ERASE Bullying www.erase.gov.bc.ca

Parents and students,

Today we welcomed Dustin from Safer Schools Together and honestly, his message was one of hope for me.  He gave us an amazing tool to use in order to help protect ourselves and others.  I'm hopeful that you all (parents included) will take a few minutes to learn how to navigate the ERASE bullying website so that if/when it's necessary for you to make a disclosure, it will be easy for you.  The website you need to know is www.erase.gov.bc.ca.

Parents, if you see your child is struggling with online bullying, inappropriate social media use, including graphic photos or you see/hear something concerning, you can make an anonymous disclosure so that people at Safer Schools Together can investigate what is happening. 

Students, if you or a friend are being bullied, are involved in any sextortion or if someone has sent you images/videos that are not appropriate then please be an upstander and say something.  By saying something, you give yourself or a friend a chance to stop from being/getting hurt.  It's time we show support, by making a report! 

Please contact me at school if you have any questions about today's presentation!

Mental Wellness for the Holidays

My Holiday Gift to my amazing Grade 9 Byng Families!

We're heading into the Winter Break which hopefully brings some time for you all to reconnect, recharge and renew any commitments/goals you have made for yourself.  I wanted to share with you this bit of information that I'm sure you've all heard of and/or seen before.  There are some great tips on the following website for getting and keeping a healthy mind.  So many of us (hopefully) think about our physical wellness, but forget about our mental wellness - perhaps some of these will speak to you and you can put some into practice.

https://headspace.org.au/assets/Uploads/Resource-library/Young-people/Tips-for-a-healthy-headspace-web.pdf

When you return from the break please let me know if you've put some work into your mental well-being.  I'd love to hear what you're doing to become or stay well!

Happy Holidays to all!

End of First Term Letter to my Grade 9's.

To my amazing Grade 9's. 

You continue to impress me with your tenacity in your academics.  I am hopeful that this winter break will allow you some time to reflect on the values and qualities that are important to you and that you want others to see in you.  Choosing values that are important to you will help to guide you with any decisions you need to make in your life whether big or small.  How you choose to act, think and behave should all be rooted in what you believe about yourself and the world around you. 

As the first term has now come to a close, I have seen students who are thrilled about their marks, and some that are disappointed.  I want you to be aware that your report card is only a snapshot of how you did academically between September and December 2018.  These marks do NOT dictate your future.  Ultimately, only YOU can dictate your future.  If you ever need some help finding direction for your future, please do come and see me and we'll plot a course together.  For now here are some words of wisdom that may help you on this road of life.

Wishing you a very peaceful and joyous winter break!

Words of Wisdom on how to live a happy, healthy life!

Here are 11 tangible steps you can take toward living a more admirable life: 

1.     Learn to be comfortable in your own skin.
The real purpose of your life is to evolve and grow into the whole person you are capable of being. It's easy to get off the path and spend your time trying to be someone you think you're supposed to be, but any effort to changing yourself for other people is bound to be hollow. The best you can do is be your true self.

2.     Choose simplicity over complication.
So much of what we do makes things more complicated than they has to be. But when things get complicated it's easy to become confused and lose your way. You'll live a better life when you're able to keep things easygoing and straightforward.

3.     Don't dream your life; live your dreams.
Never put off or give up on your dreams. You are powerful when you believe in yourself - when you know that you are capable of anything you put your mind to. When you finally decide just to be yourself, you can make your life look any way you want it to look. Go after your dream, no matter how unattainable others think it is.

4.     Stop pleasing others despite yourself.
How many wasted years, months, days have you spent trying to please others? Making everybody happy is never your responsibility--if they like you for who you are, good, and if not, it's not your problem. Do more of what makes you happy, and in turn you will make others around you happy, too.

5.     Live fully and dare greatly.
Take risks and be bold. If you win, you win; if you lose you'll still be wiser. Try new things and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, because every risk, every dare, is a victory over fear.

6.     Don't worry what other people think.
When you let go of worrying about the expectations and opinions of others, you can start standing out from the crowd and working on what's important to you.

7.     Embrace integrity-- always.
Integrity is central to any admirable life. It's about making sure your words are consistent with the way you behave, and that you're willing to live up to what you expect from others.

8.     Treat confidence as a superpower. 
Confidence allows you to take on any challenges that are thrown at you and shows what you are made of. It's impossible not to admire those who have been through a lot and can still keep moving forward.

9.     Be interested to be interesting. 
The most interesting people in the world are those who demonstrate authentic curiosity toward the world and people around them. Look around. Pay attention. Ask people to tell you their stories and listen.

10.  Treat yourself as you treat others.
People who live to help and serve others sometimes forget to extend those principles to themselves. You can't truly appreciate or care for anyone else if you don't first appreciate and care for yourself.

11.  Stop pretending or faking it.
 You don't have to pretend or fake it to have a flawless life to live admirable. Allowing yourself to be yourself in all your flawed human glory is ultimately the most admirable thing you can do--and life gets so much easier when you stop pretending and you stop faking.

In the end, if you can become a person you admire, you will be able to help others bring out their best as well.

First Term Marks

Health and Career Education 9

Please check outside of the the counselling office for current marks.

Ist row of marks is:  Completion of 3 Learning/Personality inventories on My Blueprint  0, 5 or 10 depending on how much has been completed.

2^nd row of marks is:  The CAPP conference assignment that is posted on My Blueprint.  Either a paper copy or online is fine for this assignment.  If you were away for the conference you MUST give me a note from a parent to be excused/omitted from this work.  Completion mark out of 10 is given.

3^rd row of marks is:  The Job Shadowing worksheet from Take Your Kids to work day.  OR if you didn’t attend, you should submit your work package that your teacher gave you.  If you did not receive a work package from any teacher on Wednesday November 14^th, please see Ms. DeYoung for one.

ALL of these are due to Ms. DeYoung by Friday November 23^rd at noon.  These marks will show up on your First Term report card.

Take your kids to work day

November 14th, 2018 is Take Our Kids to Work Day in BC.  Students in Grade 9 are able to join their parents, grandparents or friend's parents at their worksite to learn more about what it's like to work in various careers and environments.

Ms DeYoung has application forms on her counselling office door.  They need to be returned to her at school BEFORE the November 14th event.  Students will not be excused from classes unless they have turned in their consent forms or have a note from parents saying they were ill on that day.

Any students NOT attending a work site are expected to be at school in their regularly scheduled classes!

Students MUST hand in their Student Planning sheet by November 20th to Ms. DeYoung in order to receive a completion mark that is included in the HCE 9 coursework.

Conference Assignment

Please complete this assignment on the activities section of the My Blueprint Website!  See Ms. DeYoung immediately if you have any questions about how to access this assignment.

If you missed the conference on October 10th and 11th you must bring a note from your parent/guardian to me in the counselling office.  You will receive a zero for any work you do not submit without a note excusing your absence.

Assignment - to be done on the My Blueprint website only.

Choose Three of the sessions that you attended and fully answer each of the following questions for each section.

1.  What are the 2 most important ideas you took away from this session?

2.  Why was it important for you to get this information?  Give 2 examples for this.

3.  How could you use this session to help with your goal setting in the future?  Name 2 things or ideas.

4.  What do you think you will do differently in the future because of this presentation?  Name 2 things or ideas and explain why.

Course Outline for HCE 9

Health and Career Education 9   Course Outline

How/Where/When is the course delivered

This course is an off-timetable course and is delivered mainly through the 2 day Career and Personal Planning Conference that takes place on October 10^th and 11^th, 2018.  Other information will be covered throughout the year during course planning time, at grade assemblies, and during the Take Your Kid to Work day and follow up assignments.  It is expected that students will use the My Blueprint App to complete personal and career interest surveys, and to complete any assignments that the teacher adds to the App.  Students will be informed of any assignments that are due before they have been placed on My Blueprint. 

Goals and Objectives

·       Students will learn how to navigate My Blueprint.

·       Students will learn more about how their personal choices, views and values affect what career might be a good fit for them in the future.  Through self-evaluation and reflection students will obtain information to guide them in making more informed choices for their health, academic and career goals. 

·       Students will learn about healthy living and work-life balance.

·       Students will become informed decision-makers & understand the effects of their choices.

Marking/Reporting

Students will receive completion marks at each report card.  Each term is worth 33.3% of the year.

Policies and Procedures

·       Students are expected to attend all assemblies, guest speaker presentations, and the CAPP conference.  Any students missing these MUST bring a note to Ms. DeYoung immediately or they will receive a zero on the missed work.

·       Any missed work will result in a zero

·       All assignments given by the HCE9 teacher (Ms. DeYoung) must be handed in to her in the counselling suite, or uploaded to the My Blueprint website.

·       It is YOUR responsibility to ensure all your assignments are completed on time.  Please see Ms. DeYoung if you have an issue with any of the work or My Blueprint website.

Attendance:

October 10^th and 11^th – CAPP Conference

November 14^th – Take your kid to work day

February 2019 – Course Planning

Various  TBA – Guest speakers

Contact for further questions

M DeYoung             mdeyoung@vsb.bc.ca