learning Commons Update:  We would like to give a shout out to our librarian Ms. Wallace and our Library Assistant Ms. Peltomaki-Kelley. 

“It is an awfully sad misconception that librarians simply check books in and out. The library is the heart of a school, and without a librarian and library assistant it is but an empty shell.” Jarrett J. Krosoczka 

 Spring Out of Hunger!  Journey is getting behind the EMCS initiative to collect funds for our local food bank.  The Leadership Group is happy to host the fifth annual Spring Out of Hunger fundraiser from April 26-May 7. They started this fundraiser to provide much-needed support to the Sooke Food Bank during a time after the holidays.

In a typical year, they would be collecting food donations, but this year the emphasis will be placed on online donations to raise funds. They are hoping Journey Middle School Families can help us get the word out and of course we said YES!   All proceeds go straight to the Sooke Food Bank and people of all ages who live in our community.   EMCS Spring Out of Hunger Online Donation Link

Monday

Cohort Zone rotation change for recess and lunch

Tuesday

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday 

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Every April 28, workers gather to mourn and remember those who were injured or killed on the job, and to fight so that everyone can go home “alive after five” — or whatever hour their shift ends. It grew from CUPE in 1984 to other labour unions in 1985 and was federally recognized with the Mourning Day Act in 1991.

Yellow & black, the colours of caution, and the canary, the bird of warning from the early days of coal mining, are frequently used to mark the Day of Mourning.

Thursday 

Friday 

Happy Friday, can it really be the end of April already?

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – more staff were vaccinated this week than last so hopefully the end is in sight!

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Please click on the link for more information on Go Girls! Online Youth Group

Our Vision is Run to Be Here, and our Mission Statement is ASPIRE.  This month we are focusing on reducing our waste at Please do your best to send a Litterless lunch to for your child each day.  Each Monday morning, we will draw names for amazing prizes. Prizes are being provided by BC Parks, the CRD and Journey’s PAC.

It’s Spring and kids are growing! We’ve noticed they are needing some extra nourishment lately. Please check with your child to see if they are bringing enough lunch and snacks to make it through the day.  We have a breakfast program which students are welcome to access each morning, and a lunch program that they can sign up for each afternoon.  

Learning Commons Update:  April is National Poetry Month!  We invite you to celebrate with your student using one of these creative suggestions from the Academy of American Poets: 30 Ways to Celebrate the 25th Annual National Poetry Month.  You can also encourage your student to check out some of the great books of poetry and novels written in verse that we have available in the Journey Library Learning Commons!

• We also still have a few tablets available in the LLC for students wanting to try an audiobook or eBooks during silent reading!  There are some exciting early success stories from this pilot project – we are always working towards helping students identify as readers and develop a lifelong habit of reading.

Monday – Professional Development Day

School not in session for students

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday – Administrative Professional Day 

Thank you Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Crocker, and Ms. McIntosh (Wednesdays) for all you do for our school

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Thursday – Earth Day 

Friday 

Book Day in Canada – You know this has to be our librarian, Mrs. Wallace’s favourite day of the year! 

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – your support and patience is appreciated as we strive to educate your child and keep them safe 

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Our Vision is Run to Be Here, and our Mission Statement is ASPIRE.  This month we are focusing on reducing our waste at Please do your best to send a Litterless lunch to for your child each day.  Each Monday morning, we will draw names for amazing prizes. Prizes are being provided by BC Parks, the CRD and Journey’s PAC. 

Important health and safety information – we continue to follow the direction of Island Public Health and thank you for your support in reminding your child to follow the protocols.  We are aware of recent reports of exposures of schools in our District.  Should an exposure occur at Journey you will be contacted by the school and VIHA.

Learning Commons Update Did you know that in a study it was shown that “the same cognitive and emotional areas of the brain were stimulated” when listening to an audiobook and reading the same book in print format?  There is no need to feel guilty about listening to an audiobook instead of picking up a paperback and we should encourage our students to as well.  The most important thing is that they are interacting with books and view themselves as readers!  Read more at https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=audiobooks-increase-in-popularity-as-science-supports-their-value.

• Audiobooks can be accessed for free via the public library (https://virl.overdrive.com/) or through Audible Stories (https://stories.audible.com/start-listen).
• There are tablets available at school for students to use during silent reading to access eBooks and audiobooks, talk to your student to see if this interests them and to encourage them to contact Mrs. Wallace in the library for more information.

Flags at Half Mast – Our flags will fly at half mast until sunset of the day of Prince Philip’s funeral which is scheduled for Saturday.

Check out our Parent Workshop links on this website!

Monday

Zone rotation change for all students.

PAC Meeting tonight at 7 p.m.  Microsoft Teams meeting CANCELED

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday 

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Thursday 

Parent/Teacher Communication and Celebrating Student Learning – today students will be dismissed early at 11:58 a.m. to provide staff time to connect with families.  Individual teachers are setting up appointments.  If you are unable to meet today, please contact your child’s teacher for a date and time that work for you. 

Friday – school is open.  Pro-D day is Monday, April 19/21

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – your support and patience is appreciated as we strive to educate your child and keep them safe 

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Our Vision is Run to Be Here, and our Mission Statement is ASPIRE.  This month we are focusing on reducing our waste at school.  Beginning on Tuesday we are working toward a Litterless lunch.  This means bringing as many items in reusable containers as we can.  We will continue to follow our pack in, pack out practice, but step it up a level by producing as little garbage as possible.  Did you know that if every Journey student brings one packaged granola bar to school for lunch every day, our school produces over 100,000 pieces of garbage in one school year?  Every day for the month of April that a student has a “Litterless Lunch”, the class’ Earth Ambassador will enter the student’s name in a draw. On Monday morning of the following week, we will draw names for amazing prizes. Prizes are being provided by BC Parks, the CRD and Journey’s PAC. 

Parent/Teacher Communication – April 15 students will be dismissed early at 11:58 a.m. to provide staff time to connect with families.  Individual teachers are setting up appointments.

Important health and safety information – for all families, students and staff regarding masks as we continue to do our part to reduce the spread of Covid19.  If using a reusable non-medical mask, it must not be a mouth shield, have valves, or be a gator/buff style.   We continue to receive updated information from Island Health and our District and thank them for their support.

Welcome EA practicum student, Jessica Kuyper.  Jessica will be with us from April 6 – 30 and we are happy to have her at Journey.  Welcome Mark Blackman who will begin as our Student Engagement Facilitator (SEF) while Murielle Lagace is away.  Thanks again to Alex Saddington for her support in this role over the last several months.

Best Wishes to Grade six French Immersion teacher Ms. Sarah Munroe.  Ms. Munroe begins her maternity leave on Tuesday. She will be missed at Journey, but what a lovely reason to leave!  We should know on Thursday who is taking over for her for the rest of the year.

Learning Commons Update

New audiobook pilot project!  Is your student reluctant to pick up a book?  Have you/they tried listening to audiobooks?  We are starting a pilot project to explore whether listening to audiobooks will affect reading attitudes and engagement for students who don’t currently love reading.  All they need to participate is a public library card and you can sign up for a card online at https://virl.bc.ca/get-help/get-a-card/ if you/your student don’t already have one.  We have 10 tablets that will be available at school to listen to audiobooks during silent reading (in both French and English).  Encourage your student to see Mrs. Wallace in the library about this project.

April is poetry month!  We will be sharing many kinds of poetry in the library.  We would also love to create a display of poetry that is made from words found in a book.  We challenge you to create some poetry together and send it to school with your student for display in the library this month.  Thanks for your support!

Monday

Zone rotation change for all students.

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday 

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Thursday 

Friday 

Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE) will be working along side some of our PE classes today.  Thanks to Mr. Zac Vine for arranging these workshops.

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – it is appreciated.

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Please note:  Journey students will continue to be required to wear masks outside when moving between cohort zones, in the morning, and afterschool.

March 31, 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

During an announcement this past Monday by Dr. Bonnie Henry, new health and safety guidelines and regulations for schools were released. This update to the health and safety measures is being introduced as an extra layer of protection in response to recent increases in COVID-19 cases across the province, including Vancouver Island. Read the full release here. A summary of the changes is provided below.  We are currently updating our School Safety Plans and these updates will be available on our District Website.

Masks

Masks must now be worn at all times while indoors at school by:

• Students in Grades 4-12
• All staff
• Adult volunteers and visitors

This requirement includes while seated/standing at desks or work stations.

Please remember to send a reusable mask with your child to school each day.

Exceptions

Masks are required to be worn unless:

• A person is unable to wear a mask because they do not tolerate it (for health or behavioural reasons);
• A person is unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person;
• The mask is removed temporarily for the purposes of identifying the person wearing it;
• The mask is removed temporarily to engage in an educational activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask (e.g. actively playing a wind instrument, high-intensity physical activity, etc.);
• A person is eating or drinking;
• A person is behind a barrier;
• A person is communicating to another person who has a disability or diverse ability (including but not limited to a hearing impairment), where visual cues, facial expressions and/or lip reading/movements are important.

On the school bus

Staff, adult volunteers and all Grades 4-12 students are required to wear a mask on the school bus.

Exceptions

The recommendation above should not apply as follows:

• To a person who is unable to wear a mask because they do not tolerate it (for health or behavioural reasons);
• To a person unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person;
• If the mask is removed temporarily for the purposes of identifying the person wearing it; or
• While eating or drinking.

Kindergarten to Grade 3 students

Primary students are encouraged to wear a mask at school and on buses, but are not required to do so.

Please remember to send a reusable mask with your child to school each day.

Implementing this new requirement

For some of our schools, mostly elementary schools, where students are not used to wearing masks indoors, staff will spend the next few days helping students to adjust to this change. Please have a conversation about these new guidelines with your children.

Places masks are not required

Students will be able to remove their masks while outside, including at recess, lunchtime and while learning outside. As the weather improves, teachers will continue to look for opportunities to move their classes outside.

Teachers will go through these updates and changes with your children and we encourage you to do the same at home.

Families and students can find up-to-date information about K-12 schools at: https://www.gov.bc.ca/safeschools

Thank you again for helping us adapt to these changes.

Sincerely,

Scott Stinson

Please select link for Youth Art Exhibition call for submissions for “Mindfulness in May” The Art of Kindness.

Welcome Back from Spring Break – We hope everyone had time to do some fun activities and enjoy sleeping in! 

Our Vision is Run to Be Here, and our Mission Statement is ASPIRE.  This week we are focusing on being good community citizens and providing input into Sooke’s new Official Community Plan (OCP).  The District of Sooke is looking for everyone’s ideas, but especially for the opinions of 12-14-year-old students.  Please go on with your family to picturesooke.ca and let the mayor and council know what you’d like Sooke to look like as we grow over the next 10 years.

Several Cohort Changes beginning Monday, March 29:

The following cohort groups will be together after spring break. Cohort groups spend recess and lunch times together and share the same zones during these times. It is up to the teachers involved if they wish to collaborate and spend more time together outside of these times. This is done following all COVID-19 protocols put out by the Ministry of Health.

Divisions 1 (Sulzen) & 2 (Barnes), Divisions 3 (Vine) & 4 (Walker), Divisions 5 (Nadeau) & 6 (Sims), Divisions 7 (Croft), 8 (Winser), & 9 (Robirtis/Johnston), Divisions 10 (Federici) & 12 (Maragh), Divisions 13 (Gitzel/McClintock) & 11 (Donegani/Jones/Archer), Divisions 14 (Gautam) & 18 (Quint), Divisions 15 (Tran) & 16 (Munroe), Divisions 17 (Dvorak) & 20 (Elm), Divisions 19 (Van Hooydonk) & 21 (Wiens). Zone 4 will not be in use and zone 2 will be put back into use.

Shout out to our PAC for always supporting our requests for funding and always putting students first.  Your hard work and dedication is appreciated! 

Registration Date: Hockey Academy sign-up for the 2021-22 school year in some age groups.  Students may still register and be placed on a waitlist.

Parent/Teacher Communication – April 15 would usually be our Celebration of Learning Event; however, we will be not having any open house again this year.  Students will be dismissed at 11:58 a.m. and staff will use the afternoon and evening to connect with parents.  Staff may use other times than this to connect and will be putting out information to families over the next few weeks.

Monday

Cohort (gr. 6 & 7) change and  Zone rotation change for all students.

Tuesday 

Skateboarding Club – First Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules. Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Wednesday 

Skateboarding Club – Second Lunch students with signed waivers and proper gear. No exceptions to any of the rules.  Listen to announcements each morning for additional opportunities.

Thursday 

Good Friday –School not in session.  We will see you Tuesday, April 6

Thanks for doing your part during the pandemic – it is appreciated. 

Daily Health Check – please remember to follow the DHC and not send your child to school if they are not well.  If a student becomes unwell, or tells us they are unwell, at school, they will wait for pick up in our Supervision Room which is sanitized between guests.  Up to two students can be in the room at one time (physically distanced and masked).  Masks – please continue to provide and remind your child to bring a mask to school each day.

Happy Spring Break to all our students and families.  We are going into this Spring Break much more hopeful than last year, happy to know vaccines are rolling out and Dr. Henry has given us permission to meet safety with our group of 10 bubble!

We are part of a pilot for communicating student learning in different ways.  This year you would have been receiving Points of Progress and/or Report Cards (teacher choice) with information of your child’s academic progress. Because they are final assessments, Fine Arts, Applied Skills, Technology ( F.A.S.T. ) rotation marks are inputted into your child’s MyEd account at the end of each rotation.  You should be able to see FAST 2 and FAST 3 marks now.  If you have not received information about your child’s progress in all subject areas (except for Careers) please contact your child’s teacher.

In September Journey will be welcoming a new principal, Ms. Pam Gerrits.  Ms. Gerrits is currently the Vice-Principal at Dunsmuir Middle School and brings with her a wealth of middle school knowledge and experience.  She is a musician and music teacher and plays in the Island Big Band and often with the Greater Victoria Concert Band.  She will be transitioning into her new role for September and meeting with some of our students and staff over the next few months.  Mrs. Abell will continue to be our vice-principal.

Again, enjoy the sunshine and the break and we will see everyone Monday, March 29.