Home-Based Education

Hello Grade 10-12 Home Based Education Students: 

Upcoming SIEC Events: 

Digitized 2025  Friday, May 2nd at the University of Saskatachewan

Applications are now being accepted for grade 10-12 classes and individual students to attend Digitized on May 2^nd. This one-day tech conference introduces students to current career pathways and future trends in Saskatchewan’s technology sector. See attached cover letter for application information. 

SPOTLIGHT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT: Wednesday, April 30 (9:00 am – 3:00 pm) @ The Saskatoon Police Service Headquarters

• Discover exciting career paths within the Saskatoon Police Service, engage in interactive, hands-on activities, and gain valuable insights from the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Justice Studies Program and Saskatchewan Correctional Officers.
• Students attend the entire day and must find transportation to and from the Police Station.
• Details of the event will be communicated to students via email.
• Registration Deadline: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 

SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNITY SUPPORT SERVICES: Wednesday, May 14 (9:00 am – 3:00 pm)

• Explore diverse and rewarding careers through hands-on activities with the University of Regina’s Faculty of Social Work, Saskatchewan Polytechnics Mental Health & Addictions Counsellor program, SIIT’s Mental Health & Wellness program, and industry professionals.
• Connect, learn, and gain valuable insights into making a difference in your community!
• Students attend the entire day and must find transportation to and from SaskPolytech.
• Details of the event will be communicated to students via email.
• Registration Deadline: Wednesday, April 30, 2025    

SPOTLIGHT ON EMERGENCY SERVICES: Wednesday, May 21 (9:00 am – 3:00 pm)

• Explore dynamic careers with STARS Air Ambulance and the Saskatoon Fire Department. Participate in engaging activities and learn from experts in the SaskPolytech Paramedic Program and Lakeland College’s Fire & Emergency Services Program.
• Students attend the entire day and must find transportation to and from SaskPolytech.
• Details of the event will be communicated to students via email.
• Registration Deadline: Wednesday, May 7, 2025 

To register for our events, access resources, or learn more, visit www.saskatooniec.ca/PUBLICSERVICES

I have attached the PSSD student Career Newsletter to this email. There are numerous career bootcamps for students to attend free of charge that the SIEC organizes.  There is a Tourism, Machining, 3D Animation bootcamps as well as helpful information on applying for post -secondary colleges, universities and apprentishships. Check it out ! 

Sask Distance Learning Corporation (Sask DLC) the provincial online school. 2025-26

If you are interested in taking Sask DLC course(s) next fall here are the steps:

1) Send in your 2025-26 Home based education registration, due date is Sept 15th. 

2) Send in the attached request for Sask DLC course(s) to the PSSD HBE facilitator. Courses start in Sept. for Semester1 but they have continuous entry so you can apply later as well.

Note: Please add a student email address to your application so the Sask DLC can connect directly with the student by email. You may use your PSSD email address for this or a personal one, which ever one you frequent.

3) Once your course request is approved the HBE facilitator will request your course(s) with the Sask DLC and the DLC teacher will email you with course information

 Note: If you start a course and realize it is not for you please withdraw as soon as you realize.There is a grace period for dropped courses then the division will not have to incur the cost of the course. 

Home based education students registered in  Grades 10-12 may take their first 2 Sask DLC courses/year for no fee and then the 3&4 courses are deducted from their funding grant at $500/course. Students may take more than 4 courses for no charge after that.

If you are wanting to take numerous online courses with the Sask DLC you are welcome to register as a Sask DLC student rather than as a HBE student. There is no charge to register as a Sask DLC student and you can take as many courses as you like.  This elimates the middle person for one and you can be connected with a Sask DLC counsellor for course advice. Once you are 18 years old, and can no longer register as an HBE student, you can still take online course with the Sask DLC if you register directly with them. 

Enjoy the weekend and if interested check out the career ideas and the Sask DLC courses.

Lorraine Fitzgerald (HBE Facilitator) 

Hello Home Based families:

Another beautiful day to enjoy, it feels like Spring is just around the corner. I have just a few notes:

1) The education funding was sent out today by the PSSD accounting department. Direct deposit should be received right away .The families that chose a cheque by mail will get that in the next 2 weeks. If you do not receive your funding by March 15th contact me. 

2) I have attached the summative report template that you may wish to use or create your own report. Summative reports and periodic logs are due anytime but at the latest by June 15th, 2025  Summative reports must be received in order to re-register for the next school year. 

3) Home based students can log into the PSSD website to access Office 365. If you would like the student’s user name and password to log in please let me know the students’ names in a seperate email at: lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca 

4) Drivers Education students also require their PSSD username and password to access the course information. If you are planning on taking the drivers’ ed course please get your log in information from me. Students that are turning 15 and want to take a drivers’ education course should contact the local school to get their name on the list for the next course. 

Thank you and enjoy the weekend, Lorraine

Happy New Year HBE Families, I hope this finds you all well. 

Registrations:

We have had some new registrations to HBE this year and we have also had some students either go back to in-person school or a few moved out of our divison but our number of HBE enrollments still hover around  950 students.

If you have a new kindergarten to register for the the 2025-26 school year you are welcome to do that any time between now and Sept 15th, 2025. New Kindergarten students need to use the PSSD online registration, here is the link. STUDENT REGISTRATION – Prairie Spirit School Division

Saskatchewan DLC courses: Students in grades 10-12 may sign up for Semester 2 credit courses with the Provincial online school. Courses for Semester 2 start Jan 31st. I have attached the course request form to this email. Check out the variety of courses offered at : Home Sask DLC

Funding : Funding will be sent out at the beginning of March. Please inform me if you have changes to your direct deposit information of a new mailing address.

Grade 10-12 Events: 

There is some good information for the grade 10-12 students regarding post -secondary events and contacts in the PSSD Student and parent newsletter. (see attached) 

Culinary Boot Camp: SIEC is offering a Cooking bootcamp at SaskpolyTech in February with a qualified instructor, see the attached poster for information and how to apply. 

Gym time and skating times; The gym times remain the same at the MAP in Martensville (Fridays 1-3pm)  and Warman(Tuesdays 1-3)  and there is skating and shinny as well at the Warman Home Hardware Communiplex. Skating is on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-11am, shinny times are listed on the WHCC website. The staff at the facilites asks that you continue to follow the facilites guidelines and use the areas designated for your use as a HBE students. 

As always please do not reply directly to this email as it will get lost in the string of emails and I may not see it and respond. Please email directly if you have questions:  lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca 

Thank you and enjoy the warm weather. 

Hello Home Based Education Families:

We are already 6 weeks into the school year and I hope your school year has been off to a great start.

Reminders:

The “Confirmation of Enrollment” letters were all sent out by mail this week. If you do not receive a letter by October 18th  let me know as I may need to update your mailing address and resend it. 

The MAP and the Warman Comminplex would like you to show your letter of confirmation upon entrance to the gym times we have booked there.

Gym times : 

Starting  Sept 20th–May 30th,2025 : Students that are registered with PSSD homebased education have gym times available on:

 Fridays : 1-3pm at the Martensville Athletic Pavillion, except: Oct 11,Nov 8, Jan31, May 9th

Tuesdays:  1-3 pm : Warman Home Centre Communiplex (Legends) except: April 15th 

Rules and regulations:

The gym times are for registered PSSD HBE students, children under 5 may not participate. There is a under 5 area set up at the MAP for a fee. 

Please check in at the front desk upon arrival and identify yourself as a PSSD home based student, show your letter of confirmation. (hint: put a picture of it on your phone, that may help to remember it) 

 Gym times are not available on non-school days. 

Parents are required to supervise their registered HBE students while at the MAP

indoor shoes are required

no food or glass bottles, 

no smoking, vaping or use of profanity or abusive language

there is zero tolerance for threats, inappropriate and violent behaviour at the MAP

Please leave the gym as you found it , clean and equipment put away. 

Others reminders: 

If you go to the Saskatoon Zoo please remember that PSSD students are required to pay the entrance fee. 

Janet Jeffries was an amazing help for the month of September but is now back in her retirement phase so do not send her any emails. 

Grade 10-12 events: There are numerous free courses or bootcamps being offered through the Saskatoon Industry Education Council such as an Autobody Bootcamp, culinary classes, welding and many more. They have registration deadlines so check it out soon if you are interested. 

https://saskatooniec.ca

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Weekend and let me know if you have any HBE questions or concerns. 

Kimberly Cooper : HBE learning support teacher

Lorraine Fitzgerald : HBE Facilitator   email: lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca

Hello Home Based Education Grade 9 students:

Grade 10-12 Pathways : As you know when you enter grade 10 there is the option to start collecting credits towards a grade 12 diploma. There are a few ways to go about this so I have attached a “pathways to graduation” chart, that briefly outlines some of the  options. If you look this over and then want to have a further discussion with me regarding the options for grade 10-12 please email me seperately at lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca  and we can set up a phone call or an in-person meeting.

Possibly pathways for grade 10-12

Sask DLC: 

Next year ,when you are in grade 10 , and if you are interested in taking credit courses with the  Sask DLC (Sask online school) that is available to all home based students. 

If you are a student in Grade 10-12 and are interested in a credit course with the SK DLC please connect with the HBE facilitator for an application form. You may access 2 courses/year at no cost as an HBE enrolled student with PSSD . If you take more than 2 courses with the DLC there will be a cost associated with the 3&4th courses that will be deducated from your annual funding. You may take more than 4 courses at no addition charge. 

https://www.saskdlc.ca

GED update:  There has been changes made to the current GED program that is offered through Sask Polytechnic.It is now called the Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC). This is a high school equivalency program that you may take at the age of 18th. 

Please check with Sask Polytechnic or the Ministry of Education for updates. 

https://saskpolytech.ca

Driver Education: The other big event for many grade 9’s is driver’s education. When you are 15 you can take your driver’s education course. The school divison provides this for all students. 

Here are the basic rules/procedures around driver education.

• Home-based students are included in the numbers for their closest geographical school for driver education training. So when they want to register for driver education, they should contact their closest K-12 or high school to inquire when the next class is offered.  Let the school know you want to be on their list. (do this in the fall) 
• Go to SGI and get a customer # and complete the driver application form to give to the local school. 
• Email the HBE facilitator to let them know you enrolled and they will send you your PSSD login information and password to access the PSSD website.
• Practice login into to the PSSD website so you are ready for the in class work. 
• Most of the courses happen in the fall and then are not repeated again until next year. So if they are not of age when the course happens in the fall at their closest school, they wait a year. (This is the same process for the kids who attend those schools.)

If you have any questions about any of the above please email me at:   lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca

Hello Home based familes:

I hope you are enjoying the much needed rain, it has been wonderful. 

Summative reports and periodic logs: 

I am enjoying reading the summative reports that are coming in. I appreciate that educators are using either the summatve forms provided or by PSSD or SHEB or creating their own word document. It makes it easier for me to print so thank you for taking the time to do that. I enjoy the seeing the pictures you send but I won’t print all them, its just too much paper to go into the cumualtive files. I attached the summative form to this email and last week I had sent out next year’s registartion forms. For families that are new to Home based education, you are required to re-register each school year. The direct deposit form only needs to be sent if you are not currently getting your funding by direct deposit or if your banking information has changed. You may send you registrations forms for next school year at any time as long as its prior to September 15, 2024

Grade 10-12 online courses with Sask DLC : If you are a HBE student in grades 10-12 and would like to take a course(s) with Sask DLC next school year youwill register through me not directly with the Sask DLC. I will send you the PSSD course approval form and then do the the registartion for you.  You may also transfer over to the Sask DLC and out of the PSSD, at that point you will register directly with them and cut out the middle person , ie me. There are lots of interesting course offerings on the Sask DLC website if this of interest  to you. 

Home school Kids Market: June 15th 11-4pm at the Rittenger’s Acreage. 

Some PSSD HBE familes are organizing a Kids’ market, it looks like fun if you are interested. There will be crafts, baking, face painting, curriculum swap and more!  

To register contact: lorraine.fitzgerald@spiritsd.ca

Hello HBE familes :

I am sending you the information for 2 free workshops.

1) a U of S agricultural event, Spotlight on AgBio for the grades 10-12 students to participate in:

2) a music workshop day for the grades 7-12 called Resonate(see below) In the past years we have had HBE students attend this event and they have always enjoyed it. Check these events out and sign up if you are interested. Please sign up for both or either workshop if you are interested. 

Have a wonderful Easter, Lorraine 

Resonate for Grades 7 – 12:

Wednesday, May 1: Beaver Creek Salvation Army Camp 

Friday, May 3: Heritage Common, Hepburn

We are thrilled to announce Resonate Conference returning in 2024 at two different venues to make Resonate more accessible to schools across the Division. Resonate Conference is open to all classrooms and students in Grades 7-12. Students will work with professional guest artists in sessions that are framed around the themes of the Grade 7, 8 and 9 Arts Education music strand (Place, Social Issues, Taking Action) and guided by the strategic plan.

Session activities tentatively include Musical Theatre/Acapella, Drumming, Music and Mental Health, Song writing/Jamming, Music Production and more. Each session will provide students and teachers with accessible activities, materials and concepts that can be continued in classrooms and communities. No previous music experience necessary. 

Please note: Space is limited to 120 students per venue so sign up early to avoid missing out.

• Register for the May 1 event at Beaver Creek: Enroll in Beaver Creek Camp – Resonate Music Conference ILO 2023/24 (instructure.com)
• Register for May 3 event at Hepburn: Enroll in Hepburn Heritage Common – Resonate Music Conference ILO 2023/24 (instructure.com)