April, 2007

Report Cards and Parent-Teacher Interviews
The important first report card of the second semester will go home with your student on the afternoon of Friday, April 20. Please take the time to sit down with your son/daughter and discuss the achievement (% and letter grades), work habits (G, S or N) and attendance (absences) recorded on this report card. Celebrate the successes and honestly discuss ways to support areas in need of improvement. After the report card comes home, parents are also encouraged to telephone the school to make an appointment to see your student’s teachers. Conferences will be by appointment only and held on Wednesday, April 25 from 2-4 pm and Thursday, April 26 from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm. To allow teachers time to prepare for conferences, the cut-off time for appointments is 1 pm each day, so be sure to phone early. Involved parents and guardians can be tremendously influential in student success in high school.

Early Dismissal Days
To accommodate the parent-teacher conferences, students will be dismissed at 1:00 pm on both April 25 and 26 - if you normally drive your kids to school, please make arrangements to pick up your son or daughter earlier on these days.

Grads of 2007 Receive PSI forms
At a Grad assembly on March 15, all graduating Steveston students had the opportunity to fill out a Ministry Post-Secondary Institution Choices form (PSI). Students could designate up to 3 post-secondary institutions in Canada that the Ministry will send “early admission” marks to in May and a final transcript to at the end of July. Students also had the option of selecting a global option that would send their marks to a most B.C. post-secondary institution or Ontario institutions. To have the Ministry send marks to additional or unlisted post-secondary institutions, a $5 fee is charged by the Ministry of Education.

International Issues Club Hosted 30-Hour Famine April 12/13
Steveston’s International Issues club organized the World Vision 30-Hour Famine over April 12 and 13. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness and funds for the plight of hundreds of millions of people around the world who face malnutrition and starvation every day. Over 30 students participated in a sleep-over at the school and each had secured at least $50 in pledges and went without food for 30 hours. Congratulations to all the students (and teachers Mr. Mitsis and Mr. Parker) for getting involved in this important global issue. Steveston students raised money and awareness for this important socially responsible cause - well done and thank you!

Spring Sport Seasons Underway
The Spring athletics season is already underway and hundreds of Steveston students are again representing our school wearing Packer “purple and gold” with pride. The senior boys’ rugby team has been practicing all year and has already played a couple of games to open the season, including a big 30-0 victory over West Van’s Mulgrave! The team is coached by Mr. Platzer and Mr. Wallace and the boys’ have shown significant improvement and growth already this year. The senior girls’ soccer team looked good in their two opening games (0-0 draws) and the team has an athletic blend of experienced and rookie players. The girls’ are coached by students Jamil Karim, Mike Paynter and Andrew Kowan and sponsored by Mr. Allison. Steveston’s large coed Ultimate team has been training hard since March. Coach Lancaster is pleased with the enthusiasm and disk skills of the team again this year and they hope to defend their RSSAA title. The golf team includes a skilled line-up of low handicap players and will be sponsored by Mr. Miyazaki . The track and field field team has been training in preparation for upcoming Richmond and B.C. meets this spring. The track squad is coached by Ms. Hansen, Mrs. Shrieves and Mr. Miyazaki. The talented tennis team, led by Mr. Mitsis and Mr. Wilson, has been practicing regularly and is also looking forward to an exciting season. The Grade 8 boys’ volleyball team has won all their opening games and the squad hopes to challenge for the RSSAA title in league play. The boys are coached by student teachers Mr. Wilkinson and Mr. Miller and sponsored by Ms. Ranisavljevic and Mr. Tillotson. Thank you coaches and sponsors and good luck to all Packer teams!

Intramural 3 on 3 Basketball
The “21” hoops and hockey tournaments have now ended and we have 30 junior and senior teams signed up for intramural 3 on 3 basketball. In 21, the division champions were Hamilton Ofiyai, Aliyah Muniff, Simon Chan and Mr. Allison and in hockey, a veteran staff team upset the favourites and won the coveted Stanley Can this year! Intramural the games are a lot of fun and they provide a healthy outlet for students during lunchtime.

Plant Orders Due Soon
Just a reminder that the Spring plant sale orders (an order form came home in the March newsletter) are due into the school by April 26 (pick-up is May 12). There is a wide variety of bedding plants and other excellent offerings available. Contact Linda from our Dry After Grad for more information at 604-271-0946.

Graduation Events
Our final grad class of 2007 is busy planning and preparing for their many upcoming special events to celebrate their graduation. The next event is the very popular Grad Boat Cruise. This years sailing will occur on Thursday, May 10 and the vessel, The Harbour Princess departs from the Bayshore Inn at 6:00 pm sharp (loading at 5:00 pm). The Grads will enjoy a full dinner, dancing and a 3-hour cruise around Stanley Park, Granville Island, English Bay, the Lions Gate Bridge and Canada Place before returning to the Bayshore Inn at 9:00 pm. The Valedictory Ceremony will be held at the South Delta Baptist Church on Friday, June 1 at 7:30 pm. All Grads will receive 2 tickets for family members and additional tickets can be purchased at the Business Assistant’s office. Finally, the big event, the Graduation Dinner & Dance is being held at the spectacular Pan Pacific Hotel in downtown Vancouver on Friday, June 29. This classy event runs from 7:30 pm to midnight. The year will conclude with the spectacular Dry After Grad party immediately after the Dinner & Dance back at Steveston school. Dry Grad starts at 1:00 am and all students must take the bus from the Dinner & Dance to attend. Remember - all grad events - Boat Cruise, Valedictory and Dinner & Dance events are completely alcohol and drug free and parents can help keep their kids safe by discussing and reinforcing these smart choices. Grads and parents can contact Mrs. Gillrie-Carre at any time for more information on all graduation activities.

CAREER CENTRE WEBSITE REMINDER:
Please log on to the career website on a weekly basis for the latest updates on post-secondary, career and scholarship information:

http://public.sd38.bc.ca/~ccnews/

DAG Garage Sale Coming!
Please mark Saturday May 12 on your calendar as our big Garage Sale fundraising event will be held at the school. This day includes a giant garage sale, car wash, bottle drive, Re-New Crew clothes donations, hot dog sales and more. We could still use some student and parent support for a variety of shifts and activities for this day. To volunteer, please call Peter Goyert at 604-277-2033. All donations to this event (garage sale, Re-New Crew, Bottles) should be dropped off at the school on Friday evening. Tickets for the actual Dry Grad Event for students includes entry to the event and luxury bus transportation from the school to the Grad Dinner & Dance at the Pan Pacific Hotel and back to the school. ALL students attending the Dry Grad party must take the bus. Much of our funding for this event is dependent on us providing a safe environment free of alcohol and drugs. ABSOLUTELY NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR - students should see the Business Assistant if they have not yet purchased a ticket to this awesome event!


Steveston Theatre Presents: The Wizard of Oz
The talented students & teachers in Steveston’s drama and music departments have been working very hard, rehearsing most days of the week for several months preparing for their production of the classic musical The Wizard of Oz. The show will feature both matinee and evening performances over the week of May 1-5 and some sneak previews at the 50th Anniversary Open House on April 28 - you won’t want to miss this great show - please contact Ms. Hoffman at Steveston (604-668-6500) for information on tickets.

Special Edition Packer Lapel Pins Available...
Beautiful collector’s limited edition “Steveston Packers since 1956” lapel pins are available for students, parents and all Packer lovers at heart. The 3-colour, embossed pins are only $3 and available in the main office. Don’t miss your chance to get a nice keepsake of 50 years of Packer pride!


Dates to Remember:

April 20 Report Card Home
April 25 & 26 Parent-Teacher Conferences (by appointment)
April 27 Pro-D day
April 27 50th Anniversary Athletics Reunion 6pm - 11 pm
April 28 50th Anniversary Open House noon-10 pm
May 1-5 Steveston Theatre Presents “The Wizard of Oz”
May 2 S-L Day 1 pm dismissal
May 10 Grad Boat Cruise
May 10 PAC @ 7 pm
May 12 Giant Garage Sale
May 13 Mother’s Day
May 18 Pro-D day
May 21 Victoria Day (school’s closed)

50 Years
Steveston Packers!
Steveston High Opened in September 1956 and 15,000 students have graduated from this great school