Holy Cross Catholic School News February 2016€¦ · To receive messages via text, text @1c3294 to (613) 900 0158 To receive messages via email, send an email to [email protected]

Holy Cross Catholic School 299A Donlands Avenue

Toronto Ontario M4J 3R7

Telephone 416-393-5242 Fax 416-393-5030

Principal Joseph Schnurr

Vice Principal Jennifer Brault

Administrative Assistant

Kim Paganelli

Superintendent John Shanahan

Trustee

Angela Kennedy

Parish Father Roselle R. Azares

Holy Cross Catholic Church 291 Cosburn Avenue

Toronto Ontario M4J 2M4

Telephone 416-421-5225

Hours of Operation 9:00 am—3:30 pm

Morning Recess

10:09 am—10:24 am

Lunch Hour 11:45 am—12:45 pm

Afternoon Recess 2:10 pm—2:25 pm

Next CSPC Meeting

Wednesday, February 17

at 6:30 pm in the Library

Room 101

Pizza Day

February 10

February 24

March 9

March 23

Holy Cross Catholic School News February 2016

Virtue: Love Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love,

a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. Blessed Mother Teresa

Welcome to a busy and exciting month of February at Holy Cross Catholic

School. Here are a few of the highlights:

February 1 to 3 Grade 6 to Claremont Outdoor Field Centre February 10 Ash Wednesday Mass at 9:30am Please join us. February 11 Valentine’s Dance February 11 & 12 Parent-Teacher Interviews February 17 Catholic School Parent Council Meeting (new date) February 18 Carnaval February 23 Family Skate Night Please note the change of date for our Catholic School Parent Council Meeting which is now on Wednesday, February 17th in the library. We would like to thank all of the parents who helped us to supervise students at the Toronto Maple Leafs outdoor Practice on January 11th. Please check out the following link for a summary of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-SE0a5G7ag May the peace of Christ be with all of us as we begin our Lenten journey in preparation for the coming of Easter.

February 12

P.A. Day

February 15

Family Day

Registration

has begun for

the 2016-2017

school year.

Registration is available through our

SOAR on-line registration system.

Registration is only required for NEW

students coming to Holy Cross Catholic

School for the 2016-2017 school year.

First year kindergarten registration is

open to children born in 2012.

The link to the on-line application

is: https://soar.tcdsb.org/

Login.aspx

Appointments are available on-line

through the SOAR registration system.

Thursday, February 11th

5:00-8:00 pm

Friday, February 12th

9:00 am-12:00 pm

Please remember to complete and return your

child’s blue conference form if you haven’t already.

Kindly advise the school ASAP if you require an

interpreter for your conference.

New P.A. Day added to the calendar

The Board has approved Friday, April

15, 2016 as a system-wide Profession-

al Activity Day.

The Lenten Season

The first day of Lent this year begins on February 18th, which is Ash Wednesday. It is the day when we choose to be

marked with ashes burned from last year's Palm Sunday palms. The ashes remind us of our frailty and sinfulness as we

enter the most holy season of the Catholic faith calendar.

Ash Wednesday is one of the rare times we are seen "marked" with the sign of our faith. The ritual of the

ashes is an invitation to all Catholics to receive the simple ashen cross on their foreheads and to wear it

proudly all day. If you are available, please join us for our school Ash Wednesday mass on Wednesday,

February 10th at 9:30 am.

Our virtue of the month for March is forgiveness, an appropriate focus during the season of Lent. During this Lenten

time, we also try to make sacrifices, to perform acts of charity (giving of our time, talent and treasure) and to focus on

prayer, in order to recall the life and death of Jesus.

During the Lent, all pizza orders are cheese only in support of the Lenten practice of abstinence

from meat. This is an excellent educational opportunity to talk to your child about the traditional

practices of our Catholic faith.

May we all take time during this season of Lent, to reflect on our lives and make some measure of

change for the betterment of ourselves and others.

Recognition Awards for December & January

Congratulations to the following students who received an award for the month of

December for demonstrating the virtue of Charity:

Ethan Vital, Nathan Vital, Fiona Dalipaj, Paola Gonzalez, Ethan Tang-Mah, Gabri-

ella Marrelli, Anabella Naranjo Alvarez, Victoria Macchione, Nicholas Sheppard,

Christian Josue, Jaden Pacheco, Giulia Cammisuli, Victoria Kane, Cristian Ve-

lasquez, Erin Folloso, Jacob Tang-Mah, Kieran Inniss, Maria Dodaj, Victoria Fermo, Mikhaila Cas-

tillo, Reina Ignacio, Jolene Libatique Antunes, Asia Ortiz, Justine Ovalles, Amoreena Taglioni,

Caroleen Talao, Sebastian Santiago

Congratulations to the following students who received an award for the month of January for

demonstrating the virtue of Courage:

Sara Antonio, Alexandra Ajayi, Gianna Sfiris, Angelo Haxhi, Vince Cammisuli, Vince Taglioni,

Nailah Duncan, Benedette Labang, Noah Mussie, Madison Taylor, Geiann Pervera, Cheraldine Ca-

randang, Kayel Bowen, Sky Ortiz, Mekhi Sweeney, Marco Prataviera, Michael Prataviera, Jenavie

Lazara, Shantel Loregnard Clinton, Alyssa Navarro, Jamal Simpson

Senior Kindergarten

&

Grade 8 Grad Photo Day

Friday, March 4, 2016

Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC)

Holy Cross Parent Council presents:

Family Skate Night Dieppe Park Tuesday February 23, 2016 6:30—9:00 pm.

Come out for a fun night of free skating and some treats!

Helmets required for all children on the ice.

Parent Council invites you to

sign up for their “Remind” ser-vice to stay in touch with what is

happening at Holy Cross.

To receive messages via text, text @1c3294 to (613) 900 0158

To receive messages via email,

send an email to [email protected]

(subject line can be left blank)

Upcoming

2016 CSPC Meetings

March 8 April 12 May 10 June 7

Cold Alerts & Weather Related Cancellations/Closures With the approach of winter weather, Twitter and the board website are the best sources of the latest infor-

mation relating to cold weather alerts, cancella-tions and closures. Get all the information here:

https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/HealthandSafety/Pages/Weather-Related-

Safety-Concerns.aspx

And remember to check the Toronto Student Transportation Group website for any school bus delays throughout the year. http://www.torontoschoolbus.org/

Inclement Weather

During times of inclement weather, the school will be open for supervised access at 8:45am and students will be permitted to enter the build-ing. Kindergarten and Grade 1 students will be escorted to class by a staff member or a stu-dent leader. Grade 2 to 8 students will proceed to class on their own.

TRUSTEES 2015 – 2016 Wards

1. Joseph Martino 2. Ann Andrachuk 3. Sal Piccininni 4. Patrizia Bottoni 5. Maria Rizzo 6. Frank D‘Amico, Vice-Chair 7. Michael Del Grande 8. Garry Tanuan 9. Jo-Ann Davis 10. Barbara Poplawski 11. Angela Kennedy, Chair 12. Nancy Crawford

Karina Dubrovskaya, Student Trustee Allison Gacad, Student Trustee

Holy Cross 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 allergies 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, al-monds, cashews, peanut butter, Nu-tella, 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.

Bussing & Alternate After-School Arrangements

Please ensure that you contact the Secretary at the school office

by 2:30 pm daily to advise of any change in your child’s after

school arrangements. Please avoid calling during the AM/PM

recess and lunch periods as the Secretary is unavailable.

Your Child’s Immunization

Students must be up-to-date with their immunization or have a valid exemption form to attend school in Ontar-io. The required immunizations protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella, meningococcal and varicella (for students born on or after January 1, 2010). Important boosters are given to children in kindergarten and again during the high school years.

Please note that your doctor does not send the infor-

mation to Toronto Public Health.

Every time your child has an immunization, report the in-formation to Toronto Public Health by one of the following ways:

Online at www.toronto.ca/health and click on "Report your school-aged child's vaccine"

Fax: 416-338-2487

Mail a copy to:

Toronto Public Health, Immunization

235 Danforth Avenue, 2nd

Floor

Toronto, ON

M4K 1N2

For more information visit the website at Toronto.ca/immunization or call us at 416-392-1250. Interpreters are available Monday to Friday 8:30 a. m. to 4:30 p. m.

Student Mental Health and Well-Being

Newsletter

It is through kindness and helping

others that we show love. Researchers have found that watching someone

being kind triggers the same physiological changes in the brain as those triggered in the person being

kind. Dopamine levels rise in the brain and activate the brain’s pleasure

centers. Being kind and helping others makes us feel happy, decreases

depression by increasing our feelings of optimism, and improves overall health. Kindness also promotes social

connectedness. When we are kind to others we feel closer to them and they

feel closer to us, which leads us to perceive others more positively. It’s

also contagious! It can motivate others to be kind thereby creating a ripple effect throughout a community.

If we dedicate a few minutes each week to kindness we can greatly improve our

own well-being and those around us.

Encourage students to engage in

Random Acts of Kindness eg. pick up another student’s jacket that has

fallen on the floor, ask a student that has never played with you to join them at recess or during lunch, hold

the door open for someone.

Create a “saying” and make posters

that can be displayed in the classroom eg. “Kindness can change

the world”, or “Practice Random Kindness.” Display suggestions of what students can do to show

kindness to others.

Have students find quotes about

kindness and discuss what they mean, or write about them

Introduce a rule - Enter the room with a smile! Discuss the importance of spreading joy.

Words have power ~ form a circle and say one nice thing about the

student beside you, or celebrate a “say something nice day”. Share

your experiences at the end of the day.

Never underestimate the impact of a single act of kindness. (Information obtained from: Kid Activities|Random Acts of Kindness; and 10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn)

February, 2016

The Power of

Kindness

“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love” ~ Mother Teresa. Our hope

is that you spread kindness and love

throughout your school and home.

;

February, 2016

Mental Health Initiatives 2015-2016 February is Psychology

Month Presentation for Parents,

Students, Educators Understanding Challenging

Behaviours in Children &

Adolescents and how to help

manage them

February 22, 2016

4:30-7:00pm

CEC 3rd floor

TCDSB Mental Health

and Well-Being Strategy

2015-18 approved, and on

our webpage!

Support for schools in

developing a mentally

healthy classroom. See

Supporting Minds on the

Ministry’s website and

edugains.ca

Feb, 12th Student Success

PD day-many Mental

Health Offerings e.g.

safeTALK, FRIENDS,

and Mindfulness

Feb. 18th Stop the Stigma

ele. student symposium

for 9 pilot schools

SAFE TALK suicide

awareness workshops

for staff available via

PAL, April and May

Loving-kindness mediation “is the simple practice of directing well-wishes towards other people.” This can be done with students of all ages. Most children “are good at using their

imaginations to send love and well wishes.” Research has shown that this type of mediation “increases positive emotions” and “changes the way people approach life for the better.”

Have students sit comfortably with their eyes closed and imagine what they wish for in their life. Formulate wishes into three or four phrases. For example, “May I be healthy. May I be

happy. May I be filled with peace.” Loving-Kindness meditation is a repetition of these phrases, but directing them at different people.

Begin by directing the phrase at yourself eg. may I be happy

Then direct the phrase toward someone you feel thankful for.

Visualize someone you feel neutral about –people you neither like nor dislike. This

will encourage students to stop and think about how quickly we are to judge people as either positive or negative in our lives.

Visualize someone you don’t like or who you’re having a difficult time with eg.

someone who is teasing or bullying you. You often feel empowered when you send love to someone who is being difficult.

Direct the phrase towards everyone universally, “may all beings everywhere be happy”.

Watch a 3-minute video on how to use this Loving-Kindness meditation with children (Sylvia Boorstein at www.greatergoodparents.org)

This meditation was obtained from Christine Carter, Ph.D. from www.greatergood.berkeley.edu

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is

not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil

but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always

perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Loving-Kindness Meditation

;

February, 2016

Fostering The Family: The TCDSB Pastoral Plan 2015-18

“Together With one Voice:

Harmonizing Our Faith Through

Family, Parish, and School” 2015 -

2016 focuses on the FAMILY

Practice Random Acts of

Kindness in your home

Write a note of

appreciation to a family member

Give a hug…just because

Do a chore without someone asking you to

do it

Say “I Love You”

Suggested Readings and Websites:

Books:

Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Fumi Kosaka

How Full Is Your Bucket? By Tom Rath and Mary

Reckmeyer

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

The Power of Kindness for Teens – true stories written

by teens from Guideposts

Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Websites:

www.actsofkindness.org

Download an Educator’s Guide ~ Kindness in the

Classroom as well as posters, bookmarks (K-12)

www.kidactivities.net/category/random-acts-of-

kindness.aspx

A Laugh A Day…

Patricia Marra-Stapleton, Psychological Associate/Mental Health Lead

[email protected]

Marci Buhagiar, Psychologist; [email protected]

Add “making someone

laugh” to your to-do list

every day. Go out of your

way to make at least one

person laugh every day.

Tickle them

Tease them

Tell a joke

Tell a story

(www.randomactsofkind

ness.org)

TCDSB SPECIAL SERVICES – PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

FEBRUARY IS PSYCHOLOGY MONTH

PSYCHOLOGY PROMOTES SUCCESS

Dr. Mary Anne McCarty-Mayor Memorial Symposium

Presentation for Parents, Students and Educators

UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGING

BEHAVIOURS IN CHILDREN AND

ADOLESCENTS AND HOW TO HELP

MANAGE THEM

February 22, 2016, 4:30-7:00 p.m.

Catholic Education Centre, 3rd Floor, 80 Sheppard Avenue East

Presenters: Rita Alekian and Grace Labao-Martins

(TCDSB Psychology Department)

Behavioural difficulties are an ongoing challenge and an increasing concern

for teachers, parents, and school staff. Understanding these challenging

behaviours is key. Identifying and addressing the underlying factors that are

triggering the behaviours, and determining the overall functions/purpose of

the various behaviours are critical in order to get to the root of the problem

to best help/support these students. Strategies in the classroom and at home

will be discussed to address the behaviours and to facilitate more prosocial

ones.

No pre-registration required

For more information contact TCDSB Psychology Department

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SpecialEducation/psychology/psychology

Month/Pages/Psychology-Month.aspx?l=1453124935728

Dr. Maria Kokai, Chief Psychologist 416 222-8282 x 2626

.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

African Heritage

&

Psychology

Month

1 Claremont Outdoor Field Centre-Gr. 6

Electricity Worshop Gr. 5 (PM) Skating Gr. 7/8 (AM)

2 Claremont Outdoor Field Centre-Gr. 6

Skating Gr. 5/6 (PM)

3 Claremont Outdoor

Field Centre-Gr. 6 Allan Gardens –Gr. 3

4

Queen’s Park-Gr. 5

5

Skating Gr. 5 & 6/7 (AM)

6

7

8

Skating Gr. 7/8 (AM)

9 Rosary Apostalate

Report Cards Go Home

Skating Gr. 5/6(PM)

10

Mass 9:30 am

Pizza/Civvies Day

Cree Elder Clayshirt Gr. 7/8 (PM)

11

Valentine’s Day Dance

5:00-8:00pm

12 P.A. DAY NO SCHOOL

9:00am-12:00pm

13

14 15 NO SCHOOL

16 Spinclusion (PM) Gr. 2/3 & 5

Skating Gr. 5/6(PM)

Int. Boys’ Divisional Basketball

17 CIVVIES DAY In support of Angel Fdn

W5H Junior Preliminary

Int. Girls’ Divisional Basketball

CSPC Meeting –6:30pm

18

19 Skating Gr. 5 & 6/7 (AM)

Kids/Cops/Computers Lunch & Learn Gr. 7 11:45-12:30pm

Scientist in School Gr. 5/6 (AM) & Gr. 6/7 (PM)

20

21

22 Skating Gr. 7/8 (AM) ShareTech Team Tournament—Gym 12:05-12:45pm

23 Skating Gr. 5/6(PM)

ShareTech Team Tournament—Gym

12:05-12:45pm

at Dieppe

Park

24

Pizza/Civvies Day

ShareTech Team Tournament—Gym 12:05-12:45pm

25 26 Skating Gr. 5 & 6/7

(AM) Ontario Science Centre Gr. 2

27

28 29 Skating Gr. 7/8 (AM)

MARCH 1

Skating Gr. 5/6(PM)

2

3 Concours Oratoire at CEC (AM) - Mdm Paixao

4 Skating Gr. 5 & 6/7

(AM)

Graduation Photo Day

SK’s & Grade 8’s

5

February 2016 Virtue of the Month: Love

Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.

Thomas Merton