Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
Mission *
MISSION STATEMENT
The Christian community of Holy Name of Mary aspires to act justly in its transactions within the school and with the entire global community; love tenderly in
order to nurture academic, emotional, spiritual, physical, artistic and moral growth; and to walk humbly with our God in learning and finding joy in the ways of
creation.
Act Justly by:
a. calling each member of the school community to achieve her best in academic, social, spiritual and physical development;
b. promoting the affirmation of women through the development of leadership qualities and excellence;
c. recognizing and constructively responding to forces of evil and destruction in the world;
d. promoting love as the basis of our academic, administrative and social interactions;
e. acting for peace and acceptance in our school, local, national and global communities;
f. fostering a sense of responsibility for the physical upkeep of the school by everybody, while recognizing the special responsibilities of the custodial staff.
Love Tenderly by:
a. modelling the virtues of faith, hope and charity in our actions to each other through our example;
b. striking an appropriate balance in our expectations of performance between high standards of excellence and individual needs and concerns;
c. providing opportunities to enrich self esteem and to promote and display the wholeness and individuality of the human person through academic
excellence, creative expression, physical, emotional and spiritual growth;
d. living in harmony with nature by recognizing ourselves as an interdependent part of the earth and nurturing the vision of ourselves as healers of the world;
e. recognizing the situation of the student and staff in society, and seeking to alleviate stresses where appropriate;
f. developing respect for one another and tolerance for differences.
Walk Humbly With Our God by:
a. celebrating, thanking, petitioning, listening to, waiting with and revering God;
b. being faithful to Christ, the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Holy Father; recognizing ourselves as part of the pilgrim people of God we call
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
Church;
c. nurturing her well being, and sharing the stories of God in the diverse ways we have according to our differing gifts, be they in our art or our action; letting
God lead us in our personal journeys of conversion towards greater knowledge of creation, gospel centered values, and closer communion with the divine
spirit.
Motto
Our Catholic heritage and school motto:
“Act Justly, Love Tenderly and Walk Humbly with our God.”
Holy Name of Mary has a long tradition of excellence, involvement and service to others.
Catholic Focus
Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary School Focus:
Holy Name of Mary Catholic S.S. is a single gender, all-girls Catholic Secondary School with a projected enrolment of 800 students with 55 teaching and 10
support staff.
Our theme this year is “Opening Doors of Mercy”. This theme connects directly to Pope Francis' call to be a Church of Mercy and his declaration of 2016 as
an extraordinary jubilee year dedicated to divine mercy. As in previous years, our goal is to promote and reinforce the Catholic identity of our school. In
particular, we will continue to address the need for our students to see and experience what is distinctively Catholic about our community and to help them
not only understand but identify with Jesus. The area of focus for this year will be to bring our liturgies and masses to life as we encourage our students to
sing, praise, and bring glory to God.
The uniqueness of our community is to ensure that all students have a caring adult in the community. In addressing the issue of inclusivity, diversity, and
aspiring to make every person in the building feel welcome, we as a staff work towards a common vision, where every student must have a well-rounded
experience in a Catholic virtue-centred community in order to help them make positive choices for their future .
We believe that all students can experience success if given the care, attention and consistent support they need throughout their four years at Holy Name of
Mary.
Core Principles
Catholicity
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
*Holy Name of Mary is founded on gospel values and our virtues are imbedded in our pastoral plan, integrated in the curriculum and demonstrated daily in our
morning reflections, prayers on the PA that begin each period, school and class masses as well as the religious iconography that permeates our building.
*The school's Pastoral Plan gives life to our motto " “Act Justly, Love Tenderly and Walk Humbly with our God” our theme this year is “Rooted in Faith”.
Inclusion and student success, with the image of Christ, sets the path for all pastoral planning activities. Our Pastoral Plan is inclusive and welcomes the input
of all including, Pastoral Team, Religion Department, students, parents and staff alike.
*A large part of our pastoral work is also in providing for the needs of those in our community and in the world. Holy Name has a long and deeply rooted
tradition of giving generously to those in need. This is expressed by raising money, giving time and energy in direct service, and in educating ourselves on
social issues so that we might be better citizens and consumers in our society.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Mathematics
Grade 9 Academic Mathematics: 91%
Grade 9 Applied Mathematics:
68%
Anaysis:
*School results for Academic level students are 3% higher than the respective Board results. Within the last year our Applied Mathematics scores have
increased. However, we continue to work on a number of strategies, including the three part lesson, after school programs to help bridge the gap for our at
risk students and various strategies of differentiated instruction including incorporating the use of e-learning strategies into our classes. We continue to work
on reducing the gap between our academic and applied level students.
