Feb 17th – Tri City Pro D Day – No School in Session
Feb 20th – Family Day – No School in Session
Feb 21-24th – Grade 8 Course Selection
Feb 22th – Pink Shirt Day
Belmont’s Theatre Company
Is proud to present “Once Upon a Mattress” A charming fairytale turned on its head! The Princess and the Pea has never sounded so good or been so funny! A wimpy prince, a domineering Queen, a mute King, and a brash Princess are only a few of the quirky characters in this musical! FOUR SHOWS ONLY! Fun for the whole family!
March 2nd 7 pm (doors open at 6:30)
March 3rd 7 pm (doors open at 6:30)
March 4th 2 pm (doors open at 1:30) AND 7 pm (doors open at 6:30)
We were excited to welcome NDP federal leader Jagmeet Singh, and MP Alistair McGregor to Belmont Secondary school. They met with a group of grade 11 students who were keen to be involved in providing feedback about the future of Canada. The students posed excellent questions!
Belmont was honoured to welcome role model and alumna, Doreen Scow, to teach students beading techniques
Upcoming Scholarship Deadlines:
Sooke Teachers Association Scholarship
Each year the Sooke Teachers Association offers 7 scholarships to graduating students. There are 3 set aside for children of STA members and the rest are open to all SD62 graduating students. All grads who meet the Criteria For Consideration below are encouraged to apply:
Multiple renewable awards for $4000 available. This national scholarship offers renewable $4000 per year for four years of study in a chemistry related program. Key criteria include academic achievement and financial need.
To apply for the Quest for Excellence scholarship, eligible students are invited to write and submit an online essay* up to 1,250 words in length, answering one of the following questions:
What does a “bright future” look like for you?
How have you demonstrated leadership or charity within your community to make it a better place?
How can we ensure fair and affordable housing for all Canadians?
Deadline: March 13th, 2023
Click the link below for more information or to access the application:
As always, please reach out to Mrs. Hoskins for support. Support is available in C and D block in the Careers Office (A119) or via email anytime. Ensure you start your applications early so there are no surprises!
Feb 3-10 – Grade 9-11 Class Visits for Course Selection
Feb 6th – Pro D Day – School Planning No school in session.
A huge congratulations to all of the Grade 12 students who have completed their Capstones! Their creativity and unique perspectives were inspiring. A massive thank you to all of the Belmont staff and community members who made this day possible!
Scholarship Deadlines Approaching:
Pathway to Teacher Education Scholarship – BC Ministry of Education
The Pathway to Teacher Education Scholarship is awarded to 20 outstanding high school graduates who have demonstrated a commitment and aptitude for a career path in K-12 teaching. Winners receive a $5,000 scholarship voucher to redeem when they are registered and attending an approved K-12 teacher education program at one of BC’s nine Faculties of Education.
Sooke Teachers’ Association offers 6 scholarships to students graduating in SD62. Three of these are set aside for children of STA members and 3 are open to any graduating students. The criteria to apply are:
The Quest for Excellence Program recognizes the pursuits in leadership and community contributions of Western Canadian students. High school students graduating in 2021 from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and Northwest Territories are encouraged to write an essay on the following:
What does a “bright future” look like for you?
How have you demonstrated leadership or charity within your community to make it a better place?
How can we ensure fair and affordable housing for all Canadians?
Deadline: March 13, 2023
Applications can be accessed at the following link:
Jan 16th – Course Selection Booklets posted on Belmont website
Jan 20th Winter Dance Show
Jan 23-27th Grad Assessments
Jan 20-Feb 2nd – Grad Photo Retakes
Jan 30th – Turnaround Day
Jan 31st – First Day of Second Semester
Turnaround Day and First Day of Second Semester
January 30th will be what is known as a Turnaround day for students – students will only attend if they have made appointments with teachers to make up any missing work or need to hand items in.
January 31st will be the 1st day of Semester 2 – students will have access to their semester two schedule on their Myed portal.
Dear Belmont Students and Families/Caregivers,
We hope that everyone has had a good start to the new year!
As we make our way to Semester 2, we also start to plan ahead for the next school year. Below is an overview of the course selection process. Students will also receive more information in-person at school over the next two months.
Counsellors will be visiting classes from Feb 3-10 to go through the course selection process with students. Students can also connect with their counselor for help with selecting courses or accessing MyEd: https://belmont.web.sd62.bc.ca/resources/counselling/
Belmont Secondary continues to offer personalized, flexible learning opportunities for students. New for September 2023 we are introducing Online Learning as another way to provide choice for students. Belmont students will have access to SD62 Online Learning Course(s) within the Belmont Secondary School building. Students can choose to take one or more of their Grade 10-12 course(s) via online learning when they complete their BSS course selection.
Feb. 3 – Feb. 10: Information on courses and the course selection information will be shared with students in grades 9-11 through class visits.
Feb. 13 – 21: Gr. 9-11 course selection window
Your student can show you the courses they have selected on their MyEd account before the window closes on Feb. 21. Please ask them to show you and have a conversation about the choices they have made and how the courses will help them to meet their future goals.
We are looking forward to helping students plan ahead for success next year!
Thank you,
Belmont Admin Team
RCMP join Belmont Students and Staff on January 16th for a morning meet and greet
It was wonderful to host local RCMP at Belmont this morning for a meet and greet with students. We are very appreciative of the treats and great conversations. A shout out to Belmont’s liaison officer Constable Mark Hall for making this happen!
Congrats to the Sr Girls Basketball team for winning Totem 67!! “It’s Kind Of A Big Deal!”
MVPNicola Spaven, All Star Mikayla Eadie, and Player of theGames Irene Parra, Emma Flarrow and Nicola Spaven
Students make batteries in Chemistry 12!
Katelyn Vandermark and Emma Libreiroare testing out the batteries they have created.
The Belmont Dance Program presents:
The Belmont Winter Dance Showcase on Friday, January 20th @ 7:00 PM in the Belmont Theatre! We will be showcasing a variety of dance styles as well as student choreographed pieces from our Dance Performance and Technique class and Dance Company. Tickets are $5.00 for students and $7.00 for adults. They are available on School Cash Online and in the office. We hope to see you all there!
A Message from the Learning Commons
In an effort to maintain our current resources, we respectfully request that all students return their materials to the learning commons when they are due. Novels/Graphic novels have a 2 week due date (they can be renewed). Semester 1 textbooks are due back by January 27th, 2023. This year, when Semester 2 textbooks are being distributed, if students have overdue or lost materials, they will not be issued textbooks or other materials. Materials need to be returned or paid for prior to textbooks being distributed.
Student Achievements
Legion Branch 91 new T-Shirt Logo Design Contest
Winner – Wendy Tran
Annual Remembrance Day Poster and Literary Contest – Royal Canadian Legion
Cameron Pelletier Grade 11 1st Place Senior Essay
Cameron Pelletier Grade 11 2nd Place Senior Color Poster
Team Canada: Junior Roller Derby World Cup – Valance, France July 2023
This $10,000 award is given out annually to a women involved in robotics with a strong dedication to promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the field of STEM.
Students who are interested are encouraged to click the link below for more information on eligibility requirements and application instructions:
TEAL charitable foundation offers several awards, yearly, to students who are English Language Learners and/or Refugees. Please click the link below for more information on specific awards or reach out to Mrs. Hoskins if you are interested:
BC Excellence Scholarship – Belmont Nomination Required
To be considered for this award, you must be nominated by Belmont. Our nominee then applies to the province for one of 55 Excellence Scholarship vouchers of $5000. Successful students will have demonstrated community service in/out of school and shown aptitude and commitment to their chosen career OR post-secondary path. To be considered as the Belmont nominee, please complete the nomination form posted in the grad google classroom.
SD62 District Awards – TBA (applications should be out in February)
Belmont Awards – TBA
PAC Bursaries – TBA
As always, Grade 12 students are encouraged to reach out to Mrs. Hoskins for support when they need it with applications, nominations, deadlines, and award eligibility. Please advise grads to check the Grad Google Classroom and the Belmont Scholarship Website regularly for upcoming scholarships and bursaries:
Thank-you to everyone who ordered Belmont and Grad Wear this year. Orders have been sent into our suppliers and delivery to the school is expected in late January! For updates, visit https://bit.ly/Belmont2023
Dear Belmont Students, Families and Caregivers,
As we move towards the end of this calendar year, it’s a time for all of us to celebrate and reflect on the successes of the year. We are looking forward to our last day together, and we are very appreciative of all the staff and students who have been planning a special breakfast and fun activities for the morning. We will be operating on a special bell schedule for the day, to accommodate these plans for our Belmont Staff and Students.
Winter Wonderland Breakfast – 9:00 – 10:00 am December 16th, 2022
Pancakes, sausages, hot chocolate, and cookies will be served to students and staff. Donations to the Legion and Santa’s Anonymous will be collected.
Block A – 10:00 – 10:53
Block B – 10:59 – 11:52
Lunch – 11:52-12:32
Block C – 12:32 – 1:25
Block D – 1:31 – 2:24
We are so fortunate to have support from our local Legion for volunteers to cook the pancakes and to the Lions club for providing the griddles.
We wish all of our Belmont students and their families and caregivers all the best for the break, and we’ll see you for a strong finish to the semester in January!
Your Team at Belmont
Staff and Students visit Cherish Senior Home
Student and Staff from our Impact Class made a visit and had a Sing Along with the Residents of Cherish this week
Derek our EA lead the sing along and good time was had by all
BMD Music Department
“Congratulations to everyone on a great Winter Concert. Due to the donations from our audience we were able to donate 500 dollars and a bunch of non-perishable food items to the food bank.”
It was a great evening of Music at the Winter Wonderland Concert
Scholarship Info Night – Presentation:
Any grade 12 parents, guardians or students who missed the scholarship info night on November 30th, 2022 can access the presentation here. Feel free to contact Mrs. Hoskins (choskins@sd62.bc.ca) if you have any questions. Stay tuned for the second info night in the new year!
Gingerbread House Decorating
This week our ISP classes also celebrated the holiday season with the making of Gingerbread Houses. The students had a great time. Special thanks to Ms. Boyte, Mr. Feser and Ms. Evans for all the they did to create such a special event for these students.
We know that there are Belmont families who are feeling the burden of rising costs on a daily basis. This pressure will continue as we head into the Winter Break. As you are aware, we have access to one-time funding focused on easing financial struggles. Families facing hardship are encouraged to reach out to their child’s Counsellor or Vice Principal to discuss supporting your child.
Keeping Young Drivers Safe
As some of our senior students earn their driver’s licenses, we want to ensure that they take this responsibility seriously. At our recent grade 12 assembly, Constable Mark Hall (School Liaison Officer) highlighted the importance of following all driving laws, including travelling at a safe speed and not overloading vehicles. He shared that in addition to fines and point penalties, students who overload are personally liable (not covered by ICBC) for passengers. RCMP will be watching out for dangerous driving in the community and ticketing as needed. Please make sure that you are speaking with your child about staying safe on the roads.
Belmont Pep Rally
We started off this week with a PEPRally, a great time was had by all, introducing, clubs, teams, etc. ending with a Staff and Student tug of war.
Scholarship Info Night
Any grade 12 parents, guardians or students who missed the scholarship info night on November 30th, 2022 can access the presentation here. Feel free to contact Mrs. Hoskins (choskins@sd62.bc.ca) if you have any questions. Stay tuned for the second info night in the new year!
Newcomer Families Night
The Intercultural Association of Victoria has organized a Newcomer Families Night for families in Sooke and the Westshore. It will be held on Wednesday, December 14th, at Spencer Middle School, and all Newcomer families in our school district are invited to attend! Poster attached.
The Governor General’s Award has been presented since 1873 and has become one of the most prestigious awards a Canadian student can receive. Each year, Belmont is honoured to present this award to the graduating student who earns the highest average on all combined grade 11 and 12 courses upon graduation and final grade submissions.
It is with great pleasure that we announce graduate Jim Wheen as the 2022 recipient! In addition to excelling in the full range of courses at Belmont, Jim is a top ranked mountain biker and coach, skilled outdoorsperson, and kind individual. Jim will be attending the University of Victoria to study Engineering.
Belmont wear and grad hoodies are on sale now!
Belmont sweatpants, t-shirts, hoodies and grad hoodies are on sale now for a limited time! Sales are online-only. Visit bit.ly/Belmont2023 for all the details! Students can also come check out the try-on station in the school foyer at lunch to see sample sizes! Brought to you by Belmont’s Entrepreneurship 12 class. Act quick sales have been extended until December 12th.
Belmont Boys Soccer
It is with immense pride and gratitude that we (coach Gant, coach Pags and Ms. Gaetz) announce that Belmont Boys Soccer are champions of the Colonist Shield!! The boys fought hard at Hampton field and that hard work paid off. This is the first time that Belmont’s name will be on the shield since 1995, and previously 1978,77,76. If you see one of the players in the hall or in your class, please make sure to congratulate them on a job well done!!
Fall in the BMD – November 2022
Welcome back to another year in the Belmont Music Department. As always, we have the pleasure of seeing many new and old faces as we strive for another year of musicianship and improvement. Though we are sad to see Mr Chan go, we are delighted to have Ms. Fortin return, and to welcome back Ms Spencer as the new director of Senior Winds.
Starting off the 2022/2023 year with our annual Meet the BMD gathering in September, music students of all grades attended this amazing welcome event full of games and treats. To end the evening, we held a delicious pizza party to feed all of our musicians.
Shaking off the summer cobwebs, both literally and figuratively, clinics were held for concert band members of all grades. Featuring personal lessons within sections as well as a mass band rehearsal with several UVic students, we thank all our clinicians for spending a Saturday afternoon with us.
Congratulations go to Drumline, directed by Mr Rivollier, with tremendous support from Lachlan and Alex. Drumline performed at Belmont football games for the first time in six years! Special thanks to the Belmont Athletics department for their support in making this possible
The Concert Choir, directed by Mrs Dawson, performed live for Remembrance Day. On November 10th, everyone was welcome to join us in the Learning Commons, in honor of all veterans.
This year the BMD has had many fundraising opportunities for the recent, overnight trip to Comox, as well as for the upcoming Con Brio Whistler and Abbotsford trips. Besides the usual Purdy’s and Poinsettias, we also held our very first BMD Bottle Drive. Special thanks to Ms Spencer for coming up with the idea and our directors and Music Executive for organizing the event.
Dates to look forward to as we get closer to the holidays: November 28th, a Pep Rally will be held for the whole school featuring both Drumline and R&B performances. Show your Belmont spirit! Carolers will be singing in Millstream Village on Saturday December 3 and 10 to spread that holiday cheer!
And last but not least, we host our annual Winter Concert on Thursday, December 8th, All performing groups this semester, as well as solos and student combos, have been working hard for this event. The concert will begin at 7pm, with admission by cash donation. Food Bank donations are also gratefully received. We would love to see you there!
Belmont Music Department
Scholarship Deadlines Approaching
UBC Entrance Awards Application Students who have applied to UBC can apply for the Centennial Scholars Entrance Award. These awards are based on student’s financial need and a separate application from other automatic entrance award considerations is required.
Eligibility Requirements:
– You must be a strong academic student
-You must meet all UBC entrance requirements
– Open to first time undergraduate students
– You must be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident, or protected person living in Canada
This award is for Indigenous students to help them complete their post-secondary education. There are 20 scholarships available valued up to $10,000 each year for up to 4 years. These are available to First Nations, Métis and Inuit students across Canada. Students should demonstrate strong academic achievement and community involvement.
Deadline: December 1st, 2022
West Kelowna Orthodontics Scholarship
This award is $500 and involves writing an essay on the ways that orthodontics can improve a person’s life.
Student Eligibility:
– BC Resident
– Planning to attend college/university for full/part-time studies in September 2023
– GPA of 2.5 or higher
To apply or for more information see the link below:
Association of School Transportation Services of BC Commercial Heavy Duty Mechanic Scholarship
The ASTSBC will award 4 scholarship annually to eligible students attedning a BC educations facility for the expressed purpose of attaining certification as a Commercial Heavy Duty Mechanic
For more information and application see the link below:
Parents/Guardians and graduating students please also see the Belmont Scholarship link for other December deadlines (below) or see Mrs. Hoskins for support – choskins@sd62.bc.ca
Applications to be the Belmont nominee for this prestigious award are open now. They offer at least 20 undergraduate scholarships valued at $60,000-$80,000. They are available to students in Canada planning to enroll in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Mathematics) programs at specific Canadian universities. Each secondary school may nominate ONE student. If you would like to be the Belmont nominee please fill out the nomination form in the Grad 2023 Google Classroom by January 6th, 2023 (that is the first Friday back after winter break so please think about this sooner rather than later!)
Beedie Luminaries offer 105 scholarships to Grade 12 students in BC who are applying to any BC post-secondary institution. They offer $15,000 awards for 2 year programs and $40,000 awards for 4 year programs. They are looking for resilient students who have faced significant adversity. Students must have demonstrated grit, desire, and potential to create positive change.
Deadline: January 12th, 2023
For more information: click the link below, check out the scholarship website or contact Mrs. Hoskins for support:
Cmolik Foundation Scholarships
Belmont is able to nominate one student for these scholarships of up to $35,000. The foundation is looking specifically for students who have faced significant adversity, but through hard work and determination have been successful in achieving their goals. These awards are awarded to students who have demonstrated a good work ethic, tenacity, and commitment. It needs to be proven that without financial assistance, these students would not be able to attend post-secondary school. If you would like to be the Belmont Nominee for this award, please complete the nomination form in the Grad 2023 Google Classroom by January 20th, 2023.
For more information please click the link below, check out the scholarship website and/or reach out to Mrs. Hoskins for support:
The Belmont Bulletin 