Thanks for your continued support!

We are having so much fun at St. Clement School getting ourselves into the Christmas Spirit and to keep the true meaning of the season at the forefront!  We began our weeks ahead with a wonderful, school-wide Advent Celebrations. This past week, the focus was on the HOPE that Jesus is coming at Christmas, and we look at the ways we can prepare our hearts for the special visitor that is to come. We will continue to engage in the virtual celebrations each week leading up to the Christmas break.

We will also be having our Cookies for Santa door decorating contest and our Intermediate Student Council has a “Countdown to Christmas” with many fun spirit days coming ahead!

Back by popular demand, is our “Find the Hidden Nutcracker” – students are given clues daily as to wear this Nutcracker that is on the loose is hidden. At the end of the week, students will find out where he is hidden and then he hides in a new place each week. It is a great challenge for all the classes.

Each morning, for the month of December, Saints are welcomed into the building with cheery Christmas tunes! What a great way to start the day!

Staff will continue to get “mugged” by spreading some Christmas spirit to one another and gifting mugs and treats to one another. Saints students will be getting “Elfed” with some Christmas spirit! (see information below)

Our “Name that tune” challenge will start this week as well.  We will play the first few seconds of popular Christmas songs on the announcements and offer clues to the name of the song.  Each class will make their guess and post them outside the classes. So much fun!

In all of these things, we are reminded that “Jesus is the reason for the Season” and we thank the parents/families for their generous donations to our Back Pack Drive to help the homeless! This is our last week to collect the items. You really are moral leaders for your children in showing them that the season is about kindness and giving!

Here are some Reminders:

Daily Screening:

Thank you for your continued diligence in completing the COVID-19 screening for each child(ren) every day. Here is the link: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/  Please note that even when you don’t need to send us the results, you still need to complete the screening every day before your child(ren) come to school. If there are any symptoms your child must stay home. The symptom list found on the screening is the same symptom list we are looking at in order to help us to determine whether to send a student home during the day. If students begin to experience any of the symptoms listed, we will call and ask that they be picked up and taken for a COVID-19 test. 

Staffing Update

We are happy to welcome back Ms. Plourde who has been a regular supply at our school. Ms. Plourde will be with us until Christmas break while Ms. DeLeo is off. Welcome back to St. Clement, Ms. Plourde!

Mental Health Resources For Families

Please visit the attached link for valuable Mental Health resources for families:

Mental Health Content for December School Newsletters

Managing Holiday Stress

The holiday break is an opportunity to rest and enjoy! At the same time, holidays can be overwhelming and stressful at times. Grounding ourselves in those moments can help us to self-regulate, manage our emotions and be present. Try these practices of Breathing, Muscle Relaxation and Gratitude.

Winter Break Wellbeing Passport

Take your family on an adventure in your own home and community this holiday break! Unplug, unwind and check out the Winter Break Wellbeing Passport for ideas to learn about and practice different mental health and wellbeing activities.

Winter Break Wellbeing Passport – WRSPC

BE WELL & Reach out to the Help you need

If you or your child/teen needs help over the holidays, please reach out, there is support available to you.

frontdoormentalhealth.com is the access point for families needing children’s mental health services in Waterloo Region. Appointments are available by phone or video Monday to Fridays. 519-749-2932

BeSafeapp.ca   helps youth to connect with resources and develop a safety plan in a time of crisis.

Get Support – Kids Help Phone is Canada’s 24/7 support service – available to young people via phone, text or website. 1-800-668-6868, text 686868 

Here247.ca  is Waterloo Region’s hub for support to help guide you to services for addictions, mental health and crisis services. 1-844-437-3247 (HERE247)

Do you need Additional Support?

Please also access our  Mental Health & Well-Being (wcdsb.ca)

And

Family Compass (familycompasswr.ca)

Busted Halo 2021 Advent Calendar

Please visit the following website for insightful information and activities to support us in our faith journey this Advent Season: Busted Halo 2021 Advent Calendar

It’s back by popular demand…Hide the Nutcracker!

