Monday 30 April 2012

Dry Grad Update Available Now!

Our Dry Grad committee has provided some updates regarding this year's Dry Grad event. For the latest info, please check their Facebook page here.

Sunday 29 April 2012

Important Update: Grad Events

Sullivan Heights will be adjusting some of the graduation related timelines for the following:
  • Commencement Write-up
  • Valedictorian Selection
  • Dinner Dance Speakers List (student toasts, etc.)
All of the items mentioned above will be explained to the students on May 9th at 10am during the grad assembly.
For those students unable to attend the assembly, updated information will be available online and in the school office starting May 9.

Important PAC Meeting Monday, April 30, 2012

This Monday, April 30, 2012 at 7pm, Sullivan Heights will have an important PAC meeting to discuss the topic of flexible scheduling.  We would like to invite all parents to come out and join us at this very important meeting in the school library.  We hope to see you there.

Experiencing the Sun Run

"I believe that everyone in life should try something new and get out of their comfort zone. For me , that started in my grade 8 year when I signed up for the Vancouver Sun Run. It was a great challenge and it felt very rewarding to finish the race. After completing the run for the second time, I feel that it didn't matter how fast I ran the race. To me, what is more important is the whole experience and being part of a sport event that brings people together from across the country." 
Jessica Wong - Grade 10

Bard on the Beach at Sullivan


April 23rd was William Shakespeare's birthday, and on that theme, several Sullivan Heights English classes were fortunate to participate in amazing Bard on the Beach Shakespearean workshops. Activities ranged from hurling Shakespearean insults, to acting out scenes from plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, to discussing the historical context of the Bard's plays. The workshops allowed students (and teachers!) to view Shakespeare's plays in a new light, as theatrical dramas with intricate and expressive language, rather than simply a dry and boring text to be read in class. A big thank you to the PAC for funding these inspiring workshops!

Friday 27 April 2012

Day of Mourning - Observed at Sullivan Heights

On April 28, 1984, the Canadian Labour Congress introduced the “Day of Mourning”
to recognize and remember the people, young and old, who have lost their lives to workplace injury or disease. Today, the “Day of Mourning” is observed by more than 100 countries around the world.


This year, because April 28th falls on a Saturday, the “Day of Mourning” is being held today.
Today, our school’s flag is at half-staff to recognize all of the people who went to work, but unfortunately did not come home.

At 11:00 AM, we will stop our activities for a “Moment of Silence” to remember the 142 BC
workers who died last year because of workplace injury or illness.

In 2009, almost 1600 young workers, workers between the ages of 15 and 24, were seriously
injured on the job in BC. When you consider that’s 1 out of every 207 secondary school students; about 5 students from each secondary school in BC it’s not hard to see why it’s so important to remember that whatever you do, in work or in play, you must do it safely, all of the time. Please join me now for our “Moment of Silence”.

Spirit Week April 30 - May 3

Spirit Week is next week! Starting next Monday, April 30th we are going to have Colour Day where each grade dresses up in different colours. Grade 8's will be wearing red, grade 9's orange, grade 10's yellow, grade 11's green, grade 12's blue, and staff members purple! Tuesday, May 1st will be Twin Day. Find your twin and come to the hub at lunch for an obstacle course and 3-legged race! Wednesday, May 2nd will be Career Day; dress up as what you want to be in the future! And to end of the week on Thursday, May 3rd, we'll have our own Sullivan Heights Beach Party! Dress up in appropriate summer wear and enjoy ice cream and summer activities at lunch!

Friday 20 April 2012

Report Card Distribution Update

In order to meet the Labour Relations Board's ruling on British Columbia report cards, we have adjusted our dates for report card distribution.  Report cards, originally scheduled for distribution on Wednesday, April 25th will now be distributed on Wednesday, May 2nd.

Join the excitement! Surrey Schools supports the BC Summer Games in Surrey

The BC Summer Games is being held in the City of Surrey July 19 to 22 and excitement is building for this youth athletics showcase.

Surrey Board of Education chair Laurae McNally says the event is exciting for our community and encourages everyone to get involved.

“The BC Summer Games is an investment in our youth, our city and our province,” says McNally.  “It is a great venue for young people to participate in and experience the rewards of sport and competition, and with the event here in Surrey, it offers an opportunity to see some of the best emerging athletes in B.C. right here in our own backyard.”

Numerous Surrey Schools students are volunteering and several current or retired school district employees are also involved.

You can easily join in as a volunteer for a variety of roles in support of the Games at:www.2012bcsummergames.ca/volunteers/. Have a look and apply for the job you prefer.

According to BC Summer Games statistics, there will be as many as 2,818 athletes—with an average age of 14 years old—573 coaches and 399 officials attending this year’s event.

Friday 13 April 2012

Environmental Awareness Week

A big thank you to all staff and students who have participated in the Global Issues Environmental Awareness week. It was great to see students bringing reusable containers for lunch on Wednesday, and to take note of the many teachers who participated in the daily "Lights Out Challenge" with darkened class rooms. Let's see which lucky person wins the amazing raffle prize basket on Friday! Stay tuned...

A Successful Multicultural Week

Games and activities from around the world, food from every culture, music in different languages, diverse performances, traditional clothing from unique cultures; multicultural week was a fun-filled success! Sullivan Heights was flooded with bursts of diverse cultures as Student Council hosted an exciting multicultural week. Each muliticultural day was a celebration of its own, starting with games and activities day where enthusiastic students joined in the fun of trivia games, chinese checkers, origami, and mendhi. Dance performances followed the next day. Stellar performances were put on by the senior dance team, the bhangra team, and ENTI. On the third multicultural day, the hub smelled of delicious food from diverse cultures like samosas, mango pudding, fortune cookies, and tacos just to name a few! Tons of bright Sullivan students dressed up in their traditional clothing for the final multicultural day to showcase the beautiful clothing from their background culture. Everyone looked nothing less of extraordinary! All and all, multicultural week was a fun-filled success at Sullivan Heights and every student got to enjoy a little bit of diversity in the 4 day multicultural week! 

Link Updated Apr 20: Principal's Message

April Newsletter

To the Proud Parents of our Sullivan Heights STARS,

The weather is drying out and the sun is starting to shine through.  Spring at last!!  Isn’t it a breath of fresh air to be able to see the local mountains again? With the emergence of spring, comes the count down to June. With two and half months remaining, do you know how your child is doing at school? If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to engage a discussion with your child about ensuring all the final touches are in place for a successful school year. Study habits and work ethics should by now be daily routine as we approach the end of the year. If you are in need of assistance in outlining goals for success for your child, please know that you can contact our school administration or counselors at anytime.

As you may know, the BCTF’s job action has moved to a cooling off period and teachers have been asked to submit marks for our April 25th report period.  It is very important that you take time to review your child’s report card. This report card should include marks from semester I as well. Please contact the school if you do not receive all your child’s grades. As usual, you are encouraged to contact your child’s teacher directly if you have questions about their progress.

In planning for next year, we have been engaging in discussions about how to manage our expanding student population. As we continue to take on more students, the significant issue is that our current time schedule and facilities cannot keep pace. This link is a parent letter  that was sent home on March 29th outlining the need for us to start exploring options for a flexible schedule for next year. If you want to engage in a discussion regarding possible options for next year, you are encouraged to come to our next PAC meeting. Our PAC meets on the last Monday of the month at 7 pm in the Library.  I encourage all parents to come get involved in the life of our school. Come join us at a PAC meeting and be sure to follow the updates at http://sullivanheightspac.webnode.com/.

Most of you will have received notification of this newsletter through email. As we have now moved to an electronic platform for newsletters and information updates, please know that you can subscribe to our information news updates through your email. Go to http://www.sullivanheights.com/ and click on NEWS and then enter your email address under "FOLLOW BY EMAIL".  This will allow you to receive informational updates via email as soon as they are posted.

As your Principal of Sullivan Heights, I want you to know that in light if the many issues we have faced this year in education, your school still remains a very positive productive learning environment for our children. Our encouraging teachers and involved parents and community provide a great network of support for all our children.

Sullivan Stars Shine on…


Rex Hayes
Principal

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Updated Apr 20: Possible Flexible Schedule for the 2012-2013 School Year

April 11, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As you may be aware, our School District has a unique challenge, one not faced by most other districts in British Columbia. While we are fortunate to not be dealing with declining enrolment and school closures, we do have challenges that result from rapidly increasing enrolment.  One of the significant issues is that our facilities cannot keep pace with student enrolment. This issue surfaces in the District in a number of ways: such as over-populated schools, choice programs frequently under the threat of relocation, schools being unable to accommodate all in-catchment students, and students facing limited course options.

Although the District has recently been assured of capital grants from the provincial government, we continue to seek additional funding to build new schools.  Even with a substantial infusion of capital funding to address the enrolment/space issue faced by our District, Sullivan Heights will not be able to adequately address our challenges in the short-term.  Presently, approximately 800 new community members move to Surrey each month. The Board has committed to an action plan to deal with Surrey’s growth, so that we can continue to meet our students’ needs for quality education.

The District’s action plan for secondary schools includes the following:

1. Portable review
Portables can no longer be seen as a long-term solution to our physical capacity issues for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to the impact on our operating budget.  Portables cost the District an estimated $120,000 each to purchase and install with additional ongoing maintenance costs. This funding could be used to hire more teachers and other staff to support our students. As such, the District has determined not to increase the number of portables at secondary schools.

2. Commitment to accommodate in-catchment and District Program students
The District is asking that all secondary schools design schedules that ensure in-catchment and District Program students can be accommodated.  Schools are assessing needs and identifying scheduling options that fit their local context.  Options for the 2011-2012 school year may include:

a) Increasing the number of distributed learning (on-line) course options for students.

b) Increasing the number of courses offered outside of the regular timetable. All secondary schools presently offer select courses outside the regular timetable.

c) Introducing a flexible/alternate schedule at schools where capacity is a significant and growing concern, and can no longer be addressed by the options above.  Earl Marriott Secondary and Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary adopted a version of this option this school year.  Staff and community input will be considered as school and district administrators work to ensure the variables of time and space are effectively managed and that proposed schedules meet the unique needs of each school community. Opportunities to discuss and learn more about flexible/alternate schedule options include upcoming Parent Advisory Committee meetings, staff discussions, and parent and student information sessions related to course selection.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is attached

As we investigate our options for Sullivan Heights Secondary for next year, I will be keeping parents/guardians informed of the process and ensure it is an ongoing agenda item at each PAC meeting for the remainder of this school year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please give me a call at school (604) 543-8749.
Sincerely,

R. Hayes
Principal
 

 

Reminder: Sullivan Heights Newsletter Now Online Only

This is a reminder that Sullivan Heights has made the move to an online version of our school newsletter. Our goal is to provide updates to families as events happen (or are upcoming) rather than at specified times of the year. We are using a blog format so that students and families can subscribe using Google Reader, RSS, and other technologies to receive updates directly in their inboxes, iPods, or smart phones.

Our new system will continue to evolve with a probable shift in web address coming in September. Until then, our school news can be viewed in the following ways:

• Go to our school homepage and click “News”
• Go directly to this address:
http://sullivanheightssecondary.blogspot.ca/
• Subscribe to the site by following the address above and entering an email address in the “Follow By Email” box
• Subscribe to our site using one of the many “Readers” like Google Reader, Outlook, or RSS Reader – this will deliver our updates directly to your inbox or your handheld device


As always, we invite your feedback regarding our communications with the community.

Thank you,

Robert Whitham,
Vice-Principal

Thursday 5 April 2012

Surrey RCMP Notice. Missing 12 year old!



Dear Parent/Guardian,

As you my be aware, Surrey RCMP are seeking public assistance in locating 12 year-old Jaime-Leah Prohl, who has been missing since March 27th. 

This bulletin is being sent home to parents by the Surrey School District's Safe Schools department on behalf of the RCMP:

The Surrey RCMP Missing Persons Unit is requesting the assistance of students and their parents/guardians in locating a missing female youth.

Jaime-Leah PROHL was last seen during the evening hours of March 27, 2012 prior to going to bed at her residence in the 13200-block of 105th Avenue.

Jamie-Leah is described as a 12 year-old Caucasian female, 5'3", 115lbs with brown eyes and black hair with purple highlights down to just below her jaw line.  She also has a scar from a dog bite on her right cheek.  No clothing description is available.

Family and police are concerned for Jamie-Leah's well-being as she may be distraught and has never been reported missing before.  Jamie-Leah utilizes public transportation, however, does not have access to funds or her cellphone.

Police are concerned for the safety of Jamie-Leah PROHL, and want to ensure Jamie-Leah that resources are in place to ensure the health and well-being of both her and her little sister Lisa.  Police are eager to reunite Jamie-Leah and Lisa as soon as possible.

Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of this person is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP's Missing Persons Unit at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers, if they wish to remain anonymous, at 1-800-222-TIPS.

For more information, visit http://surrey.rcmp.ca or sd36.bc.ca

Sincerely,
Theresa Campbell, Manager
Safe Schools