A V ORUM

HONOR I

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School

SIR WILFRID LAURIER SECONDARY SCHOOL

Home of the Lancers

AD SUMMA TENDEMUS

Principal’s Message

We Strive for the Highest

April 2014

Here we are in the last few months of school already and there is much happening at the school.

Principal B. Armstrong Vice-Principals K. Gagner A. Penney

Thanks are extended to our School Resource Officer, Constable Jason Mallett, for his informative presentations to students via grade assemblies on the topic of keeping oneself safe in cyberspace. Our music and drama students and staff recently presented the musical My Fair Lady to students

School Council Co-Chairs E. Gratton L. Kinnie Superintendent N. Yorke-Slader Trustee J. Shea Telephone 613-875-7432

our Conflict & Crisis class, allowed students the authentic and experiential learning opportunities that make their studies personal, real and impactful.

Inside this issue: Principal’s Message

1

Eastern Europe Tour

2

We Day

2

Walk for Water

2

Relay for Life

2

Student Services

3

Science

3

Global Studies

4

Sir Wil Players

4

Dates to Remember

4

We’re on the web: http://www.sirwil.com

and staff at a matinée performance as well as to members of our community at three evening shows. The entire cast, crew and band delivered a wonderful presentation that will be in contention for the prestigious Cappies awards. Thanks to the excellent direction of Ms. Schrum, Mr. Simard and Mr. Taylor. Congratulations are extended to teachers Ms. Leduc and Ms. Morton, along with their student organizers, for two terrific events: a Human Library on April 17th, and a youth conference on April 23rd attended by 350 OCDSB students recognizing the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Mass Atrocities. Both events, organized by

Livestream video of both events is available at www.livestream.com ⇒Click on pale grey “Search events” field ⇒Type in “Laurier Live” You will hear of many other school based initiatives that are reaching out to others in need. It is heartwarming to be the Principal at a school that continues to do good for others in the community. Our exam period starts on June 19th and finishes at the end of the day on June 25th. Students and families are reminded that it is school and Board policy that exams are written at school during this prescribed period and that families must make sure to arrange holiday schedules outside of these dates. Thank you.

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We Strive for the Highest

Tour to Eastern Europe Nine grade 9 students and their teacher Ms. Cheung left Ottawa on Saturday, March 8th, for an adventure to Eastern Europe. They flew overnight to Berlin and saw the Berlin Wall, the famous Pergamon Museum, and the television tower (with views of the whole city) on the first day. Before they left Berlin for Dresden, they photographed the city from the gorgeous, glass-domed Reichstag, ate ice cream at the Brandenburg Gate, visited WWII memorials at Treptow Park, the Topography of Terror museum, and Checkpoint Charlie, and strolled the grounds at Moritzburg Castle (aka Jenna's castle). After a family lunch in Baroque Dresden, they visited a bone church in Kutna Hora, the Czech Republic, before arriving in Prague to visit the Golden Lane, the Astronomical Clock, St. Charles Bridge, and more churches, castles and cobbles. Then came the highlight of their trip, a powerful and unforgettable tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland.

We Day On May 9th nearly 60 students from Sir Wilfrid Laurier had the opportunity to attend the National We Day at Canadian Tire Centre. Students were inspired by the likes of Martin Luther King III and Craig and Marc Kielburger. In addition, our very own Faduma Wais received one of four Caring Canadian awards presented by our Governor General for her exceptional volunteer work and compassion. Faduma well-represents the Sir Wil student body and their commitment to helping others.

Afterwards, they took a horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic centre of Kraków, before a visit to Oskar Schindler's factory and a 3 km walk 433 feet underground at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. They caught a glimpse of Slovakia in Bianska Bistrica before arriving in Budapest, where Hungarian artists sang, danced, and played music during their dinner, followed by a cruise on the Danube River to see the city lights. They ended their trip in Vienna, with more castles (Schonbrunn), churches (St. Stephen's and St. Peter's), and cobblestoned squares for family

meals (Sacher torte, apple strudel, and other delectable pastries). They left warm and sunny Vienna for cold and snowy Ottawa on March 19th. Until next time! mile in the shoes of someone in the developing world without access to clean water will be used to support sanitation projects in our sister village in Sierra Leone.

Relay for Life Lancers will be taking part in Relay for Life on May 30th from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. If you are interested in volunteerWalk for Water ing or are a cancer survivor willSir Wil students will once again ing to take part in our Survivors’ be Walking for Water on May Victory lap, please contact Mr. 16th. All funds raised from our Rama at [email protected] annual learning journey to Petrie Island to gather water and walk a to get involved.

