Westdale Community Newsletter – November 2024

Westdale Secondary Community Newsletter – November 2024

Greetings:

The month of October was a busy and successful one for our Westdale students. As you will see in our “Shout Outs and Good News” section, our Warriors made their mark on the sports field, in academic competitions, and in the local community, through their altruism. Our staff are engaged in ongoing department improvement planning, aligned with our school and Board improvement plans, to positively change outcomes for all students. As we progress into November and the mid-term point in the semester, we encourage parents/guardians to continue to connect with our staff to promote student achievement and well-being.

Sincerely,

Brian Goodram, Principal

Important Calendar Dates:

Date:	Event(s):	Audience:
Nov. 4th-8th	Treaties Recognition Week	All
Tuesday Nov. 5th	Civics Turn Around	Grade 10/Students enrolled in Careers/Civics Sem. 1
Wednesday Nov. 6th	Take Our Kids to Work Day Experience a Day at Westdale	Grade 9 Students Grade 8 Students from Associate Schools
Thursday Nov. 7th	Westdale Music Concert: Pop Mania (6pm, Auditorium)	All
Friday Nov. 8th	Indigenous Veterans Day	All
Monday Nov. 11th	Remembrance Day Sr. Assembly = Period 2; Jr. Assembly = Period	All
Tuesday Nov. 12th	Educational Assistant Appreciation Day OSSLT Day 1 (8am, Cafeteria)	All Grade 10 Students enrolled in English Sem. 1
Thursday Nov. 14th	OSSLT Day 2 (8am, Cafeteria)	Grade 10 Students enrolled in English Sem. 1
Friday Nov. 15th	OSSLT Make-Up Day	Students who missed Nov. 12/14 OSSLT opportunity
Wednesday Nov. 20th	Mid-Term Reports sent home OSSLT (8:15am, Library/Learning Commons)	All Previously eligible students
Monday Nov. 25th	Grade 7/8 Information Night (6-8pm) at Westdale	Grade 7/8 Students from Associate Schools
Tuesday Nov. 26th	French Immersion Information Night (6-8pm) at Westdale   School Council (6:15pm, Library/Learning Commons)	Students from Westdale FI Associate Schools Parents/Guardians
Thursday Nov. 28th       Friday Nov. 29th	Westdale Theatre Mama Mia Show (Curtain at 6:30pm)	Westdale Community

Shout Outs / Good News:

Staffing:

We are excited to welcome Mr. Cripps (Canadian & World Studies), Ms. Finocchi (French Immersion), and Mr. Kennedy (Secondary Reconciliation and Indigenous Education Facilitator) to our Westdale teaching staff!

Model United Nations Team:

Congratulations to our Model UN club on a successful conference in Toronto. Best Overall Delegate awards (the prize award being the gavel) went to Petra, Helena, and Sumayyah. Westdale was also awarded Best Overall Delegation (despite having a small team of 7 students). Amazing accomplishment! Thank you to Ms. Forrester and Mr. Dodgson for their work with the club.

Students for Students:

Westdale’s Students for Students Club is a student initiated club dedicated to collecting food items and funds for the McMaster Community Fridge. This past month, on National Chocolate Day (Oct. 28th), the club held a successful bake sale at the school to raise funds for their cause. We continue to be proud of our students selflessness and care for those in our community. Thank you to Ms. Baboudjian for her leadership with the club.

Westdale Athletics:

Our Westdale student-athletes have been very successful in city-wide and provincial competitions.

Congratulations to both our Grade 9 soccer teams who placed first in the City and to our Girls Field Hockey team who won the silver medal after a highly contested championship game vs. Saltfleet.

Many of our Warriors Cross-Country runners are off to OFSAA in Ottawa this week after a very successful SOSSA meet: Aaliya (1st in the Novice girls race), Alec (5th in senior boys), and both our novice boys and senior girls team qualified.

Best of luck to our Varsity Football team as they have advanced to the City Championship, this Thursday at 6pm at Ancaster High, as they face off against Westmount.

Thank you to all our volunteer staff and community coaches for their time and guidance of our student-athletes.

Let’s Go Warriors!

Other News:

Parking Lot Safety:

Thank you to our parent community for their ongoing cooperation and support of our pick up / drop off process in the school parking lot. By keeping the lot by the ramp door clear, we have been able to ensure those with accessibility needs are able to more easily access transportation while keeping the area safe for pedestrian traffic. Please continue to progress directly through the lot to Paradise Drive (from Longwood Drive) while dropping off and picking up students.

Front Door Replacement:

This past Friday, work to replace the front doors of the school began. All of the front facing (towards Main Street West) doors will be replaced as the existing (wooden) doors are damaged/outdated. The new doors will be more functional and safe while maintaining the historical look and original design of our beautiful building. This project will be phased to minimize disruption to students and classes. We are grateful to our HWDSB Facilities department for their support of this work.

Homework/Literacy and Numeracy Club Support:

In support of HWDSB’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan and Westdale’s school improvement plan, we are pleased to announce both a Literacy, and Numeracy program for students in grades 9 and 10. These programs help strengthen student skills for success in school and on provincial assessments. These programs are available at no cost to students. The Literacy Club, led by Ms. McNeill, runs every Tuesday and Wednesday from 12:00-1:00pm in Rm. 2062 for the next 4 weeks and the Numeracy Club (grade 9 focus), led by Mr. Halime, runs every Tuesday from 2:45-4:00pm in Rm. 2058 from November 12th to January 28th. Please see the enclosed posters for further details.

Westdale Theatre:

Mr. Iachelli and our Westdale Theatre group are busy preparing for their performance of Mama Mia! There will be 4 evening show times for our community to come out and see the talents of our Westdale students. Please see the promotional poster on the next page for details, including ticket cost and ordering. Thank you to Ophelia V.H. for the creation and design of the promotional materials.

Parent Portal:

Parent Portal is a great way for parents/guardians to stay connected and support student success. On Parent Portal, parents/guardians can enter and check absences, access on-line forms (e.g., Athletics, digital tools permission) and access historical grades for their student. Please contact the school by phone (905-522-1387) or email ([email protected]) to get an account set up.