Nicole's Notes: Volume 5 - Oct 7th, 2013

Happy Monday TOSH Parents and Guardians!  

As we gather for our first full school week in October, let us be thankful for all our family and friends who have nurtured and supported us on our journey of life.

Nicole Haire has had a successful surgery and is spending the month of October recovering at home.  In the meantime, I (Faber MacDonald) am Acting VP and will be weekly updating the Parent Blog.  Jason Gallant has stepped up as Acting Principal and can be reached at 888-8460 or xjgallant@edu.pe.ca.  Jason would appreciate any and all support you can give him, as he tries to fill Nicole’s shoes ;)

In our Own Backyard A new initiative at TOSH is to reach out to parents and businesses in the area to help assist us with supplying our breakfast program.  The program receives a bit of funding, but not enough to cover the cost of running it five days/week.  Currently the following foods are consumed each week by students, and donations of these specific foods would be greatly appreciated: Juice, Milk, Cheese Whiz, Margarine, Jam, Instant Oatmeal individual packages, Cold Cereal, Bagels, Yogurt, Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Fruit Cups, Cheese and Granola Bars.  Donations of plastic utensils and bowls/cups would also assist us in feeding our students.

Food can be dropped off at the front office.  Donations are also greatly appreciated.  Please make any cheques made payable to: Three Oaks Senior High School.  The Breakfast Program is open to all students, and it will take all of us working together to keep it operating. If you have any questions, please call or e mail Tami Arsenault (Youth Service Worker) at school: taarsenault@edu.pe.ca.

The Month of October

The month of October, as usual, has several interruptions to the regular schedule (Please see the calendar below).   Please ensure you check Students Achieve for your child’s current grades in each of their courses.  If you still do not have a Students Achieve password, call the office at 888-8460 and we will set you up.  As teachers update their SAS often, it is a great way to check on the progress of your child.

October:

14          Thanksgiving-No Classes
17-18    Annual Teachers' Convention-No Classes
21          Career Day     
23          Student Photo Retakes

Grad Bios!

Grad bios for our grade 12 students are due on November 1st by midnight. This year the yearbook staff are only accepting grad bios via email. They will not be reading any bios submitted in paper format. All bios, a maximum of 800 characters (approx 160 words)  are to be submitted via yearbooktosh@gmail.com.

Baby Pictures

Baby pictures can be submitted by graduates to the yearbook. They are due on November 1st by 3:00pm and are to be dropped off in the box marked baby photos in the office. Baby photos must include the student's name and homeroom teacher written on the back. The yearbook staff will return all baby photos before the end of semester 1!
You must be wondering who this adorable girl is?  It's Josie,  my little one year old daughter.

Yearbook Begins next week!

Our yearbook club is beginning again next week and new members are always welcome! The club meets each Wednesday from 3:30-5pm in the 619 computer lab. The first yearbook meeting of the year will be next Wednesday, October 9th and the Editors and Teacher Advisers would love to see new members! If your son or daughter has any questions regarding yearbook they can see Ms. Rochelle Sullivan or Mrs. Tracy MacDonald! 

Internet Safety

Try and have a chat with your child this week about internet safety.  Cyberbullying is an ongoing problem in High Schools across PEI.   Role model with your child how to properly engage with a cyberbully to diffuse situations.  There was also concern last week from a TOSH parent who reviewed their child's Twitter account. Police were contacted and are involved.  We ask you to discuss/review with your child their own twitter/facebook/instagram/blogs, to ensure their privacy and safety is being respected.   Two great websites are  www.wiredsafety.org and www.stopcyberbullying.com.

FRED FOX PRESENTATION ON OCTOBER 2

Terry Fox's eldest brother, Fred Fox, was at Three Oaks on Wednesday, October 2 to give a powerful witness to the dedication and courage of his brother Terry.  Fred accepted a check of $512.72 on behalf of the Leadership Students at TOSH.  The money was raised from the schools Charity Jar and the Terry Fox run held on Sept 27^th.  Fred’s message to the students present was to “Never Give Up on Your Dreams”

UPDATED POST-SECONDARY VISITS/DATES TO NOTE 

Name	Location	Date
Oulton College (Moncton, NB)	Hall by Student Services-11:43	Oct. 8th
Dalhousie Open House	Dalhousie University, Halifax,NS	Register by Oct. 15. Open House is Oct. 18th
Universite Sainte Anne (Church Point, NS)	Student Services	10:30 a.m. Oct. 23rd
TOSH Career Day	In the Gym: 7 – 8:30 p.m. Open to parents and students (Students also visit the displays during the school day)	Oct. 21
McGill Open House	McGill University (Montreal, QC)	Oct. 27th
Queens University (Kingston,Ont.)	Pre-registration required in Student Services-11:30 in Lecture Theatre	Nov 4th
Mount Allison University (Sackville, NB)	Hall by Student Services-11:43	Nov. 5th
Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS)	Hall by Student Services-11:43	Nov. 25th
Memorial  University of NFLD (St. John’s, NL)	Evening session. Pre-registration requested. Open to the public , as well- 6:30 p.m. start in the  Lecture Theatre	Nov. 28th

** Any parents/guardians willing to present an information session about their job during Career Day at TOSH is asked to contact Mr. Jim Donovan: jddonovan@edu.pe.ca

TOSH ATHLETICS 

Gus Arsenault leads the cheers!

The PEISAA website (www.peisaa.pe.ca) contains some useful information for athletes and parents this year:  Standings for ALL senior and midget fall season leagues: Field Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball are on the website. Simply go to the PEISAA website, click on the sport you wish to check, click "Standings" and a PDF file will show updated standings in chart form with scores against each team played and point standing to date.

Also follow the Three Oaks Athletic Department on Twitter for news, updates, schedules, results etc.  Username is @TOSHathletics. 

GETTING INVOLVED AT TOSH! 

There are many Councils, groups, and clubs at Three Oaks that cater to a variety of student interests. I have listed some of these below along with the name of the Teacher Advisor(s) and where those staff are located in the school if your son/daughter wants to join or ask some questions:

CLUBS AND GROUPS:

*   Auto Club-Mike MacKinnon, Scott Harvey (CTEC-trades-building)
*   Axe Outlet Bookstore-Sean MacDonald (114)
*   Carpentry Club- Rob Corkum (CTEC)

*   Climate Crew-Kelly Power (621), Mark Gregory(111) (Open to Grade 10 in February)
*   Chorale Ensemble-Shirley Anne Cameron (409)
*   DJ Club-Forrest Lilly (307)

*   Dungeons and Dragons Club-Erin Peterson (CSLC room)
*   EcoEthics-Rochelle Sullivan (420), Mike MacKinnon (CTEC)
*   Envirothon Team-Chris Higginbotham (611), Heather Pringle (610)

*   GSA- Mrs. Sheridan (Student Services)
*   Improv Group and Improv Team-Sandra Sheridan (Student Services), Rick Sparkes (109)
*   Lunch Buddies-Fran Gillis (421)
*   Reach for the Top-David Gallant (417)
*   Texas Hold Em-Chris Higginbotham (611)
*   The Oaks Newspaper-Barb Forbes(Library), Shannon Evans (617)
*   People Helping People/Free the Children-Tammy Craig (407)
*   Rotary Youth Parliament-Mike Trainor (306)
*   Yearbook-Rochelle Sullivan (420)

 COUNCILS:
*   Activities-Dia Lynn Keough (609), Ashley Bell(613), Lyndon Oulton (309)
*   Athletic-Joel Arsenault, Sue Thomson (GYM)
*   Community Works-Tammy Craig (407), Erin Peterson (CSLC room-Library), Tracy MacDonald (406)
*   Fundraising and Finance- Carrie Watters (612)
*   Multi-Media- Shannon Evans (617)
*   Music- Krista Carruthers (205)
*   Student Government- Mike Trainor (306)

  

 BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

The ELSB has asked that we provide winter school closure information to parents early. I guess you just never know! :) Please see the notice below: 

NOTICE TO PARENTS

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. 

NOTE:  The Three Oaks Family of Schools includes all our feeder schools:  Parkside Elementary, Elm Street Elementary, Greenfield Elementary, Athena Consolidated, Miscouche Consolidated, and Summerside Intermediate School.

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.

Parents who will not be at home when children arrive are responsible for making alternate arrangements for the care of their children on such days. Please notify the school of these changes as soon as possible.

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.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Together we will work to ensure safe winter travel for all of our children.

KUDOS TO OUR KIDS!

The following students have been nominated as Students of the Week:

Jeremiah Henderson

Gina Worth

Frankie Reeves

Willis Cahill

Riley MacKay

Michael Reeves

Ben Ramos Armstrong

Alex Cassie

Jonathan Walfield

Jake Cormier

Ashley Beauvais

Lindsay Clow

Blythe Lock

The following students have been nominated as Students of the Week for their awesome leadership at CSLC:

Noah Richardson

Nicole Gallant

Millie MacKay

Rebecca Drummond

Kristyn Reeves

Julie Campbell

Melissa McKay

Samantha MacIntyre

Keira Gallant

Jesse MacFarlane

Students At Encounters This Week: Caitlin Gallant, Colin MacKay, and Umara Muhammad (Medicine and Health)

To the members of the Leadership 621 class and Athletic Council for raising $512.72 for the Terry Fox Campaign!

This Weeks Challenge:

Set aside time this week to discuss how your son/daughter is doing with their classes.  If questions or concerns arise, TOSH staff are only a phone call away and are always willing to help.

Quote of the Week: 

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" Robert Kennedy

Have a wonderful week and I hope to see you soon!

Faber