June 2019

Principal’s Message It seems that every year the month of June sneaks up on everyone. This has been true in every school that I have worked in throughout my career and West Credit is certainly no exception. It has been an action packed spring, so much so that we barely had time to notice the questionable weather!

Before providing a glimpse of some of the amazing events that have gone on since the end of April, here is a staffing update:

I would like to start by thanking Mr. Philipose who capably stepped up and filled in for Art teacher extraordinaire, Ms Kolosyzc. Further thanks go out to Ms Azooz and Ms Carney who covered Ms Martin and Ms Chorney, both of whom recently began maternity leaves. And finally, thank you to Mr. Macrae, a legend and fixture here at West Credit, for covering Ms Primeau’s classes in her absence.

During the staff meeting on Monday May 6, I would have lowered the flags to half mast if I were allowed to because that was when Vice-Principal Vicki Thomas announced her retirement, effective at the end of June. Ms Thomas has been at West Credit for the past ten years and has left an indelible mark on the school. I can say with certainty that no one I know approaches the vice-principal role like Ms Thomas does. The relationships she creates with staff, students and their families are caring and sincere. Moreover, her ability to deal with the most challenging situations while maintaining a positive attitude is unique. I have rarely met someone as selfless and service oriented as Ms Thomas. She is principled, kind, firm when she has to be, and she means what she says. Her legacy at West Credit will be felt in the hallways of the school for several years to come. It has been a privilege working with her this semester and our entire school community wishes her all the best for a happy and well deserved retirement.

In other staffing news, we have been through a very busy hiring process for teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) as we prepare to welcome Glenforest South students and increased enrolment this September.

I would like to welcome the following teachers to our amazing staff: Harpinder Buttar is coming to us from Judith Nyman and will be joining our Math and Special Education Departments; Carrie Thomas joins our Science Department and is coming from Heart Lake; Linda Weylie is arriving from Bramalea Secondary and will be teaching

English and Careers; Teresa Fasulo-Cascioli will be joining the Hospitality Department from Glenforest South; Ken Nadin will be teaching Business/Careers and he is also coming from Glenforest South; and the following teachers are the newest members of our Special Education ASD program: Greg Dellio (Glenforest South), John Volpe (Glenforest South), Elaine Irwin (Turner Fenton), and Kathy Farrell (Glenforest South).

Finally, I would like to welcome the following TAs: Emily Awad, Joanna Calisto, Carly Corcoran, Shakila Esat, Kathleen House, Heather Howse, Sadaf Khan, Rhondi Lyons, Amanda Nicole, Mandy Walia and Kimberley Walker.

Inside this issue:

Hospitality 3

Co-operative Education 5

Student Price Cards 5

West Credit Athletics 6

40 Hours 6

West Credit Secondary

School Newsletter

Continued next page

Believe it or not, there is still more to do. Between now and September, we will be adding six more permanent teachers and one teaching assistant. A busy staffing process for a busy school.

In the previous newsletter, I mentioned that one of my key priorities since taking on the role of acting principal has been the transition of Glenforest South students to West Credit for the next school year. At this point, I am excited to report that staff and students from both schools have been working together seamlessly. I would like to thank Mr. English and Ms Hill for planning and leading our transition work through this process. Since April, our staff has spent time at Glenforest South to meet students, listen to their concerns and answer their questions. In cooperation with Glenforest South staff, our Guidance and Special Education teachers have made every effort to speak with families and welcome each student that is coming in September. Our students even went bowling together! Thank you to staff from both schools for this important work.

On Saturday May 11, West Credit held our annual Spring Market and it was an amazing day. I would like to thank all the staff and students who volunteered and community members who attended as well as the vendors who contributed to the market’s success. A huge thanks also goes out to Ms Burnside and Ms Cichuttek for organizing this event months in advance. Also, thank you to Mr. Morley and his custodial staff for setting up a million tables and ensuring everything was where it needed to be.

In other year end type news, the West Credit prom was held recently and it was a wonderful evening. Thank you to Mr. Horn and his team for the delicious food (no one can make french fries like Ms Hill), to the numerous staff who helped transform our cafeteria into a most elegant venue and to Mr. Angeja for making sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, had to dance that night.

Student athletes were recognized at a recent athletic banquet. Congratulations on a successful year and thank you to all the staff who coached this year. Please take the time to read about our stu-dent’s athletic accomplishments further in this newsletter.

As we prepare for Commencement and the end of the year, I would like to acknowledge our graduating students and wish them well. In my brief time at the school, I have come to know that being “West Credit proud” is a real thing. I hope every graduating student will always look back fondly on their time here. It is a school like no other and the students make West Credit a special and magical place.

Finally, I would like to finish by announcing changes to our school’s administration for this fall. Dan Drmanic will be taking over from Ms Thomas as our new vice-principal. Mr. Drmanic is an experienced vice-principal and is coming from Missis-sauga Secondary. He is excited to be joining Ms Vardy and they will be a great team. They will be led by West Credit’s new principal, Kimberley Jones. Ms Jones is also an experienced administrator, having been an administrator at North Park, Sandalwood Heights and most recently Parkholme School in Brampton. Ms Jones and I continue to work together to ensure a fluid and successful transition. She is dedicated, student centred and will be a positive force at West Credit.

I will be returning to Clarkson Secondary as vice-principal. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the staff, students and families of West Credit for making this semester one that I will never forget. I have always believed that schools should be fun, supportive places where learning happens and memories are created that last a lifetime. West Credit is that school. Pursue your passion. Be West Credit proud. Treasure it. And thank you.

Happy Summer.

Mr. Kontos, Acting Principal

Principal’s Message Continued….

Page 2 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

West Credit’s Hospitality students were in high gear right until the end of the semester. Beyond the normal workings of running the school cafeteria, they provided food for the Principal’s Receptions, both the Asian and First Nations Heritage Month’s Food Tasting Events, and the Breakfast Club. The Hospitality Department catered over 160 pizzas and cupcakes for High School Rehearsal. The yummy Grad Breakfast was served by students with the help of our amazing Admin Team. Catering was also provided for Ms. Thomas’ Retirement Party #1. In addition we provided the catering for Prom and the Athletic Banquet for West Credit. We also provided a couple hundred cupcakes for Streetsville Secondary’s Athletic Banquet too!

Mr. Horn invited a George Brown Instructional Chef and students to demonstrate some culinary techniques with our West Credit Students. It was a great opportunity for our students to learn, but I think the George Brown Chef and students were equally impressed with our students’ skills and our facilities. Many of the George Brown students said they wished they had been at a school like West Credit before they went on to college. Hopefully we will continue to link our students with George Brown in the future.

Hospitality

Page 3

High School Rehearsal Grad Breakfast Grad Breakfast Grad Breakfast

Staff and

students

volunteering

to help out at

Prom.

Continued next page

Page 4 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

Hospitality Continued….

Rosalia, pictured here, helped out and earned even more volunteer hours at the Makers’ Market where she helped sell the baked goods while other students and staff ran the BBQ. If you missed it this year, make sure you put it on the calendar for next year! The Streetsville Rotary holds one of their monthly luncheon meetings at West Credit every year, after running Camp Enterprise, where a few of our students attend a 3-day event to learn about Entrepreneurship. We enjoy hosting the event and our students gain the benefit of serving a plated luncheon including this first course salad with homemade Balsamic Dressing.

The Peel Board of Education Communication’s Department held the JUST ASK! event at West Credit for over 100 students and staff including many of our Board’s Superintendents (Including our former Principal Ms. Dana Sheahan). It was a great opportunity for our students to prepare and serve food, but also a real treat for them to hear the guest speaker from the Juno Award

Winning and Polaris Nominated lead singer of the Canadian Electric Pow Wow Band A Tribe Called Red. As of this writing, we only have our regular lunches and Breakfast Club food, a catering supper for our former Principal, Ms. Crissa Hill, and the graduating class of Principal Candidates, a luncheon catering for the Peel Board’s Vice Principal’s for 70, and last but certainly not least, our Commencement! We are very proud of the work our students do each day and hope they understand the reputation they continue to earn themselves. By the way, Mr. Massara welcomed a new baby girl to his family born last week at the time of this writing! All are reported to be doing well. Depending on timetabling, Mr. Massara and Ms. Burnside will be joining Mr. Horn in Hospitality again for one or two courses next year. Thank you to Mr. Rebelo who has worked with us this year in Hospitality on loan from the Auto Department. The numbers indicate he’ll be returning to full sections in Auto next year. We would like to give a sincere thank you to Acting Principal Mr. Angelo Kontos for his leadership and support during his brief tenure at West Credit. Best wishes to him in the future. He will be missed! Thanks to our VP Erin Vardy who does a lot of work behind the scenes with SHSM and our Hospitality Department as a whole. And a very special thank you to Ms. Vicki Thomas who has been a huge student and Technological Education Advocate. Ms. Thomas has navigated and lead us through field trip organization, last minute coverage for catering events, surprise caterings, SHSM Certification coverage and transportation, just walking in and checking on our health and wellbeing, and so much more. Ms. Thomas will be greatly missed, and we wish her all the best in retirement. We would like to wish everyone a very relaxing and safe summer and look forward to a new group of students in the Fall. Sincerely, Mr. Horn, for the Hospitality Department

