We have all returned to "The Ridge" after a wonderful, spring break! Much has transpired prior to our time off! Our entire school community certainly enjoyed the opportunity to follow the Sochi Winter Olympics which generated a lot of school spirit and pride in our Canadian Athletes as they sought "best-ever" performances! As a school which emphasizes "lofty goals" and "high expectations" for performance and achievement it was perfectly fitting to watch some of our Olympians aspire to greatness. Every one needs a "role model" or "exemplary performance" to aspire to and our Winter Olympians provided much inspiration and motivation for us all personally as we all seek to be the best that we can be!
Speaking of excellence, we were thrilled during this time to hear that we were identified by the Fraser Institute that we moved significantly in the Ontario Provincial Secondary School Rankings. Iroquois Ridge
moved to a #11 ranking in the province (out of 740 schools)and achieved #1 status in Halton (which includes both Halton District Public and Halton District Catholic Secondary Schools. The "School Report Card" is based primarily on our EQAO Results for Literacy & Numeracy in which we received a 9/10 score based on the Fraser Institute ratings...up from an 8.4/10 score in 2011/12. As mentioned in the "Toronto Sunday Sun" article earlier on in March, there really is a "culture of high expectations" at our school for everyone in our school community, but the foundation of this is really a personal approach we take with all of our students in building strong relationships, trust and support to enable our students to feel the confidence to be the best that they can be! The support network includes all of us...staff supporting students, staff supporting staff, students supporting students, students supporting staff and our "ace in the hole" is our parent and caregiver community who are highly invested in our school ...engaged in all of what we do here at 'The Ridge!"
We could not be more proud of our school and the success of all of our vested stakeholders! Our students are remarkable, our staff...the very finest and our parent/caregiver community absolutley "second to none!"
We can all share in this success as it is not easy to have an excellent school achieve even more excellent results and we are committed to ensuring that we remain more than excellent as we go forward!
Congratulations to everyone who make this school such an awesome place to learn, work and play in!
Other achievements prior to our Spring Break included a high level of success "outside" of the classroom.
Ridge "student/athletes" were represented at the OFSAA Swimming, Snowboarding Provincial Championships while both our Boys' and Girls' Hockey Teams played in Halton Play-off action. Our girls'
secured the Halton Tier 2 Championship with a win over Burlington Central High School and were treated to
a "gauntlet" in our street upon their return to school from their Gold Medal victory! 100's of staff and students lined our street as they cheered on our newest, Halton Champions as they walked the gauntlet!
Well deserved and much appreciated by the team and Coach Scott Phillips. In addition, our Curling team also secured the Halton Championship title under Coach Kristen McCoy's fine leadership.Well done, Trailblazers..yet another two championship banners to be showcased with pride in our athletic facility!!
So you see...we continue to dedicate ourselves to "excellence" whether it is in or outside of the classroom. I am humbled by the incredible accomplishments by our students, staff and parent/caregiver community and am extremely proud to continue to serve you all as the Principal of Iroquois Ridge!!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
The Finish Line!
Here we go everyone....one more day to go before our examinations! Staff are preparing our students with exam reviews, students have completed Performance Tasks for their courses and now the "dash" to the "Finish Line!"
We do look forward to this time of the year and very, much notice intense "focus" by our students as they put their best efforts together for "best-ever" performances. On the other hand it is important for our students and staff to pay attention to the many ways in which to relieve their stresses and anxieties. Taking some time to relax and have a break from this pressure - laden time of the semester is really important...so we encourage everyone to find a balance in whatever way is best for the individual.
In our Parents' Corner there are some "stressbuster" tips and in many of our local newspapers recently there have been some articles about how to maintain positive mental health at such a "high stakes" time.
In particular, our Grade 9's write their first set of exams, while our 12's strive very high to ensure that their performance measures up to their aspirations and goals. After, seeing 230 students of our Grade 9 Class take advantage of our recent Cocoa and Cram session I am sure many are feeling a bit better about going into their exams for the very, first time.
It is important to keep everything in perspective however...as 70% of our student's final evaluation is based on their term work...so if the "learning" has been absorbed to a good degree throughout the semester the "key learnings" should be mastered via the Performance Task and then it is on to exams...some of which are worth 10%. So not so scary...after all... really!
Just a reminder that after exams there will be an Exam Take-up Day on Thursday January 30th. This is an attendance-taking day where staff will be available to meet with students from 8:30am to 11:45 am for all
Semester 1 classes.
Our Professional Learning Day occurs on Friday January 31st.
Semester 2 begins on Monday February 3rd.
There will be a special schedule for this day as all of our Grade 9' s will celebrate the first semester with our LINK Crew Leaders from 8:30am -11:00am. A pancake breakfast and additional activities will follow for our LINK Crew grads in our cafeteria.
The cafeteria will be open for lunch from 11:10 am - 12:10 pm.
All students will start Semester 2 classes as follows: Period 1 - 12:10-12:45 pm
Period 2 - 12:50-1:25 pm
Period 4 - 1:30 - 2:05 pm
Period 5 - 2:10 - 2:45 pm
We wish the very best for all of our students for a strong finish in Semester 1 and will look forward to welcoming everyone back for Monday February 3rd and the start of Semester 2!
Take care everyone and be "good" to yourselves!!!
We do look forward to this time of the year and very, much notice intense "focus" by our students as they put their best efforts together for "best-ever" performances. On the other hand it is important for our students and staff to pay attention to the many ways in which to relieve their stresses and anxieties. Taking some time to relax and have a break from this pressure - laden time of the semester is really important...so we encourage everyone to find a balance in whatever way is best for the individual.
In our Parents' Corner there are some "stressbuster" tips and in many of our local newspapers recently there have been some articles about how to maintain positive mental health at such a "high stakes" time.
In particular, our Grade 9's write their first set of exams, while our 12's strive very high to ensure that their performance measures up to their aspirations and goals. After, seeing 230 students of our Grade 9 Class take advantage of our recent Cocoa and Cram session I am sure many are feeling a bit better about going into their exams for the very, first time.
It is important to keep everything in perspective however...as 70% of our student's final evaluation is based on their term work...so if the "learning" has been absorbed to a good degree throughout the semester the "key learnings" should be mastered via the Performance Task and then it is on to exams...some of which are worth 10%. So not so scary...after all... really!
Just a reminder that after exams there will be an Exam Take-up Day on Thursday January 30th. This is an attendance-taking day where staff will be available to meet with students from 8:30am to 11:45 am for all
Semester 1 classes.
Our Professional Learning Day occurs on Friday January 31st.
Semester 2 begins on Monday February 3rd.
There will be a special schedule for this day as all of our Grade 9' s will celebrate the first semester with our LINK Crew Leaders from 8:30am -11:00am. A pancake breakfast and additional activities will follow for our LINK Crew grads in our cafeteria.
The cafeteria will be open for lunch from 11:10 am - 12:10 pm.
All students will start Semester 2 classes as follows: Period 1 - 12:10-12:45 pm
Period 2 - 12:50-1:25 pm
Period 4 - 1:30 - 2:05 pm
Period 5 - 2:10 - 2:45 pm
We wish the very best for all of our students for a strong finish in Semester 1 and will look forward to welcoming everyone back for Monday February 3rd and the start of Semester 2!
Take care everyone and be "good" to yourselves!!!
Friday, January 10, 2014
Cocoas and Cram!
Happy 2014 everyone! We have returned for our first week back in the New Year and now enter our assessment and evaluation period for Semester 1. Staff and students are focused on Performance Tasks, preparation for examinations and our Grade 9 students are readying themselves for their EQAO Math - Provincial Assessment to be held on Friday January 17th and Monday January 20th. This assessment is done during the regular math class time period. We wish this semester's Grade 9's the best of luck on this provincial test.
In light of this busy and stressful end of semester our staff are making themselves available for additional support and our students certainly will take full advantage of this to ensure their success. On Monday January 13th our LINK Crew Staff & Student Leaders, with the addition of many of our Grade 9 staff, will be hosting a study session called "Cocoas & Cram" after school from 3:00 - 4:30 pm in our Library.
We encourage all of our Grade 9's to take advantage of this opportunity as many study tips will be provided while students will also be provided with some delicious hot chocolate and treats. Perfect for this time of the year!
In addition, we will be offering "Zap the Zeroes" for those students needing more time to complete assignments on Thursday January 16th, Monday January 20th and Tuesday January 21st to be held in "The Ridge Room" from 11:10am - 12:10pm. Teachers will recommend students for this opportunity through our Student Success Leader - Mr. Kris Reeve. We hope that students who are invited to attend will do so!
Our formal exam period occurs on Thursday January 23rd, Friday January 24th, Monday January 27th and
Tuesday January 28th.Wednesday January 29th serves as an exam make-up day should Halton schools be closed due to inclement weather. We are hoping that we have seen the brunt of inclement weather by this time...cross all of our fingers!!
One note out to everyone as a heads'-up is that on Monday February 3rd (Day 1 of Semester 2) we will have a Special Schedule for the day. All of our Grade 9's will have a Breakfast Celebration with an 8:30 am start in our cafeteria with our LINK Crew. Students in Grade 10, 11 and 12 will begin classes later on this day. Period 1 of Semester 2 will begin at 12:10pm for all of our students with Periods 2, 3 and 4 to follow for all of our students. Please check our website for the Special Schedule which will be posted in the very near future. We will also put out a synervoice message to everyone in this regard as a reminder!
In addition, for Semester 2 we have been granted permission to continue with our Collaborative Mornings with a later start for all of our students in Grades 9 - 12 to allow for staff to be engaged in Collaborative Professional Learning. The dates are as follows: Thursday February 20th, Thursday March 20th, Thursday April 17th and Thursday May 15th. Daily schedules for these dates will have all students begin their period 1 classes at 9:45am with the other periods to follow: Period 2 - 10:50 - 11:45am, Lunch - 11:45 - 12:45pm,
Period 4 - 12:45 - 1:40 pm, Period 5 - 1:45 - 2:45 pm. Again...reminders will be provided via our website and synervoice. We believe that this will have huge advantages for our staff and students with the hopes of improving student success while also looking after the mental health and stresses that our students experience
in such a high achieving school. Our student focus group in May/June of 2013 reminded us of the pressures and stresses that they undergo with the expectations and pressures for high achievement and we honoured their feedback with this plan for a change in our Collaborative Mornings for this year. We will look forward to feedback from students, staff and our parent/careegiver community as we review this in May/June of 2014.
So, as we head to the "finish line" for Semester 1, we wish much luck and success for all of our students and we will look forward to reviewing their successes through our Promotion Processes to be held on Thursday January 30th!
In light of this busy and stressful end of semester our staff are making themselves available for additional support and our students certainly will take full advantage of this to ensure their success. On Monday January 13th our LINK Crew Staff & Student Leaders, with the addition of many of our Grade 9 staff, will be hosting a study session called "Cocoas & Cram" after school from 3:00 - 4:30 pm in our Library.
We encourage all of our Grade 9's to take advantage of this opportunity as many study tips will be provided while students will also be provided with some delicious hot chocolate and treats. Perfect for this time of the year!
In addition, we will be offering "Zap the Zeroes" for those students needing more time to complete assignments on Thursday January 16th, Monday January 20th and Tuesday January 21st to be held in "The Ridge Room" from 11:10am - 12:10pm. Teachers will recommend students for this opportunity through our Student Success Leader - Mr. Kris Reeve. We hope that students who are invited to attend will do so!
Our formal exam period occurs on Thursday January 23rd, Friday January 24th, Monday January 27th and
Tuesday January 28th.Wednesday January 29th serves as an exam make-up day should Halton schools be closed due to inclement weather. We are hoping that we have seen the brunt of inclement weather by this time...cross all of our fingers!!
One note out to everyone as a heads'-up is that on Monday February 3rd (Day 1 of Semester 2) we will have a Special Schedule for the day. All of our Grade 9's will have a Breakfast Celebration with an 8:30 am start in our cafeteria with our LINK Crew. Students in Grade 10, 11 and 12 will begin classes later on this day. Period 1 of Semester 2 will begin at 12:10pm for all of our students with Periods 2, 3 and 4 to follow for all of our students. Please check our website for the Special Schedule which will be posted in the very near future. We will also put out a synervoice message to everyone in this regard as a reminder!
In addition, for Semester 2 we have been granted permission to continue with our Collaborative Mornings with a later start for all of our students in Grades 9 - 12 to allow for staff to be engaged in Collaborative Professional Learning. The dates are as follows: Thursday February 20th, Thursday March 20th, Thursday April 17th and Thursday May 15th. Daily schedules for these dates will have all students begin their period 1 classes at 9:45am with the other periods to follow: Period 2 - 10:50 - 11:45am, Lunch - 11:45 - 12:45pm,
Period 4 - 12:45 - 1:40 pm, Period 5 - 1:45 - 2:45 pm. Again...reminders will be provided via our website and synervoice. We believe that this will have huge advantages for our staff and students with the hopes of improving student success while also looking after the mental health and stresses that our students experience
in such a high achieving school. Our student focus group in May/June of 2013 reminded us of the pressures and stresses that they undergo with the expectations and pressures for high achievement and we honoured their feedback with this plan for a change in our Collaborative Mornings for this year. We will look forward to feedback from students, staff and our parent/careegiver community as we review this in May/June of 2014.
So, as we head to the "finish line" for Semester 1, we wish much luck and success for all of our students and we will look forward to reviewing their successes through our Promotion Processes to be held on Thursday January 30th!
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Celebration!
We are very fortunate at "The Ridge" to come together at this time of year to celebrate 2013 while also looking forward to 2014. Today at lunch our Parent Engagement Team and Social committee honoured our staff with a Holiday Luncheon. We are so privileged and thankful to be learning, working and playing together at IRHS, as we truly do believe we could not be in a better place! This is my fourth year at our school and each and every day I am very proud of how hard our staff work on behalf of our students, families and extended community. We couldn't have a more supportive group of parents & caregivers and our relationships with our community are very strong and supportive. This past week we had 30 members of our staff and community partners meet together for our Community Net working Meeting. This is a forum where we share current trends and issues representative of students, staff, our Safe School Action Team, our service side (Administration,Personal Career Counselling, Student Success, Social Worker & Public Health Nurse) as well as vested members of our community. Tom Adams attended representing the Town of Oakville, our local community library was represented as well as other members of the Oakville and Halton Region of Health and Recreation Services. Our parents were also represented during this morning of information sharing, networking and relationship building. It is particularly gratifying to have so many folks engaged, all with the hopes of assisting and providing positive opportunities for our youth. We are very lucky that this group of individuals really believes in the importance of continuing to build and provide for the building of the 40 Developmental Assets which contributes to our young people's positive health, success and achievement.This partnership is extremely important for Iroquois Ridge High School and continues to be a very, strong union as we move forward. Our hope is to include our Feeder Schools next year to increase our membership and hear from very important voices that have not been heard as of yet. This Town Hall format really can make a difference in the actions, plans and next steps that all of us can immerse ourselves in, as a follow-up from important information shared. Next steps can and will make a difference for our students. So....soon it will be holiday time for all members of our "Ridge Family"...we all take this time of year to be thankful and reflect on all that we have, all we have done and all we have given.
On behalf of our admin team (Andrew Bigham, Jim Noble and myself), we wish all of you a safe and happy holiday with those you love and care for. We also wish you a very happy and prosperous 2014!!
On behalf of our admin team (Andrew Bigham, Jim Noble and myself), we wish all of you a safe and happy holiday with those you love and care for. We also wish you a very happy and prosperous 2014!!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
December Thoughts!
We are in the home stretch before the holiday! Life continues to be very busy at "The Ridge." Winter sports are up and running,; clubs and organizations are planning for many special activities and events in the next few weeks ensuring that all members of our school community will be fully engaged until 1:15 pm on December 19th! Of course, that is the official dismissal time for our launch into the holiday break.
Today we hosted our Semester 1 - Luncheon of Champions where we celebrated 24 of our "Ridge Champions. It is always a pleasure to host such an event like this where we open our doors to our Ridge Family Members while also being inspired by the student stories that our "nominating" staff share.
This is an event sponsored by our Personal Career Counselling Team (Nancy Anstett, Melanie Spelman, Rachel Stecca, Kris Reeve, Elaine Fung and Georgina Cook) which promotes and celebrates students who have made contributions inside and/or outside of their classrooms in a very unique and sigificant way. Many of the Champions have demonstrated personal growth, perseverance or have overcome challenges to succeed...which makes this event very, very important and special. Some times it takes only one acknowledgement like this from ourselves...."significant adults" in our student's lives that can bolster a sense of confidence in our students and I am always inspired and touched by what our staff say on behalf of our kids. With family and other supporters attending this luncheon...the words spoken are genuine and heartfelt with the attendees clearly impacted by the accolades...sometimes the tears follow on hearing so many positive comments and reflections about our resilient teens! A wonderful event that continues to promote and sustain relationships with all members of our Ridge Family! Thanks to Nancy and her PCC Team for continuing to plan, organize and host this tribute to our "Ridge Champions!"
In the spirit of our holiday season, we are hoping to see many of you out this evening for our Winter Holiday
Concert to be held in our "Street." We are looking forward to listening to our musicians and choir under Kevin MCConvey and Caitlin Belanger's leadership. The concert begins at 7 pm...hope to see you there!
In addition, our One Act Plays are happening on Wednesday December 11th at 7pm in our theatre. The plays are directed by our students and they are looking forward to an evening of very interesting and entertaining performances. Please come out and support our kids...they will appreciate that greatly!
Just a reminder that there will be an early dismissal for our students on Thursday December 19th as noted above in my opening remarks.
On behalf of all of us here at "The Ridge" we hope that you will join us prior to the holiday break in celebrating the holiday season. We wish everyone a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating break as we ready ourselves for 2014!
Happy Holiday Season everyone!
Today we hosted our Semester 1 - Luncheon of Champions where we celebrated 24 of our "Ridge Champions. It is always a pleasure to host such an event like this where we open our doors to our Ridge Family Members while also being inspired by the student stories that our "nominating" staff share.
This is an event sponsored by our Personal Career Counselling Team (Nancy Anstett, Melanie Spelman, Rachel Stecca, Kris Reeve, Elaine Fung and Georgina Cook) which promotes and celebrates students who have made contributions inside and/or outside of their classrooms in a very unique and sigificant way. Many of the Champions have demonstrated personal growth, perseverance or have overcome challenges to succeed...which makes this event very, very important and special. Some times it takes only one acknowledgement like this from ourselves...."significant adults" in our student's lives that can bolster a sense of confidence in our students and I am always inspired and touched by what our staff say on behalf of our kids. With family and other supporters attending this luncheon...the words spoken are genuine and heartfelt with the attendees clearly impacted by the accolades...sometimes the tears follow on hearing so many positive comments and reflections about our resilient teens! A wonderful event that continues to promote and sustain relationships with all members of our Ridge Family! Thanks to Nancy and her PCC Team for continuing to plan, organize and host this tribute to our "Ridge Champions!"
In the spirit of our holiday season, we are hoping to see many of you out this evening for our Winter Holiday
Concert to be held in our "Street." We are looking forward to listening to our musicians and choir under Kevin MCConvey and Caitlin Belanger's leadership. The concert begins at 7 pm...hope to see you there!
In addition, our One Act Plays are happening on Wednesday December 11th at 7pm in our theatre. The plays are directed by our students and they are looking forward to an evening of very interesting and entertaining performances. Please come out and support our kids...they will appreciate that greatly!
Just a reminder that there will be an early dismissal for our students on Thursday December 19th as noted above in my opening remarks.
On behalf of all of us here at "The Ridge" we hope that you will join us prior to the holiday break in celebrating the holiday season. We wish everyone a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating break as we ready ourselves for 2014!
Happy Holiday Season everyone!
Monday, October 21, 2013
October Thoughts!
Our second month of the school year finds our students, staff and parent/caregiver community highly engaged and immersed in all aspects of school life. Students are settled into their academic classes and participating in co-curriculars, representing our school with pride and passion! We recently hosted an Honour Society Reception recognizing over 700 of our students who achieved 80% in their classes in 2012/13. Students spoke at the event representing our present Grade 10, 11, and 12's, each making remarks about what "Excellence" means to them and sharing the rich opportunities that they have available to them to learn, grow and achieve success at our school. Our adult audience was duly impressed by the wisdom shared by these young students who also congratulated their peers on the fine achievement of making it to our Honour Roll. Our speakers included: Sean Condon (as Master of Ceremonies), Kevin Zhou, Alana Losier, Erika Bollinger, Connor MacLean, Harriet Yan and Gaelan Kirby. Great job, folks! Special thanks to members of our Parent Engagement Team for assisting with the presentation of certificates in "The Street" and to Tani and Dawn from Aramark for providing the refreshments and treats enjoyed by all! Of course our office team, led by Mrs. Susan Cutler also contributed to the success of this event ensuring that all went without a hitch! Thanks Susan, Suzanne, Krista, Diane, Georgina, Allison, Andrew and Jim for your hard work behind the scenes. It is greatly appreciated!
As many of you know, October 's focus is on "PINK" Month with a variety of events dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness and fundraising for Breast Cancer Research. Both our STUDCO Fallfest and our PINK Day were highly successful as hundreds of our students and community members attended to support this cause. On the PINK Day alone, well over $5,200.00 had been generated in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. Students, staff and school community members collaborated together to ensure the success of these events which marked the 9th year in which IRHS has participated for "The PINK", something we are extremely proud of.
Our Collaborative Mornings are off to a great start as we focus on the building of relationships with all of our Grade 9 students via staff and student led "Link Crew" activities. Special thanks to our staff leaders: Nancy Zigrovic, Paul Beck, Karl Dahlinger, Nicole Klokoff, Michelle McCutcheon, Karen Normet, Alexiis Stephen and Allison Tenn-Yuk for your excellent work on behalf of our kids. You are truly making a difference in easing the transition for our freshman as they begin their high school careers! Kudos to you all!
While our Collaborative Mornings are happening, our staff are working on their own professional learning in support of our students and their success. Each of our Program Leaders has devised a plan for Semester 1 dedicated to our students' most urgent learning needs and are following through during these mornings as collaborative teams. We are very fortunate to have this time to dedicate to student learning and know it will have an influence in shaping our students' success, both inside and outside of the classroom.
In the very near future (Thursday October 24th), we will be hosting our Interview Night. This evening is a great opportunity to connect with our teaching staff, support staff and administration and we look forward to welcoming you in support of our students! Please remember that we offer many supports for students who may be struggling in a particular area and are here to help in any way that we can. Whether it be the classroom teacher, Special Education, Student Success, Personal Career Counselling or our admin team, please seek us out for any assistance that is required to ensure student success. As a team we are committed to all of our students at "The Ridge!"
Very soon, the Mid-Term Report will be distributed. Please look for reports to come home on Friday November 8th. This will be an opportunity to receive an evaluation as to student learning skills and achievement to date while also paying attention to teacher comments in regard to student strengths and needs
at the mid-point of our semester. Again, should you need any additional feedback or support about the results achieved, don't hesitate to contact us. We are happy to assist!
So... as October is soon to fall into November...we continue to see great things happening at our school. It is a very busy place to learn and play. Our co-curriculars are in full swing and we invite you to continue to come out and support our students in their endeavours. Our staff leaders and mentors are extremely dedicated to these "out-of-classroom" activities which enrich the lives of our students and further engage them in the life at our school. We are very fortunate to have such a committed staff who serve as wonderful role models that our young people can aspire to!
In signing off...I wish everyone the very best for your continued success at and partnership with Iroquois Ridge. It is a pleasure and honour to serve you and I cherish each day that I am a part of this great, Ridge Family. It truly is a school like no other and I am very fortunate to be a part of such a great, learning organization!
As many of you know, October 's focus is on "PINK" Month with a variety of events dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness and fundraising for Breast Cancer Research. Both our STUDCO Fallfest and our PINK Day were highly successful as hundreds of our students and community members attended to support this cause. On the PINK Day alone, well over $5,200.00 had been generated in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. Students, staff and school community members collaborated together to ensure the success of these events which marked the 9th year in which IRHS has participated for "The PINK", something we are extremely proud of.
Our Collaborative Mornings are off to a great start as we focus on the building of relationships with all of our Grade 9 students via staff and student led "Link Crew" activities. Special thanks to our staff leaders: Nancy Zigrovic, Paul Beck, Karl Dahlinger, Nicole Klokoff, Michelle McCutcheon, Karen Normet, Alexiis Stephen and Allison Tenn-Yuk for your excellent work on behalf of our kids. You are truly making a difference in easing the transition for our freshman as they begin their high school careers! Kudos to you all!
While our Collaborative Mornings are happening, our staff are working on their own professional learning in support of our students and their success. Each of our Program Leaders has devised a plan for Semester 1 dedicated to our students' most urgent learning needs and are following through during these mornings as collaborative teams. We are very fortunate to have this time to dedicate to student learning and know it will have an influence in shaping our students' success, both inside and outside of the classroom.
In the very near future (Thursday October 24th), we will be hosting our Interview Night. This evening is a great opportunity to connect with our teaching staff, support staff and administration and we look forward to welcoming you in support of our students! Please remember that we offer many supports for students who may be struggling in a particular area and are here to help in any way that we can. Whether it be the classroom teacher, Special Education, Student Success, Personal Career Counselling or our admin team, please seek us out for any assistance that is required to ensure student success. As a team we are committed to all of our students at "The Ridge!"