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We Strive for the Highest

Student Services Algonquin Connections Student Services is organizing a field trip to Algonquin College on April 30th for their annual program sampler called Algonquin Connections. Gr. 10 and 11 students are invited to spend a day attending classes in a program of their choice. Opportunities include such diverse offerings as animation, radio broadcasting, manufacturing engineering and veterinary technician. Contact Student Services to enquire about remaining spaces. College and University Applications Many students have received offers for the programs to which they applied. College applicants must confirm their acceptance of an offer of admissions before May 1st. Applicants to Ontario universities do not need to respond to offers of admission before June 2nd. Students are asked not to panic if they have not received an offer yet. Final university offers do not arrive until the first two weeks of May with May 29th being the latest students can expect to hear.

French as a Second Language Homework Help Online homework help is available in French for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students: ♦

www.fslhomeworktoolbox.ca

♦

http://voilalearning.com/english/online-tutoring-infrench

Science Mrs. Stewart's SNC 1P Science class has just completed the Ecology Unit and is moving forward to the Space Unit. We have eight closed ecosystems: plant (producer), fish (consumer) and snail (decomposer) which have survived for more than three weeks to date. If everything remains in balance these ecosystems can survive for the lifetime of

Students who have questions/concerns about their application are encouraged to see their counsellor and/or consult the OCAS (college) or OUAC (university) website. Co-op program For information on the co-op program at Sir Wil and current placements, please go to our new website at http://goo.gl/kmcLs. Live It Up Club Sir Wil Live It Up club presented a second wellness day in April. A small group of female students spent the day practicing mindfulness, limbering up with various yoga poses. Participants also participated in a nutritious lunch and ended the day with a round table discussion on the importance of maintaining overall wellness. Cycling enthusiasts can look forward to the month of May when Live It Up organizes a canal cycling day. See Mme Vincent for more information. Summer School Please check the list of course offerings and location in the Guidance office. Starting May 1st, students may book an appointment with their guidance counsellor to register for their summer school course.

the fish or snail. The students race into the classroom each day to see if their ecosystem is still viable! We also planted some starter vegetables and flowers for the school's outdoor gardens. In the next few weeks our larva will arrive so the students can raise painted butterflies. Exciting things happening in science at Sir Wil!!! NOTICE TO PARENTS OF GRADUATING STUDENTS Our school staff is happy to celebrate formally with the graduates at the school-sanctioned commencement. There are, however, a number of other activities associated with graduation, such as the graduation dinner-dance, that are not sanctioned by the OttawaCarleton District School Board or the school, but are organized and managed by the graduation committee. While there may be a student-run “Grad Committee,” it functions as a non-authorized body. Its activities are neither approved nor sanctioned by Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School nor by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

We Strive for the Highest

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SIR WILFRID LAURIER SECONDARY SCHOOL 1515 Tenth Line Road Orleans, Ontario K1E 3E8 Telephone 613-834-4500 Fax 613-834-4511 Student Services Telephone 613-834-4508 Website http://www.sirwil.com

Global Studies Ms. Nizam's grade 10 business class recently entered a provincial competition called Make Your Pitch in which they produced videos pitching a product they created, and Mr. Fyfe’s grade 10 civics class visited Parliament Hill and the Canadian War Museum on April 11th.

Dates to Remember 2013-2014 Tuesday & Wednesday, June 10 & 11

EQAO Grade 9 Math Assessment

Thursday, June 19 to Wednesday, June 25

Final Examinations

Thursday & Friday, June 26 and 27

Secondary Professional Activity Days

Friday, June 27

Commencement— 1:00 p.m.

Friday, June 27

Last Day of School Year

The Human Library

School Council The School Council of Sir Wilfrid Laurier invites all parents and students to a workshop on Financial Management entitled How To Teach Your Children About Money? Another title might be How To Teach Your Parents About Money! It's an opportunity for the whole family to get the free advice of Michael Prime, a Chartered Professional Accountant. Whether you are thinking about managing your income from a student job, or looking at how to save for post -secondary education, this workshop will focus on what we can best do with our money. The workshop will be Tuesday May 20th at 7:00 p.m. in the school library. Hope to see you there! Canadian Blood Services Blood Donor Clinic at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School Friday, May 2nd—4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Sir Wil Players—Scotland Yard Sale Come out and help the Sir Wil Players make it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August 2014. We’re having a Scotland Yard Sale on Saturday, May 3rd—10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Student organizers and some of the 60 fascinating Human Library Books who participated. Check out all the pictures at www.swlcb.weebly.com