Spring 2015
GCVI
Connection
| Your connection to your school council
A message from GCVI
school council co-chairs:
Allison Terry & Dirk Steinke
Be informed. Be involved.
School councils are an excellent way for you to
get involved in your child’s education.
Unlike many other school councils, GCVI’s
council is not burdened with such time
consuming initiatives as fund raising or school
event-planning. What makes our school council
different is its commitment to address the
questions, concerns and interests the parents
have about children’s time spent at this school.
We, as parents, can help our children make the
best of their high school years by helping them
make wise decisions. As parents, we understand
more than anyone else how our child learns and
processes information. However, in order to do
this we need to stay informed. That is where
our School Council helps by providing room for
parent learning and as you can see from our list
of accomplishments on the following page we
had lots of opportunities to learn during our
monthly meetings.
Parents are always welcome to attend our
meetings. The next one will be on April 8th at
7 p.m. in the school library. Why not consider
coming and meeting with other parents and
staff to learn what is really happening at GCVI?!
Dates to remember 2015
School Council April 8
Ministry PA Day (no classes) April 24
Mid-Term Reports
April 20
School Council
May 13
PromMay 22
Awards Assembly
May 28
School Council June 10
Grade 9 EQAO Math
June 11 & 12
Semester 2 Exams
June 17 - 23
Grade 9 Orientation LINK Sept 2 (9:00)
Grades 10 -12 Registration Sept 2 (2-6)
First Day of Classes 2015-16 Sept 8
Summer
School
Students may enrol for summer school courses to earn a new
credit, to make up or upgrade a credit. This year summer school
for Guelph students will take place at John F. Ross SS and will
run from July 6 to July 31, 2015 (8:30 -2:00). Registration will
start mid-April. Applications can be printed from the Continuing
Education tab of the board’s website, and a signature from the
Guidance Department or Principal is required for approval. For
more information, please check the Upper Grand District School
Board website (www.ugdsb.on.ca) and click on the “Continuing
Education” tab at the top of the page. A brochure explaining details
is coming soon. Did you know that some courses are available
through e-learning as well? Check it out.
“The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
GCVI School Council
Accomplishments
2014/2015
1. Held eight well attended meetings
First meeting - choosing our topics for the attached meetings and
their speakers and Group Discussion around new website
University and College application process - Aline Cool
Special Programmes at GCVI and Beyond - Co-op opportunities-Dawn Nicholdon
- Launch - Kelly Mcculough/Chris VanBeurden
- Culinary Arts - Tekin Guroluk
- Urban Arts Made in Guelph - Jeff Bersche/Kelly McCullough
- Celp, Headwaters,DaVinci - video presentation
Youth in the Work Force - Lisa Sanvido and Catherine Moon
Mental Health issues in Secondary school students and Supports
available Dr Lynn Woodford (psychologist)
Student Leadership SL programme, Link. Tutoring, DECCA Gerard
Guthro and Steve Fleming
Learning Resources available - time management -Tanya Drimmie
2. Maintained display board and display case.
3. Published and distributed newsletters to parents at the fall and
spring Parent Teacher interview night.
4. Supported Breakfast Club through promotion in the school
Newsletters and mid-term report cards to solicit food and cash
donations.
5. Hosted reception for graduates and their families.
6. Hosted two staff appreciation events.
7. Advertised a Career Fair in November.
8. Kept Council website updated. (you can include as we are
working on the website)
9. Revised Q & A for parents on the school’s website.
10 Participated in presentations on Grade 8 and 9 Information
Nights.
11 Participated in presentations and had an information table at
Grade 9 and Grade 8 information nights.
12. Council member represented parents on GCVI’s Safe and
Inclusive Schools Committee, participated in events, and regularly
reported back to Council at meetings.
13. Council provided ideas and information parents want on the
new School website.
14. Participated in the PIC event 2015
Where is Mike Holmes
when you need him…
Website
Update
As many of you may have noticed, GCVI’s website
has been in renovation mode for quite a while. Like
many home renovations, there have been glitches
and unforeseen problems which have extended
the time line. This has meant that refurbishing the
school council tab and keeping information up to
date has not been possible.
Nevertheless, we’d like you to know that
council has been in conversation with the school’s
administration about progress, and we are
reassured that lots of work has been done behind
the scenes to make the new website more dynamic
and informative. In anticipation of its completion,
council is discussing the content we would like to
see on our tab. Ideas being tossed around include:
posting council agendas, publishing summaries
and handouts from our speakers, including links
to organizations (e.g., People for Education) that
parents might find interesting/helpful, keeping
the dates to remember and school events up to
date, and so on.
We would also like to set up a new position on
council who oversees the content and links with
administration. If you have ideas, let us know!
STAFF AND STUDENT MEMBERS
Julie Prendergast
Principal
Jeni Vaughan
Vice Principal (A - K)
Joe Burns
Vice Principal (L to Z)
Julie Reed
Staff Representative
Jenn Bheemsingh
Student Senate
Tracy Tran
Student Senate
Allison Terry
Co-Chair
Rose Freigang
Secretary
Dirk Steinke
Co-Chair
Birgit Niggebaum-Purvis Photographer
Iris Lambert
Attendance
Thank you to all of the council members for their
interest and volunteering their time throughout
the year at various GCVI events.
Johnny
Barnes
The statue pictured on the left is that of
Johnny Barnes. He is a 91-year-old former
electrician and bus driver who lives in
Bermuda. Barnes was born 1923 and, at
an early age, worked as an electrician for
the Bermuda Railroad. When it closed
in 1948, he found employment driving
busses, a job he’d hold for nearly forty
years. He developed a reputation in the
small nation of about 60,000 as being
extraordinarily friendly, but not simply
because he greeted people with a smile as they entered his bus. Barnes
had a habit of waving to pedestrians and other drivers while on his route.
In or around 1986, Barnes apparently retired as a bus driver and made
greeting his commuters his full time job. His ritual – which started in the
1940s – has him starting as early as 3:45 am. Monday through Friday.
Barnes arrives at the Crow Lake traffic circle wearing a straw hat. He
spends the next six hours walking around, waving, smiling, and greeting
commuters with positive messages.
In 1998, local businesses unveiled the statue above which was
commissioned by famous artist Desmond Fountain in his honour, and in
2011 an American film maker made a ten-minute documentary about his
life titled “Mr. Happy Man” which can be viewed on YouTube.
A second statue was commissioned by the Keenan family who are
residents of Toronto. The family came to know Barnes as they frequently
travelled to Bermuda. They became enthralled with Johnny Barnes and
what he represents to the citizens of Bermuda. The second statue was
erected on their property in Caledon. Mr Pat Keenan recently passed
away and as a result the property in Caledon was sold. When I learned
of this, I made an inquiry to Barb Keenan (Pat’s wife) to see if the family
would consider donating the stature to GCVI. The family has graciously
agreed to this request. Although Johnny Barnes is not a graduate of GCVI,
or a resident of Guelph or Canada for that matter, he does represent the
welcoming spirit that we pride ourselves on. In addition, Johnny Barnes
represents diversity. This aligns with and compliments out beliefs as a
school. In addition, Johnny Barnes connects with our goal to become
an International Baccalaureate World School. GCVI strives to embed
international mindedness, including global awareness and respect for
diversity, into the collective school culture.
The hope is to erect the statue on the Paisley Road
side of the school in the fall of 2015. Johnny Barnes
would welcome students, staff and community
members alike into our wonderful building. We are
in the process of thinking about ways to connect
students to the statue. Suggestions have already
come forward. One staff member thought that we
should have a “Johnny Barnes” award. This award
would be presented to a student, staff member or
community member who demonstrates kindness and
a welcoming spirit. Your feedback and suggestions
are welcome.
Julie Prendergast
The
Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is housed at St. James Church
(corner of Paisley and Glascow) and run by a team of
dedicated volunteers every school day. Doors are open
from 7:30 to 8:30 and all GCVI students are welcome to
drop in. Donations of food items can be made directly
by members of the school community by dropping them
off directly to St. James (especially if they need to be
refrigerated), or by bringing them to monthly council
meetings and parent teacher interviews. Monetary
donations are also welcome. A shopping list of items that
the Club regularly needs is provided below.
• Refrigerated cheese bars
(not spreadable cheese or sliced)
• Tetra juice boxes (100% juice)
• Large cans of pure fruit juice or apple cider
• Cereals (Honeycomb, Corn Pops, Cheerios,
Mini-Wheat’s Oatmeal Crisp)
• Instant Oatmeal (individual servings)
• Bread
• English Muffins
Thank you for your support.
For more information, please contact Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
155 Paisley Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 2P3
Tel: (519) 824-9800 Fax: (519) 822-5962
www.ugdsb.on.ca/gcvi