Camp Synergy

Today I visited our Grade 10 students, staff and leaders at "Camp Synergy." Although the weather was damp, "spirits" were not as 60 of our Grade 10 students enjoyed a day of archery, low and high ropes, farm education and other team building activities. Held at the Tim Horton's - Onondaga Camp near St. George, students get a wonderful opportunity to continue to build relationships with each other over the 3 day/two night experience.Mr. Stephen Merner and senior student leaders organized the second of three opportunities for our Grade 10 students to participate in. There will be a third trip later in the year. It was enjoyable watching the students and our staff (Mr. Fisher, Ms. Grieve, Ms. Burke, Ms. McCoy and Mr. Warner) participate in the activities which were both fun and educational.Of course, I had the pleasure of enjoying a nice hot lunch with our students and staff as we warmed up from the wet weather and shared stories from the previous day's activities."Synergy" is a follow-up to LINK Crew, which all of our Grade 9's experience when they transition to our school. As our school continues to promote an inclusive and safe environment, "Camp Synergy" is a perfect example of promoting the value of teamwork and collaboration, while also continuing to develop and sustain positive relationships with one another. The emphasis on the cultivation of future student leaders via both the LINK Crew and Synergy experience is what makes our student body at The Ridge so unique.These very special learning opportunities allow our students to take risks in a supportive and collegial environment, where students can demonstrate personal growth, while also respecting the attributes of one another. Many of our Grade 9 & 10's go on to serve as leaders in their senior years and we are fortunate for this as we know the value of developing strong leaders for the future, both within our school and beyond. A great day everyone....thanks for the privilege of letting me join you!

Honour Roll Recognition

Last Thursday, we had the privilege of hosting an Honour Roll Celebration to acknowledge student academic excellence at our school. To achieve honour roll status, students must earn 80% in their courses, in both semesters (not a combined average).650 students were recognized and approximately 120 parents and caregivers attended this morning event. To have more than 1/2 of our student population achieve such greatness is truly amazing and wonderful.We are very proud of this and certainly know that this achievement does not come without the support of our dedicated and amazing staff and members of our Ridge Family, our parents and caregivers! During the celebration,students performing speaking duties, were the highest achievers in their grade, Manjot Sangha (Grade 12), Hyunji Shin (Grade 11) and Elaine Zhong (Grade 10) Our Superintendent, Stuart Miller and School Trustee, Kelly Amos were also guest speakers at the celebration. Mrs. Kate Rehm (Vice-Principal), Mrs. Jane Greenhill and Mrs. Jennifer Flynn (Administrative Assistants) planned a wonderful morning which featured a gathering in our cafeteria, followed by snacks and refreshments on "the street." Mr. McConvey's music classes performed during the informal gathering time, while students were awarded certificates of honour, by members of our Parent Engagement Group(PEG). Special thanks to our PEG volunteers: Fozia Rehman, Diana Bell, Kechrid Mohamed Chihab,Tuula Maki, Nigar Yunus, Jacqueline Benin, Shehla Habler and Kim Smith. We appreciated the time you spent giving back to our honourees and our school.Additional thanks to Mr. David Willis and Ms. Tiffany Olmsted for the set-up of our venue and to Laura Battista and Aramark staff for our treats! It was a very successful morning and inspiring to think of 650 students who attained such excellence and serve as role models for all students to aspire to. Congratulations to all of our Honour Roll recipients of 2012! Your achievements are simply awesome!!