MARCH, 2016

St. Cecilia C.S. School News

Principal’s Message

“For God so loved the world, He gave it His only

Son…”John 3:16

Dear Parents/Guardians

During this season of Lent, we should be open to the presence of God in our lives.

This is the time when we truly analyze the significance of Faith in our lives. Faith

takes away the fear of the unknown. Jesus rose from the dead and that powerful

message is saying that we have nothing to fear. However dark and dismal that life may

sometimes get, with Faith in Christ we should feel hopeful that all will pass and God

will give us what we need and not what we may always want. Trust God!!

Students received their first official report card and now they will embark on a final

term filled with many exciting challenges. As usual we continue to encourage our

students to strive for excellence in all that they do. They need to continue to focus on

setting goals in the areas of academics, athletics and the arts so that they work on

developing the whole person. Your continued partnership will ensure that they settle

for nothing short of this.

For the safety of our students please continue to check in on the office before

proceeding into classroom areas as we clearly want our students to be able to

distinguish between school personnel and strangers. I also implore you to adhere to

parking regulations on Evelyn as we are fielding several complaints about motorists

from our school community not adhering to parking, stopping rules. Adherence is

especially necessary during morning entry and dismissal at the end of the day.

As always a very special thank you to all for helping us to provide a safe, caring

stimulating learning environment for our students, your children.

Have a safe and restful

March Break!

Nick Biagini,

Principal

St. Cecilia

Catholic School

355 Annette Street Toronto, Ontario, M6P 1R3

Phone# (416) 393-5218

Fax # (416) 397-6045

Principal: Nick Biagini Vice-Principal: Victoria Purri Superintendent: Dr. Jim Saraco (416) 222-8282 x5371 Trustee: Barb Poplowski (416) 512-3410

Parish: St. Cecilia C.S. 161 Annette St. (416) 769-8163 CSPC Chairs: Marisa Cicero Olga Geryluk

CPIC (Parent Engagement--TCDSB) www.tcdsb.org/cpic OAPCE Toronto (Provincial Voice for Parents) www.tcdsb.org/oapce-toronto Enrollment: 654 Hours of Operation: 8:30am -3:00pm Lunch Hour: 11:15am -12:15pm _______________________________

NEW REGISTRANTS WELCOME: Call 416-393-5218 or the TCDSB Admissions Department at

416-222-8282, ext. 2383.

For general information about the Toronto Catholic District

School Board, please visit the website at www.tcdsb.org.

Stay in touch with the latest news throughout the school year:

Follow @TCDSB on Twitter

School Hours 8:30 a.m. Morning Entry

9:55 – 10:10 Morning Recess

11:15 -12:15 Lunch 1:25 - 1:40 Afternoon Recess

3:00 p.m. Dismissal

http://www.tcdsb.org/cpichttp://www.tcdsb.org/oapce-torontohttp://www.tcdsb.org/

School Masses & Celebrations

2015-16

Tuesday, March 8 Lenten Confession

Thursday, March 31 Easter Mass

Friday, April 15 Confirmation

Tuesday, April 19 Mass: New Life

Friday, April 22 First Reconciliation

Saturday April 23 First Holy Communion

Friday, May 13 Marian Mass

Monday, June 27 Graduation Mass

Tuesday, June 28 Mass: End of Year

“Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22)

When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward. By embracing forgiveness, you can also embrace peace, hope,

gratitude and joy.

ST. CECILIA CHURCH NEWS

Lenten Retreat with Father Daniel:

Thursday, March 3 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 4 7:30 p.m.

Confirmation Retreat:

Saturday, March 5: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

(All confirmandi from grades 7 & 8 must attend.)

Archdiocese of Toronto Day of Confession:

St. Cecilia's Church date and times:

Thursday, March 10th, 2016 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.,

12:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m.,

7:30 p.m. -8:00 p.m.

Visit www.archtoronto.org/confession for answers to

frequently asked questions about confession, dates and

times of confession at other Toronto parishes, how to go to

confession, what to do in confession, etc.

No First Communion or Confirmation preparation

classes: March 13, March 16, March 20, March 23

and Easter Sunday, March 27.

Easter Mass Schedule:

Holy Thursday

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper: 6:30 p.m.

Adoration/Confession commencing after the Vietnamese 9:00 p.m. Mass

Good Friday Friday of the Passion of the Lord Service: 3:00 p.m.

Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass: 9:30 p.m.

Easter Sunday Masses:

9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Easter Egg Hunt after each Mass in the church garden. (3

egg limit per child) :)

Virtue of the Month:

Congratulations!!

Just as the world is reborn and

comes to life each spring, we are

called to new life in Jesus Christ

each Easter. As we celebrate His

passion, death and resurrection, we

are called to renew our personal

commitment to our faith and our

God.

We wish you all a very

Happy and Holy Easter.

God Bless!

http://www.archtoronto.org/confession

Celebrating Black History Month

Rosa Parks was born on February 4th, in Alabama. She is

called the Mother of Civil Rights because she wanted to

stop segregation and racism. In December of 1955, she did

not give her seat to a white man because she was tired from

work and she was arrested for doing this. She was arrested

because buses in Alabama were segregated. Then, she and

Martin Luther King Jr. started a boycott that lasted one

year and stopped segregation in Alabama. I think that Rosa

Parks was brave and I think we should be brave just like

she was!

By: Christian R. and Ava B. (Mrs. Tavares’ Class)

St. Cecilia Parent Advisory

Committee

(CSPC)

Hello Spring!

At least theoretically it should be spring soon and we

can’t wait!

Here’s a snapshot of what’s new and exciting around

the parent community:

Carnival-Winter Carnival was a huge success. A

massive thank you to our local Tim Horton’s on St.

John’s Road who donated the hot chocolate for the

event and to Richard, the parent that made it happen!

It was a welcome warm up on the day and a big hit

with the students.

Fun Fair-This year’s Fun Fair will be held Thursday

June 9th (the 10th is a PA Day). Stay tuned for more

details but please save the date. If you’d like to get

involved, please contact the Chair of the Fun Fair

Committee Ersilia, at eserafini@summerhill.com

Go Tigers!-CSPC is happy to be supporting both our

Swim and Hockey teams again this year and is pleased

to be able to help Mrs. Spalding take a group of

students to compete in a music competition by funding

the bus for the trip. Good luck to all!

Grade 6 High School Information Session-Together

with Ms. Grossi, CSPC are helping to organize an

information session about the high school application

process. Please save time the evening of May 10th, to

get valuable insight into the process that starts in

Grade 7. More information will follow.

As we gear up for some time away from school for

March Break and an early Easter, we wanted to take

this opportunity to wish you and your family well.

There isn’t a CSPC meeting in March, but all are

welcome at our April meeting, Tuesday April 19t at

7pm at the school.

Olga and Marisa

CSPC Co Chairs

ECO TEAM NEWS

Earth Hour will be held on March 11, 2016 between 10:00 and 11:00 am. We will be participating earlier than usual due to the March Break and Good Friday/Easter Monday Weekend. Below is a link to the Boards Environmental Site with additional information: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/environment/EarthHour/Pages/default.aspx

Intermediate

Boys and

Girls

Basketball

Teams.

mailto:eserafini@summerhill.comhttps://www.tcdsb.org/Board/environment/EarthHour/Pages/default.aspxhttps://www.tcdsb.org/Board/environment/EarthHour/Pages/default.aspx

St. CeCilia’S art Gallery

.

100th Day Celebration

Hands on Your Buzzers!

On February, 17, the Junior W5H Team

travelled to St. Vincent de Paul to compete

in the preliminary round of the annual trivia

competition. The team demonstrated both

excellent academic knowledge and

sportspersonship. St. Cecilia placed second

after winning three of their four matchups. Mme. P. Pamula

Nous avons completer le 100ème jour d'école, youpi!

