August 14, 2014

To Parents/Guardians of Grade 9 Students:

Welcome to Grade 9! This year marks a significant step upwards in expectations for high school

students and we encourage parents to work with us in helping make this a successful year for your

children, our students!

Key thoughts for Grade 9 include the following:

The single biggest comment we hear from Grade 9 students year after year is how surprised they are that teachers treat the content of

courses so much more seriously! Grade 9 is a preparatory year for provincial exams which come into effect in grade 10, and our staff

does an excellent job of this transition period. Concrete thinking and hands-on work continues to be very important, but in Grade 9,

abstract thinking becomes part of many courses. As students progress through Grade 9, they will be challenged to develop their critical

thinking skills of application, analysis and synthesis. Of course a good memory and retaining information is still helpful, but higher level

thinking skills become more important.

Grade 9 is also an exciting year as students get to experience many more leadership opportunities in the classroom, in the school, and

in the community. Students begin to see the bigger picture as they now begin to make choices that affect their future. In addition, stu-

dents now can take full courses in their areas of special interest including Leadership, Visual Arts, Drama, Band and Yearbook

(computer graphics).

It is important to note that parental support is just as important in high school as at any other time in your child’s education. As parents,

stay in touch with your child’s teachers, read school announcements/newsletters, and come to P.A.C. meetings7 and no matter what

your kids say, visit the school often! Tours during school operating hours can be arranged for parents with prior notice. This is a great

way to observe our school in operation and to also get a feel for our school culture.

Also, please feel free to call if you have a question or concern. The classroom teacher is the first contact regarding coursework or

achievement. Our school counselor is also available to help with personal or academic concerns, and of course, admin and office staff

are often able to help with various issues. We look forward to working with you.

All the best for a great year at Don Ross!

Nick Pascuzzi

Principal

DON ROSS EAGLE

Mr. N. Pascuzzi, Principal Mrs. S. Paquette, Clerical Assistant

Mr. B. Gordon, Vice-Principal Mrs. A. MacDougall, Clerical Assistant

Ms. K. Saenger, Vice-Principal Website: www.sd48donross.org

42091 Ross Road PO BOX 299, Brackendale, BC, V0N 1H0 Tel: 604-898-3671 Fax: 604-898-4672

For staff email address: 1st letter of their first name AND full lastname@sd48.bc.ca i.e. npascuzzi@sd48.bc.ca

April 5, 2016

Welcome Back Don Ross Families!

We hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable spring break and had a chance to go outside and take advantage of

the Squamish sun that finally arrived. Please enjoy the Term 3 Newsletter of 2015-2016 and find out what’s happening as

we begin the last three months of school. As you will see our middle school students have been busy sampling apprentice-

ship work at the post-secondary level, sharpening their decision-making skills through chess tournaments, building lead-

ership skills on the court, improving team communication on the field, exploring ways of living more sustainably both in

our community as well as at school, and creating innovative works of art.

We may still have 3 months to go until summer but that hasn’t stopped staff and students from making plans for

next year. Our grade 9 students visited Howe Sound Secondary in February to familiarize themselves with the exciting

new opportunities that await them and have selected all their courses for next Fall. Our current grade 7’s and 8’s have

also completed their online course selections for next year. Should you or your child have any questions or concerns about

course selections for next year, please contact our counsellor Mr. Thompson here at the school.

While staff and students are busy making plans for next year, so are our parents. Our PAC has been volunteer-

ing their time this year to explore new ways to support and contribute to the student experience here at Don Ross Middle

School. If you haven’t done so already, please consider joining us at our next PAC meeting to contribute your ideas and

input into our future plans - we appreciate having a variety of parents from all grade levels as we find new ways to con-

tribute and collaborate with the staff and students at DRMS.

Our school year is far from over and we are already excited about the new things to come next year!

