All Saints Blog Week of March 29th, 2016

Easter Season

I am hoping you enjoyed a special Easter weekend.  While we had to postpone our Holy Thursday liturgies at the school due to our inclement weather day ahead of the weekend, we will be continuing the discussion around the Easter season with our students over the next period of time.  This season, or “Eastertide” continues for the next 50 days until Pentecost Sunday.

District Process Visit

All Saints participated in the Board’s District Process on March 23rd last week.  This is an opportunity for administrators and educators from around the board to visit All Saints to view the learning that is going on.  The board team visited classrooms in the morning to discuss with students their perspective on learning experiences.  In the afternoon, we were able to highlight some of the additional school initiatives that we are supporting at All Saints.  A number of students presented to the board team around their participation in activities.  The board returns a report highlighting the successes and next steps in the coming weeks which we will share with our students and staff.

Paint it Up!

Funding is available for outdoor mural art projects that support graffiti prevention, youth empowerment, community safety and the beautification of Ottawa neighbourhoods.  For more information about funding, please visit www.crimepreventionottawa.ca, for the program guidelines and application form.  Projects must contribute to a clean, safe and beautiful city by engaging neighbourhoods and youth in a constructive learning process to create murals to prevent or deter graffiti.

Applications must be postmarked, e-mailed, or received by 4 p.m. Monday, April 4th, 2016.

CN Cycle - A Sure Sign of Spring

With yet another dusting of snow on the ground, we thought perhaps we would motivate you to ‘think spring!’ And nothing gives more of a feeling of the change in season than the CN Cycle for CHEO. As you brush off your car for (hopefully) the last time, let your mind transport you to a spring weather stroll, in-line skate or a bike ride past some of the most scenic routes the Nation’s Capital has to offer!  

Registration is OPEN!

Getting involved is EASY!  Visit our website: cncycle.ca  Choose your route: Ericsson 70K Cycle,  Coughlin & Associates 35K Cycle, Esso 15K Cycle and  In-line Skate or the Sporting Life 5K or 2K Walks.

Upcoming Grade 10 Literacy Test

To all parents of Grade 10 students - the Ontario Secondary Schools Literacy Test (OSSLT) will be taking place this week on March 31, 2016. Here are some final tips for the OSSLT

• Write neatly! Use dark ink and write slowly.  If you have messy handwriting, try writing bigger or printing.
• Answer the question! Read the question carefully, then “give them what they want”.  Stay on topic and avoid irrelevant content.
• Attempt EVERY question! Don’t leave any blanks.  Try every question.
• Proofread! Always, always, always re-read what you have written.  Correct any mistakes as you go.
• Make sense! This is not the time to try out new words or get fancy.  Keep it simple.
• Make rough notes! Brainstorm and then plan out your answer before you begin to write.  Don’t waste space on the answer sheet.  Organize your thoughts.

Reading

• Use your highlighter! Don’t be afraid to write on the test.  Highlight key words and phrases.
• Skim the reading sections for answers! None of the multiple choice questions can be answered from memory.  You must go back into the reading sections to find the answers for the questions

Writing

• Look at the pictures! The pictures with the test help you to know what the main idea of a section is.
• Remember the words, “for example…”! Use these words in every written answer.  Be specific.  Use examples.

Sessions for Parents:

• Advocating for Your Child with Special Needs

Would you like to learn how to advocate more effectively for your child with special needs?

Louise McGoey, former chair of the Ottawa Catholic SEAC (Special Education Advisory Committee), will provide participants with strategies for effective advocacy.  Learn about the importance of knowing what your goals are for your child, how to communicate effectively with school and board staff and how to prepare for productive meetings.  Presented by SEAC and CSPA.

Register Now: http://bit.ly/CSPAadvocacy

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

7:00 - 8:30 PM

St. Patrick’s High School

2525 Alta Vista Drive

• Understanding EQAO Assessments  

(Rescheduled following inclement weather March 1)

Every year, Ontario students in Grades 3, 6, 9 and 10 write province-wide tests.  These assessments provide an objective indication of how well students are developing the reading, writing and math skills defined in the Ontario Curriculum.

This presentation delivered by Mike Young, a principal from EQAO’s School Support and Outreach team, will give parents an opportunity to gain an understanding of the EQAO assessments.

Register Now:  http://bit.ly/CSPAEQAO

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

6:45 - 8:45 PM

Saint Joseph Catholic High School

3333 Greenbank Road, Barrhaven

• Youth Substance Use – Supporting Youth and Families

Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services and the Ottawa Catholic School Board have worked in partnership for many years. Find out how the School Based Program provides support to students, and their families, throughout the phases of youth substance use, from prevention to intervention.

Learn signs and symptoms to be aware of and how to access help when needed.

Presenters:     Liz Parsons & Nadine McLean, Co-managers, Youth, Parent and School Based Program at Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

7:00 PM – 8:45 PM

Sacred Heart Catholic High School

5870 Abbott St E, Stittsville

Register Now: http://bit.ly/CSPAsubstance

• CSPA Math 4 Parents - Wednesday, April 20 at All Saints High School (7 - 8:45pm).  Learn more about how math is taught today in classrooms and how you can support your child's learning.  Two workshops will be offered on this evening at the same time.  Choose from Inquiry-based Mathematics in the Elementary Classroom (JK - Gr. 6) OR So Much Homework, So Little Time. Why is High School Math So Difficult? (Gr. 7 - 12)

Registration link  

All Saints trip to Greece

We had a group of students who returned recently from a trip to Greece.  The group had a great tour of the country, and were able to see some incredible sights, sample some Greek cuisine and form new friendships.  A big thank you to Ms. Lachapelle, who organized the trip for our All Saints students.

Communications

Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsCHS as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!

"Come, Bride of Christ" – Mother Angelica Dies at 92

For a good many American Catholics, this Easter night brings a bigger blow than the loss of a Pope.

See, there'll always be another Bishop of Rome... but there can never be another "Mother."

Arguably the most influential voice for the Stateside church's "base" over two generations – and, indeed, a woman whose prime saw her wield more clout than almost any churchman at home or abroad – the beloved, famous, ever-original, sometime-controversial EWTN foundress Mother Angelica died at 92 at 5pm Central time, surrounded by the Poor Clare sisters of the Alabama monastery she built, as the world's largest religious media empire beamed the Resurrection to the masses.

Within minutes of the network's announcement two hours later, the news spurred a global outpouring of grief and prayers reflecting the peerless devotion of the "EWTN family" to the apostolate, and the unparalleled breadth of its reach across global television, local and shortwave radio, newsprint, a wire service and a growing piece of the internet. Accordingly, in these days' ultimate tribute to anyone – let alone to an unlikely titan of "legacy" communications long kept from public view – "Mother Angelica" ranked among the top trending terms on Twitter both in the US and worldwide through the night, with the Spanish "Madre Angélica" likewise climbing the chart.

To be sure, the story and legacy of the Ohio Italian born to a single mother could fill volumes – it already has, and even those are far from the last word. For now, though, the order of the moment instead is simply to give thanks and pay tribute to a witness and example that, objectively speaking, has brought the life of faith to untold souls and, with it, has irrevocably changed the face of this church.

If you've ever heard Latin at a parish Mass or found Eucharistic adoration in the trenches, well, there's your proof. What's more, meanwhile, even if some close encounters with the sinful, destructive polarization and ideological self-righteousness that mark this ecclesial moment seem inevitable over the days to come – after all, no less than Holy Week itself didn't lack for them in some quarters – just remember this: 35 years after EWTN was launched in a garage and went on to reach "the ends of the earth," every Catholic media effort that's stepped out on its own since (often in the face of skepticism or much worse, and these just within the church) is in Mother's debt. For those of us who've sought to take on the work in our own ways, we didn't just learn more from her than any other, but in more ways than can be put into words, she represented the "gold standard." And for this and so much more, we will forever be grateful – all the way down to the reminders to "keep us between your gas, water and electric bill," because if you don't, we can't.

Once upon a time, many moons ago – long before the network was ever envisioned – Mother's earliest media initiative was the steady stream of "mini-books" she cranked out on various aspects of the faith, which could be obtained by mail from the monastery at low cost. The circulation of these created the relationships and support from which the TV apostolate would be built.

Even if they'd come to be replaced by the ever more memorable live shows, the mini-books and their role should never be forgotten... but among them all, the title of one particularly sticks out on this night: a work she called To Leave, And Yet To Stay.

It was on the greatest love of her life – not the studio, of course, but the Eucharist. And fittingly, at least in a way, it's hard to find a better summary than that simple title of what she accomplished, too, and how her own unlikely victory will long remain a source of life among us and nourishment for the life of the world.

Tonight, then, may the ancient prayer be our own....

Saints of God, come to her aid,
Hasten to meet her, Angels of the Lord,
Receive her soul, and present her to God, the Most High.

May Mother's Easter never end. Lord only knows how, well more than most, we will never see her like again.

* * *

After two days of public visitation at the Hanceville, Alabama Monastery/Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, the Funeral Mass will take place Friday at 11am Central.

At the liturgy's close, Mother Angelica will be laid to rest in the Shrine's crypt, in the niche above the body of Sister Mary David – her own mother, who would eventually follow her into religious life.

Lord, the joy of Your Resurrection fills my soul w/the realization that my body will also rise someday.
M. Angelica pic.twitter.com/CCy94S6Re9

— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) March 27, 2016

-30-

On Easter Night, "This Is The Foundation of Our Hope"

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS
EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT
ST PETER'S BASILICA
26 MARCH 2016

“Peter ran to the tomb” (Lk 24:12). What thoughts crossed Peter’s mind and stirred his heart as he ran to the tomb? The Gospel tells us that the eleven, including Peter, had not believed the testimony of the women, their Easter proclamation. Quite the contrary, “these words seemed to them an idle tale” (v. 11). Thus there was doubt in Peter’s heart, together with many other worries: sadness at the death of the beloved Master and disillusionment for having denied him three times during his Passion.

There is, however, something which signals a change in him: after listening to the women and refusing to believe them, “Peter rose” (v. 12). He did not remain sedentary, in thought; he did not stay at home as the others did. He did not succumb to the sombre atmosphere of those days, nor was he overwhelmed by his doubts. He was not consumed by remorse, fear or the continuous gossip that leads nowhere. He was looking for Jesus, not himself. He preferred the path of encounter and trust. And so, he got up, just as he was, and ran towards the tomb from where he would return “amazed” (v. 12). This marked the beginning of Peter’s resurrection, the resurrection of his heart. Without giving in to sadness or darkness, he made room for hope: he allowed the light of God to enter into his heart, without smothering it.

The women too, who had gone out early in the morning to perform a work of mercy, taking the perfumed ointments to the tomb, had the same experience. They were “frightened and bowed their faces”, and yet they were deeply affected by the words of the angel: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (v. 5).

We, like Peter and the women, cannot discover life by being sad, bereft of hope. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but let us break open our sealed tombs to the Lord so that he may enter and grant us life. Let us give him the stones of our rancour and the boulders of our past, those heavy burdens of our weaknesses and falls. Christ wants to come and take us by the hand to bring us out of our anguish. This is the first stone to be moved aside this night: the lack of hope which imprisons us within ourselves. May the Lord free us from this trap, from being Christians without hope, who live as if the Lord were not risen, as if our problems were the centre of our lives.

