St. Marguerite d’Youville Catholic School April 2015 Newsletter #7 1359 Bayshire Drive Oakville, Ontario L6H 6C7 Phone: (905) 849-7772 Fax: (905) 849-4605 http://schools.hcdsb.org/marg https://twitter.com/MargueriteHCDSB Principal: T. Agro Vice Principal: D. Cochrane Superintendent: L. Naar Administrative Assistant: J. Neumann Secretary: T. Lefebvre Office Assistant: T. Purnell SCHOOL HOURS (GRADES JK-8) (morning) 8:50 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. (afternoon) 12:50 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM A reminder to please phone the school at 905-849-7772 to report all absences or late arrivals. You can call the school early in the morning, or the evening before, and leave a message on our answering machine. Clearly state your child’s name, grade, teacher, a brief reason and length (if known) of the absence. Our Safe Arrival Program ensures the safety of your child. 1 Table of Contents Page Principal’s Message 3 Curriculum Update 4 Liturgical 5 Catholic School Council 6 School Events 8 Green Club 9 Special Notices and Highlights 10 Important Dates 14 2 PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Spring has hopefully arrived. The warmer weather reminds us of new life and gives us an opportunity to celebrate our Faith. It is hard to believe that we are entering our final stretch of the school year. We remind our students to continue to work hard and do their best. It is time for students to examine areas they would like to improve in the final months of the school year and to identify the goals, which will ensure their success. With your support and assistance, you may be able to offer your child some ideas and strategies to use in achieving these goals. We look forward to the next 3 months being successful and rewarding for all. As we prepare to celebrate Volunteer Week this month, I would like to thank all the parent volunteers who contribute their time and talents and along with our dedicated and caring staff, help to make St. Marguerite Catholic School the wonderful school community it is. Hoping our community enjoys a wonderful Easter with family and loved ones. God Bless, Mr. T. Agro 3 CURRICULUM UPDATE: INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING Inquiry-based learning is a whole school area of focus here at St. Marguerite. The first step in an inquiry-based approach is for teachers to guide their classes in formulating student-generated questions. A valuable tool in this process is the Q Chart or Questioning Grid. Factual and Predictive questions are a great way to begin thinking about a topic and how it may be affected by external factors. The smaller sections, Analytical and Application Synthesis, allow students to dig deeper and make connections. Ask your child’s teacher about the ways in which the Questioning Grid is being used to support student learning in their classroom. 4 L ITURGICAL EVENTS MARY MOTHER OF GOD PARISH, 2745 North Ridge Trail, Oakville, ON L6H 7A3, 905-337-2184, www.mmogp.ca; [email protected]. Easter Message from Fr. John Van Hees, Pastor The Cross is a Fruit Tree - “It was I Who chose you to go forth and bear fruit.” - John 15:16. The Lord commands, graces, and chooses us to bear fruit in the Easter Season, fruit that is abundant and lasting. This means that we are chosen to lead many people to a total commitment to the Lord and to disciple them so deeply that they will persevere in their commitment. We bear this abundant, lasting fruit not by our power or efforts but by abiding in the Lord and letting Him abide in us. We bear abundant, lasting fruit both by being slaves of Jesus who obey Him even when we don’t understand Him, and by being a friend of Jesus who knows what our Master is about. We bear fruit by letting the Lord trim us clean by His Word. Ultimately, we bear the right quantity and quality of fruit by loving one another, even to the point of laying down our lives for each other. We bear fruit by denying our very selves, taking up the cross each day, and following Jesus. Jesus proclaims: “I solemnly assure you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit”. This Easter, as we journey in the shadow of the cross, let us remember that the cross is the only fruit tree that bears abundant and lasting fruit. Bear your cross!!! Bear Fruit!!! Holy Week Mass Schedule: Holy Thursday - Thursday, April 2nd at 8:00 p.m. – Eucharistic Adoration until 10:00 p.m.; Good Friday: Friday, April 3rd - Children’s Remembrance with Gospel Dramatization at 11 a.m.; Adults’ Solemn Liturgy at 1 p.m.; Easter Vigil—Celebrating Christ’s Rising and the Easter Sacraments: Saturday, April 4th at 8:00 p.m.; Easter Sunday - Our Lord is Truly Risen!!! Sunday, April 5th at 9:00 a.m.; 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon PARISH COMMUNITY NEWS: SPRING CLOTHING DRIVE - SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL: APRIL 25/26. Our Ministry is currently serving 85 families in need (including 165 children) who live in our immediate neighbourhood. The families rely on the clothing drives to meet their clothing requirements and we will gratefully accept your donations of gently used clothing, shoes, linens and towels before and after the 5pm, 9am and 11am Masses on April 25/26. PLEASE SORT CLOTHING AND LABEL EACH BAG ACCORDING TO GENDER AND SIZE (Ladies M, Boys 4-6X, Girls 10-12, Mens L, etc.) as this will greatly help with the sorting efforts. We are in special need of boy’s clothing and Ladies XL. Our Mission: The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization whose mission is: To live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy. Our Values: The Mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul implies that as Vincentians we: see Christ in anyone who suffers come together as a family have personal contact with the poor help in all possible ways We thank you in advance for your generous support. Your SSVP Volunteer Team. "THE EYE IS THE WINDOW TO THE WORLD!" GENTLY USED PRESCRIPTION EYE GLASSES AND SUN GLASSES ARE A NECESSITY FOR MANY PEOPLE IN THE THIRD WORLD! CONSIDER DONATING YOUR SPARE AND SURPLUS EYE GLASSES TO HELP THOSE IN NEED! DROP OFF IN THE BINS I THE NARTHEX OF THE CHURCH BEGINNING APRIL 25TH! SOAP FOR HOPE SPRING DRIVE AT MARY MOTHER OF GOD PARISH - APRIL 25th/26th, WEEKEND. Let us pray that God will inspire us and others to get soap to poor families. When a bar of soap is given to a poor family, we give HOPE! We thank God for all of you that will help us collect soap for the poor. Andrew Alexander Simone, MD, Executive Director, Canadian Food for Children. We will accept all forms of soap eg. Liquid, bars, or laundry soap or for that matter any hygiene product. Drop off at the parish bins in the Narthex. 5 CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL Your School Council welcomes all families back from a much deserved break and we hope everyone had a safe and fun time away from the regular routines. The next meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7th, 2015 in the Forum. As always we encourage your feedback and your ideas and all parents are invited to attend our meetings. You may submit any new business proposals to Council 48 hours prior to the meeting. You may send those directly to [email protected]. UPCOMING EVENTS This year has been another wonderful and active year at our school. Students have been involved in numerous interesting and diverse learning opportunities provided as part of their curriculum. The months following March break are always full of exciting things for the students as Spring brings new energy and continued focus towards a successful wrap up of another great year. April is VOLUNTEER appreciation month. The Staff and Students of our school will be hosting a LITURGY followed by HIGH TEA on: Wednesday April 15th at 11:15 am. School Council encourages all our parent volunteers to come out to the annual Volunteer Liturgy and High Tea hosted by the wonderful staff and students at our school. This special afternoon is set aside to say thank you to all the volunteers who have helped make our school the wonderful place that it is through the generous sharing of their, time, talents and energy. ST. MARGUERITE'S MARAFUN RUN PROGRAM IS BACK IN SPRING! MaraFun will begin on Monday April 27th. St. Marguerite School Council is proud to announce the return of the exciting and highly successful MaraFun Run program. This creative way to offer an opportunity for some weekly physical fitness to our students will begin in April. This program is modeled on the Mississauga Marathon. The Marguerite MaraFun Run Program is based on the same commitment to showing kids the benefits of running for their own personal fitness. We selected the morning run times as studies have clearly indicated the benefits of starting the day with exercise and the positive impact on a child’s attentiveness, energy level and mental alertness for the rest of the day. This program is a non-competitive running program which goes for 7 weeks where students run together 3 mornings a week and log their distance. They will complete 40 km in that 7week period and the final 2 km will be run together at the MaraFun Finisher scheduled for Thursday, June 18th at our End of Year Barbecue. Parent volunteers and staff will be on hand each morning to assist and support the students in achieving their distance goals. MaraFun Launch for Students in Grades 3 – 8 will take place on Thursday, April 16th during last recess. MaraFun Practice Runs: Mon/Wed/Fri