Hello,

Please find attached this week’s edition of Bell This Week.

attachment: 12_04_02 Bell this Week.doc

Have a super weekend.

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello everyone,

Cross Boundary Transfer Appeal Decisions

For the first time in five years, Bell HS had a zero cap this year with respect to cross boundary transfers (CBT). This is because when we look at our existing student population for students in grades 9 – 11, add the expected number of new Bruins we are projecting for September 2012 (260), add our expected registrations from International students and finally subtract our graduates leaving us this June, we end up with a student population greater than our Ministry cap of 1092. While CBT applications were still accepted during the window in February, our zero cap meant that all applications were denied.

Some parents decided to proceed with the appeal process which is part of the first denial. The next step in the process is for me to sit down with Superintendent Bennett to review each appeal letter one-by-one assessing it against the criteria stated in the District procedure governing this process. Once we have had a chance to review it together Superintendent Bennett will then be bringing all appeals and our decision to the all Superintendent’s of Instruction to ensure consistency as this part of the process unfolds. All to say that decisions at this point in the process can be expected later this week or very early into the first week of April when letters will be mailed to parents who are appealing the initial decision. I (we) appreciate your patience as we fully understand the implications of our decisions.

OSSLT Writing this Week

Students in grade 10 for the first time as well as those students who were not successful in their first attempt will be writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test this week on Thursday March 29, 2012. Students have been prepared in each of their classes by teachers beginning back in September as part of our School Improvement Plan. Additional work is being done with certain students for whom we feel could benefit from extra support. This began last week and is continuing up until the end of day Tuesday March 27, 2012. Many thanks are extended to the many staff who have volunteered their time in preparing students to meet this graduation requirement.

School Council

This is a quick reminder of our School Council meeting tomorrow night beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Staff Lounge. All parents interested in finding out more about the workings of Bell “behind the scenes” are encouraged to attend.

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

attachment: 12_03_26 Bell this Week.doc

Have an outstanding week!

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello everyone,

I trust this email finds everyone well after a glorious March break. We look forward to the return of students Monday March 19, 2012 as we begin our way toward the end of the year…where has the time gone?

Progress Reports

In anticiptation of parent teacher interviews being held on Wednesday March 28, 2012 between 4 and 7:30 p.m., every student had mailed home a progress report providing parents with an anecdotal snapshot pertaining to progress to date in each of their courses. These one page documents include information on each course. On the back of the sheet is a booking sheet for parent teacher interviews. If you are interested in scheduling an interview with your child’s teacher(s), please have your child return to school with the sheet and your requested times to present to teachers. Teachers will confirm the date and time initially with your child who will then in turn bring the progress report back home to confirm with you, the parent. We look forward to hosting you on the evening of Wednesday March 28, 2012.

OSSLT reminder

This is a quick reminder to parents that students in grade 10 will be writing the OSSLT for the first time on Thursday March 29, 2012 in the morning. All students in grade 10 will be writing the test for the first time along with any other students who have not yet been successful in passing previous attempts. In both cases teachers are busy preparing students by exposing them to task specific assessments in preparation for this graduation requirement. Further practice materials may be found on the Ministry website at www.edu.gov.on.ca.

Grade 9′s to Write mock-up

This year for the first time at Bell HS we will be providing students in grade 9 classes in period one with an opportunity to complete at least one reading and one longer writing task identical to the OSSLT itself. The spirit behind this plan is to provide all students in grade 9 who will be completing their first official attempt in a years time with the “experience” inherrent in this form of testing at the high school level. At the school level, the tests will be evaluated in-house and will allow us to begin to identify those students who we feel may be experiencing some initial difficulty on this standardized test to allow us to better prepare them again for their first official write next year.

Graduation Ceremonies

As we move closer to graduation ceremonies for students in grade 12, I wanted to provide you with information specifically pertaining to the celebratory nature of this milestone for students. Please see the attachment below.

attachment: 2012 Bell Grad Letter

Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) Consultations

The aformentioned organization put together in response to the Province’s request for the four boards in the Ottawa region to amalgamate their efforts in getting students to schools each day. OSTA is that organization responsible for the organization and logistics around bussing students (yellow, OC Transpo) from all four boards to their schools each day.

OSTA is going through a consultation phase seeking input from the school community. The attached memorandum will provide more information as well as dates for you to consider attending public consultations to provide your feedback and/or suggestions.

attachment: Mar blog OSTA Consultation 2012-Memo to princs

Parenting Now: What’s Up with Today’s Youth?

Does this question resonate with you? Want to hear an expert discuss it? Dr. Michael Cheng, Staff Psychiatrist from CHEO will be addressing this question on the morning of Saturday March 31st, 2012.

More information including registration information can be found in the attachment below.

attachment: Parenting Now Workshop March 31

BTW

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

attachment: 12_03_19 Bell this Week.doc

Have an outstanding week!

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Please find attached an excellent parenting workshop being offered to parents by Dr. Cheng. Dr. Cheng gave a similar presentation to parents within the OCDSB earlier this year and it was very well received.

attachment: Parenting Now Workshop March 31

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Are you 16 years of age or older? Are you into computers and applications? Can you write an “app?”

If so, please see the attached opportunity. Cash prizes and summer employment are possibilities.

attachment: App writing contest

Good luck.

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

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

attachment: 12_03_05 Bell this Week.doc

Have an awesome week.

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Please find attached this week’s edition of Bell This Week.

attachment: 12_02_27 Bell this Week.doc

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Due to inclement weather tonight’s semi-formal dance has been postponed. Information pertaining to another date and refunds will be forthcoming next week.

Have a super and safe weekend.

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello all,

Cross Boundary Transfer Window

The Cross Boundary Transfer (CBT) window officially opened Monday February 13, 2012. 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 13 and 24, 2012. Please note that there is no priority given to those who hand in their applications earlier. Each application will be considered based upon the extent to which the request meets OCDSB criteria as long as it is submitted in this time period. Applications submitted outside of this window will be marked late and cannot be reviewed until the third week of June 2012.

Option Sheets

It is option sheet season again! While it may seem early we are quickly switching gears and planning for 2012 – 2013. To that end, students in grades 9 – 11 and those grade 12′s planning to return are currently completing their course options for next year. Again this year students will be doing this in an online manner using their personal username and password. To facilitate the process, Guidance counselors visited all classrooms of current students between February 10 and 16, 2012  assisting students with their choices and answering questions. As for our newest Bruins coming to Bell from current feeder schools, each has been provided with their own username and login to access the program. The final step in the online process asks parents to print out and sign a hard copy of their child’s choices and return it to our Guidance office no later than Friday February 24, 2012.

Final marks for semester one were provided to students Tuesday February 14, 2012 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: 12_02_20 Bell this Week.doc

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal

Hello,

Thanks to all parents who attended our Meet the Teacher afternoon this past Tuesday. About 250 parents parents took advantage of this opportunity and met their child’s semester two teachers. We appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedules and hope you found your time productive and informative.

Course Contracts (Option Sheets/Course Selection)

This is a critical time of year for schools as we gear up for the 2012-2013 academic year. Student responsibilities at this time require them to choose their courses for next year. For the second consecutive year we are using a web-based computer program called Career Cruising where students and parents have the opportunity to work together through the course selection process for the upcoming year. Between the 10th and 16th of February, students will be seen personally in one of their classes by a teacher from Student Services to reacquaint them with this program. During these sessions, each student will be provided with a userid and password to allow access to the program. By the end of the day on the 16th, all students currently attending Bell will have their personal login information. If they have forgotten they will need to visit the Guidance office for a reminder.

In an attempt to assist with course choices for next year we are providing students with a 45 minute window this Thursday February 16, 2011 between 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. to make their way around the school and ask questions of teachers within departments about the specifics of courses they might be interested in taking to assist with final decisions. We are hoping that this time will be well-used by students and be helpful for families as you work together making course choices for next year. To assist in the process, please find attached the information sheet to help you through the process with your children.

Finally, please pay careful attention to the choices you make with your children as they move into next year. Once course choices are made in Career Cruising you are asked to print of a hard copy of choices, sign it where required and have your child return it to Student Services. The choices you make drive staffing including teacher hiring through the spring and the building of the school timetable for next year. While timetable changes are always requested by about 20% of the population in September and February, our ability to make these changes is becoming much more limited as our numbers and class sizes grow oftentimes reaching maximum levels. To avoid possible disappointment further down then road, please be very careful in choosing courses for your children.

attachment: Career-Planner-Student-Information-Sheet 2012

Final Report Cards – Semester 1

Final report cards for semester 1 will be distributed on Tuesday February 14, 2012 at the end of the day. Please request to see your child’s final grades from semester one. This report will consist of three pages (labeled pages 1, 3, and 4; page two prints blank for all student so is recycled), one of which is a credit counseling summary of your child’s credits earned to date. Toward the bottom of this page you will also be able to track community service hours completed to date as well as OSSLT completion (checkbox) or not. A gentle reminder that the OSSLT is written for the first time by students in their second semester (end March) so if your child is in grade 9 are 10 this year they will have yet to complete the test so this box will not be checked. Please pay particular attention to this document and I would suggest you file it for your records as you monitor your child’s progress toward their graduation that happens when they earn a total of 30 credits; 18 compulsory and 12 electives, a minimum of 40 hours of community service and successful completion of the OSSLT.

Bell This Week

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

attachment: 12_02_13 Bell this Week

Sincerely,

Bruce Whitehead – Principal