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Val McGillis, Principal
Immaculata High School

Upcoming Calendar of Events

The monthly calendar of events is available on the school website.

Please click here to access the current school monthly calendar.

Key Dates to Remember:

Friday, March 5th: Macwear Day

Friday, March 12th: Macwear Day

Wednesday, March 10th: School Council: 7 p.m.

March 15th - 19th: March Break

March 22nd-26th : High school Letters of Concern go out

March 25th: Think Fast

Friday, March 26th: Non-uniform Day

Wednesday March 31: Grade 7-12 Parent Teacher Interviews

OPTION SHEETS ARE NOW OVERDUE! IF YOUR CHILD HAS NOT HANDED HIS OR HERS IN, PLEASE ENSURE THAT THEY DO SO IMMEDIATELY!

Please click here to view the school board calendar for the year.

Greetings from the Principal:

We are now more than two weeks into our Lenten journey, and we look forward to Easter. We held Ash Wednesday services at Canadian Martyrs Church and all of our students participated in this event. It is a time for us to take stock of our lives, to consider our mortality, and to find the strength to deny ourselves some of the things that we enjoy every day. Our students received the message that Lent is a time to make some sacrifices, and to give something of themselves to others.

February is often a difficult time for people, with the cold weather and short days. This year we are fortunate to have had a fairly mild stretch, and it has allowed us to take full advantage of our surroundings, and to use the canal to our advantage. Our classes have been out skating the world's longest skating rink, and enjoying the best that our community has to offer. We are truly fortunate to be so close to this amazing site.

The Grade 10 Literacy test, or OSSLT, will be written on March 10. All grade 10 students, and students in grade 11 who were unsuccessful in this test last year, will be writing on that day. We will send a reminder out before then, but we ask that you ensure that your child is present on that day, as the test will not be written again until this time next year, and it is a requirement of graduation that all our students write this test. We wish all of our students well. Mr. Capobianco and our whole literacy team has been working hard with our students to prepare them for this test, and we expect that our results will reflect that.

March Break will soon be upon us as well. We look forward to this respite from the winter, and the respite it provides us. If you are travelling away from home, we wish you a safe and happy trip. The break is a sign that spring will soon be upon us, and we will be working on end of year activities.

Haiti Relief

There are many relief agencies doing good work in Haiti to which to send donations. One such organization is the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, the Canadian Catholic Church's international aid agency. This organization has been working in Haiti for years and is 'on the ground' ready to assist with emergency aid and with long-term reconstruction. Development and Peace is recognized by the Canadian Government as an official aid agency and the Government of Canada matches each dollar donated to Development and Peace. So, your donation is actually doubled.

If interested, you may send your donation, marked 'Haiti Emergency', to:

Development and Peace

1425 Rene-Levesque Blvd. W.

3rd Floor

Montreal, Quebec

H3G 1T7

Shoes for Haiti

We are pleased to report that thanks to the generous donations by our students, their parents and our staff members, 150 pairs of shoes have been shipped to Haiti.

Special thanks to our delivery people: Mrs. Barbara Szymanska (Library-technician) who brought the first box to SoftMoc at Billings Bridge Plaza and to Mrs. Linda Cunningham (Engagement coach) who delivered the remaining 4 boxes of shoes to our teacher contact at St. Matthew High School. The shoes were then delivered to Mr. Dave Smith, well-known Ottawa Philanthropist,who coordinated the shipment of a huge container to Haiti. Thank you MAC, for thinking of others in their time of need!

A box remains outside our school library for donations. We will continue to collect unwanted shoes and running shoes will be delivered in the springtime to the non-profit organization called Sole Responsibility: www.soleresponsibility.org

Pastoral Notes

On February 9^th I accompanied seven grade 7 and 8 students to our Board's Faith Mentorship Conference. This was held at St. Basil's Church and was animated by senior high school students from Holy Trinity under the direction of Mary Defayette, their chaplain. Students learned some new skills and approaches to leadership, which they will use at Immaculata for the good of our school.

We inaugurated the reflective season Lent with the Rite of Ashes on February 17^th. We held three liturgies at the Church and a team of grade 12 students led the liturgy which drew on our Board's theme of caring for God's creation. During Lent we are invited to examine our lives so as to grow more closely into the people God calls us to be.

Our prayers continue to go out to our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are recovering from last month's horrible earthquake. With our thoughts turning to the work of reconstruction a number of our students hosted a very successful coffee house benefit for Haiti. Our thanks to those who participated.

May the days of Lenten reflection bring calmness and peace.

Michael Dallaire

Chaplain

What's Going On Around the School?

MAC ATTACK UPDATE: Gr 7/8 Social Justice Committee

This new Committee continues to work hard to improve our school, our city, our country and our world. There have been a variety of projects they has supported, including a recent Bake Sale, the proceeds of which will go to subside the cost of the year end trip for needy students. The ideas are plentiful, from a Penny Drive at Christmas to a Pizza Lunch coming up in March, and the students and advisors are thrilled with the evolution of this new club!

GRANT FUNDING DIRECTED AT GR 7/8 ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY

With the receipt of a SPEAK-UP Grant, a new program has started in the Intermediate panel. A guest instructor of Mosiac Tiling has been coming to the school once a week to teach 17 hand picked students the specifics of creating a mosaic tile panel. These panels will be developed on the theme of "I BELONG" and will be mounted in the school for all to see!

Cooperative Education Department

This semester's Co-operative Education Department is off and running to a good start, with new students being placed in many different workplaces. All students have now been placed in their requested fields of interest and these are quite varied. This semester we have students working in such places as:

- CHEO

- Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre

- several area art galleries

- Computers for Schools (animation/graphics/programming/etc.)

- Rinaldo's Hair Design

- International Models

- Rogers Television

- Mexicali Rosa's

- City of Ottawa (mechanic)

- Carleton University Sports Medicine Clinic

- Ottawa University, The Fulcrum

- Governor's Walk Retirement Facility

- various elementary and high schools

- Ottawa Police

- dental offices

- Ottawa Court House (Judicial Services)

- medical centres

- Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa

- hotel management

- retail sales

- Ottawa Immigration Centre

We are able to find placements to suit just about any interests our students may have. We encourage all students at MAC to investigate cooperative education as a possible credit choice and to further expand their interests in a possible career choice down the road!

If you have any questions about choosing cooperative education as a credit choice, please stop by the Co-op office located on the first floor at C104, the Career Centre, and speak to one of the Co-op teachers located in the office. They would be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.

Grade 8 Poetry Lounge

The month of February was poetry month for some of the grade 8 English classes. Two spoken word poets from Capital Slam, a local poetry group that organizes poetry readings and competitions, came into Immaculata to rhyme for the grade 8s and some of the senior English and Drama classes. Inspired by their words that came to life, several grade 8 classes wrote their own poems, songs and rhymes and set up a week of poetry lounges where they performed for senior students and teachers. Songs, music and, of course, excellent poetry was heard and some homemade treats were enjoyed.

Also, on Tuesday March 2, a represetative from Metal Works Institute and Metal Works Studio will be in to talk to the High Skills Major students and the senior drama and music students about careers and post secondary education in sound engineering and the music business.

Grade 8 visits to computer engineering and communications technology classes:

On Thursday, Jan. 28th, Ms Raffin invited all grade 8 classes to partake in activity stations related to the Computer and Technology courses offered at Immaculata. Students learned about spreadsheets (Gr9 Exploring Technology), computer disassembly and reassembly (Gr10 Computer Engineering), and multimedia programs such as Corel Draw, Corel Photopaint and Flash (Gr11 Communications Technology). Ms Raffin would like to thank the following students for their tremendous help in leading the activity stations: Charlie Hardwick-Kelly, Gloria Gomes, Brandon Keyes, Anitta Martinagno, Murielle Pierre, Pierre-Luc Portugaise, Vaughn Sapers, Kimlee Santos, Thomas Sharp, Kaelen Walsh!

Equipment Donations

The Business and Technology department greatly appreciates the donation of three old laptops by Mr. Tony Garcia (a Glebe resident and owner of Computer Housecalls). These laptops will be used during second semester in Ms Raffin's grade 11/12 Computer Engineering course. Students will have a chance to disassemble and reassemble these laptops and discover how these computers work.

New focus programmes for 2010-2011

The Business and Technology Department is offering two new focus programmes as of September 2010.

The first programme, HATS-OFF (Hospitality and Tourism Services: Outstanding Fine Foods) is a full year grade 10 programme that will focus mainly on the food service sector. The hands-on approach will especially appeal to those learners who need a more experiential approach to learning. Student engagement and success through practical experience and integration of concepts across the curriculum will give students the basis to determine whether hospitality and tourism is a valid career choice for student.

At the grade 12 level, we are offering "Sizzle", which will give students a chance to transition gradually into world of work through a combination of rich learning experiences in the classroom and work experiences in local businesses. From sizzling hot foods to the sophisticated FVal ench cuisine, students will have the opportunity to explore the passionate world of restaurant culinary art.

For more information on these new programmes, or to register, please see your guidance counsellor or contact Mrs. Fink or Ms. Edwards.

European Adventure:

Every two years, the Modern Languages department organizes a European trip for Immersion students in grades ten, eleven and twelve. Through these travels, the students are able to have a cultural experience like no other because living an experience is far more rewarding than reading about it. In this year's tour, 16 students will be heading to Rome and Greece where they will be immersed in the culture and flavours of Europe. They will see art and architecture that they have only read about and have a historical education with real life lessons. Students will tour the Vatican, the Colosseum and other Roman landmarks. They will see the artwork of da Vinci and the sculptures of Michelangelo. They will visit Pompeii, Olympia, the Parthenon, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. We leave on our trip on March 27^{th and return April 3rd. We look forward to sharing photos upon our return.}

The I.C.E. Reps (Immaculata Community Effort) were pleased to host Ms. Cecilia Pita of SavoirFaire as a guest speaker on Feb. 24. Ms. Pita spoke to the ICE Reps about how to present themselves in business and social settings. The Reps practiced dining etiquette and how to make a good first impression. Ms. Pita covered mingling, how to enter a room, proper handshakes, eye contact etc... The ICE Reps particularly enjoyed her personal anecdotes and look forward to inviting Ms. Pita for future presentations.

Athletic News

February was a busy month for our teams, with many of the winter sports beginning their playoffs. Congratulations to our jr. and sr. boys basketball teams, our sr. girls volleyball team and our boys hockey team who ended their season with strong finishes. Our 7/8 panel was just as busy with our Takraw team winning the Board Championship and the Badminton team sending 8 athletes to the Board finals. The athletic department also organized our third annual Hoops for Heart day and raised awareness and funds for this worthy cause. Finally, congratulations to our athletes of the month for February:

High School Male: Russell Whitlock

High School Female: Julia Bowen

7/8 Male: Aidan Caulfield

7/8 Female: Rhian Fox

Athletics News:

Congratulations to the Grade 7 & 8 Immaculata Takraw Team who won the Board championship February 11th. The team went undefeated throughout the day defeating both Saint FX and Frank Ryan in the playoff rounds. The team worked hard in preparation for the tournament, and as they demolished their opponents. Coach Vigliotti wishes to send out a special thanks to his players:

Corinne Desjardins, Angie Wilson, Rhian Fox, Alana Colaiacovo, Jeffrey McKeen, Brion Hall, Aidan Opazo, Aidan Caulfield, Chelsea Watson

A special thanks also goes out to Ms. Butler and all the high school students who helped set up for the day; Mr Ouellette, who worked very hard to convene the tournament; and last but not least, the team's good luck charm: Matthew Desjardins.

Grade 8 visits to computer engineering and communications technology classes:

Equipment Donations

The Business and Technology department greatly appreciates the donation of three old laptops by Mr. Tony Garcia (a Glebe resident and owner of Computer Housecalls). These laptops will be used during second semester in Ms Raffin's grade 11/12 Computer Engineering course. Students will have a chance to disassemble and reassemble these laptops and discover how these computers work.

New focus programmes for 2010-2011

The Business and Technology Department is offering two new focus programmes as of September 2010.

The first programme, HATS-OFF (Hospitality and Tourism Services: Outstanding Fine Foods) is a full year grade 10 programme that will focus mainly on the food service sector. The hands-on approach will especially appeal to those learners who need a more experiential approach to learning. Student engagement and success through practical experience and integration of concepts across the curriculum will give students the basis to determine whether hospitality and tourism is a valid career choice for student.

At the grade 12 level, we are offering "Sizzle", which will give students a chance to transition gradually into world of work through a combination of rich learning experiences in the classroom and work experiences in local businesses. From sizzling hot foods to the sophisticated FVal ench cuisine, students will have the opportunity to explore the passionate world of restaurant culinary art.

For more information on these new programmes, or to register, please see your guidance counsellor or contact Mrs. Fink or Ms. Edwards.

Grade 8 visits to computer engineering and communications technology classes:

Equipment Donations

The Business and Technology department greatly appreciates the donation of three old laptops by Mr. Tony Garcia (a Glebe resident and owner of Computer Housecalls). These laptops will be used during second semester in Ms Raffin's grade 11/12 Computer Engineering course. Students will have a chance to disassemble and reassemble these laptops and discover how these computers work.

New focus programmes for 2010-2011

The Business and Technology Department is offering two new focus programmes as of September 2010.

The first programme, HATS-OFF (Hospitality and Tourism Services: Outstanding Fine Foods) is a full year grade 10 programme that will focus mainly on the food service sector. The hands-on approach will especially appeal to those learners who need a more experiential approach to learning. Student engagement and success through practical experience and integration of concepts across the curriculum will give students the basis to determine whether hospitality and tourism is a valid career choice for student.

At the grade 12 level, we are offering "Sizzle", which will give students a chance to transition gradually into world of work through a combination of rich learning experiences in the classroom and work experiences in local businesses. From sizzling hot foods to the sophisticated FVal ench cuisine, students will have the opportunity to explore the passionate world of restaurant culinary art.

For more information on these new programmes, or to register, please see your guidance counsellor or contact Mrs. Fink or Ms. Edwards.

Direction of School Support

By registering your child into an Ottawa Catholic school, you have chosen to support Catholic education through direction of your school support.

When you designate yourself as a separate school supporter, there is no financial benefit to our Board. Instead, you help foster a strong political voice through your elected representative (trustee) in ensuring your rights to a Catholic education for the young people in our province.

Your education taxes, at a rate mandated by the Province, are pooled with those from all taxpayers in Ontario. The money is then redistributed equally on a per pupil basis to all school boards in Ontario. As a residential English separate school supporter, the assessment section of your tax bill should read as follows...

If "ES" does not appear and you are eligible and wish to be designated as a separate school supporter, please call the Ottawa Catholic School Board's Admissions Department at 613-224-4455, ext. 2283, or e-mail Admissions@ottawacatholicschools.ca. We'll help you through the process.

If you do not have children in our school system, you can still choose to support the Ottawa Catholic School Board. Catholic homeowners and tenants are eligible to designate their support. In the case where one partner is non-Catholic, then an Assessment Lease form is also required. School support cannot be divided between two school boards.

Application for Direction of School Support Separate School Assessment Lease Form

Both of the above forms should be completed and mailed to the:
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)
P.O. Box 9808, Toronto, ON MlS 5T9
Phone: 1-866-296-6722

Question: How do I know that I am on the voter's list for the next municipal election on October 25, 2010?

Answer: Call MPAC toll free at 1-866-296-6722. If you provide them with your date of birth and your address, they can tell you if you are on the voter's list, and can also tell you if you are designated as a Catholic school supporter.

Students of the Month

Christina Paravan, Grade , has been nominated for her great honesty. Christina returned money and an expensive camera that she found.

We really appreciate Christina, and she is demonstrating one of the core values of honesty through her actions.

Kian Chisholm, Grade , is doing a very interesting science project in which he is attempting to find out which source of weather news is the most accurate. In addition, he volunteered to help out another student in the class with his science project. He is respectful, completes all assignments promptly, and consistently goes above and beyond what he is asked.

Dylan Ventura, Grade , won a medal at a skiing event last weekend and placed first in a swimming event. Over the past two months Dylan has consistently demonstrated the traits of a responsible student. Dylan is always enthusiastic in helping with any jobs that need to be done in the school. He takes great pride in completing his work. Well done Dylan!

Brook-Lyn Quinlan, Grade 12, is one of our students of the month, who is being recognized for her excellent behaviour and attitude. Brook-Lyn has made great strides as a student, and has reached heights she herself had not thought possible. She has reached and exceeded expectations that were set out for her, and her teachers are extremely proud of her!

Daniel Feil, Grade , deserves to be recognized. He is reliable, knowledgeable, and hardworking. He is our main contact for setting up the various sound systems for all of the presentations in the gym, the cafeteria and the library. He also gives up a lot of his free time to help us out. Way to go, Daniel!

The Staffer of the Month Award goes out this month to Mr. Hache. Mr. Hache is a favourite of our students, and is being recognized for his constant efforts to make school fun and interesting. Mr. Hache constantly seeks ways to get students involved in their learning, and to assist them in reaching their goals.

Grey Sisters Commemorative Library News

Forest of Reading Programs (sponsored by the Ontario Library Association):

During the month of February, our "special guests" at our weekly meetings included the following staff members:

Our White Pine group (grades 9 to 12) welcomed Mme J. Audet, who presented "Half World " by Hiromi Goto, and Mrs. L. Cunningham (Engagement Coach) who presented "Mostly Happy" by Pam Bustin.

Our Red Maple group welcomed: Mme A. Carnegie (grades 7 and 8 Religion and French teacher) who presented "The Shepherd's Granddaughter" by Anne Laurel Carter and Ms. M. Saliba (Department Head of Student Services) who presented "After" by Hazel Hutchins.

Thank you, guest readers, for being such great literacy role models!

Scholastic Green Classrooms Care: Our Red Maple students have been tracking how many 2010 nominated books they have read each week. We are pleased to report that we were up to 95 books as of Wednesday, February 17^th. Once we reach, 100 books, we will be emailing Scholastic Book Clubs. They in turn will make a donation to help save 100 sq. km of forest that provides valuable oxygen and a home for thousands of different animals.

For more information, please visit: www.scholastic.ca/classroomscare

White Pine Fundraiser: In order to offset the cost of our trip to Toronto in May, our student book club members have been selling various types of chocolates at $2.00 per bar. Congratulations go out to Danielle Verdon, a grade 9 student, who has sold 12 boxes of 30 bars each!

We are now less than 2 months away from our school's Voting Day of Thursday, April 22^nd. Most of our students are aiming to read, or have already read, more than the required amount of 5 books (for voting privileges). Terrific effort, everyone!

Book Donations:

The library staff would like to express their appreciation to the following people for their contributions to our library: Mrs. J. Cronin (Immaculata History teacher), Ms. L. Gorman (Immaculata English teacher), Mrs. B. Morrissey (Vice-principal at St. Teresa Elementary School), and Sister Barbara Ryan (retired Teacher-Librarian). These books will make wonderful additions to our collection!

Beautiful Immaculata Bags for Sale:

If you have not seen the beautiful Immaculata bags, you are in for a treat. With the artistic skills of our resident photographer, Mrs. Maryalice Mullally, we have been able to produce a bag that shows off the architectural beauty of this historic school as well as its beautiful surroundings. The bag features twelve fantastic shots of our most memorable features, including the Grey Sisters Commemorative Library, the lovely doors facing the canal, the chapel, the student lounge, as well as shots of the canal and the ivy covered walls of the tower.

We are always looking for ways to promote our school in the community, and to ensure that the pride that we feel in our beautiful school is communicated to our community. This bag is a great way to show off our school, and our staff has found that they are always asked about it when they use it in the community.

These bags are very inexpensive at $5.00 each, and they are very sturdy and spacious. They can be used for our students to carry their phys ed clothing in, or to use on your shopping expeditions. A photo of the bags is available on our website, and we will be selling them from the main office beginning in March. The bags sell for $5.00, and you can obtain one by asking your son or daughter to purchase it at lunch time from the Mac Shack, or by calling our office.

The Bear Hug is Back!

Once again this year we will be participating with our fellow Catholic School Board schools in the 3rd edition of the Bear Hug. The date for this year's event will be Friday, May 7th, and we will gather along the canal to hold hands and "hug" to break the current Guinness World Book Record of the largest number of people involved in a "hug". The hug will be a continuous 20 second interval during which participants will hold hands in an unbroken chain along the scenic canal.

The real event, though, will be the fundraising we will do for cancer. The Ottawa Catholic School Board has partnered with the Sens Foundation and Rogers House, CHEO, the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and the Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre.

As we approach the date of this event, we will send home pledge forms for our students to collect sponsors. There will be various prizes for their participation and fundraising.

We are also asking for sponsorships to assist in offsetting the costs of this great event. Any financial donation that an individual or company might be able to make will be most appreciated, and in return, those sponsors will be advertised

on the school website, the board website, and the Bear Hug website.

Mark your calendar for this event!

All schools are also attempting to secure ten $500.00 donations to assist in meeting the overall budget needs of this event. These donations will greatly assist us in this endeavour, and in return, all sponsors will be recognized through our newsletter and website up until the date of the event on May 7th. Donations of any amount would be most appreciated, and through this event, we know that our schoolboard will raise a significant amount for cancer research and treatment. Together, we can make a difference in fighting this terrible scourge.

Please check out the Bear Hug III link on the school board website, to see how the sponsorship program works.

cipal's

Spring program registration starts March 9 at the Old Town Hall, 61 Main Street

The Old Town Hall Community Center is located very close to the school in Old Ottawa East. Programming is offered year round and includes something for everyone, from organized playgroups for tots to yoga and drumming for adults as well as a variety of youth programs. Full details of programs offered and how to register (online or in-person) can be found at www.ottawaeastcag.ca. This session of particular interest to the school community would be robot building, tennis, personal awareness and safety for girls, and an empowering conversations workshop (to help mothers and daughters have insightful conversations).

Fire and Lockdown Drills:

We have held two fire drills so far this semester, and will be holding more to fulfil our obligations under the health and safety requirements set out by our school board. We held our first lock down drill on November . It was a good practice for us, and we learned about some areas where we needed to refine our practice. We will be hosting a second lock-down drill at some point in the second semester. Ottawa police will be on hand for that drill to assist us in debriefing and discerning any areas that require more reinforcement. As per new legislation relating to this, we are now required to communicate with the community about our lock down drills ahead of time, to avoid any undue distress to students and staff.

Please reinforce with your child the importance of taking these drills seriously. We should never become complacent.

Lockdown Drill Information

Lockdowns should be viewed as a proactive measure taken by the school to ensure that our students and staff are safe in the event of a threat to the school or the individuals inside.

Based on lockdown procedures that have already been established in many Ontario schools, the following guidelines are being provided to help elementary and secondary schools ensure their lockdown plans meet basic requirements, and to ensure a degree of consistency across the province.

Mandatory Requirements
1. All publicly funded school boards in Ontario must establish a lockdown policy to ensure the development and implementation of individual school plans.
2. A minimum of two lockdown drills must occur each school year.

It is important that all people involved understand the terminology correctly. The term "Lockdown" will only be used when there is an imminent threat of violence within the school, or in relation to the school. The misuse of this term could result in staff and students becoming desensitized and not taking the procedure seriously.

The term "Secure School" will be used to secure the school because of a situation that is not an imminent threat to the school but could endanger people if they were leaving the property (e.g., a bank robbery occuring near the school or a gas leak in the neighbourhood). In this case, the school would continue to function normally, with the exterior doors being locked until the situation is resolved, and individual classrooms being locked with students kept inside the rooms.

Lockdown drills end with a general announcement releasing people from the drill. In the event of an actual lockdown, however, no announcement over the public address system would be made until a police officer or school administrator has released every classroom or secured room to a secure classroom situation.

In the event that there is a lockdown drill in a school, parents would not be permitted to enter the school building or to escort their child out of the school. Cell phones would not be accessible to students, and communication would be temporarily cut off to attend to this serious situation. The practise of holding these drills will ensure that our students have a healthy respect for this serious situation.

Fire-drills have long been accepted as an important and effective tool in preparing staff and students for a fire within a school. While this is a rare event, it does, in fact, happen. It is very important that students take these drills seriously, and that they are treated with respect. Fire exit posters are in every classroom and area of the building, and it is extremely important that students exit in a quiet and orderly manner, and that they gather in their designated spot with their teacher, who will be checking their attendance.

Attendance for Extra-Curricular Activities at Immaculata

             At Immaculata, we believe that Academic Success is linked to good attendance. We understand that your child might be ill from time to time, have an appointment or be occasionally late despite everyone's best efforts to arrive on time. If you know that your child is ill or will be late, we ask that you phone the school to inform a member of the office team so that it can be correctly entered into attendance records.
            We are reminding students that extracurricular activities are a great way of staying involved in the school and developing good social networks. Similar to how Coaches need their players at practice to help them get ready for the game, students also need to realize that being in class is essential for successful completion of courses. Students who continue to have excessive unapproved lates or absences will not be permitted to partake in extra-curricular activities including athletics, clubs, dances or spirit assemblies. This is a last resort. We want our students engaged and participating in extra-curricular activities. However, good attendance needs to be maintained. If any questions, please refer to page 7 of the student agenda which contains the student code of conduct.
            Again, we ask that if you know your child will be absent or late, please contact the school to inform a member of the office administrative team. We will not be back-dating lates or absences as approved, if no attempt has been made within a reasonable period of time (from the date of the attendance infraction).
            We appreciate your support in this matter.

Homework Help

Free Online Math Tutoring Available

Have a child in Grade 7 who doesn't quite understand how to add fractions? Or maybe your teenager is struggling with a geometry assignment? Extra help is now available.

Check out Homework Help, where certified Ontario teachers are online 20 hours a week to provide free math tutoring for the Grade 7 to 10 math students in the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

Students can log in Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for one-on-one confidential help. There are interactive discussion rooms for each grade where they can view to the current lesson, watch tutors draw on the whiteboard - and then type their own question for on-the-spot help.

To access www.HomeworkHelp.ilc.org, your child will receive a login ID, as well as help setting up an account from their teacher at school.

Other math resources on the website include videos of teachers leading students through the top 20 most commonly asked math problems, interactive math tutorials and highlights of best sessions. And all students have a virtual locker, where their work is saved in video format for viewing anytime.

Ottawa Catholic School Board is one of 15 English-language school boards offering Homework Help this school year in the expansion of a pilot project funded by the Ministry of Education. Studies show that students who like math and have solid math skills are more likely to succeed in school and later in life.

"Many students continue to struggle with math. By expanding Homework Help, we are giving more students the extra help they need to succeed and graduate," explains Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education.

Homework Help began in 2007-08 at schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. Across Ontario, about 150,000 students will now have access to the online site.

This website is another addition to the online resources available for Ontario's teenagers. Sign in as a guest and see for yourself.