Head of School's Weekly Newsletter

March 11, 2010

• Reading in the Lower School
• An Open Letter to the Parents Guild Volunteers
• 50’s Fling Gala News!!
• The Second Term Reports
• The Final Student Progress Meetings
• The Exam Schedule is Available
• Third Term
• The Weeks Ahead

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the Faculty and Staff, I wish you all a restful March Break.

Reading in the Lower School

The Lower School students will have a guest speaker the first day back from March Break to introduce them to some great new books. This will be followed by the Minnow Book Fair in the Lower School Library on Tuesday, March 30th from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., and Wednesday, March 31st from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

An Open Letter to the Parents Guild Volunteers as Addressed to the PG President

Dear Pam,

On behalf of the Faculty and Staff of HTS, I want to express our sincere thanks to you and the Parents Guild for a wonderfully uplifting day last Friday.

When you first introduced the idea of a special Chapel Service, I was not prepared for the added parts of the day – the specialty coffee, the staff room treats and the lunch service. Be assured, you made all of us feel very much appreciated throughout the day.

The Service itself was a treat and enjoyed by all of the teachers and students. There was enough of the formality – the poems and the tributes - and enough of the informality – the cheering students as their teachers’ photographs appeared on the screen – to make the Service an HTS Service – respectful, warm and fun.

As for the rest of the day, it had all the trademarks of the Parents Guild. First and foremost, it was all about the food! My goodness it was bountiful. Then it was all about the Service. You were all so attentive and thoughtful. Frankly, as teachers and staff, we did not know how to respond to mums collecting our trays in the Dining Hall let alone the table cloths and flower centre pieces! It was overwhelming.

As you can appreciate, everyone is tuckered out right about now. The kids have been working away at term end assignments. The teachers have been marking and preparing report cards. Everyone has their eye on the finish line.

In that context, the Parents Guild gave everyone a genuine lift on Friday – students and employees alike. It was a little jolt of energy that will help us all to finish off the term on a high note. We are very grateful for that blessing.

I also wanted to thank you and the volunteers for the Sundaes on Thursday event today. Everybody liked the ice cream and as you can imagine, there is nothing quite like a host of sugar filled children returning to class for the afternoon!

Again, thank you for your kind and generous thoughtfulness.

50’S Fling Gala News!!

What to wear…Hmmm…This year’s theme lends itself to just having a rockin good time. The Gala Committee would like to invite you to join us at the 50’s Fling in what we would call, smart casual, cocktail length for the ladies, ties or no ties for the men if so desired. We just want everyone to come out and have a great time and raise some noise and of course funds in support of the kids.

Breaking News Just In!!!! Experience the thrill of the Olympic dream by winning an authentic Canadian Women’s Hockey Jersey signed by all members of the 2010 Gold Winning Team. Get it at the Gala!!

Please join us, buy your tickets soon as April 23 is fast approaching!! Visit our website for all your Gala information.

The Second Term Reports

These are being distributed today to the students so that they can be given to you. The format is somewhat abbreviated from the format of the Christmas and June report cards which are more comprehensive.

The Final Student Progress Meetings

The final round of Student Progress Meetings for the 2009-2010 school year is slated to occur on:

• Wednesday, March 31- 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Once again, we invite parents to sign up for their interviews on-line through our web based scheduler Registration Wiz, which will become available after school on Thursday, March 11. You will be able to find all the necessary information by starting at the Quick Links menu on the HTS website.

If you have any issues with the scheduler, whether you find that you cannot log in or discover that a teacher is missing from the list, please contact Mr. Craig Brown in the IT Department at cbrown@hts.on.ca for assistance. He will put things right for you as quickly as possible. Please do not phone Reception, as they are unable to help and will forward your question to the IT Department. As the IT Department will be closed over part of the March holiday, some responses may take a bit longer than they would normally.

At HTS students are expected to be present and participate in the progress interviews. Having students involved will help them understand how they are progressing and whether they need to do anything in order to improve their own academic performance. All interviews will take place in the Dining Room.

These final interviews are generally lightly attended and are intended to provide students and parents a final chance to meet with their teachers before we head into the home stretch. Please do not feel pressured to attend if you are satisfied with your child’s progress.

On interview night please be sure to obey all the parking signs. The town’s By-Law officials have demonstrated a tendency to appear at events when our parking lot is full and ticket improperly parked cars. The fines levied are steep!

The Exam Schedule is Available

The Final Examination Schedule for Middle and Senior School students is available on-line for download. While we have made every attempt to avoid conflicts, some will arise. Students who find they have two exams scheduled for the same time need to complete the Conflict Form and either e-mail it to Mr. Burke or present it to him in person. This form is available on the same page as the exam schedule.

Third Term

Classes resume on Monday, March 29 which is a Day 5 for the Middle and Senior School students. The first two weeks of school are short weeks because of the Easter weekend.

The Weeks Ahead

Weeks of March 15 and March 22
March Break – School Closed

Monday, March 29 to Thursday, April 1
(Early Buses All Week)
(No Co-curriculars All Week)

Monday, March 29 – Day 5
1st Day of Term 3
World Issues and Social Justice Trip
Book Talk with Roy Blunt in Jr. Library
SAT Prep Programme

Tuesday, March 30 – Day 6
Minnow Book Fair in Jr. Library
World Issues and Social Justice Trip

Wednesday, March 31 – Day 7
Minnow Book Fair in Jr. Library
Student Progress Interviews

Thursday April 1 – Day 8

Friday, April 2 to Monday, April 5
Easter Long Weekend – School Closed

Tuesday, April 6 to Friday, April 9
(Regular Buses All Week)
(Senior School Spirit Week)

Tuesday, April 6 – Day 1
Co-curricular Programme Begins

Wednesday, April 7 – Day 2
Euclid Contest

Thursday, April 8 – Day 3
Grade 10 EQAO Literacy Test
Grade 1 Trip to Ontario Science Centre
Music Night in Theatre

Friday, April 9 – Day 4
Confirmation Retreat to Muskoka
Fryer, Galois and Hypatia Contests
Guild Meeting