We’d like to begin this week by thanking our School Council for hosting a virtual speaker series this spring. Last week, the first in the series, Sean Mauricette, spoke about Dismantling Racial Bias. The next event will be held on April 27, a conversation about gender led by CTV Dana Levenson with Katie Dudtschak. Check out the School Council Messages below for dates and details.
As mentioned in a separate email from the school last week, Virtual Parent- Guardian-Teacher Interviews are taking place this Thursday and our teachers are looking forward to connecting with you. See below for further information.
For all our families that celebrate Ramadan, we’d like to wish you a Ramandan Mubarak!
Sincerely,
Yvette Duffy, Principal Joseph Ghassibe, Vice Principal Anita Love, Vice Principal
In this issue:
- The Next Two Weeks at a Glance
- Student Council 2022/2023 Applications - Available Monday, April 4
- Waterloo Euclid Math Contest - Grade 12s - Tuesday, April 5
- Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews - Thursday, April 7
- Early Dismissal on Thursday, April 7 and Late Start on Friday, April 8
- Prefects Applications - Due April 8 @ 3:00 p.m.
- LEAP Club Message - Let’s Turn Out the Lights
- TVO Mathify - Free 1:1 Math Tutoring for grades 4 through 11
- Messages from Guidance
- Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
- Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
- Worth Mentioning Again…Covid-19 Protocols and OSSLT
The Next Two Weeks at a Glance
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Keep apprised of what is happening by linking to our school year calendar which is live on our school website landing page.
Student Council 2022/2023 Applications - Available Monday, April 4
We are gearing up for September 2022. Our Student Council is elected by the student body and composed of an executive that is made up of a President, Senior Vice President, Junior Vice President, Secretary/Social Media Representative, Treasurer, Social Representative, and Sports Representative.
Student Council elections are held each year. Students interested in presenting themselves as candidates may request a copy of the Student Council Constitution from the Main Office. In order to be eligible to hold a Student Council Executive position, students must have full time status, i.e. 4 classes in grades 9 through 11 and 3 classes in grade 12 each semester.
The morning announcements this week will provide important information, along with these important dates:
- April 4 - Applications are available
- April 11 - Applications close
- April 13 - Applicant Meeting
- April 25 through 29 - Campaigning
- April 27 - Elections Assembly
Good luck to all students who choose to run for a position. Thank you to Ms. Palowski and Mr. Ghassibe for all they do to support our Student Council.
Waterloo Euclid Math Contest - Grade 12s - Tuesday, April 5
Our Grade 12 Math Club members will be writing the Waterloo Euclid Contest on Tuesday, April 5th. This 2 ½ hour contest begins at 9:00 a.m. and will end at 11:30 a.m. Students that are participating will be excused from their Period 1 and 2 classes to write the contest. Good luck to everyone!
Thank you to Mr. Basheer and our math teachers for supporting our students!
Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews – Thursday, April 7
Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interviews will take place this Thursday, April 7. There will be an afternoon session from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., followed by an evening session from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. All interviews are scheduled for 5-minutes.
Interviews will be held virtually using the Zoom platform. Please ensure that you have downloaded Zoom from either the Apple App or Google Play, are aware of how to use the platform and know how to connect your audio system in advance of the evening. Parents and guardians are welcome to book appointments until April 6 at 11:59 p.m.
The objective of this Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interview is to gain a better understanding of how students are progressing at this early stage in the semester and to support students prior to the mid-semester official report card distribution. Less emphasis should be placed on marks and instead the focus should be on student engagement and learning. Please know that a hardcopy of markbook printouts were mailed via Canada Post to all parents and guardians of students achieving below 55% last Friday. Students who are failing at this time will be invited to join our upcoming Credit Rescue opportunities on April 11 and 20.
A separate email explaining how to book interviews was sent last week. In summary:
- Prepare a list with the names of each teacher you would like to meet
- Go to the Forest Hill-parentInterview scheduling website at https://fhci.parentinterview.com
- Enter your child's 9-digit student number and click "Sign In"
- Fill in your contact information and click "Continue to Make Appointments"
- Click on the name of a teacher with whom you wish to schedule an appointment
- Click on "Available" for a time at which you wish to meet with that teacher
- Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have scheduled all the teachers you wish to see
- Click on "My Schedule" (top left of the page)
- Print out, email or copy down your schedule
Should you wish to delete an appointment you have made, click on "Delete" beside the meeting you wish to have removed from your schedule. If you misplace your schedule, you may use your child's student number to retrieve your schedule from the website at any time. If you experience any difficulty using the service, please email support@parentinterview.com.
Early Dismissal on Thursday, April 7 and Late Start on Friday, April 8
To support with Parent-Guardian-Teacher Interview set up, there will be an early dismissal on Thursday, April 7 with classes ending at 12:15 p.m. The schedule for April 7 is as follows:
Period 1 - 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
Period 2 - 9:50 a.m. to 10:35 a.m.
Period 3 - 10:40 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.
Period 4 - 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, April 8, will be a late start. Classes will begin at 10:00 a.m.
Prefects Applications - Due April 8 @ 3:00 p.m.
All current grade 10 and 11 students were invited to attend an information session held at lunch on Thursday, March 24 to learn about the role, the expectations and the application process to become one of our 30 selected Prefects for September. Over 100 students were in attendance.
Prefects applications for 2022/2023 are due on Friday April 8 at 3:00 p.m. A complete application includes both a video and paper submission. Video submissions are to be uploaded to the Prefect Application Google Classroom - join code: pq4g4ba - and paper applications are to be submitted to the Prefects folder located in the main office. Late applications will not be accepted.
Thank you to Ms. Homatidis and Ms. McKinnon for all their support of the Prefects!
LEAP Club Message - Let’s Turn Out the Lights
Our LEAP Club is starting a new initiative at Forest Hill! LEAP is working to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing our school’s energy consumption and is asking all our staff and students to participate by turning off classroom lights every Friday at 2:00 p.m. With everyone working together we can make a difference!
TVO Mathify - Free 1:1 Math Tutoring for grades 4 through 11
Just before March Break, our grade 9 math classes hosted demonstrations by TVO Mathify - a free online one-to-one math tutoring by Ontario certified teachers. Free online tutoring is available Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sundays from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Find out more by talking to your student or linking to TVO Mathify.
Thank you to our grade 9 math teachers, Ms. Soneriu and Ms. Matte, for informing all our grade 9s about this resource.
Messages from Guidance
2021-2022 Know Your Worth Scholarship Opportunity
The Know Your Worth Sub-Committee, a section of the African Heritage Month Planning Committee, is committed to encouraging and supporting graduating students of African heritage to further their post-secondary education. The 2021-2022 Know Your Worth Scholarship will offer three financial awards to graduating students valued at $2,000 each:
Kujichagulia Academic Award - Due Friday, May 13, 2022, @ 11:59pm
- All students must have an 80% average to apply
Kuumba Creative Award - Due Friday April 22, 2022, @ 11:59pm
- Demonstrates strong creative abilities
Umoja Leadership Award - Due Friday April 22, 2022, @11:59pm
- Demonstrates leadership skills with the ambition to aid in the social progression of their community
All interested applicants, please link to 2021-2022 KYW Scholarship Information.
TDSB Summer Credit Programs - eLearning, in-person and virtual options
e-Learning will be offering two eLearning opportunities to obtain full credit courses during the months of July and August. All information has been posted on the TDSB e-Learning page and registration begins Tuesday, April 12th.
Continuing Education will be offering full credit courses in-person and remotely, as well as credit recovery remotely, during the month of July. Information has been released on the July Summer School page and registration begins Tuesday, April 19 at 9:00 a.m.
To lean more: check out the comparison chart of the two programs posted on the FHCI Guidance Site.
Are you hoping to go directly to work after high school or considering taking a gap year?
The FHCI community is invited to visit the FHCI JOB FAIR 2022! Students who are interested in pursuing the workplace pathway after high school or taking a gap year will find links to Summer 2022 job opportunities, training information and employment programs in Ontario.
