From The Principal’s Desk:

Dear Parents/Guardians: Our Easter Journey culminated with a lovely mass on April 25th. We thank Father Ugo for presiding, the teachers on the Liturgical com-mittee and the choir. May is a special month with many activities and events—not only focused on our school and Board community but on our community of faith as well. As always, we dedicate the month of May to our blessed Mother Mary. We hope that you will join us on May 10th at 9:10am (JK– Gr. 3) and 10:45 am (Gr. 4-8) in the gym for a Devotion to Mary Celebration, prepared by the Rosary Apostolates. The month of May is also a very special month for our Catholic schools, it is the month in which one whole week is dedicated to acknowledging and appreciating the unique identi-ty and distinctive contributions of Catholic Education in Ontario. This year’s theme is “Living as Joyful Disciples” and is guided by the following: “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.” 1 Peter 1:8. During this week, the YCDSB will be celebrating its 50th anniversary beginning with a mass @ St. David’s Parish in Maple on May 7th @ 4:30 pm. All are welcome to attend. Finally, Catholic Education Week will be celebrated on May 8th by an Art Show hosted by and highlight-ing the talents of the students of the Junior Division—thank you to the Junior teachers for their dedication in organizing this. For more information, see page 5. On May 12th, let us all take the time to thank all mothers for their giving hearts and for the difficult job they do. Mothers are so very important in our lives, and we are sure you would all agree that they are worthy of the highest honour. As a Christian community, we give thanks for each and every woman, for mothers, for sisters, for wives; for women dedicated to the many human beings who await the gratuitous love of another person; for women who watch over the human persons in the family; for women who work profes-sionally, and who at times are burdened by a great social responsibility. Other events occurring in May include “Swim to Survive” (Gr. 3s), flower planting in front of the school (see page 4), Scientist in the School (Gr. 5, & 6). Thank you to the CSC for generously funding this. CSC’s Chapters’ Night is on May 15th. Finally, we thank you all for your generosity, we were able to raise $ 278.50 for ShareLife through Civvies Days (Feb and March). On page 2, there is a letter of gratitude from the Wom-en’s Shelter who are the recipients of your generous contributions to the Birthday Boxes. Finally our grade 3 and 6 classes will be writing the E.Q.A.O. from May 21st to May 31st. As all students are expected to be in attendance, we ask you to please refrain from scheduling medical/dental appointments during this period. On behalf of our staff , from our families to yours: We wish all the Mothers a Happy Mother’s Day! Yours in Catholic Education, Ms. C. Sandig, Principal

May’s Virtue Responsibility

We will honour our

commitments to our family, school, and community.

We will be reliable so

that people can de-pend on us.

St. Gabriel The Archangel 91 Fiori Drive Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 5S4 Phone: 905 856-4155 Web: www.sga.ycdsb.ca

May 2019

Maria Marchese Maria.Marchese@ycdsb.ca Superintendent Opiyo Oloya Principal Christine Sandig Secretarial Staff Maria Iazzi Christina Marascio Office Support Staff Christina Marascio Immaculate Conception Church Pastor: Fr. Eugene Chianain Catholic School Council (CSC) Tony Lacaria—Chair Frank Longobardi—Vice Chair

SGA May 2019 Newsletter—It’s Happening @ SGA!

SGA May 2019 Newsletter—It’s Happening @ SGA!

Catholic School Council

Next Meeting: Our Catholic School Council meeting for this month is on May 22nd beginning at 7:15 p.m. in the library. Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings and join committees and volunteer to assist with school events. Chapters Night May 15th @ 6:30 pm-9:00 pm The CSC will host Chapter’s Night , located at 3900 Hwy 7. From 6:30 until 9:00 pm. Proceeds from sales that will evening are donated to SGA and will greatly assist in CSC and School activities. Please see page 5 for fur-ther information SAVE THE DATE: This year, SGA’s annual CSC Year-end Barbeque is scheduled for June 21st. Look-ing forward to see you there! The year-end celebration will include a Vendor sale. If parents are aware of any Vendors that wish to market their products please contact the office or CSC members.

With Immaculate Conception Parish

Congratulations to our Grade 7 students who will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit when they receive the Sacra-ment of Confirmation on May 10th @ 7:00 pm. Our Grade 2 students will receive the Sacrament of First Communion on June 2nd @12:30 pm. A special thank you to Father Eugene and his associates for guiding and celebrating these sacraments with our students. Upcoming Masses: Gr. 8 Grads Family of Schools: June 20th @ 1:30 pm @ ICP Year End Mass: June 26th @10:40 am @SGA (gym)

EQAO Testing EQAO Testing time is May 21st to May 31st for our Grade 3’s and 6’s. Most classroom schedules will be re-arranged during those weeks. We ask that parents DO NOT schedule any trips or appointments during these weeks in order to accommodate the prescriptive timelines of the testing procedures. Parents, we ask you to please make sure: Your child attends school every day during testing weeks. Your child has a good breakfast and is well rested; Your child is on time every day.

Please visit the EQAO website for sample test questions and tips for parents for the Grade 3 and Grade 6 tests. Par-ents are encouraged to try these questions with their chil-dren and to review the requirements of a level 4 answer with them. Visit www.eqao.com for more information and parent tips and resources.

Anaphylaxis—Life Threatening Allergies

At St. Gabriel the Archangel, we work in collaboration with the YCDSB, school, home and community in teaching our children and staff all about anaphylaxis and keeping our allergic children safe. St. Gabriel is a peanut/nut safe environment.

