MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN
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Christmas Blessings Collection
As Advent approaches we are gearing up for our Christmas Blessings Collection. This is the time we ask everyone to dig deeply into their wallets and donate cash and Canadian Tire money to support school families who require financial assistance.
Our target this year is $6000 cash and $1000 in Canadian Tire dollars.
The Blessings collection begins on Monday, December 5 and ends onFriday, December 16. We have two full weeks to meet our goals. Please remind your children to bring their donations into their homerooms.
The winning two homerooms will be treated to a pancake breakfast served by staff.
Advent Prayer Services
Our community prayer services will take place on Wednesday, December 14. The first sitting is from 9:15 to 10:00 and the second sitting will be from 10:20 to 11:05.
Please let me know if you would like to join us and we will make sure that you have a seat reserved.
Martha Dougherty
Chaplaincy Team Leader
Mother Teresa High School
823-1663 ext. 2019
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REMEMBRANCE DAY ASSEMBLIES
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Our Remembrance Day Ceremony reminded us of those who risked and sacrificed their lives for our freedom or the freedom of others. All of our Mother Teresa students, staff and honoured guests were amazed by the ceremony produced by our staff and students under the leadership of Mme Milliard. The ceremony was both meaningful and very poignant. Dancers, singers, musicians, actors, narrators, flag bearers and our own resident piper hosted a wonderful tribute to our veterans.
A special thank you to our tech crew under the leadership of Mr. Linke who made sure everything ran extremely smooth and seamless.
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NATIONAL STAND UP TO BULLYING WEEK
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National Stand up to Bullying week ran from November 14th to November 19th.
Here at Mother Teresa High School the Stand up to Bullying Squad (SUBS) headed up an informative and educational week.
Current research tells us that bullying will stop in less than 10 seconds most of the time, when others get involved and befriend those who are being bullied. This is easy to say, but often very difficult to do, especially for young people.
Nine SUBS members had two days of Beyond the Hurt Youth Facilitator Training by Red Cross. This interactive training teaches Youth Facilitators (YF) :
- How interpersonal power issues are played out among young people
- What common tactics are utilized by bullies
- Intervention and prevention issues, including the legal system and school policies
- How to respond to disclosures and what support services are available
- What impact harassing behaviour has on young people
- Proactive strategies for preventing harassment, abuse and bullying from occurring at individual, organization, and community levels
- How to prepare and deliver a workshop on bullying and harassment prevention to younger peers
Mother Teresa SUBS are 40 members strong. Last week they kicked off with a facebook campaign beginning on Monday. Ask your children to see their facebook. This was a great week to clean up those friend lists, discuss appropriate behaviour on facebook/texting as well as other social media, and decide whether your child should spend less time facebooking and texting.
The SUBS also visited the homerooms with ideas as to how to STAND UP for others and ourselves. They wore their shirts which state "STOP BULLYING, YOU ARE NOT ALONE" throughout the week to promote the National Bullying Awareness Week. The newly trained Youth Facilitators trained all the members of SUBS and they began presentations to Grade 7 and 8 students. These presentations will continue throughout the year.
12 FACTS on Cyber Bullying:
1. Nearly 35% of students have been threatened online and almost one in five have had it happen more than once.
2. Among this percentage, being ignored and disrespected were the most common forms of cyber bullying.
3. Nine out of ten middle school students have had their feelings hurt online.
4. About 75% have visited a Web site bashing another student.
5. Four out of ten middle school students have had their password(s) stolen and changed by a bully who then locked them out of their own account or sent communications posing as them.
6. About 21% of students have received mean or threatening e-mails.
7. The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber-bullying are similar to real-life bullying outcomes, except for the reality that with cyber-bullying there is often no escape. School ends at 2:50 p.m., while the Internet is available all the time.
8. The primary cyber-bullying location where victimizing occurs, 56%, of the time, is in chat rooms.
9. Girls are about twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyber-bullying.
10. About 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than four out of ten say it has happened more than once.
11. Cyber-bullying has increased in recent years. In a national survey of 10-17 year olds, twice as many children indicated they had been victims and perpetrators of online harassment in 2005, compared with 2000.
12. Cyberbullying CAN and DOES often lead to TEENAGE SUICIDE.......FACT!
(Information gathered from another Anti-bullying page)
Helpful websites for parents:
http://www.google.ca/familysafety/
http://www.bewebaware.ca/english/cyberbullying.html
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OSAID STUDENTS ACTIVE AT MT
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MTSAID awareness week is taking place Monday, November 28th to Friday, December 2nd.
Tuesday November 29th:
During high school lunch on the cafeteria stage, students will be encouraged to participate in the "Wii Distracted Driving Challenge" to highlight the dangers of attempting to "drive" while sending a text.
Wednesday November 30th:
During high school lunch in the atrium, students will be encouraged to participate in an obstacle course with impaired vision goggles. An Ottawa Public Health nurse will join us. She will be bringing impaired vision googles and plasma cars to use in the obstacle course.
Thursday December 1st:
During high school lunch in the atrium, MTSAID members will be selling "mocktails" to promote alternatives to drinking alcohol.
Friday December 2nd:
During high school lunch in the atrium, students will be encouraged to place their handprint on a sign that shows their commitment not to drive impaired.
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HEALING AFTER TRAUMA
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DR. SUZANNE SIMOND, PSYCHOLOGIST - PRESENTED AT MOTHER TERESA - HEALING AFTER TRAUMA
On Monday, November 14th the Mother Teresa staff and community were invited to attend a session with Dr. Suzanne Simond, Psychologist with the Ottawa Anxiety and Trauma clinic. Dr. Simond specializes in working with individuals suffering from PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Stress Disorder) Two thirds of her clients are members from the general public and the remaining third are RCMP members. She adapts her interventions to meet the needs of each client.
Dr. Simond began her presentation by defining trauma and what happens to our body and brain in the days, weeks and even months after someone experiences trauma. She also highlighted common reactions, coping skills and the warning signs that someone may need professional help to deal with the effects of trauma. Dr. Simond's presentation was well received by both the staff and the community.
Other areas she covered in her presentation are listed below:
What is the normal coping process after a trauma?
What is the process of healing over time?
What are effective coping strategies?
What are warning signs and symptoms of difficulty coping?
What does Post Traumatic Stress Disorder look like?
When is it time to seek help?
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TRIP TO THE MUSEUM OF NATURE
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On Friday November 4th, forty-six Grade 11 biology students headed off to the Museum of Nature for the day. There, students were immersed in many wonderful hands on, visually stimulating, and thoroughly engaging exhibits. Of note, "The Extreme Mammal" exhibit allowed students to explore different evolutionary outcomes and to witness a wide variety of animal specimens. Some of the animal examples were currently living and some were extinct, but all demonstrated a highly adapted body plan that was very well suited to their natural environments. For students, seeing a complete blue whale skeleton, as well as seeing the tiniest mammal, the now extinct shrew-like Batodondoides, deepened their appreciation for the diversity of life on Earth. By touring the extensive fossil collection, students were afforded the opportunity to explore the evidence that supports the Theory of Evolution.
We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful resource like the Museum of Nature so close to our community. The feedback from the students was very positive. In our classroom studies, we have been talking about diversity, genetics and evolution. This field trip really tied together many aspects of our classroom learning to date.
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THE ANNUAL SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR
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Our Annual Scholastic Book Fair will be held
in the atrium during the day on:
Wednesday, November 23
Thursday, November 24
Friday, November 25.
All students will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair and make purchases.
Parents are also invited to drop by during the day to do some Christmas shopping.
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GRADE 7/8 READ-A-THON - NOVEMBER 3
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Please view the attached video clip from this exciting day.
7/8 Read A Thon
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OTTAWA PUBLIC HEALTH
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Grade 7/8 students will be receiving their second immunization on Thursday, November 24 and Friday November 25th.
The third immunization will be received in May 2012.
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STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS
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Small Stage = BIG TALENT
Come out and support our Titan Talent Lounge on Thursday, November 24th in the MTHS Cafeteria. This event will show case some of the amazingly talented Titans we have at MT. The event begins at 7:00 pm and the cost of admission is $3.
See you there!!
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SCHOOL PLAY (Save a Date)
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This year our Students will perform Jesus Christ Superstar on December 15-17. Come out and support our cast and crew as they have been working extremely hard at rehearsals under the direction of Mr. R. Linke.
More information will follow in the next Constant Contact.
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TITAN SPORTS
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CONGRATULATIONS TO -
The Junior Boys' Soccer Teamwho captured the school's first ever tier one National Capital Championship on Thursday, November 3rd at Louis Riel. The team won 1 - 0 over Louis Riel in their historic championship victory. Coach Rowley and Coach Gervasi are extremely proud of the boys' hard work and success as they represented Mother Teresa with class.
The 7/8 Boys' Volleyball Team who qualified for the playoffs as the 6th seed (2nd in the West Division). The boys played in the Quarter Finals against St. Joseph, where unfortunately they lost a hard fought battle. Well done boys!! We are very proud of you.
Our Sr. Boys' Volleyball Team who placed first in the western division during regular season play this year. They beat Lester B Pearson in the Quarter Finals and took St. Michaels to a 27-25 finish in the semi-finals where they we were finally knocked out. We want to thank Brendan, Oscar, Harry and Manuel who are in Grade 12 this year for an excellent season, and we welcome the rest of the boys back next year for what is sure to be a great year of volleyball. Special thanks should go to Stephanie and Michelle who volunteered their time at practices and who were our faithful score-keepers at every home game this season.
Congratulations to the Junior and Senior Boys' Basketball Teams who, this past weekend, had great success in their respective season opening tournaments.
The Senior Boys' Basketball Team competed in the John Cullen Referees Tournament where they opened play by defeating Fellows High School 48 - 32. The team was led by a strong defensive team effort holding Fellows High School to 11 points at halftime. Cody McLeod led the team in scoring with 13 points. In their second game the team continued their strong defensive performance by beating Carine Wilson High School 55 - 41. The team was led in scoring again by Cody McLeod with 19 points. In the quarter finals the team fell to a more pre-season ready and polished St. Peter's team, who went on to win the tournament.
Meanwhile, in a rematch of their tournament opening game, the Junior Boys' Basketball Team found redemption by capturing the Bronze medal at the St. Patrick's Irish Classic, defeating Sir Robert Borden 49 - 44; the team had lost to Borden 50 - 48 earlier in the tournament. In that narrow first round loss Jared Maloney led the team in scoring with 25 points.
The team played Longfields/Davidson Heights Secondary School in the second round of the tournament and defeated their Barrhaven neighbour 66 - 40, led by Jason Adamski with 18 points.
In the quarter finals the team grinded out an impressive 50 - 46 defensive victory, coming back from 10 points down to defeat South Carleton. The team was led in scoring by Carl Rhyndress who scored 26 points including 7 three pointers, dropping 4 in a row at one point in the 4th quarter.
In a tough quarter final game the Junior Titans fell to Immaculata High School, only to rebound later that afternoon to capture the Bronze medal.
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SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
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Fundraiser
Thank you to the Mother Teresa community members who purchased gift cards as part of our Fundraiser. We raised approximately $1000.
Free Parent Seminar
On Monday, November 28, 2011 CHEO and the OCDSB are offering a free parent seminar.
MIDDLE CHILDHOOD MATTERS
What you Need to Know about your 6-9 year old.
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
The Adult High School on Rochester Street
Free Parking
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REMINDER: FLU CLINIC AT MOTHER TERESA
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Ottawa Publc Health is holding a free flu shot clinic at Mother Teresa High School on:
Wednesday, November 30
3:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Please open the attached document from Ottawa Public Health for more information.
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