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April 2015
“Catholic Communities of Faith”
Ms. L. D’Andrea
Principal
Exploring Paths of Joy
Ms. J. Dixon
Retired Principal
Ms. A. Stong
Mr. D. Mazzotta
School Trustees
Ms. M. Battista, Area 4
School Superintendent
Our lady of the
annunciation news
PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
Father P. Lackmanec
Pastor, O.L.A. Parish
Easter is the most joyous
time of our Liturgical
year - the Resurrection
of Our Lord. The simplicity of Lent comes to
an end and our focus
changes. Easter is not
just one day but a whole
season. In fact, Easter
time in the Liturgical
year is fifty days long
and concludes on Pentecost Sunday.
We all wait with anticipation for spring. As
Spring arrives there are
many reasons to feel optimistic. We enjoy the
longer and warmer days
and look forward to the
blooming flowers, the
budding trees, the birds
singing and the world
made new. These are
all signs of God’s
warmth, love, and life
giving powers. Spring
helps us to rejoice in the
newness of life and to
celebrate all life that
comes from God. We
wonder at the beauty of
this season and the
hope that it brings. As
we anticipate the
warmer weather of
spring and more days of
sunshine, we hope that
you and your families
enjoy all the blessings
and beauty that come
with the arrival of
Spring. We pray that
each of you will be
blessed with many opportunities for renewal.
“Our Lord does not care
so much for the importance of our works as
for the love with which
they are done.”
St. Teresa of Avila
SPRING HAS
SPRUNG!
May God
who clothes the
flowers
and feeds the birds of
the sky,
who leads the lambs to
pasture
and the deer to
water,
who multiplied loaves
and fishes
and changed water into
wine
lead us
feed us
multiply us
and change us
until we reflect the
glory of our Creator
through all eternity
from Celtic Blessings,
compiled by Ray Simpson
“Respect for ourselves
guides our morals;
Respect for others guides
our manners.”
Lawrence Sterne
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Integration of Our Catholic Faith
3
Continuous Improvement of Student
Achievement
4
Engaging Our Communities
5
April Home Calendar
6
Our Lady of the Annunciation CES
30 Bayswater Avenue, Richmond Hill
School # 905 773-5592
Safe Arrival # 1-855-856-7862
http://ola.ycdsb.ca
Principal’s Message
It is with great pride and excitement that I write this letter of introduction to you as the newly appointed Principal
of Our Lady of the Annunciation. I am privileged to be joining the Our Lady of the Annunciation community and I
am looking forward to meeting you in the coming weeks.
I have almost twenty-five years educational experience spanning Grades K-8, Special Education and Library. My
most recent leadership roles have been Elementary Vice Principal at Fr. Frederick McGinn and Blessed Trinity. I
bring my passion as an educational leader to your son/daughter’s school and I am honoured to work with you as a
partner in your child’s educational success.
Along with staff, I will work hard to continue the legacy of success established at Our Lady of the Annunciation. I
hope to continue to build strong relationships with parents, students, staff, parish and our community partners.
Among many goals for the school, I intend to provide leadership that will continue to facilitate a school
environment that meets the needs of each student. We will continue to provide an academically rich and
challenging program where your child will be engaged through his or her previous knowledge and experience but
also by exploring new ideas. I believe strongly that parents, teachers, support staff, and administration all have an
important role to encourage our children to become active learners. It is my sincere desire to provide expanded opportunities for our students to acquire the 21st Century skills they will need to equip them to live in a complex, competitive, information-age, technology-driven society. With your help, and the help of the Our Lady of the
Annunciation school and community, I look forward to watching every student reach his or her full potential.
My door is always open and I welcome your feedback and collaboration. Please feel free to stop in or make an
appointment to share with me any concerns or suggestions. I am looking forward to building relationships with
students, staff and parents as we work together to continue to develop a strong sense of community.
I wish to thank Ms. Dixon for all her fine work building a wonderful school community and I wish her much joy and
all of God’s blessings as she journeys into retirement.
In partnership,
Ms. D’Andrea
Principal
A message from Ms. Dixon
It is with a deep sense of pride and affection that I bid farewell to the community of Our Lady of the Annunciation
CES. It has been a sincere pleasure to serve the students, staff and parents of this community. I would like to thank
everyone who helps make OLA such a great place to be: our very supportive parents; our School Council Chair,
Annabelle DiMambro and the council members; all of the staff, who care for your children and always provide
quality learning opportunities for them; to Father Peter for his spiritual guidance; and finally, our students who are
a source of inspiration daily.
Special thanks for the gifts, cards, flowers and best wishes I received. Your kindness and generosity will not be forgotten.
I would like to welcome Ms. Linda D’Andrea to OLA as your new principal. She is a dedicated Catholic educator
with strong communication and leadership skills. I know that her many gifts will serve the OLA community well.
God Bless each of you always!
Sincerely,
Ms. Dixon
Retired Principal
Integration of Our Catholic Faith
SHARELIFE EASTER FLOWER
CAMPAIGN
This year, OLA is having
an Easter Flower fundraiser to support ShareLife initiatives. All proceeds will be donated to
ShareLife. Thank you so much for supporting our initiative. Flowers will be
available on Wed. April 1st between
GRADE 2 FIRST COMMUNION 12-5pm in our front foyer for pick-up.
