Greetings,

As many of you know, the Yukon Government’s vaccine mandate took effect on December 1, 2021.  Any government employee who had not attested their vaccine status by that time was immediately put on leave without pay. For our Vanier community, two staff members were put on leave without pay effect Wednesday December 1.

While this is disruptive, I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to keep the disruption to a minimum and maintain the positive learning environment.  We have been able to continue with teachers-on-call (TOC) for now as we look to finding longer-term solutions.  I will email affected students’ families and caregivers when we have a settled TOC in place.

Both these educators have had a profoundly positive effect on their students and the wider school community.  I hope that the situation will allow them to return to work soon, but that is completely out of my hands.

Please know that we will do our best to continue to provide high-value learning opportunities for the students in our care.

If you have any questions about school operations arising from this situation, please do not hesitate to contact me at Kyle.Janzen@yukon.ca

St. Joseph, pray for us!
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Greetings!

Advent has begun.  We enter into this expectant season with many questions, like “When will this COVID thing be over?”  No idea.

However, we can always prepare ourselves for the day that it does end.  Of course, we should also be preparing our homes for Christmas and our hearts for Jesus. 

We think of all those references to the coming of the Lord in the Old Testament.  Many were prepared, but, as it turned out, most weren’t prepared for what actually came.  Folks expected a Saviour in heavy armour, instead, we got the Prince of Peace.

We can daily prepare ourselves for Jesus by praying and making some room for him.

This Week

Share the Spirit is now well underway.  The large gym saw loads of students engaged in some nerf battle.  Very popular.  We’ll see bake sales and the like, so make sure students have some change in their pockets.  We are not set up for e-transfer on Share the Spirit items!

There will be an Advent Liturgy given to each teacher in block 1 and 2 on Tuesday.  We can’t congregate in the gym for a whole or even half-school gathering, so we’ve had to go back to having liturgies the individual classes.
You may have heard that the student Chat function has been eliminated from MS-Teams.  Students are able to message the teacher, but only as part of the whole team.  Anything now posted will be able to be read by everyone in the class or team.  There are no more private chats between students and no more between teachers and students.  This is unfortunate as we have come to rely on this convenient means of communication.  Email will still work, but even that is unreliable as First Class, our email platform, is nearing the end of its life and many teachers don’t check it regularly.  This move was commissioned by the department as there was some abuse of the chat privilege – across the Yukon – by a few students.  This may change in time, but not likely this year.

From Ms. Clarke at the Learning Commons:

Excellent, reliable, free information for school research projects is available at home for Vanier students: Yukon students have access to a suite of research databases 24/7 by going to vcss.ca - learning commons - researching. The user name is YukonEd and the password is resources. The databases have full text articles and include World Book Advanced, Explora, Science in Context, Gale in Context Canada, and Global Issues in Context. Any questions? Just ask Ms. Clarke, teacher-librarian, janet.clarke@yesnet.yk.ca

Finally,

The COVID Vaccine Mandate is coming on us this week.  School will continue to function normally.

Blessings,

Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Greetings,

Winter, despite not officially starting until Dec 21, is here.  Boots, coats, scarves, mitts, masks.  All gets a little complicated.

Since last weekend’s exposure notice at Vanier, the students and staff have really stepped up their mitigations.  Thank you.  Please continue to mask up, sanitize hands and surfaces, and maintain the distances necessary.  Let’s see if we can make it to Christmas, at least, without any other notices.  That would be great.

This Week
This week is not special in terms of events.  Just a regular sort of week, which seems increasingly rare.  We’ve got four weeks until the Christmas break.  The push to finish up classwork is on.  When we return in January, there is a review week, and then exams.

Thanks to Mr. Gray and Mr. Cassidy for organizing Share the Spirit this year.  While COVID mitigations will doubtless have some impact on our fundraising activities, we are going to try to make it as normal as possible.  Classes will be fundraising from Nov 20 – Dec 6.

Student photo portraits have arrived and are being sent out for teachers to give to students this week.  Some went out last week.

This week is PLC, so that means early dismissal or getting caught up on work in gr 8 and 9 homerooms.
On Fridays at lunch, some young, eager students are leading the Alpha program for those interested delving more into our Christian faith.  Thanks, and its great to see students taking the lead on this!

We continue to see vaping in the school.  Just a reminder that vapes and other tobacco/nicotine delivery products are not allowed on our premises, and will be confiscated if discovered. 

