St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog December 18 to 22

Advent Mass

We celebrated our Advent Mass on Wednesday with Father Steven.  It was a wonderful celebration with beautiful music compliments of our choir.  It is always so nice to get together as a community to celebrate and reflect.

Merry Christmas

I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very Merry Christmas and a special holiday season to all of our St. Patrick’s families.  As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we also recognize the additional celebrations of the many faiths that make up our school community.  At this special time of year, we acknowledge the hard work of our students and staff in bringing a comfortable Christmas to many who might otherwise go without.  Our support of the Christmas Hamper program is a practical reminder of the meaning of Advent and Christmas themes. I hope that each one of you is able to find time to relax and recharge during the holidays.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week and break.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, Jan. 23 @ 7 p.m.: School Council meeting in Learning Commons 1

St. Pat's Intermediate Blog December 11 to 15

Ottawa Catholic School Board Returns Chair and Vice-Chair
The Ottawa Catholic School Board has returned Trustee Elaine McMahon as Chairperson and Trustee Joanne MacEwan as Vice-Chairperson. The elections took place at the Board's Annual General meeting held Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at the Catholic Education Centre.



Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Monday, December 18:  OCSB Christmas Choir, St. Basil's Church (Maitland Ave. north of the 417 exit) at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $15 at the door. 

St. Pat's Intermediate Blog December 4 to December 8

Advent Liturgy
Our Advent Liturgy will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 13.  We are looking forward to what promises to be a prayerful and reflective occasion while awaiting the birth of Jesus.


Password Reset
On December 15, 2017, all student passwords that have the form x (where x is a single digit) or Wecome2FL (F represents your first-name initial and L represents your last-name initial) will be automatically reset.  Student passwords can be changed by students on their own using their password change tool or by staff using the Student Password Change Tool. We highly recommend that student passwords are also shared with parents. Students who have a single digit password or a password of the Welcome2FL must change their password before December 15 to avoid being locked out of their accounts. If a student is locked out, a staffmember will have to change the password.

Student Immunization Information
The Immunization of School Pupils Act requires that students in Ontario be vaccinated against nine diseases, or have a valid exemption. It is the responsibility of parents to report all immunizations to Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and every year OPH reviews these records to ensure that information is up-to-date. The process is designed to prevent infectious disease outbreaks and protect the health of our students. Please be aware of the following timelines:

1. Over the past two weeks, parents have received notices informing them of any gaps in the immunization records of their children;

2. January 15, 2018...suspension notices will be mailed to families who have not yet complied with the requirements under the legislation. At this time, schools will be sent a list of affected students;

3. February 7, 2018...suspensions will be enforced for any remaining students whose records are still not up-to-date. OPH will fax schools a daily list of students who are not permitted on school property.

Wrestling Finals
Congratulations to our wrestling team who walked away with 11 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals at the City Finals on Tuesday. Very impressive...way to go, Shamrocks!

Tea Club Excursion
Our Tea Club, on Wednesday, went to a Tea Ceremony where they learned about the main principles of Tea, being harmony, reverence, purity, and tranquility. Students also received instruction in pottery, calligraphy, and art overall. I spoke with some students after the ceremony and many found it very interesting and exciting.

Visits to St. Pat's High School
Our grade 8's visited St. Pat's High School this week to take part in some experiential learning activities and to get a feel for the school. Whenever we visit across the street it is always a successful endeavour. Next year, of course, this will cease as we become one once the addition is finished in September, 2018. Very exciting times lie ahead!

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, December 5:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1 at 

7 p.m.

Monday, December 18:  OCSB Christmas Choir, St. Basil's Church (Maitland Ave. north of the 417 exit) at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $15 at the door. 

The holidays are around the corner and the winter break countdown is on! Please help us in letting your parents and guardians know that they still have time to order fall school photos in time for the holidays.

Fall photo day orders placed online at edgeimaging.ca by Sunday, December 10th or by phone at 1-888-416-3343 (EDGE) by Friday, December 8th * will have guaranteed delivery to home before the holidays!

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog Nov. 27 to Dec. 1

St. Pat's High School Drops By

It's always great when St. Pat's High School comes to SPI to promote all the wonderful things happening across the street.  On Monday, some members of the choir sang for us and encouraged students to get involved in music.  The arts are so important to the school curriculum that it's great of be a part of promotional visits such as this.  Thanks again for singing for us, SPH!

Brett Ullman Talk

Monday afternoon students had the opportunity to hear speaker Brett Ullman talk about dating. Brett travels around North America giving talks on relevant topics to teens. He is based in Toronto and was once a teacher for a number of years with the Toronto District School Board. Brett talked about the pros and cons of dating and stressed the importance of not feeling pressured by anyone to date.

Grey Cup 2017
To kick off Grey Cup festivities, on Wednesday, some of our students went to TD Place for the opening celebration. Students had a great time hearing speeches about believing in oneself and they listened to some great music and saw some varied dance displays. All this to say...a good time was had by all!

Christmas Hamper Program

Once again this year, homebases will be assigned a family to collect food and other essential items. In addition to helping families in need, Christmas hampers are a great educational tool to teach our students about poverty and social justice.  Every year we have more families requiring assistance than we have homebases; therefore, groups of staffmembers and our School Council have also teamed up to collect. 

Bullying Awareness Week
We had a very successful Bullying Awareness Week at SPI.  A number of activities occurred throughout the week, such as anti-bullying prayers each day, wearing pink in support of anti-bullying behaviour, and handing out cards to friends signifying the importance of healthy relationships.  I spoke to a number of students to solicit their thoughts on bullying and really feel that the message that bullying is wrong and needs to be reported is getting through.


Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

Tuesday, December 5:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1 at 

7 p.m.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog November 20 to 24

Shepherd's of Good Hope

A group of our Social Justice students made sandwiches today for the Shepherd's of Good Hope. The Shepherd's of Good Hope does such important work for the underprivileged in our city that we are honoured to be able to help them out in any way we can. 

WE Day

We Day occurred on Wednesday at the Canadian Tire Centre.  A group of our students involved in community outreach attended the exciting event.  Essentially, WE is a movement that brings people together and gives them the tools to make the world a better place.  I spoke to a number of students after this event and they all had a very positive experience.

Minister's Student Advisory Council (MSAC)

The Ministry of Education is accepting applications for MSAC. Each year, 60 students are chosen to serve on the Council and to share their ideas with the Minister. We have had several OCSB students chosen for MSAC in past years. This experience has been invaluable to them. Students are encouraged to consider this leadership opportunity.

CSPA

There is a great deal of information on the CSPA website regarding information for parents and upcoming sessions. You can visit the website here.

PD Day on Friday

Don't forget that this Friday, November 24 is a PD Day in all OCSB schools, meaning that there are

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

Tuesday, December 5:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1 at 
7 p.m.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog November 13 to 17

Rideauwood Presentation

Our representative, Emily, from Rideauwood dropped by to speak at our Monday Morning Assembly this week. She explained the drug counselling services that Rideauwood offers to students and went over some of the harmful effects that can result from using illicit substances. Our Board has had a long and successful partnership with Rideauwood and we are always happy when they drop by to explain their services to students.

School Council Meeting

Our School Council Meeting was held this past Wednesday. School Council is a very important component to any school and parents/guardians are always welcome to attend these meetings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, December 5 at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1.

Volleyball Excitement

Congratulations to our boys' volleyball team as they defeated St. Matthew on Tuesday and now advance to the finals against Frank Ryan on Tuesday.

The girls' volleyball team fought hard but unfortunately lost to St. Peter so their season is over. The girls really did well this season and we are proud that they made it to the semi-finals

Way to go, Shamrocks!

Remembrance Day Service

Special thanks go out to Colonel Mark Larsen who spoke to us at our Remembrance Day service on Friday. Students learned all about the sacrifices many men and women made for us so that we may enjoy the freedom that we have today. 'Lest we forget.

Parent-Teacher Interviews
We had a successful parent-teacher interview session on Thursday. Many parents/guardians came out to meet teachers to discuss the progress of their son and/or daughter. It's always great to see our entire SPI community come together for an evening of discussion.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

Tuesday, December 5:  School Council Meeting in Learning Commons 1 at 
7 p.m.

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog November 6 to November 10

Remembrance Day

On Friday we will have our Remembrance Day assembly. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will last approximately 1.5 hours. All are welcome to attend this important tribute acknowledging those who have done so much for us.

Girls' and Boys' Volleyball
Congratulations to both our girls' and boys' volleyball teams who made it to the quarter-finals. On Monday, the boys take on Notre Dame here at SPI and the girls take on St. Mark at St. Mark. Good luck, Shamrocks!

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parent-Teacher Interviews take place on Thursday, November 17 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and then from 5 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Interview request sheets went home on Thursday. Use of the sheet is the appropriate format permitted to request an interview with a teacher. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Early Dismissal on Thursday
Please note that we dismiss at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday, November 17 in order to accommodate parent-teacher interviews.

School Council Meeting on Wednesday
Please remember that we have a School Council meeting on Wednesday, November 8 at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1. All are welcome to attend.

Fall Back
Don't forget on Saturday night to set your clocks back one hour as we enter Standard Time. At least it'll be a little lighter in the morning for our students for the bus-ride in!

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Monday, November 6: CSPA Presents Special Education and Your Child, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Notre Dame High School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register).

Wednesday, November 8:  School Council meeting at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1.

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog October 30 to November 3

Halloween Activities

Students will have the opportunity to dress up in an appropriate costume on Tuesday, October 31st or they may pay $2 to simply dress down. We ask that no masks cover the face (make-up is ok) and no replica weapons be utilized. We are also asking that costumes be culturally sensitive.

Progress Report Cards

Student progress reports will go home this Thursday, November 2nd.  These report cards provide an indication of how students are progressing in each of their subject areas.  In most cases, there is an indication that students are progressing well, or very well.  In cases where students are progressing with difficulty, teachers have indicated a next-step for success.  At the school, we meet as an administrative and student services team to review any students that are having some difficulty.

After-School Academic Support

As part of our Student Success plan at St. Patrick’s, we are offering a number of options for after-school support.  These programs range from informal homework assistance to numeracy/literacy incentives.  Parents/guardians may have already been contacted about their son/daughter participating in an after-school course.  If you have any questions, please contact the school.  

Saturday Learning Club

The link below describes a new club starting Saturday mornings for ELL students in grades 7-9 or for students needing extra literacy support. If you have any questions about this please contact us at St. Pat's Intermediate and we'll be more than happy to help you out.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByrlYMrTjslHbmNRSDhEMGROZE1vMzhiNE1pV2tDS1YyaVgw

Experiential Learning Visit
From time to time, students participate in experiential learning opportunities...hands'-on experiences in the workplace or in other environments outside the classroom. On Wednesday, a group of students went to Versailles Hair Academy to learn all about the craft of cutting hair and of doing such things as foils and colour application. The students had a great time learning about hair techniques. We are grateful to Versailles for providing this opportunity year after year.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Monday, November 6: CSPA Presents Special Education and Your Child, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Notre Dame High School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register).

Wednesday, November 8:  School Council meeting at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1.

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

Other Information

St. Patrick's Intermediate Blog October 23 to 27

Halloween Activities

Students will have the opportunity to dress up in an appropriate costume on Tuesday, October 31st or they may pay $2 to simply dress down. We ask that no masks cover the face (make-up is ok) and no replica weapons be utilized. We are also asking that costumes be culturally sensitive.

Photo Retake Day

Picture retakes for students who missed their first opportunity or who would like a second sitting will occur this Friday, October 27. There is no additional work for parents who would like a retake except to remind their son/daughter to listen for the PA announcement on Friday. The photography team will make a point to review the original and the re-take image with students to ensure that they are getting the exact portrait they want.

Important Contact Information

Our School Council chair is Stephanie Anderton and can be reached at 

chair@StPatsInt-council.ca

Our Trustee is Mark Mullan and can be reached at mark.mullan@ocsb.ca

Have a great week.

Don Murphy
Principal

Upcoming Events

Monday, November 6: CSPA Presents Special Education and Your Child, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Notre Dame High School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register).

Wednesday, November 8:  School Council meeting at 7 p.m. in Learning Commons 1.

Thursday, November 30:  CSPA Presents Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs, 7:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at Thomas D'Arcy McGee Catholic School (please see spe.ocsb.ca for more details and to register). 

Other Information