Cooperative Education

Page 5

Semester two 2019 has come to an end and we wanted to thank the students for a wonderful semester. We have had a number of student success stories and accomplishments. We had students working in all different areas such as: Auto Service, Child Care, Carpentry, E.C.E., Hairstyling, Hospitality, Office Clerk, Retail, Welding and Woodworking. There were 12 students enrolled in our Specialist High Skilled Major Programs and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, 4 in Cabinetmaker – Richard Boehlke, Logan Carpenter, Hakeem Elhigzi and Joshua Minneaux, 1 in Cook – Anthony Nguyen, 2 in Hairstylist – Sarah Ashley Phillips, Christina Vratsidas, 1 in Welder – Jordan Winch, 4 in Automotive Service Technician – J’vaughnie White, Muhammad Umair, Jackson Tomlinson and Prathik Sriranjan.

There are a lot of possible job offers out there for our students once co-op is finished. Some have already se-cured part-time or full time employment. Joshua Minneaux and Richard Boehlke – Provincial Store Fixtures, Jordan Winch – Treblex, Jayden Rankin – No Frills, Muhammad Umair – Canadian Tire – Heartland, J’vaughnie White – Canadian Tire – Meadowvale, Ashley Phillips – Village Hair Studio, and Hussain Edah Tally – Party City. We would like to wish all the co-op students good luck with their future endeavors.

Marilyn Damery, Co-operative Education Teacher

Student Price Cards Student Price Cards (a discount shopping card) will be on sale during registration this August 27th. The card is intended for teenagers who shop at the mall or like to eat at a variety of fast food places. The most common discount is 10%. The cards are valid from July 1, 2019 until June 30, 2020. Cards cost $10 and West Credit receives $3.50 for every card sold. Help us raise some money for West Credit! Cards will be sold at 9am until they sell out.

Ms. Bouwmeester, Phys. Ed. Teacher

Joshua Minneaux

Provincial Store Fixtures

Cabinet Maker Assistant

Mesk Al-Qaysi

Fallingbrook Public School

Office Assistant

Page 6 West Credit Secondary School Newsletter

West Credit Athletics

Another very successful year is quickly coming to an end for all of our West Credit athletes and coaches. Our final sports of the year were badminton, track & field, and soccer. I’m happy to report that we have much to be proud of in each of these activities. Thanks to Mr. Nunes, Ms. McIntyre, Ms. Priestley, and Mr. Koehler for coaching our badminton team. A number of players performed well and achieved personal bests on the court. In fact, our senior badminton team members combined to win the overall senior championship. Our special events track & field team performed well and had another successful year. Thanks to Ms. Bouwmeester and Ms. Priestley and the many other volunteers who worked hard with our athletes to make this event a huge success. Finally, thanks to Ms. Surtees, Ms. Scarola, and Mr. Angeja, for coaching our soccer team and leading them in a great final tournament performance. As this update is being written our intramural floor hockey championship has yet to be decided. Regardless of the outcome, this has been another exciting season. Congratulations to all our athletes for another great year!

On Wednesday June 5 we held our annual athletic assembly. During this event we recognized the most improved and most valuable players from each of our teams. It was also with great pleasure that we announced Nyela Thomas and Justin Caskenette as our “Athletes of the Year”. Congratulations to all our athletes and award winners and once again a big “THANK YOU” to all of our coaches.

Mr. Ward, Head of Phys. Ed.

40 Hours Did you know you must complete 40 hours of volunteer work to grad-uate?

All students must complete 40 hours of community involvement to graduate with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. You can start accumulating hours in the summer before grade 9. Try to complete your 40 hours by the end of grade 10.

Think of volunteering as an opportunity to learn more about yourself and possible career opportunities. Gain self-confidence and work experience that will help you get jobs in the future.

See your Guidance Counsellor if you need more information.

The Guidance Team

Nyela Thomas

Female Athlete of the Year—2019

Justin Caskenette

Male Athlete of the Year—2019