Principal’s Message

In keeping with Canada’s Carnaval tradition, St. Nicholas of Bari has the

second week of March planned with many fun Carnaval activities.

We begin the week of March 7th—11th with Carnaval posters judging. On

Tuesday, March 8th we encourage our students to wear a jersey, followed

by Wednesday, March 9th when the school will be assembled in the gym

just before lunch time for the election of the Carnaval Queen and Duch-

esses. The Bonhomme, the Carnaval mascot will make an appearance.

On Thursday, March 10th we will have many outdoor activities so students

should dress appropriately for the weather. There will also be croissants

($1.00) and hot chocolate (.50) for sale. The week ends with a class Bingo

game over the P.A. “en francais” – The winner gets a class pizza party.

March also celebrates the virtue of Forgiveness, how timely it is that the

virtue of the month is Forgiveness, not only because we are in the season of

Lent, but also because it is an important cornerstone of our faith. For-

giveness is ultimately a gift that we give to ourselves as we let go of the

burden of resentment that we may feel toward others. Jesus died for us so

that our sins may be forgiven.

We end the month with the most of holy celebrations in our Catholic faith

Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

St . Nicholas o f Bari

Catholic School

363 Rogers Road

Toronto,Ontario

M6E 1R6

Tel : 416 -393-5355

Fax : (416) 393 -5080

MARCH 2016

St. NICHOLAS OF BARI CATHOLIC SCHOOL NEWS

Principal: Mr. P. Tari

Vice Principal:

Mrs. A. Ruscitto-D’addario

Superintendent: Dr. J. Saraco

(416) 222-8282 Ext:5371

Trustee: Mr. F. D’Amico

(416) 222-8282 Ext:3406

Parish: St. Matthew’s Church

706 Old Weston Rd.

Toronto, ON M6N 3B8

(416) 653-7191

CSPC Chair: Ms. C. Santos

CPIC (Parent Engagement—

TCDSB) www.tcdsb.org/cpic

OAPCE Toronto (Provincial

Voice for Parents)

www.tcdsb.org.oapce-toronto

Enrollment: 650

Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m.— 3:30 p.m.

Lunch Hour:

11:45 a.m.— 12:45 p.m.

MARCH 14th - MARCH 18th.

The last day of classes before March Break is Friday March

11th, 2016 with a regular 3:30 pm dismissal time.

Classes will resume on MONDAY, MARCH 21st, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.

P. Tari A. Ruscitto-D’Addario

Principal Vice Principal

PAGE 2 ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL MARCH 2016

CSPC News

We invite you to join at our

next CSPC Meeting on:

Thursday, March 31st at

7:00 pm in the school Library.

NORTHERN SPIRIT GAMES

On Thursday, February 25, 2016, Mr. Palozzi’s grade 4

students attended the Northern Spirit games at Dante

Alighieri Academy School. This event explained the role of

First Nations communities in Canada and gave us an oppor-

tunity to participate in celebrations and games based on

Inuit and Dene traditions. As a class, we celebrated by

participating in 12 obstacles, ten of which were outside! But

we embraced the extreme cold and had a blast!

Overall, this was a great field trip because it taught us

many things that will help us in Social Studies but most

importantly it has encouraged us to work as a team!

We will never forget the epic dance party!

BAKING CLUB

Thanks to the Baking Club, who made some deli-cious baked goods over the last 4 weeks. The crew were very enthusiastic and learnt several great baking techniques. Most importantly we learnt that mistakes in baking can happen, but mistakes can till taste great. Thanks also to Mr. Palozzi and Mr. Millin for organizing!

Navy Blue and White Donations

If you have any gently used clothing that you

would like to donate, please bring them to

the school.

Junior W5H

Our junior W5H team participated in the Preliminary

Round Tournament here at St. Nicholas of Bari on

February 17. They competed against 4 other schools and

the games were all very close. Our team played well and

showed excellent sportsmanship.

The coaches, Mrs. Giannini and Mrs. Sternak, are very

proud of our team.

Congratulations to our team: David M., Stella S.,

Dimitrius L., Kaiden C., Gran D., and Angelina F.

Thursday March 17th,2016

MARCH 2016 ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL PAGE 3

Thank you to everyone who supported Pink Shirt Day. In 2007, a grade 9 Nova Scotia boy wore a pink shirt on the first day of classes. Bullies teased him and called him names, they even threatened to beat him up. All because of the colour of his shirt. Then, two grade 12 students heard what had happened and said "enough was enough!" They planned a surprise and bought 50 pink shirts. The word spread and the next day, hudreds of students wore a pink shirt to school. When the grade 9 student entered the school, he saw a sea of pink, and the weight was lifted off of his shoulders. Since then, schools around the world have been supporting this day. Don't judge people by their cover and keep supporting Pink Shirt Day! And remember, be a buddy not a bully. If you see someone getting bullied, don't be a bystander. Instead, stand up and help the person being bullied. By: Alyssia & Breanna in Mrs. Cimpric's class

Families not Returning in 2016

If your child is NOT returning to St. Nicholas of Bari in

September, we kindly ask that you inform the office as soon as

possible. We are planning for next year and require accurate

projections to make more informed decisions regarding place-

ment and class compositions for next year.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Begins SUNDAY, MARCH 13th

Don’t forget to set your

clocks one hour ahead!

ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL Page 4

GIRLS BASKETBALL

We would like to thank our coach Mr. Zanini for giving

us the opportunity to play basketball and compete in 3

tournaments.

During our first tournament we had fun and had so

much support from our community. All our hard work

and practices paid off as we came in first place.

We would like to congratulate our players: Fabiana C.,

Sofia C., Jacquelyn C., Gabriella S., Emily R., Gabriela

L., Hayla N., Ginnella V., Brookly P., Caitlin C., Sofia L.,

Mariana B. and Kathleen D. for their hard work.

We would also like to thank Mr. Zanini for this amazing

experience.

MARCH 2016

Celebrating African Canadian Heritage Month

Students were privileged to participate in a presentation from Drums et al featuring Babarinde Williams a motivation-

al speaker, singer, percussionist, recording artist writer and Griot (African historian and story teller). The focus of the

presentation was “Ubuntu” which is an African philosophy which promotes caring about others. The students learned

about this through stories, famous people and their quotes, as well as through music-specifically drumming using the

“djembe drum”.

Visitor/ Volunteer Policy

Parents, visitors and volunteers are required to

come to the office and sign in upon arrival. A

member of the office staff will provide each

visitor with a pass which you are expected to

wear while you are in the building and return it

to the office when you sign out and leave.

Parents are reminded NOT to

park in the Fire Route from 8:45

am to 9:00 am. This is to

ensure the continued safety of

all our students.

Thank you for your co-operation

in this matter.

MARCH 2016 ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL Page 5

Monthly Update from the Board

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 addi-

tional 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 plan-

ning 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 devel-

opment 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

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.

MARCH 2016 ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL Page 6

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 con-

sidered essential for physical, social, cognitive and emotional

well-being. Play has an essential role in a child or adoles-

cent’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 Na-

tions 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 organi-

zation, managing time, deciding what is and isn’t appro-

priate, decision making, and regulating emotions.

Encouraging children to engage in pretend play stimu-

lates 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 oth-

ers 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 ordi-

narily 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 class-

room and allow them to be free to play.

Information obtained from: M. Hartwell-Walker, Ed.D; P. Gray,

Psychologist; http://www.helpguide.org

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, emo-

tional, and physical skills but also helps to strengthen

family relationships. When you spend time playing to-

gether and having fun everyone in the family feels hap-

py and positive about themselves and each other. Play-

ing together as a family promotes cooperation and

conversation as well as skills such as turn taking, fol-

lowing 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

STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

MARCH 2016 ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI SENTINEL Page 7

TRUSTEES 2015– 2016

Wards

1. Joseph Martino 5. Maria Rizzo 9. Jo-Ann Davis

2. Ann Andrachuk 6. Frank D‘Amico, Vice Chair 10. Barbara Poplawski

3. Sal Piccininni 7. Micheal Del Grande 11. Angela Kennedy, Chair

4. Patrizia Bottoni 8. Garry Tanuan 12. Nancy Crawford

Karina Dubrovskaya, Student Trustee Allison Gacad, Student Trustee

Angela Gauthier, Director of Education 80 Sheppard Ave. E. Toronto, ON. M2N 6E8 Website: www.tcdsb.org

ATTENTION: ALLERGY/ALERGIAS ALERT

Please DO NOT send any:

Por favor não envie os seguintes alimentos para a escola.

Temos algumas crianças alérgicas a estes alimentos.

PEANUTS/ PEANUT BUTTER NUTELLA FISH/TUNA

TREE NUTS

In our school, we have students who suffer from severe life threatening allergic reactions to

the ingestion of these substances, which can cause anaphylaxis reaction. This means that con-

tact or exposure to these products even in the minutest quantities can cause severe life threat-

ening reactions. For the safety of all students, we urge parents and other caregivers who

prepare students lunches and snacks to avoid using foods that contain peanuts or other nut

products or fish/tuna.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Obrigado por sua cooperação.

Earth Hour

Earth Hour will be celebrated this year on Saturday, March 19th from 8:30 to

9:30 p.m. TCDSB schools will mark Earth Hour on Friday, March 18th from

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. All non-essential lighting will be turned off for that one hour period,

as a reminder of our global responsibility to reduce carbon emissions and energy

consumption, and to reflect the Board’s commitment to our collective efforts to become

good stewards of the earth.

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