Woodlands School Council

Kick start your holiday season by joining us tomorrow (December 1st) at our second annual Chapters Night.  It is a night of fun for the entire family.  The evening will feature some short music performances, dramatic presentations, books/literacy talks by students and teachers.  10% of all purchases made that evening can be directed toward the Woodlands fund raising event.  (IRewards cannot be used toward this event).  Please join us for an evening of entertainment and fundraising.

For more details see the event announcement on the school council website.

We are very pleased to inform you that the school councils of The Woodlands and Loyola Catholic Secondary School will be co-operating to encourage parent awareness and attendance at future seminars. This means that Woodlands parents have an open invitation to any seminars hosted by Loyola, and we will welcome their parents to our ongoing speaker series. We will also be promoting Loyola's presentations on the event calendar at woodlandscouncil.com as we have done for our existing partnership with Erindale Secondary School.

Loyola will be hosting a presentation on "Raising Kids in a New Kind of World" this Thursday night. This is a topic to which all parents can relate. I encourage you to review the event details and join us at Loyola on Thursday evening.

On Monday November 16, The Woodlands School Council will be hosting a presentation on "Money Management for Teenagers" immediately following the School Council Meeting.

We are very pleased to welcome Neil Gaylor who will be presenting to our parents for the second year in a row. Neil will hopefully be joined by his son Thomas, who is a fourth year student in Business at Wilfrid Laurier University. Unfortunately due to university assignment schedules we will not be able to confirm Thomas' participation until a few days before the meeting.

Please review the presentation topics and the school council agenda, and consider joining us for one or both of these events. The school council meeting is expected to run from 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm. The money management presentation will begin at approximately 8:00pm, once the school council meeting is adjourned.

Parents and middle-school / high-school students are welcome to attend these events. Refreshments will be served.

All Woodlands students were sent home with a letter from Peel Region's Public Health department today. The letter provides tips for flu prevention and information about free immunization clinics.

A copy of the letter is posted on the Woodlands School Council web site. Please do review this very important information.

The next Woodlands School Council meeting will be taking place on Monday, October 19 from 7:30pm until 8:15pm at the school. An agenda for this meeting has been posted on the Council web site.

Following the meeting (at 8:15pm), one of our Vice-Principals, Ms. Carol Suhay will present a seminar and question / answer session on the subject of Transitioning from High School to College and University. This seminar will cover topics of interest to students and parents, such as:

• How do I know which program is right for me?
• How does the application process work?
• What do the universities look for when reviewing applications?
• Choosing between living at home, in residence, or off-campus?
• How are university classes and labs different from high school?
• Balancing study/work/fun when away at school
• Budgeting for first year expenses

This is one of our most popular seminars, and students and parents are encouraged to attend.

Finally, if you haven't completed the Seminar Topics survey and wish to do so, please complete the survey this weekend. Results will be tabulated on Sunday evening in preparation for Monday's meeting.

The Woodlands School Council is running a parent survey to determine topics of interest for this year's Speaker Series and to solicit the community's suggestions for enhancing this program. The survey is ten questions long and should only take a few minutes to complete. Your response will help us to allocate effort and resources in the areas of greatest benefit.

Click here to take the survey

School Council is pleased to pass on the following notice from Ms. Gray. In addition, remember our School Council meeting and Study Skills presentation this Monday evening.  

The Woodlands Family of Schools invites you to attend the Parent Workshop on Cyberproofing your Child, taking place on Wednesday September 30.

This workshop is hosted by the Woodlands Family of Schools and the Peel Regional Police Department.

The schedule includes a free pizza dinner served at 6:30 p.m. with the guest speaker presentation running from 7 p.m. to 8 pm.

We hope to see you in attendance at this special evening.

Jeanne Gray
Principal
The Woodlands School 

Hello everyone,

The first Woodlands School Council meeting will take place on Monday, September 21st at 7:30pm at the school. This meeting is open to all parents of students registered at the Woodlands.

It will be followed immediately by Ms. Perugini's presentation on Homework and Study Skills. This is the second year that Ms. Perugini is giving this presentation. Last year's attendees found it useful and entertaining, and we encourage students and parents to attend, particularly those starting grade 7 or 9.

The agenda is as follows:

7:30 - 8:00 (approximately) School Council Meeting

• Nomination/confirmation of the School Council Executive
• Discussion of Council Goals for the 2009-2010 school year
• PRO (Parents Reaching Out) grant submission
• Update on the funding inequity letter sent in June.

8:00 (approximately) - 9:30 Homework and Study Skills Seminar

Our guest speaker, Ms. Perugini (Alternative Programs / Acting Vice-Principal) will present techniques to help students get maximum benefit from their homework and study sessions.

Both students and parents are welcome at this seminar.

Appeal for Council Executive volunteers

Our current Council Executive represents children in grade 11 and 12 only. We need more involvement from parents in the younger grades so that these students are effectively represented on the school council, and to ensure continuity as the older students graduate (taking their parents with them!)

Any and all parents wishing to participate in the School Council are always welcome. If you have a son or daughter in grades 7 through 10 and would like to get involved with the Council, we have an extra-special welcome for you! Time commitments are minimal and it is a great opportunity to meet the administration and teachers and stay involved with your child's education.

To parents of our new and returning students, please remember that registration dates for the 2009-2010 calendar year at The Woodlands School are:

If your students graduated from The Woodlands this spring and you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click the unsubscribe link below.

Sincerely,

The Woodlands School Parent Council

The agenda for the May 25th Council meeting is available online. Interested parents are encouraged to attend from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at the school. This is an important meeting as council's goals for the 2009-2010 school year will be discussed and established.