Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community HAPPY NEW YEAR! January 2014 PRINCIPAL: VICE PRINCIPAL: HEAD SECRETARY: ASSISTANT SECRETARY: ASSISTANT SECRETARY: A. D’Agostino V. Viola M. Villella A. Burt A. Mijandrusic January 2014 120 Harvest Moon Drive, Bolton, Ontario L7E 2W1 Phone: (905) 857-7582 SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: TRUSTEE: HOLY FAMILY CHURCH PASTOR: ASSOCIATE PASTOR: L. Storey F. Di Cosola 1-800-387-9501 905-951-8898 Fr. L. Leger 905 857-1938 Fr. D. Gikonyo, IMC Fax: (905) 857-9353 ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL CO-CHAIRs: K. Foschia and M. DeAmicis TREASURER L. Girimonte SECRETARY A. Capobianco 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 Student Faith Formation and Engagement: The Heart of All We Do Happy New Year! This New Year, let us pursue moments of contemplation. Look to God for assistance. Ask HIM to help us to see in a deeper way to become more aware of what speaks to us of beauty and truth. All of our ordinary moments are means of entering into a more significant relationship with God. In the midst of those very common happenings, God is ready to speak HIS word of love to us. Take the time to recognize God’s presence. See God, and ask for help to enjoy being, to be present in the gifts that are ours. ADVENT OF CHRIST Special thanks to members of our school community, staff and students who joined us for the variety of Advent celebrations that took place during the month of December. Advent liturgies were celebrated by our Primary and Junior Divisions. Our FDK classes invited parents to celebrate Christmas prayer and activities. Our Advent Choir, consisting of grades 1, 2 and 3 students contributed joyously to our St. Nicholas Christmas concert. In the final days of school leading up to Christmas, we embraced a school wide sing-a-long and Spirit Days, organized by our Student Parliament. OUTREACH Our various community and school Advent activities continued to be focused on outreach. A Special thank you to all the families that donated their used clothing for the Bags2School campaign. St. Nicholas brought in a whopping 1.78 tons of clothes! This equated to $356.00 that was donated to the Archdiocese and matched by the government. Therefore, St. Nicholas efforts actually contributed $712.00 to the Effort Relief in the Philippines. Student Parliament also contributed to the Relief Efforts with their Candy Cane sales and popcorn movie day, they raised well over $1,000! St. Nicholas worked together to support Caledon Community Living with a breakfast food drive. Thank you St. Nicholas staff, students and families for taking the time to serve and support those less fortunate. Prayer for the New Year Give us the kindness to hear with compassion, to offer support, loving comfort and care. Give us the courage to do what is needed, the wisdom to choose what is right and most fair. Give us the vision to see what is possible. Give us the faith that we will pave the way for a present that’s hopeful, a future that’s peaceful. Give us the hearing to bring joy to each day. Amen PROFESIONAL ACTIVITY DAY January 20, 2014 is Assessment and Evaluation of Pupils there will be NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS. REPORTING – TERM 1 Report cards for first term for grades 1‐8 will go home on Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences for students in grades JK—8 will take place on the evening of Thursday February 6th, 2014. More information regarding the conferences will be sent home during the week of January 20th, 2014. PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community SCHOOL LITURGY St. Nicholas staff and students will celebrate a liturgy on January 14, 2014 during the Christmas liturgical calendar. Parents are welcome to attend the liturgy in the school gym either at 9:30 am or at 11:00 am. PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins January 18 and runs until January 25, 2014. Finding ways to pray together during this January week means that we are in harmony with people around the world, which brings its own graces; in this way, we join with all who are praying, reflecting, studying, and even eating and drinking together to celebrate and pray for Christian unity. Our YFA’s will pray over the announcements for Christian Unity. KINDERGARTEN ENTRY PLANNING FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS On Wednesday January 22, 2014 the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s Special Education and Support Services Department will host a Kindergarten entry planning information session. This meeting is for parents and guardians of children with special needs which affect their learning, such as vision, hearing, physical, developmental or autism, who are entering kindergarten in September 2014. The meeting will be held at the Catholic Education Centre from 7:00pm – 8:30pm. For more information about this session, call 905 8900708 ext. 24284. FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION 2014-2015 Registration for the 2014‐15 school year will be held at St. Nicholas school on the following dates; January 27* from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. and January 29, 30, 31 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. *A snow date has been designated on January 28 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m... Registration materials will be available for pick-up at the schools by January 13, 2014. Parents/guardians are to register their child in person at their designated Catholic school. SAFE SCHOOL PROCEDURES Creating a safe and caring school environment in which staff and students respect and trust each other is an important focus at our school. Lockdown, and fire-safety drills as well as safety and anti-bullying education programs with Peel Police are part of our ongoing procedures and programs that take place each year with our students and staff. We appreciate your compliance with our school rules. Let us work together to keep St. Nicholas a safe environment. SECURITY A reminder that all visitors INCLUDING PARENTS must come into the office, sign in and pick up a visitor’s badge when on a prearranged visit. Anyone not wearing an identification badge will be asked to return to the office immediately. This procedure will help students and staff recognize visitors to our school. For the safety and security of your children ONLY staff and assigned supervisors are allowed in the school yard during all recesses. Parents are kindly asked to NOT go into the students’ play yard at the back of school. If you need to speak to your child during a recess, arrangements can be made in the front office. We thank you for your cooperation in supporting the safe environment of our school. ANAPHYLAXIS – IMPORTANT REMIDNER As we transition into 2014 we would like to again remind you that St. Nicholas School is an ‘allergen aware school’. There are pupils in attendance who suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to certain foods, such as peanut and nut products and/or milk products. Exposure to the smallest quantities can cause severe life threatening reactions. Anaphylaxis is a severe and life threatening allergic reaction. The most common allergen triggers are food, insect stings, medications, exercise and latex. An anaphylactic reaction involves symptoms from two or more body systems. We at St. Nicholas School would appreciate the cooperation of the entire school community by NOT sending any lunches or snacks that could potentially harm a pupil. Please make sure that all of your children’s caregivers are aware of the food restrictions. Please avoid sending food for birthdays or special occasions. There are many alternatives such as stickers and pencils. If you have any questions please talk to your child’s teacher or call the office. We look forward to your cooperation in making this a safe year for all our pupils. DRESSING FOR WINTER SOCKS, BOOTS AND EXTRA CLOTHES We are asking that all students have an extra pair of socks and track pants at school at all times, just in case they get wet during recess. Waterproof boots are also a necessity. Students need to have indoor shoes and must wear shoes at all times. The halls get wet and it becomes a safety issue when children have their outdoor boots on inside. We do not have the capacity to call home for students who get wet as a result of outdoor play. PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community STUDENT ILLNESS - STAYING IN FOR RECESS Students who are ill should be kept home where they are most comfortable and can recover. A child who is too ill to go out for recess, is too ill to be at school. Your co‐operation to keep your child home when he/she is ill is appreciated. STAYING HEALTHY The best ways to reduce the risk of becoming ill or spreading flu viruses include: Wash your hands frequently: Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after you cough or sneeze. Practise good hygiene: Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are spread this way. Stay Healthy: Eat healthy foods, stay physically active and get adequate rest to keep your immune system strong. [Also, no sharing food]. Monitor your health: If you develop flu-like symptoms (fever, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath) stay home from school and limit your contact with others while you are sick. Parents may want to consider contacting their doctor or call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000 if symptoms get worse. SNOWBALLS With the snow come and gone and likely to arrive again, it is of importance to remind students that for the safety of all, the throwing of snowballs is not permitted. An unsuspecting snowball, often in the form of ice, can cause serious injury. Students have been made aware of this school expectation. Students who are seen throwing snowballs will be issued a letter. SNOW FORTS At St. Nicholas we encourage students to spend their recess breaks engaged in healthy, safe, and productive activities. Students typically spend time engaged in a variety of activities including the building of snow structures or forts during the winter months. In response to concerns evolving from the building of these structures we have implemented a ‘Snow Fort Code of Ethics’ which has been posted in each classroom and reviewed by staff with their students. The code is intended to serve as an on‐ going reminder to all students to continue to value and respect the efforts of