St. Patrick's Blog Week of June 22nd, 2015

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of June 22nd, 2015

Grade 7 Awards and Grade 8 Closing Ceremonies

Two very important events for St. Patrick’s students will take place this coming week.

On Tuesday, June 23rd, our Grade 7 students will be recognized for their academic achievements at our Grade 7 Awards Ceremony at 9:15 am. Parents/Guardians will be notified if their child will be receiving an award.

Also on Tuesday, our Grade 8 Closing Ceremonies will take place at the Notre Dame Cathedral, 385 Sussex Dr. at 1:30 p.m. Gr. 8 students have already been given their tickets for the celebration. Grade 8 students will need to be driven from the school on Tuesday to the Cathedral by a parent/guardian.  We ask that students arrive no earlier than 1:00 pm at the Cathedral because there is daily Mass at noon and we will not be allowed to go in until after it is finished. When the doors to the Cathedral open, students should go to their assigned seating area according to their homebase. Parents and guardians will be sitting behind the students area. A reminder that we are guests in the Cathedral and that a respectful attitude is required.

After the ceremony, students and families are invited back to the school for a reception to celebrate our students’ achievement.

BBQ Lunches

Our school cafeteria is now closed for the school year. Students will not be able to buy their lunches next week from our servery, however, there will be a school BBQ on Monday and Wednesday of next week. On Monday, we are encouraging students to purchase hotdogs, drinks and chips for $1 (each) to help send a 7 year old boy who is in remission from Lymphoma to Disney.  We will also have a bake sale to assist with our fundraising.

We will also be hosting a BBQ on Wednesday of this week to celebrate our Co-Curricular Awards and Dodgeball tournament that day.  Students can bring in money on Monday and Tuesday to purchase tickets for the BBQ.  We will not be able to handle cash on Wednesday.  

2015-16 Student Transportation Information

Route information will be available to parents as of August 24, 2015.  Student Transportation Information can be found using the “Stop Finder” located on the http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/ website which will link to the “BusPlanner - Parent Portal”. Parents are asked to enter the student’s last name, birthdate, school and grade in order to access route and stop information.

Routing Changes – New Walk Zones and Bell Times

New walk zones and bell times will be in effect in September 2015. All final walk zone maps as well as a list of new bell times are posted on our website at http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/policies/transformation.

Bus pick up and drop off times are subject to change due to new bell times. Many routes will have new route numbers, new drivers and/or new Operators.  

Transportation Information During the Fall

We would ask parents to advise St. Patrick’s school directly of any changes to student home or caregiver address.  OSTA will require a minimum of three business days to implement a change to transportation services.

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick's Blog Week of June 15th, 2015

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of June 15th, 2015

School Administration Changes

Following the Board meeting on June 9th, a number of school administrator changes were announced.  Following the naming of Denise Andre to Director, Tom D’Amico to Associate Director, and former principal Cindy Owens to a new Superintendent portfolio, other school administrators were switched to accommodate the change.  This movement has affected St. Patrick’s Intermediate - effective September 1st, Mr. Sean Kelly will be moving to All Saints High School, and Don Murphy, currently Vice-Principal at Immaculata High School will be taking over as Principal at St. Pat’s.  

As I wrap up my last couple of weeks at St. Pat’s, I can tell you that leaving behind our 7&8 school will be a challenge.  I have enjoyed an extremely gratifying few years at St. Pat’s and am bringing many memories with me.  I would be remiss if I did not thank our current and former school councils for their support, the incredible cooperation I have received from staff, and the lessons I have taken away from my interactions with students.  I will miss you Shamrocks!

School Trips this week

YMCA Trip: A number of our students including Stand Up Award winners will be travelling to the YMCA camp in Dunrobin for activities and leadership skill training on Wednesday, June 17th.  This is an on-going tradition at St. Patrick’s where students work in small groups to accomplish various activities and tasks.

Grade 7 Calypso Trip: Our grade 7 students will be travelling to Calypso water park on Friday as part of our year end celebrations.  Students will be organized into groups based on a swim test at the park.  A reminder to parents and guardians that students will return from the water park at 5:15 to the school.  Students must be picked up at this time.

Grade 8 La Ronde Trip: This trip is an end-of-year celebration for the grade 8 students at St. Patrick’s Intermediate and will proceed rain or shine this coming Thursday.  Students participating in the field trip will travel by bus to the amusement park.  They will depart from the school at 8:00 am and return at 8:00 pm.  Students must arrange to be picked up from school at 8:00pm by a parent or guardian.

2015-16 Student Transportation Information

Route information will be available to parents as of August 24, 2015.  Student Transportation Information can be found using the “Stop Finder” located on the http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/ website which will link to the “BusPlanner - Parent Portal”. Parents are asked to enter the student’s last name, birthdate, school and grade in order to access route and stop information.

Routing Changes – New Walk Zones and Bell Times

New walk zones and bell times will be in effect in September 2015. All final walk zone maps as well as a list of new bell times are posted on our website at http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/policies/transformation.

Bus pick up and drop off times are subject to change due to new bell times. Many routes will have new route numbers, new drivers and/or new Operators.  

Transportation Information During the Fall

We would ask parents to advise St. Patrick’s school directly of any changes to student home or caregiver address.  OSTA will require a minimum of three business days to implement a change to transportation services,

St. Patrick's Blog Week of May 25th, 2015

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of May 25th, 2015

Community Clean Up

Following a community meeting this past week, an effort to “clean up the community” was introduced as part of the City’s “Clean up the Capital” initiative.  This particular effort is concentrating on the Cedarwood/Sandalwood/Baycrest area.  The Community clean up will take place on May 29th, and interested individuals are asked to meet at Sandalwood Park from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.  Please see the link to the poster below that provides some additional information.

Cedarwood/Sandalwood/Baycrest Community Clean-Up

St. Patrick’s Murder Mystery Cafe School Play

This past week St. Patrick’s Intermediate presented their school play “Murder Mystery Cafe”.  The play featured some strong performances from our students and included an interactive component that involved the audience in the murder investigation.  Congratulations to the play’s director Mr. Leury, who has been working with the students on the production for a number of months.  Great job!

School Innovation Planning for student achievement and wellness (SIPsaw)

A group of staff from St. Patrick’s participated in the Board’s SIPsaw planning date this past week.  This is an opportunity to set academic and student wellness goals for our 2015-2016 school year.  The team focused on initiatives in the areas of faith development, literacy, numeracy and diversity.  Our school is proud of our goal work this year and we look forward to the initiatives for focus next year.  

Rosary Gathering

On May 20th, Ms. Rupert’s Religion class organized a Rosary gathering for the school.  The liturgy included prayer and guided reflection on the meaning of the Rosary, and its connection to many belief traditions.  Thank you to the students who led this opportunity for others.

Arise Dance Group

St. Patrick’s Intermediate hosted the Arise Dance Group from Ottawa this past Friday.  Arise brings its message of caring for one another and respect for ourselves to students through interpretive dance.  We thank the group for their meaningful presentation and organization.  It was an extremely worthwhile way to finish a busy week!

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick's Blog Week of May 19th, 2015

St. Patrick's Blog

Week of May 19th, 2015

Unity Week - Oaxaca, Mexico - Student and Staff Visit

We are coming off a very busy “Unity Week” at St. Patrick’s Intermediate.  From May 8th to 15th, we had over 30 students and staff visiting from Oaxaca (pronounced w ah - h ah - k ah ), Mexico.  We began the week with a commissioning ceremony, using the Board Unity Cross as a symbol of the friendship between our two groups.  The Mexican students (all accomplished dancers!) had been working with our students on video productions over Skype since the beginning of the year.  The visit gave them the opportunity to finalize their video work collaboratively, in person.  As part of the visit, we were able to see the Oaxacan dancers perform at the Ottawa Tulip Festival and in our auditorium.  The visitors and their hosts also took part in our International Lunch, travelled to Montreal, and visited the Bytown Museum and watched Question Period in the House of Commons.  It was a exhausting but fruitful week as we learned about education in Oaxaca, and shared our experiences of school here in Ottawa.  We are looking forward to additional opportunities to collaborate with the Mexican students.

Student Success Visit

On May 12th, the students and staff at St. Patrick’s hosted a Student Success Visit at the school.  This was an opportunity for superintendents and coordinating staff from the school board to tour through classrooms to analyze student learning.  The feedback from the group was very good - we were able to share the many different initiatives happening at St. Pat’s, and a number of students shared their perspective on the strong learning opportunities with which they are provided.

Co-Curricular Success at St. Pat’s

Over the past week we have had a number of opportunities to be proud of our students’ accomplishments at the school board level.  We had two teams participate in the Let’s Talk Science Challenge last week with both groups showing up some of the larger high schools!  We also had a repeat in our success at the Chess Tournament this year.  For the second year in a row, St. Pat’s has brought home the designation of top school in the board.  Congratulations to all of the students involved, and we appreciate the support of our Staff coaches/mentors in these activities.

Have a great week;

Sean Kelly

School Climate Survey - Parent version

A positive learning and teaching environment is essential if students are to succeed in school. Research shows that there is a direct link between student success and the school environment in which learning takes place.

Students are more motivated to do well and to realize their full potential in schools that have a positive school climate, where they feel safe and supported. To this end, the Ministry of Education for Ontario has required that a school climate survey be implemented in all of our schools at a minimum every 2 years. Among other questions, these surveys must include questions on bullying/harassment related to homophobia, gender-based violence, and sexual harassment.  In Catholic schools, our Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human person is the starting point for all issues of diversity. Our board theme (Restore One Another in a Spirit of Gentleness) reflects one way schools strive to create an environment where all students and staff feel safe, welcomed and valued.

Throughout the month of May, we will be inviting parents to take the parent version of the school
climate survey, as it is important to understand parent perspectives of school climate to better meet the needs of all of our students.  The completion of these surveys is highly encouraged as it will allow us to obtain a complete picture of the climate of our school from the perspective of various stakeholders. There is a link to the parent version of the school climate survey below.  The survey will conclude May 22, 2015. Those of you who have registered to receive school/board emails will receive a direct email, linking you to the parent school climate survey.

Complete the School Climate Survey

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

May 11th - School Accommodation Review Presentation

The Board has released the presentation to accompany the public meeting on the school accommodation review for St. Patrick's Intermediate at St. Patrick's High School on May 11th at 7:00pm.  You can view the presentation at the following link:

May 11th Accommodation Review Presentation