Sunday, August 26, 2012

Nicole's Notes: Year 2, Volume 1

Welcome to the Three Oaks Parent Blog for the 2012-2013 School Year!

Whether you're a seasoned veteran of a Grade 12 student or a "newbie" with a Grade 10 student at home, we are excited to be partnering with you in your child's education at Three Oaks!  We received a lot of positive feedback from parents who answered our Survey Monkey survey last spring and many indicated that this blog is an effective way for me to get information out to parents, as well as to celebrate our students' many successes throughout the year.  I update it each weekend and will send an e mail reminder to those parents/guardians whose addresses we have entered in SAS. If you are not getting the reminders, it means that we need your e mail address! Just send it along to me via nmhaire@edu.pe.ca and I'll make sure it gets recorded.

For those of you who are sending a piece of your heart (aka, your child!) off to work, post-secondary study or training this fall, I feel your pain! :-( I am sending two to Ontario this year: Meg to Sheridan College in Oakville (Year 2) and Hannah to University of Ottawa (Year 1). Only Zach remains at home, and he is starting his final year of high school. Wow! I'm really not sure where the time has flown. As TOSH parents, please know that I can relate to the stage of the journey you face raising high school-age teens. There is no more challenging, or rewarding, job in the world. Thank you for sharing your kids with us for a bit!


Dates to Note in September:
4           Staff Admin Day
5           Staff PD Day/ Welcome Back Barbeque for Grade 10/New Students (11:45 a.m.)
6           Students' First Day of School
             Early lunch for Grade 10 (11:35)       
13         Peer Helper Provincial Training (Ch'town-Erin out)
             Parent Information Night (6:30 p.m. in Gym)
14         Green and Gold Day!
             Tyler Durman Presentation (Full School Assembly- 9:10-10:20 a.m.)- Shortened AM periods
             TEAM 2015 (Grade 10)
19         Class Officer Speeches (12:50 p.m.)

25-30   CSLC 2012: Weyburn, Sask.  (Nicole out)


TOSH Welcomes Tyler Durman!
September 13 and 14
We are pleased to have motivational speaker, Tyler Durman, with us for Parent Information Night (Sept. 13) and for a full school assembly (Sept. 14).  Tyler hails from California  and he is best known for his ability to make people laugh while telling stories that bring hope and wisdom. Each year his live presentations reach more than 200,000 students and adults, while his written stories are shared in homes throughout the U.S. and Canada. Tyler's session with parents/guardians starts at 6:30 p.m. sharp in our Gym on Sept. 13. You won't want to miss it, so spread the word!



Your Child's Success Is Important to Us!
If you are new to our school, you may be at a loss about where to turn if you see your child starting to struggle either academically or socially/emotionally.  We have an incredible team here who are more than willing to put appropriate supports in place, as needed. All of these people can be accessed via the Main Office phone (888-8460) or via e mail:

For social/emotional, mental health concerns, or career/post-secondary planning, please contact one of our Counsellors:  Sandra Sheridan (svsheridan@edu.pe.ca) or Jim Donovan (jddonovan@edu.pe.ca). Our Youth Service Worker is Tami Arsenault (tlarsenault@edu.pe.ca)

For academic/learning concerns, please contact our Learning Support Teacher: Erin Peterson (ehpeterson@edu.pe.ca) or myself (nmhaire@edu.pe.ca).

If you are confused about what support you actually need, contact me (nmhaire@edu.pe.ca), and I will put you in touch with the right support person! It is important that we know your child is struggling earlier rather than later. They can get behind pretty quickly in high school courses!

NOTE:  Students with learning challenges that have already been identified may have a Case Manager already assigned by the school. Parents will be contacted by this person and copies of any Adaptation or Modification forms will be sent home for signatures.

Challenge:  Make coming to Parent Information Night on September 13 at 6:30 p.m. (sharp!) a priority. We need your help if we are going to support your child in his/her education with us!

Quote of the Week: "Encourage & support your kids because children are apt to live up to what you believe of them."~ Lady Bird Johnson

Looking forward to another great year at Three Oaks and to seeing you all on Sept. 13!
Nicole