2017

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MARCH NEWSLETTER March Virtue

Dear Parents:

The month of February was full of many exciting events including: basketball, Black History Month, chocolate fundraiser, class trips, Carnaval, and many teams beginning and con-tinuing to practice.

These events have made for a positive and in-valuable learning experience for the students of St. Maurice. Without the help of staff and par-ents, these events would not be possible. Thank you for all your efforts, commitment and dedication to the students of our school.

The virtue for the month of March is for-giveness, a cornerstone of our Faith and one that Jesus modeled for us in his life and death. How timely now that we are in the season of Lent. The Lenten season is a time of for-giveness, both for us to seek it, and to offer it to others. We are reminded that forgiveness is a gift to ourselves as we let go of resentment when we forgive others. It’s also a gift to our children when we teach and model it to them.

March 20 brings the first day of spring –warmer days are ahead!!! It is the beginning of life and renewal.

Have a very Happy March and March Break!

Mr. F. Termine Principal

St. Maurice Catholic School

45 Kingsview Blvd Ave. Toronto, Ontario M9R 1T Telephone: 416-393-5379 Fax: 416-393-5085

Happy March Break! March 13th to the

17th Have Fun!!!!

Enjoy your time with family and friends!

Schools are closed!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day—March 17th !!

School Information and Contact Numbers

Principal: Mr. F. Termine

Superintendent: Mr. A . Della Mora

Trustee: Mr. J. Martino Parish: Transfiguration of Our Lord 45 Ludstone Dr. Toronto, ON M9R 2J2 Telephone: 416-247-0513

CPIC (Parent Engagement--TCDSB) www.tcdsb.org/cpic

SCHOOL HOURS Morning Bell: 8:30am AM Recess: 10:12 - 10:27am Lunch: 11:15 – 12:15pm PM Recess: 2:13 - 2:28pm Dismissal: 3:30pm

St. Maurice Chocolate Fundraiser

Great Success! Thank you to all who con-tributed to our Chocolate Fundraiser! Funds will go towards many school activi-ties. Thank you to Ms. DeDominicis, Ms. Anic-Matic, Ms. Marriott, Ms. Rios, Ms. Rebelo, Ms. Ludlow and the Parent Council for their hard work with the fundraiser. We will announce winners and hand out prizes next week!!!!

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Mathematics at Home

We wish to work closely with families to develop literacy and numeracy skills . We ask parents/guardians to encour-age students to use math everyday to solve real world problems. Help children improve their mental math by having them work with numbers and solve equations with-out pencil and paper. Staff are teaching mental math skills—please ask your children what they have learned and have them solve math questions. Here are a few websites you students can go to develop math skills:

http://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/Numeracy/thinkMATH@home/Pages/default.aspx;

http://oame.on.ca/mathies/

www.prodigygame.com Have fun with math!

Upcoming Events at St. Maurice

Daylight Savings Time March 12th—Clocks ahead one hour

The Big Crunch—March 9th

Grad Photos for SK and Grade 8 students and all students who missed their photo—March 27th

Spring Barbecue Lunch March 9th

March Break - March 13th to the 17th

Junior Volleyball, March 28th (Boys), 29th (Girls)

Earth Hour for Schools March 24th,

Earth Hour for all, Saturday March 25th at 8:30

Good Friday April 14th, Easter Sunday April 16th and Easter Monday April 17th

CSPC Meeting April 4th

Bags 2 School Fundraising March 9th to April 27th

Earth Week April 24th to April 28th

First Communion at Transfiguration Church on April 30th and May 7th

Catholic Education Week May 1st to May 5th

Welcome to Kindergarten—May 17th at 5:30pm

Confirmation—May 12th at Transfiguration Church

Divisional Track Meet—May 8th

CAT/4 Testing for Grades 2, 5 and 7– May 1st - June 9th

EQAO testing—May 23rd to June 5th

Divisional Soccer Tournaments—May 31st (Boys) and June 1st (Girls)

