Nicole's Notes: Volume 14 (Dec. 2, 2013)

CUL 801 Xmas Baking Project Taste Tester! :)

Happy Monday TOSH Parents and Guardians!

Contrary to last week's post, the folks in charge of the Christmas Dance (taking place this Saturday from 8-11 p.m. in the gym) decided they would sell tickets in advance. This is to facilitate the payment of outstanding student and book fees, confirming sign ins, etc. to avoid disappointment at the door on dance night. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused! The change was announced to students via the PA last week, and tickets for Grades 12 and 11 were sold on Thursday and Friday last week. Grade 10's can purchase tickets for $10 at noon on Monday outside the Lecture Theatre, and anyone who missed purchasing a ticket the first time around can do so at noon on Tuesday. Tuesday is the final day for ticket sales!! Please contact me via phone (888-8460) or e mail (nmhaire@edu.pe.ca) if you have any questions or concerns.

We look forward to welcoming everyone to this annual celebration of the season, and all the usual school policies for school events will apply. It is important to note that a violation of the school's alcohol and drug use policy will not only result in suspension from school but also from school activities for one calendar year. This includes teams, clubs, extra-curricular and overnight events. This can be especially important for Grade 12 students who will be looking forward to their graduation prom in May. Just some proactive "food for thought" for students to consider. We trust that all will make good choices for themselves and have an enjoyable Christmas dance experience.

IN THE NEWS

Most of you will be aware that our school was the focus of print, social media, and tv news last week. Bad news seems to be most popular because it "sells", but I just wanted to assure our school community that TOSH is very much the great school you believe it to be! What one of us does, all of us wears, but I assure you that our staff continue to be diligent in the supervision and education of our students. Parents can help, too, by being diligent at home if signs of drug use becomes evident, and we encourage all parents to talk to their son/daughter about the dangers of drug and alcohol use: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/05/02/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-when-you-think-theyre-using-drugs/
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to consult one of our counsellors via e mail: Sandra Sheridan (svsheridan@edu.pe.ca) or Jim Donovan (jddonovan@edu.pe.ca) or via phone at 888-8460.

FAREWELL WISHES!

 We said "goodbye for now" to our Quebec exchange student, Dama-Rosalie Fonesca on Friday. Dama said she had a wonderful time during her stay with Rebecca MacCormack this semester, and she promised to take good care of Becca for us when she goes to Quebec in February to stay with Dama and her family. Best wishes, Dama! We'll miss seeing your smiling face in the halls!






Becca, Dama, and "Host Mom", Darlene MacCormack

OUR TOSH FAMILY IS GROWING!


Soon to Be "Big Brother" Gus Arsenault

We have been celebrating lately with several members of our staff who are expecting the birth of new babies in 2014:

Mark Gregory who is expecting twin boys!
Amanda and Joel Arsenault
Rochelle Sullivan
Jennifer Halupa
Sara McCarthy
Jeff Richard

Congratulations to all! :-)

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW JOB!

To Mr. Faber MacDonald who has been appointed Acting Principal of St. Louis Elementary School beginning Jan. 2/14. Mr. Brian Carruthers will be in again to cover Mr. MacDonald's classes as he did during my leave time. We appreciate all that Mr. MacDonald has brought to our school this semester and wish him the very best! (Must have been his "blogging" experience last month that landed him the job!) ;-)


Upcoming Dates to Remember:

December:

5             Band Christmas Concert- 7 p.m.
6             Grade 11 FI Play Field Trip
7             Christmas Dance- 8-11 p.m.
12-14     TOSH Christmas Classic Basketball Tournament
17           EURO 2013 Presentation at ELSB Meeting
20           Last Day of Classes-Christmas Holidays! :)  

January:
2            First Day of Classes-2014

 

 

CCU MEMBER OF THE YEAR!

 

Three Oaks Senior High School is the proud recipient of the Summerside Consolidated Credit Union Member of the Year Award for 2013! The award was accepted by our Admin team at the AGM for the CCU on Saturday, Nov. 30/13 at Credit Union Place. We thank the CCU for this honour and for their partnership with/generosity to our school over the years. We look forward to many more!!

CHRISTMAS TREE SALE!

The TOSH Band Parents' Association will be holding a Christmas Tree Sale fundraiser at Three Oaks during the Annual Christmas Classic Basketball Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 14 beginning at 10 a.m. Trees will be selling for $30 and the proceeds will go to support our awesome TOSH Band program.

 

CHRISTMAS BAND CONCERT!

Need some help getting into the Christmas spirit?! Come out and enjoy some music making that will do just that at our Christmas Band Concert being held on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Three Oaks. Everyone is welcome!

UPCOMING POST-SECONDARY VISITS:

Holland College (Prince of Wales Campus)- Charlottetown   Dec. 4, 2013 Open house
UPEI- Outside Lecture Theatre- Dec. 5, 2013 , Noon Hour
St Thomas University- On Site Admissions- Dec. 5, Noon Hour
Holland College- Outside Lecture Theatre- Dec. 9, 2013, Noon Hour
Portfolio Days- Holland College- Jan 31, 2014

FINAL EXAMS (JANUARY 2014)

Final Exams for Semester 1 are scheduled for January 27-30, 2014. Attendance is mandatory unless permission has been granted from Administration and alternate arrangements made. If your son/daughter must miss one or more of his/her final exams for whatever reason, we ask that you contact Nicole Haire directly via e mail: nmhaire@edu.pe.ca or phone: 888-8460.

KUDOS TO OUR KIDS

To our TOSH delegates who participated in The Youth Project's provincial GSA Conference 2013 OUTLOUD! on Saturday, November 30 in Dartmouth, NS!:  Lexi Norden, Venora MacLean, Keisha Clements, Vicki Gallant,, Kaylee Boats, Sara Compton, and Taitania Calarco!

To the TOSH band members who participated in this year's provincial Senior High Honor Band: Jenna DesRoches, Marc DesRoches, Emily Eddie, Kelsey MacIsaac, Melissa MacKay, Devan Poirier, Daniel Meister, Taylor Poirier, David McNeill, Christie-Anne Campbell, Julia McIntyre, Blaire Guptill, Brohan Brennan, Noah Richardson, Rachel Brown, and Frank Bowness! They spent the entire weekend working with Dr. Jason Caslor from Memorial University in Saint John's, Nfld. and represented our school with the best high school musicians from Island high schools!

To Jayden Reid, Phoebe van der Meulen and Jordyn Myers who had their WRT 421 Letters to the Editor published in the Journal Pioneer recently!

To the Class Officers for organizing the Christmas Dance!

To the members of the Activities Council, Carpentry and Aviation students who participated in the Summerside Santa Claus Parade on Friday!

Challenge:  Carve some time out of this busy week to sit down with your son/daughter and see how things are going at school. Ask some specific questions and then be prepared to really listen. The less you talk, the more they may want to share.

Quote of the Week:  "Communicating with kids: it's a two way street. Sometimes, they just need us to be there for them and listen."~ Kevin Heath
I was blessed with a visit from my daughter, Hannah, this past weekend. I couldn't wait to wrap my arms around her when she landed home from Ottawa on Thursday, and I look forward to having all three of mine within arms reach following their final university exams in December. These high school years are fleeting ones, so be sure to be present to the journey!

Have an awesome week!
Nicole