Newsletter from St. Mother Teresa

A Message of Gratitude

We are incredibly grateful to our entire school community for your generous support in helping us raise an outstanding $15,000 for our annual Titan Trek! Your donations will make a meaningful impact, with a portion going to the Terry Fox Foundation and the rest directly supporting initiatives within our own school community.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving next weekend, I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for our dedicated staff, students, parents, and guardians -- your continued support, spirit, and generosity are what make us a true Titan family. Thank you and blessings for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend which begins with a PD Day on Friday, October 10th.

Monthly Attendance Reports

Regular attendance is the most important factor for students to be successful in their academics. One initiative that we are taking at SMT is to share a monthly attendance report with parents in an effort to be collaborative. We hope that this data will help you to encourage your child to arrive to school on time in the morning and to each period throughout their day. The first monthly attendance report for September will be emailed to parents this afternoon. If you have any questions or concerns about this report, please reach out to your child's Vice-Principal or guidance counsellor.

*Subsequent monthly reports will reflect cumulative absences from the beginning of the semester to provide a bigger picture.

Students Arriving Late

Some mornings, over 250 students are signing in late through the main office, particularly on rainy days. It is very important that students are in their Period 1 classrooms by 8:50 am so they don't miss valuable instruction by having to wait to sign in through the main office.

Reporting Student Absences

Parents may now email their child's attendance to our main school email at motherteresa.high@ocsb.ca OR you may call the school's main line at 613-823-1663.

HS Parent Teacher Interviews - Thursday, October 16th

Parent-Teacher Interviews for students in Grades 9-12 will take place on Thursday, October 16th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Parents/guardians will be able to book an appointment to meet with their child's teachers using parentInterview, a link that will be sent to parents a week in advance. Access to sign-up will close the evening before interviews. We hope to see you there!

Please see the Tips for Parents: Parent-Teacher Interview" letter in 14 languages.

Arabic (عربى) ; Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文) ; Farsi (فارسی) ; French (Français) ; Hindi (हिन्दी) ; Korean (한국어) ; Portuguese (Português) ; Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) ; Russian (Pу́сский) ; Somali (Soomaali) ; Spanish (Español) ; Tamil (தமிழ்) ; Urdu (اُردُو)

9-12 Semester 1 Exam Schedule

The OCSB has released the Semester 1 Final Exam schedule. Attendance on exam days is mandatory - vacation and work arrangements are expected to be made around these dates:

Thurs, Jan 22 - Grade 10-12 Period 1 exam and Grade 9 Period 1 RST
Fri, Jan 23 - Grade 10-12 Period 2 exam and Grade 9 Period 2 RST
Mon, Jan 26 - Grade 10-12 Period 3 exam and Grade 9 Period 3 RST
Tues, Jan 27 - Grade 10-12 Period 4 exam and Grade 9 Period 4 RST
Wed, Jan 28 - Exam Buffer day in case of inclement weather
Thurs, Jan 29 - Credit Intervention Day (students will be invited to attend, if required)
Fri, Jan 30 - PD Day
Mon, Feb 2 - Semester 2 begins

New Titan Wear is Available!

We’re excited to invite our students to showcase their Titan pride by purchasing Titan Wear! New SMT items are now available. Order Titan Wear.

Redblacks Ticket Fundraiser for Titans Football Team

The St. Mother Teresa Titans Tackle Football team will have an opportunity to play a night game at TD Place Stadium (home of the Redblacks) in October. In order to offset costs to rent the field, the team will be selling Redblacks tickets for $47.00 each. The tickets are for an afternoon home game on Saturday, October 18th @ 3:00pm. Bring your family and friends out to watch a great game in a fun atmosphere! Tickets can be purchased through SchoolCash Online and will be sent through email in October. Hope to see you at the game!

Guest Speakers at SMT

There is an OCSB policy which requires principals to inform parents/guardians in advance of any guest speaker presenting to more than one class. This section will be included in each biweekly newsletter. Feel free to connect with the teacher organizing the guest speaker (the contact name would be indicated in the information letter linked) if you have any questions.

Catholic School Council

Please join us for our second meeting on Monday, October 20th at 6pm in the Learning Commons (2nd floor).

Chair: Steven Boucher

Vice-Chair: Karen Jacyno

Secretary - Sarah de Boer

Treasurer - Tiziana Balice

CSPA Representative - Deborah Imarah

Parish Representative - Maria Perez

Parents Staying Connected

SchoolMessenger - If you did not receive this by email, please take a moment to sign up for a SchoolMessenger account.

SchoolCash Online - For quick access to SchoolCash Online, please click here.

The Parent Portal - The Parent Portal allows parents to view their child’s report card. To register visit: OCSB Parent Portal.

Daily Announcements - Daily Announcements are posted on our website: High School & Intermediate.

OCSB Calendar - Please view the school year calendar here.

Grade 7/8 Athletics Schedule - Please view the schedule here.

Wed, Oct 8 - School Liturgies

Thurs, Oct 9 - HS Letters of Intervention are emailed to parents

Fri, Oct 10 - PD Day (no school)

Mon, Oct 13 - Thanksgiving Day (no school)

Thurs, Oct 16 - HS Parent Teacher Interviews (early dismissal for ALL students grades 7-12 at 1:30 pm)

Mon, Oct 20 - Catholic School Council at 6pm