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Missed the Family Info Night? We got you covered!

10/15/2020

I know a few people couldn't make it tonight and were hoping for the information, so here it is. Thanks to the 176 families and 5 staff who were a part of this!

PowerPoint: See attached document. It's also hosted on Office 365 HERE.
Video Stream: Click HERE and log in.

Please note that we share this through the VSB login system to protect the privacy of students. If you are a parent, you will need your youth to log in for you to see the video.

grade_12_family_night.pptx
File Size:	12680 kb
File Type:	pptx

Consideration for Major Scholarships - Act fast before Friday, Oct 2nd @ 9 AM

9/25/2020

This is a post that not everyone will need to know about, but I also don't want anyone to miss the opportunity of school-level endorsement on a Provincial or National level recognition. I'm sharing a brief video I just made as well as the documents that go along with this one week process.

Five recognitions are included in this:

The Loran Scholarship
Schulich Leadership for STEM
TD Book Award
TD Community Leadership
Beedie Luminaries

As always, email me if you have questions, Mr Van.

van_tech_-_major_national_level_scholarship_sponsorship_info_sheet.pdf
File Size:	245 kb
File Type:	pdf

van_tech_-_major_national_level_scholarship_sponsorship_form_[fillable].pdf
File Size:	216 kb
File Type:	pdf

Grade 12 Family Information Night - Oct 15th

9/22/2020

Hey everyone,

Thanks to everyone who completed the survey and gave feedback about what they want to ensure is included in a Grade 12 student and parent evening. I've taken the 70 responses and written down all the questions peculating. I can promise that we'll answer all of these and more in our parent night. Here's the information for the night:

When: Thursday, October 15th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Where: Digitally on Microsoft Teams - Hosted on the Student Hub (students have access to this). Click HERE to join where the meeting will happen.
Who: Mr Moro (Principal), Ms Bighorn (Grad Committee), Ms Beetlestone (CLC Teacher), myself, and you! :)

Topics: Graduation, Post-Secondary, COVID, Scholarships/Bursaries/Student Aid, Grad Photos, resources/key links, and a heck of a lot more!

Please let me know if you have questions. I hope we can get 200-300 families represented.
Nick Van.

Start of the 2020-21 School Year - Super Post

9/7/2020

ello Grade 12 Students and Families!

I hope this finds you doing as well as you can. We've been working really hard in the background for the last week and a half to set up timetables, spaces, and helpful information to make this challenging transformation as easy as possible. I hope you find this helpful.

We went all out on Video Content!
Welcome back video from School Staff
Orientation Days Overview (Thursday & Friday)
Video explaining how to read your Sshedule
Video on How to make an appointment for changing your timetable (first 2 weeks)

The PDF below is the key document from admin of everything families need to know to start the year.

message_to_vt_community_first_week_details.pdf
File Size:	514 kb
File Type:	pdf

Return to School in September - First Full Info

8/26/2020

I know everyone is thinking about the return to school and what that looks like. Here is the offial word from the district passed onto our school admin. I'll be in Wednesday-Friday next week, but do not show up without an appointment. I'm checking emails regularly at this point. Cheers. Nick Van.
Key Take Aways:
1. Schedules are being worked on. Grade 12s are about as ready as we can be now.
2. Quarterly has arrived. 2 courses at a time for four parts of the year.
3. Students will have one face to face class each day and one online class they will be responsible for.
4. District video about what this will look like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW9GAj3n3ss

The Return to Schooling in June - What You Should Know

5/26/2020

In working with administration and staff, we have created a video for all students and families to help understand what June will look like, what to prepare for, and to answer what we assume is a lot of questions. While the video is 12 minutes long, there is a ton of information.

Thanks for taking the time to watch it. We miss you, and look forward to seeing many of you soon.
- Van.

return_to_school_-_june_1st__from_tech_admin_.pdf
File Size:	104 kb
File Type:	pdf

Two Very Important Resources

4/7/2020

Hi everyone,
To start... I've had the incredible job of contacting and checking in with many families and students over the last couple weeks and I just want to say I've been floored by the strength, resiliency, and determination of our families. It's really quite cool. Please reach out to me though if we haven't spoken and there is a technology or food need in your family.

I'm passing along two GREAT documents for everyone. These are the two I'd most suggest keeping bookmarked / printed / downloaded in a good spot on your computer.They are:

1. Logging into Office 365 and all things Teams. This one is for students.

2. An extensive VSB created list of supports for students and families. This has many clickable and awesome links.

Copies and downloadable files of both are linked below.
Much love, Van.

vsb_students_logging_into_office_365.pdf
File Size:	1333 kb
File Type:	pdf

contacts_for_supports_for_students_and_families.pdf
File Size:	726 kb
File Type:	pdf

New Central Hub for Van Tech Students

3/26/2020

As we go into a period of online school connection instead of face to face, we've decided as a school we need to have a central place for students to get timely information and be able to connect with people and resources they need and want! This is where Microsoft Teams comes in. Microsoft Teams, for those who haven't heard of it, is a software platform part of the Office set that lets people in an organization connect and share. It's similar to Slack, if you know that. All students and staff in VSB have access to it the same way that we have access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Please note that parents don't access/an account, so they need to work along side your child.

Working with my admin, I've created a Microsoft Team that we can use. It's starting basic, but we'll build to it quickly over the coming weeks. Students are now encouraged to come join and give feedback on what the space can and should look like.

Here's how you get on:
1. Click the link for the school's Microsoft Team HERE.
- This works on a desktop, laptop, or phone).
2. Choose between app, desktop downloadable program, or web version.
3. Enter in your VSB student details:
- Login: ######@learn.vsb.bc.ca (###### = your student number)
- Password: Whatever password you use to log on to the school computers/wifi
- Note: The login and password info have NOTHING to do with MyEd.
4. A request will be made to myself and school admin and we will accept your request as quickly as possible.
5. Start using!

Some Ways Microsoft Teams will be helpful:
1. One central location where students can get current information and ask questions.
2. A place for students to be able to video/audio conference with school counsellors.
3. A place for students to connect and communicate with each other (each grade has it's own channel, which is monitored by school staff).

Optional Next Steps:
1. You can download the Microsoft Teams app from the Apple Store or The Google Play Store.
2. You can customize your notifications (a good idea). Click HERE for a link on that.
3. Watch some helpful video tutorials and overviews HERE.

COVID-19 Supports List

3/22/2020

As many people now know there are a lot of supports being made available now or soon as a result of the current COVID-19 situation. Here's a good list that was shared to me of most/all (?) of them as of a couple days ago.

Using Google you can quickly find the key sites for signups on a few of them. Hope they help!

COVID Update - What to Expect!?

3/18/2020

I know there's nothing I can share that will really change the horrible situation that everyone is in, but I thought yesterday's announcement and then the following attached document sheds some light on what to expect and that might help curb some anxiety and give some sense of where we're going. I'd expect some model of distributed learning/online platform. I imagine there will be teacher training required when school is "back" after 2 weeks, but more will come out later.

Like everyone else, I'm here over spring break, so don't be afraid to reach out.

Also, I've attached the Self Assessment Tool for COVID from the BC Ministry of Health:
https://covid19.thrive.health/

218690-covid-letter[1].pdf
File Size:	215 kb
File Type:	pdf