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Reaching Out to Make a Difference!
St. Mary Catholic School
DECEMBER 2014
613-448-2158
w w w. s t m a r y c h e s t e r v i l l e . c a
Principal’s Message
As we enter Advent and the approach of the Christmas season,
we are provided with the opportunity to reflect on God’s love for
us.
During Advent we are encouraged to examine our lives and
remember that Jesus came to us in
humility with a message of compassion and love.
Throughout Advent, at St. Mary
we will focus on this message
placing our faith into action. We
will remember those less fortunate, the sick and suffering.
Please assist your children so they
understand this season; in particular, the symbolism of the Advent
Wreath and the importance of
the true meaning of Christmas.
Each Monday in December we
will have an Advent Prayer Service in the gym. Parents and
other family members are welcome to join us for these special
celebrations. Please read our
calendar for the times of these
celebrations, particularly our
school mass on Friday, December
12th at 9:30 a.m.
 Nov. 30-First Sunday in Advent
We invite you to join us Wednesday, December 10th for our
Christmas Concert. We have two
shows this year on Dec. 10th. The
first show takes place at 9:30
a.m. and the second show at 1:15
p.m.
May the blessings of Advent—
Peace, Love and Joy be with you
and yours this Christmas!
Karen Carriere
Tidings of Comfort & Joy
The glowing light of the
Advent wreath helps us count the
weeks until Christmas. As each
candle is lit, we feel the growing
excitement of this happy season.
HOPE—I light one candle on my
wreath. The darkness falls away.
I’m hopeful that the Light of God
will be here any day. I wait with
hope this Advent for God’s promise has come true. The Light will
shine forevermore; that makes me
hopeful, too.
LOVE-God loved the world, the
Bible says, and that means God
loves me! He sent his Son to everyone with love eternally. I light
two candles on my wreath and
thank the Lord above for giving
everlasting life through this great
gift of love.
JOY-”Joy to the world, the Lord
has come!” That song will soon be
sung. And once again we’ll celebrate the birth of God’s own Son.
I light three candles on the wreath.
The circle’s brightening with joy
that spreads to all the world. “Let
heaven and nature sing”.
PEACE-I SEE FOUR CANDLES
AND RECALL THE ANGELS’ SONG
OF PEACE! “Peace to the world
from God above to those with
whom he’s pleased”. God’s promised Savior truly brings forgiveness
for our sin, encircling us in heavenly peace with God, forever,
through him.
 Dec. 1-Volleyball Tourn.
St. Pat’s Rockland
 Dec. 2-Advent Liturgy 2:30 p.m.
 Dec. 2-Gr. 6 visit Seniors
 Dec. 2-Setup for Christmas Wrap
6:30—8:00 p.m.
 Dec. 2-Snowdate for Volleyball Tourn.
 Dec. 3-CHRISTMAS WRAP!!
 Dec. 7-Second Sunday in Advent
 Dec. 8-Advent Liturgy 10:50 a.m.
 Dec. 10-Christmas Concerts
9:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
 Dec. 11-Snowdate for concert
 Dec. 12-School Mass 9:30 a.m.
 Dec. 14-Third Sunday in Advent
 Dec. 15-Advent Liturgy 1:00 p.m.
 Dec. 19-Last day of school before
Christmas holidays
 Dec. 24-Christmas Eve
 Dec. 25-Christmas Day
 Jan. 1-Happy New Year
 Jan. 5-Back to School!
JK/SK –Miss Acr es, Miss Per ley & Mme. Durie, Mme. Kinga
We would like to congratulate
Mme. Chisholm on the birth of
baby Charlotte on November
15th! We wish them all the best
and can’t wait to meet her! We
are also very happy to now have
Mme. Stacey Durie with us as
part of our “team”.
The children are so excited and
curious about this change in season…”It’s the most wonderful time
of the year!” Unfortunately, with
the snow comes wet clothing.
Although they have a change of
clothes at school, please put a
few pairs of extra socks and
mittens (with their names on them)
in y our child’s bookbag, just in
case!
And now we wait...Advent is not
an easy season when you are 3,
4 and 5, but we will be filling the
time until Christmas with crafts,
songs, activities and prayers as
we wait to celebrate the joyful
arrival of Baby Jesus. This month
we will be learning about Advent
as the time when we get ready to
celebrate Jesus’ birthday. During
the month of November we have
been talking a lot about Peace—
what it means to us and how we
can promote it in our classroom
and on the playground. Ask your
children to tell you what it means
to use their WITS and what they
have been doing to be “bucket
fillers”. We will continue these
discussions as we talk about the
gifts that we can give Jesus for his
birthday: helping others, sharing,
using kind words….
We would like to wish all families
a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year!!
“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom is favor rests” Luke 2:14
Page 2
St. Mary Catholic School
Grade One —Mrs. Acr es
Grade Two —Ms. Ganter
December is here and with it many exciting
events. The Grade Ones will be participating
in the school’s Advent celebrations each week.
They will also be involved in many songs, stories and activities during Advent to prepare
for the coming of Jesus.
The Christmas Wrap is fast approaching and
the children are so excited. Get ready for the
many parcels coming home and remember—
NO PEEKING!
We hope to see you at our Christmas concert
on December 10th. I wish each and every
family a very happy and holy Christmas and a
happy New Year!
J. Acres
Our Reading Power this month is Visualizaiton.
Students will learn to use words and phrases
from a variety of texts in order to create pictures in their minds. In Writing, we’ve been
working on recounting events within a letter.
Students are also learning how to include more
voice and more detail in their written work.
In Math, we will be working on double digit
addition and subtraction. We will also be
working on coin value and money amounts.
Ask your child to help count money when shopping for Christmas gifts and groceries. Real
life experiences help make learned concepts
more meaningful. Please encourage your child
to complete his/her weekly homework sheets
and return their red Homework Book duotangs
to school each Monday. Over the last few
weeks, some students have been making a real
effort to read every night. Keep up the good
work!
We are looking forward to all the preparations that come with the Christmas season.
Happy holidays!
J. Ganter
FIRST COMMUNION AND RECONCILIATION
IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE!!!!
March 22—
Enrolment Ceremony
(during 10:30 a.m. Mass)
April 19-Parent Meeting
(following 10:30 a.m. Mass)
May 10-Sacrament of Reconciliation
May 17-Mass for First Communion
2:00 p.m. (arrive by 1:30)
If you have not already returned the forms to
register your child for Reconciliation and
First Communion please do so immediately.
Please contact the school if you need a new
form.
Grade One and Two Fr ench Immersion —Mr. Adam Fisher
I can’t believe it’s already December. How the
time flies when you’re having fun.
During this month we are still practicing our
French phonics, going for the more difficult
sounds such as ail, euil and ouille. We are
also singing some French songs practicing our
reading skills.
During our art lessons, we are busy creating
holiday spirit within the classroom, decorating
it with snowmen, snowflakes, and all things
winter.
In science class, for both Grade 1 and 2, we
have just finished discussing the impacts that
living creatures, including ourselves, have on
our environment and are learning about the
energy in our lives (grade 1) and the different
properties of matter (grade 2).
During social studies, the grade 1’s are still
conversing about our local communities with a
focus on services and maps. The grade 2’s are
focusing on our traditions and celebrations but
with a look on how they differ from past to
present. Lastly, gym class is proving to be the
most enjoyable class. With the introduction of
new games, equipment and freshly fallen
snow, there is no lack of activities by which to
keep fit and active. December is proving to
be a very busy but entertaining month. From
te Grade 1/2 French Immersion class, we
would like to wish you all un joyeux noel et
bonne année.
HEAD LICE
1, Examine your child’s head regularly/
weekly.
2. Teach your child not to share hats,
brushes, combs or other hair accessories.
3. Please do not send stuffed animals or
toys to school with your child.
4. Tie back long hair in a braid or ponytail.
5. Inform the school if your child has lice.
6. Treat an infestation properly as soon as it
is detected.
Grade Two/Three French Immersion -Melissa Roy
During the month of November the students got
to present a descriptive text on their long houses (grade 2) or a meal from different cultures
(grade 2). They built long houses or a meal
from another culture with clay that they were
able to share with their peers. In physical
education students learned tactics to increase
their changes of success during physical activities. In addition, the students got to express
their feelings and ideas on a variety of music.
Below is a quick glance of the materials being
covered over the month of December:
French: In French we will continue to work on
participation in interactions on familiar topics.
Students will continue to identify strategies
they found helpful before, during and after
reading to understand texts. We will also
continue to work on the writing process.
Science: We will be continuing our unit in science on properties of liquids and solids as well
as forces causing movement.
Arts: In arts we will be starting our unit on
dance. Students in grade 2 will develop short
movement phrases inspired by a variety of
activities in their community and incorporating
different pathways, directions, and shapes.
Students in grade 3 2ill imitate movements
found in their natural environment in a variety
of ways and incorporate them into a dance
phrase.
Physical Education: In Physical Education we
will be continuing our unit on applying tactics
to increase their chances of success during
physical activities.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at
school at anytime. Thank you!
