Saturday 22 June 2019

All Saints Blog Week of June 10th, 2019

I wanted to begin this week’s blog by taking a moment to thank our entire All Saints School Community. I have proudly served as the Principal of the school for the past four years, and will be moving on to St. Francis Xavier High School next September. While I am anxious for the new challenge, I will definitely miss a community that has been very supportive and involved with their children’s education. You are left in good hands as Ryan Larose, currently an administrator at Notre Dame High School, will step in as Principal for next school year.
A very special thank you to the All Saints School Council, and specifically Michelle Taylor, your chairperson, for the extraordinary effort and time they have put in to support students and staff at the school. This was very evident as the council organized their staff appreciation breakfast last week. I will miss your involvement, advice and friendship.
Additionally, I would like to wish all of our school community a very safe and restful summer.
Sean Kelly

Volunteer Opportunity - CHEO/RBC’s Race for the Kids 
Students are encouraged to look at CHEO’s RBC Race for the Kids as a volunteer opportunity. It is a 2K, 5K and 10K all terrain walk/run event in support of youth mental health programs at CHEO. All of the closed courses make their way through beautiful Wesley Clover Parks - an innovative, four-season outdoor recreation and learning hub located in the National Capital Greenbelt that encircles the City of Ottawa. Further information can be reviewed at the website.

Playground LifeCycle Renewal - Whalen Park
The City is encouraging public feedback on their plans for the playground replacement in Whalen Park, adjacent to All Saints School. More information is available below:
https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-engagement/projects/whalen-park

The following concept plans and images depict the options for playground replacement. The community is invited to provide comments on the plan as shown below.

Concept Plan 1 [ PDF - 2.13 mb ]

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Concept Plan 2 [ PDF - 4.46 mb ]

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Please direct any further comments regarding the proposed concept plans to the Parks Planner listed below.
Contact
Mike Russett, Planner Parks and Facilities Planning
Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services
City of Ottawa
613-580-2424 extension 15459
mike.russett@ottawa.ca

National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism – June 23, 2019
Flags at all Ontario government buildings and establishments across the province will be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset on Sunday, June 23, 2019 to mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.

Transportation Information for 2019-2020 School Year
As the end of another school year rapidly approaches, please note of the following information regarding transportation services for the 2019-2020 school year. Additional information is available at OSTA’s website address: www.ottawaschoolbus.ca.

2018-19 Student Transportation Information:
Route information will be available to parents as of August 19, 2019 via the online Parent Portal. Student Transportation Information can also be found using the Bus Stop Finder, located on the main page of our website, which will link to the “BusPlanner - Parent Portal”. Parents can enter the student’s last name, birthdate, school and grade in order to access route and stop information.

The “Stop Finder” feature returns bus stop and route information for eligible students who are assigned to regular yellow school bus or small school purpose vehicle service, or for students who are assigned to OC Transpo Service.
OC Transpo route schedules will also be made available through the OSTA website or can be found directly through the OC Transpo website at www.octranspo.com. More information on routes to specific schools can be obtained on OC Transpo’s Quick Planner under High Schools and Middle Schools.


Transportation for students in a joint custody arrangement and having two homes:
OSTA has developed a new policy & procedure to deliver transportation services to students in a joint custody arrangement and having two homes. An application process and other requirements need to be met for parents to receive this service, and the homes or daycares in question must meet all other eligibility requirements. The deadline for new applications or changes to existing applications for September start up transportation was June 1. Renewals of current schedule calendars (no other changes) are due June 30. All other applications will be reviewed after September 15, and prior to October 1.
More information can be found on our website:

Transportation Information During the Fall
In September, parents should be advising schools directly of any changes to student home address. OSTA will require a minimum of three business days to implement a change to transportation services, longer for transportation to two homes in a joint custody situation. www.ostabusplanner.ottawaschoolbus.ca.

Community Involvement Forms
The community involvement form is always accessible at ocsb.ca/beinvolved along with information on community involvement. All students, including grade 8 students, are reminded to use these forms as they complete community involvement hours over the summer. Since 1999, the Ministry of Education has required all students to complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement activities as part of the requirements for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) (As stated in Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12: Program and Diploma Requirements, 1999). The purpose of the community involvement requirement is to encourage students to develop awareness and understanding of civic responsibility and of the role they can play and the contributions they can make in supporting and strengthening their communities. The Ottawa Catholic School Board has always encouraged this community service to take place in the Parish, School, or wider community. There is a list on the back of the Community Service form that all students complete that highlights many of the eligible activities that students may complete to fulfill this graduation requirement. When the expectation around community service was introduced by the Ministry of Education, they developed a list of activities that may not be chosen as community involvement activities and that are therefore ineligible activities. Included as part of that list of those expectations outlined by the Ministry is an activity “that would normally be performed for wages by a person in the workplace”. As your son/daughter works toward this graduation activity, we would encourage them to review the list of accepted activities to ensure they are meeting the proper requirements. You will find a link (below) to the All Saints community service hours form, with a list of appropriate activities on page 2. Hard copies of this form are available in our student services department.
Summer School Information
Updates and changes regarding Summer School 2019:

There is a great deal of information on the CSPA website regarding information for parents and upcoming sessions. You can visit the website here.
Communications:
Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsOCSB (Mr. Kelly’s - @seankellyottawa) as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!

Coming Up:
  • June 25th - 7&8 Report Card Distribution
  • June 26th - Last day of school for 7&8 students
  • June 27th - 1:00pm - Grade 12 Graduation at All Saints

Saturday 8 June 2019

All Saints Blog Week of June 10th, 2019

Community Involvement Forms
The community involvement form is always accessible at ocsb.ca/beinvolved along with information on community involvement. All students, including grade 8 students, are reminded to use these forms as they complete community involvement hours over the summer.

Summer School Information
Updates and changes regarding Summer School 2019:
For Our Graduating Grade 12 Students
Ten (Useful) Tips for Transitioning to Post-secondary - To help students with the transition to college & university, Students Offering Support (SOS) and myBlueprint provide you with the top 10 tips for making the transition as smooth as can be.

Grants - Awards - Contests
Graduating students attending post-secondary education next year can visit Scholar Tree to apply for a number of different scholarships available to them. By making a personalized account Scholar Tree will help the student determine which scholarships (from the $10 million dollars available) they qualify for. Deadlines will vary, see applications for details. There are a number available from now until the end of August, see the Summer Scholarship List.

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Ottawa Section has initiated a new bursary awarded to students pursuing post-secondary STEM studies. Nominations must be initiated by schools or youth organizations operating in the Ottawa area. Detailed information about the STEM bursary. In addition to the nomination form information, 2 PDF letters are required: one from the nominating organization detailing information about your candidate, and another from the candidate themselves telling us a bit about themselves, their love of STEM, and awareness of the IEEE and what we stand for. You may nominate more than one candidate, but only one bursary will be awarded. Deadline for submission is June 28, 2019.

ACPI Concours Immersion Clip
The CIPI National Immersion Clip Contest invites French immersion students from grades 9 to 12 (Secondary 3 to 5 in Quebec) who are enrolled full-time in a public or private high school in Canada to create a video clip in English. French, from 30 to 90 seconds, on the theme of the year. This contest aims to achieve the following:
  • Promote the learning of the French language in the context of immersion
  • Encouraging oral production in immersion learners
  • Promote and promote a positive vision of French immersion in Canada
  • Encourage student creativity through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
  • Encourage learners to continue their studies in French at the post-secondary level
  • Enhance the offer of post-secondary programs in French
Congratulations to First Place winners Valérie Bradley and Holly Price and Third Place winners Elisa Ghannai, Kathryn Jajo-Yacoub, Whitney Mambou, and Mikayla Shepertycki (All Saints). Students each presented a video highlighting their most inspirational French teacher(s). Each will receive scholarship offers to study French at local universities! Video clips: Valérie Holly



There is a great deal of information on the CSPA website regarding information for parents and upcoming sessions. You can visit the website here.

Communications:
Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsOCSB (Mr. Kelly’s - @seankellyottawa) as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!

Coming Up:
June 17th - School Council Meeting
June 20th - 7&8 school trip

Sunday 2 June 2019

All Saints Blog Week of June 3rd, 2019

Student Exam Preparation
In preparation for the upcoming exam period a member of our Board's psychology staff will provide an interactive workshop on Study Skills.  On Tuesday, June 4th, from 11:10 to 11:45am, grade 9 and 10 students are welcome to come to the Guidance Office to eat their lunch and pick up some study tips to help improve their exam writing experience.  Students should bring their lunch with them!

Graduation Mass and Graduation Ceremony Rehearsal
On Wednesday, June 5, your son or daughter will be participating in a mandatory Graduation Rehearsal. This will begin after homeroom at 8:45 a.m. in the Cafetorium. Graduates will first report to homeroom for 8:15 a.m. sharp in order to vote for Valedictorian and the Student Choice Award. They will also prepare their future plans write-up for crossing the stage on graduation day.  Attendance will be taken and then they will proceed to the Cafetorium for the rehearsal.
Afterwards, at 9:45 a.m., you are invited to gather with us in the school cafeteria to celebrate our Graduation Mass followed by a light Reception hosted by the school. This is a special day where families can come together to hear the Liturgy of the Word and to celebrate the successes of our high school graduates. With respect to the nature of the occasion, we ask that graduates observe a dress code of business or semiformal attire (no jeans, shorts, sweatpants, hoodies, tank tops, bare shoulders etc.) Please consider discretion and modesty in your choice of dress this day. These events will take place in the morning and classes will resume for the afternoon (period 3 and 4).

Readathon News
Last December, All Saints held a 7 & 8 Readathon in the Learning Commons. With 50 students participating, the Readathon was a great success! Some of the resources, initiatives, and gifts made possible through the Readathon, thanks to parents’ generous contributions, include:

- hand-crafted and personalized leather bookmark for each Readathon participant
-University of Ottawa Maker Mobile workshops on coding, Tinkercad and 3D printing for some grade 7 & 8 science and math classes
- poet visit from Poetry in Voice for a grade 8 English class
- author visit from All Saints’ own award-winning youth fiction writer Caroline Pignat for some grade 7 English classes
- Little Ray’s Reptiles show for some grade 7 science students, in particular those studying ecosystems                   
- K’nex sets to promote skills in STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts& Design Math)
- two movie packages for winners of a draw in which students entered an exit ticket based on a documentary during the Learning Commons Hot Docs Film Festival
- two Dairy Queen gift cards for the recipient and runner-up of the annual Grade 8 public speaking competition, which was held in the Learning Commons and in which Mme MacKinnon, teacher-librarian, was on the panel of judges
                                                    … and for the Learning Commons shelves:
- new releases and series in popular young adult fiction by well-known authors, as per recommendations from Readathon participants
- a selection of popular French novels by up-and-coming Quebec authors to keep up student interest and engagement in the grade 7 & 8 book exchanges organized by M. Breton et M. Lamont-Paradis
A heartfelt thanks to parents and school staff who supported the 7 & 8 Readathon! We look forward to running the event again next year.

There is a great deal of information on the CSPA website regarding information for parents and upcoming sessions. You can visit the website here.
Communications:
Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsOCSB (Mr. Kelly’s - @seankellyottawa) as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!