Newsletter 

Message From The Principal

October 5th, 2026

As autumn officially arrives and the leaves begin to turn, we look back on an incredibly vibrant and eventful September. We hit the ground running by successfully administering the Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement Assessment for Grade 10 students enrolled in Careers, as well as the DIBELS Literacy assessment for our Grade 7, 8, and 9 students. To ensure our students are well-equipped for the year ahead, we distributed Chromebooks to Grades 9 and 10 and reconnected with every student during our grade-level assemblies. Beyond the classroom, our Grade 12s kicked off their final year with an amazing Grad Retreat (see photos below), providing an opportunity to build strong connections among our seniors. It was fantastic seeing so many of you come together for our Meet the Teacher and Community BBQ. As a school staff, we appreciate the opportunity to strengthen our school and family connections. Finally, with a wide array of sports teams and extracurricular activities now fully underway, our school is buzzing with activity and we look forward to carrying this wonderful momentum into the season ahead. 

Meagan Morris

New and Noteworthy:

• (Grades 9-12) Letter to Parents and Guardians: Attendance and Participation

Catholic School Council

St. Patrick’s Catholic School Council will hold its next meeting on Monday, October 19th, 2026. Please come out and join us at 7-8 pm in the St. Patrick's Learning Commons. Parents and Guardians can also join the meeting virtually by accessing the Google Meet Link.

Council meetings are open to all parents and caregivers. School council is a forum for learning about, discussing and contributing to school direction and events, and we run educational, social, and fundraising events throughout the year. You can contact the co-chairs, Tori Moore and Stephanie Keane, at stpatschoolcouncil@gmail.com

Opening Liturgies

Grade 9-12: Letters of Early Intervention and Parent Teacher Interviews

Letters of Early Intervetion, for students in grades 9-12, will be emailed to parents and guardians on October 8th. Please note that not all students will receive a Letter of Early Intervention. There will be an opportuntiy to connect with teachers at the Parent/Teacher Interviews on Thursday, October 15th. Detailed information about how to book an interview will be shared with all families on October 8th.

Monday Morning Assembly - Grades 7&8

Today we met with the 7&8 panel for our Monthly Assembly. We celebrated our wins (i.e. amazing uniform compliance, great attendance and participation) and highlighted some reminders (i.e. remembering gym clothes, appropriate times to access lockers). We took the opportunity to reflect on the OCSB Spiritual Theme of "Nourish New Beginnings" as well as highlight the montly spiritual theme of "Notice". We look forward to using our future assemblies to introduce activities that challenge our students' critical thinking skills.

Spirit Wear

Spiritwear orders have arrived and will be distributed starting October 5th. We will work to get through the orders as quickly as possible. Students are asked to wait patiently until they are called to pick up their orders. It is our hope that all students who have ordered items will have them within the week.

Chromebook Loans Program for Grade 9 and 10 Students

Chromebooks are being distributed to our grade 9 and 10 students who have had both the Chromebook Loan Program Opt-In form AND the Responsible Use of Technology Agreement Form. Both forms must be completed in order for your child to be on the list to receive a device.

Please see these detailed instructions to ensure your student will have access to a device.

Important Dates

October 5th - International Teacher's Day

October 14th - IEPs available on the Parent Portal, Opening Liturgies

October 15th - Parent Teacher Interviews

October 15th-23rd - Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) prep begins 

October 22nd-23rd - Leadership Camp

October 23rd - St. Patrick's hosting the Black Student Forum

October 26th - Photo Retake Day

Parent/Guardian School Checklist

To help you and your family prepare for the new year, we have created a checklist for you to reference before the start of school. This will help ensure you and your child(ren) do not miss out on exciting news and opportunities during the year. 

• Register for a SchoolMessenger Account           

• Register for a Parent Portal Account   

• Safe Arrival

• Register for a School Cash OnLine Account  

• Fill Out School Forms on Parent Portal (Helpful Hints for Parent Portal Forms)

• Update Your Contact Information on Parent Portal (Help viewing contacts in Parent Portal)

Student Fees

A reminder that student fees are $45 per student. For families with mulitple students at St. Patrick's, the first fee is $45 and any subsequen fees are $30. Student fees can be paid on School Cash Online

Student Medical Forms

For students with life threatening medical conditions we required updated medical forms. If you have previously submitted forms for your student, please ensure that the information shared is accurate. 

If we do not have a plan of care for your student with a life threatening medical condition, please complete the corresponding medical Plan of Care form on the OCSB website and if necessary the Request and Consent for Administration of Medication form.

● Student Health – The Ottawa Catholic School Board (ocsb.ca)

● OCSB Request and Consent for Administration of Medication (2024)

Important Links 

Transportation - ottawaschoolbus.ca 

Online Payment (i.e. Student fees, Excursions/Activity fees) - School Cash Online 

Student access to schedules and locker information - my.studentinfo.ca

Student locker request (student must use ocsb account to complete the form) Request for a Locker Form

Student appointment booking with guidance counsellor, course change requests -

SPH Student Services

Bell Times/Schedules

Please ensure your child is familiar with their bus route and/or walking route so that they are arriving on time.  

High School Schedule                           Intermediate Schedule

8:30-9:55 Period1                   8:30-9:25 Period 1

10:00-11:15 Period 2                           9:30-10:20 Period 2

11:20-12:00 LUNCH                            10:25-11:15 Period 3

12:05-1:20 Period 3                           11:20-12:10 Period 4

1:25-2:40 Period 4                           12:10-12:50 Lunch

                                                                 12:55-1:45 Period 5

                                                                 1:50-2:40 Period 6

St Patrick’s is a uniformed school and our uniform supplier is Top Marks.  All families are asked to open an account with Top Marks if you have not already done so and to place your order directly to the company.  Top Marks will deliver the uniform to your home address.  Please visit their website at: www.topmarks.ca with the St Patrick’s High School code PAT02

UNIFORM INCLUDES:

TOP (all items from Top Marks with St Patrick’s logo)

• white polo shirt / white blouse or white long or short sleeve shirt with St Patrick’s school logo

• St. Patrick’s V-neck sweater, Crew neck sweater, or rugby shirt are permitted; older versions of the uniform (i.e. the St. Patrick's Intermediate hooded sweatshirt) are no longer part of the uniform

BOTTOM 

• black dress pants/cargo pants 

• black skort or tartan kilt

• black cargo shorts

PLEASE NOTE: 

• 7/8 physical education uniform includes black gym shorts and a grey t-shirt and is mandatory for all grade 7 and 8 students.

If your order has not arrived by the first day of school, we ask that your child arrive at school in black bottoms (dress pants, cargo pants, skirt - NO jeans, leggings or jogging pants) and a white-collared polo or dress shirt. 

Donation of used uniforms for families in need would be greatly appreciated to help replenish our Used Uniform supply. 

Safe Arrival - Attendance App

SafeArrival is the application we use at St Patrick's to make it easier, faster and more convenient for families to report absences and late arrivals to school.  With SafeArrival, there is no need to call the school and leave a message. Instead, you can quickly and securely report your child’s absence using one of three options. For more details on using this tool, please visit the following site.

Parent Permission for Pick Up or Sign/Out *new this year

Late Notification

When students arrive late to school, they will sign in to the office and parents will receive an automatic email notification. Please ensure you have submitted permission through SafeArrival.