Sincerely,

Robin L. Kirk Principal

DON ROSS EAGLE

Ms. Robin Kirk, Principal Mrs. S. Paquette, Clerical Assistant

Mr. S. Bent, Vice-Principal Mrs. M. Hurlbert, Clerical Assistant

Ms. K. Saenger, Vice-Principal Website: www.sd48donross.org

42091 Ross Road PO BOX 299, Brackendale, BC, V0N 1H0 Tel: 604-898-3671 Fax: 604-898-4672

For staff email address: 1st letter of their first name AND full lastname@sd48.bc.ca i.e. rkirk@sd48.bc.ca

Teacher Email Address Ms. Susan Allen sallen@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Lori Barjaktarovic lbarjaktarovic@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Stuart Bent sbent@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Devin Biln dbiln@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Paul Borchert pborchert@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Sherri Cargoe scargoe@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Sean Carter scarter@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Ellen Czernick eczernick@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Greg Day gday@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Amy Erskine aerskine@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Olivier Gendron ogendron@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Stephan Guerin sguerin@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Kelly Heilig kheilig@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Brandi Heisterman bheisterman@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Jan Hilton jhilton@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Nicole Hoskin nhoskin@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Whitney Keyes wkeyes@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Robin Kirk , Principal rkirk@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Heidi Kubin hkubin@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Deanna Lewis dlewis@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Heather Lewis hlewis@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Nick Parsloe nparsloe@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Bill Rizun brizun@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Robyn Ross rross@sd48.bc.ca

Mrs. Dayle Rousseau drousseau@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Max Roy mroy@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Karen Saenger ksaenger@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Stan Thomson sthomson@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Henry Verbeek hverbeek@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Julie Wallace jwallace@sd48.bc.ca

Mr. Gordon Wallin gwallin@sd48.bc.ca

Ms. Louise Wick lwick@sd48.bc.ca

Staying in contact with your child’s teachers is a significant part of their success at Don Ross. The most

efficient way to open up lines of communication with your child’s teachers is via email. Here’s a contact

list for all teachers at Don Ross:

Don Ross Dates to Remember

April 15 Pro-D Day (school not in session)

April 25 PAC Meeting (6:30 p.m.)

May 13 Pro-D Day (school not in session)

May 18 Skwxwu&mesh Day

May 23 Victoria Day (school not in session)

May 24 PAC Meeting (6:30 p.m.)

LIBRARY NEWS

Book to Movie Club

: Participating students are currently reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garci

and Margaret Stohl. Students have until April 8 to read the book. In the after-

noon on Friday, April 8, participating students will gather in the library for a

book club discussion followed by the movie screening. Snacks will be provided.

Permission forms are available in the library. The only pre-

requisite to participate in the book to movie club is that a

student has read the book.

DESTINY LIBRARY DATABASE

All students now have access to the Don

Ross Library Catalogue via Destiny, our

new library program. From the DRM

homepage, choose the Library Menu and

click on the DRM Library Catalogue.

Choose Don Ross Secondary. Login button

is in the top right hand corner of the

page. All students can log in using their

student number and the password

“books”. Students can set up their Destiny

Quest homepage, search our catalogue,

hold, request and review books, and check

their circulation status (overdues, due

dates, etc). Feel free to call the library

604-898-3671, Ext. 151 for more infor-

mation and assistance.

CHESS TOURNAMENT Three weeks ago, 16 students began the chess tournament and played no fewer than 7 games each to reach the final-

ists round. Exciting, and sometimes very short, games were played at lunch hour in the library until all rounds of

play had occurred and only four players remained. No ties were allowed, so unfinished games went to the player with

the most points at the bell. The finalists played down for the championship. Third place was earned by Grade 7 stu-

dent Cole M.; second place by Grade 8 student Sharon Y.; and first place was captured by Grade 9, Glenn G., who

went undefeated throughout the tournament! Congratulations to every participant. There could have been no chess

tournament fun without you! Winners will receive an award at our recognition ceremony.

DON ROSS ATHLETICS

BASKETBALL

Grade 8/9 Girls Basketball:

The Grade 8/9 Girls basketball team competed in the Sea to Sky league. We played Pemberton’s

Grade 8 team and Pemberton’s Grade 9 team. We had a fun, successful season, building our skills

even more with each game. At the Sea to Sky, the Don Ross Eagles faced the Pemberton Devils,

and we worked hard as a team to walk away with a win. Congratulations to the girls! Thanks to

Ms. Heisterman for coaching the girls.

Grade 9 Boys Basketball:

The Grade 9 boys had a very successful season. They started playing in December, and by Janu-

ary, they were ready to take on Whistler and Pemberton in the Sea to Sky League. The team had

multiple wins against Whistler and Pemberton, and ended the season with a big win in the Sea to

Sky Championships. Congratulations to the boys! Thank you to our new teacher, Mr. Gu, for

coaching and supporting the boys.

Grade 7 Girls Basketball

The Grade 7 Girls’ Basketball team excelled this season. They played in two mini-tournaments

playing local schools in Whistler and at Don Ross winning all their games except one in each tour-

nament. Last Friday they played a fluid passing game with great shooting and rebounding. Their

defense was solid and all the players came together as a first rate team supporting each other both

on and off the court. I am sure next year will be even stronger.

Grade 7 Boys

The Grade 7 boys played and practiced well as a team this season. They had games up in Whistler

against Spring Creek Community School, and played teams from Signal Hill, Whistler Waldorf

and Spring Creek in a mini tournament.

Thank you to Mr. Parsloe for coaching the team this year.

COMMUNITY RUGBY

If you have a student at Don Ross who has a younger sibling (boys and girls) at Elemen-

tary School then please note that Sean Carter is running a community program training

on Saturday morning on the Don Ross Field and playing games against Vancouver teams.

If you are interested then please find us at www.squamishyouthrugby.com or google

“Squamish Youth Rugby”, where you will find contact information for Mr. Carter. We can

also be found on Facebook under the same name. My contact details are on the web site if

you have any more questions.

DON ROSS ATHLETICS

2016 Mountain Biking Race Calendar

DATE LOCATION HOST SCHOOLS Wed., April 13 Richard Juryn Argyle/Carson/Seycove/Windsor

Wed., April 20 Sunshine Coast -(Gibsons) Chatelech

Wed., April 27 Squamish Don Ross/Howe Sound

Wed., May 4 Whistler Whistler/Pemberton

Wed., May 11 Richard Juryn (League Finals) Coll/RR/Sent/WV

Sat., May 28 Coquitlam Provincials

Track and Field Track and Field is underway at Don Ross! The team competes in the North Shore League,

with track meets each week at Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver. Practices

are on Monday and Wednesday after school, and track meets are on Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Track and Field is open for Grades 7, 8 and 9 students. Grade 7’s are permitted to compete

in the Exhibition Meets at Handsworth, but cannot compete at the Preliminaries. Grade 8

and 9 students can compete in all meets. We will be traveling by bus with Howe Sound Sec-

ondary, so there will be a user fee to be on the track and field team. If finances are an issue,

please contact Ms. Heisterman - arrangements can be worked out.

Meet Schedule: Thursday, April 7th Handsworth Secondary

Tuesday, April 12th Handsworth Secondary

Thursday April 14th (Throws meets only)- West Van Secondary* Tuesday, April 19th Handsworth Secondary

Preliminary Meets (Grade 8 and 9 only)

Tuesday, April 26 Handsworth Secondary

Thursday April 28 Handsworth Secondary

Tuesday, May 3 Handsworth Secondary

Thursday May 5 (Throws meet only) West Vancouver Secondary*

*No Bus for these meets- Parent drivers are needed

For Qualifying Competitors

Tuesday, May 17 North Shore Track & Field Finals Burnaby BC

June 2, 3 and 4 BC Championships Nanaimo BC

If you have any questions or can volunteer to drive for the West Van Secondary meets, please

email Ms. Heisterman at bheisterman@sd48.bc.ca.

Shop Class

There are student projects that are ready for pick

up in the shop. Please have students stop by and

pick up these cool future family heirlooms!

