January 2016

TCDSB

www.tcdsb.org The Voice of Holy Angels 65 Jutland Road, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 2G6

Phone: 416 393-5329; Fax: 416 393-5437

Principal: Ms. Laurie Levay Vice-Principal Mrs. Anna Garibotti Admin. Office Assistant: Mrs. Cathy Galati; Clerk Typist: Carole Mills

Doug Yack Superintendent- Area 2, 416-222-8282; Mrs. Ann Andrachuk, Trustee WARD 2; Pastor of Holy Angels Church: Fr.Peter

Message from Director of Education and Chair of the Board:

The wait is almost over. As Advent draws to a close, we look forward with anticipation to

celebrating the birth of our Savior, we wish all of you a blessed, joyful and peaceful Christmas

season. We thank everyone in our TCDSB family for the role that each of you plays in support-

ing, inspiring, and guiding our students. We acknowledge everyone for embracing the virtue of

charity throughout the school year, but most particularly the outpouring of love, compassion and

generosity that we see throughout Advent.

Let us pledge to extend the Christmas spirit of giving into the New Year by following the example

of The Holy Family by extending our hearts and hands to all those who are seeking shelter and

support much as Mary and Joseph did on that Christmas night so many years ago.

In the words of Pope Francis “Together with them (the shepherds), let us pause before the Child, let us

pause in silence. Together with them, let us thank the Lord for having given Jesus to us, and with them let

us raise from the depths of our hearts the praises of his fidelity: We bless you, Lord God most high, who

lowered yourself for our sake. You are immense, and you made yourself small; you are rich and you made

yourself poor; you are all-powerful and you made yourself vulnerable. On this night let us share the joy of

the Gospel: God loves us, he so loves us that he gave us his Son to be our

brother, to be light in our darkness.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

to our Holy Angels Families

We are excited to inform you that our

school is registered in

Blue Spruce (JK/SK to Gr. 2) and

Silver Birch (Grades 3-6) - highly popular

provincial recreational reading programs for students. Reading is always a high

profile activity at our school but this voluntary reading program is something extra

special. There are seven programs in The Forest of Reading®, a project of the On-

tario Library Association, each planned for a different age group. All are designed

to promote reading for enjoyment, to increase awareness of quality Canadian liter-

ature, to enhance student powers of discrimination and skill in evaluating books,

and to provide opportunities to engage in discussions about books whether at

school or at home. We encourage students to borrow the same collections at pub-

lic library while all copies are signed out from the school library.

This is how the program works. Readers read the ten fiction and ten non-fiction

Canadian titles on the nominated list and then vote for their favourites. (must read

a minimum of 5 fiction and /or 5 non-fiction to be eligible to vote) Voting will take

place in April. Based on voting across the province, the winning titles are an-

nounced and authors are honoured with an award at the Festival of Trees™ that

take place in Toronto in May.

The Forest of Reading® main premise is to foster the love of reading and create

lifelong readers!

Thank you to our CSPC for providing funding for this worthwhile program.

Page 2 The Voice of Holy Angels

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 options:

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

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 custodial parent)

Proof of residency in Toronto (some examples: a lease/purchase agreement)

Immunization Record

Information is available by telephone at 416-222-8282 ext. 5314, or by visiting https://

www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/EarlyYears/KindergartenRegistration/Pages/default.aspx

Please note that all documentation must be submitted by parents by February 5th, 2016 in order for the school

to finalize applications and to inform families beginning the week of February 8th, 2016.

Author Visit— Philip Roy Award-winning Canadian author, Philip Roy, will be presenting to our students on Wednesday,

January 20th. Mr. Roy’s books have been nominated for the Silver Birch, Red Maple, CLA,

Hackmatack and Geoffrey Bilson awards, and his books have been chosen consistently by the

Canadian Children’s Book Centre for “Best Books for Kids and Teens.”

He will start his first 40-minute session for your JK-2s at 9:15 a.m. and end at 9:55 a.m., and his

second, 90-minute session with the grades 3-8 students from 10:15 a.m., and end at 11:45 a.m.

We have an opportunity to order his books and have them personalized for our students. Order forms to

purchase books will be sent home in January. You can find out more about Philip’s books by visiting:

http://philiproy.ca. You can also read the first chapter of all of his novels through a link on the “Books” page:

(http://philiproy.ca/books/), and see illustrations from his Happy the Pocket Mouse picture book series via

http://philiproy.ca/happy-the-pocket-mouse/.

Philip Roy will be bringing along at least one, (if not two), of his folk art submarines, as well as his folk art hel-

icopter. Philip will be using these items to discuss recycling and creativity with our students.

On-line Registration Process January 13 2016

1. Parent/Guardian can begin to submit applications as of

10:00 a.m. E.S.T. as per clock on S.O.A.R. program front

page.

2. Parent receives Time/Date Stamp and a File Number

and is asked to record these for future reference.

3. Parent creates a LOGIN account 4. Parent completes application and is placed on a processing

list.

5. Parent selects a date to meet with the school.

6. Parent brings required documents to the school for the

selected meeting date.

7. School verifies the documentation.

8. School informs parent/guardian beginning February 8th of

the status of the application.

9. If the application meets all requirements, the student is

pre-registered at the school for September 2016.

Note: Any applications prior to January 13th @ 10:00 am will be erased.

Page 3 The Voice of Holy Angels

Some effective study skills include, creating a quiet

study area free from distractions and clutter, study-

ing from good notes (if you don’t have them speak

with the teacher), studying during the time of day

you have the most energy, using bits of unexpected

time to study.

Some effective test taking skills include, positive self

talk, memory download (student writes down all of

the definitions, formula etc. at the beginning of

test), building confidence by answering all of the

easier questions first, developing a plan of attack

(budgeting time based upon the value of the ques-

tions).

Teachers can assist students by: recognizing a stu-

dent’s efforts and not just the end result, avoiding punishment or criticism of performance, giving

feedback that facilitates growth, avoiding publically

reporting test scores, and encouraging the use of

relaxation strategies.

(Information obtained from Dr.N.von der Embse; Dr.

Jerrell Cassady; and www.interventioncentral.org)

Many students experience test anxiety. A certain

amount of anxiety before a test is normal and

may motivate students to prepare, work more

effectively, and remain focused during tests.

However, for some students too much anxiety

may negatively impact their performance. It’s

important to equip students with strategies that

help to minimize their feelings of anxiety so that

they can perform to the best of their ability.

While many students will not have any observa-

ble symptoms of test anxiety, others may have

physical symptoms (headache, rapid heartbeat,

excessive perspiration, flushed skin colour); be-

havioural symptoms (faking illness, absent on day

of test, making frequent comments about the test, off task behavior, such as fidgeting, squirm-

ing; or cognitive symptoms (negative self state-

ments, expressing avoidance of testing situations

and negative peer comparisons).

In order to perform well on tests and to de-

crease anxiety research has shown that students

require:

Effective study skills

Practical test taking strategies

A conducive testing environment

Test Anxiety

Fostering The Family: The TCDSB Pastoral Plan 2015-18

“Together With one Voice:

Harmonizing Our Faith Through Family , Parish, and School”

2015 focuses on the FAMILY

Family Meals

Meal time is a wonderful time for sharing not only food but also our

day to day experiences. Making it a joyful and positive experience

will enrich our family life as well as give us the opportunity to re-

flect on our understanding of our Christian family meal – the Eu-

charist.

Light a candle to acknowledge the presence of Christ and take

turns leading grace.

(Information obtained from Archdiocese of Toronto handout: Preparing Young

People to Celebrate Confirmation)

A Laugh A

Day…

Did you know…..

Just hearing laughter helps put

us in a good mood! It helps

create a positive emotional

climate in the home or office.

Mental Health

Talking About Math: From EduGAINS. ca

Talking about mathematics with your child – whatever his or her age – helps strengthen his or her mathematical reasoning and un-

derstanding. Some ways to keep the talk engaged and focused while you support your child include:

1. Revoice - Repeat what you heard your child say, then ask for clarification (e.g., “So you are saying it’s an odd number?”).

2. Repeat/Restate – Ask your child to restate your reasoning (e.g., “Can you repeat what I said in your own words?”).

3. Reason – Ask your child to apply his or her own reasoning to someone else’s reasoning (e.g., “Do you agree or disagree? Tell

me why.”). Adding On – Prompt your child to participate further (e.g., “What more would you add to that?”).

Think Time – Wait several seconds (try five) to give your child time to think (e.g., “Take some time to think.”). You may be sur-

prised by how hard it is to stay silent in that time!

Growth Mindset in Math

In general, a growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and ‘smartness’ can also be learned and that the brain grows from experi-

ence and effort. The opposite, a fixed mindset, is the idea that you are smart, or you are not. In math, that translates into “some peo-

ple are good at math, and some are not.” Did you know that praising efforts rather than intelligence or results can impact your child’s

ability to persevere in challenges?! The goal is to have children thrive on challenges and see failures, not as a sign of low intelli-

gence, but as a learning opportunity. Brain research tells us that making mistakes actually wires more connections into the brain!

When a person has a growth mindset, they accept challenges, see their efforts as worthwhile, and are open to learning from mistakes.

Students with a growth mindset achieve at higher levels than those with fixed mindsets. How can you help? Some simple ways:

Adding “yet” when they claim they are “not good at this” (Respond: “You are not good at this yet.”) Ask questions that focus on their effort and choices and get them to reflect on satisfaction of that effort (e.g. What did you learn to-

day? What mistake did you make that taught you something? What did you try hard at today?)

Model this yourself as you share about your day.

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

relating to cold weather alerts, cancellations 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/

French Immersion and Extended French

New for September 2016, French Immersion begins in Junior Kindergarten

Information evenings are being held in January and February. Visit our website for specific dates, times and locations.

https://www.tcdsb.org/news/othernews/2015/pages/French-Immersion-and-Extended-French.aspx

Revised MYSP Consultation Coming January/February 2016

The Board is committed to revising its Multi-Year Strategic Plan in order to be responsive to the changing needs of our

system. The TCDSB is committed to authentic broad-based consultation in order to reflect the input from all stakehold-

ers. The consultation will take place during January/February 2016. Details can be found online here: https://

www.tcdsb.org/Board/MYSP/Pages/2016-MYSP-Consultation.aspx

Audited Financial Statements https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/BudgetandFinance/Documents/2015-08-

31Toronto%20Catholic%20District%20Sch%20Brd%2018413%20AUD%20Cons.pdf

Tentative Schedule of Board and Committee Meetings The draft calendar of meetings for 2016 has been approved by the board. Please note that meetings are subject to

change. Visit the website periodically to check on meeting dates and times.

https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/TrusteesoftheBoard/boardmeeting/information/Pages/Meeting-Schedule.aspx

New App Helps to Link Adults with the English and French Language Programs They Need

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the launch of a new app which allows adults to

easily access the courses they need to succeed. The app can be accessed through the board’s website at

https://adultedcoursefinder.tcdsb.org/.

(Please note the app is optimized for current versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Android and iPhones, and Internet Explorer 10

and above with compatibility turned off. The new app allows the user to quickly pinpoint programs based on their pre-

ferred location, day and time of day they are available to study, and the type of program they are seeking.

TCDSB Monthly Update

January 2016

UPCOMING REMINDERS:

First Communion: Sunday, May 1st, 2016

Confirmation: Group 1 Grade 8 Sunday, April 24th, 2016

Group 2 Grade 7 Sunday, May 15th, 2016

March Break: March 14th to March 18th, 2016

Easter: Good Friday-March 25th, 2016 Easter Sunday-March 27th, 2016 Easter Monday-March 28th, 2016

Graduation: June 28th, 2016 at 6:30 pm Last Day of Classes: June 29th, 2016