St. Vincent de Paul CS

116 FERMANAGH AVENUE • TORONTO, ON • M6R 1M2 • 416 393-5227 • http://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stvincentdepaul/Pages/default.aspx

Parent Connect (weekly email reminders for parents): Get connected by sending an email to stvdp227@yahoo.ca

Principal: K. Schneider Trustee: Barbara Poplawski

Superintendent: Dr. Saraco

IMPORTANT

SCHOOL

CALENDAR

DATES TO REMEMBER:

MASS DATES:

Wednesday Nov 19 12:45-1:45 pm Mass Confessions Monday Dec 1 9:45-10:30 Monday Dec 8 Mass 12:45-1:45 pm Mass Safe School Meeting December 17

CSAC Co-chairs: Giovanna Raposo, Chair Rosa Milito, Vice-Chair

October/November 2014

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

27

Downey’s Farm

JK-Gr 1

28

Cross Coun-

try Cities

29 See & Hear

Clinic

Wits Assembly

JK-Gr 3

Gr 4-6 LEADS

Tug-Of-Help

30

Public

Library Gr 1

Ms. Pavesi

Sewing Club

31

HAPPY

Halloween

3 4 5 Little Red

Theatre for

JK-Gr. 5

6

Radio Maria

Sewing Club

7

10 Intermediate

Boys Volleyball

Divisionals

QSP Magazine

Assembly

11 Remembrance

Day

Ceremonies

12 Intermediate

Girls Volleyball

Divisionals

13 Picture Retake

Day & Sibling

Photo Day

Sewing Club

14

Parent/

Teacher

Interviews

NO

SCHOOL

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK NOV 17-21

17 18 Intermediate

Boys Volleyball

Regionals

19 Intermediate

Girls Volleyball

Regionals

Anti-Bullying

Symposium

20 Harbourfront

Gr 2 & 3 Ms.

Zampino/

Hewitt

Sewing Club

21

24 25 26 Intermediate

Boys Volleyball

City Finals

27 Int Girls Volley-

ball Finals

Sewing Club

28

Principal’s Message October 2014 The Virtue for the month of October is GRATITUDE. We have already celebrated Thanksgiving and en-

joyed the time with family and friends. Our first school mass took place on Oct. 10, the feast day of Our

Lady of the Rosary. We gathered as a faith community to worship, and gave thanks for all of our blessings.

This month at we will express our gratitude through acts of charity with our Faith, Hope and Charity club

and we will start each day by recognizing what we have and giving praise to the Lord our God.

Our 100th anniversary celebration was a great success and it wouldn’t have been possible without the

dedication and time commitment from so many staff, parents and students. It was a pleasure to meet so

many alumni and former staff. Ms. Esser a former STVDP principal mentioned that we ought to make a

time capsule that could be opened in 100 years from now. This is definitely something to consider.

What’s New?

On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 we had our AGM (Annual General Meeting) and voted in our new

executive. Congratulations to our new CSAC Executive for the 2014-2015 school year. We look forward to

partnership in providing excellence to our school community.

Giovanna Raposo, Chair

Rosa Milito,Vice-Chair

Carol Domitric and Raylene Hogan, Co-Secretaries

Simon Jennings and Judith Heffernan, Co-Treasurers We bid adieu to our past CSAC executive:

Cristina Evans and Anne Matthews, Co-Chairs 2012-2014

Sonia Santarossa, Vice- Chair 2013-2014

Veronika Chandler, Secretary 2013-2014

Mary Walsh, Secretary 2012-2013

Rosemary Skiba-Bissada, Treasurer 2012-2014

It has been a pleasure working with our CSAC executive over these past two years. Your commitment and

gift of time has been greatly appreciated by staff, students and parents.You have truly enhanced the learn-

ing of all our students and given freely of your time and expertise. Along with our parents you have made

enrichment programs a possibility at St. Vincent de Paul for all our students. Thank you for your help as

we transition into the new school year with our new CSAC executive. God Bless all of you!!!

Curriculum News

Our students have done well in EQAO results this year. The grade 3 and 6 students have surpassed the pro-

vincial standard of having 75% of students at level 3&4. Please keep in mind that EQAO is one tool in as-

sessing student achievement. Our continuous school assessment policy and report cards are also very im-

portant assessment tool.

EQAO results

2013-2014 Reading Writing Math

Grade 3 76 84 80

Grade 6 85 86 74

Principal’s Message Cont’d...

Safety

We had our first Safe School meeting on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 3:30 to 4:30. Our Safe School

Committee members consist of staff members Ms. Choucair, Ms. Pavesi, Ms. Perez and Ms. Vieira,

parent members, Ms. Mancuso and Ms. Chandler, and student members Jenelle A., Emma B., Pauli-

na B., Chelsea G., Olivia K., and Sebastian J. There a total of 4 meetings throughout the year. The

next meetings will be on Dec. 4, 2014, Feb. 12, and April 16, 2015.The Safe School Committee has

input into our Safe School Plan for the 2014-2015 school year and brings forth safety concerns from

staff, students and parents.

We strive to be a scent free school! We ask that our entire school community kindly refrain from

wearing or using any products with a strong scent such as perfume, deodorant, hair spray,

hair lotions, body sprays, hand sanitizers, laundry detergent, etc. Please make sure that your

child also does not come into contact with anyone wearing a strong scent before coming to

school. Use unscented products. Thank you for you adherence to this very impor tant request.

On Friday, October 17, at 10:00 am we had our first lockdown practice of the year with our commu-

nity liaison officer. Officer Eric Berridge gave us a thumbs up and also gave us some recommenda-

tions. Our next lockdown practices will be on Jan. 8 and Feb. 25, 2015. If the school ever has to go

into an emergency lockdown the parents will not have access to the school. Rest assured that we

will keep the students safely in the classrooms until clearance is given. Lockdowns can be initiated

by Police and/or Principals if students and staff become at risk of a suspected unsafe situation. This

could be a threat that is internal to the school or external within the community. These include such

events as a chemical spill, severe weather, student/stranger intrusion, a weapon threat, and police

activity in the neighbourhood. The purpose of calling a lockdown is to ensure the safety of all.

Halloween is fast approaching. We ask that no sweet treats to eat be brought in on October

31, 2014. It is too much sugar for our students in one day and we are teaching our students to

always eat healthy. Healthy eating continues to be part St. Vincent de Paul’s annual Health

Action Plan. If you wish to bring in a Halloween treat please bring in a fruit or vegetable

snack, pencils, erasers or stickers for the students. Thank you for your support.

K. Schneider

NEWS……

The Faith, Hope and Charity team would like to thank everyone who donated a tooth

brush and/or toothpaste! The charity run by Toronto doctor Andrew Simone and his

wife Joan Simone is a registered Canadian charity, Canadian Food for Children and is

entirely run by volunteers. The toiletries collected will be sent to those in need in de-

veloping countries. In total, we received 194 toothbrushes and 144 tubes of toothpaste

making it a total of 338 dental hygiene products. These products will be shipped off at

the end of the week. If you have any extra toothpaste or toothbrushes, please bring

them to Ms. Fantetti in the North Building or Ms. Follett’s classroom in the south

building.

EDMODO

We are now using edmodo for Ms. Zampino’s classroom and for students to check their ed-modo page for classroom updates and recent posted pictures from our last trip. All students

in Ms. Zampino’s class are aware of it and all students have logged on with the teacher or

with a parent.

The website is www.edmodo.com www.edmodo.com

NEWS Cont’d…

PALS at St. Vincent de Paul!

Beginning in November, a group of Grade 5-8 students at St. Vincent de Paul will begin a leadership program during lunch recess called PALS (Playground Activity Leaders in the

School). They will be leading Grade 1-3 students through games and activities during lunch recess.

Three main goals of the PALS program are: to encourage students to be physically active by playing games during recess, to prevent bullying from happening within our school and to

give children the opportunity to become leaders on the playground. PALS leaders will be trained by our Public Health nurse and Mrs. Perez, who will oversee the program. They will

meet regularly to learn new games and discuss leadership and conflict resolution strategies. Stay tuned for more information about our leaders!

Planning for Your Future—Guidance Corner

During the month of October, students in most intermediate classes began to develop their Individual

Pathways Plan (IPP), as they prepare to enter high school and think about what they would like to do

beyond secondary school. Students created accounts on myBlueprint and began to set goals for them-

selves, with a focus on learning skills; thought about the courses that they will be taking in high school;

started to develop a resume; and explored various occupations and post-secondary pathways across

Canada.

Parents are encouraged to ask their intermediate child(ren) to show them the work that they may have

done on myBlueprint and encourage them to continue to develop their plan for the future. If interested,

parents are invited to create their own account where they can follow their child’s progress. Simply

begin by going to www.myblueprint.ca/tcdsb and follow simple links.

Please contact me, amatof@tcdsb.org if you would like detailed instructions on how to create an ac-

count and follow your child’s progress.

High School Applications

Parents of grade 8 students are reminded to be sure to get those high school applications back to the

school and accurately completed so that the school can submit them to the Board by November 10th.

You will also be receiving the After 8 student guide and parent guide to help you through the process of

completing the application form. Ask your child about it if you do not see one by early November.

If you would like to see the books before they arrive or if you would like one in an alternate language,

follow this link: http://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/GuidanceCoopEd/

Transition%20to%20High%20School/Pages/default.aspx

Guidance Corner Cont’d

October will be a busy month for the grade 8 students as they begin the high school application process. The After

8 transition guides for both students and parents will be delivered to the school soon, so you can expect to learn

more about the process when your child brings them home. Here is a list of the important dates:

Monday, October 27th, 2014 – The applications will be available for printing at the school. Expect the ap-

plication to come home on or just after this date.

Monday, November 10th, 2014 – Applications are due back at the School Board. Therefore, they must be

returned to the school well before to ensure early arrival. Teachers will provide due dates to your child so

please be sure to return the forms on time and completed correctly.

Don’t forget to visit prospective Catholic Secondary Schools. Open House dates have been posted in all schools,

so you are encouraged to visit your local secondary schools to learn about the programs that they offer.

Study Skills Tips Organizational Skills Use a planner to keep track of homework assignments, projects and tests on a daily basis

Enter each assignment as you receive it, make notes and receive reminders Organize your notes and homework assignments by subjects in separate colour-coded

notebooks and folders Keep a ‘to do’ list and prioritize it on an ongoing basis Time Management Skills Review material right after class when it is fresh in your memory

Plan ahead and stick to your schedule

Prioritize what you need to accomplish and how long you will spend on each subject or assignment

Break your workload down into manageable blocks of time. Space out your studying. Look for opportunities to study or complete assignments in advance Note Taking Skills Identify key information and capture it in a style that supports effective studying

When you capture the key ideas, summarize them in language that works for you Keep your notes organized and highlight important information. It will be invaluable for tests.

Mr. F. Amato, TCDSB Elementary Teacher-Guidance Counsellor

WE DAY EVENT

On Thursday, October 2nd, the Faith Hope and Charity club went on a trip to the annual We Day event. We had lots of fun! We saw Chris Hadfield, Queen Noor, Lights, Hedley, R5, Karl Wolf, big Sean, Katie Couric, Nelly Furta-do, Sean Desman, Joe Jonas, and of course Marc and Craig Kielburger and many more! We learned about peo-ple around the world who have limited resources and are in desperate need of our help and support. We were inspired by the stories we heard and learned about how we can make a difference to change the world. All of us can make a difference if we work together. Stay tuned for Faith Hope and Charity Club news, coming soon! We will be the change, together!

Monthly Update from the

Toronto Catholic District School Board

November 2014

Share Your Stories of Charity TCDSB Wave of Charity will be showcased through monthly videos throughout the school year. Submit your stories and photos to

Robert.gallo@tcdsb.org. Visit our website for more information, or to view the video for October. http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/

NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/YearOfCharity/Pages/Heart-of-Charity.aspx

Lift Up Your Hearts and Keep the Wave of Charity Moving Across the Board!

Share your stories via twitter @TCDSB #waveofcharity

Reminder: Education and Community Resource Fair Helping parents of children with special needs link with resources within the TCDSB and the community

November 8th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Catholic Education Centre

http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/education-and-community-resources-fair-2014.aspx

Health Update—Ebola In response to Ebola concerns, staff from the Board’s Occupational Health and Safety Department and Facilities Department have been

reviewing and auditing school cleaning, disinfection and infection control measures since September 2014. Staff and students are re-

minded to wash their hands frequently and cough into your sleeve. Staff are also working closely with Toronto Public Health on moni-

toring school absenteeism.

The Board has posted resource material from the medical authorities on Ebola.

http://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/HealthandSafety/Pages/Default.aspx

Parents are reminded to contact the school office if your child is returning from West Africa or any other location affected by the Ebola

November Events/Observances

November 1 All Saints Day https://www.tcdsb.org/news/othernews/2014/pages/all-saints-day.aspx November 2 All Souls Day https://www.tcdsb.org/news/othernews/2014/pages/all-souls'-day.aspx National Down Syndrome Awareness Week November 1-7, 2014

http://www.cdss.ca/ November 5, 2014—Take Our Kids to Work Day

November 11, 2014—Remembrance Day

Angel Foundation Gala Royale November 14, 2014. Mark Your Calendars! http://www.tcdsb.org/

news/newsreleases/pages/evening-to-feed-the-soul-gala-royale.aspx

French Immersion Workshop for Parents Saturday, November 15th

8:30 am—3:30 pm at the Catholic Education Centre, 80 Sheppard Avenue East

Visit our website for more information www.tcdsb.org

November 16-23—Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week

November 27—Caucus Meeting (Swearing in of new Board of Trustees; election of Chair and Vice-

Chair)

Remember to follow @TCDSB on Twitter for all the latest news and important information throughout the

year.