Congratulations and special thanks to all of our students and staff who attended and were recognized at our Luncheon of Champions yesterday!
The Luncheon of Champions is one of our favourite events as we get an opportunity to recognize students who have overcome challenges or obstacles, while achieving personal bests. Our staff nominate students who have made unique and significant contributions in their classes and within our school community.
At this celebration, we had many family and community members join us, who got a tremendous opportunity to hear the accolades and heart warming stories told about their loved ones, through the passionate voices of our teaching and support staff.
In most, if not all cases,students who attended the luncheon, have taken some significant risks to make contributions and improvements, personally, as students of IRHS, and as members of the IRHS, broader school community.
Upon receipt of their certificates, much pride and humility was demonstrated by our "champions." Our hope is that this recognition can foster future successes, personal achievements and continued momentum in further engaging our students in their learning and in school life.
I would like to thank our Personal Career Services Team (PCC) - for organizing and hosting this special event - Nancy Anstett, Georgina Cook, Melanie Spelman, Rachel Stecca, Elaine Fung and Kris Reeve.
Special thanks to Mrs. Jennifer Flynn and Mr. David Willis for their help behind the scenes in ensuring the luncheon's success and to our parents/caregivers and community members for joining us in celebration of our kids.
We are very proud of our "champions" and our "Ridge Team" and look forward to another celebration of students in Semester 2!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
"Be A Hero" Contest
Last Thursday evening, I had the privilege of attending the "Be A Hero" Contest Awards for the Region of Halton. This contest allowed students to participate in a creative endeavour on the theme of Homelessness and Affordable Housing.
93 student submissions were entered in this contest, of which 50 were Iroquois Ridge students.
When I was invited to the evening, I wasn't aware of the scope of our participation, but knew we were being considered for some of the awards. Members of MJ Mendes and Monique Gazan's classes participated and the submissions by our kids were outstanding!
To our delight and surprise, two of our students finished in the Top "5", out of 15 Halton Public and Catholic Secondary Schools and additional community submissions.
Congratulations to Cheryl Joseph for her 2nd place finish and $500.00 cash award and to Mayuri Mahendran who finished 4th with a $100.00 cash award.
The icing on the cake was our school capturing the "School Spirit Award" for 2012.
At the gala, we had the good fortune of listening to a keynote address by Craig Kielburger, who inspired all of us to continue to make a difference. Our students even got to have a photo opportunity with Craig, who is the founder and leader of "Free The Children." They were also recognized by the local media.
We are very proud of all of our students and staff who represented us and participated in such an important consciousness-raising, social issue through the arts and media. It was fitting that the gala was held on the eve of National Housing Day.
Congratulations and well done, Ridge...you never cease to amaze me!
93 student submissions were entered in this contest, of which 50 were Iroquois Ridge students.
When I was invited to the evening, I wasn't aware of the scope of our participation, but knew we were being considered for some of the awards. Members of MJ Mendes and Monique Gazan's classes participated and the submissions by our kids were outstanding!
To our delight and surprise, two of our students finished in the Top "5", out of 15 Halton Public and Catholic Secondary Schools and additional community submissions.
Congratulations to Cheryl Joseph for her 2nd place finish and $500.00 cash award and to Mayuri Mahendran who finished 4th with a $100.00 cash award.
The icing on the cake was our school capturing the "School Spirit Award" for 2012.
At the gala, we had the good fortune of listening to a keynote address by Craig Kielburger, who inspired all of us to continue to make a difference. Our students even got to have a photo opportunity with Craig, who is the founder and leader of "Free The Children." They were also recognized by the local media.
We are very proud of all of our students and staff who represented us and participated in such an important consciousness-raising, social issue through the arts and media. It was fitting that the gala was held on the eve of National Housing Day.
Congratulations and well done, Ridge...you never cease to amaze me!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Community Issues Meeting
Today we had the privilege of hosting our 7th Community Issues Meeting which included students; members of our Safe School Action Team; administrators; our local MPP Kevin Flynn; Melissa Matton (IRHS's Public Health Nurse), Constable Bruce Hasenbacher (Community Police Liaison Officer), our Tobacco Enforcement Officer - Aaron Jackson; reps from our local, community recreation centre (Amalia Voicu and Deb Mackay)); additional reps from Halton's Public Health/Sexual Health & Needle Exchange Program (Robert Poezeg and Adam Higeli) and parent representatives from the Ridge Community - Sara Severin and Fozia Rehman We were very excited to host this forum earlier in the school year, so that we could have all vested stakeholders at the table to share our own personal current information, knowledge and trends;share the latest data from our Youth Surveys and highlight resources available for youth in our community to promote safe and positive responses related to their personal wellness. All participants shared their personal perspectives around two issues in particular,,,mental health and substance use in our local community.It was particularly important and enlightening to hear from the student perspective as three, senior student reps shared their personal stories and viewpoints about youth issues and concerns.The outcome of the morning discussion culminated in all of us getting a better understanding of our roles in working together to further suppport the wellness of our youth at Iroquois Ridge and beyond. Next steps and actions will follow, which will be primarily student led and faciliated by myself, Melissa and members of this community team. The forum itself was initiated by our Safe School's Action Team, as part of our School Improvement Plan Goals for 2012/13, and supported and organized by our new, Public Health Nurse, Melissa Matton. We were delighted to have such a great turn-out at the meeting, which certainly could have been a full day session, due to the rich discussion, feedback, problem solving and action planning by all participants. We were very pleased to hear from our students and our local community partners that in many ways things are improving for our youth, although we can never be blind to the tremendous pressures our young people face as they make personal decisions about their wellness and the wellness of others. In particular, I would like to thank Mrs. Jennifer Flynn and Mr.David Willis for ensuring that our morning went without a hitch in organizing such a welcoming meeting venue. And I am especially proud of the continued hard work of our SAFE Schools Action Team (SSAT) staff members - Nancy Anstett, Kris Reeve, Caitlin Grieve, David Allan, Paul Beck, Linda Wiles and Lisa Omeri for continuing to work with me in providing advice about how to continue to make our school and community a safe and positive place for our youth, and all vested stakeholders, within our school and extended, Oakville Community. I was very proud of our work together today and thank all of our participants for coming together in support of our students, and each other, as we continue to promote "Wellness" for all. We will look forward to another community session in the Spring, with additional participants joining us, once again, to touch base, and see how we are doing and whether we are putting our next steps into actions that will truly make a positive, difference for our students.
Monday, November 12, 2012
November Reflection...
This past week was a particularly, busy and eventful week at "The Ridge." We are presently hosting a small contingent of OISE students (7 teacher candidates) who are participating in a very rigorous teaching/mentorship program under the leadership of Stephen Merner, our Program Leaders and associate teaching staff. So far, they are very impressed with our school, staff and our students as they begin their first placement at IRHS, with so much to learn, under our good guidance and care.
Special thanks to our Parent Engagement Team and PCC Program Leader - Nancy Anstett for providing two, very well attended.Tuesdays at 10/7 sessions on the topic of Post Secondary Destinations. This session is one of our most popular sessions, as our particpants receive very, current information from our in-house experts, including a graduate student who came back to speak about her experience as a first year university student.
Congratulations to Melanie Spelman (PCC Counsellor) for organizing and implementing a very, successful "Take Your Kids to Work Day," this past Wednesday November 7th. Our Grade 9's truly benefit from this day where they can explore various pathways in workplaces they choose to attend. In addition, Melanie ensured that 100% of our students were placed, as she chaperoned and supervised a small group of 8 students without placements, at Oakville Hydro.Well done, Melanie!
Our "master" coaches, Al Samsa and Stephen Merner took our Junior and Senior Girls' Basketball teams into play-off action earlier in the week versus Garth Webb and Oakville Trafalgar High Schools, respectively. Akthough both teams fell short of victories, they had great seasons and represented our school with pride and exemplary sportsmanship.
In addition, Marie Guest and our Senior Boys' Volleyball Team won a very exciting game against L.B. Pearson, with a 25-14 and 27-25 score for the victory. Marie and the boys now move on to the Halton Senior Boys' Volleyball Finals tonight at 5:30pm at Sheridan College. We wish them the best of luck and encourage folks to come out and support this exciting, Ridge Team!
This past Friday, our Senior Boys' Football Team (Coach Luyks/Coach Phillips) fell shy of a quarter final victory over OTHS. Despite being small in numbers this group did not quit all season long. We are very proud of them! They had an awesome season!!
Cailtin Grieve and the members of our Acceptance Club promoted and participated in Random Acts of Kindness Day, also, this past Friday. Positive messages greeted us upon our entry to school and positive messaging continued throughout the day, as we joined other Oakville organizations in promoting "positivity" on this very, special day.
On Friday, we held three very excellent and impactful, Remembrance Day Assemblies. These student and staff led presentations featured our choir, under the direction of Mike Fraser, a media presentation prepared by our students and members of our Canada and the World Team (Jacquie Schettler, Paul Beck and David Pearce). We were delighted and proud to have graduate, Christopher Wright (first year student at Royal Military College, in Kingston) return to lay the ceremonial wreath on behalf of our soldiers, both fallen, presently in action and those remaining and returning as our veterans. A very memorable presentation and a definite highlight of our year. Well done, everyone!
