ST. CORNELIUS CATHOLIC SCHOOL 16066 Innis Lake Road, Caledon East, ON Tel. (905) 584-2245 Fax (905) 584-0924 Principal: G. Graci Vice Principal: A. Cavaliere Superintendent: L. Storey Pastor: Fr. B. Glynn PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Catholic schools are Catholic communities. Catholic schools are faith communities. We – parents, students, teachers, administrative and support staff – walk and grow together in the faith which we received at our Baptism. And it is the ‘together’ that we grow. Our growth is primarily a relationship with God, who at our Baptism, called us by name. But the response of each of us to that growth is both personal and communal. We grow in our faith in the nurturing atmosphere of our Catholic community be that of our local parish, our home, or our Catholic school community. Our school community will celebrate Catholic Education Week 2016 in ways that are appropriate to our students’ age. The Theme is “Open the Doors of Mercy”. There are five sub-themes for each day of Catholic Education Week: THE SEASON OF EASTER PRAYER Lord of life We pray for all who bring your word of life As a light to those in darkness For those who bring your word of peace To those enslaved by fear For those who bring your word of love To those in need of comfort Lord of love and Lord of peace Lord of resurrection life Be known Through our lives and through your power Monday – Mercy that Welcomes Tuesday – Mercy that Loves Wednesday – Mercy that Forgives Thursday – Mercy that Lives the Gospel Friday – Mercy that Rejoices Every year, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association provides our Catholic schools with a resource kit to help schools prepare for Catholic Education Week. Using these resources as well as our own developed activities we have prepared a series of activities which will highlight how our school is “Catholic Education: Opening Doors of Mercy.” One parent engagement event we would like to highlight is our Family Math Night on May 4th. Please mark the date. We hope to see many of you during our school celebrations. More information will be forthcoming. On behalf of the staff, we wish you and your families a blessed faith-filled Easter. Sincerely, Christ the Lord is risen today. Alleluia! APRIL 2016: INSIDE THIS ISSUE Family Math Night Creating Classes for Next Year Eco News Chocolate Fundraiser Page 2 Page 2 Page 4 Page 5 St. Cornelius has had a successful month on Twitter! We have 99 followers who are learning about Easter, Earth Hour and Math. For the latest updates, initiatives and information, follow us @StCorneDPCDSB. Together in Faith and Excellence 1 SAVE THE DATE: “May the 4th Be With You” Family Math Night at St. Cornelius: Please join us on May 4th at 6:30 p.m. Parents and guardians are invited to come to a math workshop with their child(ren) to inspire our children to learn and love math together. Babysitting will be available. Anyone interested in participating in the Family Math Workshop can register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/May4RSVP worked best for your child in the past. Please note 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. Information from all sources will be pooled to assist us in making the most appropriate placement for your child. ARE YOU MOVING? SAVE THE DATE: EQAO TESTING FOR OUR GR. 3 & 6 STUDENTS For those parents with children in grades 3 and/or 6, please note that your child will be participating in the grade 3 and 6 standards based assessment, known as EQAO. This years’ students will be participating in the assessment between May 26th to June 8th, 2016. Please ensure that you don’t book any family holidays and/or medical appointments during this time. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the school. As many parents and educators are aware, EQAO assessments are used in schools to plan for continuous student improvement in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The school based results assist in developing goals for improvement, namely by targeting areas in the curriculum which may require additional focus. At St. Cornelius School we continue to demonstrate improvement in our academic performance! CREATING CLASSES FOR NEXT YEAR In the month of May, we will be making up the class lists for the 2016-2017 school year. This is a complex process, which takes into consideration not only the needs of the student, but it also frames those needs in the context of the larger classroom group. In every class we strive for a balance of learning styles, learning needs, and a cross section of abilities. The current teachers of a grade, support staff and administrators all take part in the process. Please note that combined classes will continue to exist and are a part of every school. If you wish to provide input into the process, please take into consideration the following guidelines: Input must be in written form addressed to Mrs. Graci-Papayanakis by Friday, April 29 TH. 