Last week began with classes joining our Jack.org mental health presentation on Monday afternoon. Youth mental health advocates were streamed into our classes to share knowledge, signs of struggle, and supports. Thank you to FHCI’s own Jack.org Club and Ms. Burnip for organizing this important event for us!
Lots of Kernel’s popcorn was sold in the foyer last Tuesday to raise funds to support our school. Thank you to the parents and guardians of our School Council who continue to raise money to support initiatives at Forest Hill.
Our Youth Workers, Mr. Bell and Ms. Smith, organized Giant Jenga face offs in the courtyard again last week! Competitions are held on Wednesdays and Fridays and all students and staff are invited to compete! Sign up with Ms. Smith this week in G27.
Signage went up in our halls last week for our upcoming Student Vote. Our current civics classes, with the support of Mr. Billinghurst and our civics teachers, will bring democracy to all our students in the weeks ahead culminating in a mock electoral process by casting their vote for official candidates of the Eglinton-Lawrence riding on June 1.
Forest Hill will be hosting an official polling station on June 2 to make easier for our community members to vote. More information will be shared in the next newsletter. All our students who are 18+ should consider voting in the upcoming election. Find out more about registering by linking to Elections Ontario.
Join us this Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium for Sounds of Spring! We are very excited to be hosting an evening of live in-person music that will showcase the Falcon musical talent! Thank you to Ms. Simas and our Music Directorate for making this happen!
Sincerely,
Yvette Duffy, Principal Joseph Ghassibe, Vice Principal Anita Love, Vice Principal2
In this issue:
- The Next Two Weeks at a Glance
- Current Grades Shared with Students – May 16 through May 19
- Full Disclosure of Marks – Friday, May 20
- Graduating Students – Valedictorian Nomination Closes Monday, May 16
- COPE Council 2022-2023 – Applications and Information Session – Monday, May 16 @ Lunch
- PISA – Program for International Student Assessment – Monday, May 16
- Late Start – Wednesday, May 18 – Classes Begin @ 10:00 a.m.
- University of Waterloo Chemistry Exams – Grade 11s on May 19
- Sounds of Spring Concert – Thursday, May 19 @ 7:00 p.m.
- International Youth Club Celebrates 15 Years at FHCI – Wednesday, May 25
- Athletic Council Elections – Applications Due on Friday, May 27
- TPH Vaccination Clinic – Saturday, June 11 @ 1:00 p.m.
- Messages from Guidance
- Messages from School Council – Chair Tracy Kowal
- Trustee Laskin’s Weekly Updates
- Worth Mentioning Again…Yearbook, Respect for School Property, Commencement Awards
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.
Current Grades Shared with Students – May 16 through May 19
All teachers will share an up-to-date electronic grade breakdown with all students by Thursday, May 19. This will be shared with students via their TDSB email.
Full Disclosure of Marks – Friday, May 20
The Full Disclosure of Marks date for all secondary schools is this Friday, May 20. Students have now completed approximately 75% of each course and will need to decide whether to continue in or drop a course. If a student plans to drop a course, they must visit Guidance to access the paper drop form and return the form to their Guidance Counsellor by end of school day on Thursday, May 19. Doing so will ensure our office has time to process the request by the Friday deadline. Missing this timeline will mean that the course mark will appear on the official student transcript that is shared with post-secondary institutions.
Graduating Students – Valedictorian Nomination Closes Monday, May 16
The Valedictorian represents the grade 12 graduating class and delivers the valedictory at commencement. Graduating students are nominated for this role and voted on by their peers.
On Monday, May 9 grade 12 students received an email with a Google form to complete for the Valedictorian Nomination. Students will require a staff endorsement to complete the form. Students are asked to obtain permission from the staff member before completing the form. The deadline for submission is Monday, May 16. Voting will take place on Thursday, May 19 during Grade 12 period 1 classes.
COPE Council 2022-2023 – Applications and Information Session – Monday, May 16 @ Lunch
COPE Council was created in the 2015/2016 to help students deal with the pressures of high school. Today, our council initiates fun activities, promotes ways to improve mental health and reduce the stress, while also encouraging healthy mindsets and mindfulness. All students are welcome to apply for general membership or executive positions with COPE Council. Get involved with supporting mental health initiatives next year! Find out more and pick up an application at our information session at lunch in Guidance on Monday, May 16.
PISA – Program for International Student Assessment – Monday, May 16
On Monday, May 16, 53 randomly selected grade 10s will participate in Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The parents and guardians of the 53 selected students were notified by email sent by VP Anita Love.
PISA measures the reading, mathematics and science skills of 15-year olds across 80 countries. The Ontario Ministry of Education randomly selects schools and students to participate in this assessment every three years. This is a mandatory test for the selected students.
Note: grade 10 students who are not participating will continue with a regular daily schedule and classes.
Late Start – Wednesday, May 18 – Classes Begin @ 10:00 a.m.
This Wednesday will be a late start for students to allow for our monthly professional learning session. Classes will begin at 10:00 a.m.
University of Waterloo Chemistry Exams – Grade 11s on May 19
Each year the University of Waterloo hosts chemistry exams for students across Ontario.
- Grade 11s can compete in the Avogadro's Exam on Thursday, May 19 during period 3.
All chemistry students were informed about this opportunity in their chemistry class. Students were required to sign up with Ms. Pupovac in the Science Department last week. Students are also responsible to communicate to their period 3 teacher that they will be sitting this exam and are responsible to make up any missed period 3 work. More information can be found at: University of Waterloo Chemistry Exam page. Thank you to Ms. Pupovac who is organizing this opportunity for our chemistry students!
