Back to All Mar 5, 2025

School News February 27, 2025

February 27, 2025

Good morning,

In celebration of Black excellence during February, students engaged with read-aloud stories including Skin Like Mine, Queen of Kindergarten, Come On, Rain!, and Handa’s Surprise during library times. Bethany shares that we began the month with Groundhog Day predictions and celebrated friendship on Valentine’s Day. This week students are reading stories about being kind to everyone, despite differences, as we wore pink on Wednesday in recognition of Pink Shirt Day.

In Exploration of the Arts classes students looked at paintings by Alma Thomas, the African-American artist and art teacher whose paintings are known for their vibrant colours and specific technique which resembles short dashes. The students engaged in creating a sunset by using bright colours and applying paint with short strokes on a piece of paper. As part of our ongoing learning with Indigenous perspectives, we read a story Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing by Nadia Mike, an Inuit author, and watched a short video depicting traditional Inuit fishing. The students later tried ice fishing themselves with magnetic fishing rods and paper fish. It was a lot of fun. Next, we followed up with an art project that included painting a river with fish in it using watercolours and pieces of pool noodles to print fish scales. Thanks to our Equity, rotary, and class teams!

It was another busy month at Crystal Bay. There were lots of smiles and some dancing during the Junkyard Symphony’s performance. Check out the audience volunteers in the pictures below. While the snow changed some plans, senior students were able to join the rescheduled Special Olympics Bocce ball tournament. The snow and weather were perfect for the Winter Festival! Our friends from Bell High School enjoyed the fun. We appreciate all the planning and coordinating staff put into making these events a success.

The Core Word of the Month for March is ‘different’. We invite you to try the activities that work best with your child/youth.

Rescheduled from February 13th, the OCDSB hosts the Transition Planning Resource Fair for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities and their parents/caregivers is Wednesday, March 26th 5 pm to 8:30 pm at Confederation Education Centre (1645 Woodroffe Ave.) This is a drop-in event advance registration is not required.

Thank you for supporting the Education Foundation through Toonie Tuesday donations. We’ve raised $76 to date.

School Council News

Did you know that you can donate to directly support Crystal Bay Centre for Special Education and get a tax receipt? Donations can be set up as a one-time gift or a monthly donation. The school principal allocates these funds to enrich the educational environment at Crystal Bay and support student learning. Even a small donation can make a big difference for our students. For example, these donations can support buying ingredients for a Living Skills class, where students learn to cook a new recipe. If your extended families would like to support Crystal Bay, this donation link is an easy option because it does not require creating an account. The link to donate can be found on the Crystal Bay website at the top Quick Links section, or directly here.

Email sc-crystalbaycentreforspeced@ocdsb.ca

OCDSB School Council News website includes OCDSB School Council Monthly News

The next School Council meeting is Tuesday, March 18th, 2024 at 6:30 pm. All are welcome to join via link sent by email. If you have questions, please email sc-crystalbaycentreforspeced@ocdsb.ca

FlipGive

Mabels Labels Team code: BWTTVY and campaigns.mabelslabels.com (search for Crystal Bay’s name).

Stay tuned for more information about the in-person School Council meeting planned for Tuesday, May 20th.

Community Partners

Service Coordination Support SCS Express February issue

Autism Ontario February Provincial Newsletter Autism Ontario February Adult Newsletter

Families Matter Cooperative The Family Scoop Visit their website

Life After High School- Family Knowledge Exchange Series Saturday, March 22, 2025 10:00 AM and Saturday, March 29, 20251:30 PM at Emerald Plaza, Ottawa Public Library 1547 Merivale Rd register here

Bank of Canada Museum Sensory Sundays

Around the Campfire is a program for youths with special needs run by parents, friends and support workers of those with special needs.

Ottawa Public Health: Dealing With Respiratory Illnesses, Handwashing

City of Ottawa’s Winter Activities Learn more

Looking ahead

March is Ramadan, Bangladeshi Heritage Month, Hellenic Heritage Month, Nutrition Month

2024-2025 School Year Calendar

Feb 28: First Day of Ramadan

Mar 2-8: Black Mental Health Week

Mar 7: Fun Day -dress like a twin

Mar 8: International Women’s Day

Mar 10-14: March Break -school is closed