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 Please inform the office if you know that you will be moving and your children will not be returning to St. Cornelius School for September 2016. WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN On Tuesday, May 24th at 6:00 p.m., St. Cornelius School will be welcoming new Kindergarten students and their families to our community by hosting an evening of Full Day Kindergarten learning experiences beginning at 6:00 p.m. Families will be able to work and play with their children using age appropriate, engaging tools and strategies that promote literacy and numeracy. All of the activities are developmentally appropriate for pre-school youngsters and will help families prepare their children for school. This event is sponsored by municipal and provincial government agencies in cooperation with school staff and neighbourhood services. Each family will receive a free bag of educational activities to continue practicing the strategies learned during this event. Please call the school office with your RSVP for this great event! This is for new Kindergarten registrants only. Mar. 24th Sub Day- Make Up Date Due to the school closure on March 24th, the make up date has been rescheduled for June 2nd. Please mark your calendars! Together in Faith and Excellence 2 SPRING PHOTOGRAPHY DAY Lifetouch is coming to St. Cornelius School on May 16th to celebrate and photograph this awesome season. A flyer, showing all the different poses to choose from, will arrive about a week before. In addition, we will be taking our Sports/Extracurricular clubs pictures. Please note we will begin promptly at 9:15 a.m. and ask that your child be here on time. RECESS REMINDERS We continue to reinforce the need for students to play games and activities safely. At St. Cornelius School, we have a hands-off policy. This means that activities such as contact sports, tackling, play-fighting, tripping, pushing, piling on and any rough play are not permitted. Students are consistently reminded of these rules by staff, supervisors and administration. We recommend that parents have conversations with their children about the types of games they play at school. We need your help to reinforce with them the dangers and consequences of rough play and the importance of notifying staff on duty during recess time. The health and safety of our students is always our priority at St. Cornelius. VALUABLES We still continue to have some issues with students bringing and losing valuables at school. Students are reminded not to bring valuables, items of importance or money to school. The school does not accept responsibility for the above. Treasures, with a monetary value or sentimental value, should not be brought to school. Student clothing and play items should be clearly marked with your child’s name. EASTER MASS On March 31st at 9:45 a.m., Father Bob celebrated our Easter Mass with us in the gymnasium. Thank you to our amazing choir. We are blessed to have a group of students with such angelic voices. Thank you to all parents/guardians who were able to join our celebration! SAVE THE DATE: ORIENTATION DAY YOUNG RIDER WELCOMING ALL KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN TO YOUNG RIDER ORIENTATION DAY The intent of the day is to introduce children to school buses in an informal setting prior to the first day of school. Date: Saturday, August 27, 2016 Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon Location: to be determined FIRE DRILL AND LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES Throughout the year the school personnel reviews safety procedures with students on a number of topics. Emergency evacuation drills are conducted to ensure that everyone is aware of the procedures to follow in order to exit the building safely. In the event of an unforeseen emergency situation students and staff will evacuate to Robert F. Hall and our second evacuation site is Caledon Recreation Complex. Students will continue to discuss and practice procedures that are implemented in the event of an emergency lockdown. REMINDER OF STUDENT DRESS CODE With the warm weather finally approaching (we hope!), we would like to take this opportunity to review the dress code expectations at St. Cornelius School. As a Catholic school, we believe that there must be a commitment to high standards of modesty, neatness, cleanliness and good taste. Therefore, while halter tops, short shorts, spandex bike wear, muscle shirts and similar clothing may be acceptable for beach wear, they are not appropriate for classroom instruction. Shirts should be of appropriate length to be able to be tucked into pants or a skirt. Shorts and skirts should be appropriate length for school. Suggestive or inappropriate language or violent symbols are not permitted on any clothing or personal belongings. Sunglasses and hats are not to be worn inside. Nonmarking running shoes are to be worn during physical education classes. Tight and/or revealing clothing is not acceptable. We appreciate your support. Together in Faith and Excellence April 11th is a PA Day, No School for Students! 3 A TOAST TO TAP WATER! The Dufferin Peel District School Board and the Region of Peel invited all students and staff to celebrate Peel tap water during Canada Water Week by taking part in a school wide synchronized drink of tap water. Our school’s Great Gulp event took place on Wednesday, March 23nd 2016. Thank you to students, staff and parents/ guardians for supporting our efforts to help the environment through our commitment to be a “Bottled Water Free Zone”. Hockey Highlights ST. CORNELIUS 8th ANNUAL STAFF/PARENT VS. STUDENTS SHARELIFE HOCKEY GAME LIGHTS OFF FOR EARTH HOUR On Wednesday, March 30th, 2016, St. Cornelius School participated in a Boardwide Earth Hour. It was a huge success with all classrooms turning off their lights and a school-wide effort to reduce our overall use of electricity. This month, our school will be continuing its energy conservation campaign. Energy conservation efforts can help both the environment and you to save money! By reducing your use of electricity and water, you use less natural resources and reduce the amount of pollution being created by energy plants. Further, using less energy means spending less money. Find below a few tips to help you conserve energy in your homes and at school. Use power bars to plug in appliances and lamps in your home. When not in use, turn the power off at the power bar, to reduce unnecessary power usage Use energy efficient light bulbs Turn lights and TVs off when you leave a room Use your washing machine and dishwasher ONLY when you have a full load in the machine. Turning on the machine when it is half full is a waste of water and electricity Adjust thermostats to be two degrees less or put them on a timer. This way, the heat or air conditioning will only be on when it is really needed Dust and vacuum all floor radiators so that air flow is much smoother and efficient. A reminder to continue supporting our litter-less lunch program here at St. Cornelius School, too. Earth Day is on Friday, April 22nd . On March 11th, staff and parents suited up against the students of St. Cornelius School for a fantastic hockey game that was filled with lots of action! The event took place at the Caledon East Arena. We would like to take the time to thank our staff and parent players for participating and making the event a huge success as well as our teachers and parents who helped supervise the event. Thank you to our school community for the overwhelming turnout. We are excited to share that we raised over $700.00 for the ShareLife campaign! A special thank you to Fr. Bob for coming out to play with the teachers to show his amazing school spirit. Go St. Cornelius! DANCE TEAM The St. Cornelius Dance Team is practicing for their upcoming Dance Showcase at the Rose Theatre in Brampton on Tuesday, April 19th. They will be performing alongside other teams from across the board. The showcase for the St. Cornelius Dance Team will take place in the morning. Tickets for parents/guardians can be purchased directly from the Rose Theatre Box office. Thank you to the dance team for their hard work and dedication as we prepare for this performance. Together in Faith and Excellence 4 MATH AT HOME: PARENT INVOLVEMENT AND MATH ACHIEVEMENT “HOW CAN I HELP?” On April 4th, we will kick-off our school chocolate fundraiser. Each family will receive one box of chocolates to sell. Chocolates will be distributed on April 7th. Please return all unsold chocolates and money by April 22nd. Thank you to all for your ongoing and continuous support of our annual fundraising programs. These fundraisers help us to do incredible things in the school to benefit the children and overall school community. Without you and your support, these enhancements to our children’s school would not be possible. Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings to learn more about school initiatives and where our fundraising dollars are used to support the school goals. Our next School Council meetings will be held on Monday, April 4th and May 31st at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend. Be positive Choose your words carefully. When parents (and other adults) say they aren’t good at math—sometimes to make children feel better—they may be giving children permission to stop learning. Avoid math anxiety Math anxiety (unproductive tension and stress) is real and occurs in children as well as adults. Pressure from timed tests and the risk of failure are major sources of math anxiety. Try not to over-react when your child makes a mistake. Making mistakes is an important part of learning! Learn from mistakes Upcoming Parent Engagement Events: On Saturday, April 9th at St. Joseph Secondary School in Mississauga, the CCCSC Presents “Open the Doors of Mercy” Conference and Marketplace. If you are interested in attending, please register on the following survey link: www.//surveymonkey.com/r/M9BFLTY Please note this link has been posted on our school website. Family Math Night “May the 4th Be With You” at St. Cornelius: Please join us on May 4th at 6:30 p.m. Parents and guardians are invited to come to a math workshop with their child(ren) to inspire our children to learn and love math together. Babysitting will be available. Anyone interested in participating in the Family Math Workshop can register online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/May4RSVP Homework time can be a more positive experience if you help your children learn from mistakes: praise their efforts, ask them to explain their answer, ask them to think about why the mistake happened, and encourage them to try again. Help set the tone Be relaxed and engaged as your child does math homework. You are not expected to be an expert, but you can offer support and ask questions: “How did you do that?”; “Why did you do that?”; “How do you know if you are right or wrong?” ; and “Would you teach me how to do another question like this one?” Be patient and build confidence If your child becomes frustrated, stop. Remind them of things that they have already learned how to do successfully, such as riding a bicycle or playing a musical instrument. Together in Faith and Excellence 5 BOOSTING YOUR CHILD'S LANGUAGE SKILLS SWAP YOUR SIP! The following suggested activities take advantage of things you do every day. Do you speak another language? These activities can be done in any language and you are encouraged to use your strongest language. You play an important role when you spend time talking with your children. Teach your child new words. When you are making dinner, ask your child to get you the spatula out of the utensil drawer. Need to keep your child occupied? Have your child draw a picture of a room in the house. Have him/her draw in and label all of the things he/she can remember in that room. Go beyond happy, sad, big or little. Teach your child words like excited, frustrated, gigantic, and miniscule. Use describing words and phrases to expand language skills. Cooking and baking together is a great way to learn names for ingredients as well as action words such as blend, stir and mix. Play "I spy" to learn describing words. Ask your child to find something that flies or crawls, something that has four legs but cannot walk or something that you can hear. During car rides have your child locate or make a list of different noises, moving things or rectangular things she/he sees along the way. Give each child in the car a different job. Use information books and children's magazines. Learn all about airplanes, outer space, animals or opposites. Get organized - give your child a job! Ask your child to fold laundry. This teaches matching and organizing skills. Give your child a catalogue or flyer to cut out groups of objects. Have him/her find and cut out pictures of appliances, or clothes you wear outside. She/he can paste them onto paper to make a little book about groups. Create a grocery list together. Decide what fruits and vegetables to buy. Talk about how the grocery store is organized. Let your child help unpack your groceries. Adapted from: Parents Boost Learning Choose water instead of sugary and creamy drinks. The best choice for quenching thirst is water! Add some zing to your water with: Lemon or lime slices Veggies or fruit, such as cucumber or strawberry slices Fresh mint leaves Get the scoop on sugary drinks, by reading Sugary Drink Sense by the Dieticians of Canada as an attachment to the April Newsletter. NEWS FROM THE PARISH Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide - Cardinal Archbishop Thomas Collins & Bishop John Boissonneau have asked you to make a stand to protect life especially the vulnerable. Tell legislators how you feel. Visit www.canadiansforconscience.ca A coalition including 5000 Canadian doctors with a common mission to respect the sanctity of human life. They provide numerous resources including an opportunity for people to easily share their concerns directly with their local members of parliament, urging them to protect the vulnerable and to insure that individuals and institutions can provide health care without having to compromise their moral convictions. Handouts are available at the back of the church. Bishop John Boissonneau advises that if you have the time, handwritten letters to an MP have a greater impact than a lengthy petition of signatures. Together in Faith and Excellence 6 use if they witness bullying. The theme for this month is ‘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 children to show empathy for others who are bullied (befriend them, include them) - teach your children to intervene appropriately or walk away and tell an adult - role model being ‘part of the solution’ when you