Wishing You a Blessed and Prayerful Thanksgiving
PRINCIPAL:
VICE PRINCIPAL:
HEAD SECRETARY:
ASSISTANT SECRETARY:
ASSISTANT SECRETARY:
A. D’Agostino
V. Viola
M. Villella
A. Burt
A. Mijandrusic
OCTOBER 2013
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. Young-Sam You
Fax: (905) 857-9353
ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
CO-CHAIRs: K. Foschia and M. DeAmicis
TREASURER
L. Girimonte
SCECRETARY
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
OCTOBER
Prayer of Thanksgiving
In October we pause and take time from our busy lives to celebrate
Thanksgiving, a day where we humbly count our blessings and give thanks
for the bounty we enjoy. For us, as a faith community, giving thanks to God
takes centre stage as we realize the blessings we enjoy in being able to make
faith come alive in our school.
As Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board faculty, staff and
administration, we take our commitment to Catholic education seriously.
From the visible faith statements that mark entry to our schools, to the sacred
spaces that enjoy prominence
THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE
and participation within each
October 1-31, 2013
classroom,
to
the
daily
Students and families are invited to
reflections and prayers shared
aloud throughout our schools to
contribute non-perishable food items.
begin and end our days, to the
organized presentation of Catholic faith within our elementary curriculum, to
the celebration of monthly Catholic virtues that celebrate a lived expression
of our faith, we strive to offer solid and and beneficial instruction and
participation in our Catholic faith. We strive to instill a solid appreciation of
the faith that make our schools Catholic, and we work in union with Holy
Family Church, for we cannot fulfill our mandate without them. Ours is a
sacramental faith, and without a lived experience of our wider church
community, our work is incomplete and unfulfilled.
We have found that, throughout
our lives and educational
experiences,
our
Catholic
values and faith have benefited
our children the most when the family-parish-school connection is strong.
When families/church/school work together, our children thrive, because
they find themselves grounded and connected to a seamless system of faith
whose ultimate goal is to build and enhance their spiritual confidence and
well-being. Together, church, family and school, we work in strength and
unity as a triangle of faith for the well-being of our children. May God’s
blessings continue to be with you and your family during this time of
Thanksgiving and throughout this school year.
OPENING SCHOOL MASS
October 15, 2013
9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m,
Walter Rauschenbusch
O God, we thank you for this earth, our
home; for the wide sky and the blessed
sun, for the salt sea and the running
water, for the everlasting hills and the
never-resting winds, for trees and the
common grass underfoot. We thank you
for our senses by which we hear the
songs of birds, and see the splendor of
the summer fields, and taste of the
autumn fruits, and rejoice in the feel of
the snow, and smell the breath of the
spring. Grant us a heart wide open to all
this beauty; and save our souls from being
so blind that we pass unseeing when even
the common thorn bush is aflame with
your glory, O God our creator, who lives
and reigns forever and ever.
Amen
The grade 3 teachers, are organizing a
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Inside: Dates
for Ahead
Caledon Community
Services. The donations will
 Enrolment
helpUpdate
support families in
 Terry Fox
need
in
our
local
 Librarycommunity.
News
Please consider
 Events around
thenonperishable
school
donating
food
items to allow families the
opportunity to have a festive Thanksgiving
celebration. There is an increased need for
juice jugs, and juice boxes this year.
Collection boxes will be placed in the front
foyer. Our collection will run through the
month of October.
World Teacher Day, October 5, 2013
St. Nicholas
In the Spirit of Thanksgiving, let us give thanks to...
…The students of St. Nicholas and their families.
…Our volunteers, staff, coaches, leaders and all other
persons who give unselfishly of their time to children and
are sometimes taken for granted, but never go unnoticed or unappreciated.
…For those who continue to support Catholic Education and ensure
that our Faith is at the forefront of all that we do and say.
.... All those who help to support and share a passion in our school
fundraising initiatives.
SEPTEMBER – A HIVE OF ACTIVITY
September has been a ‘hive’ and ‘flutter’ of activity. Student backpacks have
been making the ‘daily trek’ home with homework assignments. Adjusting to
the daily routine of setting time aside to complete assigned work has nudged out
the carefree days of summer.
Students should be tracking their
September has been a ‘hive’ of
work daily in their agendas. The
activity.
entire school engaged in the Terry
Fox Run. Our bus buddies have been actively assisting our younger students.
Our Open House was well attended and set the tone for on-going
communication between school and home. Parent volunteers were invited to
sign-up for various volunteer opportunities in our school. During our
professional activity day, staff were involved in faith development and
reorganization. The Catholic School Council (parents) brought closure to last
year and looked towards setting an agenda for this upcoming school year.
TERRY FOX RUN
Congratulations to all our students for sharing in the ‘Unbreakable Spirit of
Terry Fox’ during our Annual Terry Fox Run. Students showed great
determination in running/walking /jogging many laps around the courses which
were located throughout the community. Thank you to our student / staff
marshals who kept all our runners on course during the run. Thank you is also
extended to our Terry Fox Committee for organizing this special event. They
also organized a school wide chalk-talk, whereby students chalked messages of
hope on school property. Our students and staff are to be congratulated on their
wonderful display of spirit and community as they walked, jogged and ran
around the school and throughout the community.
BUS PATROLLERS and BUS BUDDIES BRAVO!
Thank you to all bus patrollers who have voluntarily
stepped forward to be an additional set of eyes for our
bus drivers.
These responsible and dedicated
individuals will be trained to assist fellow students on
and off school buses, on the way to and from school.
They have also been trained to help with bus
emergencies. Keep up the great work!
WORLD TEACHER DAY – OCTOBER 5
In September the board passed a proclamation
recognizing World Teachers’ Day and thanked
teachers for their dedication and commitment to
students and Catholic education. Over 100 countries
around the world celebrate United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) World Teacher’s Day. We salute and say
thank you to the teaching and support staff at St.
Nicholas School for your on-going commitment to
student learning.
BULLYING PREVENTION CORNER
The theme for the
month of October is
“Bullying is not
acceptable.” Students
develop the ability to
understand and apply
the definition of
bullying through
constant exposure,
repeated use and
consistency. It is important for students to
have an opportunity to share their own
examples of bullying situations. Setting the
ground rule of sharing experiences without
using names is imperative and provides a
sense of safety for all students. The main focus
of sharing these situations should be on
exploring feelings. This may develop through
identifying their own feelings or feelings they
think someone being bullied might experience.
Discussing feelings allows students to develop
and act with empathy.
VIRTUE OF OCTOBER - EMPATHY
Virtue of the Month - Empathy
The Virtue that we will be focusing on for the
month of October is empathy. We understand
empathy to mean the ability to identify with
and feel other people’s concern. An
empathetic person believes that we all share
one Spirit; that we are many parts of one body
because we are all created in the image and
likeness of God. An empathetic person:





Listens attentively & watches people’s
body language
Notices and responds when someone is
upset
Can name her/his feelings
Can see a situation from a different point
of view
Knows that different people may feel
differently about the same thing.
OPENING MASS
Our opening school mass will
be held on Tuesday October
15th, 2013. We will hold two
masses, one at 9:30am and the
second at 11:00am in the gym.
All parents are welcome to
attend.
FRONT DOORS LOCKED
St. Nicholas has a speaker/buzzer/video
monitoring system. Front doors will be locked
once classes begin. Under the new system,
visitors may gain entrance by pressing a
buzzer mounted on the wall outside the
building beside the front door. Please see the
attached notice for further information.
Learning Through Faith: A Pathway to Excellence
Catholic Education: Building A Caring Community
CANADIAN COGNITIVE ABLITIES TEST (CCAT)
During the month of October, all grade 4 students will write the CCAT. The
results of this testing will indicate whether your child is eligible for challenge
programming for intellectually advanced students. In order to qualify, the
student must score at the 95th percentile or above on two of the components and
at the 90th or above on the third. Results will assist teachers in programming in
the regular school setting.
SPECIAL SERVICES SUPPORT
The responsibility for student programming rests primarily with the teacher.
However, when there are concerns regarding the learning needs, social needs or
behavioural needs of a student, the teacher may choose to consult the school’s
Special Services Team. Typically, these consultations would take place at a
TEAM mtg. You would be informed by either your child’s classroom teacher or
resource teacher if your child was going to be discussed at a TEAM mtg. We
are fortunate to be able to draw on a wide range of knowledge and varied
professional expertise in addressing the needs of our students.
The following are the support staff for St. Nicholas School:
L. Cousineau
C. Giles
V. Colucci
R. Mason and N. Bailey
Psychological Associate
Speech/Language Pathologist
Social Worker
Child and Youth Workers
ANGEL HAIR
Angel Hair for Kids™ is a program
of A Child’s Voice Foundation™
that provides wigs and hair loss
solutions to financially disadvantaged children in
Canada who have lost their hair due to a medical
condition or treatment. We are asking St. Nicholas
students who wish to donate their hair
to grow their hair until May when we will hold
an Angel Hair event. Thank you to Ms. Dell’Erario and Ms. D’Uva for
organizing this for the students of St. Nicholas.
More information to follow in the November newsletter…
LIBRARY NEWS
Thank you to the St. Nicholas community for the wonderful support at the Fall
Book Fair. It could not have been such a success without the assistance of our
volunteers. A special thank you to the parents and students who were very
helpful in setting up, writing wish lists for younger students, restocking and
packing up. All proceeds from the fair will go towards purchasing new resources
for the library. The Fall Book Fair raised over $3,000! The winner of the
Family Draw was Rocky from Ms. Barichello’s Grade 5 class. He and Ms.
Barichello both won $25 worth of books from the Book Fair. Congratulations!
WASTE REDUCTION WEEK
We are asking our students to participate in a Waste reduction week October 21
to the 25. The challenge itself, where students commit to bringing a waste free
lunch everyday during Waste Reduction Week. Waste free lunch challenge is a
school program with a goal to help schools decrease the amount of garbage
produced at St. Nicholas. This program serves to educate students, staff and
parents about waste reduction.
FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN
ENTRANCE/EXIT
All Kindergarten students will line up at their
respective entry doors. School staff will be
outside every morning from 9am to 9:15 am
collecting students to bring them to their
classrooms. Dismissal will be treated the same,
students will line up outside their dismissal
doors at 3:45 pm and dismissed to their
parents.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Thank you is extended to those members of
the Catholic School Council for their
dedication and hard work on behalf of students
at St. Nicholas School. Your on-going
commitment and efforts were truly appreciated
and made a difference for students. Please see
the enclosed annual report summarizing
Catholic School Council activities for the
2013-2014 school year.
2013 - 2014 SCHOOL COUNCIL
We welcome the new 2013-2014 executive and the
parent members of the Catholic School Council:
Co-Chairs
Kerry Foschia
Mary DeAmicis
Secretary
Annalisa Capobianco
Treasurer
Leanna Girimonte
Parish Rep
TBD
OAPCE Rep
TBD
Teaching Staff. Rep.
Tanya Marra
Non-teaching Staff Rep.
Mia Villella
Vice– Principal
Velia Viola
Principal
Anna D’Agostino
This year’s Council Members include:
Noemia D’Emilio, Joanne Christie, Laura D’Orazio,
Lynda Moore, Michelle Pacek, Johan Dobranski,
Tina Macri, Josie Cugliari and
Athanasia Iorfida.
The dates for our future meetings are as follows:
October 9, 2013
November 14, 2013
December 12, 2013
January 16, 2014
February 13, 2014
March 20, 2014
April 10, 2014
May 8, 2014
June 12, 2014
All meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. in the school
library. All parents and guardians are welcome to
attend these meetings.
http://www.dpcdsb.org/NICHO
DATES AHEAD
ALLERGY AWARENESS
Life Threatening Allergies
We would appreciate the cooperation of the entire school
community by not sending any lunches or snacks that
contain peanuts/nuts. We want St. Nicholas to be a safe
environment for all students. Thank you for your
assistance with this initiative. When celebrating a special
occasion, we continue to encourage that only non-edible treats be sent to school
if they are to be shared with other students.
SCHOOL HOURS & SUPERVISION
Supervision in the school yard begins at 9:00 a.m. Please do not
drop your children off at school prior to that time as they will
not be supervised. The school day ends at 3:45 p.m. Parents
are asked to ensure that arrangements are made for their
children to leave school at 3:45 p.m. Students are not
supervised after 3:45 p.m. The exception to this is, of course, our students who
are bussed. The doors of St. Nicholas School are open to parents who wish to
visit or confer with staff, however an appointment is necessary, as the
classroom teacher’s first responsibility is teaching the class during regular
school hours. Please report to the office upon, entering the school. Thank you
for your support in keeping classroom interruptions to a minimum and
maintaining a safe environment for our students.
SCHOOL LOCKDOWN DRILLS
We have scheduled our Lock Down drill for the week of October 14-18. The
drill will be conducted with as much sensitivity as possible in order not to cause
undue concern with students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do
not hesitate to contact the school.
QSP REMINDER
We are now in full swing in our QSP—Family Literacy Initiative. Online orders
continue throughout the course of this year. If you wish, please visit our school
website where you can find a link to order new magazines or renew at any time
during the year for yourself or as a gift…birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day
etc. St Nicholas School Group ID number is 32376. Thank you for supporting
this on-going literacy initiative. Happy Reading!
Free workshops for families offered by the Region of Peel
At St. Nicholas Elementary School
The Family Literacy Program is for families with children aged 0 – 6 years.
Families come together for story times, snack, and activities. Research from the
University of Toronto has shown this program makes an impact to a child’s
Early Literacy skills along with their family’s support. The program will be held
in the Library on Tuesday nights, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. for nine weeks, starting
October 1st and ending November 26th. We welcome all families with children
under 6 years, as well as older children in your family. Please register by calling
905 791 1585 x 7222 or visit our website at www.peelregion.ca and click on
Child Care. We hope to see you there.
ROOTED for GRADES 3-5
Holy Family Church welcomes all parishioners in Grades 3-5 to join our
interactive, fun, and faith-based ministry ROOTED. Our first ROOTED
gathering at Holy Family Church will be on Saturday October 5th, 2013 at
10:00-11:30am!
More information and a schedule check out at www.hfym.ca or contact
Stephanie Benedetti at 905-857-1938
EDGE for GRADES 6-8
The EDGE is Holy Family Church’s Middle
School Youth (Grades 6, 7, and 8) Ministry
Program. In many respects, middle school
youth are on the edge because so much is
going on in their lives physically, mentally,
spiritually, and socially. It can be a very
stressful and difficult time for them and you,
their parents. In addition to weekly
catechetical nights, there are social outings
(snow tubing, Blue Jays game, bowling, etc)
throughout the year as well as weekend retreat
and week long summer camp to help students
to grow closer to God. EDGE meets every
Friday from 7-9. For more information and a
schedule please check www.hfym.ca
DATES AHEAD
OCTOBER
1
Family Literacy begins
6:30-8:00pm Library
1-31 Thanksgiving Food Drive
3
Brain Gym with Leah Dilley
5
World Teacher Day
8
Halloween Dance-a-thon
Pep rally
8
Junior Softball Tournament
9
Intermediate Soft Ball
Tournament
9
Catholic School Council
Meeting 7pm
10
Bus Patrollers visit
Peel Children’s Safety Village
11
Professional Activity Day
NO SCHOOL for students
15
Opening School Mass
14
Thanksgiving Holiday
17
Cross Country BEACOM Meet
21-25 Waste Reduction Week
25
Grade 4’s involved in Inuit Games
30
Picture Retake Day
31
Halloween Dance-a-thon
NOVEMBER
1
All Saints Day Celebration
2
All Souls Day
5
Progress Reports go home
6
Grade 8’s visit St. Michaels’s
Secondary School
7
Parent Teacher Interview Night
11
Remembrance Day Celebration
14 Catholic School Council Meeting 7pm
October 11, 2013 P.A Day NO SCHOOL 2013