Sounds of Spring Concert – Thursday, May 19 @ 7:00 p.m.
As mentioned in the introduction, our Music Directorate, under the sponsorship of Ms. Simas, is organizing the Sounds of Spring Concert on evening of Thursday, May 19. There are lots of fantastic performances planned and we hope that our community will join us at 7:00 p.m. to celebrate our musical talent!
When: Thursday, May 19th at 7:00pm
Where: FHCI Auditorium
Tickets: Available at the Door
Ticket Cost: Varies from Free to $10 per ticket
- FHCI students: Free
- Adults: $10
- Youth (ages 12-18): $5
- Children under 12: Free
International Youth Club Celebrates 15 Years at FHCI – Wednesday, May 25
Our International Youth Club (formerly known as Newcomer Club) will be celebrating 15 years on Wednesday, May 25! All students and staff are invited to join us at lunch in the courtyard (or the main foyer if there is rain). Supported by our Settlement Worker, Ms. Valentina, our students are preparing to celebrate with music, cake and activities.
Athletic Council Elections – Applications Due on Friday, May 27
Athletic Council Elections are coming up! Athletic Council is a leadership group that is responsible for organizing various school wide events and activities. Members of the Athletic Council are the force behind school spirit! They lead many events, run lunch time intramurals, keep score for home sports games, organize the Terry Fox Run and historically have thrown pep rallies each semester. Applications are due on Friday, May 27.
Thank you to Ms. Homatidis and Ms. Ibe for all they do to support our Athletic Council.
TPH Vaccination Clinic – Saturday, June 11 @ 1:00 p.m.
The Toronto Public Health will be hosting a Vaccination Clinic at Forest Hill Collegiate on Saturday, June 11 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This clinic will provide vaccinations that may have been missed owing to the lack of TPH clinics in schools during Covid-19. More information will be coming soon.
Messages from Guidance
How To Finance Your Post-Secondary Education Workshop – Tuesday, May 17 - Library
A representative from George Brown College will be speaking to our students about ways to finance their post-secondary education, applicable to both university and college. Students will learn about the OSAP applications, bursaries & scholarship opportunities, and budgeting. All students are encouraged to attend. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 17 at lunch in the Forest Hill library.
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.
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.
To learn more: check out the comparison chart of these two programs posted on the FHCI Guidance Site.
Important: Upon registration in eLearning and Continuing Education courses, students will receive an e-mail with the parent and guardian consent form attached. The consent form must be completed and submitted to our Guidance office before Guidance Counsellors can approve the course request.
New Postings on FHCI Guidance Site
Check out what’s new under the Opportunities, Volunteering, Job Postings, and Post-Secondary pages! Our pages are updated weekly with lots of new information for our students and community.
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
Speaker Series: Dr Robyne Hanley-Dafoe – Tuesday, May 24 at 8:00 p.m.
Please join us for the third and final instalment of our Online Speaker Series: Embracing Change with Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe.
Described as one of the most sought-after, engaging, thought-provoking, and truly transformative international speakers and scholars in her field, Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe is a multi-award-winning psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, and personal wellness. Her keynotes provide practical strategies, grounded in global research and case studies, that help foster resiliency within ourselves and others.
When: Tuesday May 24, 2022 at 8pm
Where: Virtual using Zoom
Register: EventBrite Dr Robyne Hanley-Dafoe
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…
Forester Yearbook – Call for Donations
As mentioned in previous newsletters, it would be great to be able to give every student the special memento of the school yearbook. If you would like to contribute to the yearbook, please do so through School Cash Online by linking to: Forester Yearbook Donation. If you have already donated, thank you!
Respecting School Property – We Need Your Support!
We want Forest Hill Collegiate to be your home away from home. We hope to create a caring, welcoming and respectful community. Over the last few months, we have been working hard to clean up and repair our bathroom spaces. We feel we are doing this in vain as our washrooms are constantly being vandalized. Such repairs are costly and unfortunately lead to the closure of bathroom facilities. Recently, we repaired all the issues on the Ground and 100 series washrooms only to find that within a day or two of these spaces being fixed, they were being vandalized. We wish to remind students of the school’s expectations and student responsibilities. Please consider treating the school bathrooms as you would treat your own at home - that is with respect. Thank you to all our students who do this every day!
Graduating Students – Commencement Awards Application Available in Main Office
It’s that time of year when graduation awards applications become available to graduating students. We have four awards that are available to graduating students to apply for:
Lieutenant Governor Volunteer Award
A graduating student selected by their school’s award committee for exemplary community contribution or outstanding achievement through volunteer activity.
School Key Award
The School Key is the highest honour Forest Hill Collegiate bestows on those graduating students who have made an outstanding contribution to the school through their leadership and participation in extracurricular activities. All students interested in this award must be supported by a staff member through a reference letter.
School Council Awards
Two graduating students are selected to receive this award. Recipients must have an excellent academic record, participated in a broad range of school activities, while also demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and acted as an excellent role model.
School Council Award – Citizenship Awards
This award is presented annually by the School Council to two graduating students who were excellent role models demonstrating leadership skills combined with great school spirit.
All applications are available at the front counter in the Main Office and are due on or before Tuesday, May 31. Graduating students are encouraged to carefully read the instructions as the criteria differs depending on the award.