Principal’s Message

As we enter the season of Advent to prepare

our hearts for the birth of Jesus, it is rather suit-

able that this month’s virtue is CHARITY.

Many of us are already engaging in the mad

rush to purchase gifts to put under the tree on

the 25th, but let us be mindful of the fact that

charity is not always about giving material

things. Our quote for the month is “Where

charity and love are, God is there”. As St.

Thomas Aquinas described it “Charity is

friendship first with God and secondly with all

who belong to God." Our students will be con-

sidering how can we practice charity and gen-

erosity in our community without necessarily

giving material things.

May God bless each and everyone of you dur-

ing this glorious season of Advent.

Advent Mass

Holy Child Catholic School is celebrating our

Advent Mass on Wednesday December 9th at

9:00 am in the Great Hall of the Humberwood

Centre. All families and friends of the school

are invited to attend this celebration.

Christmas Concert

Our annual Christmas concert will take place

on Tuesday December 15th in the stage gym,

beginning at 9:30 am. All parents are welcome

to attend.

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten Registration will begin for all

Elementary Schools on Wednesday, January

13, 2016 at 10:00 am EST.

Parents/guardians with children born in 2012 or

earlier and who will be enrolling in Kindergar-

ten, have the opportunity to apply on-line using

the “Student On-line Admission and Registra-

tion” platform known as S.O.A.R. and found

at the following link: http://soar.tcdsb.org

Parents will be able to complete an applica-

tion for registration from the convenience of

their own home, the office, a public library,

or anywhere there is internet access, 24 hours

a day. The on-line application also offers

access to translations in different languages

with built-in help functions and features.

Alternately, families may choose to register

in person at our school. We will begin to

accept registrations at 10:00 a.m., on January

13, 2016.

As part of the registration process, school

staff will meet with parents. These meetings

may be scheduled on the electronic applica-

tion or in person at the school. During the

meeting, school staff will verify the original

documentation required for registration. This

consists of a Baptismal Certificate, Birth

Certificate and/or Passport, Immunization

record, proof of residence and Application

for Direction of School support.

Applications to register children in grades

other than Kindergarten can also be complet-

ed on the online S.O.A.R. application. Please

share this information with any parents/

guardians with school aged children in the

community.

As in previous years, an extensive promo-

tional campaign will be launched throughout

the City of Toronto, with paid advertisements

in the local media, posters in public centers,

through the board website and on vinyl ban-

ners for display on school property.

For further information, please contact our

school office at (insert school phone num-

ber). For general inquires or further infor-

mation you may contact 416-222-8282 ex-

tension 5314 or visit our website at

www.tcdsb.org

Catholic School Parent Council

Our next CSPC meeting will take place

on Dec. 1, 2015 beginning at 6:45 pm in

Volume Issue

Newsletter Date

Holy Child Catholic School NEWSLETTER

December 2015

PAGE 1

Important Numbers

Holy Child School:

416-393-5433

St. Benedict Catholic Church: 416-

743-3830

McCauley Daycare Centre:

416-394-4766

Public Health Department:

416-338-7600

R. J. McCarthy School Uniforms:

416-593-6900

Police Services: 416-808-2300

Neil McGrath - Principal Adrian Della Mora Joseph Martino St. Benedict Catholic Church CSAC Lucy Pagano - Admin Assistant Superintendent Trustee, Ward 1 Fr. Michael Pace, Pastor Eunice Rodrigues - Chair

Lucy Kuchta - Clerk Typist (416) 222-8282 ext. 2732 (416) 512-3401 (416) 743-3830 Hilda Cupeta - Secretary

December’s Virtue of the Month is

Charity

the PLC. All are welcome.

Cold Weather Policy

The cold weather is here, therefore we will use Environ-

ment Canada guidelines will determine our decisions

about indoor recess. These guidelines have been used

successfully in many schools during the past several

years. Environment Canada (416-661-0123) gives up-

dated information about wind chill temperatures. Equiv-

alent temperatures from –20C to –24C incur shortened

recesses. At –25C and below the students will remain

indoors. We will make announcements over the P.A. in

the event of shortened or indoor recess.

Students are required to wear appropriate winter clothing

during the cold winter months, which include hats, mit-

tens or gloves, scarves and winter boots. All students

require a pair of indoor shoes during the winter

months to wear inside of the school, as they are to

leave their winter boots in their lockers. Thank you

for your cooperation in this matter.

School Bus Cancellations

Cancellation of school bus transportation or school clo-

sures due to inclement weather are reported through the

following vehicles: News releases to all media outlets in

Toronto (listen to the updates on the television or radio

regarding the most up to date information). The main

Board number (416) 222-8282 will also post the status

regarding school operations, which can be heard imme-

diately upon dialling the main number. Updates will also

be posted on the Boards’ 24 hour information line (416)

222-8282, extension 2873. The information will also be

posted on the Board’s website at www.tcdsb.org or by

following @TCDSB on Twitter.

School Supervision

Our school supervision begins at 8:10 am in the school

yard. Parents should refrain from dropping their children

off prior to 8:10 am as students will be unsupervised un-

til the teacher on duty arrives. Our school day ends at

2:50 pm. Parents are encouraged to have their children

go straight home after dismissal as there is no further

supervision provided. Your cooperation in this matter is

greatly appreciated.

Public Library

A gentle reminder to all Holy Child families that stu-

dents who go to the Public Library in the Humberwood

Centre after school dismissal are not supervised. The

library has many patrons and therefore cannot be ac-

countable for the supervision of students, of any age,

PAGE 2

who choose to use their services. The library also reserves

the right to complete incident reports on patrons who are

not following the library rules, or who display disruptive

behavior. These reports may result in suspension of library

privileges. Parents are kindly asked to review expectations

with their children. Your cooperation in this matter is

greatly appreciated.

Administration of Medication

Principals, teachers and support staff of the Toronto Cath-

olic District School Board are NOT permitted to adminis-

ter any type of prescription medication during the school

day, unless we have written signed authorization from

you, the parent AND the prescribing physician. The forms

to dispense any medication must be updated on a regular

basis and are available from our school office. These

forms, once completed, are kept on file at the school. This

includes, most importantly, Epi-Pen prescriptions for

students with allergies. If your child has an anaphylactic

allergy, 2 up to date EpiPens MUST be supplied to the

school. Should you require additional information or have any

questions about this protocol, contact the Special Services

Department at (416) 222- 8282 ext. 2486. Your co-

operation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Extra-Curricular Activities

We are very proud of our boys and girls intermediate vol-

leyball teams at Holy Child. The boys finished as finalists

in the regional and city championship round making them

second out of 169 TCDSB elementary schools. A tremen-

dous feat by any standard. This is the first Holy Child boys

volleyball team in 12 years to make it to the City Champi-

onship, due largely to the coaching, time, effort and dedi-

cation of Mr. Pagniello and Mr. Ricci. Congratulations and

well done. We are very proud of you!

Holy Child Uniform

Parents are reminded that Holy Child has a crested uni-

form. Students are expected to come to school dressed in

their school uniform, which consists of blue bottoms and

white tops.

If the white top does not have the Holy Child crest stu-

dents are expected to wear the maroon crested vest or

crested pullover. Students who are deemed to be out of

uniform will be sent to the office and parents will be noti-

fied. The crested uniform allows us to identify Holy Child

students in the shared Humberwood Centre facility. Your

cooperation is greatly appreciated. Parents wishing to pur-

chase crested articles of clothing can contact our school

uniform supplier at 416-593-6900 for inquiries.

GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20School/

Documents/AFTER%208%20TRANSITION%20GUIDE%

202015.pdf

Transition Guide for Parents is available in several lan-

guages

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/

GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20School/Pages/

default.aspx

Celebrating The Year of the Family

Visit the website for resources https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/

NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/Year-of-Family/Pages/

default.aspx.

Toronto Catholic Family Film Festival

Coming April 21st

Top 10 Films will be screened at the festival to be held at

Cineplex Cinemas, Yonge and Dundas. Check out the trail-

er for the festival: https://m.youtube.com/watch?

v=UTLQ61tntVM&feature=youtu.be

And all the other information and resources: https://

www.tcdsb.org/tcff

Film submissions accepted until February 19th

Archdiocese of Toronto’s Project Hope

A reminder to all that the Archdiocese of Toronto has passed

the midway point of its 100-day “Project Hope” $3 Million

Emergency Refugee Resettlement Campaign. The goal is sup-

porting the settlement of 100 refugee families within the

Greater Toronto Area as soon as possible. Schools are encour-

aged to partner with their local parish to raise funds for this

worthwhile effort. Get more information online: https://

www.tcdsb.org/pages/project-hope.aspx

Christmas

Holidays

Christmas hol-

idays will run

between De-

cember 21nd

through to Jan-

uary 1st. Clas-

ses will re-

sume Monday,

January 4,

2016. We wish

everyone in

the Holy Child

community a

safe and happy

and blessed

Christmas Sea-

Attendance and Punctuality

In accordance with the Ministry of Education for Ontar-

io, Holy Child has procedures to monitor regular attend-

ance and punctuality at school. Prolonged absences, spo-

radic attendance and tardiness result in a lack of continu-

ity in student learning. Please ensure that your child(ren)

arrive to school on time and prepared for their learning.

Personal Property

Parents are requested to ensure that their children‘s

clothes, boots, gloves, scarves, running shoes, lunch kits,

etc. are labelled with the child‘s name. Clothing does get

misplaced and many children have identical or similar

clothing. If a child has lost or misplaced an article of

clothing, there is a good chance it will be in the Lost and

Found box in the office. Children should look in this

box; parents are also encouraged to come to the school

and look for lost items.

Electronic Communication Policy

Personal devices may be used periodically for curriculum

related activities under the supervision of a classroom

teacher. This 21st Century Learning initiative is called

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Otherwise, all person-

al communication devices, including but not limited to

cell phones, pagers, video/camera phones, still/video

cameras, computers and recording devices must be se-

curely stored and in silent mode by the User on any

Board school property during regular school hours. More

information concerning this TCDSB Policy can be found

at the following website: http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/

Policies/Pages/A29.aspx

Accidents

Despite the constant reminders and attention given to

issues of safety, occasional accidents do happen. In the

case of minor accidents (cuts, scrapes) band aids and ice

will be provided. In the event that a child continues to

experience discomfort or is in distress, it is the school‘s

practice to notify the parent/guardian. Therefore, it is

imperative that the school has, at all times, an up-to-date

telephone number for your home, work, and emergency

contact person.

Resources for Students Heading to High School

Helping students prepare for high school

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/

PAGE 3