St. Mary’s News Visit our website at http://hmar.bhncdsb.ca and follow us on Twitter @stmhagersville

(905) 768-5151

Principal:

Mr. Michael Pin

Secretary:

Ms. Heidi Modesti

Superintendent:

Mrs. Michelle Shypula

Trustee:

Mrs. Bonnie McKinnon

January 2018

St. Mary’s News is a monthly newsletter for parents of St. Mary’s School and is now available on our school website.

Happy New Year Parents and Friends! Hopefully your Christmas was blessed with health and happiness and good times with family and friends. The new year offers all of us an opportunity to reflect on past practice and set meaningful goals for the coming year. The school calendar also provides a natural transition as we complete Term 1, distribute Report Cards, and begin Term 2 in February. Over the past few years there has been a shift from product to process as educators assess student thinking and honour the fact that there are many ways to arrive at the correct answer. These past few months, we have continued to put significant time and effort into reviewing and sharing best practices with respect to improving student learning in Mathematics. It is our hope that continuing to improve teacher practice will promote greater students confidence and success in Math. We will continue to work with our collegial partners across the system next term. Term 1 also featured several new and renewed initiatives at St. Mary’s. Thank you to our local Knights of Columbus council for supporting the creation of St. Mary’s Way and for leading the Free Throw competition, allowing our Knights to shine. School Council also continues to support our school community in their willingness to be innovative. This year our school participated in Hagersville’s annual Santa Claus parade. Thanks to the many parents who came out to help make it an enjoyable time for our students! Thank you for all you continue to do to help make St. Mary’s a kind, caring, and safe learning environment. It is indeed a privilege to serve your children.

Mr. Michael Pin

SCHOOL HOURS 8:50 Classes Begin 10:30-11:10 Break 12:50-1:30 Break 3:10 Dismissal Please note that NO

staff are on duty prior to 8:35 a.m.

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful time over the Christmas Break! Time to be together as family and to refuel our batteries!

Looking forward to 2018 and seeing what is in store for all of us!

Our next council meeting is January 16 at 6:00pm. Everyone is welcome to come!

God Bless,

Melanie Montague, President

St. Mary’s School Council

We are Zone 2

KNIGHTS OF THE MONTH In the spirit of Advent, students were given the challenge to “make a difference”. Congratulations to our Knights of the Month for December: Shaelin, Evelyn, Alyssa, Mason M., Zimon, and Mya B.

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Strategies of the Month

Math: Many of our students in our primary classes are developing their understanding of the many ways numbers can be represented. Students see the number 12, but do they really understand what it means. A firm understanding of the many different ways of expressing 12 (and any other number) and a child’s understanding of the relationships between numbers is essential. A seventy-five year old man shared a game he played to keep sharp. Determine the sum of the numbers of a licence plate. For letters, use their number (place) in the alphabet (i.e. A=1, D=4, M=13). The licence plate DPR 176 would have a sum of 52.

Literacy: Students in the younger grades are working on comprehending what they are reading and making inferences. In other words, they are learning to make educated guesses as to the meaning of a piece of writing by looking for evidence to support their understanding of the text. This skill is further developed and utilized as a necessary tool in the intermediate grades, as students are currently researching information and gathering evidence to support their opinions. As the saying goes, “you are entitled to your opinion”. But what makes some opinions more valid and respected than others? It’s the supporting evidence and data and the inferences made. Reading with your child and dialoguing will further develop their skills and their love of reading.

Above - Father Victor presents Grade 4 students with their bi-bles - a great support for our youngsters as they continue their journey in faith. Above right - our Kindergarten class work with their parents at out annual Christmas Craft session Right - students in our Grade 1/2 class work measuring using different non-standard tools for determining length

CHRISTMAS DONATIONS:

We would like to thank all our families for their donations and contributions to our Theme Basket Raffle. Together with School Council we raised $500 for our school.

Congratulations to our winners!

