Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
APRIL 2014
PRINCIPAL:
VICE PRINCIPAL:
A. D’Agostino
V. Viola
HEAD SECRETARY: M. Villella
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: A. Burt
April 2014
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: A. Mijandrusic
120 Harvest Moon Drive, Bolton, Ontario L7E 2W1 Phone: (905) 857-7582 Fax: (905) 857-9353
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: L. Storey 1-800-387-9501 ST. NICHOLAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
TRUSTEE:
HOLY FAMILY CHURCH
F. Di Cosola 905-951-8898
CO-CHAIRS: K. Foschia and M. DeAmicis
PASTOR: Fr. L. Leger 905 857-1938
TREASURER L. Girimonte
ASSOCIATE PASTOR: Fr. D. Gikonyo, IMC
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
The Divine Mercy novena began as a private devotion which
Our Lord revealed to
Saint Maria Faustina Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
Amen 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.
POPE FRANCIS
The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis
"decreed that Blesseds John XXIII and John
Paul II will be enrolled among the saints on
April 27, 2014 , the Second Sunday of Easter, of the Divine Mercy."
Holy Week April 14-17, 2014
STATIONS OF THE CROSS LITURGY
On Tuesday, April 14 to Thursday, April 17, 2014
St. Nicholas gym will be transformed into a quiet and prayerful sacred space. The Stations of the Cross will be placed around the gym and classrooms will have an opportunity to pray and meditate at the Stations of the Cross.
Kowalska. The words of the prayers were dictated by Christ
Himself to Saint
Faustina, and Saint
Faustina recorded in her diary Our Lord's instructions for each day's prayer.
Christ asked Saint
Faustina to recite the novena starting on Good
Friday and ending on Divine Mercy Sunday
April 27, 2014. In visions and conversations with Jesus, St. Faustina said Jesus asked her specifically for a feast of Divine Mercy to be established so mankind would take refuge in
Jesus.
Blessed John Paul II died on the eve of Divine
Mercy Sunday in 2005.
MASS AT HOLY FAMILY PARISH
All students in grades 1,3,5 and 7 will be bused to Holy Family
Parish on Wednesday, April 16,
2014 for mass. Parents are welcome to attend mass at the church for
10:20 am.
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
Catholic Education Week will be celebrated from May 4– May 9, 2014.
As always, Catholic Education Week begins on Sunday to highlight the parish-home-school partnership that remains the foundation of Catholic education. Catholic Education Week is a welcome opportunity to celebrate the Mission of our Catholic schools as they strive to integrate the Gospel values of Jesus Christ in every aspect of the school’s life and curriculum.
This year’s theme is:
The sub-themes for Catholic Education Week 2014 are as follows:
Monday: Serve with faithfulness
Tuesday: Serve with humility
Wednesday: Serve with compassion
Thursday: Serve with justice
Friday: Serve with joy
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 Monday May 26th through Friday, June 7th, 2014 . 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.
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
2014, it would be appreciated if you could let us know now if you will be moving out of our school area over the summer.
CREATING CLASSES FOR NEXT YEAR
a balance of gender, a balance of learning needs, and a cross section of abilities. If you as a parent wish to provide input into the process, please take into consideration the following guidelines:


SUMMER LITERACY CAMP
Summer Literacy Camps for students in
SK to Grade 6 are being offered by the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board from Monday, July 7th to Friday,
July 25th.
The program runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Monday to Friday for 3 weeks. The cost for the program is $300.00. This year the Summer
Literacy Camp is being offered here at
St. Nicholas School . For more information please speak to your child’s teacher. Applications are due to the Board by June 3, 2014.
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.
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

SAFETY AWARENESS
Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
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.
ECO ‐ SCHOOL ‐ TRASHFREE
WEDNESDAYS/LITTERLESS LUNCH
As part of our ongoing ECO ‐ School initiative, we are striving for
“completely garbageless classrooms” on Wednesdays. This is a great way for us to decrease waste in our school, and to educate our students about waste
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.
CLEAN CLOTHING REMINDER management. Any waste will be returned home in your child’s lunch bag. Please help us keep our Wednesdays trashless. Using reusable containers for lunches, snacks and drinks are encouraged.
GIRLS ON THE RUN
St. Nicholas will be running ‘Girls on the
Run’ a positive youth development program which combines training for a 5k run/walk with an interactive curriculum to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles for 8-13 year old girls. Go Girls Go!
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.
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART ASSEMBLY
This year St. Nicholas is excited to once again be involved in Jump Rope for
Heart. Our Kick off
Assembly was April 2 .
Please help us raise the awareness and funds to help this worthy cause. Everybody
Jump!!!
YFA LENTEN FOOD DRIVE
THANK YOU to our St. Nicholas community for supporting our
Lenten Food Drive. Please continue to give generously.
Our Lenten Food drive ends on Thursday
April 17, 2014 .
YOUTH FAITH AMBASSADORS
Our Youth Faith Ambassadors continue to support many causes. For one week only, the YFA’s will be collecting your previously loved stuffed animals.
ST. NICHOLAS SHARELIFE HOCKEY GAME On
Thursday, March 7th, 2014 St. Nicholas held its annual
ShareLife fundraiser. 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.
Together we raised $1,815.09
! All money collected will be forwarded to Share Life. Thank you!
All stuffed animals will be donated to
Sister Gloria of the Loretto Sisters.
She washes each one, and hands them out to the needy in the downtown
Toronto area. Please help us help Sister
Gloria. Bring in your stuffed animals on
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 to Friday, April
25, 2014. Thank you St. Nicholas community for all your support donating the soap for Dr. Simone in our “Soap for Hope” and Lenten Food Drive!
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

Catholic Education: Building a Caring Community
LIBRARY NEWS FOREST OF READING
On Wednesday, March 19,
2014, Canadian Author,
David Carroll visited St.
Nicholas. He has recently been awarded the Cybilis
BULLYING PREVENTION
CORNER–
If You’re Not Part of the
Solution, You’re Part of the
Problem
Award. Students in grades 4 to 8 took part in his fun, and interactive presentation. David spoke of his thrilling experiences as an ultra-runner. Special thanks to the Catholic
School Council and the Writer’s Union for supporting this presentation!
“I enjoyed having him here because he explained the book. He told the parts that were true and which ones were false. He also made personal connections to the book.” – Zachery Grade 5
CALLING ALL HAIRDRESSERS!
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
Congratulations to our March Virtue
Catch the Spirit Award Recipients!
Kindergarten – Aaliyah F.
St. Nicholas is looking for any hairdressers who can volunteer their time on Monday May
Primary –. Matteus
Junior - Sebastian
Intermediate – Daniel D.
These students received a Virtue T - Shirt for
26, 2014 for our Angel Hair For Kids event. If you are able to give of services please contact demonstrating and living the virtues at St.
Nicholas school. the school at (905)857-7582.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
Having the “Money Talk” with your children. An exciting and
APRIL
8 Intermediate Mini Basketball informative event providing practical strategies for parents and their children. Featuring Guest Speaker Mr. Tom Hamza President of
Investor Education Fund will be held at St. Margurite d’Youville S.S. on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 7pm to 9pm . See insert flyer for more information.
Tournament at St. John the Baptist
10 Catholic School Council Meeting
7pm
10 Grade 6’s to the Kortright Centre
11 Chess Tournament at Good
Shepherd
14-17 Holy Week – St. Nicholas gym will be set up with the stations of
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 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

Prays for others the cross
16 Grades 1, 3, 5 and 7 to Holy Family
Parish
17 Holy Thursday Last day for the
Lenten Food Drive
18 Good Friday - No School
20 Easter Sunday
21 Easter Monday - No School
22-25 YFA Stuffed Animal drive
23 Grade 8’s visit St. Mike’s
Secondary School
25 Artists in the School
27 Pope John Paul II will be made a Saint!
30 9 th Annual Dance competition at the Rose Theatre
30 Financial Literacy St. Marguerite d’Youville S.S.
MAY
7pm-9pm
4-9 Catholic Education Week
6 Mass in the school gym 9:30am and 11:00am
8 Catholic Parent Council Meeting 7pm
9 Teams and Clubs pictures
13-16 Grade 8’s to Ottawa and Montreal
Alleluia! HE Has Risen Alleluia!

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