Woodlands School Council

Woodlands Newsletter, October 2011   

Hello everyone,  

Thanks to all the parents who attended the first school council meeting and presentation on Study Skills and Time Management. It was a great success with lots of ideas,  questions and discussion.    

Early Progress reports went home with students on October 13^th and this was followed by the Secondary Parents Night in the evening. Many of you came to meet your students’ teachers and talk to them about their progress. It was great to see you all there. The parent – teacher partnership is very important to a student’s success.  

We have compiled a list of up coming University Open Houses to help you with some of the information and will put together one for College Open Houses very soon. Keep checking for updates on both lists.

On October 24^th, two of our Woodlands ELP graduates will return to speak to the grade 10s about exploring their creativity.  Belinda McGuire is a Julliard graduate and world-touring professional dancer.  Irene Kim is a corporate lawyer and fashion magazine editor/writer.  They will be speaking during the last half of period 1 and the first half of period 2 in the library.   

November 2^nd, 2011 is Take Your Kids To Work Day. Please make sure you have signed and returned the forms toe your student’s teacher. This is a great opportunity for your student to see where you work and what you do.  

Ford Drive One 4 You Fundraiser will be taking place on Saturday November 5^th, 2011. Please see the information posted on the website front page to find out more about this important School fundraiser, BBQ and Raffle.    

School Council Meeting The next School Council Meeting is Monday October 24, 2011, at 7.00 pm. in the school library.  There will be a Bullying Awareness presentation by Constable McCurley following the meeting. Please do come out and find out more about this topic. There ha s been a lot of coverage in the media on this and we will get some up to date information from the police officers affiliated with the Woodlands School.   

Dates to keep in mind  

Monday October 24^th, 2011:  Grade 10 ELP Guest Speaker in Library (8.20 am)  

School Council Meeting (7.00 pm) Bullying Awareness Presentation by Constable McCurley    

Friday October 28^th, 2011:  Commencement (7.00 pm.)  

Tuesday November 1^st,,2011:  Virtual Classromm with David Suzuki For all Grade 7’s and two Grade 9 Enhanced Geography Classes (1.20pm)  

Wednesday November 2^nd.,2011:  Take Your Kids To Work Day    

Friday November 4^th.,2011 :  No School, Professional Learning Day      

Saturday November 5^th, 2011: Ford Drive One 4 You Fundraiser  

Tuesday November 8^th.,2011: University Application Assembly (8.30 am) College Application Assembly (10.00am)  

Wednesday, November 9^th,2011:  Term One Ends Grade 12 ELP Physics Fair (8.20 am) ELP – Grade 8 Parents Info Night (7.00pm)

Thursday November 24^th,2011: Science and Math Olympics Periods 1 & 2 (Some Gr 11 Science students, some Gr 9 & 10 Math students, some Prefects)  

Friday December 16^h: ,2011: Music Invitational – Periods 1 & 2 (Band Members)   

Monday November 21st, 2011: School Council Meeting (7.00pm) 

The Woodlands School Council October 2011   

October 2011

Hello everyone ...
 
We've had a great start to the 2011-2012 year at the Woodlands school, with everything going smoothly from registration to our first week of classes. The School Council would like to welcome Tom Brownhill, our new Acting Vice-Principal. He is replacing Doreen Johnson who is now acting Principal at Gordon Graydon Memorial Secondary School. We wish her all the best.

Thanks to all the parents who signed up for the council mailing list at registration and the grade 7 and 8 meet the parents’ night (which was a great success). We were able to get several hundred email addresses of parents and/or students for the council's data base and with the help of volunteers we should have themtyped and on the mailing list shortly.   

We encourage parents to try and come to as many meetings as possible. as wehave organised some great presentations for the year that will benefit both parents and students.  Please see list of council meetings and topics for the2011-2012 school year. Meetings are generally held upstairs in the school library, so do try and join us. If you are interested in getting actively involved with the council please contact us through the website or talk to us when you come for a meeting. 
Activities and Volunteering for Students   The Woodlands offers many opportunities for students to participate in clubs and organizations and the beginning of the year is a great time to explore all the options. Do encourage your student to participate, as more and more universities and colleges want to know what activities students are involved in while in high school as well as community activities and volunteering. Counting on You   If you have a grade 9 or grade 10 student that is struggling with Math or Literacy, the school has a program called COY (Counting On You), that youshould look into. Both programs are from 3.00pm to 6.00pm and will start September 27^th, 2011 and finish January 18^th, 2012. For more informationplease contact Mr. Maiedah Ahmad or your child’s teacher. 

Dates to keep in mind 

Thursday September 22, 2011:  Late Start day Secondary classes will begin at 10.20 am. ESL Parents Night - 6.00pm in the School Library(6pm – Refreshments; 6:45-7:15 pm presentation; 7:15-7:30 Q&A)   Monday September 26^th:  School Council Meeting (7.00 pm.)   Tuesday September 27^th:  No School for Elementary Students   In-School Professional Activity/Reorganization (Elementary)  Wednesday, Sep 28^th: Terry Fox Run   Monday October 10^th :  No School, Thanksgiving day    Thursday October 13 ^th:   Early Progress Reports go homeSecondary Parent/Guardian Night   Wednesday, Oct 19^th: Secondary Late Start  (10.20 am.)   Monday, Oct 24^th: School Council Meeting (7:00pm)   Friday, Oct 28^h: Commencement  (7.00pm.)            The Woodlands School Council, September 2011

Hello everyone,

The April 2011 Woodlands School Council newsletter is attached for your review.

Please be advised that our next School Council meeting will take place on April 18th at 7:00pm in the school library. The meeting agenda may be reviewed on the school council website.

Best regards,

Woodlands School Council

 
School Council Meeting February 28th
The next School Council meeting is on February 28th 2011 at 7pm in the school Library, and will be followed by a short presentation on ‘How to be a Debt Free Graduate’ for parents and students. Please mark this on your calendar. We look forward to seeing you there.
 
Report Cards
Grade 7 and 8 Report cards were sent out earlier this month. We hope you have had a chance to go over them with your students.

Secondary Parent interview night is March 3rd, 2011. Please check with your student for interview times. This is a great opportunity to speak with the teachers about your child’s progress.

We thought you would be interested in the following article from globeandmail.com:
No nagging, lecturing or arguing: Three tips for parents of teens
Sure, it’s tough to quit nagging. And lecturing. And wanting them to agree with your decisions. But if you really want to improve diplomatic relations, it’s time to change your strategy …..
Read the full article online at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/anthony-e-wolf/no-nagging-lecturing-or-arguing-three-tips-for-parents-of-teens/article1860718/
 

Elementary Ski Day
On Tuesday January 4th 2011, 110 Elementary students and staff from the Woodlands experienced a day on the slopes. 104 enthusiastic students arrived at 6:45am to begin boarding the coach buses bound for Snow Valley in Barrie. We were very fortunate to have a wonderful snowy day with pleasant temperatures for many of the 1st time skiers and snowboarders. All those participating appeared to being having a fantastic time and tried very hard to advance the stripe colour on their lift ticket. After the completion of the morning lessons, all students received a hole punch or a coloured stripe on their tickets to indicate their ability. After lunch many students went back out determined to get to the next level and challenge the more difficult hills. It was a incredibly fun and rewarding day for all creating great memories foreveryone.

Kathy Morrison
Woodlands Teacher
  

Some good news about one of our students (Feb. 5/2011) 
Alex Hiscock, a talented English student at The Woodlands School, was thrilled to hear that his short story "Viktor Straw, The Beast With A Human Heart" was published by Teen Ink. Alex, a grade 12 student, has been writing since he was nine. He looks forward to developing the story into a novel.

English Department
Woodlands School
 

Sears Festival at Woodlands
On February 15th, 2011, The Woodlands School opened the 65thannual Sears Ontario Drama Festival in the South Central Peel District. The festival’s aim is to aid in the development and production of student written plays through various theatrical workshops and professional adjudication. The Woodlands School and Applewood Heights began the season with two plays: The Crate, written by Claire Ding and directed by Sarah Norton from The Woodlands School, and Welcome to the Town, a collaborative piece by Applewood Heights’ Grade 12 Drama Class.

  
Michael Reist Presentation at The Woodlands
On February 16, McBride Public School hosted a presentation on ‘Raising Kids in a New Kind of World’, by Michael Reist, a teacher in Peel. He covered a variety of topics of interest to parents. For more information on Michael please contact him at MichaelReist@hotmail.com. He was kind enough to send us his power points, which we will be posting on the council website shortly.
 

Happy New Year Everyone!!  The Woodlands School Council hopes you all enjoyed the holidays with your families and wish you all the best for the coming year.

Much has happened at the school since our last newsletter in October. Our apologies for not sending this out before the holidays... as a result, we have a lot of news to report! Click any item below to see details on the Woodlands Council Website.

Remember that our next  council meeting is on February 28th, at 7pm.

