Please click on the link for more information on Go Girls Fall 2021

Themed Fridays: 

This Friday: Favourite Character (sports, comics, books, etc)

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