November 2017

Principal’s Message Greetings West Credit families and a happy (and warm) fall to all. We have had a fantastic start to the 2017-2018 school year and I am excited for what is to come for the remainder of the year. We have all been busy this year getting reacquainted with our returning students and getting to meet students who are new to West Credit. There is a positive energy in our hallways and it’s a testament to both the staff and students in our building.

In addition to the energy from our staff and students, we have been both impressed and thankful for the energy from our West Credit families. This fall there has been a focus on meeting future students early to help them learn about the incredible facilities and programs in our building. We have attended many of the feeder school open houses this fall and hosted an information session called “Get Connected” for staff from these schools. As a result, we had a record turn-out for our Grade7/8 Information Night.

Additionally, on parent-teacher interview night there was a palpable sense of partnership as we welcomed families in for discussions around individual student success.

We have one more opportunity of note to meet with our West Credit families this semester that we would like to invite all families to attend: On November 15, at 6:30 p.m. we will be hosting our second school council meeting of the year in the Library/Learning commons. At this meeting caregivers will have an opportunity to get updates about our school, to find out about upcoming events, and to ask questions. We hope to see everyone there.

We have had a really jam-packed start to our school year and I would like to share some highlights with you.

One of our highlights to this year’s start-up is the much smoother experience we’ve had with buses. While we know we aren’t perfectly settled, last year’s upheaval has been significantly reduced. Please know we are committed to continuing to advocate until all bus issues have been settled. However, in the interim we are pleased with the general stability for the vast majority of our bus routes.

Our teachers and support staff continue to lead a wide array of clubs and teams. In terms of academics, we are continuing to support literacy and numeracy achievement with our Counting on You after school program.

Inside this issue:

Panther Athletics 3

Green Industries 3

Hospitality 4

Co-operative Education 5

Guidance 6

Leadership Class 6

West Credit Secondary

School Newsletter

Continued next page

We have a homework club running out of our Student Success Space once a week. Our Bocce Ball team recently finished a fun-filled season. Our Softball team recently defended their championship status as back-to-back gold medal winners! The Team Unbreakable Running Club is actively training for a 5 km race later in the fall. The Girls’ Basketball team has recently started up a new season. The Boys’ Volleyball Team has also recently opened their season. The Weight Training Club is now open for all interested students during the lunch hour multiple days a week. There’s no doubt that there’s always something going on in our hallowed halls at lunch!

In addition to the clubs, teams and learning opportunities, there have been many special events in the school. To start our year off right, we had a successful Terry Fox Event on September 29. We followed with the Fall Awards Ceremony on October 4 with lots of parents in the audience to cheer on the students. We hosted Spirit Week at the end of October, which concluded with an amazing Halloween Costume Dance on Friday October 27. Our Climate Team has been leading a variety of student events including Beyond the Hurt anti-bullying training, the Welcome Back BBQ, the Welcome Back Breakfast, and most recently a Remembrance Day Commemoration. West Credit also hosted our Grade 8 Feeder School students at our recent Try-A-Trade event on Wednesday November 1 as our grade 9 students experienced Take Your Kid to Work day. This was an amazing day! I had the opportunity to experience activities in each of our Trades area shops with grade 8 students. There were a large number of student-volunteers who provided leadership around the event and the engagement from the whole staff set the day up as an overwhelming success.

A note as to what we are working on this year, we are proud to announce that West Credit is one of the Indigenous Education Strategic Partnership schools. As a result, our students have been able to participate in field trips related to curriculum in environmental science and are participating in a collaborative inquiry in Visual Art. Our teachers are digging into some professional learning that they will roll out to students in the months to come. As an introductory student event, we will be hosting our first Orange Shirt Day to honour Residential School Survivors on Thursday, November 16th.

I also have staff updates to share with you.

Although we welcomed new permanent staff members in September they left us after school reorganization. However, our core group of committed West Credit staff remain! We congratulate Ms. Barton who returned to us as an ERF, and Ms. Riviglia who is now with us as an ERF full time. We also welcomed some new faces in other ERF positions like Mr. Gordon, and Ms. Valencia, and Ms. Mihigo. Additionally, we welcome the long-term occasional staff who have joined us this semester: Mr. MacRae (ASD), Mr. Vothknecht (Hospitality) and Mr. Aprile (Sciences) and Mr. Doukas (Social Science and Special Education).

