Mid-Winter Break
Glenview Park will be closed all next week for our Mid-Winter Break. Have a safe and happy March Break!Great News! Transportation Review Reduces Walking Distances
At the February 22, 2010 Board meeting, trustees gave final approval to recommendations from a Board Transportation Review Committee that will result in shorter walking distances for Board students.Trustees approved a number of measures to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the Board’s transportation:
• Board administrative procedures will be revised for students living out of the district and attending Waterloo Region DSB schools. Practices will be put in place that are in line with Education Act regulations and efficient routing of transportation. This applies to current and future GPSS students who reside out of Waterloo Region but who live closer to GPSS than a neighbouring school board's secondary school. The transportation review has resulted in a commitment to continue to provide transportation to these students to attend GPSS.
• Consistent application of procedures across the Board for students attending a Waterloo Region DSB school outside their boundary area in Waterloo Region. This will result in fair, equitable practices and more efficient transportation routing.
• In order to improve the efficiency of the system, the practice of allowing courtesy transportation will be discontinued.
• Consistent provisions will be put in place when transportation is used as a transitional measure in the case of boundary or program changes.
• Reduced walking distances for students will be incorporated into Board policy 4009. This will result in WRDSB students walking the same distances as other students in the Region.
A significant portion of transportation related expenditures for the Waterloo Region DSB are associated with transporting students with special needs. Although the Transportation Review Committee did not specifically address this issue, a concurrent Special Education Review is underway which includes a mandate to look at Special Education transportation.
Transportation of students for both the Waterloo Region and Waterloo Catholic Boards is provided through STSWR.
Italy Trip, April 1-9, 2010
Buon Viaggio!
Next month, a group of 16 GPSS geography students will say “ciao” to Glenview for 9 days as they embark on a journey to
This amazing opportunity has been 2 years in the making. Geography students of all grades were offered the chance to sign up about a year ago and have been fundraising and preparing for the trip since September 2009.
Italy is a country full of diverse landscapes, historical and cultural wonders. Accompanied by Mr. Quarrie, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Wade students will visit places like Verona (Romeo & Juliette), Venice (canals & gondolas), Assisi, Florence (Tuscan hills & Statue of David), Rome (Vatican & Coliseum) and Pompeii (Mt.
As the departure quickly approaches, students are very excited and they are looking forward to sharing stories of their adventures with fellow classmates.
New Legislation Regarding School Safety
KEEPING OUR KIDS SAFE AT SCHOOL
New Legislation Outlines Reporting Requirements
For more information regarding Bill 157, click here.
Course Selection and Program Planning
Students and parents are encouraged to access the Ministry of Education website (click here) for important information and resources in program planning. For example, there is a summary of all graduation requirements (click here) as well as other information that may help in making secondary school a successful experience.
GPSS Environmental Students in Newsletter
The January 2010 rare review profiles the four visits to the environmental research reserve that students in Ms Wade and Mr. Quarrie's classes made this past fall. "The most notable school visit to rare recently was Glenview Park Secondary School...The students became increasingly interested in their surroundings as there visits progressed." While at rare students also contributed to several initiatives such as cleaning up litter and preparing Springbank Garden for winter. More details about rare and the newsletter article can be found at http://www.raresites.org/.Math Students Celebrate the Olympics
The GPSS Math Department hosted their first Math Olympics this year to encourage not only enthusiasm for the Vancouver Games, but a different, non-traditional way of completing math activities. During the Block A session, students from Gr. 9 Essential to Gr. 11 University levels were combined on teams. Some even had team names, outfits and/or banners! The Block B session included Gr. 9 Academic to Gr. 12 Workplace levels. Students competed in 3 of 4 activities that included related math word problems, creating snowboarding ramps, statistical analysis of their own athletic data and a biathlon activity. Gold, silver and bronze chocolate medallions were awarded to winning teams. It was great fun to see the students of all levels and math backgrounds working together towards a common goal!
Green Industries gets a Skills Canada-Ontario / Lowes Grant.
Back in October Mr. Lutz and Ms. Hollihan applied for a Skills Canada-Ontario/Lowes Grant to purchase a portable saw mill to support the Green Industries and Construction students in building their skills and improving the landscape around their school and community.
Click here to read the whole story and see some pictures like the one below. 
Many thanks to Skills Canada- Ontario and Lowes for their generous support.