Ms. H. Aulakh

Hello world! Welcome to my school blog. haulakh@vsb.bc.ca

   Apr 02

Office 365 access

In case you didn’t get this email from your homeroom teacher or if you need to pass this info on to a friend, here’s what we were asked to send home regarding your passwords and accessing Office 365 (and thus, Teams). Here’s a link to the John Oliver School website. If you scroll down to the bottom orange area, there is the Office 365 link. I know for some people they were having issues because they were googling Office rather than using our VSB link. So try the link on this link… John Oliver Secondary School website

Dear Students,

Now that we are able to contact you via email, we would now like to ensure that you are able to log into your VSB Office 365 account.  Your office 365 account is:  your student number@learn.vsb.bc.ca  (ex. 123456@learn.vsb.bc.ca)

If your old password does not work or if you have never logged on then use the password John Oliver Jokers (it is case sensitive along with spaces).  You can access your Office 365 by going to the JO website and clicking on the orange band >Office 365.  If you wish to change the password,  you can do so in settings (the wheel in the top left hand corner)    once you are in Office 365.

 


   Apr 01

Access to TEAMS

Hi all,

Quick message… I’ve received a few emails from students who haven’t been able to access Teams and/or Office 365 today who were able to access it a couple of days ago. It’s says the password or info is not correct.

So it seems that other students are also having this issue. I’m assuming it’s because the VSB IT ppl are working on TEAMS. I’m also assuming that when they’re done, you will get an email. I don’t know for sure, but if you don’t get an email, just check in again on Thursday or Friday because we were told that they were going to be working on getting our Class Teams set up until Thursday.

We have another online staff meeting today. I will ask if they have any info about your accounts.

Again, just be patient. There’s no need to worry or stress. We’re all just waiting for more info. 👍🏽😊


   Mar 30

What now… update

Hello all! 

We just had our virtual staff meeting which was an informative albeit strange experience. 😯 You & your parents will be getting more info, so please check your VSB email regularly. 

As for us, we teachers will be given a schedule so we can access our classrooms and our resources tomorrow and on Wednesday. We are taking things slowly and step by staff because safety is the #1 priority. We have been asked to START to think about how will be “teaching” moving forward. Do NOT expect it to be the same, but do expect to be working on skills and learning. 💡 

If you are not on the Class Team that I created for your grade, don’t worry! The VSB’s IT people are still working on it. They are going to get all students on, but it won’t be happening today, so just be patient. If you haven’t gone onto TEAMS, please do. We have been advised to use TEAMS to communicate with students. So get on your OFFICE 365. Login. And play around with TEAMS if you can. 

If you don’t have wifi access, Telus is supposedly providing free wifi. Here’s a link that was shared – Telus wifi. If you don’t have devices that work or if you have to share with siblings, don’t worry. Everything will get figured out. 

For those who have emailed me about work/projects that are “due”, that is NOT our priority right now. Again, NOBODY has gone through this before. We need to look at the BIG picture which is EVERYONE’S well being and safety. Teachers are humans and may have health issues or have family members that have health issues. Yes, your learning is important, but BIG picture wise, everyone’s safety is more important. So again, relax, be patient. We’re all in this together – literally the WHOLE world. You’re not the only ones who are confused. 

For now, we’ve been told to focus on health & safety and to start thinking about how to resume teaching/learning. Until we get more info (we have another virtual staff meeting on Wed. afternoon), we can’t tell you what you’re going to have to do. So my advice for now is…

  1. Do as much of your work as you can. TRY your best, but don’t stress.
  2. Get on OFFICE 365 & TEAMS and see what you can figure out
  3. Online chat with your friends and classmates to see if they can help you with either your homework, or with figuring out TEAMS, etc.
  4. READ! READ! READ! and WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
  5. Keep a journal (on paper or online) of your experience during this unique time in history. BECAUSE it is VERY unique and you’ll be able to tell the story later – “When I was in high school, you know what I had to endure?!”
  6. Check out this site created by the BC Gov’t. It has a variety of resources for different subject ares. – Open School BC: Keep Learning

I hope you enjoyed this colourful post and that you’re all doing well, following the safety guidelines, and are not too bored. 🙂 Be safe and be smart when you’re reading all the info out there. Use your CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. And here’s a quote from a song that some of you might be familiar with. Ponder this… “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” J. Mitchell “Big Yellow Taxi”


   Mar 28

OFFICE 365 CLASS TEAMS

Hi again! 🙂 

Can everyone check their VSB/Office 365 email please.