If students are not going to take their projects

home, please contact Mr. Wallin via email to give

permission for the items to be donated.

TRY A TRADE AT VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE Grade 9 students had the opportunity to go on the “Try-a-Trade” field trip to VCC. Stu-

dents learned about career and post-secondary education options such as welding, automo-

tive finishing, culinary arts, fashion and hair dressing. On the way back, we stopped at

Stanley Park for some good, old fashioned, screen free fun!

The Art department is looking for any

donations of old hairdryers if you have

any to pass along!

Don’t let the memories fade away. Buy your

yearbook today. Still only $55. Prices will be

increasing soon!!

YEARBOOK 2015/16

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN HOME EC!

FOODS Grade 9 Home Ec students en-

joyed a meal at the Crab Apple

Café. They had the opportunity to

learn about local, sustainable

food production and to gain deep-

er insight into the hospitality in-

dustry.

TEXTILES

Grade 8 & 9 students created felt hand-sewn

cell phone cases in their Textiles class and

grade 7 students created hand-sewn stuffed

monsters!

Mental health is more than just whether or not you are depressed or have a clinical illness,

it’s about how you feel physiologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Last Sunday four of our

Don Ross students, accompanied by Mr. Bent, attended Talk at the Top, a symposium host-

ed by North Shore Youth 4 Mental Health, on the top of Grouse Mountain. Here is their

summary of a day well-spent.

What is Talk at the Top? It is a youth-led conference aiming to inspire positive conversation

around mental health, thus reducing the stigma that accompanies it. We listened to em-

powering speakers, some sharing their experiences, others helping us begin to create

change. The presenters from Jack.org informed us on their fight to reduce and confront stig-

ma in schools. TheOneProject founder Bryce Evans came to introduce us to healing depres-

sion and anxiety through photography. Lydia Luk, a representative from PeerNetBC, an

online enterprise whose mission is to help people connect, partnered with Aiden Scott,

founder of SpeakBox, a new start-up whose purpose is to create a global forum for change,

to begin our conversation on eradicating the stigma around Mental Health, in the form of

sharpies and brainstorming sessions. The day was well rounded with a break after lunch for

a snowshoe scavenger hunt or print-making. Many times we had progressive discussions on

how stigma appears at our schools, and how mental health is viewed. This was just a begin-

ADHD Education Day for Parents

By the Provincial ADHD Clinic

Wednesday May 4, 2016

9:00 am - 2:30 pm

This is a live stream event located in Squamish hosted by MCFD,

1100 Hunter Place

Please RSVP closer to the date at MCFD 604 892 1400

For more information contact Catrin Webb Squamish Parent In Residence catrin@forcesociety.com

Curriculum Implementation Days

British Columbia is at the top of the best performing education systems in the world.

BC teachers are among the best in the world. This new curriculum, written by teachers

will help to keep us learning and moving forward. Having said that, it is a massive un-

dertaking, as this is the first time that the curriculum has been rewritten in its entirety.

In addition, it breaks from tradition in that it is no longer a check list of learning out-

comes but instead focuses on the “BIG IDEAS.” As well, it is a shift away from content

and towards concept through the inclusion of core competencies. All of this is new and

requires teachers the time to process the changes and continue to provide the best learn-

ing environments for our students.

We have just completed our first two days of the curriculum implementation process.

From all reports, the days were useful and productive. Teachers embraced the oppor-

tunity to collaborate both with colleagues from their own building as well as with others

from across the district. Day One provided an overview of how the new curriculum was

designed and how best to navigate it. Teachers were given the support and guidance by

teams of teachers who lead them through a very structured day. Day two allowed teach-

ers the opportunity to build on their learning from day one, and with lessened guidance,

utilize the new curriculum to build a unit of study using “Backward Design” as their

tool. The learning environments at all 3 sites were buzzing.

Thank you to all those involved in both the design of and the implementation of these

two days. Your leadership was invaluable to the process and your skills are applauded.

Thank you to all those who participated in the two days as your enthusiasm and dedica-

tion to your craft is what puts education in BC at the very top.