June 9th PA DAY

SK Graduation June 23rd

Grade 8 Graduation—June 22nd at 7pm

Last Day of School—June 29th

PA Day June 30th—No school

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

TRUSTEES 2014 – 2015 Wards

1. Joseph Martino 5. Maria Rizzo 9. Jo-Ann Davis 2. Ann Andrachuk 6. Frank D’Amico (Vice Chair) 10. Barbara Poplawski 3. Sal Piccininni 7. Michael Del Grande 11. Angela Kennedy (Chair) 4. Patrizia Bottoni 8. Garry Tanuan 12. Nancy Crawford

Karina Dubrovskaya, Student Trustee

Director: of Education Angela Gauthier Rhea Carlisle , Student Trustee

80 Sheppard Ave. E., Toronto, ON ∙ Website: www.tcdsb.org

TOYS FOR HAPPY TOWN

Our enthusiastic and energetic Kindergarten Team are asking for your help. If you have Lego, or other toys that you no longer need., please bring to St. Maurice so we can use them for kindergarten students. Also, if you have outdoor play mobiles or other toys, please con-sider bringing them to school where they can have a new life and make our children very happy.

NEW REGISTRANTS WELCOME: Call 416-393-5379 or the TCDSB Admissions Depart-ment at 416-222-8282, ext. 2383. For general information about the Toronto Catholic District School Board, please visit the website at www.tcdsb.org. Stay in touch with the latest news throughout the school year: Follow @TCDSB on Twitter.

Parent/Student Information

St. Maurice Parent Council

Please come and join us at the next CSPC meeting. This is a great way to contribute to the education of your child and the school community of St. Maurice. The next meeting is April 4th at 6:30pm in the staff room. If you can, please volunteer to help with the barbecue and for other events . All volunteers are wel-come!

You can also email the principal at StMaurice.Info@tcdsb.org and we will add you to our school distribution list.

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February is African Canadian History Month

Many learning activities happened in the school including daily quotes, lessons, and projects in the classes. On Mon-day March 6th we will have an assembly to commemorate Nelson Mandela. Thank you to Ms. Abolor for preparing the assembly with the Grade 8 students.

Marlies—Go Team Go! On March 2nd our junior students enjoyed an exciting day of hockey at the Ricoh Centre. They joined over 5000 students from our school board to cheer on our Marlies and to learn about the importance of daily physical activity. Thank you to Ms. Ryan for organizing the trip!

Pizza, Subway and Popcorn Sales Pizza Lunch sales continue twice a month on Fr idays. Thank you to Mr. Caron and his class for organizing the sales. Spring Barbecue Lunch—Thursday March 9th—Please volunteer to help with the lunch.

Popcorn Sales are every Wednesday. There is a limit of two bags

per student. The cost is 50¢. Thank you to Mr. Forte, Ms. Bonneville, and Ms. Marriott their help to prepare and sell

Parent/Student Information

THE GREAT BIG CRUNCH

On March 9th, 2017, St. Maurice will be participating in the 10th Anniversary of the Great Big Crunch. Since 2008, over

900,000 people have participated in the Great Big Crunch, an annual moment of anti-silence where everyone gets together and bites into crunchy fresh local produce in unison. They symphony is loud, whether you munch on apples or carrots. From coast to coast, many have celebrated and enjoyed healthy snacking with family and friends. This initiative will allow the community to cherish the local bounty around us of fresh local Ontario produce We are grateful for a donation of 300 free apples which will be delivered by Foodshare On-tario for this event. We hope you will crunch with us at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9th, 2017.

Go Wildcats Go!! St. Maurice Basketball

The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have been practising since November and all their hard work and dedication came to fruition on Feb 15 and 16 when they went to St. Demetrius for the Divisional Tournament. The boys’ team won their tourna-ment and went on to the Regionals. We are very proud of their accomplishment. The boys’ team was comprised of Gbemiro A., Allen O., Joshua H., T’Kai R., James K, Erhomo I., Ashton J., Jethrouy T. , Randel M., Omamherie I., Nicholas S., Stephen O.. The girls’ team also did very well. They were Finalists at their Divisional Meet. The team was comprised of Raheemat B., Amanda F., Mercy N.,Nana B., Aaliyah P., N’Shaela S., Winnie O., Mariana B., Victoria E. and Elaine N. Thank you to all the players for their effort, dedica-tion and sportsmanship. And thank you to Ms. Michaud, Ms. Zammit and Mr. Termine for coach-ing the teams.

