Rotary Beacon - September 9, 2024 - Tracy McCarthy - Principal - Port Hope High School
Welcome and Guests
Co-President Steve Tallo welcomed all Rotarians and guests. He read our land acknowledgement and invited Kevin Moore to say Grace.
Tracy McCarthy – Principal, Port Hope High School
Josh Clark – Student Prime Minister, Port Hope High School Student Council
Mayor Olena Hankivsky
Councillor Les Andrews
Councillor Todd Attridge
Councillor Adam Pearson
Lorenzo Fava – Our Youth Exchange Student from Italy
Yvonne O’Neill – Ken’s much better half!
We enjoyed a delightful roast beef dinner provided by our caterer, Lisa Sutherland.
Program
L to R: Josh Clark, Student Prime Minister and Tracy McCarthy, Principal, Port Hope High School
Olga Chernuck introduced our guest speaker, Principal Tracy McCarthy. She shared a very impressive bio of Principal McCarthy, a vice-principal at Port Hope High School from 2013-2015. Tracy has a Masters and Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership. Her bio states that, “Tracy was thrilled to return to Port Hope High School as Principal on April 15, 2024, and is determined to ensure the community is aware of the wide range of academic and extra-curricular opportunities that exist for students and is working on creating even more programming options for next year.
Principal McCarthy shared that she wants to shout from the rooftops that she is thrilled to be back at Port Hope High School. Current enrolment is 228, up from their projection of 208. She shared many of the exciting things going on at the school including:
A very busy gym at lunchtime with basketball, volleyball and weight training occurring each day. She is in the gym every lunchtime.
There are many extra-curricular activities going on with most students getting to play in the sport they try out for.
The school has first-rate Construction Technology, Manufacturing Technology, Automotive Technology and Environmental Science rooms.
She shared that the enrolment challenges are as a result of not being to offer a French Immersion program at PHHS, declining funding for programming due to enrolment and perceptions. As St. Mary’s and Cobourg Collegiate Institute continue to grow, they are seen as better options. Currently, the French Immersion students at Dr. Hawkins have to go to Cobourg to Cobourg Collegiate Institute to continue taking French immersion in high school.
To turn things around, she continues to advocate for a French Immersion program. She would also like to offer programs that offers musical theatre, animation, computer tech and media studies. She wants to alter perceptions by spreading the word about good things happening at the school by visiting feeder school’s School councils and having PHHS students help with activities at the feeder schools.
There is also no computer lab at the school. There are a few reasons for this. The pandemic made desktop computers less practical. Every student now has a Chromebook. Budget restraints have made the cost of a lab difficult. She would like to see a lab with 20 computers (Mac computers cost around $2300 each, Microsoft would cost around $1800 each). There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but the preference would be Mac.
There were many questions from members, and Ron Tuttle thanked Tracy for her most informative presentation.
L to R: Councillor Adam Pearson, Councillor Todd Attridge, Mayor Olena Hankivsky, Councillor Les Andrews
Mayor Olena brought us a few updates.
Port Hope Council is very committed to advocating for Port Hope High School, including having a speaker’s forum featuring Port Hope alumni who have gone on to career and life success.
She mentioned the possibility of doing a joint A.I. program with Loyalist College.
Our fastest growing demographic in Port Hope is 25 – 39-year-olds whose children will be getting into high school age. We need to foster a sense of community and belonging. We need to push for more education dollars and get a groundswell of support growing as Port Hope taxpayers. Many of our education taxes end up supporting programs in Cobourg.
The Walk-In Clinic had a soft opening in August and will have an official opening soon.
The Youth Wellness Hub will soon have some satellite programs. Staffing is in place. The bid process has started for the renovations, and the hub should be fully operational early in the New Year.
There are discussions happening around linking underhoused seniors with available spaces in people’s homes, working in conjunction with church leaders and other partners.
Other Business
Ron Tuttle, Director of Service Projects, told us about recent and upcoming service projects.
Tree Planting
Our club along with the other seven Northumberland Rotary clubs will participate in Northumberland 500 Trees project along with the town and Trees for Life. Our club will plant 90 trees in Baulch Road Park in the fall. We have had great co-operation from Julia Snoek and her staff at Parks Recreation and Culture. The town staff will select species of trees in consultation with Trees for life, the locations for the trees and will drill holes in the soil to make it easier for planting. Rotary volunteers will add some fertilized soil and then plant the trees which are in 2-gallon pots of soil. We should have at least 20 volunteers, Rotarians, family members and friends of Rotary. Volunteers should bring work gloves, shovels and some extra wheelbarrows.
Planting day will be on Thursday, October 3 starting at 9:30 a.m. at the Baulch Road Park, north of Marsh Road, west of Toronto Road. Please contact Ron Tuttle at rtuttle1030@gmail.com or (905) 885-4670 to volunteer. Family members and friends are welcome to help out.
New Picnic Tables in Rotary Centennial Riverview Park
Two new metal picnic tables have recently been installed in Rotary Centennial Riverview Park, one under the shade structure and one near the entrance to the walking trail. Ken O’Neill and Ron met with Eric Metcalfe, Parks Supervisor, to decide on the locations. Thank you to Rotarian Bud Lynch for his generous donation to sponsor the picnic tables. One table can be accessed by a wheelchair.
Climate Action Plan
Our club has been invited to send a representative to a two-hour workshop that the town will hold to develop a community climate action plan. No date has been set. Contact Ron if you are interested.
Jazz Festival Free Concert
Our club donated $1,000 to help sponsor a free Jazz Festival Concert in Memorial Park on August 22. Our Rotary banner was on display along with the banner listing Rotary projects
Steel Band Free Concert
Our club also donated $1,000 to help sponsor a free Steel Band Concert in Memorial Park which will be held on Saturday, September 28 from4:00 to 8:00 p.m. put on by the Northumberland Diverse People Coalition. The aim of the group is to celebrate diversity through music, fostering unity and cultural appreciation. Our club logo will be displayed on all of their promotional material.
Repairs to Rotary Gazebo
At the August 23 club meeting, Paul Tait told the club that parts of the Rotary Gazebo in Rotary Park south of the library need repair. The wood under the roof above one of the posts has deteriorated, and on many of the posts, the mortar in the joints is cracked or missing. I offered to contact Parks Recreation and Culture staff about who would make the repairs.
Eric Metcalfe, the Supervisor of Parks, said that the town will do the repairs on the gazebo. He will have to get quotes for the work, and then include the job in next year’s budget. The repairs will likely happen next spring.
Canada Day Donation to Food Bank
$1,000 of the profits from the Knights of Columbus/ Port Hope Rotary food booth in Memorial Park on Canada Day was donated to the Food Bank in the name of both organizations.
Tammie’s Jammies
Tammie Staples from the Port Hope Police and Jerry Siebarth, Port Hope Transit Coordinator, asked our club for a donation to purchase children’s pajamas for the Tammie’s Jammies campaign to provide needy children with new pajamas for Christmas. The Trust Funds Committee will consider this request again this year.
Co-President Drina Tallo spoke about the Fall Fair and the Rotary Food booth and the need for volunteers. She also brought greetings from Missy Halford who hopes to be back to regular attendance soon.
Our Inbound Youth Exchange Student Lorenzo Fava from Italy
Happy Bucks
Adam Pearson extracted a lot of Happy Bucks from a lot of members and guests and also kicked in a whopping $20 for his ride-a-long with fellow Rotarian Sergeant Matt Lawrence of the Port Hope Police Service.
Co-President Steve asked Lisa Graham to lead us in singing O Canada and then adjourned the meeting.