We’ve had some issues with heat in the building.  On especially cold days, it may be a good idea to wear warmer clothes as our system is complicated and the building may be warm in one spot, but not so much in another.  We are working this out.  Our apologies.

The Yukon First Nations’ Education Directorate is offering holiday food hampers to Vanier’s Indigenous families. They have set up an Eventbrite link through which families will register: https://bit.ly/winter-break-hampers. 

Please see the attached poster.

Finally,
COVID continues in our community.  The pressures of mitigation and masking take their toll on our mental well-being while attempting to safeguard our physical health.  As the vaccine mandate comes into effect, we may see further disruptions with staff absences.  I can only hope and pray that we get through this with our dignity and community intact.  More than ever we need God’s grace.

Blessings,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Special Announcement about the State of Emergency and Vanier School Operations

Greetings,

No doubt you have all heard about the state of emergency that was declared across the territory last night.  This will mean some changes around how we do business at Vanier.

Student-Led Conferences

Student-Led Conferences, scheduled for Wed, Nov 10 from 3:30- 7:00, will not be held at the school.  Instead, students will bring a portfolio of work and a ‘conversation sheet’ home.  Please go over the work with your student and discuss the questions on the sheet.  Each sheet should have a detachable section at the bottom.  Please sign off on this and send it to school with your student.  The teachers will be expecting these.

Some of these portfolios may require some time to pull together.  If you don’t have a Student-Led Conference with your student tomorrow, you will next week.

If you would like to meet with your student’s teacher, please contact the teacher through phone, email, or Teams.  The school number is 667-5901.  Reports should be already delivered for grades 8 and 9.  Senior reports went out today.

If your student is emerging (< 40-49), or has a failing percentage, the teacher will contact you.

Masks

Masks will need to be worn at all times while in the building.  This includes during PE class. 
If you don’t have a personal, reusable mask, please get some to bring to school.  We go through about 150 disposable masks a day.  While we do have a supply, we would like to cut down on the waste.  Please, bring your own mask.

Eating

This mask mandate will make eating during breaks and lunch tricky.  We’ll ask the students find a classroom – we suggest the next class in a student’s schedule, to eat lunch in.  We’ll have to remove chairs in the cafeteria to ensure some distancing.  Please don’t eat in the hallways.  Keep your mask on and up at all times in the hallway.

Sports

Our volleyball season, which was so much fun for so many, has come to a premature end.  As there is no more contact between schools, there can no longer be any games between schools.  However, practices will continue as long as the teams all continue to mask up.  We will likely do some in-house games.  Be forewarned that this, too, could change.

MS-Teams

Some of you will be in a situation where your student will not be at school during this time.  Please have your students show you their class’s MS-Teams page.  Teachers should be updating these regularly with current assignments.  If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact the teacher or myself. Kyle.Janzen@yukon.ca

Finally,

This seems a step back.  Please note that having a ‘vaccine’ does not make you immune to COVID-19.  It only makes the symptoms less severe should you contract it.  I know of many folks, double vaccinated all, who still came down with it.  You can be double-vaccinated, carry the virus, and transmit it.   We need to continue to mitigate to stop the spread.  These emergency measures are an attempt to slow it down.  Folks have their reasons for their approach to this disease.  Let us remember to be good to one another.

Thanks you and God bless,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Greetings,

This week we take the time to remember the sacrifices that so many have rendered to preserve us against those forces that seek our society’s destruction.  Sounds exaggerated, perhaps, but only to those who have forgotten, or who have never known, the urgency in those times of peril.  Without a sense of history, the whole Remembrance Day project just seems a holiday or an awkward, uncomfortable ceremony.  We may well wonder how we would fare against such a threat if it were to emerge today.  Many of those shipped off in the wars of the past were the age of our Grade 12s.  Many were younger still.  What a sacrifice – health, sanity, the obligation to kill, life itself.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Let us strive to be worthy of this sacrifice.     

This Week

On Tuesday, Nov. 9, we will have our Remembrance Day Ceremony in the small gym at 11:00 (3rd block).  Don’t forget to wear a poppy and a mask.

Don’t forget that Remembrance Day, Thursday Nov 11, is a stat holiday.  School will be closed.

