Principal s Message. Included in this mid-year newsletter is your daughter's/son's. students on their accomplishments.

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1 Applewords F E B R U A R Y I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Principal s Message 1 March Break Camp I Can Applewood 2 Counting On You: After School Program Visual and Media Arts 3 A Superior Law Trip 3 OSSLT Mark Your Calendars! Badminton Players Wanted! applewoodheights.ca Follow School Council ahss.council@peelsb.com Student Transportation: Minecrafters at Applewood Science Contests! Principal s Message Another semester has quickly rushed past us and the excellent work of students and staff is everywhere here at Applewood Heights Secondary School! Included in this mid-year newsletter is your daughter's/son's Semester 1 final report card. We congratulate students on their accomplishments. For some students amongst us, this report card marks an end to a successful secondary school experience as they move to other post-secondary opportunities. As you move on to the next phase of your life, please look back upon these high school years with a fond smile. Your presence here at Applewood Heights has enriched us all, and we have appreciated your contributions. For the majority of us, though, it is onwards and upwards! As we move into semester 2, please ensure that the important lessons about organization and study skills that you've learned during first semester are carried over into the second half of the year. Parents are encouraged to discuss the final results of Semester 1 and if necessary, to assist your son or daughter in formulating a plan for continued success for the upcoming semester. As an important partner in education, parents are an invaluable resource in assisting to teach such skills as organization, time management, and goal setting. The students and staff at Applewood Heights are committed to success in the classroom, and beyond the classroom. The extra-curricular opportunities available to students is a testament to the dedication of our teachers who believe that students benefit from a well-rounded education that includes opportunities to learn above and beyond our classroom focus. Our thanks to the many staff members who sponsor and support these activities while maintaining solid academic programming and instruction. Congratulations to all students who have continued the Applewood Heights legacy of success and excellence via participation and commitment to academic opportunities, Arts performances, clubs, teams, and leadership groups. You are the integral reason why Applewood Heights is such a great school! I would like to take this opportunity to recognize our two outstanding Vice Principals, Mr. David Badovinac and Ms. Marg Loewen, and all of our office staff under the leadership of our Office Manager Ms. Pauline Cuthbertson, for their outstanding contribution to the smooth running of our school. I can't tell you enough about all they do in front and behind the scenes to support student success at Applewood Heights. The end of the semester usually necessitates some goodbyes. Our best wishes for continued success are extended to Ms. Julie Krispanis, who will move onto the next chapter of her educational career at David Suzuki S.S. We are indebted to her for her commitment to our students within and beyond the classroom. Thanks! As we look forward to another exciting semester, our school continues to be very fortunate in benefitting from the level of support that exists in the Applewood Heights community. In addition to a very supportive parent community, we appreciate our School Council members and our Trustees, Ms. Sue Lawton and Mr. Rick Williams. I thank you once again for the honour of being your Principal, and look forward to ongoing conversations and interactions to improve teaching and learning at Applewood Heights. Respectfully, M. Giraldi Principal

2 P A G E 2 March Break Camp I Can This year, AHSS will offer a three-day March Break program in support of student achievement in literacy. The program will be offered Monday March 16 th to Wednesday, March 18th, subject to sufficient enrollment (minimum 20 students). Camp I Can is designed to enhance students literacy skills, specifically targeting preparation for the upcoming Ontario Secondary Schools Literacy Test (OSSLT). Students who will be writing this year will benefit from this experience. There is a $10 registration fee for students, which includes field trip costs, materials and daily snacks. Students must provide their own transportation to and from school. Registration forms will be available in early February. Please contact Ms. Nederend at ext. 717 for details. Ms. Hauser and Mr. Satuffer say Bravo to Applewood Music Students Bravo to performers and music council for their accomplishments this past semester. The highlight was the Sounds of the Season concert which featured all of our ensembles. Special mention goes out to our grade nine musicians for noteworthy progress. We encourage all of our musicians to continue participating fully in the Applewood Applewood artistic community throughout semester two. Upcoming events: Spring Showcase concert (April 15), Intermediate Band feeder school performance (April), Grade 12 Stratford THE SOUND OF MUSIC trip (May 6), Arts Banquet (May 28) Ms. Hauser, Mr. Stouffer Counting On You: After School Program at AHSS Counting On You After School Program In Semester 2, AHSS will continue to offer Counting On You, the after school program to help students in compulsory credits, especially numeracy and literacy. COY is free of charge for families. COY typically runs two afternoons, for a total of 3 hours per week. Students are responsible for their own transportation home at 4:30 pm. Regular student attendance is essential in order for the program to be offered and funded by the Ministry of Education. Please contact Mrs. Matthews in the Math office or at ext. 708 for details. A P P L E W O R D S F E B R U A R Y

