bernie custis secondary school · bernie custis secondary school proud school of hamilton-wentworth...

Bernie Custis Secondary School PROUD SCHOOL OF HAMILTON-WENTWORTH DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

1055 King St. E Hamilton, Ontario L8M 1E2 Phone: Fax:

EMAIL: PRINCIPAL: VICE-PRINCIPAL: www.hwdsb.on.ca/

BCSS Transitions Update: Communication

The BCSS website is live: www.hwdsb.on.ca/berniecustis. You can also follow us on Instagram or Twitter for regular updates (@BCSS_hwdsb).

Construction Last week the keys were handed over to HWDSB and the school is no longer a construction site. The school and it is looking great. There is still work to be done – security; IT; fixing construction deficiencies, cleaning, etc. and therefore access will not be granted until late May or early June. We are hoping to do an open house for students, staff and community at the end of May or beginning of June. Bell Schedule As many of you know, an MSIP Learning Model was proposed for the new school. The idea behind this was to provide targeted support for student learning needs while minimizing disruption to subject learning time. At this time we will not be implementing the model but the Board will work with OSSTF toward a 2020 implementation. In light of this, we have proposed the following bell schedule to meet the needs of the school. Our cafeteria will have a capacity of 400 so we have a need for two lunches. During this time students will also have access to the Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre. We have ensured a later start time as it is good for teens and many students reported having to take younger siblings to school first. Our day will not flip periods. Students will have either a lunch A schedule or a lunch B schedule:

Regular Day Bell Schedule - Lunch A Schedule Lunch B Schedule

Breakfast Program 8:30-8:50 Breakfast Program 8:30-8:50

Period 1 8:50-10:05 Period 1 8:50-10:05

Nutrition Break 10:05-10:15 Nutrition Program 10:05-10:15

Period 2 10:15-11:30 Period 2 10:15-11:30

Transition 11:30-11:35 Transition 11:30-11:35

Lunch A 11:35-12:20 Period 3 11:35-12:50


Period 3 12:25-1:40 Lunch B 12:54-1:40


Period 4 1:45-3:00 Period 4 1:45-3:00

As a staff we will work toward the MSIP learning model by slowly trying it out and collecting student and staff feedback. We will begin a graduated entry to running an MSIP bell schedule or targeted

http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/berniecustis




intervention schedule to support student needs (learning skills; literacy; numeracy; ESL/ELL/MLL; goal setting; scheduling; etc.). A suggested schedule follows. A group of BCSS Cabinet members will be visiting four different MSIP schools and coming together as a directions/implementation/advisory team.

MSIP Schedule (Targeted Intervention Period)

Period 1 8:50-9:50

Transition 9:50-9:55

Period 2 9:55-10:55


Period 3 MSIP 10:59-11:59

Period 4 - lunch 11:59-12:49


Period 5 12:53-1:53

Break 1:53-2:00

Period 6 2:00-3:00

Furniture and Resources Department heads will work with board consultants to identify learning materials that will be moved to BCSS from SJAM and Delta. Some of the construction budget will go toward furnishing common areas such as the cafetorium; learning commons; offices; student collaborative spaces; etc. We are beginning the work of looking at what furniture will go into the classrooms.

Timetable We are beginning the process of building the school’s timetable. We are excited as we will be offering many interesting and exciting courses driven by the student created option sheet. We will be running elective courses such as media arts; aquatics; basketball, volleyball, badminton focus programs; creative writing; mindfulness; dance; law; fashion design; Spanish; German; vocal music, keyboarding, guitar; Native Studies; environmental science; computer engineering and programming; etc.. As well, we will run all pathways in all compulsory subject areas. We are also thrilled to be building a new ESL/ELL program for our multi-language learners. I am excited to announce that we have over 1200 option sheets in from HWDSB students and I would like to thank Greg Corey and Christine Johns for their leadership with this. This number does not include any students wishing to attend from outside our board who are in catchment Facilities: Because we are almost at capacity, we are using all of our classrooms all of the time so there will be some unique adjustments for teachers as all classrooms will be shared. As well, there are lots of teacher work stations in the school.




These will be hotel style as far as plugging in somewhere and working. Each staff member will be assigned a small locker that is located in the work rooms. These are big enough to hold valuables. I have had many questions about coats and I am looking to find solutions around this. There is a large staff room located on the second floor. Each floor has accessible, all gender washrooms and the main floor has accessible, all gender change rooms. Many classrooms have accessible work stations as well (ex. Hospitality; science; etc.). BCSS Staff: Welcome to the following school instructional leaders: Arts -Elysia Dywan, Head; Glen McQuestion, Asst Head Canadian and World Studies - Matt Flynn, Head; Lori Bourassa, Asst. Head English - Darlene McIlveen, Head; Deb Bates, Asst. Head ESL - Head – posting to come; Jennifer Long, Asst. Head Health and Physical Education -Chad Gibbs, Boys’ Head; Michelle Wilson, Girls’ Head Humanities -Grant Darby, Head; Jennifer Puhakka, Asst. Head Learning Resource - Meredith Strongman, Head; Heather Smith, Asst. Head Math - Melinda Lula, Head; Pam Gupta, Asst. Head Modern Languages - Chris Eckart, Head Music - Emma Borsellino, Head Science -Raj Sinha, Head; Maneesh Gupta, Asst. Head Student Services -Patricia Wilson, Head; Filomena Wyatt, Asst. Head Technology - Ramzi Haddad, Head; Jeff Stegmaier, Asst. Heads This group of school leaders will be responsible for determining how we will best establish a learning environment that is safe, inclusive, and inviting to all students. We are so fortunate to have such a diverse student population and we are seeking to learn about our students and their needs. The staff at BCSS, will create learning opportunities in our classrooms that regularly invite student voice and choice, that invite deep learning and thinking, and that make learning fun and innovative. We have an opportunity to do things differently at BCSS and we intend to be purposeful in the choices of structures and procedures that we implement. We want to inspire creative programming and ideas that will help students make cross-curricular connections. As well, we will pay specific attention to how we set up our classrooms and learning spaces to inspire innovation and to support optimum learning. On April 26th we will be bringing this BCSS Leadership team together to determine how we can lead our instructional program to embrace these goals. We will also spend a day in May where we will focus on culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy. We also welcome the recently determined BCSS Custodial Staff:




John Smith (Head Caretaker, day); John Tompa (Head Caretaker, afternoons);Glenda Lucas ( Caretaker ); Leeanne Gouthro (Caretaker); David Jacobs ( Caretaker); Janice Baker ( Assistant Caretaker);Maricela Morales ( Assistant Caretaker) Staffing for other employee groups will occur over the next few months. Teacher staffing will be decided on May 3rd, 2019. As a new staff we will have a blank slate – an opportunity to create a place of learning that is innovative, fun and exciting. We are BCSS – we are new and we want to be different! Our first weeks will be vital in establishing our culture and our messaging to our students and our community. We will look at what is possible…and we are excited to begin to build it! Should you have any questions as we move forward, please email me and I will try to keep everyone informed. Thanks so much, Angela

bernie custis secondary school · bernie custis secondary school proud school of hamilton-wentworth...

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