Newsletter Topics

• Chapters Night
• MacHomer Show
• Theatre Shorts
• Career Law Fair
• Snow Show News
• Marion Drysdale Writing Award Goes to Woodlands Student
• Guidance Office News
  • Kids.Now Leadership Program
  • Junior Achievement - Project Business
  • Skills Canada - Ontario

The Woodlands School Council Newsletter - November, 2010

 Upcoming Events

Transition to Colleges and Universities

The Woodlands School Council is pleased to host this presentation for the fourth year running. Always popular, this presentation is hosted by Ms. Catherine Haire, Head of Student Services at The Woodlands.

Ms. Haire will be joined by Cleo Boyd, parent of 2 Woodlands graduates, and the Director of the Academic  Skills Centre at U. of T.; and by Dimple Savla, a Woodlands School and University Graduate.

This presentation is highly recommended to grade 11 and 12 students and their parents. Come learn what to expect from the university application process and your post-secondary experience.

The presentation will take place after the November 22 School Council meeting. See the meeting agenda for more details.

Theatre Shorts – presented by The Drama Club

November 26th and 27th

Tickets:

• One night – Students $5.00 and Adults $7.00
• Two nights – Students $7.00 and Adults 10.00

Always a crowd pleaser, here is what one of our Middle School parents had to say about the Woodlands Drama presentations:

“For the past several years I have had the pleasure of attending a number of entertainment events hosted by the Drama Club, including Theatre Shorts, Arts Fest and Sears Fest. The caliber of the musicians, actors and singers is exceptional. I have never left a performance disappointed. The $7 admission fee to these events is money well spent. Please consider attending Theatre Shorts on November 26 and 27, 2010 in support of the Drama Club”.  – Kathy Stoliker

Annual Chapters Night

Our third annual fundraising evening is being held at Chapters Square One on Wednesday, November 24th from 7pm-9pm.  Please mention the evening to your family and friends, all are welcome to attend. That evening, when anyone buys something, they can say at the checkout that they'd like to direct the purchase towards Woodlands' fundraiser, and 10% of the purchase price of the item goes to our fundraiser. There are some purchases that do not qualify (of course), and customers cannot use their Chapters/Indigo discount card when making a purchase directed to the fundraiser.

REEL Canada

Once again Woodlands is thrilled to partner with REEL CANADA on December 7, 2010. Through the generosity of corporate sponsors, REEL CANADA will transform our gyms into media venues, and provide our students a chance to interact with personalities in the Canadian film industry!

REEL CANADA will offer all of our students an exposure to the fabric of Canadian identity through film that they have never encountered before. REEL Canada provides our students with an opportunity to better understand the power of film and its role in Canadian culture. In class teachers use this outstanding educational opportunity to study media, its impacts on our lives, careers, technology, as well as its interpretation of our history and our society. Last year our students were given the opportunity to interact with Canadian film personalities such as Deepa Mehta, Paul Gross, Kevin Duhaney, Andrew Curie and Jack Blum. Students are also involved in the technical aspects of the set up working with BAM Productions and Videoscope in the magical creation of three theatre venues. As a multicultural school, and a regional centre for gifted students, we work with students who possess many incredible talents. REEL CANADA will expose them to an industry full of potential and give them the opportunity to explore and apply their talents. Please take the opportunity to listen to CBC's interview with Deepa Mehta after her visit to our school and watch a promotional video that will inform you more about ReelCanada. http://www.reelcanada.com

News

The Honour and Subject Awards Assembly that was originally scheduled for Friday, November 12th has been changed to FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3RD, 2010 at 8:30 am.

Other Dates to Remember

• November 16th – Secondary Mid Term Reports go home
• November 19th – Elementary Reports go home
• November 22 - 25th – Secondary Grad Photos
• November 22 – Parent Council meeting, Woodlands School library, 7pm. Presentation – Transition from high school to college or university
• November 24th – School tours for enhanced students
• November 25th – Late Start for Secondary Students; Bus times will be adjusted
• November 25th – 26th – teacher interviews
• November 26 – Elementary PA Day
• December 3rd – Awards Assembly – 8.30am

Counting on You

Counting on You is a school board funded program geared to assist students in grades 7-10 who are struggling with Literacy and Numeracy. These classes are held on a weekly basis, after school from 3-5pm, for approximately 3 months per session. Currently, there are spaces available for students to join the Gr. 9/10 Numeracy program as well as the Gr. 9/10 Literacy program. Literacy classes are held on Tuesdays, and Numeracy classes are held on Wednesdays this term. Simple snacks are provided each week and there is a pizza party at the end of the term. There is no cost to join the program and snacks and pizza are also provided free of charge. Permission forms can be picked up from the main office and returned to Ms. Ahmad in the Social Science office.

