October 13, 2023

Principal’s Message

It was great to see so many parents attend Meet the Teacher Night on September 21^st. The was a lot of positive energy in the building and our staff appreciated the positive feedback and kind words from the attendees. Thank you.

We also had a strong turnout at our Grade 12 Parent Night on October 5^th. Information was shared about the grade 12 year, graduation, grad activities, and post-secondary applications and scholarships. Here’s a link to Mrs. Cheng’s website to view the slides from the presentation. A reminder that on Monday, October 16^th, SDSS will host a BC Post-Secondary School Information Night. The evening is open to all grade 11 & 12 students and their families.  Attendees will be able to attend 2 school specific information sessions (6:10 – 6:40 & 6:50 – 7:20) followed by an open fair in the cafeteria where each school will have a table.

Finally, I’d like to express deep appreciation to our staff and student leaders for their efforts in contributing to a thoughtful and respectful acknowledgement of Truth and Reconciliation on September 29^th. Our students were witness to a thought-provoking presentation and video, followed by a reflective walk past over 4000 orange ribbons representing the unmarked graves of indigenous children  buried at Canada’s residential schools.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions, concerns, or even suggestions. tainge@deltaschools.ca

Read on to find out more about what’s happening at SDSS.

Reporting

With our hybrid timetable this year, you may notice some adjustment in the timing of our report cards and interim reports. For simplicity we have scheduled reporting for linear and semester courses on common dates.  This table shows when reports will be viewable on MyEDBC.

There are some other changes to reporting that go into effect provincially this year. These changes affect how learning is reported for students in grades 8 and 9.

What is different about this year’s report card?

You will notice something different on your child’s report card this year. Instead of a percentage or letter grade, you may find a single word that describes your child’s progress in a particular subject. It might say Emerging, Developing, Proficient or Extending. If you see one of these words instead of a letter grade or percentage, it means the teacher is using a proficiency scale to track your child’s progress.

This is what the words mean:

A proficiency scale describes the stages to become capable in a subject—able to use the learning in meaningful ways.

Elementary schools in the Delta School District have been using proficiency scales for the past four or five years. All schools across the province, from Kindergarten to Grade 9, will be shifting to this method of reporting this school year (September 2023). Last year, many secondary school teachers started making the shift.

 Why make this change?

Research has shown that proficiency scales can help improve student learning. Here’s why:

•   Students develop a clear understanding of each stage of proficiency for the subject. The teacher helps them understand what “getting it” means for that subject, and how to progress.
•   Proficiency scales emphasize learning rather than ranking.
•   Proficiency scales are more accurate than percentages at describing what a student knows and can do now. A percentage may be calculated by adding up points from the beginning of a semester to the end. A proficiency scale, on the other hand, encourages the teacher to pay more attention to the student’s recent and consistent achievement at the time of reporting.

Many of us think that percentages are precise descriptions of student learning. In fact, teachers arrive at percentages in many different ways. It is difficult for a teacher to explain why a student earned 82% rather than 83%. The percentage might reflect how many questions the student got right on an assignment, but it doesn’t reveal what the student might do to improve, other than get more questions right.

Here is a helpful article about this shift from a teacher’s perspective.^[1] It uses the term standards-based grading, which is another way of describing proficiency scales. (Reading time: 8-10 minutes.)

How are proficiency scales used to help learning?

Teachers can use these scales in all sorts of helpful ways to improve learning. Here are some examples.

•   Ms Jaxs develops what she calls her success-on-a-page, and gets the students to help. The success-on-a-page uses a table format to list the main parts of the course (the key learnings) and describe the levels of proficiency (the learning standard) for each part. This helps everyone get a clear idea of what success looks like. Every assignment is assessed with this learning standard. At the end of the term, Ms Jaxs and her students spread out the most recent, relevant assignments and match the learning to a level on the proficiency scale.
•   Mx. Winster uses the course-on-a-page idea but they create it themself and then go over it with their students. Before each assignment, they make sure students know which part of the course-on-a-page they are dealing with. Sometimes they show their students examples of what those levels look like by sharing assignments from previous years. Before handing anything in for feedback, students typically have to reflect on their achievement and, using the proficiency scale, describe their learning so far.
•   Mr Van Vleek organizes his mark book with the proficiency scale. Instead of adding up marks that students get on tests and quizzes, for example, he notes which level of achievement students reached for the different areas of the curriculum. He might give his students a test that actually addresses three different areas of the curriculum. So three levels of achievement go into his mark book—one for each area of the curriculum. This helps him focus on how each student is doing with their learning, rather than the scores they get on assignments.

How can I support my child’s learning?

One of the best ways to support your child’s learning is to be interested in the details rather than the “mark”. Try asking them what they are learning rather than what they are getting. Here are some ways you can focus on their learning (which in the end, benefits their achievement): How to Help Your Child Succeed at School.^[2] (Reading time: 10+ minutes.)

If you have questions about this change, please contact your child’s teacher, principal, or vice principal. We all welcome a conversation about learning.

Career Programs

Mr. Martens is our Career Programs/Work Experience Coordinator and is available to support students with work experience and apprenticeship opportunities (Grade 10 – 12). He can be reached by email at smartens@deltaschools.ca for any inquiries.

