St. Margaret Catholic School News

SEPTEMBER 2016

Principal’s Message Dear Parents and Caregivers, Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year and the celebration of the Year of the Parish as we continue our three year journey focusing on “Together With One Voice: Harmonizing Our Faith through Family, Parish and School.” I am excited to be joining the St. Margaret community. It is inspiring to be welcomed into such a vibrant community. We have already had meetings with our CSPC and with Father Andy and with many staff. We hope that you had a restful and rejuvenating summer as we welcome back all our students, staff, and families to this exciting 2016 – 2017 school year full of many opportunities for learning. A special welcome to families new to the St. Margaret community. Attached to this newsletter are a number of forms. Please complete these and return them to school as soon as possible. We are looking to deliver this newsletter electronically in the future. We will thus be able to redirect funds that we would have been spent on photocopy-ing to our students while also being responsible to our environment. Please indicate on the student information sheet your email address in order that we can work toward achieving this objective. We look forward to working together with all members of our community with the goal of ensuring a safe, enjoyable and successful school year for all stu-dents. God Bless, L. Warburton S. Ranalli Principal Vice Principal Regular School Hours 8:00 am Outdoor Supervision Begins 8:30 am Assembly 10:12-10:27 Morning Recess 11:15-12:15 Lunch Hour 1:40-1:55 Afternoon Recess 3:00 pm Dismissal School Calendar 2016-2017

PA Days 2016-2017 (No School for Students) October 7, 2016—Provincial Priorities November 18, 2016 - Parent Conferences December 2, 2016—Faith Development January 20, 2017– Assessment and Reporting February 17, 2017—Parent Conferences June 9, 2017—Assessment and Reporting June 30, 2017 - Provincial Priorities

Principal: L. Warburton Vice Principal: S. Ranalli

Secretary : V. Picillo Secretary : M. Barbara

Superintendant: P. Aguiar

416-222-8282

Trustee: M. Rizzo

416-512-3405

Parish: St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church 416-485-7781

Pastor: Fr. Andy

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOLBOARD TRUSTEES 2016-2017 Wards 1. Joseph Martino 416-512-3401

2. Ann Andrachuk 416-512-3402

3. Sal Piccininni, 416-512-3403

4. Patrizia Bottoni 416-512-3404

5. Maria Rizzo 416-512-3405 6. Frank D’Amico, 416-512-3406 Vice Chair 7. Michael Del Grande 416-512-3407 8. Gary Tanuan 416-512-3408

9. Jo-Ann Davis 416-512-3409

10. Barbara Poplawski 416-512-3410

11. Angela Kennedy, 416-512-3411

Chair 12. Nancy Crawford, 416-512-3412 13. Karina Dubrovskaya, 416-512-3417 Student Trustee 14. Allison Gacad, 416-512-3413 Student Trustee

St. Margaret Catholic School

85 Carmichael Avenue Toronto, On M5M 2X1

416-393-5249 x 0 50 Ameer Avenue

Toronto, On M6A 2L3 416-393-5249 x 3

First Instructional Day September 6, 2016

Thanksgiving Day October 10, 2016

Christmas Break Dec. 26, 2016- January 6, 2017

Family Day February 20, 2017

Mid-Winter Break March 13 - 17, 2017

Good Friday April 14, 2017 Easter Monday April 17, 2017

Victoria Day May 22, 2017

Last day of classes for students June 29, 2017

Virtue for the Month is Hospitality As we welcome our students back to school in Septem-ber it seems fitting that this month’s virtue is HOSPI-TALITY. Our staff have been busy preparing their classrooms, gathering together resources, supplies, and putting up bulletin boards that will invite the students back into a welcoming environment. Hospitality is more than just a welcoming back. Today hospitality is more important than ever and it is only through a deep moral obligation to hospitality that we can transform our communities. Matthew 25:40, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me”. Welcome to New Staff We would like to extend a warm welcome to the newest members of our staff: Ms. S. Vieira (Special Education): I am delighted to say that in my many conversations and meetings with our new team members, each of them has many gifts and talents to share with our stu-dents, and I am confident that St. Margaret school will be strengthened by their presence and dedication to our students. A fond farewell to Mr. Lee as he moves on to another adventure. We wish him much success and happiness in his future endeavours. Safe Arrival Program Please contact the school by phone, written note or e-mail if your child is going to be late or absent. Leave messages with the office, NOT on the teach-ers’ voice mail boxes. We are required to contact any parents who do not contact us and this saves us time and worry when we cannot get hold of parents. We will call home if the school has not been notified. Attendance and Punctuality Regular school attendance and punctuality are im-portant for student progress. Children should be kept home only when they are ill. Appointments whenever possible, should be arranged outside of school hours. Being on time for the start of class is important. The bell rings promptly at 8:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Your child(ren) should be in the school yard by this time so that they can assemble with their peers and be involved in all activities from the beginning of class. Students who arrive late disrupt the class and must come to the office for a late slip. On extremely cold/rainy days , chil-dren should not arrive in the morning or at noon hour until five minutes before the bell, at which time they will be allowed to go directly to their classes.

