College Heights Secondary School
December 2013 Newsletter
Building Success!
Principal’s Report
As I write this, I am enjoying the snow falling and am reminded what a great school this is and what
a pleasure it is to serve this school community. Although it has been very busy couple of months with our
Stand-Up-To-Bullying assembly, Holiday Luncheon, and end of December activities this semester has been
one of calm efficiency with teachers working hard to support student learning. As some might know, with new
hiring practices there have been challenges in getting qualified personnel in some of our specialty areas, and
we appreciated the patience of our students and caregivers as we managed this process. As well, the elves in
the bakeshop have been working like crazy to make and fulfill orders, and as usual the smells
coming from C-hall are quite distracting.
This interim reporting process is an extra report that most schools do to provide a snapshot as
to whether credits are in jeopardy. If you have questions about this report, please feel free to
contact subject teachers after the winter holidays. Our hope is that if students are experiencing
a lack of success at this point, we can still, with our parents help, get things back on track .
As we head into the last few weeks of our semester, I encourage parents to communicate with
their students to ensure that outstanding work is completed and notes are organized. Encourage your child to
access as much extra help as possible in order to be successful. Exams are just around the corner! As well,
if there is an issue with semester 2 timetables, please make sure your child sees a guidance counselor or
resource teacher sooner rather than later.
Exams begin on January 23rd and all exams start promptly at 9 am. In the event of inclement weather missed
exams will be rescheduled to the following day. Our schedule as always is as follows: Thursday, January 23rd
- period 1 exams, Friday, January 24th - period 2 exams, Monday, January 27th - period 3 exams and Tuesday,
January 28th - period 4 exams. Please note that buses follow their normal schedules so if you want your child
to return home after their exams each day, you will need to make alternative arrangements. Second semester
classes will begin again on Friday January 31, 2014. I wish all College Heights families a healthy and happy
Holiday season. Enjoy the Holidays!!!
Stephen Gayfer, Principal
Sparkles in the Park
To help Guelph celebrate the holiday season,
Ms.Parks' Co-op class assisted the Rotary Club in
decorating Riverside Park. For four days they set up
lights and displays to illuminate the park for the
holidays. Using wire, ladders, generators, LED lights
and our teamwork skills, over 50 trees were
decorated as well as many buildings and park
installations.
Be sure to take your friends and family to
Riverside Park over the holidays to see our
handiwork. This is another great example of
College Heights making our community a
“brighter” place to live. The Sparkles in the Park
display operates daily
December 14 - 31 (5:30 - 9:30) with a special New
Year’s Eve Fireworks (beginning at 8:00 pm).
The Bakeshop
staff and students
worked diligently for days
filling the many orders. They
prepared over 1,800 mini
tarts, 1,584 regular tarts,
over 9,000 cookies, a village of
gingerbread houses with a
population of 120 villagers,
over 660 truffles, and numerous sweet trays
for holiday parties! Thanks to Ms. Yates,
Mrs. Conley, Mrs. Furfaro and their students.
Also thanks to all staff who helped whenever
they had a few minutes before and after
school, during their lunch and whenever a
spare minute was available. It was through
this team effort that all the orders were filled.
Well done!
The Hospitality staff and
students were busy
preparing a true holiday
feast! Their numbers are
just as amazing - 280 lbs of
turkey, 70 lbs carrots, 30 lbs
brussels sprouts, 28 litres of
gravy, 165 lbs potatoes, 30 dozen
buns, 45 lbs Christmas pudding,
10 lbs of elbow grease and 1 very
tired chef. We served 450 meals.
Thanks to Chef, Mr. Doucette,
Mrs. Furfaro, and their
hardworking hospitality students.
Also thanks to the many staff who
helped serve this tasty dinner. A true
TEAM event demonstrating the
kindness and hard work of this
HUSKY family!
Semester End/Exam Schedule
Applause
 Ms. Parks’ and Ms. Johnston’s science
classes recently participated in a waste audit
to help our school reduce our footprint!
 During “Movember” we raised $600 in
memory of Tommy Kostal, our custodian who recently
passed away. We donated the proceeds to Hospice
Wellington.
 During December we “Adopted a Family.”
We fundraised for this by selling candy
grams and hot chocolate and holding a
bucket drive.
 The Leadership class ran
a clothing drive, collected canned goods
and organized a “Door Decorating” contest.
Snow Day or Not?
When there is a possibility of a snow day
here are some tips that will help you
determine whether or not the buses are
running and/or the school is closed.
 Call the school 519-821-4510 and
press 8. This number will give you the
updated bus and school information
for that day. The phone line is
generally updated daily by 7:00 am
 Listen to the radio. Guelph stations
are MAGIC 106.1 FM or
CJOY 1460 AM.
 Check the Upper Grand District School
Board website at www.ugdsb.on.ca
and find the school bus. Click on the
“School Bus Cancellations and
School Closures” and you will find
the latest information for Cancelled
and Late Running buses.
Wednesday, Last day of regular classes. Encourage
January 22 your student to complete all outstanding
assignments and projects.
During the exams
 Buses run as usual. Drop-off & Pick-up at usual time.
 If any of the buses into College Heights are cancelled or
the school is closed, the exam schedule will be moved
by 1 day, eg. if the buses are not running January 24,
period 2 exam would be on January 27, period 3 on
January 28 and so on.
 Call 519-821-4510 and press 8 to get the most up-todate information of bus cancellations and how they
affect the exam schedule.
 Cafeteria is open during lunch, Soup and sandwiches
are available during lunch for purchase.
 Students will have a chance to complete assignments
with the help of their teachers until lunch each day and
can work independently in the cafeteria and library to
also complete assignments.
 All exams are written in the regularly-scheduled
classroom. Students with an IEP are eligible for
alternate settings. Arrangements are made between the
classroom teacher and the resource teacher.
 If your student is sick, call the school before 9:00
am, press 0. Do not leave a message.
 Timetable Changes for Semester 2 are done during the
first week of Semester 2 in Guidance.
Thursday, January 23
Period 1 Exam (9:00 to 11:30)
Friday, January 24
Period 2 Exam (9:00 to 11:30)
Monday, January 27
Period 3 Exam (9:00 to 11:30)
Tuesday, January 28
Period 4 Exam (9:00 to 11:30)
Wednesday, January 29 Rescheduled Exams
Thursday, January 30
School is closed to students.
Friday, January 31
Semester 2 starts. Students will
receive a new timetable this day.
Green Industries
Holiday Boutique
Decorated Doors
Mark Your Calendars….
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December 20 - January 5 - Winter Break
January 15, 6:30 - Grade 8 Parent Info Night
January 16, 6:30 - School Council Meeting
January 16-17 - EQAO Math Test (Grade 9January 23
-29 - Exams
January 30 - P.A. Day-School is closed to students
January 31 - Semester 2 starts
February 11 - Semester 2 Photo Day (am)
February 14 - Report Cards mailed home (Sem.1)
February 17 - Family Day Holiday
March 3 - Grad Photos (all day) by appt only
Ms. Peterson’s Green Industries classes held
their second annual Holiday Boutique. There
was a large variety of designer arrangements,
glitter cones, door swags, handmade ornaments,
bows, outdoor patio planters, assorted tropical
plants, and much more! Ms. Beatson’s,
Mr. Hearn’s and Mr. Waring’s classes also
contributed to this event. Great job!