February 2015 Newsletter

STRATFORD NORTHWESTERN SCHOOL
THE NOR’WESTER NEWSLETTER
Published February 27, 2015
Principal’s Message
Dear Students, Parents and Community:
Well are you sick of it yet? Winter! If you are
a cold weather enthusiast we are into a
second endless winter of paradise. In spite of
the very cold temperatures and lots of snow
we have been very fortunate to miss a limited
amount of school. I periodically get telephone
calls and messages left as to why I have not
cancelled buses or closed the school. Please
understand that the decision around these
items does not lie in the hands of the school
principal. In almost all cases our school bus
providers and school board senior
administration make the final decision. A
reminder that information around changes in
the regular school day or transportation can
be found on three primary sites:
1) Local radio station – CJCS 1240
2) ourschoolbuses.ca
3) stratfordnorthwestern.ca – follow us on
twitter
In all cases of inclement weather, please
remember the final decision regarding
students attending school is up to our parents
and student safety needs to be the key
concern when making the decision.
As I am sure you, especially our students, are
aware of, is the pending March Break. This
year’s break runs from March 16th to 20th.
While we are off, this is a very busy time in
our school for cleaning and maintenance. We
thank in advance our custodial and Board
plant staff for their work during this time.
Following the March Break, our grade 10
students will be busy preparing for and writing
the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.
The province-wide OSSLT will be written on
the morning of March 26th.
Our grade 9 students will be writing a mock
literacy test over two different dates. One half
of the test will be done on electronic devices.
This is a pilot project as there is a possibility
of the grade 10 literacy test being totally
electronic in the future.
Speaking of student use of hand-held
technology in the classroom, our grades 7
and 8 students and staff are well on their way
with the New Generation Learning 3.0.
Congratulations to our staff for all their work
in adjusting to the use of iPads for
instructional and assessment purposes. In
our secondary panel, our staff is preparing for
the arrival of this program. To support this
work a teacher has been assigned a section
of I.T. support during semester two. Our staff
members have certainly embraced this
support and will also lean on their elementary
colleagues for their assistance.
Inclusion continues to be a positive focus at
Northwestern. It has been amazing to watch
the growth and engagement of our students
that has come with their social and academic
Inclusion. Thank you to our Board of
Education for their support in this process and
thank you to our staff and students for their
daily embracement of Inclusion.
This is just a small look at what is going on in
Huskie Territory. There is so much more on
the pages that follow.
Please take some time to read through the
Nor’wester. If you have any questions,
please contact the staff member involved or
myself.
I wish to close by saying how very proud I am
of Northwestern. I had the pleasure to read
most of our students’ recent report cards and
I wish to congratulate our students and staff
for all their hard work in their academic
achievements. Parents, please continue to
be in touch with your child’s teachers on a
regular basis. Parents, your ongoing support
and involvement certainly plays a huge role in
our students’ success.
Looking forward to spring!
A very proud Huskie
Martin Ritsma
Principal
Pancake Breakfast
On Thursday, February 25th, a surprise
pancake breakfast was held as a kick-off to
the school day.
Big Spring Ahead for iCASE
It may be cold and snowy, but the
International Canadian Academy of Sports
Excellence (iCASE) Baseball Academy will
soon be smelling the green grass as they are
headed to Cocoa Beach, Florida for Spring
Training over March Break, and then in April,
fly to Vancouver, BC to take part in a YMCA
Canada-sponsored exchange with the Sands
Baseball Academy.
Despite the rain, the fall of 2014 proved to be
very successful for Ontario’s only full-time,
student-focused baseball academy. The
iCASE Huskies played in five different U.S.
states, compiled a 9-10 record against six
college teams and thirteen high school teams,
had seven U.S. college campus tours, and
five of our seniors have received interest from
U.S. schools for September, 2015. They
even turned a triple play!
This semester represents the end of iCASE’s
second year of an innovative partnership with
Stratford Northwestern Secondary School
and the Avon Maitland District School Board,
trying to increase our school’s population as
well as diversity. We are expecting to have
players in September, 2015 with roots in
Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Australia.
Hats off to Mr. Ritsma, Student Services, and
the front office staff for going the extra ..
kilometre!
Check out http://icasebaseball.com
Go Huskies!
