Dear Vanier students and families:


​A Metaphor for Change


Spring is a metaphor for change. Some changes we eagerly await, and some we abhor. Some changes we plan and others arrive uninvited. To all these changes we ask the gift of Your perspective beckoning us to expectation, hope, and rebirth.
May the sunlight and the rain be reminders that You are at work renewing the earth. As a God of renewal, You are ever at work in our lives, too.
Open our eyes and lives to the needed changes in our lives this Spring. Awaken us to new life and perspective, for this we pray in Jesus’ name.
- Author Unknown


As the weather continues to improve, we understand that it may become more and more difficult to be sitting in front of a screen each day to work.  This may be a bit easier if you schedule your time each day – routines and schedules can be something to help bring calmness and predictability.  They can also help with motivation, too!

​
We encourage everyone, near the start of each week, to plan out your time for the week – our Learning Assistance Teachers and Educational Assistants are available to help students in this regard.  Please feel free to email vcsskills@yesnet.yk.ca to ask for help or visit “The Hallway” in Google Classrooms to see who is on duty in the Virtual Skills Room (and get the Zoom code to visit it).


Is Google Classroom a bit of a mystery?

Many of our teachers are using Google Classroom to help manage their classes – we know that many parents are wondering how it works or what it looks like!  Here is a short video that explains it well for parents/guardians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgS-hoSIjnw

Remember that you can contact a teacher and ask to be added as a parent so you can get notification emails!


Extra Long Weekend coming up!

We had a PD Day scheduled for April 24 that we postponed to May 15. Our staff need some time set aside to plan for the end of this year and the start of next year.  On Friday, May 15, class meetings and regularly scheduled events may be cancelled or postponed – those details will come directly from teachers next week.  Further, Victoria Day is Monday, May 18 and there will be no classes that day, as well.


Service Learning

Service Learning has always been a core component of our school’s religious education program.  Completing these hours in Grades 10-12 also help each student meet the requirement of BC’s Graduation Program – a requirement that we cover through the mandatory service learning hours in Christ and Culture 10 and World Religions 12.

Service Learning is not intended to be a burden – rather it is designed to help our students understand that giving of themselves – their time, talent, and efforts – actually helps them experience a sense of satisfaction and/or gratitude that can be life-changing.  In these current times of physical distancing and feelings of isolation we need, more than ever, to find ways to stay connected to our larger community.  Service Learning is one way to help our students do this.

Our school’s Social Justice Club will be highlighting service learning on our Instagram feed (vcssyukon) all week!

Tomorrow, students who have not yet met their service learning requirements will receive an email from Mr. Gillard and Ms. Gray.  We continue to expect service learning hours to be completed and will allow parents to monitor and sign the log sheets.  The time requirements are:

• Grade 8 – 5 hours
• Grade 9 – 10 hours
• Christ and Culture 10 – 15 hours
• World Religions 12 – 15 hours

Of course, many of the traditional opportunities to earn service learning hours are not available due to the Covid-19 pandemic and public heath restrictions.  Here is a list of service learning opportunities that will meet our requirements:

• A “random act of kindness” for another person
• Pick up trash in around your neighbourhood (or a school yard!)
• Sharing books/puzzles/games with other families in your neighbourhood
• Zoom or phone tutoring for other students (please, no in-person meetings!)
• Write letters to those who are housebound (we can help deliver them)
• Write thank you cards/letters to essential service workers (we can help deliver them)
• Do some extra chores around your house (above what you normally do)
• Collect food from your friends and neighbours and deliver to the Food Bank
• Sweep driveways or sidewalks for others
• Walk a neighbour’s dog
• Prepare a meal(s) for someone who could use it
• Go to the store/get groceries for someone who cannot go out

Counselling

Our school’s counselling department has always provided supports for students who are grappling with a variety of personal issues.  Ms. Ouellette and Ms. Brogdon continue to be available to students and families.

The best way to get in touch with them right now is by email (Mia.Ouellette@gov.yk.ca orKatrina.Brogdon@gov.yk.ca) and they can make individual arrangements to schedule an appointment.


Please contact us!

Please don’t hesitate to contact teachers, counsellors, or the school’s administration to address your concerns – we’d very much prefer to resolve an issue while it is still small rather than let it grow into something more serious. We also need your feedback in order to know how things are going!

• Telephone: 667-5901
• Email:
  • School’s general email:vcss@gov.yk.ca
  • Skills Room email:vcsskills@yesnet.yk.ca
  • Staff emails:firstname.lastname@yesnet.yk.ca(e.g. ryan.sikkes@yesnet.yk.ca)

Sincerely,
​Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice principal

Dear Vanier students and families:
 
The gospel from Sunday’s Mass was the story of the two disciples meeting Jesus on the road of Emmaus.  The two disciples did not recognize Jesus at first and only realized, later, who he was.  It’s a beautiful story on the theme of despair turning to hope and unbelief turning into belief.  
What lessons can we take from this story of not recognizing Jesus immediately?  How do we make sure that the lives we live, or the situations that we face, don’t cause us to overlook or fail to recognize the presence of God in our lives?
 