Each month the district puts out a newsletter related to Career Programs, Work Experience and Apprenticeship opportunities. Please see this months newsletter from Career Programs:

1. Career Corner:  https://deltalearns.ca/careers/newsletters/

Highlights in this edition:

1. 1. Junior Firefighting Camp Academy – Apply before November 17, 2023
   2. Take our Kids to Work Day – November 1, 2023
   3. ChatCPT & Resume Building – Article

GRADE 9 TAKE OUR KIDS TO WORK^TM

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

GRADE 9 ‘TAKE OUR KIDS TO WORK’ day – Wednesday, November 1, 2023 ~ Delta School District recognizes the value of Grade 9 parents choosing to organize their child’s day for ‘Take Our Kids to Work’ on November 1, 2023.  As parent/guardian(s), if you are organizing with your employer for the day, please inform your school of your child’s planned absence by completing and returning the notification form that will be sent home next week.  All forms are to be returned no later than October 27^th

Further details of this national annual event may be found at https://www.studentscommission.ca/en/take-our-kids-to-work

Photo Retakes (Artona):

Photo retakes will take place on Tuesday October 17th. Students who were absent from our first photo day will be required to come down and get a school photo for student identification purposes. Students have the option to purchase photo packages through Artona (www.artona.com). A complimentary student identification card is provided to all students. For students who are not purchasing a photo package but simply want a new identification card, there is a $5 processing fee. These students also need to surrender their original identification card.

PAC (Parent Advisory Council)

Our first PAC meeting took place Wednesday September 20th at 7:30pm in our Library/Learning Commons. It was a pleasure to meet some of our Pacer families and you are all encouraged and welcome to attend an upcoming PAC meeting. Our next PAC meeting will take place on Wednesday October 18^th at 7:30 pm.

Your Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) is excited to host a Hallowe’en dance for SDSS students in Grades 8 & 9! The PAC needs the support of parents to make this event a success, if all goes smoothly, we will host another dance for Grades 10 & 11 later this year.

The dance will be a black-light Hallowe’en glow theme, so costumes or dressing in neon or white are good options, but optional! The dance will be Oct 30th from 6:30 PM to 9 PM for grade 8 and 9 students from SDSS only (no out-of-school guests are allowed). Tickets will be $10 cash and will be on sale at lunch hour at the school from October 17th – 24th.

Please help us to make this event a success and ensure we can do events like this in the future by:

1. Please encourage your grade 8 or 9 student to attend. It will be fun!
2. Please, please speak to your child and have them understand that alcohol and/or
   drugs will not be tolerated. The SDSS police liaison officer has kindly offered to have Delta police officers on hand to check bags and perform sobriety tests if needed. Any child that has been found to have consumed alcohol or drugs will not be permitted to enter and their parents will be contacted to pick them up immediately.
3. Please organize for your child to get home promptly after the dance ends at 9 PM as Oct 30^this a school night. Please note there will be no in and out privileges, if they leave the dance early, they will not be permitted back in.
4. Volunteers are needed!  We need parent volunteers to help with set up/decorating; tear down/clean up, and chaperone during the dance. We are especially looking for grade 10/11 parents to volunteer as chaperones. A dance for grade 10/11 students in November is in the works and it is hoped that parents of grade 8/9 students would volunteer on this occasion. Please contact Morgan at morgan@dolejsi.netif you are able to volunteer a couple of hours.

Thank you, SDSS PAC

Grad Fright Night

As we work to sustain a positive and healthy school culture and build a strong sense of community among the members of the class, we are looking forward to hosting a Grad Fright Night Field Trip on Tuesday, October 24^th.  It is very important that grads and parents know that all events organized and sponsored by the school are alcohol and drug free. This is for the safety of students. Furthermore, as volunteer sponsors give up their time to supervise these events, we must be respectful of the responsibility that they undertake. The school has the expectation that our students will behave appropriately and utilize good judgment at all times.

Itinerary – SDSS Grad Fright Night – Tuesday, October 24th

■ Playland Fright Night, Vancouver

■ $70 (includes admission and transportation)

■ Students will meet at SDSS at 4:30 pm

and return to SDSS at 10:15 pm approximately.

Provincial Assessments – _Literacy 10/12 & Numeracy 10:

Literacy 10, Numeracy 10 & Literacy 12 are required components of the graduation program and students in grade 10 – 12 must write all three Provincial Assessments prior to graduation. These assessments focus on the demonstration and application of numeracy and literacy skills. Students will be excused from their scheduled classes for any assessments that they need to write. Below are the dates the assessments taking place this school year:

• Literacy 12 – Tuesday, November 2^nd
• Literacy 10 – Tuesday, January 16^th
• Numeracy 10 – Tuesday, April 16^th
• FRAL Oral Assessment – Tuesday, June 11^th
  • Specific assessment dates and times will be assigned and shared in an email to students and families closer to the assessment date.

Halloween Safety

Halloween is fast approaching and as students gear up for a night of tricks and treats, it’s important to remember to stay safe and respectful while celebrating the spookiest night of the season:

• If wearing a costume to school, students should be easily recognizable and/or able to identify themselves to any staff members when asked.
• Costumes that are offensive in any way will not be allowed. Please consider the rights maintained in the Canadian Human Rights Act when selecting costumes (e.g., race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family status, genetic characteristics, disability).
• School codes of conduct must always be followed, even when in costume. This includes maintaining respectful and appropriate behaviour with others and with school property.
• Replica weapons (guns, knives, etc.) are not allowed.
• The use and possession of firecrackers or fireworks at schools is strictly prohibited at all times.

In recent years, there has been an increase in anti-social behaviour from some youth in the community at Halloween. We recognize that this type of behaviour varies widely from school to school, from community to community, and even from year to year. However, we would like to remind students that vandalizing property, setting fires, fighting and underage drinking can have serious and potentially lifelong consequences including suspension from school, criminal charges, a criminal record, and injury.

We would appreciate all parents/caregivers having a conversation with their child(ren) regarding the need to respect our community and to keep Halloween safe and fun for everyone.