St. Mark School NewsletterDecember 2019St. Mark Catholic Elementary School240 Autumn Hill Cres.Kitchener, ON, N2N 1K8Phone: (519) 743-4682

“Growing in skill, wisdom and strength.” Our Mission StatementSt. Mark Catholic Elementary School, with home, Church and community, is committed to nurturing the growth and future success of faith-centered individuals through the pursuit of academic excellence, Catholic values and respect for all.

IMPORTANT DATESAdvent Liturgy 1 (Hope)at St. Mark SchoolMonday, December 2nd 9:00 amGrade 2 Class at Laurel Creek Nature CentreWednesday, December 4th 9:00-3:00 pm

Poinsettias Delivery at St. Mark SchoolThursday, December 5th 3:30-7:00 pm& Friday, December 6th 9:00-11:00 amProfessional Development DayFriday, December 6th Full DayAdvent Liturgy 2 (Peace)at St. Mark SchoolMonday, December 9th 9:00 amAdvent Mass at St. Mark ChurchFriday, December 12th 9:30 am

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGEIt is hard to believe we are [once again] on the doorstep of that wonderful time of the year, ‘Christmas’. Please take a moment to note on your calendar the important dates outlined in this Newsletter. The English word “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” The season of Advent is a time of waiting and anticipation as we prepare to welcome the coming of Christ into our lives. This year our Advent Mass (Joy) is on Thursday, December 12th at 9:30 am at St. Mark Church. As always parents/guardians are welcomed and encouraged to celebrate with us. In addition, we will be celebrating three Advent Liturgies at the school; our first Advent Liturgy (Hope) is on Monday, December 2nd at 9:00 am, our second Advent Liturgy (Peace) is on Monday, December 9th at 9:00 am and our final Advent Liturgy (Love) is on Friday, December 20th at 9:00 am. All Advent Liturgies will be celebrated in the school gym. Parents and guardians are welcomed and encouraged to celebrate with us.Our annual Christmas Concert is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18th from 1:00-3:00 pm in the school gymnasium. The teachers are very busy preparing the boys and girls to perform at our concert. We would be delighted, if you would share the experience with us – please mark this special event on your calendar. We hope to see you there. All liturgies, Masses and special events have highlighted in the calendar on the left margin of the newsletter for your reference.Finally, on behalf of all staff members of St. Mark School, I

Christmas ConcertWednesday, December 18thin the School Gym1:00-3:00 pmAdvent Liturgy 4 (Love)at St. Mark SchoolFriday, December 20th 9:00 am

Christmas Holidays BeginFriday, December 20th CHRISTMAS DAYWednesday, December 25th

JANUARY AT A GLANCENEW YEAR’S DAYWednesday, January 1st School ResumesMonday, January 6th 8:55 am

Healthy Schools Committee MeetingWednesday, January 8th 3:30 pmPathways Night for Grade 8 Parents & Students at Resurrection CSS6:30 pmRocks & Rings at St. Mark SchoolWednesday, January 22nd and Thursday, January 23rd Grade 7 Boys’ & Girls’ Hep B & HPV Vaccinations Tuesday, January 21st

PD DayFriday, January 24th Full DaySchool Council Meetingat St. Mark SchoolThursday, January 30th 7:00 pm

FEBRUARY AT A GLANCE

would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! Sincerely,Mr. LankowskiPrincipalDECEMBER FIT BITMany food banks, religious organizations, workplaces and schools host food drives to support local families in need. Follow these tips for making your food donations as healthy as possible all year round!!Choose Fruit Canned in WaterA lot of non-perishable fruit options are canned in sugar-based syrup or juice which can provide unnecessary added sugar to an otherwise healthy product. Simply check the ingredient list for added sugar and the label for the phrase ‘packed in water’ to be sure it does not include sneaky added sugars.Be Smart about SaltNon-perishables such as canned vegetables, pasta sauces, legumes (e.g. beans, lentils, chickpeas) and soups are known for containing high amounts of sodium, which is added during processing. Choose products that contain less than 15 per cent of your daily sodium per serving for heart healthy options. Keep an Eye out for Whole GrainsThere are an endless number of non-perishable grain products that can make healthy food donations. Choose whole grain products to get the most nutritional value for your dollar. Items such as rolled oats, whole grain couscous or pasta, and brown rice are versatile and nutritious options with a long shelf life.Pack a Punch with ProteinProtein is an important part of a healthy diet and emergency food programs are always in search of non-perishable, high protein items. Canned light tuna, nut butters and legumes are great sources of protein. Choose these items over dried, processed meats such as beef jerky. Milk alternatives such as powdered milk and shelf stable fortified soy beverage are also a good source of protein that can be purchased in a non-perishable state.Skip the Grocery ShoppingYou can also provide monetary donations directly to emergency food providers. This allows the organization to purchase the foods they need the most!Check out the Region of Waterloo Better Foods to Buy PDF on line for healthy non-perishable food ideas.

Grade 8 Mount Mary RetreatFebruary 5th – 7th Grade 6/7&7 Trip to Laurel Creek Nature CentreTuesday, February 11th 9:00-3:00 pm

JUMP Rope for HeartAssemblyThursday, February 13th 9:15 amReport Card Distribution DayThursday, February 13th

Valentine’s DayFriday, February 14th Nutritional Free Day No. 5Friday, February 14th

Family DayMonday, February 17th Ash Wednesday Mass at SchoolWednesday, February 26th 9:00 am

JUMP Rope for Heart DayFriday, February 28th

CHRISTMAS THEME DAY REMINDER Christmas Theme Day is fast approaching! We have students at the school, who have peanut and nut allergies. We ask you to be extra careful in checking labels and avoid sending any holiday treats to school that may contain peanut or nut products. This is a life- threatening situation for these children. Thank you once again by showing your care and concern for all children by helping to provide a safe learning environment.NUTRITIONAL FREE DAYSThe following are Nutritional Free Days in the month of December:Christmas Event Day at St. Mark School ………… Friday, December 20th CHRISTMAS CONCERT UPDATEOur annual Christmas Concert is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18th from 1:00-3:00 pm in the school gymnasium. We certainly hope you can attend and share in the Christmas spirit at St. Mark School. If you wish to sign out your child/children at the end of the performance, which will likely be before the end of the school day, you will need to find your child’s classroom teacher. He/she will have a form that you will need to sign if you wish to take your child home early. The classroom teachers will then send these forms down to the main office, where we will file these for our records. Thank you for your attention to this matter. FUNDRAISER PICK-UPParents & Guardians will have an opportunity to pick-up their school fundraiser purchases (e.g. poinsettias) on Thursday, December 5th from 3:30-7:00 pm and Friday, December 6th from 9:00-11:00 am in the school gym. Parents & Guardians can drive to the back of the school and use the back doors after school hours. During school hours parents & guardians can use the main front door to the school.

LITURGICAL CALENDAR 2019-2020 UPDATE November • 30 Enrolment Mass f/r First Eucharist & Confirmation at St. Mark Church (5:00 pm)

December • 1 Enrollment Masses f/r First Eucharist & Confirmation at St. Mark Church (9:30 am & 11:30 am)

• 2 Advent Liturgy (Hope) at St. Mark School (9:00 am)• 9 Advent Liturgy (Peace) at St. Mark School (9:00 am) • 12 Advent Mass (Joy) at St. Mark Church (9:30 am)• 18 Christmas Concert at St. Mark School (1:00-3:00 pm)• 20 Advent Liturgy (Love) at St. Mark School (9:00 am) • 25 CHRISTMAS DAY LIBRARY LEARNING COMMONS NEWSI would like to off a HUGE THANK YOU for your tremendous support for our annual Scholastic Book Fair in November. For this fundraiser, we sold over $4,500 in book and novelty items, for which the St. Mark Library Learning Commons will receive more than $2,000 in book fair credit. Once again, you’ve proven that the St. Mark School Community is amazing!Wishing everyone the happiest of Holidays and a wonderful New Year!!

Julie NajjarLibrarianCHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD PROGRAMEvery Sunday during the 9:30 am Mass at St. Mark Church for children aged 5 to grade 3. No registration necessary, just bring your children to Mass.

The following is a record of our mission and charitable activities for 2018-2019:Terry Fox Run Cancer Research $12,500.00Mission & Spirit Day Kids Ability $500.00Teen Challenge $500.00Lisaard & Innisfree Hospice $300.00Juvenile Diabetes $500.00Humanitarian Coalition $100.00Hope Spring Cancer Support Centre $300.00St. Mark St. Vincent de Paul $400.00Total: $2,600.00Freezie Fridays North of 60 $674.65 Clothing Drive Bag2School $72.00

Food Drive St. Vincent de Paul Society 679 Lbs of

FoodTotal: $15,846.65Well done St. Mark School community!! Thanks for your continued generosity.

INTERMEDIATE BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL TEAM Congratulations to the Intermediate Boys’ Volleyball team who placed second in their small schools’ tournament on Tuesday November 19th. The boys played Our Lady of Lourdes, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Grace and St. Timothy's, where they showed great sportsmanship, teamwork and spirit. There were lots of great rallies, serves, and suspense. Mrs. Voelzing and Mr. Pus were very proud of how well the boys represented St. Mark School. Congratulations go out to: Tide, Thomas, Cole, Tyler, Alex, Patrick, Henos, Marcel, Cris, Luigi, Derek, Owen & Ryan. A special thank you goes out to our parent drivers for helping with transportation and those parents who came out to cheer on the team!!Coach Voelzing & PusST. MARK SCHOOL SPIRIT WEARLast call for St Marks Spirit Ware! Order online now! www.st-mark.deco-apparel.com Store Closes Dec 4th for Christmas delivery*Note: all orders will be delivered to the school and must be placed online – no cash or paper orders will be accepted (see PDF on next page).

ATTENDANCEPlease refer to the PDFs below regarding the importance of regular attendance at school and the shortcomings of continued absenteeism. Let’s always work together to ensure punctuality and regular attendance at school.

5 Things You Need to Know - Superior North.pdfCopy of PDF Attendance Late Chart.pdfCopy of PDF Do the Math Handout.pdfTHE UMBRELLA PROJECT – COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY This month our focus is on building cognitive flexibility. What will cognitive flexibility do

for my child? Life doesn’t always follow a predictable pattern; cognitive flexibility helps our children navigate this uncertainty and feel like they have more options when faced with challenges. As things change around them, they need to change in order to maintain their well-being.With cognitive flexibility your child will be better able to change strategies when faced with new and unexpected situations, make sense of the unfamiliar and thrive in uncertainty. Cognitive flexibility is important for innovating, coming up with new ideas and solving problems, and is essential to creativity. It will also help them understand people and situations that are different from theirs and improve their relationships. This month we can’t wait to walk you through this cool skill and help you find ways to flex this part of your child’s brain. For tips on cognitive flexibility see the PDF below.Health and happiness, Dr. Jen Forristal Founder of the Umbrella Project Founder of the Umbrella Project drjen@umbrellaproject.co

ST. MARK SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN, 2019-2020School-Wide Focus: Numeracy (Proportional Reasoning, Application & Thinking Questions) School IF & THEN Statement:IF we focus on developing students’ computational fluency, strengthening problem solving skills by providing rich application and thinking problems, promoting a variety of effective problem-solving strategies and punctuating instruction in areas involving fractions, THEN student achievement and confidence in math will improve?For more information about Proportional Reasoning click on the following link:http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/studentsuccess/ProportionReason.pdfFor more information about how you can support at home click on the following link:http://www.edugains.ca/newsite/HOME/index.html and click on ‘Ministry Developed Resources’ → ‘Mathematics’ → ‘Home Supports’Strategies for Student Success in Numeracy:

□ Continued implementation of Number Routines to promote computational fluency □ Teachers explicitly model and teach mathematical problem solving □ Teachers provide students with opportunities to solve rich application and thinking questions □ Teachers provide practice time for students to consolidate mathematical concepts and skills□ Teachers promote a variety of effective problem-solving strategies in math□ Teachers punctuate instruction in areas involving fractions across multiple math strands and skills□ Teachers will provide responsive small group instruction □ Teachers provide students with opportunities to represent their thinking when engaged in math tasks□ Teachers continue to assist students in developing confidence in math (e.g. growth mindset) The Board & School Improvement Plans for Student Achievement are included in this section of the December Newsletter for your review and perusal.

How do teachers assess student learning? See the PDF below for details.

ANOTHER EXCITING FIT BIT FOR DECEMBER The holiday season is fast approaching, and food and beverages are often central to many of our holiday celebrations and festivities. The new Canada’s food guide is a great tool to help you and your family make healthier food choices throughout this holiday season. Keep Proportions in Mind Encourage your family to use Canada’s food guide as a model at holiday meals. Aim to fill half the plate with vegetables and fruit and choose protein foods and whole grain foods for the other two quarters of the plate. Be Mindful The new food guide encourages us to think beyond what we eat, and

to also think about how we eat. During celebrations there is often an abundance of food and festivities. Use these tips to help your kids be more mindful eaters in the busyness of the holiday season: - Take time to eat: find the time and space to sit down as a family and focus on eating without any distractions. - Notice your feelings of hunger and fullness: encourage kids to make food choices based on their hunger level, rather than boredom or availability.

Think about your drinkThere are lots of sweets and treats during the holiday season. Replacing sugary drinks with water is a simple way to reduce the amount of sugar your kids are having. Let your kids try adding fresh fruit to water if they want a special drink for a special occasion. Here are some ideas to try: Chopped apples + cinnamon stick Cranberry + lemon Raspberries + cucumber Blackberries + mint*To avoid risk of choking, make flavoured water in a pitcher and serve in glasses without fruit or flavours. Think Beyond Food to Celebrate Finally, instead of celebrating with food, try celebrating with a family activity like playing a favourite game, making a holiday craft, going skating or playing outside. Adapted from food-guide.canada.ca. Visit food-guide.canada.ca for more information.Brought to you by Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services.Hello St. Mark’s Community! Can you believe that we are weeks away from the Christmas season, where does the time go!We are so excited to announce that our fall fundraiser for St. Marks this year was a great success once again. Thank you all for your continued support. This year with your help we were able to raise $1836.25 in our poinsettia sales. The funds raised are directly used back into our school, for items like upgrading tech where needed, supplementing school excursions, providing outdoor materials and anywhere else help is needed in our school. We appreciate your participation in making it possible for our students to benefit from all the fundraising funds.**Save the Date! Pick-up for products will be Thursday, December 5th after school from 3:30pm- 7:00pm and Friday, December 6th from 9:00am-11:00am.**We know that the St. Marks community is strong and passionate about our school, and what better way to show our enthusiasm than by wearing our school colours and logo. We have our Spirit Wear available for purchase now, here is the link to take advantage of all the great items available to you at http://st-mark.deco-apparel.com/ .Also, we would love to remind you that the Mabels Labels fundraiser is an ongoing fundraiser throughout the year. They make great gifts just in time for the Christmas season or a cute stocking stuffer, please feel free to pass the code onto friends and family for all their labeling needs.These fundraisers allow us to continually support the school with all the needs listed above...to purchase your labels simply log onto www.mabelslabels.ca and look up St.

Mark Catholic Elementary School (Kitchener) and of course happy shopping! Once again, we at Parent Council appreciate all your support and help during the fundraisers it really does take a village. Have a safe and Happy holiday season. Thank you School Council