Principal’s Update – March 1st 2016
February has passed and March is upon us and as one can see below, the building is vibrant and alive with activity. It is hard to believe that there are only 14 teaching weeks left in the school year and this last portion tends to fly by rather quickly. An important note for parents. We are now in the process of course planning with students for next year. Counsellors have been visiting classes and reviewing course options for students at each grade level. It is an important event as it is student choice that drives course options for the 2016 – 2017 timetable. Please take some time to review, with your son/daughter, the course selection book that can be found on the school website. Once all of the selection data has been entered, later in the school year, a course verification form will be sent home with each student for parents to review, sign and return. More to come.
We hope that you have the opportunity to spend some quality time with your loved ones during spring break which starts Saturday, March 12th. We look forward to everyone’s safe return on Tuesday, March 29th.
Important Dates to Note
March 2nd – Music Concert @ 7:00pm
March 12th – WSS Dry Grad Pub Night @ Haney Public House @ 6:00pm – tickets $20
March 12th – 28th – Spring Break, School is not in Session, Westview Dry Grad Pub Night – details below
March 29th – School Back in Session
April 2nd – Grad Bottle Drive
April 5th – Grad Committee Meeting
April 7th – Report Cards will be sent home with students at the end of the day
April 11th – PAC Meetings @ 7:00pm in the Library, all parents are welcome
April 12th – Assembly for Grade 8 – 11 Qwalena, The Wild Woman Who Steals Children, Zumba Grad Fund Raiser (details to come)
May 2nd – Curriculum Day, Students not in Session
May 3rd – Grad Committee Meeting
May 20th – NID Students are not in Session
May 23rd – Victoria Day School is not in Session
May 24th – Year End Music Concert
May 25th – Grade 8 students stay home, incoming grade 7 student visit for the day
May 30th – PAC meeting in the WSS Library @ 7:00pm all parents welcome.
May 31st – Grad Committee Meeting
Celebrating Wildcat Success
Honour Roll with Distinction (Straight A) – students will be attending lunch hosted by Ms GieSinger and Mr. Stanley on Thursday, March 3rd. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments. Congratualtions!
Calia Alexander, Sierra Alexander, Alanna Batista, Lily Ferguson, Hannah Goddard, Dawson Gosse, Romina Hajizadeh, Ciara Jensen, Paige Lohnes, Danika Mullin, Abby Radford, Katerina Romanenko, Emily Somogyi, Layla Burgess, Brody Clark, Teagan Gratton, Allison Jones, Megan Pachmann, Owen Swan, Teng-Hung Chang, Zikora Dozie, Braeden Gervais, Gary Jensen, Heather Kelly, Seth Rogers-Dueck, Jarred Terrones, Shuang Xie, Connor Kaloff, Marina Levene, Eunju Ong, Hana Pauls, Henry Qin, Kurt Drexl, Trevor Roberts, Torin Scott, Tatiana Tuzzi, Lucia Lassaletta Gonzalez, Sigrid Neffgen
Microsoft Office Master Certification – congratulations to the following students who have earned this prestigious accomplishment to date. Well Done!
Kohl Puffer, Cassandra O’Callaghan, Braeden Gervais, Charles Llanto, Mathew Way, Caspian Burns
Microsoft IT Academy
The Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) program provides industry-leading technology skills to help bridge the skills gap. With the Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) program, academic institutions and their educators, students and staff get digital curriculum and certifications for fundamental technology skills — as well as courses critical for students to be successful in today’s technologically evolving world.
To date there have been well over 200 Microsoft certifications earned by WSS students in the Microsoft IT Academy. Many students have earned multiple certifications by demonstrating professional competency in one or more of the following courses; Microsoft Word 2013, Excel 2013, PowerPoint 2013 Outlook 2013, Access 2013, SharePoint 2013, & OneNote.
Three Wildcats students represented Canada at the World Championships last summer. Nash Taylor Canadian Champion in Excel 2nd in the world, Trevor Dean Canadian Champion in PowerPoint 5th in the world and Phillip McBride Canadian Champion in Word 4th in the world.
Course Selection for September 2016
Course planning for next year is well under way. Counsellors are currently visiting classes and guiding students through the process.
