Monday, 22 October 2012

Principal's Message - October 2012

To the Proud Parents of our Sullivan Heights STARS,

We have now successfully started our first semester at Sullivan Heights with our new bell schedule.  Our students have settled into their classes and we’re all looking forward to a great year. Our student population has now grown to 1300 students, approximately 90 more students than last year.  As a result of the increase, we have added another period to our schedule and hired some new staff. There have been a few adjustments, but so far everyone seems to have adjusted. All our students are in class and we are all ready for a great year of learning. Thank you to students, staff, and parents for your patience in adjusting to our new schedule. 

I hope all our new families have settled into the routines of high school and are managing the transition from elementary school. Our grade 8 parent evening held on Sept. 12th was very well attended. Thank you to the many new families who introduced themselves to me and have made a concerted effort to connect with our school. Our grade 8’s have settled into the routines of high school and sure look great in their new “Property of Sullivan Heights” t-shirts.

On the other end, our grade 12’s are sure off to a great start to their final year. We had our grade12 parent evening on Oct. 25th and our Grad Boat Cruise on Oct. 4th. Both events were a success, particularly the boat cruise with many grads in attendance all dressed up in their semi formal attire.  A huge thank you goes out to Mr. Hepting and Ms. Van Neikerk for organizing and coordinating grad this year. As a STAR parent of a grade 12 student, now is the time to ensure all the details have been attended to for your child’s graduation. Weekly discussions about grades and accomplishments will pay off come the end of the year.

If your child is looking to get involved in extra curricular activity, Sullivan Heights has plenty to offer. This fall we are fielding teams for boys and girls in soccer, volleyball, field hockey, hockey and cross-country. If athletics isn’t for you, we offer all sorts of club involvement through our Global Issues, Outdoor, Debate, Duke of Edinburgh, Community Volunteer, Golf, GSA and Robotics clubs.  All these programs have a teacher sponsor and many students who actively engage.  A huge thank you goes out to the many teachers and community members who volunteer their time in support of our students.
 
We had our first PAC meeting on September 24th.  Thank you to Ms. Lyne Moussa for continuing on as PAC chair.   One of my goals from last year is to continually seek to find ways to get more parents involved.  On this note, please know that we always have an open invitation to any and all parents who want to come join our PAC.   Come and join us and bring a friend!  Our next PAC meeting is on October 29th at 7 p.m. in our library.
  
As you may have already heard, we no longer send home bi-monthly newsletters. Our newsletters are now in the form of information updates on our website located at sullivanheights.com. You can access the website through your personal computer or you can enable our website to send updates directly to your email address and/or your personal handheld electronic device. To receive updates via email or through your personal handheld device, you must enter your email address on our website’s main home page. I strongly encourage you to do this.  This will allow a steady stream of relevant school informational updates to come directly to you.  A much better process than having a bi monthly newsletter sent home.

As your Principal, and on behalf of all of us at Sullivan Heights, I want to thank all our Sullivan Heights parents for choosing to play such an active role in your child’s education.  Your commitment to getting your children to school on time combined with supporting their learning at home helps us all ensure our Sullivan Heights community of children are successful.
Proud to be a Sullivan STAR!

Rex Hayes
Principal

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