Winter has arrived and we have welcomed it with the Winter Warmth Drive and the Semi Formal happening this evening. The next two weeks, staff and students have planned many events for students as they anticipate two weeks off for the winter break. Wednesday, December 11th our grade 7 students will be participate in a virtual presentation with Julie Lalonde titled Consent in the Classroom. Our Diversity Club is hosting holiday cookie decorating for all students on the 13th. On December 16th, the Kingston Family Military Resource Centre staff will have a presentation set up in the foyer about the YOUth Matters program during the secondary and intermediate lunch. The intermediate team has a number of events including volleyball at lunch next week, festive colours day for the 16th, ugly sweater/cozy day for the 17th, movies in the classrooms on the 18th, Revillion on the 19th, as well as a dance, and on the 20th our leadership students are providing a pancake breakfast for all students. On top of all these great events, winter sports are in full swing, please check out the schedule on the KASSAA website to come support our athletes.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Jen, Mike, & Kirsti

Student council is collecting hats, scarves and mittens for local individuals in need.

If you are able to contritbute, please send items to school to add to the tree.

Cell Phones: Class time is valued for academic learning. As a school, we continue to reinforce our cell phone policy (see the chart below). In grade 7/8 classes cell phones should be away in lockers. At the secondary level, classroom teachers are to set out clear expectations at the start of the term and be consistent throughout the semester. All classes are equipped with cell phone hotels as phones are to be away unless the teacher has asked for them to be pulled out for instructional and/or research purposes.

Washrooms: Congregating in washrooms is not allowed.Please let your child(ren) know that staff will continue their supervision roles by being in and out of washroom common spaces as required.

Vaping: Vaping is banned anywhere on or within 20 metres of school property. Students may be subject to disciplinary action and parents and guardians will be notified and public health may apply fines of $305. You might be wondering about vape detectors, as per the ministry release of the PPM 128 in May; we will provide updates as we receive further direction from the school board and ministry.

Human Rights: The Human Rights reporting tool poster is posted in our halls and classrooms. When someone has experienced or witnessed rights violations, we encourage them to report to a trusted adult and/or complete the reporting tool by scanning the QR code. We will continue to ensure our school is a safe place to be for everyone. Slurs and epithets are not acceptable. Discrimination, bullying including verbal, social, physical or cyber as well as symbols of hate are in violation of the Human Rights code. If you or your child have questions or concerns please reach out to us.

Our school climate goal is to ensure a safe space that encourages respectful interactions.

In the age of digital technology and tools, and time-pressure in busy lives, students sometimes submit information that is not representative of their own thinking and growth by using the AI tools such as Grammarly, ChatGPT and many others. Staff will continue to educate students on classroom expectations for assessments. Student attendance and completion of formative work is crucial - it allows students to receive feedback, ask questions, advance their learning, and prevents them from feeling that they have 'run out of time' and 'need' to take a shortcut. If you or your child are ever unclear of the expectations please reach out. Below is one of the tools we use in the office to help educate as well as the board's current academic integrity chart.

Secondary Exams and other Final Culminating Assessment activities will be taking place from Thursday January 23 through Wednesday January 29, 2025 which will be reserved in case of conflicts or inclement weather on previous exam days. Students must be available for this entire period. Please see the attached Exam Schedule and Instructions. Paper copies will be distributed to Homerooms on Wednesday, December 11th.

We are so proud of the successful applicant for this year's Shop with a Cop!

Students in Ms McFarlane's Science classes made innovative (some were edible!) cell models and presented them to classmates.

Students putting their learning into practice.

Grade 9 students used graphic instruments to explore the school and create various graphs.

Grade 8 students drew quotes from a box, had to figure out who said it and then determine from their own research and critical thinking if the individual is someone people should look up to.

Grade 12 tutoring leaders support some of our grade 9 English students.

Students in woodshop created catapults in teams tested out their projects.

Math help is available everyday at lunch and after school on Wednesdays until 4PM in room 206 and they can contact Ms. Grewal at grewalsukhi@limestone.on.ca if they have any questions.

• Winter Break: Monday, December 23, 2024 to Friday, January 3, 2025
  
• Secondary Exam Days: Thursday, January 23, 2025 to Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
  
• First day of Semester Two: Monday February 3rd, 2025
• Secondary Report Card Distribution in Homeroom Classes: Friday February 14, 2025
• Family Day: Monday February 17, 2025

New members are always welcome to join us at each meeting. Our next school council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 25th at 6:30 pm online. If you would like to participate, please email our Principal, Jen Grasse, to obtain access to the virtual meeting invitation.

Elected council for the 2024/25 school year:

Chair: Marsha Valente

Secretary: Stephanie Gratto

PIC Representative: Members will rotate attendance at PIC meetings

Members at Large: Laura Doherty, Todd Lamothe, Kishore Kumar and Sonika Sathish

Much appreciation to this team for their volunteer time in supporting our school!

LOWER FEES?!

Reduce your family's school fees by participating in our FundScrip fundraiser. This year found fundraiser can be accessed at anytime - when you are purchasing gift cards anyways, you might as well purchase them with added benefits. Did you know that, 80% of the rebates earned are given to your family as school credit which can be applied to school trips, athletic fees, or other extra curriculars.

We invite you to learn about our program to reduce your family's school fees for athletic fees and school trips. For FREE MONEY view the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N-MHYP5Ttg and visit https://www.fundscrip.com/support-a-group and enter the invitation code: DYHCNP

Order La Salle clothing ANYTIME at https://lasalleintermediatesecondaryschool.entripyshops.com/

Looking for a list of mental health support resources that are available in the Kingston area? Please access the pdf file linked for you below. Questions? Feel free to reach out to us.

There are many community organizations, including The Maltby Centre, that offer a variety of resources to support students and families. The Maltby Centre (https://maltbycentre.ca/) provides mental health and autism services to children and youth, and works with clients in schools, homes, and other locations.

Other supports include:

• School Mental Health Ontario (*Added new SMH Resource Document below!)
• Youth Diversion
  
• Kids Help Phone

We continue to see many students who struggle to safely and respectively use social media. Please monitor your student's phone usage, especially at night. Many students admit to staying up quite late each night, and therefore coming to school quite tired. Thank you for your vigilance and helping your student get the most out of their day.

The Ministry of Education has approved the Limestone District School Board’s 2024 - 2025 School Year Calendar.

The following key dates have been approved:

• First Day of School: Wednesday, September 4, 2024
• Winter Break: December 23, 2024, to January 3, 2025
• March Break: March 10, 2025 to March 14, 2025
• Last Day of School: Thursday, June 26, 2025

The 2024-2025 school year consists of 195 days;

• Secondary - 177 instructional days, 7 PA Days and 10 exam days.
• Elementary - 187 instructional days and 7 PA Days.

Professional Activity Days - no classes for students:

• Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024
• Friday, Oct. 11, 2024
• Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
• Friday, Jan. 31, 2025
• Monday, Mar. 31, 2025
• Friday, May 30, 2025
• Friday, June 27, 2025

Intermediate email - lasis@limestone.on.ca

Secondary email - lasss@limestone.on.ca

Website: https://lasalle.limestone.on.ca/
Location: 773 Highway 15, Kingston, ON K7L 4V3, Canada
Phone: Intermediate 613-542-9733 Secondary 613-546-1737

Twitter: @LaSalle_LDSB