encounter difficult situations in your life. VIRTUE CORNER IMPORTANT DATES PLEASE PLACE DATES ON FAMILY CALENDAR Our Virtue for the month of April is Love. God wants us to serve and to see goodness in everyone we meet. A loving person: •wants the best for others •is willing to make sacrifices for the good of others •knows that we are all lovable •prays for others; God has given us many people in our lives to show us examples of love. Our families, teachers, and friends show us their love everyday. We should always try to remember Jesus-- most important lesson, the lesson of love, because love is not about us - it is about looking out for the good of others. SAFE SCHOOLS FOCUS FOR APRIL IF YOU’RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU’RE PART OF THE PROBLEM In April students will be focusing on the role of the bystander/witness in bullying situations. Research shows that bystanders make or break bullying episodes – they hold the power to stop bullying. They provide the audience for students engaged in bullying behaviours. Students will discuss what it means to be a bystander, explore why people let bullying happen and learn safe and effective strategies to APRIL Apr. 1: World Autism Awareness Day Hockey Tournament- Powerade Centre Apr. 4: Chocolate Fundraiser Kickoff Assembly 6:30 p.m.- Catholic School Council Meeting in the library. All are Welcome! Apr. 5: Virtue of Kindness AssembliesGr. 5-8 @ 9:45 a.m./ K – 4 @ Apr. 6-8 Gr. 7 & 8 Trip to Ottawa Apr. 6: Furtado’s class to Silvercreek Outdoor Education Centre Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Apr. 7: Chocolates Distributed (1 per family) Sub Day Scientists in the School- Papa/Mule Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Apr. 8: Team Photos Apr. 9: Family of Schools Catholic Schools Council Presents “Open the Doors of Mercy” Conference at St. Joseph Secondary School -See attachment Apr. 11: PA. Day- No School for students Apr. 13: Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Apr. 14: Gr. 8 HPV & Gr. 7 Hepatitis B Vaccinations Pizza Day Apr. 14: Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Apr. 18-22: Earth Week Apr. 18: 1:30 p.m.- Roseneath Theatre Presentation “The Incredible Speediness of Jamie Cavanaugh” for Gr. 4-8 Together in Faith and Excellence 7 Apr. 19: Apr. 20: Apr. 21 Apr. 22 Apr. 26: Apr. 27: Apr. 28: Apr. 30 Dance Team Competition - Rose Theatre 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation - Ms. Zingaro’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish Family Intermediate Mini- Basketball @ St. Benedict- Boys AM/ Girls PM Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation - Mr. DeRango’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish First Communion Retreat- All Day Sub Day Earth Day Chocolate Fundraising Ends 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation - Ms. Scarcello’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish Intermediate Boys and Girls Family Basketball Finals Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation- Ms. Cancelliere’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish Pizza Day Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring 11:00 a.m. First Communion - Mrs. Moretta/ Mrs. Clark’s classes at St. John the Evangelist Parish. May 16: May 17: Spring Photos 6:30 p.m. Family of Schools Catholic School Council Parent Evening at St. Marguerite d’Youville May 18: Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Catholic Education Week 10:00 a.m.-Primary Mass at St. John’s the Evangelist Parish Gr. 3 and 6 EQAO Tutoring 6:30 p.m. - Family Math Night at St. Cornelius “May the 4th Be With You!” Talent Show Sub Day Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Talent Show AM- Diversity Conference - Youth Faith Ambassadors PM- Kindergarten Mother’s Day Celebration 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation - Ms. Leardi’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring 7:00 p.m.- Confirmation - Ms. Mark’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish AM- Jump Rope for Heart Pizza Day Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring PA Day- No School for Students 11:00 a.m.- First Communion Mass for Mrs. MacLeod/ Mrs. Morrison’s Classes at St. John the Evangelist Parish MAY May 2-6: May 3: May 4: May 5: May 6: May 9: May 10: May 11: May 12: May 13: May 14: May 19: Scientists in the School- Mrs. DiMaria/ Ms. DiFeo’ Class Sub Day Gr. 3 and 6 After School EQAO Tutoring Last Class May 21: 11:00 a.m.- First Communion for MsCerullo’s Class at St. John the Evangelist Parish May 23: Victoria Day- No School May 24: 6:00 p.m. Welcome to Kindergarten Night For students beginning Kindergarten in September 2016 May 25- 27: Gr. 3 and 6 EQAO Provincial Assessment May 26: Pizza Day ATTACHMENTS: Math at Home Sugary Drink Sense from our Peel Public Health Nurse Family of Schools Catholic School Council Parent Event Flyer Together in Faith and Excellence 8