December St. Mary Catholic School 2019 Newsletter · resume, Monday, January 6th. We wish everyone a safe, happy and blessed Christmas! St. Mary School Christmas Mass You are invited

St. Mary Catholic School Newsletter

If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.

Charity is a supreme virtue, and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed onto mankind.

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.

December 2019

ST. MARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL 20 Portugal Square , Toronto , Ont ar io

Te l . 416 -393-5205 Fax . 416 -393-5781

Virtue of the Month: Charity

“If you can’t feed a hundred a hundred people, then feed just one.” These words of Mother Teresa, beatified to Sainthood (Saint Teresa of Calcutta) just a few years ago, speak to each of us. She lived within our lifetime. We know that she struggled with her faith and had many questions about the ‘ways’ of the world (can any of us identify with these struggles?). Yet, she lived a life of practicing what she preached; kindness through charity. We are inspired by and perhaps even grateful for her words about feeding ‘just one’ person. She is not asking us to feed a hundred; not fifty; not even two. She is asking us to feed ‘just one.’ Why ‘just one?’ It’s because all acts of charity begin with one small act. That’s all that is asked of each of us in the St. Mary’s school community – one act of charity. Does it have to be a meal? It could be, but not necessarily. Acts of charity are those that by working hard, we help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35.

The TCDSB designates ‘Charity’ as the Virtue of the month for December. As well, December 1st marked the start of Advent, the liturgi-cal season of waiting and hoping. With this in mind, who do we know that could be waiting for or are in need of an act of kindness? Could it be a family member, classmate, neighbor, colleague, or perhaps someone unknown? Did you know that just like Saint Teresa, everyone in the St. Mary’s school community is called to be a Saint? By name, God created and calls each of us to be a Saint. We are all capable of it too! It can begin with an act of charity. As Saint Teresa tells us, it begins with ‘just one.’

At St. Mary’s Catholic School, we look forward to the coming weeks. It remains a time for school work to be done to everyone’s best ability. It is a time for co-operation, patience and good-will. It is a time to show kindness and compassion as befits the Advent season. It is a time to demonstrate Jesus in our hearts by our actions. A blessed and holy Advent is wished for all.

L. Stamcoff Principal

Principal: L. Stamcoff

Secretary: D. Costa

Superintendent: John Shanahan Area 6 416-222-8282 ext. 5371

Trustee: Norm Di Pasquale

Parish: St. Mary Church 130 Bathurst Street Toronto ON M5V 2R2 416-703-2326 Priest: Fr. Fernando Couto

Catholic Parent

Involvement www.tcdsb.org/cpic

Committee-CPIC

Parents Need to Know

****Pizza Day December (this month) will be the last month you may pay for Pizza via cash i.e. your child bringing in money and

handing it to teacher. Starting in January, Pizza may only be purchased on-line. That means Parents need to enroll for School Cash on-

line. If not, then Pizza cannot be purchased. For on-line registration, please go to: www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/schoolcashonline

You may read about School Cash Online inside this newsletter.

****Email Address An email address is required for School Cash online. As well, an email address is required for the school’s

School Messenger Service. School Messenger is where messages are sent out to parents, including a full version of the school’s month-

ly newsletter. If you have not informed the school of your current email address, please do so. If you do not have an email address,

obtaining one and informing the school is necessary in order to maintain communication from the school.

It is the responsibility of Parents to keep the school updated with phone #’s, email addresses. Phone #’s are important in case the

school needs to contact Parent. Email addresses must be current/in-use. An email address is necessary for school purposes e.g. Paying

for school things, communication from school.

In advance, you are thanked for your understanding and co-operation in all of the above.

Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser

Our Halloween Dance-a-thon fundraiser raised

an awesome total of $7,479.00! Thank you to

our students and the support of their parents,

relatives and friends for this success.

Funds will be used for a half day Scientists in School,

dance programs, and student support.

The top three fundraisers were:

William B.—SK, Thomas B.—SK, Victoria B.— Gr. 3

Kenan G.—Gr. 3

Brianna M.—Gr. 5

The top three classes who won a pizza lunch include:

Gr. FIELP> Ms. Fontana> $ 1,488.00 raised

Gr. 3 > Ms. Kostiak > $965.00 raised ELP/1> Ms.Dunn/Ms.Uncao $ 740.00 raised

All students at St. Mary School will benefit from our fund-

raising efforts through different programs, events and op-

portunities that will now be possible for this school year.

We thank you for your effort and support!

Pizza Day & Casual Dress Day

Friday, December 13th

Last day to order:

Online: Wednesday, December 11th

Cash: Thursday, December 12th at 10:00AM

Christmas Break

Christmas holidays begin Monday, December 23rd

and continue through to Sunday, January 3rd. Classes

resume, Monday, January 6th. We wish everyone a

safe, happy and blessed Christmas!

St. Mary School Christmas Mass

You are invited to join us at 6:30 pm on Thurs-

day, December 12th, 2019 at St. Mary Church

for our Christmas Mass. Come and listen to St.

Mary’s students voices as they sing with joy.

Recognition Awards for

November

Congratulations to the following students

who received a certificate for demonstrat-

ing peacemaking, inclusion or other achievements dur-

ing the month of November:

Marigold Torres, Theo Dela Cruz, Zaine Ahmad-

Dickson, Osewe Odion, Jacob Duhaney, Sityana

Mesfin, Kaiden Malcolm, Jonathan Tegegn, Kayla Malcolm, Charlie Strachan, Bradley Rana, Baron Es-

guerra, Rene Annau, Jazlynn Nguyen, Bridget Smith,

Matthew Kagollo, Owen Akhadia, Alejandro Murillo

Barrios, Trinity Leira, Kieran Shewchuk, Stella Al-

bano, Mattias Assing, Naomi Wolfe, Alexander Sum-

abat, Jacob Dela Cruz, Jhaslene Garcia, Tino Suma-bat, Christoffer Tan, Mary Gatitu, Arwen Esguerra,

Michaela Esteban, Henry Estrada.

Well Done!

Advent Reflection

Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent…If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devo-tion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts. Ours is a great responsibil-ity not to waste this Advent time.

Reminder:

December 6th is a P.D. Day.

Mr. Sikora’s Grade 4 Class News- The grade four students have begun their Swim To Survive activity at Trinity Bellwoods Community Center. The teachers thank the parents who volunteer their time to join us on those Thursday mornings. "We're looking forward to celebrating the Advent Season through participation in our school's Christmas Mass"

Good Shepherd Ministries Annual Christmas Food Drive

Urgently Needed Items

Canned Tuna Canned Vegetables

Peanut Butter & Jams Canned Stews

Tea Ground/Instant Coffee

Canned Fruit Salad Dressing/Mayonnaise

Canned Soups Sugar

Pasta Sauce Assorted Spices

Please No Fresh or Frozen Food

St. Mary’s will be collecting from December 2nd-17th

Thank you for your generous support!

412 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1T3

GOODSHEPHERD.CA

Christmas Food Drive for the Good Shepherd

Centre

In the spirit of charity, our virtue for the month of De-

cember, we are asking for donations of canned goods

and non-perishable food items which will be forwarded

to the Good Shepherd Centre in our neighbourhood.

Items may be dropped off between December 2nd and

17th in the boxes located outside the main office of the

school. We thank you in advance for your support and

generosity this Christmas season.

Cold Weather Clothing

Parents, please ensure that your child is

properly dressed for school now that the

weather is becoming colder. Once the temper-

ature decreases further and the snow begins to fall, it’s

important that students have a warm winter jacket, boots,

hat and mittens or gloves to keep them warm when they

are outside during recess. We want all students to be well

prepared for our Toronto winter. Thank you for your sup-

port.

Inclement Weather Policy Reporting of cancellations or closures due to inclem-ent weather

Winter is underway. Please note that any cancellations or closures due to inclement weather will be reported before 7 a.m. Best place to get the info quickly is through Twitter @TCDSB (please follow us), the board’s website www.tcdsb.org and the 24-hour telephone information line 416-222-8282 ext. 2873.

Advent Mass Christmas

Fundraiser 2019

The St Mary Parent Council is once again

running a Christmas fundraiser. This year we will be

celebrating our Advent mass at St Mary church on

Thursday December 12 at 6:30. Following the

mass, please bring you family over to the church hall

to attend our bake sale and gift basket raffle.

Bake Sale:

- Please send baked goods to school from Tuesday

December 10 – Thursday December 12

- Bake good ideas include: cake pops, cupcakes,

cookies, cakes, jars of homemade pasta sauce or

jam

- Please prepackage your baked goods in groups that are easily sold for $2-$5 (ie. 6 cookies per bag)

- We are an allergy aware school: please send nut-

free products and a list of ingredients (if possible)

Gift Baskets:

- Your child’s class has been assigned a theme (see below). - Please send items into the school no later than Fri-day December 6 as baskets will be assembled Dec 7. - Raffle tickets for these gift baskets can be pur-chased 1 for $2 or 3 for $5 (after the advent mass)

- Dinotastic Christmas (Dunn and Rendon)

- “Wheelie” great Christmas (Ferreira and De Melo)

- Zootastic Crafts (Fontana and Dovizio)

- Christmas Baker (Farley and Sikora)

- Toronto Spots Fans (Kostiak and Lopes)

- Toytastic Christmas (DiMarco and Palic)

- Spa Day & Date Night (Santano and Malloch)

- Scholastic Success (Whole School)

Please consider donating items for the bake sale or gift baskets….we need your help to make this fundraiser a success! All proceeds from the fund-raiser will go towards school trips and resources for the classroom.

Together we can make this year's fundraiser amazing!

Intermediate Boys & Girls

Volleyball Team

Congratulations to our Intermediate Boys and Girls volleyball teams who represented St. Mary's on Novem-ber 5th and 6th respectively, at Pope Francis Catholic School. Both teams demonstrated great teamwork, sportsmanship and skill throughout a long day of games. The boys and girls teams played extremely well against tough compe-tition and although the teams didn't come away with the result they wanted, both teams held their heads high at the end of their tournaments. The coach-es, Mr. Laur and Mr. Simandl are very proud of your effort and accomplishments. We are looking forward to next year already.

Boys Team: Joshua J., Marcel B., Chris K., Aldrich B., Kyraan S., Nickolas C., Nathan R., Chris T., Musie G., Israel O.

Girls Team: Sofia R., Ainsley L., Heven H., Ella H., Princess C., Zyda A., Solieil O., Reneasha E., Kamri J. and Phoebe M.

Bussing Info and Walking Safety

Busses continue to run and as we know, lateness can and will happen. Parents/caregivers are reminded to

have the bus company contact/phone # in their phone for updates when there is a problem. The phone # and

route # can be obtained from calling the school and placing this info in your phone will support your updating when you need it

most.

A safety reminder for all students and anyone walking on the

sidewalk in front of the school: all are cautioned to walk by the fence

side of the sidewalk and not near the road. At the bus drop-off in the

morning and after school when busses are lined up along road-

way – all are cautioned to walk on the sidewalk nearest the fence.

Please avoid walking so close to the road (and busses) that are

parked. Doing so can better support the safety of our students

and all members of the St. Mary’s community during high traffic

volume at the start of and at the end of a school day. As we

know, all schools experience traffic at the start and end of a

school day. It is imperative that young and old alike have their

‘wits’ about them where vehicles are nearby – it is a basic lesson

for life which includes crossing the street. Looking both ways and not

running out on to the road remains a staple of street safety. Par-

ents/caregivers are requested to review this basic safety rule and

to model it as well. Your child will thank-you!

