February, 2014
February is option sheet month. Please discuss your son/daughter’s option selection carefully. We base our decisions on what
courses will run and what will not run based on the preliminary selections made by our students, so we need to stress the
importance of careful selection.
Preliminary Progress Reports will be carried home March 6th. Following March Break; we look forward to seeing
parents/guardians at our Interview Night on March 27th.
March 27th will see all grade 10 students writing the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. It is critical that all students
eligible to write the test be on time and in school on that day.
We will also have our Grade 9s write a practice OSSLT to help them prepare for next year. In the morning, grade 11 and 12s
who choose to attend will be able to have access to independent study areas. The day’s schedule is as follows:
8:30 – 11:25
11:25 – 11:55
Period 1
Period 2
Period 3 and 4
Period 5
OSSLT for Grades 9 and 10; Study time for Grades 11 and 12 (room 150)
Lunch
11:55 pm – 12:30 pm
12:35 pm – 1:10 pm
1:15 pm – 1:50 pm
1:55 pm – 2:30 pm
Mid-term reports will be carried home April 24th.
We have a number of staff changes this semester. We wanted to wish Mr. Oates all the best in his retirement. We appreciate
his many years of dedication to MacNab and wish him all the best on his new adventures! We are welcoming: Mr. Cividino
(music), Ms. Laidlaw (English, alternative education), Mr. Paparoni (math), and Ms. White (English).
As always, we encourage you to view our calendar online, as it has the most up-to-date information.
This one page information sheet is meant merely as an overview. Our complete newsletter is published online on our website
at: www.hwdsb.on.ca/macnab. Follow the link to the school newsletter. As always, print copies are available in the main
office for those families without internet access.
Sincerely,
(Mrs.) J. Langsner
Principal
Meet Our MacNab Students
One of my students recently said she wished that teachers and other students would know her for more than the jumble of letters
and numbers that signify her courses and marks; that they would know her hopes and dreams and aspirations. It is with that spirit in
mind, that I introduce our inaugural profile of Meet Our MacNab Students—so, let’s meet Emily Sinclair.
Emily is half way through completing her grade 12 year; she is MacNab’s Schulich Scholar Nominee; she had 98.9% average last year
(seriously Emily?? What happened to the other 1.1%??), and she has applied to study STEM (science, technology, engineering,
mathematics) at McGill, UBC, and Harvard. This is the tip of the iceberg that defines Emily Sinclair. She loves music and she loves
sports.
She was born in Africa and spent her first five years roaming the savannahs and chasing lions—well, maybe not the lion part. Her
parents were missionaries and their chosen vocation took the family all over the world so homeschooling was the best option for their
kids. Emily loved being homeschooled where she spent up to 3 hours a day studying with other children of missionary families and
then had the whole day to play and run around. Emily did not enter a formal school setting until her family settled in Lethbridge,
Alberta where she attended a school of 250 students from grade 7 to 12. “That was a nice way to start school – to ease into it with
not too many students” mused Emily as she was telling me how her dad had completed his studies to become a pastor and the family
was beginning to settle into a less nomadic lifestyle. She laughed thinking about how her brothers and sisters would often “play
school, pretending to be teachers and students yet never having really experienced a ‘real’ school”, and when finally at a real school
she “ almost laughed hearing the teacher say a classic school thing, like children settle down”. She explains that because she was
homeschooled, she was allowed to redo an assignment until she basically received a perfect mark. What the perfect mark meant is
that she had understood the material perfectly, so she finds it hard to believe that any student can settle for a 60% since that means
they only learned 60% of the material. Emily said her teachers were freaked out when she received a 92% and then she asked them
what she had to relearn to get 100%!
Her dad eventually obtained a position in Burlington and the Sinclair’s moved to Hamilton, close to MacNab where Emily quickly
immersed herself in music and then discovered the AP (Advanced Placement) programme. “I love the diversity in MacNab’s
strengths. We have AP, music, sports and arts—all these aspects make us an up and coming school which is very exciting. I like that
we are known for a lot of things – we are not the sports school, or the arts school, or the academic school. We are ALL these!”
espouses Emily in her usual animated and enthusiastic style.
Emily recently was invited to interview for a position at Harvard University, a prestigious Ivy League university with discerning
admission requirements where only the best of students are accepted into their undergraduate programmes. When I asked Emily,
why she wanted to attend Harvard, she said it’s because of MacNab’s AP programme. “The AP teachers at MacNab are passionate
about what they teach, and they are experts in the subject and I’m with other students who are also like minded – we have the best
discussions, inside and outside the classroom. We discuss learning and education, world issues and all that stuff, and sometimes we
even talk about our subject” she says with a laugh. “We are an intellectual community of learners and my Harvard interview was
much like that. I was worried about it but then I got into it and I loved it. I enjoyed discussing all these things with an interesting and
intelligent person. My interviewer told me that I was Harvard material because I was intellectually curious. But how wonderful is it to
be able to have this opportunity and explore all that there is out there.
This is just a little bit about Our MacNab Student – Emily Sinclair.
Boys’ Sports
The MacNab boys’ basketball program continues to be a perennial powerhouse at the senior, junior and midget levels. The
senior boys basketball team is currently ranked #7 in Ontario and # 13 in Canada (by NorthPoleHoops.com) after winning the
University of Western Ontario tournament in December. A handful of the graduating seniors are currently going through the
selection process with Coach Washington of selecting a post-secondary institution where they will continue their basketball
and more importantly academic careers.
The junior boys’ basketball team added to their provincial reputation by defeating some of the GTA's best teams in winning the
D'Youville (Brampton) tournament and finishing second in the Henry Carr (Etobicoke) tournament. Both the senior and junior
teams remain undefeated in league play and are working hard to make the city championships in February.
The midget boys’ basketball team has two second place finishes in tournament play this season in the St. Thomas Aquinas
(Oakville) and Holly Trinity (Oakville) tournaments. They are preparing for their regular season schedule which tips off in
March.
Girls’ Sports
The Jr. Girls' volleyball team finished the regular season with 5 wins and 1 loss for a second place finish in the West division.
They get a bye in the preliminary round of the playoffs. Next action is Monday, February 10, 2014 in the quarter finals here at
MacNab (time TBA).
The Senior Girls’ Volleyball team finished the season undefeated in the league tournament. The girls face Westmount in the
preliminary playoff round on Thursday February 6th (after the junior game).
Holiday Breakfast
Thursday December 19 2013, the MacNab teaching staff once again hosted their annual "Holiday Breakfast". This event started
over 10 years ago when teachers wanted to recognize the student community and bring them together in a unique way. Staff
members cook, serve and provide festive entertainment throughout the event. MacNab students bring along a food or cash
donation that is taken to the Wesley Centre. "Students and staff look forward to this event each year. It is our way to kick off
the winter holidays and encourage the student body to contribute to the larger community", says event organizer Vicki
Kudrenski. This year MacNab donated more than 900 canned goods to the Wesley Centre. It’s an amazing feeling when
students give back to the community in such a generous way. We look forward to hosting the event again next December!
French Department
From January 30 to February 2, five students from the grade ten French class travelled to Saint-Donat, Québec for four days of
French cultural experiences including workshops, skiing or snowboarding, snowshoeing, night trail skating and even fireworks,
tout en français! Twenty-one students from across the HWDSB disembarked at the Manoir des Laurentides, and spent four
days immersed in "la culture québécoise". When asked what they enjoyed the most about their weekend, the students said,
"everything". The students from MacNab were Mardiyah Dwyer, Alex Lenguel, Ryan Guy, Matt Burdett, and Ryan Schleehahn.
They were accompanied by Mme Abbey. C'était du fun!!!
Learning Resource
The Learning Resource team would like to wish you all the best for semester 2. What you do each day can lead to success. Visit
Mrs. Sober and Mr. Challis in room 108 for suggestions or help.
Those students writing the EQAO Ontario Secondary Literacy Test (OSSLT) on March 27, 2014 are encouraged to visit the
website, www.eqao.com (“student resources” then “OSSLT”) to practice. Actual past tests are available for you to try. There
are parent resources as well. Be prepared! Plan to succeed!
Math Department
We have the results from Waterloo’s Canadian Intermediate and Senior Mathematics Contests (CIMC and CSMC) from
November 2013.
We had 34 students writing the contest, which in itself is a success.
MacNab’s Senior Team ranked 7th in our zone and the Intermediate Team ranked 3rd (!) in our zone. (Our zone consists of high
schools in Hamilton and area)
Five of our students will receive Certificates of Distinction; two of our grade 9 students ranked 4 th and 9th in the zone out of
about 118 contestants, and one of our senior students ranked 8 th in our zone out of 145 students. These 3 students were listed
on the Honour Roll.
This certainly delights us, and we are very proud of our math students!
Now, we are looking forward to and preparing for the upcoming Pascal, Cayley and Fermat Contests written on February 20,
1014.
Students are kindly encouraged to register for these competitions, and to visit the Math Club.
Music Department
On Tuesday, February 18 between 9:00 am and 11:00 am there will be a Repertoire Band workshop in MacNab’s auditorium
with conductor Colin Clarke.
The Repertoire Band will be competing at Mohawk College in the Musicfest on Tuesday, February 25 from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm.