Holy Family Catholic School
649 Murray Street Wallaceburg, Ontario N8A 1W1
Phone: 519-627-6003
Principal: Gloria Grieve
http://www.st-clair.net
Fax: 519-627-9558
Secretary: Heather Barnes
Our Mission
Walking together in Christ’s light with parish and family, we are called to build a safe and inclusive
Catholic learning community and to serve as partners in the formation of life-long learners by:
Living our faith;
Promoting educational achievement and innovation, and;
Fostering stewardship, leadership and social justice.
November 2014
Important Dates to
Note!
Remembrance Day Service in the gym
Tuesday, November 11th at 10:45 am
JK Open House 12:45—1:45 pm
Tuesday, November 11th
Pick up Cookie Fundraiser Orders—
Thursday, November 13
3 pm—5:30 pm
Progress Reports home—Nov. 18
Student led conferences for JK to 8
Thursday, Nov 20—4 to 8 pm
Scholastic Book Fair
Nov. 20th 9 AM to 8 PM
PD Day—Friday, Nov. 21—no school
for students
Our Day
8:50 First Bell—students may enter the
school
9:05 Start of the Day Bell
First Nutrition Break: 11:35-12:15
(students who walk home for lunch will
do so at first break)
Second Nutrition Break 1:55-2:35
Dismissal: 3:25
Please note students are NOT to arrive
prior to 8:50. This is a safety concern and
there is NO supervision before 8:50
Thank you to the parents for using the
loop to drop off and pick up students.
Please refrain from parking on Roy Street
as it is unsafe for your child(ren) to ’run’
through the parking lot to meet you in
your car. We also ask that you do not
use the laneway on the south side of the
school to drop off your child(ren). This
will help us keep our school family safe.
The Cardinal
ISSUE: 3
Principal’s Message
November marks the transition from autumn into winter. November is dedicated to remembering
our dearly departed. Two important observances are found on the first two days of the month: All
Saints Day and All Souls day. November finds us in the last part of Ordinary Time of Year A in the
three year liturgical cycle.
Progress Reports
Progress reports will be coming home on Tuesday, November 18th. Student led conferences for all
students (including JK/SKs) will take place on Thursday, November 20th from 4:00 to 8:00. A
Scholastic Book Fair will take place in the library that day and during the evening. Proceeds will be
used to purchase new books for the school library. A letter will be sent home shortly to explain the
conference format and for parents to sign up for times. Looking forward to seeing you and your
child(ren) at the conferences.
The parents of JK students are invited to an open house in their child’s classroom on Tuesday,
November 11 from 12:45 to 1:45. Please see a letter sent home with your JK child for further
information.
School Improvement Planning
After closely examining our EQAO data and other data from last year, our school has determined 2
theories of action for this year. These theories are not all we will focus on this year, but indicate
areas where we will be adding additional focus.
LANGUAGE: Teachers will coach and group students based on their comprehension strengths and
needs in order to improve student responses related to critical thinking skills, such as making
inferences, drawing conclusions, making connections, etc.)
How can you help? When reading with and to your child, have your child answer questions that
require them to go back to the text to reference their answer. Have them figure out the meaning of
unknown words by using the clues in the text and check their understanding by replacing a word
that they think means the same as the unknown word.
MATH: Teachers will provide focused small group instruction based on diagnostic and formative
assessment, followed by independent student practice, so students will become more confident,
successful, independent problem solvers.
Math homework is practice—practice that helps the procedure of the math concept to become
automatic. When this happens, the concept is compressed and then moves to another part of the
brain to make room for new learning. Practising math is essential for students to master or
internalize big ideas. Independent practice helps students to develop perseverance and selfconfidence. Making a game out of number facts (addition, subtraction and multiplication facts) will
help develop your child’s automaticity so he/she can focus on understating the bigger concepts and
skills necessary to solve math problems. Go on NELSON math website for additional practice (grades
2-8) http://www.mathk8.nelson.com/
Holy Family is a nut safe school. Please refrain from sending
nut or “may contain traces of nuts” to school to
help keep all of our Holy Family students safe!
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November Parish Update
Thank you for your generous donations, prayers and support during our Walk for Life in October. As a school community we
raised $375.00! Way to go Holy Family School Community.
Thursday, November 13th - 1st Reconciliation for Holy Family School – 6:30 p.m. Holy Family Church
Friday, November 21st – Youth Ministry Fundraiser Fish Fry 5pm-7pm at OLHC Parish Centre
Sunday, November 23rd – Family Advent – Following 12:30pm Lifeteen Mass at OLHC Church
See page 8 and 9 for the Spark and Edge schedules.
School Advisory Council
Thanks to all who supported the frozen cookie dough fundraiser last month. We sold almost $11 000 worth with a profit of 4180.
The profits will be used to purchase technology and math manipulatives for student use in the classrooms. Your support in our
fundraising efforts is greatly appreciated. Pick up of the orders will take place on Thursday, November 13th from 3:00 to
5:30PM. If you are unable to pick up your order that day, please make arrangements for someone else to pick it up for you. We
do not have freezer space at the school to store orders. Thanks!
