April 6, 2020
Dear Stelly’s students, parents, guardians and families,
Well, we made it through week one!
Thank you all for your patience and understanding as we have been working to ensure safety procedures are in place for students and staff. We appreciate that these have been a challenging few weeks and there is still an unknown period of time ahead. To try to lighten things up, staff have created a video message that will be posted shortly.
During the First Week
Stelly’s staff members and departments have been focusing on establishing effective lines of communication.
Communications:
Early last week all Teacher Advisors (TA) called or emailed students to check in, identify students who need additional staff contact or who may be experiencing challenges with technology and online access. We were very happy to hear so many were doing well, albeit becoming a bit bored. :)
While the vast majority of students/families were reached there were still some whose phone numbers or emails were no longer functioning. As contact number and emails are our initial go to process for making contact, it is imperative that this information be accurate. If you have not heard from your TA please send them an email with the correct information. Staff email addresses can be found on the school website under “Staff”. If you have forgotten the name of your TA and you have not been reached by a staff member please email bperron@ssanichschools.ca and provide your full name and functioning contact information.
Students if you have forgotten your school email account it is your studentnumber@students.sd63.bc.ca
Video instructions to reset your password can be found in the Learn At Home block on the
If you have questions we would request you direct them in the following way:
Course specific information: email subject teacher directly.
Course selection, Post Secondary, and social/emotional support: email Counsellors
Alpha by student’s last name
A-F: Amanda Hoffman (ahoffman@saanichschools.ca)
G-L: Kim Koenig (kkoenig@saanichschools.ca)
M-R: Dan Berger (dberger@saanichschools.ca
S-Z: Naomi Fitzgerald (nfitzgerald@saanichschools.ca)
Indigenous Education Support: email
Aimee Lampard (alampard@saanichschools.ca)
Doug. Heinekey (dheinekey@saanichschools.ca)
Learning Services/IEP: email Tasha. Liberatore (tliberatore@saanichschools.ca) or directly to your child’s Case Manager
General questions: Stelly’s Administration
Sally Hansen (shansen@saanichschools.ca)
Wendy Laws (wlaws@saanichschools.ca)
Gord Redlin (gredlin@saanichschools.ca)
Going forward
Between now and April 15, teachers will begin connecting directly with their students. We will be establishing base levels for curriculum delivery for all courses and ensuring students have access to required technology.
At this Moment in Time
Expectations Regarding Student Work:
While the volume/type of work required by you will look different, you are expected to engage and submit assigned work. Students can expect up to 3 hours of work/course/week. We would encourage you to create a designated work station and establish a routine (remembering to eat, take breaks and exercise) to ensure you complete work as assigned. If there are extenuating circumstances please contact your teachers or a counsellor.
Student Access To:
School: While students were asked to take all their personal items and learning resources home prior to Spring Break, we recognize this may not have happened and thus some students will need access to the school. Access to the school will be very limited (April 8 & 9). Details will be sent out via another email later today. They will also be posted on the Stelly’s website - see the Stelly’s Updates button on the main page: Link
Computer: through our TA conversations we have identified students who require access to a computer. Should your access to a computer change during the time we are away, please email Vice Principal, Gord Redlin. Details will be sent out via another email on Wednesday. They will also be posted on the Stelly’s website - see the Stelly’s Updates button on the main page: Link
Library Materials; You can find ebooks and digital subscriptions to support your learning on our Learning Commons website.
Internet: If you don’t have internet access, call Telus or click the links to get information that may be helpful. https://www.telus.com/en/about/company-overview/community-investment/how-we-give/cause-campaigns/internet-for-good
Contact phone number: TELUS Home Services in BC: 1-888-811-2323
General Technology Support for Students:
The primary method for communication with students moving forward will be via Google Classroom and school district email (@students.sd63.bc.ca).
If students have tech support questions or need help accessing or using online learning tools a Google Classroom has been set up for tech related inquiries. Students may join the classroom using the class code: blu3sc3
Instructions to join a Google Classroom with a code:
Instructions to access school district email:
Note: Only student accounts are able to access Google Classrooms. Parents/guardians may request to be added to their students account but will only receive email summaries of classroom activity by contacting the classroom teacher by email.
Information For Grade 12s
We will now be focusing on checking grad standing for all students registered in grade 12. While many of you have heard/read the statement below, it does require some clarification.
“Every student eligible to graduate this year will graduate. To be eligible to graduate means that if a student were to successfully complete courses underway and in progress for completion this June, they would satisfy all graduation requirements. This does not mean that students will graduate “no matter what”. Students are expected to continue their learning and complete the assignments set out by their teachers in order to graduate."
To be “eligible” to graduate means that students are in a position to successfully complete a minimum of 80 credits, with all the ministry “required” courses and ministry assessments. The good news for students in grade 12 at Stelly’s is that they should already know if they were “eligible” to graduate. This year we have reviewed students diploma verifications 5 times (during assemblies and via TA). If you already know your graduation may be in jeopardy, please contact a counsellor ASAP. Counsellors will be reviewing ALL student diploma verifications in the next two weeks and will be in contact with you should they identify a concern. Information on graduation requirements are available online.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/graduation
At this time, the graduation ceremony is scheduled to continue as scheduled, although the rehearsal will now take place on the morning of the ceremony. As we anticipate there may be additional changes to the grad ceremony and related activities, we are holding off on sending out graduation packages at this time.
As you can imagine we are still trying to develop options regarding Grad Transitions and Work Experience requirement and to gather information re: changing post secondary and scholarship timelines/processes. We are also working with Post Secondary institutions to determine what entry information will be requested and the associated timelines. As grad related information becomes available it will be shared out.
Grad specific information will be posted on the school website and sent out to students via the Grad Google classroom. Contact Jessi Dildy (jdildy@saanichschools.ca) for access.
Thank You and Request For Support
We appreciate there are a lot of unknowns and we truly do appreciate your patience and understand your frustrations as we try to address the sheer volume of variables that now need to be reconfigured. We will make every effort possible to keep this as simple as possible. That being said, this is new for everyone, and while I have complete faith in the staff of Stelly’s to not only deliver the key components of the curriculum and to support your child in their learning, we will need your assistance to ensure the best possible learning experience. Please check in with your child daily to ensure they follow the requests of their teachers, should an issue arise please have (or support) them contact the teacher ASAP.
In an effort to manage email traffic, comprehensive newsletters will be emailed to parents/guardians through MyEd and posted on the school website.
On behalf of Stelly's admin. team, we encourage you to continue to stay safe, stay home, remain healthy, and, as Matthew would say, “Stay Golden and Maroon.”
Sally Hansen, Principal
shansen@saanichschools.ca
Wendy Laws, Vice Principal
wlaws@saanichschools.ca
Gord Redlin, Vice Principal
gredlin@saanichschools.ca
(Edited by Susan Batham - original submission Tuesday, 7 April 2020, 12:04 PM)