Tuesday, April 12, 2011
A busy week
We had a wonderful week last week. The students worked hard and represented us well. Please see the Mercury link http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/512459--specialized-learning-gives-high-school-meaning-for-many We were very proud! The Learning Disabilities Association has an interesting movie opportunity. http://www.ldawc.ca/ Enjoy the sunshine! B
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April is Here!!
Where did March go??? Hopefully the snow is finally gone! On March 31, 2011, eligible students wrote the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. We worked hard with them to prepare and we had many volunteers in the building on the day of the test to help them do the very best they could. We should know the results at the end of June. With the Literacy Test behind us we continue to focus on positive interaction with the public to showcase our fabulous programs. The week of April 4- 8, 2011 will be a busy one at College Heights. Monday, April 4 we will be hosting over 100 employers from the city of Guelph for our annual Career Day. Students will have the opportunity to talk to those in careers as varied as the Guelph Fire Department, MacKinnon Transport and a variety of High End Beauty Salons from the community. Tuesday, April 5 the cafeteria will be closed to students, although a pizza lunch will be available. We are hosting and catering for the Regional Specialist High Skills Major Meeting where Ministry of Education and the Greater Toronto School Boards will be treated to the food from our Hospitality Programs. Thursday, April 7 we will be hosting the Deputy Minister of Education and his team for lunch. They are sure to be impressed by our student's skills and knowledge. Friday, April 8 we will be working hard on our PD day to review the feedback from our District Review Day and to begin to make plans for next year. Our School Improvement Plan outline is always posted on the website if you ever want to review the school goals. Look for a new school sign soon and please mark May 12-14th on your calendars for the Spring Sale. After this busy week is over, we will be preparing in earnest for the Sale. Cross your fingers for good weather!!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
So much happening
We have our District Review tomorrow. A group of 12 Upper Grand District Principals and Curriculum Leaders will be walking through our classes. This is like a school check up. They will not be looking at specific subjects or teachers but the school as a whole. They might ask students what they are learning and how they are learning it .
On the day of the visit there will be a meeting where the teams' observations are summarized by Superintendent Erin Kelly for staff. A more formal summary will follow in March. This summary will be shared with staff and School Council.
School Council's next meeting is March 24th at 6:30 pm in the Library. All are welcome. It was great to see some new faces in February.
Students continue to work hard in their classes and the next set of reports will be coming home right before March break. If you have any concerns prior to this reporting period, please don't hesitate to call the school and speak to the appropriate teacher.
Spring is coming and with it the Spring Sale....Remember to keep May 12-14 open. B
On the day of the visit there will be a meeting where the teams' observations are summarized by Superintendent Erin Kelly for staff. A more formal summary will follow in March. This summary will be shared with staff and School Council.
School Council's next meeting is March 24th at 6:30 pm in the Library. All are welcome. It was great to see some new faces in February.
Students continue to work hard in their classes and the next set of reports will be coming home right before March break. If you have any concerns prior to this reporting period, please don't hesitate to call the school and speak to the appropriate teacher.
Spring is coming and with it the Spring Sale....Remember to keep May 12-14 open. B
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Semester 2 starts up...
Hello all-
Even without the day of preparation on Feb. 2, 2011, we had a wonderfully smooth start up today. We did have a power shortage in the morning, but all the students behaved beautifully and were back in class in about 30 minutes. If we were ever to have a sustained power outage, I have been told we will not be sending students home unless our heating becomes a concern.
In a building such as ours this would take several hours, so any suggestion that you may have had from your son/daughter that we were on the verge of sending them home is exaggerated.
We also hosted part of the Grade 7/8 Basketball Tournament in our Gym today sharing the event with Centennial and our students acted as score keepers and timers doing a great job.
There is still time to purchase tickets to the Valentines Dance in support of our Library. Please call the school if you are interested.
Semester One reports will be mailed out next week. With them will be the newsletter sharing all of the excitement that is our school. Enjoy...
Our next long weekend occurs with Family Day on Monday, February 21, 2011. There will be no school that day. Hope the weather cooperates that weekend for whatever you have planned.
Even without the day of preparation on Feb. 2, 2011, we had a wonderfully smooth start up today. We did have a power shortage in the morning, but all the students behaved beautifully and were back in class in about 30 minutes. If we were ever to have a sustained power outage, I have been told we will not be sending students home unless our heating becomes a concern.
In a building such as ours this would take several hours, so any suggestion that you may have had from your son/daughter that we were on the verge of sending them home is exaggerated.
We also hosted part of the Grade 7/8 Basketball Tournament in our Gym today sharing the event with Centennial and our students acted as score keepers and timers doing a great job.
There is still time to purchase tickets to the Valentines Dance in support of our Library. Please call the school if you are interested.
Semester One reports will be mailed out next week. With them will be the newsletter sharing all of the excitement that is our school. Enjoy...
Our next long weekend occurs with Family Day on Monday, February 21, 2011. There will be no school that day. Hope the weather cooperates that weekend for whatever you have planned.
Monday, January 24, 2011
It's cold outside
Hello! Certainly cold outside. Thanks to all the parents who came out on Thursday for our School Council meeting. Parent input is always welcome and invited. We also had a terrific turn out at our grade 8 Parent Information Night on Jan. 13th. Our passion for our students and our school programs really shone through.
In our on-going quest to be appreciated in the community I will be presenting at the Rotary Luncheon this Friday. I will be using the fabulous Promotional Video created by Mr. Dix and his students and some senior students will be attending with me to talk about their experiences here.