Off to the Boat Races In December, St. Maurice sent its first Cardboard Boat Race team to Bishop Marrocco. The team was made up of Gerel E., Sebastian A., T'Kai R. and Logan W. They had an awesome time and got a bit wet!!

Monthly Update from the Board

March 2017

TCDSB Expands French Immersion Sites The Toronto Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the expansion of French Immersion sites, making it possible for more children and their families to take advantage of French Immersion programming. Parents and guardians can re-register their child for French Immersion using the SOAR-French Immersion application until March 10, 2017. Apply for French Immer-sion here: http://fisoar.tcdsb.org

Focus on Youth Summer Employment Program The “Focus On Youth” program is a partnership between the Ontario Government, school boards, and local commu-nity agencies, providing summer programs for students in recognized high needs urban neighbourhoods, as well as employment opportunities and leadership training for youth. Focus on Youth supports the use of TCDSB school space and the employment of TCDSB students by non-profit community organizations participating in the program, and school space was offered to 85 community groups in 58 schools.

Employment Applications Are Now Being Accepted For: Custodial /Maintenance, Clerical Positions and Camp coun-sellors for July 4 – August 11, 2017. Deadline for applications is March 9, 2017. https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/FocusOnYouth/pages/employmentapplication.aspx

Anonymous Alerts Starting in March, students in TCDSB secondary schools will be able to anonymously message their school principal about a range of issues including bullying and other safety concerns. www.anonymousalerts.com/tcdsb

Let’s Get Ready to Celebrate Canada 150 Everyone in the Toronto Catholic District School Board community is invited to join in Canada’s 150th birthday celebration throughout 2017. The 150th anniversaries of our nation and our province, coincide with our ongoing focus on our Pastoral Plan: “Together With One Voice: family, parish and school” which honours the three partners who have created the solid foundation on which Catholic education has been built. Catholic schools have been a rich and vibrant part of Canada’s and Ontario’s heritage since before confederation. JOIN US as we recognize our Boards unique place in Canadian history during this sesquicentennial year. A website has been created for the many exciting events and initiatives that are already underway around the board: https://www.tcdsb.org/Canada150

Parish Family Day Happening May 5, 2017 As we continue to celebrate our Year of the Parish we want to know what makes your pastor and/or your parish unique. Students are invited to create a short video, an original song, or piece of original artwork, write a short story or poem, or express themselves in any way artistically to highlight the relationship that the students have with the local parish and/or the priest/pastor at their church. Remember that this does not have to be an additional assignment. Why not use the pastor/parish theme for a regular class-room lesson--whether that be a writing exercise, a poetry writing session or visual art project. “Promote Your Parish” and let’s celebrate the many ways that our parishes and our parish priests contribute to our schools and communities. Submit the completed projects via email to parish.project@tcdsb.org by no later than April 7, 2017.

2017 ShareLife Parish Campaign

During this, our Year of the Parish, we encourage all students, staff and their families to consider supporting the many local Cath-olic charities that are funded through ShareLife. These Catholic agencies help families, single parents, the elderly, individuals with special needs, immigrants and refugees, the homeless and the needy, as well as the education of clergy within our own City of Toronto. Learn more about these organizations here: http://www.sharelife.org/Public/ShareLife-List-of-Agencies.

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Ontario Ecoschools at ST. MAURICE! Please have your children bring litterless lunches to reduce waste at school, or boomerang lunches and bring the waste home. Please use reusable containers and water bottles. We will be selling St. Maurice Water Bottles this month.

Also, to encourage recycling, we have a program called “Trash for Cash” St. Maurice. Students are encouraged to recycle most items such as cookie wrappers, sandwich bags, lunchables, etc. Parents can also drop off personal care bottles, ink car-tridges, cell phones, old laptops and place them in the containers in front of the office. TerraCycle provides funds to the school for the recycled items.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!

