Lockdown at CtK

Our school went into a lockdown last Tuesday based on information that there was an individual in our building allegedly with a knife. A lockdown is a response to an emergency situation wherein the evacua­tion of a school building is neither safe nor advisable and steps are required to isolate stu­dents and staff members from danger.   

The decision to call a lockdown is not taken lightly.  As educators, we must always act as a judicious parent "in loco parentis" (in the place of parents). 

There is a litmus test that we discuss before sending the school into a lockdown.  Is the source reliable? Has it been validated through a first hand or third party? Was there more than one report or sighting?  Is someone's safety immediately in jeopardy?  What type of weapon?

In retrospect, we are always our own worst critics.  Either way, we received commendations from the Police Department and Senior Administration for our exemplary manner to the immediate threat of the initial situation, our leadership  throughout the situation, and through the media and community relations that followed in the after math.
 
At the end of the day, we will always err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety of staff and students in our Catholic Learning Community.

Looking forward to your comments.  Our first Catholic School Council meeting is this Wednesday, September 29th at 7 pm in the library.  You are welcome to join us.

Cell Phones in the classroom?!

Last week, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty suggested that students should be allowed to use cell phones in the classroom.

Currently, students are prohibited through board and school policies to use any electronic device on school property without the express consent from staff. 

Specifically, there are several reasons for precluding students from using cell phones on school property.  Students have used cell phones to traffic illicit drugs, copy assessments, communicate to other friends what is on a test, bully and harass other students on school property and take improper pictures of staff and students that invariably end up on the Internet.

The 21st century learning environment speaks to the use of technology in every facet of education.  For example, there will come a time where all instructional materials will be distributed to students electronically and textbooks may go the way of the horse and carriage. 

Many students come to a school that has inferior technology to what they use on a daily basis at home.  That said, students have access to wireless networks for their laptops and computer networks for classroom instruction.  In addition, staff frequently use interactive smart boards, youtube, wiki spaces, class portals and electronic clickers that allow students to respond to questions and get immediate feedback on projector screens as part of their instructional and assessment practices.

I am not sure where and why cell phones would offer any educational benefit above and beyond what we already have in place?

Looking forward to you sharing your opinion.  As an aside, you are welcome to join us at our first Catholic School Council meeting in our library September 29th at 7:00 pm.

Academic Dishonesty

Why do students cheat?  Is it out of laziness?  Is it a shortcut to success?  Is there too much pressure to meet standards of excellence that are required to get into College and/or University programs?

This weekend's Sunday Star had an article from the University of Toronto that articulated how University Professors face a new tide of student dishonesty. 

Here are a few of the "cheating horror stories" at U of T:

• A tutorial assistant charged three students $1500 each to slip them the answer sheet when he escorted them to the washroom during the exam. Ruling: Suspended for five years

• A student plagiarized an essay, then forged a doctor's letter saying he was too sick to hand in a second essay on time.  He then plagiarized it and handed it in late, followed by a third plagiarized essay. Ruling:  Recommended for expulsion

• A student submitted an essay written originally by a professor at Purdue University whose name, sadly, she failed to include in her essay bibliography.  Ruling:  Suspended for two years

Plagiarism is dealt with on a situation by situation basis at CtK.  Because our role is to nurture our students, often times they are given the opportunity to redo the offending assessment piece without penalty.  Students are realizing that post secondary educators are far less forgiving.  Handing an assignment in late or a professor prodding a student to hand in missing assignments like we do on a constant basis are all laughable concepts in post secondary.  It simply is not tolerated in the large majority of circumstances.

The 2010 Growing Success document on Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools seems to have mildly shifted the pendulum back to where teachers can consider assigning late marks and zeros.  CtK has had a detailed policy for handling assessments that have not been handed in as per the deadline.  Teachers that follow the policy have been allotting zeros if a student fails to complete the assessment piece through this process.  In light of this new document, our team will be getting together to re-look at our policy to consider assigning late marks for pieces handed in late.  Once the policy has been approved by our administration, we will post it on our public website at http://www.ctk.ca/.

Looking forward to your comments.  See you all at Curriculum Night this Wednesday at 6:30 pm.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back! I hope that your family had a wonderful summer full of rest, relaxation and enjoyment!

Another dynamic year of education is slated to take place at CtK for the 2010-2011 school year. One that is holistic in fashion, with our faith woven into everything that we do in our Catholic Learning Community.

Our Grade 9 Orientation this past August 31st was a great success. Our Prefects and House Leaders did a great job acclimatizing our incoming Grade 9 students into the culture of our school.

Grade Assemblies will follow this upcoming week. Invariably, we will review our eight governing values which are adorned on the beautiful banners in our atrium.

They are as follows:

Sincerity

Integrity

Honesty

Commitment to Excellence

Continuous Improvement

Passion for Learning

Compassion for Life &

Equity/Dignity/Respect.

Our staff selected these values over three years ago as a testament to what they would model and expect from our students.

In addition, pieces of scripture will be cited as a means to spiritually illustrate how we deport ourselves at CtK. One that I will share with you is from Matthew 25:40.

And the King will answer them,"Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me."

Our CtK family is inclusive, embraces the poor, helps those with mental, social and/or emotional issues and truly endeavours to treat everyone with equity, dignity and respect.

In the end, the message that students will clearly receive from our administration is that they will be loved and cared for. However, expectations will be high in terms of their commitment to excellence in the classroom and co-curriculars. They will also be expected to work on their resiliency in solving problems with our staff and students in a ethical and faith-oriented fashion.

Please remember to visit our website at http://www.ctk.ca/ for school updates. You will also receive updates through our phone and email systems. If you have not submitted your email address to us and wish to receive notifications from our school through this medium, please come to the main office to express your interest.

New blogs will be posted at the beginning of every week until the end of the 2010-2011 school year. My blogs will range from commentary to school news regarding our academic and co-curricular pursuits. Please feel free to post your own comments/questions about this topic or anything else concerning our Catholic Learning Community at CtK.

Thank you for being a part of our family.