The School Advisory Council will again this year be sponsoring a Christmas Luncheon for all students on Tuesday, December 16th
at 11:15 in the school gym. We will be looking for parent volunteers to assist with setting up, serving and cleaning up—keep an
eye out for the volunteer form closer to the date.
NEXT COUNCIL MEETING: Tuesday November 25 at 6 PM in the Media Centre! Come out, meet some new faces and find out
what’s happening in YOUR school community!
REMEMBRANCE DAY PRAYER SERVICE
On Tuesday, November 11th, we will be holding a Remembrance Day Prayer Service at 10:45 am in the
school gym. The grade 7 class will act as facilitators for the prayer service.
Students are asked to bring a donation for the Legion poppy fund.
All parents are welcome to join us as we honour our veterans.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY
Inclement weather may occasionally result in a cancellation of transportation services or the early dismissal or closure of schools.
Please listen to the radio in the mornings when the weather looks threatening. If buses are canceled in the morning due to fog,
they will run in the afternoon. If they are canceled due to inclement weather (snow) they will not run all day. If your child is not
reporting to school on snow days or any other day, please call the school. On no bus days, Mrs. Barnes will only be contacting
those families whose children are absent that normally ride the bus. Our school bus zone is ZONE 5.
STING GAME
On Thursday, January 15th at 7:05 pm Holy Family Catholic School is hosting a special day at the Sarnia Sting
game which is available for all staff, parents, students, friends and family. This day will include our grade 4 to
8 students playing the national anthem and cheering on the Sting as they take on the Kitchener Rangers.
Thirty complimentary tickets will be offered to our “orchestra” that will be playing the national anthem.
Additional tickets will be offered at a discounted price: $16.00 for adult and $10 for youth (12 and under).
A separate letter will be sent home shortly with complete details and an order form. Thanks to the Sarnia
Sting for facilitating this opportunity for our school community.
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Sports Updates
The Senior Boys’ Volleyball season has ended. The Senior Girls play a semi-final game on Thursday, November 6th against Port
Lambton—good luck girls!
Great effort by both senior teams! Both teams showed good sportsmanship and developed their skills over the course of the
season.
Thanks to Mrs. Bunda for coaching the girls and Mr. Demeter for coaching the boys!
Tryouts for junior volleyball will being taking place soon.
MUSKOKA WOODS
Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for donating some of their proceeds from their 50-50 draw to help offset the costs our
students will pay to participate in the Muskoka Leadership Camp in May.
Thank you to Mrs. Mitchell for working a food booth in the spring and donating the proceeds to the grade 7 class to help jump
start their fundraising for the Muskoka Woods Leadership Camp.
Watch for the Grade 7 Muskoka Woods Hockey Raffle. Tickets will be available soon. Tickets are $5.00 each with all proceeds
going to offset the cost of the seller’s trip . First prize is 4 flex tickets to a Sting Game and second prize is a Sting jersey. There
are at least 3 other related hockey prizes.
Office News
Thank you to the parents who have called in to report an absence. Remember you may leave a message on the answering machine. This saves Mrs. Barnes lots of time tracking down the whereabouts of children who are absent as we want to ensure they
are all safe. Thanks for your continued support in this area.
Thanks to all the parents who used cash on line to pay for food days—this helps everyone involved, - less money coming to
school with your child, less time for the teacher to collect money and less time Mrs. Barnes uses to count and roll money.
Thanks to the parents for embracing the three times a year food day orders. Again this helps to reduce the amount of time
spent on collecting orders and parents trying to find exact change every other week. Canteen Cash Cards a re a huge hit.
Parents may purchase these at any time during the year. Paying for these is also available using cash on line. Something new—
you can now use your credit card to pay for items on line!
Due to many issues around the riding of scooters to school (e.g. spinning the scooter around near walkers, complaints from
adults walking their children to school about the riders’ behaviour, riding scooters in and around parked cars in the parking lot,
etc.), no students are permitted to ride their scooter to school. This is unfortunate but the students have been asked multiple
times by numerous adults to correct these behaviours.
GOOD NEWS ASSEMBLIES
Congratulations to our winners for the month of October:
Cardinal Award: Reading
Alex, Julia, Grayson, Gary, Dakota, Gavin, Jennifer, Josh, Hayden, Matthew and Alexandrino.
Learning Skills/Work Habits:
Jonathon, Aislyn, Dominik, Lucas, Rio, Aiden, Kylee, Makayla, Ariana, Madison and Colin.
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‘Christmas in Muskoka’…
Did You Know? …
Christmas in Muskoka is in its fourth year. With a successful event this year
(Dec. 2 to the 6) we will have raised a quarter of a million dollars. That is $250,000.00 in
four years.
Over 1600 students have attended The Muskoka Leadership Camp with the
support of ‘Christmas in Muskoka’ monies.
Specifically, the Pines has received approximately $50,000.00 the past three years. Our Lady of Fatima $21,000.00 and St. Anne $16,000.00.
Holy Family has received $12,000.00 over the past three years.
Last year we sold over 25,000 raffle tickets for the 35 designer Christmas Trees.
We continue to grow our base of sponsors and to date have $40,000.00 in financial
support committed this year.
Major sponsors include TekSavvy, Tim Hortons, McDonald’s, the Armoury Four Diamond
Catering, Ridge Landfill Community Trust, Anjema Eye Institute, Victory Ford and the Ursuline Sisters of Chatham.
5,000 primary students have visited ‘Christmas in Muskoka’ and enjoyed the interactive
children’s theatre presented by UCC.
Tickets - Get them from your principal.
(Preview Party, Dec. 3, $15/Christmas Dance, Dec. 5, $25/McDonald’s Family Breakfast,
Dec. 6, $10) go on sale the first week of November.
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Helping Your Child to Succeed at School
10 tips to help you when talking to the teacher
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education
The parent/teacher meeting is an important time to share ideas and information with your child's teacher. You can also discuss ways
to help your child develop strengths and overcome challenges. These 10 tips will help you get the most out of your time with the
teacher. Remember: at many parent/teacher meetings, your time will be limited.
1. Be prepared. Before meeting the teacher, think about what you want to know and understand about your child's school
experience. Review the report card and write down key questions you want to ask.
2. Ask yourself questions. Focus on what you want to get out of your parent/teacher meeting by asking yourself questions.
For example, "What methods are being used to teach my child?" or "What can I do to get involved in my child's learning?"
3. Talk to your child before. Ask your children what they think they are good at and what needs improving. Let them tell you how
they feel about school, the teacher and getting along with others.
4. Arrive ready. Be sure you come to the parent/teacher meeting in a positive frame of mind and with all the materials you need.
Bring the questions you prepared in advance along with your child's report card.
5. Relax and feel confident. You know your child best and want what's best. Remember, the teacher also wants your child to be
successful.
6. Be clear about what's being said. If you need clarification or have concerns about an answer the teacher gives, ask the teacher to
explain it further. Don't be satisfied until you fully understand.
7. Think about what was discussed. Take some time to think about what you and the teacher talked about. If you are still unclear
about something or want to ask more questions, don't be afraid to call the teacher to talk further.
8. Follow-up at home. Talk with your child after you have met with the teacher. Discuss what was talked about in the meeting,
focusing on the positive and how to achieve the goals that you set.
9. Keep a log or journal. Write down the actions you take and any observations about your child. This is important information that
can be shared with the teacher at the next meeting.
Arrange the next meeting. Set a date when you will call the teacher for an update on your child's progress or to arrange another
meeting.
Helping Parents Support a Positive Attitude About Learning
As a parent, you have a profound effect on how your child thinks of themselves as a learner. Here are a few ideas for you to think
about as you work with your child to reach their full potential.
Praise your child for their hard work and effort. Children are often faced with learning new skills that require them to persevere and
work through challenges. Working hard to learn new things makes you smarter as it makes your brain grow new connections.
Consider writing short notes with messages of encouragement to your child. Include a little message in their lunch pail which focusses
on times that they work hard and stick with learning and challenging tasks. Celebrate effort!
Be positive about learning. For instance, if you dislike math do not share this with your child. Research has shown that as soon as
parents say that they were not good at math, their child’s achievement and attitude about math suffers. There is nothing more
powerful than letting your child see you work through learning something new and challenging. When children are surrounded by this
attitude, they often will want to live up to the standard you set about learning.
Use the word “yet”. Every child progresses at their own rate. Your child may say they cannot figure out a math task. Tell them that
they may not be able to do it yet, but with hard work and persistence, they will continue to develop skills. Help them to understand
that sticking with new learning will pay off. Persevering through challenges is important for lifelong successful learning.
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From the Desk of Holy Family Students
The Scarecrow’s Faith
The Scary Witch by Vanessa
On Halloween night there was a witch
On Halloween night
the scarecrow said
“what use am I?”
as he laid in bed.
The scarecrow thought
as he lay his head
he thought and thought
“What am I?” he said.
The scarecrow sat up
as he got out of bed
he walked out the
door as he felt dead.
As the scarecrow walked
down the road
he found a lucky penny
and it showed
that was in a creepy house and in that
creepy house the witch twitched.
The witch decided to steal
some candy and she had
a secret name it was Mandy.
She did not get to
the candy but
she found something on
the ground it was a nut.
The next night she creeped
into a house and sneaked
up the stairs and she
went into the closet and peeked.
It showed a sign
a sign of faith
to show him he was
good and great. By: Ellie
She got out of the house
before anyone saw her
when she got outside
she gave a burr.
When she got in
her costume she pranced
when she did she wanted to dance.
She went back and heard
a little boy that was praying
and first he prayed by
saying bless our goats that are neighing.
Please help all the people
who live in this town
and bless all the people
who are wearing a gown.