We have a Christmas Nutcracker Loose at St. Clement School and he is up to SNOW good!

Saints students asked for it and they got it! Starting on Monday – A Nutcracker has been hiding at St. Clement school and the students need to find him! Each day, leading up to Christmas, students will be given picture clues where the Nutcracker was hiding. On Monday, the picture of where the Nutcracker was hiding will have a small clue, and then each day after, there will be more clues in the picture to show where he is hiding leading up to the reveal on Friday. Each week he hides in a new place and each week students will have opportunities to guess where he is hiding based on the picture clues! Some holiday fun leading up to Christmas for students!

Name that Tune Challenge

Name that “tune” challenge will start on Monday Dec. 6 We will play the first few seconds of popular Christmas songs on the announcements and offer clues to the name of the song.  Each class will make their guess and post them outside the classes. The next day the song will be revealed, and a new song will be the challenge!

More Christmas Fun: You’ve been Elfed

This will be some more Christmas Fun for Saints starting on Monday Dec. 6^th. A sweet surprise is left outside someone’s classroom door without them knowing who left it to bring joy to the students and staff at our school. When one class has been Elfed – that class will distribute the sweet treat to students and staff. Once a classroom has been Elfed they will place the “We’ve been Elfed” sign outside your door so that they won’t be Elfed again! That class will, in turn, leave a surprise outside the classroom door with the posters– Before long we will have a hallway full of ‘elves’ and happy staff and students!

Dressing for the Weather

Weather is unpredictable at this time of year. Please ensure your children dress for the weather every day. Extra clothes are always a good idea, especially when our yard is muddy.

Christmas Charity Fundraiser: LAST WEEK FOR DONATIONS

This year, CSAC requested that our St. Clement Christmas Charity of choice be a local initiative to help the homeless of the Waterloo Region. We are so excited to assist with this amazing cause.  The Hemlock Barn (Lobsinger Line) will be distributing the back packs along with a meal to the less fortunate members of the community and they need our help! They are aiming to fill 300 backpacks with essential items that would be helpful for those stuck in the cold. (see flyer below)

Each week, Saints will be challenged to bring in certain items in order to get a variety of items needed to fill the back packs. Outside of these items anyone that wants to donate a new or gently used backpack, kindly send it into the school with your child.

This campaign will go from November 15 – December 10th. (see the chart below). Let’s do what we can during this season to help others! Thank you so very much for your generosity so far!

