St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog Week of September 18-22

Important School Council Meeting
This Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1 we are having our first School Council Meeting.  This year we have a number of vacant positions due to students moving into grade 9 and, therefore, parents no longer being eligible to be on School Council.

Please consider running for one of the vacant positions: chair, vice-chair, treasurer, and parent representative.

Intramurals at St. Pat's Intermediate
Under the direction of Ms. Tilly Corriveau, our highly-popular intramurals program is starting up again.  For information on this and on the purchasing of intramural t-shirts, please access:
https://drive.google.com/open?
id=18SlWdjIZXRaFSvTT16LWP_JvkwAsJ_WMq5EQAauu-9U

Staples Promotion
For information on our Board's BYOD program (bring your own device) and for a promotional offer from Staples, please access the following link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Wy40nNGz2mhRZ8RowoZiTmkN_fLZh8tETpZoiTlqVu0

School Photo Day

Students will be called down during the day for school photos on Friday, September 22.  There is no need to send money ahead of time as students will receive picture proofs and parents can make decisions about ordering later on. For helpful hints from Edge Imaging, simply click here:  
Photo Day Information

Math Homework Help

Homework Help is a valuable math resource for students in grades 7 to 10, as it allows them to access live, anonymous tutor chat sessions with certified Ontario teachers. In these sessions, the tutors will guide students to solve math questions after school hours. Access at: Homework Help

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy

Principal

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 19:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1, St. Pat's Intermediate, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tuesday, October 3:  Supporting Big Emotions at 7 p.m. at St. Mother Teresa High School.  For more information and to register please access School News and Announcements on our website's landing page at spe.ocsb.ca.

Tuesday, October 17:  The ABC's of ADHD at 7 p.m. at Immaculata High School. For more information and to register please access School News and Announcements on our website's landing page at spe.ocsb.ca.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog Week of September 11-15

Opening Week

We had a great opening week at St. Patrick’s Intermediate.  Our assemblies gave us an opportunity to speak to students about being kind to each other and steps to take if bullied or if a witness to bullying.  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.  

Meet the Staff Night

On Thursday we had a great turnout for our annual Meet the Staff Night. Despite the downpour, parents/guardians were able to walk from building to building in order to connect with our staff. Feedback from this night was extremely positive and it is something that we will continue annually.

Monday Morning Assembly

For our grade 7 students, our weekly Monday Morning Assembly will be a new experience in organization and in building spirit.  We gather Monday mornings as a full community to listen, to pray, to reflect, and to review goals.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy

Principal

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 19:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1, St. Pat's Intermediate, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Other Information

Parenting Children with Learning Disabilities: Dr. Maggie Mamen  Parent Sessions Please share with your parent community.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog Week of September 4-8

Welcome Back to School!

I would like to extend a very warm return to our grade 8 students and families, and an enthusiastic welcome to our grade 7's.  We are excited to begin the learning process within our school community this year.

On Tuesday, we will have a special schedule providing some additional time in homebase so that teachers can provide students with information about the school year, and distribute a number of forms that we are asking students to bring home to their parents/guardians.  Included in this package is a welcoming letter from me.  

Our staff met last week for a liturgy and to review directions for the school year, and I had the opportunity to thank a number of people at that time.  I would also like to share with our entire community my appreciation of the custodial staff, led by Mr. Joanisse, as well as our office administrators Ms. Mahoney and Ms. Smith, for their extensive work preparing for the start of this year.  

Our Welcome BBQ for new students and families last Wednesday was a huge success. The weather was perfect, giving everyone the opportunity to remain outdoors and meet. I'd like to thank our School Council for all their hard work and effort. The first School Council meeting is Tuesday, September 19 at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1. I encourage those interested to come out and get involved.

It is exciting to start another school year. One initiative that I will continue will be to keep students, parents and guardians up to date with school news through this blog.  There are other modes of communicating with the school found on the welcoming letter from me that your son/daughter will bring home on Tuesday.  Please review this and feel free to contact the school anytime.

Meet the Staff Evening
Our Meet the Staff Evening is this Thursday, Sept. 7 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. We look forward to meeting our community at this casual meet-and-greet event. We will start the evening by gathering together in the cafeteria. Hope to see you there!

Drinking Water in Ontario Schools
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByrlYMrTjslHa3Rjb1U5WXZoUzlWb2stV0FVZW9Za29aU1k4

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy

Principal

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, September 19:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1, St. Pat's Intermediate, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog June 26 to 30

PowWow on Parliament Hill

To celebrate National Aboriginal Day (now re-named to National Indigenous Peoples Day), a number of students went to Parliament Hill to take part in a PowWow and other activities.  I spoke to students at the end of the day and many explained to me that they had an amazing time and learned a lot.  This is something we will definitely look at repeating next year.

Excursion to Calypso and La Ronde

On Friday our grade 7's went to the water park at Calypso and our grade 8's went to La Ronde in Montreal.  Everyone arrived back home safely and all had a good time.  Thanks so much to staff for organizing both events and for supervising.  

Grade 8 Closing Ceremonies

Grade 8 closing ceremonies will take place on Tuesday, June 27 at Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica at 1:30 p.m. Grade 8 students have already been given tickets for the celebration. Students will need to be driven from the school on Tuesday to Notre Dame by a parent/guardian. We ask that students and family members arrive no earlier than 1 p.m. because there is a noon mass at Notre Dame and we will not be permitted to enter until mass is finished. When the doors to Notre Dame open, students should go to their assigned seating area according to their homebase. Parents and guardians will be seated immediately behind the student area. After the ceremony, students and family members are invited back to the school for a reception.

Grade 7 Awards Ceremony

On Tuesday, June 27, our grade 7 students will be recognized for their academic achievements at our Grade 7 Awards Ceremony at 9:15 a.m. Parents/guardians will be notified if their child will be receiving an award.

Lunch

Just a reminder that our school cafeteria is now closed for the school year; hence, students will not be able to purchase lunch from the servery.

2017-18 Student Transportation Information

Route information will be available to parents as of August 20, 2017. 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.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

As this is my final blog until the new school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank St. Patrick's students, staff, and parent community for the support and commitment that they have shown this year. A special thank you to our School Council for the support that they have demonstrated. I look forward to welcoming our new and returning students in September. I wish everyone a restful and relaxing summer.

Don Murphy

Principal

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog June 19-23

School Trips this week

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 4:45 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 Friday as well.  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.

YMCA Trip on Friday

A number of our students, including Stand Up Award winners, travelled to the YMCA camp in Dunrobin for activities and leadership skill training. The weather could have been a bit better but, despite this, everyone had a wonderful time. Special thanks to Ms. Corriveau for organizing this.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog June 12-16

2017-18 Student Transportation Information

Route information will be available to parents as of August 20, 2017. 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.

Transportation Information During the Fall

We would ask parents to advise St. Patrick’s Intermediate 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.

Bus Riders with Life-Threatening Medical Conditions

Please be reminded that three copies of the Life-threatening Medical Condition Emergency Transportation form must be submitted to OSTA by September 30 of each year for all students who may require the emergency administration of epinephrine auto-injectors or other emergency medical attention during transportation to or from school. These forms will be processed and sent to the school bus driver. Please do not give these forms directly to the school bus driver.

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 Friday, June 16th.  This is an on-going tradition at St. Patrick’s where students work in small groups to accomplish various activities and tasks.

Important Contacts

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy

Principal

St. Patrick's Intermediate June 5 to June 9

Yearbooks on Sale

A reminder that yearbooks are on sale until Friday, June 16.  Cash is no longer accepted but you can still use School Cash Online to pay the $20 cost.

Visit to St. Patrick's High School

On Tuesday all of our grade 8's went over to St. Pat's High School to get a taste of all the good things going on there.  Students could ask questions, discuss various pathways, and they were able to see the site.  We are very appreciative of the warm welcome we always receive from our high school Shamrocks.

Professional Development Day on Friday

A reminder that Friday, June 9 is a professional development day for staff in Ottawa Catholic School Board schools, meaning that there is NO school for students.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Cees Artz and can be reached at chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy

Principal