2012/2013 School Year

Welcome Back!

Provincials
If you wrote provincials in June or August, the results are now available.  Students can access their exam results on the Student Secure Web at www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/tsw/tsw/student/welcome.jsp .  See this post for more info on accessing exam results.

Goodbye
It seems odd to have 'Goodbye' as a heading for a Welcome Back post, but I am moving on to a new teaching position and am no longer with ConnectEd.  If you have started courses with me and are planning on continuing working on them you may do so.  In most instances the new teacher in charge of your course will be Mr. Ken Ireson.  Mr. Ireson has an extensive math and science background and has worked with students in online courses for many years.  He can be contacted at kireson@summer.com or if you have questions you can contact ConnectEd's new principal, Mr. Doug MacDonald at dmacdonald@summer.com  Both Mr. Ireson and Mr. MacDonald can be reached at (250)770-7718.

I have enjoyed working in online and distributed learning and I wish all my past students success in the future.

Summer Information

ConnectED Summer Information

Report Cards

Reports cards are being mailed out this week.

 

Summer Hours

ConnectED will be open for a number of days during the summer for students to drop off work and/or to write tests.  Mrs. Reeder and Ms. Thompson will be on duty and will be able to invigilate tests for any of the courses that they teach as well as tests for any of the online courses taught by Mr. Ireson & Mr. Lindsay.

Below is the location as well as the dates and times that ConnectED will be open:

Location

ConnectED Junior Programs Building 

274 Eckhardt Ave East

Penticton, BC

Dates

Wednesday, July 18th  9:30a - 3:30p

Tuesday, August 7th  9:30a - 3:30p

Wednesday, August 22nd  9:30a - 3:30p

*Note: Summer hours are intended to allow students to drop off work and to write tests.  We will not be starting students on new courses and new registrants will not be taken at this time. 

Moodle Access Over the Summer

Students who are taking online courses can still access them through Moodle over the summer.  Please be aware that over the summer the school district technology department will be resetting student passwords.  We have requested that they do not reset ConnectED student passwords.  If your password is reset in error you will not be able to access Moodle.  If this occurs please contact the School Board office at (250)770-7700 and ask to speak to someone in District Technology Support.

Student Space on the School District Computer Network

Over the summer the school district technology department will be cleaning out (ie deleting) elementary and middle school student space on the district’s computer network.  Students are responsible for backing up any important files that they have on the system.

Registration

A reminder that all students in grades K – 9 who plan to return to ConnectED / Home Learners' in the fall need to register again with the school.  The registration form can be downloaded from our website: http://67connected.ca/wp/contact-us/registration/

August Provincial Exams

Students may write provincial exams during the August session if they have completed the coursework for their course.  Exams will be written at Penticton Secondary School.  Students must bring a piece of ID with them as well as their term 4 report card.  The term 4 report will indicate that you are registered in the provincially examinable course and it has your Provincial Education Number or PEN which is needed to write the exams.  Below is the schedule for the exams.  Contact Mr. Todd Manuel if you have any questions; tmanuel@summer.com or (250)770-7750.   

All exams will run from  9am to 12pm

Monday August 13th

·        English 10

·        Math 10 AWM

·        Math 10 FMP

·        Science 10

Tuesday August 14th

·        English 12 / Communications 12

·        Math 10 AWM

·        Math 10 FMP

·        Science 10

Wednesday August 15th

·        Social Studies 11

·        Math 10 AWM

·        Math 10 FMP

·        Science 10

·        BC First Nations 12

 If you have any questions, please contact the school (250)770-7718, or leave a comment below.  Enjoy the summer!

Important Dates

The end of the school year is fast approaching and there are a few dates of which you should be aware.

Term 4 Cutoff

June 12th is the cutoff date for work to be submitted for term 4.  Work submitted after this date will not be assessed until term 4 report cards have been completed.   If a student has not submitted all of the work for a course prior to June 12th the report card comment will mention something to the effect of " __% of the work for this course has been submitted.  A final mark will be assigned once all of the work is submitted and a report will be issued in the fall reporting period"

photo credit: Marco Bellucci via photo pin cc

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

• If I do not complete the course by June 12th, will I fail the course?
• No.  Students have 12 months from when they became active in a course to complete it. 
• If I haven't finished my course by June 12th can I continue to work on it through the summer?
• Yes.  In fact, you will not receive a final mark for a course until you have submitted all of the assigned work and tests so it may be necessary to continue working through the summer.
• Are teachers available for help in the summer?
• In the past the answer was no.  This summer we are looking into the possibility of having a handful of days when certain teachers are available at the school for students to come in to get help, write tests, and/or drop off work.  If this plan goes ahead, a schedule of times will be posted.

 If you have other questions, please post them in the comment section at the end of this post.

June Provincial Exam Dates

The June provincial exam session runs from Jun 18th to June 25th.  Below are the dates and times for the different exams.  It is important that you contact your subject area teacher(s) to let them know if you will be ready to write one or more of the exams.

Thursday, June 21st

• 1 pm - 3 pm Social Studies 11

Friday, June 22nd

• 9 am - 11 am English 10
• 1 pm - 2 pm Communications 12

 Monday, June 25th

• 9 am - 11 am English 12
• 1 pm  - 3 pm Science 10

**AW Math 10 and FMP Math 10 can be written at any of the above times, but it is required that you contact Ms. Thompson to reserve a spot.

The ministry of education has posted a bulletin for students with information about the June exams with respect to when marks will be posted, how you can access them, scholarships etc.  You can view the bulletin here or here (pdf).

If you have any questions please contact Ms. Thompson or leave a comment below.

**Correction** When I initially posted this I had mistakenly listed a provincial exam for Social Studies 10.  There is no exam for Social Studies 10; it should have said Social Studies 11.  The information in the post is now correct.  My apologies for the error. 

May Provincial Exams

The May Provincial Exam session is coming up.  Science 10 as well as the Math 10 courses can be written on May 17th and 18th.  If you anticipate having completed Science 10 and/or Math 10 by this time, please contact me and we'll set up the time, date and place for you to write your exam.  For the complete exam schedule go here (pdf).

To help study I recommend checking out the LearnNowBC website.  I've written about the different resources they offer here.  Particularly helpful in preparing for exams is their Success Checker

Another great way to prepare for the exam is to try out past exams.  You can do that by going to the BC Ministry of Education website here.  I also encourage you to get in touch with me and I can talk to you about how to best prepare.

Term 3 Report Cards

photo credit: daveblume cc

Report cards will be sent out on April 30th for all students enrolled in grades 8 - 12 at ConnectED.  Over the next few weeks I will be writing these up for my students in Math and Science.  If you have work that you haven't submitted yet, please do so as soon as possible so that I have the most accurate picture of where you are at in your courses.   If you finished up a course in term 1 or term 2, your final mark will be reported on this report card.

Right now we are 3/4 of the way through the school year, so ideally you should be 3/4 of the way through your courses.  If you find yourself getting behind or if you have questions about your courses please do not hesitate to contact me.

Science Fair Congratulations

Congratulations to John N and James N who not only participated in the district science fair, but earned the right to compete at the regional science fair in Kelowna!

John, who is in grade 9 at ConnectED, did his project on how he thinks our eyes will evolve as a result of the different screens (computer, TV etc) that we are exposed to everyday.

John N with his project 'Next Evolution of the Eye'

James, who is in grade 8 at ConnectED, did his project on an innovation that he has come up with to help to repair the Ozone layer.  The regional science fair takes place at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBC-O) on April 11th and 12th.  Great work boys, and best of luck in Kelowna!

James N with his project, 'Save the Ozone'

Provincial Exam Marks

photo credit: albertogp123 cc

Provincial exam marks are now available for students who wrote provincial exams in the last exam sitting.  Below are instructions on how to check on your exam marks.

• Access your exam results by going to this link (https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/tsw/tsw/student/).
• Click on enter and you will be prompted to create an account.
• As well as some personal information you will need to know your PEN (Personal Education Number).  If you do not know this number, contact ConnectED secretary Caroline Ryan (250.770.7718) and she can give it to you.
• Once your account is created you can log in and view your results.  Results are usually available approximately 4 weeks after the exam period has ended.

Spring Break

Just a reminder that ConnectED, as with the other SD 67 schools, will be closed over spring break.  Schools are closed from March 19th - 30th.  April 2nd is the first day back.  Students are welcome to continue to work on their courses over the break.  However, work submitted over the break will not be marked until school resumes.

I hope you enjoy the break! 

photo credit: CEThompson cc

Sumdog--Math Games

Recently my older son showed me a neat Math website that uses games to help students work on their basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and more.  The site is called Sumdog, and while it doesn't teach math skills, it provides a motivating and fun way for students to practice their basic math skills.  There are 18 different games to play.  Once the student selects a game they get to play against 1 to 3 other players.  Each player is getting questions at a difficulty level that is suitable for them.  Sometimes my 7 year old, 9 year old and myself will go online and play against each other and it is a lot of fun!

I have a teacher account with SumDog and can set ConnectEd students up with their own account.  Please contact me if you would like an account and I'll send you your information.  You can sign up for an account on your own, but if you go through me that will allow me to set up some challenges for you that will help you to work on specific skills.  Also, if you go through me, you do not have to enter an e-mail address.

It is important to note that playing on Sumdog does NOT count as doing your Math course!  Do not be coming to me saying that you haven't done any of your math assignments or quizzes, but that you have a bazillion points on Sumdog and so deserve credit for the course ;-)

Progress Updates

photo credit: ttrentham licensed CC BY-NC-SA

Semester 1 is over which means that we are half way through the school year.  It is a good time to take stock of where students are in their courses.  Over the past week I have been e-mailing progress updates to students and their parents/guardians.  If you have not received a progress update please contact me.  In addition, I am happy to discuss a student's progress at any time in the school year, not just when I send out these updates.

Feb 9th, National Sweater Day

photo credit: hello! by Suedehead cc

On February 9th the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is asking Canadians to turn down the heat and wear a sweater to show that you are taking action on climate change.  From the WWF's National Sweater Day website:

By rethinking how we use energy and how much we use, we can make a big impact on climate change.  If every Canadian lowered the heat a few degrees this winter, it'd be like taking 300,000 vehicles off the road!  So wear that sweater and make the world a better place for your Grandchildren.

Not sure that you'll remember to wear a sweater on National Sweater Day?  No problem, just go to the website and book a granny to give you a call!

If you are interested in finding out more about climate change the David Suzuki Foundation provides a straightforward fact page here.  If you are in Grade 10 Science, section 3.3 in the online course is all about climate change. 

We're back in business!

Image credit: tango face smile by warszawianka in the public domain

Moodle is up and running again.  You should be able to do all of the activities you normally do.  If you encounter any problems, please let me know either by leaving a comment here or by contacting me by e-mail or phone (see contact tab).

Moodle Issues

Today we are experiencing problems with Moodle.  Students should be able to access course material, but will be unable to:

• save files
• upload files
• send messages (they appear to send at first, but if you look in message history it will not have gone through.)
• write tests or quizzes

The district technology department is working on resolving this issue.  In the meantime it is suggested that you delay any of the above actions until notified here that things are up and running as they should be.  It is possible still to view content, and print assignments.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

More on Provincial Exams

Provincial exams run this week.  Students who are doing all of their courses at ConnectEd are asked to go to the ConnectEd Learning Centre main building to write their exams (324 Eckhardt Ave East).  Students who take most of their courses at another district high school have the option of writing their exams at their home school.  It is recommended that you arrive about 10 minutes prior to the start of the exam to get set up.

