What an exciting time of

the year! We Await To-

gether! As Catholic edu-

cators we are fortunate to

share in the Advent sea-

son with your children. It

is a season of joyful antic-

ipation of the Kingdom

and of the birth of Jesus.

Advent is a time to renew

our relationship with God.

During this time, we look

for ways God comes into

our lives and recapture

our vision of what it

means to be a Christian. It

is also a time to focus on

corporal and spiritual

works of mercy (i.e. feed

the hungry, clothe the

naked, visit the sick, for-

give offences willingly,

bear wrongs patiently).

The students and staff of

Our Lady of Sorrows

Catholic School are dedi-

cated to preparing for the

coming of Jesus. It is our

hope that amid the hustle

and bustle of Christmas

preparations you will find

the time to celebrate the

joy of Jesus among us.

May you all have a safe

and blessed Christmas!

Prepare the Way of the Lord!

An Advent Message—Who I Am is P-I-N-K

Thank you to

everyone for

all your efforts

with the Who I

Am and P-I-N-

K initiatives

for Bully

Awareness and

Prevention

Week. We

began the week

with a prayer

service led by

our student

council. They

did a stellar

job! The mes-

sage of being

peaceful, inclusive, noble and kind is one

to continue as we enter into the Advent

season. This is what we are called to do

as Catholics. Advent is a time of hope, joy

and love. If there is unkindness, there is

no room for love.

Special points of interest:

We wish Mr. Nichol all the best in his new

role as principal of St. Andrew’s School in

Killaloe. Thank you for the wonderful years

here at Sorrows!

Mrs. Herrick will be off on maternity leave

following the Christmas break. We anx-

iously await the arrival of her new baby!

Peace Poster Contest 2

Advent Preparations 3

Christmas Concert 3

Parish News 4 & 5

School Council 6

EQAO 8

Inside this issue:

Ou

r L

ad

y o

f S

or

ro

ws

DE

CE

MB

ER

2

01

5

NE

WS

LE

TT

ER

Principal: Christina Brown

VP: Scott Nichol

This is what Yahweh asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

We were thrilled to have so many thoughtfully created and detailed posters which demonstrated the vision of peace submitted for

our school contest. Congratulations to all of our amazing artists! We are truly grateful to Mrs. Graveline for organizing this con-

test. Also, thank you to our judges! Judging will take place this week.

Reports indicate that inventories in Renfrew County’s food banks are

very low. Our Catholic schools continue to play a significant role in

helping local food banks serve the needs of the poor. This is one of the

corporal works of mercy.

Each class is encouraged to collect non-perishable foods up to Decem-

ber 16th. Items gathered will be delivered to St. Joseph’s Food Bank in

order to assist families in our community to have wonderfully nourish-

ing meals during the Christmas season.

Please know that your efforts to serve Christ in the poor this Advent are

very much appreciated.

Page 2

Peace Poster Contest

Social Justice Initiative

OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

Follow us on Twitter @OLSrccdsb!

This is a way to celebrate what we do and communicate

reminders and upcoming events.

CPAN, Child Poverty Action Network, makes a concrete difference in the lives of many of our poorest students by helping to

ensure that they can participate fully in all aspects of school life. Their mandate aligns closely with that part of the Board’s

Strategic Plan that speaks to “advocating for the poor both locally and globally”. CPAN, continues to be overwhelmed with

orders for their Operation Snowsuit Campaign. Thank you to all those who have already contributed to the campaign. We will

continue to collect winter clothing and boots. Any assistance that you can provide toward this worthwhile project would be

much appreciated.

Page 3

Advent Angels

CPAN—Operation Snowsuit

OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

Raffle tickets for 2 front row seats and a premium parking space at the Christ-

mas concert and/or a Christmas basket are due back by December 10th.

ADVENT ANGELS

Once again, our school is taking on a very special Advent project called “Advent An-

gels”. This project has two goals. First, we want to remember, honour and pray for

family and friends who will be with us this Christmas and also for those family and

friends who can’t be with us, due to long distances, deployment or their passing. This

is done by creating an angel that will have the person’s name on it and the name of

the student or family requesting the angel. These are used to decorate our Christmas

tree in the front foyer of our school. The second goal is to raise funds for our Domin-

ican Republic Project. All of the funds raised will be used to buy medicine and food

for children and their families in the Dominican Republic. The cost for each angel is

$0.50. Additional order forms are available for those who wish to have them.

Christmas Concert

Tuesday, December 15th

10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

This year we will host 2 performances for the Christmas concert

during the day. All students from kindergarten to grade 7 will be

part of each performance. Classes will entertain you with a por-

tion of a musical entitled “The Mysterious Christmas Card”. Our

Before and After School Program and school choir will also have

parts to play in the concerts. These concerts are our way to ex-

press gratitude to everyone for supporting our school and to

wish our community a very Merry Christmas.

Parish News

OUR LADY OF SORROWS CATHOLIC PARISH—Father Steven Ballard

Masses

Father Ballard has scheduled a regular parish mass at 11:00 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Each week,

various classes attend one of these masses.

Holiday Mass Times

Christmas Eve—December 24th at 5:00 pm and 7:00 p.m.

Christmas Day—December 25th at 10:00 am

New Year’s Eve—December 31st at 5:00 pm

New Year’s Day—January 1st at 10:00 am

CWL Tea and Bazaar

Again this year the CWL will host a Tea and Bazaar. It is a terrific time to come out for a delicious lunch, bring a friend, socialize

and enjoy the start of the festive season in a spirit of friendship and fellowship. The Bazaar will consist of a Bake Table, Santa's

Choice Table, Craft Table, Glitz and Glamour Table, Small Raffle Table, Silent Auction Table and 50/50 Draw.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Parish Hall

For several years now, the CWL has been collecting “NEW BORN” baby items to make up Baby Layettes which are provided to the

Pembroke Regional Hospital for babies in need of a little extra help for their first few days at home. Items such as new born sized

diapers, sleepers, bibs, onesies, blankets, face clothes, sweater sets, unscented baby wipes will be gratefully received. As a scent free

establishment, the hospital prefers that lotions, oils and soaps not be included as items donated.

All donations for the bazaar tables and/or baby layettes will be most appreciated. Items may be dropped off at he Parish Hall on the

morning of Friday, December 4th or between 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 5th. Proceeds from the bazaar will

allow the CWL to share faith—to love the God we can not see by loving the brothers and sisters we can see—both locally and glob-

ally.

CWL Pot Luck Dinner

On Monday, December 7th, all CWL members and female friends are welcome to bring their faviourite dish for a pot luck dinner.

Doors open at 5:30. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to participate in an anonymous gift exchange. A Christ-

mas theme is suggested for the gifts with a maximum cost of $10.00.

Knights of Columbus

For a number of years, the Knights of Columbus has been active in the fight of substance abuse. Thus, they invite boys and girls

ages 8 through 14 to participate in a substance abuse poster contest. The Council will graciously recognize all participants and offer

funds for winners at the local Council level. The winning posters will go on to the District Competition and then to the State Com-

petition. The finalists for this level will advance to the International Competition. Students interested in designing a poster to dis-

courage alcohol and drug abuse can request an entry form from the office. These forms contain a list of rules in which to follow.

All boys and girls ages 10 to 14 are invited to participate in the local level of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Com-

petition that will be held at Our Lady of Sorrows School prior to Christmas. Entry/score sheets for those interested in

participating in this event can be collected from the office. Students are to hold onto their entry form until the day of the

championship.

Parish News Cont’d

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC PARISH - Father Titus Ndala

We have always had military and civilian families attend Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. Due to the reestab-

lishment of school boundaries last spring, we recognize a number of military families attend mass at Gar-

rison Petawawa as well. Thus, we endeavor to work with both parishes and are open to providing commu-

nication from both.

Sacrament of Reconciliation and Communion

St. Francis of Assisi parish is offering classes to help students in grade 2 or above to prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation

and First Holy Communion. The sacrament of Reconciliation will take place on Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2016. Classes will

be held on Sundays from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. from January 10th to February 7th. Classes are held at this time to facilitate family

attendance at either the French mass at 9:30 a.m. or the English mass at 11:00 a.m.

The sacrament of First Holy Communion will be during masses on Sunday, May 15, 2016. Classes will be held on Sundays from

10:00 to 11:00 a.m. from April 10th to May 8th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office at 613-687-5511 ext. 5434.

Year of Mercy - Love and Forgiveness

Pope Francis announced an ‘extraordinary Holy Year.’

This “Jubilee of Mercy” will commence with the open-

ing of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on

December 8, 2015, and end November 20, 2016.

Pope Francis announced this Jubilee of Mercy to the

faithful on Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after

Easter, 2015. The Holy Father wants the Church “to

make more evident its mission to be a witness of mercy.”

He explains that, “God never tires of forgiving us, we

are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy.”

This year of Mercy will provide an authentic opportunity

for our Catholic system to join in this pilgrimage of for-

giveness and love because our entire community hungers

for mercy. His Holiness encourages Christians to offer

God’s mercy “to every person who asks for it with an

honest heart.” Let us also pray to St. Faustina, Apostle of

Divine Mercy, to intercede for us, that we might grow in

our love of God and in our prayer to be witnesses to His

boundless mercy in our lives and in the lives of those we

serve.

We encourage everyone to continuously reflect on how

they show mercy (love and forgiveness) to others and how others show mercy to them.

To inaugurate the Year of Mercy, there will be an opening of the Holy Door at St. Columbkille Cathedral in Pembroke on December

8th at 10:00 a.m. Representation from our Board will attend the mass. Each school is invited to bring along a few students and a

supervisor. Our student council is invited to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to join with our Diocese and Roman

Catholics as we begin this extraordinary year of Mercy.

Please see the diocesan web page: http://www.pembrokediocese.com/ for other openings of Holy Doors and additional information.

PRI NCI PA L: CHRIST I NA B R OW N

MONCION RECEIPTS PROGRAM

When shopping at Moncion Metro and Petawawa Independent Grocers, you can ask to have your receipt of over

$25.00 stamped. The receipt program at the Riverside Market is no longer in existence. Receipts are collected in a

box which is located at the front entrance of the school. They are used to redeem snacks for our healthy snack pro-

gram and for special occasions. We encourage you to ask relatives, coworkers and friends to collect receipts for

you to submit as well. Every little bit helps! Thank you to Jamie Bowden for calculating and submitting receipts for

us.

LABELS FOR EDUCATION PROGRAM

Labels for Education has been awarding free educational equipment to schools in exchange for proofs of pur-

chase from the Campbell family of brands. We encourage families to send in any Campbell’s Soup labels you

may have to contribute to our program. As with the Moncion Receipts, we encourage you to ask relatives,

coworkers and friends to collect receipts for you. Thank you to Laurie Stepaniuk for taking the lead on this

program.

HOT LUNCH

Each month, we establish hot lunch days for students and staff. This month pizza from Petawawa Pizzeria

will be served on Wednesday, December 2nd, 9th and 16th. Also, pizza will be served on January 13th,

20th and 27th. We are grateful to Jamie Bowden for her continued work organizing hot lunches. Also, we

are blessed with volunteers who help deliver the pizza to classes.

WORLD’S FINEST CHOCOLATE FUNDRAISER

World's Finest Chocolate Canada is the Canadian leader in chocolate fundraising. They produce choco-

late from scratch, in a Peanut Free Facility, from the cocoa bean and the finest ingredients. This is a

fabulous fundraising opportunity! Chocolates make great stocking stuffers for Christmas. With every

$60.00 box that we sell, we receive a $30.00 profit. Your support will help make our fundraising

dreams a reality! Funds earned will be put toward our school council priorities for the year – all student

focused initiatives. Canada's most popular Variety Pack features the six top $2 Nut and Peanut Free

sellers. The thirty item suitcase contains: Crisp Bars, Caramel Bars, Milk Bars, Raisins Bars, Caramel

Whirls and Mint Meltaways. They come in a sturdy easy to carry display case. These cases were sent home to every family last week.

If you do not plan to sell chocolates, please return the box to school with your child. If you would like additional boxes to sell, feel free

to contact the office and we will send them home with your child. We will be receiving another shipment of boxes this Wednesday.

BAKE SALE

School Council hosted a successful bake sale at the East End Pembroke Mall on Friday, November 6th. Over $400

was profited from this event. Thank you to everyone who donated baked items for this sale and to our dedicated

volunteers who organized and ran this fundraiser!

SANTA CLAUS PARADE

This was the first year our school had a float in the Petawawa Santa Claus Parade. It was wonderful!

Our school choir, along with Mrs. Chapeskie, Mr. Wilson and parent volunteers rode on the float.

Thank you very much to our organizing committee led by Mrs. Schultz and our talented students! Also,

we are truly grateful to Brian Eichstaedt for lending us his float and to Arty Arsenault for allowing us to

decorate the float in his bay and for driving the truck.

Page 6

School Council 2015-2016

Page 7 OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

Last week, staff and students gathered together for the purpose of celebrating with Hydro One. They presented us with a substantial

cheque for which we are most grateful. Two years ago, our school implemented full day all day kindergarten. With the growing num-

ber of very young children in our school, we saw the need to develop a safe and fun space in the school yard for the kindergartens to

play. With the help of many families, the kindergarten team gathered enough Canadian Tire money to purchase some toys like plasma

cars for the new yard. Students from BSCH constructed two picnic tables for the little ones. From there, our kindergarten team

searched for grants to apply for to help purchase a play structure appropriate for the kindergartens’ age and size. The team found an

application for a Hydro One grant through their Power Play program that supports exactly what we were looking for. Hydro One was

providing funding for child focused facilities and equipment to enable healthy, active and safe play. An application was put forth and

we were ecstatic to receive $6000 from Hydro One to go toward the play structure. One of the requirements of receiving the grant is

that we would contribute to financial support for the project. This is where our school council comes into play. They graciously

matched the $6000 provided by Hydro One to make the purchase of the play structure a reality. We are so grateful to our school

council and Hydro One for assisting us in making our school yard inclusive, safe and fun.

Red and Black Day, Moustache Monday and Pink Day were great successes

during the month of November! During the month of December, we will

have one spirit day.

Friday, December 18th is the day to wear festive colours—red and green.

Go Bears, Go Dolphins, Go Eagles, Go Pumas!

Dolphins

184 pts

Pumas

167 pts

Bears

165 pts

Falcons

171 pts

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parent-teacher interviews were a great

success! It was so nice to see so many

families attend. As parents, your constant

support and dedication to your child’s

education are greatly appreciated!

Congratulations to all teachers for their

wonderful preparation for and profession-

alism during parent-teacher interviews!

We are so grateful for the ladies, Stacey

and Caroline, who are running the Before

and After School Program. They kept

their space open during the evening in

case families had questions or were inter-

ested in signing up.

Representatives from BSCH attended par-

ent teacher interviews. They positioned

themselves right outside of the grade 7

classrooms. Their main goal was to pro-

vide parents with information about what

the high school has to offer and to answer

any questions. They had a draw for a

BSCH gym uniform. Congratulations to

Hayden for being the lucky winner!

Kindergarten Play Structure

OLOS SCHOOL APPAREL

Thank you to everyone who ordered school apparel. Orders are due to arrive on

Friday, December 18th.

A total of 84 students (47 grade 3 and 37 grade 6 students) from Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School participated in the Provincial

Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics in 2015. Individual Student Reports outlining the results of the assessments have

been released and shared with parents of last year’s grade three and six students. The reports identify the overall achievement level in

each strand. The graphs and charts below display this year’s EQAO results. Provincial results were not released due to the fact that

data was not collected from the public system last year. Congratulations to all students, staff members and parents for your awesome

effort!

Experience has shown that data informs professional practice and provide a catalyst for improving student achievement. Thus, detailed

school results will be evaluated and analyzed. A School Improvement Plan (SIP) is being developed in collaboration with staff to main-

tain and improve student achievement in reading, writing and math and plan interventions for students where necessary.

The number of families who have registered for our school cash online program continues to rise. That’s fantastic! Our goal is to con-

tinue this trend. Our board is offering every school incentives for getting additional registrations—$500 for a 50% adoption rate, plus

$250 for a 75% adoption rate plus an additional $250 for a 90% adoption rate. This equals a potential $1000 for our school!

The School Cash Online team received notification by their banking partner that some users of the program have seen the payment

amount twice on their bank statements with a corresponding deposit of the same amount shortly thereafter. Please note, that although

this may look incorrect, you paid the correct amount for your item and do not need to purchase these again. Also, if you are not receiv-

ing e-mails re: cash online, please check, when logged into School Cash Online and under 'My Account'...'Manage Email Notifications',

that you have it toggled on to receive email notifications.

Page 8

EQAO

School Cash Online

OU R LA DY OF S OR ROWS

RCCDSB Mobile App

Grade 3 Overall Results

0

50

100

School 68 81 74

Board 82 88 79

Province

Reading Writing Math

Grade 6 Overall Results

0

50

100

School 95 92 59

Board 91 91 68

Province

Reading Writing Math

There are some exciting changes that are happening with the digital presence at Renfrew County Catholic District School Board

(RCCDSB). If you haven’t already, check out the RCCDSB mobile app. You can download it at itunes as well as in the Google Play

store and Blackberry store. It is a fantastic way to keep in touch with all of the important things happening at our school board. You

can easily check the bus status, connect to homework Help and student e-portfolio’s as well as check out the Board’s Twitter and Face-

book page.

A MESSAGE TO PARENTS AND PUPILS FROM THE RENFREW COUNTY JOINT TRANSPORTATION

CONSORTIUM REGARDING COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES FOR TRANSPORTATION CANCELLATIONS /

BREAKDOWNS / DELAYS DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR.

CHECK THE INTERNET

Transportation information and school bus notifications will be posted at www.rcjtc.on.ca and www.onthebus where you will see

any bus cancellations and/or delays. Notification updates are instantaneous effectively from 6:00 am on.

LISTEN TO AREA RADIO STATIONS/WATCH THE LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS

All information regarding Transportation status will be broadcasted on radio stations for those that do not have internet. This infor-

mation is obtained from our web site, therefore providing local transportation information for all of Renfrew County. Transporta-

tion information will usually start broadcasting at approximately 6:10 a.m. and repeat every 10 or 15 minutes until approximately

8:30 a.m.

SCHOOL BUS CANCELLATIONS ARE FOR THE DAY

When transportation is cancelled in the morning, it is cancelled for the whole day. If you choose to bring your child/children to

school, you will be responsible for their return home after school.

PARENTS HAVE THE FIRST RESPONSIBILITY

As parents, you have the first responsibility to decide whether or not is it safe and reasonable to send your child/children out to the

“stop”, or to school, on days of extreme conditions. Check the internet, listen to the radio and check the weather conditions outside

firsthand. Make the safest choice for your child.

KNOW YOUR CHILD’S TRANSPORTATION PROVIDER AND ROUTE NUMBER

You need to know your child’s/children’s Transportation Provider and Route Number in order to properly identify the status of your

child’s/children’s transportation service when you see it on the web or hear it on the radio station. This information is available from

the school and/or from the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium.

DO NOT CALL THE RADIO STATION,TRANSPORTATION PROVIDER, SCHOOLS, SCHOOL BOARDS, OR

R.C.J.T.C.

Do not make unnecessary phone calls and tie up the phone lines during emergencies. All the information you will need to know to

make a safe decision will be posted at www.rcjtc.on.ca or broadcasted on your area radio station. Do not call the radio station or

school bus company for your child’s/children’s school bus information.

PROVIDE the RCJTC and your child(ren)’s school with updated emergency contact

information (including phone number).

Food For Learning Program

We are entering our second month of providing all students with healthy

snacks twice a week. On Wednesday and Friday mornings, each class re-

ceives a bin containing food from at least 2 food groups. Our menu thus far

has included crackers, cheese, apples, carrots, celery, bananas, raisins & ce-

real mix.

We have received donations of food from three companies thus far: Corona-

tion Hall Cider Mills (2 Bushels of apples every 2 weeks); St. Albert Cheese

(2x4.5kg of cheese every 2 weeks); Canada Bread Food Services (loaves of

bread, bagels, English Muffins as needed). We are so thankful that these

companies are able to provide our students with free, fresh, local food that

meets the Student Nutrition Program Guidelines criteria!

This program would not be possible without the many helping hands from

staff members who take the time to pick up food, prepare food, distribute

food and clean up afterwards. We are especially thankful to Helen-Jane Tar-

so who has helped out the past 2 weeks with our Snack Program.

Over the next few weeks, our program will progress to a Breakfast-style

model where students will be able to head inside to Room #208 upon arrival

to school and have breakfast before the morning bell.

If you wish to volunteer your time, make a financial contribution or in-kind

donation, please contact the school.

A Birthday Gift

What can I give him

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd,

I would bring him a lamb;

If I were a man,

I would do my part;

Yet what can I give him?

Give him my heart.

An Advent Prayer

Last day of School is

Friday, December 18th.

Happy Holidays!

Loving and compassionate God,

Be with us as we learn and pray this Advent season.

Enlighten us with your Spirit so that we may see the signs before us

today.

Give us hearts of compassion to see the face of Christ in the refu-

gee,

The homeless person

And suffering family member.

Give us wisdom to make pathways straight and rough roads smooth.

May we welcome the Christ child with love

And meet others with mercy that welcomes.

Help us to listen to your Word more intently this Advent season

So that we may bring the Good News of Salvation to all we meet.

And may we do so with patience, prayer and love.

We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, our hope and our home.

Amen.