School Council Secondary-Panel Teacher ReportJanuary 18, 2016 1. Japan Exchange

The Ottawa-Carleton Education Network (OCENET) and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) are embarking on the first Ontario exchange with Yamate Gakuin high school in Yokohama Japan. Earl of March, Sir Robert Borden, and West Carleton are the three schools in the board that will be participating. 80 Japanese students come here from April 15-29, staying with host families from the 3 schools (2 students per home). 40 students from the Ottawa schools will go to stay with host families in Japan from July 21 - Aug 4 (22 so far from EOM). How it will affect EOM (April 15-29): - April 18: Welcome and school tour (roughly 44 Japanese students at Earl) - students will shadow hosts' classes - April 21: Cultural Showcase @ EOM after school (Fair, Cultural Performance) - April 26: Trip to Montreal for Host/Japanese students - April 20, 22, 25, 27, 28: As of right now are open days for the host families/schools to plan activities. You may see Japanese students in school/class or be missing host students on one or two of these days. We are looking for a few more families to host. Kathy Scheepers from OCENET is the main contact (Kathy.scheepers@ocdsb.ca) but feel free to contact Adam Lecuyer, Natalie Dash, Laura Hillary, Kyler Buck, Trish Clark, or Greg Scheepers, who are the teacher organizers for Earl of March. We are looking into putting some information on the school website.

Access an electronic copy of the detailed information flyer at this link.

(Submitted by Ms. Natalie Dash)

2. Technology

The Grade 12 Manufacturing Engineering students recently had a visit from Paul Marriage, the Coordinator of the Ottawa Chapter of the Tetra Society, to discuss the project they are completing with Marc Gregoire, a local engineer, for a 5-year-old girl with no motor control. The idea is to construct a portable chair that can be attached to the girl's wheelchair, allowing her mother to raise and lower her to the floor. As the girl grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult for her mother to lift her in and out of the chair.

The Tetra Society exists to "Recruit skilled volunteer engineers and technicians to create assistive devices for people with disabilities."

Currently there are 45 chapters across Canada and the United States. Local chapters often partner with university engineering departments to give engineers-in-training practical, hands-on experience

developing solutions for people's mobility issues. We are exploring the idea of creating the first partnership with a high school here at Earl of March, as many of our Grade 12 Manufacturing Engineering students are considering careers in the world of engineering. As Mr. Pemberton, our Head of Technological Education, is himself a mechanical engineer, it looks like it could be an excellent and unique opportunity for Earl students. The Technology Department and Tetra are looking forward to working on additional projects in the near future!

Mr. Pemberton would be happy to come to School Council one night and talk about the Tetra affiliation.

(Submitted by Mr. Scott Pemberton)

3. Drama

Rehearsals for Legally Blonde are going well. The show is less than 2 months away. The show will take place from March 3 to March 6. We encourage everyone to come on out and promote high school theatre.

(Submitted by Mr. Matt Minter)

4. Business

Mr. Kelly’s International Business class had a Skype conference in the Library Learning Commons with Chris Avery, VP Corporate at WestJet. Student Shikhar Prabhakar arranged the entire event, from making first contact, to arranging the technology, to introducing the discussion. Mr. Avery afterwards sent a note to Mr. Kelly asking him to pass on to the students how much he enjoyed the conversation and how impressed he was with their intelligent questions. Mr. Avery indicated that he would be happy to do more with this class and with future classes. (Submitted by Mr. Will Kelly)

5. Technovation

● Earl of March is participating in Technovation, a program dedicated to inspiring young women to pursue technology and entrepreneurship. Working in teams of five, 20 Earl of March female students are paired with a female mentor who works in high tech, to develop a mobile app that is relevant to their community, conduct market research, write business plans, and create a “pitch” for funding.

● The goal is to inspire girls to see themselves as not just users of technology, but as inventors, designers, builders, and entrepreneurs.

● This is a global program and competition that runs from January to April. In Ottawa, Women Powering Technology, a local nonprofit, has partnered with Carleton University, IBM, Shopify, Pythian and other local tech companies. Weekly sessions follow the technovation curriculum and are taught by students at Carleton’s Technology Innovation Management (TIM) Program.

(Submitted by Mrs. Sherry Lee)

6. Ski Trip

There will be a Ski and Snowboard Trip to Mont-Sainte-Anne and Le Massif on the weekend of April 1-3. The trip costs $375 and will include accommodations at Chateau Mont-Ste-Anne, several meals, and a walking tour of Old Quebec City. Any students interested in participating should attend a meeting on Jan. 21 at lunch (listen to the announcements for details); thereafter, forms will be available outside the English office. There are only 40 spots and they will fill up quickly!

(Submitted by Ms. Colleen Cooley)

7. Advanced Placement

Registration for this year’s AP Exams is now open. Information sheets and registration forms for the May 2016 exams can be found on the school website at http://www.earlofmarch.com/index.php/front-page-2/ap-exams-this-year/. The registration deadline is March 4, 2016.

As Option Sheet time approaches and students are considering their course selections for next year, Grade 10 and 11 students who are motivated to pursue additional opportunities should consider choosing Advanced Placement classes in areas of interest to them. Advanced Placement classes offer students the chance to take classes with students who share their academic interests and to earn an internationally-recognized first-year university credit while taking a Gr. 11 or Gr. 12 class. Students and parents can find more information about the AP Program at Earl on our website at http://www.earlofmarch.com/index.php/special-programs/ap-program/, and can also consult with the AP Coordinator, Ms. Johnstone.

(Submitted by Ms. Laura Johnstone)

8. Library Learning Commons

We are establishing a Beginning Books Collection for our Community Living and Autism Unit students. The BB Collection will also serve Level 1 ELL students whose English skills are not yet strong enough to use our Teen/Adult QuickReads (reading level Gr. 4 and up) Collection. The BB Collection will have a set of “teen issues” books aimed at readers reading at the Gr. 1 level, but its main focus will be picture books, early-reader chapter books, and early-reader nonfiction. Big thanks go out to Earl of March staff, who have been very generous in their donations from their own family collections. If parents would like to donate, fiction and non-fiction early-reader books would be gratefully accepted. Please note that donated books must be clean and in excellent condition, as library conditions tend to fatigue books quickly and we don’t want to spend more money repairing a book than we would have in buying it new. :)

We are also looking for donations of gently-used Manga or similar graphic novels that appeal to teens. If you have a Manga devotee at home who is looking to make more room on his or her shelf, we will gladly give the discards a home. Again, please ensure that donated books are in excellent condition, and that they are appropriate in content for a teen audience. Thank you!

(Submitted by Ms. Laura Johnstone)

9. Science

Mr. Amini’s Gr. 11 Physics students had a presentation from Mr. Hughes, a retired federal government scientist. Mr. Hughes has worked in various fields such as research and design for solid propellant rockets, combustion engineering, and building/testing of lasers. Here are some of the highlights:

● Mr. Hughes shared with our physics students about his career and the field of engineering in general

● Mr. Hughes discussed in details the design and testing of a rocket combustion engine

(Submitted by Mr. Siros Amini)

10. Robotics Club

The Earl of March Robotics Club recently acquired a new robot and are also excited to have been awarded a second robot from Carleton University. The Robotics Club will be programming these robots to compete in the "Defy the Maze" Competition sponsored by the the I.E.E.E. (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) in May. This is the first-ever contest of this type in Ottawa. The club meets every Wednesday and Thursday after school in room 263. Students interested in the Robotics Club can contact Mr. Comeau or Mr. Lecuyer. The club's student leader, Maxim Zakirov, and other club members will be showcasing the club at the upcoming grade 8 Parent Night on January 21st.

(Submitted by Mrs. Sherry Lee)

11. Computers

The Computer Engineer students have been hard at work this semester, soldering wires, connecting data chips and circuits, and programming software to talk to hardware. One of our grade 12 students, Peter Zhu, successfully built and programmed a quadracopter drone that can actually take off from the ground. We have other students working with sensors and robot cars that can react the light, barriers and lines drawn on the ground to drive around safely. A grade 11 student, Binyamin Brion, managed to diagnose an old 1998/1999 laptop's issues in not turning on and successfully fixed it up to run Windows XP and was even able to install some software.

(Submitted by Ms. Lindsay Coderre)

12. Health and Physical Education and Athletics

Health and Physical Education The semester is quickly coming to an end. Our classes are busy completing summatives and culminating tasks. The grade 9 students have experienced a variety of activities throughout the semester with classes most recently having had the opportunity to go to the rink at the John Mclack Centre to work on skating skills. The grade 9s have also had presentations during health by our Public health Nurse. As personal fitness comes to an end the kids had the chance to test their functional fitness, movement skills and bravery as they hit up Gatineau's Altitude Rock Gym. The students had a lot of fun challenging themselves and persevering with difficult tasks. They only have one week left before exams start, which means that keeping active, blowing off steam, and ensuring their brains are activated for the crunch is

imperative. Included below are some pictures from recent Personal Fitness Classes... see how these kids get things done!

AthleticsWe are over halfway through the winter season of interscholastic sports. Our Junior and senior boys basketball teams are doing well in league play. The senior girls volleyball team has had some very close matches and the curling team is one of the most spirited team at Earl of March as they suit up for each game. The boys are hopeful that they will make playoffs. The girls are building as a team and always having fun. Our mid winter season will start soon with the junior boys volleyball, junior girls volleyball and badminton teams set to start tryouts.

(Submitted by Mrs. Martha Ashfield)