Happy Hallowe’en!

Please find attached below your school calendar for the week of November 3 – 7, 2008. Â

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank a member of our school community for their very generous donation toward the Huntsman Marine Science Center (HMSC) Field Trip run each year by the science department at Bell HS. The HMSC is located on the Bay of Fundy in St. Andrews N.B. and enriches students lives through a series of opportunities allowing them to discover marine biology in its most primitive form through a series of wonderful activities and exhibits. This monetary gift being provided for the next five consecutive years will assist students to an extent that would otherwise not be possible thereby enriching the lives by facilitating participation in this wonderful trip.Â

2. A reminder that Wednesday November 5, 2008 is Take Our Kids to Work day for grade nine students. If your child has not yet been successful in securing a shadowing role please feel free to contact their Guidance Counselor at the school at 613 – 828 – 9101. General Dynamics Canada in Bells Corners has graciously offered spots for students that day and their are eight remaining. I expect they will fill up fast so please don’t wait long before calling. In order to have things set up on the GDC end we will need to know by the end of the day Monday November 3, 2008.

3. Does your child still require Community Service hours? If so, General Dynamics Canada is currently looking for student volunteers to help with some purging of materials. If your son/daughter is interested in earning hours toward this graduation requirement please feel free to contact Mr. Jeff Hemstreet in Guidance.

attachment: bell-this-week-nov-3.doc

Have a super weekend.

 Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Thank you to all parents who attended parent-teacher interviews Wednesday of this week. I hope you enjoyed your opportunity to connect with classroom teachers and found the evening productive. From an organizational standpoint many teachers reported an increase in the number of attendees which is excellent from our perspective. Research consistently states that one of the most significant contributors to the academic and social success of students begins with support and encouragement from families.

Each year Bell HS celebrates the academic achievements of its students. In June a convocation is held for graduating students and in the Fall we ‘reach back’ to celebrate the academic accomplishments of students in grades 9 through 11. Please note that this year our celebration will take place on November 19, 2008 beginning at 7 p.m. in the cafetorium. Beginning soon, award winners will receive an invitation to attend this evening. We welcome you on this evening with open arms and strongly encourage parents of award winners to attend and celebrate with us.

attachment: bell-this-week-oct-27.doc

Hello,

Please find attached the weekly calendar for the week of October 20, 2008. It is attached below. I apologize for its lateness which resulted due to technical difficulties with the site.

As you may or may not be aware the OCDSB is currently undertaking a review of programming for Gifted students. The board is interested in feedback from parents and as such has set up two consultation evenings. These evenings are being held on October 28th and 30th at each of Hillcrest (cafeteria) and Woodroffe High School (library) respectively, beginning at 7 p.m. Please feel free to visit the board website for more information.

Finally, Wednesday of this week Bell HS and its staff proudly host parent-teacher interviews from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. I trust that you have received a progress report for your child via ground mail. On the back of this sheet was room for the booking of interview appointments with classroom teachers. We encourage all parents to set up interviews to discuss progress.

attachment: bell-this-week-oct-20.doc

cheers,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

We now find ourselves entering our seventh week of the school year. At this time we feel it is important to give all parents a quick snapshot of how your children are progressing in each of their courses. In previous years we have sent home letters of concern to parents of students for whom there were academic concerns in classes. This year we are providing all parents with feedback as we feel it is important to communicate with all parents concerning progress by mailing home a Progress Report. This envelope will contain the following:

1. Progress Report showing progress to date in each course for each student.

2. On the back of this page is a parent-teacher interview form. If you would like to see one of your child’s teachers please feel free to send the form back to school with your child indicating a preferred time. This will be confirmed with you by the subject teacher through sending the form back home with a confirmed time. PTI’s take place on Wednesday October 22, 2008 from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

3. You will also find enclosed in the envelope a demographics page for verification. Please verify that the information we have on file is correct. If there are corrections to be made please send them back with your child and have them drop the revised form off in the main office.

4. For students in grade 10 this year who wrote the EQAO grade 9 math test last year you will find enclosed your child’s individual school report (ISR) stating their performance on this particular task.

Take Our Kids to Work day is taking place on November 5, 2008. Forms were sent home with students today in their period one classrooms so please ask to see them. This day provides students in grade 9 an opportunity to shadow their parents or a family friend for one day at their place of work. This day is intended as an experience for students on the cusp of becoming employed in the future to obtain first hand experience with the workplace. All grade 9 students are strongly encouraged to attend. If finding a placement is difficult we would be happy to try to facilitate something from our end. If this is the case, please contact your child’s guidance counsellor with your request.

Finally, you will find below Bell’s calendar for this week.

Attachment: bell-this-week-oct-13.doc

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal Â

Hello,

Please find attached our weekly schedule for use in planning your upcoming week. We hope you find it useful.

You will notice dates for the Senators 50/50 program. Bell HS has partnered with the Ottawa Senators for a second year in support of the Sens Foundation supporting CHEO. Our responsibility includes helping with the selling of 50/50 tickets at games before and up to the end of the second period. In return students will receive a slice of pizza and a pop, community service hours toward graduation, not to mention getting to see the Sens play for free. Students must be 16 years of age by law to sell and we welcome parent volunteers as well. Our responsibility is to have 20 sellers at every game. Sign-up sheets for games are found outside the main office.

If this is interesting to you, please feel free to contact the school for more information.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Whitehead

Principal

Attachment: Bell This Week for October 6