Principal: Mrs. K. Diiorio

Vice-Principal: Mr. M. McLean

Administrative Assistant: Mrs. P. Nardangeli

DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD OF NIAGARA

June 2016

The Connaught Chronicle 100 YEARS OF LEARNING AND GROWING TOGETHER!

Connaught Teaching Staff

2016/2017 School Year

Kindergarten 1—Mrs. Otta, Mrs. Larcombe

Kindergarten 2—Mr. Devlin, Mrs. Enns

Grade 1—Mrs. Palmerino

Grade 1/2—Mr. Belliveau

Grade 2/3—Mrs. Ravazzolo

Grade 3/4—Mr. Masterson

Grade 4/5—Mr. French

Grade 6/7—Mrs. Dixon

Grade 7/8—Mrs. Bowman

Grade 8—Mrs. Atack

Rotary—Mrs. Zimmerman

FSL /Library—Mrs. Michel

LRT—Mrs. Campbell-High

ESL—Mrs. Turner/Mrs. Bowman

Early Intervention—Mrs. M. Dixon

VP/Rotary—Mr. McLean

Principal—Mrs. Diiorio

28 Prince Street

St. Catharines, Ontario

L2R 3X7

905-682-6609

http://connaught.dsbn.org

@ConnaughtDSBN

Congratulations

Miss Watson!

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Miss

Watson on the announcement of her retirement!

We are so lucky that Miss Watson has chosen to

teach at Connaught for many of her years in edu-

cation, and we know that she has touched the

lives of many of our students.

We wish her the very best as she looks forward

to her many plans for retirement! We will all miss

her very much! Thank you for your dedication to the students at

Conaught!

Staffing for the

2016/2017 School Year

At this time of year, we often have very mixed emotions as staffing

changes are made within our building and throughout the school board.

While staffing has not been completely determined, we do know of a

few changes that are coming our way.

We would like to wish Mr. Horton all the very best as he has accepted a

position at Lockview School in the primary division. We know that Mr.

Horton has been a very well-respected teacher at Connaught for many

years, and we wish him the very best at his new school!

In addition, we will be saying good-bye to Mrs. Janzen. She has

accepted a teaching position at Port Weller School in St. Catharines.

We will definitely miss you and wish you well!

We would like to welcome Mrs. Ravazzolo and Mr. Belliveau to our pri-

mary division. Students will be very familiar with Mrs. Ravazzolo al-

ready as she has had the role of our Instructional Coach this year. Mr.

Belliveau is coming to us from School Support Services where he is

currently a Curriculum Consultant. I am certain the entire community

will give our newest staff a very warm welcome in September!

Although staffing is still not entirely

completed, currently we have a tenta-

tive plan for next year. Please note that

this plan may be adjusted based on

enrolment and staffing changes.

P A G E 2

Congratulations to our May

winners of the YOU ARE

AWESOME! awards for the

character trait of Optimism:

Gr. 1: Tyler, Davey, Isabelle

Gr. 1/2: Sammi, Ocean

Gr. 2/3: Allysha, William

Gr. 3/4: Edi, Carlos, Timmy

Gr. 4/5: Mohamed, Isaac

Gr. 6: Edin, Tonnie

Gr. 7: Brooke, William

Gr. 7/8: Mariah, Sarah

FSL: Laura, Tyler W.

T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

May

Celebration

AssembLy

Cooperation IS JUne’S THEME

Our final character trait of the year

is Cooperation. Every parent loves

to see their child cooperating with

others, it is a valuable life skill. It's

never too late to begin teaching kids

how to get along. Parents who

teach their kids cooperation are giv-

ing them fundamental skills that will

affect their progress in school and

life. You can encourage your child

to be a cooperative person by mod-

elling great cooperation skills your-

self. Show your child that you:

* don't leave people out. Everyone

has something valuable to offer,

and nobody likes being left out.

* listen carefully to others to be sure

you understand what they are say-

ing.

* share with others; take turns when

more than one person wants to do

the same thing.

* compromise when you can't

agree.

* always help people do their best.

* work together, because it's a lot

more fun when you do!

“If you want to make peace with

your enemy, you have to work with

your enemy. Then he becomes your

partner.”

Nelson Mandela, activist, South

African president, Nobel Peace

Prize

“If everyone helps to hold up the

sky, then one person does not be-

come tired.”

Dr. Askhari Johnson Hodari, poet,

author

“The more we get together,

Together, together,

The more we get together,

The happier we'll be.”

Raffi, Children's Musician, author,

essayist, lecturer

Congratulations to our May winners of the Super-

Dedicated Dreambox User Award!

Super-Dedicated Dreambox User Award

Gr. 1: Colton Gr. 1/2: Erica, Kyla

Gr. 2/3: Jeremiah, Safwan Gr. 3/4: Owen, Devin, Megan

Gr. 4/5: Yizhen Gr. 6: Linda

Gr. 7: Minami, Damien Gr. 7/8: Joe, Laura

P A G E 3 T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

SC H O O L CO U N C I L NE W S

L I T T L E C A E S A R ’ S F U N D R A I S E R

Congratulations to the top sellers of the Little

Caesar’s fundraising event.

1st place—Lylah Fitzpatrick

2nd place—Wesley Benedict

3rd place—Zach Couture, Emma Bennett

Thank you for your continued support!

T H A N K Y O U F R O M T H E

S T A F F A N D S T U D E N T S !

As this year draws to a close, the staff and

students at Connaught would like to take

this opportunity to thank the hard-working

members of our School Council for their

support!

In the last month of school, funds raised by

this small but mighty group of dedicated

folks will go toward defraying the costs of

year end trips, events and also in providing

the graduation meal to our grade 8s.

Thank you to the following dedicated

members:

Mrs. J. Benedict Mrs. A. Campeau

Mrs. M. Lewis Mrs. S. Mitchell

Miss M. Smith

EE C OC O -- TT E A ME A M NN E W SE W S

It has been another great „green‟ year at Con-naught! Highlights of the 2015-2016 school year include: ACER joined us in the fall to measure the growth of our plantings from 2013. We participated in many environmental activi-ties throughout the year including Earth Hour, World Water day, Sweater day, trivia contests, weekly litterless lunches, and school ground clean ups. Students took part in several environmental themed field trips and presentations as well, in-cluding a trip to the new Walker Living Campus, the Recycling Plant, and Planet in Focus docu-mentaries. Our Outdoor classroom has provided a great place to learn, read, draw, and hang out in the shade.

A huge thank you to all of the grade 4/5 stu-dents who made up the ECO Team this year. Every Tuesday, rain, shine or snow, they have collected, carried and organized the recycling for the entire school. Their dedication to keep-ing Connaught „green‟ is greatly appreciated. Thank you ECO Team!

In addition, the ECO Team has worked towards

our sixth consecutive Gold level Ontario Eco-

Schools award. To become certified, our school

had to demonstrate achievement in 4 key ar-

eas: energy conservation, waste minimization,

ecological literacy and school ground greening

for shade and energy conservation.

Student representatives celebrated our suc-

cesses this year at the DSBN ECO Summit in

May. We look forward to many new 'green'

achievements next year.

We are pleased to offer SUMMER HEAT, a primary Summer Learning Program, again this year.

The program will run from Monday, July 11th to Friday, July 29th for students entering JK to

grade 4 in the fall of 2016.

Kindergarten Kick Start is for students entering junior and senior kindergarten in the fall, while Funshine Kids

is for students entering grades 1, 2, 3 and 4.

This three week program is entirely FREE, but space is limited so please be sure to register early. Daily lessons

at all sites will incorporate FNMI perspectives and teachings. The program will begin at 8:15 a.m. with break-

fast provided, and it will end at 12:15 p.m. Students will be involved in a variety of learning opportunities

throughout the morning, with a focus on literacy, numeracy and active living.

We are excited about being able to offer this amazing program to our families. Check it out on the DSBN

website at www.dsbn.org/summerheat where you can register now. Hurry now! Spots are filling up fast!

Summer HEAT will be offered at the following sites: St. Catharines - Edith Cavell, Connaught, Lincoln Centennial, Harriet Tubman (FNMI site) Welland - Diamond Trial, Princess Elizabeth (FNMI site) Beamsville - Senator Gibson Niagara Falls - Simcoe Street, Valley Way (FNMI site) Port Colborne - De Witt Carter Fort Erie Area - Crystal Beach, Peace Bridge (FNMI site) NEW site: Thorold - Prince of Wales

P A G E 4 T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

LOOKING FOR SUMMERTIME IDEAS? LOOK NO FURTHER!

S U M M E R H . E . A . T.

Additional Suggestions for Summer Fun?

Fairview Lanes Kids Bowl Free program:

http://fairviewlanes.ca/

St. Catharines Museum Summer Events:

http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/MuseumEvents.asp

St. Catharines Public Library:

http://www.stcatharines.library.on.ca/

Outdoor Pools and Splash Pads:

http://niagarafamilies.com/outdoor-pool-splash-pad-openings-niagara-2016/

St. Catharines Public Swimming Times:

http://niagarafamilies.com/family-resources/public-swimming-times-2/

Additional Ideas:

http://niagarafamilies.com/

P A G E 5

H e r i t a g e F a i r W i n n e r s !

Congratulations goes to Grade 8 student Marianne Vongboutdy for being awarded the Canadian Arts and Culture Award at the DSBN Regional Heritage Fair. She competed alongside 80 other students from schools in the DSBN, and her presentation on Buffy Sainte Marie won her the prestigious award!

Congratulations also goes to Violet Alligood who also got to complete at the DSBN Regional Heritage Fair with her Under-ground Railroad project. Well done girls - we are so proud of your hard work and courage, especially talking to many judges and members of the public on Heritage Fair Day!

Canadian Arts and Culture – “In recognition of out-standing achievement in presenting a topic related to the

Congratulations to our junior chefs who ‘graduated’ from

the You’re The Chef program at Connaught:

Rebecca K Summer G. Aiden C.

Hailey S. Ibrahim A. Roy K.

Kareem A Violet A Abbie C.

Thanks to Mrs. Otta, Mrs. Palmerino and

Mrs. Larcombe for running this great

program!

You’re The Chef Program

Library News

The library will be closing down

for inventory on June 17th. Please

ensure that all of your books have

been returned by that date.

Thanks for a wonderful year of

learning and loving reading! If you

have misplaced your books, or

they have been damaged, please

forward the replacement cost to

your homeroom teacher by June

17th.

A special thank you to Mrs.

Diiorio, who helped make sure

that 21 students were able to at-

tend the Silver Birch and Red Ma-

ple conferences in May. The stu-

dents spent their days attending

workshops based on the books

they read, and meeting authors.

Highlights included Damien on-

stage entertaining the crowd with

his sound effects, and Madalyn

winning a prize for her amazing

Minecraft creation!

P A G E 6 T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

Grade 7/8 Barbecue

Fundraiser This year, Connaught’s grade 8

graduation will be taking place

on Monday, June 27th at

St. Catharines Collegiate

Institute at 5:30 pm.

As well as the traditional

graduation ceremony, a full

course, sit-down meal will be

served for the students in the

Taste Restaurant.

The cost of our students’ meals

will be covered by the school.

We are so very proud of the

accomplishments of our grade 8

students and look forward to

sharing this special milestone

with them and their families.

Grade 8 Graduation Plans

Upcoming events at Connaught!

On Friday, June 3rd, our friends

from Best Buy will be coming to

the school to support the efforts of

the grade 7/8 students to fund-

raise!

Students had the opportunity to

pre-order hotdogs and freezies

which will be cooked by staff from

Best Buy and served by the grade

7/8 students. The proceeds will go

toward the cost of the Intermedi-

ate year-end Toronto trip.

Book Sale

From June 20-22, there will be a

used book sale in the Music

room at Connaught.

Almost everything will be sold

for 25¢!

Students are

welcome to

bring some

change to

school to

purchase

books that

have been

donated, or that have been re-

moved from the library.

Although these books might be

a little worn, or a little old, they

still have lots of life in them.

Please support our library fund

by coming in to purchase some

summer reading! The sale will

be held from 10:45-11:05, and

until 3:45 daily.

F i n a l C r a f t e r s ’ W o r k s h o p !

Crafter’s Workshop will be completing the year with

a final craft June 9th – June 11th. Come out and

make a hand decorated masterpiece, just in time for

summer vacation. Permission forms and samples of

the craft will be available next week.

Thanks to all of the many crafters who have joined

me this year to display their individual creativity,

hard work, and style! ~ Mrs. Michel

P F L C U p c o m i n g E v e n t s June 2—Ice Cream Day

June 10—P. A. Day—PFLC Closed

June 14—Dancing with Victoria

June 16—Butterfly Release

June 17—Meeting at Happy Rolph’s

June 21—Superhero Day

June 24—Meeting at Pearson Park

June 28—Dancing with Victorial

June 29—Cheeky Monkeys (sign-up required)

P A G E 7 T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

Preparing for September!

Often we are asked by families about school supplies required for their children to return to school in

September. Truly, your child is not required to provide any school supplies of his/her own. However,

we do know that some families like to provide them. So that you are able to make the most useful

purchases, we have put together this recommended list for each grade level:

ELP and Grade 1: Indoor shoes with velcro fasteners

Backpack

Lunchbag with reusable water bottle

Box of Kleenex

Change of clothing in a labelled ziploc bag

Headphones/earbuds in a labelled ziploc bag

Grade 2 & 3: Indoor shoes with velcro fasteners

Change of clothing in a ziploc bag, labelled

Headphones/earbuds in a labelled ziploc bag

Backpack

Lunchbag with reusable water bottle

Pencil case with sharpened pencils

Erasers

Pencil crayons

Pencil sharpener

Glue sticks

Grades 4 to 6: Indoor shoes Change of clothing, labelled Deodorant (due to sensitivities, not aerosol spray style like AXE) Headphones/earbuds in a labelled bag Backpack Lunchbag with reusable water bottle Pencil case with sharpened pencils Erasers Pencil crayons Pencil sharpener Glue sticks Calculator Small French/English dictionary

*Please do not purchase pens or binders.*

Grades 7 & 8: Same as junior list, plus:

Two 1 1/2” - 2” plain binders

Blue pens

P A G E 8 T H E C O N N A U G H T C H R O N I C L E

On Tuesday, June 7th, 2016, we will be

welcoming our students who will be new

to JK in September to an evening of fun

and learning. The evening will run from

4-6 pm. It will include activities such as

playdough, magnetic letters, reading,

music and art as well as a chance to

meet many of our

community partners

and services! We hope

our new JK students will

join us for some fun

and get to know our

teachers and school. If

you know of any families with children

who will be starting JK in September,

and have not yet registered with us,

please encourage them to come and

register their children.

We look forward to a fun, creative

night!!

School’s Out for Summer

Wednesday, June 29th, 2016

The staff at Connaught would like to wish all of our families a wonderful

summer break!

School will resume on Tuesday, September 6th.

The Connaught School office will re-open for registration on Monday, August 29th

For DSBN information please visit www.dsbn.org or call 905-641-1550

between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm

Have a safe and happy summer!

Transportation

Information for

september

Niagara Student Transportation Services (NSTS) is the organization re-sponsible for administering safe, efficient and effective transportation ser-vices for the students of Niagara.

On August 15, 2016 NSTS will post back to school transportation ar-rangements for each student, including bus route numbers, stop locations and times. Eligibility information is also available through the portal and walking directions are available if your child lives within the walk zone of the school.

Please visit www.nsts.ca and sign-in to the secure parent portal to get your child’s student transportation information using your child’s Ontario Education Number (OEN) which can be found on their report card. While signed-in, please subscribe to the delay and cancellation module for direct and timely emails regarding student transportation that impacts your child.

Changes to home, pick-up or drop-off addresses must be made through your child’s school. During the summer you may notify NSTS of address changes so we can make sure a bus stop is available for your child to start the school year, however, NSTS is not authorized to change student ad-dress information.

With the availability of the secure parent portal, NSTS will not mail student transportation notices with the exception of Kindergarten students or new students to the system who do not have an OEN to sign-in to the portal.

Please contact your school or NSTS if you have questions regarding your child’s transportation arrangements.