The final stretch......

A message to our seniors...

.....while we're all enjoying the nice weather....the semester is far from over !!!  Please continue to press on with your great work this semester.  It is always disheartening to see a student's grade drop significantly over the final six weeks of school.  Remember....university and college acceptances are always 'conditional'.  It would be a real shame to see any student lose a spot as a result of 'shutting it down' too early.

According to some of our Grade 12 Teachers many students appear to be hitting the cruise button on their work habits.  Thanks for reminding your sons/daughters that we still have a month of important summative and exam work ahead.


Relay for Life

With only 1 day remaining in our R4L preparations students at school are both excited about the event tomorrow and about the early success of our fundraising.  Students, friends, and families have contributed over $85,000.00 toward our goal.  While we're still a long way from the goal of raising $155,000.00 the efforts of all our students (and families) have been excellent.
Thank you to Ms. Hanley and Ms. Logan (among a host of other staff) for their leadership of our Relay Group this year.  The student leaders have also done a fantastic job and deserve our thanks and appreciation.
Good luck tomorrow night!!!!

NOTE:  Our final tally for R4L was OVER $177,500.00 !!!!!!   Once again OT is the Top Fundraising School in Canada !!!  Way to go OT  !!!



Spring Success!!!


Congratulations to a number of our Spring sports teams on a great season.

The Junior Girls Tennis Team of Hana Badawy, Tessa Bray, Kate Medd, and Nicole Paldino and the Junior Boys Tennis Team have emerged as Halton Champions (once again).  Congratulations to both teams.  Members of the Junior Boys team are Andrew Aling, Jeffrey Smith, Joshua Hill, and Alex Wilson.

OT's Rugby domination continues as all four of our Rugby teams have won Halton Championships.  This morning our Junior Boys and Junior Girls teams both emerged victorious in their championship games.

The Senior Girls team is off to OFSAA following their GHAC title last week.  OFSAA is taking place in Brampton early next week and our girls are considered a medal threat.  Congratulations girls and good luck next week.

http://www.insidehalton.com/sports-story/5650827-oakville-trafalgar-not-backing-down-from-goal-of-being-province-s-best/

The Senior Boys are hosting the GHAC championship this afternoon here at OT.  In dominating fashion the boys crushed Abbey Park and will be moving on to OFSAA next week (Thursday-Saturday) in Stoney Creek (Saltfleet HS are the hosts).  Good luck guys.

Thank you very much to all of our Spring Coaches for their time and commitment to OT Athletics, and to our students.


An issue that returns every year.....

Much like snow in February.....appropriate student dress surfaces as an issue of concern once the thermometer jumps over 25 degrees!  OTHS is not immune to challenges around student dress and I wanted to share some recent news articles that highlight the challenge school staff face when considering an appropriate response to what is perceived as inappropriate clothing at school.

My personal view is that OT is, first and foremost, a place of work and that all students (and staff/support personnel, etc.) should be dressed in an appropriate manner for a place of work.  Defining appropriate is an interesting challenge, and - as a child of the 60's - I typically give wide latitude to students around this issue.

What I caution students about is this, "OT is not a beach club, a dance club, or the host of a pool party.  As a result we expect you to dress in a manner that coincides with the dress code outlined in our student handbook (online) - and with OT as a place of work.  Please refrain from wearing clothing that would conflict with this expectation.  We expect that boxers and lingerie would remain out of sight and that any shirts promoting beer, liquor, or drugs of any kind please be kept at home for your personal time."

Now the appearance of boxers or the sight of a bra strap is not going to draw any attention however recently (much like in the 70's) short shorts have made a comeback.  As a parent of 2 girls (18 and 21) I've lived the parental challenge of clothing choices and 'fights' over what is being worn by our kids.  Thank you for helping us deal with this era-defying challenge..

Shorts - if there is an inseam - all ok.  If not, please keep those for the weekend.

For the most part the tops worn by guys and by girls are not an issue, however our policy around visible lingerie and liquor and drug promotion tend to be the things that draw our involvement.

At OT we will always do our best to be as respectful and polite as possible when addressing issues of inappropriate dress.  If we feel that this is a concern we may: a) provide a t-shirt, or shorts, for the student to wear for the balance of the day; b) allow student to contact home re: change of clothes; or c) use this as an opportunity for better understanding of the school's dress code expectations.

Here are a few articles that have made the paper recently.  I'd be interested in our communities point of view.

big sister article

Etobicoke School of the Arts

Grad comment

Two of these articles are from the U.S. and one from just down the road.  They all raise interesting questions about what many would see as a fairly straight forward issue.  Happy reading.


WELCOME TO JUNE

Some key dates as we roll into June


June 17     Final Day of Classes
June 18     Exams begin
June 25     Exam Review Day
June 25     Commencement