All students are expected to carry eight courses with the exception are Grade 12’s who carry a minimum of seven courses plus grad transitions 12. Grad Trans 12, as it is called, is a non-graded but required course set by the Ministry of Education. This course is delivered through Advisory assemblies and students have a designated block to work independently through the learning outcomes however, they are expected to submit work at designated deadlines. Grade 12’s are expected to complete grad transitions by the end of January if not sooner. Once finished, this block of time rolls over into a study block for the remainder of the year.
The school timetable construction is driven by student interest and student choice. Courses and the number of sections of each course offered to students are generated by student choice. Therefore, it is critical that students take time to make thoughtful course selections. Once the timetable has been constructed and finalized it is challenging for counselors to accommodate course changes in September.
Law 12 – An Authentic Forensic Experience for Westview Students
This year the Law 12 students have been introduced to the field of forensic science investigation within the policing unit. Forensic science is the application of biochemistry and other scientific techniques to criminal investigation. Therefore, the best way for the students to learn this would be to take a very hands on approach to learning this unit. Nine different crime scenes were set up throughout the school. In each crime scene the scenario and evidence were the same. The students, in groups of five, were responsible for solving the case of who murdered Mr. Stanley. Through the collection of forensic evidence and the analysis of this evidence in the science lab, the students have to narrow their search of potential suspects. The students must use the knowledge that they have gained throughout the unit and apply it to this investigation. They must not only learn how to collect and analyze the evidence but they must be able to interpret this evidence and interview potential suspects. By the end of this project the students should have a better understanding of the inter-relationships among science, technology and human activity as it applies to forensic science and the criminal justice system
A Day in Victoria – Feb 24th 2016
On a beautiful spring-like day, 50 Social Studies 11 students and 4 Staff from Westview Secondary visited our provincial capital in Victoria. While there, the students explored the many fascinating exhibits in the Royal BC Museum, and then took a tour of our Legislative buildings. After the tour, we were able to observe some exciting debates by the MLA’s during Question Period, and finally ending with a tour around the picturesque Victoria Harbour area. Overall, the students had a very entertaining and educational day.
Upcoming Assembly – Qwalena, Tuesday, April 12th for grades 8 – 11
Qwalena: The Wild Woman Who Steals Children. The purpose of this presentation is to create awareness on the inter-generational impact of Indian residential schools. Storytelling is an oral tradition that Aboriginal speaker Dallas Yellowfly blends with modern multimedia tools to create intrigue on a controversial subject. Qwalena is an allegorical creature that represents the Indian agents who stole Aboriginal children from their families and forced them into government funded Indian residential schools under Canada’s aggressive assimilation policy. Yellowfly’s own father was one of these children. Using his experience in stand-up comedy, film making, and song writing Yellowfly creates an engaging experience for audiences of all ages. This presentation promotes an understanding of how many Aboriginal youth can develop a strong cultural identity in the wake of residential schools.
Literacy Week Events and Activities in the Wildcat Den – April 18 to 22
Prior to Literacy Week: Book cover contest will be starting last week in February.
Criteria, paper, etc. all ready to go. Book covers will be due Monday, April 4th. (to be judged by people from the art world). This contest is open to all WSS students—not just art students. Book covers will be on display in the library starting April 11th. Prizes will be presented to the best top ten.
Coming soon: We will be asking all staff members to bring their favourite book to school (or tell us and we’ll find a copy). We would like to take their picture holding their book. These pics will be on display during Literacy Week.
We would like to do the same with all students who are interested. If they email their selfie, we will print them.
Monday, April 18th: Book cover contest winners to be announced on the PA to officially kick off our Literacy Week. English classes will participate in Micro-fiction stories. Students in each class will select the Top five recipients for prizes. There will be a Jeopardy game at lunch in the library. All day in the library students will cut out 30 words that appeal to them from newspapers and magazines and construct poems to be displayed.
Tuesday, April 19th: English classes participate in Mircro-fiction stories. Drama students participating in Shakespeare scenes at lunch in the library. All day in the library there will be Team Spelling Bees
Wednesday, April 20th: Poetry art at lunch in the library. Poetry in your pocket contests.
Guest speaker, author Maggie De Vries, will be speaking to the junior students as well as the senior students in two separate workshops in the afternoon. More info to come.
Thursday, April 21st: WSS hosts the district event – Battle of the Books in the library. Over 100 students participate in this annual event.
Friday, April 22nd: Poetry Café in the library all afternoon.