Complete and total avoidance of allergens is the only true way to protect and preserve the life of an anaphylactic child. At St. Gabriel we are extremely proud of our parent community, students and staff for their dedication and commitment to ensure the safety of anaphylactic students. Remember:

Not to send meals from fast food restaurants that can’t guar-antee peanut/nut-safe foods

Not to send any peanut or nut products;

Not to send specific products to identified classrooms;

To take the time to read all labels which may state “May contain traces of…” or “Manufactured in a facility that produces nut/peanut products…”

To remind caregivers/babysitters of our allergy policies;

To enforce the “no food sharing” policy with your children.

Thank you!

SCHOOL ORGANIZATION FOR NEXT YEAR: We are in the process of beginning to plan for September 2019. If you are moving or your child(ren) will be attending another school, please notify the office as soon as possible. Homeroom teachers in consultation with receiving teachers, appropriate sup-port staff and administration devote much discussion time to the generating of class lists that strive to best meet the needs of each of our students. Class placement is a very intensive and complex process that takes several weeks to complete. Decisions are made following careful consideration of a number of criteria such as: learning styles, academic abilities, social factors, learning partners, language needs, special education needs, balance of males and females, behavioural needs, previous placement in combined grades and compliance with Board and Ministry guidelines. Final decisions regarding student placements remain the responsibility of the principal and school staff. Class placements will be shared with families when school resumes in the Fall. Parents are re-spectfully asked to support and accept decisions made by the school and are encouraged to be positive with their children about their class placements. We know you appreciate that creating the best and most functional class groupings possible is no easy task. Accepting parental requests for specific teachers is not in the best interest of all children in the school as it restricts school staff in forming what we consider the most ideal classroom groupings. On this note, we will not be accepting parent requests for class placements. Thank you for considering this information. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to school administration.

SGA May 2019 Newsletter—It’s Happening @ SGA!

Coaches’ Corner: Junior Girls and Junior Boys Basketball Teams The boys and girls junior basketball team will be participating at local tournaments: Boys: Wednesday, May 15th @ St. Margaret Mary CES; Girls @ St. Catherine of Siena CES. A big shout out goes to the following junior bas-ketball stars: GIRLS: Stephanie R. Kaitlyn M Olivia P. Olivia I. Josefina P. Alyssa D. Francesca V. Sydney C. Alexa C. Naomi E. Melissa T. Alyssa M. Samantha I. Isabella U. Katrina M. BOYS : Lorenzo V. Gabriel L. Leo S. Michael V. Nathan I. Patrick R. Carlo B. Matteo A. Massimo F. Dylan P. Joseph A. Piero C. Gabriel L.

Go Panthers Go!

Grade 8s Head to Montreal Grade 8 students will be going to Montreal, Quebec June 4th-6th. They are sure to enjoy many special attractions and activities. Wishing them a safe and enjoyable trip. Bon Voyage!

Scientist in the School The students are looking forward to much explo-ration and discovery during their upcoming work-shops. This month, both the Grade 6s and 5s will have a Scientist in the School workshop—May 10th and 24th respectively. Thank you again to the CSC who have dedicated funds to the Scien-tist in the school programs.

Swim to Survive: Grade three students will be participating in three "Swim to Survive" swim lessons at the Chancellor pool on the following dates: Mrs. Venier and Mr. Filippelli’s classes: Tuesdays, April 30, May 7, and May 14 Ms. Montemarano and Ms. Vavaroutsos: Thursdays, May 2, May 9, and May 16

Oral Communications: Congratulations to all those who participated in the Oral Communications Competi-tion: Junior Level: Daniel R. Natalia C. Jessica C. Matthew G. Cristian D. Samantha M. Vania F. Ava P. Aniyah D-R. Dylan P. Rosangela M. Samantha I. Lucas P. Sienna A. Intermediate Level: Rosalba M. Katia L. Stephanie I. Victoria P. Sofia D.M. Vanessa P. Danella H. Sofia D.L. The following students placed: Junior Intermediate 1st: Dylan P. Vanessa P. 2nd: Samantha I. Katia L. 3rd: Julia M. Danella H. Andrew M. Both Junior and Intermediate 1st place winners went on to the Area 3 finals. Best of luck to Julia P. who placed first at the Area 3 finals and will go on to the Board Finals on May 9th at Guardian Angels.

Plant a Flower for SGA St. Gabriel of the Archangel students are invited to bring in a flower to plant in our school garden. The flower should be drought tolerant so that the flower may thrive during the summer without the need of much watering. Sun loving flowers that thrive in bright sunlight may include marigolds, geraniums, petunias, zinnias, portulacas, and snapdragons. Please bring in the flower during the week of May 28th-31st as planting will take place during that week. Together let’s continue to make St. Gabriel the Archangel School garden thrive! Thank you for your participation and cooperation!

YEARBOOK COVER WINNERS: Congratulations to the winners of the yearbook cover competition: Maya V. and Andrew G. Thank you to all who submitted drawings.

CIVVIES DAY—MAY 31ST We will continue to raise loonies and toonies for ShareLife.

RELEASE OF STUDENT INFORMATION Personal information about students is privileged and pro-tected by law. On occasion parents will inquire about how a student at school has been disciplined in matters involv-ing their own child. In the interest of student safety and privacy, it is inappropriate for us to discuss any child other than your own. We thank you for your understanding in this matter.

SGA May 2019 Newsletter—It’s Happening @ SGA!