ST. MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS CATHOLIC SCHOOL
355 Waterloo Drive
Kingston, Ontario
K7M 8P5
School Website: http://schools.alcdsb.on.ca/marg/default.aspx
School Email: flhpmarg@alcdsb.on.ca
Principal: Carmine Minutillo
Vice Principal: Anna Coe
Tel: (613) 549-4499
Fax: (613) 549-9903
Prayer of Blessing For Your Home Advent Wreath
Lord, our God, we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ: He is Emmanuel, the hope of all people, he is
the wisdom that teaches and guides us, he is the Savior of every nation.
Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we light the candles of this Advent wreath. May the
wreath and its light be a sign of Christ's promise to bring us salvation.
Amen
On behalf of all staff, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our best wishes to each of you and your families throughout the
blessed season of Advent. May peace and joy be ever-present in your homes.
Advent Food Drive: On Tuesday, December 1st, we will begin our annual collection of non-perishable food items
for local families and St. Vincent de Paul. Students will be participating in the “Jingle Bell Walk” on December 4th
in the afternoon, and a donation of non-perishable food items or hygiene product is part of that process.
Thank you so much for your generosity! Please note that, in lieu of a traditional Christmas gift to teachers this
year, families may wish to donate an item to our collection of food/hygiene products for local Food Banks or to the
collection of toys for the Toy Drive. Thank you.
School Council Meeting: The next School Council meeting will take place on Monday, Jan. 11th at 6:30 p.m. To facilitate parent
attendance at our School Council meetings, we provide free child care. The minutes from our school council meetings can be found on
our website http://schools.alcdsb.on.ca/marg/School%20Council.aspx
Weekly Advent Celebrations: To enhance our focus on the true meaning of Christmas, we will be attending weekly Advent
Celebrations for students in Kindergarten – 8 (refer to appended calendar for dates/times). The Advent Celebrations will be led by our
students and choir. All weekly Advent Celebrations are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Gym on November 30th, December 7th and 14th.
Please join us if you can.
Advent Family Mass: Our annual, traditional Christmas “Family Mass” will take place at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Thursday,
December 3rd, 6:30 p.m. Please join us in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. We are collecting food items for St. Vincent de
Paul and Joseph Street on this evening as well. Feel free to bring in your non-perishable food items to the church, if you would like to
donate.
Primary Nativity Celebration: In addition to individual Advent/Christmas activities, a Primary Nativity Celebration will be held on
Wednesday, December 16th at 1:30 in the gymnasium. Primary classes will perform a song, skit, or poem focusing on our traditional
Catholic faith at Christmas. All parents/guardians are welcome to attend.
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
151 Dairy Avenue, Napanee, Ontario K7R 4B2 (613) 354-2255 / 1-800-581-1116 Fax: (613) 354-4772
Poinsettia Pick up: Please make arrangements to come to the school and pick up your Poinsettia order in the front
foyer on Wednesday, Dec.2nd from 3:45 pm to 6:00 pm only. Thank you to all families that participated in this
successful SMB School Council fundraiser. We raised over $1,600 with our Kindergarten students leading the sales!
Our top 3 sellers, all from Mrs. Grey’s kindergarten class, were: Ayden F, Jackson S. and Kai P. Rounding out the top
4 was Grade 5 student Erin L. Well done!
United Way: Well done to our students who raised approximately $600 for the United Way, 2015! Thank you to all families who
participated. The money raised goes towards the Food Sharing program that our students benefit from here at St. Marguerite
Bourgeoys Catholic School.
Holiday Schedule:
Last Day of Classes: Friday, December 18th
Classes Resume: Monday, January 4th
Winter Safety: As in previous years, the climber will be off limits for use during the winter months. A combination of snow, ice, boots,
gloves and bulky clothing can create safety issues on the climber. Please remind your children to stay off the climber.
Supervision: Teacher supervision of the school yard does not begin until 8:50 when the first bus arrives. Please do not drop your
children off or have them walk to the school before that time.
Congratulations! To our grade eight students who received the graces of the Sacrament of Confirmation this past month at St. Paul
the Apostle Church: Thank you to Ms. Lollar, Ms. Markotich, Father Byrne and Archbishop Brendan O’Brien for their preparation and
support of students at this important time.
The SMB Newsletter via email: The newsletter is sent to all families through School Connects to the email addresses provided on the
Family Information forms. Please inform the office if there is a change to your email address at flhpmarg@alcdsb.on.ca.
Jingle Bell Walk
Our annual Jingle Bell Walk takes place on Friday, Dec 4th at 2:15. This initiative promotes an active lifestyle
while getting into the Christmas spirit. Students are encouraged to wear their Christmas colours and bring in a
non-perishable food item for St. Vincent de Paul and local families.
Christmas Dance and Caroling Party: On Thursday, Dec. 17th at 9:30am.
LEGO Needed! We are starting up a LEGO club here at SMB! Any LEGO donation would be greatly appreciated. We
hope to incorporate our LEGO ideas into our Learning Commons area in the Library! Donations of the green LEGO (base
plates) by any willing families would be gratefully accepted. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Ows.
As soon as we have enough LEGO, we will be starting up the club! Sincere thanks to the families who have been so kind
to start off our donation bin in the main office.
Hot Lunch Orders Due Friday, December 11th
HOT LUNCH order forms for January – March will be sent home this week. ALL HOT LUNCH ORDERS ARE DUE FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 11TH. NO LATE ORDERS PLEASE.
Volleyball Tournaments
Congratulations to all of our volleyball teams that represented our school at the recent board volleyball tournaments at Queen’s
University. All of our teams did very well. Our Sr. Girls’ team participated in the board championship game, which
took place on Wednesday, November 25th at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Secondary School. Well done!
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
151 Dairy Avenue, Napanee, Ontario K7R 4B2 (613) 354-2255 / 1-800-581-1116 Fax: (613) 354-4772
Student Health and Safety Reminders:
 All students MUST wear indoor shoes in the school
 No snacks or lunches with any traces of peanuts are permitted in the school due to a number of students with
allergies to peanuts or nuts
 Students should be dressed for the cold weather conditions- hat, mitts, winter coat, snow pants and outdoor boots
will keep students warm during outdoor play
 Students who are ill should rest at home, so as not to spread germs
 Use of hand sanitizers and regular hand washing reducing the spread of germs
Thank you for your cooperation in supporting your children’s health and well-being!
Safe Arrival: Please remember to call the school before 9:00 am if your child is absent for any reason. On ‘Bus Cancellation” days:
If your child normally walks or is driven to school and busses are cancelled due to poor weather conditions (and the school remains
open), please notify the school if your child will be staying home. It is assumed that all bussed students will not be at school due to the
bus cancellations. Reminder that if buses are cancelled in the morning, they will be cancelled in the afternoon as well, even if the
weather improves during the day.
School Bus Emergency Phone Number: Because emergency issues related to school bus transportation often can occur either
before or after regular secretarial hours at schools, please take note of the following phone numbers below.
Buses 164, 177 – Stock Bus Lines: 613-384-0770
Bus 214, 234 – First Student Canada: 613-389-8690
Tri-Board Student Transportation Services: 613-354-1981, ext. 349
IMPORTANT: If you have not already done so, please sign up for INSTANT notification from Tri-Board Transportation
You will be informed immediately via email about your child’s bus being cancelled or delayed.
Please sign up for email notification by doing the following:
 Go to: www.triboard.on.ca
 Click on “Cancellations & Delays”
 Click on “Subscriptions” or “Follow” on Twitter
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
151 Dairy Avenue, Napanee, Ontario K7R 4B2 (613) 354-2255 / 1-800-581-1116 Fax: (613) 354-4772
Sunday
Monday
Nov. 30
Tuesday
1
Wednesday
2
Hot Lunch
Pizza/Sub
Poinsettia Pick up
3:45pm – 6:00pm
6
13
7
9:30am
Advent Prayer
Celebration
14
9:30am
Advent Prayer
Celebration
20
27
21
Christmas
Holidays Begin
(No classes)
Happy
Holidays!
28
8
9
Hot Lunch
Pizza/Burger
Bus Safety
Presentation
15
Several classes
attend play at
OLMC School
“Believe”
10:00 & 1:00
16 Hot Lunch
Pizza/Sub
22
23
Primary
Christmas
Concert
1:30pm in Gym
Saturday
Friday
4
3
Annual food
drive begins
9:30am
Advent Prayer
Celebration
Thursday
5
Jingle Bell Walk
at 2:15pm
6:30pm Advent
Family Mass at
St. Paul the
Apostle Church
10
6:30 Regional
School Council
Meeting at
Mother Teresa
Catholic School
17
11
12
Hot Lunch
Orders Due
(for Jan.-Mar.)
NO LATE
ORDERS
PLEASE
18
Last day of
classes
Christmas
Dance &
Caroling Party
9:30am
24
19
25
26
Merry
Christmas!
29
30
31
Happy New
Year!
Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
151 Dairy Avenue, Napanee, Ontario K7R 4B2 (613) 354-2255 / 1-800-581-1116 Fax: (613) 354-4772
Classes resume
Monday,
January 4th