Message from the Principal

The students and staff of Orillia Secondary School have had a tremendous start to the 2016-17 school

year as our new building has been humming with student activities and clubs. There are just so many

opportunities for students to demonstrate their leadership and their talents!

Students’ Council has been very busy organizing dances, spirit days, coffee houses and Karaoke

evenings. Additionally, they have also organized and run transition events such as Grade Nine Day for

our newest NightHawks as well as “See Us at OSS” for the grade eights from our family of schools. Last

week the Equity team here at OSS was busy as they organized our Anti-Bullying week activities here and

earlier this year they ran the Mental Health Awareness week.

Our students in the Arts have been actively preparing for various events; our bands are up and running

preparing for future performances including three different local Santa Claus Parades, the drama

students, who put on a memorable Remembrance Day service on November 11th, are also working

towards future performances and Improv evenings. They are currently preparing for our Arts Night in

December as well as the Sears Drama festival. We also have several other clubs running for students

with a diverse range of abilities and interests. These include, but are not limited to, HUGS, Turtle Island,

the Equity Team, Enviro- Action, Arts Club, Gamers Club, Revolution, Me to We, Outdoor Adventure

Club, Athletic Council and the Spirit Club to name a few. We continue to encourage all students to find a

group they can connect with.

Our athletic teams also had a successful fall season! These athletes demonstrated a high level of

competition and sportsmanship throughout the season, while experiencing a great deal of triumphs.

Several of our teams earned winning records and made appearances in the SCAA and GBSSA finals as

well as at OFSAA. The Junior Girls’ Basketball team claimed the GBSSA “AAA” championship in

deciding fashion on November 15 by defeating St. Joan of Arc from Barrie. Our students exhibited talent

hard work and dedication. Coaches and athletes are now beginning to prepare for the upcoming winter

sports’ season.

The start of term two provides everyone the opportunity to reflect on successes and identify areas where

improvements can be made. Please contact your youth’s individual subject teacher, Guidance

Counsellor or SERT if you require assistance in setting up a plan for renewed success in the next term.

We also encourage you to regularly visit our website for new information, opportunities and updates as

we move into the winter season.

Best wishes for the remainder of the semester.

J. Sammon

OSS STUDENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT – Guidance & Careers Education, Student Success

Our Guidance Counsellors are Mary Hurl (grade 9 students), Kate Stanley (grade 10 students), Trevor

Scott (grade 11 students) and Kiera Gagnon (grade 12/12B students). Susan Bolger is our Student

Success teacher, Sheena Penfold has a period of Student Success to support FNMI students and Wendy

Hollinger is our Guidance secretary. FNMI students are also supported by Lisa Snache and Karen King.

Communication

All OSS students are reminded to regularly check their school email accounts for messages from Guidance. Mrs. Hollinger sends out important information regarding university, college, apprenticeships, scholarships, volunteer opportunities, and much more! If the information does not pertain to you, please just delete it. Our school website (oss.scdsb.on.ca) and our Guidance Twitter account (@OSSGuidance) are also excellent ways to stay informed.

Community Service Hours

In order to graduate, all students must complete a minimum of 40 hours of community service and hand

in a record of these hours. For possibilities, check the Community Service binder and bulletin board in

the Guidance office as well as your student email account. You can also refer to

www.informationorillia.org for upcoming opportunities within the local community.

** All students are reminded that community service hours will only be approved if they are eligible

activities completed outside class time and without pay; volunteering is not the same as community

service! For a complete list, visit the Students tab on www.scdsb.on.ca and scroll down to Community

Involvement. When in doubt, please check with a Guidance Counsellor or Vice Principal before you start!

See Us at OSS

Transition programming for next year’s Grade 9 students continues to be an important area of focus. On

November 2nd, visiting grade 8 students from our family of schools were able to meet staff & students as

well as experience what it is like to actively participate in secondary school courses. Grade 8s also had

time to talk with representatives from various clubs & teams about the OSS co-curricular experience

during an activities fair over the lunch hour. The next opportunity for them to visit will be our Grade 8

Information Evening on Wednesday, January 18th.

Take Our Kids to Work Day

The 22nd annual Take Our Kids to Work Day took place on November 2nd and grade 9 students had the

opportunity to spend the day in a work environment. Our students’ placements included retail,

restaurants, OPP, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital as well as numerous industrial and office

experiences! Thank you to all of the parents and guardians that encouraged their child to participate in

this opportunity as well as a thank you to all of the businesses and organizations that opened their doors

to our students.

myBlueprint Education Planner

We are actively using myBlueprint at OSS to support our students to create an engaging and interactive

Education Plan. They can build customized high school course plans, instantly identify the post-

secondary options that are available to them based on their current pathway and explore valuable

information about apprenticeships, college programs, university programs and workplace opportunities

across Canada! With direct access from home, parents can also become more informed and involved.

Log in and learn about courses, graduation requirements and the endless options available to students

today. From their Profile, your student will be able to set goals, save unlimited plans, short-list programs

and occupations of interest, record extra-curricular activities and more.

To access the site, visit www.myBlueprint.ca and create an account and link to your student.

myBlueprint helps ensure you can assist your child in making the most informed decision about their

education. We encourage you to get started today and explore the website with them. Please contact

the guidance department with any questions.

Graduation & Post-Secondary Information

Now that the fall university/college rep visits to OSS are winding down and CIP & UIP have taken place,

students are ready to focus on the application process for college and/or university. Students can access

the university and college application sites at www.ouac.on.ca/101 and www.ontariocolleges.ca. All

university applications must be submitted on-line by January 11th, 2017 and college applications by

February 1st, 2017 for equal consideration, but we encourage students to apply early in December to

avoid the deadlines in the new year and to be considered for highly competitive programs.

Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM)

We have very successfully wrapped up our fall recruitment drive! Including our grade 12s who are

potential Red Seal graduates in June, we currently have 20 SHSM Construction students and

38 SHSM Wellness students.

SHSM – open to students in grades 11&12 - has a number of required components designed to

give students a “leg-up” to pursue post-secondary opportunities in specific employment sectors

Students will also gain valuable experience and industry recognized certifications. This increases

confidence in their ability to succeed and students see the connections between their studies,

the world beyond high school and future careers.

For more information, visit www.myshsm.ca or contact K. Gagnon in the Guidance office

Music Notes

We have had a busy and exciting start to our year for our classes and our ensembles. The

year kicked off with our Senior Stage Band performing a joint concert with the Orillia Jazz

Brass Band at the newly renovated Geneva Event Centre. It was a fabulous turnout and our

students did a fabulous job.

It was so much fun, that our Intermediate & Senior Stage Band will be performing again to

kick off the holiday season on Saturday December 17 beginning at 1:00 pm.

A graduate of Park Street CI visited our Guitar Class in October to share his experiences as

an Ernie Ball artist and life of a musician/songwriter. He and his bandmate of Jupiter Hollow

delighted the students first with a presentation of Grant’s experiences at NAMM and then

wowed the crowd by performing several tunes for them. It was great to learn about their

experiences and training.

The entire music department hosted 3 musicians from Cuba for a day in November. They

shared their love of music with our students and taught us how to play the claves, giro and

maracas along with the corresponding Latin American rhythms. One class even learned how

to dance a few dance steps.

Through experiential learning, guitar students traveled to North Americans largest interactive

music store to learn about repairs, instrument selection and the business side of music. They

listened to the CEO of the company and heard about the challenges that exist in the music

business and then they could try many of the instruments the store had to sell – from guitars

to strum sticks, violins and much more. It was a great experience for all to be able to

explore the 56 000 square feet of musicians dream land!

Songwriting

101! Craig Cardiff an accomplished Canadian Singer Songwriter joined interested students in

conversation and created a number of interesting songs about the individuals in the room. Then in

smaller groups, the students had to create their own songs and perform for their classmates. While time

was limited, the students certainly understood what it took to create an original work. Finally towards the

end of the session, all students joined together in singing, beatboxing and playing guitar to create a

masterwork. It was a great time and the final recording was amazing! But probably the most spectacular

thing to occur was that two of our students joined him later that night to play a song during Craig’s gig!

Congratulations to Everett and Adam!

Register your child for French Immersion, find out more at information sessions in January

The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) offers French Immersion (FI) at select schools

throughout the county beginning in Grade 1. This program gives students a bilingual education and the

opportunity to become fluent in another language.

Information sessions will be held in January for parents of students in Senior Kindergarten. A letter will be

sent home to those parents with more details. Information session dates will be posted at

www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language.

The FI online application form will be available from 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 23, until 9 p.m. on

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at www.scdsb.on.ca under Programs, French as a Second Language. While

every effort is made to accommodate all FI applications, available space and staffing will determine how

many students can be registered in the program. Applications will be processed in the order they are

received electronically.

Please contact the school if you do not have Internet access at home or require assistance accessing the

online application. Please note that the host sites for FI may change during your child’s time in the

program, and your child may need to move schools. This may also include splitting the program between

two different sites.

Provide input on proposed 2017-18 school year calendar

The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) invites public school communities to submit input

regarding the proposed school year calendar for next school year (Sept. 2017 to June 2018). Input can be

provided by visiting www.scdsb.on.ca, then clicking the link on the ‘School Year Calendars’ page under

the ‘Schools’ menu. All stakeholders including staff, school council members, parents/guardians, students

and members of the school community are invited to provide input. The deadline to submit input is Jan.

13, 2017.

High School information nights coming soon to a high school near you

Is your child starting Grade 9 next year? High school information nights happen this winter. Information

nights give an overview of what’s new and what to expect, and are a chance to ask questions.

High school is an exciting time—there are so many programs, clubs and activities for students to try.

Attend an information night to find out what’s offered at your local high school. See the info night schedule

and more information on the SCDSB’s website at www.scdsb.on.ca/highschool.

Advanced Placement: Students can earn a university credit while still in high school (secondary schools) Grade 11 and 12 students at 11 Simcoe County District School Board high schools have the option to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These courses are designed to cover the Ontario Curriculum, while providing accelerated and advanced level programming to prepare students to write American College Board examinations. Students can earn a university credit while still in high school, gain admission to university or both, depending on the university. For more information on AP courses available this school year, visit SCDSB’s website at www.scdsb.on.ca/Programs/Pages/Advanced-Placement.aspx or contact your Guidance Department.

Message from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit: Healthy Celebrations Celebrations are great opportunities for children to practice the healthy eating messages they learn inclass. You can help us teach the importance of healthy eating by choosing healthy foods to send to school the next time your child’s class is celebrating. Try these ideas:

send a tray of watermelon slices, box of clementines or fruit kabobs

make homemade mini muffins with whole wheat flour and grated carrots or apple

send a tray of whole grain crackers, cubes of lower fat cheese and grapes

For more ideas, tool and resources to support your healthy classroom celebrations, check out www.brightbites.ca – Reason to Celebrate.

Message from the Health Unit: Is Bedtime Stressing You Out? Kids need 10 to 12 hours of sleep every night but sometimes getting them to bed can be frustrating. You can help create a regular sleep schedule for your child by setting a clear bedtime and sticking to the same time every night. Start getting ready an hour before bed: turn off the TV, computers and phones. Spend quality time talking or reading stories to help them unwind. Agree on how many books you’ll read before you start! Keep their room dark, cool and quiet - a nightlight is fine. Remember, making sure your child gets enough rest will help improve their mood, behaviour and ability to learn. For more bedtime tips, contact Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 to speak with a public health nurse or visit the health unit website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org.

Message from the Health Unit: Stay Healthy This School Year! Colds and Influenza spread easily from person to person. These germs can spread directly from person to person when someone coughs or sneezes, or indirectly when germs land on hard surfaces like door knobs, desks, keyboards, or wet tissues and then are touched by someone. These germs can then enter the body through the eyes, nose or mouth.

The most important thing you can do to keep from getting sick and stop the spread of germs to others is wash your hands with soap and warm running water for at least 15 seconds. If your hands are not visibly dirty, you can use alcohol-based hand sanitizer for 15 seconds. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or cough into your sleeve or upper arm and stay home if you are sick. Teach your kids to do the same!

For more tips to keep you and your family healthy this school year, contact Health Connection at 1-877-721-7520 or visit the health unit’s website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org.

Message from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit: Immunization Records (Secondary Schools) The Ontario Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA) requires the health unit to have up-to-date immunization records for all students attending school. According to the ISPA (2014), students currently in high school are required to be vaccinated against:

Tetanus, Diphtheria, Polio and Pertussis (whooping cough) - booster required between 14-16 years old

Measles, Mumps and Rubella - must have two doses after the first birthday

Meningococcal Disease - must have one dose after the first birthday & Men-C-ACYW in Grade 7

The health unit does not receive immunization information directly from doctor’s offices. Please contact the health unit each time your child receives a vaccine from their health care provider. If your child’s immunization record on file with the health unit is not up-to-date, they may be suspended from school.

What you can do:

Check – Your child’s yellow immunization card

Contact – Your child’s health-care provider to obtain records, or to get missing vaccinations

Share – Go to www.simcoemuskokahealth.org/ to enter the complete record, or fax a completed record to 705-726-3962