The Grade 1 classes celebrated the one hundredth day of school by participating in a number of activities, which centered on both numeracy and literacy. We had a fantastic week and want to thank all the parents who helped prepare 100 day projects at home.

The powerful benefits of daily

physical activity is highlighted in a

recent study, which reinforces the

benefits of the principle of

“A healthy mind lives in a healthy

body…” Thank you to Mr. Biagini

and all of our DPA Leaders for their

active promotion of fitness.

http://www.thestar.com/life/2016/02/2

4/kids-who-move-while-learning-

may-absorb-more-study-says.html

Congratulations to Dana P., Jonah H. and Alexis V. who

will represent St. Cecilia at

the Board’s French Public Speaking Contest.

Bon Chance!!

http://www.thestar.com/life/2016/02/24/kids-who-move-while-learning-may-absorb-more-study-says.htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/life/2016/02/24/kids-who-move-while-learning-may-absorb-more-study-says.htmlhttp://www.thestar.com/life/2016/02/24/kids-who-move-while-learning-may-absorb-more-study-says.html

Campbell's Labels for Education

Mrs. Spalding is still collecting Campbell's Labels for musical instruments, and will continue until the end of the school year. Please save all your Campbell’s/Goldfish Crackers/V8 Juice/Prego Sauce labels and bring them into school. You can place them in the yellow envelope outside the music classroom (Room 124).

St. Paul of the Apostle Recruiting Choir Members

St. Paul of the Apostle parish, located at 3224 Dundas St. ., is looking for choir members for both the 9 a.m. and noon masses. Both students and parents are welcome to join. Please call Louise at 416-707-8955 or simply show up at one of the masses!

Guidance Corner

All About Me in the Junior Division Early in March, most of our junior division students will have begun to

develop their All About Me (AAM) portfolio using www.myblueprint.ca.

In accordance with the Ministry of Education’s document Creating Pathways to Success (2013), all students are asked to contemplate four

questions: Who Am I? What Are My Opportunities? Who do I Want to

Become? and What Is My Plans for Achieving My Goals? The answers to these questions will be reflected in the work that they do

on their AAM Portfolio.

Ask your children to share their progress with you by logging into their account at home.

High School Registration is Underway! High school registration nights have begun and will continue into the month of March. Be sure to read through your child’s acceptance

packages carefully and complete all of the necessary forms before

submitting them on the date of registration.

Exchange of Information Meetings Representatives from all of the high schools will be in contact with

teachers this month to discuss your child’s progress and to ensure that the secondary school is prepared to receive their new grade 9 students. At the

meeting, teachers will discuss proper placement (e.g. academic, applied or locally developed) for your child.

Change of High School Forms Change forms will become available early in March. Students who would

like to attempt to find a placement in a different TCDSB high school are

to request a form from their teacher. Forms must be completed and submitted as soon as possible. Please remember that submitting a Change

Form does not guarantee your child a spot in a different high school.

Admittance is still based on availability of space.

Mr. Amato, Guidance

http://www.myblueprint.ca/

Mental Health Benefits of Prayer

During Lent we are encouraged to engage in almsgiving, fasting and prayer. Our focus this month is on

prayer and its many benefits.

God is a source of comfort, strength and love for us. Through prayer we enter into a deeper relationship with

God and gain a sense of attachment to Him. Many studies have shown that individuals who pray to a loving

and protective God with whom they have a meaningful relationship are less likely to experience anxiety and

stress. Prayer offers emotional comfort and reduces stress by:

Offering a sense of comfort and hope. When you’re faced with life challenges, prayer offers a sense of comfort. Knowing that God listens to your prayers and that you don’t have to bear your burden

alone offers a sense of hope. When you feel hopeful you gain strength and are encouraged to carry

on.

Creating a positive frame of mind. By giving thanks and expressing gratitude when praying it creates a positive frame of mind. When you purposefully engage in “thankful prayer” it reminds you

of the many blessings you have, and as a result helps to decrease feelings of sadness.

Stress Relief. Researchers have found that when focusing on other people through prayer it contributes to a “stress-buffering effect”. Reflecting on the welfare of others can reduce your own

stress - it is in giving to others that we receive.

Increases feelings of unity and trust. Praying together with a friend, your class, or as a community is an experience that brings people closer together. Prayer can help build relationships and feelings

of social connectedness.

Engaging in daily prayer with students gives them the opportunity to deepen their relationship with God

and their community. It also offers a sense of emotional comfort that everyone can benefit from.

Prayer is joy

Prayer is love

Prayer is peace.

You cannot explain it you must experience it.

It is not impossible.

God gives it for the asking.

“Ask and you shall receive.”

The father knows what to give his children

---how much more our heavenly father knows - Mother Teresa

Information obtained from the following sources: www.spiritualityhealth.com; www.psychcentral.com

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

Play not only helps to develop cognitive, social, emotional, and physical skills but also helps to strengthen

family relationships. When you spend time playing together and having fun everyone in the family feels happy

and positive about themselves and each other. Playing together as a family promotes cooperation and

conversation as well as skills such as turn taking, following rules, problem solving, and being a good winner or

loser. So turn off the computer screens, tablets or phones and engage in some “old fashioned” fun!

Have a family game night. It’s important to make sure that the games are suitable for the youngest player.

Listen to music, or make music together and sing along.

Build a puzzle together

Paint a picture

Play outdoors

http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/http://www.psychcentral.com/

Mental Health Initiatives 2015-2016

TCDSB Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy 2015-18 approved Jan. 14, 2016

https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/specialeducation/mhs/pages/mental-health-strategy.aspx

Support for schools in developing a mentally healthy classroom. See Supporting Minds on the Ministry’s website and edugains.ca

Building partnerships with community agencies, families, and parishes

SAFE TALK suicide awareness workshops for staff available via PAL

Children’s mental health Awareness week May 1-6, 2016. Details soon.

Play Offers More than Just Fun

Are you and your students feeling the mid-winter blues? Perhaps it’s time to incorporate play into your daily routine. Play, or free time for older children and adolescents is considered essential for physical, social, cognitive and emotional well-being. Play has an essential role in a child or adolescent’s development. Play

gives children the opportunity to solve problems, get along with peers, to take control, and to develop resiliency. “Play is considered so important to child

development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child.”

Play helps to reduce stress by releasing our body’s feel good chemicals called endorphins. This results in an overall feeling of well-being.

Play improves our cognitive abilities by utilizing the part of the brain that is responsible for planning and organization, managing time, deciding what is

and isn’t appropriate, decision making, and regulating emotions.

Encouraging children to engage in pretend play stimulates their imagination and creativity. When children use their creativity it enables them to explore

new ways of doing things. It also helps children learn important social skills by working with others and compromising.

Play helps children to be able to see someone else’s perspective or “walk in another’s shoes”. When they engage in pretend play they have the

opportunity to think about what others would do or say. This helps children become more tolerant and empathetic of others and increases their ability to

work with others.

Plays allows children to explore various emotions and feelings. When they engage in imaginary play they are able to express themselves in ways they

may not ordinarily be able to.

Allocate some time for children to have the opportunity to engage in some “playful” activities. You may leave some art supplies, puzzles, card and/or board games,

dress up accessories or sports equipment in the classroom and allow them to be free to play.

Information obtained from: M. Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D; P. Gray, Psychologist; http://www.helpguide.org

SAFETY CONCERNS

The safety of our students is our primary concern. We ask that the signage in front of the school be observed. Parents wanting to drop-off or pick-up their children, must do so on Evelyn Avenue north of Annette Street and your children can

then cross safely with our crossing guard. Keep in mind that the area in front of the school is a bus-loading zone, please do

NOT park in the bus loading zone. Unauthorized vehicles will be TAGGED AND/OR TOWED AT THE OWNERS

EXPENSE.

Please do not block the parked vehicles or the north fence, this is a fire hazard.

When visiting the school, please remember to first report directly to the office to speak to one of our secretaries and then sign yourself in and receive a visitor’s pass. All appointments and early dismissal arranged with your child(ren) in advance

should be reported to the teacher and the office by a written note. When picking up children for appointments etc., parents

are asked to come to the office first and speak and the secretary will then page the child(ren) to come down. We ask parents

not to wander the halls without first coming to the office, signing in and receiving a visitor’s pass. Wandering the halls is not

encouraged. It is difficult for the staff and students to recognize every parent or guardian who comes into the school. This

procedure helps to establish a safe school environment for all our students. We ask that you do not walk your child(ren) to

their classrooms. Instead,we ask that you make it your objective to arrive on time and have the students line up with their

class and they can enter the building, along with their peers, with their teachers.

Our staff and teachers at St. Cecilia continuously experience difficulty obtaining a parking spot, especially in the morning in our school parking lot.

Please do not use the staff parking lot between 8:00am—3:30pm. Please encourage children NOT to walk through the parking lot as it is difficult to keep small children in sight lines.

TCDSB Monthly Update

March 2016

Board Approves Multi-Year Recovery Plan At the February 18, 2016 meeting of the Board, the Board of Trustees approved option 3 which proposes budget reductions

totaling $28.4 million spread out over the next three years with the objective of not increasing the accumulated deficit in each year,

and eliminating the accumulated deficit in the 3rd and final year of the Multi-Year Recovery Plan. The Board also approved a

recommendation for the Director of Education to quantify additional cost pressures identified in the report, and address the $3.7

million additional bussing transportation costs for a total required expenditure reduction of $32.1 million in the annual budget

planning and consultation process. Option 3 was selected by 47% of those who responded to the online survey.

The MYRP is being submitted to the Ministry of Education at the end of February. A detailed budget consultation plan is in

development and will be presented to the board for approval in March. Please stay tuned for details on how you can be involved in

providing input into the budget setting process. www.tcdsb.org

Registration Now Open!

OAPCE Toronto Hosts 77th Annual Conference

Different Gifts, One Voice: Living our Virtues in a Virtual World

May 6-7th in Toronto All are welcome.

Check out the website for all the information https://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/OAPCE-Toronto/Events/Pages/OAPCE-

Conference-2016.aspx

Register online here: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ec6a0r4n5fb01bdc&llr=57qgf7bab

2016 Lift Jesus Higher Rally

Saturday March 5th, 2016 9:00-5:30 p.m. Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building, Lower Level,

255 Front Street West,

Please visit: www.lift‐jesus‐higher‐rally.org for directions, hotels and other information. More information online: https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/2016-lift-jesus-higher-rally.aspx

Reminders: March is Celtic Canadian Heritage Month

March 4, 2016 World Day of Prayer

March 7, 2016 Education Support Staff Appreciation Day

March 8, 2016 International Women’s Day

March Break March 14-18, 2016

March 21, 2016 International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 21, 2016 World Down Syndrome Day

March 22, 2016 World Water Day

Good Friday March 25, 2016

Easter Monday March 28, 2016

New PA Day added April 15, 2016 For these and other events, visit the TCDSB website at www.tcdsb.org

Follow @TCDSB on Twitter or subscribe to Enews https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx to get all the latest news and information throughout the year.

http://www.tcdsb.org/https://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/OAPCE-Toronto/Events/Pages/OAPCE-Conference-2016.aspxhttps://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/OAPCE-Toronto/Events/Pages/OAPCE-Conference-2016.aspxhttp://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ec6a0r4n5fb01bdc&llr=57qgf7babhttp://www.lift‐jesus‐higher‐rally.org/https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/2016-lift-jesus-higher-rally.aspxhttp://www.tcdsb.org/https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx