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DATE: March/April 2015
NEWSLETTER #6
Mission Statement:
Nanaimo District Secondary School seeks to provide, within a trusting and caring environment, a variety of learning experiences that
will allow our students to develop toward their potential.
L’école secondaire Nanaimo District cherche à offrir une variété d’expériences d’apprentissage au sein d’un milieu sécurisant afin que
nos étudiants et étudiants puissant viser leur potential.
REPORT CARDS
Report cards will be distributed to students on Wednesday, April
29th during homeroom at the last block of the day.
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
There will be an early dismissal at 1:25 pm (Friday Bell Schedule)
on Thursday, April 30th to facilitate Parent Teacher Conferences
from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm. The conferences will be held in the
large gymnasium.
GRADUATION DATES
May 20 (Wednesday) Valedictorian Auditions (lunch)
Nomination forms due May 15
June 18(Thursday) Last Day of Regular classes
June 19 (Friday) Start of June Provincial Exams
June 22 (Monday) Grad Rehearsal at Port Theatre at 6:00pm
June 24 (Wednesday) Last Day of June Provincial Exams
June 25 (Thursday) NDSS Commencement at Port Theatre
10:00am
June 26 (Friday) Year End Administrative Day-School Closed
June 26 (Friday) Dry Grad at Beban Park (8:00pm-Saturday
4:00am)
NANAIMO-LADYSMITH DRY GRAD
Attention all grade 12 students – thinking of attending Dry Grad
this year? It will be held on Friday, June 26, 2015 at Beban Park
starting at 8pm. Join in the fun with approximately 850 other
grade 12 graduating students.
There are tons and tons of fabulous activities such as skating,
swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, karaoke, tons of games, dance
off, bouncy castles, sumo- wrestling, Zorb balls, rock climbing,
laser tag, clairvoyants, tattoos, hair stylists, make up and nail stylists, relaxing massages….plus 100’s of prizes.
Make sure you get all the details from your Prom/ Grad Committee. Tickets are $55 and are not available at the door.
NDSS PROM 2015
NDSS’ Prom 2015 will be held on Saturday, June 6 at the Beban
Social Centre. We need more students and parents to help us
organize and fundraise for this year’s event – general prom
meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:00pm
in the school’s library. Please contact NDSSPromCommittee2015@shaw.ca if you would like to volunteer and/or if
you’d like to be included in any information about this year’s
Prom.
Dual Credit Enrichment Applications
Are you in grade 11? Would you like to start your university education early while earning credit toward graduation?
If this sounds like you, then apply to become a Dual Credit Enrichment Student! Dual Credit Enrichment is a partnership program
with Vancouver Island University and the School District that allows you to take up to 4 courses in your grade 12 year while the
district pays the tuition! Courses have been offered in Sociology,
Psychology, Digital Media, Art, Creative Writing, Journalism, History, First Nations Studies, English and many other subjects!
Dual Credit Enrichment Applications are now available and will be
due on April 29th.
NANAIMO DISTRICT SECONDARY SCHOOL
SCHOOL CALENDAR FOR THE 2014-2015 SCHOOL YEAR
April 3 (Friday)
April 6 (Monday)
April 21 (Tuesday)
April 22 (Wednesday)
May 4 (Monday)
May 18 (Monday)
June 18 (Thursday)
June 19 (Friday)
June 24 (Wednesday)
June 25 (Thursday)
June 26 (Friday)
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Semester Two Term 1 Ends
Semester Two Term 2 Starts
Non-Instructional Day (School Based)
Victoria Day Holiday
Last Day of Regular Classes
Start of June Provincial Exams
Last Day of June Provincial Exams
Semester Two Term 2 Ends
Administrative Day -School Closed
PLC SCHEDULE
Students will be dismissed 1 hour early on the following
dates: April 20, May 11, May 25
REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER 2015
Registration for students for September 2015 started on Monday, January 05, 2015. There is complete information about
registration for 2015-2016 on the school district website:
http://www.sd68.bc.ca.News./StudentRegistration.asp.
Please note that the registration forms, French Immersion and
out-of-catchment form can all be found on this page.
NDSS THEATRE DEPARTMENT
The Theater Department presented "THE WEDDING SINGER,"
in March and is it was enjoyed by many over four days. Thank
you to Mrs. Parker and her theatre group for this wonderful
musical presentation.
E-NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our school newsletter! Because
of the New Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, we require parents’
consent to send you our school newsletter via email. If you are
giving your consent you will receive the school newsletter to
your email address. To subscribe, please Email: subscribenanaimodistrictsecondary-news@listsrv.sd68.bc.ca. If you
don’t receive a confirmation email, be sure to look in your Spam
folder. You can unsubscribe from this service at any time.
SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
Congratulations to the Sr. boys basketball team
that finished 7 in this year’s provincials. Well
done boys.
Electronic Cigarettes/Vapourizers (Vaping)
These items are not permitted for student use within NDSS or
on our campus. Any students using these devices will be dealt
with by administration.
Electronic Devices
Each classroom teacher will provide the student with guidelines
and expectations for their classroom. These guidelines could
range from the students not being able to bring them into the
classroom, to the students having to turn them off and put
them away, to the students using their devices as part of the
lesson. Students must get to know the expectations in each of
their classrooms and comply with these expectations.
PAC MEETING
The next PAC meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 at
7:00pm in the school library. PAC usually meets on the first
Tuesday of the month. All parents, guardians, caregivers, and
community members are welcome to attend meetings. It is a
great way to keep in touch, learn of the day-to-day and special activities at NDSS, and to provide your input.
GRADUATION TRANSITIONS STANDARDS GTS FOR ALL GRADE
12 STUDENTS
Attention All Grads. It’s time to start thinking about your Graduation Transitions Standards often referred to as GTS.
GTS is a mandatory 4 credit course required for your graduation.
A – Jenkins your GTS advisor is Mr. Steel.
Please complete the package that you have picked up in the
NDSS Office and set up a meeting with Mr. Steel to review your
GTS requirements. Students should complete the GTS materials
as soon as possible; with April/May being the latest that it
should be.
Je – Z your GTS advisor is Mrs. Massey.
**Please pick up the activation assignment from room 254 and
complete your GTS requirements online as per the instructions.
POST SECONDARY APPLICATIONS
Students are encouraged to apply early to post-secondary institutions. Online applications for most BC institutions are available NOW at www.pas.sbc.ca. Graduation Transitions Advisors
are available to assist students in their applications.
FRENCH IMMERSION KINDERGARTEN AND GRADE 1
APPLICATION FOR 2015-2016
Please note the process of Early French Immersion Kindergarten
and Grade 1 registration has changed from the past process.
Parents who wish to apply for a September 2015 space for their
child in the program must do so in person at the District Administration Centre, 395 Wakesiah Avenue, Nanaimo or to Ecole
Davis Road Elementary, 444 Parkhill Terrace, Ladysmith. Please
note that siblings of current French Immersion students must
also follow this process. Detailed information is available at:
http://www.sd68.bc.ca.Education/fi.asp.
RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER
Luc Begin will be riding his stationary bike with his colleagues
joining him for 8 straight hours, in the main entrance of NDSS in
support of the Ride to Conquer Cancer of which he has participated in for the past five years, raising over $210,000. Please
show your support of this cause and for our teacher’s campaign
and make a donation for his ride on April 09, 2015.
LIBRARY LEARNING COMMONS
A big thank you to the PAC for funding Eric Walters visit to NDSS.
Author of more than 90 books, Walters is one of Canada’s most
popular authors for children and young adults. Walters gave
two lively, inspirational presentations to six different classes on
March 18 in the library. Thank-you PAC, for supporting reading,
writing, and Canadian Literature.
Check out the new resources on the Library learning Commons
website/wiki. Here you’ll find quality resources and tools for
effective research, including some recently added resources to
the “Research and Study Skills” section of the wiki: https://ndsslibrary.wikispaces.com/
MUSICAL THEATRE ACADEMY
Do you love to sing, dance, and act? Would you love to get a
Language Arts Credit while rehearing a musical? Have you
always loved Avenue Q and want a chance to perform the
School Edition? If you answered yes to these three questions, then Learn at Home’s Musical Theatre Academy is
right for you! Open to all current Grade 9-11 students, this
program will include rehearsing a musical while completing
individual English assignments. By the end of the program,
students will have completed sufficient work to earn credits
in Theatre Performance/Production AND English/
Communications.
Auditions-Friday May 8th at NDSS
1st Read Through-Friday, June 12th at NDSS
Rehearsals at NDSS: July 6-30, 2015 (Monday to Thursday)
Performances: Friday, July 31
Saturday, August 1 (including matinee)
Contact Ms. Barnum (kbarnum@sd68.bc.ca) for more details.
RAVENS LELUM
Ravens Lelum is a Teen Parent Learning Centre and is a safe,
inclusive, holistic and culturally focused program for young
parents. Ravens Lelum students are supported alongside
their children to fulfill their academic goals. We provide a
safe place, where our students feel pride in who they are
and a sense of belonging.
A variety of courses are offered, each geared to individual
students’ learning needs and helps to create positive learning outcomes. Students are supported by a Teacher, an Education Assistant and Child, Youth and Family Support Worker. Please contact the school office at 250-740-2000 for
more information.
DRY GRAD FUNDRAISING
The Dry Grad committee is hosting the following fundraising
events:
Steak & Prawn night at Piper’s Pub on April 18th, 2015
Burger & Beverage Night at Old City Station Pub on May 8th,
2015
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50/50 draw
Silent auction
$15.00 per ticket
Tickets can be purchased at the NDSS office.
Email: fundraising@nanaimodrygrad.ca or voluteers@nanaimodrygrad.ca
JAM SESSIONS
What are you doing Friday afternoons? Come hang out and
play music. Learn to play music, watch and listen. There will
be drums (electric), acoustic/electric guitars, amps, tambourine, shakers, and a microphone. Bring your instruments.
Snacks are provided.
Every Friday from 2-4pm at John Barsby Secondary—right
across from the counselling offices. You do not need to
attend John Barsby or school to come. You must be between ages 13-19. (no session on April 3rd).
COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Did you know that NDSS is a Community School? If so, what
does that mean? As stated by the Coalition for Community
Schools:
“A community school is both a place and a set of partnerships
between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and
community development and community engagement leads to
improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities. Schools have become centers of the community and
are open to everyone.” For more info, please contact Barbara
Henoch, our new Community School Coordinator at 250-7402026 or email bhenoch@sd68.bc.ca.
FOOTBALL
Football gets underway in April with throw arounds each
Friday after school. Gear practices take place during the
month of May culminating with the Jamborees on May 29
and 30. Fall practices will begin Monday, August 24 for
both Senior and Junior Squads. Any questions please contact Coach Stevenson at the school. Roll Green.