We are in the running for the cash prize for the Terracycle Febreeze Frenzy. This will go a long way to con-tributing to our school activities and programs. Last year, thanks to Ms. Cassarella, we placed second in Canada and received a cash prize of over $1000. Thank you to all who contributed last year.

We need your help again this year. !!!Please send to school the items listed below. Encourage friends and

family to contribute. This also helps encourage recycling and responsible use of resources. The chal-lenge ends in May.

Please send; Trigger heads from spray-cleaner bottles; Pumps from soap dispensers; Flip-top caps from dish soap or laundry bottles; Flexible wipes packaging (i.e.

Swiffer); Used air freshener cartridges and packaging; All bottle tops.

A Mission of Hope for Haiti--Lenten Project with Missionaries of the Poor This year, in co-operation with the Missionaries of the Poor, we are inviting our schools to participate in a special Lenten Drive, A Mission of Hope for Haiti. Our goal is to fill a 40-foot-long container with food, toiletries and school items that we may take for granted—e.g. food items, like rice and beans, toiletries, like toothpaste and toothbrushes, or school items, like pencils and pens. These items would be picked up from your school by volunteers from the Missionaries of the Poor, and through Canadian Food for Children, these items will be shipped to the Missionaries of the Poor to Haiti. The hope is that all schools will consider participating to some extent. If every student and staff provides just one item, it would be a tremendous help to the people of Haiti. Details are online here: https://www.tcdsb.org/board/nurturingourcatholiccommunity/pages/hope-for-haiti-lenten-project.aspx

March Mental Health Newsletter https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SpecialEducation/mhs/newsletters/March%20MH%20Newsletter%202017.pdf

Event Reminders: March is Celtic Canadian Her itage Month https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/Her itageCelebration/CelticCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx March 1, 2017—Ash Wednesday; Lent Begins https://www.tcdsb.org/board/nurturingourcatholiccommunity/pages/lent-and-easter-resources.aspx March 3, 2017—World Day of Prayer https://www.tcdsb.org/board/nurturingourcatholiccommunity/news/2016-2017/pages/world-day-of-prayer.aspx March 4, 2017—Lift Jesus Higher Rally https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/liftjesushigher-rally.aspx March 6, 2017--Education Support Staff Appreciation Day https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/education-support-staff-appreciation-day.aspx March 7, 2017—Pray for Vocations https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/prayers-for-vocations-a-spiritual-bouquet.aspx March 8, 2017—International Women’s Day https://www.tcdsb.org/Pages/International-Womens-Day.aspx March 12, 2017—Clocks go forward 1 hour March 13-17, 2017—March Break March 20, 2017—Voices that Challenge Student Leadership Conference https://www.tcdsb.org/forstudents/catholicstudentleadership/news/pages/voices-that- challenge.aspx March 21, 2017--International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/international-day-for-elimiination-of-racial-discrimination.aspx March 21, 2017--World Down Syndrome Day https:// www.tcdsb.org/pages/world-down-syndrome-day.aspx March 22, 2017—World Water Day https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/environment/water March 24, 2017—Earth Hour https://www.tcdsb.org/board/environment/earthhour/pages/default.aspx April 1, 2017—Special Education Conference https://www.tcdsb.org/pages/special-education-conference---2017.aspx

Follow @TCDSB on Twitter or subscribe to Enews https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx to get all the latest news and information throughout the year.

ST. MAURICE TERRACYCLE CHAL-LENGE – WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Please help win the TERRACYCLE CHALLENGE!!! Fill a bag with bottle tops and items below. Ask friends and family. Please send items to school as often as possible. Bags may begiven out. We want to be Number 1 in Canada! This is a great way to raise money for the school and help the environ-ment. Items include:

- Trigger heads from spray-cleaner bottles;

- Pumps from soap dispensers;

- Flip-top caps (all caps and tops) from dish or laundry bottles;

- Flexible wipes packaging (i.e. Swiffer);

- Used air freshener cartridges and packaging

Thank you for your support!!! F. Termine Ms. T. Cassarella Principal