Principal's Introduction
 

We are now well into the second semester and nearing the end of February! Winter sports continue and move towards the end of their season (I am headed to the boys hockey team playoff game after I finish writing this!). Other extracurricular activities are going strong. Practices have begun for our school play, "Rapunzel", which is being directed by Ms. Caroleo and which will be performed during Education Week, early in May. One of our teachers, Ms. Belletrutti, is working to resurrect the SPX Reach for the Top team. She has a keen group of students interested and hopes to get involved in some competitions this spring. This coming Friday our school hosts an ATC evening, where Pius students organize activities including a dance for "Differentially Abled Adults" from across Ottawa. Xmen have been hosting this activity for over 40 years. It is a great community service opportunity for our students. Encourage your son or daughter to help out. Thanks to Mr. Boucher for leading this activity.

There are a number of articles in this newsletter highlighting a small sampling of the goings-on at SPX. I would like to focus your attention on the message from Student Services about option sheets. These are due by March 6. The selections you make with your son or daughter now drive our scheduling process. Please take time to sit down with them and go over their plans for next year. Feel free to contact our Student Services department if you have any questions.

Final report cards for Semester One went out on February 13. Our next reporting is the Letter of Concern process which gives an early warning if there are concerns in Semester Two classes. These letters will be mailed home to students who receive them on March 19th. We then have Parent-Teacher interviews on Thurs March 27. Details about this will be communicated shortly after the March break. A reminder to parents of our Grade 10 students that they will be writing the Literacy Test (OSSLT) on Thurs March 27. Passing this test is a requirement for high school graduation. Preparations are under way for this test and there is an after school preparation program that students are encouraged to sign up for.

Finally, as we move towards the March break I would encourage you to speak to your daughter or son, especially those in our graduating class about making good decisions especially if they are away on holidays. Remember that the only school sanctioned trip is our annual Europe trip. "Grad trips" are not organized or supported by the school. Our school continues to organize a prom, grad retreat, grad mass and the graduation ceremony to celebrate our grads as they complete their high school years. We want our students to enjoy their final year but also to make good decisions so that their celebrations are positive experiences where no one is hurt or walks away regretting some of the decisions they may have made.

 

 Pius Cares: Building a Kinder School
 

February has been a busy month for Pius Cares. On February 5th we kicked off the 21-Day Challenge to Do Something. The challenge asked participants to make a conscious effort each day to do something kind. The idea was that after 21 days, we'd make it a habit to be kinder which in turn would make our school an even better place to be. Each day, participants were asked to upload their act of kindness to our 21 Day Challenge website to share with others in the community. It was a pleasure to read the growing list of acts each day and to celebrate our favourite acts of the week over the morning announcements each Friday during the challenge. It was especially encouraging to read four-year old Julia and six year old Emma's acts of kindness! Visit our website to read more of these inspiring acts by many members of our community.

Also in the month of February, a group of students along with our school chaplain, Ritchie, planned inspiring prayers and reflections to celebrate Black History Month. The last week of February was dedicated to raising awareness of Black History through activities and a bake sale.

What's next for Pius Cares? We'll begin our planning for Heritage Week in May. Stay tuned for how you could get involved in helping us celebrate the rich cultural heritage at St. Pius!

 

 School Council
 

Stay connected!. The St Pius X School Council is comprised of the school principal and members representing: parents/guardians, school staff and students. The School Council meets monthly at 7:00 p.m and discusses topics of relevance to your student and the St Pius X community. Find out more at https://pih.ocsb.ca Your input and contributions make a difference. If you have any questions contact the council chair, Johanna Nicoletta at: stpiusxschoolcouncil@gmail.com. Our next meeting is Tues Mar 4 @ 7:00 in the library. We will be looking at the school budget process.

 

 Student Services
 

Option Sheets: After a busy but very smooth start to the second semester that included many new registrations, the focus is now on option sheets for the 2014-2015 school year. The Guidance Counsellors have made presentations to all grade 9, 10 and 11 students to review the option selection process with them. The official option sheets are colour-coded by grade and were distributed on Monday, Feb. 24. At this time, the English, Math and Science teachers are making course recommendations on the option sheets for all students going into grade 10 and 11. Option sheets are due by Thurs, March 6 to the homeroom teacher.

Course Fair: To facilitate the informed selection of courses, St. Pius hosted a "Course Fair" during periods one and two on Thursday, Feb. 20. All of the students in grade 9, 10 and 11 homerooms had an opportunity to visit displays, review course outlines, talk to teachers and ask questions about the courses they are considering for next year.

Community Service Hours: All students are reminded to hand in their community service logs, signed by their supervisor and their parent as soon as possible. This is especially important for students who are now in grade 12 since their 40 hours must be completed in order to earn a high school diploma and receive acceptance into either a college or university program. All graduating students are reminded to ensure that their 40 hours of community service have been submitted to their Guidance Counsellor before Thursday, April 17. This will allow the school to send updates on graduation requirements to the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) and the Ontario University Application Center (OUAC) along with the April 17 midterm report card marks.

Graduation Update: The second semester seems to fly by for most grade 12 students. This is the time when grade 12 students are busy with their semester 2 courses, their post-secondary applications, offers for college and university programs, scholarship applications, summer job applications, OSAP applications, and more. Each of these items will require a great deal of time, thought and planning. Graduating students will also be involved with several important events as their high school years come to a close and they prepare to enter the "real world". These important milestone events are a celebration of their four years of high school and include the Grad Retreat, Grad Mass, Grad Prom and finally the Graduation Ceremony. Parents are invited to attend the Grad Mass and the Graduation Ceremony. Dates, times, locations and more details will be available in the spring.

 

 Looking to the Prom
 

Planning for this year's prom has begun. It will take place on: Friday, June 6, 2014 Chateau Laurier Ballroom Reception: 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m. Theme "Twilight in Paris" More details to follow.

 

 Destination Employability News
 

The Destination Employability Pathway is designed to enrich student's participation and transition to high school. DEP pathway events are open to all students in all grades. In February DEP students will be participating in a trip to The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus to attend the P.A.R.T.Y. program. This public service program is designed to show students what happens during a trauma caused by an accident. This program delivers a positive message and showcases a wide variety of healthcare related careers. Looking back, in December the DEP students visited the Shepherds of Good Hope community residence in Kanata and created original artwork to decorate the facility for Christmas. Looking forward, the DEP team will be organizing a summer job hunting skill session including creative resumes. For more information on the Destination Employability Pathway please contact Mr. Murphy at 613-225-4634.

 

 Yearbook News
 

The 2013-2014 SPX Templar Yearbook is well on it's way to completion. Our yearbook this year will feature 136 full-colour pages with an interactive component never seen in any yearbook before! You aren't too late if you haven't purchased a yearbook yet. Students and parents can visit spxtemplar.ca to link up to our online store for purchase.

The yearbook crew is also really excited to offer a new product for grads this year. We are launching the first SPX Templar Grad Book this year which will brim over with photos and memories from both prom and grad. Delivered to the homes of graduating students over the summer, the grad book provides coverage of all of the moments which yearbook is unable to deliver. Purchase information is also available online at spxtemplar.ca.

 

 Up coming events in March
 

-Feb 28: ATC dance, Feb 28 - Mar 2: Smugglers Notch Ski Trip, March 4: School council @ 7:00, March 5: Ash Wednesday school liturgies, March 6: Option sheets due, March 7: PD day, March 10 - 14: March break, March 19: Letters of Concern mailed out, March 24-28: French culture week, March 26: Director's Forum with CSPA, March 27: EQAO Literacy Test and Parent-teacher interviews, March 28: French cafe