VCHS Prowler

• November 4, 8, 25: Early Dismissal
• November 2: Grad Committee Meeting at lunch
• November 3: PJ Day
• November 4 & 5: Parent Teacher Interviews
• November 5 & 6: Grad Class Rings Display and Order
• November 6: Remembrance Day / Formal Day Ceremony
• November 9 - 13: Fall Break (classes resume Nov 16)
• November 16: First Day of Quarter 2
• November 18: School Council Meeting at 6:00 pm (For Parents)
• November 26: Academic Awards

• Buses ONLY please in the front drop off loop between 7:50 - 8:30am and after school between 2:45 - 3:30pm. Parents are welcome to drop off students during this time at the student parking lot. Please do not use the staff parking lot.
• Students, please remember to use the sidewalk to cross 55th avenue, if you are being dropped of on the main road. This is for safety reasons.
• Students please park in the Student Parking Lot on the east end of the building. Be sure to have your parking pass on your review mirror.
• Please note that parking lot is first come first serve, no assigned parking.

Award winners will receive an email invitation later this week.

EIPS has outlined rules about the use of personal mobile devices for each grade level in Administrative Procedure 145: Use of Personal Mobile Devices. Processes outlined within this AP are based on direction provided by the provincial government through Ministerial Order 014/2024: Standards for the Use of Personal Mobile Devices and Social Media in Schools. This includes the use of various electronic devices, including smartwatches and Meta glasses. Vegreville Composite High also has a Personal Mobile Device (PMD) Plan that provides additional details for our school.

We encourage families to review our PMD plan with their child to ensure students understand where and when they can and cannot access their personal mobile devices at school.

check out www.kidsport.ca/alberta to learn more and start your application process

The Mental Health Capacity Building (MHCB) in Schools Initiative works to promote positive mental health in children, youth, families and support individuals in the community who interact with children and youth. The MHCB initiative is based on research and best practice literature that demonstrates that mental and emotional well being can be developed, nurtured and supported through promotion and prevention efforts.

Alberta Health Services information

MHCB Vegreville

MHCB Coordinator

Carlin Adams is our Family School Liaison Worker (FSLW). She is available to

help support students create positive change through setting goals and planning

strategies, helping connect families with external supports and advocating for

students and families within the school and community. Her office is in our school

library.

Her contact information is:

Office: (780)-410-3989

Cell (780) 920-2594

Email carlin.adams@eips.ca

Regular attendance and arriving on time are crucial for student success. As part of our commitment to supporting learning, late arrivals will be monitored, and study halls may be assigned to make up for missed learning time. Administration will connect with students and families as needed to support attendance and learning.

Please note that if parents call in a late it is considered "excused" and the late does not count towards the NHL time.

Please note our 2026 - 2027 late process.

All grade 12 students will need to have a MYPASS Account set up. Check your student e-mails for instructions or see Mrs. Komarniski for more information.

Diploma Exam result statements are issued through myPass. Students will now need to retrieve their exam results through myPass—a self‑service website for high school students. Result statements for Diploma Exams are now be available exclusively online using myPass. Printed results statements will no longer be mailed.

How to use myPass (youtube.com)

In addition, the Statement of Courses and Marks has been replaced with the Detailed Academic Report (DAR), which is also available exclusively online using myPass.

myPass enables high school students to:

• access their Results Statement;
• view their demographic information;
• view their DAR;
• view their progress toward their diploma or certificate; and
• order and pay for a transcript.

Specific information on how to sign up for myPass will be provided to all students who write diploma examinations.

For more information visit: https://education.alberta.ca/students/transcripts/online.aspx

Alberta Health Services is hosting a series of virtual caregiver information sessions focused on ways to support students’ mental health. The sessions are free and geared toward parents, caregivers, teachers and community members who want to learn more about challenges impacting children and adolescents. This November’s sessions are focused on understanding anxiety.

Visit Caregiver Education to see the monthly caregiver sessions.

With the winter season almost here, the school has a few reminders for families:

• Ensure students have clothing appropriate for expected weather conditions.
• If weather conditions are bad enough to impact student transportation, Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) advises families directly, and posts updates on social media and eips.ca.
• Decisions regarding bus cancellations are guided by an EIPS administrative procedure that states, “school bus service may be suspended…when there is a forecast or current temperature of -40 C, including wind chill factor, in one or more regions.” Other reasons for suspending or delaying school bus services include adverse weather and poor road conditions.
• When school bus services are suspended, schools remain open to students.

For more information, contact EIPS Student Transportation at 780-417-8151.

Did you know you can sync the school calendar to your own calendar? Simply, visit Vegcomp.ca Calendar, click on “Subscribe to Calendar” and follow the instructions. Within seconds, your calendar will contain all Vegreville Composite High School’s important dates including holidays, school-closures days, planned activities and events, and it will remain synced with all the latest updates throughout the school year.

School fees for 2026-27 are now posted to the PowerSchool Parent Portal. All fees are due within 30 days of being posted. To help make fee payment as convenient as possible, EIPS offers several payment options, including a brand-new option this year—Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments, also known as E-Cheque. EFT payments allow you to pay directly from your bank account with no added fees, giving you added flexibility beyond credit or debit card payments.

When you log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal, click the “Student Fees” icon and proceed to checkout. You’ll now see EFT (E-Cheque) listed as a payment option. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete your payment.

To make checkout even faster, you can save EFT to your account for future use.

1. Log in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal account
2. Click on the “Student Fees” icon
3. Open the menu in the top-right corner
4. Select Manage Payment Methods
5. Add and save your EFT (E-Cheque) details

Once saved, you can select EFT at checkout without re-entering your information each time.

For more information, visit the School Fees Page on the school website. Alternatively, contact Marie Andruchow at 780-632-3341.

Families experiencing financial hardship may apply for a waiver of certain transportation or school fees by completing a Fee Waiver Application. Click here to visit EIPS and how to apply.

As outlined in Ministerial Order 014/2024, the Government of Alberta has established standards for the use of personal mobile devices and social media in schools. Within Elk Island Public Schools’ Administrative Procedure 145: Use of Personal Mobile Devices further outlines acceptable and proper use of personal mobile devices by both staff and students.

Meta glasses and other smart glasses are considered personal mobile devices, and therefore their use is governed by the ministerial order and administrative procedure. While prescription glasses are and always have been permitted in schools to give students the tools they need to learn, Meta and smart glasses are not universally permitted in schools. An eyeglass prescription is not a valid medical condition to permit the use of Meta or other smart glasses. Families are encouraged to explore non-smart glasses options for their children with eyeglass prescriptions.

Is your child riding the bus this year? If yes, download the My Ride, Bus Status and SchoolMessenger apps to stay in the know about your child’s bus stop location, route, pickup time and whether their bus is running on schedule.

For more information, visit www.eips.ca/transportation/apps. If you have any questions, contact Student Transportation at st@eips.ca or 780-417-8151

Alberta's new junior high curriculum takes effect in September 2027, and Elk Island Public Schools (EIPS) is piloting specific grades and some of the new courses starting this September.

Junior high students across Alberta will see updates to the Mathematics and Social Studies curricula this year. In addition, two new courses—Physical Education & Wellness (PEW), and Career Education & Financial Literacy (CEFL)—will be implemented. PEW combines concepts from the previous Physical Education and Health classes into one combined class. CEFL is a new course designed to support students in their journey toward career and financial independence in their teenage years. This is a province-wide change, the first major junior high curriculum update in over two decades.

Before the full rollout in September 2027, we’re using the 2026–27 school year as an optional piloting year. Piloting lets teachers test draft curriculum, build expertise and refine instructional practices. EIPS’ approach is deliberately careful, with continuity of student learning as a top priority.

What this means for our students:

• Grade 7 students in Vegreville Composite High School will pilot all of the new curriculum subjects, with full piloting in Math, Social Studies, PEW and CEFL.

• Grade 8 students will fully pilot PEW and CEFL, with partial piloting in Math to ensure a smooth transition into Grade 9 and high school.

• Grade 9 students will continue learning the current curriculum in Math and Social Studies. There are no changes to Grade 9 PATs so the transition to high school stays predictable. PEW and CEFL are the new subjects that Grade 9 students will experience.

Supporting our teachers
Every junior high teacher of these subjects will participate in professional learning sessions to prepare them for new curriculum. We’ve also designated a Curriculum Lead in each subject to support colleagues with planning and resource development and curation. Curriculum Leads attend additional learning sessions across the year. This work will help teachers provide a strong foundation for our students as we navigate the changes in new curriculum over the course of the next few years.

Want to learn more? Talk to the admin team, attend an upcoming school council meeting or visit alberta.ca/curriculum. We will have more information throughout the year!

Want reminders and news about EIPS? You can now follow the Division on Instagram @elkislandpublicschools. Stay in the know about what’s going on, from division wide celebrations to reminders about important dates and deadlines. You can also connect with EIPS on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and the EIPS website.

Interested in school-specific updates? Follow Vegreville Composite on Instagram: @vegcomp, Facebook: Vegreville Composite High School or vegcomp.ca

VCHS and the Division use the SchoolMessenger platform for communicating with families—through both phone and email. Be sure to add communications@eips.ca and general.vjs@eips.ca to your safe sender list to avoid having important messages funneled into your junk mail folder.

You can directly manage your phone and email subscription preferences through SchoolMessenger. Simply log in to your account—or create one if you don’t already have one—and select the message types you’d like to receive to each phone number and email address on file.

The easiest way to stay connected is to download the SchoolMessenger app. Get the latest updates direct to your mobile device and enable push notifications to never miss a message. Families can also check back on past messages—for up to 30 days—directly in the app rather than searching to find an old message buried in your inbox. Download the SchoolMessenger app from the App Store or Google Play today.

As per Alberta Health guidelines, staff, students, contractors and visitors who have symptoms of respiratory illness or test positive for COVID-19 should stay home until:

• symptoms have improved;
• they feel well enough to resume normal activities; and
• they have been fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications.

Career Pathways

Career Pathways Information Board

Career Pathways student Opportunity Board

Email: General.VJS@eips.ca
Website: www.vegcomp.ca
Location: Vegreville, AB, Canada
Phone: 780-632-3341
Facebook: facebook.com/vegcomp