All Saints Blog Week of January 29th, 2018

Visual Arts - VernissageOur Visual Arts students in grades 9 and 10 displayed their numerous art works from the semester at our “Vernissage” event last week. Students displayed paintings, sculptures, sketches and other works attesting to the hard work and effort displayed throughout the semester. Congratulations to the various groups who contributed to this event. A special thank you to Ms. Dyer who organized the art works and created our beautiful display.





Student Exam Preparation - Information from Student Services
There are a number of sessions continuing this week for students to help with the preparation of exams at All Saints. Please check the following posting from student services for additional information.

Our School Board Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Paquette’s has prepared a blog article Fostering resilience to help prepare for tests and exams to assist with student preparation at this time of the year.

Additional exam expectations for students

Our Own Ryan Rodrigs on CBC’s Dragon’s Den

A hopeful entrepreneur enters the Den hoping to strike out with a life-changing deal. History will be made as Ryan Rodrigs becomes the youngest ever person to appear on the adult version of Dragons Den. Ryan, a grade 8 student at All Saints Catholic High School will attempt to slay the Dragons and land a deal to take his company to the next level. On Thursday, February 1st on CBC National Television at 8:00 p.m, history will be made as Ryan pitches his idea in the Den. Will he escape the Den with a deal or get burned by the Dragons?

When: Thursday, February 1st 8:00 pm

Where: CBC National Television 

What: Ugran Drive Safe Incorporated Pitching to Dragons Den
Who: Ugran Founder and CEO Ryan Rodrigs

Ottawa Public Health Weather Warnings

As our chilly winter continues to hang on, we would like to make clear our policy around indoor/outdoor lunch recess for our 7&8 students. Ottawa Public Health will issue a Frostbite Advisory when a wind chill of -25 C or colder is forecast by Environment and Climate Change Canada. If we are dealing with an advisory at 12:00pm when 7&8 students are preparing for lunch, we will make a public address announcement indicating that our recess break will be indoors following lunch. Aside from these times, we continue to encourage our students to dress warmly with the appropriate clothing for our outside break that lasts from approximately 12:20 to 12:40pm. For more information on how to protect yourself against cold weather in Ottawa, go to:

http://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health- topics/cold-weather- everyone.aspx

SoundCloud Podcasting Channel - ASH Reflections

A group of grade 7&8 students and teachers are currently working on a SoundCloud podcasting channel called ASH Reflections https://soundcloud.com/ash-ocsb. This is a French Language project that is being produced with the financial support of our Ottawa Catholic School Board’s Innovation Fund. The channel is just getting underway, and we encourage you to check out the site going forward as we begin to populate some of the podcast work we are creating.

Winter Walk Day

Winter Walk Day is celebrated by schools across Canada on the first Wednesday of February each year. Many children across the country will be walking to school or at school, showcasing the importance of daily physical activity, a healthier environment, safer streets and the joys of being with friends! Ottawa Public Health has advertized a number of activities at the following website: http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/winter-walk-day



Social & Emotional Learning/Mental Health: Let’s talk about Mental Health. Did you know that 70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence? January 31st is Bell Let’s Talk Day, when Bell will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives in Canada for every applicable text, call, tweet, or use of their Facebook frames. Mental health affects us all - let’s do our part and join the conversation.



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

The Ottawa Catholic School Board warmly invites community families and friends to a Circle of Learning. Come learn about the Indigenous programs and supports being offered in our schools.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018
6:00 - 8:30 PM
Immaculata High School - 140 Main Street

We invite you to join us for a Feast from 6:00 - 6:30 PM (Three Sisters Soup, Bannock, Dessert Squares, etc)
Presentation: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
FREE babysitting for preregistered children.


Communications:

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


Coming Up:

January 25th to 30th: High School Exams
January 31st: Professional Development Day

All Saints Blog Week of January 22nd, 2018

Course Selection Evening for Parents

Thank you to all of our parents and guardians who joined us at our Pathways course selection evening. We reviewed a great deal of information regarding our transitions from each year of high school and provided additional information regarding some of the specialty programs running at All Saints. Thank you to our student services staff and department heads who assisted with the presentations. A special thank you to the many partners, including universities and colleges who joined us for the evening. All of our presentations have been uploaded to the Student Services Website (the link is located on the right side of the “Our School” tab from the main website landing page). If you have any additional questions regarding student pathways or course selection, please contact our student services department at the school.




Student Exam Preparation - Information from Student Services

There are a number of sessions being offered for students to help with the preparation of exams at All Saints. Please check the following posting from student services for additional information.

Our School Board Psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Paquette’s has prepared a blog article Fostering resilience to help prepare for tests and exams to assist with student preparation at this time of the year.

Exam Schedule - Inclement Weather
High School exams will be written on January 25th, 26th, 29th, and 30th. In the event of a day where student transportation is cancelled during the high school exam period, exam schedules at all schools for all students will be affected (not just for school bus riders).

In the event of a “snow day” where yellow school bus transportation is cancelled during the high school exam period, the missed exam will be written the following day. All other exams will be bumped by one day and the last exam, scheduled for Tuesday, January 30th will be written on Thursday, February 1st. During a snow day, the school will be open, but exams will not be written.

Wednesday, January 31st remains a PD day whether or not there is a snow day during exam week.
For example, if January 26th is a snow day and all school bus transportation for our board is cancelled, then:
All exams originally scheduled for January 26th will be written on January 29th.
All exams originally scheduled for January 29th will be written on January 30th.
All exams originally scheduled for January 30th will be written on February 1st.

January 31st remains a PD Day.

Additional exam expectations for students

Grade 8 Math Evaluation
On January 25, 2018, during periods 1 & 2, all grade 8 students will be writing a math evaluation. The data from this evaluation provides valuable insight into student achievement of curriculum expectations. It also informs teachers’ recommendations for the placement of students in grade nine math courses. Students will be provided with math review packages and will have three classes prior to the evaluation (on January 22-24) for in-class review.

Ontario Teachers’ Insurance Plan (OTIP) Teaching awards
The OTIP Teaching Awards recognize and celebrate teachers who make a difference… teachers who light a spark in students, inspire their colleagues and give parents confidence. Our winners are hosted at a fall awards ceremony in Toronto where they are presented with a personal award of $1,000 and a Certificate of Recognition. Their schools also receive a $1,000 prize and a Certificate of Recognition. The deadline for nominations is March 31st. Check out the website for further information: http://teachingawards.ca/home/






Social & Emotional Learning/Mental Health: Let’s talk about Mental Health. Did you know that 70% of mental health problems have their onset during childhood or adolescence? January 31st is Bell Let’s Talk Day, when Bell will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives in Canada for every applicable text, call, tweet, or use of their Facebook frames. Mental health affects us all - let’s do our part and join the conversation.

WHAT IS EXPLORE?
Explore is a five-week intensive French-immersion bursary program that is offered during the spring or summer for people with any skill level in French. Explore participants are awarded a $2,200 bursary (taxable income) that covers tuition fees for the course, instructional materials, meals, and accommodation. You will discover another region of Canada while learning French in classes adapted to your language level. Through classroom instructions, workshops, sociocultural activities, and field trips, you will not only improve your language skills, but discover the culture of a new region as well, all while exploring, meeting new people from across the country, and exchanging ideas in a stimulating environment perfect for learning the French language. Experience something new and discover your country and your strengths through Explore!

More information at: http://www.myexplore.ca/en/page/?description



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

The Ottawa Catholic School Board warmly invites community families and friends to a Circle of Learning. Come learn about the Indigenous programs and supports being offered in our schools.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018
6:00 - 8:30 PM
Immaculata High School - 140 Main Street
We invite you to join us for a Feast from 6:00 - 6:30 PM (Three Sisters Soup, Bannock, Dessert Squares, etc)

Presentation: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
FREE babysitting for preregistered children.
OCSB has partnered with COPA to bring valuable resources into our schools that will support safe and inclusive learning environments. Learn more about COPA and the "A Circle of Caring" project and how it can support parents and families.

Families will be provided with free takeaway materials. Register: http://bit.ly/CSPA_circle

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

Coming Up:
January 22nd (7:00pm): School Council meeting
January 25th to 30th: High School Exams
January 31st: Professional Development Day

All Saints Blog Week of January 15th, 2018

Having some formatting issues with the Blogger software.  You can access this week's blog at the link below:

Blog - January 15th, 2018

All Saints Blog Week of January 8th, 2018

Happy 2018!

I would like to wish our entire All Saints Community a happy start to 2018, and all the best in the new year.  January will be a busy month back at school.  Grade 9-12 students will continue to work on summative tasks in classes, with exams running from January 25th to 30th (All Saints Exam Schedule - Semester 1). To assist with exam preparation, we have some opportunities for students listed below.  Term one report cards for our 7&8 students will be distributed in mid-February.  Finally, a reminder that our School Council meeting for January is on the 22nd at 7:00.  Please join us!  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the blog to check out the school calendar with additional dates.

Student Exam Preparation

To assist our grade 9-12 students with their mindfulness preparation ahead of exams, we are running two support programs:

Mindfulness preparation - Our Mindfulness room will be opened each day during exams beginning at 7:30 am.  This is a chance to take some quiet time to reflect/regroup ahead of, or after exams.

Study Skills Session - Grade 9-12 students are invited to join our school Psychologist Dr. Richard Bolduc for a study skills session ahead of exams on January 10th.  Students need to sign up for the session in student services.

Student Immunization information

The Immunization of School Pupils Act requires that students in Ontario be vaccinated against nine diseases, or have a valid exemption. It is the responsibility of parents to report all immunizations to Ottawa Public Health, and every year OPH reviews these records to ensure that the information is up-to-date. The process is designed to prevent infectious disease outbreaks and protect the health of our students.

Please be aware of the following timelines:

1. November: parents received notices informing them of any gaps in the immunization records for their child(ren).

2. January 15, 2018: Suspension notices will be mailed to families who have not yet complied with the requirements under the legislation.

3. February 7, 2018: Suspensions will be enforced for any remaining students whose records are still not up-to-date.

Purchasing Options for Student Technology

As we continue the implementation of Deep Learning across the Board, and increasingly seek out opportunities to leverage digital to support learning, access to enough devices in each classroom is sometimes an issue. Our Board has been investing in technology for many years and will continue to do so, but the demand is rapidly increasing as students are starting to do more and more of their schoolwork online using the collaborative tools available.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is a strategy that has been successfully implemented in many of our schools to help support student access to technology. Many families are seeking advice as they consider purchasing a device for their child to use both at home and at school over the next few years. As a result, we have been working with Staples Canada to provide OCSB families with access to an online portal where they can find information and pricing on a few models of Chromebooks that have been specifically recommended by our Learning Technologies Department. These recommended devices are the same durable machines we are using in classrooms, with full keyboards, cameras and touchscreens that also flip over to act as a tablet and were not previously available from Staples.

Please see the parent letter outlining the program here.

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 @AllSaintsCHS (Mr. Kelly’s - @seankellyottawa) as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!

Coming Up:

January 22nd (7:00pm): School Council meeting