St. Patrick's Blog Week of October 27th, 2014

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of October 27th, 2014

Secure School Situation

Our St. Patrick’s School Community was as shocked and concerned as the rest of our nation following the tragic incident in our downtown core this past week.  Students and staff responded extremely well to our Secure School Emergency situation that was put into place as soon as our Board and the Ottawa Police indicated their concern.  While the threat did not come directly to our community, we all experienced the sorrow following the killing of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.  On Thursday of last week, we prayed for Cpl. Cirillo, the other individuals who were hurt, as well as the young man who made this very tragic mistake.  We will continue to deal with events such as this through the lens of our Catholic faith and strong cultural foundation at St. Patrick’s.

In a stark contrast to this tragedy, our nation welcomed one of its newest members this past week as we celebrated the new Canadian citizenship ceremony of one of our grade 7 students in Ms. Clarke’s class.  We have also been blessed with 4 new students in the past week, and this allows us to practice our welcoming spirit.  We continue to find positive moments of promise among some of the more difficult challenges of our national identity.

Progress Report Cards

Student progress reports will go home this Thursday, October 30th.  These report cards provide an indication of how students are progressing in each of their subject areas.  In most cases, there is an indication that students are progressing well, or very well.  In cases where students are progressing with difficulty, teachers have indicated a next-step for success.  At the school we meet as an administrative and student services team to review any students that are having some difficulty.  In addition to our regular homework club during the week, we will be beginning some after school literacy and math courses to support students with their progress.  Letters will be going home shortly to encourage student participation.

Halloween Activities

Students will have the opportunity to dress up in costume (or orange and black clothing) this coming Friday, October 31st.  Homebases are working on decorating pumpkins, and students who are voted “best costume” in their period 1 classes will compete in a “Halloween Fashion Show” on Friday to determine best costume at grade 7 and 8.  

Photo Retake Day

Picture retakes for students who missed their first opportunity or who would like a second sitting will occur this Wednesday afternoon.  Contact the school if you have any questions.

Coming Up

Tuesday, November 4th: School Council meeting

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly

Pediculosis - Head Lice Information

When there has been a report of pediculosis (head lice) possible at the school, we are required to share with our community.  Please see the following link regarding information to parents.

Message from the Ottawa Catholic School Board regarding incident in Ottawa

October 22, 2014
Dear Parent/Guardian:

This morning, following information received from Ottawa Police Service regarding an incident in the downtown area, all Ottawa Catholic schools were placed in Secure Schools mode.

Secure Schools mode means students remained in classrooms with doors locked. However, normal instruction continued in all classes.

When an update was received from Ottawa Police Service later in the morning, all schools were released from Secure Schools mode with the exception of schools near the perimeter of the incident (mainly schools in the Immaculata family).

In consultation with Ottawa Police Service, it was determined that a regular dismissal of students would occur at the end of the day for all schools. Please note that special arrangements were made with our bus operator to notify all schools once the bus runs had been completed. In addition, schools were notified that some parents themselves were in lockdown, and to take the necessary precautions to ensure all students arrived home safely.

Staff and students in all of our schools practice Secure Schools procedures each year and we are confident that these procedures were effectively followed today.

Should you require any further information, please contact St. Patrick's.

It’s been a difficult day for the entire city of Ottawa, and we certainly appreciate everyone’s cooperation in dealing with this emergency. We would ask that you keep the victims and their families in your prayers and we will be doing likewise.

Sincerely,
Julian Hanlon, Director of Education, Ottawa Catholic School Board

Secure Schools Situation at St. Patrick's Intermediate School

At approximately 10:40 am this morning, St. Patrick's Intermediate School was placed in "secure school" on direction from the Ottawa Catholic School Board and Ottawa Police.  This situation arose following a developing incident in downtown Ottawa.  At approximately 11:15, the "secure school" emergency procedure was called off.
During a "secure school" situation, students and staff continue with the academic program, however, students do not leave the classroom.

67's Game day for St. Patrick's students and staff!

On Monday November 24th 2014, St. Patrick's Intermediate School will be participating in The 6th Annual Ottawa 67s School Day Game. The hockey game is from 10:30 am to 1:15 pm at the Canadian Tire Center in Kanata. Participating students will be leaving school at 9:00 am and are scheduled to leave Canadian Tire Centre at approximately 1:15 pm. The purpose of the day is to promote spirit and community among our teachers and students. The cost of the trip is $10.00 per student which covers the cost of the ticket and transportation. Students may bring their own snacks and/or lunch or money should they wish to use the canteens that will be open during the event. Students are expected to wear proper school uniform on this date.

In order to participate on this day, students must bring the signed permission form (handed out at school), along with $10.00, to their Homebase teacher during one of the three collection days. (October 23rd, 24th and 25th ). There will be regularly scheduled classes at St. Patrick’s on November 24th for students who choose not to participate in the activity.

Order Student Pictures

We would encourage all families to order student pictures by Monday, October 20th.  You can send your order form in to your child's homebase teacher before that date.

St. Patrick's Blog Week of October 14th, 2014

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of October 14th, 2014

Terry Fox Run

Our student community did a fantastic job fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation as we exceeded our goal of $4000.  Students and staff raised a total closer to $5300 to help support the foundation as they continue their work to support cancer research.  Students were supported by family and friends, and many from our youth group put on a bake sale to help with the fundraising.  Our Run day culminated with a high energy assembly that saw each of our homebases decked out in their Catholic Value T-shirts.  Our top-fundraising students took turns throwing pies at our staff members.  Mr. Kelly also received a head shave at the assembly!  Thanks to all those who helped organize and support the Terry Fox Foundation.

Eva Olsson - Holocaust Survivor

This past Wednesday, we had the absolute pleasure to spend some time with Dr. Eva Olsson, who recounted her time in a concentration camp.  Dr. Olsson’s talk focused on appropriate relationships among individuals with an end to bullying.  We purchased some of Ms. Olsson’s resources and have catalogued them in our Learning Commons.  Students and families are encouraged to take out a book or DVD that chronicles this amazing individual’s life.

Meet our New St. Patrick’s School Council

On October 8th we had our first School Council meeting of the year.  We had a large group of parents come out and we have a few new faces around the council table.  Thank you to the following individuals who have agreed to take a role on the council:

Cees Artz - Chairperson

Sherisse Alsabeh - Vice-Chair

Dayna Helmer - Secretary

David Korpi - Treasurer

Usa Wilson - Community Representative

Ana Barrett - Parent Representative

We are looking forward to working together for a successful year supporting student interests.  Please contact the school if you have any questions for the council.

This Week

Tuesday, October 14th: Ottawa Police Guns and Gangs presentation

Wednesday, October 15th: Family of Schools Principals’ meeting

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick's Blog Week of October 6th, 2014

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of October 6th, 2014

Opening Mass

A big thank you to Fr. Greg, Mr. Kozak, and our many student volunteers for participating in our first school mass of the year.  Fr. Greg spoke to the students about commitment and striving for success as we celebrated as a full group.  Our Glee Club lead the singing and did a great job with the music.  We appreciate Fr. Greg making the time to meet in community with us.

School Council Meeting - Wednesday, October 8th

I would strongly encourage all members of our school community to join us at our first School Council meeting of the year this Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in our Learning Commons room.  This is an opportunity for us to share information about our student activities, our school and the learning experiences we are offering.  Our meeting on Wednesday will be an opportunity to review information from last year as well as to fill positions for the St. Patrick’s School Council for the 2014-2015 school year.  As mentioned at our Meet the Staff evening, the focus for our school council has always been the mutual sharing of information.  Please come out and provide us with an opportunity to speak more about our plans for the school year.

Terry Fox Run - Thursday, October 9th

We have been encouraging students to assist with fundraising for our Terry Fox run this coming week.  In order to support our fundraising activities, we have put a number of incentives in place to get students to enlist help from friends and family.  Our goal this year is $4000, which, if we meet, Mr. Kelly has agreed to have someone shave his head!  We also have incentives for the top fundraising class, as well as an opportunity for students who bring in a minimum of $20 to throw a pie at a staff member of their choice!  This is a great community building activity that goes to a very worthy cause.  

Dental Screening - October 7th

Public Health has set up dental screening programs in numerous schools across the city this fall.  This Tuesday, representatives will be at St. Patrick to meet with students in grade 8 to ensure they are practicing good dental health.  We have worked this visit into our student schedule for the day.

This Week

Wednesday, October 8th:

• Dr. Eva Olsson, a holocaust survivor, comes to St. Patrick’s to share her story with our students
• 7:00 pm - School Council meeting

Friday, October 10th: Professional development day - no school for students.

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly