April - Madawaska Valley District High School

MVDHS Newsletter
3 4 1
J O H N
H W Y .
S T R E E T
S O U T H ,
6 2 ,
R . R .
1
B A R R Y ’ S
B A Y ,
O N ,
P H O N E :
6 1 3 - 7 5 6 - 3 0 4 8
F A X :
6 1 3 - 7 5 6 - 1 7 8 3
Principal’s Message
K 0 J
last week, and plans are underway for
more tournaments for next year. Our
lifeskills class also attended their first
basketball tournament in Renfrew recently.
Dear Parents / Guardians of MVDHS
students,
As I write this it looks like spring weather will
finally be arriving this week. The longer days
have been nice but the warm sunny weather
to come will bring new energy to the school
just in time for the final stretch into summer.
The student activities council continues
to be busy with an upcoming spirit
week, spring formal and preparation for
elections of next year’s council. The
prom committee has also been busy
with preparations for the year end
dance.
With only about 35 school days to go
until exams everyone is getting geared up
for the end of the school year. Our grade
12 students are busy wrapping up their
final semester, and thanks to the student
services department preparation for
graduation is well underway. Our grade
10 students recently completed the provincial literacy test, and the last grade 9
provincial math test is coming up.
It looks like the community will finally
begin using our fitness room now that
they have received their Trillium grant.
We anticipate that it will be open to the
public starting in September of this
year. Watch the local newspaper or
check out the township facebook page
for more information.
We are still busy with athletics, with badminton just ending and soccer, track and
field, and softball all starting up. Our new
archery team had their first competition
MV Website
&
Twitter Feed!
APRIL
2015
1 B 0
around the schedule of the contractors
while trying to minimize the disruption to
students and staff.
As always I want to thank our parents and
community for supporting the school, and
if you have any questions please feel free
to call.
Dave Bishop
Finally, as many of you know already,
construction on the MVDHS/Sherwood
rebuild begins this summer. Work on
the building will continue throughout
the school year so we are busy planning
Parents and students are encouraged to Visit our school website at
www.mvd.rcdsb.on.ca and follow us on Twitter. We will continue to post
updates, pictures and news about our school and communities as well as
items from our Board and Provincial Government that may be relevant
to you.
ARTS NIGHT 2015
“A Celebration of Student Creativity”
Thursday June 4, 2015
Gallery Show – 6pm Concert – 7pm
Admission at the door: Adults - $7.00 Students - $5.00 Children (under 12) - $2.00
School News 2014-2015
Yearbook News
A limited number of yearbooks are being ordered
this year so, in order to guarantee that you will
receive a copy of the 2014-15 yearbook in the fall
it must be pre-ordered before the end of the
school year. Yearbooks are $35.00 and can be ordered by contacting Mrs. Olsheski in B210 or at
Community Resource Centre
Killaloe
Karaoke Night
to kick off Youth Mental Health Awareness
Week
Friday, May 1st 6pm-9pm
Cost $2 @ Killaloe Lions Hall
Pizza available from Garth’s Kitchen
Community Bike Ride & BBQ
to promote Youth Mental Health
Saturday, May 9th Bring your bike!
Meet at Killaloe Ball Park @ 3:30 Ride
starts at 4pm, BBQ and games at 5pm
613-756-3048 ext. 210.
MVDHS SCHOOL CASH ONLINE
For safety and efficiency reasons, Renfrew County District School Board would like to reduce the
amount of Cash & Cheques coming into our school. Please join the thousands of parents who
have already registered and are enjoying the convenience of paying ONLINE! It takes less than
5 minutes to register. Please follow these step-by-step instructions, so you will begin to receive
email notifications regarding upcoming events involving your child(ren).
To get started go to www.mvd.rcdsb.on.ca and look for the School Cash tab.
Mental Health Week
May 4-8
What’s happening for MV Students?
AMPLIFY is a youth summit organized by the Renfrew County Youth
Network. It’s happening on May
6thfor Grade 10 students at the Petawawa Civic Centre.
Harmony Movement returns to
MVDHS for a two day workshop on
May 6 & May 7. In this workshop, a
group of students are introduced to the
principles of diversity, inclusion and
equity. Participants increase their
awareness of prejudice, stereotyping,
discrimination and bullying through
games, multi-media and discussion.
A half day is being planned for all
MVDHS staff and students focussing
on Mental Wellness.
MVDHS and Family Life Christian Centre are organizing a humanitarian trip to Mexico in March Break 2016, to
build a house for a Mexican family in need. This would be through the same organization; Live Different, who
hosted our trips in 2012 and 2014. This organization has been hosting ‘Live Different Builds’ for many years and
have a number of areas where they work. Check out their web site at www.livedifferent.com .
We will be going to Baja, Mexico to a small community called Vincente Guerrero. This is where we visited before
and were able to build four houses for families in nearby communities. The cost of the trip is approximately $2100
per person, all inclusive (cost varies according to flight costs). This figure will reduce as the group does fundraising
activities. Money paid by you personally can be claimed as donations on your (or your parent’s) tax return. Both
students and adults are welcome on this trip.
If you are interested or have questions, please email Pam McCallum at [email protected]
This does not mean you have committed to the trip, just that you are interested and would like more information.
There will be an information meeting coming up in the future.
Guidance & Career Education - SPRING 2015
The General Scholarship &
Bursary Form required to be
eligible for consideration for all
of our monetary graduation
awards was due April 17.
Competed forms (with Social
Insurance Number and an attached resume) will still be accepted by Ms. Sweeney but
the number of awards you remain eligible for dwindles away
the longer you wait. We have
awards available for ALL students regardless of the pathway they are pursuing
(apprenticeship, college, university, workplace).
On May 14, we will be taking
students to the OPTIONS
Skilled Trades Fair at the
Pembroke Memorial Centre.
All Grade 10s and interested
Grade 11/12 SHSM/Co-op students should hand in their permission form in advance to be
able to join us. We will have a
Study Hall set up back at MV
for any Grade 10 students who
are not able to attend this excellent event. Grade 11/12s
not going to OPTIONS would
attend their regular classes
instead.
Through the spring, many of
our senior students will continue to be invited to take part
in certifications and activities related to the Specialist High Skills
Major (SHSM) sector they are
connected to. As always, the students’ first responsibility is to ensure they keep up to date in their
regular classes. Students who
are able to complete all required
components for their sector would
be granted full SHSM upon
graduation. Others would still receive their Record Card listing
which extra activities they did take
part in, which does have value in
itself. If you are unsure if you are
on track for full SHSM, please
check with Ms. Sweeney.
Once graduating students know
which college or university they
will be attending, they can/should
apply for OSAP (Ontario Student
Assistance Program) to assist with
the costs of their education.
Check out www.osap.gov.on.ca.
You will also be able to attend a
presentation at MV on May 26 at
2:15 p.m. in our school Library.
Parents are most welcome to attend this presentation as well.
Interested students should sign up
ahead of time in Student Services
and parents would sign in at the
main office upon arrival.
To ensure a smooth graduation
process, proof of completion of 40
hours of Community Involvement must be filed with our main
office by the end of May for stu-
dents who plan to graduate this
June. Opportunities for students
in grades 9-12 to earn these hours
are announced on a regular basis.
Graduating Grade 12 students
who plan to participate in their
Graduation Ceremony on June 25
(7 p.m. start) should mark June 10
on their calendar as this is the day
of your Graduation Ceremony
Rehearsal (time TBA). Be sure
that you have ordered your grad
gown as well.
Graduating students need to ensure that if you are taking a
course not connected to MV,
you must ensure that we receive
your final mark in a timely manner
to allow for processing by our
main office before graduation. Be
sure to schedule your final exam
for an early enough date to allow
for marking and posting of your
final mark to us. Otherwise, you
would unfortunately, not be able to
participate in our graduation program and your diploma would
need to be mailed to you at a later
date.
Students applying for scholarships/bursaries/awards and some
summer jobs often require official
transcripts and/or letters of reference from staff. To avoid disappointment, these should be ordered or requested 10 business
days before you require them.
Students are encouraged to sign
up for an appointment in Student
Services if Ms. Sweeney can be of
assistance. You may also reach
her at
[email protected] or
at extension 506.
The Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Program
Literacy News
On March 26, 2015, grade ten students completed the Ontario Secondary School Literacy
Test (OSSLT). Students and teachers worked hard to prepare for the test which assesses
Yearbook Newsreading and writing. Results will be sent to the school in June, and students will be informed as to whether or not they passed the test. Students who were not successful this
year will be given additional support and will have another opportunity to write the test
next spring. Senior students who did not pass the OSSLT will also have the opportunity to
register for the Ontario Literacy Course. Passing this course is another route towards
graduation. Thanks to everyone for their hard work!