Our classroom is the world.our students are world-class

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1 Our classroom is the world.our students are world-class Dear Parent or Guardian, August 27, 2015 Grade 9 and new students arrive at 12 noon for First Day of School Tuesday, September 8 th, noon Barbeque lunch for Grade 9 s and new students to REMSS 1:00 2:30 p.m. Orientation Wednesday, September 9 th, 2015 All students 8:23 a.m. (warning bell rings) PLEASE NOTE: Classes begin at 8:30 a.m. with a warning bell at 8:23 a.m. Please ensure your children arrive well before the warning bell in order to get to class on time. I d like to welcome each of our students and their families to R.E. Mountain Secondary for the 2015/2016 school year. If you are new to the school, I sincerely hope you have a fabulous year at REMSS. This is going to be an exciting year at REMSS. The school continues to grow. Students continue to excel in their academic, elective and extra-curricular activities. Along with our growth, I am very pleased to be able to introduce a number of new staff members who will be joining us this year. Welcome to Ms. Kim, French, Mr. Martens, Foods & Math and Mr. Vaillancourt, English. All hiring has not yet been completed, so there will be more introductions to come. We are excited about a few improvements to the school that occurred over the summer. The gym locker rooms have been remodeled with lockers being installed for safe keeping of personal effects, the cafeteria and the home economics rooms have had new flooring installed, the front entrance has had our new logo embedded in the floor and our network has gone through a significant upgrade that we trust will improve speed of internet access. Also, as a gift to the school, the grads of 2015 named the hallways and purchased signs that will be put up in the next couple of weeks. Our timetable has also been updated. Rather than having a five-block day with a double block around lunch, we have reduced to four longer blocks. Students and staff had voiced concern over the effectiveness of the double block. Staff also found that the shorter blocks associated with the five-block system inhibited their ability to delve deeply into subject information. The longer block will also be beneficial to elective and PE classes who found the shorter blocks challenging. In addition to lengthening the blocks, mornings and afternoons are now static. From September to January, periods 1 and 2 will always be in the morning and periods 3 and 4 will always be in the afternoon. Starting in February, periods 3 and 4 will be in the morning and 1 and 2 in the afternoon. Please see the attached sheets showing the rotation for September through January and

2 February through June. This will be helpful to students who would like to broaden their educational experience beyond the school walls. The education of young people is a joint venture and undertaken primarily by parents and the school system. I encourage parents to work together with the school and its staff to ensure your children are reaching their potential and involving themselves in the many activities and events provided by the school. Involve yourselves in your children s education. Ask them questions about what they are learning. Attend parent functions and PAC Meetings in order to best know what is happening at the school and how best to support your students. Together we can make this an outstanding educational year for all our students. It is very important that you ensure we have your address in order that we keep you up-to-date on all the important information around the school at R.E. Mountain Secondary this year. Please send your address to mssinfo@sd35.bc.ca Below are some key dates you will need to be aware of. Updates will be provided in our blog and on our website and on Facebook and Twitter at MSSInfo. Tuesday, September 15 th Tuesday, September 22 nd Wednesday, September 23 rd Friday, September 25 th Monday, September 28 th Wednesday, September 30 th Monday, October 5 th Wednesday, October 7 th Wednesday, October 7 th School Photos Grade 9 Parent Information Night 7:00 p.m. Grade 12 Parent Information Night 7:00 p.m. (Grade 11 parents may attend if interested) School Improvement Day (student dismissal at 11:15 a.m.) PAC Meeting at (all parents welcome) 7:00 p.m. Meet the Teacher Night 7:00 p.m. Grad Photos begin-students sign up at office Post-Secondary Institute Day Grade 11/12 at LEC in a.m. IB Parent Information Night 7:00 p.m. SCHOOL OPENING Wednesday, September 9 th ALL students attend Regular school times will be in effect starting Wednesday, September 9 th. The first class begins at 8:30 a.m. (warning bell 8:23 a.m.) Dismissal is at 2:45 p.m. Block rotation on Wednesday is Day 1 (2,1,4,3). Homeroom lists will be posted alphabetically by grade in the main foyer and in other places throughout the school. SCHOOL STUDENT FEES In order to reduce the stress of standing in line to submit school fees, we have adopted an online payment system for your convenience. While it is still possible to pay your school fees at the office, by cash or cheque, we encourage you to pay online. It is faster for you, easier to track and reduces a significant amount of administration time at the school. Instructions for payment are available on the attached Fee Statement. AGENDAS Two years ago, we purchased an online agenda. Since then, paper agenda use has reduced significantly. We would like to encourage students to use the online system. It can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Look for Mountaintime. $5.00 of the student fees was used to pay for the agenda. As we are encouraging students to use the online agenda, we have reduced the student fees by $5.00 and will no longer be providing the paper agenda for free. If students would still like to have a paper agenda, it can be purchased from the office for $5.00.

3 TIMETABLES Timetables are available for pickup at the school on Friday, September 4 th at 11:00 a.m. LOCKERS NEW PROCESS Beginning the 2015/2016 school year all R.E. Mountain students will be able to obtain their school locker through an online booking system. Locks will be provided by the school. Students who have purchased locks can use them in the updated change rooms where lockers have now been installed. Teachers will assist students in obtaining their locker the first homeroom on September 9 th. Below are the instructions for your reference. 1. Visit school locker web site - mss.lockerassignment.com 2. Student number is your student number, not your PEN number 3. Birthdate in YYYYMMDD format is the password please reset it once you log in 4. Login and select a zone, select a locker and confirm to view the lock combination Specific lockers have been assigned to each grade level. CALENDAR We hope our parents and students enjoy receiving our calendar in magnet form. Please keep it on your fridge or in another prominent area that can be easily referred to. The calendar will also be online at In addition there is an announcement area on the website. Look for important information there too. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter at MSSInfo. SCHOOL SUPPLIES Students should bring basic supplies to school including looseleaf paper, binders, pens, and pencils the first week. Classroom teachers will specify supplies needed for their specific courses. All students will need pen, pencil and paper on the first day. EAGLE ATHLETIC WEAR Attached is the form to purchase Eagle Athletic Wear. P.E. strip is mandatory for students in grade 9 and 10. Please fill out this order form and return it to the school office with cash or cheque payable to MSS. The cost is $25.00 as follows: T-Shirt $10.00 Shorts $15.00 NOTE: If paying Student Fees by cheque, the cheque for Athletic Wear must be made out separately. ATTENDANCE Please schedule family vacations to coincide with school holidays. If students are to succeed at school they need to attend regularly. If your student needs to be absent, please call and report the absence on our absence line or to our school office. If your student needs to be signed out during the school day, please send a note with your student for their classroom teacher and also please call the office and let us know the student will be leaving the school. It is expected that all students will remain in school through the end of exams. Grade 9 students should not schedule holiday departures prior to Monday, June 20 th. Grade 10 to 12 students must be in attendance for Provincial Exams which end on Monday, June 27 th. MEDICAL ALERT If your son or daughter has a life threatening illness or needs medication administered, please pick up and fill out a new Medical Alert Form and return it to the school office.

4 PARENT INVOLVEMENT R.E. Mountain benefits from a very active PAC and involved parents. Parents of senior students in Grade 12 it is important that you attend the parent meeting on Wednesday, September 23 rd at 7:00 p.m. when we will discuss graduation requirements, scholarships, college and university applications and entrance, and graduation events. For all parents Meet the Teacher Night is on Wednesday, September 30 th at 7:00 p.m. This is an opportunity to meet your child s teacher and receive course outlines and expectations. PARKING Student safety is always a concern at our school. With anticipated increase in our enrolment, please note the drop off and pick up areas in front of the school and on the north end by the library. Parents are asked to pull forward as far as possible to make room for cars still on the road. Students who drive to school are asked to park in the parking lot by the tennis bubble on the north side of the school. PARENT ACCESS TO GRADES Parents can have access to most class grades through an online system called Checkmymark. Please contact the school office for help if you would like access to your student s on-line grades. This is an optional service offered by many, but not all, teachers. FORMS It is important that all the information we have at the school is current. Please ensure all the forms in this package are completed and returned to the school. If you have any questions about the upcoming year, feel free to contact any of the teaching, support or administrative staff. We look forward to working with you during the coming year. Sincerely yours, Magdy Ghobrial Principal

5 REMSS TIMETABLE Sept January WEEK 1 Period Time MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Welcome 8:23 Period 1 8:30 9: Break 9:50 9:56 Period 2 9:56 11: Lunch 11:15 11:55 Period 3 12:00 1: Break 1:20 1:26 Period 4 1:26 2: WEEK 2 Period Time MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Welcome 8:23 Period 1 8:30 9: Break 9:50 9:56 Period 2 9:56 11: Lunch 11:15 11:55 Period 3 12:00 1: Break 1:20 1:26 Period 4 1:26 2:

6 REMSS TIMETABLE February June WEEK 1 Period Time MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Welcome 8:23 Period 1 8:30 9: Break 9:50 9:56 Period 2 9:56 11: Lunch 11:15 12:00 Period 3 12:00 1: Break 1:20 1:26 Period 4 1:26 2: WEEK 2 Period Time MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Welcome 8:23 Period 1 8:30 9: Break 9:50 9:56 Period 2 9:56 11: Lunch 11:15 12:00 Period 3 12:00 1: Break 1:20 1:26 Period 4 1:26 2:

7 IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS Student fees for the school year will be as follows: General Student Fee (all students) $20.00 Graduation Fees (Grade 12 s only) $80.00 Yearbook $55.00 Agendas $ 5.00 PAC Fee $ 5.00 Locks will be supplied by the school for the students lockers free of charge PE shorts and shirts are available for a total of $25.00 ($10.00 for shorts, $15.00 for shirt). Please note we have reduced our General Student Fee from $25.00 to $20.00 and we will sell Agendas separately for $5.00 each, as we are encouraging students to use the electronic agenda Mountaintime available through the App Store and Google Play. For your convenience and to streamline fee collection services, we are implementing an online fee payment system for 2015/16, School Cash On Line. A link will be established on the school website that will direct you to the fee payment area. There, you will need your child s full legal name, birthday and Student number to establish an account and pay any fees. We encourage all parents to use this portal for fee payments. The link will go live on September 3 rd. School fees may still be paid in the office by cheque or cash. Please make cheques payable to R.E. Mountain Secondary School. We will accept postdated cheques to September 30, If you wish to pay fees by cheque or cash prior to the first day of school the office staff will be available to assist you Monday August 24 th through Thursday September 3rd from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Students may bring payment to the office beginning Tuesday September 8 th during the day, and before and after school after that date. Please ensure that all outstanding fees are paid and that all textbooks and library books from last school year are returned to the library. The Yearbook was an outstanding success, produced by the Yearbook class. Order your book in September and don t miss out on the excitement and memories of the school year. A waiting list will be accepted for orders received after Christmas, no payment will be taken for orders at that time. Basic instruction is free; however, the costs of personal activities and projects that are beyond the expectations of the learning outcomes will be the responsibility of each student. Teachers will inform students as necessary. PLEASE NOTE: THE FOLLOWING FORMS MUST BE FILLED OUT AND RETURNED TO THE OFFICE Student Information Form (blue) Access to Information, and Media Coverage (white) Self- Identification of Aboriginal Ancestry (yellow) *Please submit a current address to ensure you receive up to date information from the school* If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give our office staff a call at We are pleased to assist our students and their families, and wish all of our students a successful school year.

8 R.E. M O U N T A I N E A G L E S EAGLE ATHLETIC WEAR Students enrolled in compulsory Phys. Ed. Grades 9-10 will be required to wear Eagles Athletic Wear. Students enrolled in elective Phys. Ed. Programs, grades 11-12, will have the option to wear Eagles Athletic Wear, or comparable gear that will consist of a t- shirt, athletic shorts and running shoes. Students at R.E. Mountain Secondary will have the opportunity to utilize the Langley Events Centre for a high percentage of their Physical Education delivery. This means that students will be in public areas and for safety and security reasons, the school has instituted a strict P.E. Dress Code for students. Grade 9-10 students will be required to wear a gray Mountain Athletics t- shirt and black Mountain Eagles shorts for EVERY class, to enable the teacher to quickly identify his/her students in a public place and also recognize if an outsider does not belong. Safety and identity of our students is of paramount importance to our staff, the staff of the LEC and the public. We hope that you support our program by encouraging your son/daughter to always have their REMSS PE strip on a daily basis. Please follow these steps so that you can receive your clothing: Step 1: Check off what size of t- shirt and short you require Step 2: Pay the fee at the front office counter, have this form stamped PAID Step 3: Bring this form to your PE teacher and distribution methods will be explained.! EAGLE ATHLETIC WEAR ORDER FORM Student Name: Grade: PE Teacher Name: Check the following: T- Shirt Size ($10) " Youth Large " Adult Small " Adult Medium " Adult Large " Adult X- Large " Adult XX- Large Shorts ($15) " Youth Large " Adult Small " Adult Medium " Adult Large " Adult X- Large " Adult XX- Large