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The Laker
First semester is moving incredibly fast with a great many activities taking place throughout the months. As you will see in the following pages, our students continue to make tremendous accomplishments from academics to sports to the arts, as well as in our tech areas. I would like to thank all of the staff who contribute so much of their personal time coaching and supervising the many events and clubs we offer. I believe the more extracurricular activity opportunities that a student has a chance to be involved with, the more they will feel a valued part of the school community. I encourage all parents to bookmark our school website as it is a tremendous source of information on what’s happening at BMLSS. http://www.tldsb.on.ca/schools/BMLSS/index.php
The staff at BMLSS are committed to helping all students achieve success and with a commitment from students and parents, the chance of success increases greatly. I encourage all parents to contact me if they have questions or concerns in relation to their child’s education. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Happenings in the English Department
On December 1st, students from Ms. Armstrong’s and Mr. Stevens’ Grade 12 English classes will be heading down to Toronto to see a production of Hamlet. The department is currently looking into Stratford’s spring line-up to see about bringing students from next semester’s English classes to see a Shakespeare play. The yearbook class is offering a special deal on the 2009-10 yearbook: Students who purchase a yearbook within the next week can do so for the bargain-basement price of $30. The yearbook usually sells for $38-$40 so we encourage everyone to purchase their yearbook now to take advantage of the savings. Yearbooks can be purchased outside the caf at lunchtime. Cheques are welcome and should be made out to BMLSS Activity Fund. Mr. O’Toole’s Grade 12 Writer’s Craft students are busy writing plays that will be performed by Mr. Arrill’s and Mrs. Clipsham’s Grades 9 and 10 Drama classes. As a Professional Development initiative, members of BMLSS’s English Department recently read Kelly Gallagher’s book Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It. This book generated a great deal of worthwhile discussion and prompted the department to purchase a wide variety of contemporary books. These books have found their way into our school’s Stop, Drop and Read program and are proving to be tremendously popular
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM Whitney Anne Donaldson, a Grade 9 student, was the lone representative from BMLSS at the OFSAA Cross Country Championships held in Sarnia on November 1st , 2008. She qualified for the provincial championship by placing first at both the MPS and the GBSSA championships held in October. In the Midget Girls’ race at OFSAA, Whitney Anne ran hard and raced smartly. Throughout the 3km course, she made her way into the lead group and pushed with them to the line. Whitney Anne finished 6th in Ontario, out of 235 runners who qualified for the race. She was just 12 seconds behind the winner. With this incredible 6th place finish, Whitney Anne ties for the all-time best finish of any BMLSS cross- country runner at OFSAA. Congratulations!
CO-OP NEWS The co-op program at BMLSS is thriving this semester with over 60 students out at various placements across Muskoka. Co-op is a great way for students to explore tentative career choices and remains the best way for students to uncover apprenticeship opportunites! Recently, BMLSS students Jenna Finnigan (E.C.E. - Macaulay Tree House), Tommy Bray (plumbing - Plumbing Works) and Riley Norwood (carpentry - Muskoka Timber Frame Construction) were signed up as apprentices. Riley will be participating in the carpentry dual credit program offered at Georgian College in February. This means Riley will be obtaining his level 1 apprenticeship training while receiving high school credits! For more information about co-op, students and parents should speak to Jim Tomlinson or Tim Fenn.
TECH NEWS Students are hard at work in the two BMLSS Specialist High Skills Major programs: Construction/Custom Woodworking and Communications Technology. Mr. John Black’s students have constructed and sold two 8 x 10 sheds, and have also fabricated three ice huts in readiness for some winter recreation. Mr. Yeo’s grade eleven and twelve Custom Woodworking classes have designed and built a second-to-none array of projects that were placed on display in the Atrium by the Main Office. Very impressive! Among their many exciting projects, Mr. McGrath’s Communications Technology students created a video that was viewed in more than fifty schools to promote a “Day of Kindness”. And Ms. Armstrong’s Yearbook students are well on the way to making this year’s book the best ever. Mr. Woo is at it again with the Robotics Club, a group of dedicated students ready to compete in contests around the province. Mr. Stevens has ordered some larger screen monitors for the Programming lab, to go along with the updated software purchased this year and other improvements planned for the room layout. Every Wednesday night, from 6 to 8, Mr. Russ Black opens his shop doors to welcome students from his grade 9 to 12 Manufacturing classes. This gives his keenest students an extra opportunity to create their manufacturing masterpieces. Meanwhile Mr. Webster has made some alterations to the set-up of the teaching area within the auto shop – all the better for utilizing computer and internet technology for instruction. We are always looking for things to build and create, so please contact the school to see if we can meet your needs.
Hospitality News Drop by any Wednesday for a healthy lunch organized by BMLSS Hospitality students and their teachers, Mr. Wheatley and Ms. Crowe. Offerings vary by the week: you may enjoy a choice of salads on Salad Days, or partake in the Muskoka Market Lunch every fourth week. The price is a bargain at $4.00 including milk.
Business News Grade ten and eleven business students have been busy creating their business plans, some of which will be entered in the Muskoka BizPlan Challenge in the spring. On Saturday, December 5, several students will be accompanying Mr. Gillan and Mr. Crowe to the 400 Market for a close-up look at dozens of small businesses in action. Always nice to get some ideas from the real world! Soon you will see a custom-built enclosed bulletin board mounted outside Room 219. Designed and built by Mr. Yeo and his woodworking students, the cabinet will display projects and events from our Business Studies courses.
Guidance It has been a busy fall settling all of our students into their classes and meeting program requirements. Many students have been placed in the community in their co-op placements and they are enjoying learning hands on experience in the work force. The guidance counsellors have met with and welcomed all of our Grade 9 students. They are a cheerful and excited group and we are very happy to have them. We hope their first year at BMLSS is rewarding and that they enjoyed the link orientation and will get involved with the activities available to them. College and University representatives came to talk to our students this fall. It is important to note that College applications are due on Feb. 1/10 and University applications are due on Jan. 13/10. We strongly suggest that our students apply before the Christmas Break to avoid complications.
SPECIALIST HIGH SKILLS MAJOR CONSTRUCTION
Our Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program will allow students to major in Construction Technology by taking a variety of courses leading to the SHSM seal on their diploma. We will be working with Georgian College to offer our students enriched opportunities in the field of construction. Students will have opportunities to obtain construction- based certifications, develop specialized training in home/residential construction and co-op in the construction industry. These opportunities will place our students at the forefront in the construction industry.
REQUIREMENTS TO RECEIVE SPECIALIST HIGH SKILLS MAJOR DESIGNATION ON OSSD:
Please see your guidance counsellor or Ms. Williams for more information
International Exchanges
Applications are now available for any student who is interested in participating in an international student exchange for the 2009-2010 school year. BMLSS students can study in Italy, France, Switzerland and many more destinations. Exchanges range in length from one month to one year. Most students from BML choose the three month duration. This is a life-changing, positive experience for our students to explore another culture and get a taste for travelling. There are many different opportunities available. See Mr. Rogers in the Languages office for more details.
Science News at BMLSS
The Science Department has been busy with a variety of events. Mr. Bagshaw and a group of students have been busy creating copper sulfate crystals for the National Instutitue of Chemistry’s crystal growing competition. The Grade 9 classes had the experience of viewing the Science Centre and all that is has to offer on October 21st. Mrs. Ried and Mr . Bagshaw organized a “Viewing of the Stars” night on Halloween night. The Envirothon Team participated in aquatic ecology training by members from the Muskoka Heritage Foundation for the upcoming Provincial Envirothon Competition in April 2009.
AP Biology is going strong with Mrs. Ried at the helm. AP Physics will be commencing in second semester. The Grade 10 science classes and Grade 11 biology classes will be attending the Metro Toronto Zoo on Dec 11th. A reminder to senior students that the national science competitions for biology, chemistry and physics will commence in the spring of the new year.
Wanted Mason jars for canning labs, knitting needles and buttons!!! Please donate these items to the Family Studies department.
French Immersion
The French Immersion students and their families welcomed 22 students from Cannes France for a two week stay. The French were delighted with their trip to Muskoka, trying many new things like Zip Lining and hiking in Algonquin Park. The French and their Canadian hosts enjoyed a pot luck goodbye dinner, with a Halloween party. The parents provided a wonderful potluck buffet and the decorations. The French Outdoor Education class completed a three day canoeing trip in Algonguin Park and are looking forward to more trips soon! The Immersion Geography classes went to Niagara region to see Canada'a vineyards. They visited Niagara Falls , toured a winery and watched a ship pass through the Welland Canal.
BMLSS Sports Sports is alive at BMLSS. The swimmers have a large group that will represent BMLSS at GB’s on Dec 2nd. The junior girls basketball team had an excellent season finishing second overall at the GBSSA championship. junior and senior boys Basketball began with their first tournament last weekend. Games are every Tuesday and Thursday. As well, volleyball (midget, junior and senior) has started. Games are Tuesdays; the first game is at 2:00. Come in and catch a game. Boys and girls hockey is ongoing with both teams doing well. Gymnastics has also started up with 26 girls. New girls are welcome until the beginning of December. Ms. Murray has two assistant student coaches this year: Vienna Goldthorpe and Brittany Allen. And new this year is the Nordic Ski Club. Go Lakers Go!!!!
Student Parliament Update It’s been a busy start for SPAR. We welcomed our new grade 9’s with a free BBQ lunch, had a grade 9 “Welcome to BML” assembly and raised over a thousand dollars with our annual Terry Fox Walk. The first Coffee House debuted a number of new talented singers. Our last Coffee House was dedicated to “Children Without Voices” (Free the Children Program). We had three dances with record numbers attending. The last two encouraged students to bring a food item for a discount and all items are donate to the MANA Food Bank. We have had sprit days such as Hawaiian Day, Black Tie Day, Hogwarts Day and even showed Harry Potter at lunch. We had a Friends Friday in which we played a couple of episodes of Friends at lunch. The Halloween assembly showed creativity with the pumpkin carving contest and the great variety of costumes. We ran dodge ball intramurals (congratulations to the winning team, Team Ness) and the first Volume of the Poseidon Post came out in November. SPAR has had opening and closing assemblies for the magazine campaign. There were some great prizes: a $1000.00 grand prize, personalized Ipods, guitar, skateboards, Wii, and Maple Leaf tickets. We reached just over $49,000.00. We will get about 35% of what we raise. Student Parliament uses the money to run all our activities and buy things for the school like the outside bleachers, picnic tables, the TV in the café, speakers for the TV which should be hung up soon. Thank you Bracebridge for all your support, we couldn’t do it without you. As for December were planning a homeroom gingerbread competition, selling candy grams, having a food drive for the Salvation Army and of course our annual Sr. Christmas Formal at Deerhurst (Dec 17th). Thanks to this years Prime Minister Curtis Lauzon and Deputy Prime Minister Allison Holder we have had a great start to the year. The rest of the year is looking pretty busy too. Have a great Holiday SPAR
Attendance
Regular attendance in all classes is vital to ensure that students receive the instruction and tools needed to be successful in high school. If a student is not able to be at school due to illness, etc., a parent or guardian should either call the school at 645-9599, or send a note to the school with the student. In addition, homework/missed assignments may be requested through the Attendance Secretary if students are absent for three or more days.
Cell Phone Use At BMLSS Recognizing cell phones are a large part of our student culture, students are now permitted to use cell phones in certain areas within the school, during lunch, breaks and spares. These areas are Main Street and the cafeteria. Cell phones are not to be used during class time, in class or in areas other than those mentioned. If students use their cell phones in the areas other than Main Street and the cafeteria they may have their cell phone confiscated for a period of time. As such, parents are encouraged to call their child during lunch, leave a voice message or contact the school in an emergency
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