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Principal's Message
November was yet another busy month filled with incredible opportunities for experiential learning, athletic competition, spirit-building activities and much learning!!! Mid-term report cards (for High School students) and Progress Reports (for Intermediate students) were available on Parent Portal. Please ensure you have checked your account for your child’s report.
This week we enter the Advent season - a time of anticipation and preparation for the arrival of baby Jesus. Wishing everyone a season filled with hope, peace, joy and love! Our Christmas Campaign is in full swing and we welcome your support and participation. Here is the LINK to the Parent Letter that was already sent on November 20th.
Spiritwear this fall was a huge success. Thank you Ms. LoFaro, Ms. Power and the student team for your many hours of work getting the orders ready. We are hoping to have items available again in February. Once things are confirmed, we will let you all know.
We just completed the Intermediate Parent-Teacher Interviews and want to thank all families who came out to meet with our teachers. Working together in partnership is what we love!
You are invited to follow our Instagram Account (@spirishfamiy) or view our daily announcements (LINK) for updates on events, practices, theme days and much more.
Welcome back to Vice-Principal Mme Joly (A-E) who returns to her full duties this week. We are glad to have you back.
Stay Safe and Be Well!
Mme Al Koura
Catholic School Council
Our November School Council meeting saw record-breaking attendance, and we are so grateful to everyone for their benevolence and engagement in our school community. We are pleased to announce that all executive positions now occupied:
Co-Chairs: Stephanie Keane and Natasha Tajik
Secretary: Kristen Lewis
Treasurer: Tori Moore
Catholic School Parents’ Association (CSPA) Representative: Nadine Robinson
Fundraising lead: Beverley Adams
Members-at-large: Lillian Suarez and Adrienne Charlton
We would like to thank everyone who supported our McDonald’s Fundraiser! Our School Council was able to raise $493.00!!!
Our next meeting will take place virtually on Monday, February 9, 2026. We hope to see you there!
SafeArrival App
The OCSB is slowly transitioning to the SafeArrival App attendance management system. This system will be going live for St Patrick’s next week and will allow parents and guardians to securely report student absences/lates in a quicker way. You will be able to use:
The SchoolMessenger app
The SchoolMessenger website
The toll-free phone number
Please watch for more details to come! Thank you for your cooperation as we transition to this streamlined system.
Grad Photos
Attention Graduates!
Edge Imaging will be at St Patrick HS from December 15 to 19, 2025 to take your graduation portraits!
Don’t miss out on your chance to be featured in the class composite and to leave your legacy in the hallways for years to come.
How to book your grad session:
Visit bookmygrad.ca
Select the “Book graduation photos at your school” (dark grey box).
Enter your school code: FGH - St Patrick's High School (Ottawa)
Choose the day and time that works best for you. (Book early—appointments fill quickly!)
Get ready for a great portrait session.
Not sure what to expect? Watch this quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIsyKaKPSNA&t=3s
We look forward to capturing this milestone moment with you!
St Pat’s Annual Christmas Craft Fair
This month, St. Patrick’s High School hosted its annual Christmas Craft Fair on November 21. This year’s fair, organized by Mrs. Dubé and Mr. F. El-Saikali, the fair welcomed more than 100 local vendors filling both gyms and the hallways with handmade goods, gifts, art, baked treats, and holiday cheer. The event was a vibrant showcase of creativity and community spirit, offering something special for every visitor.
A remarkable team of over 120 student volunteers helped bring the day to life. From setting up, welcoming guests at the doors, assisting vendors, running the raffle table and dressing up as Santa and his Elves to spread holiday cheer, their energy and leadership were at the heart of the event’s success. On top of that, our HS Drama Club offered festive face painting throughout the day, and the No Excuses Dance Team kept guests and vendors alike well-fed and refreshed by running a fantastic canteen.
Funds raised from the craft fair directly support student initiatives at St. Pat’s, clubs, activities throughout the year, and scholarships.
The Christmas Craft Fair continues to be a cherished tradition, one that brings our community together while celebrating the talent, generosity, and hard work of our students and staff. Thank you to all of those who were part of the day whether as a vendor, a volunteer, or as a visitor!
Special Olympics: Basketball
We hosted the East Ottawa Special Olympics Basketball Qualifier again this year for the fourth time. We had teams from eight different schools participate and our two Irish teams did us proud. One of our squads went undefeated in the Unified division and we are waiting to hear if we will again represent our area at the 2026 Provincial Championships being held in London, Ontario, this year. Huge shoutout to our student volunteers who made the event run smoothly as well as our 7 & 8 classes who welcomed the athletes as they arrived giving them words of encouragement and plenty of cheers as they arrived and made their way into the gymnasium. All of the athletes had a great time - especially the dance-off at lunch!
Grade 12 Computer Science Trip to UOttawa Cyber Range
On Monday Nov. 24, the Grade 12 Computer Science and ICT SHSM students attended an excellent workshop at UOttawa’s new state-of-the-art Cyber Range. The Cyber Range was opened in late 2023 and is one of only 3 in the world: the others being found in Cambridge Massachusetts and Bangalore, India
While there, our students participated in a cybersecurity exercise. They were tasked with proving the innocence of a student accused of plagiarizing in a Mathematics Competition. Through the use of Open Source Intelligence and server-side tools, the students were able to scrub through social media posts to find sensitive information, access server logs in order to discover irregularities, and trace IP addresses to not only prove the innocence of an individual, but to also discover the culprit.
The visit was also accompanied by a presentation outlining the different types of engineering at UOttawa as well as a tour of the STEM building. It was a fascinating and informative field trip!
Paul Davis - School-Wide Presentations
Paul Davis is an Information Technology Specialist and Social Networking Safety Presenter. He has presented to nearly one million students, and thousands of parents, educators and law enforcement about social media, cyberbullying, privacy and safety online. With Internet-abled technology keeping us all both better connected and more vulnerable, Paul's goal is to promote awareness among all stakeholders, empower young people with tools to stay safe online, and promote critical thinking about how we all engage with the technology at our fingertips.
Paul will present at St. Patrick's High School to all students Grades 7-12 on December 3, 2025. Parents and guardians are encouraged to ask their children to share what they learned after this presentation at home.\
More information about Paul Davis can be found at www.socialnetworkingsafety.net, or on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pauldavisSNS
Facebook: facebook.com/pauldavistips
Knights of Columbus Essay Writing Contest Winners
In preparation for the grade 10 literacy test, students were invited to participate in a writing contest hosted by the Knights of Columbus. Grade 10s were asked to write a 500-word essay developing a thesis that would outline their opinion on the 3 most influential Pope's. Grade 10's were given instructional time in class to participate, and students who wished to have their writing submitted to the contest did so at the beginning of the November. The Knights of Columbus evaluated the essay's awarding participants with a certificate, and the top 3 winners with a purse:
OrKidstra’s Holiday Concerts
It’s hard to believe the holidays are just around the corner! It is once more time to celebrate the joy of the season together at OrKidstra’s Holiday Concerts!
We are excited to host three FREE concerts this December (featuring children from Vanier, Centretown, and Heron Gate!). The concerts are short and perfect for young families (click on the dates below which are linked with details)!
OrKidstra Heron Gate Hub Holiday Concert on December 8 @ 6:30PM at Jim Durell Recreation Centre
OrKidstra Vanier Hub Holiday Concert on December 10 @ 6:30PM at Ottawa Technical Secondary School
Between the three concerts, over 400 after-school students will be performing - it will be an evening filled with joy, excellence, and friendship.
As many of your school’s children participate in OrKidstra’s free after-school programming, we would be grateful if as many friends from our school community as possible could join us in supporting and celebrating the kids.
High School Exams and RSTs
Our Grades 10-12 students will once again be completing RSTs and/or Exams as a part of the final assessment of their courses. Once again, Grade 9 students will only complete RSTs, they will NOT have exams as part of their final assessments. Please watch for an update regarding their schedule during that period.
RSTs will be completed in the final 2-3 weeks before exams. We ask that families please take note of the following dates and to avoid any non-essential travel or absences during those periods. It is critical that students complete the designated final assessments to be able to earn their credit.
Semester 1 RST Period January 6 - 21, 2025
Semester 1 Examinations (Grades 10-12) January 22 - 28, 2026
Semester 2 RST Period June 1 - 17, 2026
Second Semester Examinations (Grades 10-12) June 18 - 24, 2026
Dates to Remember
Please mark your calendars for the following key dates:
December 3, 2025 - Special Assemblies 7-12: Paul Davis
December 5, 2025 - P.D. Day
December 15, 2025 - Dress Up Day
December 19, 2025 - Last Day of Classes
January 5, 2026 - First Day of Classes in 2026!
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