Friday 22 May 2015

Relay; Prom; and other school activities..



Relay for Life

Relay for Life is set to go on Friday, May 29th, 2015.  Thank you very much to our Relay Committees for all of their tremendous work this year.  We have over 150 students working hard, behind the scenes, to make Relay a reality.

Thank you also to our general student population for the overwhelming participation in the upcoming Relay.  To date I believe we have almost 1,000 (of 1,200) students set to participate.  We're expecting an amazing evening (come on weather!!!).

By the way.....Relay is ON rain or shine!



PROM

On Wednesday, May 20th OTHS held the Prom at Liuna Station in Hamilton.  Over 350 students and 18 staff had a fantastic night.  The students looked amazing and the entire night was a great success.

Special thank you to Ms. Barb Pickard and the student committee that organized the entire event (Hannah, Donna, Sam, Lily, and Breanna did an awesome job).

At our Grad Breakfast we circulated a small survey for students to provide feedback on the event.  Early feedback has been very positive however there are always things (the DJ; the location; the date, etc.) that are great to review and adjust accordingly.

Based on our great success this year with Semi-Formals and now a successful Prom I'm sure we'll be looking at more school-sponsored events next year.

Way to go Class of 2015 !!!



Approaching the final stretch.....


The end of May usually brings great weather and students love to spend time outside on their lunch and after school.  The end of May also signals the approaching end of another semester....and with that....the crush of Summative Projects; final unit tests and assignments; and also the approaching Final Exams.

For all students, but especially for those in their senior years this time period can be very stressful.  In order to minimize stress students are reminded to follow a few simple rules: a) attend every class - you never know when a teacher might share that final piece of helpful information; b) Submit every assignment - this seems fairly simple...right?; c) remember to communicate fully with your teachers around your personal schedule - not every student has the same degree of commitments at this time of year; d) begin to organize yourself for the final weeks of school - map out your school requirements and consider reducing the number of shifts you take at your part time work; and e) search for some balance between the school work you must complete and your personal health - get out and exercise, or read for pleasure, in order to maintain some balance.

Good luck with the final push.  You can do it!


Athletics update

Our spring season is quickly nearing completion.  Congratulations to our athletes involved in Tennis; Soccer; Track and Field; and Rugby.  Once again OT has teams competing (and winning) in Halton Championships and moving on to Regional competitions with our GHAC schools.

Special thanks to all of our spring coaches who have donated so much of their own time to help support, manage, and coach our school teams.

Look for our Rugby teams to compete in OFSAA championships in a couple of weeks (June 3-6th).


Arts Update


On Thursday, May 7th OT's Musical Talent took to the stage for their annual Spring Concert.  A great night was had by all.  Special thanks to our staff marshalls who helped ensure a smooth transition between acts.  To Mr. Clarke and Ms. Chow - thank you both for your generosity and spirit in leading the music program all year.  We continue to expect to see greater things in the years to come from the hundred (and some) students who performed this spring.




Monday 4 May 2015

...and we're into May!!!!





Greetings from the main office...

I'll start with an update on the ongoing Labour discussions.  I wish I had more information to share however I am waiting to learn the fate of negotiations much like all of you.  To date OSSTF District #20 has not made any announcement re: a possible strike date for Halton schools.  As you may be aware there is a notification period of 5 days that must be given ahead of any work stoppage.

Currently the HDSB and District #20 have negotiation dates set up to and including the 14th of May.  While a notification may be issued ahead of the 14th that date has been set for some time as the final publicized meeting/negotiations date.

All of us here at school are as 'on edge' as I'm sure parents are.  As soon as any notification is given we will be communicating as quickly as we can with our parent community.  In the meantime please check in with the HDSB website if you have any questions or concerns.  They have a Labour Update/News link on their main page ( www.hdsb.ca ) in the top right corner.


Other possible Labour Related questions:

While we will receive direction from both the Ministry of Education and the School Board in the event of a strike notification here are some things I can share:

a) PROM is ON !!!  In the event of a strike we will still coordinate a school sponsored PROM.  Administration and security personnel (Police and Security company) have already been booked and our Parent Council has offered to provide additional parent supervision for the evening.

b) Graduation/Commencement - Depending on whether or not a strike is called, and the duration of any work stoppage, we may need to consider re-scheduling a graduation ceremony.  If this becomes necessary a FALL date would likely be chosen.  Any decision around this is quite premature however do know that we will be looking at this should the need arise.

c) College and University applications/courses/classes/etc.  This is an area where the Ministry of Education will determine a final decision (in concert with Colleges and Universities).  Please know that mid term grades have been sent to OUAC and admission decisions are most often based upon these grades.  We will proceed as usual (course work; assessments and evaluation; etc.) assuming that we will not go on strike.  If there is a strike notification then we will follow the instructions and directions of the Ministry and Board as required.


d)  That's it for now.....hang in there.


School wide happenings....

The nice weather is a welcome sight for all of our spring teams.  Our Rugby teams are again leading the pack with a series of huge wins to their credit already and our Soccer Teams are competing strongly against all other Halton competition.

Track is back at OTHS !  Good luck to all of our track athletes as they take on the best from around the region.  The GHAC championships are a couple of weeks away and our athletes are training hard.

This week our RDC is coordinating fundraising to support assistance for those directly impacted by the earthquake in Nepal last week.  Thank you for encouraging your son/daughter to participate wherever they can.

Congratulations to our School Reach team who have moved on to the Provincial Championships in Toronto!  Well done to all team members.


Key Dates Ahead

Monday, May 18th   Victoria Day
Wed. May 20th         PROM
Friday, May 29th      Relay for Life Event
Thurs. June 18th       First Day of Final Exams
Thurs. June 25th       Commencement