8/30/2010

Dear Parents/Guardians:
 


I have just completed my first week back in my school since July 8th and thought I would share with you some information that I hope you will find useful for the start up of the 2010-11 school year. Much has been happening at Mother Teresa High School over the summer. We have had solar panels mounted on our roof that will generate power to operate systems at our school while giving back to the hydro grid. To commemorate the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa, local artist Elizabeth van Beek has created a stained glass installment for our Career Centre off the Atrium. Flooring has been replaced in our main office and library, the stage floor has been resurfaced, and our chapel is scheduled to be repainted next week. Our building looks amazing thanks to our caretaking staff and our school board's Facilities and Planning Department. Special thanks to Chris Murphy, Roy Pellatt, Thomas Burke, Mike Spiers, Jeff Dunn, Ray Monette, David Brose and Phil Kelly for attending to so many projects at our school over the summer months!

New Start and End Times:

School Bell Schedule

8:35 a.m.	Warning bell
8:40 a.m.	Homeroom begins
8:50 a.m.	End of Homeroom - HS Period 1 & 7/8 Block 1 begins
9:40 a.m.	End of 7/8 Block 1
10:05 a.m.	End of Period 1 (High School)
10:10 a.m.	Period 2 begins (High School)
10:32 a.m.	End of 7/8 Block 2
10:38 a.m.	End of 7/8 Break
11:25 a.m.	End of Period 2 High School lunch begins
11:30 a.m.	End of 7/8 Block 3
12:10 p.m.	High School lunch ends
12:15 p.m.	Period 3 begins (High School)
12:22 p.m.	End of 7/8 Block 4 - 7/8 Lunch Begins
1:06 p.m.	Warning Bell - end of 7/8 Lunch
1:08 p.m.	End of 7/8 Lunch - Block 5 Begins
1:30 p.m.	End of Period 3 (High School)
1:35 p.m.	Period 4 begins (High School)
1:58 p.m.	End of 7/8 Block 5
2:50 p.m.	End of day dismissal for all students

School Year Calendar

School begins this year for students on Tuesday, September 7^th. If your child is returning to Mother Teresa but will not be present on the first day, please call the school and let us know your child's start date.

Please click on the link provided below to view the entire year calendar as well as school and board contact information. Hard copies of this school board calendar will be made available to our students through their homeroom teachers the first week of school.

http://www.ottawacatholicschools.ca/media.php?mid=52451

Pastoral Perspectives

It is with pleasure that I introduce to you our new school chaplain, Martha Dougherty, who will be providing you with her "pastoral perspectives" this year.

Hello, fellow Titans! I was thrilled when I was told that I was indeed being posted at Mother Teresa High School. This school community is known throughout the Board as a place where hospitality and collaboration abound. I feel blessed to be your new Chaplaincy Team Leader and I am looking forward to meeting all our parents at the many events this year.

The school Board pastoral theme this year is from 1 Corinthians 12:12. "Though many, we are one body in Christ." This theme will be a rich source of faith development.

As well, this year is the 100th birthday of Blessed Mother Teresa and we will be celebrating her throughout the entire school year. Each week I will drop you a line to let you know what is happening around the chapel as well as the programs that are upcoming. We have much to celebrate!

Cheers,
Martha

Yellow School Bus Transportation

Students who are within the designated walk zone to their school may apply for transportation if there are empty seats on a school bus route. Beginning September, 2010, applications will no longer be reviewed by the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA). School principals will now authorize and assign empty seat requests for their students based on the following criteria:

Ø Date of the application

Ø Special needs of student

Ø Distance from school (farthest to closest)

Ø Grade level (priority given to younger students)

Ø Daycare provider

Ø Siblings attending the same school

The procedure to follow:

1. Parents/guardians must complete and sign the OSTA Application for Empty Seat Form.
2. Each application is received by our school, dated and kept on file until October.
3. Any available seats will be assigned after October 1^st, 2010.
4. Assigned seating will be given for the current school year only.
5. No special bus routes or stops will be created for empty seat riders.
6. OSTA reserves the right to withdraw approval at anytime based on changing student numbers and route efficiency requirements.

Please note that there are very few seats available on many of our bus runs. We will do our best to accommodate special requests but will not be able to confirm any possibilities until after October 1^st. If you wish to speak to someone at our school about transportation needs, please direct your preliminary inquires to Christine Thuesen in our main office.

Website Information

Once again I am encouraging our Mother Teresa community to check our school website (www.mths.ca) for valuable information. Our daily announcements, course information, graduating student scholarships and much more is available throughout the website. Please stay informed!

Outstanding Fees/Textbooks

Please remind students in your home who have outstanding course fees, textbooks or course materials that need to be returned from previous years to bring these items to our main office prior to the beginning of the new school year. All 2010-11 textbooks and other course materials will be withheld until these items are settled. Thank you for your support with this matter.

Report Card Pick Up

Our school has been open throughout the summer months for students who wish to pick up their report card from the 2009-10 school year. Students who have not yet picked up their report card are encouraged to do so this week August 30th to September 3rd.

Our office hours for this week are 8am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday with the exception of Tuesday, August 31st, when there will be a power outage from 8am to 9am, and on Thursday morning until noon when our office staff will be attending our first staff meeting.

We are requesting that students not come to the main office the first week of school, September 7th to September 10th, requesting last year's report cards due to the volume of requests for the start up of the new school year.

Thank you again for your support.

Technology Updates

Our school is now wireless and with this brings a new level of responsibility on the part of our students with respect to their personal electronic devices. I am requesting your help in discussing the following with your children to ensure they understand the appropriate use of cell phones and the many electronic devices they may own.

Students will now be allowed to use them in their classrooms if they are being used to enhance learning in the classroom. They should not be used for texting, personal phone calls, filming or photographing their peers or staff, or for accessing social media sites unless under the direction of their teachers. Our 21st century learners are very adept at the use of electronics but also need to be taught their appropriate use. We will be addressing this with our students throughout the year but really appreciate your support in sharing the ground rules for use in schools. As we open up accessibility we also recognize the need for teaching our students some social and educational etiquette around the use of electronics.

More information on this topic is also available in the student agendas that will be distributed the first week of school.

Upcoming Dates

Welcome BBQ for all new students September 1st 10am-noon
School Photo Day September 15th
Program Night (Meet the Teacher) September 16th 6:30pm-8pm
School Council Meeting/Elections September 20th 7pm-9pm

Back to School Safety Meeting

Councillors Jan Harder & Steve Desroches are hosting a safety awareness meeting with guest Speaker, Chief of Police Vern White.

Tuesday, August 31st

Mother Teresa High School

440 Longfields Drive, Barrhaven

6pm to 8:30pm

For more information please contact:

Andrea Ward

613-580-2424 ext 13162

andrea.ward@ottawa.ca

Topics Covered:

- Speeding

- Helmet Safety

- School Safety

- Traffic

We hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Norma McDonald
Principal
Mother Teresa High School