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YAC News St. Mary’s is closer to reaching its goal of raising $4000 for Alternative Income Programs for women in Tanzania. At the end of December, YAC sent a cheque to WE Charity / Free the Children for $556.00. The funds were raised this fall 2017 through popcorn and candygram sales, the Halloween Spooktacular school dance and the staff dress down Friday fund. The recent donation brings the total raised since 2015 to $3000! YAC’s Christmas Craft sale raised $120 for the MiraBE Christmas Campaign. The funds were used to purchase gifts for children who spent Christmas in the London Health Sciences Center with serious and life threatening illness. The charity was established in memory of Mira Dunsmore who passed away at age 9 from a rare genetic disease. MiraBE’s mission is to support families coping with rare and underfunded childhood dis-ease and, to promote ‘regular family life’. http://mirabe.ca/

Super Bowl LII will take place on February 4, 2018. Stay tuned for details in January about our annual Souper Bowl Food Drive in support of the Hagersville Food Bank.

CELEBRATING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON From participating in the local Christmas parade, to giving time and resources to the Hagersville Foodbank to enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner following Mass, we worked hard at putting Christ and the true meaning of Christmas at the centre of all we did at St. Mary’s. Thank you to the many hands (staff, students, parents, and community partners) that worked so hard to ensure a very busy week remained one of joy and celebration!

DONATE USED EYEWEAR for:

EYE Can Make a Difference Campaign! St. Mary’s is collecting used eye wear for people in developing countries on behalf of Medical Ministry International(www.mmi.org). This campaign runs for the entire 2017-2018 school year! We will gratefully accept donations of:Prescription Glasses, Readers, Sunglasses, Frames and Cases for Glasses. Donations help people in developing countries with vision correction and care. Sunglasses help protect the eyes of those working in fields under the hot sun. Reusing eyewear is good for the environment!

Please Save Your Pop Tabs!

St. Mary’s School is collecting aluminum pop tabs on behalf of the Robert Hampson Tabs for Kids Fun(www.poptabsforwheelchairs.ca). Tabs can be dropped off in the bin at the front entrance of our school. The campaign runs for the entire 2017-2018 school year! Tabs support the purchase of wheelchairs for children with physical disabilities.

YAC REPORT by Mya Baxter,YAC Junior Journalist

Child Slavery

Child slavery is wrong. Enslaved children are sent to plantations in some South American countries to harvest crops such as co-coa, tea and cotton; some are sent to factories with poor work-ing conditions to create products that we buy. Typically, these children experience working conditions that are anything but pleasant. Children were and still are sold into slavery be-cause of the financial burdens that their families face. Sending a child to become a labourer allows many families to pay off their debts.

Although laws have been enacted to abolish child slavery and

other forms of slavery, it still continues today. Many or-

ganizations have been created to end child slavery once and for

all. St. Mary’s is a proud supporter of one of them which is WE

Charity (Free the Children). Donating and supporting this organi-

zation can make a difference in many enslaved children’s lives

and give them the opportunity to become free. When we stand

together, we are strong and can make a difference.

BOOK FAIR

Mark your calendars for the St. Mary’s School Book Fair. Come visit the school on February 7, 8, 9 (9am to 3pm) & 12 (9am to 12pm) to make some of your favourite books your own.

SCHOOL MASS

There will be no St. Mary’s School Mass for this month.

PARISH NEWS:

January 28: 10:30 a.m. Youth Mass and Coffee Social

ST. MARY’S EVENTS TO REMEMBER IN JANUARY: Jan. 9: Knights Luncheon Jan. 10: Pajama/Crazy Hair Day (Cancelled: To be rescheduled) Jan. 12: Hot Lunch: HOT DOGS Jan. 19: Hot Lunch: PIZZA Jan. 22: PA Day—No school for students Jan. 24: Chef a L’Ecole Jan. 26: Hot Lunch: MAC & CHEESE Jan. 29 & 30: Grade 8 Tech Days at Holy Trinity Jan. 31: Basketball Tournament at Assumption College School (Cancellation Date: February 2) Feb. 1: Month End Assembly for January

INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES

Please listen to the local radio station for details on the weather. Information on bus cancellations and delays can also be

found at the following website: www.stsbhn.ca . Information is updated daily by 6:30 a.m. You can also use the NEW board and school website button that will take our families directly to the ‘Cancellation and Delays’ page, bypassing the Transportation website. The button takes the place of the for-

mer ‘Transportation button’.In the event that a decision is made to close the school during the school day, please note that we may need you to make arrangements for the pick up of your child(ren). Please ensure that your emergency con-tacts listing with the school is accurate and up to date.

ST. MARY’S IS A ZONE 2 SCHOOL. When transportation is cancelled, the school is closed to students.

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