What's Happening at Sydenham High School
February 2026
Looking Ahead - Semester Two!
Hello SHS Golden Eagles and Families,
Today, Feb. 2nd, was our last official day of exams. Semester two will start tomorrow, Feb. 3, 2026. We appreciate everyone's patience and flexibility as we navigated so many bus cancellation days and a cold and snowy winter. I hope you can find the beauty and wonder during this season. Stay active by sledding, snowshoeing, building snow forts, skating, cross-country skiing, et. We hope that semester two will be less disruptive and look forward to getting off to a great start. We also welcome Mr. Duncan Cowan, new Vice Principal (Grades 9 and 11)
We will post homeroom lists tomorrow morning for students to know where to go period 1 where they will then get a printed copy of their timetable for this semester. This week students will also be given information on course selection for next year, which will also be passed onto families. Reach out to Student Services with any questions.
Save the date for our Youth and Money event scheduled for Mar. 11th. We will have a keynote speaker and two break out sessions: saving for post secondary (RESP, TFSA) and one on Scholarships and Bursaries.
Also, it is very exciting to share that SHS Alumni Jay Dearborn will be competing in the Olympics in the bobsled. We are so excited to watch a former Golden Eagle compete. Our students will also have an opportunity to hear him speak at the end of March. Good luck Jay!
Upcoming Dates
Feb. 2 - Last day of exams - No regular classes
Feb. 3 - First Day of Semester 2
Feb. 3 - Grade Assemblies and Course Selection
Feb. 10 - Winter Pep Rally
Feb. 12 - OUAC Mark Upload
Feb. 13 - Report Card Distribution
Feb. 14 - OCAS Mark Upload
Feb. 16 - Family Day
Feb. 20 - Course selection due in MyBlueprint
Feb. 23 - School Council Meeting 7 PM
Feb. 26 - Calabogie Ski Trip
Feb. 26 - Pink Shirt Day
Mar. 6 - Grad Photo Retakes
Mar. 11 - Youth and Money Workshop
Mar. 25 - Olympian Jay Dearborn at SHS
Team Canada Bobsled - Jay Dearborn
Spotlight on Our Math Department
SHS math classes are hard at work, building skills and consistently achieving highly. SHS math classes are filled with collaboration through the use of whiteboards and group discussions. Students often learn as much from each other as they do from their teachers. Collaboration is a skill that math teachers emphasize which students will take with them well beyond high school, into their careers and daily lives.
Grade 9 math teachers also hosted an EQAO Fun Day where students came into school on a Saturday to practice for their exam. With all this effort, comes consistently high results. SHS EQAO scores (71% above level 3) are far above the board (55%) and the province (58%). We have been the top scoring English-speaking public school in the Kingston area for three years running. Even the Fraser Institute rated our school 158th of the 735 secondary schools in the province where the “average level of achievement on the grade 9 EQAO assessment in mathematics” is a significant criterion for their assessment (Cowley et al. 5).
SHS math teachers are busy supporting students outside the classroom in a variety of ways as well. For example, department head Shane Cook runs the Syd’s Hockey League and coaches the boy’s hockey league, Brett Walsh and Adrian Grew coach basketball and bring teams to many tournaments. Pauline Farmer coached our field hockey team to a silver medal, Michelle Plumb leads students council in their efforts to run school wide events, Steven Lee is leading our Trivia team to their first competition in Ottawa on February 7th and Tyler Elliott was the assistant director of the play Murder by the Book which helped raise money for the school library. Our math teachers strive to help students learn and achieve both inside and outside the classroom.
2025-2026 LDSB School Year Calendar
A PDF version of the 2025-2026 School Year Calendar is available online.
Concussion Protocol
SHS is committed to student safety, injury prevention, and well-being, and supports concussion awareness, prevention, identification, management, tracking, and training. Our point of contact is Ms. Ash Ward, Vice Principal.
Our LDSB Concussion Policy/Concussion Code of Conduct is here as well to ensure we work together to support our students if a concussion is suspected or diagnosed.
Allergen Awareness -
Nut-Free & Scent Free School
Threat/Risk Assessment Notification and Process
The Limestone District School Board and community partners are committed to making our schools safe for students and staff. As a result, schools will respond to all student behaviours that pose a potential risk to other students, staff, and community members. The Community Violence Threat Risk Assessment Process is designed to be proactive in developing intervention plans that address the emotional and physical safety of those involved. Families are asked to review the steps of a Threat/Risk Assessment online.