others and sets clear guidelines around these structures so students can continue to enjoy recesses building snow forts. Please review it with your child(ren) so they have a clear understanding of it. SNOW FORT CODE OF ETHICS At St. Nicholas, we enjoy building snow forts. We will abide by the following agreements: We do not destroy snow forts. This agreement is in effect during and after school hours. Everyone who builds a fort has to agree to changing it or breaking it down. We need an invitation to go into a snow fort. We do not take snow blocks from other group’s structures unless we have their permission. We do not take over other group’s snow forts. LITERACY DAY St. Nicholas will be celebrating Literacy Day on January 27, 2014. All primary students will be reading with their buddies celebrating the joy of reading. Staff and students in grades 1, 2 and 3 will be constructing a WEB of reading. Students are invited to write their names and the title of the book they read on a spider and clip it to the web. Junior student will be tallying their books on a thermometer displaying the books they read. We hope that in the next few months we can see many spiders with books to and thermometers growing to showcase all the reading that is going on at St. Nicholas! 15 MINUTES OF FUN! FAMILY LITERACY ACTIVIITES Practicing literacy together for just 15 minutes a day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents. Try these activities for 15 minutes at home with your children; Create your own comic strip about your family. Tell knock-knock jokes while doing the dishes. PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community GRADE 8 GRADUATION PHOTOS Photographers will be in on Tuesday, January 28th to take graduation photos for our Grade 8 Students. A letter will be sent out prior to this date with more information. NEW 2014 INCENTIVES FOR OUR TREEHUGGERS! 1. Turn off the Tap Tuesdays! St. Nicholas students tested water samples from the tap and bottled water and our school population said that TAP water is BEST! 2. Waste Free Wednesdays. Reusable containers went out to each family in our school to kick off our waste free lunch Wednesdays! 3. Lights off Thursdays! Every Thursday we are encouraging energy conservation. WHAT’S IN YOUR CHILD’S LUNCHBOX? During the year please assist us in promoting healthy eating by encouraging your child and/or caregivers to pack healthy snacks and lunches. Research shows that good health is a pre-requisite for good learning. It is also a vital component of children’s growth and development. It is a fact: a healthy mind depends on a healthy body. Students who eat healthy food are better prepared to learn and are more likely to succeed in school. For more information about Ontario’s healthy schools initiatives visit; www.ontario.ca/healthy schools VIRTUE OF THE MONTH: SELF CONTROL God wants us to do what we know and feel is right. A person with self-control … Is patient Knows how to wait his/her turn Can calm him/herself down and think before reacting to situations Knows how to avoid physical aggression Can think things through Self-Control helps us to resist the temptation to do something that we will regret. It also helps us to resist the temptation to do something that will harm ourselves or others. Each time we exercise self-control we grow stronger in the Lord and invite peace to settle in our lives. VIRTUE AWARDS Congratulations to our December Virtue Catch the Spirit Award Recipients! Kindergarten – Sonia B. Primary – Juliana C. . Junior - Cora W. Intermediate – Matthew D These students received a Virtue T - Shirt for demonstrating and living the virtues at St. Nicholas school. Thank you to the Nobili family who donated Mississauga Steelheads Hockey tickets to our Virtue recipients. BULLYING PREVENTION Everyone faces conflict in daily life and through it we can learn to negotiate and build relationships. Bullying is a form of violence that leaves no room for negotiation and seeks to tear others down rather than build relationships. Tips for parents: ‐help your children apply the definition of bullying to determine if a situation is bullying or conflict. Does one person have more power than the other? Is the behavior intentional/on purpose? Does it keep happening? (Answering yes to these questions indicates bullying; answering no indicates conflict) ‐use teachable moments and “what if’ scenarios with your child to help them differentiate bullying and conflict -talk to your children about the difference between being passive, aggressive or assertive ‐use ‘I messages’ DATES AHEAD JANUARY 6 First Day Back at School 6 The Epiphany 14 School Liturgy 9:30am and 11:00am in the school gym 16 Catholic School Council meeting 7pm 18-25 Prayer for Christian Unity 20 Term 1 Assessment and Evaluation of Pupils (No school for students) 21 Term 2 begins 27 Literacy Day 27 FDK registration 7pm - 9pm 28 Grade 8 Grad pictures 29 FDK Registration 9am - 3pm 30 FDK Registration 9am - 3pm 31 FDK Registration 9am - 3pm FEBRUARY 4 Reports go home 4,5,6 Drum Fit 6 Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences 13 Catholic School Council 7:00pm 17 Family Day 26 Boys indoor soccer 27 Girls indoor soccer PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD