Graduation

Welcome Graduates of 2021 and Parents/Guardians!

Please use this website and check your emails to find relevant information for our Grad Class (it will be updated as soon as new information is available).

All Grad plans are subject to change due to the COVID-19 restrictions of the time.

Dates: Thursday May 20th & Friday May 21st, 2021

Location: Lamont High School

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the members of our Graduation Committee: 

- Ms. Ram, Teacher Coordinator (asha.ram@eips.ca)

-  Mrs. Doerksen, Councilor (tracy.doerksen@eips.ca)

- Mrs. Gruber, Registrar (cindy.gruber@eips.ca)

- Mrs. Lyles, Business Manager (candace.lyles@eips.ca)

- Mr. Sonnenberg, Assistant Principal (brendt.sonnenberg@eips.ca)

- Mr. Mali, Principal (amit.mali@eips.ca) 

Graduates are to complete the following survey by April 9th:

https://forms.gle/5qDUNJJcXRZruU4H9

While we are still working on our Graduation plans, please still send the following items to Ms. Ram (via email) as soon as possible:

- Baby picture of the Graduate

- pictures of the Graduate over the years (on their own and with friends and family)

- yearbook class pictures from Elementary School

Please send all pictures to Ms. Ram at asha.ram@eips.ca.

Thank you.

A Grad List with ASN numbers has been emailed out to all gradautes/parents on Friday March 12, 2021.

Please CHECK that your ASN is on it. If it is NOT, please contact Mrs. Doerksen (tracy.doerksen@eips.ca) right away to determine why and how to change that.

Graduates MUST be in good-standing as of March 24th to be included on the Grad Composite.

Good-standing means:

- caught up and passing all courses that you are currently enrolled in (including NEXTStep)

- Media Consent form MUST be submitted by March 22nd

- Grad Fees paid or have a plan with Mrs. Lyles to pay by May 1st

- School Fees are caught up and paid in full

- if you are missing any assignments or assessments, they MUST be handed-in to 

your teacher no later than Friday March 19th

Next deadline will be in April for eligibility to participate in the Grad Ceremonies. 

Past Meetings

Our first Grad Parent Meeting was on Tuesday December 8th @ 6 PM via ZOOM.

Our first Student Grad Meeting was on Tuesday December 15th @ 11:45 AM via Google Meet. 

Our second Grad Meeting (for all) was on Tuesday March 9th @ 6:30 PM via ZOOM.

If you missed a meeting - please check this webpage for the relevant articles.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Ram.

(Grad Picture Retakes were on Monday March 1, 2021.)

(Original pictures were on December 1, 2 and 3, 2020)

If you did NOT have your Graduation picture done OR you would like retakes, you need to call Lifetouch (780-437-2431) and make an appointment to go in to their studio in Edmonton and have the pictures done.

There is NO guarantee that your picture will be included in the Graduation Composite anymore if you have missed the Grad pictures and Retake days.

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Ram (asha.ram@eips.ca).

All students planning on Graduating in Spring 2021 must ensure that they are on on track to Graduate!

Mrs. Doerksen will be contacting all Graduates that are at risk of NOT graduating between December 10 - 22, 2021 in order to discuss their plan of action.

You can check if you have met the Graduation requirements, as outlined by Alberta Education, by:

- Checking myPass for your successfully completed courses and earned credits  (register here with your PERSONAL email not your school email) 

- Checking the Alberta website for information about what courses/credits are needed to graduate and for helpful checklists (Graduation Requirements) 

- calling or emailing Mrs. Doerksen (tracy.doerksen@eips.ca) 

Graduates are required to pay a $100 Grad fee (it has now been added to your school accounts) in order to fully participate in the Graduation Ceremonies. 

This fee is only payable after all other school fees have been paid in full.

The Grad fee includes the following estimated costs:

- souvenir cap, gown, and stole for the graduate

- large school composite and a personal mini copy of the composite

- a copy of handshake/tassel photo 

- a certificate portfolio

- personal highway sign

- recorded speeches

- decorations

If you have any questions about your school financial account or payment of graduation fees, please contact Mrs. Lyles (candace.lyles@eips.ca).

All Graduates must have a FOIP Media Consent form (click on the name) signed and submitted into the Office in order to fully partake in all Graduation proceedings and recognitions. 

If you are having trouble opening the file, please do the following:

- download the file

- select the file in the Downloads folder of your File Manager

- right click and open using Adobe

Grade 12 families!

It may seem early, however, it is time to start thinking about post-secondary plans. Pretty much all the post-secondary institutions open their application process for the 2021-22 school year on October 1. It is a good idea for students to apply in early October, as there are some programs that have first-come, first-served acceptance. It is also nice to apply early because many post-secondary institutions will send out early acceptance letters to students in December and it can be a big relief for students to know that they have been accepted that early in the year. To apply, students will need to create an account at: https://applyalberta.ca/. This site allows students to create their profile and enter all their past and current course information. They are then able to apply to as many post-secondary institutions as they would like through that one location. Students who need assistance with this process should make an appointment to meet with our school counsellor, Mrs. Doerksen  (tracy.doerksen@eips.ca).

Make sure students get their MyPass account created before they need to check their diploma exam marks. Students should use a personal email account rather than a school account because they will lose access to their school account once they graduate, but they may still need to access MyPass to order transcripts.  You will find the MyPass tab in your powerschool portal.

As outlined in our annual Alberta Accountability Pillar Data, our 6-year High School to Post-Secondary transition rate is above 70% and well above the provincial average. The Post-Secondary Transition Rate (6 year) is the percentage of students in the grade 10 cohort who have entered a post-secondary-level program at an Alberta post-secondary institution or registered in an Alberta apprenticeship program within six years of entering grade 10, adjusted for attrition.

We would highly recommend students and families interested to check out the various institutions and programs.  

• Please see information regarding Post-Secondary Virtual Open House dates.

Post Secondary Open House 20.pdf    (all dates have passed)

• Your Future: Post-secondary and Career Fair

  If you have not decided on your path for when you graduate please consider attending the virtual Your Future: Post-Secondary and Career Fair. This event brings together a collection of post-secondary colleges and universities as well as potential employers and associations to share valuable information about post-secondary education and career planning.  This event will take place over two evenings and students will be able to attend as many or as few sessions as they are interested in.

  Event Details: 

  Dates:   Nov. 24 and 25, 2020 

  Times:   6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

  20-minute sessions throughout each evening 

   

  Visit www.eips.ca/students/your-future for a detailed list of sessions and the links to join each one. 

The Provincial Government has indicated that all Diploma Exams for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year will be optional. The decision to write diploma exams resides with students and their families. Students will receive an exemption if they choose not to write an exam, however if an exam is written it will continue to be worth 30% of their final mark.

Find a copy of the diploma exam schedule here: 

Alberta Diploma Exam Schedule

As you can see, there are only 3 days when students are back in classes after Christmas Break before they have to write the ELA and Social Part A exams. This means that these courses will need to be pretty well complete prior to Christmas Break.

Mrs. Doerksen has received lots of excellent questions about the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship recently. Here are a few FAQs:

1. Do I need to apply for this now? Is there a deadline?
1. Students do not apply until after their grade 12 marks are finalized. Usually the site opens for applications on August 1. There are no deadlines. Students need to wait until they have completed any upgrading that they are planning on doing and until they have confirmed registration for post-secondary. Students who are taking a “gap year” should wait to apply until they are ready to start their post-secondary journey.

2. I missed getting a high enough average in grade 10 and/or 11 by a small amount. Is there anything I can do?

1. Averages for determining whether a student qualifies are not based on the year that the student takes the course. Any course with a course number in the 1000s will count for grade 10, 2000s for grade 11 and 3000s for grade 12. If a student missed the qualification level for a particular grade they could look at taking an option course now. Getting a high mark in that course will improve their average for that previous grade and could allow them to qualify for the scholarship.

3. I know other people got higher marks than me. How can I compete with them?

1. The Alexander Rutherford Scholarship is not competitive. Anyone who meets the criteria and applies automatically gets the money.

4. If I am unsure if I qualified how can I find out?

1. If students would like to check to see if they qualified for their grade 10 and grade 11 years they can ask their grade administrator. There is no harm in applying, even if not sure. Student Aid will do the calculations and send the check to the student if they qualify.  

Here is a link to the website where you can find detailed information about this very beneficial program:

https://studentaid.alberta.ca/scholarships-and-awards/alexander-rutherford-scholarship/#page2017