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.

Stand up to Bullies Day

Pink Day is back at College Heights. We will be hosting Magic 106.1 in the morning on Friday, November 19th followed by a motivational assembly and then a spirit rally at the end of the day. It will be a positive and fun day for all!!!

Halloween and more

Hope all parents who came out to our Parent Teacher Interviews last evening enjoyed meeting staff and trying the treats of the bakeshop.

Today, Halloween is a high energy day at College Heights. Many students are dressed up and dance sale tickets are brisk.

This morning I visited our 65 students up at the CELE camp and everyone was having a terrific time! The students were energized and enthusiastic. My hope is for double the participants in this tremendous opportunity next year.

Midterm reports with newsletters will be mailed Nov. 12th. Please don't hesitate to call with ideas, questions or concerns. Happy Halloween. B

College Heights Spirit

Hello all-
We will be holding our first annual College Heights Spirit Day on Wednesday, Oct. 20th. We want all staff and students to dress in our bright blue and red school colours to celebrate what a tremendous school we have!! Thanks to Ms. Jamieson and her spirit team to taking a lead on this Fun Day.
Don't forget, Wednesday (Oct. 20) evening is School Council, 6:30 pm in the Library, Thursday evening (Oct. 21)is Commencement, 7:00 pm in the cafeteria and Friday morning (Oct. 22) we will be holding our Academic Awards Assembly for all of our non-graduating students. Parents are welcome. We plan to start just after the beginning of period 2, so about 10:30 am and hope to finish up by about 11:50 am.
Also, Interim reports will be mailed out tomorrow and will have a copy of our latest Newsletter enclosed, highlighting the events of the school year so far.
And finally, Parent-Teacher interviews are set for October 28, but don't hesitate to call before if you have any questions or concerns.
Have a great week. B

October is a Busy Month

Our biggest day of the year is fast approaching. October 21st is our Commencement. If you have a graduate in your family please have them call the school to let us know they are attending. We want to see everyone out. This year we have a school choir to sign for us too!!

October 20th is the next School Council Meeting in the Library at 6:30 pm and all are welcome.
Parent-Teacher Interviews fall on Oct. 28th this year. Interim reports will be mailed home on October 18, 2010.

Enjoy the beautiful colours of fall!!! Happy Thanksgiving.

The end of September approaches

Hello All-
It has been a wonderful start up here at College Heights. We currently have about 650 students at the school and are again running classes in the cafeteria due to our large enrollment. School Council held it's first meeting on Sept. 16th, but don't worry if you missed it. New members are always welcome. Our next meeting will be Oct. 20th and we start at 6:30 pm in the Library.
Our grade 9 Parent's Night run by Mr. McCabe was a big success with many families touring our great facility. Construction is almost complete with our new front doors to be finished this week.
This Thursday, our Terry Fox Run is again planned and you will see the entire school out walking to the river and back in support of this cause. Please encourage your son or daughter to bring in a donation. Every little bit helps.
Remember, we do want to hear from you! So please call with praise, questions or concerns.
And, remember our motto, College Heights: Education that works.

Registrations and appointments begin next week!

Hello all!
Hope everyone has had a relaxing summer. We will be officially open for appointments and meetings starting Monday, August 23rd. Please call if you wish to register. 519-821-4510, ex 301.

Grade 9 Orientation is Sept. 1st. from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. If you are joining us for grade 9 in September you should be receiving a mailing providing all of the details of this day. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Returning students can also register on the 1st after 1:00 pm. If you register, and pay your $30.00 student fee, you can pick up your timetable too.

Looking forward to another great year at College Heights.

Almost there

So, exams are half over!!! Please encourage your son or daughter to check in with their teachers to ensure all work is completed. We will be accepting work right up until Friday and the resource room is open all day to provide a quiet place to work. Report cards will be mailed out next week and they will include our last newsletter of the year. This letter will detail the important dates for September...
Hard to believe we are already talking about September...
Thanks to all the students, staff of all types and parents who have made this a terrific first year for me as the principal of this great school.
Enjoy your summer! B

Only a few days left until June

Hope everyone had a relaxing holiday weekend. I enjoyed planting my College Heights grown plants in my garden.

On Friday we mailed home the last interim report for the semester. Please encourage your son or daughter to attend and make the most of the last 19 days of classes. With the warm weather here, it is tempting for students to miss a few classes. It is critical that they attend for the last 4 weeks as the 30% culiminating tasks are being completed in their classes. These tasks will evaluate them on all of the work they have completed during the semester and the review that occurs in class prior to the tasks often makes the difference between a pass and a failure.
Summer will soon be here, with our last day of exams on June 25th. Let's make the most of our last few weeks.

In June there is no regular School Council meeting. Those who took part in School Council will be gathering at my home June 17th to celebrate another great year completed.

Please refer to the newsletter enclosed with the reports for details about June activities and if your son or daughter is completing their graduating credits, make sure to remind them of the 40 hours of community service required. Guidance can assist with suggestions.

B

Spring Sale...Spring Sale

Come One, Come all to the Spring Sale! We were cleaning up yesterday using heavy equipment. The school looks great.

Thursday, May 13/10, 2-6 pm

Friday, May 14/10, 12-6 pm

Saturday, May 15/10, 8-12 noon.

Plant Sale, BBQ, Baking, Woodworking, Music, and much more. B

Earth Day and a couple of links

Earth Day was a great success. Students did a great clean up job and our Assemblies were fun.

Also, if you wish to take a look at the link from the Ministry of Education resources for Special Education try
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/speced.html

Also, this is the time of year when I ask for feedback from my staff about my leadership. If you feel able to, you can also provide me with feedback through the following survey link.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GBHQWTQ

Thanks for all of your support....
B

Spring Opportunities

All of our grade nine students are invited to the Blue Springs Scout Reserve for a day (May 20th, 2010) of outdoor leadership and team building activities. The cost for this day is $10 and information about this day and our terrific three day Grade 10 experience CELE will be shared on April 28, 2010. The will be an information session at 6:30 pm for all grade 9 parents. More details can be found in the newsletter coming home next week with midterm report cards.

For Parents, Centennial is hosting an "Ask the Experts" evening on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 from 7:00 -8:30 pm. Centennial's Drug and Alcohol Counsellor will be available to answer any questions you may have.

Don't forget the Spring Sale!!! May 13-15. Enjoy the weather.

Literacy Test is over for another year

Well--What a busy day. We had 50+ volunteers in the school to assist us with the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. This test, or the equivalent grade 12 course are requirements for graduation in the province of Ontario.
Today, our students worked hard for two sessions, one testing their reading levels and one testing their writing levels. We had done much preparation, with practice in subject based lessons, a practice test, small group instructions programs and the after school SMART START program.
All students, literacy mentors, scribes, teacher and community supervisors and organizers should be commended on a day well run. Students were anxious but received much support and encouragement before they set to the tasks at hand.

Thanks to all who worked hard to assist students to do the very best they could. Now we await the results, which usually arrive before the end of the school year in June.

Links to the Positive Press we are receiving

At School Council this week we were talking about the positive press we have received recently and particularly about our Excellence in Manufacturing Lunch in February. It was suggested that I provide the link to the article from the Mercury here on the blog. So, here it is:
http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/601797

We are also planning to plaque and post this type of article in the school hallways.
Have a great day. B

Fundraising Fair

The Upper Grand District School Board is again going to be having a Fundraising Fair. It will be held on Monday, April 19th in a new location from previous years - now at Royal Brock Best Western Hotel at the corner of Stone Road and Gordon Street. The fair will run from 1:00-8:00 This fundraising fair is the ONLY way that the Upper Grand Learning Foundation has to raise funds to offset costs. Many of our schools benefit from using the Foundation so I am asking for you to consider attending if you are involved in any fundraising in either the schools your children attend or in community groups.
Thanks for considering the opportunity. B

Returning after March break

Welcome back from March break. Interim reports were mailed out the week before the break. Please give us a call if you haven't received a report for your son or daughter. The newsletter enclosed with the report highlighted some of the wonderful activities at College Heights.
This week we have School Council on Thursday evening, March 25th at 6:30 pm in the library.
Also this week, our students have the opportunity to visit Linamar, the Art Gallery of Ontario and play in the Inner City Billiards tournament.
With the warm weather returning we will also be re-instituting our Green Team. Daily after lunch classes of students will go outside to pick up waste and make our campus look beautiful.

