REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS

8:30 Morning Entry 9:40-9:55 Morning Recess 11:35-12:35 Lunch 1:40– 1:55 Afternoon Recess 3:00 Dismissal

Lorinda Mazza, Principal Dr. Jim Saraco Barbara Poplawski, Trustee, St. Cecilia Catholic Church Ersilia Serafini, CSAC Co-Chair Leonor Goncalves, Vice-Principal Superintendent TCDSB, Ward 10 Father Joseph Tran, Pastor, Lesley Lindsay, CSAC Secretary Maria Fauceglia, Secretary 416-222-8282 ext. 2486 416-512-3410, 416 -241-7130 416-769-8163 Lyette Obonsawin, CSAC Treasurer Lisa Grise, Carole Mills & Teresa Costanzo, Clerk Typists

St. Cecilia Motto: Learning with Hearts, Hands and Minds - Growing in Harmony

CSAC

Please join us at our next CSAC

meeting Wednesday February 20th

at 7pm in Room 315.

If you have any questions or

concerns feel free to email

ersiliaserafini@gmail.com.

355 Annette Street, Toronto, Ontario M6P 1R3 (416) 393-5218

February 2013

Parent /Teacher Interviews

Thursday, February 14

5:30—8:30 p.m.

Friday, February 15

8:30—11:30 a.m.

From the Board,

Love of self, love of neighbours, and love of God are the basic

pillars of many of the world's religions. Throughout our life journey

we also share in other ―love connections‖: love of family, of partner,

of friends, of community, of animals, of nature, of country, of things,

of hobbies, of work. Love is a spiritual practice and not simply

something that ―just happens‖. We can strive to strengthen the love

in our lives by practicing to extend the reach of our loving feelings

both in our inner and outside worlds. The joy of love can be felt in

both giving and receiving. Love is caring for someone, wanting to be

near them and wanting to share with them. Love accepts people as

they are and asks you to treat someone with special care and

kindness because they mean a lot to you. It is treating someone the

way that you want them to treat you – with care and respect.

Principal’s Message

The month of Love provides us with opportunity to consider the relationships in our lives. Both the ‗Taste of

St. Cecilia evening and the Family Day holiday provide opportunities to spend time strengthening our connections with

those around us. Being present and engaged during these times helps us forge stronger ties and create lasting memories.

Love starts with ‗being there‘, and as Fr. Joseph noted in last week‘s homily, we‘re called by God to gather so that he

can immerse us in his love.

This month the students will notice some staff changes. Our head caretaker, Helder Amaral accepted a transfer

to a school closer to his home. We welcome back Steve Belchior as our interim replacement. Mr. Belchior replaced

Mr. Amaral during his absence last fall; so he is familiar with the school. This month also marks the end of

Mlle Lefave‘s time with us. We wish her well in her new placement, and we‘re excited to welcome back Mme Pasquale.

Lots of exciting events will be taking place at St. Cecilia this month. In addition to events like Chinese New

Year, Scientist classroom visits and Winter Walk to School day, the staff and students are eagerly anticipating the

Carnaval week. The list of events are included later in this newsletter. Let‘s hope this week‘s rain is replaced by snow

for our outdoor activities.

Lorinda Mazza

Page 2

CARNAVAL WEEK ACTIVITIES Bonjour à tous!

St. Cecilia will be celebrating Le Carnaval de Quebec the week of February

11th-14th!!! The whole school will take part in a few activities throughout the week, and to bring it to a close, we will be having a Masquerade Ball on Thursday 14th! Schedule of the Week Contest for Queen of Carnaval will be completed by the Friday, February 8th. Monday, Feb. 11th Theme Day: White and Red School Bingo begins Opening Ceremonies of Carnaval - morning @ 9:55am and afternoon @ 12:35pm

Queen of Carnaval and Bonhomme welcome students to Carnaval "Qui est Bonhomme?" Contest opens - Bonhomme will attend both ceremonies and the students will have to guess which teacher wore the costume.

Tuesday, Feb. 12th Theme Day: Fléchète (the traditional multicolored scarf that Bonhomme wears around his waist) Kindergarten mini-carnaval - activities for an hour in the gym run by Grade 8 (AM + PM) Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13th Canaval Outdoor Activities - for grades 1-8 and in the AM (more information will be provided as

we approach the date) We will be attending mass in the afternoon Thursday, Feb. 14th Masquerade Ball - We will distribute a template and teachers and their students will be invited to

wear their new creations to the Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball Closing Announcements - Winner of Bonhomme contest, Classroom Bingo Winner and list of team winners from Carnaval Special thanks to Mrs. Pelech and her students for organizing mini and main Carnaval Activity days!!! Let’s have an exciting week! Mlle Choquette & Ms. Grossi

NEXT SCHOOL MASS

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, Feb. 13th, 1:00

JUNIOR W5H

Thank you to all students from Grades 4,5,6

who tried out for the W5H Junior Team. It

was great to witness such enthusiasm. Mme

Wilson and Mme Faion-Kralik have selected

the team and are preparing them for the

Divisional tournament on February 19th. The Regional

tournament will take place at St. Cecilia on February 26th. We

wish good luck to our team in their quest to make it to the

regional tournament. Dress Code Sweaters and jackets worn indoors must comply with the

dress code. They must be plain white or navy. The only

acceptable marking or logo is the St. Cecilia logo. Please

label these items in particular as we get a great

number left in the lost and found.

Subway Lunch On Friday, February 8th our Fitness

Club will be organizing a Subway day.

Forms will be sent home to collect

orders very soon. Each combo will be

$5.00. Profits will go to the Heart &

Stroke foundation.

Page 3

“WINTER WALK TO SCHOOL DAY”“WINTER WALK TO SCHOOL DAY”“WINTER WALK TO SCHOOL DAY”

Our second annual ―Winter to School Day‖ will take place on

Wednesday, February 6th. Our objective is to remind students about the

importance of keeping active. Parents, students and staff can congregate

at 8:00 a.m. at two locations East and West of the school: the corner of

Annette Street and High Park Avenue and at Annette Street and

Beresford Road (Sharing Place Church). We then proceed to walk to

school. See you there!

Update from the

Board Homework Help for Students A new semester begins in February. For

students needing help with math homework, online support is available after school. Certified teachers are available to respond to

specific questions or broad concepts in mathematics. Visit the Homework Help website for more information: https://

homeworkhelp.ilc.org/

TCDSB Budget Consultation Watch for information on the TCDSB budget consultation process. Parents, staff, students and other stakeholders

will be invited to provide input into budget priorities for the 2013-2014 school year. Visit our website at

www.tcdsb.org for details early in the spring.

Canadian Paralympic Schools Week

February 18-22, 2012 TCDSB is proud to be a supporter of the Paralympics and to play a role in educating students about the

Paralympic Movement. For more information: www.paralympic.ca/schoolsweek

February is African Canadian Heritage Month

TCDSB celebrates African Canadian Heritage Month during the month of February. A number of special events are

planned, including a Mass and Cultural Expose scheduled for Tuesday, February 26th 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Blessed

Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough. For more events and information, please refer to our website

at www.tcdsb.org.

Calling All Kids—Mascot Design Challenge The challenge to create a mascot for the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games is on!

It‘s a ONCE -IN -A-LIFE TIME opportunity! The Toronto 2015 Mascot Creation Challenge invites kids 16 and under from across

Canada to design a mascot for the Toronto 2015 games. Deadline for submissions is March 8th.

Help tell the unique story of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games by creating the mascot and its story that will now

and forever be associated with the ―People‘s Games.‖ The Games where everyone is welcome. Where everyone is part of the energy,

from the world‘s best athletes to the kids and families cheering them on.

United We Play—joy, competition and fun. That‘s the Pan Am 2015 spirit. The mascot will be an important personality both leading

up to and during the Games, and will be used by TO2015 (the TORONTO 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games

Organizing Committee) to welcome visitors and spectators, visit schools and community events, and appear on signage,

advertising and merchandise. The mascot will represent the best of us all, our Games and our nation. For inspiration, visit the

TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games website at www.toronto2015.org.

SHARE LIFE BAKE SALE

&

CUPCAKE CONTEST!

Our annual Share Life Bake Sale was held on

Thursday, January 24th. With the wonderful

support of the staff, parents and students, we

raised over $1500.00. A special thank you to Mr.

Thirlwall and all the staff, parents and students

who dedicated themselves for this wonderful

event.

Page 4 TASTE OF ST. CECILIA

Join us for a celebration of the families that make up St. Cecilia Catholic

School. St. Cecilia‘s CSAC is hosting a Pot Luck Dinner and Silent

Auction on Monday, Feb 4, 2013 from

6:00 — 8:00 pm in the Church basement.

We‘re trying to make it as Green an event

as possible; so we‘re encouraging partici-

pants to bring their own plates and cutlery.

If you have any questions, please contact

Rob Tuzi at rob23@sympatico.ca .

Looking forward to seeing you there!

St. Cecilia Dear Parents, Guardians and Students: Once again our St. Cecilia Swim Team – the Tiger Sharks - will participate in the 2012-2013 TCDSB Invitational Swim Meet at the Etobicoke Olympium on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th. There are over 30 schools and 1300 students registered to compete. Please check out www.swim2013.com. St. Cecilia has a maximum of 25 spots on the team for boys and girls in grades 4 to 8. While we encourage our competitive swimmers, we invite all interested students to come to the swim team try-outs held after school at the Annette RC. Pre-requisites: students must be able to shallow dive and swim front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly without stopping. Grade 4 and 5 students swim 25 meters and grades 6, 7 and 8 students swim 50 metres of each stroke. There are reserved spots for junior girls, junior boys, intermediate girls and intermediate boys. Weekly swim practices for the team will be held at Annette RC in the mornings 7:00~8:00 am. The fee for each child will cover pool rental and life guard costs as well as swim meet registration cost for individual events. There is also a much needed parent/family volunteer component this year for the following roles: computer registration of the swim-meet event, post-swim snack and juice, and at least 6 parent volunteers during the swim-meet event in May. Have your child listen carefully for important dates, additional information and form pick-up details in our daily announcements at school. Tryout dates will be: Tuesday, February 5th and Wednesday, February 6th 3:15—3:45. Students can sign up for either of the two days. Please bring a swimsuit, goggles and a towel. Students trying out must come with their signed parent permission form. Thank you in advance for your encouragement and support. GO TIGER SHARKS! GO!

Yearbook Mlle Choquette has bravely volunteered to

try her hand at putting together a St.

Cecilia Yearbook for the 2012-2013 year.

She is requesting that if any parents have

pictures of

students from

sporting events

or activities that

have occurred

this year, could

you please share

them with the school? If you‘d be willing

to send us a USB stick or your memory

card, we would return it once we've

transferred the pictures to our network.

Chinese New Year In celebration of Chinese New Year the

Student Council will be selling Red Lucky

Envelopes throughout the week of Feb 4th to

8th. Ten prizes are available to be won

including several books, a scholastic voucher

and a One Direction poster.

We’re on theWeb

Please note that this newsletter and the accompanying

calendar are posted on our website each month. Add the

following URL to the Favourites folder in your Browser

for quick access: http://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stcecilia/Pages/default.aspx

35th Annual Concelebrated

Mass In Honour of Saint Patrick

Principal Celebrant

And Homilist His Eminence,

Thomas Cardinal Collins Archbishop of Toronto

TCDSB 2012—2013

SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR

Family Day: February 18, 2013

Mid Winter Break: March 11 to 15, 2013

Good Friday: Mar 29, 2013

Easter Monday: April 1, 2013

Victoria Day: May 20, 2013

Last Day of Classes: June 27, 2013

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAYS

February 15, 2013: Parent/Teacher Conference

June 7, 2013: Assessment and Evaluation

June 28, 2013 Faith Development/

Provincial Ed‘n Priorities

Saint Cecilia’s Church 161 Annette St.,Toronto, Canada M6P 1P5

―Let‘s keep the tradition alive!‖

The Parish of Saint Cecilia was founded in 1895 by Irish Missionary Priests who had

followed the post-famine immigrants from Ireland. The Saint Patrick‘s Celebration at Saint

Cecilia‘s Parish is a continuation of a spiritual tradition for which Saint Cecilia‘s is renowned.

After Mass, there will be an informal reception in the parish hall. Irish coffee will be available

and a fine selection of delicious Irish soda bread, scones and sandwiches will be served.

Traditional Irish music, dancers and entertainment will provide a spirited, lively atmosphere.

For information please call: Ann Clough (416) 769-3711, Frances McKee (416) 766-6712

Sunday,

March 3,

2013

3:00 p.m.

Solemn Blessing

Of the Shamrock

Irish Harpist

Eithne Heffernan

This article was prepared by TCDSB Psychology staff based on the latest scientific research in the

fields of psychology and child development

Parents are often heard saying “My child is just not motivated enough to do well in school” or “My child isn’t motivated to try new things” or “My child isn’t motivated to do his household chores”. It can be frustrating to see your child not completing homework, making excuses for not participating in an activity or arguing with you when it is time to take out the trash. Researchers have made distinctions between internal motivation (when kids and teens do things simply because they want to do them), and external motivation (when kids and teens do things because adults tell them to). As adults, we engage in both internally and externally motived activities, such as when we clean the house because we want to, or when we go grocery shopping because we have to. Likewise, although we hope that our kids will eventually develop strong internal motivation to try hard, do well in school, and try new things, we often need to help them to become motivated in certain areas. Understanding what can get in the way of your child’s motivation can help you assist your child in developing motivation. Factors affecting motivation What is important to adults is not necessarily important to kids and teens, such as having a clean bed-room, practicing piano, or getting bonus marks on an essay. Things that are not considered important to us are typically not internally motivating.

Schoolwork that is much too hard for a student can affect how that student sees him/herself, which then affects motivation to continue trying. If the student continually tries hard but meets little success, the student eventually gives up, saying: “What’s the point of trying? I’m going to fail anyway. ” During the adolescent years the impact of several factors on the young person can be overwhelming, which can also affect motivation. Biological changes during puberty can have effects on moods and attitudes. Transitions such

FEBRUARY IS PSYCHOLOGY MONTH

Psychology is for Everyone

“Just not motivated enough…”

Enhancing motivation in your child

as from elementary to high school, or from high school to post-secondary can be scary, and may affect students’ academic motivation and motivation to try new things. Social relationships and peer pressures can also affect motivation. When their intrinsic motivation for success is entirely replaced by external reward systems (like candy, money, or excessive praise), children learn to feel successful only if someone else rewards them for their accomplishments. In such situations, children may not develop feelings of self-worth, and will judge their own value by someone else's standards. How can you enhance your child’s motivation?

Understand what is important and internally motivating for your child. Try to be involved in those aspects of your child’s life, even if this only means expressing interest in a particular video game or who is wearing what kind of shoes at school. In this way, your child may be more motivated to be interested in what you consider to be important.

Be a good role model. Let your child/teen see you learning new things in life, no matter how small. Let him/her see you putting forth your best effort, completing work to be done, and meeting obligations. Demonstrate that learning and being responsible are internally motivating for you.

The family’s view of the importance of education can affect the child’s motivation to do well in school. Parents can communicate their view to their child by being involved in the child’s school experience by going to parent-teacher conferences, attending open houses and concerts, and communicating with the child’s teachers through telephone, the agenda book, or email.

Let your child know that hard work takes time, but it pays off. Encourage your child to persist at tasks, even if they are difficult. Encourage independence and resist the natural urge to "help," or “fix it” right away.

Hold realistic expectations of your child’s achievements. When kids are asked to do the im-possible, they may stop trying.

Steer your child towards appropriately-challenging situations. Activities that are slightly difficult for the child will be more motivating and provide for stronger feelings of success when accomplished.

Praise and rewards should be based upon children's effort and persistence, rather than on the actual accomplishment.

After School Programs

Annette Recreation Centre together with neighbouring schools, is creating an After School Program for children ages 11 to 14. The program will be offered on Tuesdays and Fridays for nine weeks, it starts at 3:15 to 4:30. It consists of sports, crafts and a homework club. If you are interested, please contact Keith Storey at Annette Recreation Centre at 416-392-7545 or

kstorey@toronto.ca