Here are the dates and times of the grade 10 and 11 provincial exams:

• Math 10 (AW Math 10 and FMP Math 10): Can be written during one of the other exam times listed here.  Note: this exam is only offered electronically
• English 10: Wednesday January 25th from 9 - 11 am
• Social Studies 11: Wednesday January 25th from 1 - 2 pm
• Science 10: Thursday January 26th from 1 - 3 pm

LearnNowBC: a treasure trove of resources

Today I'd like to describe an excellent resource that is available to all BC students and their parents; the website LearnNowBC.  LearnNowBC offers resources for parents and educators, but what I'd like to highlight in this post are the resources for students.

Online Tutoring
Online tutoring is available from subject area experts Sunday to Thursday from 6pm to 9pm.  Right now online tutoring is available for the following subjects:

• Math 10 (both AWMath and FMP Math)
• Science 10
• some of the the grade 11 maths and sciences
• some of the grade 12 maths and sciences

Success Checker
With Success Checker you can write tests on various topics.  When you complete a test you are given an outline of the areas that you need to work on and a personalized study guide is produced for you.  Success Checker is currently available for the following subjects:

• Math 9
• Math 10 (both AWMath and FMP Math)
  
• Science 10
• some of the the grade 11 maths and sciences
• some of the grade 12 maths and sciences 

Charged Up for Math and Science
Recordings of streaming video lessons on various topics.  Charged Up for Math and Science is available for the following courses:

• Math 9
• Math 10 (both AWMath and FMP Math)
  
• Science 10
• Pre-Calculus Math 11
• some of the grade 12 maths and sciences

Getting Started
In order to start using the resources on the LearnNowBC website you need to do the following:

• Go to LearnNowBC (http://learnnowbc.ca/)
• Click on the 'Sign up' link at the top right of the page
• Follow the prompts to set up your account
• To access the resources described above go here (http://www.learnnowbc.ca/services/tutoring/default.aspx)

There are other resources on the site, so I encourage you to explore.  If you find something great--let me know and I'll pass along your find here on the blog so that others can benefit.

Science Fair

The School District 67 Kiwanis Science Fair is coming up!  It runs from March 5th to 6th.  Science fair is a wonderful opportunity for students in grades 6 - 12 to do a science project on a scientific topic of interest to them.  The project can be an experiment that a student carries out and reports on, a study, or an innovation or invention.  If you are interested in participating in this year's science fair, please check out the information here, and then contact me so that we can discuss what you are going to do.  I can then complete the entry form so that you can participate.  The deadline for me to enter students is March 1st.  If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section below or contact me. 

No, this is not me!  Science Project 1974 by The Rocketeer CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

January Provincials

This post is for students taking grade 10 courses.

In grade 10 there are mandatory provincial exams for Science, Math and English.  The exams are worth 20% of your mark for the course and you must write the provincial exam to be given credit for the course.  Marks from the provincial exams are also used to determine eligibility for provincial scholarships.  The provincials exams have to be written during one of the many exam times throughout the year.  The next exam period is coming up at the end of January.  

• Math 10 (AW Math 10 and FMP Math 10): time and date to be announced, but sometime in the week of January 23 - 27.  Note: this exam is only offered electronically
• English 10: Wednesday January 25th from 9 - 11 am
• Science 10: Thursday January 26th from 1 - 3 pm

More information about the exams will be posted closer to the date.

Please let me know if you will be ready to write any of the provincial exams in January.  Click on the 'Contact' link near the top of the page for ways that you can contact me.  Because all of my students are working at their own pace, I won't know that you are ready to write during the exam time unless you tell me.  If you are planning to write in January, I can discuss with you how to prepare for the exams, and point you to some helpful resources. 

For the complete exam schedule for this year, please go here.

Did you know students can take the provincial exam for a particular subject more than once?  The Ministry of Education uses your best exam score to calculate your overall grade.

Back to School

Tomorrow, Tuesday January 3rd, school is back in session.  I hope you've had a good break and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things and working with you.  This is a great time of year to take a look at where you are at in your courses and see if you need to make any changes to how you are doing things.  Contact me if you'd like me to meet with you to go over where you are at.  My contact info can be found by clicking on the 'Contact' tab near the top of the page. 

Wishing you all the best in 2012!