St. Patrick's Blog Week of May 11th, 2015

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of May 11th, 2015

Catholic Education Week - a Great Celebration

Last week we celebrated Catholic Education Week across our province.  Our experience was a huge success.  We had a group in our school called Darkspark that worked with students creating lyrics and music around topical themes.  The group has recorded the songs and we are anxious to hear their finished product.  On Thursday of last week his Grace Archbishop Prendergast celebrated mass with the staff and students at St. Patrick’s Intermediate school.  This was part of the provincial Catholic Student Youth Day, celebrated across the province.  Thursday evening we had an enormously successful parent/guardian BBQ, and a presentation by our various bands and our dance group.  A thank you to the parents and guardians in our community who donated over $600 to the people of Nepal following the devastating earthquake in the region.  Those funds will be matched by the federal government and sent as aid to the Nepalese people.

Unity Week at St. Pat’s

Following Education Week, we have begun a new tradition with Unity Week being celebrated at St. Patrick’s Intermediate School from May 11th to 15th.  This week corresponds with our cultural visit by the staff and students of Blaise Pascale school in Oaxaca, Mexico.  The students are part of a dance group that performed as part of the Tulip Festival celebration in Ottawa this past weekend.  The group remains with us throughout the week, taking in classes at St. Pat’s, participating in a day trip to Montreal, and visiting Parliament Hill for Question Period on Thursday.  The students from Oaxaca, as well as their hosts and our staff will also tour the Art Gallery Thursday evening.

As part of Unity Week we are also hosting the Unity Cross, created by our school board to be shared among all our schools as a symbol of our togetherness in Catholic Education.  The cross will be used as part of a commissioning ceremony at our Monday Morning Assembly, welcoming our visitors from Oaxaca.  We are hoping that Unity Week becomes a tradition at St. Pat’s, celebrating our diversity and heritage at the school.

School Accommodation Review Update

A reminder that the next public consultation meeting regarding the St. Patrick’s Intermediate School Accommodation Review will be May 11th at 7:00pm in the cafeteria at St. Patrick’s High School.  The board has prepared an update document that will serve as additional information regarding the process.  You can access the document here.  We will be discussing the accommodation review further at our School Council meeting this Monday, May 4th at 7:00pm in our Learning Commons area.  Please join us for information on a range of topics.

Yearbook on Sale!

A reminder that our yearbook is now on sale for the same price as the last few years - $25.  We are encouraging families to purchase their yearbook online through the use of our School Cash Online program.   This web-based software allows parents to go online and pay for school excursions, sports wear, student fees etc.  Our St. Patrick’s Intermediate school yearbook will be available for purchase online this week, and student fees for our year end trips for grade 7 and 8 students can also be taken care of online.  Please visit https://ocsb.schoolcashonline.com to register.  If you have any questions about the process or are having technical issues, please call 1-866-961-1803 or email parenthelp@schoolcashonline.com for the Parent Help Desk

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly