Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
APRIL 2016
April 2016
PRINCIPAL:
VICE PRINCIPAL:
A. D’Agostino
V. Viola
HEAD SECRETARY: M. Villella
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: G. Odoardi
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: A. Cafagna
120 Harvest Moon Drive, Bolton, Ontario L7E 2W1 Phone: (905) 857-7582 Fax: (905) 857-9353
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: L. Storey
TRUSTEE:
HOLY FAMILY CHURCH
F. Di Cosola
1-800-387-9501
905-951-8898
ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
CoCHAIRS: K. Foschia and L D’ Orazio
SCECRETARY: M. Pacek Treasurer: L. Girimonte
PASTOR: Fr. L. Leger 905 857-1938
ASSOCIATE PASTOR: Fr. D. Gikonyo, IMC
Community Rep- N. D’Emilio Parish Rep: J. Christie
SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM: Please remember to phone in your child’s absence: (905) 857-7582.
The answering machine is available 24 hours - Messages are picked up regularly.
For more information about school events, go to our school website: http://www.dpcdsb.org/NICHO
Follow us on Twitter @st_nicholas15
Student Faith Formation and Engagement: The Heart of All We Do
Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the
Christian ideal. Grant us wisdom to know what we
must do, the will to want to do it, the courage to
undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, and
the strength to complete it.
Amen
Papal Intention for April
Universal : That people may learn to respect creation and care for it as a gift of
God.
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. May we show our love and reverence to you, our Lord, by caring for all that you have created. We humbly give you praise and thanks.
Amen
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK – MAY 1-6, 2016
Theme: Catholic Education: Opening Doors of Mercy
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
Matthew 5:7
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
The sub-themes for Catholic
Education Week 2016 are as follows:
1.
Mercy that Welcomes
2. Mercy that Loves
3. Mercy that Forgives
4. Mercy that Lives the Gospel
5. Mercy that Rejoices
Catholic Education Week begins on a Sunday to highlight the partnership that remains the foundation of Catholic education between our Catholic schools and local Catholic parishes. Throughout
Catholic Education Week, we ask you to reflect on the significance of
Catholic education’s presence and contribution in our Church, and in our society. We invite all members of our community, to participate in the celebrations and activities that will mark the celebration of Catholic Education Week
2016 in our schools.
Forest of Reading
The Forest of Reading is Canada’s largest recreational reading program. This initiative offers school-aged reading programs to encourage a love of reading.
It is a Canadian-wide program that was launched by the Ontario Library
Association. The Forest helps celebrate
Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 250,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public library.
This year the kindergarten students are participating in the Blue Spruce program.
We are also running the Red Maple reading club which is geared towards the intermediate students. Children read the nominated titles and then vote in the spring for their favorite book. Stay tuned for the results in May!
EQAO PRIMARY AND JUNIOR ASSESSMENTS
Each student in Grades 3 and 6 in Ontario will be assessed in
Reading, Writing and Math for a period of 3 days beginning
Wednesday, May 25th through Wednesday, June 8th, 2016 .
Kindly avoid booking dental, doctor and other appointments during this period. If you have a child in either grade 3 or 6 you will receive specific communication and information regarding the
Provincial Assessment just prior to the start of the testing.
LIBRARY NEWS
The Book Fair is coming to St. Nicholas!
The book fair will begin on Monday, April 25 and run until Friday, April 29, 2016 during school hours. The book fair will be open late on
Tuesday, April 26 from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
School organization for next year is in the planning stages. Timelines for making decisions about the number of classes and teacher assignments will be tentatively determined by the end of June. To help us with our planning for September 2016, it would be appreciated if you could let us know now if you will be moving out of our school area over the summer.
A special draw will be held on Friday May 6,
2016 . Students can deposit their ballot during their visit to the book fair. You could win $50 in books – $25 for your family PLUS $25 for your child’s classroom!
Don’t forget to mark the Book Fair dates on your calendar!
We look forward to seeing you during our Scholastic Book
Fair and thank you, in advance, for supporting this great literary event. Thank you for believing in books and the impact of reading on your child’s future.
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
* Input must be in written form to Mrs. D’Agostino no later than CLEAN CLOTHING
Friday, April 29, 2016.
Frame your request in terms of educational contexts e.g. your child’s learning needs/style; information not already known to the school; tips on what has worked best for your child in the past.

Please be advised that letters which cite the names of individual teachers, or names of children you wish to be placed with your child will not be considered.
There is no guarantee that requests will be fulfilled, but all will be considered.
KISS AND RIDE
Please try to ensure that your children are ready to get out of the car in Kiss and Ride and that they can exit on the passenger side. Students using Kiss and Ride should be able to exit the vehicle on their own.
Drivers please remain in your vehicle if you are going through Kiss and
Ride, pause long enough to allow children to exit safely, then continue through to allow other cars to move in. If parents need to get out of the driver’s seat, you should park and escort your child safely to the school yard. If parking, please DO NOT park in the school parking lot it is designated for staff only.
STAFF PARKING LOT
Parents, please use the Kiss and Ride as it was meant to be used on the right side. Drive through the loop and have your child exit the vehicle at the Kiss N Ride area. The middle isle of the parking lot is now blocked off to ensure proper use of the Kiss and Ride. Once again, parking spaces in the lot are for STAFF ONLY.
SAFETY AWARENESS
As the warmer weather approaches, all students should review safety awareness with respect to dangers, road safety, and the dangers of creeks and rivers. Please reinforce these safety concerns with your children.
SAFETY AWARENESS ‐ PROTECTING THE SKIN
Over exposure to the sun can cause skin damage. We remind students regularly to take precautions to protect their skin during recess times. The following are some suggestions to help protect skin:

Wear protective clothing to cover the skin

Wear a hat to protect both the eyes and the skin
When possible, stay out of direct sunlight

Know your skin type, for example fair skinned people are more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation

Wear sun block; the higher the protection factor number, the greater the protection.
Parents are encouraged to reinforce these strategies with their children regularly.
REMINDER
At times, our play area behind the school can become quite muddy.
We ask that students keep an extra pair of pants and socks in their backpacks or at school.
SCHOOL DRESS CODE
REMINDERS
We expect that warmer weather will soon be here, making classrooms somewhat warm and bringing about more casual dress.
With this in mind, we will be discussing with students, what is generally considered to be suitable clothing for school. Clothing should be comfortable, tasteful and appropriate for a school environment.
Please refer to the Dress Code Section of the Student’s Agenda.
Shorts are permitted, as long as they are neither too tight nor too short. Tank tops, tube tops, halter ‐ tops, muscle shirts or anything that exposes midriffs are not suitable for any student from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Slogans on shirts will also be carefully monitored. The intent of our school dress code policy is to continue to provide a modest, yet comfortable work atmosphere for our students during the school day. We look forward to your continued support as concerned parents.
ECO ‐ SCHOOLS CELEBRATES
EARTH WEEK
APRIL 18-22, 2016
St. Nicholas Tree Huggers will be promoting Earth
Week activities during the week of April 18 to April
22, 2016. As part of our ongoing ECO ‐ School initiative, we are striving to educate our students about waste management and promoting reusable containers for lunches, snacks and drinks. Classes will be given the opportunity to collect waste around
St. Nicholas grounds on Earth Day Friday
April 22, 2016. Let’s work together to keep the earth clean!
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
USED CELL PHONES/ IPODS DRIVE
YOUTH FAITH AMBASSADORS
Collecting all used cell phones and IPODS! Our
YFA are collecting all used cell phones and
IPODs for the Alzheimer’s Society. They will be using old technology to play music for
Alzheimer’s patients. Please consider giving to this worthy cause.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PINK
St. Nicholas will be celebrating the
International Day of Pink on
Wednesday, April 13, 2016 . We are encouraging all students to wear pink as a sign of solidarity to put an end to bulling and discrimination. Students will be participating in a flash mob dance to celebrate diversity.
ST. NICHOLAS SHARELIFE HOCKEY GAME
St. Nicholas held its annual Share Life fundraiser in March.
St. Nicholas hockey team faced off against the staff in a friendly game. Special thanks go to all the parent supervisors, players, staff and special guests. Our kindergarten classes to grade 2’s watched a movie. All you! money collected will be forwarded to Share Life. Thank
YEARBOOK ORDERS
Last call to order your St. Nicholas 2015-2016 Yearbooks is April 20,
2016! Complete order forms or submit orders online at ybpay.lifetouch.com
St. Nicholas School code is 841616.
APRIL VIRTUE OF THE MONTH IS LOVE
During the month of April, we celebrate the virtue of
LOVE . God has given us many guidelines and examples of how to live our lives. He sent his Son
BULLYING PREVENTION
CORNER
If you’re Not Part of the
Solution, You’re Part of the
Problem
Every child should feel they have the power to prevent and safely help in bullying situations.
Tips for parents:

Encourage your child(ren) to show empathy for others
VIRTUE AWARDS
Congratulations to our
March Virtue Catch the
Spirit Award Recipients!
Kindergarten – Joshua K.
Primary –Nicholas G.
Junior - Abigail D.
Intermediate – Madelyn W.
These students received a Virtue T - Shirt for demonstrating and living the virtues at
St. Nicholas School.
DATES AHEAD
APRIL
6 10:00 a.m.- Jump Rope for Heart
Kick off Assembly
8 9:30 a.m.- Conquer the Fear-Anti Bullying
Tour-Grades 6-8-GYM
8 7-8:30 p.m. Family Bingo Night
11 PA Day
13 International Day of Pink
14 7:00 p.m. Catholic School
Jesus to make sure that we could see what life could be like. Jesus made one lesson clear above all other lessons—the lesson of love.
Love is not about us; it is about forgetting ourselves and looking out for the good of other(s). That’s what Jesus did—he forgot about himself on purpose. He chose to give up his life for the good of others—us! Becoming a truly loving person is challenging. It takes prayer and concentration to get used to making little sacrifices for the good of others.
A LOVING person:

Wants the best for others


Is willing to make sacrifices for the good of others
Learns from the heroic lives of saints and holy people

Knows that we are all lovable
Council Meeting
20 Author Philip Roy
FDK to grade 3
21 AM- Diversity session
at St. Michaels Secondary Sc hool
18-22 Earth Week
19 Rosary Apostolate
22 Earth Day
22 Immunization Clinic Gr. 7-8
22 Intermediate Basketball mini
Tournament at Holy Family
25- 29 Book Fair
28 -29 Grade 7’s to Niagara Falls
29 Grade 1, 3 and 5 Mass
at Holy Family Parish
MAY
2- 6 Catholic Education Week
6 Jump Rope for Heart
9 Roof Top Photo
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!