Prom tickets go on sale on Monday! Parents, guardians and students of grade 12 should have received an email on Friday with information about the prom, expectations for students and guests, along with the link to purchase tickets using School Cash Online.
Our Forester Team of approximately sixty students, under the leadership of Ms. Neumann, have been working hard all year to capture Forest Hill spirit and celebrations for our school yearbook. Given the year we have had, it would be great to be able to give every student this special momento. We recently received a quote for our yearbook of approximately $25 per book. So far only one-third of our students paid our requested student fees of $55 that included the cost of a yearbook. We understand that lots of families are finding life more expensive. We hope that those who can afford to contribute to the yearbook will do so. For those of you who might have overlooked paying our requested student fees, we have created a separate link that will be emailed using Cash Online requesting contributions to support yearbook purchases for all students.
Again this week there are a few changes to our daily schedule:
- Tuesday, April 26 – Modified Schedule with Blocks A and C running for 2.5 hours each
- Wednesday, April 27 – Late Start Schedule
- Thursday, April 28 – Modified Schedule with Blocks B and D running for 2.5 hours each
Please join our School Council on Thursday evening for our second guest of our Speaker Series. Katie Dudtschak of RBC will share her gender affirming experience with CTV’s Dana Levenson via Zoom on April 28 at 8:00 p.m. To register and learn more, please see the Message from School Council below.
Sincerely,
Yvette Duffy, Principal Joseph Ghassibe, Vice Principal Anita Love, Vice Principal
In this issue:
- The Next Two Weeks at a Glance
- Sports Update – Go, Falcons, Go!
- Celebrating Prom! Tickets On Sale – Monday through Friday this week
- Late Start – Wednesday, April 27 – Classes Begin at 10:00 a.m.
- Student Council 2022/2023 Campaigning Begins on Monday, April 25
- Apprenticeship Information Session – Tuesday, April 26 @ 11:00 a.m.
- Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Memorial Day Virtual Assembly – April 28th at 1:30 p.m.
- Report Card Distribution – Friday, April 29
- Mental Health Week – May 2 to May 6
- Messages from Guidance
- Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
- Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
- Worth Mentioning Again…OSSLT Important Upcoming Dates
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.
Sports Update – Go, Falcons, Go!
Badminton: Congratulations to nine of our Badminton team players who will proudly represent Forest Hill in the South Regionals this week! Good luck to all of these players and a special thank you to Ms. Brown who is our staff sponsor!
Basketball: Our Senior Boys Varsity Basketball team made it to the finals last week! All players worked hard in the final championship game against Riverdale! Our students made Forest Hill proud as we placed second overall! Thank you to Mr. Billinghurst for all of his efforts in coaching our team towards this success!
Hockey: Our Senior Boys Hockey team worked really hard this season – winning some and keeping their spirits high! A great team effort, along with some great plays and saves were made. Congrats! A shout out to Mr. Ketchum and Mr. Doyhenard for all their support of our hockey team!
Celebrating Prom! Tickets On Sale – Monday through Friday this week
Graduating students attended a Prom Assembly last Friday morning that outlined the following:
When: Thursday, May 26
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Where: Liberty Grand on the CNE grounds
Theme: ‘Met’ Gala
Price: $90
Students were reminded of our policies and expectations for student and guest behaviour at all school sanctioned events as outlined in the Forest Hill Student Handbook and TDSB Code of Conduct. More information can also be found in the TDSB Chart of Consequences.
After the assembly, grade 12 students and their families received an email reiterating these expectations with a link to School Cash Online to purchase prom tickets. Students are also welcome to bring cash or cheque on Monday at lunch to the foyer where the Prom Committee will also be selling tickets.
Starting on Monday and throughout this week at lunch, students will be able to select their seats and table arrangements by connecting with the Prom Committee in the foyer. In order to reserve seats, students will need to present their proof of payment if using School Cash Online or present their cash/cheque. If purchasing a ticket will cause a student or family financial hardship, please reach out to Ms. Halas or an administrator for support.
Again, we are very excited to be hosting Prom for our graduating class this year! Thank you to our Prom Committee, our student leaders Daniella, Jake and Danielle, along with our Prom Committee staff advisors - Ms. Halas and Mr. Oosterhoff – for all they are doing to ensure that we have the best Prom ever!
Late Start – Wednesday, April 27 – Classes Begin at 10:00 a.m.
This Wednesday will be a late start to allow for our monthly Staff Meeting. Classes will begin at 10:00 a.m. for students.
Student Council 2022/2023 Campaigning Begins on Monday, April 25
The morning announcements this week will provide important information, along with these important dates:
- April 25 – Campaigning Begins
- April 27 – Elections Videos Posted for Viewing
- April 28 – Elections Held in Period 1 Homeforms
- April 29 – New Student Council Announced
Our Student Council is elected by the student body and elections are held each year. 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.
Good luck to all students who choose to run for a position. Thank you to Ms. Pawlowski and Mr. Ghassibe for all they do to support our Student Council.
Apprenticeship Information Session – Tuesday, April 26 @ 11:00 a.m.
Students are invited to attend an Apprenticeship Information Session in Room 245 on Tuesday April 26th at 11:00 a.m. This information session will introduce TDSB programs related to apprenticeship including: Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), Accelerated OYAP, Pre-Apprenticeship Cooperative Education Program (PACE), STEP to Transportation and STEP to Construction. All interested students should confirm their interest by linking to and completing this form: Apprenticeship Information Session.
Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Memorial Day Virtual Assembly – April 28th at 1:30 p.m.
On Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Memorial Day on April 28th at 1:30 p.m. our school will live stream speaker, Josh Gerstein, who will share the experience of his aunt Myrna Sandler. Link to learn more about Josh Gerstein and his Aunt Myran Sandler.
Our grade 10 classes during period D will join this event. The event will take about 45 minutes with an optional 10-to-15-minute question and answer period. Thank you in advance to our Jewish Student Union who plan to introduce and thank our guest!
Mental Health Week – May 2 to May 6
Our COPE Council will be running various activities during the week of May 2nd to raise awareness and support mental health. There will be many activities taking place before school and at lunch. Workshops will also be offered to classes and teachers can sign up their class to participate. More information will be coming next week! Stay tuned!
Thank you to our COPE Council and Ms. Ng for all they are doing to support our students and mental health.
Messages from Guidance
TDSB Summer Credit Programs - eLearning, in-person and virtual options – NEW DATES
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 now on Monday, May 9.
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 now Monday, May 2. To learn more: check out the comparison chart of the two programs posted on the FHCI Guidance Site.
Application to summer Cooperative Education programs has been extended to Friday, April 29. Visit FHCI Guidance Site for more information.
New Scholarships - Check This Out!
Several new scholarship opportunities have been added to the FHCI Guidance Site. Click here to see all the postings.
Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations Offers Annual Bursaries
The Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations provides graduating students of Jamaican descent with access to bursaries each year. Link to AJAA Graduates Program information sheet or this flyer to learn more about what is available this year. The application and more information can also be found at: https://www.ajaacanada.com/graduates. Application deadline: May 14, 2022.
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
All interested applicants, please link to 2021-2022 KYW Scholarship 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 Speaker Series 2022 – Katie Dudtschak on April 28 @ 8:00 p.m.
Please join us on April 28th @ 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…
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test
On Thursday, April 21, our grade 10 teachers provided an overview of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and our students had an opportunity to write an online practice test.
Important Upcoming OSSLT Dates:
- 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
The Ministry of Education requires all grade 10 students to write the OSSLT and it is a mandatory graduation requirement. Remember that this test assesses grade 9 literacy skill development.