M. Roy
Page 3
Grade Thr ee-Mrs. Blake
Season’s Greetings Everyone!
I am very excited to be back and feel very
fortunate to be teaching this wonderful group
of students. Mrs. Stanley and I have been
working together to make sure this will be a
smooth transition for everyone (especially the
students). If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at
school or write a note in your child’s agenda.
I’ll make sure to get back to you as quickly as I
can. This month in Math, we will be conducting
surveys, reviewing the results, and using different graphing style sin our Data Management
unit. In Language Arts, the students will be
focusing on Voice in various reading passages.
We will be choosing some of our favourite
authors who use “Voice” well in our stories and
taking turns reading to each other. In Religion
we will be celebrating the story of Jesus’ birth
and the important joys of Christmas. We are
heading into a very busy month in December.
Please make note of all the upcoming events in
December such as Christmas Wrap, school
mass and our Christmas concert. I would like to
take this opportunity to wish our students and
their families a very happy and safe Christmas
Holiday. Happy Holidays.
T. Blake
Grade Four-Mrs. Veinotte
DECEMBER?!! Clearly, time is passing by so
quickly because far too much fun and learning
are happening in the grade 4 classroom! We
have so enjoyed sharing our days this past
month with Mrs. Spronck, a student teacher
from the University of Ottawa who did her first
practicum placement with our class. All the
students were warm and welcoming, and we
all go so much out of the experience. We will
definitely miss Mrs. Spronck now that she has
moved on to further studies. We wish her
good luck in the future, and we hope she comes
Grade Five-Mrs. Blake
Happy Holidays! I am excited to be back and
feel fortunate to be teaching this fantastic
group of students. I have been working with
Ms. Stanley to make sure this will be a smooth
transition for the Gr. 5’s. If you have any
questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
call me at school or write a note in your child’s
agenda. I’ll make sure to get back to you as
quickly as I can.
This month in Language Arts, the students will
be reviewing Voice in various reading passeages. Our main focus will be to identify
examples of strong voice in popular picture
books, add voice to our writing, evaluate and
revise our own writing, and share our creative
writing stories with peers.
In Phys. Ed., we are practicing our bumps, volleys and serves in Volleyball. We are heading into a very busy month in December.
Please make note of all the upcoming events in
December such as the volleyball tournament,
Christmas Wrap, School Mass and our Christmas concert.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish our
students and their families a very happy and
safe Christmas Holiday.
Happy Holidays,
Mrs. T. Blake
back to visit us when she can! In language, we
are working on Veinotte’s View of Voice and
Visualization through descriptive writing and
poetry. I am impressed with the students’ creativity, and they submitted some very moving and
beautiful pieces to the Legion’s poetry and poster contest. Science projects were extremely well
done, and we are well into our new unit on Light
and Sound. In math we have graphed just about
everything we can think of, and are working our
way through operations with larger numbers.
We’re hoping to be started on a measurement
unit before the holiday comes, but things get
pretty crazy around here in December! We are
patiently (?) waiting for Christmas, celebrating
the season of Advent as we prepare ourselves
for the Saviour’s birth and preparing, too, for our
Christmas Concert. This class truly sounds like a
choir of angels! It was a pleasure to speak with
so many of you during parent teacher interviews,
and I am really looking forward to getting right
into the second term of learning together with
your children. A very happy and holy Christmas
to all of you!
SNACKS!!!!
PLEASE send healthy snacks to school with
your child. Too often we are seeing children
with a very limited choice for a healthy
snack, especially for the morning.
Sugary puddings, jell-o, and fruit-flavoured
candies should not be confused with real
fruit, and they have a very negative effect on
children’s ability to focus on co-operating
and learning during the school day.
Please check out the Parents’ Corner of the
newsletters for recipes for home baked items
that are healthy and safe for all of our
St. Mary’s family.
Grade Six-Miss Ganter
Our Reading Power this month is Summarizing,
our Write Trait is Organization and the writing
form is Procedural Writing. In this type of
writing, students will lead the reader through a
series of steps that show exactly how to do
something (eg. a recipe, game instructions,
solve a math problem...etc.)
We have been invited to visit the Seniors at
their monthly luncheon on Tues. December 2nd.
Students will be sharing poems, singing songs
and reading stories about Christmas.
Over the past few weeks, we have been having some issues with school mail not being returned. Although a goal for this year is to
have students personally organize themselves,
parents may wish to check agendas and backpacks periodically for communication between
school and home.
Just as an ongoing reminder: we are encouraging all students to make an effort to read
for 20 minutes each night before bed. This is
particularly important fo rour struggling readers as it greatly improves fluency.
We are looking forward to all the preparations that come with the Christmas season.
Happy holidays!
J. Ganter
IMPORTANT DATES
January 25:-Student Meeting #1 (following
10:30 Mass until 12:30)
February (Date to be determined) Service
Project at Lazarus House
March 8: Enrolment Ceremony (10:30 Mass)
April 26: Student Meeting #2 (following
10:30 Mass until 12:30)
May 3: Parent Meeting and practice
(following 10:30 Mass)
May 16: CONFIRMATION MASS at 5:00
p.m. (arrive by 4:30 p.m.)
CHRISTMAS CONCERT—WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH—9:30 a.m. & 1:15 p.m.
Eco Team
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that
someone else will save it” - Robert Swan
We have a team! Mr. Belair and a team of 6 of our junior
students have worked together to improve our recycling at
St. Mary’s. With the custodian’s guidance, these students
created labels and toured classrooms to help make students aware of how to recycle. By sorting the things we
use into paper and plastic bins, we are helping to make a
change in our world! Stay tuned for a report on how classrooms are doing as far as reducing energy consumption
goes!
Mrs. Veinotte and Miss Acres
HOLD AND SECURE
A Hold and Secure is put in place in response to an outside
threat—one that is not related to the school. During the time
when a Hold & Secure is in place, all exterior doors are
locked and no one is permitted to enter or exit the building.
While in Hold & Secure—the schools function normally inside
(i.e. students may travel from class to class, go to the library,
visit the washroom, etc.); however, because no one may exit
the building, recess and physical education classes will be
held indoors.
SCHOOL COUNCIL
Thank you for your donations to our annual Christmas
Wrap!
NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING:
Thursday, January 22nd at 6:30 p.m.
EASTERN ONTARIO HEALTH UNIT
Keep your children safe this winter. When your child is enjoying
winter sports, a proper fitting, certified helmet made just for
snow sports is a must. Make sure your child follows these tips to
stay safe this winter:

Wears a hockey helmet when playing hockey, ice-skating
or sledding

Wears a ski or snowboard helmet when downhill skiing or
snowboarding

Does not wear a bicycle helmet, as they are not designed
for winter sports

Wears a winter helmet that fits snugly and is insulated

Replaces a helmet it if has been dropped or involved in a
fall or collision

Has a helmet that is replaced every 5 years and meets the
safety standards of the Canadian Standards Association
For more tips on how you can help keep your family healthy,
visit www.eohu.ca or http://www.parachutecanada.org/
HEALTHY CORNER:
Just a reminder that we are a PEANUT/
NUT FREE SCHOOL. Below are some
peanut/nut free recipes you may like to
try at home which your child may
bring to school for their snack.
Orange Cranberry Muffins
1 navel orange, cut into eighths
1/2 cup orange juice
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a standard-size 12-cup muffin tin
with cooking spray.
Put the orange wedges, orange juice, egg and oil into a blender and blend
until smooth.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk to incorporate. Make a well in the center of the
dry ingredients; pour the orange mixture into it and stir to make a thick
batter. Stir in the cranberries. Divide the mixture among the muffin tins,
filling the tins about 3/4 full, and bake until the muffins are golden and
push back when gently pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack and
enjoy!
Healthy Veggie Pizza Muffins
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup boiled sweet corn kernels
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1/2 cup diced red peppers
1/2 cup diced yellow peppers
1/2 cup grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup homemade pizza sauce
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup extra light olive oil
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Prepare your muffin cases, line them.
Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, corn, peppers, parsley and cheese. Whisk pizza sauce, milk, oil and eggs together
rin another bowl. Add to dry ingredients. Use a large metal spoon to stir
until just combined. Divide mixture evenly between muffin cases.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a
muffin comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire
rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Sandwich Alternatives and Snacks:
Rice Salad: This is a great way to use up leftover rice, o you can cook a
small portion of rice to use. You can make a quick rice salad using leftover rice, chopped pepper, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes, but you could
mix anything you have on hand. Mix it all together ready to eat, or present the rice separately, so that it can be mixed at lunch time.
Pasta Salad: An easy to throw together lunch is a pasta salad. It can be
Served up in many different ways with whatever ingredients you have
available.
Dairy: Yogurt, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese
Vegetables: Cucumber, Carrots, Peppers, Sugar Snap Peas, Celery,
Broccoli
Fruits: Kiwi, Banana, Strawberries, Grapes, Blueberries, Apple, Citrus
Fruits