....a few weeks in...

With three weeks completed a routine has developed here at school as classes are moving along and many clubs and activities are well underway.  This week finds us getting ready for a few events that recognize academic success from the past school year: Excellence Night and our Honours Breakfast; and a school-wide assembly on Friday that kicks off our Relay for Life Campaign.

Each of these events has required a great deal of organization and involvement.  Thank you to our wonderful office staff for all of their work (Excellence Night and Honours Breakfast) and to Ms. Hanley and Ms. Logan for their work with our Relay for Life group.

Red Devil teams are competing (and winning) on the playing fields across Halton this week.  Our powerhouse field hockey teams are looking to replicate success from past seasons.  Our Senior Boys Football team opened the season with a big win over White Oaks last week while our Juniors lost their opener to Abbey Park.  Cross Country runners are competing in a number of competitions this fall and we look forward to some great success.  Volleyball kicks off this week so stay tuned for results in the weeks to come.

Thank you to the parents of our grade 9 students who came out to Parents' Night last Thursday.  I hope you enjoyed the opportunity to connect with your child's Teachers.  Please don't hesitate to contact the school should any concerns emerge over the semester.

Coming soon we will be sharing our 5th Week Reports.  These reports provide a quick snapshot of how the semester has begun for all students.  ALL Grade 9 students will receive an E-MAILED 5th Week Report from each of their child's Teachers.  For Grade 10 through 12 5th Week Reports are mandatory for any student who is struggling with the early weeks of the semester.

Reports will be sent out on October 3rd and parents (of grade 9 students especially) should be asking their sons/daughters about any reports.  Many staff will e-mail a markbook printout to all families as a method of providing an update - even if a student is not struggling.

E-mailing reports is a new process for some of our staff and so there may be some challenges.  Last year OTHS spent over $1,500.00 on postage (for these kind of reports) alone and we would prefer to re-direct those funds toward improving access for students to new technology (Chromebooks; Mounted projectors; etc.).  It is my hope that we will expand the use of e-mailing parents with interim progress reports and save the printing and posting expense for the more formal report cards at mid-term and semester end.

Post Secondary Update:
Mr. Pope and his Guidance Team will be hosting a couple of University information sessions here at OT.  On Wednesday, September 24th (6:00-9:00 p.m.) we are hosting a U.S. College information session (Library) and then on Wednesday, October 15th a Canadian College and University Fair will take place throughout the day (Atrium).

Elections:
With the Municipal election approaching OTHS is hosting an All-Candidates Night on Wednesday, October 8th at 6:00 p.m. (Cafeteria).

......until next time....