09/11/2012

Mother Teresa High School September 11,2012 Greetings! What a great start to a new year! Thank you. Ms. Mary Ellen Agnel

SCHOOL BELL SCHEDULE              High School                            7/8 Homeroom 8:40-8:50  Homeroom 8:40-8:50 Period 1 8:50-10:05   Period 1 8:50-9:40 Period 2 10:10-11:25   Period 2 9:42-10:32 Lunch 11:25-12:10  Nutrition Break 10:32-10:38 Period 3 12:15-1:30   Period 3 10:38-11:30 Period 4 1:35-2:50   Period 4 11:32-12:22   Lunch 12:22-1:08   Period 5 1:08-1:58   Period 6 2:00-2:50 Mother Teresa's Annual Honk'n'Blow Mother Teresa's annual Honk'n'Blow is Wednesday September 12th from 6 to 8pm. Come try all the instruments to see which one best suits you. Saxophones, trumpets, clarinets and more!!! For any questions, see Mr Card in Room 120.    MT SPORTS   Go Titans Go!  Encourage your son or daughter to get involved! There are lots of fall sports starting up at Mother Teresa. Check daily announcements for meetings, tryouts or when the season begins.   LEARNING SKILLS AND WORK HABITS Parents are encouraged to review the "Learning Skills and Work Habits" descriptions with their children. Improving these work habits WILL improve performance! Learning Skills and Work Habits                 INFORMATION SENT HOME Please be on the lookout for the following information that will be distributed during the first few days of the new school year. Signatures Required:   The following information needs to be signed and returned to the school as soon as possible: Student Verification Form  (To be signed by both parents or parent if single parent, if joint custody, both parent signatures are required) Course Standard and Expectations For all High School Classes (click here to view copy on school website). This will be given to all students in homeroom class in first days of school Course Outline (High School only) Ottawa Catholic School Board - Accepted Use of Technology Agreement (click here to view copy on website) Student Fee and Yearbook Order Form Photo Form (Photo Day is Sept. 12th) Freedom of Information Sheet Thanking you so much for your cooperation in returning these forms. Other information that you may wish to review with your son/daughter: - Student Agenda (click here to view copy posted on website) - Student Timetable - Student Insurance Form - School Calendar (click here to view calendar on school website) We ask that you please review attendance procedures and dress code policies with your child. These can be found in the student agenda. We appreciate your help. Communication is Key at Mother Teresa - Staying in touch with what is happening at school - what homework? Finding out what is going on at school has been an eternal problem. We also realize this and are trying to help, using tools of the modern age of digital communication...so what are your options? Daily Morning Announcements - The daily announcements that are read in each homeroom every morning have been posted online for over six years now! Just go to the school website ( https://teh.ocsb.ca) and look near the top of the page to click on Daily Announcements. They are usually posted at about 3:00 pm the previous day. Find out what is happening at Mother Teresa even before your child does. School Calendar - In the school agenda that all grade 7 & 8 student receive, there is a Calendar of Events. The problem is dates are changing all the time. To see (or even subscribe to) the Mother Teresa Event Calendar, go towww.mths.ca , click on "Our School" and then "School Calendar". Homeroom Websites - For Grade 7 & 8 students, each homeroom has its own website with a running homework blog. Go to www.mths.ca; click on "Departments" and then "Grade 7 & 8" to find a list of all homerooms. This homework blog is maintained by the students, so if your homeroom is not up to date you can get your child to volunteer to update it! Some subjects also have specific pages where teachers post content as well. Course Websites - For high school classes, every course and section has its own website. You will have to ask your child for their schedule and find out the course codes for each of their classes (ex. ICS2O-01). Just go towww.mths.ca and then click on "Departments" and then the appropriate department for the course. Most high school teachers are now using and updating them daily. Bi-Weekly E-News Letter -is sent out by the Principal highlighting what has happened and what will happen at school. (You already get it; this is the e-news letter!). To sign up or be removed, send an email toMotherTeresa.High@ocsb.ca. iPhone App - Yes that is right! Mother Teresa has its own iPhone app, now with Push Notification. All the above can also be accessed on your iPhone in its own app. We also send out push notifications (those pop up reminders) to tell you about special events that are happening at the school. If you or your child has not downloaded the app yet, just go to apps.mths.ca or search for "iMTHS" on the Apps Store and stay up to date. Facebook and Twitter - Yes you can even follow us on Facebook or Twitter                 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mother-Teresa-High-School                 http://twitter.com/MotherTeresaHS Hopefully this will help you stay tuned to the happenings at Mother Teresa. If you have any other suggestions to help keep you informed, drop us a note atMotherTeresa.High@ocsb.ca. Safe School Website Please click here click here to view information on our board website about safe and inclusive schools as well as  bullying prevention and internet safety. TRANSPORTATION As you are aware OC Transpo has undergone major bus route service changes which may or may not affect your child's travel time to school. Information on the fastest trip to school can be found on the Travel Planner as well a list of the school routes can be found under Routes and Maps > High schools and middle schools. Please direct any inquires to www.octranspo.com YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES: Parents should be advising the school directly of any change to a student's home address as this may impact on transportation services. As well, the following email address and phone number can be used to communicate any other transportation concerns to OSTA: Centre West Zone - (613) 224-8800 ext. 2382Centre.west@ottawaschoolbus.ca Applications for Empty Seat Availability: Students, who had been approved to access school bus transportation under the Empty Seat Availability provision for  2011/12, are reminded that they are required to re-apply, along with any other students wishing to request this service for the 2012/13 school year. The "Application for Access to Empty Seats on School Bus Vehicles," form is available on the OSTA website atwww.ottawaschoolbus.ca. Parents complete and sign the OSTA Application for Empty Seat form and drop it off at the school prior to the end of September.Please note that empty seats cannot be assigned until after October 1st. Consideration will be given to medical/extenuating circumstances, Grade 7&8 students, after which any empty seats will be assigned. Please note that OSTA reserves the right to withdraw approval anytime based on changing student numbers and route efficiency requirements. Assigned seating is for the 2012/13 school year only. OUTSTANDING FEES/TEXTBOOKS We ask that you remind students in your home who have outstanding course fees, textbooks, or course materials, to please return or pay for any outstanding items. Thank you for your support with this matter. REPORT CARD PICK UP The school has been open throughout the summer months for students to pick up their final report cards from the 2011-12 school year. Students who have yet to pick up their report cards are requested not to come to the Main Office the first week of school due to the heavy volume for the start up of our new school year. Report cards can be picked up starting the week of September 10th. TECHNOLOGY UPDATES Our school is now completely 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 other electronic devices they may own. Students are allowed to use their personal electronic devices if they are being used to enhance learning in the classroom. They should never be used for texting, personal phone calls, filming or photographing their peers or staff, or for accessing social media sites during class time unless under the direction of their teachers. Students should not be responding to texts received during class time as this can be distracting to others in the class. Social etiquette on the use of personal electronic devices will be a focus of discussion at our grade level meetings. Our 21st century learners are very adept at the use of electronics but need to be guided and taught their appropriate use. We will be addressing this with our students throughout the year but would really appreciate your support in sharing the ground rules for use of personal electronic devices in schools. More information on this topic can be found in the student agendas that were distributed to every student on the first day. STUDENT COUNCIL CO-PRESIDENTS Mother Teresa Student Council will be led by Eric Esma and Alicia Roy Congratulations and we look forward to your leadership. Dr. Leonard Sax: Save the Date! We are very excited to have Dr. Leonard Sax, a well respected author  visit our School on September 24th.  Dr. Sax will be speaking about Resiliency  in Children.  More information will be made available shortly.  You can click here if you would like to read about Dr. Sax Resilient and Ready Resilient & Ready?  A Luncheon Conversation for Parents Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm (doors open at 11:30am) Location: Centurion Convention Center (170 Colonnade Road) Admission: $25.     To purchase your ticket click here. This conversation will give parents a better understanding of how their teenager's brain works and how to help them deal with the ups and downs of life. Our panel of clinical experts and neuroscientists from The Royal and CHEO will discuss:    ·         How the brain rewires itself during puberty ·         How to deal with life transitions (i.e. changing schools, going to college or university, moving away from family and friends) ·         The risk factors for mental illness and suicide and effective coping strategies Panel: · Dr. Raj Bhatla, Psychiatrist-in-Chief and Chief of Staff, The Royal · Dr. Rob Milin, Psychiatrist and Clinical Scientist, The Royal's Youth Program · Dr. Michael Cheng: Child and Family Psychiatrist, CHEO · Dr. Georg Northoff,  The Royal's Research Unit Director of Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics and Canada Research Chair GOLD CERTIFIED ECO SCHOOL All students are encouraged to bring a litterless lunch to school, keeping in line with our Gold Certified Eco School.  Re-useable, recyclable containers are encouraged and a reminder that green bins are located in the cafeteria and on the first floor of the school. DATES AND UPCOMING EVENTS September 12th - School Photo Day September 12th - Annual Honk'n'Blow September 13th - Program Night/Meet the Teacher September 17th - 19th - Leadership Camp September 18th - Resilient and Ready Workshop September 21st - Student Fees are due September 24th - Dr. Leonard Sax Presentation October 5th - PD Day - no classes grades 7-12

Sincerely, Mrs. Mary Ellen Agnel Principal Mother Teresa High School