As you can tell, its been an exciting fall with much more to come throughout the school year. We wish all the best to everyone – both families and students - for a happy and successful first semester. The staff here at West Credit are looking forward to what is shaping up to be an exciting and success-filled year!

Ms. Hill, Principal

Principal’s Message Continued….

Page 2 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

Congratulations to the West Credit softball team who, under the direction of Mr. Nunes, Ms. McIntyre, Mr. Arnott, and Mr. Beairsto had a very exciting season earning a gold medal in a hard fought championship tournament. Thanks also to Ms. Priestley and her coaching staff for leading our bocce team through another successful season. As fall turns into winter, our boys volleyball team and girls basketball team are taking shape. With try-outs well under way and season openers just around the corner, we wish all our athletes and coaches the best of luck. Go Panthers! We are looking forward to another exciting year of competition.

Mr. Ward, Head of Phys. Ed.

Panther Athletics

Page 3

Green Industries

So far within the Green Industry program this semester, the students have been quite busy. Beginning with harvesting our school garden for our very successful vegetable crop, the students particularly enjoyed the variety of tomatoes this season. The students also spent time removing seeds from this past year’s plants, to prepare for the spring garden. Mr. Gillespie’s class took it upon themselves to restore some of the garden beds, by squaring off all the edges, fantastic job. The highlight of the semester was a trip to Chudleigh’s Apple Farm, in which the students learned about the apple production process and most importantly, how to properly pick an apple; eye to the sky. We would like to say thank you for all of the plant drop offs, the green house is filling up rather quickly with a great variety of plants. We are also very excited to announce our first online launch of our annual Poinsettia sale, please see details below.

https://peelschools.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/29748/145/False/True

Ms. Burnside, Green Industries Teacher

A Perfect apple! A great variety of tomatoes The result of Mr.Gillespie's

students’ hard work!

Page 4 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

Hospitality

As usual, our Hospitality students are already living up to the fantastic reputation they have so wonderfully earned. They have already catered more than 15 events, including: World Teachers’ Day, Bus Driver & E.R.F. Appreciation Days. West Credit events included the Grade 9 Information, Grade 7 & 8 Program & Parent Evenings along with sweets for Commencement and Awards ceremonies at 5 other Secondary Schools (Chinguacousy, Applewood, Erindale, Streetsville and Stephen Lewis) which has translated into more than 80 trays of Sweets!! Two more traditional events hosted at West Credit were also big successes. A Buffet luncheon for Peel District School Board educators visiting our school called ‘Get Connected’ and lunch for 300 people, including 160 middle school students visiting for the very popular ‘Try-A-Trade’ event. Events like this cannot happen without our many hands to make it work … more than 75 students signed up to help host the Shop Class rotations, and act as Ambassadors to guide our guests around the building. A big thank you to the teams of Mr. Warr & Ms. Primeau, and Mr. Horn & Mr. Walkling for looking after the two Hospitality sites. A huge thank you to Mr. Vothknecht and his students for preparing two lunches less than one hour apart: the regular lunch for our school staff and students, as well as a hot lunch for 300 hungry TAT participants!! Our Grade 11 SHSM students will be taking part in their First Aid/CPR training on November 23rd and 24th, and the Grade 12 SHSM students are studying for their Food Handler Certification Exam on December 6th, 2017. We would like to thank the Staff, Students and Administration Team at West Credit for their continued support of our lunch servery and catering services, we cannot provide our program without you!!