On Wednesday, Nov 10 we will have an early dismissal/PLC followed by Student-Led Conferences.  These will take place from 3:30 to 7:00 in teacher’s classrooms.  Teachers will be in attendance, but the real conversation should be between students and their people.  Students will get a chance to show their work and talk about their learning progress.  Staff will be in a meeting until 3:30.  So, even though it is an early dismissal, please don’t expect teachers in their classrooms until 3:30.

Friday, Nov 12 is a PD Day.  Teachers will be examining the Review of Inclusive and Special Education Report.  Students stay home.

Food cards are being distributed to students in the office.  These cards allow students to obtain a lunch special.  Please note that these cards are for the lunch special only.  Special orders slow down the line and are not always the healthiest option.  While the special has, at times, French fries, this won’t be the usual.  

We have some new policy around allergy awareness.  I’m afraid we cannot guarantee that Vanier is a nut-free location.  While we don’t order any nut products for snacks, nor does the cafeteria use nut products, we can’t control what happens outside of school hours.  Our entire school is open to the public for use – from the cafeteria to the Learning Commons to the gyms.  We have no control over what those user groups bring in, so we cannot guarantee a nut-free school.  We can, however, be aware of allergens and work to lessen their presence.  We have a working awareness of students with allergies and have epi-pens in various locations about the school. You can view the policy on our website vcss.ca. If there is something more you’d like us to look at, please let me know. Kyle.Janzen@yukon.ca

Our school name-change project is ongoing.  No news yet. 

Report cards for Grades 8 and 9 should be in your mailboxes soon.  We’ll get the Grade 10/11/12 out early this week.

The Funeral Mass for Wanda Robbins will be held in our large gym on Nov. 20 at 10:30 AM.  We will need volunteers to help with the set up on Friday evening and the take down Saturday afternoon.  If you are interested in getting in some hours for your service learning, please contact our Religious Education Coordinator, Monica Best, or our all-round go-getting teacher Bruce Gillard.

We also need volunteers for the Special Olympics Dinners on Friday Nov 26, Saturday, Nov 27, and Sunday, Nov 28.  These can also count as service learning hours.  Contact Ms. Best or Mr. Gillard.

Finally,

In Monday’s gospel reading from Luke, Jesus again gives us hard words to live by.
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

For those who are reading their gospels, this is no surprise.  For those whom the gospels are more come-by-chance, Jesus’s admonitions and warnings don’t jive well.  But think about it.  Can we lead others into sin?  Of course, when we sin ourselves.  Who or what else can you control?  Only yourself, and that with God’s grace. 

Blessings,

Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Greetings!

Today is All Saints’ Day, the day after Hallowe’en.  This Christian feast day dates back over 1000 years, but how many of us give it much consideration coming as it does in the shadow of Hallowe’en?  Funny that we give so much more place in our culture to Hallowe’en, where images of death and decay are celebrated, and we give into to indulging in those treats we know are not good for us.

Christ calls us to be Saints, not devils.  Maybe we lose sight of that.  The darkness that shrouds our Hallowe’en activities can be eclipsed as we try, often with difficulty, to be more like light.  As a school, we have to prepare students for a future as adults in the workforce.  As a Catholic school, we should also remember that we are preparing students for an eternity.  Better to be saints than sinners.  
 
News

The free lunch program that we enjoyed over the last month is now at an end.  Instead, the cafeteria will provide free breakfast snacks during the first break in the morning.  The Yukon First Nations’ Education Directorate will issue 10-lunch punch cards to Indigenous students.  If you are experiencing food insecurity and require a punch card for your student, please contact the office at vcss@gov.yk.ca.  All calls are confidential.

Lots of excellent Volleyball action this last weekend at Vanier.  Thanks to all the athletes, coaches, and supporters.  Good times!

We’ll have a School Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov 2 at 7:00 in the Learning Commons.  All are welcome.
This week, the grade 12s will be completing their math and literacy assessments, many of which were not completed last year because of snow storms and internet outages.  The big day for this is Tuesday, Nov 2 when 2/3 of grade 12s will write their assessments.

Next week, a few notable things are happening:

• Grades 8 and 9 will receive an informal report, and the grade 10-11-12s will receive formal report cards.
• We will have Student-led Conferences on Wednesday, Nov. 10 from 3:30 to 7:00 PM.  Come on in to the school, visit your student’s classes where you may look over portfolios of work.  Teachers will be on hand in their classrooms.
• Don’t forget the stat holiday, Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. 
• The next day, Friday Nov. 12 is a PD Day
• 
  

Finally, I can’t help but think about how we are adjusting to a world without Wanda Robbins in it.  This is chance for us to remember to say those kind things to each other when you can.