  • It should be your student number@learn.vsb.bc.ca

I’ve created Class Teams for each of my courses. I THINK this will be the way that we will communicate & learn. I will find out more on Monday and will let you know. But for now

  • check your email and see if it asks you to accept or join or something. Then do that please
  • If you didn’t get an email, then go to Office 365. Login. Click on Teams and see if you’ve been added into a class team. 
  • Spend some time playing with Teams or watching ‘how to’ videos for Teams so you can get familiar with it. 
  • I’ve posted a message on each class team. See if you can find it and respond.
  • If you didn’t receive anything and/or haven’t been included in the Class Team, you’re not alone.
  • After our online staff meeting in Monday, I will hopefully know why some students were added and how to get everyone on.

Thanks for your patience!!👍🏽


   Mar 28

POST SPRING BREAK UPDATE…

Hi everyone! It has been a very strange Spring Break this year. I’ve been teaching for a while, and I’ve never experienced anything like this, nor did I ever expect to. BUT, we if we look to the JO Code of Conduct – COURAGE – and try to remember to follow these principles, I’m sure we can all make it through.

I will ask you to be patient, optimistic, and adaptable because we’re all learning and going through this for the first time together. I DO NOT have all the answers, but I will try my best to keep you updated. 

Here’s a video posted by the VSB Superintendent, Suzanne Hoffman, with an update on what’s going to happen starting on Monday. 


   Mar 13

ENGLISH 8 – 1.2/2.3

HOMEWORK: Due Mon/Tues – March 30-31st

  1. Notebook: p. 21 – Geraldine Moore Character Analysis paragraph
    1. Write ONE paragraph, pen, double-spaced
    2. TAG it
    3. PEE on it
    4. CS sentence
  2. Watch the videos to help you
    1.  Writing a Paragraph
    2. Writing Basics – Hamburger Paragraph

   Mar 13

ENGLISH 9 – 1.3

HOMEWORK:  Due Monday, March 30th

  1. Notebook: p. 50Journal #4 – “The Pedestrian” – 1 paragraph
    1. Considering our class results (TV watching & Cellphone use), do you think L. Mead’s world/future in “The Pedestrian” is possible. Explain why or why not with 2-3 points. Make sure you TAG it & PEE on it.
    2. Class data: info from 20 responses
      1. TV hrs: 0 hrs – 5ppl, 0-1hr – p5pl, 1-2 hrs – 5ppl, 3-4hrs – 3ppl, 4-5 hrs – 1ppl    
      2. Cellphone hrs: 0-3hrs – 4ppl, 3-5 hrs 5ppl, 5-8hrs  -6ppl, 8-11hrs- 2ppl, 11-14hrs – 3ppl

   Mar 13

ENGLISH 10 – 2.4

HOMEWORK: Due Tuesday, March 31st

  1. Identity Journal #1 – “Personal Identity”
    1. In proper essay form (Intro/Body/Conclusion), 200-300 words (min. 1 page double spaced)
    2. Double-spaced, in PEN
    3. Discuss what is YOUR definition of personal identity. Provide examples, reasons, and examples from your My Identity Chart, the poems we’ve read, and your life.
  2. Identity Journal TIPS
    1. Make an outline like you did for your Compassion Essay
    2. Read my example Identity Journal
    3. Watch the following video
      1. Basic Essay Structure
  3. Reading Pkg – “The Friday Everything Changed”
    1. Read, highlight, notes in the margins
    2. Complete all the questions to the best of your understanding

   Mar 13

ENGLISH 11 – 2.1/2.2

HOMEWORK: Due Tuesday, March 31st

  1. LitCircle Project/presentation
  2. Rough draft letter to military (50-100 words) – considering what we’ve been reading and studying regarding war and it’s far reaching impacts, what would you want to say to a member of the Canadian military. Try not to just say thank you or be vague or cliche. Really try to connect, have empathy, and consider the videos and readings to say something both thoughtful and meaningful. My plan is to give or share your letters with people in the military, so please keep that in mind. This is not just a class assignment, it is also an actual letter that someone else will be reading. 👍🏽

   Mar 10

ENGLISH 8 – 1.2/2.3

HOMEWORK: Due Thurs/Fri

  1. Notebook: p. 20Literary Paragraph Outline
    1. Choose your top 3 traits for Geraldine (you want traits that have strong evidence AND that show a variety of traits and evidence)
    2. Decide the order of your points – from good to best point – P1 – good; P2- better; P3 – best point. 
    3. Fill in the 3 P & E’s in your literary paragraph outline (points & evidence). You DO NOT need to fill in the introduction or the conclusion. You are ONLY filling in the “PEE on it”  – 3 points and the 3 evidence parts. IF you feel confident, you can fill in the Explanation part.
  2.  For example: Do not copy my example!
    1. Geraldine is mature/independent. (Point 1)
    2. She tries her best to take care of herself. For example, she walks to and from school herself. She tries to help her family by watching “Mrs. Watson’s dog which she minded two days a week for a dollar” (104). She also thinks about their finances. “She sat at her desk adding up a column of figures” (105). (Evidence 1)