at 8:00 a.m. beginning Monday, April 27th. 6 Susan Bentzen is looking for volunteers who would like to help with the morning training runs. Once the site is live all interested volunteers will be able to register on-line. If you are considering coming out to help please email Susan directly at [email protected]. If you have questions or need more information on this program please contact me directly at [email protected]. SPRING CLOTHING DRIVE TO SUPPORT ST. VINCENT DE PAUL Saturday, April 25th – from 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26th – from 8:30 until 12:30 p.m. This year in lieu of a separate Spring Clothing Drive our school will be partnering with our Church to help support our local Saint Vincent de Paul families. Our school community has always taken advantage of the Spring arrival to turn over closets and look for gently used items for families in need. In the past we have run our clothing drive to support Dr. Simone. This year again we are focusing closer to home as we work together as a community to support the needs of the many families in need in our own community. We encourage you to support our local community by collecting your items and dropping them off at Mary Mother of God Church. Below is some information from the Parish. LUNCH TIME YOGA IN THE FORUM WINTER SESSION We would like to extend a thank you to our wonderful yoga instructors, Mrs. Elsa Poorrashidi and Miss Cassie Hurley who provided a fun, enriching and authentic yoga practice for all our young yogis. We look forward to another opportunity next winter to provide yoga again. Thank you to all the parents who supported the program and the students who came to practice each week bringing their smiles and their great energy. CATHOLIC PARENT INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE (CPIC) CPIC Parent Involvement Award - Nominate someone you know today! A reminder that CPIC has launched it's Parent Involvement Award and School Councils will be accepting nominations. All parents will be receiving an email from the Board with the nomination package shortly. Please consider some of the wonderful volunteers in our school community who go above and beyond in their service to the school. One nominee will be selected by our School Council to be submitted to CPIC for the Regional Award. School Council will receive nominations until Wednesday April 15th. The monthly meeting of CPIC will be held on Monday April 13th at the Board office in Burlington. All parents are welcome. If you have any questions or concerns relevant to parent engagement opportunities or the role of CPIC in our Board, please contact, Lyn Hartman, Vice Chair - CPIC and Oakville Regional Representative at [email protected]. Please look out for upcoming information regarding a call for Nominations to join CPIC this spring. If you have any questions regarding CPIC or School Council related questions, concerns or feedback. Please do not hesitate to contact me, Lyn Hartman, School Council Chair at [email protected]. 7 SCHOOL EVENTS CRAWFORD LAKE – Grade 6 Students April 8th students will be travelling to Crawford Lake to participate in outdoor activities related to their Social Studies Unit on Communities. Students and Staff will be travelling by bus, leaving the school at approximately 9 a.m. and returning at approximately 2:30 p.m. NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK Will be celebrated this year during the week of April 12 – 18, 2015. National Volunteer Week pays tribute to the millions of Canadian volunteers who graciously donate their time and talents to our communities. Canada’s volunteers make a tremendous contribution in communities across the country and around the globe. They make our communities resilient and our country vibrant. Every day, Canadians lend a hand to their neighbours and friends. And many of them don’t realize that in doing so they’re volunteering. VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION The staff and students of St. Marguerite d’Youville School extend an invitation to all parents who have at any time during this school year volunteered to assist with special clubs, teams, events, trips, celebrations, safe arrival, working with students, etc. You are cordially invited to our Volunteer Tea and liturgy on Wednesday, April 15th at 11:15 a.m. The Liturgy will begin at 11:15 a.m. in the school gym followed by a tea in the Forum. RSVP by Thursday April 2nd (hard copy is being sent home). We look forward to seeing you there! STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCHEON – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The 18th Annual St. Marguerite Staff Appreciation Luncheon will be held Wednesday, May 13th. It is sponsored by the parents and School Council