All Saints Blog Week of May 21st, 2019

Parent Information Session: The Teenage Brain
All Saints High School is happy to present "Dealing with the Teenage Brain: Strategies for Communication", a presentation for parents on May 21st, from 7:00 to 8:00pm. The presentation will be facilitated by Wayne Ng, a Social Worker with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Wayne will discuss the characteristics of the developing student brain, including information regarding executive functioning, decision making and choices. Considerations for parents will be discussed, including strategies for communication, negotiation and support. Wayne will also answer questions on the topic. Please join us for a great evening of information presented with the support of the All Saints Catholic School Council.

Student Impact Team Mental Health Fair

On May 9th, students working through our Impact Team, as well as those working with Ms. MacLellan organized a Mental Health Fair at All Saints. Students were able to visit booths run by KidsHelpPhone, Do it For Daron, the Ottawa Catholic School Board mental health resources, and our Impact Team! Activities such as Kahoot and a mini “scavenger hunt” like event allowed students to explore the different resources and initiate discussions with our visitors.

Korean Educator Visit

Last week, All Saints High School had the distinct pleasure of welcoming a group of South Korean Educators. These are prospective administrators who are currently attending the Korean Education, University and are in Canada visiting a number of schools in the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Our guests had an opportunity to meet with the staff with any questions regarding our School Improvement Plan and toured a number of classes from grades 7-12. A student group met with the delegation as well to provide an overview of project based learning in our classes.

Celebrating Excellence

Each spring, the Ottawa Catholic School Board hosts its “Celebrating Excellence” awards evening. Students are nominated for the award in a category related to our Gospel Values of Community, Dignity of Persons, Excellence, Faith, Hope, Love and Stewardship of Creation. On May 13th, Yves Blanc, a student at All Saints, received the award in the category of Community. Yves is a regular volunteer with our custodial team and works to support some of our higher needs students at the school as well. We are proud of your accomplishments Yves!



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:

May 21st - High School Student Council speeches and voting

May 22nd - Graduation retreat

May 24th - High School Dance

All Saints Blog Week of May 6th, 2019

Volunteering in the Flood Zone

This past week, a large group of students and staff volunteered in the Dunrobin area of the affected flood zone. We recognize that many of our own families are affected by the rising waters. Our group worked tirelessly, creating hundreds of sandbags for those in harm’s way. One resident contacted me regarding the work of our students and staff: “I am so overwhelmed by the number of students from All Saints who showed up to volunteer in Constance Bay today. Our house is threatened in a serious way today. The sandbags that All Saints students made came right to our house and have saved us today! So thank you from our family to the All Saints family”

We continue to keep those affected by the flood in our thoughts and prayers. We are with you!

All Saints Speak Up Fair

All Saints High School is excited to present the first “Speak Up Fair”, a fun-filled educational fair-like event which will take place on May 9th. This is phase two of our original Speak UP which was a “Ted Talk” inspired event. Taking place during Mental Health Awareness Week, the goal of this event is to spread awareness to teenagers about mental health, addiction and other challenges youth face. The fair will take place 9:45am-1:10pm, during High School second period and both lunches (7-8 & 9-12).
Organizations like KidsHelpPhone, Do It for Daron., Rideauwood, Western Ottawa Resource Centre and more will be attending, to answer any questions and inform students. Students can visit our bake sale, where they can purchase anything for $1-2, and participate in bilingual Kahoots! Ping Pong tables will also be set up as a means for students to relax, get their daily dose of physical activity, de-stress and partake in different artistic expressions.
Please join us for this wonderful informative event which will be presented through the support of the students in Madame MacLellan’s Grade 10 Religion class, the All Saints community, and other organizations. We hope to see you there!

Parent Information Session: The Teenage Brain
All Saints High School is happy to present "Dealing with the Teenage Brain: Strategies for Communication", a presentation for parents on May 21st, from 7:00 to 8:00pm. The presentation will be facilitated by Wayne Ng, a Social Worker with the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Wayne will discuss the characteristics of the developing student brain, including information regarding executive functioning, decision making and choices. Considerations for parents will be discussed, including strategies for communication, negotiation and support. Wayne will also answer questions on the topic. Please join us for a great evening of information presented with the support of the All Saints Catholic School Council.
Catholic Education Week - May 5th to 10th

Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness of our Catholic schools. More than 600,000 students in over 1,500 Catholic schools across Ontario take part in this special week to celebrate the distinctive contribution their schools make in the lives of our students and the community. Our community participates in planned special activities at all grade levels and in all schools. Everyone is welcome to join us in events taking place throughout the week.

