April 6, 2023 - Scholarship Opportunity: Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund, Upcoming Events, and more.
Hello Students,
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have worked to communicate information about power outages, school closures, and changes to programming over the past few days. Crews are working hard to clean up affected areas and restore power to schools that were affected by outages. For those who have lost power or need assistance, many City of Ottawa recreational facilities are open to charge devices at this time. Please check the City of Ottawa’s Twitter feed and storm cleanup webpage for more information and updates.
We expect all schools to have power when classes resume on Tuesday, April 11th. In the event of any ongoing storm impact, schools will communicate with families directly. We wish a Happy Easter and Joyous Passover to those celebrating.
Scholarship Opportunity: Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund
The Marion Dewar Scholarship Fund was established by the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO) in 2009. In honour of the late Marion Dewar, former Mayor of Ottawa, the fund aims to provide financial support for three immigrant and refugee students pursuing post-secondary education in the National Capital Region. Three awards of $1,500 will be provided in 2023. The deadline to apply is May 19, 2023. Learn more and apply here.
Additional upcoming scholarship deadlines include:
Upcoming Events
- Thursday, April 20: Tech & Trade Exploration Night. Join us between 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Ottawa Technical Secondary School to explore the exciting career opportunities in the technology and trades sector. This is an additional opportunity for students and their families to experience the Skills Ontario Trades and Technology Mobile Trailer. We encourage any student with a strong interest in technology and the skilled trades, loves to build, create, design and innovate to visit the trailer and explore some unique career and pathway options. This is a walk-in event with no registration required.
Important Dates in the Week Ahead
- April 12: International Day of Pink. International Day of Pink takes place each year on the second Wednesday in April. It is an opportunity to stand up to bullying and show support for equality and acceptance for 2SLGBTQ+ people.
- April 14: Puthandu. Puthandu is a celebration of Tamil New Year’s Day. Wishing a Happy Puthandu to all in our community who will be celebrating.
- April 14: Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi is the first day of the solar year, and a celebration of the harvest. We wish a Happy Vaisakhi to those who will be celebrating.
- Holy Friday and Orthodox Easter. In Orthodox Christianity, Holy Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and this year falls on April 14th. Orthodox Easter, which celebrates the resurrection, is April 16th. We send our best wishes to those observing.
- April 17-18: Yom HaShoah. At sundown on April 17, 2023, people around the world will unite for Yom HaShoah. Yom HaShoah commemorates the lives of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Ottawa Public Health’s Respiratory Virus Dashboard
A reminder that Ottawa Public Health (OPH) updates their Respiratory Virus Dashboard every Wednesday, and continues to recommend layers of protection like masks, COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, flu vaccines, and staying home when sick.
In case you missed it…
Nominations Close Tomorrow: Community Recognition Awards. If you know an outstanding volunteer whose hard work and dedication is deserving of recognition in the OCDSB’s Community Recognition Awards, nominate them here by Friday, April 7th at 4:00 p.m.
Thank you,
Michele Giroux
Director of Education