Nicole's Notes: Volume 11

Happy Monday TOSH Parents and Guardians!

Another TOSH Christmas Craft Fair is behind us! Thank you to all who came to shop and to all TOSH staff and students who volunteered their time to make this event such a success. It takes a whole school community to run a Craft Fair, and we appreciate the work of our staff planning committee in leading the way!

Thanks to all of you who came to Parent Teacher interviews last week, as well! There were 1237 interviews conducted on Wednesday and Thursday. If we assume an average of 4 teachers/student (not an exact number), then approximately 309 parents were involved in discussions about their child's progress. No wonder we ran out of cookies Wednesday night! :-)

Thanks, also, to the parents who have become involved with our Parent Council. There are some exciting projects and goals underway and the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. New members are always welcome!

Dates to Remember:
November:
12       Remembrance Day Holiday- No classes
15       The Mural Project installed
19       The Mural Project-Open to parents and community members
22       School Dance: 8-11 p.m.
23       Report Cards Home (NOTE CHANGE!)
30       School Based PD Day- No school

December:
3         Parent Council Meeting- 6:30 p.m.
15       Christmas Dance
21       Last Day of Classes

ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE INFORMATION SESSION

There will be an information session for the Rotary Youth Exchange program at Three Oaks Senior High on Nov. 13, 2012 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Contact Jim Donovan for more information: jddonovan@edu.pe.ca.

ROGERS' "RAISING THE GRADE" PROGRAM

The Summerside Boys and Girls' Club has been chosen to receive a grant from Rogers Communication so that they can provide assistance to students who wish to explore and establish their pathway to a meaningful career. Students will be paired with trained student mentors and will be expected to attend sessions for one hour/week (Wednesdays) between 4-9 p.m. at the Boys and Girls' Club. There is the possibility of participants earning a $1000 scholarship toward their post-secondary education if they participate in the program for two years. TOSH students who are interested in participating or would like to be mentors and earn Community Service Bursary hours are asked to see Mr. Donovan in Student Services ASAP!

THE MURAL PROJECT: USING VISUAL ARTS TO COMMUNICATE THE EXPERIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH

We are proud to be one of two Island schools who will be hosting The Mural Project for two weeks (November 15-29). The mural is the culmination of the artistic work done by eight high school students who had experienced mental illness and who worked with an artist to capture their visual perceptions of this. We will be opening the school to parents and community members who wish to view the mural on Monday, November 19 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Mark it in your calendar!

AS WE HEAD TOWARDS WINTER: 

A Note for Parents from the Board

SCHOOL CANCELLATION

All school cancellations will be announced on local radio stations and posted on our websites by 7:00 A.M. If all schools are closed, it will be announced that all English language schools in the province are closed for the day. In some instances it may only be necessary to close an individual school or a >family of schools=.  Partial school closures or delays will be announced by family of schools. The Three Oaks Family of Schools includes:  TOSH, SIS, Athena, Miscouche, Elm Street, Greenfield, and Parkside.

ONE HOUR DELAY

If a decision on cancellation cannot be made by 7:00 A.M., a one hour delay will be announced whereby all schools and buses will operate one hour later than usual.  A further announcement will be broadcast by 8:00 A.M.

LATE BUSES

In some instances, even in fine weather, buses may be delayed.  Parents will be notified via radio broadcast that a bus will be delayed (i.e. Bus #97 is running 30 minutes later).

SCHOOL CLOSURES DURING THE DAY

It may be necessary to close a school or a family of schools part way through a school day.  Detailed announcements will be made on local radio stations and school board websites.

EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS DURING SCHOOL DAY

Should Transportation Infrastructure Renewal and/or the RCMP recommend that school buses remain off Island roads, students may be required to remain at school beyond their normal dismissal time (unless picked up by a parent or designate).  Announcements will be made on local radio stations and school board websites.

 SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS:

1.       The final decision to attend school or to travel to school via school bus always rests with the parent. 

2.       Please do not drop children off at school unless you are certain that school is operating that day and that staff are present to supervise the children.

3.    Please listen to the radio and check school board websites frequently between 6:30 and 8:00 A.M. daily to determine if schools are operating.  Every effort will be made to have announcements broadcast by 7:00 A.M.

4.    Please do not call the school, school board office, or the radio stations for information on cancellations or delays.  Such calls tie up telephone lines which may be needed for emergency use.

KUDOS TO OUR KIDS!

To the students involved in the Math 421 PBL "Hole in One" project! Your presentations on Tuesday evening were very impressive!

To our TOSH students who are attending Encounters with Canada this week: Katelyn Bridges, Megan McNeill, and Ben Smith!

To the Presidents of the 8 Councils for an awesome "Presidents' Council" meeting on Tuesday at noon! You are leading your Councils in some pretty exciting directions! Proud of you!

To Noah Richardson, Student Government Council President, for representing Summerside's youth and for speaking so well at the City's Remembrance Day ceremony at the CUP on Sunday! Well done, Noah!

To all TOSH students who were so incredibly respectful at our Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday! SO proud of you all!

To Brye Caissie, Matthew McNeill, and Grace Bowness for their powerful reflections about their experiences on the Vimy Ridge trip at this year's Remembrance Day assembly!

To Blaire Guptill for her excellent rendition of The Last Post and Reveille at the assembly!

To Danielle Gosse and Jenna DesRoches who stepped up and helped the custodians get chairs ready for the assembly during their lunch hour on Wednesday!

To the students who came in at 7 a.m.(!!) Thursday morning to bake more cookies for the Parent Teacher interview day ahead:  Bruce Ramsay, Holly Hartlen, Ciara Arsenault, Sarah Lo Iacono, and Scott Richard!

To the students from the various extra-curricular groups and Councils in the school who gave so much of their time during the Craft Fair weekend to work the doors, deliver food to vendors, work the Axe Outlet table and babysitting room, set up and tear down, count money, and serve food in the cafeteria! We could not have pulled off this event without you!

To Scott Richard for going above and beyond at the Craft Fair-start to finish!!

Have a wonderful week and we encourage all our students to dig in and focus on the work at hand as we head toward the end of our first reporting term Nov. 16!

Nicole