Principal’s Page
By Jeff Reaburn
The Semester Two Mid-Term Report will be distributed in last period on Friday of this week. Students will be required to complete the Response Form that accompanies this report, take it home for a parent signature, and then return it to the same teacher who hands it out on Friday. The completed Response Form will then be placed in the student’s Ontario School Record (OSR), along with a copy of his/her report card. We would like to have the Response Forms returned to us within two weeks, which means by Friday, May 9. It is always somewhat of a logistical nightmare getting the Response Form handed out, completed, and returned to the school, and we appreciate any assistance that parents can offer in getting this task completed.
Last weekend our music students held their annual Cabaret, with two excellent performances in front of large and enthusiastic crowds. Although I was not able to attend the Saturday evening performance, I did get to the Sunday afternoon presentation, and, as always, I was very impressed with the musical talents of our students. Under the direction of Mr. Moore and Mr. Weston, the bands performed incredibly well, and I would like to congratulate all of them for their hard work and commitment all year long.
The Cabaret is an important fund-raiser in support of our extra-curricular music program, and this year the funds generated from this event will help to offset some of the costs of our bands’ trip to MusicFest Nationals in Ottawa next month. As a result of their excellent performances at the regional MusicFest competition, our bands were invited to compete in the national competition, which is a great achievement, but also an expensive one. On behalf of the bands, I would like to thank everyone who attended Cabaret, all the businesses and individuals who donated prizes for the raffles, and especially the parents who provided snacks and refreshments.
I would especially like to thank the parents who support the music program all year long by encouraging the students’ participation, getting them out of bed and to the school on time for early morning practices, and by attending the various concerts throughout the year. Their support is crucial to the success of our music program, and, in fact, parental support is vital to all of our extracurricular programs. I don’t thank the parents often enough: we are very fortunate to have a very supportive community, and this makes our jobs as educators much easier.
College and university applicants and their parents are invited to attend an OSAP presentation on Wednesday, April 30, at 2:05 p.m. in the cafeteria. Students are asked to check the OSAP website prior to presentation to see if theirÜ2008 application has been posted. This session will give students and parents the opportunity to find out more about the Ontario Student Assistance Program and ask any questions that they may have.
On a completely different note, you may have read or heard that the London District Catholic School Board voted last week to impose a ban on the use of cell phones, MP3 players, and various other electronic devices in their schools. I have commented on this issue several times in the last few weeks, but I would like to get some feedback from students, parents, and the community. Recently, I asked teachers to have students give me some feedback on “electronic etiquette,” and several teachers gathered responses from their students.
I am interested in getting the perspectives of more students, but I would like to hear from parents and other adults as well. If you would like to provide me with some feedback on this issue, please feel free to send your comments to me at the school. Although my main concern is the use of electronic devices at school, I am interested in hearing your comments on electronic etiquette in our society as well.