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June 2016 Virtue for the month - Faithfulness

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St. Jude Catholic School News

A Message from our Parish Priest: Rev. Fr. Josue

Have a Blessed and Happy Summer To all teachers, students, parents, and families, of St. Jude's School:

As the school year ends and the summer break begins, I'd

like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the students and

especially to those who have finished grade 8. Now it is time to

move to high school. As you begin a new stage in your life, I

encourage you to keep going, keep learning and to put into

practice all you have learned. There will be many challenges and

projects that you will encounter. It is time to look forward and

prepare yourself for this new adventure. As a priest I invite you to

always keep Jesus as part of your studies, a part of your life and

you will be sure to find success.

To the teachers and staff, I wish you a happy and blessed

Summer. Thank you for your teaching, enthusiasm and dedication

to the students, keep going because your job is invaluable. Let us

keep working together for the students, they are the future of the

Church and of this country.

Remember throughout the summer we continue celebrating the

Holy Mass every weekend, why? Because there is no vacation

for Vocation.

God bless you all and enjoy the Summer. Yours In Christ:

Rev. Josue Vargas Lara Stay connected: We will continue to post our monthly newsletters on our school portal at http://stjude.tcdsb.org/ - News 2015-2016; Newsletter Follow our school events and news on Twitter @stjudeprincipal Mark your Calendar

Dates To remember: June 7 – Kindergarten Information Night @ 6:00PM June 9 – Family Game Night @ 6:00PM June 9 – Celebrating Italian Heritage @ Columbus Center June 14— Year End Mass @9:30am June 17 – Talent Show June 27—Report Cards Go Home June 27—Grade 8 Graduation June 29 – Last day of classes for students September 6 – First day, back to school

St Jude Catholic School Parent Council Presents… FAMILY GAME NIGHT on THURSDAY JUNE 9

@ 6:00pm ALL ARE INVITED Lots of fun and prizes to be won!

Come out and support our school! Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC): With Gratitude

To all our CSPC parents for your hard work, time, dedication and valuable contribution to our student needs. Your gift of time and true Christian spirit has contributed greatly to making events happen at St. Jude. Students, Staff and Administration truly appreciate you.

St. Jude

Elementary

School

3251 Weston Road, Toronto, Ontario,

M9M 2T9 Tel # 416 393 5297

Fax # 416 393 5122

Principal: Mrs. C. D’Souza

Vice Principal: Mrs. T. Pucci Superintendent: Mr. A. Della Mora

Tel # 416 222 8282 X 2732 Trustee: Mr. S. Piccininni Tel # 416 393 8282 X 2660

Parish: St. Jude Church

Pastor: Fr. Josue Vargas Lara 3265 Weston Road, Toronto,

Ontario, M9M 2T9 Telephone: 416-742-9072

Fax: 416-742-9327l stjudes_weston@rogers.com Mass Schedule: Sunday Masses

Saturday – 5:00pm (English) Sunday – 8:00 am (Italian)

9:30 am & 11:00 am (English) 12:30 pm (Spanish)

Weekday masses – Mon – Fri 8:00am

Wednesdays 7:00pm Holidays – 9:00am

1st & 3rd Fridays – 7:00pm

School Hours of Operation:

8:27 a.m. Assembly/Line Up

10:12-10:27a.m. Morning Recess

11:15 a.m. Lunch Recess

11:55 a.m. Lunch

12:15 p.m. Assembly/Line Up

1:40-1:55 p.m. Recess

3:30 p. m. Dismissal

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Virtue of the Month: Faithfulness Academic Excellence: Most Improved Student and Environmental Stewardship As we prepare for the end of the school year, we are focussing this month on the virtue of Faithfulness. As we send our students off for a summer of fun and relaxation and our graduates off into the wider world, we have faith that they will return to us safely to begin another year. The quote from John’s gospel reminds us, “Happy are those who have not seen, yet still believe.” John 20:29, we will encourage our students to continue to put their faith into action by bringing the Gospel spirit into every aspect of their lives. This is how we become true witnesses to Christ, extend the kingdom of God and build a more humane world. This month St. Jude will practice the virtue of faithfulness by Celebrating Eucharist on June 14 @ 9:30 am, saying our prayers in school and at home, and showing our faith by our actions through kind words, inclusiveness and empathy.

Principal’s Message Dear Parent/Guardian, On behalf of our school community we wish Mrs. C. Filice a long and happy retirement. Ms. Filice has served Catholic Education

and our Board for over 30 years. At St. Jude we were blessed by her presence as 5th Block mentor and a professional colleague. Her commitment to student literacy in our primary grades is reflected in her ongoing professional development and collaboration with staff. Ms. Filice, we sincerely thank you for your service to Catholic Education more so to our students and staff. You will be dearly missed. We wish you God’s blessings and good health. As the summer approaches and the 2015-2016 school year comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of the whole staff for your ongoing support and commitment to the values and goals of Catholic Education. Please make a special effort to become involved with our Catholic Schools Parent Council (CSPC) during the next school year. CSPC AGM will be held on September 19, 6:30pm in the Library. Our focus in our pastoral plan for the coming school year is ‘Year

of the Parish’. To our students, families and staff who are leaving us good luck and God Bless. A warm welcome to all new KG students and their parents to our school family.

Mrs. Pucci and I are truly humbled and honoured to serve St. Jude’s school community. We are grateful for support from staff and community. Our successes are a reflection of being a team. Have a safe and restful summer and may God bless you all. Yours in Catholic Education, C.D’Souza Principal

A June Message from Your Trustee

As the year approaches an end, I want to thank all of the parents, students

and staff in the Ward 3 community for another successful school year. So

much has been accomplished, and so many celebrations have taken place.

Confirmations, First Communion, cultural events, awards recognition for

academics, the arts, athletics and social justice. All of these have been

supported by our staff and our parents, and for that involvement and

leadership we are very grateful.

I congratulate our graduates and wish them continued success in

secondary school, post-secondary studies or the world of work.

To the students, staff and parents who will be returning to us in the fall, I wish you a wonderful summer and

look forward to the start of another exciting school year in September 2016.

To all of you in Ward, I extend my best wishes for a safe, happy and restful summer!

Sincerely,

Sal Piccininni

Trustee, Ward 3

Celebrating Our Successes: Congratulations to our Healthy Action Team on receiving gold certification from OPHEA

Sacraments: Congratulations to our students who received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. May you grow deeper in your faith and be guided by the Holy Spirit in all you do. Thank you to Fr. Josue and St. Jude Church office staff for your support and spiritual guidance throughout the year. Spoken Arts Festival: We had our Spoken Arts Festival this year in all divisions at St. Jude School on Wednesday, May 10th for Intermediate division students. On Thursday, May 11th for Primary and Junior division students. It was a very successful event due to the work of teachers and families who prepared the students well to speak on a variety of topics. The grade 1 and 2 students’ recited poems, and the grade 3-8 students’ wrote, memorized and presented their speeches to a panel of judges, teachers, peers, and parents. We would also like to thank all the staff who took time to judge the speeches and the students who presented the speakers. (Contd. Online page 5) Online component of our June 2016 (pages 1-5) newsletter also includes: http://stjude.tcdsb.org/ Celebrating our Successes: Catholic Education Week, Track & Field 2016, Our successes, L2L, Important Reminders, Into Kids Health, Student of the Month, TCDSB Monthly Updates

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Celebrating our Successes! GO HAWKS GO! Catholic Education Week We celebrated our gift of Catholic education every day and more so during Catholic Education Week. Deep gratitude to parents and family who came out to celebrate Our Student Led Learning Walk Gallery and listen to our guest artist ‘Saidat’ who engaged and motivated our students. The Spring Art Gallery was a huge success with parents bidding for our Grade 1 Art auction. Our gallery displayed student Math work on 3-D geometry with a focus on Numeracy. A heartfelt thanks to Mrs. DiTomasso, Mrs Lee, Mrs. Magno and Ms. Colacci and to all staff who contributed to the success of this evening.

Track and Field 2016: Congratulations to the Hawks of St. Jude Track and Field Team for another spectacular season of running, jumping and throwing. A first place finish in the Divisional track meet; A first place finish in the Regional track meet And City Finalist (2nd place finish) in Toronto What an amazing accomplishment by all of our student-athletes. Winning doesn't come without the many sacrifices our students have to endure: Training hard, being dedicated, committed, and most of all team work. With the training, comes great coaches; and the Hawk Nation track & field team had a super team of coaches. (Contd online Page 8 @http://stjude.tcdsb.org/ )

School Learning Improvement Plan—Focus Numeracy—Our Success From KG to Grade 8 consistent use of mental math, learning goals, co constructed success criteria, descriptive feedback, assessment for, as and of learning, Licence 2 Learn for grade 3 & 6 , Licence to Teach, After school Numeracy – Grade 3,6, 7 & 8, SSLN and professional development with our feeder schools . Parent engagement was our focus, we held 4 math work session, math family night, healthy snacks parent workshop, cyber safety presentation, curriculum night and teacher parent interviews. Co-curricular: Eco club, Me to We, Chess club, Lego Club, Cross stitch, W5H-Junior and Intermediate, Spoken Arts Festival. The Arts: Music-Choir, Band, Ballroom dancing, Drumming, Spring gallery integrated with math, Christmas Concert, Talent Show Sports: Cross country, Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, Softball, Track and Field, House Leagues. Charities - Share Life, Terry Fox, Angel Foundation and Food Drive

License To Learn (L2L) St. Jude has just completed the second session of License to Learn (L2L). L2L is a program funded by the ministry to support our math initiative. The program was held over the lunch hour once a week for 16-20 weeks. The 30 students who participated in this program consolidated math skills using math worksheets. Our first session consisted of grade 7 and 8 students tutoring grade 3 students. Our second session consisted of grade 7 and 8 students tutoring grade 6 students. Students enjoyed attending these sessions and found it to be a positive learning experience. Thanks to Ms. Ophelders and Mrs. Di Iorio for being teacher mentors. Much appreciated.

ECO Club/ We Team: As the school year comes to a close, we would like to thank the ECO Team and Club and

the entire St. Jude School Community for all their hard work this year … our efforts have definitely made our eco-footprint smaller and our school greener. We’ve promoted litterless lunches, practiced the 3Rs, took part in Earth Hour, held a successful Earth Week and continued to work on advocating for and creating a greener school yard. The We Committee would like to thank all students, teachers and community members who supported all of the WE Committee initiatives this school year. By participating in the We Scare Hunger Campaign, Dress Down Day for Sharelife & Milk Bags and Terracycle Pouch Collections, we worked together to help others both locally and globally. We are proud of our efforts this year and look forward to continuing to be socially responsible citizens again next year. Please continue to collect milk bags so we can weave Mats in the fall on our own looms which were built thanks to a generous continue to collect milk bags so we can weave Mats in the fall on our own looms which were built thanks to a generous donation from Home Depot. Thank you Mrs. D’Alimonte for your leadership with this team. (contd. online page 9)

Thanks to everyone for supporting all of the ECO and WE initiatives this year and for being good role models for the children.

Let’s continue to foster the belief that “We may not be able to do big things individually, but we can do small things with

great love!”

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Important Reminders: ARE YOU MOVING? St. Jude School would like to know if you are going to be part of our school community during the next school year. Please call the school to provide us with information as to whether you will be at the same address next year. Call: 416-393-5279

Last day of school is June 29. School will be dismissed at 3:30 pm. Reports go home: Monday, June 27, 2016 First Day School re-opens is Tuesday, September 6, 2016 Volunteer Appreciation We are very fortunate to have a parent community who are generous in giving their time and efforts to our children’s daily school lives. Whether it be in the form of support to our academic programming, fundraising to meet the many extra needs of our school community or assisting on school excursions, your response has been nothing but excellent. We would like at this time to communicate our sincere appreciation to all of our parent community for their support and dedication. We hope you have a safe and restful summer and we look forward to working with you next school year.

Class Placement 2016-2017 As we approach the end of the school year, we begin our planning for September. Teachers will soon be developing tentative class lists. It is to be noted that considerable care is taken to place students, based on current information and their anticipated social, emotional, psychological and academic growth. Administration will review teacher input and then make up classes following these specific guidelines: Balance of Male/Female, Balance of Ability levels and Special Needs Combined Classes Next Year

WHAT IS A COMBINED CLASSROOM? Combined classes group children from two consecutive grades in one classroom. Schools combine classes for a variety of reasons. This includes organizing classes to meet student learning needs and combining grades to balance class size. All classrooms include students with a range of skills and abilities. Combined classes are neither better nor worse than single-grade classes. They are simply one of the many ways schools meet students’ academic and social development needs. HOW ARE STUDENTS CHOSEN FOR COMBINED CLASSES? Principal and staff consider a variety of factors when grouping children into classes:

☻Learning styles ☻Social skills ☻Academic needs

At St. Jude we strive to create a classroom environment that will support the needs of all students. Due to a new ministry initiative that increases the sized of our Junior and Intermediate divisions we may have combined grades next year. Teachers use many different strategies to teach students in combined grades identifying the range of needs in the classroom and planning and programming to meet the needs of all students.

The Benefits of Combined Grade Settings:

Creates opportunities for students to learn from one another

Provides role models for younger students

Allows older students to get a clear understanding of what they have already learned

Provides a curriculum suited to the needs of each student

Encourages students to work collaboratively

Fosters the development of confidence and independence

Teaches students to respect one another

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Visitor’s Passes and Sign in We would like to thank the community for embracing our Visitors Pass and Sign in system. This helped us to keep your children, our students even safer. In the 2016-2017 school year we will be continuing this system. Thank you for your continued support of our initiatives at St. Jude’s.

SPOKEN ARTS FESTIVAL 2016

We had our Spoken Arts Festival this year in all divisions at St. Jude School on Wednesday,

May 10th for Intermediate division students. On Thursday, May 11th for Primary and Junior

division students. It was a very successful event due to the work of teachers who prepared

their students well to speak on a variety of topics. The grade 1 and 2 students’ recited

poems, and the grade 3-8 students’ wrote, memorized and presented their speeches to a

panel of judges, teachers, peers, and parents. We would also like to thank all the staff who

took time to judge the speeches and the students who presented the speakers.

The winners for the Primary Division:

Grade 1:

1st Place: Ava Soares “Hey Diddle Diddle”

2nd Place: Isabella Saluri “April Showers”

3rd Place: Agustin Opaso “Way Up in the Apple Tree”

Grade 2: 1st Place: London Grant “Jamaica”

2nd Place: Dylan Ceci “Hockey”

3rd Place: Savannah Saunders “Footsteps”

Grade 3: 1st Place: Katie Bui “Canada”

2nd Place: Elijah Acierto “My Experience at Track and Field”

3rd Place: Jara Danque “My Piano Class”

The winners for the Junior Division:

Grade 4, 5 and 6 students: 1st Place: Sophia Altobelli “Expectations vs Reality of Being a Kid”

2nd Place: Huascar Taveras “Jijisu”

3rd Place: Sicily De Luca “The Future”

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The winners for the Intermediate Division:

Grade 7 and 8 students: 1st Place: Sherisa Modeste “Mother Earth”

2nd Place: Waad Shaman “You Tube and Google”

3rd Place: Ayomide Badejoh “Esports”

An honourable mention goes to all participants who were chosen to participate in the

competition. The Primary students: Louann Mendoca, Nathan Alegado, Madeline Bui, Kiara Rivero,

Nichol Casados, Eghosasere Ehioghiren, Madelyn Conforzi, Chiamaka Chukmueneke, Jayed Ann

Gregorio, Jaslene Arias, Eleora Obakoya, Amiyah Bandoo, Tristan Wilson, Evette Zia and Anika Ang.

The Junior students: Avis Imhangbe, Irene Vizcaya, Gabriella Berrondo, Caroline Ekuajomi, Yonaten

Yonaten, Stephanie Luong, Sofia Dela Roca, Adesuwa Amadasu, Rosemary Khano and Lucas Calcano.

The Intermediate students: Toochi Onwuzulu, David Giansante, Cristina Martinez, Elisa Acerbi,

Kandace Pedraza, G-wen Arellano and Deshawn Edwards.

Into Kids Health Something to Consider for Next Year: Healthy Eating: If you wish to bring your child a hot lunch to school please make sure it is healthy. Pop or food from fast food places does not support our school initiatives of healthy eating.

Are We Driving Our Kids To Unhealthy Habits?

Active transportation – walking, biking, in-line skating and skateboarding to get to and from places such as school, parks and shops – has long been known to be an important source of physical activity for children and youth.14-17 If children walked for all trips of less than one kilometre rather than being driven, they would take an average of 2,238 additional steps per day!17 This translates to approximately 15-20 minutes of walking and thus has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the 60 minutes of daily physical activity kids need for overall health. Imagine the potential impact this small change could have on increasing overall physical activity levels in Canadian kids! One of the great things about active transportation is that it can be easily integrated into everyday life with little or even no cost. And its benefits are significant. Active transportation could help to reverse the recent decline in rates of walking and biking for transportation, and thus presents a major opportunity for improving health among children and youth. Research suggests that, given the choice, most children would prefer to walk or bike to school rather than take a bus or be driven by their parents.18 In addition to improving overall physical health, active transportation may:19-26 Improve fitness and heart health Increase academic achievement Provide social opportunities Reduce stress Improve air quality and reduce risk of lung diseases (e.g., asthma) Kids who use active transportation to get to and from school can accumulate up to 45 more minutes daily of moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity compared to kids who get to school via car, train or bus.15 These kids tend to be more active across the whole day, not just during the school commute.15 Driving our kids to and from school may be robbing them of an important source of daily physical activity.

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Steps We Can Take Recommendations For Increasing Active Transportation Parents Should: Encourage and support their children to actively travel to and from school as well as to other destinations (friend’s houses, parks, etc.). Share responsibility with other parents for supervision of younger kids as they travel to and from school and activities (e.g., take turns leading a walking bus). Park the car a short distance from school and/or other destinations and walk from there when it is not possible for their kids to walk the whole way. Involve your child in after school athletic programs. St.Jude’s welcomes the Catholic Soccer League and North Region Basketball Association as community partners in helping us provide healthy active living opportunities for your child. Student of the Month

April 2016 Academic Excellence -

Grade Compasssion Literacy

ELP-5 Venezia Leva Jahlony Beecher Mejia

ELP-4 Jamielee Felix

ELP-3 Yoshiko Mendoza Tamashiro Vicotia Marrero Opaso

ELP-1 Mathew Tigse Fernandez Sophia Bonilla Perez

ELP-2 Carlos Flores Zoey Molina

GR.1-2 Adrian Torres Isabella Saluri

GR. 1-1 Santiago Puerta-Usuga Nathan Alegado

GR.1-3 Trinity Osayande Edgar Obamwonyi

GR. 1-4 Nichol Casados Madeline Bui

GR. 2-3 Samanth Perez

GR. 2-1 Andrea Almeda Ashley Cruz

GR. 2-2 Havannah Aquino Eghosasere Ehioghiren

GR. 2/3 Michelangelo Flores Shayna McQueen

GR. 3-1 Diana Kevin I

GR. 3-3 Danat Oseki Jada Ali

GR. 3-2 Natalia Sanchez Jayden Eilers

GR. 3/4 Oheneba Gyekye Alice Shraefeh

GR. 4-1 Anthoy Vu Emilia Schwierkott

GR. 4-2 Beatriz Rodrigues Michaela Martin

GR. 5-3 Aisha Alcivar Kelly Edionseri

GR. 5-1 Julian Anzivino Lucas Furlan

GR. 6-1 Jerome Felix Sophia Eangolli

GR. 6-3 Jerome Felix

GR.7-1 Aracali Mancheto Justice Ugochukwo

GR.7-2 Deonte Sadler Cristina Martinez

GR. 7/8 Jamal Mora Gamoza Elisa Acerbi

GR. 8-2 Carla John Sherisa Modeste

GR. 8-1 Frederick Nkwonta Valeria Reyes

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Monthly Update from the Board

June 2016

Job Action by Elementary Teachers Elementary teachers initiated a Work to Rule on May 17th. Stay up to date on any news and information relating to the job action

and status of negotiations here:

https://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/News/Pages/Elementary-Teachers-Job-Action.aspx

Changes to Health and Physical Education Curriculum Resources and information can be found on the website here:

https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/schoolprogramsk12/healthoutdoorphysed/pages/ontario-health-and-physed-

curriculum.aspx

Summer School Registration Continues Course options and registration info for secondary school students:

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/ContinuingEducation/SecondaryCreditCourses/SummerSchool/Pages/Default

.aspx

Information about Reach Ahead Credits and Summer Enrichment Camps for elementary students:

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/ContinuingEducation/SecondaryCreditCourses/SummerSchool/elementaryss/

Pages/default.aspx

Introducing the Year of the Parish Plans are already underway for the celebration of the Year of the Parish, the second year of our three year pastoral plan

focusing on Family, Parish and School (Together With One Voice). Schools and parishes are encouraged to explore

their collective vision for how they can work more closely together during the Year of Parish and beyond, to nurture

the relationships that already exist, and work towards making all our schools and parishes feel more connected in the

mission of Catholic education. Find all the information and resources for the Year of the Parish here: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/YearoftheParish/Pages/default.aspx

2016 Canada day Celebrations This year’s Canada Day celebrations will take place June 29th, 2016. Schools and offices across the Board are invited

to participate in the Canada Day Spirit Day and show our Canadian pride by wearing the Canadian flag colours red and

white. Schools and offices are invited to sing

O’ Canada together at 9:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.tcdsb.org/canadaday

Canada Day Family Photo Contest Coming Soon Check here for details www.tcdsb.org/canadaday.

Staff Arts Presents Mary Poppins June 11-18, 2016

https://www.tcdsb.org/affiliates/StaffArts/PastSeasons/20152016/Pages/Musical.aspx

June is…

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Aboriginal Heritage Month https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/HeritageCelebration/AboriginalCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx

Italian Heritage Month https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/HeritageCelebration/ItalianCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx

Portuguese Heritage Month https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/HeritageCelebration/PortugueseCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx

Reminders: June 30th is a PA day for all elementary schools. Last day of classes is June 29th.

June 28th to 30th are PA days for most secondary schools.

When in doubt, check with your local school for details.

Scholarships, Bursaries, Awards and Contests Information for students:

https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/AwardsScholarshipsBursariesContests/Pages/default.aspx

Summer Volunteer Opportunities for Students Earn community service hours this summer with Parks Canada by helping out at a number of events throughout the

summer. The events take place between mid-June and Labour Day weekend. Here is a list of the dates and locations

where the Urban Outreach division of Parks Canada will be hosting events and looking for student support:

June 18-19 – International Dragon Boat Festival

June 24-26 – Pickering Jam Fest

July 1-3 – Redpath Waterfront Festival

July 15-17 – Franco Fête at Yonge-Dundas Square

July 22-24 – Beaches Jazz Festival

August 19 - September 5 – Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) How to register as a volunteer--Contact Daneel Cha-Blake daneel.cha-blake@pc.gc.ca or

volunteer.benevolat@pc.gc.ca

Get all the latest news and information: Visit the Board’s website www.tcdsb.org

Subscribe to ENews to receive updates via email every week https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx

Or Follow @TCDSB on twitter to get updates throughout the day