ather Serra Times Principal: Mr. J. Pannozzo Vice Principal: Ms. J. Corsi

Admin. Assistant: Mrs. E. Barbaro Clerk Typist: Mrs. E. Simone

Superintendent: Mrs. L. Notten Trustee: Mr. P. Jakovcic

Parish Priest: Father Andrzej Glaba

CSAC Co-chairs: Roberto Berton and Dana Delle Cese-Ahluwalia

December, 2012

Principal’s Message

Director of Education

Mr. Bruce Rodrigues

The Season of Advent began Sunday, December 2nd. Advent is a time of waiting for the birth

of Jesus Christ. During Advent, we prepare our homes and ourselves to welcome the newborn

king. It is a time to reflect on Christ’s presence in our everyday life. At Father Serra, the

month of December will be devoted to creating an atmosphere of preparation. We want our

students to understand, experience and celebrate this special time.

A reminder that our Advent Mass will take place on Tuesday, December 11th at All

Saints’ Church at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to the talented sounds of our Instrumental

Band accompanied by our School Choir. Thank you to Ms. O’Kane and Mrs. Lewinowicz for

preparing the music for this special mass. We look forward to seeing all the families on this

evening. On Thursday, December 20th the students from Grades 1 to 3 will be performing

a Christmas Concert. Parents are welcome to attend the dress rehearsal at 1:15 p.m. or the

evening performance at 7:00 p.m. Thank you to the Primary teachers and Mrs. Lewinowicz for

all their work in preparing the children.

Please note that the January calendar is attached for your perusal. On behalf of the entire

staff, we wish you a blessed and holy Christmas!

J. Pannozzo

Prayer for Charity O Lord, give us more charity,

more likeness to you. Make us kindly in thought,

gentle in word, generous in deed.

Teach us that it is better to give than to receive,

better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward,

better to minister than to be ministered to.

And to you,

The God of love, be all glory and praise,

now and forever. Amen

(Henry Alford)

Father Serra Cathol ic School 111 Sun Row Drive , Toronto , Ontario M9P 3J3

Tel : 416 -393-5391 Fax : 416 -397-6095

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

TRUSTEES 2012-2013 Wards 1. Peter Jakovcic 2. Ann Andrachuk Chair 3. Sal Piccininni Vice-Chair 4. Patrizia Bottoni 4. Maria Rizzo 6. Frank D’Amico 7. John Del Grande 8. To Be Determined

9. Jo– Anne Davis

10. Barbara Poplawski 11. Angela Kennedy

12. Nancy Crawford Andrew Walker Student Trustee Elect

CHARITABLE WORKS IN OUR COMMUNITY

Students of the grade 12 Religion class from Don Bosco CSS are involved in a com-

munity service project to collect gently used black shoes and new white socks for

elementary students who attend St. Gaspar, Tanzania in East Africa. Father Serra

will accept donations of children size footwear on their behalf. Donations will need

to be made before December 20th.

CSAC NEWS

It’s no surprise that December is a busy month with many activities for the students, staff and their families to enjoy.

We hope you will join us for some Christmas cheer on Tuesday, December 11th at our Advent Mass. Mass will begin at 7

p.m. at All Saints’ Church followed by a reception for the school community hosted by CSAC. Later this month, the stu-

dents will take part in the hugely popular Christmas Celebration at the school on December 21st. We thank all the com-

mittee volunteers for their time in organizing these highly anticipated school events. We wish to also thank our Student

Leaders and outstanding parent volunteers for the many initiatives they have organized to help those in need during

this holiday season. Great job!

Looking ahead, the school Chess Team will be getting underway in the New Year. As in previous years, CSAC is pleased

to offer students a special opportunity to learn under the guidance of Chess Master, Goran Milcevic. Additional infor-

mation will be sent home soon. We are currently looking for a parent volunteer(s) for the Chess team to assist with su-

pervision during practices and at tournaments. Please contact Ms. Corsi if you are interested.

And finally, thank you to everyone for submitting the Activity Fee, Subway and Pizza Lunch Fee. We have achieved our

fundraising budget and can move forward with the many initiatives scheduled for the New Year.

On behalf of the entire CSAC, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Dana Delle Cese-Ahluwalia & Roberto Berton

CSAC Co-Chairs

WINTER ATTIRE

Winter can be an exciting time of the year for children. We can all enjoy winter activities and outdoor time if

dressed properly. That includes a coat, mitts, hat , scarf, boots and zippers zipped! Children MUST have in-

door shoes as well. Boots are for outdoor use and a clean pair of spare socks tucked into their backpack just might come

in handy. While in school, students need to have shoes on their feet at all times - imagine having to evacuate

the building just wearing socks! Parents, please ensure that your children come to school properly dressed.

We thank you for your co-operation.

FATHER SERRA TIMES PAGE 2 DECEMBER 2012

STUDENT LEADER INITIATIVES

THANK YOU TO MRS. SALGADINHO, MRS. LUCIA AND ALL THE STUDENT LEADERS FOR THEIR CHARITABLE WORK!

BULLYING AWARENESS

Bully Awareness Week in Ontario was from Monday, November 19th, to Friday, November 23rd, and Father Serra partici-pated in many ways. Father Serra Student Leaders presented mini lessons to the Kindergarten to Gr. 6 classes. These presentations explained the different types of bullying and how we can all “Stand Up to Beat Bullying”. Each morning we started the day with a Bully Awareness Prayer and encouraging announcements. The Student Leaders also sold Blue wristbands with the message Beat Bullying! They sold each bracelet for $1.00 and made a profit of $164.76 for the Angel Foundation for Learning. Finally, on Friday, November 23rd, all of our students came to school dressed in blue in support of Bully Awareness. The week went by smoothly and our students had a great time. A parent guide titled, “Bullying! We Can Help Stop It” was sent home to each family.

CHUM CITY CHRISTMAS WISH

A FATHER SERRA TRADITIOn

We will be continuing to work with Chum City Christmas

Wish this year and hosting our annual toy drive. The CP24

CHUM Christmas Wish supplies registered charitable or-

ganizations, social service agencies, churches, and commu-

nity centres with generous financial donations and new

unwrapped toys. In turn, these groups distribute the do-

nations to those families, of many faiths and cultures, who

require support. The student leaders are asking the com-

munity to donate brand new, unwrapped toys. On Tues-

day, December 18th and Wednesday, December 19th, Stu-

dent Leaders will be volunteering at the Chum City Ware-

house to fill out toy orders. Thank you for your continu-

ing support.

ST. FRANCIS TABLE

On October 11th, and November 15th 2012, the grade 8 Student Leaders went to St. Francis Table to serve the less fortunate. When we arrived, we put on our aprons and got down to work. We were assigned tables and together we served about 95 to100 people in need! We all worked extremely hard and we can honestly say that each and every one of the Student Leaders were touched and really took a second to think about how fortunate we all are. The staff working at St. Fran-cis table were all so kind and they all work so hard—it’s amazing to know that they all work there seven days a week. It was amazing to see how grateful these people were to know that there is a place where they can come and get a nice hot meal and dessert. It was an extraordinary experience and we know that the volunteers at St. Francis Table were especially grateful to have us help serve the hungry. St. Francis table was an amazing experience for all of the Father Serra Student Leaders and we would all like to thank Ms. Lucia

and Ms. Salgadinho organizing this school trip.

HOLIDAY DATES—The last day of classes before Christmas is Friday, December 21st, 2012, with a regular 3:30 p.m. dismissal time. Classes will resume on Monday, January 7th, 2013.

Reporting of cancellations or closures due to inclement weather

With the approach of winter, please note that should it become

necessary to cancel school bus transportation or close schools due to

inclement weather, the Communications Department and Toronto

Student Transportation Group will endeavour to provide updates

through the following vehicles:

News releases to radio and television outlets in Toronto (Note:

although the news release is provided to the media outlets, there

is no guarantee that all television and radio stations will broad-

cast the information in a timely fashion.)

An email to all staff, trustees and CSAC chairs to advise them

of any cancellations or closures

Notification to E-News subscribers (Note: If you do not already

subscribe to E-News, but wish to do so, please visit our web-

site at www.tcdsb.org and click on the E-News icon on the

top right hand side of the homepage)

Updates will also be posted on the Board’s 24-hour information

line, 416-222-8282, extension 2873. The information will also

be posted on the homepage of the Board’s website at

www.tcdsb.org.

The Toronto Student Transportation Group will post this infor-

mation on its website at http://www.schoolbus.to/c_home.asp

Information about inclement weather protocol and related

health and safety issues can be found on the board’s website at:

http://www.tcdsb.org/Weather.htm.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL NEWS

On Monday, November 5th the Intermediate Girl’s vol-

leyball team participated in the annual Archbishop Ro-

mero Invitational Tournament. The girls played hard

but sadly lost in the semi-finals, placing third overall.

On Wednesday, November 21st the volleyball team parti-

cipated in the Divisional Tournament hosted by All

Saints School. The girls played four round robin games

and finished 4th overall. The team would like to thank

Mrs. Lui and Mrs. Connolly for taking time to coach us.

We would also like to thank all the parent drivers for

taking us to and from the tournament.

The team members are:

Olivia Gervasi Melissa Duarte De Sa

Nicole Iannelli Meagan Barry

Bianca Rivera Ann Zasowski

Jacqueline Colle Haley Pinto

Nicole Felcenloben Melany Pazmino

Julia Falzone Milena Gallucci

Alessandra Bellacicco

Julia Stancati

AzoraDe Filippis

Keelin Farren

Leah Bergmanis

Stephanie Ancimer

Andia Drago

Daniela Bandiera

Alessia Rizzello

DECEMBER 2012 FATHER SERRA TIMES PAGE 3

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL NEWS The boys’ volleyball team practised and played hard throughout

the season. They participated in two tournaments in the month of

November. The first one was the Archbishop Romero Tournament

on November 6. Facing some of the top teams of Toronto Father

Serra played well and competitively in all its games. The team

finished 3rd in their division and 5th overall missing the semi finals

by only one game. It was a great learning experience for the team.

The divisional tournament was held at All Saints School on Novem-

ber 20th. Again the boys played well throughout, dominating in

two games and playing competitively for all the rest. The games

and scores were very close with excellent rallies. The team fin-

ished in 3rd again and missed reaching the finals by one game. The

team should be proud as they played with enthusiasm, determina-

tion and sportsmanship. A special thank you is sent to the coach-

es, Mr. Rivera and Mr. Russo, for their time and effort in getting

the boys prepared for the volleyball season.

The team members are:

Nicholas Carbone Jason Rossit

Julian Colantonio Marc Bottero

Matthew Martin Daniel MacLellan

Daniel Carducci Rosario Christian Siracusa

Luca Trivisonno Matteo Colo

Benjamin Biasi Nicholas Mastrogiuseppe

Justin Spudic

PEDICULOSIS (HEAD LICE)

Once again we want to let you know about the common problem of head lice. Head lice can affect anyone, but most often it affects younger school-age children. Head lice are parasites. They are considered by health officials to be a nuisance when they are difficult to eliminate. They are not a health hazard and are not connected in any way with long hair, dirt, neglect, or not being clean. Head lice can spread quickly from head to head when a group of children have close contact (e.g. school, camp, daycare, etc.). They can be spread by sharing hats, brushes, combs, bed-ding, etc.

Prevention of head lice is everyone’s responsibility. Cooperation and prompt action will reduce the inconvenience to children. We encourage parents to look at their children's hair on a regular basis. When checking for nits (eggs), the hair should be dry. A convenient time for a visual check is just before washing your child’s hair. If you find any head lice or nits (eggs), obtain and use a medicated head lice shampoo or medicated cream rinse from your pharmacist, and contact the school to inform them that your child has been treated. The school needs to be informed so that other parents and school officials can be advised to check the heads of others. Finding and treating head lice early will stop your child from getting a severe case and stop the spread of head lice to other children. When a child is identified as having head lice the parent/guardian will be contacted and the child will be picked up so that the necessary treatment can be administered. The child will be re-admitted to class upon presentation of a signed letter from the parent/guardian that treatment has been adminis-tered.

For more information please visit the Toronto Public Health web-site: http://www.toronto.ca/health/hl_index.htm or call 416-338-7600

FATHER SERRA TIMES PAGE 4 DECEMBER 2012

PARENTS AND SCHOOL WORKING TOGETHER

FOR A COMMON GOAL

Please visit the Father Serra Website at:

http://www.tcdsb.org/schools/FatherSerra.as

p,

to view our School Learning Improvement Plan

(SLIP).

NEW! Father Serra Tweets

Follow us at: FatherSerraCS

21st Century Fluencies

The Toronto Catholic District School Board

has identified 21st Century Learning as a

core priority. The goal of 21st Century

Learning is to provide students with a com-

prehensive skillset focussed on thinking

rather than simply content. Schools will

focus on the skills required by students to

be competitive in our global economy

while meeting the Catholic Graduate ex-

pectations.

TCDSB has created a team of school lead-

ers and educators to communicate the

21st Century vision. The team is working

under the name of PROJECT NEXT. PRO-

JECT NEXT examines many of our cur-

rent practices and begins to build a frame-

work that promotes the 21st Century Flu-

encies:

COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, CREATIVITY

AND CRITICAL THINKING - THE 4 C'S.

Follow TCDSB on Twitter @TCDSB , or

subscribe to E-News. Visit our website

@ www.tcdsb.org for more information.

M. Palermo-Saraco ELP

Lauren Bruno

Ava de Domenico

Daniel DeLellis

J. Salvadori ELP

Serena Grupiljonas

Dylon Da Costa

Izabela Baramaj

L. Di Placido ELP

Jessica Moran

Sienna Costanzo

Matteo Esposito

I.Drohobycky (Gr. 1)

Daniela Pinto

Sophie Taaffe

L. Pimento (Gr. 1)

Savannah Kaczanowski

Nicholas Montisano

D. Lloyd (Gr.1 and 2)

Ceara Sweeney

Andrew Imbrogno

L. Pesegi-Galluzzo (Gr. 2)

Jonas Palumbo

Noah Palumbo

C. Spatare (Gr.2)

James DeLuca

Luca Litrenta

Natalie De Paoli

Abbey Udovic

K. Connolly (Gr. 3)

Piero Gallucci

Max Nowak

J. Vennare (Gr. 3)

Lauren Olszaniecki and

Gianluca Mastrangelo

R. Troina (Gr. 4)

Melissa Adragna

Daniel Buttigieg

Carlos Gallina Reed Penn

R. Achong (Gr. 4)

Liam Barry

Alexa Pereira Da Costa

Nicholas Primomo

M. Russo (Gr. 5)

Ilaria Tripodi

Andrea Laturski

Daniel Carbone

J. Berneche (Gr. 5)

Lauren DeLuca

Gabriella Peschisolido

Kayla Wuebbolt

M. MacDonald (Gr. 6)

David Zivkovic

Elissa Palumbo

S. Bellisario (Gr. 6)

Marie Campisi

Michael Mior

Gianlorenzo Rende

G. Lui (Gr. 7)

Anthony Paparo

Anthony Frattarelli

R. Gargano (Gr. 7)

Meagan Barry

Peter Ftohogianis

Julie Shin

D. Farrell (Gr. 8)

Julian Colantonio

Nicole Iannelli

M. Torrieri (Gr. 8)

Alessandra Bellacicco

Francesca Carelli

Jason Rossit

STUDENT(S) OF THE MONTH

CONGRATULATIONS to the following students.. They displayed

the Virtue of PEACE for the month of November.