Medication / Student Illness Staff of the TCDSB are not permitted to administer any type of prescription medication during the school day unless we have written authorization signed by the par-ent and the physician. The forms to dispense any med-ication must be updated yearly and on a regular basis; these are available from the office. Also, please be ad-vised that staff cannot dispense non-prescription medi-cations to students, and students are not to keep medi-cation in their desks or knapsacks. When your children are ill, please keep them at home. Sick children do not learn well; they can spread germs to others and cannot be supervised indoors during outdoor activities. If chil-dren are well enough to come to school, they should be outside getting exercise and fresh air during recesses and other outdoor activities. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. Students with EPI-Pens/Allerjects are expected to

carry an EPI-Pen/Allerject with them at all times

and to have a second EPI-Pen in the health room as

a back-up. As per board protocol, all students must

carry 2 EPI-pens/Allejects for any excursion/

sporting event. Information Sheet Attached to this newsletter you will find a “Student In-formation and Permission Form.” It is critical that the school has up-to-date personal information on file. Please complete all sections and return it to the school as soon as possible. Bussing It is the responsibility of the bus company to advise par-ents of changes to schedules. School records are always updated later. Please be aware that students who ride buses are expected to do so consistently and to behave in an appropriate manner. Failure to do so may result in loss of transportation. Parents of primary and junior students must be at the bus stop to receive the children. Bus load-ing zones must be kept clear during pick-up and drop-off times in the morning and during dismissal at the end of the day. Please follow the bus zone signs posted in front of the school on Carmichael Avenue. Transportation will be provided by Toronto Student Transportation Group 416-394-4287. Please keep this number should it be nec-essary to contact the bus company. .

CSPC (Catholic School Parent Council) Meetings and Elections

The Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) fosters a positive relationship between the home and school and encourages a sense of community within the school. Elections for parent representatives of the CSPC will take place on Thursday, October 13th, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. Each parent seeking election must be self-nominated or nominated in writing, must have a child registered at the school, and must declare if he or she is employed by the school board. Nomination forms are included with this newsletter. Completed nomination forms must be returned to the principal by October 3rd. Details of the election procedures, and a list of nominees will be posted by October 6th on the community bulletin board. All parents have one vote; executive positions will be elected from the members of the school council. Meeting dates for the rest of the year will be confirmed by the members. Upcoming Events Curriculum Night Parents are invited to visit the school for our annual curriculum night . Date to be determined. Come out to meet your child’s teacher. Get ac-quainted with the curriculum, classroom/school expectations and events planned for the year. Parents are encouraged to attend this evening to show support for both the students and the staff. This evening is not intended to be for discussion of individual student progress. Discussion about your child(ren) can be accomplished through an appointment with the teacher at a mutually agree-able time, or at the first parent-teacher confer-ences. More information to follow Class Assignments A reminder that all class placements/teacher as-signments are considered tentative – especially during the month of September as enrolment fluctuates. We may also need to make adjust-ments to some individual classrooms and these are examined on a case by case basis – for exam-ple to adhere to the class caps as outlined by the Ministry of Education and TCDSB contractual obligations. It is the responsibility of the princi-pal to ensure that various needs and abilities are taken into consideration when changes are made. Your support and understanding in this matter, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Student Agendas As has become the practice, students from grades 1-8 will again be using personal organizers to keep track of homework assignments and as a communication device for parents. We ask par-ents to check them on a regular basis and to make appropriate comments when necessary. The agen-das are a necessary component of the curriculum and should be kept in a safe place at home. The cost of the agendas is $10.00. and students are asked to pay by Friday, September 9th. When the agenda arrives at home, please read the first few pages with your child(ren) and sign the bottom of the introductory letter indicating your support of the school’s expectations. Visitors It is board policy that ALL visitors must report to the office upon entering the school to sign in and receive a visitor’s badge. We welcome parents, but we have an obligation to know who is in the school and the reason for the visit. Parents, unless it is an emergency, please make arrangements to speak to staff at a mutually agreeable time. Com-mitment by staff to their students and their pro-grams take precedence over unexpected visits and interruptions. Parent Volunteers Parent volunteers are always welcome at St. Mar-garet School. If any parent is interested in becom-ing a parent volunteer, please contact the office. Approval of all volunteers must be obtained through the principal. When volunteering at the school, it is expected that a parent will not work in the classroom of his/her own child. Such direct involvement places unnecessary pressure on both the parent and the child. Exceptions to this rule apply only to out of classroom excur-sions. All parents who serve as volunteers are expected to recognize the im-portance of confidentiality with respect to events and incidents which occur in the school. Events and incidents should not be discussed by volun-teers in the community at large. If there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the school.