ASH Naturalists’ Club: Arboretum Walk

An arboretum is a plantation of trees of various species. We also use it for the study and identification of trees. The ASH Naturalists Club had the chance to visit, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, the Arboretum of the Beaver Pond Park near Kanata Lakes with two specialists of the flora. Mrs. Marilyn Poirier (member of the Beaver Pond Arboretum and the Ottawa Duck Club) and Annie Bélair (Forestry Specialist and member of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club). They made us aware of the different species of native and imported trees that can be planted in the ecosystem of the region. An interesting fact was the Weeping white/willow which is a tree of Asian origin whose English colonizers imported from Asia to ornament the riparian lands. You can see all the tree species identified during your visit to the park on a poster for this purpose. Thank you for your participation and see you soon!

Dual Credit Program
All Saints High School students going into grades 11 or 12 have the opportunity to register in and attend part-time studies at Algonquin College through the Dual Credit program. This program allows students in high school to take a course at Algonquin College during the school year and earn credit for it, while still in the process of completing their Ontario Secondary School Diploma at All Saints. If successful, students receive a college credit, and a high school credit.
There are many benefits to the Dual Credit program: students gain exposure to college programs which will allow them to make a more informed decision regarding their post-secondary choice. Students will earn a college credit and a high school credit at the same time. Tuition, books and most transportation costs will be covered by the Dual Credit program. Students will have an opportunity to experience campus life and learn at the college level.
Applicants must be flexible, self-committed, independent and mature. Since students must leave All Saints to attend their weekly class at Algonquin College, they will be responsible for any work missed. As well, they are responsible to complete any work or assignments for the college course during absences.
Students who may be interested in this opportunity are invited to complete an application form and a consent/release form, have it signed by a parent and return it to the Student Services office by May 17th. For more information, a downloadable application form, a consent/release form and a listing of college course offerings for the Fall 2019 semester, click here: https://www.algonquincollege.com/ap/dual-credit-registration/. Students accepted into the program will be notified by May 31st.
We look forward to working with your child in embracing this wonderful school to college opportunity. For more information, please contact Ms. Diana Caringi, Department Head of Student Services

School Climate Survey
Every two years the Ontario Ministry of Education requires that a School Climate Survey be completed by students, staff, and families in order to provide input on the environment in our school. In Catholic schools, our Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person is the starting point for all issues of diversity. Catholic schools strive to create an environment where all members of the school community feel safe, welcomed, included and valued.
The surveys are voluntary and anonymous. Any questions that a respondent is not comfortable answering may be skipped. Survey results will only be reported on as groups of students, staff, or parents.
Parents and Guardians: We encourage you to take 10 minutes to complete our survey. You are welcome to complete a survey for each of your children. Please make sure you use the survey specific to their school. This information will be sent home through our School Messenger service.

Scheduling of Rich Summative Tasks and Exams
As part of student assessment and evaluation, the Ministry of Education stipulates that courses (grades 9-12) contain a formal Rich Summative Task or Assessment as part of the summative evaluation of a semester’s work. This RST is “An authentic activity, exercise, problem, or challenge that requires students to show what they know and what they can do. Performance tasks lead students to demonstrate their understanding by applying knowledge and skills to real-life situations or scenarios. Performance tasks usually address all four categories of the achievement chart and multiple overall curriculum expectations and provide flexibility in how students can demonstrate their learning” (Ontario Ministry of Education, Growing Success p. 153).
As part of this expected component of classroom evaluation, RST dates are made clear to students as part of the course expectations. As with final exams, RST dates are communicated with students ahead of time, and the expectation is that all students schedule outside appointments and other activities around these dates. For further information, please contact your child’s teacher.



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

Connective Parenting with renowned speaker & author Bonnie Harris

Hosted by St Dominic, St Peter, St Theresa and Convent Glen Catholic School Councils

MAY 22ND, 2019 AT 6:30PM
St Peter High School


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!