O God, of all beginning and endings. We praise and thank you for the gift of this school year. It has been a time filled with grace and blessings, with challenges and opportunities. The days have passed quickly, O Lord; the weeks, the months, the seasons, the holidays, holy days; the les-son plans, the grading, the meetings and breaks, all have come forth from your hand. Give us all the rest and refreshment we need this sum-mer. Let us remember our successes and acknowledge our efforts of this past year. Let the seeds we have planted be nourished and fruitful. And bless us according to your will. With the fulfillment of our summer hopes and dreams watch over us in the weeks of respite ahead and guide us each day to a closer relationship with you. Help us return to school with a new spirit, new energy and a new awareness that you are our strength and guide. May we continue to grow in age, wisdom, knowledge, and grace all the days of our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

An End of the School Year Prayer

Newsletter Date: June 26, 2013 Volume 10, Issue 10

St. Pius X Newsletter

June 2013

St. Pius X Catholic School 71 Jane Street

Toronto, ON, M6S 3V3 Phone: 416-393-5237

Fax: 416-397-6084

Acting Principal: L. Sposato

Vice-Principal: E. Arciero

Secretary: S. Pereira

Clerk Typist: TBA

Superintendent: Josephine Nespolo,

416-222-8282

Trustee: Barbara Poplawski,

416-512-3410

Parish: St. Pius X Catholic Church

2305 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1859 Fr. MK Park

Masses: Saturday 5:00 pm Sunday 9:00 am

11:00 am

Entrance and Dismissal: 9:00 am Entry

10:10 am Recess 12:05 pm Lunch Hour

1:05 pm Entry 2:10 pm Recess

3:30 pm Dismissal

From the Office

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It seems hard to believe that another year has come and gone! It was a busy year for our students, filled with many events and initiatives, be it the Terry Fox National Run, Carolling at Christ-mas, the creation of the Beati-tudes Mural, the Nature in the School Program, the St. Pius “Me to We” Campaigns, the Shape Up Event, the Community Planting Day, the Earth Day Assembly, the Great Scissors Event, the “Bike Rodeo”, and much, much more, to mention

but a few events.

These events proved to be suc-cessful only with the help of our teachers, staff, CSAC and parent

volunteers. I would like to take this oppor-tunity to extend particular thanks to our staff for their outstanding contributions. They demonstrate a genuine care and compassion for our students and always encourage them to strive for their

personal best. I wish to thank the parents of our community for the ongoing sup-port of our school community both financially and spiritually. Many thanks also to our St. Pius Parent Council (Mrs. Joanne Noble and Ms. Arbelle Manicat-Emo and their executive) for their

continued dedication and tireless commitment to all the initiatives that were successfully completed

this year. I wish to personally and sincerely thank Ms. Arciero who has served the community as VP this year, with great dedication and commitment. As she assumes her new responsibility as Princi-pal of St. Rita, we wish her God’s

abundant blessings. I look forward to starting a new school year, and wish you all a

safe, relaxing summer. Sincerely,

L. Sposato Acting Principal

and prayers. A fine job was done by all! Congratu-lations! A sincere thank you to the teachers for making the pre-primary years so memorable for the children.

SK Graduation On Monday, June 24, 2013, The Kindergarten Team (Ms. Barbosa, Ms. Munro, Mrs. Ruffolo, Ms. Sousa, Ms. DaCosta, Ms. D”Andrea, Ms. Demsey, Ms, Romita-Teixiera), and their Senior Kindergarten students celebrated their Graduation with a ceremo-ny at St. Pius Parish. All the graduates donned their mortarboards and present-ed fabulous poems, songs

Reminder

Our last day of school is on Thursday, June 28th. Reg-ular dismissal is at 3:30 pm

See you on Tuesday, September 3, 2013!

“Happy are

those who

have not

seen,

yet still

believe.”

John 20:29

Page 2 St. Pius X Newsletter

Grade 8 Graduation On Friday, June 21, 2013, our Grade Eight graduating class started off the day with a Mass at St. Pius X Church, celebrated by Father Park. At the closing of the Mass, the Grade One classes pre-sented the students with a graduation memento. Our students celebrated the year’s end with a catered lunch and afternoon dance. At 6:30 p.m. the students reconvened in the parish hall

for their ceremony where the

distribution of diplomas, presentation of awards and speeches took place. A warm thank-you to all of our teachers who helped Ms. Atkinson and Ms. Buday to make the day such a suc-

cess. Special thanks to Fr. Park for guiding us in prayer and allowing us to celebrate in the parish hall. Warm thanks to Ms. Poplawski for honouring us with her pres-ence and providing our grad-

uates with a special pin.

Finally, a most grateful thank-you to Mrs. Ventrone for organizing our delicious luncheon and to our many parent volunteers who made this day a most memorable

and special day.

Congratulations Grade 8 Graduates!

School Office

St. Pius Play Day On June 26th, St. Pius partici-pated in a school wide Play Day. What an amazing way to end our school year! All our students, from the youngest JK to the oldest grade 7 student, participated in a day full of games, obstacle courses, deli-cious watermelon, freezies and popcorn treats, and LOTS of FUN! Many heartfelt thanks to our Play Day Committee, and to our coordinator Mrs. DaCosta for organizing a well planned and FUN day. Thank-you to our grade 6 and 7 leaders, and special thanks to our many,

parent volunteers!

Kick and bite hard if someone

grabs them. Know that uniformed police

officers are there to protect. Parents are encouraged to give their children a “password” known only to them. This can be used when a stranger, a friend or family member approaches them and asks them to come

with them.

or her body that a bathing suit

would cover. Recognize suspicious behav-

iour and report it immediately. Know to tell you if someone has asked them to keep a

secret from you. Know what to do in case of unwelcome attention e.g., walk faster, go to a neigh-bourhood store, head for a busy street, walk toward a group of people and wave as if they see someone they

know. Scream and keep screaming

if something is wrong.

CSAC Website Please visit the website

www.spxcsac.com for CSAC news and events, committee updates, news-letters, volunteer opportu-nities and helpful resources for parents and students. Remember to visit the CSAC eStore to order SPX logo'd navy & white Appar-el! You can also get school news direct to your phone by following us on Twitter @SPXCSAC!

the telephone numbers (including area code) of home and a neighbor/emergency contact. Know their name, age, ad-

dress, city and province. Recognize Block Parent

signs. Go places with friends.

Never approach or enter a

stranger’s car. Never open the door to a

stranger or let strangers in the house. Never say they are alone if

they answer the phone or door.

Never accept gifts from

strangers. Never enter anyone’s home

or car without permission from parents. Know it’s okay to say “no” to

adults, especially if the adult wants them to do something which makes them uncom-fortable or they know is wrong.

Know that it is unwise to be-lieve stories such as a person wanting them to help find a lost pet, etc.

Know that no one has the right to touch any part of his

Parent Corner During the summer months, children spend more of their time in public places like parks, libraries and recreation centres. It is always a good time to re-

view the basic rules of safety.

Here are some Safety Tips For

Your Children:…

Children should:

Always tell you where they

are. Know how to contact you

should an emergency arise. They should also memorize

“The

contributions

of Parent

Volunteers

enrich the life

of our school

and students.”

Page 3 Volume 10, Issue 10

St. Pius X ME to WE Committee -

As the school year comes to an end, the St. Pius X Me to We Committee wants to send a heartfelt thank you to all the members of the St. Pius com-munity who helped us achieve

our goals. In order to complete our fund-raising for the alternative in-come pillar, we needed to reach

the $5000 challenge. We are ecstatic to reveal that we have surpassed this chal-lenge and raised $5689.30 in only 10 months. This challenge was only possible with your

generosity, your children’s en-thusiasm and the hard work of

the Me to We Committee. All money raised will assist our village in Haiti, Dos Palais, to

create sustainable changes.

The following is breakdown of

our fundraising efforts:

Fall Booksale: $821.95

Penny Drive: $2054.00

We are Love (Valentine

Pins): $947.50

We are Silent: $989.50

Spring Booksale: $876.35

A special thank you to our dedi-cated Me to We Committee

members. Each student has demonstrated leadership skills, initiative and enthusiasm. The-se grade 7 and 8 students in-clude: Carmelina V., Chrystian H., Cynthis M., Dayna A., Didi K., Emilia P., Emilie C., Emily C., Emily G., Gabriela F., Gabri-ella D., Georgia B., Hannah T.,

Lydia C., Meira T., Mikaela H., Troy Y., and Victoria W.

We wish you all a peaceful summer and we look forward to continuing our efforts with your

children in September.

Sincerely,

Mlle Bondy, Ms. Brisette, Mme Miceli

much appreciation go to Officer Berridge for or-ganizing such a success-ful event and making sure our students are SAFE

and having FUN!

St. Pius Bike Rodeo On June 19th and 20th, our grades 2, 3 and 4, 5 stu-dents participated in a Bike Safety Rodeo, organized and led by our school officer

liaison, Officer Berridge. Our students reviewed all the safety rules, and com-pleted many obstacle cours-es to test their safety skills. Many thanks to all our grade 7 and 8 leaders, who demonstrated each obstacle course. Special thanks and

bracelets to their student peers and friends. Thanks to all of the St Pius students and fami-lies who bought bracelets to help us raise $450.20 for the St

Pius X Cancer Fund. A special thank you to all of the students who worked hard to make the beautiful friendship bracelets. Heartfelt thanks to

Ms. Ku and Ms. Careri for giv-ing of their time and leadership to such a worthy cause. We could not have done it without

you! Thanks to all of our St. Pius families for your continued support!!!

Friendship Bracelets As been the tradition these past few years, some of our students have participated in making and selling friendship bracelets to raise funds for the St. Pius Cancer Fund. On June 19th, under the leadership of Ms. Ku and Ms. Careri, our students sold their colourful and artistic

Page 4 St. Pius X Newsletter

“Take action

against the

serious

issues of

poverty in

our world.”

