Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School

Grade 8 Open House

Grade 8 Open House is on Wednesday, November 4 at 7 pm.  Click HERE for complete details.

H1N1 Flu Shot Clinic Schedule Update

Please click below to download an updated H1N1 Flu Shot Clinic schedule from Toronto Public Health. Please note that due to a shortage in the vaccine, this week's Flu Shot Clinics are restricted to people in identified priority groups.

Download Updated H1N1 Flu Shot Schedule-Nov 2

School Spirit and Halloween

We are celebrating Halloween at Jean Vanier today, and school spirit is high.  We have a number of staff and students in costume, and our Door Decorating Contest was a big success.  Congratulations to Ms. Fracassi's and Ms. Barbitta's classes for tying for first place in the contest.  Their imaginative decorating was truly spooky.  Enjoy the pictures of the day.

CPIC / TAPSE - Annual CSAC Conference

The CPIC/TAPCE Parent Conference will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This year's theme is Partnering with Parents and the keynote speaker is Dr. Betty Boult, Author of 176 Ways to Involve Parents (Practical Strategies for Partnering with Parents). In addition to this, there will be a variety of workshops on topics which are relevant to parent engagement.

The conference will be held at the Catholic Education Centre (80 Sheppard Avenue East), and parents can register at no cost. All parents are strongly encouraged to attend.  For more information on CPIC click HERE and for more information on TAPCE click HERE.

You can download full conference information and registration forms by clicking on the links below.

Download Conference Agenda   Download Registration Form   Download Workshop Descriptions

H1N1 Flu Clinics

Toronto Public Health has provided us with information about H1N1 FlueShot Clinics being held across the City of Toronto.  The document below is a schedule of locations and clinic hours for the first two weeks.  Public Health indicates that the clinics will run for approximately six weeks. The H1N1 vaccination is voluntary and is being offered to the public at no charge.  Click the link below to download the schedule (Acrobat Reader required).

Download H1N1 Flu Shot Clincs

School Accomodation Review

As has been previously announced on this website and in communications sent home to parents, Jean Vanier is involved in a School Accommodation Review.  From time to time the Director of Education identifies a school or group of schools in which challenges may be faced in providing a suitable and equitable range of learning opportunities for students, and in respect of which there may be need to consider the possible consolidation, closure or program relocation in respect to one or more schools.  The School Board has currently identified 5 secondary schools who will be involved in an Accommodation Review Committee (ARC). There are various reasons as to why this ARC is necessary. In our case Jean Vanier is facing possible overcrowding in the very near future. The Committee will be looking at all 5 schools and, with parental input, it will be making recommendations which could have a profound impact on Jean Vanier. The first public meeting of this process will be held right here at Jean Vanier on Monday, October 26 at 7 pm.  All members of the public are welcome to attend. I strongly urge any community stakeholder in the Jean Vanier community to be present on the 26th.  For complete information on the process click HERE.  The remaining public meetings are as follows:

• November 17, 2009 at Cardinal Newman
• January 7, 2009 at Neil McNeil
• February 8, 2009 at St. Patrick

Early Warning Letters Mailed October 22

At Jean Vanier we believe that continuous communication between school and home is critical to your son or daughter's academic success. We have now completed the first six weeks of this semester and our teachers have had a good opportunity to observe and evaluate the progress of their students. At this stage we feel that it is important to communicate to parents/guardians any academic or social concerns your child’s teacher may have.

To this end, we are mailing Early Warning Letters for Semester 1 on October 22.  In this letter  teachers will list any concerns, if any, they may have of your child`s progress to date. Please discuss the concerns mentioned and encourage your son or daughter to: seek assistance from the teacher, attend class regularly, complete all assignments and/or seek remedial support.

Parents play an important role in the education of their children.  We urge you to contact the teachers who have listed concerns so that we can continue to work together as partners in your son's and daughter's high school education. We also remind you that First Term Report Cards will be mailed the week of November 9 and that Parent/Teacher Interviews are on November 19.

Should you have any further inquiries please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Thanksgiving Mass

This is a reminder to all parents and students that this Friday, October 9, Jean Vanier will be celebrating thanksgiving with a Mass at Saint Maria Goretti Church.  The church is located just south of Eglinton on the East side of Kennedy.  Like all of our liturgical celebrations attending Mass in mandatory and all students are required to attend.  Students are to report directly to St. Maria Goretti no later that 8:50 where they will be met by their homeroom teacher for attendance. Students who are absent will be marked absent and a call will be sent home.  Immediately after Mass, students are to report back to Jean Vanier for their first period class. As always, parents are more than welcome to attend any of our Masses. 

As you may know the Philippines were recently hit with a large Typhoon that caused some heavy flooding and serious hardship for its citizens.  Before Mass begins and as students exit the church, students will be given the opportunity to voluntarily donate to a Philippine Relief Fund. Again, the donation is strictly voluntary but any donation which you or your family can to this worthy humanitarian cause would be greatly appreciated.

Please accept the wishes of the entire Vanier staff for a most blessed Thanksgiving weekend.

Crazy Hat and Wig Day - Raising Money For Charity

Today, is Crazy Hat and Wig Day at Jean Vanier. Students and staff have the opportunity to make a small donation for the honour of wearing either a crazy hat or wig. The event not only builds school spirit, but all proceeds are going toward St. Francis Table. I want to thank the members of the Student Council for organizing the event.

Congratulations to Our Boys Flag Football Team

Yesterday Jean Vanier hosted a TCDSB Boys Flag Football tournament. I am happy to announce that our own Mavericks made it to the finals and lost out on the championship at the last minute by a mere 2 points. We are proud of our boys and I want to congratulate the entire team and coaching staff for an amazing effort.  Go Mavs!

Parent Information Evening - Tuesday Sept. 29

Providing a better education for our students is very important.  Our goal is for our students to succeed in their secondary education; however we, as a school, cannot do this alone.  A working relationship between Parents and the school is needed to ensure every child’s success.  It goes without saying that parent involvement is crucial to a student’s success.  One way to be involved is for parents to meet with us on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 equipped with questions about the school.  Jean Vanier CSS is opening its doors to parents and guardians for a night of information and dialogue with teachers and guidance counselors.

 

We want to explain the many programs available to your children at Jean Vanier.  As well, we want to bring you up to date with regards to the Ontario Curriculum and the requirements your children need in order to graduate from Secondary School. Let us have a dialogue on these important matters and work together to ensure your child’s success. All parents are strongly urged to attend.

 

Please make every attempt to attend.

 

When:  September 29, 2009 from 6:30-8:30 pm

Where:  Jean Vanier CSS (Cafeteria)

 

Please note:  Refreshments will be provided at this event. For further information, please call the school.