The rhythm and routine of learning from home is starting to settle in for many students and families.  Here are a few items that may help as things continue…
 
Students: General information and announcements
 
Students may have noticed that an extra class popped up today in their Google Classroom desktop – “The Hallway” is a classroom that contains general information and announcements that pertain to a variety of things: Skills Room, Learning Commons, Grad 2020, Social Justice Club, etc.  Please check this classroom periodically for information only – there are no assignments or work required for this class!!
 
Students & Parents/Guardians: Getting extra help
 
As a school, we will start to reach out a bit more to those students who don’t appear to be engaging their course work so that we can offer as much support as necessary.  At any time, if you need specific help that is best supported by a teacher, connect to Vanier’s Virtual Skills Room or to a teacher. We do not want this “learning from home” to add undue stress or negatively affect family relationships. Please reach out if you need help!
 
Parent/Guardians: Productive feedback for learning at home
 
Hopefully, your children are able to do a lot of their school work independently from you. However, there will be times when they struggle or want to show you their work. When you notice that a child needs feedback about a task, there are some ways to ensure your responses are helpful.
 
Ideally, we need to help learners know what their strengths are and then provide information to help them adjust their thinking in order to build or improve skills. We want to avoid simple statements like “Looks good,” or “Not bad.” Feedback can promote learning – and benefit your relationship - when it is specific and builds on strengths. Try using these prompts to promote learning:

• I noticed that you …
• Next time, you might try …
• Have you thought about …
• This part is interesting. Can you describe your thinking for me?

 
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.  Simply reply to this email, email a staff member at firstname.lastname@yesnet.yk.ca, email vcss@gov.yk.ca for general inquiries, or call the school at 667-5901 – take your pick!
 
Sincerely,
 
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal

​Dear Vanier Students and Families:
 
Draw us forth…
Draw us forth, God of all creation.
Draw us forward and away from limited certainty
into the immense world of your love.
Give us the capacity to even for a moment
taste the richness of the feast you give us.
Give us the peace to live with uncertainty,
with questions,
with doubts.
Help us to experience the resurrection anew
with open wonder and an increasing ability
to see you in the people of Easter.
Amen.
 
We hope everyone enjoyed the lovely weather this past weekend – the crocuses appearing and the trees starting to bud is such an exciting sign of rebirth and renewal!  It is no coincidence that the early Christians chose to mark Jesus’ death and resurrection during this season.
 
Our first few days of learning from home with most students participating online have been quite smooth from our perspective.  If your reality has not been the same, please let us know so we can try and help!  We would much rather help sort out any issues early on before a student starts to feel behind.
 
Here are few bits of information to share this week:
 

• Later this week, we’ll be rolling out our “Virtual Skills Room” – details will be in a future email and posted on the school website – www.vcss.ca – as an option for students to get extra help, assignment reading and/or scribing online, etc.
• If portal passwords need to be reset, please call the school at 667-5901 or email vcss@gov.yk.ca
• If you require a pick up or delivery of school materials or assignments, please call the school at 667-5901 or use this link to request one.
• We still have locker contents to distribute – please feel free to call the school at 667-5901 before you come to pick them up or use the link above to request a delivery.
• Books are available from the Learning Commons – simply email janet.clarke@yesnet.yk.ca with your requests and to make arrangements for pickup or delivery.
• You can always email teachers using the email convention firstname.lastname@yesnet.yk.ca – please don’t hesitate to contact teachers or the school if you have any questions or concerns.  Again, earlier is better!

 
I just want to repeat a few suggestions for students to help set the best conditions for learning at home:
 

1. Think about where you are going to work.  If possible, find a quiet place that you use for studying only.
2. Have a regular routine.  Set a schedule and study at the same time each day.  Consider scheduling your classwork in a specific order.
3. Plan out your study time to include regular breaks.
4. Keep pace with your schoolwork and don’t wait until the last minute to complete tasks.
5. Keep your learning area tidy and organized and with minimal distractions – this includes your online environments – put your phone on “do not disturb”, shut off your notifications, close multiple browser tabs, etc.

Let’s keep in touch!  Our Instagram account (vcssyukon) is a great way to stay connected.  We’ll have more opportunities as the days progress.
 
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Happy Easter!
 
Sincerely,
 
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal

Dear Vanier students and families:


Halleluiah, He has risen!  Truly, He has risen!


On behalf of all staff of Vanier Catholic Secondary, I bring you warm Easter greetings.  Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection remind us that all things are possible through God. We hope that these warm, lengthening days inspire a sense of rebirth and renewal. 


