Principal: J. Greco Vice Principal: M. Bethke Secretary: C. D’Souza Parish: St. Brigid Catholic Church Pastor: Father Carlos 416-696-8660 Superintendent M. McMorrow 416-222-8282 Trustee: Nancy Crawford

416-512-3412

CSAC: 416-222-8282 #88235

stbrigidcsac@gmail.com www.tcdsb.org/schools/stbrigid.asp

TORONTO CATHOLIC

DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES 2010-2011

Wards

1. Peter Jakovcic 416 512-3401

2. Ann Andrachuk, Chair 416 512-3402

3. Sal Piccininni 416 512-3403

4. Patrizia Bottoni 416 512-3404

5. Maria Rizzo 416 512-3405

6. Frank D’Amico 416 512-3406

7. John Del Grande 416 512-3407

8. Tobias Enverga 416 512-3408

9. Jo-Ann Davis, 416 512-3409

Vice Chair

10. Barbara Poplawski 416 512-3410

11. Angela Kennedy 416 512-3411

12. Nancy Crawford 416 512-3412

Natalie Rizzo,

Student Trustee 416 512-3413

St. Brigid Catholic School

50 Woodmount Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

M4C 3X9

416-393-5235

St. Brigid Catholic School

To report an absence, please call 416 393-5235 (5:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.)

April 2011 Note: Reconciliation on Thursday 14 April @ 7PM is cancelled.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH

Our virtue this month is Justice. Students will be focusing on

the meaning of justice and how it relates to our daily lives.

Quote of the Month:

Let Justice flow like a stream, and righteousness

like a river that never goes dry.

Amos 5:24 EASTER BLESSINGS

On behalf of St.Brigid‘s staff, we wish you and your family

a Holy and Happy Easter.

Saint Brigid’s Church Holy Week Schedule

2011

Holy Thursday, April 21

Mass of the Last Supper: 7:00 p.m.

10:00 p.m. Holy Hour and Adoration: until Midnight

Good Friday, April 22 Stations of the Cross: 11:00 a.m.

Liturgy of the Lord‘s Passion : 1:00 p.m. (Italian) &

Liturgy of the Lord‘s Passion 3:00 p.m. (English)

Veneration of the Holy Cross and Holy Communion

6:30 p.m. Passion Play, Procession and the Seven

Words of Jesus on the Cross

Holy Saturday, April 23 Solemn Rosary and Marian Meditation:11:00 a.m.

Easter Vigil Mass: 8:30 p.m. (Bilingual)

Easter Sunday, April 24 Mass: 8:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.

Easter Monday, April 25 Mass: 9:00 a.m.

J. Greco M. Bethke

Principal V. Principal

CSAC CORNER April 2011 We hope everyone enjoyed their March break. CSAC

also took a break from meetings in March, but re-

sumed our monthly meetings on Monday April 11th

from at 7pm.

We‘re working hard on a new interactive website, and

presented the layout for review . If you‘d like to be

our ―fresh eyes‖, join us at our next meeting!

SPEAKER SERIES TUESDAY, MAY 3rd, 2011 7pm with Alyson Schafer Dawdling, fighting over homework, whining, sibling spats, meal time mayhem. When will it end? If you find yourself in the same old fight and facing the same parenting challenges every day, this talk is for you! Alyson will provide an understanding of the real motivation behind our chil-dren's misbehaviour and offer up par-enting tools and tactics for lasting change that will restore harmony. Please RSVP to: stbrigidcsac@gmail.com to reserve

your spot by Tuesday April 19th. If you‘ll be taking

advantage of the free childcare, please let us know.

SCHOOL ENTRANCE ROUTINES Please ensure that your children arrive at school in

time to join their lines and enter with their class.

A growing number of students are arriving late, in turn

disrupting classes which are in session. In addition,

please do not accompany your children

while they enter and exit the school, but

rather have them to join their lines and

enter on their own, allowing for a safe

and orderly entrance and dismissal of all

students. If you need to speak to your

child‘s teacher, please call the teacher

or make an appointment, rather than

speak to him/her while they are supervising their stu-

dents.

Congratulations also to all our

staff and students who partici-

pated in our Third annual EARTH

MORNING on Friday March

25th. As the students themselves said, ―We are

doing Earth MORNING (not just Earth Hour)

because we are ECO-CHAMPIONS at St. Bri-

gid‘s!!‖ No lights, no computers, almost no an-

nouncements… was it ever peaceful!

Swim Team Newsletter.

Throughout these last few months, 27 students

from grade 3 to 8 have been training for the

TCDSSI Swim Meet. We had help from our

amazing coaches, Ms. Kuszner, Mrs. Cuthbert,

Mr. Mazza, Mr. Doto, Mr.Huliyappa, Abigail,

Leanne, and Paulina to lead us to our success.

After our wonderful months of training, we cele-

brated with a fantastic Pizza party!

As part of our training we competed in a fun

meet against St. Denis. We all had tons of fun,

and we even got to take the day off school!!

The Swim Meet was held at the Etobicoke Olym-

pium on Saturday April 2nd and the finals were on

Sunday April 3rd. The team had a marvellous time

cheering on our school mates and meeting new

friends. We had 16 swimmers make it to finals!

We are proud to say that these finalists brought

our school back multiple medals and ribbons. This

year was our best finish ever; we even came close

to winning the small school award, but came sec-

ond by 4 points.

We would like to thank everyone who partici-

pated in the 2010-2011 St. Brigid Swim Team. Go

Barracudas!!

Boys Volleyball team The St. Brigid Junior boys volleyball team did

very well this season. We came in second in one

tournament at St. Mary‘s High School and won

the TCDSB volleyball tournament at Our Lady of

Fatima. The starting setters were James S. and

Eamon C. The starting hitters were Robert B,

Michael C., Jason A. and David F. They will be

competing in an Early Bird Tournament in which

we hope to do well. The coaches were Mr. Sher-

riff and Ms. Aguila.

Eamon C.

*************Go St. Brigid Go*****

Grade 6 trip to the Science Center In the last week of March, the Grade 6 stu-

dents visited the Ontario Science Centre to ex-

perience the "Voyage to Mars" simulation pro-

gram. Students took on the

roles of astronauts in the

year 2037. Some students

played the role of human

colonists on Mars working on

terraforming the planet, the

other half of the students

took on the role of new as-

tronauts coming to relieve

the colonists after a two year stay. It was an

exciting and challenging trip for everyone!

Mission accomplished!

Mr. Wigglesworth‘s students

Grade 5 trip to the Science Center On March 31st the grade 5 Students were on a

trip to the Science Center. We had so much

fun! First we went to a workshop on transfor-

mation of energy and Scientist Ro taught us all

about sound, heat, light and chemical energy.

After the fantastic workshop we had free time

and the groups we were in could do whatever we

wanted!

After our lunch my group went to the new

exhibit weather unleashed. The exhibit was so

interesting. We learned all about natural disas-

ters and we even learned how the earthquake and

tsunami started in Japan

We could look at everything from weather to

space to the human body. We would like to thank

the teachers for planning this fun and very inter-

esting field trip!

Emily D. and Marysia Z.—Mrs. Pearman Smith

The play ‗Offensive Fouls‘ was about racism. It

was about a 17 year old Chinese girl and Irish boy

who were dating and were arguing about their

races. The girl, Cris, was very mad at the boy,

Joey, and kept asking him if he had left his house

the night before. Joey repeatedly said no and

kept asking why. It turns out that Joey had gone

to Mr. Chan‘s store and made very racial comments

against him even thought he kept denying that he

was anywhere near there. Mr. Chan turned out to

be Cris‘ uncle, but she didn‘t want anyone to know

because she was embarrassed, and didn‘t want

people to think of her as a very traditional Chi-

nese girl. Cris was also scared to tell her parents

that she was dating a white boy, so she kept it a

secret from them, and didn‘t tell Joey that her

parents didn‘t know about him. They were sup-

posed to go away on a European vacation together

but now they might not. In the end Cris gets very

mad and leaves the set. I thought that it was a

very interesting play that looked at the effects of

racism in a different way because the two people

that ended up hurting each other were two people

that were very close. Thanks to the CSAC for all

the fundraisers that help us have these kinds of

plays and special activities in our school.

Marianna C.– Gr. 8

Words from the Library We‘ve read a lot of good books in

February and March in St. Bri-

gid‘s library! The Silver Birch and

Red Maple Reading Club members

(more than 100 students from

grades 3-8 this year!!) are finish-

ing reading their selections. They

are getting ready to vote for

their favourite from Fiction, Non-

Fiction or Express categories. If

your child is in grade 7 or 8 and

in the Red Maple Club, please

remind them to keep reading! Several of these

intermediate students have bought tickets for

the Awards ceremony, but have not been visiting

me I the library to discuss their books.

The official vote will take place on Tuesday

April 26th, and those who vote will the Awards

ceremony at Harbourfront on May 11th and 12th.

St. Brigid voters will also be entitled to free

pizza at our annual ―Fun in the Sun Book Sale

and Pizza Party‖ later in June.

In addition, children in grades

JK-gr.2 will soon be voting for

their favourite Blue Spruce pic-

ture book title. In the hallway

outside the library you can view

the work that children have

done based on this year‘s ten

finalists. When the little children vote, they will

place a sticker on their favourite book poster.

The winning Blue Spruce book will be the one

with the most stickers on it!

I will then send in all the votes for all the clubs

to the OLA‘s web site, and we must wait until

the Harbourfront event to learn the province–

wide OFFICIAL favourites of readers all across

Ontario.

It has been a pleasure reading all these good

Canadian books with your children! Thank you

to all parents and teachers who are encourag-

ing students to love reading!

*****************************************

Dear Parents,

April is a very special month in

Canada. It is Oral Health

Month. School children all

over the country will be en-

couraged to get brushing!! St.

Brigid students from JK to

grade 3 attended a special

presentation by local dentist

Kathy Schenk. Each school will

have a dentist to show the

students how to brush their

teeth the right way and to an-

swer any questions.

St. Brigid will be one of the over 100 schools

participating in Brush-a-mania this year. Chil-

dren will receive a Brush-a-mania booklet, a

toothbrush, and toothpaste. Initial the chart

in the centre of this booklet each time your

child brushes his or her teeth. When they are

finished, return the booklet to their teacher

to receive a special Brush-a-mania prize and

Club Member certificate. Dr. Schenk was at

St. Brigid‘s on Monday April 4th at 9 am and

Friday April 8th to present to the afternoon

kindergarten children and the grade ones. Dr.

Schenk, your teachers, the Rotary Clubs and I

all want to help you to encourage your children

to take good care of their teeth. April is Oral

Health Month and I need you and your chil-

dren to make it a BIG SUCCESS! And don‘t

forget to have FUN!

Sincerely yours for better dental health,

D

r

Catholic Parent Involvement Committee (CPIC) Newsletter -- April 2011 How do you get involved in your child(ren)’s educa-tion? Did you know that research shows parental in-volvement in their child’s education significantly in-creases their child’s academic success? Parental in-volvement can be anything from reading together be-fore bed to getting involved in or attending your school Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC). Translation options are available to parent’s whose first language is not English. Speak with your CSAC or school princi-pal. For more information logon to www.tcdsb.org CPIC and the TCDSB welcomed Barbara Coloroso to Cardinal Carter on March 28

th to share with parents

strategies for raising ethical children and teens. Par-ents from all over the city, participated in this inspiring and empowering event. If you are interested in learn-ing more, CPIC has donated a copy of her book “Just because it’s not wrong doesn’t make it right from tod-

dlers to teens, teaching kids to think and ethically” to your school’s parent engagement library. Speak to your CSAC about borrowing it. CPIC and the TCDSB welcomed Barbara Coloroso to Cardinal Carter on March 28

th to share with parents

strategies for raising ethical children and teens. Par-ents from all over the city, participated in this inspiring and empowering event. If you are interested in learn-ing more, CPIC has donated a copy of her book “Just because it’s not wrong doesn’t make it right from tod-

dlers to teens, teaching kids to think and ethically” to your school’s parent engagement library. Speak to your CSAC about borrowing it. Find your 2010/2011 CPIC Ward Representative at: http://www.tcdsb.org/parents/cpicmembers.htm

Please be aware:

From time to time, the school will send home

information from non-profit and for-profit

organizations. We remind parents and

guardians to exercise caution any time they

participate in or enroll their child in an out-

side organization’s event after school hours.

The school and the TCDSB are not liable for

the quality of service these organizations pro-

vide or for the safety of the participants. We

forward this information to keep our parent

community informed of the wide variety of

opportunities available within our local com-

munity.

"Why Do My Kids Keep Doing That?"

St. Brigid School invites you to hear one of Canada's leading parenting experts

Alyson Schafer

Tuesday May 3, 2011 at 7:00 pm

St. Brigid Catholic School – 50 Woodmount Avenue Dawdling, fighting over homework, whining, sibling spats,

meal time mayhem. When will it end? If you find yourself in the same old fight and facing the same

parenting challenges every day, this talk is for you! Alyson will provide a understanding of the real motivation

behind our children's misbehaviour and offer up parenting tools and tactics for lasting change that will restoring harmony.

Alyson Schafer is a psychotherapist, and one of Canada's leading parenting experts. She is the author of two best selling books " Breaking the Good Mom Myth" and "Honey I Wrecked the Kids" as well as her latest book "Ain't Misbehavin', just released to rave reviews this month. She is the new monthly columnist for "Today's Parent Magazine's - Ask an Expert. She is also working with the Bank of Montreal and their SmartSteps for Parents program, an online hub devoted to helping parents teach financial literacy children. Alyson hosts "The Parenting Show" which is a weekly call-in advice show, now in its 6th year. Alyson is an international speaker, former nursery school teacher and the mother of two teenaged daughters, aged 15 and 17.

Please RSVP by April 19th to stbrigidcsac@gmail.com

APPROPRIATE DRESS CODE WHAT TO WEAR AT ST. BRIGID CATHOLIC SCHOOL

EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2011

Clothing Details Plain white or plain navy tops include: Short and long-sleeved t-shirts, golf shirts, dress shirts, blouses, turtle necks and undershirts

Tops with sleeves With or without collars No logos, words or pictures

Plain navy blue bottoms include: Walking/athletic shorts are to be mid-thigh or longer Pants, Shorts, skorts, skirts, tunic Skorts are skirts with shorts sewn inside dress, capri/cargo pants, track, Cargo pants are ¾ length pants or full length pants that the bottoms can be athletic and yoga pants zipped off to make them into shorts Track pants: JK- 3 have the option of track

pants with tight elastic bottoms or loose open bottoms Track pants: grades 4-8 will wear loose open bottoms at the ankle Skirts & tunic dresses should be modest, knee or slightly above knee in length Wearing shorts underneath skirts and dresses is recommended but not mandatory Tunic dresses are solid plain navy blue and worn with plain white or plain navy tops underneath

Other clothing items include: Tights and socks Leggings Shoes Belts Sweaters, Cardigans & Vests

Girls tights can be plain white or plain navy blue Socks that can be seen, can be solid white or solid navy blue Leggings can be solid white or solid navy blue and are permitted under skirts and dresses that fall to the knee, and under tops that fall to mid-thigh for all ages. Girls from JK-3 are permitted to also wear leggings as pants. Shoes should be suitable for recess, gym and physical activity – running shoes are recommended, secure sandals when weather appropriate Belts are optional. Belts can be plain black or navy blue These over-garments are to be plain navy blue or plain white

What is not included or What not to wear Denim/jeans, vinyl material like wind pants Hoodies Clothing with visible labels, logos of any size, contrasting colours, coloured buttons or stitching, stripes or detailing Flip flops and slip on sandals without straps Mini -skirts, halter-tops, tank tops, muscle shirts, t-shirts with vulgar sayings. Clothing with tears/holes Oversized clothing (shirts to the knee, pants hanging low and off the waist) Hats and sunglasses are only to be worn outdoors (outdoor wear)

Other Details St. Brigid Spirit Wear (clothing with St. Brigid logo) is permitted to wear on any day, except for yellow shirts. Yellow shirts and sweaters will be permitted on special spirit days, for sports teams, and class trips. There is uniform dress code requirement for gym for grades 7 & 8. Items will be available for purchase each September and will consist of navy gym shorts and a yellow t-shirt with the St. Brigid Gym logo (same as spirit shirt). There is no dress code requirement for student outerwear including outdoor sweaters, jackets, snow pants, hats, gloves, and sunglasses St. Brigid Spirit Wear items will be available for purchase from time to time through CSAC initiatives.

Dress Down Days During the year dress down or non-dress code days will be planned. These days will be announced throughout the year so parents and students can be prepared. Students have the option of wearing the dress code or regular clothes, which may include coloured clothing, denim/jeans, and logos. All other guidelines for what is not included should be followed. Students should be modestly dressed in keeping with our Catholic values. June 2010

FREE Swim to Survive Summer Program Thanks to the generosity of CUPE 4400 and the RBC Royal Bank Foundation the Lifesaving Society is pleased to announce

that parents and guardians of interested children are invited to register for FREE Swim to Survive lessons at 4 different locations in Toronto.

Who is this FREE program for? Children ages 7 – 14

Where? Downsview SS – 7 Hawksdale Rd (Keele & Wilson) Keele Public School – 99 Mountainview Ave (Keele & Bloor) Harbord CI – 286 Harbord St (Christie & Harbord) R.H. King Academy – 3800 St. Clair Ave E (McCowan & St. Clair)

What will they learn? Children will be taught the Swim to Survive program which teaches 3 basic skills in 5 – 30 minute lessons. Skills include: Roll entry, Tread water (1 minute), Swim 50m (with or without a lifejacket)

Swim to Survive standard is the minimum skills required to survive an unexpected fall into deep water.

When is the program offered? Lessons will be offered in one week sessions (Monday – Friday) from:

July 4th – July 29th, 2011, 9:00am – 1:15pm

(the last lesson each day will be either an all girls / all boys lesson, pending demand)

How do I register my child? To register please complete the following Registration form and drop it off in person on the following dates or during regular program hours at each location:

Location Registration Day Time Downsview SS April 16th, 2011 12:00pm – 4:00pm

Keele Public School April 17, 2011 12:00pm – 4:00pm Harbord CI April 30th, 2011 12:00pm – 4:00pm

RH King Academy May 1, 2011 12:00pm – 4:00pm

Questions? Contact nancy.campbell@cupe4400.org

Sponsors

Presented by Organized in collaboration with

SPRING CONFERENCE

For more information or to register, please visit www.anaphylaxis.ca

SATURDAY, MAY 7, 2011 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Registration opens at 8:00 am

ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTREImperial Oil Auditorium 770 Don Mills Road Toronto, Ontario. M3C 1T3

A DECADE OF PROGRESS & A FUTURE OF HOPE

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

Catholic Schools

Swim Meet

3 4

Brush-A-Mania

JK-Gr 3

Gr 4 Public Library

Trip (Moulds)

5

Mike Ford Canadian

History—Gr 4-8

6

Grad Photo Retakes

7

8

9

10

11

Gr 4 Public Library

Trip (Sherriff)

12

Pizza Day

13

14

Stations of the Cross

10:45—Gr 1-8

15

Rosary

16

17 Holy Week

Palm Sunday

18 Holy Week

Gr 4 Public Library

Trip (McGhee)

Gr 3 Mad Science

19 Holy Week

Divisional Cross-

Country Meet

20 Holy Week

School Mass 9AM

21 Holy Week

22 Holy Week

Good Friday

(no classes)

23 Holy Week

24 Easter Sunday

25

Easter Monday

(no classes)

26

Pizza Day

Gr 2 Mad

Science

27

30 28

Regional Cross-

Country Meet

Parent/Sponsor Mtg

@ Church 7PM

29

April, 2009 St. Brigid * PARENTS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN IN SCHOOL MASSES—Justice—Virtue of the Month