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St. Ambrose Catholic School Newsletter 20 Coules Court, Etobicoke, Ontario, M8W 2N9 Telephone: (416) 393-5259 Fax: (416) 393-5039
Visit us: http://stambrose.tcdsb.org and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stambroseces
St. Ambrose Parish Superintendent: D. Yack 416-222-8282 ext. 2732 Principal: K. Van Dinter Fr. Donatello Iocco Trustee: A. Andrachuk 416-512-3402 Secretary: E. Silva (416) 251-8282 CSPC Chair: S. Francisco Clerk Typist: M. Jones
JANUARY 2018 TCDSB
Principal’s Message
The beginning of a New Year is always a great time to
reflect on our lives. During the month of January, we
focus on “moral” courage - the ability to act rightly in
the face of popular opposition, shame or
discouragement. The virtue of courage helps us to take
the initiative to make changes in our lives and/or to
accept changes brought before us. We encourage our
students to become more reflective and creative
thinkers by making decisions in light of gospel values
with an informed moral conscience. Developing our
moral courage helps us to have the strength to stand up
for what is right.
Let us take this time to reflect on the many blessings
that we have been given as we look back on the year
that has passed.
I would like to thank the St. Ambrose community for
their cards, gifts and warm wishes at Christmas. May
this New Year bring new light and new hope as we look
forward to 2018 with a renewed spirit!
A very Happy New Year to all!
Katherine Van Dinter
Principal
A Prayer for the New Year ~ Charlotte Anselmo ~
Thank you Lord for giving me
The brand new year ahead
Help me live the way I should
As each new day I tread.
Give me gentle wisdom
That I might help a friend
Give me strength and courage
So a shoulder I might lend.
The year ahead is empty
Help me fill it with good things
Each new day filled with joy
And the happiness it brings.
Please give the leaders of our world
A courage born of peace
That they might lead us gently
And all the fighting cease.
Please give to all upon this earth
A heart that's filled with love
A gentle happy way to live
With Your blessings from above.
AMEN
Prayer for Courage Prayer for Courage
God of courage,
May we always seek to do what is right,
no matter what others say or think.
May we face our fears
knowing that you are by our side.
May we honestly try to be the best
we can be, each and every day.
We know that we may not always be
brave,
but with your gift of courage,
May we be always willing
to try new things as we follow Jesus,
Your Son, Our model of courage.
Amen.
Virtue of the Month
The Catholic Community Award for December: CHARITY
The criteria for the Virtue of Charity:
students who demonstrate generosity with their time and energy
students who participate in school wide initiatives related to charity
students who lend a helping hand
students who give to others without expecting anything in return
Congratulations to the recipients for our Virtue Award for Charity!
Virtue Award for the Month of December: Charity
CLASS TEACHER STUDENTS
ELP/1 Ms. Kwiatkowski Giuliana P., Emily V., Raymond B.
ELP/2 Ms. Tsuruoka Kian S., Leah A.S., Amelia B.
ELP/3 Ms. Van de Coevering Nolan L., Nevan B.
ELP/4 Mrs. Silva Josie A., Nico C.
1 Mrs. Balestri Jamie A., Tyler B.
1/2 Mrs. Borges Ryan C., Elisabeth B.
2 Ms. Gacad Sophia F., Cayden R.
2/3 Ms. Driscoll Emilia P., Maya Soul C.
3 Ms. Sztuka Jack N., Charles D., Joshua M.
3/4 Ms. Pereira Evie K., Chloe D.S.
4 Ms. Maudsley Tea B.D., Mia B., Natalie P.
4/5 Mrs. Birt Juliana M., Anthony C.
6 Mrs. Bureau Ri S., Oliva M., Juliet P., Eren M.
6/7 Ms. De Cillis Tomas M., Nicholas C.
7/8 Mr. Roque Skyler H., Caprese A.
8 Ms. Berardi Kaitlyn M., Kirsten M.
Catholic Community Award for January: Virtue of Courage
The criteria for the Virtue of Courage:
Students who confront fear
Students who persevere despite difficulties
Students who stand up against bullying and mistreatment of others
Students who embark on new projects/ are willing to try and learn new
things
ME to WE TEAM
During the month of December,
the ME to We team initiated a
number of charitable events
including: Staff
vs. Students
volleyball games
and civvies day.
Money collected
for these events
will be put towards supporting the
ME to We initiative, “We Create
Change”; this initiative helps
families in developing communities
make big change for the next
generation through Free the
Children’s WE Villages model that
helps to build schools. To date, we
have raised $965.00 for this
global initiative! We thank the St.
Ambrose community for their
ongoing support!
SWEET READ
During the month of December,
our primary students participated
in the Sweet Read initiative.
Students shared the gift of
reading by donating a new reading
book and chocolate for another
child to enjoy! Sweet Read
donations were sent to Yorktown
Family Services. This organization
provides services for dealing with
issues such as trauma, poverty,
emotional, psychiatric, social,
behavioral and substance abuse.
They also provide shelter for
women and children. We want to
thank the St. Ambrose
community for donating 147
books!
ADVENT SHOEBOXES
During the month of December,
students in Gr. 3- Gr. 8 donated
Advent Shoeboxes in support of
Dr. Simone’s Canadian Food for
Children. The St. Ambrose
community donated 103
shoeboxes! We thank you for your
generous support!
WINTER WEATHER
It’s that time of the year when
students need to be reminded of
the necessity of dressing
properly for the weather
(mittens, hats, scarves, boots,
etc.). Labelling items would be
helpful, as many boots and
mittens look very similar. Many
items make their way to the Lost
and Found and are often not
claimed.
We ask that each child have
indoor footwear (e.g.
running shoes) to wear in the
school and boots to wear
outside when the weather
becomes rainy or snowy. Please
listen to the weather reports
before deciding what they
should wear to school each day.
Except under inclement
weather conditions, students
will be outside during recesses.
Research indicates that time
outdoors in the fresh air allows
students to refocus on their
studies.
Please reinforce with your
child that ‘snow stays on the
ground’. Students
are reminded that
there is to be no
snowball throwing,
kicking of snow,
taking hats, etc. Please take this
opportunity to discuss these
behaviors with your children in
the interest of student safety.
We will monitor the weather
conditions daily and make
decisions based upon our local
conditions. Except under
inclement conditions, students go
outside during recess and lunch
hour. Children who are too ill
to go outside should be resting
at home and should not be at
school.
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten Registration for all TCDSB elementary schools begins
Wednesday, January 17th,
2018 at 10:00 a.m. online at
soar.tcdsb.org .
St. Ambrose YMCA Kindergarten/School Age Kindergarten/School Age
Before and After School
•Located in St. Ambrose Catholic School •Open at 7:30a.m. Until school bell and after school until 6:00p.m. • P.A. Days, winter and March Break included in your fee (excluding A.M.
*Subsidy is available with the City of Toronto, call 311 for more information. Current child care fee subsidies are transferable. For program details call; (416)622-6331 or [email protected]
Program Fees: Kindergarten (4 or 5 years old) A.M. Only -$18.36 /day P. M. Only – $26.32 /day A.M. /P.M. – $29.58 /day School Age (6 – 11.5 years old) A. M. Only -$13.53 /day P. M. Only – $19.14 /day A.M. /P.M. – $22.10 /day
The Toronto Catholic District
School Board is offering access
to the following Microsoft
products to all of our students:
FREE: Microsoft Office 365
Pro Plus: includes latest
versions of Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint, Publisher, Excel,
Outlook, OneDrive and
OneNote. The license can be
used for up to 5 computers
and up to 5 mobile devices
(any platform);
FREE: Microsoft Windows 10
EDU;
10% discount on computers
and devices at the online
Microsoft Education Store.
In order to access this online
offer, the student will need to
know his/her TCDSB computer
login username and password. If
your child does not know his/her
login information, please contact
your school to ask how to obtain
this information.
To take advantage of the
software offers you must have
internet access for the download.
To find out more and how you can
take advantage of this offer, visit
our TCDSB Digital Store now at:
www.tcdsb.org/digitalstore
STUDENT NUTRITION PROGRAM
UPDATE
Our Student Nutrition program is
off to a great start! Students are
enjoying the daily morning meal
snacks five days a week (and all
the benefits as well)! In order to
reduce costs, we are asking all
students to bring their own
spoon and fork to school to use
for our daily snack!
Funding/Donations
Our program receives a small portion of Municipal and Provincial grant funding but it is not enough to cover the full cost of running the program. Parental contributions and school fundraising are an important part of sustaining the program and is a necessary criteria to receiving these grants. The reality is that our program will not survive without your help!
We are asking you to please contribute a suggested amount of $20.00 per student. This is a universal program where snack is made available to all students while contributions are made towards sustaining the program. These contributions can be made for any amount, at any time and as many times as desired. Tax receipts are available for donations of $20 or more. Please complete the form attached or donate online at www.tcdsb.schoolcashonline.com.We thank you for your continued support!
Volunteers Needed! Calling all volunteers! We are looking for more help! If you are able to spare a few hours per week to help out with our nutrition program, please contact Yolanda Guitar, our Site Nutrition Coordinator at: [email protected]
UKULELE LESSONS
Interested in
learning a new
instrument?
Beginning in January,
St. Ambrose will be offering
Ukulele lessons on Tuesdays
during lunch for students in Gr.1 –
Gr. 8. This parent-paid lunch
program will be provided by
Ukulele Kids, a non-for-profit
organization.
The cost of the program includes
8 lessons at lunchtime, a ukulele
for the child to keep and a 46-
page songbook. The ukes come in
8 bright colours for the students
to choose from. A flyer will be
sent home the first week of
school!
SKATING IN JANUARY This January, weather permitting, the classes will be going skating at Sir Adam Beck Park! If you have any skates, helmets or ice skating support bars that you would like to donate, please consider donating them to our school!
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
PARENT COUNCIL (CSPC)
NEWS
FAMILY SKATE NIGHT
Lace up your skates! Our Family
Skate Night will take place on
Thursday, January 18th at
Colonel Samuel Smith Skating
Trail! We are always looking for
volunteers! Please email Ms.
Francisco at:
NEXT CSPC MEETING
Tuesday, January 16th at 6:30 pm.
Babysitting will be made available
for school-age students!
MATH IDEAS
Math is everywhere! Take advantage of the many
great opportunities to practice math naturally during
common every day activities. Below are a few ideas to
get you started:
cooking can involve weighing, measuring, ordering,
estimating, adding, multiplying …
(Ex. Doubling the recipe)
Restaurants and shopping can involve money,
number identification, estimating, adding,
subtracting, division …
(Ex. 30% off of a $20.00 item)
Family Trips/activities can involve time, distance,
budgeting, speed, evaluating various routes, license
plate games …
(Ex. adding or multiplying the
numbers on the plate)
games, singing, writing to a relative or friend,
sharing day-to-day tasks such as making a
shopping list or using a recipe, and surfing
the Internet for fun and interesting sites.” Visit
www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca or
www.abclifeliteracy.ca
SUPPORT FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS!
As part of the TCDSB’s goal of Fostering Student
Achievement and Well Being, the Special Services
department endeavors to support our special
education students in achieving academic excellence
and meeting the Ontario Catholic Graduate School
Expectations. The department offers a variety of
supports to students based on their need(s) and/or
identification(s). For further information please visit
the Special Services department link:
https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SpecialEdu
cation/Pages/default.aspx
Parents/caregivers are reminded that if they require
support in accessing the Special Services department
link, they may ask the school principal for
assistance. Alternately, for families who require
access to a computer to visit the site, they may
access an electronic device through the Toronto
Public Library.
January Message from Trustee Ann Andrachuk
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break filled with relaxing time with family and loved ones. I am thrilled to announce that after a long wait, the new Holy Trinity Catholic School, located at Kipling and Lake Shore, will be opening its doors on February 19, 2018. The new, state of the art building, will
accommodate the former St. Teresa and Christ the King communities. Just before the Christmas break, I was thrilled to attend the grand opening of a brand new artificial turf field at Our Lady of Sorrows. The new field, funded in part through a generous Canada 150 grant, provides a wealth of opportunities for students and the surrounding community. A reminder to parents that kindergarten registration opens on January 17th at 10 a.m. Parents can register online using the Board’s SOAR application at http://www.tcdsb.org. Please make sure you have all the necessary documents ready to ensure a smooth process. For more information, and what you need, please review the Board’s website. For more information on what is happening around the school system sign up for the Board’s weekly eNewsletter. To view past issues or sign up visit https://www.tcdsb.org/News/eNews. Finally, for a list of TCDSB Board and Committee meetings please visit https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/TrusteesoftheBoard/boardmeeting. There you will find meeting agendas, videos from previous meetings and information on how to speak to the Board about the issues that matter to you. Have a wonderful 2018! Sincerely, Ann