Families are reminded to check the WCDSB website regularly for updates on our Operational Guidelines.  Please know families can review the Ventilation Report for schools and/or the Board should you wish to have more information: https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/ Umbrella Project: Did you know… students are encouraged daily to show their Saints Umbrella Skills. Staff recognize students showing their skills for the month. Students from each class will be recognized and celebrating for their skills and receive a BRAG TAG for their backpack.  Umbrella Project: Theme for the Month of December: Kindness This month at the Umbrella Project we are tackling Kindness. At the Umbrella Project we believe that every day can be a random act of kindness day. Kindness is one of the easier skills to understand and make a part of our daily lives. Even a genuine smile counts! What will kindness do for my child? Doing good is not only beneficial for the person on the receiving end and those who witness the kind action, but also for the givers of kindness. When we are kind and intentionally perform acts of kindness, we get a boost in our own wellbeing and happiness. It feels good to help others and it helps us focus on the positive things in our lives. It’s win-win! This month we are going to add some complexity to kindness for our children, increasing their care for others but also helping them recognize the benefits they get from being kind and then actively looking for chances to use this skill more often. Show your kids that kindness isn’t within someone else’s control Within this quote is buried a powerful lesson that can make a big difference in how often our children use kindness: “Treat everyone with kindness, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are.” – Author Unknown Feeling empowered to deal with life is about finding that which is within your control. Unfortunately, when it comes to kindness, we often give it only to those who treat us well. This ultimately puts our use of this important skill in someone else’s hands. As we start this month, remember that using the umbrella skills is a choice and kindness is a skill that is always available. In fact, it can be extremely uplifting to give it out freely to everyone.  Remember most people are fighting their own complex battle that has led them to the point where they may be rude, closed-minded or angry. Show your kids how powerful it can be to give kindness to the people who seem to deserve it least. Most often, they are the people who need it most. Now that’s empowering! Chat soon, Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project  School Calendar: https://stclement.wcdsb.ca/calendar/  (please use this address to access our school calendar for all upcoming and future events). o   December – Staff wide hide “You’ve been mugged!” o   Dec 6-10– School wide: Cookies for Santa Door theme Dec. 6 – Virtual Advent Liturgy – Week 2: Peace Dec. 8 – Hot Lunch day Dec. 9 – St. Clement Saints Spirit Wear Day – show your pride! Dec. 10 – Virtual Advent Liturgy – Week 3: Joy Dec. 10 – Last day to contribute to our Back Pack Donations to the homeless Dec. 13 – Count Down to Christmas: Christmas Socks and Slippers day Dec. 13 – Virtual Advent Liturgy – Week 4: Love o   Dec. 14 – Count Down to Christmas: Christmas Festive Headwear – Christmas hats, headbands, etc. Dec. 15 – Virtual Christmas Concert for St. Clement School – your classroom teacher will provide information o   Dec. 15th– Count Down to Christmas: Count Down to Christmas: Christmas Sweaters or red and green Dec. 16 – Christmas Liturgy o   Dec. 16– Count Down to Christmas: Christmas Bingo! o   Dec. 16 – Umbrella Project Winners for December’s theme: Kindness – Brag Tags Awarded! o   Dec. 17– Count Down to Christmas: Christmas Jammies and a movie o   Dec. 17- Last day of school before Christmas break – Wishing you a blessed Christmas! o   Jan. 3 – First day back to school   Here are some great things that happened recently at our school, please follow us on Twitter @stclementsaints for more information about these and other exciting news: It looks like Christmas this week and soon it will sound like Christmas. Next week we will be welcomed into the school with Christmas music and have Name that Christmas Tune Challenge for Saints. #HolidaySpirit Saints participate in the Umbrella Project Virtual assembly for DecemberKindness! So excited for the Acts of Kindness BINGO challenge and designing the gift of kindness. Saints celebrate Advent by lighting a candle for the first week of Advent, the candle we call HOPE. Back by popular demand today was the first day for the Hidden Nutcracker! Saints are using picture clues to guess his location! #ChristmasSpirit This week we awarded students who did a wonderful job of exempting a Growth Mindset for our focus in November. Brag tags awarded, and some very excited students! #UmbrellaProject Staff at St.Clement CES continue to be mugged! #ChristmasKindness Thank you, Mrs. Brenner, for your help with our hot lunch program! Beautiful creations from School Council to add to our backpack program for the homeless. #ChristmasKindness Thank you Student Council for making cards for our recipients of our Backpack program. #SpreadingChristmasCheer

virtual-save-the-date-letter St Clements

Save the Date: Umbrella Project’s Dr. Jen is hosting a Parent Night : Tuesday , December 14^th at 7 PM to help parents prepare emotionally for the holidays. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

UP-ParentNightFlyer2021_Dec14_WCDSB_savedate.pdf

Just a reminder Saints, that tomorrow is spirit wear day! You can wear your Saints spirit gear or blue or gold, or both!

When: Thursday, December 2, 2021 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Zoom Meeting Link

• Webinar ID: 925 5066 5739
• Passcode: 136870

Christmas Charity Fundraiser: THIS WEEK’S ITEMS: Hair Brush, Toque/Hat, Hand Sanitizer

Thanks for your continued support!