Monthly Archives: January 2024

 Where Each One Counts! 

• Monday, January 29 – Chess Club
• Tuesday, January 30: Pita Day,  D & D at lunch
• Wednesday, January 31: Lunch Box Day-Chess Club at Lunch. 
• Thursday, February 1:  Please wear your spirit wear!! Pickelball for Grade 5/6
• Friday, February 2: Pizza Day

Thought for the Week: “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

Prayer: As we enter the month of February and lean into the love of Christ, let’s beg God for our children to learn the reality of true love, God’s love. Let’s ask God to impart in our hearts the reality of His unconditional love.

Please ask your child about what they predict the groundhog will see on February 2nd.

Thank you for your amazing participation in our Big Box Card fundraiser. Most of the Assorted Cards will be sent home on Monday.

The Saints Hit the Slope trip is now available through cash online. The necessary forms will be distributed to those who have paid.  Late forms and payments will not be accepted.

Grade 8 parents!! There is a very important parent meeting on Tuesday, February 6th at 6 pm. We will be discussing Mount Mary, Grade 9 transition, and Graduation.

Reminders:

• Please discuss your child’s agenda each day. They are responsible for writing in it.
• Please discuss your child’s library book selection with them.
• Grades 3-8 are always working on Cursive Writing. Cursive Letter Formation Prompts
• Ask your child about their Knowledgehook math challenges. 
• Parents, please ensure that you are regularly checking on the D2L and Google Drive.
• Parents, please check out our school-wide weekly update on Newswire/School Website.
• Parents,  all current curriculum links are found here.

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

WCDSB MDI Notice of Collection (2024) – Family Letter.docx (sharepoint.com)

Dear Parents,

Before the March Break, the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) will be conducting school climate surveys to collect information from students and families. While the Ministry of Education requires all school districts to conduct these surveys (Education Act s.169.1(1)(a), (a.1), (a.2) and PPM 145), we are committed to providing a safe, caring, and inclusive place for everyone in our schools. The purpose of the school climate surveys is to assess the perceptions of safety (e.g., from students, and families), make informed planning decisions about programs to help prevent bullying and promote safe and inclusive schools, determine the effectiveness of programs on an ongoing basis, and build and sustain a positive school climate. Below you will find details related to each survey.

For Families: We will administer a school climate survey for Families between February 15th and March 8th. You will be provided with the link to participate on February 15th.

For Students: We will invite students in grades 4 through grade 12 to participate in the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) between February 15th and March 8th. The MDI is an anonymous and voluntary online survey and will take place during class time on a board provided device with their classroom teacher. The MDI survey asks students about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in school and in the community related to five areas of development that are strongly linked to well-being, health, and academic achievement: Physical Health & Well-Being, Connectedness, Social & Emotional Development, School Experiences, and Use of After-School Time. Additionally, students will be asked demographic questions on the survey (e.g., Adults they live with, Number of siblings, Gender, School, Grade, Indigenous identity, Race, First language, and English proficiency) in accordance with the Anti-Racism Act (ARA s.6(5)).

The MDI was developed by researchers at the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and the administration of the MDI will be facilitated by the WCDSB Research Department.

Any student may choose not to participate, to stop participating, or to skip a question at any time. Additionally, parents/guardians of students under 18 years of age can ask that their child be exempt from participating in the MDI survey by completing this opt-out form before February 8th, 2024. For more information, please visit our Student School Climate webpage: https://www.wcdsb.ca/school-climate-survey/

Regards,

Sherry MacDonald

Principal

1. Next, scroll down and select “Kindergarten Registration”. You will start by completing our online registration.
2. Then, school will then call you to schedule a time to complete the registration process.
   1. The following documents will be required:
      1. a birth certificate or other legal proof of your child’s age,
      2. proof of home address and a

• a Catholic Baptismal Certificate of either parent or child.

Where Each One Counts! 

• Monday, January 22 – Chess Club
• Tuesday, January 23: Pita Day,  D & D at lunch, 
• Wednesday, January 24: Lunch Box Day-Chess Club at Lunch. Please wear Blue and/or White for Mental Health Awareness
• Thursday, January 25:  Please wear your spirit wear!! Pickelball for Grade 5/6 
• Friday, January 26: Pizza Day

Thought for the Week: What mental health needs is more sunshine, more candor, and more unshamed conversations.” Glenn Close

Prayer: Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: Comfort and relieve those challenged by serious and chronic mental and emotional illnesses. Give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that they may be strengthened in their weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please ask your child about what they are learning during this Mental Health Anti-Sigma Week.

Please return any unpurchased Big Box Cards by Friday, January 26th. After this date, you will be sent a bill for $35. All cards are available to be purchased through Cash Online.

As Ash Wednesday is a solemn day in the Catholic Church, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Tuesday, February 13. On Shrove Tuesday we will also be having a morning pancake snack. Thank you to our council for their support!

Reminders:

• Please discuss your child’s agenda each day. They are responsible for writing in it.
• Please discuss your child’s library book selection with them.
• Grades 3-8 are always working on Cursive Writing. Cursive Letter Formation Prompts
• Ask your child about their Knowledgehook math challenges. 
• Parents, please ensure that you are regularly checking on the D2L and Google Drive.
• Parents, please check out our school-wide weekly update on Newswire/School Website.
• Parents,  all current curriculum links are found here.

 Where Each One Counts! 

Lord: In the midst of Winter, when the days are cold and wind can pierce remind us of the warmth of your love.
In the midst of Winter, when days are short, dawn comes late, and dusk arrives early remind us that in the darkness your light still shines.
In the midst of Winter, when the flowers of spring still lie hidden in the earth, when leaves are off the trees, and the world can seem bleak remind us that Easter is but a short time away.
And when in our lives we feel as if we are experiencing a season of winter, reach out to us with the power of your resurrection so that we may feel the warmth of your love and see your light that alone can take away the darkness of our soul.

• Monday,  January 15 – Chess Club
• Tuesday, January 16: Pita Day,  D & D at lunch, 
• Wednesday, January 17: Lunch Box Day-Choir and Chess Club at Lunch. 
• Thursday, January 18:  Please wear your spirit wear!! Pickelball 5/6B
• Friday, January 19: PD Day – no school for students. Teachers are working on Report Cards

Please ask your child about the Be You assembly on January 9th.

We welcome Rick Zilinskas who will be teaching Grade 5/6 A and Nicole Hall who is our new Child and Youth Care Worker.

Registration for new students is open. If you know someone that is new to our area or someone with a child born in 2020, we are looking for new Saints! Please call the Office and Mrs. Janzen will guide you.

The School Council Big Box Cards Fundraiser is underway. We sent home 100 sample boxes. We were able to distribute to families with the oldest child up to Grade 6/7. If any of the families with the oldest child in Grade ⅞ would like to see a sample box, please email the school or visit the Main Office. Once you are done with the box, either purchase it through cash online or return it to school as soon as possible. Our goal is one box per family.

Saints hit the Slopes!!!! Our Grade 4-8 Skiing Trip is a go for Monday, February 24th!! We will be leaving the school at 9am and departing Chicopee at 1:45. The trip will include bus, equipment rental, lift pass, lesson, and a return visit. Students will not receive a reduction if they have a season pass and we are not able to bring our own equipment on the bus. If the student is not interested in the excursion, there will be a teacher and activities organized back at the school. The cost of the trip will be $50. Permission forms and payment through Cash online will be available this week. We will be asking for parent volunteers:)

Grade 8 important dates:]

• Tuesday, February 6th – 6pm Grade 8 Parent Meeting 
• Tuesday April 9th – Thursday 11th  – Mount Mary Retreat
• Monday June 24th  – 5:30 Graduation 

Calling all Waterloo Region youth (Grades 5-12)! https://youthcreativityfund.ca/how-it-works 

“Imagine a future in which our children, supported and mentored here in Waterloo Region, can creatively change the world without having to leave home.”

Are you a Waterloo Region student in grades 5 to 12? This is for you! Get up to $500 to work on your own idea. Groups of 2 or more youth can get up to $1000. See a problem? Any problem. Big or small. Your effort towards solving it could change the world, solve a personal problem or simply satisfy your curiosity. We don’t care. What we care about is giving you the chance to apply your creativity towards solving whatever problem you choose. We’re here to help (thanks to the donations of people who are cheering you on).

Apply: https://youthcreativityfund.ca/apply It’s totally cool if you don’t know what you want to do yet, or don’t quite have an idea—we’re here to help you too. You’ll be ready soon to exercise your creativity! FAQs: https://youthcreativityfund.ca/faq 

Reminders:

• Please discuss your child’s agenda each day. They are responsible for writing in it.
• Please discuss your child’s library book selection with them.
• Grades 3-8 are always working on Cursive Writing. Cursive Letter Formation Prompts
• Ask your child about their Knowledgehook math challenges. 
• Parents please ensure that you are regularly checking on the D2L and Google drive.
• Parents, please check out our schoolwide weekly update on Newswire/School Website.
• All current curriculum links are found here.

 Where Each One Counts! 

New Year’s Prayer

As the dawn breaks on a new year, let us give thanks for all we hold dear: our health, our family, and our friends. Let us release our grudges, our anger, and our pains, for these are nothing but binding chains. Let us live each day in the most loving way, the God-conscious way.

• Monday, January 8 – Chess Club at lunch
• Tuesday, January 9: Pita Day,  D & D at lunch
• Wednesday, January 10: Lunch Box Day
• Thursday, January 11:  Please wear your spirit wear!! Grade 5/6B Pickelball at lunch
• Friday, January 12: Pizza Day. Fundraiser Sample Boxes go home (one per family – $35 if damaged or not returned by January 26)

“If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of yourself. Embrace that you are- ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it.” ~ Matthew Haig from the Midnight Library

Reminder: Only Grade 7 & 8 students will be able to bring a note to sign out for lunch. They still need to sign out and they are expected to return at 12:30. At the moment we will also be honouring all of the requests/arrangements that have been made for this school year.

Our School Council is having a fantastic fundraising event!!!!

New to our school this year, the Big Box of Card fundraiser featuring a box of 35 All Occasion cards a box of 35 All Birthday cards a box of 35 Kids Birthday cards, or our brand new Holiday Box with 50 cards. All of these boxes sell for the low price of $35 each. We have outlined the details of this fundraiser below to make this a success for our school community.  Our campaign runs from January 12 to January 26.

Our goal is that each family purchase at least one box of cards!!

Each family will receive one sample All Occasion box. The sample box will go home on Friday, January 12th. If you do not want a sample box, please email sherry.macdonald@wcdsb.ca by noon on January 10th to let us know you are not interested. The sample will be used for any boxes ordered.

• All purchases/orders will go through Cash Online.
• The sample All Occasion box must be returned in perfect condition or you will be charged $35. You may opt to purchase the sample box.
• Each family will be provided with product video links:
• Product Video – https://youtu.be/1lMP6GehZDg
• Holiday Box Video – https://streamable.com/6eplgo
• Kids Birthday Box Video – https://youtu.be/x3pifBtXfXU
• A closer look at all of our boxes – https://www.bigboxfundraising.com/collections/frontpage
• The Product video links are intended to be shared with friends, family, and co-workers.
•  Payment for all boxes sold is to be made through Cash Online when orders are placed.
•  All orders and payments must be made by Friday, January 24th through Cash Online. Don’t forget our amazing prizes!!
•  If the school sells 75 boxes a pizza party for top selling class will be awarded.