Kids.now Leadership Program

The Woodlands School is fortunate to have the Kids.now Leadership Program again this year. As most of you may know, Kids.now coaches from the private sector come into the school once a week and give students the right tools to make the right choices by showing them how to build their self-esteem, set smarter goals, improve communication, resolve conflict positively and manage stress. They also discuss career choices on their pathway to being successful in life.

Environmental Council

The Environmental Council, run by teacher Rob Dutton and student Maduba Ahmad has about 40 members. Members will be going to "eco-buzz" conference and about 10 Woodlands students will be attending an environmental study in Fletcher’s Meadow. Students are asked to pre-register for workshops. The environmental council has 9 executive members that are responsible for certain areas and has sub groups. They like to encourage all to clean-up any garbage and to re-use paper. They are looking for more students to help out and all are welcome. Visit ec.woodlands@gmail.com

Co-op Education

Here’s a letter sent to our co-op teacher Mr. Wally Rawenko, by a former Woodlands graduate, Alex Bleicher;

Hi Wally (Mr. Rowenko),

I just wanted to send this email to thank you for what you did for me 7 years ago. You were able to obtain a placement here at the Board in the Planning Department. I have now finished my education and am back as the Planning Assistant - a position I'm not sure I would have otherwise been afforded without my previous experience in the Co-op program at The Woodlands. I feel the placement jump started my career, and for that, I thank you. If you're ever at the Board Office please come up to the Planning Department so I can thank you in person!  - Alex

Parenting with Karen Horseman

CBC Metro Morning has a great segment called “Parenting with Karen Horseman”, where she talks about different children related issues. In one of her segments she talks about making time to connect with children. She also discussed a book about how parents that are connected with their children’s schools during their High School years have stronger relationships with their children.

Recommended readings:

• "How To Hug A Porcupine", by Julie Ross
• "Every Parents Guide To Middle School", by Robert Walrond
• "The Good Teen", by Richard Lerner
• “Honey I wrecked the Kids”, by Alyson Schafer

For more information on Karen Horseman’s segment on CBC Metro Morning, please go to http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/parenting/

Hello everyone ...

We've had a great start to the 2010-2011 year at the Woodlands school, with every thing going fairly smoothly from registration to our first council meeting of the year.

Thanks to all the parents who attended our first council meeting which was a great success. We had 38 parents in attendance, a record for the first meeting of the year. We encourage every parent to try and come to as many meetings as possible as we have organised some great presentations for the year that will benefit both parents and students.

Our next meeting is Monday November 1st 2010 so do try and join us.

If you are interested in getting actively involved with the council please contact us through the website or talk to us when you come for a meeting.

During registration we were able to get about 900 email addresses of parents and/or students for the council's data base and should have them typed up and in the mailing list shortly.

At the meeting, it was decided the council newsletter will now go paperless, and will instead be sent out electronically to everyone on the school council E-mail list. A copy of the newsletter will also be posted on the website. We realise that not everyone has access to a computer, so we will work towards other ways and try to reach out to all the parents.

Going electronic will serve and address some important areas of concern...

• Parents will be getting the information they need without waiting for students to give them papers from the school.
• We will be paperless, which makes us a step closer to being green.

Our short term goal is to have a newsletter every month, and eventually, bi-monthly.

As parents we always found notes and handouts that were forgotten in knapsacks and binders for days and weeks at a time, sometimes thrown out because they did not seem relevant or important to the student.

Many families have access to computers, at home or work so we are hoping that you will all be better informed about the school and council through our new format. The plan is to send you reminders/notices to let you, the parent know that some news has been posted in the form of a newsletter.

We have posted some University open houses on the council website for the benefit of grade 11 and 12 parents and their students. It is never too early to find out about the various programs each institution has to offer as well as the scholarships that are available. Even as a grade 9 or 10 parent you and your student can start checking them out.

On November 3rd, 2010 there will be a Post Secondary Pathways Fair at the school. Please encourage your student to attend as this is a good opportunity for them to get information on Universities and Colleges. As parents you are also welcome to attend.

We hope the content of this newsletter has been useful to you and we welcome any comments and/or suggestions you may have.

--The Woodlands School Council

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 School Council newsletter for November, 2008 is attached.

The Woodlands School Parent Council welcomes our new and returning families to the 2008-2009 school year. This mail contains three items for your consideration:

September/October Council Newsletter