A smile is the beginning of peace. Blessed Mother Teresa Dear Parent(s), St. Barnabas continues on its active pace as we head into November. This prom-ises to be an exciting month for our school. We look forward to participating in sports tournaments, organizing our Remembrance Day Peace Service and of course, progress reports and Parent-Teacher Interviews. The teachers continue to be fully engaged in delivering the Program, which, I am pleased to note, continues to be strong. Your children are also working hard. Continue to sup-port them at home with their homework, and with regular literacy activities. It is through the coop-eration of the home and school that a child has great opportunities for growth. We will be starting our Charity Christmas Baskets soon with the St. Vincent de Paul so stay tuned for details. I look forward to continuing to work with each of you. Yours in Faith, Peter FitzPatrick

From the Parish of St Barnabas Catholic Church Superintendent: K. Malcolm(416) 222 8282 Administrative Assistant: Ms. Rosos

The virtue of the month of Novem-ber is Peace – Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you - John 14:27

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school @ (416) 393 5351.

The Halloween Dance-a-thon was a huge success. Our parent council crew worked extremely hard to ensure the kids had fun and were kept safe. There were no details left behind with this huge endeavor. Well

done and thanks to our CSPC parents for being so hands on and dedi-cated to our students!

…that together you may with ONE VOICE glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6

Chair Ms. George

Treasurer Ms. McNeilly

Secretary Ms. Almeida

Fundraising Coordinator

Ms. Munro

Construction Update: Status Quo Preliminary designs and costings are com-

plete Surveyor is finalizing locales for drainage

systems Consultants are preparing the construction

drawings for tender Application for Building Permit is await-

ing finalization

Staffing Update: Due to a slight decline in enroll-ment, we bid farewell to Mrs. Lamanna, our clerk typist who is moving on to a new school. Mrs. Laman-na spent each and every Monday with St. Barnabas these last two years and has added much to the fabric our community. We wel-come Ms. Pham into our community in the ESL po-sition as well as Madame Navoa into our Core French Program.

St. Barnabas Starting Line Up

Principal Mr. FitzPatrick

Administrative Assistant Ms. Rosos

Head Custodian Mr. Amenta

Early Childhood Educator Ms. McPherson

Early Childhood Educator Ms. Velinor

FDK Teacher Ms. Kiefer

FDK Teacher Ms. Black

Gr 1 Teacher Ms. Colla

Gr 1/2 Teacher Ms. Richardson

Gr 2/3 Teacher Ms. Capone

Gr 3/4 Teacher Ms. Ross

Gr 4 Teacher Mr. Nabzdyk

Gr 5 Teacher Mr. Durant

Gr 6 Teacher Mr. D’Souza

Gr 7 Teacher Mrs. Twydell

Gr 7 Teacher Mrs. Gordon

Gr 8 Teacher Mr. Sulmona

French Teacher Ms. Navoa

French Teacher Ms. Carvalho

Physical Education Mrs. Sullivan

Resource Teacher Mrs. Schiller

ESL Teacher Ms. Pham

Vocal Music Mr. Longo

Instrumental Music Mr. Zaw-Tun

Educational Assistant Ms. Garas

Educational Assistant Ms. Trabulsey

Educational Assistant Ms. Chan

Educational Assistant Ms. Fernandez

School Halls and Yard Safety: Thank you for your support and understanding in ensur-ing it is staff and students only in the school yard and halls prior to school and during school hours so we can ensure student safety. If you would like to speak with the teacher, the office staff will page them to come down to the office to meet you or you can set an ap-pointment through the agenda or a phone call.

PICTURE GALLERY

Parent Connections… This months Parent Engagement piece will focus on developing a growth mindset in students. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. My experience as a principal tells me it is easier to develop a growth mindset in children than it is to change a fixed mindset in adults. I have found it daunting to place myself on this mindset continuum in different con-texts. Five Quick things you can do to help develop a growth mindset in kids (wonderofchildren.wordpress.com)

1. Ask open-ended questions to solve a problem or achieve a goal. “What do you think will happen if…” or “Why do you suppose…” These questions build logical thinking skills and often lead to rich discovery.

2. Use specific feedback that identifies what the child accomplished. What small steps led to a larger outcome? Be supportive when your child attempts some-thing new. It might not be the way you’d try to solve a problem, but if it works, acknowledge it honestly and without judgement. Pick your battles. Hair done by a three-year old might not be ready for the runway, but it brings a child great satisfaction to say, “I did it myself!” Skills that build persistence simultaneously allow chil-dren to feel confidence and independence. When frustra-tion rears it’s head, offer an encouraging word about what steps worked well.

3. Encourage kids to take a risk. Watch and listen to your child so you can take cues about what else they are ready to tackle. Vygotsky calls this the “zone of proxi-mal development – when we gently nudge kids to use what they know to try something just a bit out of their reach, but yet developmentally appropriate. By offering small but achievable challenges, confidence and persis-tence emerge.

4. Be persistent and growth-orientated your-self. Narrate your thoughts as you try something new or frustrating. Your child may even be able to offer some helpful tips. This allows children to see we all have to work hard to solve problems and we all continue to learn new things.

5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Accidents, and mistakes happen. Show your child that there’s something to be learned when we don’t achieve what we set out to accomplish. Maybe someone else lends a hand. Maybe you return to the task at another time. Maybe it’s best to abandon things for a while or break things down into smaller steps. Be specific about what worked, identify the emotions involved, and offer encouragement for the next time.

Safe School Action Plan

Pro-Social Behaviour: Let’s focus on the good things! Let’s celebrate what is right in the school community and the world around us. Let’s model for our children/students what positive relation-ships look like and what they sound like. Let’s put our school theme, “Lead By Example”, into action. We need to do this explicitly and intentionally! We will continue celebrating with our monthly Blues Spirit assemblies, we will continue offering programs and activities for our stu-dents to shine. We will most certainly continue to partner with our CSPC modelling to our stu-dents how a wonderful Christian community shines through positive fun family events. We will continue to celebrate our mistakes as opportunities for growth!

Leadership as a vehicle: We will look to our intermediate students and Leadership team to set the example for the school. When the intermediate students shine, the school shines! Our Leaders will be visiting classes regularly, reading pro-social stories, focussing on being as-sertive, sustaining relationships in a healthy manner. Our school has a healthy library with many social stories that dovetail the pro-social work we are fostering.

Be Assertive: We are an Easter people and forgiveness plays a large role in our social dynamic at home and at school. We encourage our students to be forgiving and equally important is the need to be assertive and confident in ensuring the same infraction does not become a habit. Thus, when a student apologizes to his/her friend for something inappropriate, we have coined the phrase, “I accept your apology but don’t let it happen again”. When students are assertive and confident, our community becomes more resilient to bullying. We need to be explicit and inten-tional with this type of language and it’s importance in social development.

Code of Conduct: Our school code of conduct can be found in every child’s agenda. The crux of the code of conduct is a focus on prosocial behaviour, supported by progressive discipline, where students are offered support and provided with strategies to adjust behaviour in a positive fashion. In addition, restorative justice is utilized whereby students can internalize behaviour and learn from mistakes. All through the lens of our Catholic Faith

Even the weakest and most vulner-able, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.—Pope Francis

Guidance Corner As the time for Progress Reports gets closer, help your child focus on their Learning Skills and Work Hab-its. Responsibility, Collaboration, Initiative, Self-Regulation. Organization and Independent Work are key skills that help students take ownership for their learning, and allow them to be more successful in all areas of the curric-ulum. More information on the Learning Skills and Work Habits and how to help your child develop them, can be found at the following links: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf (pgs. 10-14) http://www.fslhomeworktoolbox.ca/homework_tips/learning_skills_and_work_habits.php November is also Bullying Prevention month across Canada. You can help your child recognize the signs of bullying and what to do if they or someone they know is being targeted. In our age of technology, bullying can happen elec-tronically, as well as face-to-face. Be aware of your child's activities online by asking them to show you what they are doing, and by ensuring that they are using their devices in a prominent area of the home. Building empathy and compassion for other people's feelings, is key to stopping bullying before it starts. Here are some helpful websites you may wish to visit: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/safeschools.html, http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/safeschools/bullying.html

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SafeSchools/BullyingAwarenessAndPrevention/Pages/default.aspx It's a busy time for Grade 8 students and the transition to High School! Open house nights took place last month, and you may be aware that we have a Regional Arts Program at Saint Mother Teresa, a Math, Science, Technolo-gy program at Francis Libermann, an International Baccalaureate program at St. John Paul II and Advanced Place-ment programs at a number of different high schools. You would have received an application form for Grade 9 in October, and completed forms will be sent by your child's teacher to the Admissions Office, by November 5th. As indicated on the application form, the closer the high school is to your child's elementary school, the great-er the chance of acceptance. If your child is redirected, there are no guarantees of placement at the alternate choice school. The redirection will be to the closest high school that has space. Also, the TCDSB does not have access to information for high schools outside of our own board. You have or will be receiving a Transition Guide for Parents, which contains important information regarding the transition to high school. There are translated guides in a number of languages, available upon request. With the recent legalization of cannabis, this information on the Board website and at Teen Mental Health may be of interest: http://teenmentalhealth.org/cannabis //https://intranet.tcdsb.org/Departments/CandA/HealthOutdoorPhysEd/Pages/Information-About-Cannabis.aspx;

G. Vincent Elementary Guidance Counsellor

Monthly Update from the Board

International Languages Elementary (ILE) Program: November Update

IL Survey to Be Conducted in All TCDSB Elementary Schools

On July 12th, the Board of Trustees of the TCDSB approved a motion to survey parents in all TCDSB Ele-mentary Schools to determine whether parents wish to continue or initiate an International Languages program at their child’s school.

Process and Timelines:

One survey will be sent to each family with the Progress Report card with the oldest or only child in each family.

All surveys must be completed and returned in the sealed envelope provided, to the school principal no later than November 27, 2018.

No survey will be accepted after November 27th.

Should parents wish to have a translated version to assist with the completion of the English survey, they can request a translated copy from the school principal or download a copy of the target language from: https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/InternationalLanguages/International-Language-Survey/Pages/Default.aspx. Translations are available in Spanish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Ara-bic, Filipino, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) Tamil, and Italian. All parents are encouraged to participate to ensure that results reflect the individual and collective voice of the school community. Surveys from 67% of all families in the school must be completed and re-

turned in order for the results to be considered viable. In order to determine if the program is to be contin-ued, using the Board approved model or to move the IL program to an alternative model, the majority of

51% should be attained for the preferred selection.

In January, a report will be submitted to the Board of Trustees. This report will include a list of results by school, including the response rates for each school. However, only schools with the required 67% re-sponse rate will receive a detailed summary of parent responses.

For updated information regarding the International Languages Elementary (ILE) Program please visit:

https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/schoolprogramsk12/internationallanguages/pages/change-to-international-languages-program.aspx

Let the good times continue….