Sincerely, Mr. Horn, Mr. Walkling and Mr. Vothknecht

Mr. Horn’s class made some very

tasty gigantic Cinnamon Buns

Emily and Marcel very

successfully prepared Ice Box Cookies. Emily Warren

Brittany, Celine, Sara and A.J. made

Fresh Fruit tarts Try-A Trade

Page 5

This semester the co-operative education program has approximately 48 students out in the “world of work”. The students are working in many different industries such as auto service (auto service technician OYAP), foods (cooks assistant and baking OYAP), grocery clerk, mail, postal and related clerks, other trades and related occupations, restaurant services, retail, and shipper/receiver. The following students are registered in the SHSM (Specialist High Skills Major program) and the cook OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) – David McLaughlin and Andrea Tran. Wei Jiang and Jesse Hayton are registered in the baker OYAP program. Mohammed Furqan, Cole Gillard, Cameron Richards, Karim Essid, Ty Lyons, Sean Adams and William Chong are registered in the auto service technician OYAP program, Justin Cooper is registered in the cook OYAP program and Kim Vuong is registered in the hairstylist OYAP Program.

All the students enrolled in our program are successfully learning good employability skills and appropriate work ethic. These students are representing West Credit Secondary School proudly in the “world of work” and we are making great partnerships between local employers and the school. We would like to thank all our employers for all their patience and support they give to all our students; Freshco, Mr. Lube, Richard’s Auto Repair, French Corner Patisserie, Canyon Creek, Jack Astor’s, Settlers Green Public School, Canadian Tire, Dogtopia, Thorn Lodge Public School, East Side Marios, L’Attitudes, Peel District School Board, Master Mechanic, Staples, Swiss Chalet, Toys R Us, White Oaks Ford Lincoln, Dog Gone Cute, The Children’s Place, Tomken Rathburn Veterinary Clinic, Ontario Chrysler, Osmow’s, Thomas Street Middle School, Thomas Glen Erin Veterinary Clinic, Champs, Plowmans Park Public School, Midas, Kate’s Town Talk Bakery, Barks N Rec, Cineplex, Rona and 9 Story Media Group.

Ms. Damery, Career and Guidance Teacher

Co-operative Education

Page 6 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

Guidance

Guidance would like to extend a warm welcome to our incoming grade 9 students and their families! We are absolutely thrilled you have chosen to join our West Credit family and we look forward to working with you over the coming years as you design your future. For our returning students and families, we are equally as excited for the opportunity to continue our work together to help your son/daughter discover and pursue his/her passion. Starting in December, current West Credit students will have the opportunity to select courses. Students will learn about the various course options available to them at West Credit via a PowerPoint presentation given in homeform classes. Guidance counsellors will then meet with those classes to choose their courses for next school year. A copy of the student’s choices will be sent home during semester 2 for parents/guardians to review. For our potential graduates and their families, please be advised that the guidance team will be hosting a graduation meeting to discuss community service hours, course substitution forms, and options for life after West Credit. Potential graduates are reminded that in order to earn their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) a minimum of 40 community service hours must be completed. Many parents/guardians may be wondering what programs are available for their son/daughter once they leave West Credit. There are a wide assortment of post-secondary options available to our students which include employment, apprenticeship, academic upgrading, college fundamental programs as well as college vocational programs. Each pathway is unique and requires specific pre-requisites. Students and their families are encouraged to make an appointment with their alpha counsellor to discuss their options. As questions/concerns arise, please feel free to contact your student’s alpha counsellor. Counsellors can be reached at the following extensions:

A-F Brent English ext. 426 G-N Harold Koehler ext. 440 O-Z Kathryn Martin ext. 425

Ms. Martin, Guidance Counsellor

Leadership Mrs. Bouwmeester, Mr. Nunes and Ms. Aprile led West Credit into their first Spirit Week of the 2017/18 school year. They would like to thank the many other staff and students who helped make it a success.

On Monday, staff and students wore team jerseys from sports teams around the world! We had a few courageous students try ping pong in the atrium at lunch. On Tuesday, folks could roll out of bed and come to school in their pajamas. At lunch we had fun Halloween crafts for students to make. On Wednesday, it was black and orange day! No lunch time activity here as it was an early release. On Thursday, there was lots going on with staff and students wearing video game t-shirts and playing Mariokart in the café at lunch. Students also carved some awesome pumpkins in the atrium at lunch too. We ended the fantastic spirit week with a Halloween dance from 12:30-2:30 with our very own DJ Nunes! Way to go West Credit!!

Ms. Bouwmeester, Leadership Teacher