Weekly Update for Friday, April 20, 2018

Upcoming Important Dates

April 23 Pita Pit Day April 25 Lunch Basket April 26 Civvies Day Subway Day Camp Tanamakoon Information evening 6:00 p.m. in the Library April 27 PA Day – staff are in in-services all day

Parking Lot Safety

Thank you to everyone who has taken notice of

our new signs and who are taking some extra

time in the morning to slow down for the safety

of our students – your children. Staff will

continue to direct the flow of traffic to the kiss

and ride – please continue to help us be a safe

school.

September 2018 Kindergarten “staggered entry” schedule: Tuesday, September 4 new to JK/SK interviews Wednesday, September 5 new to JK/SK interviews Thursday, September 6 staggered entry for half of JK students & full entry for SK students Friday, September 7 staggered entry for “other” half of JK students with SK students Monday, September 10 full day attendance for all kindergartens! *Letters will come home at the end of June for all JK and SK students.*

Do you currently have a student in Gr. 6? If so, read below…

In September 2018, our Gr. 7 students (current Gr. 6 students) are off to our annual week of fun at Camp Tanamakoon! Students will leave on September 24 and will return on September 28, 2018. We will be hosting an information session this Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. in the Library for parents. We hope to see you there!

X Movement will be visiting with us May 2, 3, and 4…parents are welcome to join

us! See attached flyer!

Attached you will find our proposed dates for next school year. These dates are not definite until the

Ministry of Education approves!

Assumption Leadership students are back with us! Out in yard at lunch with students

running organized co-operative games!

EQAO :

All grades 3 & 6 students across the province will once again participate in the provincial testing

done by the EQAO (Educational Quality and Accountability Office). These tests will be held

during these weeks:

May 22nd 2018 - June 4th 2018

Please plan appointments and trips at other times. Thank you

Annual EQAO ASSESSMENT

The provincial assessment for our grades 3 and 6 classes is scheduled to take place May 22 to June

4th. It is important for parents to ensure that their children are present at school and well-rested

during this time period in order for students to function at their peak performance levels. It is also

important not to stress our children unnecessarily about the EQAO testing, so it’s a good idea to

encourage children to do their best in a gentle and calm manner. We attempt to keep routines intact as

much as possible during the testing period so that no undue stress is placed upon our students. We

thank parents in advance for their support and cooperation during the assessment period. WE kindly

ask to please plan appointments and trips in a manner that will avoid any conflict with testing

dates. Thank you

Catholic Education Week May 6-11, 2018

Renewing the Promise

We remember those who worked so hard and sacrificed so much over the past 170 years in

Ontario to bring it to fruition: teachers, parents, trustees, school/board leaders, clergy, and

religious communities in particular. We remember and reclaim our Catholic tradition, our

Catholic values, and our Catholic faith.

“The heart and soul of Catholic education is Jesus Christ, and our school system finds its very

reason for existence in its communication of the Christian message. The goal of Catholic

education is nothing less than a truly holistic formation of persons who will be living witnesses to

the faith.” (Fulfilling the Promise, p. 2)

Class Placements for Next September

We would like to spend a moment sharing with you some insights into the process we follow when we

create new classes for next September. It is important to realize that we spend a great deal of time and

energy in trying to create the most well balanced classes possible, considering the needs of all our students

in an equitable fashion. Among the considerations we contemplate are striking a balance of academic

functioning within a class, as well as matching personalities among our students as best we can (sometimes

best friends don’t necessarily make best classmates, for example), and attempting to achieve balances with

gender, learning styles as well as teaching styles and personalities of our staff. Briefly, it is a complex and

involved process, that once completed, is difficult and unlikely to be undone. Because we invest so much

detail and thought into this process, we are confident the classes we create represent the best-case scenario

given all the factors we must consider. For this reason, we do not entertain switching students from one

class to another because a student or parent is unhappy with our decision. We stand by the process we

follow and respectfully ask parents to support our decisions and trust our professionalism with this complex

task – thank you in advance for your understanding.

I kindly ask that we do not approach staff members with requests/preferences for teachers for the upcoming

school year. Final decisions on classroom placement are those of the administration. Having said that,

please feel free to address “letters of information” that will provide insight for staff to consider during the

placement process. Please address these letters to the attention of Mr. Vigna. I respectfully ask that these

letters of information not include any requests, preferences or exclusion of teaching staff for the upcoming

school year.

All letters of Information are due by May 4th 2018.

As always, please call the school if there are any questions. Thank you.

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

In the interest of student safety and the ability to communicate with

home, students will not be permitted to use their electronic

communicate devices in the school. However, students may bring

these devices with them but the devices must be turned off and

placed in student backpacks while on school property. Any unauthorized use of photographic,

video, audio or other electronic communication devices is strictly prohibited on all School Board

property and during any school related event.

JK & SK REGISTRATION

Registrations are still being accepted!

If you have not registered your school, age child or know of someone who has not, please ask them

to drop by the school as soon as possible. Please be sure that you bring your child’s baptismal

certificate and birth certificate with you at time of registration. Those children eligible for JK are

those who will be 4 years of age on or before December 31st, 2018 and for SK placement those

children who will be 5 on or before December 31st, 2018.

ARE YOU MOVING? If you know your family is moving out of our St. Raphael’s School

boundary, we would like to know. Each year a number of families

move away and it helps for our planning purposes when we have

this information as soon as possible. Thank you.

Just a reminder that our uniform provider is InSchoolWear! Please click

attached link for more information. https://iswuniforms.com/

If asked for a school code, St. Raphael School’s code is : SREH