I will be unable to attend the “Parent Walkabout” at Burnaby North this year, so the following is my welcome to parents as well as students.

I look forward to building a fun classroom community and enjoying literature together this year.

Mask wearing is an individual choice this year, and I am still wearing a mask most of the time, so I have included a picture of myself here.

To help students stay organized, I extend the classroom online with Microsoft Teams. Students can find a daily “Shape of the Day” post in the General Discussion channel on MS Teams outlining the lesson/plan for the day, along with any readings and handouts.  If students are away, they should go to MS Teams to view the post for the day to follow along with the class.  Parents, please encourage your student to check the post on MS Teams if they have to be away, and contact the office (and me too!). MS Teams is a way to help students stay organized, but is not a replacement for attending class, as most instruction, activities, and evaluations happen during class time.

I am available for extra help during Flex time in room 15 — students can use Flex time at the start of the day to ask me for extra help or to make up in-class assignments that they missed. Students can also use the “Questions and assignment help” channel in MS Teams. Some take-home assignments are to be submitted in MS Teams. You can find more instructions for using MS Office Teams on the Burnaby North website .

This year I am teaching English 8, English 8 Enriched, English 10 First Peoples / Creative Writing, English Studies 12, and English 11 Enriched / Literature 12. You can see course outlines here: English 8 Course outline 2022fall; Engl 10 CW First Peoples Outline 2022 Falld2022 English 12 course outline Fall, Literature 12 Outline 2022Fall.

For interested English 10 students planning their classes next year: English 11 Enriched / Literature 12 is a pre-requisite for students taking AP Literature and Composition/ English 12 AP, but it is also an excellent and interesting elective open to all students in Grade 11 and 12. For more information, read Engl 11 E Lit 12 overview.

You can see the class guidelines and cell phone policy here (Class guidelines 2022fall). Students are expected to keep their cell phones on silent and put away in their bag during class time.

Students need to bring a silent reading book to class, as each day will include silent reading.

Provincial Literacy Exams: Students in Grade 10 and Grade 12 are required to write a literacy exam: read more about the Grade 10 exam and the Grade 12 exam.

Here are some suggestions for how to help your child succeed in English language arts courses: Parent Walkabout 2022. Click here for a helpful resource for students who need to improve their understanding of English grammar.

If you have any questions, please contact me at: Bryn.Williams@burnabyschools.ca

Mr. Williams