Highlights For February

3– CSPC meeting 7pm library

Bus Safety presentations

5– Swim to Survive Gr. 4

8– Nurse to visit Intermediates

9– Shrove Tuesday

Report Cards Sent Home

10– Ash Wednesday

11– Rosary Day

Parent Teacher Conferences

12– Parent Teacher Conferences

No School

15– Family Day– No school

16– Boy’s Basketball

17– Girl’s Basketball

Jr. W5H

18– Milk Presentation– ELP’s

Contacts

Principal:

Mr. M. Boccia

Vice Principal:

Mr. B. Howlett

Superintendent:

Mr. A. Della Mora

Trustee:

Mr. S. Piccininni

Parish Church:

Fr. Josue

St. Jude

Catholic Church

3265 Weston Rd.

416-742-9072

Secretary:

Ms. C. Mazzilli

CSAC Chair

Mr. E. D’Alfonso

Happy Children Who Love to Learn

St. Simon is an eco-friendly school:

The newsletter is only available in electronic form.

If you would like a newsletter sent to your email, please send a request to: brett.howlett@tcdsb.org

The newsletter is also accessible via the school website: http://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stsimon/News/Pages/Newsletters.aspx

If you wish to receive a paper copy please contact your child’s teacher, or the office.

St. Jude’s Parish newsletter is also available on the school website.

St. Simon Catholic School 20 Wallasey Ave. Tel - 416-393-5383 Fax - 416-397-6299 School Hours 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m

Catholic Parent Involvement Committee

(CPIC):

www.tcdsb.org/cpic

School website:

http://www.tcdsb.org/SCHOOLS/STSIMON

ST. SIMON NEWSLETTER

February 2016

Virtue of the Month: Love

Loving Jesus,

We thank you for the gift of friendship.

Our friends play with us, encourage us, and share with

us

Rejoice with us when we succeed,

Stay with us when we are sad

And bless us always with their love.

May we be ever thankful for our friends.

Amen

ST. SIMON NEWSLETTER February 2016

Happy Children Who Love to Learn

February is African History Month

African History Month

African-American Carter G. Woodson conceived the idea of having a time set aside devoted to the African, and African-American history that Blacks were learning on their own. He chose the week in February that contained the birthdates of two people he credited with bringing about the end of American slavery, President Abraham Lincoln and Black abolitionist, Fred-erick Douglass, which he called Negro History Week in 1926. The celebra-tion expanded and over time became known as Black History Month. In Canada, this idea was first celebrated in Toronto by railroad porters within the Black community by 1950; the porters had learned of it on their travels in the United States. The Canadian Negro Women’s Association also hosted a few celebrations. It was not until the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) was founded in 1978, and petitioned the City of Toronto by 1979 to have February proclaimed Black History Month that the cele-bration started to trickle into the entire community. The OBHS has suc-cessfully lobbied the federal government to have February declared as Black History Month. In December 1995, the Parliament of Canada officially recognized February as Black History Month, following a motion in-troduced by the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament, the Honourable Jean Augustine, MP of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. The OBHS launches the event annually and during and after February Black History Month, provides talks, presentations, professional development, heritage advocacy, displays, and exhibits. The idea is that Black History Month be the pinnacle of celebrating a year of Black history activity and study.

For more information try the link below:

http://blackhistorycanada.ca/education/LearningTools.pdf

Scorpions Go Undefeated On Their Way To Victory!!! The St. Simon Junior girls’ soccer team won their divisional tournament at St. Maurice. The girls beat St. Maurice in the semifinal 7-2 then beat St. Andre 4-3 in overtime to claim the title. Vanessa Lima scored the golden goal in overtime and team Captain Quincey Okafor was rock solid on defense. All the girls should feel very proud of themselves. We will defend our title next year!!! Go Scorpions

Sports Jr. Boy’s Soccer

Congratulations to the boys soccer team last week, they finished second at the Regional tournament. The boys played with a lot of heart. All the boys should feel very proud of themselves. They had a great season! Go Scorpions!

ST. SIMON NEWSLETTER

February 2016

Happy Children Who Love to Learn

Student Information Updates

As the year progresses, often some information

changes. Please ensure that all emergency

contact information is current. If an emergency

were to happen, the school must have current

contacts. If you have changed your phone

number or address please inform the office.

Wet Weather is Here!

As the weather is changing, please ensure that stu-

dents are dressed appropriately for the cold, wet, ever

changing weather. Students should have a pair of

indoor shoes to wear in the building and packing an

extra pair of socks, gloves and pants is recommend-

ed.

To report an absence please call 416-393-5383

From the Office

Uniform

As the colder weather approaches, often students forget what the school dress code entails.

Students are expected to wear the following dress code:

Appropriate Dress Code – consists of any combination of navy blue and white garments (i.e., plain

white top, navy blue bottom, navy blue top and bottom, no denim). Only blue and/or white sweaters

are to be worn in the class. All student attire must be in keeping with our Catholic teachings and be-

liefs, and reflect principles of modesty.

TCDSB School Year Calendar 2015-2016

Number of school days 194

Number of Professional Activity Days 6

Christmas Break December 21, 2015–January 1, 2016

Family Day February 15, 2016

Mid-Winter Break March 14–18, 2016

Good Friday March 25, 2016

Easter Monday March 28, 2016

Victoria Day May 23, 2016

Last day of classes for elementary students

June 29, 2016

February is the Beginning of the Lenten Season

What is Lent? Lent is a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.

When is Lent? It's the forty days before Easter. Lent excludes Sundays because every Sunday is like a little Easter. Basically, it's about one-tenth of a year (like a tithe of time). Mardi Gras is the day before Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday. This year it's from February 10 (Ash Wednesday) to March 27 (Easter), 2016.

Mardi Gras? What does that have to do with JESUS?? Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday." It refers to the day be-fore Lent starts. Since Lent always starts on a Wednesday, the day before is always a Tuesday. And it's called "Fat" or "Great" because it's associated with great food and parties.

In earlier times, people used Lent as a time of fasting and repentance. Since they didn't want to be tempted by sweets, meat and other distractions in the house, they cleaned out their cabinets. They used up all the sugar and yeast in sweet breads before the Lent season started, and fixed meals with all the meat available. It was a great feast! Through the years Mardi Gras has evolved (in some places) into a pretty wild party with little to do with preparing for the Lenten sea-son of repentance and simplicity.

So the real beginning of Lent is Ash Wednesday? Yes. Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, usually begins with a service where we recognize our mortality, repent of our sins, and return to our loving God. We recognize life as a precious gift from God, and re-turn our lives towards Jesus Christ. We may make resolutions and commit to change our lives over the next forty days so that we might be more like Christ. In an Ash Wednesday service, usually a minister or priest marks the sign of the cross on a person's forehead with ashes.

Why ashes? In Jewish and Christian history, ashes are a sign of mortality and repentance. Mortality, because when we die, our bodies eventually decompose and we become dust/dirt/ash/whatever. Repentance, because long ago, when people felt remorse for something they did, they would put ashes on their head and wear "sackcloth" (scratchy clothing) to remind them that sin is pretty uncomfortable and leads to a sort of death of the spirit. This was their way of confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness.

Where do the ashes come from? On what we now call Palm Sunday, Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem while peo-ple waved palms and cheered him on. Less then a week later, Jesus was killed. The palms that were waved in joy be-came ashes of sorrow. We get ashes for Ash Wednesday by saving the palms from Palm Sunday, burning them, and mixing them with a little oil.

What do Christians do with ashes? At an Ash Wednesday service, folks are invited to come forward to receive the ashes. The minister will make a small cross on your forehead by smudging the ashes. While the ashes remind us of our mortality and sin, the cross reminds us of Jesus' resurrection (life after death) and forgiveness. It's a powerful, non-verbal way that we can experience God's forgiveness and renewal as we return to Jesus.

So what is LENT? At Jesus' baptism the sky split open, the Spirit of God, which looked like a dove, descended and landed on Jesus, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, My Beloved, with whom I am pleased." Afterward, as told in Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was sent into the wilderness by the Spirit. Where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. During his time there he was tempted by Satan and found clarity and strength to resist temptation. Afterwards, he was ready to begin his ministry.

Why "DO" Lent? How do I start? Are you searching for something more? Tired of running in circles, but not really living life with direction, purpose or passion? It's pretty easy to get caught up in the drama of classes, relationships, fam-ily, and work. Our lives are filled with distractions that take us away from living a life with Christ. We try to fill the empti-ness inside us with mindless TV, meaningless chatter, stimulants, alcohol, too many activities or other irrelevant things. We run away from life and from God.

Lent is a great time to “repent” -- to return to God and re-focus our lives to be more in line with Jesus. It’s a 40 day trial run in changing your lifestyle and letting God change your heart. You might try one of these practices for Lent: How will you use the time to grow closer to God? (http://www.upperroom.org/lent101)

February 2016

ST. SIMON NEWSLETTER Happy Children Who Love to Learn

February Message from Your Trustee Although we don’t traditionally think of new beginnings when we think of February, this month that falls in the dead of winter actually does mark the start of new things. For our students in semestered schools, it marks the start of the second semester, and the start of the second semester of night school programs. I hope that everyone was success-ful on their exams, and I wish all of our students continued success and enjoyment dur-ing the term ahead. February also marks the beginning of Lent and our journey towards Easter. It is a time of reflection and preparation. I know our schools will once again put their faith into action

by helping the needy in our city and elsewhere in the world. Their dedication to living our Catholic values is a source of pride for all of us. The Board is currently working through the development of a revised Multi-Year Strategic Plan, and I thank

the many parents, staff and students who participated in the consultation process that will result in a compre-

hensive plan which will set our priorities and strategic directions going forward.

We look to all of you again to provide input regarding the development of our Multi-Year Recovery Plan which will guide our budget deliberations over the coming years and set us on a course of fiscal responsibility and sustainability. There will be opportunities for everyone to participate in those discussions through an online survey, a virtual Town Hall and various other meetings over the next few weeks. I would encourage you to visit our website at www.tcdsb.org/MYRP for all the information. As always, I encourage parents and staff to check the board’s website for the latest news (www.tcdsb.org) and to follow @TCDSB on Twitter for updates on a daily basis. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a safe and restful Family Day weekend, and to also ex-tend my best wishes to everyone for a blessed and holy Lenten season. Best regards, Sal Piccininni Trustee, Ward 3

TCDSB Monthly Update

February 2016

New PA Day Added to Calendar The Board has approved Friday, April 15, 2016 as a system-wide Professional Activity Day. https://www.tcdsb.org/school/SchoolYearCalendar/Pages/Default.aspx

Director’s Annual Report Check out all the highlights from 2014-2015 https://indd.adobe.com/view/b932c3a2-fa2f-4472-bb8b-5a46fbaf8c80

Multi-Year Strategic Plan Welcome to your opportunity to provide direct input as the Board refines its strategic directions to produce a revised Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP) that will guide the organization for the next several years. All TCDSB stakeholders are invited to complete the online survey and submit their personal comments regarding the DRAFT MYSP by no later than February 1st. Get all the information here: https://www.tcdsb.org/board/mysp/pages/2016-mysp-consultation.aspx

Multi-Year Deficit Recovery Plan Virtual Town Hall scheduled for February 9th

Get all the details on our website www.tcdsb.org

Ready to Pick Your High School Courses? Check out the 2016-2017 Course Calendar online https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/GuidanceCoopEd/Documents/33253_TCDSB_Course_Calendar_2016.pdf

Overseas Credit Courses Music and History 2016 Credit Course Scandinavia-Poland Study in Ireland Tanzania 2016 Study and Leadership Program Credit Program in Italy and Greece: July 2016 Credit Program in Ireland: July 2016 Credit Program in Sulmona, Abruzzo September 2016 Credit Program in Italy 2016 Trip to China - Beijing, Xi'An and Shanghai 2016 Spain, France & Italy - March Break 2016

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/ContinuingEducation/SecondaryCreditCourses/overseas/Pages/default.aspx

Resources for Lent Lent begin February 10th Information and resources online at https://www.tcdsb.org/board/nurturingourcatholiccommunity/pages/lent-and-easter-resources.aspx

Night School Registration Continues until February 26 https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/ContinuingEducation/SecondaryCreditCourses/NightSchool/nsregistration/Pages/default.aspx

Newcomer Adults Seeking English or French Classes Try out the new app to find free English and French courses for adult newcomers: https://www.tcdsb.org/forcommunity/adulteducationesl/pages/default.aspx

Upcoming Events: February is African Canadian Heritage Month https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/HeritageCelebration/

AfricanCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx February is Psychology Month https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/specialeducation/psychology/psychologymonth/Pages/Psychology-

Month.aspx February 3 is Winter Walk Day http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/winter-walk-day

February 12, 2016—PA Day

February 15, 2016—Family Day Feb 20 - World Day of Social Justice https://www.un.org/en/events/socialjusticeday/ February 24-29, 2016—Northern Spirit Games www.tcdsb.org

OAPCE Conference May 6 & 7—Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details. http://

www.oapcetoronto.ca/

Lifeguarding jobs with Toronto Police Service Application deadline March 18, 2016 https://webapp1.torontopolice.on.ca/psp/careers/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?&SiteId=2000

Investing in Our Diversity Scholarship Program Involved in your community? Planning to attend school in the fall of 2016? Under 25? You may qualify for a scholarship of up to $4,000. Deadline March 23, 2-16 at 5 pm. Information and application forms: www.scaddingcourt.org

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.