Dates to Remember May 29—Grade 10 Mental Heath Assembly 2 p.m. May 30 —PAC Annual General Meeting 9 a.m. May 31—Collaboration Day—No School June 1 —Prom Whistler Sliding Centre June 3—Grade 7 Orientation 10 a.m. June 12—Books due at Library Awards Ceremony 6:30 p.m. June 14—Last Day of Classes Locker clean out June 15—Pathways to Learning—Community Info Night 7—8 MPR June 17—21—In School Exams and Provincial Exams June 22—Grad Ceremony 3 p.m. MPR June 28—Report Card Pick Up no earlier than 2 p.m. Gr. 12—Passport to Education

Whistler Secondary —A Community School

All library books should be returned to the library by Wednesday, June 12th. Text-books should be returned as soon as they are no longer needed or after your exam.

Principal’s Messaage

As exam time approaches students are getting their study materials organized and finishing up all their outstanding assignments to make sure they are ready for final exams. For those who need some extra time to finish up, we have a special study session on the last collaboration day of the year May 31st, for students to come in and catch up. Teachers will be sending out e‐mails if your child should take advantage of this opportunity. Next week the majority of WSS students will be building their perfect timetable for the 2013‐14 school year. Next year we will be offering more courses than ever including French Immersion 8, Literature 12, French 12 and Calculus 12 in addition to the courses that are offered during the current school year. Students are encouraged to take 8 or more courses in order to take advantage of all the learning opportunities that are available while they are still free. Thank you again to School Planning Council members: Tracy Kerr, Kerri Fletcher and Stephanie Reesor for another year of stellar service in drafting up the Whistler Secondary School Learning plans for the 2013/14 school year. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Sincerely Beverley J. Oakley Principal

THE STORM REPORT

Taking the World by Storm Vol. 17 Issue 7 May 24, 2013

Taking the World by Storm Vol. 17 Issue 7 May 24, 2013 pg. 2

School/Government Exam Schedule June 17 to 21, 2013

SPECIAL NOTES BUSES WILL ARRIVE AT THE NORMAL TIME EACH DAY. BUSES WILL LEAVE WSS AT 12:00 PM DAILY JUNE 17 – 21 ONLY. STUDENTS WILL ARRANGE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION FOR EXAMS ENDING AFTER 12:00.

Below are a number of good sites for students to use for provincial exam support and practice.

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/search/ http://www.eastwoodzhao.com/exams/ http://www.bcscience.com/bc10/pgs/prov_exam.html http://www.quizmebc.ca/quiz.php http://kitsilano.vsb.bc.ca/Students/provincials/exams-subject.htm http://www.studybuzz.com/index.php?l=bc http://www.learnnowbc.ca/examprep/

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WSS Graduation 2013 Graduation Schedule

Sat. June 22 – 2:00 pm Grads to be at school to be gowned and photographed in the Music Room 3:00 pm Graduation Ceremony MPR Decorum - The Graduation Ceremony is a celebration of the conclusion of 13 years of effort. For parents, family members and friends, it is a special time to acknowledge the accomplishments of those they care about. Due to a large Grad class, guests are thanked for saving their applause for appropriate moments in the ceremony. Attire - Grads should wear appropriate clothing and footwear under gowns. As the gowns reach to mid-calf, full length dress pants look best on boys, and girl’s skirts that are shorter than mid-calf are advised. Girls are recommended to wear moderate height heels for stability. Tassels – The tassel starts on the right and moves to the left when you receive your diploma. Scholarships – WSS students will be awarded Community Scholarships at the Graduation Ceremony. A huge thank-you to the sponsors of these scholarships, and to Mr. Kevin Titus for his continuing efforts on behalf of WSS students. A list of Scholarship Recipients and Donors are on display in the MPR.

Valedictorian—Danielle McCaffrey Historians—Emina Ida , Georgia Baker Parent Speaker—Sherry Baker Teacher Speaker—Mr. Sulkers Candle Passers—Ryan Grills and Erin Bonin

Do you know what you want to do after high school?

Knowing what you want to do after high school is not always easy to figure out. That is why each year we have purchased Career Cruising; a very good career discovery website to which every Whistler Secondary student has access. Any student who completed Planning 10 at WSS has used this website in class. We want to make sure that parents are aware that they, and their sons/daughters can use this website whenever they would like. There is a wealth of information that is accessible from the website and it could be used at any point throughout the year to find out more about various careers and post secondary institutions. In order to access the site you have to use our school's username ( Whistler) and our password (alpine). Once in the site the following information is available. Students can complete a career test to get a list of careers that may suit their skills, interests and values—there is an opportunity to research many aspects of thousands of careers -find out which post secondary institutions in Canada offer the programs re-quired for the training of their chosen careers -there is a link to information on post secondary schools in the USA -students can complete a learning styles inventory and a skills inventory. Visiting the site is an excellent way to browse through careers that student may have heard about but are not sure what the career really involves. If you have any questions on how the site works or what is available there, please contact Mr. Titus at the school.

Speaking of After High School…… Since 2008, we have been keeping track of where our students go after they have graduated from Whistler Secondary School. One of the items that we are particularly interested in is the percentage of our students that go on to University in both Canada and the US. Students going to BCIT are also included in our statistics. We include the first 2 years out of high school in our study as many students take a gap year or a year off before beginning their post secondary stud-ies. Below are the statistics and Whistler Secondary School graduates continue to impress.

Whistler Secondary Grads, where are they now…

Grad Year % respondents attending post secondary school 2008 87 % 2009 88 % 2010 84 % 2011 84 % 2012 42 % *This number reflects the %age of students currently attending University. Another 49% of students have indicated that they intend to attend after a gap year, however as they are not actually attending have not been included in the statistics.

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Daily Physical Activity (150 minutes/week)

All students in grade 10, 11, and 12 are reminded that they must show their daily activity log to Mr. TItus sometime in the week starting June 10. The log should show that they have recorded 150 minutes of physical activity per week since the beginning of the school year. They can use the one on page 30 in their Agenda or make a chart up themselves. There will be announcements all that week reminding students to bring it to Mr. Titus. If a students does not show their log to Mr. Titus, that student will receive a " Requirements Not Met" on the Daily Physical Activity section of their report card. Contact Mr. Titus at the school if you have any questions.

Grade 11 and 12 Course Selection Process

This Monday, May 27th, at 11:35 a.m. we will meet with this year's grade 10 and 11 students and give them the 2013-2014 timetables, so they can pick their courses for next year. It is very important that students choose a minimum of 8 courses to fill their timetable in order to main-tain full funding for Whistler Secondary. Without adequate funding, some classes/programs may need to be cut and students may not be able to get the courses they wish to take. In addition, students should give themselves a cushion in order to ensure they have enough credits to graduate at the end of grade 12. It is not recommended that students choose the bare minimum to graduate, as there can be unpredictable circumstances that arise mid year that may result in a student not completing a course or two. Since the courses will be filled on a first come, first served basis, it will very important for students to: discuss their timetable with their parents when they get it, get their parent to sign it when both agree on the timetable, and hand it in to the office as soon as possible. Timetables will start to be accepted at the office on Tuesday morning. We will also be emailing the timetable to parent's email addresses on Monday. Some courses will most likely fill up, so the sooner a student gets the timetable in to the office, the better the chance of getting into the course. Some points to remember when completing the timetable - Be sure you have credit for English 11, Socials Studies 11, a math 11, a science 11, Fine Arts course or an Applied Skills course. You need to pass English 12, or Communications 12 plus three other Grade 12 courses to graduate. You must have 4 credits of either fine arts or applied skills in either grade 10, 11 or 12. Remember that, according to the ministry of Education, Graphic Design at the grade 10 level does not count for a fine art or applied skill, but Desktop publishing 11 does count. You must have French 11 (or another language 11) to enter UBC, U Vic (not required in several of their programs) or SFU (beginner's language 11 will do for SFU) directly from Whistler Secondary . For students planning on university entrance in any area (e.g. Humanities, Arts, Sciences) it is recommended that you take at least 4 to 5 courses in that discipline and a minimum 4 academic Gr. 12’s. If you plan on entering sciences at university, you will need PH 11, CH 11, Pre Calc 11, Pre Calc 12, and two Science 12’s. If you choose Outdoor Education, you must take PE and EN together with that course and you can not take any other courses in Block A ,B, or C in Semester 2. Selection for the outdoor ed program will be based on when the application is received by the school, how well the application was completed, and recommendations from other teachers. If a student chooses the three period outdoor education class, they should also choose an alternate course for that B, C and D block of Semester 2 in case they do not get in. Grade 9 and 10 Course Selection Process

Next year's grade 9 and 10 student will have their timetable completed by the school. We will try our best to give the students the selections they chose on their course selection sheets. Many times it is not possible for the student to get all three of their top choices because of conflicts but we will try to get them what they wanted. We will try to give the grade 9 and 10 students their timetables before they leave for the summer so they can see what they have for next year.

On-line Courses Now Available During the Summer!

Students that are interested in taking courses or re-doing courses over the summer, may now do so through District 48's Outreach program. In addition to being able to talk to your teacher on-line, a teacher may be available at various times to ask questions throughout the summer. Students can start registering now at dl48school.com and complete the online registration form.

Study Block Expectations Study blocks are allocated to students based on the following criteria. Study blocks are meant for completing school work, and it is expected that students will maintain a quiet atmosphere during class time to enable students and teachers to continue working in classes. Study Block Allocation Policy: All students in grades 8-12 are expected to take a full academic program, with a minimum of 8 courses/year. Grade 11 and 12 students may be allocated one study block per year if they meet one of the following criteria: as a member of the WSS Sports School, are involved in athletic/performance training commitments that necessitate their absence from school , undertake an intense academic schedule, are attempting to graduate early or are taking distance learning courses outside the curricular timetable offered by Whistler Secondary School ,require extra time to complete a course or need to take a course outside of the timetable. Due to new government regulations regarding school funding on a per course basis, all students will be assigned to a supervised study area for their study block that is specifically tailored to assist students with the requirements associated with the above mentioned criteria. Attendance will be taken in these areas and a support block mark will be assigned as required by Ministry of Education guidelines. Study block areas include: • Library (individual study only) Library Computer Lab (individual study only) • Teacher Supervised classroom Flex Ed Lab – 106 Please note: The MPR will no longer be available as a study area due to noise issues interfering with office and class work. Student Expectations in Designated Study Block Areas: • Studying or working on an assignment Working quietly • Respect the learning environment Clean up after yourself • Follow standard classroom expectations Appropriate use of computer labs for course work only. (no MSN chat, games, downloading music, etc.) If a teacher needs a computer lab during times students are using these computers for study block pur-poses, the teacher/class has precedence. REMINDERS • No food or drink in the library or computer labs. Students are not to be in the halls during study block. Maintaining a quiet learning atmosphere throughout the school during class time is of para-mount importance. Any students that are not in class or in their designated assigned study area, are asked to please leave the campus.

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Grads needing student loans— The Howe Sound Students’ Loan Association is offering loans of up to $2000 to students who require funds for post secondary education. If you are interested in getting more information on this please contact Mr. Titus at the school.

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News from the Café The last day of lunches will be Monday, June 17th due to the new exam/tutorial schedule. There will be no lunches after Monday, June 17th. A huge thank you to all the wonderful parent volunteers who helped out this year in the café—we could not do it without you!

Kenya 2015 Fundraiser

Nester's Market has agreed to work with WSS to support students going on the service trip to Kenya in 2015. Look for WSS students

selling Nester's gift cards. You'll get groceries and students get support for this amazing

opportunity to lend a hand, to make the world a little better.

An Appeal To Parents

Please help us round up all of the WSS Library books your children currently have out. We would like to get all of the books back to the library as soon as possible.

We will not be signing out fiction and non-fiction books to students after Friday June 7th. All reading materials and other

resources (such as calculators and flash drives) should be returned to the library by Friday June the 14th at the latest.

This means students will have to provide their own reading material or use the book exchange in the MPR during exam week.

All textbooks not needed for exams can be returned as soon as possible and all others returned on the morning of their exam please.

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Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS)

Family Dinner Night -

Join WCSS for a dinner by donation of money or food to the Whistler Food Bank. Enjoy food, conversation, games, raffle prizes, and food bank tours. Tuesday, May 28th, at 5pm at 1519 Spring Creek Drive in the Whistler

Blackcomb Foundation Social Services Centre. Please RSVP to jackie@mywcss.org if you would like to attend or assist with this event. Raffle prizes and volunteers needed.

Last PAC meeting of the year Thursday, May 30th—

9:00 a.m.

The Annual General Meeting too! Hope to see you there!

Whistler EnviroFest & Parade

June 8th, 11 am - 4 pm, Olympic Plaza

Hosted by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), Down to Earth, EnviroFest 2013 is a family-oriented festival that demonstrates how a healthy community contributes to a healthy environment. It will be a fun-filled day featuring Interactive activities, engaging games, sustainable food, musical buskers, performers, mini-workshops and more. Local businesses and non-profits will be teaming up to deliver these engaging activities. A $5 donation will be requested, with proceeds going towards the participating non-profits. Kids and their families are invited to join the festivities as well as participate in a walk-ing parade down the Village Stroll. Come dressed in a way that supports the theme

" A Healthy Community = A Healthy Environment”.

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North Shore League Mountain Bike Finals Emily Wharin and Keeley Wentzel Stephany Denroche Jewel George—third overall for her category in the North Shore league!!

Congratulations to Shane Black - accepted to UNBC in the Faculty of Environmental Engineering!

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Big Brothers and Sisters is recruiting for Fall 2013

Please contact Lindsay at

lindsay.debou@bigbrothers.ca for more information.

Thank you.

Unlocking a child’s true potential creates a future where anything is possible……………….

Start something.

Studies show that mentoring helps kids stay in school, avoid risky behavior, and experience first-hand the importance of helping others in their community.

Big Brothers Big Sisters would like to thank: Alexandra Mann, Jewel George, Emily Nakajima, Tess Thompson, Sam Shrimpton, Rachel Cross, Sierra Schumann, Erika Champion, Nicole Deally, Katie Dejong, Robin Mann, Alexandra Chafe, Siobhan Van Gruen and Kobe Burton our Bigs this year..

WANTED

FAMILIES TO HOST OVERSEAS STUDENTS FOR 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR

Sea to Sky School District is seeking families willing to host overseas

students for the 2013-2014 school year in Whistler (commencing September 2013).

Students are mainly in Grades 10 to 12, and come for 5 to 10 months. If you are interested in providing a “home away from home”

and a cultural experience for one of our students, please contact Amy Shoup (Manager of International Education) at 604-892-5228 (or e-mail her at ashoup@sd48.bc.ca)

Families will be paid $1,000.00 per month to host a student. You can also gain more information by searching our international website at

www.high-school-canada.com. On this site you can also find a home stay application form which can be filled in on line.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Ms. Burden’s Science 8 class

went to Science World!

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International Students went Whale Watching from Steveston and Sirin Reidel took pictures!

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