V S S A D M I N

Laura

Leesti Principal

Fraser

Scott

Administrator

Kelly

McLeod Administrator

TRUSTEE

Joel Hertz

SCHOOL

COUNCIL

CHAIR

Karen Vernon

Suzanne Jordan

Voice of the Vaughan Voyageurs T H U R S D A Y , M A R C H 6 , 2 0 1 4

Message from the Administration

It is said that March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. At Vaughan Secon-

dary, our staff and students are thriving and surviving, despite the frigid weather. Our

ski and snowboard club had three successful evening trips to Collingwood in the

month of February and has concluded their season. Our Junior and Senior Boys bas-

ketball teams finished their York Region season by winning the championship. As this

newsletter “goes to press”, our Senior Boys team is competing at OFSAA, where we

wish them luck. Congratulations to Leah Dahan who qualified to represent Vaughan

Wrestling at OFSAA.

In addition to Athletics, Vaughan students continue to achieve success in a variety of

areas. Congratulations to Arthika Patmanathan for placing 1st in the York Region

Skills Challenge. Vaughan students now have an Interact Club, which is a chapter of

the international Rotary organization. Our Vaughan DECA organization saw five stu-

dents reach the finals in their last competition. Music and drama fills our halls most

afternoons and evenings as students put in the long hours of practice and rehearsal as

they prepare for spring performances.

We continue to focus on academic achievement as well. Second semester interim re-

ports go out on Thursday, March 6, and are followed by second semester parent

teacher interviews on Thursday April 3rd. Our grade 10 students will be participating in

the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test on Thursday, March 27. Look for a com-

munication regarding a modified school day to enable all staff to support students writ-

ing this high stakes evaluation.

Our student council held a semi-formal event on February 20, and I'm pleased to report

that everyone in attendance had a great time and conducted themselves in a mature

manner. Our active student council is preparing many exciting events for the spring to

encourage all students to be involved in Vaughan spirit.

As we come to March break, daylight savings time on March 9 means we will “Spring

Forward” one hour. I hope that everyone has an opportunity to connect with family

and friends, and enjoy the break. When we return, we certainly plan to “Spring For-

ward” with academics and activities that give opportunities for all Vaughan students to

demonstrate excellence.

Sincerely,

Laura Leesti

Principal

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Upcoming Events March 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 4 5

6 Interim Report Cards Distributed in Home-room Course Verifications distributed in home-room

7 P.A. Day

8

9 10 March Break

11 March Break

12 March Break

13 March Break

14 March Break

15

16 17 St. Patrick’s Day

18

19 20

21 Payment due for AP Exams

22

23 24

25 OSSLT Assembly

26 27 OSSLT (Gr 10) Test Day—Modified Schedule

28

Vaughan Secondary School

Vaughan Secondary School

Updates From Guidance

March Guidance News:

Online course selections for September, 2014 are now complete!

ATTENTION

All university and college applicants the OUAC and OCAS transmissions have been processed and you can now log into your online application in order to review your academic

information.

Advanced Placement Exam Fees for Grade 12 students are due to Ms.Spiller in Guidance

by March 21, 2014. An information letter, including fees, has been sent home with students.

Students thinking about taking a summer school course, will be able to view and sign up for

courses through Career Cruising – www.careercruising.com , in April. Summer school runs

for the month of July, 2014.

Summer Virtual school courses are also available in May by visiting www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca

and go to the Virtual school link, or by coming to Guidance for help.

There will be an OSAP/financial planning workshop for grade 12 students on APRIL 16,

2014 period 1 in the cafeteria!!

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Parent Survey

We have developed this survey to gain your views about a variety of Information

Sessions that we are prepared to offer prior to the time you will meet with your

child‟s teacher at our April 3rd Parents‟ Night. Your input will help determine

which sessions we will offer. Please click the following link to access the Parent

Night Information survey

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Vaughan Secondary School

February 21, 2014 Dear Members of the York Region District School Board Community: As you may be aware, our current director of education will be retiring as of July 31, 2014. The important responsibility of selecting his successor now becomes the task of the Board of Trustees. We have engaged the services of Laverne Smith & Associates, a leading Canadian firm that has worked extensively with school boards and other public sector organizations across the country. Dr. Laverne Smith, our consultant, will be assisting us by gathering input from you, the educational community. Your input into the qualities and characteristics that you would like to see in the new director of education is critical. Please take a few minutes to complete the linked online survey which comprises four questions. The survey results will be submitted electronically directly to Laverne Smith & Associates. All responses will be held in strict confidence by the consultant. Please submit your response by Tuesday March 18, 2014. If you require more time to com-plete the survey, responses will continue to be accepted after this deadline. Thank you in advance for your time and input. Yours truly, Anna DeBartolo Diane Giangrande Co-Chairs of the Search Committee for Director of Education York Region District School Board

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Vaughan Secondary School

Literacy Corner – March 2014

Please note that the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) will be written by all grade 10

students on March 27th, 2014. Letters will be sent home shortly providing students with more de-

tails, including in what room they will be writing.

