November 18, 2019

Greetings and welcome to another week of learning both inside and outside of our classrooms. Now that Progress Reports (7&8) and Midterm Report Cards (9-12) have been distributed we hope you are able to continue the conversation and support plan at home to help develop the learning skills outlined in the reports. We believe that is a student is trying their best to collaborate, to show initiative, be responsible, work independently, be organized and self-regulate that he/she is likely to find success in their courses as they progress towards a high school diploma.

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Our Catholic School Council will meet at 7:00pm in the Learning Commons. All parents are invited to join our sharing and discussions as we meet to help make All Saints a great place for all students to learn.
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On Thursday our Grade 7 & 8 students will participate in the Ottawa 67's School Day game. This is an annual tradition across Ottawa to show support for amateur athletes as they strive for greatness.
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The third week of November is traditionally called "Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week" across schools in Ontario.

Monday: Paint a Nail Blue Reminder of Bullying Awareness

• Peer helpers will be set up at tables at lunch to paint a blue fingernail for anyone interested in showing support for Anti-Bullying initiatives and to remind them this week to Stand up to Bullying.

Tuesday: Bullying Awareness Blue Ribbon Day Tuesday

• Classes will receive an envelope containing blue paper ribbons.  Each student will write something kind about someone else on the ribbon..  Ribbons will be posted on classroom doors.

Wednesday: Tweet Sweet Day

• Peer Helpers will be in the atrium at lunch encouraging students to post a positive message on social media with the #stand up to bullying.  Students who post a sweet tweet, instagram or facebook message will receive a “sweet” (lollipop)..

Thursday: Pledge to Focus on Bullying Awareness and Kindness

• All Staff and students are invited to sign our poster as a pledge to end Bullying. 
• Everyone who signs the poster will be entered into a draw to win Starbucks or McDonald’s Gift Cards.  Two winners will be awarded in high school and Two in 7/8.

Friday: Wear Blue Friday

- Blue is the official colour of Bullying Awareness so we will encourage all students and staff to wear blue on

Friday.  Blue is the colour of Peace and Safety.  Former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson won the

Nobel Peace Prize for his work in establishing United Nations Peacekeepers, who wear Blue as a symbol of

peace as they perform their work around the world.

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All Saints High School: Featured Co-Op Student!

Abigail is a Grade 11 Co-op student doing her placement at the Active Care Medical clinic in Kanata. She is also taking part in the SHSM - Specialist High Skills Major Program in Health and Wellness. Abigail has a variety of duties each day including booking appointments for flu shots, allergy shots & follow-ups, send off faxes, verify lab results, answer phones, refrigerate vaccines, prepare rooms and clean before rooming.

The Catholic Character Virtues she exemplifies at her workplace are Community because her job is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the patients and work as a community with gratitude and unity to ensure the happiness of everyone in the workplace. Dignity is another example at my workplace because the respect of the patients is very important.  Also, the confidentiality of the patients falls under a very important factor for dignity. Respecting the patient's personal information is a crucial component of this job

Abigail has had a very positive experience at her placement and said, “What I enjoy most about my placement would be communicating with patients and co-workers. My duties are varied and there are so many concepts and steps to know when working on the computer and dealing with patients. Therefore, communicating with my co-workers, asking questions, and working together to help a patient is crucial for my work environment. Just recently, I started answering phones. This is a task that I enjoy because I find that I learn more things when I’m talking to patients on the phone because every phone call is different,  which expands my learning experience.”

November 10 2019

We begin this week by gathering as a community to intentionally pause and mark the many sacrifices made by our Canadian veterans, peacekeepers, and all families impacted by previous and present political conflicts around the world.  As a school, we have a unique opportunity to teach the next generation of cultural managers about Canada's involvement in wars and conflicts around the globe knowing that many students and staff have been touched by war in some way. At All Saints, we carry the responsibility of sharing important stories for the entire community on November 11. You are invited to attend our services either at 8:30am or at 9:45am. Please report to the main office, sign in and then make your way to our cafeteria gym where you will find reserved seats for you. 

Student Pick-up and Drop Off at All Saints High School
The driveway directly in front of All Saints is used for special transportation to pick up and drop off some of our higher needs students at All Saints School. It is also considered a Fire Route by Ottawa By-Law. There continues to be congestion in that area during peak periods in the morning, and at the end of the day. We recognize that some poorer weather days have resulted in parents using this area for drop offs and pick ups, however, we are continuing to ask our community to drop off or pick up students using the larger parking area to the east of the school. This expectation would be in place from 8:00 to 8:30am in the morning, and from 2:15 to 2:45pm in the afternoon. Continued adherence to this expectation will make the area directly in front of the school less congested and safer for our students. If you have any questions, please contact the school. We thank you in advance for your cooperation with this expectation.

EARN CREDITS WHILE TRAVELLING THIS SUMMER!

Our school board in conjunction with EduTravel are offering two very exciting course credit opportunities this summer to high school students.  You can earn your Civics and Careers credit while travelling to Toronto and New York this summer in July OR you can study English (ENG3U or ENG4U) in jolly old England!  If you are interested in exploring more about this way to earn summer school credits, or to register and see full program details, go to www.edutravelforcredit.com.

ACADEMIC AWARDS CEREMONY HONOUR ROLL CERTIFICATES

If you were not able to attend the Academic Awards Ceremony this past Tuesday and were a recipient of the Honour Roll, your certificate is waiting for you to pick up in Student Services.  Come by at before school, at lunch, on spare or after school to get it.  You earned it, you should have it!

OUAC PIN NUMBERS IN STUDENT SERVICES

Grads applying to an Ontario university need to have a PIN number to do so.  If you have not received yours, please come to Student Services and get it.

That was a very busy week!
On top of all the learning taking place around the school we auctioned cakes and hosted a huge craft show to support our sister school in the Dominican Republic, we competed in many inter-school sports including our undefeated Senior Girls Basketball team, we showed our spirit throughout the week, including a very successful (and conveniently warm) movie night! Thank you for the many ways you support our efforts to provide your young person with opportunities to connect to our school community.

This week:

Tuesday: Academic Awards Ceremony for students in grades 10,11,12 based on academic performance last year. Invitations for students were recently distributed in homeroom.  

Wednesday: Take Your Kids to Work Day. Grade 9 students are expected to spend the day learning about potential career ideas shadowing a caring adult. 

Wednesday: Early Dismissal @1:30 for all students to accommodate 7/8 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Wednesday:  7/8 Parent Teacher Interviews - Parent-teacher interviews for students in grades 7 & 8 will take place on Wednesday, November 6th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. An interview appointment can be made until Tuesday, November 5th at midnight by accessing the You Can Book Me link below. Once the booking system closes, parents seeking communication with teachers will contact teachers as you normally would (voicemail). 

You Can Book Me - 7/8 Interview Booking Link

Sunday, October 27

As we enter a very festive week at All Saints we hope all our students and staff will participate in the many activities our Student Council and staff have planned for our community.

7-8 Progress Reports Distributed: On Wednesday we will communicate current academic performance through a formal Progress Report. The report will provide parents with anecdotal comments and an indicator (checkmark) of the current assessment of student learning. Students will see they are either Progressing Well, Progressing with Difficulty or Progressing Very Well in each academic discipline.

7-8 Parent-Teacher Interviews: Following the distribution of Progress Reports you will receive an email from our school account connecting you to our online interview booking platform. This service offers you the opportunity to book a schedule that hopefully works around your afternoon/evening on November 6. Please note the window for booking closes the night before (November 5) at 11:59pm. If you forget to book before then you will either (1) contact the subject teacher as you would normally do, or (2), hope there is an opening in the subject teachers schedule that evening. Please note teachers will prepare feedback for the 10-minute session provided interviews are books in advance.

Spirit Week: Our awesome Student Council has organized a second Spirit Week, capitalizing on the participation and feedback from our first earlier this year.
Monday: Sweater Day - Sold Out Movie Event Monday evening at All Saints!
Tuesday: Western Day
Wednesday: Grey Day
Thursday: Costume Day (no masks, culturally appropriate)
Friday: PJ Day

Cake Auction: Our annual Cake Auction in support of our Christmas Hampers and Todos Los Santos, our school in the Dominican Republic, will take place on Thursday, October 31st! 

Craft Fair: Our annual Craft Fair will be hosted at All Saints on Saturday, November 2 (10:00am-3:00pm). Our vendors are sold out again with many ideas and gifts for the upcoming Christmas Holidays. We hope to see many families from our community come out to support this fundraiser for our Christmas Hamper collection as well as support for our student Domincan Experience.

Student Vote: 

Last week more than 1.1 million students across Canada, including students in grades 10-12 at All Saints, participated in Student Vote 2019. Student Vote is a mock vote held alongside real elections to raise awareness among young people about the importance of getting out to the polls. When students across the country cast their ballot this past week, they elected a Liberal minority government with the NDP making up the official opposition. The full breakdown of the results can be found HERE. Using the online results platform, the results can be viewed nation-wide, by province/territory, by riding, and for each individual school.

At All Saints, it was a tight race between the NDP and the Conservatives, with 28.7 percent of students supporting the NDP and 27.7 percent voting Conservative. Before casting their vote, students learned about the electoral process, researched party platforms, and participated in a political spectrum survey tailored to young people. The goals of the Student Vote were to get students engaged in the voting process, have them exercise their democratic right to vote, and help them understand the value of democracy and how lucky we are to have it. Some grade 10 Civics, grade 12 Law, and grade 12 Business students also played key roles in the mock election, taking on the job of deputy returning officer, poll clerk or candidate representative. 

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you and your family were able to celebrate family and gratitude over the weekend. We are truly blessed to live in a place where we can feel safe and know there is a community that we are part of.

Last week All Saints students and staff ventured into the surrounding community to clean the capital. A special thanks to Ms. Lessard for organizing this opportunity for our students to give back to the community that supports them.

We also gathered the high school (9-12) students who are new to our community for an event where they were able to share their first impressions of All Saints as well learning about opportunities to connect to the All Saints community outside of the classroom through sports and extra-curricular activities supported by our great teachers!

This week our 9-12 students will have the opportunity to participate in the Student Vote 2019. With thanks to our dedicated teachers (Mrs. MacKinnon and Mrs. Kirtz) our students will cast private ballots for the candidates and parties participating in the national election.

Action Item:
Please remember we have our first early dismissal (1:30pm) date this week as our 9-12 Parent-Teacher interviews take place on Thursday afternoon and evening. Please make sure to book your 10-minute interview timeslot online using the following links:

High School Parent Teacher Interviews: Teachers Last Names A - M

High School Parent Teacher Interviews: Teachers Last Names N - Z

As the first month of the school year comes to a close we find ourselves fully immersed in the school year. With all our "firsts" done we now look to support all our students as they experience the full course load of academic courses.
A special thanks to the parents who were able to participate in our first School Council meeting last week. I look forward to working with you for many years to come and sharing in the abundance of talent and willingness to make All Saints a great place to learn. 

THIS WEEK:
Monday: All our students are invited to wear an orange shirt on Monday in remembrance of the thousands of indigenous youth who were systematically separated from their homes and communities and placed into residential schools. We wear an orange shirt because it symbolizes the struggle of one indigenous youth (Phyllis Webstad) who was not allowed to wear her favourite shirt upon entering the residential school. Click HERE to access more information about the meaning behind the action of wearing the orange shirt. 
- We will offer a viewing of The Secret Path at lunch in our chapel for any student who would like to see the amazing story of Chanie Wenjack as told through the words and music of the late Gord Downie.

Tuesday: our Grade 12's will participate in "Inspiration Day", a half-day program where our graduating students are provided with the opportunity to define their class legacy, hear strategies for mindfulness during a pressure-packed year, listen to All Saints Alumni who will offer feedback on having successfully walked through their graduating year and build community as a larger group.

Friday: our Grade 7's and 8's will (hopefully!!!) participate in the Terry Fox Run on Friday. Same plan as last week, hopefully more accommodating weather!

ACTION ITEMS:

Please remember to check your closets and storage trunks for used linens. We have partnered with Shepherds of Good Hope to provide them with as many bed linens as possible. The service is in dire need of bedding to serve the growing homeless and working-poor population in Ottawa. Thank you in advance for considering this opportunity to give. Students are asked to drop off any donations in the chapel. 

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:

Saturday Learning Club - Click HERE to access information about a free program designed to support students learning English as well as students who can use extra support in gaining literacy skills.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Many thanks for your support and presence in attending our Meet the Staff event last week. It was great to see so many parents actively involved in supporting our students.

On Thursday night I spoke about the importance of having every student connect to our school. By participating in an extra-curricular activity, your child will learn the responsibilities of commitment, manage time, and learn new social skills. The learning that takes place on the field or in a club transfer to the classroom and hopefully academic performance. Please continue to encourage your young person to try out for a team and/or join a club.

In addition to all the learning activities happening in our classrooms this week also has:
HS Leadership Camp
7/8 Girls and Boys Volleyball
HS Girls Basketball
7/8 Girls and Boys Soccer Tournament
7/8 Ultimate Tournament
HS Co-ed Touch Football
7/8 Girls and Boys Flag Rugby
Sr. Boys Volleyball Tournament

This week we'll see the last of the opening activities for the new school year.

Catholic School Council
Please consider joining us for our first Catholic School Council meeting on Monday evening at 7:00pm in our Learning Commons. The council is a community of adults connected to All Saints either by a student, or, in some cases community members who like to be involved. The first meeting includes elections for the upcoming school year as well as information about the start up of our school year.

Opening Liturgies
We will gather as a community this week for our opening liturgies to celebrate the start of the new school year. All students and staff will gather on Wednesday morning in one of two liturgies organized by our Chaplaincy Leader, Paul Kozak. The Ottawa Catholic School Board theme for this year is "Love kindness and mercy". Throughout the year we will create learning opportunities for our students to understand the that love is indeed a verb and that we are called to action in being kind and showing mercy to others.