As we enter the beginning of the school year we are welcoming some new staff members. We are exicted to be introducing the following staff as they transition to new placements at La Salle for September:

Intermediate Staff

Margaret Chung - Grade 8 Teacher

Carrie Day - Grade 7 Teacher

Jen Tracey - Grade 7 Planning Time Teacher and Music Planning Time Teacher

Kristy Luffman - Educational Assistant

Secondary Staff

Alex Garofolo - Construction Technology Teacher

Renee George - Budget Clerk for Semester 1

Lisa Gordon - English Teacher, Communications Department Head

Ed Goodfellow - Educational Assistant

Linda Hahn - Educational Assistant

Lauren McEwen - Visual Art Teacher

And a welcome back to ...

Adam Bonsall - Automotive Technology Teacher for Semester 1

Justin Peterson - Educational Assistant

Manjit Singh-Graham - Science Teacher and Science Department Head

Greg Thome - English Teacher currently in an interim teaching position for Semester 1

Sarah Woods - Attendance Secretary for Semester 1

We wish them all the best for the fall as they join the Black Knight family!

Dear families,

On behalf of the staff, we would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to La Salle Intermediate & Secondary School, home of the Black Knights. La Salle has much to offer – outstanding and innovative programs, beautiful facilities, an exceptional and supportive staff, and a safe learning environment. To ensure a successful startup, we are sharing key highlights of school culture in advance in hopes that you and your student can review and discuss them.

Respect. Everyone would agree that this is an important shared value. As outlined in the Ontario School Code of Conduct and the LDSB Progressive Discipline Policy (both found here on our school webpage), we must respect and treat others fairly, regardless of their race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, creed, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or disability. We all need to consider the audience and impact of our words and actions and to remember that schools are places that must feel safe for everyone. Please consider viewing and discussing this short video clip with your student, and/or this more in-depth one.

Classroom Routines. In the community of almost 1,000 people at La Salle Secondary and Intermediate School, it is critical that we respect and observe the routines necessary to maximize learning. This September a focus will be on students arriving to each class on time and minimizing bathroom breaks and cellphone usage. Please see the Classroom Cellphone Use poster below that we are suggesting teachers use.

Academic Honesty. Technology is always changing, and there are new internet tools for content generation. If terms like Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, and generative tools are new to you, consider watching this video clip and having a conversation with your student about academic honesty. Our value is that student ideas and writing are cited properly or are entirely their own. Our academic honesty policy is also found on our webpage. For a view at the capability, see a computer-generated letter that was created instants after entering the prompt: “write a principal's welcome message 200 words about classroom routines, respect, and academic honesty”.

We're looking forward to a wonderful school year together!

Brent Jen and Mike

September 21st, 2023

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Lunch and Transportation will be provided

Interested Students should see or email Ms Grewal at grewalsukhi@limestone.on.ca

The LSS Racialized Student Affinity Group meets each Thursday in Ms Grewal's room.

Help us provide healthy food for students at your school

The Food Sharing Project is a registered charity that has been serving the area for almost 40 years. We are the organization which provides nutritious food and equipment to schools across Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington for their in-school breakfast, lunch and hearty snack programs.

Each week of the school year, our team of 12 volunteers pack about 450 boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein foods which are delivered to every school in KFL&A, including yours. In 2019, prior to the onset of COVID-19, we sent food with a value of $12,000 to schools each week and in 2022, that amount rose to $21,000 per week.

The 2022-2023 school year has been unprecedented for The Food Sharing Project. Due to increasing demand and the skyrocketing costs of food, we are facing a significant budget shortfall as we are now sending out over $25,000 in food every week. We need your help to ensure that students do not go through the school day hungry. Please consider making a donation to help us continue to get healthy food to students at your school.

Educators and research tell us that when they can eat nutritious food at school, students are more engaged in their learning, can focus better on tasks and can have more positive social interactions throughout the day. They are also more willing to try something new, which can lead to better food choices as adults.

Every donation, regardless of the amount, will make a difference for students in your school. Please go to www.foodsharingproject.org and click on the DONATE button to make a secure online donation today. Thank you.

There are many community organizations, including The Maltby Centre, that offer a variety of resources to support students and families. The Maltby Centre (https://maltbycentre.ca/) provides mental health and autism services to children and youth, and works with clients in schools, homes, and other locations.

Other supports include:

• School Mental Health Ontario (*Added new SMH Resource Document below!)
• Youth Diversion
  
• Kids Help Phone

We continue to see many students who struggle to safely and respectively use social media. Please monitor your student's phone usage, especially at night. Many students admit to staying up quite late each night, and therefore coming to school quite tired. Thank you for your vigilance and helping your student get the most out of their day.