Soon the Daffodils will be blooming along the Hanlon again... Thanks to all former students and especially Mr. Boutin for this Ten year project.


Next week Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Tuesday evening March the 30th also set to begin at 6:30 pm.

Hope to see you there!!!

Climate Survey

It is time for the Provincially Mandated Climate Survey. The link for the Parent Survey is listed below. Please take a minute to fill out the survey to assist us with our Safe School Planning.
Thanks so much!!!


Parent Survey

Reaching out to the community

What a wonderful day. Today at lunch College Heights hosted the Excellence in Manufacturing lunch. We shared information about our wonderful school programs with community manufacturing representatives and they gave us feedback about their coop students.

College Heights works with the community!! B

February News

Well, February is certainly flying by! Our Horticulture program sold roses for Valentine's Day and the Food Program put on a terrific Valentine's Day luncheon. Feb 12th was a great day. On Feb 16, 2010 we had an assembly put on by MADD, Mother's Against Drunk Driving that was well received by the students. It is important for students to attend all assemblies as they are great for building positive school culture!!

Our community Board of Directors met last week and continue to support our programs through Work Experience and Coop placements as well as mentorship for both our students and our teachers in all of our Pathway areas. Tuesday of this week, the community group Excellence in Manufacturing will be holding their meeting at College Heights and enjoying a lunch from our Foods School.

School Council enjoyed meeting our High School Resource Officer Mary Ellen McEwen on Thursday evening and also heard about Mr. Boutin's plans for our Grade 10 Leadership Camp coming in the Fall of 2010. More information on that exciting opportunity will be coming soon.

Our practice Literacy Test will be Thursday, Feb 25, 2010 for all students who are scheduled to write the OSSLT in April. It is really important that students attend and participate to the best of their ability as this practice provides the Literacy Mentors with information as to what students most need to work on prior to the REAL THING.

March Break is around the corner with our last day of classes on March 11. Interims for Semester Two, Term One will be mailed out at that time. Please encourage your son or daughter to attend, do their best and ask for help when needed. We all want Student Success!!

New Semester

Today was a big day with semester 2 starting and all of the ground hogs in the world seeing their shadows. So, we settle in for 6 more weeks of winter. Are we surprised?

We are settling timetables and preparing report cards. Semester One reports will be mailed out on Feb. 10, 2010. Watch for the newest newsletter in the mailing.

In addition to Valentine's Day this month we have several wrestling tournaments and we have the MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) assembly on the 16th.

Please contact Guidance if you have any questions or concerns about your son or daughter's timetable.

And, remember, all are welcome at School Council. Our next meeting will be Feb. 18, 2010 at 6:30 pm in the Library. The bakeshop supplies treats so stop on by and see what we are up to.

Have a great February.

Leadership Team meets with Superintendent

th

Our Leadership team met with Superintendent Erin Kelly on January 13th to inform her about all of the wonderful learning happening at College Heights! Our teacher leaders talked about their goals for student learning and the extensive professional learning they are doing to support our programs.

We have some very exciting work happening with our SMART BOARDS! Ask you son or daughter if they have used one yet.

Trip to Q107

Friday, January 8th, Mr. Kirley and I travelled down to the Q107 Radio station with our radio station students and some of our younger musicians. Producer Patrick Malkin took us on a tour and we saw the broadcast booths, creative studios and met some very interesting radio personalities. A good time had by all and yet another time for me to be proud to be principal.

B

Welcome Back

Hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing holiday. We are back working hard to complete all assignments before the end of the semester.

Classes end January 22, 2010.
Exams run January 25-28, 2010. If we have a snow day all exams are moved to the following day.

All students have exams in all classes in the exam period according to the schedule:

Jan. 25- Period 1 exam
Jan. 26- Period 2 exam
Jan. 27- Period 3 exam
Jan 28- Period 4 exam

All exams will begin first thing in the morning (9:00 am) and will run up to 11:30 depending on the course.

Buses will run at the regular time.

Please don't hesitate to call if you have questions or wish to follow up on the interim reports sent home before the Holidays.

Best of luck to all.