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Virtue of the month:

CHARITY “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.”

December 2016 September08 2006 2006

St. Helen Catholic School News

Dear Parents/Guardians, We are beginning a new liturgical year with the start of the Advent season. During this month of December, we prepare for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We would like to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a joyous and safe holiday season. God Bless!

A. Sanborn J. Bucci God, Father Almighty,

You sent your son Jesus to be light for a world in great need of

salvation. Help us grow ever closer to you and to one another as

we journey in love through this Holy Season of Advent. Amen.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS - Friday, December 23rd, 2016 – LAST DAY

OF SCHOOL. Christmas Holidays - December 26th through to January 6th, 2017. School will resume on Monday, January 9th, 2017.

Please join us for… Christmas Concert – Tuesday, December 13th (Pre-primary/Primary) &

Wednesday, December 14th (Junior/Intermediate) – 9:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. Advent School Mass – Wednesday, December 21st – 1:00 p.m. at the Church Christmas Spirit Day – Friday, December 23rd – Wear Red and Green

**REMINDER: No school for students – PA DAY – Friday, December 2nd **

ANGEL FOUNDATION TOY DRIVE – November 21st – December 2nd.

CSPC PIZZA LUNCH – December Pizza Day will take place on Dec. 9th and 23rd

PAJAMA DAY – School wide pajama day for Terry Fox Challenge on Friday, December 16th.

LUNCH LADY – Wednesday’s in December.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION - The TCDSB invites families with children born in 2013 to register for Kindergarten beginning Wed., Jan. 18, 2017 at 10 a.m. EST. Registration options:

• Online: Parents will be able to complete their application online at: https://soar.tcdsb.org/Login.aspx. A follow up with visit to the school to present the required documents will be scheduled.

• In Person: Parents can register at their local school with the required documents.

www.tcdsb.org/kindergartenregistration BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR UPDATED SCHOOL WEBSITE AT: www.tcdsb.org/schools/sthelen including school newsletters and calendars.

…that together you may with ONE VOICE glorify the God and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ. Romans 15:6

St. Helen Catholic School

1196 College Street, Toronto Ontario, M6H 1B8 Telephone: 416-393-5208

Fax: 416-397-6142

Principal: Alise Sanborn

Vice-Principal:

Joe Bucci

Superintendent: John Wujek

Trustee:

Barbara Poplawski

Parish: Father John Cabral

St. Helen Roman Catholic Church 1680 Dundas Street

Toronto, Ontario M6H 3M8

Phone: 416-531-8188

School Hours: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Lunch Hour: 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Family, School, Parish

Together with One Voice

Year of the Parish

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH FOR December is Charity

As we enter the season of Advent to prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus, it is suitable that this month’s virtue is CHARITY. “Where charity and love are, God is there”. This month at St. Helen, we will be demonstrating charity by being kind to others, helping others, and remembering the less fortunate.

Students will be selected for their ability to demonstrate CHARITY for December and will be included in our January newsletter. Students will be recognized with certificates to take home.

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH Students of the month for the Virtue of Gratitude in October are: Rachael J., Samantha G., Nicholas C., Caua S., Bentley P., Thomas M., Emma C., Kamilla L., Gavin P., Michael N., Malisa M., Julianna L., Justine A., Lucas C., Anthony G., Kaitlyn M., Isabella C., Chelsee M. Students of the month for the Virtue of Peace in November are: Sarah D., Avery M., Averee S., Mariam M., Patricia C., Isabel D., Natasha T., Tristan D., Amanda D., Julian F., Hayley P., Mary J., Simon D., Mackenzie A., Dana M., Tekeba M., Marcel D.

TOY DRIVE –

Nov. 21st – Dec. 2nd The toy drive will run from November 21st – December 2nd

and students are asked to purchase a NEW toy suitable for a child of their age and grade for children to have a gift on Christmas Day. Unwrapped toys can be dropped off to Room 107. Thank you for your generosity and continuous support of our community!

PRIMARY GIRLS SOCCER

Good luck to those students who are participating in the Soccer tournament and representing St. Helen School on December 6th.

CSPC PIZZA LUNCHES – Dec. 9th& 23rd Volunteers are greatly needed to assist with these hot lunches. If you are able to volunteer an hour of your time on pizza days, please fill in a volunteer form available in the office and someone will contact you.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT The St. Helen School Christmas Concert will take place on Tuesday, December 13th & Wednesday, December 14th, 2016

at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are only needed to attend the evening concerts. Evening tickets are purchased for $5.00 a ticket up to two tickets per show. All monies raised will be used to purchase laptops for the classrooms. Day performances are free of charge to attend, as these are dress rehearsals. The schedule will be as follows: Tuesday, December 13th – PrePrimary/Primary All Kindergarten – Grade 3 students French Wednesday, December 14th – Junior/Intermediate Grade 4 – 8 students Portuguese Instrumental Music (tentative) Student permission forms and ticket forms were sent home on Nov. 28th, 2016. Tickets to be sent home on Friday, Dec. 9th. If you would like additional evening tickets, please indicate on the order form and we will do our best to provide them.

LUNCH LADY - WEEKLY Lunch Lady is very excited to be serving our students weekly pre-ordered hot lunches for the

2015-2016 school year. If you have any questions email/call anthony@thelunchlady.ca 647-436-9134.

DRESS UP/DOWN DAY On December 23rd, students are invited to dress up/down in festive Christmas colours.

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KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER 2017

The Toronto Catholic District School Board invites families with children born in 2013 to register for Kindergarten beginning Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 10 a.m. EST. Registration options:

• Online: Parents will be able to complete their application online at: https://soar.tcdsb.org/Login.aspx. A follow up with visit to the school to present the required documents will be scheduled following the online application.

• In Person: Parents can register at their local school with the required documents.

Information: 416-222-8282 ext. 5320 or 5314, www.tcdsb.org/kindergartenregistration

STUDENT ATTENDANCE / LATES Our school hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is imperative that the students arrive before the 8:30 a.m. morning bell and that they are ready to line up for school entrance with their class. When students are late, they miss important morning announcements that the Principal needs to make as well as important instructional time. The student who is late disrupts the classroom lessons that have been started. Student attendance is monitored closely and warning letters are being sent home when a student is consistently late. When a student is late more than 15 times a social work referral will be made.

The Council meets regularly and encourages the attendance of all community stakeholders. Please join us at our monthly scheduled CSPC meetings on January 11th, February 1st, April 5th, May 3rd and June 7th at 6:00 p.m. We encourage your involvement. ** Note – No CSPC MEETING in December **

CHRISTMAS MARKET THANK YOU A big thank you to everyone who participated and supported our Christmas Market. It was a huge success!! All the monies raised from Santa Photos, Karaoke, raffle ticket sales and Scholastic Book Fair will be used to purchase laptops for the classroom. All the monies raised from the vendor market, Christmas café, poinsettia and cookie sales will be used to fund educational initiatives funded through our C.S.P.C. Thank you to all who supported us so generously!

RAPTOR TICKETS DONATION THANK YOU A big thank you to the Matheson family for generously donating the two Raptor Tickets that were raffled off in our raffle ticket sale during our Christmas Market. Your support is greatly appreciated and the monies raised will be used towards our classroom laptop purchase initiative.

POPPY DONATIONS – THANK YOU

St. Helen School demonstrated our gratitude and generosity to those who gave their lives for the freedom

through our poppy donations. Our community was able to donate over $575.00 to the local legion for providing immediate assistance to ex-servicemen and women in need. This may include food shelter or medical attention for them or their families. Thank you for your continuous support.

WINTER DRESS During cold inclement weather please send your child to school only a few minutes before the bell rings; thus they will not have to stand out in the cold for long periods of time. Students will be kept inside on days in which the weather/wind chill factor is significantly cold. Such decisions are made individually respecting local weather conditions.

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Please encourage your child/children to wear a hat, mitts or gloves, proper footwear and warm clothes for winter. It is recommended that students wear various layers of clothing

which will permit them to adjust to the changing weather conditions throughout the day. Please ensure that your child/children’s clothing is properly labeled and thus can be easily identifiable when lost or misplaced. During snowy months when boots are worn, it is required that students maintain at school a pair of shoes or slippers into which they may change to ensure student safety. In the event of an emergency, students must exit the building quickly and would not be able to stop to find their boots.

ALLERGIES / SHARING FOOD St. Helen’s is an allergen aware school. There are children in attendance who suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to certain foods, such as peanuts or other nut products (this includes Nutella). Please let the school know if your child has a new allergy. Please remind your child to refrain from sharing snacks and lunches. Students with ANAPHYLAXIS must carry an EPI-PEN with them at all times as well as having a second EPI-PEN stored at the school office. Parents/ Guardians will be given a form: TCDSB REQUEST AND CONSENT FOR ADMINISTRATION OF INJECTION OF MEDICATION IN AN EMERGENCY which is to be completed by the parent/guardian as well as the child’s doctor. An EMERGENCY ALLERGY ALERT FORM EPI-PEN ONLY will be completed with the student’s photo and placed on the Medical Alert Board in the office, staff room and student’s classroom.

VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL All visitors (including parents) must report to the office prior to proceeding to classes. For security and safety reasons, access to the school is available through the front doors only to the

school. Please ring the bell to gain access to the school. Please advise the office of any strangers around the school. All volunteers must have a

police check. All service providers must be approved by the school board.

CELL PHONE USE Although many students bring cell phones to school as a communication device for parents to keep in contact with their children after school hours, please note that CELL PHONE USE IS NOT PERMITTED DURING CLASS TIME. Students are to keep their cell phones powered off during class and while on school property. Class time is precious and students will not be allowed to engage in texting/ calling/ emailing during school hours. If you need to contact your child, please call the school and we will make every attempt to relay the message to your child and/or to bring your child to the office telephone. Failure to follow school policy may result in the confiscation of the cell phone. Any use of cell phones/electronic devices, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to intimidate others will result in confiscation of the phone.

Please refer to the TCDSB AUP http://www.tcdsb.org/board/policies/aup

FROM THE BOARD French Immersion and

Extended French The Toronto Catholic District School Board offers

French Immersion and Extended French programs at

several TCDSB sites. The French Immersion program is

offered to students beginning in Junior Kindergarten. The

Extended French Program is offered to students

beginning in grade 5. Interested parents are encouraged

to attend an information evening to learn more about the

program. Please note dates, times and locations for

sessions planned for December through to February

available on the French Immersion and Extended French

sites. Information: (416) 222-8282 ext. 2540 or

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/EarlyYears/Kin

dergartenRegistration/Pages/French-Immersion.aspx.

LTAP and LTPP The Toronto Catholic District School Board has launched

a consultation on its proposed Long Term

Accommodation Plan (LTAP) and Long Term Program

Plan (LTPP). All parents, staff, students and Catholic

school stakeholders are invited to participate and provide

input into the proposed actions outlined in the draft Long

Term Accommodation Plan (LTAP) and Long Term

Program Plan (LTPP). Two separate consultation

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surveys (one for each plan) have been prepared to

facilitate this consultation process. The links to the

online surveys can be accessed by clicking on the links

above. The deadline for responding to the surveys is

Monday, January 9, 2017 at Noon.

Feedback gathered through the consultation process will

help inform the decisions of Trustees regarding final

recommendations for the LTAP and LTPP at the Board

meeting in February 2017.

For more information regarding the LTPP and the LTAP,

please visit

https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/PlanningandFacilities/Cons

ultationsLTAPLTPP/Pages/Default.aspx

We thank you for your involvement in these important

discussions.

Get Ready for High School Everything you need to know can be found in the

Transition Guides for parents and students:

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgram

sK12/GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20S

chool/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgram

sK12/GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20S

chool/TransitionGuidesOct282016/TCDSB_STUDENT_

GUIDE.pdf

Christmas Break A reminder that schools are open through to December

23, 2016. Christmas holidays begin Saturday, December

24th and continue through to Sunday, January 8th. Classes

resume, Monday, January 9th.

Our Eastern rite families will celebrate Christmas on

January 7th.

We wish everyone a safe, happy and blessed Christmas.

The Staff of St. Helen Catholic School wishes

everyone a Happy and Blessed Christmas!

A Special Thank You to our….

CSPC

Volunteers

Parish Team

Community Partners

Your commitment to serving our school

community is commendable!

Please contact the school if you would like to advertise in this publication.