of St. Marguerite. Any parent volunteers interested in being involved in planning the Staff Appreciation Lunch are asked to call Maria Guerrieri at (416) 277-2427 or e-mail [email protected]. P.A. DAY – Friday April 24th – No school SHARING THE SPIRIT STUDENT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Our School Board annually recognizes a student from each school who demonstrates outstanding qualities in the areas of Catholic leadership, family commitment, involvement in school affairs and community activities, and dedication to a difficult situation or task. We are proud to announce that Brandon Goh was selected to represent St. Marguerite d’Youville at this year’s award presentation on Monday, April 27th, 2015, 7:30pm at Corpus Christi School in Burlington. Congratulations Brandon! 8 GREEN CLUB – Mme. Wells April 20th-24th Earth Week Clean Up at St. Marguerite. All students will participate to clean up our immediate neighbourhood. Beginning with our own school yard and extending to our bordering pathways and neighbourhood park. This is always a fun and rewarding school event. More details to follow in your child's agenda. ONLINE PAYMENTS NOW AVAILABLE! School related expenses are now available online for your convenience! Please take a few minutes to register! Here’s how: Step 1: Please visit: https://hcdsb.schoolcashonline.com Step 2: Step 3: Register by selecting the “Get Started Today” and following the steps. After you receive the confirmation email, please select the “click here” option, sign in and add each of your children to your household account. School Cash Online provides parents with easy access to make online payments for a variety of student activities, providing greater flexibility and control on how payments are made to the school. This new online payment method will also help reduce the risk of theft and cash misplacement. For more information including an FAQ, the benefits of this program, and how to register for School Cash Online, please visit: http://www.hcdsb.org/Parents/Pages/School-Cash-Online.aspx . Please be advised that the implementation of credit card payment options is being explored due to increasing demands. 9 SPECIAL NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS The Kidssentials Hot Lunch Program Take a break from packing lunch! Kidssentials is the fresh, hot lunch provider at our school. The Lunch Menu for April - June 2015 is now available to order online. To place an order, please log in or create your Family’s account at www.kidssentials.com. Lunch Cancellation Policy: If your child is away on a Kidssentials lunch day (illness, field trip, etc.), Kidssentials must be notified directly before 8am and a credit will be applied to your account for future use – Kindly provide as much notice as possible for all cancellations. Kidssentials may be reached at 905.855.1914 or via email at [email protected] or www.kidssentials.com CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK Catholic Education Week takes place from May 3rd-8th, 2015. The theme this year is “Exploring Paths of Joy”. As always, Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for everyone in our school community to experience firsthand our commitment to Catholic education. Our staff committee is busy organizing the activities for the week. Soon, you will be receiving a complete schedule of events. Parents are invited to visit our school during this special week and to participate in the planned activities. EQAO Testing The grade three and six students will be taking part in the Provincial Testing during May 25th-June 5th, 2015. These assessments allow your child to demonstrate his or her skills and knowledge of reading, writing and math. The results are also an important part of improvement planning for teachers and are used to review teaching approaches and improve student learning. If you have a child in these grades please ensure that they are in attendance for the full week. We appreciate your cooperation in scheduling appointments around this block of time. BICYCLE SAFETY It’s that time of year again! With spring upon us, more children will be out on their bicycles, so now is a good time for some reminders. Please remind your child/ren that cyclists are governed by the same rules as drivers, and review safe cycling procedures at home. Be certain that the bicycle is “road worthy” and that your child is able to ride it in a safe manner. Teachers review these rules every year, but you are more aware than we of the level of your child’s cycling skills. But this year, It is advisable that students record at home the serial number of their bicycles. We request that ALL students LOCK their bicycles in the racks at school to prevent loss. Students have been reminded that they must not sit on another child’s bike while it is in the racks, nor should they play amongst the bikes or on the bicycle rack. To ensure safety of other students, cyclists must walk their bicycles on school property. BICYCLE HELMETS ARE MANDATORY AND STUDENTS MUST WEAR A PROPERLY FITTING HELMET FOR THEIR SAFETY!!!! 