Tom Valcke
IPRC Meetings
Identification, Placement and Review
Committee meetings take place in the Fall,
Winter and Spring terms. IPRC meeting
notifications are mailed to your home and
parents/guardians are asked to call the
school to schedule a suitable meeting time.
Junior Girls’ Volleyball
On Friday evening, January 30th, the Junior
Girls’ Volleyball team won silver in their
tournament at Montcalm Secondary School.
On Saturday, January 31st they travelled to
Goderich to play in another tournament and
won.
Special Education Department
IEP Consultation
Please note that during the first few weeks of
semester two, teachers were reviewing
student IEPs and ensuring that proper
accommodations were set for each student
within their course. If you would like to
discuss the accommodations, please contact
our Special Education Resource Team
(Kristin Frank, Todd Gowing and Tony Roes)
or your son’s/daughter’s classroom teacher.
You will be receiving a copy of your
son’s/daughter’s IEP in the mail during the
second week of March.
The IPRC will:
 decide whether or not your child
should be identified as an exceptional
pupil;
 identify the area(s) of your child’s
exceptionality(ies) according to the
categories and definitions of
exceptionality provided by the Ministry
of Education;
 decide an appropriate placement for
your child: regular classroom, regular
classroom resource assistance, and
regular classroom withdrawal
assistance;
 and review the identification and
placement at least once in each
school year unless you as the
parent/guardian give written notice
dispensing with the review.
Social Science and Humanities
This semester is off to a great start! Senior
students in the Challenge and Change class
are learning about factors that influence
change in different societies by looking at
various recent world events. They will be
putting this knowledge to use by planning
their own “Be The Change” campaign which
was inspired by Alex and Tyler Mifflin who
came and spoke to the student body about
the impact of environmental change on global
water supplies.
Students in the food and nutrition classes are
quickly learning how to prepare tasty dishes.
They had fun decorating cakes for the
school’s cake auction which raised funds for
school events.
March is NUTRITION MONTH! This year’s
theme is Eating 9 to 5! Visit the Dietitians of
Canada website at
www.nutritionmonth2015.ca for tips on eating
well. Students will be using the eaTracker to
review their food and activity choices. You
can also analyze the nutritional content of
your own family favourite recipes, plan your
meals, and more.
Grad Photos
Grad photos will be taken by ADANAC
Images Monday, March 9 to Thursday,
March 12. Book your photo appointment by
signing the appointment forms in the school
office.
Music Program
Early this semester the guitar class had two
special guests. We welcomed Josh Dwyer
who shared song writing skills and different
styles of playing the guitar. Then we had
Steve Toman come and share information
about the Blues and how to use three
chords to write great music, and through the
use of scales, how to improvise on the
guitar, creating unique solo opportunities.
Abby Zondervan playing guitar
The Northwestern Concert Band has been
working very hard at preparing for
Bandarama. This is an event hosted by the
Stratford Concert Band and held at
Northwestern. This year’s Bandarama will be
held on March 4th at 7:00 p.m. Five different
schools from the area will showcase their own
bands, then all bands will play together for a
mass band experience. It is so much fun for
our students and it is quite an experience to
play with 200 other musicians! All are invited
to attend.
Cinderella, the Stratford Community Players
production, was a great success. Cinderella
was played by our very own talented Sarah
Hagarty! Sarah did an amazing job and had
great stage presence. Her singing voice
melted everyone in the audience with its
sweet, mature tone. Well done Sarah!
Our Arts trip is quickly approaching. The trip
to Boston departs May 13 at 6:00 a.m. Final
payments are due April 10. Currently we are
finishing the third and final fundraiser, so
money owing will be tallied after that. Ms.
Camp is super excited, especially to go to the
world renowned school of music, Berklee
College of Music.
Alex Francis plays saxophone
Reminders:
Flute choir practises Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m.
Concert Band meets Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m.
Sax Ensemble plays Thursdays at lunch.
Rock Band practises Mondays at lunch.
All instruments may be signed out to go home
for extra practice, even guitars.
Lung Association Tulip Campaign
Students from Room 165 decided to
participate in the annual Lung Association’s
Tulip Campaign. This is a fundraiser to assist
all Canadians that struggle with various lung
ailments. The effort of these students and the
giving nature of Huskie Territory raised $808
for the cause. Honourable mention to
Madison Perrin who individually raised $160
for Tulip Day. Tulips were delivered to
customers on February 25. Bring on spring.
Good work Huskies!
Ms. Camp playing the sousaphone
Nordic Skiing
Athletes Joanne Marshall and Adam Skinner
had a successful showing at OFSAA Nordic
Skiing on February 19th in Sudbury, Ontario.
Both Joanne and Adam were competing as
first year seniors, hence they had some very
intense competition. Not to be phased by the
intense competition or the extreme cold, both
competitors posted personal bests. Joanne
finished 22nd in the senior girls’ race (second
among the WOSSAA skiers) and Adam
finished 66 in the senior boys’ race. Excellent
work Huskies!
Joanne Marshall competes in OFSAA Skiing
Joanne and Adam at the OFSAA banquet
Adam Skinner represents Northwestern at OFSAA
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
In order to achieve an Ontario Secondary
School Diploma, every grade ten student in
Ontario will write the Ontario Secondary School
Literacy Test on March 26, 2015 from 9:00 a.m.
until 11:30 a.m.
11:45 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
Period 4 begins and runs until
1:40 p.m.
This is a provincially mandated test and we
cannot offer it at any other time this year. It
is extremely important that all students writing
the test be present and on time. Any absence,
including an absence because the student is ill,
counts as a failed attempt on the test.
1:45 p.m.
Period 5 begins and runs until
3:00 p.m.
In order to accommodate the writing of the test,
some changes to the schedule on March 26 will
be necessary. Students in Grades 9 and 10 are
to come to school as usual.
Grade 10 students and all other eligible
students writing the literacy test will have an
opportunity to pick up a nutritious breakfast
starting at 8:20 a.m. in the Screaming Avocado.
They must be in the room to which they’ve been
assigned to write the test by 8:45 a.m. Prior to
March 26, home room teachers will advise
students of the room in which they’ll write their
literacy test. The schedule for Grade 10
students will be as follows:
8:20 a.m.
Nutritious breakfast available in
the Screaming Avocado
8:45 a.m.
Students should be in the
classroom to which they’ve been
assigned to write the test
8:50 a.m.
Instructions regarding the test
are provided by supervising
teachers
9:00 a.m.
Booklet 1 of the literacy test is
written
10:15 a.m.
Break – nutritious snack
available
10:30 a.m.
Return to the same classroom to
write Booklet 2 of the OSSLT
Survey to be completed
11:50 a.m.
Lunch
to 12:30 p.m.
Students and parents are invited to visit the
EQAO website, www.eqao.com, prior to March
26 to view sample test questions or obtain
additional information. Students can also pick
up a practice package from our learning support
teachers in Room 160.
It is crucial that your son or daughter attends
school on March 26 to write this very important
test.
Art Department
Maria Eduarda putting finishing touches on her juxta
portrait sculpture
Adam Chalmers and Jamie Devitt work on juxta
portrait sculptures
Hayden Kowalchuk also working on a juxta portrait
sculpture
Creative Building Club
Come join the Creative Building Team. We
meet every Wednesday in Room 170 at
lunch. The purpose of the club is to build
items out of different materials and meet
people who have the same interests. The
club is currently looking for donations of Lego,
model cars, model trucks, train items, etc. If
you have some model kits taking up space in
your home, consider donating them to the
club. William Mason and Nathan Lovell are
the student organizers of the club.
Pinheiro and Brett Belanger. The wrestling
coaches would like to thank the wrestlers for
a good season and wish Jamie Steckly the
best for OFSAA. Graduating this year and
retiring from wrestling will be Daniel Bald and
Brandon Tinning, both team captains with a
combined fifty-three wins this season. These
men will be missed and we will be looking for
our junior wrestlers to fill the gap. Also
graduating this year is Daniel Stranges, a
newcomer to wrestling this year who has fit
right in and only wishes that he had started
wrestling sooner. Anyone interested in
wrestling is asked to see Coach Finnie for
further information.
Alex Langis, a member of the Creative Building
Club, is building a 1969 Ford Torino.
Wrestling
On Friday, February 20th, ten Northwestern
wrestlers took part in the WOSSA Wrestling
Championships at Sir Frederick Banting
Secondary School in London. First and
second place finishers would qualify for
OFSAA with the third place wrestlers being
OFSAA alternates in case of injury to #1 or #2
wrestler. Finishing first with a gold medal at
83 kg was Jamie Steckly winning all three
matches with pins. After very close matches
the following wrestlers placed third, winning
bronze medals and qualifying as OFSAA
Alternates: Esther Bartlett at 77 kg., Daniel
Bald at 77 kg., and Tola Francis at 72 kg.
Finishing in fifth place were Daniel Stranges
and Carter McCue. Sixth place went to
Brandon Tinning and Ethan Gardner. Also
wrestling for Northwestern were Cody
Northwestern’s Brandon Tinning is pinning a Clarke
Road Secondary School student
Once again Brandon Tinning is pinning a Clarke
Road student
Carter McCue has his opponent in an arm bar
Spring is Blooming in the Green House!
Students are busy planting for a bountiful
spring/summer selection of flowers,
vegetables and herbs. Stay tuned.
Sydney Graul and Erin Edwards
Drinking and Driving
by student, Lauren Eastman
Black History Month
We are celebrating Black History Month by
highlighting the contributions made by black
Canadians. Students Erin Edwards and
Sydney Graul have been hard at work
preparing morning announcements. Erin
commented that there have been “a lot more
contributions than we first thought of”. They
have recognized the accomplishments of
Lincoln Alexander (former lieutenant-governor
of Ontario), Viola Desmond (jailed in Nova
Scotia for sitting in a ‘whites only’ section of a
movie theatre), Willie O’Ree (first black NHL
player) and more. Sydney was impressed by
“how big a part of shaping our history” black
Canadians have played. Black History Month
runs through February but is an important
part of our history all year round.
It was late night Saturday;
On her way home from a friend’s party,
With two other friends in the car.
They had nothing to drink at the bar.
Waiting patiently for the light to turn,
They didn’t see the uncontrolled car
speeding round the curb.
It happened in the blink of an eye,
They didn’t have time to think or cry.
And just like that, everything went black.
Gaining consciousness one of the girls in
the back screams,
“Oh god someone help me please,
I can’t feel my legs and there’s pain in my
neck
My friend isn’t breathing and she has no
pulse, I checked.”
The driver had not been wearing a seatbelt,
She flew through the windshield, and was
lying still on the asphalt.
The ambulance arrived not too long after,
But lives would be changed - people
wouldn’t be the same,
Three deaths because of this disaster.
The driver in the other car died on impact.
He lost his life, and ruined many others,
because of one stupid act.
The girl in the back seat will be permanently
paralyzed.
I think it’s about time that people started to
realize:
They have no control over what happens
when they drink and drive,
So call a cab or call a friend so you’ll arrive
alive.
Cake Auction
A cake auction was held on Friday,
February 13th. Auctioneer Gary West,
along with Mr. Ritsma, auctioned off just
under 40 cakes which raised over $1200.00
Thank you to everyone for participating.
The winner of the pizza party for raising the
most amount of money per person in their
home room class for the cake auction was
Ms. Stone’s class.
Personal Training “Fitness” Class
Principal Ritsma and Auctioneer Gary West in action
at the cake auction
Michael Hutchinson is completing a vertical jump
test for explosive power
Joanne Marshall and Larissa Baker are completing a
30 metre sprint test for speed
Members of the Eco Team pose with Tyler and Alex
Mifflin. Left to right: Ashley Castell, Tyler Mifflin,
Kaila McCann, Alex Mifflin, Morgan Knechtel, and
Ms. Mezei
Dates to Remember
Sophie Reeves, Anna Bolger and Chrissy Bannon
are completing a plank test for core strength
Eco Assembly
An assembly was held with the Water
Brothers, Tyler and Alex Mifflin. Alex and
Tyler host an eco adventure TV series called
Water Brothers which focuses on different
water issues all over the world that affect us
all.
Grad Photo Shoots
March 9-12
Early Bird Reports
mailed out
March 13
March Break
March 16-20
Parents’ Night
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
March 25
Ontario Secondary School
Literacy Test
March 26
Good Friday Holiday
April 3
Easter Monday Holiday
April 6
P. A. Day
April 24
Grad Photo Retakes
April 29