The literacy team at Vaughan Secondary School has been preparing students for the test since the

beginning of the school year through whole school initiatives (WSI) that focus on specific test

strategies, as well as the provision of an after-school literacy course.

Students are also expected to prepare at home, and can do so by reviewing the parent and student

resources sections of the EQAO website. There they will find some very useful resources, including

a Planning and Preparation Guide and a Getting Ready Guide, both in PDF format. The website

also provides sample tests, answers to frequently asked questions, key dates and more. Please visit

the link below for more information:

http://www.eqao.com/Students/Secondary/10/10.aspx?Lang=E&gr=10

In addition, I will continue to post links to important resources on the VSS Literacy Blog, which can

be accessed at the link below:

http://vaughanliteracy.wordpress.com/

Any questions concerning the literacy test can be directed to the literacy teacher, Mr. Faulkner, at

905-660-1397 ext. 474 or by email at aaron.faulkner@yrdsb.edu.on.ca

Remember, good preparation is the key to success!

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Vaughan Secondary School

New Resource for Special Education Students going on to

Post-Secondary Education

For the special education student the transition to post secondary education can be a difficult one.

Student‟s leave an accommodating, supportive and comfortable learning environment to enter into a new

learning community were everything is new and unknown. As students progress through elementary to

secondary, schools work very hard to ensure continuation of service and support to meet learning needs.

The transition to post secondary education is different. It is now up to the student to declare their need for

support and to navigate a whole new support system. Each post secondary school has their own unique

requirements and supports in place. It can be very confusing for first year students. Nevertheless, rest as-

sured that supports are out there and there is a new website designed to help students familiarize them-

selves with and navigate through the supports that are available in post-secondary education. The website

Resource Guide for Student’s With Disabilities can be found at http://www.transitionresourceguide.ca/ .

The website contains general information for students with disabilities (including the learning disabled) as

well as specific links for each College and University in Ontario. Visiting this website is must for special

education students looking for support in their post secondary education.

http://www.transitionresourceguide.ca/

Vaughan Wrestling

"Congratulations to Leah Dahan who qualified to represent Vaughan SS at Wrestling OFSAA. Leah won gold at the YRAA Championships to secure her second trip to the Provincial Championship."

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Vaughan Secondary School

SPOKEN WORD SLAM TEAM

Winners at YRDSB semi-finals, February 21, 2014!

Congratulations to Jessie Caplan, Michelle Krasovitski, Julia Mentlik, Alice Nuz, and Jessica Robin-son for their amazing and emotional presentations at the YRDSB Spoken Word Poetry Slam semi-finals in Newmarket.

The team placed first with a solid margin after performing three rounds of group and partner poems. Jessie also performed the final round with an individual poem, which earned a perfect “10” score from all judges. Exhausted from many nights of writing and memorizing, the group is now looking forward to compete again at the finals in April. The finals will be held in the evening, which means support from peers, teachers and parents would be greatly appreciated. New to the Vaughan Secondary “club scene”, the poetry club was formed at the beginning of No-vember 2013. The club consists of two sections: voice/writing and spoken word. Many students and staff at VSS recently had the opportunity to see a few of the club members perform at the Black History Month assembly along side poet, Dwayne Morgan. Mr. Morgan has also facilitated two workshops at VSS to coach the poetry club members on writing, practicing and presenting poems to an audience.

Keep your ears open for students reciting in the halls as they prepare for the YRDSB final compe-tition and also for in-school activities, such as the upcoming Coffee House.

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Vaughan Secondary School

DECA, DECA, DECA

On February 10th and 11

th DECA Vaughan participated in the 35th annual Provincial Competition

at the Sheraton Hotel. This event was the culmination of months of hard work and training for the

members. The Provincial Competition also presented an opportunity for students to qualify to

compete at the International Career Development Conference (ICDC) in Atlanta, Georgia this

May. It was a long and exciting two days, as students got the opportunity to present their hard

work, experience the business world, as well as network with other schools. DECA Vaughan was

proud to have 5 ICDC qualifiers: Edith Lam, Viyasan Ariyarathnam, Naren Gajendran, Michael

Jonas and Daniel Roytman. On behalf of DECA Vaughan we would like to sincerely thank our ad-

visors, Mrs.Morgenthau and Mr.Lay for all of their hard work and dedication. We would also like to

congratulate all the DECA Vaughan members for their success in the provincial competition, and

wish our ICDC competitors good luck in Atlanta!

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Vaughan Secondary School

DECA! DECA! DECA!

On Parents‟ Night, April 4, 2014, DECA will be holding its annual silent auction! This year,

we have a large selection of incredible items. They include:

-Tickets to Raptors vs Knicks on April 11, with a

cash value of $ 484!

-Tickets to Lady Gaga on

July 9, with a cash value of

$526!

-Premium office chair

-Otterbox products

-Signed baseball and basketball

items

-Limited edition Drake shirts

…and much, much more!

Come out to DECA‟s silent auction; you‟re sure to find some great items and fantastic

deals! Don‟t miss out on this amazing event!

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Vaughan Secondary School

Vaughan Secondary Senior Band

On February 13

th, V.S.S Senior Band performed at the Ontario Band Association (OBA). We are

proud to announce that we placed in the silver division with the two pieces we played: Dragon Boat Festival arranged by Michael Boo, and Shanendoah arranged by Frank Tichelli. In addi-tion, senior band got the prestigious award for ‘Excellence in Percussion’ which is given to only one band in the entire festival! We would like to congratulate the senior band members who dedicated hours upon hours of rehearsing as well as the parents who came out and supported our band. Finally we would like to thank and congratulate our conductor and teacher, Mrs. Kinsinger who made this event possible for us.

P A G E 1 1

Vaughan Secondary School

“Dashing Through the Notes”

Vaughan Secondary School‟s Music Department is proud to say that our winter concert „Dashing

Through the Notes‟ was a wild success. With a packed audience overflowing the atrium and a stacked

repertoire of different winter themed pieces, the concert was nothing short of a big hit. It was a proud mo-

ment for our department to see the huge turnout and smiling faces of all the proud parents and teachers.

We would like to thank all the teachers, students, friends and families who came out to support the per-

forming students and made the concert a success. We would also like to thank all the dedicated music stu-

dents who practiced tirelessly to put on the best performance possible. In addition to our Music Council

who planned the event and made it run smoothly, it is also important to recognize the administration at

Vaughan Secondary School who supported our event and helped make it a success. Finally, we would

like to thank our extremely dedicated teacher Mrs. Kinsinger who teaches both bands and is responsible

for our incredible department. We look forward to seeing all of you at our end-of-year concert in June.

More details to come!

1401 Clark Avenue West

Thornhill, Ontario

L4J 7R4

Phone: 905-660-1397

Fax: 905-660-0318

E-mail: vaughan.ss@yrdsb.edu.on.ca

School Office Supervisor

Bethany Carruthers

Extension 323

Assistant Head Secretary

Responsible for the Student Management System

Mary Peard

Extension 352

Attendance Secretary

Rosemary Valentino

Extension 300

Guidance Secretary

Diane Jarvis

Extension 353

STAR Secretary

Domenica Pereira

Extension 320

Budget Secretary

Carly Styles

Extension 318

Vaughan Secondary School VSS Office Staff

mary.peard@yrdsb.edu.on.ca in

order to update our Student

Management System accordingly.

Please reference the student

name, your name, your relation-

ship to the student.

The “Voice of the Vaughan Voya-

geurs” is available via email and

our website. If you know of any-

one who is not receiving our

publication please have them

contact Mary Peard at

E-Bulletin Distribution List

For all school bus information and a daily “Late Bus Report”, visit www.schoolbuscity.com

For further information, visit our school website www.vaughan.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca

Student Transportation Services of York Region

The E-Bulletin is one of the ways our school maintains regular contact with parents, the community

and other educators. If you have information that you would like to share such as sporting events,

community news, awards, or any other information you feel appropriate, please forward your

submissions for consideration to Bethany Carruthers at bethany.carruthers@yrdsb.edu.on.ca by the

15th of every month.

E-Bulletin

Submissions

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