NEWSLETTER

December 2013

Principal

C. Vitorio

Vice Principal

A. De Roma

Secretary

Pattie McLaren

Superintendent

Gina Marrello Iuliano

416-222-8282, ext. 2267

Trustee

Sal Piccininni, 416 512 3403

Parish

St. Jane Frances Parish

2747 Jane Street,

North York M3L 2E8

416 741-1463

School Council Chair

Ms. Nelson

Enrolment: 420

Hours of Operation:

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Lunch Period:

11:35a.m. – 12:35p.m.

Trustee

St. Francis de Sales Catholic School

333 Firgrove Cres. Toronto, Ontario M9N 1K9

Tel. 416 393 5366 Fax. 416 229-3743

Safe Arrival Program School Safety and Visitors to the School

Code of Conduct CSAC—Catholic School Advisory Council

Anaphylaxis Alert Nutritional Programs

NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Lunch $40/month

Thank you for supporting our Student Nutrition

Programs.

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Winter Reminders School News

Kenyan Boys’ Choir Presentation

On Wednesday, November 13th, 2013, the

staff and students of St. Francis de Sales

were treated to a very special performance

by the Kenyan Boys’ Choir. The twelve

boys aging in range from 19 years old and

up had the students moving, dancing and

singing to their very inspirational words

and music. It was truly an amazing ex-

perience for staff and students alike.

The boys had all 430 plus students engaged

and listening to their music throughout

the entire concert.

The boys thanked the staff and students

for all our work and commitment to support

both Free The Children and Me To We ini-

tiatives.

A very special thank you to Elizabeth Er-

kaya our Youth Co-ordinator for helping to

organize this extremely special event.

Dressing Warmly

Winter is Here! Canadian winters can be quite cold.

Please ensure that your children are dressed appropri-

ately for the weather. Warm clothes, snow pants, gloves,

mitts, hats and boots are needed for outdoor play. Having

an extra pair of mitts and socks is always appreciated for

children that play in the snow. Place items in a bag with

your child’s name on it. We recommend labeling all clothing

items. This will prevent the overflow of items in the “Lost

& Found” box. All students must bring a pair of indoor

shoes.

Reporting of cancellations or closures due to

inclement weather

With the approach of winter, please note that should it be-

come necessary to cancel school bus transportation or close

schools due to inclement weather, the Communications De-

partment and Toronto Student Transportation Group will

endeavour to provide updates through the following vehicles:

News releases to radio and television outlets in Toronto

(Note: although the news release is provided to the media outlets, there is no guarantee that all televi-sion and radio stations will broadcast the informa-tion in a timely fashion.)

An email to all staff, trustees and CSAC chairs to ad-

vise them of any cancellations or closures

Notification to E-News subscribers (Note: If you do not already subscribe to E-News, but wish to do so, please visit our website at www.tcdsb.org and click on the E-News icon on the top right hand side of the homepage)

Updates will also be posted on the Board’s 24-hour in-

formation line, 416-222-8282, extension 2873.

The information will also be posted on the homepage of

the Board’s website at www.tcdsb.org.

School News

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Symposium

On Wednesday, November 20th, our Board hosted a

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Symposium at Mon-

tecassino Place. The event was attended by 1000 peo-

ple. Each school team was represented by 5 members

of the school – one administrator - Ms. De Roma, a

teacher -Ms. Pereira, two students and a parent - Ms.

Reid. The theme of the day was, “We All Belong”.

Throughout the day, we engaged in dialogue regarding

how to prevent bullying in the school, how to make

everyone feel welcome in a school community and care

for others. Students, teachers, administrators and

parents were led through various activities engaged on

making everyone feel like part of a unit. The school

was provided with various kits to use at the school

level with staff, students and even parents. A fun day

was had by all. Everyone was actively engaged in

learning while listening to motivational speakers, en-

tertainers and board personnel.

Bullying Awareness Week

During the week of November 18th our students par-

ticipated in a number of anti-bullying activities. In

keeping with the theme of “We All Belong”, each stu-

dent participated in designing a type of self portrait

that culminated in a beautiful display in the school

foyer. Some of our classes participated in developing

skits and writings around bullying awareness. Con-

gratulations to all those students and classes that put

forth their best effort in these activities, but also a

special congratulations to all those students who are

Upstanders in our School Community.

An upstander is: A person who takes action, particularly when the easiest or most acceptable course is to do nothing, and stands up for what is right!

School News

Remembrance Day Ceremony

On November 11th, we had a Remembrance Day Cere-

mony led by Ms. Caruana’s and Ms. Vitti’s Grade 8

classes. We remembered all the men and women who

lost their lives to protect the freedom that we enjoy

today. Throughout the school, various classes created

memorials to our Fallen Heroes by displaying artwork

dedicated to our soldiers.

We must always remember the sacrifices that these

men and women have made in the name of peace and

freedom.

Me To We

The Me To We Committee at St. Francis de Sales, through

the Free The Children organization, will be supporting Rural

China this year through various fundraising activities that

will take place in the month of December. Please support us

in supporting others who are less fortunate. We will also be

collecting food items to donate to the North York Harvest

Food Bank.

Thanks for your support.

Toonie Tuesday

On November 19th, the St. Francis de Sales school commu-

nity raised $540 to support the relief efforts in the Philip-

pines. Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in the

Philippines, and we offer our prayers for the victims of this

natural disaster and those who have been

displaced.

A Toonie can go a long way. Thank you for

your support!!

St. Francis de Sales Eco Team

Our eco team started up in October and

has been busy coming up with exciting ideas

to make our school greener. We are very for-

tunate to have students that are dedicated

to the environment.

This year we will continue to focus on waste

reduction in our school. According to statis-

tics, every schoolchild creates an average of

30kg of garbage per year. That’s a lot of gar-

bage every day that can easily be avoided.

Every Wednesday we are encouraging stu-

dents to bring in a litterless lunch. Wonder-

ing how to pack a litterless lunch for your

child? Here are some tips:

DO USE: Reusable lunch bags

Food-storage containers

Water bottles

Stainless-steel cutlery

Use cloth napkins

DO NOT USE: Brown bags

Individual-portion packaging (foil or plas-

tic)

Juice boxes or cans

Plastic cutlery

Paper napkins

School News School News

The eco team continues to educate students

on what to put in the recycling bins which are

located in their classrooms and school

grounds. We have placed a large focus on en-

ergy conservation at our school. Each class-

room has student monitors who are responsi-

ble for turning off lights at all three re-

cesses, and turning off the computer moni-

tors at the end of the day. Finally, we con-

tinue to collect milk bags which are being

transformed into bed mats for those in need.

With all these great initiatives taking place

at our school, along with all the support from

our students, staff and parents, we know

that our goal of becoming an “ECO GOLD

SCHOOL” is possible!

Thank you for all your support!

Eco Team

Green Tips of the Month Use Rechargeable Batteries.

Use both sides of a piece of paper.

Recycle plastic, paper, glass and metal

cans.

Use Handkerchief instead of Tissue pa-

per.

Virtue of the Month Virtue of the Month Virtue of the Month for December

Charity

Charity is the form of all the virtues

-- St Thomas Aquinas

At the end of our life, we shall all be judged

by charity. -- St. John of the Cross

Charity may be a very short word, but with

its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums

up man's entire relation to God and to his

neighbour."

-- St Aelred of Rievaulx

Charity unites us to God... There is nothing

mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity

knows no schism, does not rebel, does all

things in concord. In charity all the elect of

God have been made perfect.

-- Pope St. Clement I

It is by the path of love, which is charity, that

God draws near to man, and man to God.

But where charity is not found, God cannot

dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we pos-

sess God, for "God is Charity". (1John 4:8)

-- St. Albert the Great

Charity is that with which no one is lost, and

without which no one is saved.

-- St. Robert Bellermine

The school of Christ is the school of charity.

On the last day, when the general examina-

tion takes place, there will be no question at

all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of

Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian.

Charity will be the whole syllabus.

-- St. Robert Bellermine

November: Peacemaking

We would like to congratulate our November Students

of the Month who have demonstrated the virtue of

Peacemaking through their words and their actions.

Ms. Bianchi-JK/SK

Lavy Nguyen

Ms. Capobianco

Catherine Pham

Ms. Rebeiro

Jonathan Caicedo

Ms. Singroy-Grade 1

Kelly Galido

Ms. Squillace-Grade 1

William Nguyen

Ms. DiGerlando-Grade 2

Catherine Bedoya

Mr. Da Silva-Grade 2

Aaliyah Francis

Ms. Pereira-Grade 3

Joseph Phu

Ms. Justice-Grade 3

Kimani Stewart Baynes

Ms. Mckoy-Grade 4

Shanya Subahwon

Mr. Coiro-Grade 4/5

Jenny Ha

Ms. Marchese-Grade 5

Keshon Paul

Ms. Pignataro—Grade 6

Maila Creag and Laura Molina

Ms. Costa-Grade 6

Mark Angel Julian and Kayla Mitchell

Mr. De Medeiros-Grade 7

Alex Tran and Elizabeth Lopez

Ms. Caruana-Grade 8

Eddy Fajardo and Kelly Vu

Ms. Vitti-Grade 8

Rodrigo Paz-Guardado and Alecsia Toledo Duenos

Mr. Lombardi

Desroy Desir

Ms. Eneh

Wisdom Kazeem

Ms. Campos-Aiello

Angela Tran

Monthly Update from the Board

December 2013

Full-Day Kindergarten Registration for

September 2014

Board Updates The Season of Advent

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Advent Prayer

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Fa-ther and ours. Receive my prayer as part of

my service of the Lord who enlists me in God's own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace

in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father's joy. I seek

His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord. Raise in me, too, so-ber reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father

and Son.

Amen