January 2007

Principal’s Message
Welcome to a very exciting year at Steveston Secondary School. We look forward to celebrating our great school’s 50th anniversary (on April 27 & 28) and while we are all perhaps a little sad at the closing of Steveston, we also eagerly anticipate the opening of the new and exciting Steveston-London Secondary School later this year. Our goal is to bring all that is fabulous about Steveston High and blend it with the rich traditions at London Secondary and create an even better place for students. It is a tremendous opportunity for our students, staff and community.

After a relaxing two-week break, students “hit the ground running” when they returned to school and the end of the first semester upon us. Parents and guardians can help their teens during this stressful time by ensuring they eat well, get enough sleep and possibly reduce the amount of part-time work and other extracurricular commitments they have at this time of year. The end of the term is typically filled with many major projects, culminating classroom activities, essays and Provincial Exams. Help your son or daughter be as successful as they can!

On behalf of all the staff at Steveston, I hope that 2007 brings us all good health, happiness and peace.

PROVINCIAL EXAM SCHEDULE FOR SEMESTER 1 - 2007:
Students are reminded that important Provincial Exams are only a month away. Please check the schedule carefully (Grade 8-11 school-based final exams will be scheduled in January):

Monday, Jan. 29 COMMUNICATIONS 12 9-12:00 am
FRENCH 12 9-12:00 am
ENGLISH 10 9-12:00 am
Monday, Jan. 29 HISTORY 12 1-4:00 pm
SOCIALS 11 1-4:00 pm

Tuesday, Jan. 30 ENGLISH 12 9-11:30 am
Tuesday, Jan. 30 MATH 10 1-4:00 pm

Wednesday, Jan. 31 LITERATURE 12 9-12:00 am
SCIENCE 10 9-12:00 am
Wednesday, Jan. 31 MATH 12 1-4:00 pm

Thursday, Feb. 1 BIOLOGY 12 9-12:00 am
Thursday, Feb. 1 PHYSICS 12 1-4:00 pm

Friday, Feb. 2 GEOGRAPHY 12 9-12:00 am
Friday, Feb. 2 CHEMISTRY 12 1-4:00 pm

Students are urged to begin studying and preparing now - give yourself your best chance at success. Grade 10 & 11 exams are worth 20% of the final mark, Grade 12 exams are worth 40% - and all Ministry scholarships are based on exam results. Check out old exams and answer keys at: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/search/exsection.htm

Special Information Evening for Grade 7 Students and Parents on February 6
All parents and students in Grade 7 planning to attend Steveston-London Secondary School in September, 2007 are invited to attend an information evening at London school at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 6. Parents and students can tour the school, meet some staff and learn about Grade 8 courses, “life at high school” and the merger of the two schools. Counsellors will also be visiting with Grade 7s at all our feeder schools later in February. We hope to see many of our future students on the evening of February 6.

Meet the Second Semester Teachers Evening February 23
Parents can meet their teen’s second semester teachers at 6:30 pm on Thursday, February 22. Parents will meet briefly in the gym and then head off to follow their son’s or daughter’s timetable and meet with teachers to hear an overview of course expectations for the upcoming semester. Semester 2 is a ‘fresh start’ and parents are encouraged to come to meet the new teachers.

Steveston-London Program Planning Evening February 28
The construction of a school timetable is a complex task and in order to begin the process of allocating classes based on student course selections, we complete “program planning” in early 2007 in preparation for September of 2007. All Steveston and London students in Grades 8 to 11 will receive a new Steveston-London Program Planning booklet and choose their courses in late February. Steveston counsellors will begin the course selection process with your children in their classes, but please take the time to sit down with your son or daughter and go through the possible options available to them , especially the complete Graduation requirements. We will be hosting an Information Evening for all parents on the courses and programs available at Steveston-London and on the new graduation requirements on the evening of Wednesday, February 28 at 7:00 pm. Please plan to attend to learn about course options for next year.