Very soon, the Mid-Term Report will be distributed. Please look for reports to come home on Friday November 8th. This will be an opportunity to receive an evaluation as to student learning skills and achievement to date while also paying attention to teacher comments in regard to student strengths and needs
at the mid-point of our semester. Again, should you need any additional feedback or support about the results achieved, don't hesitate to contact us. We are happy to assist!
So... as October is soon to fall into November...we continue to see great things happening at our school. It is a very busy place to learn and play. Our co-curriculars are in full swing and we invite you to continue to come out and support our students in their endeavours. Our staff leaders and mentors are extremely dedicated to these "out-of-classroom" activities which enrich the lives of our students and further engage them in the life at our school. We are very fortunate to have such a committed staff who serve as wonderful role models that our young people can aspire to!
In signing off...I wish everyone the very best for your continued success at and partnership with Iroquois Ridge. It is a pleasure and honour to serve you and I cherish each day that I am a part of this great, Ridge Family. It truly is a school like no other and I am very fortunate to be a part of such a great, learning organization!
Monday, September 23, 2013
September Reflection
We are off to a great start at "The Ridge!" Students are settled nicely into classes, our co-curriculars are in full swing and our staff are continuing to work hard to ensure that all of our students have a successful year. Our Grade 9 students have had opportunities to experience the benefits of working with their LINK Crew leaders and participated in a "tree planting", which further developed a sense of "team", while also enhancing the environment at Winston Woods. During our first Collaborative Morning on the 19th, our Grade 12's took part in a Post-Secondary Destinations Assembly organized by our Personal Career Counselling Team. This past Thursday we held our Program Night which was well attended by our parent/caregiver community.In the past two weeks student leaders and staff are collaborating together to plan our PINK Day to be held on Wednesday October 9th. We are also meeting with student leaders to re-vitalize our Ridge Council. Student reps of our clubs, organizations and teams are firming up their purpose and goals for the year while also looking to put together the year's calendar of events. One of our goals is to update our list of offerings on our Ridge Clubs website, so that all of us know what student clubs are running, while also highlighting where and when they will be meeting. The activities and focus of each club, group and/organization will be communicated so that all members of the Ridge Community will be aware of what is offered to enhance student engagement and a sense of belonging. We have also welcomed new staff to our school and are delighted to have them aboard: Debbie Baillie (Art), Joy Baxter (Law), Caitlin Belanger (Music), Vanessa Blouin (Design Tech), Matt Braun (Science), Chris Brooks-Prenger (Computers/Math), David Brown (Moderns/French), Kate O'Connor (Canada & The World/Moderns/French), Adam Roach (English), Jonathan Selluski (Law/Civics/Careers), Sabrina Sibio (English), and Tammy Vrees (Science).
As September winds down we will look forward to an eventful, October! We invite our parent/caregivers to our first "Tuesday At The Ridge", to be held on Tuesday October 1st at 10 am/7 pm. We invite our community to join us on Thursday October 3rd for our third annual Fallfest, with a 6pm start time.We hope to have a great day on Wednesday October 9th as we celebrate PINK Day and raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Research. A double header football game against St. Thomas Aquinas followed by a double header girls' basketball game versus Craig Kielburger will be highlights for this day. Please come out to support a good cause and cheer on our student athletes. We will look forward to seeing you! So...as you can see we are gearing up once again at IRHS, for what promises to be another outstanding year. We wish everyone the very best of success in 2013/14 and remind you all that whatever we can do to make this one of the best year's ever..we are here to serve you...our students, parent and caregiver community as always, 100%!!
As September winds down we will look forward to an eventful, October! We invite our parent/caregivers to our first "Tuesday At The Ridge", to be held on Tuesday October 1st at 10 am/7 pm. We invite our community to join us on Thursday October 3rd for our third annual Fallfest, with a 6pm start time.We hope to have a great day on Wednesday October 9th as we celebrate PINK Day and raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Research. A double header football game against St. Thomas Aquinas followed by a double header girls' basketball game versus Craig Kielburger will be highlights for this day. Please come out to support a good cause and cheer on our student athletes. We will look forward to seeing you! So...as you can see we are gearing up once again at IRHS, for what promises to be another outstanding year. We wish everyone the very best of success in 2013/14 and remind you all that whatever we can do to make this one of the best year's ever..we are here to serve you...our students, parent and caregiver community as always, 100%!!
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