SCHOOL GOAL: How can each classroom provide a relevant program to increase student engagement and responsibility? SCHOOL THEME: Community Connections

ADMINISTRATION Welcome Back!! On behalf of the entire Chemainus Secondary School staff, we would like to extend a warm welcome to all parents/guardians of students attending our school. We hope that you and your family had some time to enjoy the summer and are ready to get back into the school year. As the new Principal, I am thrilled to be a part of this community and I look forward to getting to know our learners, their parents and our staff. I would also like to welcome long time Chemainus staff member, Ms. Jennie Hittinger as the new Vice Principal. New to our staff this semester: Ms. Kelsey Bell – English 9, Lifeology 9-12 Ms. Kim Magnan – Dance 9-12 Mr. Kyle Peruniak – PE 8-12, PFit 11/12 and Social Studies 10 Mr. Graeme Arkell – English 10 We look forward to working together as the new CHSS admin team. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, concerns or if you just want to drop in to say helloJ Ms. Lori Hryniuk, Principal lhryniuk@sd79.bc.ca Ms. Jennie Hittinger, Vice-Principal jhittinger@sd79.bc.ca Website http://chss.sd79.bc.ca Please bookmark our web page to keep up to date with the events going on at the school. There are many sections available but at this particular point, the Parent section has some valuable information regarding school procedures and the student code of conduct. Facebook: Did you know CHSS has a Facebook page? Like us on Facebook. See all the most current news from Chemainus Secondary. Watch for important dates, daily announcements, and upcoming events at CHSS. Respond and make comments on the posts, and keep up to date with all the “news from school!” Find us listed under Chemainus Secondary School or @ChemainusSecondarySchool on Facebook. COMMUNICATION AND PARENT CONTACT Parent support is a critical factor in student success and attendance is essential to achieving satisfactory progress. Parents/guardians are encouraged to make regular contact with their son or daughter’s teachers. In turn, teachers will attempt to keep parents/guardians up to date with student academic progress. This two-way communication can occur in several ways; phone, email, face to face. Teacher contact information can be found on the Chemainus Secondary website under the “Contacts” tab. Please update your contact information if changes have occurred. Send changes to chss@sd79.bc.ca.

CHEMAINUS SECONDARY SCHOOL

E-REFLECTIONS SEPTEMBER2017

9947DanielStreet,Chemainus,BCV0R1K1

Phone:(250)246-4711Fax:(250)246-2318

STUDENT ABSENCES If your son or daughter is going to be absent from school due to illness or a medical/dental appointment, please phone the school at 250-246-4711 to contact our automated attendance line press 1. Please leave a message on the answering machine at any time. You may also request that homework be provided, to contact our automated line press 2. Please call before 11:30 a.m. to arrange to pick work up at the end of the school day. SCHOOL DISTRICT 79 POLICIES For your reference listed below are some policies that you may want to review. 1) Admin Procedure 2550 - Healthy Schools https://bcsd79.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/38544?preview=40596 2) Policy 5100 - District Code of Conduct https://bcsd79.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/566?preview=37501 3) Policy 5110 - Intimidation, Harassment, Aggression https://bcsd79.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/566?preview=37502 4) Appeals Procedure Bylaw No. 2 https://bcsd79.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/561?preview=20246 NEW PRINCIPAL INTRODUCTION My name is Lori Hryniuk and I am excited to be joining Chemainus Secondary as the new Principal. I started out my life in Saskatchewan and moved to Vancouver Island to attend the University of Victoria, and I never went back! I have been in the education field since 1994, starting out as a Science, Biology and Math teacher, working in a few B.C. school districts and in Washington state, before landing in the beautiful Cowichan Valley, where I have lived and worked for the past 17 years. I have had the great fortune to work in all of our secondary schools in our district so I believe I have a wealth of experience that has prepared me for the role as Principal. I consider myself a passionate educator, a life long learner and an advocate for students and student learning. I LOVE what I do! Outside of my love for all things education, I am an outdoor enthusiast and I can often be found on our many, amazing trails either trail running, hiking or mountain biking, with my German Shepherd Dog, Jet. If I’m not on the trails, you might find me in the arena, as I play women’s ice hockey as well. I am excited to bring my experience working in a variety of secondary schools to CHSS, and I welcome the new relationships and challenges that this coming school year will bring. I have heard amazing things about the community, staff, and students, and look forward to having the opportunity to experience all that the Cowichan Valley has to offer. Please feel free to come by and say hello J STUDENT DRIVERS All students that drive a vehicle to school must complete a car registration form available in the office. LIFE THREATENING ALLERGIES If your child has a life-threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) or food allergy and you have not yet contacted the school, please contact Jennie Hittinger, Vice Principal, as soon as possible to arrange an appointment to discuss an appropriate emergency medical plan. Please call Ms. Hittinger at 250-246-4711. GRADE 9 IMMUNIZATIONS All grade 9’s will receive an immunization package very soon. These packages are to be returned to the office as soon as possible. BUS TRANSPORTATION All students that intend to ride SD79 buses, must be registered. There is no charge for students to ride. This year student bus schedules will be available through e-Link. You can register your child(ren) online or by paper form. Online: Please read the instructions, then go to (https://www.awinfosys.com/das2/sd79/default.asp) A photo bus pass will be printed for each student once registration has been submitted, approved, and routes have been established.

