The Raven Report

The first day of Semester 2 will be Monday February 3rd. It is exciting times when students and teachers begin to form new relationships and tackle learning in new subject areas.

Students can find their schedule in Aspen. Need help? Find instructions here.

A list of students and first period teacher can be found in the front foyer. Students wishing to make any course changes need to make an appointment in guidance. The timetable is very tight and limited changes are available.

To support student success and maximize learning , we are introducing attendance accountability measures for semester two. Students with unexplained absences will be assigned detentions. This approach reflects our commitment to helping every student reach their full potential through consistent attendance. We know that regular attendance directly correlates with academic achievement.

Students who are unable to attend assigned detentions may face progressive discipline measures based on individual circumstances.

Detentions will be held from 11:00-11:25 AM in our Student Support Room. Students may bring academic work to complete and will have time from 11:25 - 11:45 AM to eat lunch. Electronic devices are only permitted for schoolwork.

If you have questions about attendance or need support, please contact a member of the admin team.

On Wednesday, February 12th, we will be hosting a post-secondary fair where many universities, colleges, employment services and other guests will help students explore the options after highschool. Your students will have the opportunity to interact with the representatives and collect information.

Also on the evening of February 12th, we invite all our families to join us at our Designing Your Future Event from 5-7PM. There will be a fair from 5:00-5:45PM which will be followed by presentations from 5:50-7:00PM to learn about pathways from grade 9 to 10, OYAP, SHSM, IB, universities, colleges and much more. Please register for this event at bit.ly/ESSDYF

Over the last few weeks our students have been using MyBlueprint to think about postsecondary and course selection. MyBlueprint is an amazing tool for career planning and we hope your students are showing you their progress. MyBlueprint also has a record of the diploma requirements which are easily tracked in the Graduation Indicator.

When you are in MyBlueprint, go to the highschool plan and then click “View Progress” to see all the requirements that need to be completed.

Course Selection officially begins this week in our Aspen Student System. Students can make their requests directly in Aspen. Steps: Login to Aspen (change to "full site" if on phone), MyInfo (top tab), Requests (side Tab).

Use our Online Course Calendar or Myblueprint to review the courses available.

Guidance will be visiting classes again in February to ensure students have completed their course selection and to answer any questions. Initial course requests need to be in Aspen by February 21. Students will be able to make adjustments by contacting their guidance counselor after this date.

Thanks to an incredible local business partner stepping up to support our school, we're thrilled to announce the yearbook is moving forward!

All families can order a copy of the 2024/2025 Raven Yearbook by clicking here. Sales will close on Friday, February 14th. Don't delay and order yours today!

Parents and guardians are invited to attend our fourth School Council Meeting on February 3rd from 5:30 - 7pm. NEW members are always welcome to attend! Please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/1tJk1G8rjMNNAAca7

Our School Clothing store has re-opened! Please CLICK HERE to place your order.

Feb 10: Sem 1 Report Cards Sent Home

Feb 12: Designing Your Future Event

Feb 14: Staff vs. Student Basketball game (P3) and Sr Fun Day (P4)

Feb 11 - 21: Grad Photos

For all events, be sure to check out the calendar on our website: ess.hpedsb.on.ca

At Eastside, we want our students and families to be well informed. We have multiple ways that we will communicate with you:

1. Direct email: please make sure that when you review the information form in September that you verify a correct email address.

2. Social media: please follow up on Facebook and Instagram so that you can stay up-to-date on the amazing things happening at ESS.

3. Website: be sure to check out ess.hpedsb.on.ca as it has a lot of great information including an ESS Events calendar.

4. Newsletter: We will publish “The Raven Report” newsletter each month and send it directly to the email that we have on file.

We also encourage two-way communication between the classroom teacher and home, so please reach out to your child’s teacher at any point. Contact information can be found on our website.