St. Margaret operates a nutrition program. The

program will begin in October. The program

relies on donations to operate. Donation forms

being sent home mid September.

From the Board

Open House for Elementary Gifted Stu-dents September 7th, 7-9 PM https://www.tcdsb.org/news/othernews/2016/pages/open-house-for-elementary-gifted-withdrawal-program.aspx

High School Open Houses Grade 8 students and their families are invited to learn more about their secondary school options at open houses this fall. For a complete schedule, see: https://www.tcdsb.org/school/OpenHouses/Pages/default.aspx

Interested in Parent Engagement? Catholic Parent Involvement Committee Elec-tions Coming October 3rd https://www.tcdsb.org/forparents/parentinvolvement/cpicelections/pages/scheduled-cpic-election-for-even-numbered-wards.aspx And October 5th https://www.tcdsb.org/forparents/parentinvolvement/cpicelections/pages/election-to-fill-cpic-vacancies.aspx Learn more about CPIC here: https://www.tcdsb.org/FORPARENTS/ParentInvolvement/Pages/default.aspx

Registration for Night School, Saturday Language Classes and eClass September 1st to October 7th Get detailed information online: https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/ContinuingEducation/Documents/flyer.pdf

Celebrating the Year of the Parish 2016-2017 The second year in our three year pastoral plan focusing on "Together With One Voice: Harmonizing our Faith Through Family, Parish and School". It is an opportunity to celebrate the important role that our parishes play in our school communities and in the lives of the students, staff and families that we serve. During the Year of the Parish, we look for ways to more fully engage our staff and students in the lives of their local parish community, and to welcome our pastors and parish community into school events and activities. Let's celebrate the Family-Parish-School partnership! Schools are encouraged to work with their local parish to develop their own parish project. Get more information and ideas here: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/YearoftheParish/Pages/Parish-Project.aspx and here: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/YearoftheParish/Pages/default.aspx

Dress Code Please be reminded that all students must adhere to the mandatory St. Margaret dress code in order to attend our school or school events outside of school unless otherwise specified. This consists of navy bottoms and white or navy tops for indoor wear at all times. Only new students will be given a grace period in or-der to have an opportunity to purchase appropriate at-tire.

Physical Education In order to participate fully and safely, students must come appropriately dressed for gym and sports activi-ties. We recommend shorts and a t-shirt, track suits and running shoes. If your child cannot participate in physical education classes please notify the school in writing as soon as possible. School Texts and Materials Please encourage your children to take care of their school supplies, texts and library books. If your child loses or damages school materials, you will be informed and a replacement fee may be charged. The school will provide your child with all the supplies necessary to do their work. Paper, duo-tangs, workbooks, pencils and pens, are all available from the classroom teacher. Calculators, rulers, geometry sets, markers and pencil crayons are provided for classroom use, depending on the grade, and parents may want to purchase these for personal use. Personal Belongings To avoid losses and disputes over ownership of lunch boxes, running shoes, and/or other belong-ings we ask that you write your child’s name on all belongings. Please do not allow your child to bring to school valuables such as collector cards, video games, IPODs etc., since they may be dam-aged or lost. Cell phones are discouraged at school, as the school cannot assume responsibility for these items if they are lost or damaged. Stu-dents who have these items in school will have them collected by the teachers if they are interfer-ing with the learning in the classrooms. Such items will be returned to the student at the end of the day for a first violation. If these items are col-lected a second time, parents will be asked to pick them up from the school. Parental support in this area is required and greatly appreciated.