Nicole's Notes: Volume 14 (February 23, 2015)

Happy Monday TOSH Parents and Guardians!

Well, it has been a rocky start to Semester 2 with Mother Nature packing several winter snow storm punches! This last one was a humdinger to be sure, and we are grateful to the city and provincial crews that worked around the clock to clear the roads so that we can (hopefully!) finally get back to school. It was definitely a good decision to keep students home when I consider how many calls I fielded from so many staff and students who were snowed in! It is encouraging to see the roads opening up and we are hopeful that we will be welcoming your son/daughter in the door Monday morning.

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that I have been approved for a one year (renewable for two) leave of absence from my position at Three Oaks to accept an administrative position at a Hayat Universal School in Doha, Qatar (http://hayatschool.com/qatar/qatarmain.htm). This is a once in a lifetime professional opportunity for me and, as much as I regret leaving our school-and especially our current grade 10 and 11 students, I know that I will return from there with improved skills and knowledge to apply in my future work as principal of TOSH. Maybe I'll start a new blog so that you can share in that learning with me! And, I'm thinking I can probably leave my snow boots and winter coat behind when I leave for Qatar in August. After this winter, I'd be lying if I said that didn't excite me! They have "Heat Days" there (when temps are more than 50 degrees!) ;)

STAFF APPRECIATION POT LUCK POSTPONED

The Parent Council have decided to postpone the Staff Appreciation Pot Luck they had planned for this Wednesday until next Wednesday, Feb. 25. A few parents have already indicated that they are willing to send food, but if you would like to participate, there's still time to sign up! Just click on the link below and indicate your interest at your earliest convenience:

http://www.jooners.com/guest?l=4c618798-a547-4d0a-a8e0-a61a5439b756

UPCOMING DATES TO NOTE:

Feb. 24         SHAPES Survey-Block A

Feb. 25         Lockdown Drill- 10:35 a.m.

                     Staff Appreciation Pot Luck (Parent Council)-noon

Feb. 26         Principals' Meeting- Nicole Out

                                     

March 2        Presidents' Council- Noon with Ms Haire

March 4        Family of Schools Meering- Nicole Out AM

March 5        OH&S Meeting-8:15 a.m.                   

March 6        School Effectiveness Day- No Classes

March16-20  MARCH BREAK- No Classes

March 26      Principals' Meeting- Nicole Out

WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN...

Unfortunately, Old Man Winter has thrown a bit of a wrench in what should have been our Winter Carnival Week Activities schedule! :( 

Just to give you an idea of how much planning went into things, the following events SHOULD have happened this week when we were snowed out:

Monday 7 p.m.- Ian Stewart Hypnotist Show

Tuesday- Travis Price "Pink Shirt" Assembly and Pink Shirt Day

Wednesday- Twin Day (Dress as Twins), Ice Cream Sundaes at noon, Student vs Teachers Dodgeball at noon

                                                                     Grad Class Tubing-Brookvale after school
                                                                     Thursday- Sing Off Lip Sync competition, Movie Night in                                                                        the caf @ 7 p.m.
                                                                     Friday- Pancake Breakfast in caf, Flannel Friday, Office                                                                            Chair Curling 500's hallway

Boys and Girls Club of Summerside have their Anti-Bullying shirts on sale there for $10 each!

Some of these events will be rescheduled so stay tuned to the blog for more information!

ENV 621 students rockin their snowshoes!

THE WEEK THAT WAS...

We were pretty pumped to get FIVE FULL SCHOOL DAYS in last week!! Semester 2 classes were in full swing with the Hon. Gail Shea visiting Mr. Trainor's classroom to dialogue with students interested in current political issues (POL 621 students-Sem. 1 & 2, Student Government Council members, Rotary Youth Parliament delegates, etc). As I left that session, I encountered Dr. Pringle's Environmental Studies 621 students coming in from their snowshoe observation in the nearby woods. We purchased a class set of snowshoes a few years ago at Dr. Pringle's request and they allow our science and Phys Ed students a unique opportunity to exercise in the fresh air while they accomplish the day's curriculum outcomes!

Hon. Gail Shea visits TOSH for Take Your MP to Work Day

Here are some other highlights from the rest of our first full week of Semester 2!:

REPORT CARD DISTRIBUTION- Happened LAST week!

Semester 1 final report cards containing marks and teacher comments were sent home with student LAST Wednesday, Feb. 11. If you did not see your son/daughter's report card, please ask them to get it out of their backpack or locker for you! If it has been lost, please contact the school and we can get you a copy. Final marks are available on SAS.

If you need a login and password for SAS, please e mail Jason Gallant: xjgallant@edu.pe.ca). Please note that Semester 1 teacher comments are only available on the report card itself.

                                              TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY FAIR

We hosted a lunch time Trades and Technology Fair on Thursday that allowed nine presenters from various trades and technology sectors to set up information booths and interact with our students at noon time. Many students visited the tables and took literature (and candy!) that introduced them to the possible career training programs in these areas.

WITS ASSEMBLY AT ATHENA CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Members of our Climate Crew, Community Works and Athletic Council joined the grade K-6 students of Athena Consolidated School for their WITS training assembly on Thursday. They were joined by Island Storm players, Mike Martin and Cordell Jeanty (pictured above), members of Summerside Police and City Council, and staff from the ELSB Student Services division. The focus of the WITS training is to foster good citizenship in elementary schools. Students are taught that when they experience or encounter bullying, they should:

W- Walk Away

I-    Ignore

T-  Talk It Out

S-   Seek Help

Shout out to Brett Montgomery, TOSH Alumni (Class of 2011) turned Summerside police officer, and Cara DeCoste, TOSH teacher on "trade" to Athena school this year, for their facilitation of this important event! 

TOSH Role Models on Deck!

Riley chillin with some new friends :)

Brett Montgomery in uniform!

WITS Oath Ceremony

Victoria shakes on it!

SHOUT OUT TO OUR STAFF!

To Janet Bradshaw (EA) for her support in helping prepare adaptation forms for teachers this semester!

To Joel Arsenault for his organization, and facilitation, of the women's AA basketball tournament this past weekend!

To Beth Peters for representing our school on the marking board for the provincial MAT 521A assessment!

To Mike Trainor for arranging to bring Gail Shea in to speak to interested students for "Take Your MP to Work Day"!

To Jason Gallant for his working getting report cards ready to distribute to students!

To Jim Donovan and Jason Gallant for getting through the many course change requests that were submitted!

To Sarah Jane Barrett, David Ramsay, and Beth Peters for the time they are already spending as Department Heads meeting with, and supporting, teachers!

To Krista Bryson for organizing the UPEI workshop for our grade 10 band students and accompanying them there!

To Dia Lynn Keough, Lyndon Oulton and the Activities Council for organizing Winter Carnival Activities this week, even though they didn't happen!

To Donna MacKay (Admin Assistant) for her diligence in getting transcripts out for students this past week!

KUDOS TO OUR KIDS!

To Kennedy Crossland (pictured above) who recently received the Red Cross Life Saving Award for her heroic rescue of two young swimmers at Twin Shores Campground this past summer!

To TOSH Rotary Youth Parliament Participants!:

Colton Profitt- elected Premier (a position not held by a TOSH student in recent memory!)

Allison MacNeill- appointed Minister of Health and Wellness

Kendra Smith- appointed Oppostion Critic of Education and Early Childhood Development

To members of the Grade 10 Symphonc Band who attended the clinic at UPEI on Friday with Dr. Simons:

Avery Arsenault

Grace Blacquiere

Jackson Brown

Keara Butler

Danika Campbell

Allie Dawson

Brae Delaney-Smith

Grace Fisher

Brett Gallant

Emma Gallant

Lexi Gavin

Brianna Gunning

Jordan Hansen

Chase Holt

Darion Jones

Matthew Kays

Robert Larsen

Curtis Lough

Malcolm MacArthur

Bailey MacAusland

Lydia MacDonald

Emma MacKenzie

Grace Meade

Marissa Profitt

Morgan Rogers

Kaitlynn Sheculski

Ally Simmons

Carissa Thompson

Jack Wallace

Jade Ward

Alex Casey (Grade 12)

To the members of the AA Women's Basketball team (pictured above) for winning silver at their Valentine's Day tournament last weekend!

To the Principal's Choice Award Winners for art this month!

JULIE WOODS

ALYSSA MACLEOD-ARSENAULT

HANNAH CORMIER

JESSICA PROCTER

To Hannah Taylor for her recent performance at various tournaments recently:

NB Judo provincial tournament where she won two Gold medals: one in the junior and the other in the senior category

Eastern Canadian Wrestling Championships- Gold

UNB Open- Gold

NS Open- Two Gold Medals and Most Outstanding Female Wrestler Award

=6 Gold medals in competition in the past three weeks!

To the following students who were nominated for Student of the Week honours recently:

Brandon Gaudet- Great Work on Sketch-Up Drawings!

Karlie Johnston- Fantastic major Drawing Project!

Ashley Stewart- Awesome work all Semester!

Kesley Gallant- Best Peer Helper Ever!

Tyler Smallman- Great Drive in Math!

Gwynne Doyle- Much Better Results!

Thomas Ridler- Great Semester in Math!

Montana Clark- Great semester in Math!

Kelsey MacKinnon- Great semester in Math!

Emma MacKenzie- Great semester in Math!

Brodie MacDonald- Huge Improvement of Late !

Tyson Sauve-Great Efforts all Semester!

Kennedy Carroll- Great Semester in Math!

Nick Meade- For writing excellent world leader papers in Leadership!

Daniel Meister- For writing excellent world leader papers in Leadership!

Jay Oram- For writing excellent world leader papers in Leadership!

Darian Demchuck- For going above and beyond with his efforts in Physical Education!

Mikayla Barlow- Returned lost phone!

Monica Arsenault- Returned lost money!

Parker Harvey- Tradesman in the making!

Joel MacEwen-Gallant- Excellent work on the roof of the building!

Brandon Albert- For lending a hand to other students and his positive attitude!  :-)

Justin Campbell- For lugging the heavy stuff around the library!

Christian Moase-  A very nice person!

Austin Clow- Super job on Stopmotion Animation!

Dawson Drummond- Great test result in math!

Rebecca Myers- Effort in science!

Kyra Doyle- Excellent Lab write-up in science!


Challenge:  Encourage your son/daughter to really dig into his/her school work as we dig out and get back to classes this week. There is going to be a lot of catch up to do and we need everyone focused and ready to go!

Quote of the Week: "Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one."~ Hans Selye

Have a wonderful week!

Nicole