Grand Prize, for every three boxes of cards your family sells, their name will be placed in a draw to win one of four $25 gift cards(school must sell 150 boxes or more) at local retailers like, Best Buy, Cineplex, Toys R Us, and EB Games. If as a school we sell over 400 boxes then we also will draw for a Samsung 8-inch Tablet! No limit on the number of times you can enter, the more boxes you sell the more times your name will go into the draw for the gift cards and possibly the Tablet.

Good luck and thank you for your participation in this fundraising campaign! Please remember that all funds raised will go directly towards initiatives that benefit the students.  We believe in the quality and value of these cards and think they would be great to have in each household in addition to the other boxes that the students sell to family, friends, and co-workers.

Start the year off right reminders:

• Please discuss your child’s agenda each day. They are responsible for writing in it.
• Please discuss your child’s library book selection with them.
• Grades 3-8 are always working on Cursive Writing. Cursive Letter Formation Prompts
• Ask your child about their Knowledgehook math challenges. 
• Parents please ensure that you are regularly checking on the D2L and Google Drive.
• Parents, please check out our school-wide weekly update on the Newswire/School Website.
• Parents,  all current curriculum links are found here.

Please mark your calendars with these important dates for 2024

• January 9 – Be You Assembly
• January 10 – Grades 1-3 go to Peter Pan, Grade 4 Focus on Nature
• January 11- Grade 8 – THT, Grade 7 Laurel Creek on Site, Grade 6 visit Laurel Creek, Grade 5 Focus on Natur
• January 19th – PD DAY- focus on Reporting
• February tdb – Grade 4-8 Ski Trip to Chicopee!
• February 6 – Staff Meeting & CSAC Meeting
• February 11 – Regional Spelling Bee
• February 13th – Pancake Tuesday at School – CSAC
• February 14th – Ash Wednesday (& Valentine’s Day) – St Clement’s Parish
• February 15th – Reports & IEPs go home 
• February 19th – Family Day
• March  4 – Girls Volleyball Tournament
• March  5 – Boys Basketball Tournament
• March 5 – Be You Assembly
• March 5 – Staff & CSAC Meeting
• March  6 – Grade 7 Mental Health Presentation
• March 7 – School Wide Reconciliation – location tbd
• March 8 – Board Holiday
• March 11-15: March Break
• March 20-27 – Grade 4 CCAT Testing Window
• March 23 – Grade 2 First Reconciliation – St Clement’s Parish
• March 28 – Stations of the Cross-School Gym
• March 29 – Good Friday – No School
• April 1- Easter Monday – No School
• April 2 – Be You Assembly
• April 2 – Staff & CSAC Meeting
• April 4 – Easter Mass 10:30 – St Clement’s Parish
• April 7 – 11:30 First Communion – St Clement’s Parish
• April 8 – Grade 6 Holocaust Presentation
• April 9 -11 – Grade 8 Mount Mary
• April 11 – Director Dowling Visit
• April 19 – PD Day (Mathematics)
• April 20 – Earth Day
• April 24 – Grade 7 #2 Immunization
• May 3 – Be You Assembly
• May 5-11 – Catholic Education Week
• May 7 – Family Open House
• May 9th – Folk Dance
• May 10 – Mission Day!!
• May 15 – Track & Field with St Teresa Elmira
• May 20 – Victoria Day Holiday
• May TBD – Welcome to Kindergarten Night
• May 28, 29 & 30 – Grade 6 EQAO
• May 31- PD Day
• June 4 – Staff & CSAC Meeting
• June 4, 5 & 6 – Grade 3 EQAO
• June 7 – New Kindy Lunch & Library Visit
• June 21 – Grades 4 & 5 Visit the University of Waterloo
• June tbd- Year End Mass at St Clement’s Parish
• June 24 – 5:30 Graduation at St Clement’s Parish
• June 25- Play Day!!
• June 27 – Last day for students
• June 28 – PD Day – no school for students