And last but not least, Coaches Jim Fisher and Lisa Weir led a large contingent of IRHS students into the DECA Business competition, faring very, very well and the team moving on to Provincial Competition. 34 IRHS competitors will now compete at this prestigious level of competition. A truly outstanding result!
Congratulations to all who made last week so eventful. Engagement and excellence are alive at "The Ridge!"
Special thanks to our Parent Engagement Team and PCC Program Leader - Nancy Anstett for providing two, very well attended.Tuesdays at 10/7 sessions on the topic of Post Secondary Destinations. This session is one of our most popular sessions, as our particpants receive very, current information from our in-house experts, including a graduate student who came back to speak about her experience as a first year university student.
Congratulations to Melanie Spelman (PCC Counsellor) for organizing and implementing a very, successful "Take Your Kids to Work Day," this past Wednesday November 7th. Our Grade 9's truly benefit from this day where they can explore various pathways in workplaces they choose to attend. In addition, Melanie ensured that 100% of our students were placed, as she chaperoned and supervised a small group of 8 students without placements, at Oakville Hydro.Well done, Melanie!
Our "master" coaches, Al Samsa and Stephen Merner took our Junior and Senior Girls' Basketball teams into play-off action earlier in the week versus Garth Webb and Oakville Trafalgar High Schools, respectively. Akthough both teams fell short of victories, they had great seasons and represented our school with pride and exemplary sportsmanship.
In addition, Marie Guest and our Senior Boys' Volleyball Team won a very exciting game against L.B. Pearson, with a 25-14 and 27-25 score for the victory. Marie and the boys now move on to the Halton Senior Boys' Volleyball Finals tonight at 5:30pm at Sheridan College. We wish them the best of luck and encourage folks to come out and support this exciting, Ridge Team!
This past Friday, our Senior Boys' Football Team (Coach Luyks/Coach Phillips) fell shy of a quarter final victory over OTHS. Despite being small in numbers this group did not quit all season long. We are very proud of them! They had an awesome season!!
Cailtin Grieve and the members of our Acceptance Club promoted and participated in Random Acts of Kindness Day, also, this past Friday. Positive messages greeted us upon our entry to school and positive messaging continued throughout the day, as we joined other Oakville organizations in promoting "positivity" on this very, special day.
On Friday, we held three very excellent and impactful, Remembrance Day Assemblies. These student and staff led presentations featured our choir, under the direction of Mike Fraser, a media presentation prepared by our students and members of our Canada and the World Team (Jacquie Schettler, Paul Beck and David Pearce). We were delighted and proud to have graduate, Christopher Wright (first year student at Royal Military College, in Kingston) return to lay the ceremonial wreath on behalf of our soldiers, both fallen, presently in action and those remaining and returning as our veterans. A very memorable presentation and a definite highlight of our year. Well done, everyone!
And last but not least, Coaches Jim Fisher and Lisa Weir led a large contingent of IRHS students into the DECA Business competition, faring very, very well and the team moving on to Provincial Competition. 34 IRHS competitors will now compete at this prestigious level of competition. A truly outstanding result!
Congratulations to all who made last week so eventful. Engagement and excellence are alive at "The Ridge!"
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Sports Update!
As we begin November our student athletes and coaches are beginning to wind down their regular season play and working towards play-off appearances. Today we will be hosting senior and junior football versus T.A. Blakelock, boys' senior volleyball versus St. Thomas Aquinas and a girls' senior basketball play-off game against King's Christian College We wish our teams and coaches the best of luck and know that you will represent our school with pride, enthusiasm and exemplary sportsmanship.
In addition, our cross country team has had an excellent season. At the recent Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference (GHAC) meet we had the following results:
In addition, our cross country team has had an excellent season. At the recent Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference (GHAC) meet we had the following results:
- Midget Girls Team - 5th place
- Midget Boys' Team - 3rd place
- Tim Gibson (Grade 9) - 12th out of 77 competitors
- John Breeson (Grade 12) - 14th out of 137 competitors
- Senior Boys' Team - 6th place
- Gillian Day (Grade 9) - qualified for the provincial championships (OFSAA) to be held at the Heart Lake Conservation Area this upcoming Saturday November 3rd.
We wish Gillian the best of luck in her race and congratulate the entire team on a great season!
All of our Fall Athletic participants have fared very well and I want to thank all of our teacher/coaches, in particular for their committment and dedication, beyond the classroom, as they serve as excellent role models
and mentors for all of our student athletes. Thanks also to our Program Leader - Mrs. Marie Guest for all of her hard work behind the scenes in ensuring that our students and coaches have an excellent experience in our co-curricular program.You are all simply the very, very best!
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