Dear Vincent Massey families, 

The end of our first full week of classes finds students and staff settling in to regular routines and fully engaged in teaching and learning. Students will complete reading, writing, and math assessments over the next two weeks, which provide insight for teachers as they plan for each student's growth this year. At the same time, we are building community through events such as our Terry Fox charity initiatives, including the 'wax-a-thon' this past week and more activities this coming week, culminating in our school run day next Friday.

Homeroom teachers will be sending messages today with a summary of the learning activities in each class. These updates will come every two weeks. If you are not receiving updates, your first point of contact should be your child's homeroom teacher. Teacher contact information can be found on the staff page of our website. 

We are continuing to experience some shifts in our student numbers and course enrollments across all grades. There's definitely some good news here (Grade 7 Band has never been more popular!), but it may be necessary to make further adjustments as we move through September, aligning our staffing and timetable with the student numbers which determine our budget. As always, my goal is to provide clear and timely communication with our community. 

Sports are fully underway with the following games and practices for the coming week. Athletes should check the posted notices in the school and speak with their coaches for the most up-to-date information:

  • Soccer 
    • Girls play at home on Monday and at West Ridge on Wednesday 
    • Boys first match at home on Tuesday 
  • Basketball – junior and senior girls and boys practices throughout the week, schedule is posted on our website calendar 
  • Cross-country – Meet #2 @ North Glenmore Park on Tuesday, Sept 16; Meet #3 also @ North Glenmore Park on Sept 22 

 

Here are other upcoming events for the remainder of September at Massey: 

  • Grade 9 Riverwatch trips by homeroom 
    • Monday, Sept 15 – 9-5, 9-6, and 9-9 
    • Tuesday, Sept 16 – 9-1, 9-2, and 9-7 
    • Wednesday, Sept 17 – 9-3, 9-4, and 9-8 
    • This is a curricular trip, so all students should attend. Students who are not going on the trip but who come to school will be attached to a different homeroom for the day. 
    • We had delayed posting the activity fees due to uncertainty around possible teacher labour action. Fees for Riverwatch will be posted to your myCBE account early next week.
  • September 17 - 'Pie the Teacher' Terry Fox fundraiser at lunchtime 
  • September 18 – Picture Day 
  • September 19 – Terry Fox Day, special activities day at school 
  • September 23 
    • Grade 9 Outdoor Education bike trip 
    • Fire Drill 
  • September 24 – Band Parent Annual General Meeting (including Whistler Band Festival interest meeting) @ 6:30pm in the south gym 
  • September 25 – Open House ("Meet the Teacher") from 6:30pm to 8pm. This event will include an information session for any families interested in potential out-of-province learning trips such as West Coast Sailing, the Heritage Trip (Quebec & Ottawa), and our major Outdoor Leadership trips. 
  • September 26 – Orange Shirt Day 
  • September 29 – No school for students, PD Day, teachers will be working on IPPs, beginning of year assessment, and other professional learning. 
  • September 30 – Schools Closed, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation 

 

All the best, 

David Pugh 

Principal