TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD December 2015

Principal’s Message

As mentioned in previous communications, the TCDSB has developed their three year plan of and this year is the year of the Family. As a working mom myself, I sometimes find it challenging to turn work ‘OFF’ and spend the quality time that my children are craving. Lately, I have found that one of the best ways I’ve been able to spend time with them while engaging in great conversation has been through the playing of cards. Yes, oldie but goody…Crazy Eights, War, 7-up are just a few games we play. It also helps kids learn about the joys and pains of winning and losing and turn taking. For Christmas, I think we’ll look into getting UNO as I have fond memories of playing that game as a child.

Pictured above are some of the staff who dressed up as Inside Out characters. Last week was

our Bullying Awareness Week which focused on the importance of properly expressing and accepting our emotions. At school, every day our students are challenged with social situations whether directly or indirectly. We are constantly teaching them to reflect on their actions and to learn from the situation. Here is some of the learning that we feel would be beneficial for you to use at home as well. Anger Management Strategies 1-Take 20 deep breaths 2- Do 50 Jumping Jacks 3- Talk to someone else 4- Squeeze a ball or a teddy bear 5- Listen to music For older students we talked about good friendships and the questions you can ask yourself to determine the quality of friends you have;

Virtue of the Month: Charity

Christ the King

Catholic

School

Where we learn

together, pray

together and play

together!

3672 Lake Shore Blvd.

Etobicoke, ON M8W 1N6

Telephone No.: (416) 393-5257

Principal: Julie Aube Secretary:

Maria Almeida

Superintendent: Doug Yack

416 222-8282 Ext. 2596

Trustee: Ann Andrachuk

416 512-3402

Parish: Christ the King Parish 3674 Lakeshore Blvd.,

West Toronto, Ontario M8W 1N6

416 251 - 8983

Saturday Mass: 5:00pm Sunday Mass: 9:00am,

10:30am and 12:00pm(Polish)

Lunch Hour:

11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD | Issue # 4 2

Do your friends call you and text you as much as you do them? Are they supportive of the things you do or want to do?

Do your friends make you feel good about yourself?

Do your friends respect your decisions and not pressure you to do things you aren’t comfortable with?

Are they nice to other kids, even ones they are not friends with?

Do your friends let you be you?

If the answer was NO to many of these questions, you may want to branch out and make some new friends. It’s good to have different groups of friends. That way, you always have options and a choice of multiple things to do.

These Grade 7 boys are an example of good friends. Very proud of them!

ADVENT Advent is a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. As a school, we will begin our preparation through our weekly Advent celebrations in the gym on Monday mornings. We will also be having Confessions on December 3rd for our Grades 3-

8. Included in the newsletter is our Annual Advent Calendar and a big thank you to Candice Doucette for updating it.

CANDYCANE GRAMS Candy Cane Grams are always a big event at CTK that the students enjoy. This year, Grams will be sold $1 each or 6 for $5 during lunch. If parents would like to purchase one for their child/ren, they can come in during lunch and buy them from our office helpers. COLDER WEATHER

So far, we’ve been blessed with a nice November, but it looks like the weather might be getting much colder in the next few weeks. Please make sure that your child has proper boots, jackets, hats and mittens. An extra pair of mittens/gloves is always encouraged as we know that once the snow falls, they will be right in there as they should be! It is not very often that we have indoor recess because students truly need that fresh air in the colder months sometimes even more than in the warmer ones. We carefully monitor the weather to ensure student safety, however, please remember that although morning and afternoon recesses are shorter, your child is outside for 40 minutes during lunch. They have so much more fun when they are dressed for the cold. CHRISTMAS CONCERT Due to scheduling conflicts, the Kindergarten concert has been changed to the AFTERNOON of Tuesday, December 15th, 2015. The concert will start at 1:00pm, with family activities and photos to follow. This year we will also be hosting a Christmas Concert for Grades 1-8 on the evening of December

16th at 7pm. Please limit the number of adults who attend to ensure that all parents can have seating. We will be showing a movie for JK/SK students who will have already watched the performance during school hours.

LICE I’m pleased to say that the number of cases of lice has been almost non-existent since September, however, hat season is here! Please check your child’s hair regularly, remind your child/ren to put their hats in their sleeves and to not share hats/combs/brushes. Also, if your child does get lice, please report it to the school so that we can discreetly notify other parents..

BOARD NEWS

Kindergarten Registration Starts January 13, 2016

The Toronto Catholic District School Board invites families with children born in 2012 to register for Junior Kindergarten beginning Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 10 a.m. EST.

Registration:

Online: Parents will be able to complete their application online beginning at 10 a.m. EST on January 13, 2016, at SOAR.tcdsb.org, and follow up with a visit to the school to present the required documents. The online application is available at: https://soar.tcdsb.org/Login.aspx

To accommodate the busy schedules of parents, we will be having two evening registration sessions; Wednesday, January 18th from 3:00p.m-7:00p.m and Thursday, February 11th from 5:30p.m.-8:00p.m.

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD | Issue # 4 3

Appointments are booked online after completing your application.

Registration documents:

• Child’s Birth Certificate or Passport/Immigration documents if child was not born in Canada

• Child's Catholic baptismal certificate (or proof of Catholicity of parent)

• Proof of residency in Toronto (2 documents required) such as Tax Bill, Lease, or Utility Bill.

• Immunization Record a lease agreement, utility bill)

Information is available by telephone at 416-222-8282 ext. 5314, or by visiting https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/EarlyYears/KindergartenRegistration/Pages/default.aspx

Archdiocese of

Toronto’s Project Hope A reminder to all that the Archdiocese of Toronto has passed the midway point of its 100-day “Project Hope” $3 Million Emergency Refugee Resettlement Campaign. The goal is supporting the settlement of 100 refugee families within the Greater Toronto Area as soon as possible. Schools are encouraged to partner with their local parish to raise funds for this worthwhile effort. Get more information online: https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/project-hope.aspx

MONTHLY RECOGNITIONS

The following students are

recognized for their efforts in

PEACE

Justin Ocampo

Taylor O’Neil

Celina Marsh

Christian Banatas

Jonathan Russo

Keeva McCourt

Vince Tran

Max De Groot

Julia Jakubek

Mariah Kaluza

The following students are

recognized for their efforts in

INITIATIVE

Jack Thurston

Angus Hawley

Sylvia Weglarz

Keegan Claveria

Alexa Szabo

Preston Lennox

Alexandra Zavagno

Filip Sroka

Theresa Vu

Paul Toutloff

Pictured Left: Cassandra and

Rachele are just two of our Grade

8’s who are learning more about

secondary schools. Pictured

above are Jermaine, Dylan and

Olivia marble painting!

Need a last minute holiday gift idea?

GIVE THE GIFT OF READING! Order a magazine subscription for

someone special this holiday season!

OUR CODE IS 3718012

Simply go to www.QSP.ca and start shopping. Use the Account Finder to find our Group Online ID to support our school and children. Remember, you can order a magazine for anyone who lives in Canada. It’s cheaper than wrapping and mailing a gift and it lasts all year long!

Many magazines will begin to arrive in the next several weeks, but some subscriptions

due to publishing schedules may take longer to start. If you have questions, please

contact QSP Customer Service at 1-800-667-2536. 100% Satisfaction

Guarantee!

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR MAGAZINE FUNDRAISING

CAMPAIGN!

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

December 2015

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

29 30 1 2 3 4 5

Confessions

Pizza # 4

PITA ORDERS DUE

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pita # 4

Last day of tutoring

CSPC

Gingerbread House/Fun Night 6:30-7:30pm

Pizza forms go home

Pizza # 5

Civvies (Bed Head/PJ Day)

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Pita #1

JK/SK Christmas Concert 1:30pm

Christmas Concert 7:00pm

Pizza FORMS DUE

Pizza # 6

Civvies

Mass 1:40pm

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31 1 2

HAPPY NEW YEAR

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Classes resume at 8:30am

Notes: Please send your $2 for Dec. 11th and 18th civvies days, if you chose not to pay in advance.

PITA FORMS ARE DUE Dec. 4th. (By 11:00am). This is your only chance to order for Dec. 14. –Jan.

11th.

PIZZA FORMS ARE DUE DEC. 17th, (BY NOON). This is your only change to order for January 8 to February 26th.

Christmas

Holidays

Pick up Poinsettias & Gingerbread Kits

REPRESENTING:

Elementary Schools: Christ the King Holy Angels Josyf Cardinal Slipyj Mother Cabrini Nativity of Our Lord Our Lady of Peace Our Lady of Sorrows St. Ambrose St. Clement St. Elizabeth St. Gregory St. Josaphat St. Leo St. Louis St. Mark St. Teresa

Ann Andrachuk Trustee, Ward 2 Toronto Catholic District School Board 416-512-3402

Secondary Schools: Bishop Allen Father John Redmond Michael Power/St. Joseph

Superintendent: Doug Yack 416-222-8282 ext. 2732

Parishes: Christ the King Holy Angels Nativity of Our Lord Our Lady of Peace Our Lady of Sorrows St. Ambrose St. Clement St. Gregory St. Leo St. Mark St. Teresa

Ann.andrachuk@tcdsb.org Twitter: @AAndrachuk

Trustee Assistant Paulina Daniel 416-222-8282 ext. 2660

OAPCE Toronto--www.tcdsb.org/oapce-toronto

December 2015

Advent/Christmas Greeting In this, our Year of the Family, we are reminded of how grateful we are to all the families who have chosen a Catholic education for their children. Parents are to be commended for laying the groundwork for their children’s future success by nurturing and supporting their academic, emotional, physical and spiritual development. We are privileged to work in partnership with our families and our parishes as our students continue their journey through elementary and secondary school and beyond. As your local trustee, I am here to serve you and I welcome your emails and phone calls. I encourage each and every one of you to stay informed about the issues impacting on education by visiting our board website at www.tcdsb.org. If you use Twitter, please remember to follow the school board @TCDSB to get the latest information throughout the day. If you prefer receiving news via email, the board also provides a free digital newsletter. You can subscribe to that online at http://www.tcdsb.org/News/eNews/Pages/default.aspx. During Advent and Christmas, more than ever, our thoughts turn to our own families both near and far as we are drawn together by the bonds of love and friendship. To everyone in our TCDSB family, I extend my best wishes for a blessed, joyful and peaceful Advent and Christmas season, and continued success and happiness in the new year.

Toronto Catholic District School Board 80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York, M2N 6E8 ‐ 416‐222‐8282

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

29

Light a purple

candle on the

Advent Wreath.

This candle

symbolizes “hope”

30

Be a good listener

today, someone

wants to be heard.

1

When you wake up

say: ``Jesus, I love

you and I will give

you my heart today.``

2

Write a note telling

someone you love

them!

3

Go about your day

with a song in your

heart.

4

Offer to do a chore

in gratitude for all

that is done for you.

5

Spend some time

talking to Jesus

today. Pray for his

guidance.

6

Light 2 purple candles

on the Advent Wreath.

Second candle symbol-

izes “preparation”.

Read about

St. Nicholas, whose

feast day is today!

16

Ask God for the

grace to forgive those

who have hurt you, and

the strength to forgive

yourself for those you

have hurt.

8 Celebrate the

Feast of the

Immaculate

Conception of the

Blessed Virgin

Mary today!

9

Read a Christmas

story or poem with

your family.

10

Give thanks to the

Lord for all of his

blessings.

11

Make a Christmas

card for someone

that is important to

you today.

12

Remember to say

Grace before meals.

13

Light 2 purple can-

dles & the rose

candle today.

The rose candle

symbolizes “joy”

14

Practice singing

your Christmas

Carols.

15

As John The

Baptist reminds us.

Remember to share

what you have with

others less fortunate.

16 Remind those you

see today why we

celebrate Christmas!

17

Say a prayer that all

the worlds` people find

peace this Christmas.

18

Say a prayer to

Mary & Joseph.

19

Hug everyone that

you see today that

is important to you!

20

Light all coloured

candles today.

The last purple

candle symbolizes

“love”

21

Offer to set the

table or clear the

table today.

22

Kneel down by your

bed and say a prayer

for those less

fortunate this Holy

Season.

23

Make an ornament

that reminds you of

Jesus for your

Christmas tree.

24

Look up at the

wonder of the night

sky. Give thanks

to God

25

Our Saviour is born

today! Light all

candles on the Advent

Wreath today.

The white candle

symbolizes “Christ”

Advent 2015

Christmas Tree Blessing

Holy Creator of Trees,

bless with your abundant grace

this our Christmas tree as a symbol of joy.

May its evergreen branches be a sign

of your never-fading promises.

May its colorful lights and ornaments call us

to decorate with love our home and our world.

May the gifts that surround this tree

be symbols of the gifts we have received

from the Tree of Christ’s Cross.

Holy Christmas tree within our home,

may Joy and Peace come and nest

in your branches and in our hearts.

Amen.