​For the past several months, Mountainside teachers have been meeting weekly to discuss innovative and engaging program extensions that could be offered above and beyond our normal program offerings. Collectively, we have come up with three very exciting opportunities that I would like to share with you now, in hopes that students may already know which offering (s) they would like to take participate in BEFORE their intake interview next week.

Each of the programs below (we are calling them Pods) are semester long. Students would need to commit to enrolling in the Pod for the first semester (September to January), but would finish that semester with 2-4 courses under their belts. The intention of each Pod is to engage the students in learning by DOING, and are each very innovative and progressive in their own way.

1. Filmglish Pod (Film/English)

• Taught by Ian Powell and Jessica Sloan
• Mornings (9:15 – 11:40) daily
• English, and Drama - Film and Television (Two 4-Credit graduation course, at their grade level)
• Students will engage in the many aspects of film and digital story telling, including:
• Creative story and script-writing
• Story-boarding
• Lighting, camera angles, screen aspect, and many other elements of film making
• Connecting with professionals in our community working in this field, exploring career and post-secondary options for students to consider
• Available to only 15 students in Grades 10-12
• No cost to students.

2. Outdoor Learning Pod (WayFinders)

• Taught by Chris Doll and Brad Slater
• Afternoons (12:20 – 2:30) daily
• Physical Education (PE), Science/Earth Science/Geography (Two 4-Credit graduation course, at their grade level)
• Traditional First Nations ways of being and living
• Students will engage in outdoor, active learning experiences, focussing on healthy living, local geography and environmental concepts including:
• Forestry, geology, oceanography, ecology, and the impact humans can have on them
• Staying both physically and mentally well in the context of Beautiful BC and the North Shore
• Green technology, green energy sectors, and opportunities for further learning and employment for those who love being outside and caring for the environment
• Organizing one or more overnight field trip experiences
• Available to only 15 students in Grades 9-12
• May be some cost to students, depending on trips organized. Fundraising will take place to offset costs, and cost should not be a deterrent.

3. Trades Exploration Pod

• Partnership Pilot Program with Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU)
• Taught by a KPU instructor, supported by Mountainside Staff
• Full day program (9:15-2:30) every day
• Students will receive Four 4-credit graduation courses in the areas of Technology Education and Employment Training
• Program will include:
• Eight (8) weeks of safety, tools,  and employment training 
• some training certificates, and other direct employable skills
• Twelve (12) weeks of trades industry specific exploration, including the areas of:
• Piping Trades
• Welding Trades
• Carpentry Trades
• Electrical Trades
• Metal Work/Machining Trades
• Understanding the Industry Training Authority (ITA), Apprenticeship and Red Seal processes, and pathways to post-secondary and employment
• Cost will be around $200 (but would be well over $1-2000 if students were to enroll in this experience outside of school)
• This is an amazing opportunity for our students, but limited to 16 students.
• Any student interested in learning more about the trades industry should consider this Pod. KPU is strongly encourage both males and females to enroll in their post-secondary programs
• Students successful in this Pod may choose to enroll in the KPU Plumbing and Pipefitting Program, being offered in second semester next year.

Those are the three Pod offerings this Fall. I know that students temptations are always to choose the most familiar path, so it would be really great to enlist your support in steering students for whom one of the above might be a good fit. The reason for the three pathways we have chosen, was our students. During the past two years, we have seen such amazing skill, interest, and passion in each of these areas, and as we work to encourage our students to "Own Their Journeys", we see these programs as best suited to do just that.

Please let me know if you have any questions of concerns about any of these Pod offerings, or anything else related to school.

Also, please check us out on Facebook (link below). There are lots of great pictures from last year up there, and it is a perfect place to keep up to date with what is happening in the school.

Look forward to seeing you again next week!

Jeremy Church
Principal
Mountainside/SmanitaXan Secondary School
604-903-3774

Check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mountainside2013

"If you are not living close to the edge, you are taking up too much space."