2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Principal's Message

Dear Parent/ Guardians: At the beginning of March our thoughts begin to shift to the season of

Spring and hopes of warmer weather. It’s been a long winter! We began

our Lenten journey, a period of forty days we set aside for prayer,

fasting and doing good things for others on Ash Wednesday,

February 26th . Here at school, students in Grades 3 – 8 will make

their confessions as part of our Lenten journey on Monday, March

30th. Our Grade 7 students made a commitment to receiving the

Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, March 1st , 10:00 am

Mass, at the Rite of Commitment. We are very grateful to Fr. Francis

for his active role in the faith development of our students.

A Lenten Prayer:

O God, during this Lenten season

Help us to come closer to you.

Help us to fast from those things

that separate us from your love,

to give generously to others,

and to pray always.

Amen

My thanks to the Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) for

organizing events during the month of February. We held the CSPC

Danceathon on February 12th . Students from Jk-Grade 8,

participated in a dance workshop in the morning/ afternoon led by

Artist’s Play teachers Miss Elizabeth and Miss Tanya and a

presentation by Magician Zachary Wells. All students enjoyed a

pizza lunch, sponsored by Christian Matthews. Our thanks for your

generous donations for school activities. We had many parent

volunteers helping us celebrate Shrove Tuesday on February 25th.

Students enjoyed pancakes and syrup prepared by “ many hands”.

What a treat! Our thanks to all the parents who came out to volunteer

and flip pancakes !!!!!!

Family Skating Night was held on Friday, February 28th at the

Greenwood Park Skating Rink. It was a great evening for skating,

enjoying the fresh falling snow and sipping a cup of hot

ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC SCHOOL

176 Leslie St., Toronto, Ontario M4M 3CL

Telephone: 416-393-5209 Fax: 416-393-5871

Anne Marie Cassin

PRINCIPAL

John Shanahan 416-222-8282 X 5271

SUPERINTENDENT

Angela Kennedy 416-222-8282 x 3411

TRUSTEE

St. Joseph Parish 416-466-7815

162 Leslie St., Toronto, Ontario

PARISH

Katie Shanks/ Daphne DiPucchio

CSPC CHAIR

www.tcdsb.org/cpic

CPIC (PARENT ENGAGEMENT - TCDSB)

www.tcdsb.org/oapce-toronto

OAPCE TORONTO (PROVINCIAL VOICE FOR PARENTS)

230 9:00 - 3:30 11:45-12:45

ENROLLMENT HOURS OF OPERATION LUNCH HOUR

NEW REGISTRANTS WELCOME

Apply online: soar.tcdsb.org

Call the TCDSB Admissions Department at 416-222-8282, ext. 5320.

For general information about the Toronto Catholic District School Board, visit www.tcdsb.org

Stay in touch with the latest news throughout the school year: Follow @TCDSB on Twitter or Toronto Catholic DSB on Instagram

March 2020

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

chocolate. Thank you to the St. Joseph CSPC for organizing this family event. Please consider joining us

at our next St. Joseph CSPC Meeting on Monday, April 6th @ 7:00 pm as the CSPC is also continuing to

plan for the Annual FUN Fair in June. Please consider inquiring about how to volunteer for any of these

great events.

In March we will welcome Ms. J. Girolametto-Prosen to an new long term teaching assignment in

Kindergarten and Ms. Danielle Myers ( Sp Ed) to the St. Joseph Catholic School Teaching Team. We ask

that you join us in wishing Ms. Lisanne O’Leary best wishes as she retires from teaching with TCDSB and

thank her for her many contributions to the St. Joseph C.S. Community.

The Virtue for the month of March is: Forgiveness. The action of forgiveness can be part of our Lenten

Journey.

• When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of

revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward.

• Forgiveness is letting go of grudges and bitterness

• By embracing forgiveness, you can also embrace peace, hope, gratitude and joy.

A reminder that March Break is March 16th – March 20th. We hope that all our school families have a great

March Break.

Ms. A.M. Cassin (Principal)

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

SCHOOL NEWS

Grade 8- Chill Fair

Ms. Kurnik’s grade 8 class held a Chill Fair this

month. Students worked in groups to create booths

promoting positive mental health and ways to

manage stress. Students from grade 1- grade 7

attended the event to learn how to recognize and

deal with stress and anxiety.

Stress balls and stress recognition

How to cope with stress

Using Music to manage stress

Helpful strategies

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Autism Quilt

Last year schools in Area 6 were asked to create a

piece for the Autism quilt. Each school used

different materials to represent our school and the

unique qualities of our students. The quilt was on

display at the School Board and is now visiting all

the schools that contributed to the piece. Here is a

photo of some our students when the banner visited

our school in February.

School Calendar

The school has created a google calendar for the

entire school. You can check for school activities

for the current month or the upcoming months.

You do not have to have a google or gmail

account to access the calendar. The calendar

can be accessed from our school website. The link

is here:

https://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stjoseph/Pages/def

ault.aspx

The calendar is located on the school calendar

page;

Ms. Ryan’s Class Art Project

Ms. Ryan’s class used plasticine to create art

inspired by Barbara Reid’s illustrations from The

Subway Mouse. Here is the entire class proudly

showing their creations.

Ms. Grace – Shopping Adventures

Ms. Grace and her students walked to Loblaws to

learn about making healthy choices and how to

use the self checkout.

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Laudeto-Si

Laudato Si is Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the

environment or more formally – On Care for Our

Common Home. Laudato Si means “Praise be to

you” which is the first line of a canticle by St. Francis

that praises God with all of his creation.

From the outset, Pope Francis states the goal of the

document: “In this Encyclical, I would like to enter

into dialogue with all people about our common

home”

There are 8 main themes in the document:

• A moral and spiritual challenge --

• Care for God’s creation --

• Impact on the poor --

• Called to solidarity --

• · Technological and economic development

• Supporting life, protecting creation --

• · A time to act –

• Hope and Joy --

Here at St. Joseph we are focusing on “ A Time to

Act.” Even the smallest change can make a

difference. Led by our ECO-schools team we have

taken on the following initiatives:

• No more gluesticks

• No more plastic paint bottles

• No more single use forks and spoons

• Careful garbage separation

• Plarn mats made from milkbags

Eco-Schools has provided us a with a link to 10000

changes. This is a website dedicated to teaching

Canadians about plastic and how to reduce use of

this product.

https://10000changes.ca/en/areas-of-change/

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Please see the infographic at the end of the

newsletter with ways we can make small changes

during lent.

Yoga – Grade 4-8

Ms. G-P has been teaching Yoga to students from

grade 4-8 Yoga. Students who are interested can

go the gym on Thursdays and take a class with Ms.

G-P. The students and staff are really enjoying this

mindful exercise.

Downsview Park -Ms. Whitehead and Sorrentino

The 2 classes traveled to Downsview Park to

participate in the Outdoor Education Program. The

students learned about the survival of plants and

animals in the winter. The students followed Cougar

tracks and they built structures out of natural

materials from the park.

100th Day of School

The 100th day of school was celebrated in February.

Ms. Sorrentino’s class marked the day with many

activities focused on the number 100!

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

TSO – Ms. Kurnik’s Class

Ms. Kurnik’s class went to see the Toronto Symphony

Orchestra’s performance of the Composer is Dead

on February 25. Students travelled by TTC to Roy

Thomson Hall to see the concert. The concert is a

mystery for the audience. Who snuffed out the

composer? Was it the shifty string section, or maybe

the treacherous trombones? Every instrument in the

Orchestra is a suspect! With music by Nathaniel

Stookey and text by Lemony Snicket,

Lake St. George

The grade 7 and 8 classes went to Lake St. George

for an overnight excursion in February. The students

enjoyed beautiful weather and outdoor activities

during their stay.

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Pancake Tuesday

Parent Council and an army of volunteers were

here on February 25 to make and serve pancakes

to the entire school. Students enjoyed their special

snack! A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers who

made this possible.

Batter UP!

Look at that golden colour

Live action flipping

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Kitchen Duty

Ms. Brisbois Starry Night

Ms. Brisbois’ class was inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry

Night for this art work.

Ms. Bond – Family Project

As part of Fully Alive the Grade 3/4 class reflected

on what it means to be a good friend or a good

family member.

Spirit Week

The Student Council is hosting Spirit week during the

week prior to March Break. On each day there will

be a theme. Students can participate by dressing

according to that day’s theme. For example, on

Jersey day you can wear your favourite team’s

jersey. See below for more details:

March 9 – Crazy hair and hat day

Bouffants and millinery welcome!

March 10 – Beach Day

Pretend it’s a heat wave!

March 11- Jersey Day

Leafs and Raptors and Jays, oh my!

March 12 – Disney Day

Beauties and Beasts!

March 13- Pajama Day

It’s okay to sleep in today!

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Parent Council Updates

On February 12, St Joseph’s CSPC hosted our

annual Dance A Thon. As always it was a huge

success and the students had a ton of fun. A big

thank you to Stephan Howard and Jana Gallagher

for running a fabulous event. A special thank you to

Mr. Howard for once again organizing a fabulous

day of fun and dancing!

On Tuesday February 25, CSPC cooked pancakes

for students and staff. Parents Council would like to

thank all the parent volunteers who came out to

help. It made the morning run very smoothly. A

special thank you to Ms. McDowell for helping

organize all the great volunteers!

Friday the 28th was our annual Family Skate Night

which once again was a great night out for St

Joseph’s families.

We hope you all have a wonderful March Break

and look forward to great spring events!

St Joseph’s CSPC

Family Skate Night

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten Registration is on-going for September

of 2020. Children born in 2016 are eligible for

registration. Spaces are filling up! Please be sure to

complete your registration online using

www.soar.tcdsb.org. Once you have completed

your registration call the school at 416-393-5209 to

set up an appointment.

Ash Wednesday

The entire school walked to St Joseph Parish for Ash

Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning

of Lent. The season of Lent is given to us to renew

ourselves. Prayer and almsgiving are an important

part of repentance and renewal. Some things to

consider during Lent:

• Let us help the poor and disadvantaged of

our society through our charity.

• Let us fast from habits that are not life giving

and feast on qualities that make us truly

human.

• Let us take care of God’s creation through

life style changes. During this lent choose

not to buy new things unless you really need

them. Donate all the unused things from

your house. Cook at home. Walk more use

less car. Say no to water bottles and single

use plastic.

Primary Skating

Classes continue to take advantage of Greenwood

Park’s fabulous skating facilities. The primary classes

have been going skating on Tuesday morning. Skills

are improving and everyone is having lots of fun!

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Groundhog Structures

Ms. Sorrentino’s and Ms. Whitehead’s classes

created structures for groundhogs using recycled

materials.

Staff Changes

Ms. L. O’Leary, our Special Education teacher is

retiring! Ms. O’Leary has had a long career at the

TCDSB and at St. Joseph. Please join us in thanking

her for her many contributions to education in her

career with the TCDSB.

Please welcome our new teacher Daniela Myers.

Ms. Myers joins us from Pope Paul IV. Ms. Myers will

start at St. Joseph on March 2. Please join us in

giving her a warm St. Joseph welcome.

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become

Virtue of the Month – Forgiveness

“But she said to me, ‘It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wages.’ But I did not believe her, and told her to return it to the owners. I became flushed with anger against her over this. Then she replied to me, ‘Where are your acts of charity? Where are your righteous deeds? These things are known about you!’”* (Tobit 2.14)

2019-2020 Rooted In Christ We Belong, We Believe, We Become