Thursday 26 March 2015

....hoping for an early spring (not so much) !!!


Greetings OT families....


I'm sure that all of us are dearly hoping for an early spring and a reprieve from this cold, cold weather.  As we approach the end of March spring is not that far away, however I know there will be some final blasts from 'old man winter' before we start to see some warmer weather.  Hang in there!

School Updates

MUSIC NEWS - Thank you (again) very much to our OT Parents for their generous donation of $10,000.00 to our Music Program.  Mr. Clarke has been able to purchase a number of new instruments that will continue to replenish and re-invigorate our music program.

In mid-February our Music students were incredibly successful at the Hamilton music competition.  Congratulations to our students for their incredible performances.


5th Week Reports

The week of March 9 -11th OTHS will be e-mailing 5th week reports to the following students (parents): All Grade 9 students; any Grade 10, 11, and 12 student who has struggled with the start of semester 2.  Staff have been asked to e-mail reports home no later than Wednesday, March 11th (by end of day).  If you have a child in Grade 10, 11, or 12 and DO NOT receive a 5th Week Report that would indicate that your child's Teacher is satisfied with their early performance in class (behaviour, work completion, and any early assessments that have been completed).

Parents' Night

Thursday, March 26th will be a busy day at OT.  Not only are we conducting the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test for our Grade 10 students AND coordinating a blood donor clinic for our senior students.....we will also be hosting our Second Semester Parents' Night.

As in previous events the first 60 minutes is set for informal 'meet the teacher' moments where a quick (less than 5 minutes) update is all that is required.  If a longer meeting is required we have a formal interview period (7:30-8:30 p.m.) where a parent-teacher sit down can occur in a more private environment to discuss concerns, etc.

We will have a couple of staff members unable to attend however each of those staff members is expected to have communicated this to both their students and to parents (via either an email or notice).  Follow-up meetings in these cases are set up individually through direct contact with the staff member in question.

Other school news

We have a Prom Date !!!   Wednesday, May 20th - at Liuna Station in Hamilton.  OT staff are working with a student prom committee to prepare for Prom.  Once additional detail is available we will share via synermail with all senior families.

Junior Semi Formal - Wednesday, April 8th we are hosting a Junior Semi Formal at Otello's.  Tickets are available via Cashless ($45.00) and we're looking forward to a great evening.  The final day to confirm ticket purchases is coming up quickly (Wednesday, April 1st is our deadline for purchasing tickets).

Sporting News

Spring sports teams have begun tryouts and practicing for another excellent season.  Drop by the Phys. Ed. department office if you're still hoping to join in with a school team.