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We will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair Wednesday November 25th to Monday November 30th We are open during school hours and till 8pm on Thursday. On Friday we will be open from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm. Please come and visit the book fair – get your holiday shopping done and help support our library! |
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Don’t forget that there is a PA Day on Friday, November 27th Enjoy your day, kids!!! |
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is pleased to have learned that a tentative agreement was reached Friday with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation – Support Staff. At HWDSB, OSSTF support staff represents, among other job types, school office staff, clerical support, social workers, psychologists and ESL teachers. At schools across our board, this will mean that the job actions by OSSTF support staff will be lifted tomorrow. This is a positive step as we strive to maintain strong working relationships with staff and great learning environments for our students.
Thank you for your patience over the last few months.
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Winter Clothing Drive
Toy Drive |
Month at a Glance Dec. 1-11 Winter Clothing & Toy Drive Dec. 1-15 Red Cross LoonieDrive Dec. 1 Gr. 7/8 Immunizations Dec. 7 Virtues & Welcome Assembly Dec. 9 Door Decorating begins Dec. 9 JSK Dental Screening Dec. 10 Latkes on sale Dec. 11 Gr. 6 Scientists in Schools Dec. 11 Progress Reports Home Dec. 15 Sr. Band to Alexander Place Dec. 16 Candy Gram sales begin Dec. 17 Red and Green & Ugly Sweater Day Dec. 17 Holiday Assembly a.m. Dec. 18 Holiday Assembly a.m. & Fridays Fro Yo 2nd Break $2 (bring a spoon)
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The transition to secondary school is an exciting time in your child’s life. In high school, students explore their interests and plan their future. At Westmount, students get a chance to experience a unique and innovative program. As a system school, Westmount attracts students who strive to develop goal-setting, effective time management, and independent learning skills in a self-directed, self-paced learning environment.
The Westmount program is open to all students who would benefit from a self-paced, self-directed program. Students at Westmount come from across Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and represent a variety of learners. Like all HWDSB secondary schools, Westmount offers workplace, college, applied and academic pathways.
If you believe the Westmount program is right for your child, please submit the Notice of Intent by January 20 as well as a copy of your child’s Grade 8 Progress Report. Families will be told by January 27 whether their child has the necessary learning skills to be successful at Westmount. For more information on the Westmount program, please read the attached letter or visit www.hwdsb.on.ca/westmount.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and the Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers’ Local (HWETL) have reached a tentative local agreement after 10 days of bargaining.
“Reaching a local agreement with our elementary teachers is great news for us and for our youngest students,” Board Chair Todd White said.
“Thanks to our positive conversations, we are shifting our culture as we embrace great relationships with all of our staff groups and partners.”
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement with HWDSB that is positive for teachers,” said Paula Walker, HWETL Chief Negotiator. “This has been a challenging bargaining process and we appreciate that both parties engaged productive dialogue to address board and local issues.”
No details of the tentative deal are being made public until it is ratified by both parties. A central agreement at the provincial level was reached in early November.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is engaging the community to reimagine its vision and focus. Watch for details as the Board rolls out the Reimagine HWDSB initiative so our community can help us Explore, Imagine and Launch a new direction. Learn more at www.hwdsb.on.ca or follow us on Twitter @hwdsb.
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| HWDSB Rob Faulkner Communications Officer Ph: (905) 527-5092 ext. 2377 Cell: (905) 906-2007 rfaulkne@hwdsb.on.ca |
HWETL Paula Walker HWETL Chief Negotiator 905-318-2771 ext. 226 hwetl-cbc@sourcecable.net |
Allan A. Greenleaf Principal Susanna Costa-Popovich (R) welcomes Italian Principal Rosalia Natalizi-Baldi on exchange this week.
BY ROB FAULKNER
Allan A. Greenleaf elementary had a bit more gusto than usual this week as the Waterdown school welcomed a principal from a town near fashion-famous Milan, Italy.
No, regular principal Susanna Costa-Popovich didn’t go anywhere. Yet.
But Greenleaf’s regular principal has been chosen as one of 10 Ontario principals participating in the Ontario-Italy Global Principal Partnership. Her exchange counterpart arrived this week.
With school assembly, Greenleaf welcomed Rosalia Natalizi-Baldi, Principal of I. C. Villasanta in Lombardia, Italy. She will stay with the Popovich family from Dec. 5-12. Costa-Popovich will travel to Italy during March Break, where Natalizi-Baldi will return the hospitality.
HWDSB educators will get to know Natalizi-Baldi as she attends meetings and gets to know local educators.
The Ontario Principal’s Council explains that the Global Principal Partnerships program offers self-directed educational experiences with an international coaching partner. Many participants call it the “best professional learning in their careers.”
The duo will be learning alongside each other at various HWDSB schools and organizational leadership meetings. But they will also sample some social and cultural events: theatre in Toronto, shopping at the Eaton’s Centre, a visit to the Italian consulate, a Christmas party and more.
“I wanted to provide Rosalia with a rich, authentic, fun Canadian experience,” Costa-Popovich said of the self-funded exchange.
This will be Natalizi-Baldi’s first trip to Canada; Costa-Popovich’s parents were born in Southern Italy. She’s excited to know that this March Break she will visit Villasanta, a town of 13,000 just 20 km northeast of Milan and a part of Italy she has never visited.
Costa-Popovich will be tweeting this adventure at @costapopovi.
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Tuesday: Senior Band will be going to Alexander Place to play and to bring “greetings” created by younger studentsWednesday: Candy Grams will be on sale for 50 cents outside the library
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Thursday: Holiday Assembly Part 1 – begins at 9:30 am Candy Grams on sale first break outside the library for 50 cents Red and Green/ Festive Sweater/ Clothing DayFriday: Holiday Assembly Part 2 – begins at 9:30 am Bake Sale – Brownies on sale $1 Gr 6-8 Winter Dance ($2 or $1 – with a canned good)
Red Cross Loonie Drive continues! All proceeds from the Winter Dance and Treats will benefit the Drive |
Thank you once again for all your generosity! Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!
Welcome back to school tomorrow and to 2016! Our school newsletter will be posted later this week.
The last four months although challenging in some ways have also produced many successes at Allan A. Greenleaf School. Those successes take place every day, as lives are transformed through teaching and learning. Success takes many forms: being able to read that first simple book; figuring out a math problem; mastering an athletic skill; making a friend; playing a song; writing a story; starting a club; participating in an extracurricular event.
The month of December was a whirlwind of activity with various charitable initiatives that truly demonstrate that our Virtues Program is the essence of Greenleaf. The month culminated in two exceptional assemblies that highlighted the talents of our students and the joy of the season. My sincere thanks to the staff, students and our entire school community for organizing, participating and supporting all that transpired!
There is a lot of buzz these days about “21st Century Learning” and calls for reform of how we deliver education and prepare students for this rapidly changing world. At Greenleaf, I am pleased to share that 21st Century Learning is well underway. We will continue to work collaboratively with our educators and students to look for ways we can further support and enable innovative and creative teaching and learning strategies that increase student engagement and success for all.
My best wishes to all for a great 2016!
Mrs. S. Costa-Popovich
Parents and Grade 8 students are invited to come and learn about all of our exciting secondary school options at our Option Sheet Information Nights.
Option Sheet Information Nights are welcoming and practical sessions that help Grade 8 students and their parents select courses for the 2016-17 school year.
Please visit www.hwdsb.on.ca/optionsheets to find your secondary school and to see the date and time of your school’s information night.
Helmets prevent brain injuries. Protect your brain! The Canada Helmet Initiative and participating schools will be selling quality winter and summer sport helmets in January 2016. Anyone in your family can purchase helmets. Helmet orders are due by February 5, 2016. Helmets will be delivered the week starting March 7, 2016. Check to see if your school is participating. Order forms will be sent home the week starting January 25, 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact CHI at 905.574.9270 or email schools@canadahi.ca.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Trustees heard frank and challenging feedback from the community about how the Board can find a new direction – and now they want Hamilton to weigh in on the result.
Soon after being elected, the new Board of Trustees launched a sweeping review of HWDSB’s vision and focus. The Reimagine HWDSB campaign has three stages: Explore, Imagine and Launch.
In the second stage titled Imagine, HWDSB invites the public to review and refine the new vision. This can be done through an online survey found at www.hwdsb.on.ca/reimagine
By winter 2016, our communities will assist with the third and final stage by launching a fresh new vision for HWDSB.
For a student, entering Grade 9 is a turning point. It brings with it many new possibilities, as well as important choices.
Secondary schools at Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) are about to hold Option Sheet Information Nights. These nights are welcoming and practical sessions that help Grade 8 students and their parents select courses for the 2016-17 school year.
Option sheet nights are held at your home secondary school. There is another option sheet night for the Self-directed / Self-paced program at Westmount Secondary School, which is an optional program open to all students.
Please visit www.hwdsb.on.ca/optionsheets to find your secondary school and to see the date and time of your school’s information night.
Families across Hamilton are being invited to learn more about French Immersion as an option for their child entering Grade 1.
French Immersion is a proven way of acquiring excellent French language skills. At HWDSB, French Immersion is specifically designed for parents who do not speak French, but want their children to speak both official languages. The program is open to all students in Hamilton-Wentworth starting in Grade 1.
Families can attend an information session to learn about French Immersion as an option for their child:
Information Session for A.M. Cunningham and Glen Echo parents
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 3 at A.M. Cunningham (100 Wexford Ave. S., Hamilton)
Information Session for Norwood Park, Lawfield, Michaelle Jean and Fessenden parents
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 16 at Norwood Park (165 Terrace Drive, Hamilton)
Information Session for Dundana, Guy Brown, Earl Kitchener and Cootes Paradise parents
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 24 at Dundana (23 Dundana Ave., Dundas)
Parents may choose to attend the information session location and date that is most convenient for them. To see what French Immersion school your child would attend, please visit our School Locater.
If you can’t attend an information session, you can learn more by contacting the principal at one of our French Immersion elementary schools, or by contacting the French as a Second Language (FSL) Consultant at 905-527-5092 ext. 2653 or crees@hwdsb.on.ca.
You can also learn about French Immersion at hwdsb.on.ca/fi.
Following recent provincial settlements with teachers’ federations, all school boards in Ontario are required to change their current school year calendars to show one additional PA Day.
HWDSB has scheduled this additional PA Day for elementary and secondary school students on Friday, April 15, 2016.
Please visit either the Elementary or Secondary school year calendar to see all important dates within HWDSB.
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board is pleased to offer School Cash Online, an online service that allows you, as parents/guardians, to pay for your child’s school fees and purchase items related to their school experience in a secure and convenient way.
Your child’s school is enrolled with School Cash Online. In order to help us improve the service for families, HWDSB would appreciate feedback from parents/guardians by completing a short survey at:
If you are a parent with children in more than one HWDSB school, please feel free to fill out the survey for each school that your children attend.
The survey is voluntary and should take about 5 minutes to complete. All survey responses are anonymous and will be reported on in a summarized format.
The survey will remain open until the end of the day on February 12, 2016.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Carrie Salemi, Manager of School Support / Compliance, at 905-527-5092, x 2461 or csalemi@hwdsb.on.ca
Thank you for your time!
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Pizza Days
Please consider using and registering for CASH ON LINE for this pizza session and any other payments you may have to make to the school! Session Two
Start date Feb 1st (to April 18th)
Orders due by Jan 25th.
$1.50 per slice
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Parents and guardians who wish their child to receive enriched high school programming are invited to an information night about the International Baccalaureate diploma.
The International Baccalaureate Program Information Night will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 28 at the HWDSB Education Centre (20 Education Court, across from Lime Ridge Mall).
This two-year program consists of challenging international education and rigorous assessment. HWDSB offers the IB program at Ancaster, Glendale and Westdale secondary schools.
You can find the catchment areas for HWDSB IB schools online. If you cannot attend the information night or have questions, please contact your home IB school’s co-ordinator:
Learn more at www.hwdsb.on.ca/secondary/programs/all
