October 2, 2015 Virtue of the Month: Thanksgiving

Administration

V. Tanzini - Principal

A. Tamburino - Secretary

J. Shain - Superintendent

M. Rizzo - Trustee

D. Goulet - CSPC Chairperson

T. Mehari - Head Caretaker

Fr. Damian Young-Sam-You

pastor St. Monica Church

(416) 483—1513

St. Monica

Catholic school

October 2015 Newsletter

& Calendar

For a second consecutive year, our stu-dents and families contributed over $1000 to the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research. Our walk this year took place on Sept. 18 and students walked (very safely) for a total of 2km. Below is a photograph of the entire school com-

munity. Thanks to the parent volun-teers who accompanied us that day. In this month’s newsletter please note the important message regarding our new Student Nutrition Program (p.3) and please read over the inserts regard-ing: our upcoming Chocolate Fund-raiser (our first of the yeaar); a flyer reminding us of picture day; and finally a brochure from the Insti-

tute for Catholic Education (ICE) giving parents a Catholic perspective of the new Health and Physical Education Curriculum. ICE was established by the Ontario Bishops in 1986.

School Population = 267

To see this publication, the TCDSB Monthly Update and other important school documents, please

visit our school website at: http://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stmonica/

Since 1916 Phone: 416–393-5224

14 Broadway ave.

Toronto, Ontario M4P 1T4

Principal’s Message

Rafa Catacutan –Ms. Joyce-FDK

Mya Keo—Ms. D’Andrea—gr. 1

Dash Innes-Ms. Carr-gr.4

Hanna Gaxiola Tapia Ms. Whalley- gr. 7

Students of the Month (September)

Curriculum Night will take place on Thursday, October 8th starting in the gym at 6:30 pm. Please ar-rive early as our Parent Council (CSPC) will be serving pizza and juice starting at 6 pm. After the initial presentation and slide show, parents will be meeting their child(ren)’s teacher to review curriculum ex-

pectations for the 2015-2016 academic year. Please join us!

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust

September Events 2015

Page 2 St. Monica C. S.

Girls Softball City Finalists September hasn’t just been a hit for the Jays, but also for the St. Monica Softball teams. Both the boys and the girl’s squads enjoyed practicing and playing teams from other TCDSB elementary schools. On Monday, September 28th, 2015 the girls’ softball team placed first in the divisional tournament. They then moved on to play in the championship games on Wednesday. With hard work, quick decisions and fast reflexes, the girls placed as finalists in the championship games. Well done! Thank you to the coaches who have helped support this in-terest in softball this season. Teachers Ms. Colla, Mr. Della Pia, Ms. Seminara and parent Mr. Nikolaus helped to shape the girls skills and encourage them while playing. Another thank you to the teachers and parents who attended and supervised these three tournaments (Ms. Carr, Ms. Goulet, Ms. Reyes).

The St. Monica community is very proud to congratulate the following girls: Kianna, Natasha, Alecca, Elizabeth, Marina, Rachel, Mae, Monique, Leah, Zah-ra, Ruth, Ohara, Ava and Audrey. - Ms. Seminara

Left: Jonathan Gomes and Sean Holman along with 7 other students attend the ME to WE event at the Air Canada Centre on Oct. 1; along with Ms. Carr.

Over the s u m m e r Mr. Della Pia orga-nized an order of 70 new team j e r s e y s . Thanks to our Parent Council for their finan-cial aid!!!

Above: On Sept. 22, Ms. Clarke’s gr. 5 class travelled to the Book Bank located on Berkley St. Each student received a free book of their choice, for their first book report of the year.

Left: Our Boys Softball team participated in their annu-al tournament on Sept. 28th. Thank to our coaches—Ms. Carr and parent assistants—Ms. Goulet, Mr. Niko-laus, and Ms. Benet. Thanks to all for a great season!

Page 3 October Newsletter

Parents and Curriculum: Linked to Student Success

INTRODUCTION The system-wide Parents and Curriculum Linked to Student Success Day is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, 2015 as part of the TCDSB’s first-ever Parent Involvement Week. We are pleased to provide this information to Principals and Vice-Principals to assist in the planning and organization of this event. The content is based on feedback and information gathered from discussions with representatives from both principal groups (elementary and secondary) and Superintendents. These are intended as suggestions only. Princi-pals know their communities best and we are confident that your parent volunteers, teachers and Catholic School Par-ent Council members will be able to build a collaborative and inclusive program. Please stay tuned for further details of how our day will be scheduled. GOALS This initiative, endorsed by the Board of Trustees, serves to:

Celebrate, recognize and enhance the important role that parents play at both the school and Board level

Support this year’s pastoral theme of “Family” by engaging parents in a unique event that reinforces the notion that our schools are welcoming places

Reinforces the collaborative and harmonized approach to parent engagement to support student achievement This event is not class or student-centred. It is parent-centred and as such, it is suggested that the event be held in a comfortable and open area such as the school library or a spare resource room to facilitate both group and one-on conversations and information sharing.

Initiation of St. Monica’s Nutrition Program

October, 2015

We are happy to introduce the Student Nutrition Program at St. Monica. Studies show that students who have a nutritious meal at the start of the day are more focused, leading to increased student success. A Student Nutrition Program provides students with a healthy and nutritious mid-morning meal consisting of a dairy, grain and fruit/vegetable. From experience, we know that building a healthy school environment that emphasizes healthy living will have a strong positive influence on students’ attitudes, preferences and behaviours. We are receiving partial support for this nutrition program from the provincial government through the official charity of the TCDSB, the Angel Foundation for Learning. The balance of the costs will be raised through our fundraising efforts and parent and community donations. Any donation over $10.00 will receive a tax receipt from The Angel Foundation for Learning. Please anticipate further communication re-garding donations to our new Nutrition Program.

Starting on Monday, October 5 every student from JK through to grade 8 will be offered a morning snack around 10:35 am. The program will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Once routines are firmly in place, we will expand to provide snacks on a daily basis. Ms. Tina Goulet has agreed to be our nutrition co-ordinator, but requires volunteers to assist in meal preparations. If you are interested in volunteering (between 8:30 and 10:30 am) please approach Tina. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

This week, Ms. Goulet is verifying from student medical information forms (send to us from home in September) any dietary restrictions relat-ing to dairy, grain and fruit/vegetables.

Page 4 October Newsletter