Grade 8 to 9 Articulation Summit Middle School

Which School? Assigned school based on student’s current address in our system; proof required to change address through Summit office; see “Funding Eligibility Checklist” under documents on website Boundaries determined by school board Not sure which school is yours? See letter that went home on Dec 16th (or check address on school locator on district website) **Regardless of cross catchment requests or future plans to move, student must follow all steps for assigned school only—honours testing results will be redone if you change schools later, and you will complete a new course selection form with the new school. Only exception is if the sibling clause applies

Sibling Clause If grade 8 student has a sibling at a non-catchment school already, AND that sibling will still be there in September, AND the grade 8 student wishes to attend that school: Then the grade 8 student may attend that school for tours and any applicable testing etc. and complete a course selection form for that school BUT we need to know who these grade 8 students are to get our lists right! A “Summit Sibling Declaration” form may be obtained from the counsellor (or see back page of the letter brought home Dec 16) to take home for completion. It must be returned to the counsellor by Monday, January 16th!!

Cross Catchment Requests Parents may apply to attend a school outside their neighbourhood catchment, subject to availability of space. To do so, you must submit a cross catchment request application Applications available at www.sd43.bc.ca at 9 am on Feb 3rd; closes on Feb 9th at 4:30 pm all requests go to the board (not to Summit!) electronically or delivered in person First come, First served for available spaces Some schools may be “closed” and not able to accept cross catchment requests

Cross Catchment Timelines Application forms can be downloaded from district website starting Feb. 3rd at 9:00 am, hard copy is also available from Summit office Forms are submitted directly to Board office, up to February 9th at 4:30 pm--online or in person Submitting an application does NOT mean you are accepted! Decisions are made after the closing date, based on available space; then accepted families are notified by email in week of February 28th; appeals can be made in writing, directly to the district You may withdraw application prior to the closing date; after Feb 9th you are committed to accepting a spot if it is offered

Transitions & Adjustments Students will tour their assigned or sibling school in small groups, with older students involved as tour leaders and hosts (afternoon of Jan 27th, go home directly from the high school) Students meet with counsellors from assigned or sibling school re: available activities, daily life, support, timetable, electives, course selection etc. (Feb 15th here at Summit, course selection forms due back to core teacher by Feb 20th) Parents may attend evening information sessions at assigned or sibling school, and desired school if considering a cross catchment request (Heritage Jan 17th, Pinetree Jan 12th, Gleneagle Jan 23rd—all begin at 7 p.m.)

Transitions & Adjustments Secondary school counsellors meet with grade 8 teachers to discuss each individual student Secondary EAL teachers obtain current testing results and arrange gr. 9 timetable; re-test in August and adjust courses if necessary IEP’s are forwarded to student services teachers at secondary schools. Scheduled meetings are held for the high school and middle school student services teachers to meet and discuss each student in detail, and plan appropriate timetables and support classes All students attend an orientation session in late August or first week of September at new secondary school

Honours Courses Available in various subjects at most secondary schools Heritage: Math (9/10 Accelerated)—test required Pinetree: Science, Math, Humanities—tests required Gleneagle: Math, Science, English, Socials—no tests required; students will self-select during course selection and teachers will indicate support or not on that form If there is a test required before cross catchment decisions are made, student may ONLY test at their assigned or sibling school. Test results (if applicable), teacher reference forms, and consultation with gr. 8 teachers determines who is accepted may apply in grade 10 or 11,whether done in grade 9 or not (if not accepted now or if choosing not to apply for grade 9)

Honours Courses/AP… cont’d Purpose of honours is to provide challenge, faster pacing, more in-depth learning for students who are very strong in that subject and wanting enrichment Does not impact university applications; does not show on transcript as an honours course; is not required for entry into AP (Advanced Placement) courses in grade 12. Various AP 12 courses offered at all high schools, are self-selected for individual subjects, based on availability and student strength, done in grade 12, potential credit for 1st year university course dependent on exam score, more widely known in North America than elsewhere

