N O V E M B E R N e w s l e t t e r

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St. Demetrius

Catholic School

125 La Rose Ave. Etobicoke, ON

M9P 1A6 Tel. 416.393.5384 Fax. 416.393.5087

Principal

L. Hordienko

Secretary

T. Zamrij

Pastor

Fr. John Tataryn

Superintendent Doug Yack

Trustee Joseph Martino

Parish: St. Demetrius the Great Martyr

Parish 135 LaRose Ave.

Toronto ON M9P 1A6 416-244-5333

TRUSTEES 2013 – 2014

School Hours:

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Lunch hour: 11:35 a.m. – 12:35 p.m.

VIRTUE FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IS PEACE

PRINCIPAL’s MESSAGE - LILY HORDIENKO

Шановні Батьки, Тяжко повірити що лиш два місяці науки пройшло – we have had a very busy and exciting two months! The virtue for the month of October was Gratitude and show gratitude we did!! We ended the month of September with our Terry Fox Fundraiser Run. The school goal was $4500 and the students surpassed that: they raised $6500!! I am so very proud of these students! МОЛОДЦІ!!!! In October we celebrated Thanksgiving in the Church beautifully, led by our primary grades. Our Grade 8’s volunteered at the Daily Bread Food Bank. This opened up our students’ eyes to the world of those less fortunate. Our school competed in Cross Country and 29 of our students advanced to the Regional Cross Country meet. St. Demetrius Church celebrated Praznyk the last week of October. Учні з четвертої кляси чудово співали під церквою. On October 26th, the staff, students, parents, clergy and members of the St. Demetrius community joined together to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Demetrius. The Liturgy and the subsequent procession outdoors through the school and out towards the UCCC was very moving as we were all joined by residents of the UCCC. This celebration highlighted the unique and cultural richness of our St. Demetrius community and its strength in unity. This was a very fitting celebration for the Year of the Parish. In November we celebrate the Virtue of Peace. We will be having a Panachyda on November 11th in the Church at 10:15 am. We invite parents to join the school in this Remembrance Day Service. We will also have a Holodomor Commemoration on November 28th. November is Anti-Bullying month. We will be having various activities throughout the month to spark awareness of and discussions on this topic. Progress reports will be coming home on November 15th. We look forward to meeting with parents on the evening of November 17th and the morning of November 18th. Students in Grades 6 to 8 are encouraged to attend the parent/teacher interview. Students need to take responsibility for their learning and therefore should have a voice at parent/teacher interviews. Будь ласка, приведіть Вашу дитину (з 6-ого, 7-ого та 8-ого класу) на учительські зустрічі. I wanted to thank all students, staff and parents for truly making it an absolute joy to work in this incredible community. Я є дуже вдячна працювати в цій громаді! Respectfully, Lily Hordienko

“Kind words are short and easy to speak,

But their echoes are truly endless”

Mother Teresa

School Hours: 8:30-3:30 am First Recess: 10:12-10:27 am Lunch Hour: 11:15-12:15 pm Second Recess: 1:40-1:55pm Dismissal: 3:30 pm

ST. DEMETRIUS CHEER I don’t know what I’ve been told

St. Demetrius Tigers are really bold We’ve got heart and we’ve got soul

Our spirit is out of control We can read and we can write

Our stars are shining bright We’ve got spirit, so can you

It’s not very hard to do. GO TIGERS!!

ST. DEMETRIUS

TIGERS

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH October’s virtue of the month is Gratitude

ELP 1/Seychuk – Andriy Pavliv/Deanna Chevpilo ELP 2/Menecola – Aria Apolonia/Christian Solovyov

Grade 1/Everest – Olivia Lukaszyk Grade 2/Sahan – Daniel Fal Grade 3 /Kouprian – Oleksa Pshyk Grade 3 /4 Ciprietti – Sophia Maksymec Grade 4/Mychajlowycz – Fiona Tsytkin Grade 5/Senkiw – Katya Symoni Grade 6/Makuch – Christina Jursza Grade 7/Touchette – Danylo Kostiv Grade 8/Dalinda – Oleksandr Melnyk

CELL PHONES As part of our Safe School Policy, cell phones will be collected by the classroom teacher at the START of the school day and stored in a lockbox for the duration of the day. Phones will be returned at the END of the school day. If and when cell phones are needed for school instruction and programming, students will have access to their phones. Thank you for your co-operation.

SCIENTIST IN THE CLASSROOM On Friday, October 21, the Grade One students participated in a Scientist in School workshop called Animal Coverings and Adaptations. The students explored some of nature’s most unusual coverings including feathers, shells, scales, quills and fur. They investigated the unique properties of a variety of animal coverings and discovered some of the amazing adaptations animals have to survive their environment and seasonal changes. Thank you to Mrs. Pikulak and the Grade 8 students who assisted in running the learning centres. We could not have done it without you!

FEAST OF ST. DEMETRIUS

IN ORDER TO BE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS A MORE PAPERLESS SCHOOL. PARENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SIGN UP FOR AN ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER. PLEASE EMAIL MS. HORDIENKO @LILY.HORDIENKO@TCDSB.ORG

St. Demetrius School celebrated the Feast Day of St. Demetrius on Wednesday, October 26th and invited the entire community to join in the morning Liturgy and celebration. To mark the TCDSB’s Year of the Parish, the Liturgy was followed by the forming of a human chain link with all students, staff, clergy, parents, family, residents of St. Demetrius Residence, the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre and parishioners. The Liturgy was followed by a procession of all community members from the Church, through the school and out to the Care Centre, where we all joined hands in a circle – symbolizing the UNITY of the entire St. Demetrius community. We were also joined by Doug Yack, our school Superintendent.

https://m.facebook.com/stdemetrius/?tsid=0.670099

7471343726&source=typeahead

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER The Cookie Dough Sales are over. Thank you to all families that have participated and supported this initiative to help build our school technology. After selling nearly $5000 worth of cookies, St. Demetrius has raised over $1700, which will be used towards technology. Thank you to Ms. Bettelli for overseeing this fundraiser!

NEW HOODIE SWEAT TOP

St. Demetrius Tigers hoodies are currently being sold. They are navy with a white logo and will be a part of the uniform. Order forms were sent home and are available in the office. Order them NOW as we will be placing the order as a group on November 17th. They are being sold for $40.

ME TO WE TEAM

Me to We is doing a Candy Drive. We are asking students to donate hard candy from their Hallowe’en bags and donate it to Dr. Simone, who sends the candy overseas to children who have not eaten in a while. The sugar in the candy gets their stomachs ready for food again. Over the next two weeks, please send any hard candy to school with your child to help this very worthy cause.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CARE CENTRE On October 31st, our JK and SK’s visited the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre to sing and entertain the residents. Children came dressed in costume and huge smiles!

FOOD ALLERGIES Please note that we have students in our school who have severe, life threatening allergies to peanuts and nuts. This is a medical condition that causes a severe Anaphylactic reaction to specific foods that can be fatal. Although this may not affect a student in your child’s class directly, we ask that you DO NOT SEND ANY PRODUCTS THAT MAY CONTAIN PEANUT OR NUT PRODUCTS TO SCHOOL, as children can come into contact with one another elsewhere in the school. Also please encourage your child(ren) NOT to share snacks at school. We are an Allergen Aware School. Should you have to take your child out early or there is a change in school procedures (student not taking the bus, or a change in someone picking up your child), please send the notification with your child to school to give to the teacher. The teacher will inform the main office of the change.

VACATIONS/EXTENDED LEAVE FROM SCHOOL We encourage families to take holidays at the designated times of the school year i.e., Christmas, March Break, and Summer Holidays. Taking your child out of their instructional program during the school year is a disruption to their learning. Children benefit best from consistent uninterrupted instruction at school.

OFFICE HOURS The school office is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. An automated answering system is available for messages 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS

8:15 AM Outdoor Supervision begins 8:30 AM Entrance bell 10:12-10:27 AM Morning Recess

11:15-11:55 Outdoor Recess 11:55-12:15 Indoor Lunch 1:40-1:55 pm Afternoon Recess 3:30 Dismissal, pick up & Busses

MATH CORNER Our school focus for our School Learning Improvement Plan for 2016-17 will be on Problem Solving and Communication in Mathematics (oral and written). Our aim is to build on our students’ strengths in Mental Math and build their confidence in Problem Solving. We will be hosting a Parent Math Night later in the year to engage parents in Mathematical thinking and communicating. Please open up the following link for some Math tips on parent engagement: http://www.ontariodirectors.ca/parent_engagement-math/en/

SAFE SCHOOLS POLICY

Please note: Supervision of students begins at 8:15 am in the primary yard.

SAFE ARRIVAL POLICY If your child will be absent or late, please contact the school by phone or written note. We will call home in the morning if the school has not been notified.

BUSSING

Please call the number below for route updates at Switzer Carty Transportation 905-361-1084

CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL NEWS Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 8th at 7:00 p.m. in the library. All parents are invited to join us in the library.

TERRY FOX UPDATE We had an incredible Terry Fox Run this year. Thank you to all parent volunteers, staff and students for making this a great school venture. This school should be very proud of the fact that over $6000.00 was raised!!! GO TIGERS!! We are still accepting donations until Wednesday, Oct. 5th.

GRADE 7 & 8 TRIP – LAKE ST. GEORGE On October 26th our Grade 7s and 8s went to Lake St. George on an overnight trip for two nights. The Intermediates had two days of outdoor activities and much bonding. We would like to thank Mr. Dalinda, Ms. Bettelli and Mr. Touchette for giving our students this wonderful opportunity!

YEAR OF THE PARISH On Friday, November 25th and Saturday, November 26th, the St. Demetrius Church will be having the yearly Christmas Bazaar. The school will be participating in the Bazaar by having a Loonie Table and silent auction. The CSPC has also ordered commemorative pewter Christmas Tree ornaments and will be for sale at the Bazaar. On each ornament is an engraving “St. Demetrius Year of the Parish”.