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February, 2017

Our Lady of Victory School News

Principal’s Message,

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

With the arrival of February comes the hope for an early end to winter. Although the weather has been mild so far, the promise of Spring always brings with it a sense of joy and a lightness of spirit. Since returning from the break, Our Lady of Victory

School has been a hive of activity. Once again this January, we hosted both the girls and boys junior soccer tournaments reminding us how lucky we are to have such a great facility. We are almost at the end of new kindergarten registration and Toronto Public Health has also been in to do a dental screening on every student.

In February, we highlight the virtue of Love and as we begin to prepare for the liturgical season of Lent, we are challenging ourselves to practice acts of kindness. Kindness is contagious, creating a ripple effect both at school, at home and throughout the community. When we are kind to others we feel more connected to the people around us. Being kind and helping others increases happiness and feelings of optimism for those who engage in the act of kindness and those who witness it. Let’s work on increasing everyone’s feelings of happiness and hope by being kinder to each other. It takes very little effort and the smallest act can have great impact.

There will be an extended Family Day weekend as Friday, February 17 is a P.A. day dedicated to parent teacher interviews. Please do make a point of booking an appointment with your child’s teacher. Research has shown that children whose parents engage in regular communication with the school, are more successful. We are looking forward to seeing you all here on Thursday, February 16, and Friday, February 17, 2017.

Have a wonderful month and Family Day. Let’s hope the groundhog predicts an early Spring.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

L. Mazza F. Formariz

Catholic School Parent Council Our Lady of Victory School has an active and very committed parent council. Please come and learn more about who they are and what they do on Monday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the school atrium. There is always a standing invitation for parents to attend CSPC meetings and join in the conversation. All are welcome as many hands are needed for the various projects that are being planned.

Our Lady of Victory Catholic School

70 Guestville Ave.

Toronto, Ontario M6N 4N3 Telephone: 416-393-5247

Fax: 416-397-6310

Principal: L. Mazza

Vice-Principal:

F. Formariz

Superintendent: Doug Yack

Trustee:

Frank D’Amico

School Hours 8:30 am – 3:00 pm

Lunch: 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Parish:

Father John Papagno Our Lady of Victory Catholic

Church 117 Guestville Ave.

Toronto, Ontario Phone: 416-769-1171

Year of the Parish

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Kindergarten Registration continues

Kindergarten registration continues until February 10, 2017. Please share this information with any relatives or

neighbours who have a child born in 2013 and may be interested in registering at OLV. There are very few

open junior kindergarten spots left in our school. Once these spots are filled, new registrants will be re-

directed to another school.

Registration Options:

Registrations are completed on-line using the “Student On-line Application for Registration” platform known

as S.O.A.R. at http://soar.tcdsb.org. There, parents will also be able to schedule a meeting with the school

to provide the following documentation:

baptismal certificate and/or Passport/Immigration Document (if the child was

not born in Canada)

your child’s birth certificate,

immunization records,

proof of residence (which may include utility bills, lease agreements, proof of

purchase)

Application for Direction of School Support (ADSS) form

Address/Phone Number Change

To ensure that the school is able to contact parents in case of emergency please inform the school of any

changes of personal information as soon as they occur.

•change of address/telephone number

•change of employer/telephone number

•change of “emergency” contact person/phone

•change in medical information

Visitors to the School

For security reasons and the safety of all students, visitors (this includes parents) are only

allowed access through the front doors of the school. At these doors, there is a monitoring

system in place that ensures the safety of all students and staff. Please ring the bell to gain

access to the school and then sign in at the school office.

Parents are not to walk their children to their classroom. We ask that all parents observe this. Goodbyes are

to be said in the schoolyard. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please call the school office.

Friday, February 17, 2017 is a P.A. dedicated to student

teacher interviews.

Monday, February 20, 2017 is a Family Day, a provincial

holiday. Enjoy Your Long weekend!

March Break

To better support OLV families in planning ahead, please note this year’s March Break begins March 13,

2017 and ends on March 17, 2017.

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Looking Back at January

Boys and Girls Soccer

The boys’ and girls’ junior soccer teams played in their tournaments on January 26 and January 27. They both

represented the school with O.L.V team spirit and played with heart. The students cheered each other on and

demonstrated sportsmanship and friendship. Thank you to all the coaches and students that dedicated their

time to practice every day. Go O.L.V.!!

Dance and Play The 18th and 19th of January proved to be busy and productive days for the grade 6 students at OLV! They

participated in an extremely fun and active dance workshop which focused on hip-hop and jazz. Students

developed an understanding of how dances are pieced together and learned the steps to numerous pieces.

They also had the opportunity to choreograph their own original dances which were very impressive! The

determination and collaboration the students portrayed over the course of the workshop is something they

should all be proud of! Well done grade 6!

My Best Self The grade 6 students are participating in a program called “My Best

Self”. This three session program focuses on teaching students to

embrace and appreciate the body God gave them. The

presentation highlighted the need to respect not only their bodies

but also the people who help to make them who we are. An

important message of this program is that if a person is healthy and

feeling well, then they should be happy with themselves because

they are perfect. They should focus on accepting and loving their

real image. The various activities were engaging and students were

respectful, creating a safe and accepting space for everyone to

share their thoughts. To ensure this a respectful agreement was

signed by all.

Daily Nutrition Program Offered at O.L.V. Our Nutrition program Coordinator would like to thank everyone who has donated to the program and

continues to do so. Without your generosity our program would have trouble continuing on throughout the

year. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to Breakfast for Learning and President’s Choice Children’s

Charity for their generous donation to our Nutrition Program. We would like to invite parents/guardians to

visit our information centre set up on the ground floor during Parent-Teacher Interviews on February 16th and

17th. Please feel free to stop by and sample some of our snacks.

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Reporting and Evaluation

Report Cards Report Cards for Term 1 will be sent home on Tuesday, February 14, 2017. Please complete and sign the

Parent/Guardian’s Comments section found at the bottom of page 4 of the report card. This section is to be

detached and returned to the school.

Parent Teacher Interviews The scheduled dates for parent-teacher interviews are Thursday,

February 16, 2017 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. and Friday, February 17, 2017

from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Sign up sheets will be going home soon.

Parents, there will be a table set up in the atrium during

parent teacher interviews. Items currently in the lost and

found bin will be displayed there. If your child is missing a

piece of clothing, please drop in and have a look.

February Events

After School Tutoring; Literacy & Numeracy

We have been fortunate to have secured funding

for after school literacy and numeracy tutoring

classes. These sessions will begin the week of

February 21, 2017 and end the week of April 28,

2017. Students have already been selected.

These sessions begin right after school, for an hour

and a half, two times a week. We have four

groups scheduled: Literacy grades 3 and 4 and

Numeracy grades 3 and 6. Parents of students

participating are reminded that attendance at all

sessions is mandatory and that students need to be

picked up at the school promptly at 4:30 p.m. as

transportation is not provided.

Pizza School Lunch

A reminder that the pizza lunch is on

Wednesday, February 15, 2017. Pizza orders

will be accepted until February 8, 2017.

Thank you for your support.

Candy Grams Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and

the Grade 8's would like to give students a way

of expressing their friendship to their friends.

Beginning Monday, February 6, members of the

Student Council will be selling Valentine candy

grams for .50 cents each. Students are asked

to bring their money to the atrium during the

lunch hour and tell us who they want to send

their candy gram to. Your child must know their

friend’s first and last name and their teacher’s

name. Candy grams will be on sale until

Monday, February 13th and will then be

delivered on Tuesday, February 14th. All money

raised will go towards the Gr.8 Graduation

luncheon.

So if your child would like to send a lollipop to a special friend, then remember to order your candy grams, starting February 6th!

Pita Pit Wraps Pita Pit lunches continues to be popular with

students. It provides a nutritious alternative lunch

and helps to support some of the school initiatives.

The next Pita Pit lunch will take place on Thursday,

March 2, 2017. Look for the order form in your

child’s knapsack on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Pita orders will only be accepted until February

28, 2017. Please do not be late.

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Dental Health Information received from the Toronto Public Health dental screening shows that 20% of all

students at Our Lady of Victory School had cavities. There has been an increase of 9% this

year, which is quite significant. Toronto Public Health has many dental clinics that provide

a wide range of free services for children. The clinic servicing our school community is

located at 1641 Keele St. Please call the clinic at 416 338-1224 if you have any questions

around child dental care. Please visit the website Your Oral Health

http://youroralhealth.ca/, for important information on the connection between healthy

snacks and healthy teeth as well as appropriate dental hygiene practices.

Monthly Update from the Board, February 2017

Toronto Catholic District School Board has declared Friday, May 5, 2017 as Parish

Family Day. A special Parish Family Day Celebration will be held at the Catholic

Education Centre on Friday, May 5th, 2017 to showcase student work focusing on the

many ways that our parishes and our parish priests contribute to our schools and communities.

We Want to Hear Your Views, Watch for community consultations coming soon for:

Parent and Student Bill of Rights

2017-2018 Budget Consultation

February is Psychology Month HELP YOUR CHILD FLOURISH: HOW TO ACHIEVE MENTAL HEALTH A presentation for parents and educators on

February 22, 2017, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Catholic Education Centre, 3rd Floor, 80 Sheppard Avenue East

Learn more about the programs and services provided by the Psychology Department, TCDSB

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SpecialEducation/psychology/Pages/default.aspx

February is National Inclusive Education Month Learn more about the TCDSB’s Catholic Equity and Inclusive Education Policy:

https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/Policies/Pages/hm24.aspx

February is African Canadian Heritage Month

Celebrating the rich history, tradition and contribution to Canadian culture, literature, science, medicine,

technology and the arts.

February 10—Mass and Cultural Expose at St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. https://www.tcdsb.org/FORCOMMUNITY/HeritageCelebration/AfricanCanadianHeritage/Pages/default.aspx

Director’s Annual Report 2015-2016

Check out the latest edition of the Director’s Annual Report and review some of the many highlights from

the past school year:

https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/BoardAdministration/DirectorofEducation/Pages/Director%E2%80%99s-Annual-

Report-2015-2016.aspx

Student Voice—Minister’s Student Advisory Council Seeks Applicants Students in grades 7 to 12 are eligible for consideration. Deadline is February 9th.

http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/speakup/msac.html

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Other Opportunities for Students

Kayak Kids Illustrated History Challenge—deadline June 1

https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/OpportunitiesForStudents/Pages/Kayak-Kids-Illustrated-History-

Challenge-.aspx

Weston Youth Innovation Award encourages & recognizes young Canadian innovators

http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/innovationaward Autism Ontario offers three exciting scholarships

http://www.autismontario.com/client/aso/ao.nsf/web/Education+Scholarships

Overseas Credit Courses:

https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/continuingeducation/secondarycreditcourses/overseas/Page

s/default.aspx

Summer Job Opportunity with Toronto Police Service

TPS is accepting applications for the 2017 Summer YIPI (Youth in Policing) Program! Successful applicants

can earn $11.40/hr, 35hrs/week! Apply now: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/yipi/

Summer Jobs with City of Toronto—Deadline for applications February 14th.

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=7ac14aced070a410VgnVCM10000071d60f

89RCRD

TCDSB Awards Night May 1, 2017 Nominate a member of the TCDSB family for our annual awards

Sister Mary Hamilton Award for Exceptional Students Deadline last Friday in February.

Ashif Jaffer Award for Excellence in Special Education Support Deadline third Friday in February.

Ready to Pick Your High School Courses? The 2017-2018 Course Calendar is available online:

https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/GuidanceCoopEd/Documents/TCDSB-

ProgramAndCourseCalendar-2017-2018.pdf

Cold Alerts and Weather-Related Cancellations/Closures Get all the information here: https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/HealthandSafety/Pages/Cold-Weather-

Alerts.aspx and here https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/HealthandSafety/Pages/Weather-Related-

Safety-Concerns.aspx

Check the Toronto Student Transportation Group website for any school bus delays throughout the year.

http://www.torontoschoolbus.org/

Don’t Miss Out On Any News and Information Subscribe to ENews and receive the latest information via email.

https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx

Follow @tcdsb and @olvschoolnews on Twitter

TRUSTEES 2016 – 2017

Wards

1. Joseph Martino 5. Maria Rizzo 9. Jo-Ann Davis

2. Ann Andrachuk 6. Frank D’Amico, Vice-Chair 10. Barbara Poplawski

3. Sal Piccininni 7. Michael Del Grande 11. Angela Kennedy, Chair

4. Patrizia Bottoni 8. Garry Tanuan 12. Nancy Crawford

Rhea Carlisle, Student Trustee Karina Dubrovskaya, Student Trustee

Angela Gauthier, Director of Education 80 Sheppard Ave. E., Toronto, ONT. Website: www.tcdsb.org