New Curriculum Implementation
As many parents are now aware grade 8 and 9 students are going to be impacted by new curriculum implementation in September 2016. The Westview staff is working hard at making the transition as smooth as possible and are committed to multiple professional development opportunities to prepare themselves for the implementation. BC has identified three core competencies – Communication, Thinking, and Personal and Social Competency as essential for all learners. During the most recent Professional Development Day, the WSS staff spent time with a focus upon the competency of “thinking”. Guided by an expert in this field, Roland Case, they explored the topic of “critical, creative and collaborative dimensions of thinking” and examined successful teaching strategies found to engage and enhance student thinking.
Interested to know more about the New BC Curriculum? Below is the link. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/rethinking-curriculum
Athletics
The Westview gyms and fields have been busy these last few months. Fall Sports including field hockey, volleyball, soccer, swimming, curling kept students active and energized. We have just finished up an impressive basketball season with 4 of 5 teams making it to the district playoffs. The Junior Boys teams won the District Championships!!!! Another banner up in our gym! 3 wrestlers are participating in the Provincial Championships in Abbotsford this weekend, good luck to them.
Spring will see more soccer, rugby, ball hockey, badminton, tennis, track and field. IF you would like to coach or sponsor a team, please do not hesitate to contact the school!!!!
We are WILDCATS!
SEE AND WATCH US ROAR!
Westview Secondary School Wrestling Program is looking to develop a partnership with Elementary Schools feeding into Westview. (Glenwood, Fairview, Hammond, Laity View and MRE).
What we are looking to do is invite these schools to Westview Secondary School from March 29th – April 26th, leading up to the “Wildcat Invitational Wrestling Tournament” Wednesday April 27th from 3 pm until Tournament end. Each feeder school will practice twice/week on designated days from 3-4 pm.
We will charge each student $10 which will include:
- Tournament T-Shirt
- Medals/ribbons
- Coaching, Training, etc. associated with the sport of Wrestling
I will contact all schools/principals with further details before spring break. If you have any questions, concerns please feel free to contact me at gregory_brock@sd42.ca.
Graduation Fundraising Event
Westview Dry Grad Pub Night – Saturday, March 12th @ 6:00pm @ The Haney Public House, 22222 Lougheed Highway. Tickets include: Beef, chicken, or veggie burger, salad or fries, and a alcoholic beverage. Canucks hockey game will be televised and live band Scorpions Tribute “Blackout”. As well there will be a silent auction, toonie toss and 50/50 draw. For tickets please contact: Romina 604-375-2950, Loren 604-871-3407 or email rominaorchard@gmail.com
Hospital Homebound Support
Do you have a son or daughter who is ill or injured and unable to attend school?
School District No. 42 provides support to students who are unable to attend school for medical reasons. The Hospital Homebound teacher works with elementary and secondary students who have not been allocated support teacher time through a special needs designation. Students may be absent due to a non-contagious illness or they may be recovering from surgery or an injury. Instruction is provided in Ridge-Meadows Hospital or in the student’s home.
How does Hospital Homebound support work?
The Hospital Homebound teacher provides direct instruction and support to students, with the goal of helping them return to class with as little interruption to their education as possible. The teacher also helps students maintain connections with the people and programs at their school. While receiving Hospital Homebound support, students continue to be registered at their school and in their classes. Students work on the core academic subjects. They often use the same materials and complete many of the same assignments as their classmates, although some adaptations may be necessary depending on the child’s illness. Students typically receive two to three hours of support each week.
When can a student be referred?
Homebound students qualify for support if they are absent from school for 10 consecutive school days. Students who are hospitalized can be referred upon admittance to Ridge-Meadows Hospital.
How do I refer my son or daughter?
Contact your child’s teacher, counsellor, or administrator. He/she will complete the Student Support Services referral form. A physician’s authorization form is also required (available at the school). For more information, contact Natalie Gehm, the Hospital Homebound Teacher, at 467-1101, or by email at ngehm@sd42.ca.
Stay Connected to Westview Secondary
As part of our commitment to make our communications digital and more eco-friendly, we no longer send home paper newsletters or notifications. We will keep you up-to-date with news and happenings around the school through our school website (wss.sd42.ca), our twitter account (@WSSsd42), the SD42 Parent Portal (parents.sd42.ca) and our WSS App that provides parents with the entire school calendar of events.
