St. Richard Catholic School
Welcome Back! September 2015
a)
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
Welcome, again, to the 2015/2016 school year! I wanted to thank the St. Richard school community for the
warm welcome. I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful, caring and vibrant community! I am so
honoured and privileged to serve as your Principal.
As the end of the school year approached in June, we took time to give thanks and bid farewell to several
staff members: G. Boyle, DECE, K. Nicholson, Gr 5/6, L. Manis, FSL, K. Cipp-Quitasol, Vocal Music, C. Preston,
3/4 and of course, Mr. Kevin Malcolm. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Mr. Malcolm the very
best for this coming year as he is undertaking a new leadership position with the TCDSB, Superintendent of
Education. Best wishes to all former staff in their future endeavors!
St. Richard
Catholic School
960 Bellamy Rd. N.
Toronto, Ont.
M1H 1H1
Tel: 416-393-5301
Fax: 416-397-6482
Principal:
Kevin Ng
Superintendent:
Mr. Geoffrey Grant
Trustee:
Nancy Crawford
Ward 12
Secretaries:
Mrs. C. Dugas
Mrs. F De la Paz
Enrolment: 399
Director of Education:
Angela Gauthier
Parish:
St. Rose of Lima
Phone: 416-438-6729
School Hours:
9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Lunch Hour:
11:45 – 12:45 p.m.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome staff members new to the St. Richard community: B. Sullivan,
Child and Youth Worker, M. Castellano, 5/6, G. Respicio, Library Technician, and T. Mah, French Specialty,
We also welcome back staff members returning to St. Richard this year: M. Cheam 4/5, C. Mount, 2, D.
Agosta, DECE, and K. Ivanovic, Vocal Music.
The summer has proven to be very busy for our custodial staff who have worked diligently to clean and
prepare the building and school grounds for the start of the new school year. I would like to extend our
sincere thanks to our caretaking staff of Michael Tell, Michael Tabone and Rudran Sabapathipillai for their
dedication and great work. The school looks wonderful!
We look forward to the excitement that a new school year always brings and to your continued partnership
and support of Catholic Education as we welcome in the 2015/2016 school year. I look forward to meeting
everyone at our upcoming community potluck and curriculum night on October 1st!
Kevin Ng, Principal
TCDSB’S NEW THREE YEAR PASTORAL PLAN
The Toronto Catholic District School Board launched our new three year Pastoral Plan, “Together
With One Voice: Harmonizing Our Faith Through Family, Parish & School.” This year, our focus
will be on the celebration of Family. More information will follow. Please find the prayer located
inside the newsletter.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL
(CSPC)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22nd, 2015
Our Catholic School Parent Council election and meeting will be held on Tuesday, September
22nd, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Library. This is to elect our new executive members for
the 2015/2016 school year and hold our very first meeting. We invite all parents to come
and share their expertise and talents! New members are always welcome.
Important Upcoming Dates
Sept. 8th – First Day of School – Welcome Back!
Sept. 22nd – CSPC Meeting and Elections
Sept. 29th & 30th – Int. Flag Football Boys’ & Girls Tournaments
Sept. 30th – National School Run Day – Terry Fox
Oct. 1 – Curriculum Night and Potluck
TCDSB PRAYER FOR
HARMONIZING OUR FAITH THROUGH
FAMILY, PARISH & SCHOOL
2015-2018
Almighty and Ever-loving God,
We give you thanks
for the blessings of our Families, where the seed of faith
is planted;
for the Body of Christ, the Church, where faith is celebrated;
and for our Schools, where faith is nurtured.
Lord, we believe that Catholic Education is at its best
when Families, Parishes and Schools
play, pray and work together
to spread the Good News to all.
Help us to imitate the unity of the Trinity
as we continue to grow in our faith and love towards you,
and to one another.
Through the guidance of the Holy Family,
the model of all Christian families,
and the intercession of all the Saints,
may our Families, Parishes and Schools
remain places where the Gospel is shared
with joy, courage and love.
We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.
PARENTS and VISITORS to St. Richard
As per Board policy, all parents and visitors and required
to check in with the office upon arrival at the school.
Please enter the school through the front/main doors by
the office only.
PURPLE EQUALS PARENT
TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM
“Getting Bused Students Home Safely”
The Purple Equals Parent or PEP program is designed to assist
our bus drivers to identify students who must be met at the
bus stop. A purple band/tag will be affixed to a student’s
backpack as an indicator that he/she must be met. The
program requires the involvement of a number of partners
including parents, schools, school bus company, school bus
driver, the Transportation Department and the student. Each
stakeholder has a role to play in ensuring the safe delivery of
students home at the end of the school day. This year the
program is being rolled out to our Kindergarten, Grade 1. Grade
2 and Grade 3 students.
Parents of bus students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 are being
requested to complete the PURPLE EQUALS PARENT letter
and forward it back to school to the attention of your child’s
teacher by Friday, September 18th, 2015. Please take time to
read the pamphlet. If you have any questions, do not hesitate
to contact the school.
ANAPHYLAXIS ALERT
We would like to inform you that there are children in our
school with severe life threatening allergies to peanut/nut.
This is a medical condition (anaphylaxis) that causes a severe
reaction to specific foods and can result in death within
minutes. As this affects the entire school community, we are
requesting that you do not send any lunches or snacks with
your child to school that contain the allergen. Although we do
recognize and celebrate birthdays, we ask that YOU DO NOT
SEND FOOD TO SCHOOL FOR BIRTHDAYS OR SPECIAL
OCCASIONS. Please make sure that all of your children’s
caregivers are aware of the food restrictions. If you have
any questions, please contact your child’s teacher. Thank you
for your understanding and cooperation.
ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION
For safety reasons, no child should bring any form of
medication to school without prior approval from the office.
If medication is to be administered (including Epipen for
Anaphylaxis or puffers for Asthma), medical forms must be
filled out by your doctor to indicate that specific medication
must be taken during school hours. All medication and forms
are kept in the office and administered only by office staff.
It is important that we are kept informed of any significant
changes in your child’s health and or any changes to health
that may require the administration of medication during
school hours. If you require the Consent to Administer
medication forms, please contact the office.
SNACK PROGRAM
We will be starting a snack program here at St. Richard! For
a small fee, your child will receive a healthy snack daily.
Please stay tuned for additional details!
DRESS CODE
All schools within the TCDSB follow the Acceptable Dress
Code Policy. The Appropriate Dress Code consists of any
combination of white and navy blue garments (e.g. plain white
top, navy blue bottom or, navy blue top and bottom, no denim).
PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Students are allowed to use personal electronic devices such
as cellphones, tablets, etc. under the direction and
supervision of the teacher for academic purposes only. Cell
phones must be turned off and stored in the student’s
backpack otherwise. Any personal electronic device found on
a student will be confiscated and sent to the office.
Parents/Guardians will be notified and required to retrieve
the device. The school is not responsible for any lost or
stolen device.
SAFETY/SUPERVISION @ ST. RICHARD
*LATES/ABSENCES: Please continue to use our Safe
Arrival Program for student absences/lates by calling (416)
393-0301 before 8:30 a.m. Clearly leave your child’s name
and reason for his/her absence. No child is permitted to
leave the school for any reason without signed permission of
a custodial parent or guardian. Parents picking up children
are to report directly to the office via the front doors of
the school.
*PARKING LOT: Please be reminded that the parking lot is
extremely busy during pickup/dropoff times. The area with
the diagonal lines immediately in front of the kindergarten
yard is designated as a Kiss n’ Ride dropoff area only.
Please do NOT park your cars in this area. If you wish stop
for an extended period of time, please utilize one of the
available parking spaces. Furthermore, stopping your car on
Bellamy Rd. to pickup/dropoff your child(ren) is prohibited.
Your cooperation with this is greatly appreciated!
*YARD SUPERVISION: Teacher supervision of our
playground begins at 8:30 a.m. Please do not drop off your
child(ren) prior to this time.
*PICKUP/DROP OFF PROCEDURES: As per our Safe
School Policy, students arriving after 9:00 a.m. are
considered late and must enter through the front doors and
proceed to the office to receive a late slip.
If your child is scheduled to be on a school bus, and you need
to pick up your child, advance notice is required. Please
provide a note to the teacher the morning of pick up or call
the school prior to 9:00 AM. Bus stops cannot be changed
without a formal request in writing to the office which will be
submitted to the Transportation Dept for approval.
***When you pick your child up, please ensure you sign him/her
out at the office.
ARE YOU PICKING UP YOUR CHILD EARLY?
In order to avoid interruptions during class time, please
provide the teacher/office a note requesting to pick your
child up early. Please include your child’s name, time and
reason for pick-up on the note. Unless it is an emergency,
advance notice is required.
*DISMISSAL:
Our school day ends at 3:30 p.m.
Parents/guardians are to arrive promptly to pick up their
child(ren). All students will be dismissed into the school yard
at the end of the day. Parents/guardians are requested to
proceed into the yard and to meet your child(ren) at the
appropriate door as close to 3:30 p.m. as possible A reminder
that there is no teacher supervision provided after 3:30
p.m. dismissal.
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE
The Toronto Catholic District School Board does not provide
accident insurance coverage for student injuries that occur
on school premises or during school activities. Accidents can
and do happen. Some injuries incur medical, dental or other
expenses that are not covered by provincial health care or
employer group plans. As a parent or guardian, you become
responsible for these expenses.
We do make available the insuremykids® Protection Plan for
students. Participation in such a programme is voluntary and
the costs are to be paid by the parent or guardian.
This programme offers a variety of plans and benefits at
affordable rates. Benefits included are:
 dental expenses (resulting from an accident)
 total and permanent disability
 paralysis/loss of use
 special disability benefits
 death benefits.
If your child participates in co-curricular activities or
activities outside the school day, there is a plan tailored to
your needs. All rates are one-time annual premiums. Family
rates for 3 or more children are also offered.
If you wish to subscribe you may apply 24/7 directly at:
www.insuremykids.com
Any questions should be directed to Reliable Life Insurance
Company toll free at:
1-800-463-KIDS (5437).
Student Accident Insurance is especially valuable for
today’s active children.
VIRTUE OF THE MONTH FOR SEPTEMBER:
HOSPITALITY
“Only those who have opened their hearts to Christ can
offer a hospitality that is never formal or superficial but
identified by gentleness and reverence.”
Pope John Paul II
DO WE HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS?
As partners in Catholic Education, we continue to be
environmental stewards. Our goal is to forward school
communications (including future newsletters) home via email
as to cut down on the use of paper. Do we have an updated
email address for you? Please take time to complete, detach
and forward to your child’s teacher. We thank you for your
cooperation. Your email address will be kept confidential and
not used for any purpose other than school communications.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ____
PLEASE COMPLETE, DETACH AND RETURN TO SCHOOL BY:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2015
STUDENT NAME: ______________________________
GRADE: _______
TEACHER: _______________
PARENT(S)/GUARDIAN(S) NAME:
TCDSB SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR
2015-2016
NUMBER OF SCHOOL DAYS: 194
NUMBER OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAYS: 6
P.A. Day
September 3, 2015
Provincial Educ. Priorities/Faith Day
Labour Day
September 7, 2015
First Instructional Day
September 8, 2015
Thanksgiving Day
October 12. 2015
P.A. Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 13, 2015
Christmas Break
December 21, 2015 January 1, 2016
P.A. Day Assessment, Evaluation
& Reporting
January 22, 2016
P.A. Day
Parent-Teacher Conferences
February 12, 2016
Family Day
February 15, 2016
Mid-Winter Break
March 14 – 18, 2016
Good Friday
March 25, 2016
Easter Monday
March 28, 2016
Victoria Day
May 23, 2016
Assessment, Evaluation &
Reporting
June 10, 2016
Last Day of School
June 29, 2016
P.A. Day – Provincial Education
Priorities
June 30, 2016
___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
EMAIL ADDRESS:
Our parish partners have asked us to share the following
information:
OKTOBERFEST DINNER & DANCE
Saturday October 10th, 2015 6.00pm – 12.30
The Knights of Columbus Council 13244 invite all to come and
enjoy good food, good fun and good music at their annual
Oktoberfest Dinner and Dance.
Where: St Rose of Lima Hall.
ONLY $25 per adult
Menu:
Teen $10.00
Schnitzel…… Chicken or Pork
Bratwurst
Sauerkraut
Buns
Potato Salad
Tossed Green Salad