It has been a busy start to another exciting school year, and Westgate’s staff and students

have continued to illustrate why “always only the best” is such an appropriate motto for

our incredible school.

During the first term of the 2015-2016 school year, we have enjoyed many exciting events

at Westgate, including but not limited to a fun-filled Welcome Luncheon in our courtyard

for new grade 9 tigers, a memorable SAC Leadership Retreat at the Kingfisher Outdoor

Education Center, an inspiring week of pink ‘Tigers-for-a-Cure’ activities for Northern

Cancer Research, a thunderous and entertaining school-wide pep rally, an outstanding Fall

Classic Basketball Tournament that hosted 23 junior and senior girls’ teams from across

Ontario, a lovely Meet and Greet Luncheon with parents and community members of Fort

William First Nation, a powerful assembly on anti-bullying and a spook-tacular Halloween

dance.

With November now upon us, we are preparing for a very special and memorable

Remembrance Day assembly, an awareness-raising Party Program Day for our grade 11s

and an Achievement Night that will recognize the academic and co-curricular

accomplishments of Westgate students in the 2014/2015 school year. We are also looking

forward to hosting a Musical Cabaret at the end of the month, as well as our annual Tiger

Tip-Off and Tiger Spike-Off tournaments. In the months ahead, we will prepare for more

incredible adventures, including a spring band trip and a March break travel club excursion

to England, Scotland and Ireland. We will also continue our ongoing fundraising efforts

(through Me-to-We Westgate) to help build a school in an under-privileged country.

It is truly an honour to be principal of such an amazing school, and I am

so very proud of our staff and students for the many ways that they

showcase their commitment to being “always only the best.” It has

been another incredible start-up, and I look forward to many great

things ahead.

Ms. Charlton

Westgate Collegiate & Vocational Institute November 2015

TIGER NEWS

Principal’s

Message

age TIGER PROFILE Westgate students: 805 (grades 9 – 12) *Plus, we happily host 75 KICKSTART students after school hours Tigers have 59 teachers, 1 Aboriginal Achievement Tutor, 17 Student Support Professionals, 1 Social Worker, 1 Child Youth Worker, 4 Secretaries, 1 Library Technician, 1 IT Tech, 8 Custodians, 2 Cafeteria Staff, 1 Vice Principal and 1 Principal!

From The Head Custodian's Desk:

The Recycling Program at Westgate remains strong, thanks to the volunteer efforts of the special

needs and multi needs classes. Each week the students circulate through the school, collecting

paper and materials that can be recycled. Head Custodian, Val Haigh, commends the students for

their great job and points out that a few small changes have been made in the cafeteria and

main hallway. Each bin has been labeled (courtesy of Ms. Jaun), making it much easier to recycle

while on the move.

In April of this year, Ms. Kwasny’s Pre-AP Grade 10 Science class and Mr. Andrew’s Grade 11 Physics class went on a tour of the new Cyclotron at TBRHSC. Pictured here are some students in the Cyclotron bunker a couple of days before it closed to the public forever.

Back row L-R: Zach DiCasmirro, Brenden DeGiacamo, Brendon Bukovy, and Keenan Stoger

Front row L-R: Jordan Shchepanik, and Austin Hopkins

There was a definite “orange” theme to the Wednesday, September 30 Country 105 Morning show, and it wasn’t just because it was broadcast from Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute either. Rather, there were numerous references to host John Ongaro’s extreme dislike for anything pumpkin-related. A great morning show was broadcast from Westgate where students and staff took the opportunity to talk about the great things that happen at the School, including sports, the Me-to-We Project, Specialist High Skills Major programs and a host of other topics.

Always Only The Best

The Special Needs, Multi-Needs and PWP staff at

Westgate CVI were honoured with Lakehead Public

Schools Trustee Character Awards for the exemplary

work they do at school every day. Trustee Oikonen

presented the awards to each of the staff members.

"Always only the Best is the motto of Westgate Collegiate

and Vocational Institute. The Special Education Teachers

before us truly personify that motto." expressed Trustee

Oikonen.

Ms. Coral Charlton, Principal, affirmed Trustee Oikonen’s comments with the statement: “The

commitment of our Special Education Program Teachers to ensuring our students are safe,

supported and achieving at their full potential is beyond compare. I am genuinely impressed on a

daily basis by the skill set and dedication of these exemplary teachers.”

CONGRATULATIONS TEACHERS!

Grade 9 Barbecue

Westgate GSA(Gay-Straight Alliance) now the Social Justice League

The name change occurred in order to inform potential members that they do more than

advocate for the rights and respect of lesbian and gay people. Issues regarding all members of

the LGBTQ+ community are discussed, as well as issues of race, gender, etc. The focus this

year will be on renewing Anti-Homophobia/Transphobia Training for grade nine students,

putting together an assembly to educate all students about social justice issues, incorporating

Two-Spirit awareness and providing resources for Aboriginal students. All students are

welcome to join the group

`

Achievement Night November 19 We will celebrate achievement in all of its forms at Westgate CVI on November 19, 2015. Invitations have been sent home for the students who will be receiving awards for their achievement during the 2014-15 school year. We look forward to seeing you and your family on November 19 at 7:00 p.m.

COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS

Potential graduates who still need

to complete their Community Service hours are invited

to speak with their Guidance Counsellor regarding

opportunities that exist. Students are encouraged to

look after this important component of

graduation readiness in a timely manner.

Check out www.volunteer thunderbay.com

Hallo

ween

Ant

ics

Achievement Night November 19

Achie

TIGER NEWS

The Annual Fall Harvest took place on September 23, 2015 at Fort William Historical Park

on a lovely, crisp fall day. This wonderful day is rich in traditional teachings and the ways

of life practiced by the First Nations people of Northwestern Ontario in preparation for the

long and cold winter ahead. Students from the Special Needs/Multi-Needs program and the

PWP program were very happy to attend this full-day event of hands-on learning outdoors

at the Fort. They were very interested in the wild blueberry jam making, the fresh bannock

cooked over a hot fire, the bird preparation and the steaming cups of traditional tea. The

participants learned about Metis Jigging, a dance enjoyed at the end of a long day of work,

and also enjoyed the drum teachings and storytelling. This multi-sensory day provided

many opportunities for exploration:

the way the fur feels on the hide of an animal and the warmth it would provide over

winter

pulling the hot baked bannock off of the stick used to cook it over the fire, before

eating it on a crisp fall day

tasting the jam made from berries alone, no sugar

hearing the sound of the drum and feeling it in our chest

smelling the fire and the smoked meat in a birch bark enclosure

seeing the bird prepared for cooking

Post – Secondary Education Information

January 13, 2016 – Deadline to submit application to Ontario Universities’

Application Centre For more information go to:

www.ouac.on.ca

Ontario College Applications can be submitted now. February 1, 2016 is the

Equal Consideration Date. Web access: ontariocolleges.ca

What good is sitting alone in your room?

Come to the Cabaret!

The music tradition carries on at Westgate where singers, dancers, and instrumental musical performers showcase their talents.

Friday November 27th & Saturday November 28th at 7 pm in the Westgate gymnasium.

Featured will be the concert band, the vocal ensemble and two tiger music classes. Tickets are $10 and will be available from music students or main office.

WESTGATE LIBRARY Students are encouraged to borrow a

book and are invited to enter the monthly

READ A BOOK CONTEST! To participate, students sign out a book, and then speak to Ms. Holland about it when they return the book in order to

receive a ballot. Draws will be held on the last day of every month during the school year.

stu

In other VISUAL ARTS news…. Autumn Sypus was featured on the front page of Lakehead University’s “Education Exchange” Newsletter for her innovative painting on a rain barrel which was used for the Foundation golf tournament.

TIGER MUSIC

Autumn, along with Justine Lizotte also

will be featured in the 2016 Lakehead

University Student Artwork Calendar.

Congratulations!

Upon request from Tina Tucker of the

Thunder Bay Public Library, Mr. Charlton's

Custom Woodworking class and Ms.

Stevenson and Ms. Boucher's Visual Arts

classes constructed and painted "Little Free

Libraries" for the community. Twil Hartley,

Braidon Todd, Nathanial Harasyn and Jayme

Eyben constructed the unique libraries and

Kailey Van Schie, Justine Lizotte, Erika Niva,

Georgia Kerley and Heather Lex painted the

compositions. Watch for a "Little Free

Library" opening up for business near you!

HOMEWORK HELP Free│Online│Math Tutoring!

Grades 7‐10

Sun‐Thurs 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Ontario.ca/HomeworkHelp

Christmas Idea!

TIGER TOQUES are on sale now

$28

Contact main office

The

Art

s……

The Westgate Girls Basketball program

hosted the second annual Tiger Fall

Classic Girls Basketball Tournament

on Oct. 23-24. This was the biggest

tournament yet seeing 23 teams

compete in the Varsity and JV

divisions.

The Varsity Tigers claimed the silver

medal and the JV Tigers earned a

bronze.

Congrats Tigers!

Tigers wearing PINK???

Your eyes did not deceive you! October 19-25th the Girls Varsity and Junior

Varsity basketball teams wore pink and came together in the fight against

cancer.

Always Only The Best

Tige

r A

thle

tics

Teams sold pink t-shirts, had a bake sale, raised pledges and

hosted a tournament to raise funds that will be donated to the

Northern Cancer Research Fund at the Health Sciences

Foundation. Our Tiger spirit was outstanding and coaches are

so proud of their athletes.

Congratulations to Cole Bour on his 5th place finish in the NWOSSAA x country finals at Kamview Nordic Centre on October 21st. Cole placed consistently in the top 10 of the Senior Boys division throughout the season, and will be rewarded for his efforts on November 7th when he will compete in the OFSAA Cross Country Championships in Collingwood, Ontario. We wish you the best of luck, Cole!

WESTGATE SCHOOL COUNCIL

needs new parent members!

Next meeting is

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd

7 p.m. in the Library

The council hopes to see you there!

Me to We meets

New Foods Lab open for business…..

Stop in to room 104 and take a look at our new, modern

cooking lab. Students love gathering around the prep islands

to participate in processing food from the garden and in cooking

activities. The sanitation areas simulate a food industry kitchen

with a three sink system and industrial dishwasher and the

access to room 103 allows students to prep meals in the kitchen

and then serve them to visiting classes in the "dining area".

Friends from Fort William First Nation join students

who visit the Learning Lodge for lunch

Literacy Test Information

www.eqao.com

Students in grade 10 may want to visit

this website to access support materials

Oktoberfest!