Hundreds Attend Grades 7-8 Open House
at Thousand Islands Secondary School

(Pictured above: Hundreds packed the gym at TISS recently during an open house
for Grades 7-8.) 

(Brockville) – Hundreds flooded into Thousand Islands Secondary School (TISS) recently to learn about plans to host intermediate students this September in a Grades 7-12 facility under the Building 2020 process.

TISS hosted an Open House January 10 to explain proposals for hosting Grades 7 and 8 students next year, as well as to introduce potential recruits and their families to the high school and its programs.

The night, which attracted 400 people, was organized to introduce Grades 6 and 7 students and their parents to TISS in preparation for the transition to a Grades 7-12 facility this September, under terms of the Upper Canada District School Board’s Building 2020 process.

“It gave parents an opportunity to really see the building, to see where the Grades 7-8 students will be housed, as well as to receive information like where the bus drop-off zone is going to be and when recess is going to be,” said TISS Principal Don Lewis in a recent interview.

Lewis used the session to talk about the transition process, as well as the benefits the Grades 7-12 structure will bring to intermediate students including: greater access to science labs, a music room, art studio, and a larger gym.

Lewis and his staff members informed parents about plans to host Grades 7 and 8 students in a separate area of the school away from their high school peers. Intermediate students will enjoy separate nutrition breaks and recesses, as well as a separate drop-off and pick-up point for busing.

The separate school days will allow for creative timetabling which will permit intermediate students access to areas such as the school’s music room and technology shops at times such as the high school lunch hour.

The night also offered an opportunity for the families to tour the school and see the kinds of resources available to their children, said Lewis. At TISS, visitors toured the hospitality room, student services, the wood shop, art room, science labs, English and French rooms, as well as gym D – the gymnasium that will be used most by intermediate students.

Brockville Collegiate Institute (BCI) also held an information night on January 11, which focused on the high school programs at BCI, said Principal Nancy Fitzpatrick. About 250 people attended the event.

More events for Grades 6, 7 and 8 students will be held at both schools in the coming months.

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For more information, please call:

Don Lewis                                                                  Nancy Fitzpatrick
Principal                                                                     Principal
Thousand Islands Secondary School                           Brockville Collegiate Institute
613-342-1100                                                            613-345-5641