Jan 15

Operation KidSafe

A Family Safety Action Plan

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Today Wendy Hobbs, SD62 Board Chair, attended the official kickoff for Operation KidSafe! For the next year, Jenner Chevrolet-Buick-GMC will operate a free Operation KidSafe digital fingerprint and photo safety program. The digital fingerprinting station is a family safety action plan that provides parents with copies of their children’s fingerprints. These copies are for parents to give law enforcement if there is ever a missing child.

How it works: Operation KidSafe captures your child’s photo and fingerprints using a digital video capture device, and specialized software. The captured data is assembled and a quality 8 ½ X 11 printout is given to the parent. The parent can use the printout they receive to provide law enforcement anywhere in the world to instantly aid in an investigation.

Visit Chevrolet-Buick-GMC where one of their 16 staff members will help you capture your child’s fingerprints.

NOTE: Your privacy is protected…no database or records of children are maintained. The only record of the visit will go home with the parent for safekeeping.

All of us at SD62 think this is a great family safety action plan and we will be emailing the Operation KidSafe newsletter home to parents.

Click here for the Operation KidSafe Newsletter

Jan 13

Fundraising for Homeless Youth

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Up until mid February the grade 11/12 Leadership students at Belmont Secondary are selling toques to fundraise for Out of the Rain – a traveling shelter that gives homeless youth a place to sleep seven days a week!

After attending a Youth Addressing Poverty conference at St. Michaels University School in October, Leadership students Bridget Roberts, grade 12, and Stephanie Daniels, grade 11, found an opportunity where they could make a difference.

“It feels really good to help others,” says Daniels. “We just started selling the toques today, but it is empowering to head this project and to know that we can make a difference.”

The toques are selling for $10 each at Belmont Secondary during the lunch hour.  The school has also set up a debit machine in the main office for anyone who wants to purchase a toque outside of the lunch hour and for anyone who prefers to make a donation.

Right now the students have 20 toques in their possession and aim to raise $200 – an amount that would help Out of the Rain purchase warm blankets and food. “Once we sell the twenty toques we will start talking about a bigger goal,” says Roberts.

Jan 09

Jobs For Youth

Belmont Secondary hosts career information evening!

Students Health Field

Students Working

 

Did you know the BC Government is projecting over 1,000,000 job openings in BC over the next several years? Approximately 650,000 openings will be replacement jobs primarily due to retiring baby boomers. The other 450,000 openings will be new jobs as BC’s economy improves.  The government also predicts the number of workers needed will gradually become greater than the number of workers available.

 

What does this mean for our students? Career options and opportunities!

 

To get our students and their parents thinking about their future, Belmont Secondary is having a Careers Information Evening on Tuesday, January 14. Students and parents will hear from guest speakers from: the Vancouver Island Construction Association, go2 (BC Hospitality and Tourism), Applied Science Technologists &Technicians of BC, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 230 and WorkBC. These presentations will include labour market outlooks and employment forecasts.

Nadine Nicholson, the Career Education teacher at Belmont encourages parents to help their children find their passion. “Once students figure what they want to do, we can help them transition into post-secondary education and/or the workforce.”

Students and parents will also hear from Camosun College and school district representatives about career related secondary and post-secondary education opportunities that students can start while they are still in high school!

Enjoy some refreshments after the presentation in the main foyer. Presenters will have information tables set up in the main foyer.

 

Location: Belmont Secondary Cafeteria

Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

 

Jan 08

Aboriginal Education Newsletter

Our Aboriginal Education Newsletter for Winter 2013 is out. It highlights department news, early learning, elementary, middle school and high school news.

Click on the image to view the full document.

Aboriginal Education Letter

 

Dec 20

Happy Holidays!

Holidays

Dec 17

Wishart Elementary: Pay It Forward

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The grade three and four class of Wishart Elementary and their families were special guests at the City of Colwood’s council meeting last night. Each student was presented with the Pay It Forward award in recognition of their fundraising work for the victims of typhoon Haiyan.

In less than two weeks, the students raised an incredible $3,266.45 for Save the Children through their bake sale, bracelet sale, and community donations. The Canadian government matched their amount, which pushed their total donation to over $6, 500.  The City of Colwood also presented the class with a donation of $150 to send to Save the Children.

Thank you to teachers Deanna Brajcich and Michelle Bevan for overseeing the fundraiser.

Follow Wishart Elementary in the news:

Dec 16

Hour of Code

 “Hour of Code is a campaign to prove that regardless of age, race or gender, anyone can learn how to not just consume, but build the technologies of the future.”

  

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Last week Dusmuir Middle School participated in Computer Science Education Week! This worldwide event taught  children the basics of coding from Dec 9 – 15. The school had a total of ten participating classes and we can thank Dunsmuir’s Grade 7 and Curriculum Support Teach, Lenore Clarke, who heard of the event and urged teachers and classes to get involved. Mrs. Clarke says teachers were intimidated at first but were happy to learn something new and be positive role models for their students. The “Hour of Code” had students logging in for their online tutorials at the library and computer lab, and I hear some students may have found their new niche!  Over 10 MILLION students learned to write code last week!

 

 

“In its first three days, more students used the Hour of Code than Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram combined in their first three months. And it’s not a photo-sharing app or a game, it’s learning computer science.”

 

 

Dec 12

Trustee Election Results

On December 10th we held our annual SD62 board trustee elections. This year the board nominated Wendy Hobbs as Board Chair and Bob Phillips as Vice Chair.

WendyWendy Hobbs, Board Chair

Wendy has been on the SD62 Board of Education for 17 years, and is entering her fifth year as Board Chair. She served as the VISTA (Vancouver Island School Trustees Association) President and Vice President for two years each and has been on many community boards and advisory committees including West Shore Parks and Recreation, Langford’s Planning and Zoning and the WestShore Chamber of Commerce.

Wendy believes that relationships at all levels in our community are crucial in providing quality education for students. She is always looking forward to hearing from individuals and stakeholders, as it is the decisions made by the Board that will continue to make SD62 the best place to learn and work in.

 

 

 

 

bobBob Phillips, Vice Chair

Bob was first elected to the SD62 Board of Education in 1996. He is a retired teacher, clinical social worker and trade union activist. His areas of special interest include neurological and ecological research and how they can be applied to enhance children’s experiences in SD62. He’s a green thumb with a passion for carpentry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 11

Graduation Scrap Metal Drive

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In May 2014 School District 62 is expecting to have 103 Aboriginal students cross the stage at Camosun College! To help fund the graduation ceremony, Aboriginal Education is holding a scrap metal drive. Up until December 20th there will be a scrap metal bin located at the WestShore Annex in Colwood at 2137 Sooke Road.

Items being collected include:

  • Washers
  • Dryers
  • Stoves
  • Hot water tanks

For a complete list of accepted items please visit www.malahatmetals.com

 

Watch CTV’s feature story on SD62 leading the way for aboriginal graduation rates!

Dec 10

“Imagine” Concert Photos!

IMAGINE, a Christmas Fundraising Concert