PARENT DRIVERS REQUIRE DRIVER’S ABSTRACT Our students appreciate the willingness of a number of parents to transport team members, field trip participants, etc., Parent Drivers are required to file, at the school office, a copy of their driver’s license and vehicle insurance, minimum $2,000,000 liability, as well as their driver’s abstract. The abstract may be obtained from an insurance broker or the Access Centre. The telephone number to call to request a Drivers Abstract is 1-800-950-1498, please ask them to fax it to the school at 250-246-2318. This process must be repeated each school year. STUDENT FEES The School Board has approved a $25 student fee for all students at Chemainus Secondary School. This annual fee is put towards a variety of activities including those of student council and leadership, the extra curricular program, and intramural activities. The School Board has also approved a one time $25 refundable textbook deposit. All Grade 8’s and any new students to the school must pay this deposit on the first day of attendance. If the student leaves the school before graduation, a full refund will be made provided all textbooks are returned in reasonable good condition. This year we would like the $25 deposit to be rolled into the Graduation Fee costs. Please make all cheques payable to Chemainus Secondary School. STUDENT PLANNERS All Grade 8 and 9 students are provided with a student planner that is to be used on a regular basis. Grade 8/9 students should begin recording daily activities such as homework assignments, project due dates, text/exam dates, counseling appointments, holidays, team practices/games and other important dates. Part of the Career Education 8 and 9 mark will come from the planning and organization of their planner. Please review pages 6 to 16 with your child and sign on page 25. We are also asking parents to sign the planner on a weekly basis until the end of October. Parents can sign on the top right of the weekly pages, under “Parent/Teacher Comments”. The planner also contains important school information regarding student services, school safety, the school’s code of conduct and tracking/goal setting forms. Students in Grades 10-12 may request a planner as we have printed extra copies – cost $5.00. EDUCATION PLANNER - myBlueprint Chemainus Secondary School is pleased to provide an exciting education planning resource available immediately to your students at school or from home. myBlueprint Education Planner (www.myBlueprint.ca) lets your child create an engaging and interactive Education Plan. They can build customized high school course plans, instantly identify the post-secondary options that are available to them and explore valuable information about apprenticeships, college program, university programs and workplace opportunities across Canada! With direct access from home, now you can also get more informed and involved with your child’s education. Log in and learn about courses, grauation requirements and the endless options available to your child. From their Profile, your student will be able to set goals, save unlimited plans, short-list programs and occupations of interest, record extra-curricular activites and more. To access the site, visit www.myBlueprint.ca and input the Activation Key. ACTIVATION KEY: CHEMAINUS myBlueprint helps ensure you can assist your child in making the most informed decision about their education. We encourage you to get started today and explore the web site with them. Please contact the school with any questions! GRAD TRANSITION – GRADE 12 Graduation Transitions is a 4-Credit requirement that must be completed in order for a student to graduate. No mark is assigned. Students will receive an RM (Requirements Met) upon completion. For more information contact Ms. Hryniuk, the counseling department or checkout the Ministry of Education website. As your child plans for life after high school, you may find the following Ministry of Education document useful for planning: 2017 /2018 GRAD AND DOGWOOD PLANNERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE The Grad Planner outlines graduation requirements, options for earning credit, exams, awards and scholarships and links to additional resources. The Dogwood Planner contains additional information on provincial examinations, receiving and sending transcripts, applying to post-secondary institutions and much more. Students use these guides to navigate through their gradution years, and on to the next big step in their lives.

Link to 2017/2018 Grad Planner: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/support/grad_planner.pdf GRAD TRANSITION CONVERSATION DATES Grad Trans A block class, semester 1 Thursday, November 2, 2017 Early grads (by sign up) Thursday, January 18, 2018 Last name starting with A-M Thursday, March 8, 2018 Last name starting with N-Z Thursday, May 3, 2018 GRAD PHOTOS – January 16- 19, 2018 SCHOLARSHIP AND BURSARIES (Ms. Hittinger) TheyearstartsearlyforourgraduatingstudentsastheymustnowstartthinkingaboutUniversity,Collegeorotherpost-secondarychoicesfornextyear.Costsareaveryimportantconsiderationwhenmakingthesefutureplans.Wewill beworkingwith the Grade 12 students this year to help them understand and to help them access all of themoneythatisavailableintheformofscholarshipsandbursaries.Grade12studentshavereceivedpreliminaryinformationonthescholarshipandbursaryprocess.WewillmeetwithGrade12’sinJanuarytostarttheapplicationprocessforlocalawards.ScholarshipsarealreadybeingsenttotheschoolandthesewillbeavailableatalltimesintheScholarship/Bursaryfiling cabinet that is located in Counselling. We will be advertising these opportunities on the daily “Bulletin”announcements,aswellaspostingnoticesonthescholarshipboardoutsideofCounselling.NottobeconfusedwiththeLocalScholarshippackage that isdistributed in January, currentlyadvertisedopportunitiesare forall studentswithinB.C.andCanada.Checkoutthesewebsitesformorescholarshipinformation!• StudentAwards

www.studentawards.com• ScholarshipsCanada

www.scholarshipscanada.com• FastWeb!–Ascholarshipsearch• http://www.fastweb.com• CanadianMeritScholarshipFoundation

www.cmsf.ca

• TerryFoxHumanitarianAwardwww.terryfoxawards.ca

• BritishColumbiaGovernmentandServiceEmployees’Unionwww.bcgeu.ca

• MinistryofEducationScholarshipsandAwardshttp://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/provincial-scholarships

ABORIGINAL EDUCATION

Uy’skweyul!Tansi!Welcometoanotherfantasticyearoflearning.Staffthroughoutthedistrictworktofosterinclusiveclassroomswhereeverystudentfeelsasenseofbelongingandexperiencesacademicsuccess.IfyourchildhasAboriginalancestry,(documentationisNOTrequired)andyouwouldliketoself-identify,pleaseseetheschoolsecretaryforaself-identificationform.EachyearyourchildwillbefundedforandincludedinAboriginalEducationprograms.Almostallprogramswillbedeliveredintheregularclassroom,toALLstudents.Youwillbeaskedtogivepermissionforanyactivitiesofferedoutsideoftheregularclass.YoucanoptinoroutofABEDservicesanytimebynotifyingtheABEDstaffinpersonorinwritingeitheratyourschoolorthroughthedistrictoffice2507480321ext235,dbeardsley@sd79.bc.caPleasegotohttp://abed.sd79.bc.ca/faq/formoreinformation.ABORIGINALSTUDENTSUPPORTWORKER Welcome back students and welcome new students. As many of you know, my name is Rose August and I am the Aboriginal Support Worker here at Chemainus Secondary.

Artist–StuartPagaduan

STUDENT EVENTS/GROUPS FOODS(Mrs.Pinnell)SoupandSaladBarprogramwillbestartingonFridaysinOctoberLEADERSHIP(Ms.Hittinger)This year our Leadership class will be kicking off agreat start to the year by running a lunch on Friday,Sept15.HotdogsandicecreamconessuppliedbyPACwillbeavailabletoeveryone. Theclass isnowinfullswingtoraisefunds

for cancerandgetourTerryFox runorganized. OurGoalistoraise$1000.TherunwillbeheldThursday,September 28.We could reallymeet this goal if eachstudentweretodonate$3!! Pleasehelpusreachourgoal!IfwedowemightgettoseeMsHryniukandMs.Hittinger sumowrestle or even dye their hair schoolcolours!! Help support the cause and let's all try tobeatCancer!

ATHLETICS ATHLETICS (Mr. Peruniak) Hello and welcome back! I am excited to be a part of the CHSS Athletics Program this year and hope to see you on the court or field in Cougar colours. This will be an exciting year as we hope to host some of the Island Tournaments here on our own turf. If you are interested in playing for one of our regular teams or have a sport you would like to play please listen to announcements regarding sign up or come and see me in the gym. This fall we kick it all off with volleyball. Ms. Hittinger and Ms. Bell are running the Senior Girls grade (11/12) team and the Junior Girls (8-10). We are currently looking for coaches to run the Senior and Junior Boys volleyball teams. If you know anyone interested (no experience necessary) please drop by the gym and chat with me. To parents! We are looking forward to meeting you and we hope you come out to the school to support your son or daughter in their sporting endeavours. Feel free to stop in and introduce yourself. Some of our games and tournaments do take us away from the school. Our athletics teams are always looking for coaches and drivers to help support these teams. If you are interested, or know someone who is, please feel free to contact me. Have a great year!

COUNSELLING AND CAREERS DUALCREDITINFORMATIONThis unique program enables Dual Credit Opportunities to be offered to students entering Grade 12. Studentssuccessfully completing courseswill receive elective credits toward their Dogwood Diploma, aswell as universitycreditwithVancouverIslandUniversity(VIU).CertificatePrograms–Spring2018AppliedBusinessTechnology–AdministrativeAssistantCarpentryHairdressingProfessionalCookLevel1RefrigerationAir-ConditioningMechanic(formerlyHVAC)WelderLevelCCompletetheadmissionpackagewithyourschoolcounsellor.TheywillsubmityourpackagetoVIUforprocessing.Successful applicantswill receive a confirmation letter prior to course start date. Complete these formswith yourschoolcounsellor.Formoreinformationpleasegotothewebsiteatwww.cc.viu.ca/dualcredit/

PARENT GROUPS PARENTADVISORYCOUNCIL(PattiOpenshaw)Hello! PAC welcomes all returning students, parents/guardians, teachers and staff back for the new school year. We also extend a huge welcome to anyone new to our school!! Summer went by very quickly but we are looking forward to jumping into the new school year. We hope that many of the parents/guardians will consider this as their year to get involved with PAC and we really look forward to strong attendance at our once a month meeting. During these short meetings we are able to accomplish a lot of things that contribute to the students school year. PAC is instrumental in your students school experience from helping to fund sports, dance and new classroom equipment to creating exciting new experiences for the students such as last year's car smash. Our fundraising also provides bursaries to graduating students. Our meetings are the third Monday of every month at 3:10 in the board room at the school. Our first meeting will be on Monday September 18th. Come out and be a part of this great work!

DATES TO REMEMBER September15 WelomebacklunchSeptember25 Noninstructionalday(noschool)September28 TerryFoxRunOctober9 Thanksgiving(noschool)October18 PLC2hourEarlyDismissal–1:10pmOctober20 ProDDay(noschool) STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE The School District No. 79 (Cowichan Valley) Board of Education does not provide accident insurance coverage for student injuries that occur on school premises or during school activities. Accidents can and do happen. Some injuries incur medical, dental or other expenses that are not covered by provincial health care or employer group plans. As a parent or guardian, you become responsible for these expenses. We do make available an Accident and Life Insurance Program for students. Participation in such a program is voluntary and the costs are to be paid by the parent or guardian. For your convenience, we have arranged a Student Accident Insurance Policy exclusively through Reliable Life Insurance Company. This program offers a variety of plans and benefits at affordable prices. Benefits included are: • dental expenses (resulting from an accident)

• total and permanent disability • paralysis/loss of use • special disability benefits • death benefits.

If your child participates in co-curricular activities or activities outside the school day, there is a plan tailored to your needs. All rates are one-time annual premiums. Family rates for 3 or more children are also offered. The agreement is between you and Reliable Life Insurance Company. If you wish to subscribe you can apply directly on-line at: www.insuremykids.com Any questions should be directed to Reliable Life Insurance Company toll free at: 1-800-463-KIDS (5437).

Student Accident Insurance is especially valuable for today’s active children. There is also a link to their website through the school district website: www.sd79.bc.ca