Kindergarten Registration Kindergarten Registration will begin for all Elementary Schools on Wednesday, January 15, 2019 at 10:00 am EST.

Parents/guardians with children born in 2016 or earlier and who will be enrolling in Kindergarten, have the opportunity to apply on-line using the “Student On-line Admission and Registration” platform known as S.O.A.R. and found at the follow-ing link: http://soar.tcdsb.org

Parents will be able to complete an application for registration from the convenience of their own home, the office, a public library, or anywhere there is internet access, 24 hours a day. The on-line application also offers access to translations in different languages with built-in help functions and features.

As part of the registration process, school staff will meet with parents. These meetings may be scheduled on the electron-ic application or in person at the school. During the meeting, school staff will verify the original documentation required for registration. This consists of a Baptismal Certificate, Birth Certificate and/or Passport, Immunization record, proof of resi-dence and Application for Direction of School support.

Applications to register children in grades other than Kindergarten can also be completed on the online S.O.A.R. applica-tion. Please share this information with any parents/guardians with school aged children in the community.

For further information, please contact our school office at 416-393-5205. For general inquires or further information you may contact 416-222-8282 extension 5314 or visit our website at www.tcdsb.org

*French Immersion Information Night * For anyone interested Wednesday, December 11, 2019 @ 6:30pm in the St. Mary’s gym.

St. Mary School is Allergen Aware!

Please remember that all snacks and lunches for students must be nut free. We have several children in the school with life threatening aller-gies and we would like to ensure that they are not exposed to dangerous food items.

Snacks should not contain any type of nut product such as peanuts, almonds, cashews, peanut but-ter, Nutella, etc.

Also, please remind your child to not share his/her snack or lunch.

Let’s all do our part to keep our students safe.

Absenteeism

To report your child as late or absent, please use one

of the following options:

CALL- 1 (833) 251-3286 (toll-free)

ONLINE–go.schoolmessenger.ca

MOBILE APP: SchoolMessenger

Please use the above. Calling the school’s phone num-

ber is not the correct way to report an absence.

Bussing & Alternate After-School Arrangements Please ensure that you phone the school office by 2:00pm daily to advise of any change in your child’s after school arrangements. Please do not use the

school secretaries email. 416-393-5205

Catholic School Parent Council We would love to have more parents attend and participate at our next CSPC meeting, so come and join us!

Next CSPC Meeting: Wednesday, December 18th, 2019 at 6:30

pm, St. Mary School - Staffroom. All parents are welcome.

TRUSTEES 2019 – 2020 Wards 1. Joseph Martino

2. Markus de Domenico

3. Ida Le Preti

4. Teresa Lubinski

5. Maria Rizzo, Chair

6. Frank D‘Amico

7. Michael Del Grande, Vice-Chair

8. Garry Tanuan

9. Norm Di Pasquale

10. Daniel Di Giorgio

11. Angela Kennedy

12. Nancy Crawford

Kathy Nguyen, Student Trustee

Taylor Dallin, Student Trustee

Swim to Survive

The annual City of Toronto sponsored activity occurs for all grade four students in Toronto. The dates for St.

Mary’s classes are as follows: Dec. 5.

Mr. Sikora’s and Mr. DiMarco’s grade 4’s will walk to Trinity Community Recreation Centre Pool and have their

swimming lessons on these three consecutive Thursdays in December.

Times are: Mr. Sikora: 9:45 to 10:30 and Mr. DiMarco: 10:30 to 11:15

In order for this activity to occur, parental support is required and welcomed for walking to the Pool and back to School afterwards. Please notify your child’s teacher if you can assist in this im-portant and necessary aspect of this activity.

School Cash On-line

For information on paying for school items on line,

kindly please go the link below which will provide you

with the information you need:

https://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/schoolcashon

line/Pages/default.aspx

Parking

Please do not park in front of the

school in the morning from 8:00-8:30

am or in the afternoon from 2:00-3:30

pm, as this area is designated for our

school buses.

The East and West parking lots are

designated for staff/school board per-

sonnel parking only. Unfortunately,

there are no extra spaces for par-

ents/visitors.

We thank you for your co-operation.

Lunch at School – Students have 20 minutes to

eat their lunch. That means your child’s lunch should be ready to go which includes your child having a spoon or fork. Your child having to look for a utensil takes away from their time to eat. Please help your child by ensuring their lunch is properly packed and equipped with what they need. Your co-operation in this matter helps your child. Thank-you.

Picking up Your Child at 3pm Dismissal:

All picking up of students is done at the East Yard of the school only. Please do not come to the front entrance of the school to re-

trieve your child at 3pm. This is a ‘heavy traffic’ area for bus students to wait and then walk to their busses. This procedure includes

when plans change – i.e. child normally takes bus, but they have an appointment – parent is to tell child they will meet them in

EAST YARD at 3 pm. Parents are requested to write this info in child’s agenda too so child does not forget or get mixed up due to

the change in end of day dismissal routine. Your co-operation and understanding in this matter is appreciated.

School Safety Parents are kindly requested to not walk through the hallway of the school, as per TCDSB Policy. This policy is specifically to do with

the safety and security of the students, staff and school building. To see their children walk to their classrooms on the first floor only,

parents may stand at the entrance area of the school, just north-east of the school office. This area can be called the ‘intersection;’ it

is where three hallways meet: the east/west hallway and the hallway looking north. Your understanding and co-operation in this safe-

ty policy is appreciated. Thank-You

Busses: Parents/Caregivers of students in grade 3 and younger: please ensure your child has a purple tag on knapsack– if you

change knapsacks– please place purple tag on new knapsack. If you need a new one– call the school office and we will provide a

new one. A child with a purple tag on their knapsack means the child must be greeted by a Parent/ Caregiver when getting off the

bus. The driver looks for this and if no one can be found, a child with a purple tag is to remain on the bus. The child will be brought

back to the school, the child’s home called and the parent/caregiver will have to come to the school to pick up their child. As well, for

any bus info, all parents are encouraged to access the TCDSB Transportation link provided below. Also, having in your cell phone

the phone # and the route # for the bus company is recommended for when your child comes to school in the morning and leaves

from school at the end of the school day. If you are unsure of the phone # and route #, please call the school and we

will provide it for you. https://intranet.tcdsb.org/News/Pages/New-Transportation-

Bus Transportation Information and Updates

Communications with parents regarding bus transportation for students is a priority. In order to stay informed, parents are

encouraged to register on the Toronto Student Transportation Group (TSTG) portal today by visiting

www.torontoschoolbus.org. The direct site to register for updates is https://can.busplannerweb.com/ This portal provides

TCDSB parents with online access to their children’s transportation information and up to the minute email notifications

regarding school bus cancellations or delays. If you have any issues signing up on the portal, please contact sup-

[email protected] and staff will assist you with the registration of your account.

AM Routes PM Routes

CAR0109–Attridge Transportation CSW0407– Switzer Carty Transportation (Purple)

CSH0231–Sharp Transportation PSC0852– Stock East Transportation (Red)

PSN0961–Stock North Transportation CSH0231– Sharp Transportation (Yellow)

PST0757–Stock West Transportation CAR0109– Attridge Transportation (Green)

PFT0095– First Student PSN0961– Stock North Transportation (Orange)

TCDSB transportation homepage also has delay-cancellation info:

Www.torontoschoolbus.org

Subscribe at: https://busplannerweb.torontoschoolbus.org/Default.aspx for all of your child’s transportation information.

Church Corner

Weekly Mass:

Saturday at 5pm & Sunday at 11:30am

Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and Sacrament of Confirmation:

Catechism classes for grade 2’s and grade 7’s (and anyone else who needs to complete the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and/or

Confirmation):

Catechism for both grades starts on: Oct. 20th at 10:00

am to 11:15 am

All classes occur at the Church.

Catechism classes started October 20th and run

every Sunday.

First Communion: Sunday, April 26 at 1:15 pm Mass at Church

Confirmation Rehearsal: Sunday, April 19 at 5:00pm at Church

Confirmation: Saturday, April 25 at 5pm Mass

News from the Board

Labour Update

Letter from Director of Education and Chair to Parents/Guardians of Children Attending TCDSB Ele-mentary Schools We are writing to inform you that late last week we learned the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) repre-senting approximately 430 Designated Early Childhood Workers (ECE), will be taking work-to-rule measures effective Tuesday, November 26, 2019. As per ETFO communications, we expect all ECE’s to continue to perform core duties and do not anticipate any disrup-tions to your child’s care. Actions to be expected include: • Wear red clothing and/or accessories to show their support for the ETFO labour movement. • Will not participate in any extracurricular activities. • Will not attend staff meetings unless it is an emergency meeting. • Will continue to communicate learning/provide feedback by collaborating with teachers both verbally and in writing. Their regular contributions to report cards will continue. • Christmas concerts and regularly scheduled Masses will continue. The health and safety of your child remains our top priority. Our principals, vice-principals and board administration will continue to communicate with you throughout any labour disruption to mitigate any challenges, and ensure the safety and security of our students, staff, parents and volunteers in our school facilities. Information will be shared with school com-munities through the Board’s website (www.tcdsb.org), twitter and email via School Messenger. We remain hopeful that the Council of Trustees Association and the provincial government will be able to reach a new central agree-ment with ETFO.

Important Information for Parents Latest Updates on Weather Related Cancellations or Closures Traffic congestion and varying road conditions can impact on the flow of traffic in Toronto, and this is particularly true during the win-ter months when snow and ice can be a major factor. The Toronto Student Transportation Group is pleased to provide information about school bus delays digitally through their website. Parents are encouraged to subscribe to the transportation portal to get real time information about any transportation issues throughout the school year: https://busplannerweb.torontoschoolbus.org/Subscriptions/Login.aspx Follow @TCDSB on Twitter to get the latest weather related updates. Accountability and Responsibility in a Digital World Online safety and social networking with Paul Davis Senator O’Connor College, 60 Rowena Drive December 4th, 2019 OCS Auditorium 6:30pm

All parents welcome

Go Digital Sign up for…

School Cash Online https://www.tcdsb.org/forparents/schoolcashonline/pages/default.aspx Pay for excursions and other optional activities for your child online. No need to send cheques or cash to school.

School Messenger—report your child’s absence online and receive updates about absences and lates.

https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/safeschools/newsandevents/pages/signupschoolmessenger.aspx. The app also al-lows for urgent communications from your child’s school or from the Board such as labour updates, school closures, opportu-nities to participate in board-wide consultations etc.

E-News—For those who are not on Twitter, you can still access much of the same news and information sent to your email on a weekly basis. To see recent issues, or sign up for the free news service, see: https://www.tcdsb.org/News/eNews/Pages/default.aspx

Kindergarten Registration Registration begins Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 10 a.m. Apply online at https://soar.tcdsb.org

News from the Board Continued

Opportunities for Students

We Believe For the second year of our pastoral plan, “Rooted in Christ: we Belong, we Believe, we Become”, students are invited to consider who inspires you, who nurtures your faith, who acts as a mentor and role model of Catholic living. Is it your school chaplain? A parent or other family member? Your pastor or other member of your parish? A teacher or other staff at your school? A colleague or friend? Why not sit down to have a chat with them, and interview them about their experiences of living their faith. Share your experience through a

STEAM project, written work (poem, story, article), a short video, art, music or technology. Celebrate those who have guided you on your own journey of faith. Share your ideas and initiatives on social media (@TCDSB #TCDSBelieves). Send your submissions to [email protected]. Your submissions will be showcased on the TCDSB website and shared via social media (twitter/Instagram).

Christmas Drawing Contest 2019 Wanted: Christmas artists The Catholic Register's popular children's drawing contest is back! Submission due December 13, 2019

Details: https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/OpportunitiesForStudents/Pages/ChristmasDrawingContest.aspx

Scholarships/Bursaries/Awards Check out our website for the latest information https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/AwardsScholarshipsBursariesContests/Pages/default.aspx

City of Toronto Youth Week Kick-Off Auditions The City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation is preparing for the fourth annual National Youth Week from May 1st – 7th. The vision for Toronto Youth Week is to celebrate youth engagement and showcase youth abilities and talents in the arts, sports and leader-ship. Youth are invited to submit auditions by January 10, 2020. For more information, please see poster or contact [email protected].

For Your Information

Donate to Relief Fund for Families Affected by Gosford Fire

On November 15, 2019, a devastating fire broke out in a North York apartment building displacing hundreds of residents, including 22 TCDSB students. Some have lost most, if not all, of their belongings and it remains unclear when they will be able to return home. While local school communities are supporting students and their families in any way they can, many of you have also reached out to help. This is why we are launching a central campaign to raise funds for the affected families. All proceeds will go towards clothing, food and other essentials to help these members of our community rebuild their lives. Donations can be made via The Angel Foundation for Learning at angelfoundationforlearning.org or click here to access the AFL dona-tion page. Donors can select “Assisting students and families of the Jane St and Steeles Ave. fire” in the “Apply your donation…” drop-

down menu. Your generosity is truly appreciated as we come together to support our students and their families.

December’s Virtue is Charity Find all the resources related to the monthly virtue, as well as other resources to support faith development and Religion and Family Life on our website here: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/Pages/Default.aspx

TCDSB Celebrates Advent and Christmas—Advent Begins November 30/December 1 Visit the board’s website for the latest news and information from TCDSB schools including food and clothing drives, Christmas baskets for needy families, Christmas concerts and other special events. https://www.tcdsb.org/news/othernews/2018/pages/Advent-and-Christmas.aspx

Dates to Note December 1-7 ESL Week Friday, December 6—System-wide PA Day December 6—Staff Arts Christmas Concert

December 9-13—Hour of Code December 10—World Human Rights Day December 23, 2019-January 3, 2020 inclusive—Schools closed for Christmas Break December 24, 2019-January 1, 2020—Administrative Offices closed for Christmas Break January 1, 2020—New Year’s Day

and World Day of Peace January 7, 2020—Eastern Rite Christmas

SchoolCashOnline– How To

Step 1: Register

A) If you have not registered, please go to the School Cash Online home page https://tcdsb.schoolcashonline.com

and select the “Get Started Today” option.

B) Complete each of the three Registration Steps

*For Security Reasons your password, requires 8 characters, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and a number.

Step 2: Confirmation Email

A registration confirmation email will be forwarded to you. Click on the link provided inside the email to confirm your

email and School Cash Online account. The confirmation link will open the School Cash Online site prompting you to

sign into your account. Use your email address and password just created with your account.

Step 3: Find Student

This step will connect your children to your account.

A) Enter the School Board Name.

B) Enter the School Name.

C) Enter your Child’s Last Name and Birth Date.

D) Select Continue.

E) On the next page confirm that you are related to the child, check in the Agree box and select Continue.

F) Your child has been added to your account.

Step 4: View Items or Add Another Student

If you have more children, select “add Another Student” and repeat the steps above. 8 children can be added to one

parent account. If you do not wish to add additional children, select “View Items For Students” option. A listing of availa-ble items for purchase will be displayed.