3 Visual and Media Arts The combined effort of Ms. Bartlett s Media class and Ms. Velianou s Visual Arts class produced a scintillating Grad Art Show, Chromatic. With over 100 works, and double the guests, it made for a great afterschool celebration. Students had the opportunity to share in this authentic learning experience that allowed them to hone their communication and collaborative skills by visually organizing their works, writing artist statements and of course, communicating their ideas with family, friends, Applewood staff and administration. The world of Twitter was a buzz, supporting this event of fun, food and great art! Ms. Bartlett s and Ms. Velianou s next adventures will include organizing a field trip and starting the Art Club in early February to get ready for the Arts Banquet themed Flash from the Past to be held in May stay tuned! Chromatic Art Show P A G E 3 A Superior Law Trip We are each the 12th juror! Last December students visited the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. They had the opportunity to interact with a French-speaking Judge and Crown attorney. Later in the day, they observed the interrogation of an expert witness and other trials. The Semester 2 court trip will occur in May 2015.

4 P A G E 4 Mark Your Calendars! Grade 10s, Mark Your Calendars: The OSSLT Happens Thursday March 26 th This is a reminder to all our current Grade 10 students and their families that the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test is scheduled for Thursday March 23 rd 2015 at Applewood Heights. On this day, Grade 10 students will be completing this reading and writing assessment as part of their requirements for the Ontario High School Diploma. For more information about the test, or to obtain additional, helpful preparatory resources, check out: Badminton Players Wanted! This club is open to any and all students grades 9 to 12 and requires no prior skill in the sport of badminton. Do you enjoy playing badminton for fun? Looking for something to do with friends and other Applewood Axemen one night a week? Badminton Club is for you! Over 40 plus students meet each Wednesday night from 5-8pm in the large gym. All you need is a badminton racquet, gym clothes, and a great attitude! If you re already a member of the club, remember we reconvene for the semester starting Wednesday February 4 th. And if you re seeking new membership, or just interested in getting more info, see Ms. Tan (in science) or Ms. Moyles (in English) right away to retrieve a sign-up sheet. Also think you have what it takes to play league? If you are looking to play Badminton at the competitive level, the Co- Ed Axemen Badminton Senior Tournament team is back starting the start of semester two! Listen for announcements the first week of February for the time and location of the team sign up meeting and for when try outs are being held. We are seeking players from ALL grades! See Ms. Moyles or Mr. Mackenzie for more on this! A P P L E W O R D S F E B R U A R Y

5 Minecrafting at Applewood!? P A G E 5 The Minecraft Club has returned once again to Applewood this year! With 20 plus members of varying ages, genders, interests and more, this club is the place to be two lunches a Science Contests! week in Lab Room 208. If you enjoy adventure, exploration, creative building, and collaborating on tasks all in the gaming world, this club is definitely for you! What do you need? Just your regular Minecraft Account from home and then you hop on the server during club hours, or after hours, for more fun, interaction, and skill building. For more info about what Minecraft is and how it is heating up the gaming and education world, check out the following link: minecraft.net/ And if you re interested in joining, see Ms. Moyles any time to get a spot in the club. Happy Mining! This semester the grade 9 Regional Sports students were involved in a fun isport workshop hosted by Science and had the opportunity to engage in science learning from a sports & health perspective. There were also a range of outreach programs hosted by University of Waterloo who came down to enrich students about career pathways in science. We had a unique look at Gas Chromatography in Grade 12 Chemistry with opportunities to learn about forensic analysis of chemicals. The Grade 9 students got to build space landers. The Biology students engaged in cool Zombie Activities and DNA fingerprinting. There are lots of upcoming interactive activities to experience in Science this coming Semester, and an opportunity for our Physics Students to build and launch rockets at University of Waterloo. Science will be busy recruiting and preparing junior & senior science students to participate in the upcoming Science Contests: Michael Smith Challenge, Sir Isaac Newton, Avogadro s, CHEM 13 and the University of Biology competition. These contests are meant to intellectually challenge students, but also give them an opportunity to earn scholarship awards from various university institutions. These contest information will be announced in the following semester and we look forward to having students participate in these challenges. The dates for the contests are as follows: Michael Smith Challenge (Grades 9 & 10): February 24 th Sir Isaac Newton Contest: May 7 Avagadro s Contest: May 21 Chem 13 Contest: May 14 University of Biology Contest: April 30