St. Patrick's Blog Week of September 8th, 2014

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of September 8th, 2014

Opening Week

We had a great first week at St. Patrick’s Intermediate.  There were a number of orientation sessions for students to ensure they quickly become comfortable in their surroundings.  Grade level assemblies gave us an opportunity to speak to students about being kind to each other, and to seek out a staff member if issues arise.  We have a strong tradition at St. Patrick’s of demonstrating care and concern for each other.  This doesn’t happen by accident - we need to continually review our approaches and make sure we are all content both in and outside the classroom.  

Boot Camp Organization

Our annual “Boot Camp” provides a separate morning for grade 7’s and 8’s to review expectations in 4 different areas.  Our staff outline information and answer questions in the areas of Respect and Responsibility, Community Resources and the use of Technology as a learning tool.  Mr. Kelly and Ms. Burgoyne spent time in the fourth session reviewing routine expectations and speaking to goal setting.  Mr. Kelly chatted with students about the learning process in school.  He used his new unicycle to demonstrate some of the steps we need to take when we are learning something new.  I challenged students to become active participants in the learning process, and to share their experiences with other students, staff and parents and guardians so these people can provide support.

School - Home Communication

There were a number of communications that came home from the school this past week.  We would appreciate you reviewing the Student Information Verification Form to ensure that all contact info is correct.  The Canadian Anti-Spam form should be completed for any email address for which you would like to receive information.  Finally, our students and a parent/guardian should go through the Acceptable Use of Technology form so that expectations are clear on using devices and the wireless network in an appropriate manner at school.  We are also encouraging students to bring in their student fee.  I provided an outline of how the student fee supports activities at school in my first week newsletter that went home.

Monday Morning Assembly

For our grade 7 students, our weekly Monday Morning Assembly will be a new experience in organization and building spirit.  We gather Monday mornings as a full community to listen to our Glee club sing O Canada, to pray and reflect, and to review the weekly agenda.  Students are encouraged to bring their school agendas to record pertinent information.  Another part of our assemblies include student presentations that shine light on learning skills, gospel values and our Catholic Graduate Expectations.

We are hoping all of our parent/guardian community is able to join us on September 18th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm for our Meet the Staff evening.  It provides us an opportunity to introduce staff, discuss school priorities and answer any questions that our community might have.  Please contact the school if you require some language support for this evening.

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly