Finishing Strong!

We take pride in "Finishing Strong" at "The Ridge!"

In fact, not only do we perform strongly throughout the year but when the stakes are high and we need to reach that personal best performance...our students truly shine.

As June continues, we begin our performance tasks and look toward our final exams. We also put a conclusion on our athletic and co-curricular participation. I have always been proud of our athletic excellence and prowess! Our successes in 2014/15 have surpassed all of our wildest expectations.

So many teacher/coaches and student/athletes engaged...all with the hopes of attaining both individual and group goals, while representing our school with energy, dignity and sporting excellence!

This past Thursday, we took time to recognize and truly appreciate the efforts of our coaches and athletes. As we heard and saw through the speeches and multi-media reflections...we have never been better, with more to come, as our young athletes look toward the future as "Trailblazers." One of the deep, honours I have at this event is to present our graduates with their medallions. This is a very, special year with this group, as I will be ending my tenure at Iroquois Ridge, with enduring pride and gratitude for all of our student/athletes and our teacher/coaches and all that they have contributed to our school via sport. I have always believed in the value of athletics and the discipline, committment, hard work and physical and emotional  challenges that our athletes and coaches endure. Some of the best and sometimes the hardest "life lessons" happen through sport. Things that you cannot get in the classroom!

Athletics make us stronger and builds unrelenting will. Competing with and against the best only builds more strength, resilience and offers the chance for lifelong relationships and memories that go beyond whatever we had hoped for. This year was no exception as many individuals and teams attained the goals and dreams they had hoped for...and much more! Our coaches and athletes

celebrated this success with each other during our recent Athletic Recognition Evening and they can all be proud of all that they have accomplished!

I thank all of our students and coaches for representing IRHS at the highest level with such splendour and sportsmanship. I have always been proud of our kids..as they never give up and are gracious with every win and even more gracious upon not winning! That is hard to come by...a unique trait of our

Trailblazers.

My sincere gratitude and thanks to Marie Guest - Program Leader for Healthy Active Living and Athletics, who puts her heart and soul into everything she does on behalf of our kids, staff and school. Additional heartfelt appreciation goes out to a very strong and passionate, Healthy Active Living Team - Mike Luyks, Scott Phillips, Tim Coe, Christy Busby and Alicia Dercho. Your love and committment to our students and support of our staff is phenomenal and so deeply appreciated!

Greater things are to come yet, I believe, as you continue to go beyond building a "winning tradition"

at "The Ridge."

So...in my last tribute to Ridge Athletics...I wish you all well for your continued success and pride in all that you do! Your purpose and mission is clear...you are building for the future as you shape stronger bodies, minds and the character of our young adults, who will someday become the strongest leaders...who know what teamwork and striving for excellence and a common goal is all about. This is crucial for their "life success!!"

I humbly salute you, and from the top and bottom of my heart, thank-you, for providing so many highlights and fond memories of Ridge Athletics. Boy...we have done well...haven't we?

Forever...a "Trailblazer!"

April Update

Hello folks!

It is indeed, "Spring" and we are about ready to reach our mid-term. Student/athletes have begun action in our Spring/Summer Sports" Season; our Music students have just returned from a trip to New York City and members of our DECA Business Team are headed to Orlando for intense competition in the south!

Over the past several weeks, I have been recovering from  Total Knee Replacement surgery and now am back at it and glad to return to my duties at "The Ridge." We have been fortunate to have my good friend and colleague Mrs. Hattie Farrell look after our school during my absence. We all appreciated Hattie taking the helm and ensuring that our students, staff and extended community remained peaceful, happy and as always...ever moving forward to great things.

Mid-term reports will be received during Period 1 on Thursday April 23rd. Please review the results, both achievement and learning skills. If there are any concerns please don't hesitate to follow-up with the respective subject  teacher(s) and if you wish, our PCC Team (Mrs. Nancy Anstett, Ms. Rachel Stecca, Mrs. Melanie  Spelman), our Head of Special Education - Mr. Kris Reeve, and/or our Vice Principals - Mr. Andrew Bigham (Grade 9 & 10) - Mrs. Patricia Clark (Grade 11 & 12).

We look forward to regional, subject/curriculum based Professional Learning by our staff this upcoming Friday April 24th and our next School council Meeting this upcoming Monday April 27th.

As we approach May, our timetable for next year will be built and our staffing will continue to be firmed up. There have already been some changes as staff look for new challenges both personally and professionally. One of the changes involves a change for me as I go on to a new challenge at Acton District High School. The good news for Iroquois Ridge is that our new Principal will be Mrs. Darlene White, who taught at Iroquois Ridge many years ago. Darlene is very student-centered, enthusiastic, caring and very much a "people-person!" She is thrilled to be posted here for the Fall of 2015 and beyond. She will be a great "fit" for The Ridge, for sure!

So ...in the next few months, I will savour everything that I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy at this amazing school! I always remind our staff, in particular, never to take forgranted where they work, teach, coach, mentor and play! I will continue to appreciate our wonderful students, staff, parents/ caregivers and extended community for all that is done on behalf of Trailblazer Pride, each and every day!

Best of luck to everyone for a very successful second half of our semester! I know that by the year's end we will be very proud of our students' achievements as we celebrate another great year at "The Ridge!"

"Half-Time Show!"

We are all delighted to celebrate "half - time" at "The Ridge." Despite a disappointing loss for the Seattle Seahawks in the Superbowl (we all cheer for them as our Ridge Teams "sport" the same colours!) we witnessed an amazing "half-time" show at the Superbowl this past Sunday!

We witnessed an awesome "half-time" this past Friday and today as we celebrated staff leaving and coming to us...while absolutely celebrating with our Grade 9's this morning as they were recognized by our LINK Crew Team.

Mere hours ago, our Grade 9's had time together with our LINK Crew as they reflected on this past semester, which was followed by an excellent "pizza party", for well over 300 students in our cafeteria. Members of our incredible parent engagement team put together a huge spread of baked goods for our students and assisted in the celebration, serving our Grade 9's and our LINK Crew Leaders with enthusiasm and pride!

We are so thankful to have the unrelenting, support of our parent/caregiver community, who truly add so much to the vibrance of school life here at "The Ridge." It never ceases to amaze me, how much you give of yourselves to support our students, staff and school. You are simply "the very, very, best!"

I know that our Grade 9's thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of this morning's celebration as they expressed their appreciation with many, many thank-you's and smiles!

Special thanks to our LINK Crew Staff and Student Leaders for a wonderful morning! What a way to begin Semester 2!

This past Friday, we acknowledged the contributions of some excellent staff, who are moving on to new assignments and pathways in Semester 2. Leaving us are: Sandra Arezina (Family Studies), Andrea DeMendonca (Science), Jesse Hall (Math), and Meghan T. Lindley (English). We are very proud of Joanna Sandford, who has taken a new posting as Instructional Program Leader - Special Education and wish her the very best in an exciting, new role! Equally exciting is the temporary leave for Caitlin Grieve (Moderns) as she pusues her dreams as a member of the Indie-Rock band, Cai.ro who are about to launch their first album on February 20th, with a follow-up tour in the works in the upcoming months! So cool!!! And...David Pearce is excited to be taking a semester off to travel in the Far East ...in Hong Kong...as we speak! Lucky guy!

Despite departures, we are pleased to bring aboard some amazing, staff members for Semester 2:
Jessica Beltran (Moderns), Chris Brooks-Prenger (Computers), James Caldwell (Canada & The World/Student Success/Special Education), Mike Donovan (Canada & The World). Robin Durham (Science), Tammy Hardwick (Canada & The World), Eric Keunne (Moderns), Nicholas Kurtz (French Immersion Music), Michelle Millington (Family Studies), Adam Roach (English), Melissa Snedden (Geography), Alexiis Stephen (Canada & The World/E-Learning) and Kaitlyn Teszeri (Moderns). All of these new hires are very thrilled to be a part of our Ridge Family and we look to great things from them over the next semester! We are fortunate to have them!!