District Programs Inquiry Hub—Millside Centre for gr 9-12. See district website under “programs” for more details; passion for knowledge and investigation, learning through technology and social networks, student-driven inquiry approach, fewer structured classes, more group collaboration and project work, practical applications . Info session is 7:00 pm on Thursday January 12th at Millside Centre International Baccalaureate—Port Moody Secondary (the full diploma program starts in gr. 11 but intake is done in grade 9, although you can also apply next year to enter in grade 10, IF they have space); application is done online; be sure to attend the info session first. Whole diploma program, rather than subject by subject, with additional components such as 150 required hours for CAS, in-depth essay in grade 12, and Theory of Knowledge course

JumpstArt at Gleneagle (not a district program; available to any grade 9 students registered at Gleneagle through the course selection form) JumpstArt is a thematic program at Gleneagle that integrates English, Social Studies and the Fine Arts.  If you: love to think visually and in metaphor love to make connections between curricular areas love to think about big ideas such as freedom, independence and identity want to show your learning in a variety of ways enjoy group projects and discussions  want to take English and Social Studies with one teacher, and two Art electives with another teacher (both teachers collaborate together on integrating their courses)… …then look into JumpstArt!   More info can be found on the Gleneagle website under “programs of choice” http://www.sd43.bc.ca/school/gleneagle/ProgramsServices/finearts/Pages/JumpstArt9.aspx

Dates to Know!! District Programs: Sibling Declaration Form due to Victoria by Monday Jan 16th District Programs: Inquiry Hub info night is at Millside Centre, Thursday January 12th at 7:00 pm IB Program info sessions about IB are Jan 4th and again on Jan 5th at 7 pm (choose just one date!) at Port Moody Secondary School General info session for Port Moody Secondary School is Feb 2nd at 7 p.m.

District Dates cont’d Thursday January 19th I.B. applications due online to Port Moody office by 4:00 p.m. Sat. Jan 21st I.B. testing session (8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) at Port Moody Secondary. Must bring photo I.D.

Catchment Secondary School Dates…. Parent information evenings: Heritage Tues. Jan 17th (7:00 p.m.) Pinetree Thurs. Jan 12th (7:00 p.m.)—optional tours at 6:15 pm Gleneagle Mon. Jan 23rd (7:00 p.m.) Friday Jan 27th tours of assigned or sibling school. We will escort students from Summit to the tours and remain with them during the tours. At the end of the tours, students are dismissed and are responsible for making their own arrangements with families for getting home from the high school tour. Honours Courses: Heritage: Jan 27th Math test 2:45-4:45 pm Heritage: April 25th Math test (time TBA) for students accepted through cross catchment Pinetree: March 8th Math test 1:00-2:00 pm Pinetree: March 8th Science test 2:15-3:15 pm Pinetree: March 8th Humanities test 3:30-4:30 pm Gleneagle: Feb 15th students request honours courses on course selection form (due to core teacher Feb 20th)

more catchment school dates… February 15th--students meet (at Summit) with counsellors from assigned or sibling school, receive course selection forms February 20th Course Selection form for assigned/sibling school due to core teacher May—high school counsellors meet with grade 8 teachers to discuss each student’s needs, IEPs are transferred, Student Services meetings for transition planning End of August—letters are mailed to students with information about orientation, first day procedures, timetables etc.

…and dates for other secondary schools! Charles Best Secondary info night Jan 12th @ 7 pm Centennial Secondary info night Feb 1st @ 7 pm -Hockey Academy Feb 1st at 6 pm Port Moody Secondary info night Feb 2nd @ 7 pm Terry Fox Secondary info night Jan 17th @ 6:30 pm Riverside Secondary info night Feb 1st @ 6:30 pm (for general program and 1:1 technology program) -Special Programs info session (for Honours, Hockey Academy, and Twist High Performance Sport Conditioning) on Jan 18th at 6:30 pm