Hello,

Student Council hosted their second successful dance of the year this past Friday night. A sold out crowd enjoyed this their favourite dance with a semi-formal theme. Special congratulations go out to Fiona Macdonald and Cindy Wei for their organizational efforts in a night enjoyed by students and staff.

Free On-line Mathematics TutoringÂ
In a program sponsored by the Ministry of Education, 200 qualified teachers have been hired to provide on-line mathematics help for students currently studying grade 9 and 10 math. To date, 100 000 students have taken advantage of this online opportunity and as with any other program the more students accessing such a program the more likely it will continue to be funded in the future. All students are encouraged to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity! Access to the appropriate website can be accessed from the main page at www.ocdsb.ca.

Course Contracts/Option Sheets Students in grades 9 – 11 as well as those returning grade 12′s should note that the date for submission of course contracts with course choices for next year has passed. Students yet to submit their option sheets must do so as soon as possible to insure most of their course choices for next year. Student requests drive which courses are offered as well as the staffing process. Where listed courses are not requested by enough students these courses cannot run.

Progress Reports for Semester 2
Each semester every student at Bell HS receives a progress report card in each of their classes approximately 6 weeks into the semester. This anecdotal report is designed to give parents a snapshot of their child’s progress in each of their classes. These reports are followed closely by parent-teacher interviews (March 31st) where parents have the opportunity to sit one-on-one with classroom teachers. This semester, progress reports will be mailed home in the first few days of March break (March 15 – 19) and parents can expect to receive these in mailboxes by the end of the week.

To facilitate your planning, please find attached this week’s edition of Bell This Week.

attachment:Â bell-this-week-mar-1-5-2010.doc

Have a super week.
Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Bell HS Students in “Synch” in Saskatoon Ms. Diana Hall spent last week with five students from Bell HS who completed research investigating the effect of nanoparticles on plant growth. The group of students began working shortly into the new year and worked tirelessly in preparing their plant samples for their work at the light source Synchrotron in Saskatoon this past week. While there, CBC did a piece on the group. The following link (http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/Saskatchewan/ID=1418283808 will allow you to view it as aired on CBC – Saskatoon last week. The students were wonderful ambassadors for Bell HS and Ms. Hall reports an outstanding week learning for everyone involved. Congratulations go out to the entire team as well as Ms. Hall for facilitating this research completely carried out by these five students.

The Cappies As musical productions are performed in high schools throughout the Fall, the Cappies is a program for aspiring students with a flair for writing. Selected students attend musical performances at other high schools and prepare reviews in the same way that many major publications such as the Ottawa Citizen would. In fact, the Ottawa Citizen features some of these student works. Â For the second year running, Bell HS has entered a Cappies team. Bell wrote this year for Death of a Salesman performed at Notre Dame High School. Congratulations go out to Bell students Nicholas Harrison and Leo Koppel for having their entries chosen and will be featured in the Ottawa Citizen.

Your Feedback is Important

3. Partners for life pres’n March 8 – see website folder for attachment

4. feedback page

Hello all,

The Cross Boundary Transfer (CBT) window officially opens Tuesday February 16, 2010. If you are the parent of a child in grade 8 wanting them to attend Bell HS next year and you are not living in the Bell HS catchment area, you are required to submit a CBT form to the main office between February 16 and 26, 2010. Please note that there is no priority given to those who hand in their applications earlier. Each application will be considered based upon merit as long as it is submitted between Feb 16 and 26th.

Congratulations to Mr. Jim Risk and Students’ Council for once again hosting Bell’s perennial Leadership camp Feb 5 – 7 2010. A record 225 students many from grades 9 – 11 participated and grew over these three days. Special mention goes out to Nicole Moroz and Emily Hsiung for her painstaking efforts in putting together this amazing showcase of opportunity for out students.It is option sheet season again! While it may seem early we are quickly switching gears and planning for 2010 – 2011. To that end, students in grades 9 – 11 and those grade 12′s already planning to return will be filling out option sheets and filling out course contracts over the next few weeks. To facilitate the process, Guidance counselors will be visiting classes to assist students with their choices and answering questions. At the same time, we recognize that you as parents will have questions as well and are proud to present an opportunity for you to have your questions answered at Bell’s parent information evening on Wednesday February 24, 2010 beginning at 7 p.m. in the school cafetorium. Please mark the date on your calendar just prior to the February 26, 2010 deadline for course contract submission. You are encouraged to attend with your child(ren) to make this a family evening of informed choices.

Thank you to all parents who attended our first ever Semester 2 Meet the Teacher evening last Tuesday February 9, 2010. We were very pleased by the turnout and hope you found it an worthwhile evening.

Final marks for semester one were provided to students Thursday February 11, 2010 at the end of the day. If you have not done so already, please request to see your child’s report card so you are up to date on their progress and performance in first semester courses.

For your planning convenience, please see attached below this weeks edition of Bell this Week.

attachment:Â bell-this-week-feb-15-19.doc

Sincerely,
Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Please find below an interesting meeting opportunity for parents on the topic of Safe Schools.

Sincerely,
Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Parent Information Meeting

Safe Schools for Everyone!

What is a safe school?
What happens when unsafe behaviour occurs?
What are the rules around suspension and expulsion?
As a parent, what do you need to know?

Parents and community service staff who work with parents, families and students are invited to come to this meeting for information on recent changes and have these questions answered.Meetings are being held on the following evenings at the following locations:

Thursday February 11, 2010
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Western Ottawa Community Resource Ctr.
2 McNeil Court Kanata

Wednesday March 24, 2010
Sandy Hill Community Center

250 Somerset Street East

To register or to request childcare or other assistance

to attend contact:Hélène at [ mailto:office@spcottawa.on.ca ]
office@spcottawa.on.ca
or 613-236-9300 ext. 300.

Refreshments will be served.

This meeting is sponsored by
The Social Planning Council of Ottawa, in collaboration with Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre

Hello,

Second semester has begun with a flurry of activity throughout the school. Students are busily adapting to new schedules and Student Services has been busy addressing timetable issues and changes with all students. While very busy, things have rolled out very nicely and most students are comfortably settled into their new surroundings.

Meet the Teacher Semester 2…Want to meet your child’s second semester teachers? For the first time, Bell HS is proud to offer you that opportunity on Tuesday February 9, 2010 beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the cafetorium. Following a few quick introductions classroom visits will begin at 4:15 p.m. and provide you with the opportunity to review course outlines and peruse curriculum materials in classes. Please note that many other activities are also going on for some teachers such as coaching. In such cases, some teachers will not be available but will be leaving a sign-up sheet outside their classroom for you to request a phonecall or email. Please join us on this evening as we begin our journey together toward June.

Community Service Hours Update for Potential Graduates…My most recent potential graduate list contains 232 students. Of these, 94 have yet to complete their mandatory 40 hours of community service. It is critical to note that students unsuccessful in meeting this graduation requirement will not cross the commencement stage nor receive their Ontario Secondary School Diploma in June if nothing changes.

How can you verify how many hours your child has completed? Attached to the end of semester report card coming home this Thursday February 11, 2010 at the end of the day is a credit counseling summary showing all credits earned to date as well as the number of hours currently on file in our database.

A reminder that this Friday February 12, 2010 is a board-wide Professional Development day. There will be no classes that day. In addition, Monday February 15, 2010 is Family Day and once again there are no classes. Classes will resume on Tuesday February 16, 2010.

For your planning purposes, please find attached this weeks edition of Bell This Week.

attachment:Â bell-this-week-feb-8-12-2010.doc

Sincerely,
Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Still need CS hours? Please see the opportunity below that would also support Haiti.

 Volunteers Wanted

Do you know a student in the National Capital Region who needs to complete

         volunteer hours as part of their education?

Are you looking for a way to get involved, meet new people, have some fun,while making a difference in the lives of others who desperately need ourhelp at this time?As you are aware, Haïti experienced a devastating earthquake on January 12th and is in dire need of support. In partnership, the National CapitalCommission, the Red Cross and City Hall are looking for volunteers topromote Red Cross booths at Winterlude on February 6th and 7th between 11a.m. to 4 p.m.We are looking for approximately 175 volunteers who are willing to beon-site this Saturday and Sunday to promote various fund-raising stationsalong the Rideau Canal Skateway during the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.A pre-meeting for volunteers will be held on Friday, February 5th at 4 p.mat City Hall in Jean Pigott Hall, located at 110 Laurier Street West,Ottawa.Don’t Miss the “Human Chain to Help Haïti” on February 6th at 3 p.m.!Volunteers will also be encouraging the public on the Rideau Canal Skatewayat 3:00 p.m. to join hands and form a human chain down the canal. GoogleTMwill be positioning its satellite cameras to capture the moment and showthe support of Canadians.Help spread the word today!For more information, please contact Jeançois Joseph at the Embassy ofHaïti at (613) 238-1628 ext.21 or e-mail Etienne.ge@yahoo.caSincerely,Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Just a quick note stating that revised Cross Boundary Transfer (CBT) forms are now available through school offices for application to the CBT window beginning February 16, 2010 and ending February 26, 2010.

Sincerely,
Bruce Whitehead – Principal