Welcome
I want to welcome back all of our new and returning staff and students. We have an exciting year ahead of us with lots of amazing learning opportunities. The energy I am already seeing and feeling in the school is amazing. Our school thrives on the collaboration between students, teachers, and families. We encourage our students to stay involved and engaged, not only in class but also by joining a school club or running for student council. Please remember that your teachers are available to help if you need it, but academic success depends on you and your ability to apply yourself to your learning.
We also have a couple of new staffing changes that I wanted to share with families. Mrs. Erin Marshall is our new guidance counsellor and Mrs. Kim Hutchinson is our Special Education Resource Teacher. You can access all of our staff’s email addresses by visiting the contact us page of our website.
Academic Dishonesty
Students were required to complete the academic dishonesty module by September 6th. If they have not completed it the need to complete it immediately to prevent being locked out of their courses.
Courses Full
Our courses for semester 1 are currently full. We are still trying to add waitlisted students into semester 2 courses and will be doing this up to the start of semester 2 if possible.
Summer School Courses Taken outside of VLC
If you took a course outside of VLC this summer (such as ILC or TDSB) please upload your report card or screen shot from ILC to your student documents by going to our website and choosing upload documents from the left hand menu. Please have this done by September 20th.
Student Guide
Both new and returning students were required to work through all the modules in the Student Guide course, even if they have done it before. Students can use the guide as a reference throughout the semester. We will be working hard to limit the announcements in the student guide to one big announcement on Mondays with the potential of important messages only going out the rest of the week. Students should be still checking the student guide daily for important information and announcements.
Parent Teacher Night
Save the date: We will be hosting parent teacher night on Wednesday, October 2nd from 5-7pm to meet your son or daughters teacher. Meetings will be conducted over Zoom and parents will be able to sign up for 5 minutes meeting times on a first come first serve basis. More details will be sent out closer to the date with details on how to sign up to meet with your child’s teacher.
New Phone Number
Our main number is still (705) 328-2925, however, we have added a secondary number of (249) 702-0625. It will come up on call display at VLC TLDSB. If you see this number we want you to know that it is the school calling.
Exam Proctoring
We are excited to announce that we will be changing our online proctoring software from Proctorio to HonorLock. Students will have the opportunity to use the new software before writing exams. Families can get more information about HonorLock by visiting their student information page. I want to assure families that we have reviewed this company’s privacy and data collection policies very well. Similar to Proctorio the software is only able to collect information during an exam or test.
Frequently Asked Questions
When visiting our website you can click the question mark in the bottom right hand corner to find a wealth of information about our school. This is a great first step in finding answers to many of our commonly asked questions.
Taking Courses Elsewhere
If a homeschooled student is taking courses with the Virtual Learning Centre and would like to enrol in courses from other programs that are privately or publicly funded, including the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), our office needs to be notified ahead of time. Failure to do so may result in withdrawal from our program.
When a student completes any external credits they should upload the final report card to their Student Profile, so the office can help them keep track of their OSSD requirements and ensure they have prerequisites for future courses. Given our students are homeschooled, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to keep track of their OSSD requirements but our office can provide support along the way. Our guidance counsellor will share resources with students that will help them keep track of these requirements and they can provide assistance with course selection, pathway planning and eventually support them in the graduation and post-secondary process.
Any external credits completed (outside of the VLC) will not be placed on the student’s status/credit counselling sheet or the course requirements credit summary sheet that accompanies the report card until a student’s graduating semester with the VLC.
Students in their Final Year
An announcement was posted in the Student Guide: Graduation and Post-Secondary Information Request 2024/25 – IMPORTANT (form to complete) with information for students in their final year at the VLC. Please ensure your child reads the announcement and completes the form (due September 20th) if this is their final year of high school. Students who have completed the form will be added to the VLC Grad/Postsecondary Club where they will have access to important information and resources for their final year of high school.
School News and Dates
Parents are encouraged to check our website regularly to keep up to date with school news. Important school dates can also be checked on our website using the Calendar menu.
Guidance
This year students will be able to book a 1 on 1 guidance appointment with our guidance lead Mrs Marshall. Head to the Guidance Page in Canvas and book through our zoom calendar link.
Terry Fox Fundraiser
Terry was only 19 years old when he started his Marathon of Hope. It’s never too early to start making a difference. We need you to Try like Terry!
Our annual school fundraiser for Terry Fox has officially started. Our goal this year is to raise $1000 for the Terry Fox Foundation. Our school has fundraised over $11,000 since we began in 2016. The annual school run/walk/hike/bike/skate/wheel will take place on Friday October 11th. We encourage all students to participate in this event. Fundraising is optional, but we ask for any funds to be donated by Tuesday October 15th. Updates will be posted to students in the Student Guide announcements. Our fundraising page can be found here.
CHV2O/GLC2O Start Dates
Q1 of Civics and Careers runs from September 5th to November 7th.
Q2 of Civics and Careers runs from November 8th to January 30th.
OSSLT
EQAO has announced that there will be two writing sessions for the OSSLT students this year. The first in the Fall and a second session in the Spring.
VLC students who are in grade 10 (born in or after 2009) or above will have the option to write in either session. Instructions for signing up will be shared through with families via email and posted in the Student Guide for students by September 20th. We will also post information on our website. Please note that the OSSLT is a graduation requirement. Dates for the spring and fall session have not been confirmed yet. This test must be written in person either at our office in Lindsay or by you arranging a time with your local school board.
At Risk Reports and Progress Reports
Throughout the semester families of students (who are under 18) that are at risk of not earning their credit will receive an email called an ’At Risk Report’ indicating outstanding work and next steps. Our first scheduled week for these reports to go out was the week of September 18th. The next scheduled week is December 11th.
At the 4th week of school (September 23-30th) all students will receive a Progress Report email from their teacher highlighting how they are progressing in their classes. The report will focus on the learning skills and general feedback.
Withdrawals
If you would like to withdraw from a course and you are under 18, a parent/guardian must email the registrar: [email protected] with the request from their personal email account.
If you are over 18 then you need to notify our office using your student Gmail account that you wish to withdraw from one or more of your courses. You can also log in to your application and update your Student Notes.
If you are attending another publicly funded or private school your guidance counsellor must email the registrar: [email protected] with the request.
If you attend a TLDSB school your guidance counsellor must email the registrar: [email protected] with the request.
If a student elects to withdraw course deposits will be forfeited (if applicable).
Technical Support
If students are having technical difficulties they can open a support ticket in Canvas by using the Help menu on the left-hand side and choosing “Report a Problem”. This will go to our support team and a solution will be emailed to the student’s VLC Gmail address.
Full Disclosure
Students in senior courses (grade 11/12) have until November 15th at 4:00 pm to withdraw from a course without the course showing up on a transcript. Students will receive their midterm report cards beforehand.
Full disclosure does not apply to students in Grade 9 or 10 courses.
Final Exams (January 19-30)
Semester 1 final exams will be scheduled on January 19-30. Specific dates and times for exams will be posted on student’s course homepages and emailed to families by the end of October. Please note that all exams will be proctored with HonorLock. For more information visit their website (https://honorlock.com/students/).
Semester 2 final exams will be scheduled from June 19-25. Specific dates and times for exams will be posted on student’s course homepages and emailed to families by the end of March.
Please do not book vacations or travel during this period. Students must be available for their final exams.
Clubs and Extracurriculars
The VLC offers a large range of extra-curricular activities to enhance the experience of students and to build a school community. Clubs range from our student newspaper, the VLC Gazette, to clubs such as coding, gaming, and drama.
We have a strong Student Council whose role is to build the school community and provide opportunities for students to voice opinions and recommendations to the Principal.
Clubs vary from year to year with student interests. A complete list of clubs was shared with students on September 9th in a Student Guide announcement.
Important Dates
October 14 – Holiday (No classes)
October 24 – Last day to submit overdue work for the midterm (by 12 pm, noon)
October 25 – PA Day (No classes)
November 6 – Last day of Q1 (Civics/Careers)
November 7 – First day of Q2 (Civics/Careers)
November 15 – Full Disclosure
November 22 – PA Day (No classes)
December 20 – Board Instructional Holiday (No classes)
December 23 to January 3 – Winter Holiday (No classes)
January 10 – Last day to submit overdue work for the Final (by 12 pm, noon)
January 23 – Last day of live classes
January 24-30 – Exam Days
February 3 – First day of Semester 2