To continue with our practical school focus I am also attaching a link to an interesting Ministry Website for students looking to their future. Try the interest survey. It suggested I might become a family doctor????
http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/postsecondary/careerplanning/program/wizard.html
Good luck to all on exams!!
In our on-going quest to be appreciated in the community I will be presenting at the Rotary Luncheon this Friday. I will be using the fabulous Promotional Video created by Mr. Dix and his students and some senior students will be attending with me to talk about their experiences here.
To continue with our practical school focus I am also attaching a link to an interesting Ministry Website for students looking to their future. Try the interest survey. It suggested I might become a family doctor????
http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/postsecondary/careerplanning/program/wizard.html
Good luck to all on exams!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all! We have started the final push to exams. The first day of exams will be January 26th. It is really important that all students attend and do their best on the course culminating assignments. We truly do want success for all.
On another note, we are continually looking to re-vamp our image in the community. We know we are a great school creating terrific and fulfilling destinations for our students...How do we get the entire community on side?
Recently I gave a tour to Chris Reynolds, a consultant with STEAMco Inc. Chris is very interested in supporting a "re-imagining" of College Heights. He has written a proposal for us to consider to get us started.
We will be holding a meeting for interested people on Jan. 12 th at 11:55 at the school. If you are interested in being a part of this project, please call the school and RSVP for the meeting. It will be brown bags only so bring your lunch and your creative ideas...
I particularly liked some of Chris's insights into our current school culture:
"Yes, many students do end up at CHSS because of struggles they faced at their original schools, but this does not make CHSS a destination for failures. Yes, you may not be the strongest in x,y,or z, and others may have pointed that out to you repeatedly, but that doesn't mean you don't have meanful strengths elsewhere in the alphabet yet to be discovered."
A very exciting project!!! B
On another note, we are continually looking to re-vamp our image in the community. We know we are a great school creating terrific and fulfilling destinations for our students...How do we get the entire community on side?
Recently I gave a tour to Chris Reynolds, a consultant with STEAMco Inc. Chris is very interested in supporting a "re-imagining" of College Heights. He has written a proposal for us to consider to get us started.
We will be holding a meeting for interested people on Jan. 12 th at 11:55 at the school. If you are interested in being a part of this project, please call the school and RSVP for the meeting. It will be brown bags only so bring your lunch and your creative ideas...
I particularly liked some of Chris's insights into our current school culture:
"Yes, many students do end up at CHSS because of struggles they faced at their original schools, but this does not make CHSS a destination for failures. Yes, you may not be the strongest in x,y,or z, and others may have pointed that out to you repeatedly, but that doesn't mean you don't have meanful strengths elsewhere in the alphabet yet to be discovered."
A very exciting project!!! B
Monday, December 13, 2010
Letting a student speak
Hello all-
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you!! Busy times here. Please see the bulletin that is coming home with December Interim Reports for all sorts of great info.
The other day I was asking one of our senior students who had returned to school after leaving for awhile, how we might have helped him when he was younger and I thought what he wrote me was worth sharing.
You ask me about what you as a school could have done. It’s a dream that I wish I could say yeh I went to prom and say grade 12 yeh, I got that. And some kids we ain’t right because of family stuff that’s gone on again and again. Wish that I had a life like some people. Just ain’t that easy, a rough road and it’s a life that will kill you or bully you into who you are everyday. I don’t know why they say to you they know how that feels, that is something I never forget. That is when I wanna say people are getting bullied.
I don’t feel that I was someone feeling like that just 12 years ago. It’s just now I am a man and I wish I could say I had family when I was 8-9 years old. No, I was selling drugs living on the streets trying to make it; running from foster care because my parent was in jail. It’s not fun just having no one that really knows you but they all think they do. But they are just reading a file that says you are a bad kid. No one talked to me about what I liked to do or what was on my mind. Maybe I could have had this all.
Now we know who I really am and this feels right. It’s not what I was raised for. I am better in the eyes of lots of people who knew me as a fighter kid that broke the law, sold drugs and partied. That cool kid you wanna be someday. And all those people remembering you just not nice.
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you!! Busy times here. Please see the bulletin that is coming home with December Interim Reports for all sorts of great info.
The other day I was asking one of our senior students who had returned to school after leaving for awhile, how we might have helped him when he was younger and I thought what he wrote me was worth sharing.
You ask me about what you as a school could have done. It’s a dream that I wish I could say yeh I went to prom and say grade 12 yeh, I got that. And some kids we ain’t right because of family stuff that’s gone on again and again. Wish that I had a life like some people. Just ain’t that easy, a rough road and it’s a life that will kill you or bully you into who you are everyday. I don’t know why they say to you they know how that feels, that is something I never forget. That is when I wanna say people are getting bullied.
I don’t feel that I was someone feeling like that just 12 years ago. It’s just now I am a man and I wish I could say I had family when I was 8-9 years old. No, I was selling drugs living on the streets trying to make it; running from foster care because my parent was in jail. It’s not fun just having no one that really knows you but they all think they do. But they are just reading a file that says you are a bad kid. No one talked to me about what I liked to do or what was on my mind. Maybe I could have had this all.
Now we know who I really am and this feels right. It’s not what I was raised for. I am better in the eyes of lots of people who knew me as a fighter kid that broke the law, sold drugs and partied. That cool kid you wanna be someday. And all those people remembering you just not nice.
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