Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:

Welcome Back!

It has been a great start-up to the school year.  Classes are in session, sports teams are winning and many clubs are well underway. 

As usual, with your input and cooperation, our professional staff is working very hard to make sure that students are reaching their full potential.  Together, we will help Orchard Park students become contributing members of our society. 

Our students’ hard work has not gone unnoticed.  Through your support, and the dedicated efforts of our staff and students, literacy scores have increased a great deal.  The percentage of fully participating students who were successful increased to 89%.   The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board average was 83% and the Provincial average was 85%.   We also improved our Grade 9 EQAO math scores.  Math score details can be found on the next page.  Congratulations to the entire Orchard Park learning community!

Parent/Teacher Interview Night will take place on Thursday October 22^nd from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  Please call the school (905) 573-3550 to make an appointment.  I hope to see everyone for two reasons.  First, it is a great opportunity to connect with all of your son’s/daughter’s teachers.  Second, it will be the launch of the HWDSB Parent Assistant program.  Parent Assistant will allow parents/guardians to login and see the following information about their son/daughter:  demographics, attendance, report card marks, option sheets, team information, student schedule, credit detail and diploma requirements.  The goal of Parent Assistant is to improve communication between the school and parents/guardians.  On Parent/Teacher Interview Night you will require picture ID to be able to pick-up your username and password.  A Board IT person will be holding two 10 minute information sessions in the library to illustrate how Parent Assistant works.  Session #1 will begin at 5:30pm and Session #2 will begin at 6:30pm.   For more information on the Parent Assistant program, and access to helpful resources and "how to" videos, go to - http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/pa

Parent community ideas and suggestions to improve our school are always welcome.  Please call or email me at your earliest convenience.   You are also welcome to attend our next School Council meeting held on November 11^th at 7:00pm in the school library. 

I look forward to working with you for the betterment of our students.

SCHOOL WEBSITE

A reminder to parents to please access our school website at www.orchardparkss.ca.  The website will provide you with important information about Orchard Park and upcoming events.  If you would like to see additional information on the website, please email me at marco.barzetti@hwdsb.on.ca.

SCHOOL AGENDAS

All students received a school agenda.  The agenda contains important information for parents and students.  Please refer to the agenda for key dates and school policy information. 

Sincerely,

M. Barzetti

Principal