​Greetings again!
 
The COVID situation is emerging at a new, rapid pace.  Officials expect the number of cases to double every two days!  The incubation period is a much shorter 1-2 days, but the time needed to spend recovering is down to 7.  Of course there is some variability, but that is the general idea.
 
In response to this emergent situation, we have decided to cancel all grade 8 and 9 exams for next week.  Some teachers may opt to use portions of the exams for assessment needs in the new semester, but that is up to them, and it won’t be first thing on Tuesday, Jan 18, when classes resume.  NO CLASSES NEXT WEEK.
 
The new, updated exam schedule is posted to our website at vcss.ca.
 
All grade 10- 11- 12 exams are still on.  No change there.  We hope to reduce the number of students in school in the next week and have taken these steps in an attempt to reduce transmission.
 
We ask that all grade 8 and 9 students stay home during exam week.  Grade 10-11-12 students may come in for their exams or other final presentation assessment, but we respectfully ask that they clear out when finished.
 
This is unusual, but we are doing what we can to remain operational.  When classes resume on Tuesday, Jan 18, we hope that all teachers will have TEAMS up and running to the optimum so that we can ‘pivot’ to remote learning if we need to do so.
 
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.  Please email me directly if you have any questions or concerns at Kyle.Janzen@yukon .ca.
 
Again, I would like to take this opportunity to send out my gratitude to Alexandria Sullivan, our Office Administrator and the excellent work she has done for us over the years.  I’ll miss her dearly, as I’m sure everyone else will, too.  We welcome Melissa Craig in the her new role and I have confidence that we’ll keep going as strong as ever.
 
Please take care,
God bless,
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS.

Week of January 4 – 7, 2022

Greetings,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope that this break afforded you all a chance to rest and recreate with your family and friends.  Your arms are likely sore from all that shovelling, the COVID booster, or both.  Maybe we’ll get some relief from the snow with these colder temperatures? 

This Week

First off, we will have some changes in the office.  Alexandria Sullivan, our Office Administrator of 8 years, has accepted a temporary assignment with the Department of Justice.  We can only wish Alex all the best as she embarks on this new and exciting chapter in her career.  I know that she’ll be as excellent in her new role as she has been serving us.  I’m sad to see her go, but happy that she is doing something she’s had her eye on for a while.  All the best.  We will miss you sorely.

Melissa Craig, our Financial Assistant, has been on leave this year but has graciously agreed to take over for Alex.  I can think of no one better to take up this role and am very grateful that we will have someone in place who knows the duties and has shown such commitment to the school over the years.  Thanks Melissa, and welcome back!

Rodelyn Pineda, who was filling in for Melissa, has also agreed to stay on until the end of the year.  Lyn has been a valuable and effective addition to the office staff, so this is a win also.

COVID is not showing any signs of letting up.  Even though the Omicron version doesn’t seem as rough, it is highly transmissible.  We will likely see numbers climb, and this includes in our school. Turns out Saskatchewan and the Yukon are the only two entities that have in-person learning.  Please self-monitor and follow all masking guidelines while in school.  If you are feeling ill, please stay home.  Review materials should all be up on TEAMS.

All that to say, this week is Review Week where teachers and students prepare for the exams coming up next week.  Please encourage study and finishing up outstanding assignments.  This is the chance to make the best of this last semester.

The exam schedule is posted to the website.  Check it out.  Just a reminder that students need to remain in their exam settings for at least one and half hours.

All Grade 10s students will write the Grade 10 Literacy Exam during the week of January 24-28.  Ms. Brogdan will register those Grade 11 and Grade 12 students who have missed the exams because of the disruptions from COVID, etc.  These are mandatory for graduation.

If you are sending an email to the school regarding student absences or general inquiries, please send the email to vcss@gov.yk.ca.

Finally,

This has been a tough ride with COVID, and many are likely experiencing the troubles this disease has wrought just now.  Christ said in John 14: 27, “Peace I leave to you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Yes, let’s not be fearful.

Blessings,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

Talent show zoom link!
Topic: VCSS Talent Show
Time: Dec 17, 2021 01:00 PM Yukon

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82764955641?pwd=ZElqMkx4MUhCWStUUDEzSjlXN0VEUT09

Meeting ID: 827 6495 5641
Passcode: 718309

Greetings,

It’s Christmas, and you might think that things are winding down at Vanier.  Nope…

Share the Spirit wraps up this week with presents getting wrapped up also.  The Vanier economy seems to be thriving as we were able to provide gifts for all 25 family profiles and add another $1300.00 to the coffers of Share the Spirit.  Great job everyone.  Special thanks to Messers Gray and Cassidy.

This week is another PLC, so early dismissal on Wednesday.

At our recent School Council meeting we introduced a few changes to our reporting schedule.  Instead of an early report going home, the behaviours for success report will be rolled into the mid-term report which will go home as a formal report card for the 8s and 9s as it already does for the seniors.

The good folks at YFNED have sponsored a Christmas turkey dinner for the entire school on Friday, Dec. 14 at lunch.  Jerry and Jhenette will be serving it up in the cafeteria.  No voucher needed!

Speaking of food vouchers, some students must keep better track of their red punch cards.  These do have a cash value, and we have noticed that many times students do not have a voucher, so another is issued, and that is lost, too.  This situation can’t continue as the punch card is how we complete our accounting to the YFNED who sponsors the program.  While we all know that things get lost sometimes, please remember to keep track of your card.  The office can help...

In case you were wondering, COVID is still a thing.  We must continue to wear mask, sanitize, and keep a reasonable distance.  One development worth pointing out is that parents do not need to show proof of vaccination to enter the building to meet with teachers and their children.  If you are working here or volunteering, however, that does require proof of vaccination status.

Parking lot worries seems to be adding up recently.  As the weather gets colder, students may wish to idle their vehicles, particularly the diesels.  Our student parking lot is a no-idle zone, so this poses a problem.  Maybe consider a different vehicle during the cold weather or take the bus?  Also, some students are using the staff parking lot, and this becomes a problem when staff and guests can’t find parking.  And finally, we do have a student drop-off zone just off the entrance to the student parking lot.  The door to the school is very close.  Please do not use the staff parking lot as a drop-off.  It is a tight fit and very busy.  We do need to keep that lane clear.

Finally,

COVID keeps trying to wreck our jam, but we won’t let it.  While we are all well used to behaving ourselves, and we will continue to carry on with mitigations, I hope you are able to spend some quality time with friends and family this holiday.  We will be on the other side of the dark and cold season soon.  Remember from the story from Luke when the shepherds heard the great news.  It was cold and dark then, too.  Let us rejoice and let our love toward each other and Christ our Lord grow.  Come sweet Emmanuel!

Blessings,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS
 

Greetings,

We are looking at our last two weeks before the break.  Activity swirls around us much like the snow of late. 

First off, Vanier has had another exposure notice.  I believe that all staff and students’ families get these notices.  If you are not ‘fully immunized’ against COVID, and are in the classes below, the expectation is that you will self-isolate until Dec 10.  All staff and students must self-monitor for symptoms daily.

Period 1-2: Library/Learning Commons, on November 29th and 30th
Period 3-4: Career Life Connections (Room 16), on November 29th and 30th
Period 5-6: Anatomy and Physiology 12, on November 29th and 30th
Period 7-8: Chemistry 12, on November 29th and 30th
 
Monday, Dec 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.  Limits on gatherings put off our traditional Candle Ceremony again this year.  We hope to do something in the Spring when conditions allow for larger gatherings.  Meanwhile, we will commemorate the day with a school-wide address and class activities during morning prayer.

Tuesday, Dec 7 is a School Council Meeting.  This one is notable because the Minister of Education, Jeanie McLean, is scheduled to be in attendance, but it looks like we are back to the screen.  It is on Zoom and starts at 7:00.  Here is a link to the Zoom meeting.  If it doesn’t work here, it will on the vcss.ca website.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7853854075?pwd=dmxMazlJZzlkQldIb2ZzbXE4QndHZz09

Share the Spirit activities wrap up this week.  Students and staff have been busy with some pretty exciting events.  Thanks to all the participants and organizers.

We are planning a talent show for the last day of school before the break. Friday, Dec 17.  This will be a live stream with one grade cohort in attendance.  If you are interested in pulling something together, please see Ms. Hart.

We are having to review our field trip permissions, so please be prepared to sign more permission forms as we go through our trove of blanket permissions and field trip requests.

We do have Teachers-on-Call in place until Dec 17 for those staff placed on LWOP because of the vaccine mandate.  We are working hard to ensure that learning continues during this time.

Finally,

Christmas comes at just the right time.  The dark and cold are naturally repellant to us.  Come light, come warmth, but most of all come Jesus.  We need the balm the promise of salvation offers us, but we have a part to play.  Reflection, reconciliation (confession), and prayer all are ways to prepare our hearts and our homes for His presence.   Let’s not forget what this time is really about in all the hub-bub and present purchasing.  That’s an old trope, but no less true this year than any other.  I say it for myself as much as anyone.

Blessings,
​
Kyle Janzen, Principal VCSS

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