Woodlands School Council

Graduating students are advised that mid-term marks have now been processed and forwarded to post-secondary institutions.  Please check online to ensure that all information is complete and accurate and contact your counsellor if you have any concerns.

The University of Toronto National Biology Competition will take place on Thursday, April 30th during period 5 in the Library Resource Centre. 

 Please note that the library will close during the last 10 minutes of period 4 and for all of period 5 on April 30th.

Spring is upon us and so is the soccer bug.  Intramural soccer will begin the week of May 4th.  All students, from grades 7 to 12, interested in playing intramural soccer, should form a team and pick up a form in the phys-ed area.

Team forms will be due on Monday, May 4th.  Captains meeting will be on Tuesday, May 5th and games will begin on May 6th.

The fee for each player is $2.00, and since it is co-ed, there must be females and males on each team.  No more than 2 school team members may be on any team.

For additional information please contact Mrs. Haswell

Congratulations to all the students who were involved in a very successful Jazz Night.  Musicians from the Intermediate and Senior Jazz Bands and Choir entertained an enthusiastic audience of family, friends and some of our supportive teachers – Mr. Dewar, Mr. Crane and Mrs. Perugini.  Brilliant solos were performed by Omar M. on trombone, Brian C. and Cheng Z. on alto sax, Rachel W. and Ji Sang H. on tenor sax, Natasha C. on baritone sax , Arthur L.,  Alex K. and Emily L. on trumpet, Matt T. on guitar, Dan M. on bass.  Also heard were the velvet voice of James E.,  the creative improvisational talents of Forest L. and the multi talented drumming and vocal solos by Sally K. 

Many thanks go to the Music Activity Council whose efforts made the evening a total success as they waited hand and foot on our guests, serving them delicious desserts and coffee throughout the evening. We are very proud of the talents of our music students and teachers here at The Woodlands and wish them well as they move ahead with their preparation for the upcoming MusicFest Nationals in May.

An electronic copy of the April 2009 School Council newsletter is attached. A paper copy of this newsletter will be sent home with students on Friday, April 24, 2009.

 The Grade 10 Enhanced students participated in the special school program "Quest for Water: Ecological Challenge".  The assigned scenario was that a community needed water.  Students were first challenged to select a water supply for human use by testing different water and soil samples for oxygen, salinity, pH, nitrates and phosphorus.  In the second phase, they had to build a device to acquire groundwater from a well by a 3 m by 3 m barrier and filter out the impurities in approximately 20 minutes. In 20 minutes, using their "enhanced" inquiry and design skills, the groups built a pulley system.  One impressive group built a funnel that literally mechanically pumped and filtered litres of water.  The instructor at the Science Centre even commented that in his 30 years there, no group (and this program is usually attended by Grade 12 students) had ever built a pump system.  Therefore, this was definitely an impressive feat! 

Geoff E. and Andrew P.  won top honours at the Peel Science Fair – a gold medal, an invitation to National Competition in Winnipeg in May, an $80 cash prize, as well as a $1000 entrance scholarship to the University of Ottawa in Engineering. Both recipients are hoping to pursue a degree in engineering.

Their project, called Quantum Eraser, was set up to demonstrate the working nature of light.  It involves shining a laser at a wire to create an interference pattern and using polarizing filters to manipulate it.  This experiment demonstrates the ability for photons to pass around the wire in both directions simultaneously, and they will quickly refer you to Schroedinger's cat!

Well done!  Unfortunately, due to a lack of corporate sponsorship, Peel is unable to take them to the National Competition. 

On Tuesday April 28, 2009, in period one, The Woodlands School will welcome Dr. Eva Olsson to make a presentation to our grade 10 classes.

Eva Olsson is an author, a recipient of the Order of Ontario, an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and an Honorary Doctorate in the field of Education from  Nipissing University.

Dr Olsson has travelled North America to speak to students and educators in an effort to promote positive relationships and anti-bullying. As a teenager, Eva was taken from her family and suffered countless hardships in several Nazi concentration camps.

Her story of survival raises the human spirit in her audiences as she presents an eye-witness account of events which affected her and the conscious decisions she made to survive and live a life of goodness.

We know that our students will benefit from this opportunity. 

The International Bazaar will take place in the cafetaria on Tuesday, April 22nd.  Tickets will be on sale during periods 2, 3 and 4.  Tickets are $5.00.  Students should bring correct change for their tickets if they are planning to purchase them on April 22nd.  The SAC will be visiting classes to sell wristbands.  Students will need the appropriate coloured wristband plus 8 tickets to be admitted to the Bazaar. 

The event will be held between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Students not attending the Bazaar, but wishing to eat at the school may bring their lunch and eat outside on the benches.

Only students of the Woodlands will be admitted to the International Bazaar.  

The Woodlands Prefects Organization is currently running Super Charity Week at the school to raise funds for SAFER (Social Aid For the Elimination of Rape). A variety of exciting and entertaining activities are planned from April 17 to April 27.

Last year, approximately $12,000 was raised for the Stephen Lewis Foundation, and the Prefects are hoping for similar success in this year's endeavour.

The School Council is pleased to support the Prefects' efforts in this regard. We encourage you to learn more about these events at the Prefects website.