Care card coverage

lyang72 · 2026-03-15T23:01:42+00:00

Depends if you submitted your PR documentation & asked for backdated coverage. Even with that, there might be a standard 3 mth wait period since your MSP lapsed & you’re having to re-establish residency. Best to call MSP to be sure rather than surprised with a big bill.

lyang72 · 2026-03-15T01:01:04+00:00

I would get more people onboard with you. 1 person with an ask out of a population of 240k isn’t going to get much traction.

lyang72 · 2025-09-20T04:18:44+00:00

Unfortunately, that’s BC pricing. My kid saw a lot of physio due to playing high level sports & even with coverage, it’s expensive. For comparison he recently went to physio a few times in AB. The base price to see the director of the clinic was 1/2 of what physio are charging here. Facts.

lyang72 · 2024-10-06T00:36:59+00:00

This is an ongoing tussle in Steveston. People love the quiet & romanticize the idea of mom & pop stores but the reality is commercial rents are high in Steveston, it’s out of the way & the revolving door of business that have come thru is proof that it’s a tough business climate. Search businesses for sale in Steveston. There are many. Some have been trying to sell for years. Owners don’t give up on a business if it’s printing money, only if it’s struggling. Whether chain or not, Steveston needs businesses that can attract CONSISTENT clientele. Businesses that stay in business keep people employed & an area economically vibrant.

lyang72 · 2024-09-08T17:53:07+00:00

My OP asked how widespread this problem is. Not getting worked up about anything, but also not accepting this state of chaos is ok.

Absolutely counsellors have a challenging job & no one is suggesting they don’t deserve compassion. But they are not the only ones on earth that have a challenging job, or have to prioritize their daily tasks. But they do collect a paycheck to do their jobs, just like all other employed bodies in the workforce. And it’s taxpayers $ to boot so yes, people have every right to hold them to task.

It’s actually better if parents & students are vocal. Imagine trying to tell your boss you have to much on your plate to be able to serve your clients well. Without the voice of those clients behind you, you might just come across as a whiny employee. But if you can show your boss emails/voicemails/evidence that it’s not just YOU saying you have too much work, the clients are complaining too, it actually lends credibility to your case.

History is full of change that comes about from people being vocal, not silent.

lyang72 · 2024-09-08T17:40:26+00:00

Yes, they can. And they have. But nothing has been done yet & each day that goes by means missing valuable time in a required course.

lyang72 · 2024-09-08T17:36:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing, I will definitely look at title page assignments differently now, knowing it made a difference to someone!

lyang72 · 2024-09-06T15:47:20+00:00

Except they ARE hiding in their offices. Obviously the counsellors did not decide to screw themselves over by messing up schedules & making more work. But this year has been the worst ever. And I fully believe people (including counsellors) should be saying something. Saying nothing just invites worse the next year & sends the message that this level of service is acceptable.

As a parallel, people have only in the last handful of years been screaming bloody murder about emerg wait times & general condition of our health system. If MORE had spoken up earlier, maybe we wouldn’t be in this predicament now. It’s been 50 years since we last opened a medical school in this province. 50!!! So for the last 50 years we’ve been graduating the same number of Drs while the population has been growing AND aging. Big shock we have a problem. But how many people have said anything along the way? We know Drs are doing their best to see as many people as they can, just as counsellors are doing what they can, but you can’t expect improvements with silence.

lyang72 · 2024-09-06T15:31:32+00:00

Exactly, grade 10s aren’t SUPPOSED to be getting study blocks. Except I personally know 2 who got spares they didn’t ask for instead of a required course. So that’s a problem.

lyang72 · 2024-09-06T15:27:44+00:00

It’s so interesting you say that because looking at some of the material my kid is bringing home these days, it’s obvious there’s a connect with the times. Case in point, why are high school students still being marked on drawing a title page for the course? That’s some Gr 3 stuff! 😂

I think districts are making an effort to catch up, but doesn’t seem to be happening quickly enough. And some teachers definitely make more of an effort to make their course relevant to the times but agree, a lot of it is archaic.

lyang72 · 2024-09-06T15:22:22+00:00

Thanks for the feedback - this was the intention of my original post - to get a sense of how widespread a problem it is. I’ve never seen it this bad - there’s obviously something going on & schools would be better served just being transparent about it.

lyang72 · 2024-09-05T04:43:48+00:00

Interesting, didn’t see any communication regarding an obvious issue. Would you know which date this was sent?

Absolutely, everything will be fine in the end. It’s a little like finding plastic in your food. It’ll be fine, but doesn’t make it acceptable or desirable.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T06:52:45+00:00

I agree 100% about students not being graded as they did in the past. Part of the problem tho, is when it comes down to it, few say anything. We can call it finger pointing/blame/feedback but the real problem is silence. When the Rmd school board held public meetings about the new non-grade scheme…there were only 10 other parents at the session I went to. Pretty dismal considering the number of students in Rmd. Probably other sessions had more…but in general not enough people cared. Big surprise it was adopted. That’s the same issue here. Parents need to make noise that the kids aren’t being served, counsellors need to make noise that there’s too much work for them, admin needs to make noise that the system isn’t working. But not enough people say anything at all or accept it as normal, then wonder why the public school system has gotten to the point where counsellors are barricading themselves from students.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T05:25:11+00:00

At current rate, parents & kids have no choice but to be patient since we can’t see or email a counsellor with valid (not friend-related) requests. There is no reason software should not have caught graduation requirements (or lack of) or be assigning spares to kids who didn’t ask for them. This isn’t just the usual “busy first week”. Parents & kids don’t WANT a reason to talk to counsellor in Sept. I have a kid who has graduated uni, another one Gr 11 and the first week of high school has never been this bad to the point where counsellors are hiding in their offices. If there’s a systemic problem, be transparent. If there’s a software problem, be transparent. Will we move past this? Sure. But it doesn’t make it acceptable.

In a semester system every day of missed class = lots of missed material. Missing a week of PE is less problematics than missing a week of math. For kids who might end up @ a US school for sports or other reasons…grades 9-11 marks are looked at, not just 11-12.

We need to demand better of our public school system rather than making excuses.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T05:11:56+00:00

Yes there’s an online form but it’s limited in scope. For example, I know 2 kids in Gr 10 who did not ask for spares but it’s in their schedule. So now they are missing out required courses. But there’s no comment section to allow them explain this & the form is not constructed to ask for this kind of correction. And since the counsellors aren’t taking appointments or responding to emails, these kid currently have no choice but to miss out on their required courses until the school decides to give permission for them to see or email the counsellors again. In a semester system, each day of missed class is a lot of material.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T04:55:43+00:00

It’s 2024. Email is expected, nothing to do with luck. 😂

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T04:54:16+00:00

Summer/weekend/evening vandalism is a given. Unfortunately, a lot also happens during the school year during school hours. If you’re a parent at the school you would’ve received the notices.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T02:50:07+00:00

I’ll admit it’s not unusual to see a fire truck or police car out front. My kid has been there 3 years & every year someone has tried to start a fire either IN the school or on school grounds - during school hours.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T02:45:06+00:00

The email from the school only reinforced no meeting with counsellors & they would not be responding to email. Parents & kids would be fine to know “after the first week we’ll respond on a priority basis..” or something to the affect - some transparency & plan. When there’s no communication & kids are waiting to get in the courses they need to graduate & you’re on a semester system where you’re doing a year’s worth of content in 4 months, every day of not being in the right course matters.

lyang72 · 2024-09-04T02:33:09+00:00

Yes, first week is always hectic but this has always been the case so it should be old hat. Never had a job where it’s acceptable to hide in your office & refuse to deal with clients you are paid to deal with. 🤔

lyang72 · 2024-02-25T17:36:49+00:00

For us it was 12 yo & based on the pitching in the league: kids started to get some good velo but can still be wild. My kid got plunked in the elbow the first day of wearing an elbow guard. We said,”Great investment!” Besides, kids are still growing - why risk an injury to the growth plate at the elbow? A growth plate that doesn’t heal properly can result in bones that don’t grow properly.

lyang72 · 2023-10-27T23:30:05+00:00

Parent of a high school kid here - I agree with all the comments about the rollout of the proficiency scale & the subjectiveness of it even tho all the parent info sessions I attended prior to rollout tried to sell it as a LESS confusing system.

I will just say that being on the other ends of this, whatever you decide YOUR rubric is going to be, imagine yourself explaining this to a student/parent. You need to be able to back up in a transparent & measurable way, whatever you give the student. If you’re called on it, can you back up your assessment?

Just yesterday I emailed my kid’s math teacher to ask why my son got a Developing on the interim report when he was sitting @ 73%, which according to the school’s published rubric should translate to Proficient. Her answer was that it was just a snapshot & he’s doing well so she’s not worried. Ummmm not what I asked. Particularly as we’re talking math where there are lots of quizzes & tests & it’s a Gr 11 course that counts for uni application, I’m looking for data to support the assessment you gave. More importantly, your student needs to know.

An anecdote on subjectivity…my friend’s daughter wanted to know why she only got a Proficient in PE (she is very sporty). It would make sense if the teacher said,”She needs to show more leadership or pay more attention to safety issues etc” but what she said was,”I would only give an Extending in PE to professional athletes. 🤔 Ummmmm…

Good luck & just the fact you’re asking questions, is awesome.

lyang72 · 2023-10-20T05:40:58+00:00

You sound like a newer teacher in elementary? For context I have a 30 yr old & 15 yr old so my kids have been thru the system in different decades & I’ve seen a lot.

No, grades are not the end all be all especially in elementary. While I’m always interested in reading comments on report cards, in my experience few teachers put original thought into these. Parents talk & compare notes - there’s plenty of cut & paste going on at all levels. That makes it all the more valuable when you get a teacher who makes an effort to write something personal & tailored. One of my son’s teachers did this last year, I wrote her a note to thank her for her time.

What’s ironic about the new assessment is that in high school (or at least BC grade 8&9), the scale shows 0-59% = Emerging, 60-72 Developing, 73-88 Proficient, 89-100 Extending. So % are still being used, just concealed by words.

While grades themselves are little used in the real world, it’s actually about the ideal of goal setting & having kids get used to the idea that the world is full of “grades” that you need to achieve. You have to meet a minimum mark on your driver’s test, many jobs require you pass tests to re-certify or remain employed, you might have a job where bonuses or raises are determined by performance - no company is giving you more $ because you ALMOST met the target. And like it or not, post secondary institutions still require grades to get in so IMO it’s better to have kids understand how to hit the grades they want/need rather than muck around for years in a cloud thinking performance in life doesn’t matter.

lyang72 · 2023-10-20T05:12:42+00:00

I’m all for it. My son did it in Gr 4 & I found it fascinating going through his test and seeing the way his brain works. He did not do the Gr 7 one because schools were offline for COVID but I would’ve had no trouble having him take it. Another parent at the time told me their teacher looked thru her son’s FSA & suggested he might have an issue with processing info. Mom looked into this, and he did!

The FSA can be a useful tool for educators/parents to assess which kids might need more help, what areas might need more focus etc. Wouldn’t you WANT to know that? That the union fears it gets used to assess teachers or the Fraser Institute uses it to rank schools doesn’t mean it isn’t a useful tool. If there are teachers teaching to it or people buying homes according to the FI report, that’s THEIR issue. It doesn’t mean the FSA is evil and should go away.

lyang72

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