Today, we welcome all of our students back as they hit the ground "running" for the Spring Semester.
We know that they will continue to do great things academically and co-curricularly at IRHS. Can't wait to see what unfolds in Semester 2 at one of the best (if not..."the best!) schools in Ontario!

Good luck everyone...have a wonderful Spring Semester!!!

December Happenings!

We have 10 days to go until we wrap up for the Holiday Season and life has never been busier at The Ridge!

Our winter sports are heading into their peak with Junior & Senior Girls Volleyball, Midget, Junior & Senior Boys Basketball, Boys & Girls Hockey, Ski & Snowboarding and Swimming all engaged in competition in 7/10 of our last 10 days prior to our break!

We recently hosted our Honour Society Recognition Assembly, with over 750 students meeting the 80% overall average, in a minimum of 6 courses, in 2013/14. We were pleased to host over 70 families who joined in on the celebration which was student-led. Our Parent Engagement Team of volunteers assisted with the preparation of the reception and distributed the Honour Society Certificates which has become a tradition here and one in which they take great pride in! Special thanks to Kim Smith and our Team...you are the very best!

Our Student-Directed One Act Plays were a big success running for 3 evenings with many excellent performances by our students, fully appreciated by an engaged audience. Congratulations to April Valera and Helen Hills for your mentoring of our young, student directors and actors. Your committment to the Performing Arts is greatly appreciated.

We hosted a very successful Feeder School Information Night with about 700 folks in attendance. It was a pleasure to welcome the families of our "soon to be" Class of 2019 in the promotion of our school, students, staff and programs. We are very proud to have such a healthy interest in our school and will continue to promote the great opportunities we offer for students as they consider post-elementary placement at Iroquois Ridge!

Last Thursday, we hosted our "Luncheon of Champions", honouring 20 students who have delighted us with rising to the challenge and achieving personal bests in their classes. Our staff nominate these students for a variety of reasons...not always tied to academic achievement. The students we recognize may have never received acknowledgement before in the school setting. It is a heartfelt gathering as our staff speak on behalf of our "Champions," with their families in attendance, to share in on the celebration and tributes! Thanks to our PCC Team -Nancy Anstett, Georgina Cook, Melanie Spelman, Rachel Stecca and Kris Reeve for your continued support and advocacy of our students and for planning and organizing such a special event for our kids!

The next two weeks are a whirlwind of holiday activities that include a LINK Crew Movie Night for our Grade 9's this upcoming Thursday December 11th (6:30 pm start) and STUDCO Holiday Spirit Activities during the week of December 15th - 19th. We look forward, with great anticipation, to our Holiday Assembly on Friday the 19th and our traditional, COMMCO Movie...always a big hit for everyone...who choose to stay rather than dismiss themselves earlier than the 90 minute early dismissal on our last day before our holiday!

We are all really looking forward to the sprint to the 19th as the holiday break allows us time to decompress and spend time with friends, family and those we love.

On behalf of all of us here at "The Ridge" we wish you peace, love and happiness throughout the holiday season and hope to see everyone back safe and sound on January 5th, 2015!

Enjoy!

With the Deepest Respect....

In the midst of, just about posting, an October "blog", we experienced the killings of two Canadian soldiers. Warrant Officer -  Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. These events stopped me in my tracks to the point that I could not submit my "blog." Despite all of the wonderful things we continue to do at "The Ridge" this tragic and horrifying  news became a focal point for our students, staff, myself, our community and our country. Indeed the "ripple effect" was not only within our country but outside of our country and across the world.

As the proud daughter of a father, who served as a Lieutenant Commander of a British Minesweeper in World War 2, and as a proud Canadian and Hamiltonian, I was compelled to welcome our young, Corporal Cirillo home to Hamilton on Friday October 24th. Standing shoulder to shoulder with folks I did not know...we stood together to honour this young man, father, brother, son and cousin. This was an experience that I will never forget as a Canadian and one I hope that we all don't have to experience again. We held flags together...we quietly sang O' Canada and we cried together...absolute strangers hugging and grieving together about this unfathomable loss. We payed respects to Corporal Cirillo, at his visitation, the following Monday...by the thousands.

On Tuesday, October 28th...a contingent of Ridge Staff and students represented the 1283 students at our school, our staff and extended community at the funeral procession for Corporal Cirillo. We stood together across from the John Foote Armoury - Home of  the Argyll Sutherland Highlanders with thousands of Hamiltonians and fellow Canadians. We were all deeply impacted as the procession passed by. This will forever be etched in our minds and hearts as Trailblazers and proud and strong Canadians. Our sincerest and deepest prayers and thoughts remain with the Cirillo Family and his young son, Marcus.

We, as a "Ridge Family", have not forgotten about Warrant Officer - Patrice Vincent. nor his family. His service to his country has not gone unnoticed by all of us and although the media attention was not to the scale of the Cirillo following we send our thoughts, prayers and support to his family with equal magnitude and respect.

As we approach our Remembrance Day Assemblies on November 11th we want to collectively honour all of our soldiers...service men and women. Acknowledging our diverse community, at "The Ridge," we know that members of our families and extended families may have served on behalf of other countries around the world for the cause of freedom and democracy. We honour their service too with deep respect and gratitude.

Our Remembrance Day gathering will be a very emotional one, particularly this year. On this day as
Canadians we will celebrate our freedom and thank those who have served and presently serve on our behalf. We have much to be proud of as Canadians and thank those who have made and continue to make sacrifices on our behalf.

As a "Ridge Family," we hope that on November 11th, all of you take significant  time to deeply reflect, remember and thank those past and present heroes who have enabled us to have the lives that we have as "strong and free", Canadians.

We stand for Canada...we stand up for Canada and we remain "strong" for Canada and will always do so.

Lest we forget!

Fall Reflection!

Greetings Ridge Families & Caregivers!

It is amazing to think that we have experienced the last official day of the summer of 2014 and that we are a good  3 weeks into our school year!

We are most pleased to welcome 1283 students to "The Ridge" this Fall and are very proud to let you know that our students, staff and Parent Engagement Team are in full swing with much that has happened and will continue to happen over the next several months.

Our Grade 9's - Class of 2018 have been fully immersed with our LINK Crew Leaders and have already experienced their orientation and first Collaborative Morning. By developing relationships with our senior students through LINK Crew, we hope that all of our Grade 9 students have some "go to" seniors should they need help or advice over the next year and beyond.

This peer-to-peer program is exceptional and we are proud to have the largest, most effective LINK Crew Program anywhere and are called upon on a regular basis by other schools and school boards to learn from us and how to replicate it's success.

The value in LINK Crew is the building and sustaining of relationships which creates a safe and inclusive environment for all of our students. We have been recognized locally, regionally and nationally for our work in Safe Schools and Safety & Wellbeing and take great pride in well over 92% of our students "feeling safe" and feeling a "sense of belonging."

In addition, this month, we hosted our Newcomer's Welcome Luncheon with well over 70 students attending this event hosted by Personal Career Counselling Services. This luncheon provided an opportunity for newcomers from many countries in the world and out-of province to network and become familiar with all of the supports available to them at our school. The goal, once again to ease the transition for our newcomers to our school and develop relationships with each other and important key folks, including student leaders and staff.

Our Grade 12's - Class of 2015, have already experienced their first post-secondary assembly and a field trip to the University Fair in Toronto. Sponsored by our Personal Career and Counselling Services Team, the majority of this class attended last Friday to begin the research and preparation for next steps beyond high school.

Our athletics, clubs and co-curriculars are gearing up for another successful year! It is important for all students to pay full attention to "Ridge TV" each day at 9:44am, to see and hear our announcements and updates of activities that run outside of the classroom. We encourage all students to get involved and our student-led, Ridge Council is fine tuning our list of co-curriculars for this year, having had two meetings already to get our teams, clubs and organizations started in a fine fashion.

Our Parent Engagement Team is already involved in collaboration with students and staff in preparation for our PINK Day on October 9th. This team plays an integral role in supporting this schoolwide and community event which showcases our Senior & Junior Football teams in action at 12 noon and 2 pm in support of Breast Cancer Awareness & Research. Our PINK Event this year marks it's 10th year anniversary so we invite all of you to come out on the 9th for this very important cause!

A last, important announcement is an open  invitation for parents & caregivers to join us for our first School Council Meeting on Monday September 29th at 7pm. Our school chair, Loris Dumanian looks forward to meeting as many of you who are able to attend to share important information both at the board and school level. We hope to see you in our Staff Room at 7pm!

As you can see, once again at "The Ridge" we are off to a usual, busy start and know that there will be a lot more to come soon, in the way of events and activities. We encourage all of you to come out and support our teams and special events in the coming year and know that your support indeed does make a big difference for student engagement, achievement and ultimately, success. We very much look forward to living up to our reputation as the #1 Halton Secondary School (both Public & Catholic) and look forward to our continued relationship as we support the success of all of our students at "The Ridge!"

Have a great year everyone!

June Celebration!

It is a privilege to congratulate all of our staff and students on another highly successful year at Iroquois Ridge!

Our students have one more day of final examinations and then it is on to the task of completing semester end evaluations in preparation for the Provincial Report Card. Our School Team will review all of our students' results through our Promotion Meetings, which we look forward to greatly, as we know we will be seeing some fantastic results in student achievement. It truly takes a "team approach" to support student success and the partnership between students, staff and our parent/caregiver community is the foundation for that success. We never take our successes forgranted at IRHS and we know that there are ways to be even more excellent than we already are!

As the school year concluded, we had the good fortune of experiencing another huge, Halton Championship win as our Junior Boys Soccer Team took home the "Gold," under the leadership of teacher/coach, Mike Luyks! This was the second championship title for Coach Luyks, who celebrated a Halton Junior Football title earlier in the Fall of 2013. We are very fortunate to have the commitment of many teacher/coaches at our school who are dedicated to the growth and development of our student/athletes who always represent our school with pride and dignity. We will look forward to the utilization of our new, Scoreboard in the Fall of 2014, which has been installed on the south west corner of our athletic field. We are proud to promote our "Home of the Trailblazers" and this will add a special touch to all of our home games in Football, Field Hockey and Soccer next year!

As June comes to a close, we say farewell to some of our teaching staff who will be moving on to new endeavours. David Bell (English), Tammy Vrees (LTO-Science) and Kristen McCoy (Science/Geography) are off to new assignments at Dr. Frank Hayden Secondary School while Mike Tarantino takes his talents to Garth Webb Secondary School. Dani Shaft (Math) will join the staff at T.A. Blakelock; Jesse Hall (LTO-Math) will teach at Aldershot High School, Art Hilson (Business) joins the team at Syl Apps, Kate O'Connor (Science) will be on a Maternity Leave for 2014/15, while Chris Brooks-Prenger (Math/Science), Katie Capron (Math), Sabrina Sibio (English) and Alexiis Stephen (History) will continue to work on our occasional list. We are thankful for the great work these folks have done on behalf of our kids, both in and outside of the classroom. They will be greatly missed but we know they are on to new opportunities and challenges that will be of benefit to them and others. We wish them the very best in the future!

In a few days we will pay tribute to our Grads of 2014 at our Graduation Ceremony. This is our last celebration of the school year, which fittingly comes after our Graduation Prom! We will look forward to
celebrating with our graduates knowing that they too will be off to new challenges and opportunities, whether it be post-secondary, apprenticeships or the world of work. We send our grads off knowing that Iroquois Ridge has prepared them extremely well for the next step and look forward to hearing about their future successes as they experience the next stage in their young lives!

So as we look toward our summer break, I wish everyone well for a safe and happy holiday. May the sunshine always be with you and as the summer fades to fall, we will see you back at "The Ridge" for 2014/15! Never a better place to be nor return to!!