School Transfer Application Deadline is March 1, 2007
Richmond students wishing to transfer to a non-catchment school must apply by filling out an RSB SA23 transfer form having the form initialed by the catchment school, and submitting it to the requested school beginning Monday, January 15, 2007. The final deadline for school transfer applications to be submitted to the office of the “requested school” is 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 1, 2007. Applications received at the requested school by March 1 will be approved to attend on a “first come, first served” basis in accordance with the following priorities if there is space available. (1) catchment students (2) Richmond resident transfer students (3) Non-district transfer students. Parents will be notified of the school transfer decision by March 15. It is important to note that students who reside in Richmond and are currently attending Steveston or London on a previous cross-boundary transfer do not need to reapply this year (they can automatically stay at the school they are currently enrolled in). Non-Richmond residents must reapply each year using the RSB SA73 form.

Career Centre News:
For up to date post secondary, scholarship and career information, students should monitor the following Career Centre Website on a weekly basis:
http://public.sd38.bc.ca/~careers/
Career Exploration: www.careercruising.com username: steveston password: career1 and check out educationplanner.bc.ca whatskey.org

The deadline to apply to BC Universities is Feb 28/07. Colleges are accepting applications on a first come serve basis, students are advised to apply now. To apply to all BC Colleges and Universities: www.pas.bc.ca

The Language Proficiency Index is a test of written language skills that many institutions require to place students in first year English courses. Register on line at: www.lpi.ubc.ca

Packer Athletics Update
It is great to see our youngest student-athletes wearing shirts and ties on game days and carrying on the proud Packer traditions. The 6 Packer basketball teams are all continuing to do well as they begin their drive for the playoffs. Both the Grade 8 boys’ and girls’ teams have great young kids and are steadily improving and learning the game and are hoping for strong playoff runs - a big thanks to Mr. Yu and Mr. Wallace and 2005 grad Andrea Chen for coaching our youngest Packers. Coaches Matt Winograd, Scott Deyell and Tim Luk have the Junior Boys’ team off to a strong start this year and their skills have improved significantly over the past couple of seasons. The talented Junior Girls’ team is working hard and have chalked up many early season wins, including doing very well in a tournament in Victoria January 12-13. Thanks to coaches Mr. McBurney and Mr. Berry. Coached by super-Packers Les Hamaguchi and Mrs. Gillrie-Carre, the Senior Girls’ team had a fabulous trip to Las Vegas before Christmas and have done well in early season games including a recent tourney in Victoria. Similarly, our Senior Boys’ team has enjoyed some early victories including a thrilling overtime victory over London and they have the skill and potential to surprise some teams this year. Thanks to Craig Jones and 2003 grads Benji Winograd, Andrew Taylor and Nathan Lee for coaching the seniors this year. The annual Packer Purple & Gold Classic senior boys’ and girls’ tournament was at Steveston from January 18-20 and the Packer Dome was once again home to some great high school hoops action. In Table Tennis, our senior boys’ team has many talented players and they are amongst the league leaders in District play thanks to coach Yang Hu and sponsor Mrs. Louis. Most impressively, all of our Packer student-athletes continue to represent Steveston High with class and sportsmanship and we are very proud of all of our teams and grateful for the hundreds of hours put in by our coaches and sponsors - thank you!

Grade 9 Booster Immunization
All Grade 9 students will get a booster shot (combined vaccine of tetanus, diphtheria, and tetanus) on February 28, 2007. Consent forms will be distributed in the beginning of February for students to take home. Parents please sign and return these to the school as soon as possible. Although students themselves may give informed consent on the day of the school clinic, parental consent is the first preference. Students are reminded to eat breakfast on the day of immunization to minimize fainting and/or other preventable reactions. If you have any questions, please contact the school nurse, Judy Dale at the Richmond Health Department 604-233-3110.


Winter Formal 2007 - Coming Soon - Get your Tickets Now!
Steveston’s PAC and Dry Grad Committee has again organized a “semiformal” dinner and dance open to all students in Grades 11 and 12. “All That Glitters is Gold” is the theme of the Winter Formal and it will be held at the Executive Airport Plaza Hotel and go from 7 p.m. to midnight on February 10. Tickets will be $45 and the dress code is “semi formal”. Hotel and staff security is very tight to ensure that this is a completely safe, fun and alcohol and drug free event. Tickets will be on sale now at break and at lunch in the lounge. This has been a very popular event the past three years and “sold out” last year - so get your tickets early.

Something to Celebrate!
In late December, the Ministry of Education released the provincial report on Grade 12 completion rates. There are several ways that “graduation rates” can be measured. The provincial report uses the % of students who graduate within 6 years of entering Grade 8. Once again this year Richmond has the highest graduation rate in the province at 92%. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results show that no other country out performs British Columbia in the areas of Writing and Mathematics. Only Finland and Japan outperform BC students in the area of Science. This assessment targets 15-year olds in 40 countries. Our FSA results were exceptional again this year. They are well above the provincial average in every category (reading, writing, numeracy) and show a consistent pattern of improvement especially in numeracy. There are many factors that contribute to this success, but it is clear that two of the main reasons are the outstanding work of the people who provide opportunities and support to our students, both inside and outside the classroom and the ongoing support of parents and families in helping their children be successful in school. Well done Richmond!

Satisfaction Surveys
Each year the Ministry of Education administers a “Satisfaction Survey” to all students and parents of students in Grades 4, 7, 10 and 12 (as well as all school staff). The Ministry is continuing to move towards electronic surveying and all Steveston Grade 10 and Grade 12 students will complete the survey online. We will send home a paper survey for parents of Grade 10s and 12s in February - please complete the 27 question survey and return it to the school office. Alternately, parents can also complete the survey online by logging onto a specific web site, entering in a random code number (the logon number is included on the bottom of the paper survey). The survey only takes a few minutes and the online version for parents is available in more than a dozen languages.

50 Year Celebration Web Site!
Please check out the new 50-Year celebration web site at: http://public.sd38.bc.ca/~StevestonWeb/50Yrs
The 50th Year Celebration is being planned for April 27 & 28, 2007 and the committee is in need of more helping hands. If you are a Packer parent, student, grad, ex-staff member or just a Packer lover at heart, please contact Donna Sargent at dsargent@richmond.sd38.bc.ca or attend the next planning meeting on Tuesday, January 30 at 7 pm

Two Special PAC Presentations:
All parents and guardians are encouraged to attend mark on their calendars two upcoming PAC special presentations on February 8 and March 8. In February, we will have our 5th joint Steveston & London PAC meeting at 6 pm and then host a special presentation on the attraction of drugs, alcohol or gambling in some teens. We will host experts from Richmond Addiction Services and the RCMP to provide information and answer parent’s questions on the latest trends in drugs, alcohol and gambling addictions. In March, join us again for a special presentation from Learning Resource staff on study skills and successful tips for helping your teen be successful at school.

Dry After Grad Update
This year we will help celebrate our 47th and final “Packer” graduating class with our fifth safe, fun, alcohol and drug free Dry After Grad party. The DAG committee meets monthly to plan this extravaganza and all parents are always welcome. You can also help by making a cash contribution (tax deductible). As well, donations of prizes (big and small) and refreshments are also gratefully accepted. Please, ask your employers, co-workers, relatives, neighbours and businesses you patronize to help with this worthy cause. Of course, volunteers are always needed, even for only a few hours or to check out what DAG is all about. Please call Peter at (604)277-2033 (or email at pgoyert@shaw.ca). We have ongoing pizza sales every Thursday (thanks Diane Jardine) and please mark your calendars for our Pub Night at the Buck and Ear, on Saturday, Feb 24th, the wonderful Mother's Day Raffle, the ever-popular Hanging Basket sale (order forms in the March newsletter) and the Biggest and Best Garage Sale on May 12. (Remember to save your 'stuff' for the sale: it's a great reason to spring clean!) And if you have any clothes or other 'soft goods' to get rid of, call Peter to make arrangements to store them for the Big Brother's Renew Crew. Thank you Steveston families!