Engaging our newcomers!

This past Friday, September the 14th, we held an event to welcome all newcomers to Iroquois Ridge. Invitations were sent, by our PCC (Personal Career Counselling) Team to 60 students, who were also able to invite a friend to join them for a special luncheon, held in their honour. Members of our admin team, PCC staff and other student leaders, including our Student Council Co-Presidents, were introduced to welcome our newcomers and encourage them to get involved in school life....co-curriculars, clubs and special activities. It was interesting to hear from our newcomers and where they have come to us from...certainly from many places around the globe. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Dubai, Bahrain, Korea, China, and South Africa were some of the countries represented. At Iroquois Ridge, we have a very diverse and inclusive school where our emphasis on "Global Learning" and "Global Outreach" attracts many students and their families to us, who enrich our culture tremendously. In addition, this year our diversity has been recognized and we are very, fortunate to have been allocated additional section support for those students who are English Language Learners (ELL's). Mrs. Gordana Panoska is the lead responsible for supporting over 240 students who are newcomers/ELL's  to "The Ridge." As an extension of our work with our ELL's and newcomers, our school will be involved, for the second year, in a Ministry Collaborative Project with White Oaks Secondary School, to further support our newcomers and English Language Learners. Our LINK Crew team and Parent Engagement Team will also be focusing on ensuring that all of our newcomers and newcomer families/caregivers feel welcome, safe and supported at our school. We are very proud to continue to ensure that all of our students have an opportunity to engage with us, fully, and achieve student success in both our curricular and co-curricular program. This caring and inclusive approach toward everything that we do is "who we are" and "will continue to be" as a Ridge Family and Ridge Community. So we welcome our newcomers and wish them every success for a wonderful, school year. You're going to love it here!