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End of Week 8
Published on Oct 27, 2017 18:05

Hi everyone

Well, it had to happen: the warm and sunny weather has come to an end, and we are starting to see the real face of fall! Environment Canada also predicts a snowier than normal winter for this year. This might be the year to take up snowshoeing. 

Congratulations to all our teams who competed in GBSSA Championships this past week

  • boys soccer (Sr. and Jr. champs)
  • boys volleyball
  • cross country
Also congratulations to our student athletes of the month for October:
  • Jr. Girls basketball: Julianna C.
  • Jr. Boys volleyball: Josh P.
  • Sr. Boys volleyball: Carlos U. & Daniel R.
  • Cross Country:  Julianna M. and Vincent H.
  • Jr. Boys Soccer:  Nathan F.
  • Sr. Boys Soccer:  Seb I.
  • Sr Tennis: Alec F.

We are very proud of your accomplishments!

This past Wednesday the board celebrated the book release of The History of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board at Holy Spirit Parish in Barrie. The book's author, Dr. Robert Dixon, was on hand to do a brief reading from the book and to sign copies. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please let me know. We also received our new school flag! This was created from the art work of a number of grade 9 art students and is now on display in the main office. Thank you to Ms. Clancy and her students for the beautiful Tiger collage!

Update on School Day, our new Online Pay and Information Portal: parents of 400 students have signed up and are regularly using it for payments, permission forms, and information. We are well on our way to our goal of having all parents signed up! Please be sure to register your account using your unique registration code which was given to your teen. If you need another copy, let Mrs. Janeiro know. Remember -- you can still opt to pay by cheque or cash if you are uncomfortable with on-line pay. However, the communications, on-line permissions, and event registrations are a key component for us as we strive to reduce our consumption of paper.

We have been hearing from some parents concerned about grades. Please note that midterm report cards are coming up in another few weeks and your teen will receive an official mid-term grade at that point. Any current marks from teachers are estimates based on the work done to date, and may not accurately reflect progress due to a number of factors, including the number of assignments the class has completed, the "weights" - or relative values - of individual assignments, and missing work. If you have concerns about your teen's progress in a class, please be sure to have him or her talk to the teacher first as this can often sort out any misunderstandings. You are also free to contact the teachers at any time for an update.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 1st, is Take Our Kids to Work Day for our grade 9's. They do not attend school that day but instead go to work with a parent, relative, friend or neighbour. We will be hosting our feeder school grade 8's that day to give them a preview of their grade 9 year. I know it sounds strange, but we are already hard at work planning for September 2018. Pretty soon students will be applying for Universities and Colleges, and completing their course option sheets for next year.

Hallowe'en Dress Up Day is Tuesday, October 31st. Students are permitted to wear appropriate costumes (no weapons, including toy guns, knives, swords, etc., racially insensitive or revealing costumes). Our Social Justice Club students are planning to go out trick or treating on Wednesday night to collect food items for the food bank. We hope you will treat generously if they hit your home!

The Catholic Parent Involvement Committee (CPIC) of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board is conducting a parent session on the theme "Mental Health For Every Age" on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 here at Holy Trinity.
 
The time frame for the events will be from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm and will include light refreshments and babysitting services for families with young children.
 
The event will be led by our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Pat Carney, author of Well Aware: Developing Resilient, Active and Flourishing Students. There will also be 3 breakout sessions to choose from: 1) Primary; 2) Junior / Intermediate; 3) Secondary. Here is the flyer

I strongly encourage all parents to come out to this session. 1 in 6 young people will be affected by a mental health issue before the age of 18, but only 1 in 5 of them will ever get proper treatment. Students with mental health problems are at higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse, leaving school early, unemployment and chronic underemployment, and many other negative outcomes. Come out and see what it means to support your teen's positive mental health. The registration form is here.

And a reminder to parents of non-bus students: we are encouraging our students to be get more exercise, so please consider letting them walk or bike rather than driving them to school. The health benefits are worth it!

All the best for the weekend, and God bless!

Brian McKenzie
Principal