Literacy
OSSLT results for First-Time Eligible Students: 92%
OSSLT results for Previously Eligible Students: N/A
Analysis:
*School results in the Ontario Literacy test for First-Time Eligible Students are 7% higher than the respective Board results. We have been working on a
number of strategies, including subject specific lessons to enhance literacy, after school programs to help bridge the gap for our at risk students and various
strategies of differentiated instruction.
*Our Literacy Learning Community is concentrating on differentiated instruction for our at risk students, as well as focusing on reading strategies.
Learning Environment Summary
*Holy Name of Mary is a learning environment that is committed to enhancing teaching and learning for all. The school is committed in guiding students
towards their spirital and academic goals.
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
Adult Learning
*Through the establishment of the collaborative inquiry process each school is encouraged to participate in a Professional Learning Cycle that engages all
staff in inquiring about student needs and how we can best support the data to increase the achievement and overall wellbeing of all learners.
*Teachers are continuously encouraged and supported to attend workshops provided by the board and the community at large. They are encouraged to
attend conferences to ensure that they are up to date on the latest ministry initiatives.
*Professional development takes place in-school and out-of-school to support the use of SMART technologies and to increase the use of high yield
instructional strategies like Differentiated Instruction, focus on imbedding numeracy and literacy strategies across the curriculum, and classroom management
programs that increase student engagement and improve classroom learning as well as blended learning and other e-learning initiatives.
*The school also provides cultural proficiency support for new immigrants to help ease their transition to our community through our Social Workers,
Settlement workers and our Guidance department.
Student Learning
*The school programming, guided by Differentiated Instruction, respects the dignity and diversity of all learners, which enhances the learning of our at risk
students. Our students have an equal opportunity to drill down and concentrate on four courses per semester giving the course materials the full
concentation they deserve.
*Throughout the year, Numeracy and Literacy support is provided by classroom teachers. Holy Name of Mary is equipped with the most up to date
SMART technology in 2 Math, 2 Science, 2 English and 1 Social Science room. Each classroom is equipped with a multimedia unit and a computer to help
the teacher bring the program alive in his/her class.
*A supportive community of teaching and non-teaching staff provide on-going support and monitoring for students who experience challenges with
academics, social and emotional issues. Staff meet twice a month to review their intervention strategies. The team includes: Administration, Guidance
Counselors, the School Chaplain, Child Care Worker (CYW), Student Success Teacher (SST), and the Special Education and ESL teachers.
*The HNM Safe School Committee, meets once a month and encourages input and involvement from all community stakeholders. The meetings provide an
opportunity for parents, guardians, staff, administration and students to come together to dialogue about their concerns around safe school matters, to
organize school and parent activities and to build and promote positive dialogue based on core Catholic values.
Community Partnerships
*Holy Name of Mary has grown and settled in the Brampton community in the last 5 years. Our community is hopeful that it will continue to form new
partnerships in order to enhance the visiblity and promote the core values of a Catholic school.
School Partnerships to date include: The Harmony Movement, SHARELIFE and One Voice One Team, Girl's Night In, Family Night and Pumped in Pink.
*Our Student Success Team (SST, Guidance, Sp Ed, ESL, classroom teachers, administration) works together as an instructional team to review the data
available in order to support improved student achievement. Various members of the team meet weekly to review student progress and programs for all
students within our community.
Community Engagement
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
*All are welcome to our meetings and to all events within the school community. As a regional school, all parents know that there is no distance too great, no
issue too large, no parent unwelcomed at HNM. We span this large region with open arms.
*The school team works with various community partners and some excellent examples are YES program co sponsered and delivered by our teachers in
cooperation with Peel Police, Duke of Ed, Harmony Movement, Brampton/Mississauga Youth Program, YMCA, only to name a few. These partnerships have
been ongoing for the last 20 years.
Parish-Home-School
One of our essential goals here at Holy Name of Mary is the collaboration and sharing of stewardship for our children. Our students are our future and they
need all of us to guide them through their faith journey during the critical times of high school. Our pastoral plan was written in collaboration with the pastor of
St. Anthony’s Parish. The priest comes into our religion classes and speaks to our students on various topics. He presides at all of our masses; we participate
in all of the parish’s fundraisers in an effort to help the community.
*A number of activities lend support to social justice groups who are affiliated with the school community. This is demonstrated through our particiation in One
Voice, One Team, our CARES groups, our parish and our school in a common cause, which is to extend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need.
In-School
Holy Name of Mary is a very active community with many extra curricular events that enbrace the parish and home community. Events such as Multi-Cultural
Night, Parent Literacy Workshops, Girls Night In, Family Night, Open House, Grade 8 Information Night, ShareLife Tent City to further the educational and
relational interests of the school community. The school provides community groups with a space to meet and organize. Our school also hosts Parish RCA
meetings and plays in order to increase the connectivity between parish, home and school.
Outside of School
Holy Name is committed to taking the good news message to the greater community. A number of out of school activities model Christ in caring for others in
our world. A group of caring and enthusiastic students calling themselves the CARES group under the direction of our chaplaincy leader and in co-operation
with our Chaplaincy Team are involved in a number of social justice outreach activities in the greater community. Food and clothing drives are organized for
our families in need, Street Patrol, Soup Kitchens, Food bank, Sharelife Fundraising helps students and staff deepen their understanding and faith of
others. Our connectiveness to our parish, St. Anthony of Padua, integrate into the pastoral work of our neighbourhood parish including their work in Birthright.
Our school has embraced our moto to 'Love Tenderly' with our Non Profit High Skills Major (SHSM) in Social Justice. Here at HNM we are looking to
increase our sphere of influence in places that are near and far from home. The School's Specialized High Skills Major is an opportunity for our students to
care for their brothers and sisters abroad, in our poorer community of Northern Ontario and within our own city. We continue to provide help in a variety of
forms to the needy citizens of Brampton.
Physical Environment
Holy Name of Mary has won the Silver Medal from the City of Brampton as an ECO School for the past three years. We are actively promoting green
citizenship. As a community we have gone completely bottleless, we are working at reducing our paper consumption, we have a very dedicated group of staff
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
and students who ensure that we are recycling and reusing paper. Litterless lunches and composting are a large part of our cafeteria program and our Green
Team initiative. The Environmental group is working on a community cleanup project as well as planting more trees, shrubs and flowers to beautify our
school grounds and lower our carbon footprint.
Holy Name of Mary adheres to procedures and regulations that ensure fiscal responsiblity. Board funds, school generated funds and Catholic School Council
funds are aligned to the Catholic School LearningPlan (CSLP) and DPCDSB Financial Accountablity Guidelines.
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
Creating Catholic Conditions for Well-Being, Learning and Leading
Outcomes
1.0 By 2016, the proportion of students feeling safe, cared for, equitable and inclusive, will increase.
Action Plans
1.0 By the end of June 2016 there will be an increase in the proportion of students reporting that they feel accepted at school as demonstrated by the CCCC
School Climate Survey results.
Action Plans
Creating Catholic Conditions for well-being
Building Collaborative Practices Through Inquiry
Outcomes
2.0 By June 2016 there will be an increase in the successful practices that support collaborative inquiry amongst staff and evidence of growth will be visible in
students' effective use of success criteria and self-assessment which will improve students' learning skills and work habits.
Action Plans
Building Collaborative Practices through Inquiry
Enhancing Transitional Practices
Outcomes
3.0 By the end of 2016 there will be an increase in the proportion of students, per applicable cohort, successfully completing their respective secondary program
requirements (i.e. OSSD, OSSC CoA) or transitions into the community.
Action Plans
Enhancing Transitional Practices
Knowing the Learner through Assessment
Outcomes
4. By June 2016, there will be an increase in the proportion of educators who increased their understanding of assessment for and as learning, as a result of
professional learning opportunities, as demonstrated by CBLP professional learning feedback.
Action Plans
Knowing the learner through Assessment Practices
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Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School
Learning Plan
Responding through Effective Instruction
Outcomes
5.0 Focusing on implementing and maintaining effective instructional practices (guided practice, three part lesson plan) will result in an increase in student
achievement by June 2016, as evidenced in EQAO.
Action Plans
Responding through Effective Instruction
Outcome Timeframe
Action Plan Priority
Long-term
High
Medium-term
Medium
Short-term
Low
Not Assigned
Not Assigned
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