Friday 9 January 2015

Welcome to 2015 !!!


Welcome back to school !!!

Happy New Year to all in the OTHS community.  After a long break it sometimes can take a few days to get back in the swing of things however with exams around the corner many students might be struggling with concerns about exams and summative projects.  While these are important assessments for all teachers there is help available.  Please encourage your son/daughter to connect with their classroom teacher should any concerns be emerging.  Additional support is also available through our Student Services department and our Student Success Teacher (Ms. Susan Miles).

Every day, during both lunch periods, there are staff in the Oak Room (121) available to help students in any subject area.  Learning to self-advocate is an important skill to learn during the high school years.  Don't hesitate to encourage your child to follow up with one of our staff - and/or to email yourself - if you're sensing concerns or problems around any particular class.


Exams

The exam period can be quite stressful for any high school student.  Over the past few years schools have adjusted the exam process with an eye to reducing that stress as well as to avoid challenges with supervision and exam conflicts.  As a result our current exam schedule calls for students to write only 1 exam per day (unless circumstances exist that require adjustments to our planned schedule), and students typically write this exam in their home classroom (as opposed to a gymnasium or cafeteria).

Our schedule is as follows:

Thursday, January 22     -  All Period 5 classes

Friday, January 23         -  All Period 1 classes

Monday, January 26      -  All Period 2 classes

Tuesday, January 27     -  All Period 3 & 4 classes

The order of exams has been set with a focus on two things: a) volume of exams to be written (in total or by grade and subject focus); and b) the potential length of time a particular set of exams may take to grade (ex; subjects with significant writing components)

All exams will begin at  9 a.m.   (A late start has been proven to provide multiple benefits for students over the years)

Inclement Weather - What happens if it's a snow day???

IF  the HDSB closes schools (and only if all schools are closed) then all exams on that particular day will be moved to Wednesday, January 28th - start time remains the same.

If buses are cancelled, but school is still open, then there will be NO change to our exam schedule.  We realize that bus cancellation may make the morning routine difficult but all students would be expected to make it to school if they had a scheduled exam.


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