Our Grade Two students Thank you to Ms. Savoy and Mrs.
will be receiving the Sac- Mastrogiacomo for organizing this
rament of First Holy
event for our school community.
Communion this spring
as a class. We thank FaApril
ther Peter for giving the children the
Catholic Virtue:
spiritual guidance to become more
Fully Alive in Christ. We would also
like to thank Mrs. Savoy, and Mrs.
Bergougnou for helping to prepare
our students.
ADMINISTRATIVE
PROFESSIONALS’ DAY
Wednesday April 22nd has been
designated as a day to give special
recognition to staff in the office who
work so hard to ensure that our school
runs smoothly. Thank you to Mrs. Romano, Mrs. Masucci, and Mrs. Pellerito
for all that they do.
GRADE 8 RETREAT
On Friday April 24th, our Gr. 8’s will
be attending a retreat at OLA Parish,
along with the Gr.8’s from OLH and
FFM .The day will begin with a Mass
celebrated by Fr. Peter, followed by a
Guest Speaker: Michael Way Skinner. The Gr. 8 teachers will lead the
students in various community building activities in the afternoon.
Go All Stars Go!!
JUNIOR BASKETBALL
The girls junior basketball team will be
training for a tournament at Fr. Fredrick
McGinn on May 5.
Thank you to the girls’ coach, Ms.
Sansalone.
Our boys junior basketball team has
also been practicing and getting
ready for their tournament on May
4th which we will be at Holy Name
CES. Thank you to the boys’ coach,
Ms. Sansalone.
Page 3
REVERENCE
I will: treat myself and others
with consideration, high regard,
courtesy and dignity.
OLA Annual Summer BBQ
Monday, June 8th, 2015
We are looking for a
small group of people to
assist in the organization
of this year’s school
BBQ on Monday June 8h. We need
people to help with purchasing the
prizes, counting BBQ money, scheduling volunteers, and making up the
family envelopes. As well as during
the evening of the BBQ. Any time
you have would be greatly appreciated. Please help in making this
year’s BBQ a memorable one!
Please call Ms. Ferri at 647-9992231 .
MOSAIC TILE CROSSES
KEEPSAKES
Our Grade 2 and 8 students
will have an opportunity to
work with a local artist,
Shawna Robbins, of
“Feeling Artsy”, to create
mosaic crosses on April 8, 9 and 10,
2015.
The students will be creating a special mosaic tiled keepsake geared
specifically to our Confirmation
and First Holy Communion classes.
Shawna will be guiding the students through the elements of geometry, the principles of design and
the correct/safe use of tools. On
your child’s day, please ensure that
your child wears appropriate
clothes or brings a smock with them
to school. The children will be using
tile glue and grout for this project.
The cost for this workshop is $20.00
per Grade 8 student, and $10.00 per
Grade 2 student for materials. The
entire cost will be paid for through
our Fundraising Funds and through
the School Funds as a remembrance to the students of receiving
their special sacrament.
GRADE 8 GRADUATION–
REVISED DATES
Our Gr. 8 Graduation
dates have been revised. Please mark
your calendars. The
OLA Gr. 8 Graduation Mass will be
held on Fri. June 19th at 1:30 p.m. in
our school gym. The Awards Ceremony and Dinner/Dance will be
held on the evening of Tues. June
23rd beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Oakview Terrace. More details to follow.
O U R L A DY O F T HE A N N U N C I A T I O N N E W S
Continuous Improvement of Student Achievment
ASSESSMENTS OF READING,
WRITING AND MATHEMATICS,
PRIMARY AND JUNIOR DIVISIONS:
EQAO
Preparation for EQAO is ongoing.
Teachers are teaching the mandated curriculum throughout the year.
The grade three and six classes will
be participating in sample assessments so that they become
familiar with the format and expectations of the upcoming assessments.
EQAO Assessment will be administered between May 25th and June
5th. Many parents often ask what
they can do to prepare their child
for EQAO. As a school we encourage students to arrive on time, have
a good breakfast and a good night
sleep. Please ensure that your child
attends regularly and avoid booking appointments.
However, if your child is ill, do not
send them to school. Reduce both
yours and your child’s anxiety level.
This is only one assessment of what
your child has learned. The teacher’s regular classroom assessments
remain crucial to the learning process.
DENTAL SCREENING
Dental Screening will be conducted at
OLA on April 27th by registered dental hygienists of York Region for all
children in Grades JK, SK, 2 and 8, possibly Grades 4, 6 as required by the
Ministry of Health.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Junior and Intermediate
students will be competing
in the school level Oral
Communication competition on April 15th. Junior
presentations will begin at 9:15 a.m. ,
and Intermediate presentations at
10:45 a.m. in the school gym. Thank
you to our junior and intermediate
teachers for preparing our students .
Thank you to Ms. DeFina and Ms. Bergougnou for organizing this event for
our students. The top junior and intermediate speaker will compete at
the Area Level Competition that
will take place on April 29th at OLH
CES. We wish all of our students good
luck with their speeches. Parents are
invited to attend our school level
competition on April 15th.
GRADE 8’s VISIT OTTAWA
On May 27, 28, and 29, our Grade 8
students will be traveling to Ottawa
as an enhancement of the Gr. 8 curriculum in History, Geography, Science, the Arts and French programs.
They will have an opportunity to visit
the Supreme Court of Canada, the
Parliament Buildings, the Royal Canadian Mint, Canadian Museum of
Science & Technology and much
more. Thank you to our Grade 8
teachers , Ms. Carinci and Ms. Thompson, for organizing this excursion for
our students.
PUPPETS COOL
Our Gr. 4 to 6 students will be involved in the PUPPETS COOL workshops April 15, 16 and 17th. These
workshops were designed to complement the four strands of the media
literacy component of the Ontario
Curriculum. The "Anti-Bullying Puppetry-Workshop" was created with
input and approval from an Elementary School Principal and a registered
Child Psychologist.
During the PUPPETS COOL! puppetry workshops, students use “googlyeyed" finger puppets to explore the
basic principles of hand-puppetry.
Once they master the art of synching
their puppet's mouth movements with
their voices, they move on to create
their own sock-puppet characters.
PUPPETS COOL! provides students
with the wide range of materials they
require to create unique and original
puppets. The puppets start as simple
sock-puppets and may evolve into
more complicated creatures with rod
operated arms and hands. The puppets are easily adaptable and can be
more or less complicated, depending
on what the grade level and students’
abilities allow.
At a later date, the students may form
into groups where they can create,
rehearse and then present simple
puppet shows for family, friends and
classmates.
WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN
We are very pleased to continue with the Welcome To Kindergarten program at OLA. The WTK program is provided by The Learning Partnership. The program provides parents and their pre-school children with the resources
and experiences to begin their child’s formal education with a foundation in early learning and literacy, nurtured
within their home.
Parents/caregivers of students who are registered to attend Junior Kindergarten in September 2015, have been invited to attend a workshop on Thurs. May 21st at OLA School. Parents and new JK students will attend a session at
the specific time they chose at registration. Parents will learn strategies and receive resources that they can use together with their child to promote early literacy, numeracy, and learning skills at home, that will help them in the
transition to school. For more information about the program visit: www.thelearningpartnership.ca
Page 4
Page 4
O U R L A DY O F T HE A N N U N C I A T I O N N E W S
Engaging Our Communities
EARTH WEEK
During the week of April 20th we will
encourage our students to demonstrate
respect and care for the environment.
This is an ongoing message that we
continue to share with the students. We
are always looking at ways of being
actively involved in environmental
issues on a regular basis.
.EARTH DAY
Energy Conservation
Hey O.L.A.! Did you know that Earth
Day is April 22nd? To honour our
wonderful planet, we can:
 Help clean litter from local parks
 Walk, bike or run instead of drive
(Carpool if you must use your car)
 Plant a tree
 Start a garden
 Instead of using lights, burn a candle
for a day
 Tell Someone…….this is a great
opportunity to make the world a
better place!!!
 Check out www.earthday.ca for
more ideas or suggestions.
YEARBOOK 2014-15
Just a reminder that April 10th is the
last day to submit your yearbook orders, All Star Lines, and payment.
There will be no extra yearbooks to
purchase in June. .
MOVING
If you are moving and transferring to another school, it is important that you inform the
school as soon as possible so that
we may determine our staffing
needs for the 2015-2016 school year.
Page 5
WASTE MINIMIZATION
Reducing the amount of waste we
create is the most efficient way of
conserving resources and protecting
our environment. When one avoids
making waste, one does not need to
worry about recycling or reusing it
later. Some things you could do to
reduce waste are:
 reduce paper by using both sides
 buy products that have recycled
materials
 pack your lunch in reusable
containers
 avoid over-packaged products
 use cloth bags rather than plastic
Encourage your friends and family to
take these small measures in waste
reduction.
JK REGISTRATIONS
If you have not yet
registered your child,
please do so as soon as
possible. If you know
of someone intending
on registering their
children for September, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible.
We are beginning the staffing process
and need to determine our staffing
needs. Thank you.
DRIVEWAY SAFETY
The safety of our children is
constantly of utmost concern.
Thank you to all our parents
who are using our Kiss and Ride
area so well. This is the area just
past the front doors. Just a
reminder, children should have
their backpacks with them and
ready to get out of the car when
you pull up to the curb. This
really helps to reduce
congestion. Also, please pull up
as far as you can in the loop in
order to make room for as many
cars as possible. We can not
block the bus lanes.
Once again, thank-you for
assisting with the safety of all
our students.
INOCULATIONS
Grade 7 students will receive
their final Hep B inoculation on
Thurs. April 2nd . It is advisable
that students wear a short
sleeved shirt and eat breakfast on
that day. Grade 8 girls will also
receive their HPV inoculation on
on this day.
The next Catholic
Council Meeting is
Mon. April 20th at
7:00 p.m.
in the Library.
ALL WELCOME!