10 SKATEBOARDS/IN-LINE SKATES The use of skateboards, in-line skates and scooters are strictly prohibited on school property! However, as long as the students are cautious and considerate they may ride them to school. If this becomes a problem, then they will no longer be permitted to do so. Safety tips: BE PROTECTED! Wear an approved helmet. BE HEARD! By law, all bikes must have bells or horns. BE VISIBLE! Wear reflective armbands/tape and bright clothing. A white front light and a red rear light or reflector are required when riding between ½ hour before sunset and ½ hour after sunrise. A bicycle must have white reflective tape on the front forks and red reflective tape on the back forks. BE ALERT! Look for hazards such as sewer grates, car doors and gravel. Watch for vehicles about to pass you. Stop before driving into the street from a driveway or lane. BE SMART! Know the rules of the road. Obey all traffic lights and signs. Use correct hand signals. Ride on the right side of the street. Ride single file. Ride one to a bike. Keep your bike in good repair. EASTER CANDY When the Easter Bunny delivers candy on Easter Sunday morning he may not check to see if the chocolate and other candies are nut free. Please ensure that you check for the nut/peanut free symbol on any candy or chocolate treats that you send in with your children. If you would like to send in a treat for your child’s classmates, an Easter pencil or an Easter book for the classroom would be much appreciated. We cannot distribute any homemade baked goods. Thanks for your understanding! 11 Scent Awareness Exposure to perfumes and other scented products can trigger serious health reactions in individuals with asthma, allergies, migraines or chemical sensitivities. Fragrances can be found in a wide range of items and products, including flowers, perfume, cologne, deodorant, soap, fabric softeners, laundry detergents and air fresheners. It is a personal choice to use fragrances, however, fragrance chemicals by their very nature, are shared. The Chemicals vaporize into the air and are easily inhaled by those around us. WE ARE SILENT CAMPAIGN – Mrs. Hanson and Ms. Monachino On Thursday April 16th 2015, St. Marguerite will be taking part of the We Are Silent Campaign. Students are encouraged to be silent today for the millions of girls around the world silenced by poverty and denied the right to an education, for the students who have reported being bullied, for the parents in Canada who said they skipped meals so that there was enough food for their children. Staff and students will be silent for those without a voice. Because sometimes speaking out means using no words at all. ME TO WE – Spirit Day – Mrs. Hanson and Ms. Monachino Spirit days are held once a month with a specific theme, asking students to donate $2.00 to the Free the Children organization. Our next Spirit Day will be on Friday April 10, 2015 –Beach Day! NEXT SPIRIT DAY...Beach Day – Friday April 10, 2015 GRADE 8 GRADUATION The end of the year mass will be held on Friday,June 19th at 10:00 a.m. at MMOG Parish. The Graduation Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 23rd at 7:00p.m. in the school gym. 12 13 IMPORTANT DATES April 2 April 2 April 3 April 5 April 6 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 12-18 April 14 April 15 April 17 April 16 April 16 April 19 April 22 April 23 April 23 April 24 April 25-26 April 25-26 April 27 April 27 April 29 April 30 May 3-8 May 7 May 8 May 13 May 15 Cheese Pizza Holy Thursday Good Friday (No School) Easter Sunday Easter Monday (No School) Grade 6 Trip Crawford Lake (9am-2:30pm) School Council Meeting – Forum (7 p.m.) Crawford Lake – Grade 6 Students Pepperoni Pizza National Volunteer Week School Council Meeting (7pm) Forum Volunteer Appreciation Tea and Liturgy-Forum (11:15 a.m.) First Communion Retreat at MMOG Parish (9:45am) Cheese Pizza We Are Silent Campaign First Communion Celebration at MMOG Parish (1pm) Earth Day Pepperoni Pizza Picture Day – Spring Photo P.A. Day (No School) Spring Clothing Drive – Society of St. Vincent De Paul Soap for Hope MMOG Student Awards of Excellence Ceremony MaraFun begins Kindergarten Orientation Meeting for New Parents Cheese Pizza Catholic Education Week – “Exploring Paths of Joy” Education Week Mass at MMOG 10:00 a.m. Pepperoni Pizza Staff Appreciation Luncheon Jump Rope for Heart and Stroke - Gym 14
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