We see and will continue to see problems both within and without. They will always be there. But tonight it is important to shed the light of the Risen Lord upon our problems, and in a certain sense, to “evangelize” them. Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control us; we must cry out to them: the Lord “is not here, but has risen!” (v. 6). He is our greatest joy; he is always at our side and will never let us down.

This is the foundation of our hope, which is not mere optimism, nor a psychological attitude or desire to be courageous. Christian hope is a gift that God gives us if we come out of ourselves and open our hearts to him. This hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5). The Paraclete does not make everything look appealing. He does not remove evil with a magic wand. But he pours into us the vitality of life, which is not the absence of problems, but the certainty of being loved and always forgiven by Christ, who for us has conquered sin, death and fear. Today is the celebration of our hope, the celebration of this truth: nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from his love (cf. Rom 8:39).

The Lord is alive and wants to be sought among the living. After having found him, each person is sent out by him to announce the Easter message, to awaken and resurrect hope in hearts burdened by sadness, in those who struggle to find meaning in life. There is so necessary today. However, we must not proclaim ourselves. Rather, as joyful servants of hope, we must announce the Risen One by our lives and by our love; otherwise we will be only an international organization full of followers and good rules, yet incapable of offering the hope for which the world longs.

How can we strengthen our hope? The liturgy of this night offers some guidance. It teaches us to remember the works of God. The readings describe God’s faithfulness, the history of his love towards us. The living word of God is able to involve us in this history of love, nourishing our hope and renewing our joy. The Gospel also reminds us of this: in order to kindle hope in the hearts of the women, the angel tells them: “Remember what [Jesus] told you” (v. 6). Let us not forget his words and his works, otherwise we will lose hope. Let us instead remember the Lord, his goodness and his life-giving words which have touched us. Let us remember them and make them ours, to be sentinels of the morning who know how to help others see the signs of the Risen Lord.

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Let us open our hearts to hope and go forth. May the memory of his works and his words be the bright star which directs our steps in the ways of faith towards the Easter that will have no end.

-30-

All Saints Blog Week of March 21st, 2016

Holy Week

As we return from our Spring Break, we are quickly confronted by the very rich symbolism and meaning associated with Holy Week.  We transition from the welcome that Jesus received as he entered Jerusalem, greeted with the multitude waving palm branches and singing Hosanna, through his passion, crucifixion and ultimately his resurrection at Easter.  It is easy to “hurry” through this period of time as we move from one holiday, through a short school week, to another long weekend, but I encourage all of our school community to take some time to reflect on the importance of this liturgical time and how it connects to our own lives.  We have been encouraging academic goal setting among all of our student grades this year, but the last week of Lent is a heightened opportunity to set some spiritual goals that we can nurture throughout the coming spring.  Our students and staff will have an opportunity to further reflect upon this important time at our Holy Thursday liturgies this coming week.  

Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) survey

OSTA is seeking public consultation on its proposed School Active Transportation Policy. This policy is scheduled to be presented at OSTA’s next public governance meeting on April 25, 2016. Delegations may also be heard at this time.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SAT-policy

OSTA’s School Active Transportation Program has been in development for the past two years. With our school board partners, City partners and community partners, we have been able to support the 50,000+ students who are not eligible for transportation by motorized vehicle. The SAT policy would formalize OSTA’s commitment to continuing to provide services for students who walk, bike and roll, to school every day. More information may be found on our website http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/ under Active Transportation.

Upcoming Grade 10 Literacy Test

To all parents of Grade 10 students - the Ontario Secondary Schools Literacy Test (OSSLT) will be taking place this year on March 31, 2016. This week’s literacy information focuses on writing an information paragraph and a short opinion piece.

Writing an Information Paragraph

(an objective presentation of facts and information)

• Read the list of information given. Choose at least four points that you think go together. These will become the main idea of your information paragraph.

• In your topic sentence, clearly state your main idea.

• Include at least four supporting details from the list to develop the main idea in your topic sentence.

• Provide a concluding sentence for your paragraph. This sentence summarizes your main idea.

• Be sure your paragraph informs your reader about the topic you have chosen.

Writing a Short Opinion Piece

• The short writing tasks are based only on your life experience. For example, “Name a person you admire and explain why you admire him or her. Use specific details to explain your choice.”
• There are no correct or incorrect answers, but be specific when you explain your answer.
• You will have six lines for your paragraph. Use all of the space.

Sessions for Parents:

• CSPA Math 4 Parents - Wednesday, April 20 at All Saints High School (7 - 8:45pm).  Learn more about how math is taught today in classrooms and how you can support your child's learning.  Two workshops will be offered on this evening at the same time.  Choose from Inquiry-based Mathematics in the Elementary Classroom (JK - Gr. 6) OR So Much Homework, So Little Time. Why is High School Math So Difficult? (Gr. 7 - 12)

Registration link  

Student Congratulations!

Congratulations to our own Tarun Balaraj (grade 10) who was recognized by the Ottawa Sports Awards recently at their 63rd annual presentation.  Tarun is the #1 ranked junior squash player in the Ottawa area.  He has consistently done well in regional, provincial and national tournaments.  Great work Tarun!

Communications

Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsCHS as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!

All Saints Blog Week of March 7th, 2016

Dominican Experience Group returns home

Our Dominican Experience group of students and staff returned home this weekend after an exhaustive trip, lending support to the local community.  I am anxious to share some specifics regarding the details of the experience in the coming weeks.  Great to have everyone home safe and sound!

Grade 6 Transition meeting at All Saints

I would like to thank all of the parents/guardians of our grade 6 elementary students who joined us for an information session this past week.  The evening began with our own grade 7&8 students running a workshop on technology and preferred electronic devices in our learning commons.  We have spent a great deal of time this year with our students and staff learning about using technology to support activities in the classroom and wanted to share this experience with our new group of grade 6’s.  Following our technology session and group tours of the school, we met with parents and students in the gym to discuss expectations and structure at the grade 7 level.  We had 2 grade 7 students recount their experience at All Saints this year, the many opportunities available, and the support they received with the transition.

A special thank you to our teacher organizers for our technology session, our curriculum leaders and student services department for being available for questions, and Ms. Gillier-Symes for her organization of our parent presentation.

Upcoming Grade 10 Literacy Test

To all parents of Grade 10 students - the Ontario Secondary Schools Literacy Test (OSSLT) will be taking place this year on March 31, 2016. This week’s literacy information focuses on writing a summary question:

GENERAL TIPS FOR WRITING:

• You must write in complete sentences in the lined space provided.

• Read the instructions carefully and do what is asked.

• Make changes to your writing as clearly as you can.

• Organize your ideas.

• Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

• The audience for your writing is always an adult. The language in your writing should be standard Canadian English and should be appropriate for an adult audience.

Writing a Summary

(a concise version of an original text)

• Highlight, underline or circle important ideas when reading the text.

• Plan your summary. Find the main idea of the text and at least two important details that support it.

• Underline, circle or use the Notes space provided to help plan.

• Reduce the number of words (use one general word instead of several specific words, use fewer examples, leave out unnecessary words).

• Do not include your personal opinion.

Sessions for Parents:

• CSPA Math 4 Parents - Wednesday, April 20 at All Saints High School (7 - 8:45pm).  Learn more about how math is taught today in classrooms and how you can support your child's learning.  Two workshops will be offered on this evening at the same time.  Choose from Inquiry-based Mathematics in the Elementary Classroom (JK - Gr. 6) OR So Much Homework, So Little Time. Why is High School Math So Difficult? (Gr. 7 - 12)

Registration link  

Communications
Check out our blog – allsaintschs.blogspot.ca and our twitter @AllSaintsCHS as well as our website ash.ocsb.ca for all that is happening at All Saints!