Colt Country Newsletter - April 2015 Edition

COLT COUNTRY
A Newsletter for the Parents of St. Clair
April 21, 2015
Report Cards and Parents’ Night
Mid-second semester report cards were distributed to students on Tuesday, April 21. Parent’s Night is Thursday,
April 23, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during which time parents with students will have an opportunity to meet with teachers
to discuss student academic achievement and progress to date. If you are unable to attend the evening then feel free
to contact the school and request a phone call from the teachers.
Attendance
Attendance is the most critical ingredient to being academically successful. Each course includes 89 classes, and
missing classes or coming late to class represents missed learning opportunities. Please encourage your son and
daughter to make attendance a priority. Please contact the school if classes need to be missed for illness, medical
appointment, or another necessary reason.
Parent Communication
The school website (http://scss.lkdsb.net/) is the primary means of communicating with parents. It includes the
calendar, student handbook, school council meeting agenda and minutes, list of staff with teacher websites, link to
the athletics schedule, daily announcements, and news for parents. Parents can follow St. Clair on Twitter or like it
on Facebook for daily updates on school activities. Links to these pages can be found on the school website.
Student Wellness and Bullying Intervention Line
Call the school if there is a concern about a student’s wellness or there is a bullying situation that you are aware of.
Messages may be left anonymously. The line is monitored regularly by the principal. Available 24 hours a day, call
519-332-1140 and select option 5. Alternately, an incident report may be submitted online to
http://www.stopabully.ca/.
School Council
School Council is an advisory body to the principal and is made up of parents and representatives from the students,
staff, and community. The next meeting is Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m. All parents are welcome to attend. See
http://scss.lkdsb.net for past meeting agendas and minutes.
School Improvement
Educational research and experience suggests that student achievement and success occur when parents, teachers,
school administration, and the broader community work together to have high expectations for our students as well as
ourselves. We believe that all students can learn, progress, and achieve at high levels given time and support.
Therefore, our plan this year is to continue to develop a culture of high expectations as evidenced by:
•
Regular attendance – Students need to attend class to be taught, to learn with and from other students, to
receive ongoing descriptive feedback from their teachers, and to be evaluated with integrity. Each class will
be meaningful, relevant, and productive.
•
Student advocacy – Students will be explicitly taught learning skills and how to advocate for themselves.
This will be an emphasis for students who have individual education plans (IEPs).
•
Achieving at high levels – The provincial standard is a 70-79% (level 3). Experience shows that students
who do not achieve at this level or higher are not adequately prepared for the next grade level. Incentives,
support, and encouragement will be given for students to achieve at these levels.
•
Student academic support
o Assistance in class, at lunch, and after school will be available for struggling students.
o Peer tutors will be available in many grade nine and ten courses.
o Our student success teacher and resource teacher will be available for academic support.
•
Grade 9 Academic French and Geography – All grade nine students will take academic French and
geography recognizing that all students are capable of achieving at this level given time and support.
Quantitative and qualitative evidence suggest that students are experiencing greater academic success due to our
school improvement efforts.
Homework Help
As part of the LKDSB's numeracy initiative, grade nine and ten students have registered for Homework Help
(https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org/). Homework Help is a free online math help resource for students in Grades 7-10. It
provides free, live one-on-one tutoring from Ontario teachers Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Administrative Assistants’ Day
Wednesday, April 22 is administrative assistants’ day. We acknowledge the faithful work of our office staff including
Kathy Beatty, Liz Kelly, and Laura Thiffeault. Thank you so much for the work that you do to support the
administrative team as well as the work of all of us. It is a wonderful thought to know that the school operations are in
the hands of very capable, professional, and personable people such as yourselves.
Education Week
The theme for Education Week, May 4-8, is “Every Student, Every Day.” Our mission is to foster success for every
student every day. It is a high standard to reach, but we believe that each student has unique learning needs that
deserve our attention as we work together for success. We celebrate this in the context of our goals to achieve
excellence, ensure equity, promote well-being, and to enhance public confidence. One of the ways that we celebrate
Education Week is with the presentation of our annual musical production.
PACE
PACE (Partnerships, Achievement, Cultural Awareness, Engagement) is a service available to students at risk.
Staffed five days a week by child and youth workers, PACE will support students who are experiencing various
difficulties that impact their success at school. PACE complements existing services to students provided by
academic guidance, student success, special education, mental health and addictions nurse, student support officer,
attendance officer, psychoeducational clinician, and native cultural worker.
Musical
Come out to see the fantastic St. Clair Musical spring production of “My
th
th
th
Favorite Year” on Thursday May 7 , Friday May 8 or Saturday May 9 ,
2015. This delightful musical comedy will take you back to the early days of
live t.v. Show time is 7:00 p.m. in the St. Clair Auditorium. Tickets ($8 for
Students and Seniors, $10 for adults) are available at the door, or in advance
from cast members.
Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Update
Our SHSM students from the Transportation, Construction and Horticulture disciplines are in the midst of a busy
Spring with regards to the reach-ahead and certification opportunities planned for them. Reach ahead activities
include trips to St. Clair College, Lambton College and RM Classic Cars in Chatham where students will learn more
about specific post-secondary opportunities available to them. Certification/training sessions include:
•
CPR/ First Aid
•
Fall Arrest
•
Electrical Safety
•
Customer Service
•
Lockout /Tagout
•
Landscape Design
•
Forklift Safety
•
Tree Planting
•
Elevated Platform Safety
Most of these learning opportunities are provided at no cost to our SHSM students and most occur off-site. The
SHSM program provides an excellent foundation for students seeking post-secondary opportunities in the
Transportation, Construction and Horticulture sectors, regardless of whether they choose a Workplace,
Apprenticeship, College or University pathway. For more information about the program, please
contact Mr. de Schiffert.
All Gender, Multi-Stalled Washroom
As a statement of equity and inclusion and to ensure that all students feel safe at school, St. Clair will have an all
gender, multi-stalled washroom available to all students regardless of gender identity, gender expression, sex, or
sexual orientation. The request for this type of washroom came from the student equity and inclusion committee and
is being implemented in other schools and community institutions.
Important Dates
April 23
May 4-8
May 7-9
May 8-10
May 15
May 18
May 27
May 30
June 8
June 10, 11
June 18-23
June 25
Parents’ Night, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Education Week – Theme: “Every Student, Every Day”
Musical – “My Favorite Year”, 7 p.m.
Horticulture Flower/Plant Sale
3/4 Semester Progress Reports
Victoria Day – no school
Music Night
Prom
P.D. Day – no school
Grade 9 Math EQAO Assessment
Exams
Graduation, 7 p.m., Holiday Inn