Staff of John Paul II Collegiate hosted Meet the Staff night in the gymnasium from Sept. 8 from 7 to 8 p.m.
It was an event to welcome the parents or guardians of attending students, whether it was for a chat with their child's teacher to see what they instruct, who they are or just for some coffee and a cookie or two
Parents said they thought the night was a great hit. One new parent found it was a helpful thing to do, and definitely a good idea to start the year off. Several parents agreed it was helpful to have at the beginning of the year, when names could be put to faces or faces put to names.
One parent even met some teachers from her own school years.
"This year will be full of energy, fun and lots of learning," said Ms. Mackrell, chaplain of John Paul II Collegiate.
Mrs. Brandle let her English class activities be known. "I have [many] stories, poems, some Shakespeare, and two novels per class."
Community school co-ordinator Mrs. Wandler, spoke about how Cooking Club would be starting the very next day after school.
"We'll be making the best home made pizza crust first! The students can either make a small one for themselves, or join together and create a large pizza with some friends."
Cooking Club is only one of many clubs students can join, and one of the most popular. Last year it hosted approximately 20 or more kids. When the club finishes at the end of the year, each student will receive a cookbook including all the recipes prepared throughout the year.
Mrs. Wandler stated students are free to voice their opinions when they think a new club should start. Scrapbooking was born not too long ago when a group of students let it be known that they were interested in starting a club to share that activity.
Among some of the clubs are two new activities, archery, and hip hop.
Auditions for Oklahoma, the upcoming new musical, were held in the home economics room, hosted by Mrs. Wandler.
Travel Club is planning a trip England, Ireland, and Wales this year. The tour is 11 days, includes is a two-day extension to Paris. The cost is about $3,800, and students who in Grades 10, 11, and 12 may inquire or enrol with Mrs. Thompson or Mrs. Daigneau. Students must be passing all their classes, have excellent behaviour and good attendance.
Joining the John Paul II Collegiate staff team are two interns, Nate Jurgens and Allison Knight. Both are supportive of teaching, answering a firm "Yes!" to the question, "do they like teaching?"
"My plan was to become an astronaut or a ballerina but, yes! Plus I loved making check marks. It was a natural fit for me," answered Allison, when asked if she always planned to teach.
Both Interns readily agreed they would teach as long as they could, and they say they are enjoying their time at JPII.
While they were at Meet the Staff night, parents could pick up information for HomeLogic - an online grade, attendance and student information reporting program. In the library Mr. Loeppky and Mr. Jesney helped parents receive their own access information for HomeLogic.
Parents and students have their own username and password, so each party can look at their designated information separately. Grades can be checked, schedules can be reached, daily attendance can be seen, information about graduation, and more can be obtained by every student and parent.
Mr. Loeppky said, "Not all schools have this program, and in the two years which we have had this at JP the feedback from the parents has been tremendous! Parents love it; it's updated hour by hour by the teachers."
It is accessible all year round, it provides a small margin for surprises on any upcoming report cards, a true benefit for the parents.
HomeLogic is a valuable communication tool among teachers, students, and parents. Parents who did not receive their access to HomeLogic on Meet the Staff night, phone in and question JP II about receiving their designated information.
Meet the Staff night brought in parents, and with cookies and coffee readily available, they were able to enter the gymnasium and view all the triboards which announced the teachers' roles within the high school.