We hope that your long weekend was joyous, despite the lack of being able to gather as we usually do with family and friends.  Thank you for making those sacrifices for the sake of our collective health.
This week will see the commencement of learning from home on Thursday.  Tomorrow, all students will receive emails from their teachers outlining what the remainder of the year’s learning standards will be, along with details about how students will interact with teachers going forward.


As a reminder, the expectation is that all Grade 8 and 9 students will have a total of 10 hours per week of teaching and work time.  Grade 10-12 students will have 3 hours per week per class for teaching and work. Student and family well-being are our top priority, so please communicate with teachers if adjustments are necessary.


At this time, we still do not have approved protocols for the handling of materials (e.g. locker contents, technology items, assignments and learning materials).  We have been advised that these will be in place tomorrow afternoon and we can begin making arrangements for pick ups or deliveries as soon as we verify our processes will be safe and hygienic.  When pick ups or deliveries of materials is ready to begin, we will send out another email to everyone.  Thank you for your continued patience.


However, we are now in a position to begin arranging for the loan of technology.  We have a very limited number of laptops, iPads, and keyboards that we can loan.  These are our priorities (in order):

1. Grade 12 students who do not have access within their home to a suitable device for up to 12 hours per week.
2. Students who require technology as outlined in a Student Learning Plan or Individual Education Plan.
3. Other students who have no access to suitable technology within their household.
4. Other students who may have trouble accessing a suitable device within their household for the required time each week.

​We understand that, for many families, it will be convenient to have an additional device in the household.  We simply cannot provide enough devices to meet those who desire them for convenience’s sake.  Please keep the following in mind when assessing whether you need an additional device:

1. Most online activities will not be done according to a prescribed schedule, so families can expect that online work can be done throughout the day, not just at particular times.
2. Most scheduled activities will be Zoom conferences which can easily be done using a smart phone or tablet.
3. Most smartphones are more than capable of showing videos, using Zoom, and using Google classroom.  We have a number of wired keyboards (Lightning connectors for Apple phones or iPads) that make typing easier which may be all your child needs to fully participate using their phone.

To request a device, please follow this link or call the school at 667-5901.


We have heard some anxieties with regard to assessment, grading, and report cards.  Here are some key messages from us:

• All students are expected to make the best of these upcoming learning opportunities;
• Students who were passing their courses at the end of spring break are expected to pass, but grades may go up or down based on performance between now and June 12.
• Students who were not passing at the end of spring break must complete prior work as evidence of that learning.  Students in this position will be contacted by each applicable teacher to demonstrate the required learning in order to improve their performance and pass the course.
• Students will not have final, summative exams in June.
• Each teacher will determine the best way to ensure students have demonstrated the required learning and provide a final report card with detailed comments about next steps.

As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have further questions or concerns.


​​Sincerely,
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal

Dear Vanier students and families:

First, two important updates.  As you can imagine, things have been changing quickly over the last days and weeks and we had been making some specific plans without all the necessary information.  As a result some of our plans need to change.  We apologize for any inconvenience these changes may result in:

1.The distribution of locker contents and learning materials is postponed.   We had been advised to not provide families with any materials from inside the school to ensure the safest and most up to date recommendation are followed to prevent any possibility of the spread of COVID-19.  We don’t want to create any unnecessary risks and in an abundance of precaution, we will wait for official guidelines for the safe handling of all materials from schools as recommended by Yukon Department of Health and Social Services.

2.Home learning will start on Thursday, April 16.  Up until yesterday, we had been operating on the understanding that learning would resume on the 15th.  All communications from Vanier, including yesterday’s emails from teachers, reflected this.  The Department of Education has clarified that classes are suspended until the 15th, inclusive, resulting in the first day of learning at home being Thursday, April 16.
 
Yesterday, our Minister of Education announced that face-to-face classes with students would be cancelled for the remainder of this school year.  We are quite sad that this is the case, but absolutely understand the need to do so in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.  I’ve attached a letter and FAQ sheet – these were also sent out yesterday.

Since staff returned to school on March 30, we have been preparing for this possibility and will be ready to roll out our learning from home program next week as promised.

Each teacher has been asked to develop an educational program for their class to facilitate learning from home.  As mentioned in Monday’s email, the time allotments for this program are:

• 10 hours per week for Grade 8 & 9 students (3 hours each for Scimatics and Humanities, 1 hour each for Religion, French, PE, and options class); and
• 3 hours per week per course for Grade 10-12 students

Teachers will choose one of three methods for delivering and accepting assignments with the goal of these being ready for use on April 16.  On that date, you will be able to check what each teacher will be using by checking our school website next week.

1. Email/posting assignment/instructions to website and collecting and communicating by email;
2. Google Classroom (accessible through https://portal.yesnet.yk.ca); or
3. Another technology that was in use prior to the cancellation of classes (e.g. FreshGrade)

In all cases, teachers and staff may host Zoom meetings to facilitate small-group or class-wide discussions or to provide additional support.

If you need help accessing the portal, please start here: https://www.vcss.ca/help.html and watch Mr. Biss’ very helpful video.  The link to the portal login is at vcss.ca under the ‘Portal’ menu.

• The user name for every student is [student number]@yesnet.yk.ca (e.g. 1234567@yesnet.yk.ca)
• Most students have a password in place.  If you need it reset, please call the school at 667-5901 any time after 1 pm today or email vcss@gov.yk.ca
• If you need a student number, please call the school at 667-5901 any time after 1 pm today.  We will ask some questions to verify identity before releasing a student number.  We will not do this over email.

 
We will also be developing some structures to help students need additional support, especially those who were used to being supported by our Educational Assistants.  We are developing plans and structures to make additional help available to students.  Please keep in mind this may look and feel very different from what students are used to receiving in the school.
 
There are still many unknowns with regard to how the next days and weeks will go.  Our commitment to keeping you as informed as possible remains.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions and concerns.
 
Sincerely,
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal

On April 7, it was announced that face-to-face classes would be cancelled for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.  Our school staff has been working hard over the last days preparing for this eventuality and will be rolling out an educational program to get kids to the end of the year on April 15.

Dear Vanier students and families:
 
In the Catholic tradition, this week is called Holy Week as we mark the somber events leading to Christ’s crucifixion and death and celebrate the joy of his resurrection on Easter Sunday.  It is a week that elicits a wide range of emotions.  In a similar way, we are all experiencing a wide range of emotions as we deal with the worldwide response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the uncertainly, at the school level, of what comes next for us all.
 
Ms. Ouellette and Ms. Brogdon have started an information website with resources for students and parents/guardians: https://vaniercatholicsecondarycounselling.weebly.com/  Please feel free to reach out to them if you or your child requires any additional supports during these difficult times.
 
Next week, on April 15, our teachers will commence a program to facilitate our students learning the remaining essential parts of each course from home.  Here are the requirements that the Department of Education have shared with us:

• Grades 8 & 9 – The provision of opportunities and resources for students to engage in language arts, literacy, mathematics, numeracy learning standards, and the personal and social core competencies of the curriculum. Teachers will assign about ten hours of work to be done by each student per week and will work with their students and families/guardians on the delivery of these materials.  [For Vanier, the ten hours will be divided as follows: 3 hours per week for each of Humanities and Scimatics and 1 hour per week for each of French, Religion, Physical Education, and the options class]
• Grades 10-12 – For learners in their graduation years, this will include providing the activities, resources and supports for students to develop the competencies and understandings outlined in learning standards that are prioritized so that they can be successful in as many of their current courses as possible. Teachers will assign about three hours of work per course to be done by each student per week and will work with students and families/guardians on the delivery of these materials.

Starting tomorrow, teachers will begin contact students by email to check in and collecting any specific concerns about their classes.  They are still planning their instructional approaches and will share those details with students on Wednesday, April 15. 
 
We have heard some concerns about technology as we have been reaching out to families:

• Zoom – there have been many news reports about the security and misuse of Zoom.  We are confident that Zoom is a secure platform as long as the meeting settings are configured correctly.  The misuse that has been reported is when meeting login details are shared publicly and not password protected.  We will message students individually with the login details and passwords to ensure meetings are kept secure.
• Access to technology – we have heard that some families will require additional technology and we hope to be in a position to loan out our limited numbers of iPads and laptops to those families who need them.  More details on how to make a request will be sent out on Wednesday morning.
• Portal Logins – we have heard inquiries about the login to the student portal.  Starting Wednesday afternoon at 1 pm, we will have telephone-based technical support in place to assist families with resetting passwords and troubleshooting accessing the student portal.  More information will come in an email on Wednesday morning.

 
Starting Wednesday afternoon at 1 pm, we will begin distributing the contents of student lockers through curbside pickup or through delivery to homes.  We will share the specific instructions on how to obtain the locker contents at the school or request delivery by email on Wednesday morning.
 
To be honest, I had hoped to send out more specific information and instructions about various things in this email.  However, we simply don’t have all the information that we need, as a school, yet to move forward.  Hopefully by Wednesday morning, we will be in a better position to do so.  Thank you for your continued patience.
 
We hope that all our students will use this week to continue reading, trying new things, keeping physically active, and reviewing previous topics.  Our Instagram page and school website have lots of other suggestions to keep busy, too!
 
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions or concerns.
 
Sincerely,
Ryan Sikkes, principal and Jeanette Gallant, vice-principal