Message to Parents of Grade 8 Students

Dear Parents/Guardians of our Grade 8 graduating students,

It’s hard to believe that the end of June is upon us, and middle school will soon be over for our children!  Our ‘Celebr8’ farewell is fast approaching, and with that we would like to take a few moments to inform you about the details for our graduation celebration, to ensure everyone has the correct information.

Our ‘Celebr8’ grade 8 farewell evening will take place on Thursday, June 26, 2014 from 7pm-11pm at Bourkevale Community Centre (100 Ferry Road).  In order to maximize safety and security for our children, we will require that ALL grade 8 students be signed in by a parent or guardian, and signed out by a parent or guardian.  If your child is going to be signed in or out with someone other than their legal guardian, we will ask that a phone call be made to either Cheryl Cronshaw (204-897-7351) or Tiina Winton (204-885-2320) PRIOR to 4pm on Thursday, June 26, 2014.  Without this information, we regret that your child will not be permitted entrance into the event, or released from the event, except with their parent/guardian.  We will also ask that a phone number of where to reach the parent/guardian throughout the duration of the event be provided at the time of drop off.  Because no grade 8 student signed up to bring a guest with them, we are asking that no guests come to the farewell, as we have based our numbers for food solely on the number of students who said that they would be attending.  

Although this is not a school-sanctioned event, we will still be expecting everyone to conduct themselves in the same manner as would be expected in a school setting.  Respect for others, appropriate behavior and safety for everyone are of the utmost importance.  If your child is acting in a manner that is deemed inappropriate, disrespectful, or unsafe, we will be calling the number provided, and asking that your child be picked up immediately.  While this is a necessary explanation of the protocol we will follow for the evening, we are fully expecting everyone to have a wonderful time at the farewell and have no need to enact the above guidelines. 

Now for the fun… we will have a parent DJ mixing music all night, a photo booth (complete with fun props!) set up to capture memories of the evening, with light food and drink provided- all FREE of charge!  The photographer who has generously donated his time and services will be putting together a CD of photos for us, so if you would like photos of your child sent to you, please provide an email address in addition to your phone number when you sign your child in to the event.   

 

Please feel free to contact Cheryl or Tiina with any questions or concerns you may have- we would be happy to help. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Bruce Middle School Parent Council

Beach Volleyball Day!

On Friday June 20th, over 80 students were treated to a day of beach volleyball on the sand courts at Maple Grove Rugby Park. Despite a day of questionable weather, all staff and students had a great time!

Mile 5 Summit With Clara Hughes

Today Bruce Middle School students participated in the Mile 5 Summit, an event that featured 6 time Olympian & 10 time medalist Clara Hughes at Elmwood High School where she went to school.  Students learned about her experiences with Mental Illness and her work to reduce the stigma that surrounds it. 

Students listened intently to her message and some even got to wear her Olympic Medals!

Opening Day Triad Conferences

Opening Day Triad Conferences

Student – Parent – Teacher

September 3^rd & 4^th

Bruce Middle School is once again offering parents and students an opportunity to meet with teachers on September 3^rd & 4th before fall classes begin.  The purpose of these meetings is to promote open and ongoing communication between home and school.

Beginning Monday, June 16^th at 8:30 AM to Tuesday, September 2^nd 4:00 PM, an interview can be booked on line using the Bruce Middle School Conference Manager. This application allows you, as a parent, to use the Internet to check our teachers’ conference schedules and book appointments quickly and easily.  Please book an appointment with your child’s B.L.A.S.T. teacher only.

The first time you use the Bruce Middle School Conference Manager you will be required to register and create a parent account, which only takes a minute or two. You can continue to use this same account for the duration of the time you have children in this school, so please record your password where you can reference it later.  Please note that although parents can register at any time, the booking of conferences can only begin at or after 8:30 a.m. on Monday, June 16^th 2014

Letters have been sent home indicating student’s B.L.A.S.T. group.  

Interview Schedule and Procedures for September 3^rd and September 4^th 2014

The interviews will take place on the following dates and times:

September 3^rd 2014                              September 4^th 2014

• 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.                          • 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.      

Steps to registering and booking conferences:

1.Click on this link to Triad Conference registration.   

2.Register for a parent account.  To register, click the REGISTER NOW button and complete the registration page.  Once registered you will be able to log in to the Conference Manager right away.  An email will also be sent to the address you specified.  This email restates your user name and password and is a good email to retain, as you will use the same email and password when booking future rounds of Parent-Teacher Conferences.  If you forget your password you can reset it using the FORGOT PASSWORD link under the login button. Once registered you can log in to the Conference Manager any time

3.Click the BOOK NOW button.  Select conference date in the date drop-down that appears and then select the teacher(s) you wish to meet with and click the NEXT button. To coordinate bookings involving multiple teachers, select all the teachers applicable to your child(ren) with whom you wish to meet.  

4.Click on an available time slot for each teacher you selected and complete the booking form that appears. You should see the booking appear in the summary list on the right hand side of the screen.  A confirmation email is sent for each booking you make or subsequently cancel. You will also receive a reminder and conference itinerary by email.

5.Confirm your appointments have been booked by looking at the “CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES” box on the right of the screen or click on the MY CONFERENCES tab.  Only appointments that appear in the CURRENTLY BOOKED CONFERENCES box or on the MY CONFERENCES page are confirmed bookings.

6.When finished booking, click the log off button located at the top right of the browser window.  You will have the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the use of the Conference Manager to the school administration through a user survey before completely exiting. We appreciate you completing the survey as this helps guide our decision-making regarding how conferences are booked in the future.

We greatly appreciate parents booking their own appointments, but know this is not always possible.  If you are unable to book your own appointment due to limited computer access or for any other reason, please phone the school at 888-1990 during regular office hours.  Mrs. Lelieveld would be happy to assist you either by phone or by email at llelieveld@sjsd.net.

                                

Important Information for Parents of Grade 8 Students

 

This year has been a very exciting year for our middle years students with the implementation of the iPad initiative in Grades 6-8. This project is one part of the St. James-Assiniboia School Division's commitment to enhancing learning environments by promoting digital workspaces for students K-12. As your son/daughter transitions to Grade 9 in 2014-2015 students will continue to be given the opportunity to utilize technology during their school day. Although the division will not be providing one iPad for every Grade 9 student, students are welcome to bring their own device to school. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a Division initiative in SJASD designed to embrace the mobile devices that students have available and bring to school daily. Allowing students to use their own devices in class will enable them to be more productive at school by allowing them to take notes, access digital resources and information whenever and wherever they need it. Participation in this initiative is completely voluntary and is a choice made by families. Please be advised that teachers will allow the use of these devices in their classrooms and at school as long as they are used to support learning. For students entering Grade 9, BYOD is the continuation of the digital learning environment in which they were immersed in Grade 8.

The following is general information about the Grade 9-12 BYOD Learning Environment. If you have any other questions please contact your school principal.

What devices will be supported?

Students are welcome to use iOS or Android tablets or Smartphones as well as Mac or Windows based laptops. Given the form factor, a tablet or laptop will better meet the needs of the students learning experiences.

When can students bring their devices?

 

 

Students will be invited to bring their device after they have signed exhibit IJNDC-E-2 Student Acceptable Use Agreement and completed any required forms that the IT Department may require to allow their device to access the Division’s wireless network.

 

 

Where can students use their devices?

Students will be allowed to use their devices in the classroom and throughout the school to support their learning. There will be guidelines governing acceptable, appropriate and safe use of these devices. Although students are using their personal devices, they are expected at all times to adhere to the Acceptable Student Use of Digital Technologies and Electronic Communication policy (IJNDC, IJNDC-R). Infractions of the policy will result in suspension of all wireless access to the Division network.

 

What happens if my child loses or damages their device at school?

 

Students are responsible for their device at all times. The Division cannot accept responsibility for lost, damaged or stolen devices.

 

Will they be able to charge their Device at school during the day?

 

Due to the number of students we expect will want to participate in the BYOD initiative, we cannot reasonably expect to provide charging facilities in school for student owned devices. Students will need to ensure that their devices are fully charged when they arrive at school.

 

Tell me more about the Acceptable Use Agreement.

 

 

The Acceptable Student Use of Digital Technologies and Electronic Communication policy (IJNDC, IJNDC-R) clearly stipulates acceptable and prohibited uses of the Division network infrastructure. The intent of the BYOD initiative is to support learning, not to allow students to text their friends during class. Providing students the opportunity to use their devices in school also comes with the expectation that students will do so in a responsible manner. Although the device belongs to the student, by choosing to use the device on the Division network, students also agree to abide by Division policy. While we will not confiscate personal devices belonging to students in cases of infractions, we will disable all network access to student devices in these situations.

 

My child doesn’t have a device to bring to school. Are there plans in place for these students?

 

Yes. Each High School will be provided with a limited pool of devices that will be available to teachers to use in their classes with students who may not have a personal device.

 

What if my child needs support using their device or getting it connected?

 

If necessary, IT Department staff will assist students in getting connected to the school WiFi network. Beyond establishing a connection to the network, all other technical issues related to the device will be the student’s responsibility to troubleshoot.

If you have any further questions please contact your child’s school principal.

 

Track & Field Is On!

The weather is beautiful for today so the Track & Field Meet will proceed as planned.  Good luck to all participants!

Kids Bowl For Free all Summer

Kids bowl for free all Summer.  Click here to find the bowling lanes closest to your home.