Our halls filled with students after an extended winter break. Read about all that happened at BCHS this week in the Charger Connects!

Welcome Back!

After an extended winter break, we were pleased to welcome students and staff back to Bert Church this week. There was certainly a good buzz in the building as we got back in the swing of things. Please see below for a few updates from the school.

Last Day of Regular Classes

Wednesday, January 19th will mark the end of regular classes for students at BCHS. January 20th - 26th will be targeted intervention for students who are not in a passing position as well as supports for students with social-emotional/complex needs. The elimination of high-stakes, final exams have given us ample opportunity to ensure students have their course work up to date in time for the end of the semester.

Provincial Achievement Tests

As per a memo from Alberta Education, school divisions had the flexibility to shift the administration of provincial achievement tests to accommodate for the extended winter break. The new dates for PAT's at BCHS will be Monday, January 24th (Social Studies) and Wednesday, January 26th (Science). Both exams will begin at 9:00 AM.

While we are still writing the exams at BCHS, teachers have been given the ability to not count the PAT towards the student's final grade if their performance is not representative of the work they have done throughout the semester. We know that schooling during this time can be stressful for students and that missing a week after Christmas added to that. Students can write the PAT's knowing that it will not cause a significant decrease to their overall mark. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to me.

Masks/Rapid Tests

Thanks to a herculean effort by our office staff, we bagged 24000 masks and distributed 1200 rapid tests to get to students shortly after receiving them. While rapid testings twice a week (whether symptomatic or not) and wearing the supplied medical-grade masks are encouraged, it is not mandated.

Learning Continuity

Our focus is to keep our regularly scheduled classes moving forward for students. Thanks to our staff and students for their help with this. We have had substitutes in the building this week but only 1 situation where we had to implement our backup teaching team. We are prepared in the event we face them in the days ahead, but so far so good!

Safe Arrival

Some of you have been using Safe Arrival, our new attendance app that allows you to enter your child's absence without calling the school. We appreciate your feedback and patience. We're working with RVS to address some of the concerns brought forward and hope to provide communication when they're done. In the meantime, if you are struggling with the app, feel free to call your child's absence in.

Routine Gr. 9 Vaccinations

Vaccine consent forms for our routine gr. 9 vaccinations will be handed out on Monday, January 17th during block 1. These are not COVID-19 vaccinations, but the regular, scheduled ones administered each year to our gr. 9 students. Our hope is to have the forms returned by January 19th to the office with the vaccination date being Tuesday, February 8th. Thank you for your help with this.

If you've read this far, congratulations! Have a wonderful weekend and see you next Friday.

Ryan Reed
Principal | Bert Church High School

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