January 09, 2017

Dear Families,

I hope you had a wonderful extended holiday with family and friends! Our Christmas holidays provide us with a special opportunity to reflect on our life and relationship with God.

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the Christmas Concert/Play. Our students were thrilled to share their talents with such a large crowd of supportive people. Thanks to the generosity of our guests that evening 300 pounds of food was donated to the Ailsa Craig Food Bank!

The Feast of the Epiphany brings the Christmas season to an end. To mark the day, Howard Thurman, an African-American theologian, educator and civil rights leader, composed a litany:

When the song of the angels is stilled,when the star in the sky is gone,when the kings and princes are home,when the shepherds are back with their flocks,the work of Christmas begins:to find the lost,to heal the broken, to feed the hungry,to release the prisoner,to rebuild the nations,to bring peace among the people,to make music in the heart.

God Bless – Mrs. Broome

HOW DO I RECEIVE THE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER?

IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE THE NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO THE OFFICE

IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE A PAPER COPY OF THE NEWSLETTER, PLEASE LET THE SCHOOL OFFICE AS WELL AS YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER KNOW

IF YOU WISH TO READ THE NEWSLETTER ON LINE, GO ONTO THE SCHOOL WEBSITE

Dates to Remember

Jan 11 Basketball Free Throw – sponsored by the Knights of Columbus

Jan 11 Grad Committee Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Jan 13 P. D. Day

Jan 16 – Feb 03 JK/SK registration

Jan 17 Rosary Apostolate

Jan 19 School Mass – 9:15 a.m.

Jan 23 Gr. 8 NET (confirmation) Retreat

Feb 02 Report cards go home

Feb 09 Parent/Teacher interviews – childcare provided in gym

Feb 20 Family Day

Feb 21 Rosary Apostolate

Feb 28 Shrove Tuesday

St. Patrick Catholic School

Mrs. B. Broome - PrincipalMrs. Janice Stokman - Secretary

St. Patrick Catholic School33654 Roman Line, RR #3

Lucan, ON N0M 2J0519-660-2789

Bus Delays/Cancellations

BINGO VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Please mark these dates on your calendar & contact either Samantha Bloemen at 519-225-2404 or email at silentsam_11@hotmail.com or Lissette Verbeem at 519-666-3329 or email at lissettev@isp.ca to sign up. If you are unable to volunteer at the bingo your child’s class has been assigned, please pick an alternate date and let the ladies know. Please encourage your friends and extended family members over the age of 18 to help out. Please remember that all proceeds from the bingos go directly to student activities, field trips, student programs etc. limiting the cost that is passed on to parents. Please sign up ASAP – remember if we each do one bingo, you are only asked one time per year to help out at bingo. Thanks

UPCOMING BINGO DATES: Sat. Jan. 21 Mr. Ionata’s class (this bingo begins at 2 pm & ends approx. 4:30 pm)Fri. Feb. 17 Mrs. Mazariegos’s classFri. Mar. 31 Mrs. McKee’s classFri. May 12 Mr. Taylor’s classMon. June 26 Mrs. Draaisma’s classFri. July 21 Mrs. Vanderhoek’s class (this is a “late night” bingo – from 10:30 pm – 1:00 a.m.)Thurs. Aug. 17 Mrs. Amaral’s class (Bartlett)Mon. Sept. 4 Mrs. Marten’s classFri. Sept 29 Mrs. Pezzutto’s class

“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed people who give of their time as volunteers can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

BUS DELAYS/CANCELLATIONS

We have eleven busses that transport students to and from school each day. For safety reasons please do not enter the parking lot with your vehicle when the busses are dropping off or picking up students. It is also critical that you or your child do not cross between busses at any time. This practise is very dangerous.

If you are picking your child(ren) up at the end of the day please pick them up by 3:35 at the latest. There is supervision for bus students only after 3:30 p.m.

Please go to the London District Catholic School Board webpage to access information regarding delays or cancellations: www.ldcsb.on.ca. Simply click on the school bus in the bottom left hand of the page to gain important information. Local radio stations will also provide updates. If you wish to receive a text or email notifying you of updates regarding bus delays or cancelations, visit the mybigyellowbus website. On the left side of the screen under the heading “Tweets”, to sign up for a text or email, follow the directions on how to add this feature. If busses are delayed or cancelled and you bring your child to school please ensure you bring them to the office and sign them in. If the busses are cancelled in the morning and you bring your child to school please ensure you make arrangements to have them picked up at 3:30 p.m.

Achoo!We are well into the cold and flu season. Sick people who go to school and other public places spread their illnesses to others. Please keep your child home if they are not feeling well, it will help reduce the spread of influenza and other illnesses. If a child is too ill to go outside generally this means they are too ill to come to school. Persons can return to work or school one day after they are symptom free. This is a direct link to the Health Unit’s information section on health and the flu:

https://www.healthunit.com/flu

Welcome – We Have Been Waiting For You!Early Years Registration

We are very pleased to be registering students for Year I and Year 2 of the Early Years Program between January 16 th and February 3 th , 2017 . For Year 1, children must be 4 years old by December 31, 2017. For Year 2, children must be 5 years old by December 31, 2017. Please call the school to schedule an appointment and bring a Catholic Baptismal Certificate (of the child if baptized Catholic or of the parent who is baptized Catholic, if the child is not), Birth Certificate, Proof of Address, Status in Canada Documents for Non-Canadian Citizens.

For information or to schedule an appointment please contact the school at 519-660-2789

GOOD HABITS BEGIN AT HOME

With the cold weather upon us, it is imperative that each child comes to school prepared with the proper clothing to keep warm and dry. There is a continual and ongoing effort from all staff to make sure each child is properly dressed to go outside, but we need your assistance. Please remind your child(ren) that he/she is to be wearing their coats, hats, mitts, neck warmers, snow pants and boots each and every recess they go outside. It is a great idea to tuck extra mitts and socks away in your child’s back pack so they have access to dry ones on these cold, snowy days to come.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY

PANTHER ATHLETICS

Basketball:

The Girl’s Basketball Team is looking forward to the start of their season the week of January 16th. Thanks to Mr. Ionata for coaching the team.

Congratulations to the following students who make up this years girl’s team:

Vanessa A., Sidney A., Sarah B., Elise D., Claire F., Keeley L., Ava L., Emily R., Reilly T., Jacqueline Van B. & Skyler W.

The Boy’s Basketball team is also off to a great start with their season starting the week of January 16th also. Thanks to Mrs. Smydo & Mrs. Doerr for offering to coach the team. The Teacher Reps. Are Mrs. LeClair, Mrs. Szliwoski & Mrs. Broome.

Congratulations to the following students who make up this years boy’s team:

Brody D., Noah G., Ethan G., Noel G., Curtis G., Isaac M., Jon S., Sam T., Ethan L., Liam S., Kieran D., Lucas M., Manager: James K.

Thanks to the students who volunteer to keep score and run the clock for our home games. The coaches schedule and train these students. We really appreciate our fans. Please note, all other students must be acompanied by a parent should they wish to stay and watch a game. Unfortunately we have limited seating in the gym and need to ensure we have sufficient space for our guests from other teams and family members of our players.

We wish the players all the best this season!

LIBRARY NEWS

Family Literacy Day is on January 27th and ABC Life Literacy Canada offers many great ideas on ways to engage in literacy activities as a family. Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development. Even just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well. Visit www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca for ideas and resources.

eBooks from LDCSB Library

In the month of January the Junior and Intermediate students will be reviewing how to access our School Board’s ebooks and how to borrow them at home or at school. For instructions on how to do this please see the next page of this newsletter.

GET READY – GET SET – TIME FOR SCHOOL!

EACH DAY WE HAVE MANY STUDENTS WHO ARRIVE LATE AT SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL DAY

BEGINS AT 8:55 WITH ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT OFFER INFORMATION ON TEAMS, EVENTS

HAPPENING IN AND AT THE SCHOOL, ETC, ALL VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILD TO NOT

MISS. STUDENTS WHO ARRIVE LATE TO THEIR CLASSROOMS DISRUPT THE OTHER STUDENTS IN THE CLASS. PLEASE TRY VERY HARD TO BE

ON TIME.WE ALSO HAVE MANY STUDENTS ARRIVING

WITHOUT NECESSARY ITEMS FOR THEIR SCHOOL DAY (IE: INDOOR SHOES, AGENDAS, SUBJECT

BOOKS, SNOW PANTS, MITTS, ETC.) AND WISH TO CALL HOME FOR THESE ITEMS TO BE

DELIVERED. THIS INTERFERES WITH OFFICE PROCEDURES ASSOCATED WITH MAKING SAFE

ARRIVAL CALLS. PLEASE TRY TO ENSURE THESE ITEMS ARE

PACKED IN THE BACKPACKS THE NIGHT BEFORE.

Picking Students Up From School Early

From time to time parents need to pick their child(ren) up from school early. Please ensure you notify your child’s teacher you will be picking your child up. For safety reasons it is very important that each teacher be notified separately if you are picking more than one student up, please report to the office when you arrive at the school so we can assist you.

SAFETY FIRST

FAMILY VACATIONS

Research indicates that regular attendance at school is linked to school success. Staff respectfully request family vacations be planned to occur during regularly scheduled school holidays so as not to interfere with your child’s education.

If this is not possible, please write your child’s teacher a note well in advance of your child’s absence from school indicating how long the student will be away.

Work will be assigned with the understanding it will be completed with family support during the student’s absence.

We thank you in advance for your support so together we can help your child be successful.

DRUG & ALCOHOL AWARENESS

Our local Knights of Columbus sponsored a poster contest recently to raise awareness about the harmful effects associated with the use of drugs & alcohol.

Students study this topic in the curriculum and have a keen awareness of the importance of resisting pressure to experiment with drugs and alcohol.

All the students in Mr. Taylor’s class participated in the contest. Their efforts were very impressive, making it difficult to determine winners to go on to the District level of competition.

Mr. John Sutton and Mrs. Broome judged the entries and are pleased to announce the following winners:

Alcohol Awareness: Steven Hubert

Drug Awareness: Sidney Arts

Thanks to the Knights for their ongoing support!

EQAO

Between May 23rd and June 5th, 2016 our grade 3 & 6 students will write the EQAO assessment. Specific days for each grade will be shared with our families after the March Break. Please avoid scheduled absences such as vacations, medical/dental appoints etc. during that period of time. Your co-operation is appreciated.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BASKETBALL FREE THROW

On January 11th , 2017, Mr. John Sutton will be at the school on behalf of the Knights of Columbus to work with students from grades 4-8 who wish to enter the K. of C. Free Throw Championship. He will be joined by other Knights as well.

Students who place first in their age category at the school level will compete against students from other schools at a later date. We are very grateful to Mr. Sutton and the Knights for organizing this popular event. Good luck Panthers!

“Mathies”Our School Improvement Planning goals centre around explicit teacher of the six Learning Skills and Collaborative Inquiry for Learning focused on improving our students’ numeracy skills. We are hoping to host an opportunity for students to engage in Math games the evening of parent teacher interviews February 09th.The Ministry of Education offers FREE inline math tutoring for students in grades 7-10. Teachers are standing by every Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Students can register at:

ontario.ca/HomeworkHelp

Parents can sign up for a free guest account and get resources and tools 24/7. It includes math videos, interactive exercises & activities and more!The Ministry of Education has recently developed and released an excellent math resource site called “Mathies”. This site contains games, activities, learning tools and numeracy supports for students JK – 12 and their parents. It can found at the following address:http://oame.on.ca/mathies/index.html

Other web sites you may wish to explore with your child are:

Handwriting for Kids – Mathematicshttp://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/math/index.htm

Homework Helphttps://homeworkhelp.ilc.org/index.php

That Quizhttps://www.thatquiz.org/

ST. PATRICK CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL

Come Join Us & Bring a Friend!

The next School Council meeting is scheduled for Tues. January 17, 2017 at 6:30 in the school library.

FEBRUARY MEETING: Tues. Feb. 21, 2017We would love to see you there!