Bless you all,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Greetings,

First off, we are devastated with news of the sudden passing of Wanda Robbins, counsellor from CKES.  Her official retirement was to be this November.  Wanda was a principled and powerful presence in whatever role she played.  We will miss her greatly.  Our prayers and thoughts go out for her family, especially her children who will feel her absence keenly.  Rest in Peace, dear friend.

A memorial is being planned for mid-November, but we will have to finalize the date.  Stay tuned.

Violence at Vanier

No doubt several of you have heard news about last weekend’s attack on a youth on Vanier school grounds.  I want to assure everyone that no Vanier students were involved in this.  This incident has no relation to our school community other than happening on our grounds.  This is an active police investigation now.

Awards Night

Last night, Monday, Oct 25 at 7:00, was the Awards Night for the last academic year 2020-2021.  We had well over 200 guests.  Congratulations to all those who received awards.  For those who weren’t there, we’ll send along your certificates in the mail.

Confirmation Classes

Confirmation classes have begun for those in grade 7 and over Wednesdays at 6:30 in the CYO Hall.  For more information, contact the Rectory at office@sacredheartcathedral.ca.

Marinoske Art Auction for Braeburn Camp

The artworks are currently set up in the Transportation Museum.  You can have a look at items that are for immediate sale and those that will be on the auction block Friday whenever the museum is open.  The auction begins at 6:00 on Friday Oct 29, but doors open at 4 PM.  See you there.  We have applied for a beverage license.  You can find some images in an entry from Stella Martin on the Whitehorse Buy and Sell Facebook page.

Grade 11 Retreat

On Wednesday, Oct 27, those grade 11 students currently in World Religions will have a retreat here at Vanier.  NET will be aiding in the action. 

Vaping at School

Vapes, cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc. are all not allowed at school.  We are seeing an uptick in vaping – especially in the girls’ restroom.  Vapes and other tobacco-type products and devices will be confiscated and destroyed if found on school property.  If you have questions, please contact me at Kyle.Janzen@yukon.ca.

Hallowe’en

Another Hallowe’en comes round.  If you are planning on dressing up for Hallowe’en, please do so on Friday, Oct 29.  Some costumes present issues.  Please don’t wear any masks that obscure your face, and, please, no guns or other things that could be perceived as a credible weapon.

Mid-Term

Mid-term Reports will be submitted on Friday, Oct 29.  Hopefully we can get these reports out by the middle of next week.

Finally,

In Monday’s gospel from Luke 13: 10-17, we read of the Pharisee’s giving Jesus trouble for curing a sick girl on the Sabbath.  They claim that the Sabbath should be kept as a day of rest.  Jesus lets them know that relieving suffering is not the sort of work that one should refrain from on any day.  The Sabbath, as a day of rest, is something our culture doesn’t much observe any more.  Reflecting on Wanda’s life, her commitment to her family, and her deep and abiding faith, let’s remember her memory and, if possible, make a holy day in the week for rest and family.  We often live our lives as if we will never die.  Making time for those in our lives that we love and reflection on our relationship with God does take time and commitment.  Wanda was good at those things.
Bless her, her family, and you.

Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS   
 

Important Changes to our ‘Free Lunch’ Program
The Yukon First Nations’ Education Directorate (YFNED) has sponsored the free lunch program for Vanier students during the past month.  We thank them for their generosity.  The program, however, is going to change. 

Starting Monday, Nov 1, Jerry and Jhenette at the cafeteria will provide a breakfast for all interested students.  Items may include rice, hash browns, sausage, wraps, croissants, and others.  Lunch will go back to the way it was before October.  Students will be able to purchase a variety of items.  However, First Nations students will receive from YFNED a punch card that will have ten free lunches.  When that card is used up, another will be issued.  YFNED has also extended this offer to those who may be experiencing difficulty.  If you would like your student to receive a card, please email the school at vcss@gov.yk.ca.  Your request will remain confidential.

Again, I’d like to thank YFNED for this generous offer as well as their sponsorship of the food trays that classes have been receiving from Jerry and Jhenette twice a week.  Thanks also go to Jerry and Jhenette for all their hard work getting the food out to our students.

Thanks again, and, if you have any questions, please contact me at Kyle.Janzen@yukon.ca.
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS