Hi families, 

​I wanted to pass along the course information website WGSS shared with us this week. It contains the course information for Grade 8 as well as applications for specialized programs such as English Honours 8, Gator Pod, and challenging Math 8 to skip into Math 9.

​I have also linked the Timelines page because these specialized programs have deadlines if your child wishes to apply. Please also note that English Honours 8 as well as challenging the Math 8 course both require assessments that are written at the high school. 

Any questions you have can be directed to the Grade 8 counsellor at WGSS - Andrea Ruffo. Her email is aruffo@sd35.bc.ca.

Greetings Families of Division 1,

I have a fair few updates to share with you today, so please be sure to read carefully below.

1. Last Friday, Division 1 sat a math quiz that covered decimal place value and operations. Your child will be bringing home their quiz to go over with you today. I have requested for it to be signed and returned by Friday.
   
   Students who wish to improve their grade can come in early in the mornings at 8AM on my teaching days (M, T, Th, F) or attend math help sessions on Monday and Tuesdays after school until 3:30. I have offered this throughout the year, and reiterated it multiple times, but unfortunately have had minimal attendance. I am hoping this may spur some students coming in for extra support as they require it.
   
   If your child needs support but is unable to attend these extra help sessions, I would recommend setting up a daily schedule for them to practice at home, and ask for help with specific questions they have during class time.
   
   
2. Friday, Jan 27 - Mount Seymour Field field trip information
   
   On Friday, we will be taking our first Grade 7 field trip to Mount Seymour to go snow tubing. Here are the need-to-knows:
   
   - We will be departing on the bus from DPE at 8:40am, planning to depart the mountain at 12:30-45pm. School pickup will be at the normal 2:20pm.
   
   - Please be advised that student cell phones are not permitted on our trip. Mr. Davids will be collecting them before we depart for security purposes. Teachers will be taking A LOT of photos and will definitely be sharing with you all!
   
   - Please check that your child is dressed for snow tubing and has appropriate spare clothes in their backpack for the day. This includes: a warm base layer, snow pants, snow boots, a heavy coat, a toque, gloves, scarf or neck warmer. You may also remind them to pack a spare change of clothes in case they get wet during tubing.
   
   - Students are to bring their own lunches and snacks as there will not be an opportunity to purchase food from the lodge (it is in a completely different area from where we will be).

I will be touching base with another email at the end of this week to share about Monday’s visit to WGSS (walking field trip) and what’s coming up in February for Division 1.

As always, please reach out if you have any questions at all. Thanks so much!

Victoria

Hello parents of Division 1, 
Happy New Year! It's been wonderful to hit the ground running with students as we get back into the groove of school this January. I wanted to touch base to share some important dates and changes for the upcoming weeks.
First off, we are going to be starting up a home reading log on Monday. This is to help build in accountability and a habit of nightly reading at home, and also to ensure they are working toward their monthly reading goals. My suggestion to them will be 15 minutes per night for 6 days for a total goal of 1.5 hours per week outside of school. The logs will span for 2 weeks each and will require parent initials to sign off on them. I appreciate your help with this to help build in this accountability and promote reading growth.
Secondly, I wanted to share some important dates that are upcoming, including the term-end deadline which is approaching quicker than we think! Remember, you can always check on your child's assignment progress on our class OneNote Notebook. If you're having trouble accessing it, please check out this post to review how.
Fri Jan 20

• Decimal Number and Decimal Operations Math Quiz
• Thirst Read-Aloud Final Writing Project Due
• Mt. Seymour Snow Tubing Field Trip Forms and Funds Due

Fri Jan 27

• Mt. Seymour Snow Tubing Field Trip

Mon Jan 30

• Walnut Grove Secondary School Grade 7 Transition Day (more info to come!)

Fri Feb 17

• Term 2 Deadline for Submission Student Work

I will also be posting this information on our class website in case you lose this email in the shuffle. Let me know if you have any questions at all and I'll be happy to assist.
Thanks,
Victoria LS

Hello families of Division 1! 

I wanted to post quickly to provide a reminder of the Grade 7 Hoodie order as some students were asking for it to be posted as a reminder. The thumbnails below show the design, created by one of our very own students! Link is below. 

Hello everyone,

This is a quick update for families of Division 1 as we near the end of the first term in the weeks ahead (how we are already here is beyond me!!).

Term End Deadline

​The deadline for all Term 1 assignments to count toward our first Student-Inclusive Conferences is Thursday, November 10. I have been communicating and working with students who have outstanding work with me, and will be including their families in the conversation in the coming days if it is determined that familial support is required to help them successfully complete their assignments. 

​​If you want to find out if your child has any outstanding assignments, please watch the video below, which is a tutorial about how to use OneNote to check our Weekly Checklists for Literacy and Numeracy in Div 1. They should also be able to walk you through how to access this. (For the rotation classes, students should be clarifying if they have outstanding work with those teachers.)

Early-Bird Work Blocks
Moving forward, I'd like to offer a drop-in work block for the half hour before school begins, from 8:00AM-8:32AM, as needed. Students may access this option on any day that Mrs. LS works (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday), unless I am ill or away. If they are going to take advantage of this time, they can come to our back classroom door and knock anytime between 8:00-8:15AM.

I am unable to offer student support or help during this block as I am doing prep work for the day, but it is an additional time for students to complete their schoolwork if needed. Students must be working quietly or else I will have them go back outside to wait for the morning bell. This will be discussed together in class.

News
The "What We're Working On This Month" has been updated on the News section of the website. Click here to see what we're working on for the month of November. 

Student-Inclusive Conferences
Keep your eyes peeled for communication about Student-Inclusive Conferences which are coming up in the next couple of weeks. I (Mrs. LS) will be coming in on Wednesday, November 23 to offer the full day to families who need it, as well as several time slots after school through the weeks the conferences are taking place.

​This conference serves as the official report on your child's progress for the first term, and you are encouraged to attend so that we can work together as a team to support them in their learning journey. Looking forward to meeting many of you! 
​
- Mrs. LS :) 

Here's the OneNote tutorial video to find out if your child has any outstanding assignments or work to complete at home.

IMPORTANT: As you watch, please be aware this video was created for a previous class, so the dates that are mentioned in the video are NOT CORRECT and not applicable to our class. Our term deadline is on Thursday, November 10 @ 2:20pm.

Hello students, parents, and guardians,

Welcome to our class blog and website for Division 1 with Mrs. LS and Ms. Burrus! Please bookmark this page as it will be a valuable communication tool throughout this year. We will be posting everything from classroom happenings to weekly reminders and so much more!

Early this year, our goal is to integrate digital communications tools to make the home-school relationship as seamless as possible. Students will be learning to use tools effectively and appropriately with mindful digital citizenship at the forefront of their learning. We will be using several web-based learning options other than this site in our class this year.

There will also be several ways to communicate and connect with our class, and to keep up with what we’re doing each day. Feel free to click the social media buttons at the top of this page to explore our "Learn with LS" social media profiles and pages. Be sure to follow and like our pages on the social media you use most in order to keep up with what is going on in Division 1! You don't have to follow them all; just the ones you use.  

After following or liking our various social media accounts, it would be very helpful for you to fill out this short survey about your preteen. It will help us to get to know them better and get us off to a great start to the school year!

We are looking forward to connecting, working, and learning with each of you!
-Mrs. LS and Ms. Burrus
​