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End of Week 5
Published on Oct 5, 2018 18:12
Hi everyone
We hope you are looking forward to the first holiday long weekend of the school year. Thanksgiving is a great time to pray as we reflect on all the blessings we have been given. That said, we also have the opportunity to help out those who are struggling financially. Our Thanksgiving Food Drive starts Tuesday the 9th and runs through Hallowe'en. The Bradford Food Bank is in need of snacks and cereal. Our Social Justice Club students thought students can share their story by bringing in their favourite snack or cereal to be donated to those who can't afford it. All donations go directly to those in need in our community. Going without their favourite snack or cereal for a week and donating it to someone who is in need it can really make a difference. The grade who can fill up the most shopping carts or fill up a shopping cart the most will will a grade level prize. Please be generous!
You will receive (or have already received) an e-mail with your teen's Early Communication Letter. Please review it carefully, particularly if your teen's teachers have identified concerns with his/her progress to date. The letter also has a link to School-Day where you can sign up starting Tuesday for interviews. Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place on October 18th from 5-7:30 pm. Please note that interview blocks are 5 minutes per parent so if you anticipate needing more time, please give the teacher a call to arrange an alternate date/time.
Next week, Thursday, is our opening school mass. The theme, of course, is Thanksgiving. We ask, as always, that you do not excuse your teens from school that morning as celebration of the Eucharist is an important part of our Catholic school identity. Our teens are the future of the church and it is a wonderful sight to see them all join Fr. Joshua in worship.
Today I sent Thanksgiving greetings out via Twitter in 15 different languages. We have a wonderfully diverse school community and we plan to have more events this year to celebrate the various cultures represented in our school. The languages spoken by students and families in our school include,
- Urdu
- Russian
- Tagalog
- Portugese
- Spanish
- Tamil
- Somali
- French
- Korean
- Farsi
- Arabic
- Hindi
- Punjabi
What a vibrant range of cultures, languages, customs and perspectives!
Don't forget that Wednesday October 17th we will be holding an information night for students and parents interested in Travel Credits. Students can explore the world while earning high school credits in History, Religion, English, or Civics/Careers. The session is in the library from 6-8 pm. Don't miss out!
Our grade 9 activity day is taking place Tuesday at OELC in Orillia. This is a fun and action-packed day of ice breakers, team building activities, and fun to help our new grade 9's grow accustomed to HT. It promises to be a great day for all. Thanks to the parents on the CSCC who advocated for this type of day. It's a great idea!
We will be initiating a fund-raising/pledge drive in the near future to raise money for new technology purchases in the school. Our current inventory of desktop and laptop computers available for student use is more than 12 years old and in need of replacement. We will be sending a letter home from the CSCC and the school asking families to commit up to $75 each over the course of the year to ensure that we can secure the technology we need. We know we can count on you to support this worthy initiative.
On behalf of the entire staff, I wish you all a peaceful and relaxing long weekend. If you are travelling, I pray that you will get to your destinations safely.
God bless, and thank you for all the blessings you bestow on this wonderful school!
Brian McKenzie
Principal
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