Yale Secondary
Grad Handbook
2015
Take Care of Yourself Take Care of Each Other Take Care of This Place
Table of Contents:
Grad Council ................................................. Page 2
Valedictorian................................................. Page 2
Counsellor Assemblies / Forms ..................... Page 2
Yearbook ....................................................... Page 5
Grad Application Form.................................. Page 5
Grad Photos .................................................. Page 6
Grad Rings..................................................... Page 6
Grad Song ..................................................... Page 7
Provincial Exams and Grad Status................. Page 7
SAT Prep Sessions & Exams .......................... Page 7
Message to Parents ...................................... Page 7
Grad Ceremonies .......................................... Page 9
Grad Lock-in .................................................. Page 13
Grad Dinner Cruise ....................................... Page 15
Grad Fashion Show ....................................... Page 15
Prom Tea....................................................... Page 16
Prom Dinner and Dance ................................ Page 16
Fees............................................................... Page 18
Grad Checklist ............................................... Page 20
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Grad Council
The grad council is made up of several members who
will be responsible for the following:
Meeting once a week to update each other on
progress.
Planning each of the grad events.
Communicating information to the grad class via
posters, announcements and the website.
Distributing tickets for events.
Checking in on a regular basis with sponsor teachers
to ensure all tasks are completed.
Working with the community to coordinate
sponsorship, advertising and prizes.
Valedictorian
Choosing a Valedictorian
Students may nominate themselves or
may be nominated by other students.
Applications will be available at the main
office at the beginning of April. Completed applications
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will be due on April 23rd. Voting will take place in the
first week of May.
What does it mean to be the Valedictorian at our
school? A Valedictorian is a representative of a
graduating class who speaks on behalf of the graduates
at the commencement exercises (Grad Ceremonies).
This honour is usually bestowed on an outstanding
representative of the graduating class.
Counsellor Assemblies/Forms
Do you want to graduate? Would you like to attend
post-secondary of any kind after you graduate? Do you
want to apply for scholarships that will financially assist
you with the cost of post-secondary education? WE
NEED TO MEET!
September
BC Transcript Verification (are you graduating?)See your
counsellor:
Mrs. Susanna Perry A-G
Ms. Cindy Baldwin H-N
Mr. Lorne Bartlett O-Z
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September
Parents/students are encouraged to attend September
25, 2014, 6:00 pm Post-Secondary Info. Night hosted by
Yale.
October
District Scholarship Applications due – See Ms. Baldwin
October 1, 2014, UFV applications for 2015/16 open for
grade 12
February
Distribution of Abbotsford Foundation Scholarship
booklets/application forms
March
Post-Secondary Institutions Selections Form; must be
completed online at the
Ministry of Education website if a student is attending
any post-secondary institution in September. This
ensures that final transcripts are received by individual
institutions.
Make frequent visits to www.yalesecondary.com or the
Yale App for updates on post-secondary and scholarship
info.
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Yearbook
Grad Message: Grads, you will be
able to leave a memorable message of
40 words or less beside your grad
photo in the year book. Due December 12th! Messages
emailed to yaleyearbook@gmail.com.
Grad Application
This form was completed in class last year (when you
were in Grade 11) in June. If you did not fill one out,
pick a form up from the main office. It is important that
you fill it out and return it to the main office ASAP (right
at the beginning of the school year). Keep in mind that
most grads participate in all the events, so get your form
in!
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Grad Photos
Grad Photos will be separate from the regular school
photos and will occur October 27th –
31st. The sign-ups for a sitting will be the
week prior to the photo week. Retakes
are available November 20th & 21st . You
MUST have your picture taken here at
the school to be on the grad composite and in the
yearbook – this is a FREE service. There is a $40 sitting
fee if you want grad pictures for friends and family.
Grad Rings
Grad ring sales will be held
September and February.
Visit the Yale App for dates.
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Grad Song
Every year grads choose a song which will capture the
moment for them. This song may be played at grad
events, especially the Prom. Your grad council will set up
a vote toward the end of April.
Provincial Exams and Graduation Status
Provincial Exams will be held at the end of each
semester for courses that require them (January and
June). Some courses may also provide exam
opportunities in November (rewrites) and April. Go to
www.yalesecondary.com to keep updated on exam
information. Advanced Placement Exams (separate from
the provincial exams) will be administered in May. If you
have any questions about the provincial exam for a
specific course, please see the teacher for that course. If
you have any questions about your graduation status,
please see your counsellor immediately to ensure you
have all the credits necessary to graduate.
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SAT Prep and SAT Exams
If you are considering attending college or university in
the United States, you must write SAT exams. Yale
offers SAT prep sessions as well as the opportunity to
write the SAT exams. Please check the Yale website for
registration of the SAT Prep sessions, but in order to
write the SAT exam, you must register on the SAT
website.
Message to Parents
We know you are extremely proud and
excited for this BIG year! We strongly
encourage you as parents to get
involved and help out with the Grad
Activities. There are lots of places help is needed and
your input is always appreciated. There will be two Grad
Parent Meetings and we look forward to seeing you
there: October 9th at 7:00pm in the library and January
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8th at 7:00pm in the library. Please check the Grad
Website at www.yalesecondary.com to keep updated.
Important Note: In order to participate in grad activities
including Dry Grad, Prom and other activities planned by
the Grad Council, grade 12 students must demonstrate
good conduct and be a good example to their classmates
and underclassmen. As a Grade 12 student, if they
choose to make a poor decision with regard to drugs,
alcohol or other serious conduct they will forfeit their
privilege to participate in grad events. Grade 12 students
are expected to be leaders at school and set a good
example with the choices they make.
Grad Ceremonies
(Commencements, Convocation)
If you have completed the requirements necessary to
graduate you will be participating in the Graduation
Ceremonies. If you are not sure if you have completed
the requirements please see your counsellor. Students
enrolled in courses outside of Yale that are required for
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graduation must have 80% completion by May 1, 2015
to be eligible to participate in the ceremony.
Grad Ceremony
Date: Thursday, June 4, 2015
Time: 4:30pm (Doors open at 3:30pm)
Place: Sevenoaks Alliance Church
Grads, please be at the church by 3:45. Do NOT be
LATE!
(Believe it or not it takes 30 minutes to get 300 grads in
order and ready!)
Things to know:
1) Come to the ceremony already dressed in your gown
with clothes underneath. You will be taking off the gown
right after the ceremony. (Guys: black dress pants and
black dress shoes look nice with a white dress shirt.)
(Girls: skirts or dresses with black dress shoes look best.)
You will not take the grad gown home that night!
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2) When you arrive at the church go straight to the GYM
to line up!
Ceremony Invitations
Due to limited space, family and friends will require
invitations to watch you cross the stage. Each student
will receive four invitations.
Here is the procedure for obtaining
invitations:
1. Pick up your four invitations
in early May at lunch; listen for
the announcement. You must have paid your grad
fees and all other school fees. If you do not want
some or all of your invitations, please tell us at that
time.
2.
Return any invitations you don’t need.
3. If you need more invitations, listen to the
announcements and show up in person at noon to
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pick them up. Limit is one ticket per person per day
until they are gone.
Ceremony Gowns
To cross the stage for this formal ceremony, we need to
order you a gown. To do this, you need to fill out an
Application to Graduate which was discussed earlier in
this handbook. Please return it to the main office ASAP.
This form will tell us your height (with shoes on) which
will help us order you the right length gown. Grad Fees
must be paid for us to finalize your order in April. You
will receive your cap and gown at the Grad Ceremony
Rehearsal.
Grad Ceremony Rehearsal
Date: Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015
Time: 3:30 Sharp!
Place: Sevenoaks Alliance Church
Why do you need to be there?
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1. You will receive your cap and gown. There will be
no other pick-up times. Get off work! Nobody else
can pick up your gown.
2. You need to see where to go in the gym at the
church, what line-up you are in and who you are
standing beside. We also need all the bodies there so
we can see how you will fit in the rows.
3. You will also have to learn the procedure for
crossing the stage. You will be nervous enough as it
is so let’s practice!
Grad Lock-in
Friday, January 23rd,
2015
There are plenty of fun things to do! There will be
swimming, skating, casino games, live entertainment,
character artists, food and drinks. Grads should bring
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comfortable clothes, swimming gear (suits, towels,
goggles) and skating gear (hockey equipment, personal
skates).
Students are NOT required to bring any money or pay
for anything during the evening.
** Note: rental skates are also provided free of charge at
the arena.
This is an, alcohol and drug-free all night Grad event that
goes until 3:00 or 3:30 am Saturday morning. There are
no in and out privileges. Students who need to leave
early must inform an administrator during the week
BEFORE the grad lock-in, who will verify the request with
a parent. Pick-up arrangements (who will be picking you
up) must be included in the request to leave early as you
will only be allowed to leave when the designated ride
arrives. If a student chooses to leave they may not reenter.
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Grad Dinner Cruise
Tickets go on sale for the grad
cruise starting in November
(only 150 available).
The grad cruise is scheduled for
December 18, 2014, with the busses departing Yale at
3:30pm.
Dinner and cruise around Vancouver Harbour.
Grad Fashion Show
November 20, 2014 – 7:00 in the New Theatre.
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Prom Tea
The Prom Tea starts at the school at 2:30 pm on June 6,
2015. Grads attend with family and friends.
Refreshments are offered. Photographers will be there
to take photos during the celebration. Pictures are made
available on the web after the event free of charge.
Prom
Dinner and Dance
Date: June 6, 2015
Time to be at bus:
4:00pm
Where to meet the bus:
Yale Secondary
Location of Prom Dinner Dance: Pan Pacific Hotel
Time bus arrives back at Yale: 12:00 midnight
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The Prom is a formal event where students get to dress
up and spend a very memorable evening together. Grads
will share in a beautiful buffet dinner, there will be a few
speeches, a slide show, and then grads will dance the
night away! ALL grads are bussed to and from the event.
There are no exceptions.
You must pay before the 2nd grad fee payment
instalment (April 2nd) so that you can reserve your table
in May. There is an application process for guest passes.
1) Guest pass applications are available in the office and
must be submitted before the cut off date of May 1st. 2)
You cannot pay for your guest pass without handing in
the signed guest pass with payment. 3) Once students
have paid, they can sign up for tables, which seat 10, for
three days only during the second week of May.
Remaining grads and guests will be assigned to tables.
More information will be available as it comes up. Please
continue to listen for announcements and check the
Grad Website.
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Grad Fees
Grad Ceremonies
$50
This includes your gown rental, the purchase of your
grad cap and tassel and any other grad ceremony costs.
The invitations are free.
Grad Lock-in
$75
This covers all the costs of the dry grad including rental
of the facility, entertainment and busses
to ARC.
Prom Dinner and Dance Ticket
$150
This includes your dinner, bus ride, and all the costs of
putting on the event.
Total Grad Fees
$275
The first instalment of $125 is due FEB 13, 2015. This is
for the Grad Ceremony and Dry Grad.
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The second instalment of $150 is due APRIL 2, 2015.
This is for Prom.
Only pay for those events you will be attending!!
Prom Dinner and Dance Guest Ticket
extra $150
A guest refers to anyone not in grade 12 at Yale. This
cost includes the dinner, bus ride, and all the costs of
putting on the event.
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Grad Checklist
September…
o Read through the Grad Handbook.
o Tell your parents about Grad Parent Meetings!
o Get your Yearbook message forms filled out online.
o Check your Graduation Status with your counsellor.
o Fill out the Grad Activities Form if you haven’t already
done so and return it to the main office.
o Buy your grad rings
o Check out yalesecondary.com or the FREE Yale App
for updated Grad info!
October…
o Sign up for photos in advance! Grad photos are
October 27 – 31
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o Grad Parent Meeting October 9th at 7:00pm in the
library.
o Check out yalesecondary.com/Yale App for updated
Grad info!
November…
o Grad Photo Retakes November 20 & 21.
o Grad Fashion Show November 20th at 7:00pm.
o Fill in the Transcript Verification Form for the
counsellors.
December…
o Grad Cruise December 18th.
January…
o Provincial Exams
o Grade Parent meeting January 8th at 7:00pm
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February…
o Pay your 1st instalment of FEES: February 13, 2015.
o Buy your Grad Rings.
o Attend Grad Lock-in February 6th
April…
o Pay your 2nd instalment of FEES: April 2, 2015.
o Get your Valedictorian Application/Nomination Form
in.
o Submit your prom guest application before May 1st.
May…
o Pick up your Ceremony Invitations early May. Extras
to follow.
o Pick up your Prom Dinner & Dance Tickets and choose
your tables.
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June…
o Attend the Grad Ceremony Rehearsal June 2nd
o Participate in Grad Ceremony June 4th at 4:30
(Students there at 3:45pm).
o Attend the Prom Dinner and Dance June 6th (Be at the
bus by 4:00pm).
o Sign up for the Show ‘n Shine
o Provincial Exams.
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