Summer Volunteering at Holland Bloorview
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital, is now recruiting volunteers for their summer program. Volunteers help kids with disabilities participate in activities to the best of their ability and make a difference in kids’ lives, while having fun, giving back to the community, and gaining experience that may inform future school or career goals.
The deadline for our summer program applications is Friday, April 22, 2022. Link to the recruitment flyer to learn more or visit www.hollandbloorview.ca/volunteers for more information.
Thank you to Ms. Ng, Mr. Oosteroff, Ms. Robles Evans for all they are doing to keep us informed about opportunities for our students and families.
Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
School Council Meeting – Join Us on Monday, April 4 @ 7:30 p.m.
Please join us on Monday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m. for our sixth virtual School Council meeting. All parents and guardians are welcome. Add agenda items and rsvp for the Zoom link by emailing Tracy Kowal at tracy.kowal@yahoo.ca.
School Council Speaker Series 2022 – Katie Dudtschak on April 27 @ 8:00 p.m.
Please join us on April 27th @ 8 p.m. for the second event in our 2022 Speakers Series. CTV's Dana Levenson will sit down with Katie Dudtschak who revealed her journey to embrace her true self to friends, family and thousands of RBC colleagues in 2019. While facing her true gender was the hardest experience of her life, it provided her with a unique and powerful view on society and the role and practices of business leadership moving forward. Please click this link to register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fhci-speaker-series-embracing-change-with-katie-dudtschak-tickets-311333154847
Link to this flyer: FHCI Speaker Series 2022 for more details. For more information on any of the above events, contact Forest Hill's School Council Chair Tracy Kowal at tracy.kowal@yahoo.ca.
Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
Learn more about upcoming events and keep informed by linking to Trustee Laskin's Weekly Newsletter.
Worth Mentioning Again…
Revised Health Screening
Toronto Public Health has updated its screening for students and staff to align with the new direction from the Chief Medical Officer of Health with respect to isolation guidelines and masking requirements following a COVID-19 diagnosis or identification of being a close contact.
As of Monday, all students are still expected to complete a self-assessment with this Toronto Public Health revised screening tool before coming to school each day. Students will still be required to enter the school through the main entrance, but will not need to present their screening results to enter. Students are expected to follow the isolation guidelines and requirements indicated on the screening tool, such as masking and remaining at home to self-isolate if symptoms occur.
Masking & Expectations
As of March 21, masks are strongly encouraged in TDSB schools, though not required. Masks are still mandatory for all staff and students in the following circumstances:
Forest Hill will continue to be a mask-friendly environment, with masks still available to staff and students upon request. Again, it is really important that we respect all personal choices with regard to masking and will ensure that classrooms are inclusive of all.
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test – Grade 10 Students – Important Upcoming Dates
As you know, each year the Ministry of Education requires all grade 10 students to complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). This test is a mandatory graduation requirement that assesses grade 9 literacy skill development. All current grade 10, 11 and non-graduating grade 12 students are required to write the OSSLT this school year. All current graduating grade 12 students are exempt owing to the pandemic.
As the majority of our grade 11 students wrote the OSSLT in the fall, the spring session will primarily be for grade 10 students. Grade 11 students who were absent for the fall session or who wish to rewrite will also be included in the spring session.
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Thursday, April 21 – all grade 10 classes will be provided with an overview to the OSSLT and then have an opportunity to write an online practice test. Students should bring their own laptop to access the online practice test.
- Wednesday, May 4 in the morning – writers of the OSSLT will complete Booklet 1
- Thursday, May 12 in the morning – writers of the OSSLT will complete Booklet 2
Virtual students who wish to write will need to come into the building on these days. All virtual students will write as a cohort in a separate classroom and all efforts will be made to support with entering and exiting the building with minimal contact with others. Please contact Vice-Principal Love (anita.love@tdsb.on.ca) to make arrangements.
Please also note to support our virtual students and the fact that our school is sharing students with other local schools, Forest Hill will run a modified schedule on the following dates to support the administering of OSSLT:
- April 19, 21, 26 and 28
- May 4, 5, 11 and 12
On the above days, all students will attend two classes that will run for 2.5 hours each. Link to this OSSLT Modified Schedule for details.