March 21, 2023 Update

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We have a few updates we would like to share with you today.

Stittsville Youth Homework Club 

As part of the Stittsville Youth Initiative, the Stittsville Youth Homework Club will have its opening day on Wednesday, March 22.  The initiative is a Kiwanis Club of Kanata-Stittsville venture.

Program details:

Youth:             Grades 9 - 12

Location:         Stittsville Legion, 1481 Stittsville Main St.

Hours:             Mondays, 3:00 -7:00 p.m & Wednesdays, 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Start Day:       Wednesday, March 22.

There will be 2-3 Adult Volunteers (including several retired teachers) present at all times- all have had vulnerable sector checks.

March 23rd Parent-Teacher Interviews / Early Dismissal

High school (gr 9-12) parent-teacher interviews will be taking place this Thursday from 1:40-7:10 pm.  Booking information was shared with parents by email on March 16th and 17th.  

Thursday will be an early dismissal day for all students in grades 7-12 (1:15 pm).  We will follow an accelerated schedule.  OSTA buses and vans will be onsite for pick-up at 1:15 pm.

March 24th Vaccine Catch-Up Clinic

This Friday, March 24, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) will once again be hosting a catch-up clinic at Sacred Heart for students who, due to pandemic restrictions, missed the opportunity to receive their school vaccines that are typically administered to students in Grades 7/8. This third date will prioritize students in Grade 9 who require the vaccines for Meningococcal conjugate ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus and/or Tetanus, Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis (Tdap). At the end of the day, any students in grades 9-12 who have their completed consent forms, but missed the earlier dates will be called down (time permitting). Grade 7/8 students will have another vaccination date scheduled later in the Spring. 

Students must bring the completed and signed consent form with them in order to receive the vaccine(s). If you are unsure whether your child has had these vaccines, you can access their record at OPH using the online tool: Immunizations Connect Ontario (ICON). Students should keep the signed consent form with them throughout the day and wait to be called (alphabetically, by grade) to the multipurpose room to receive their vaccines. 

If you have any questions, please call OPH at 613-580-6744.

Easter Weekend

A reminder that the school will be closed on Friday, April 7th and Monday, April 10th (Easter Weekend).  

Thank you for your continued support.

Brent Hopkins

Principal

March 8, 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

We have a few updates to share with you.

Letters of Intervention & March 23 Parent-Teacher Interviews / Early Dismissal

High school Letters of Intervention will be sent by email to parents on Thursday, March 9th.  Letters of Intervention are provided by teachers when there is an early concern regarding a student’s progress. 

Semester 2 High School Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place on Thursday, March 23rd. March 23rd will be an early dismissal day for all students in gr 7-12 (1:15 pm dismissal).  Yellow school buses will be onsite for pick-up at 1:15 on March 23rd.  The booking window for Parent-Teacher Interviews will open this Thursday, March 9th.  Specific booking information will be provided by email tomorrow. 

Gr 9 Vaccination Catch-Up Clinic

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) was onsite to host catch-up immunization clinics on February 24th (grade 11 and 12 students) and March 7th (grade 9 & 10 students).  Due to the larger than expected levels of participation, only a small number of grade 9 students were able to be seen by OPH on March 7th.  OPH will be returning for a third high school vaccination clinic.  We will share the date once it has been confirmed.  

These high school clinics are taking place because many students missed the opportunity to receive the vaccines that are typically administered to students in grades 7&8 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The vaccines available are Meningococcal conjugate ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus and/or Tetanus, Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis (Tdap).  

Students must bring the completed and signed consent form in order to receive the vaccine(s). If you are unsure whether your child has had these vaccines, you can access their record at OPH using the online tool: Immunizations Connect Ontario (ICON). 

You can also call Ottawa Public Health (OPH) to request a copy of your child's record. Please note that it will take a minimum of 5 business days to process your request and OPH cannot release immunization records by email.

Additionally, OPH does not release immunization records to a parent/guardian of any individuals 16 years of age and older. Students 16 years of age and older must call to request their own record or access ICON themself.

If you have any questions, please call OPH at 613-580-6744.

Tutoring Program Update

Beginning in the spring of 2022, the Ministry of Education has provided funding to school boards in Ontario for tutoring programs in schools.  Originally, the provision of this funding was to come to an end on December 31, 2022.  An extension in funding was granted to March 2023 in the fall.  The Ministry recently confirmed the funding deadline.  As a result the tutoring programs currently supported through this funding will end on March 10th. At Sacred Heart, we were providing after-school math and literacy tutoring, as well as in-school support for math, literacy and French. 

If your child is looking for a tutor, or they would like to be a peer tutor, please consult the Student Services Tutoring webpage or see Mr. Brisson in Student Services.

TVO Learn Mathify

If your child is interested in additional math help, consider TVO Learn Mathify.  The program offers free 1:1 math tutoring with Ontario certified teachers for students in grades 4-12.  Tutors are available online from 9 am - 9 pm Monday to Friday and from 3 pm - 9 pm on weekends.  

SHHS Grad Wear and Spirit Wear

Spirit Apparel is once again available for purchase. Visit  https://www.tuckgear.ca/collections/sacred-heart-spirit-wear by Friday March 10th, 2023 to place your order. Orders will be delivered to the school for pick up by the student in the first week or two of April. 

Grad Apparel (gr 12s)  is also again available for purchase. Visit https://www.tuckgear.ca/collections/sacred-heart by Friday March 10th, 2023 to place your order. Orders will be delivered to the school for pick up by the student in the first week or two of April. 

Please contact email randy.baird@ocsb.ca if you have any questions.

March Break

March Break takes place next week (March 13-17).  Classes will resume on Monday, March 20th.

Wishing students and families a relaxing and enjoyable March Break.

Brent Hopkins

Principal

February 27th, 2023

Dear Parents & Guardians, 

This afternoon the school held a lockdown drill. Students and staff responded quickly.  As is the case with fire drills, we practice lockdown and secure school drills so that the school community is prepared should an emergency situation occur.  

A secure school situation is initiated when there is no immediate threat to students or staff, but it is determined that an emergency measure is necessary. During a secure school situation students continue their routines within a locked classroom. 

If the threat to student safety is active and more imminent the protective action of a school lockdown is required. This enables administrators to best protect occupants by isolating the maximum number of students, staff and visitors from danger.  During a lockdown students remain in their current classroom. School staff follow preset instructions to lock doors, turn out lights and move students out of the line of sight of doors and windows. Students in hallways move to the nearest classroom. All activities cease and the school remains in lockdown mode until it is determined it is safe to release classes from the lockdown. The school cannot release students to parents during a lockdown.

The lockdown is a proven police and emergency response to protect students and staff from harm by creating safe places quickly. Should you have any questions relating to today’s drill please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Brent Hopkins

Principal

Sacred Heart H.S.

February 23, 2023

Re: Change in format of Grade 7&8 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Dear Parents & Guardians, 

The following update is being provided for parents who have parent-teacher interviews booked for this afternoon and/or this evening. 

In light of today’s inclement weather the OCSB has made the decision to modify the format of this evening’s 7&8 Parent-Teacher Interviews.

All virtual/phone interviews booked between 1:40 pm and 3:50 pm will proceed as planned.  Parents who indicated a preference for a virtual meeting during this period of time will receive a google meet link by email from their child’s teacher. Those who indicated a preference for a phone interview will be contacted at the number provided at the time of booking.

In-person bookings (interviews between 4:00 pm and 7:10 pm) will take place by phone.  Your child’s teacher will contact you at your reserved interview time at the phone number you provided at the time of booking.  

This decision was made with the safety of staff and parents in mind, as the weather forecast calls for continued mixed precipitation throughout the day.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.  

Sacred Heart High School

February 23rd, 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians, 

Due to today's inclement weather the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) has again canceled buses for all OCSB schools.  

The school is open today.  However, due to the bus cancelation we do know many students will be unable to attend.  By 9 am this morning work instructions for the day will be posted by teachers in Hapara Workspaces and/or emailed to students.  

All student events scheduled for today will be canceled or rescheduled. This includes after school tutoring and extracurricular activities.  

An update regarding today's grade 7&8 Parent-Teacher Interviews will be provided later this morning.

Sacred Heart High School 

February 13th, 2023

Dear Parents & Guardians, 

We have several updates to share with you.  

Parent Program Information Nights / Course Selection Deadline

A reminder that our High School Program Information Night was rescheduled to Wednesday, February 15th due to last week’s inclement weather.  A presentation focused on students entering grade 9 or 10 next fall will begin at 6:30 pm.  A second presentation, focused on students entering grade 11 or 12, will begin at 7:45 pm.  Both will take place in the school theatre.  Department Heads will also be available from 7-8 pm in the atrium to answer questions.

The deadline for 2023-24 high school (grade 9-12) course selection is February 24th, 2023.  Course selection submission can be completed through students’ myBlueprint accounts.  

On Thursday, March 2nd we will host a Grade 7 Program Information Night that will begin at 6:30 pm in the theatre.  

Report Cards

Both 7&8 Term 1 and High School Semester 1 Report Cards are scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 16th. Report cards are typically posted to the Parent Portal late in the day (or possibly even the next morning). We will notify parents by email when we are able to confirm report cards are fully accessible. 

Parent-Teacher Interviews / Early Dismissal

Grade 7&8 Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place between 1:40 and 7:10 on Thursday, February 23rd.  We will again be following a hybrid format. Virtual/phone interviews will take place from 1:40-3:50 pm.  In-person interviews will take place from 4:00-7:10 pm.  The booking window will open this Thursday.  Additional booking information will be provided later this week.

All students (gr 7-12) will be dismissed early on Thursday, February 23rd due to interviews.  Students will be dismissed at 1:15 pm.  Yellow buses will be on-site to pick students up at 1:15 pm.

High school Letters of Intervention will be shared by email on Thursday, March 9th.  High school parent-teacher interviews will take place on Thursday, March 23rd and will also follow the same hybrid schedule outlined above.

Skilled Trades Presentation

The OCSB invites Parents and guardians to join a dynamic presentation by Skills Ontario on Skilled Trades –February 28 at 7pm (Virtual)

Join Skills Ontario to learn more about fantastic career opportunities in the Skilled Trades and Technologies. The Skilled Trades and Technologies offer ESSENTIAL and IN-DEMAND career opportunities with excellent earning potential. This session is open to parents, educators and high school students!  Register and mark your calendars!

OCSB STEAM Week - February 27-March 3

The third annual OCSB STEAM Week for students in Kindergarten to grade 12 will take place February 27th-March 3rd, 2023.  This week is designed to celebrate what is already taking place at OCSB schools and to provide students with additional opportunities to explore STEAM in all subject areas and to participate in live events. Each day will focus on a different letter of STEAM ie. Monday will be Science, Tuesday will be Trades & Technology, Wednesday will be Engineering, Thursday will be Arts and Friday will be Math.  

There will be many board wide events such as:

• Keynote Speaker Brian Aspinall

• Young Black Author Talk with Sasha Ariel Aiston 

• STEAM Career Panel for students in grades 9-12 sponsored by the Ottawa Network for Education 

•  K-12 STEAM challenges

• Skills Ontario Presentations for all grades - STEAM in Skilled Trades 

• Hands-on science activities for students in all grades with Let’s Talk Science

• Indigenous STEM Speaker/App Creator- Diego Bear

• Coding sessions 

There will be a daily blog on the ocsb.ca website during #ocsbSTEAM Week that will provide information on what is happening that day as well as suggestions for parents and guardians on how they can support their children in exploring these skills.

Grade 11&12 Catch-Up Vaccination Clinic

On Friday, February 24, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) will be hosting a catch-up clinic at Sacred Heart for students who, due to pandemic restrictions, missed the opportunity to receive their school vaccines that are typically administered to students in Grades 7/8. On this first day, we are inviting any students in Grade 11 or 12 who require the vaccines for Meningococcal conjugate ACYW-135, Hepatitis B, Human Papillomavirus and/or Tetanus, Diphtheria and Acellular Pertussis (Tdap) to participate. We are planning a second date for Grade 9 and 10 students on Tuesday, March 7. Grade 7/8 students will have another vaccination date scheduled later in June. 

Students must bring the completed and signed consent form in order to receive the vaccine(s). If you are unsure whether your child has had these vaccines, you can access their record at OPH using the online tool: Immunizations Connect Ontario (ICON). 

You can also call Ottawa Public Health (OPH) to request a copy of your child's record. Please note that it will take a minimum of 5 business days to process your request and OPH cannot release immunization records by email.

Additionally, OPH does not release immunization records to a parent/guardian of any individuals 16 years of age and older. Students 16 years of age and older must call to request their own record or access ICON themself.

If you have any questions, please call OPH at 613-580-6744.

Family Day & March Break 

A reminder that Monday, February 20th is Family Day.  Schools will be closed.  March Break takes place from Monday, March 13th - Friday, March 17th.

Thank you for your continued support.

Brent Hopkins

Principal

Working at your local school cafeteria provides convenient work hours, an excellent benefits package, and time off to spend with your family. If you're interested in part-time or full-time work, email your resume to meaghan.johnston@compass-canada.com (please include your location in the suject line.)