Welcome Claremont Students and Families,
The first week of school is approaching very quickly and our staff is excited to begin another year. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all students' who are new to Claremont and welcome back all those returning. I am honoured to be your Principal and look forward in getting to know you this year and the years ahead. Claremont is an outstanding school with an amazing staff here to support you through the High School years.
As we prepare for the first week, I appreciate "timetables" are on every students' mind. I wonder what my schedule will look like, or this does not look right, may be some initial reactions as we continue to distribute timetable this week. Students' are encouraged to drop in to the school between Mon. Aug. 28 - Fri. Sept. 1, between 10:00 - 3:00 p.m. and pick-up their individual timetable that is in the grade appropriate binder, alpha sorted, inside the main entrance of the school on one of the two tables. This self serve method is working well. Regrettably, due to some scheduling challenges, we were not able to provide timetables back in June as we hoped. Nevertheless, they are now ready and students' will notice which teachers they will have for their courses.
In the event your timetable does not look right, don't panic. We will make every effort to fix the problem. Students' are encouraged to fill out the blue "Request for Change of Student Schedule 2017-18" form available at the school or can be downloaded from the "Quick Links" on the website. Complete the form and drop it off at the school ASAP. The sooner we have your request the sooner we can get working on a solution.
For grade 9 and 10 students we want you to have a full timetable with no spares. We also want your timetable to be balanced. Meaning, a semester with all academic classes or heavy to the academic may need to be changed. For grade 11 and 12 students', we need to make sure you have all the right course and credits heading to graduation. Unfortunately, if you are requesting a change to be in the same classes as your friends or you want a certain teacher, these are not a priority and will likely not be honoured.
Our school counsellors, Mr. Pama and Ms. Hoffman are unable to take appointments to address schedule changes until Sept.14. This is because they will be too busy processing the "blue change forms.' However, if an appointment is necessary, they will initiate this appointment because there may be a conflict in what the student is requesting that requires a conversation.
If you have any questions for me, feel free to email pwesthaver@sd63.bc.ca I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner. Please make note of Thursday August 31st, our Claremont staff will not be available. This is a day when all staff are engaged in School Planning as part of our professional development. Please monitor the school website as we will keep current information posted for our back to school routines. Thank you for subscribing to the Daily Chronicle news feed. May I also suggest you subscribe to the Front Page stories and the General Announcement links. Communication is so important for families so everyone can be kept up to date with important information.
Looking forward to an amazing school year. Thank you for supporting your child's education.
Peter Westhaver, Principal