Class Organization & Combined Grades

When the children come to school on Tuesday, September 3rd, a class and grade organization will be already in place. The decision as to which class a child has been placed in is completed with discussion between the teachers and the ad-ministration. The various abilities, needs and strengths of the students are considered in their

class placement. It is important to understand that due to a possible increase or decrease in enrolment, changes may need to be made in grade organization, teacher assignments and the placement of children, during the month of September or early October.

What is a Combined Classroom?

Combined classes group children from two con-secutive grades in one classroom. Schools combine classes for a variety of reasons. This includes organizing clas-ses to meet student learn-ing needs and combining grades to balance class size. All classrooms in-clude students with a range of skills and abili-ties.

Mr. Manz

Ms. Romita-Teixeira

Mrs. Zamrij (clerk typist)

We wish them all the best and many blessings in their future endeavours, and thank them for their hard work and caring while here

at St. Pius X.

We look forward to welcom-

ing back:

Mrs. Angie Deguara Miaco

Farewells

We will be bidding “adieu” to a number of our staff members at of the end of this school

year.

Moving on to new locations and/or other opportunities

are:

Mr. Dos Santos

Ms. Kinal (TDSB Vision

Teacher)

Summer Construction Renovations to the exterior of our school will continue over the course of the summer. The rod iron fence will be extended to enclose the south yard, areas of the roof, as well as, office and hallway water seepage will be repaired. All work will begin once classes have ended. Please be in-formed that, as of the last day of school (June 28), construc-tion will continue through the summer months inside and outside the school building.

How are students Chosen for combined Clases?

Administration and staff con-sider a variety of factors when grouping children into

classes:

☻Learning styles ☻Social skills ☻Academic needs

At St. Pius we strive to cre-ate a classroom environment that will support the needs of

all students. Due to a new ministry initiative that de-creases the number of stu-dents from JK to grade 3 to no more than 20 students in each classroom, we will have combined classes next year. Teachers use many different strategies to teach students in combined grades identifying the range of needs in the classroom and planning and programming to meet the needs of all stu-

dents.

Combined classes are neither better nor worse than single-grade classes. They are simply one of the many ways schools meet students’ academic and social development

needs.

“Learning

never

exhausts the

mind.”

Leonardo da Vinci

Page 5 Volume 10, Issue 10

aspect of their lives.

This is how we be-

come true witnesses to

Christ, extend the

kingdom of God and

build a more humane

world.

“The faith of those who live their faith is

a serene faith. What you long for will be given you;

what you love will be

yours forever.”

St. Leo the Great

As we prepare for the

end of the school year,

we are focussing this

month on the virtue of Faithfulness. As we

send our students off

for a summer of fun

and relaxation and our

graduates off into the

wider world, we have

faith that they will re-

turn to us safely to

begin another year. The quote from John’s

gospel reminds us,

“Happy are those who

have not seen, yet still

believe” (John 20:29).

We will encourage our

students to continue to

put their faith into ac-

tion by bringing the

Gospel spirit into every

Virtue of the Month (June) - Faithfulness

St. Pius X Newsletter Volume 10, Issue 10: June 26, 2013

We’re on the web!

www.tcdsb.org

Bruce Rodrigues, Director of Education 80 Sheppard Ave. E.,

Toronto, ON ∙ Website: www.tcdsb.org

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT

SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES 2012-2013

Wards 1. Peter Jakovcic, 416-512-3401 2. Ann Andrachuk, 416-512-3402

Chair 3. Sal Piccininni, 416-512-3403

Vice-Chair 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. To Be Determined, 416-512-3408 9. Jo-Ann Davis, 416-512-3409 10.Barbara Poplawski, 416-512-

3410 11.Angela Kennedy, 416-512-3411 12.Nancy Crawford, 416-512-3412 Andrew Walker, 416-512-3413 Student Trustee Elect

St. Pius X Catholic School 71 Jane Street

Toronto, ON, M6S 3V3 Phone: 416-393-5237

Fax: 416-397-6084

Be Sun Safe

Hot summer weather means we need to be sun safe. The sun can be damaging, and we all need protection, especially

our children. To be sun safe you can:

Wear a hat with a wide

brim.

Wear clothing to protect as

much skin as possible.

Use a waterproof sun-screen with SPF (sun pro-tection factor) 15 or higher. Don’t forget lips, ears and

nose.

Wear sunglasses that are

UV protective.

Look for shaded areas or

create your own. For more information call the Toronto Health Connection at:

416-338-7600 or visit: www.city.toronto.on.ca/health/

sun/index/htm !

Upcoming Events Summer Holidays

June 28 - Sept. 2, 2013

Looking Forward Canada Day

July 1, 2013

Civic (Simcoe) Day

August 5, 2013

Labour Day

September 2, 2013

First Day Back to School

September 3, 2013

Thanksgiving Day

October 14, 2013

Stay in Touch To receive regular updates on news and events from the Board, including urgent information about school bus cancellations and school closures, subscribe

to E-News: https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx or follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/TCDSB Visit our website frequently for news and information at www.tcdsb.org. Tune in for live webcasts of monthly board and committee meetings at http://www.tcdsb.org/LiveAtTCDSB/Pages/Default.aspx