St. Nicho las of Bar i Catho l ic Schoo l 363 Rogers Road, Toronto, Ontar io

M6E 1R6 Tel: (416)393-5355

Principal’s & Vice-Principal’s Corner February was a busy month for St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School. We observed Black History Month, celebrated the 100th Day of School, and participated in ‘Pink Shirt Day’ promoting inclusivity and anti-bullying. We had a Valentine Dance and enjoyed various ‘Carnaval’ activities and contests. We even enjoyed yummy croissants and hot chocolate at the French Café! Our Gr. 7s and 8s began the Ballroom Dance Program, students from Grades 1 to 6 had a great time at the lunch Lego Club, the Gr. 6s started the afterschool Cooking Club while the students in Grades 1 to 4 had the opportunity to join the Northern Karate program offered at lunch. In addition, our Gr. 2s had their first confessions and received the sacrament of Reconciliation. During February, students also received first term reports. Parents had the opportunity to see how students progressed during first term in addition to possible next steps and goals for students to work towards in second term. Extra-curricular activities, including Intermediate Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball and Junior W5H took place with the Boys’ Basketball Team capturing the Division Championship pennant. February also saw the departure of Ms. Pellegrino for her maternity leave and the arrival of her replacement, Ms. Dias.

During the month of March, we will be focusing on the virtue of for-giveness. Forgiveness is an important cornerstone of our faith and we need to let our actions be guided by Jesus who modeled forgive-ness both in life and in death. Nearly everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. These wounds can leave feelings of anger, bitterness, even vengeance. By embracing forgiveness, we are not minimizing responsibility or justifying the wrong doing. When we forgive each other, we are taking responsibility for our actions and letting go of the burden of resentment. Letting go of grudges makes way for compassion, kindness, and peace in our lives. The virtue of forgiveness is a gift to others as well as a gift to our-selves.

This year the season of Lent also spans the month of March. Lent is a time of journey with Jesus. Through prayer, fasting, and giving of money and time to those in need, we are able to see our lives in light of His. As a school community, we will invite the students to live simple acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to help enrich their spiritual Lenten journeys as well as teach them about being other-centred.

On behalf of the staff at St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School, we wish you a March filled with many blessings and the joy of forgiveness. May God bless us during our Lenten journey and provide us with the support necessary to participate fully in this season of penance, reflection, fasting, and almsgiving so that we may become Easter people who support, uphold, and proclaim life.

Ms. A. Arciero & Ms. A. Grossi

Catholic School Parent Council (CSPC) Due to the severe winter weather, our January CSPC meeting was resched-uled for March 7, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the library. Everyone is welcome.

Principal Ms. Anna Arciero

Vice-Principal Ms. Antonietta Grossi

Secretaries Ms. Isa Pucci

Ms. Josie Griffo

Superintendent Mr. John Wujek

(416)222-8282 Ext. 5371

Trustee Mr. F. D’Amico

(416)222-8282 Ext. 3406

Parish St. Matthew’s Catholic Church

706 Old Weston Road Toronto, ON, M6N 3B8

Rev. Andrzej Grecki (416)653-7191

CSPC Chair

Tania Delgado tania.i.delgado@gmail.com

School Website: www.tcdsb.org/stnicholasofbari/

CPIC Parent Engagement TCDSB:

www.tcdsb.org/cpic

OAPCE Toronto Provincial Voice for Parents:

www.tcdsb.org.oapce-toronto

ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI CATHOLIC SCHOOL SENTINEL

~ March 2019 ~

Stay in touch with the latest news throughout the school year: Follow @TCDSB on Twitter

Enrollment: 610 School Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch Hour: 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Rory McGuckin, Director of Education ~ 80 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, ON, M2N 6E8 ~ Maria Rizzo, Board Chair

The March Break The March Break is from Monday, March 11th to Friday, March 15th. During this time, there are no classes as the school is closed. Classes resume on Monday, March 18th. The Staff at St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School wishes our students and their fam-ilies a safe, relaxing, and entertaining time. Happy March Break!

Follow us on @Stnichofbari

Love Virtue Certificates During the month of February, the students at St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School explored the virtue of love. They discovered that love takes on many different forms. It is multifaceted and it is not always easy to express or understand. However, love is at the core of our Christian faith and it is the foundation for all the other virtues. Thank you to the Grade 3s in Ms. Rodrigues’s, Ms. Dellenbag’s, Ms. Paniccia’s & Ms. Vitale’s classes for decorating the Love Virtue Bulletin Board in front of the main office. Inspired by their experiences, the students shared beautiful prints of what love means to them and they reminded us that when we give a little love, it always comes back to us. Congratulations to the following Love award winners: Aryanna, James, Tatiana, Catalina, Andre, Nina & Aliyah (ELP); Helena, Joseph, Carolina, Nicholas & Jayden (Gr. 1); Keanna, Jessica, Mafalda, Jahn, David & Nathan P (Gr. 2); Caden, Dante, Gabriella, Clara, Leo-nardo, Joao & Liam (Gr. 3); Bianca, Kevin, Sophia, Melanie, Angelo & Angela (Gr. 4); Alexis, Gael, Daniel, Emma & Cathy (Gr.5);Miguel, Isaac, Gabriel, Mariana & Alexia (Gr. 6); Giulia, Gian Luca, Ashley, Gui, Justin & Tatiana (Gr.7);and Yanick, Emma P, Johnny & Vanessa (Gr. 8). WE Committee During Lent, the WE Committee will be running a campaign to support an alterna-tive income program in struggling nations around the world. Stay tuned for addi-tional information in the near future and please continue to assist us in our efforts to make a change in the lives of those less fortunate. Thank you! Groundhog Day

On February 2nd, the students and staff at St. Nicholas of Bari were focused on our local weather reporter, Wiarton Willie, the groundhog, to find out if we would have an early spring or not. Well, once Willie climbed out of his burrow, he did not see his shadow and scampered about to play instead of going back into his den. Willie thinks it’s going to be an early spring. We sure hope you’re right, Willie!

National Sweater Day The St. Nicholas of Bari Eco Club, under the guidance of Ms. Ricci and Ms. Spadafora, observed National Sweater Day on February 4th. This day was established to help raise awareness about renewable energy and change behaviours around energy consumption. Through various posters in the school and PA announcements, the Eco Club reminded us about how we can play an important role in fighting climate change by using energy wisely. If all Canadians low-ered their thermostats by just two degrees Celsius, it would reduce greenhouse gas emission by about four megatons, which is the same as taking almost 700,000 cars off the road. So, on National Sweater Day, the students and staff at St. Nicholas of Bari lowered the school thermostat one degree Celsius and donned on their sweaters. Well done! Winter Walk Day Thanks to everyone who joined us on February 6th for Winter Walk Day at St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School . Our school took this opportunity to encourage everyone, students, staff, and families, to walk and focus on improved health and well-being, active lifestyles and building safer communities for everyone. Intermediate Boys’ Basketball Tournament

The Intermediate Boys’ Basketball Team trained well for their Divisional Tourna-ment, held at St. Nicholas of Bari on February 5th and, after two months of practice and exhibition games, they were able to win all their games and a Cham-pionship banner. As Divisional Champions, they participated in the Regional Tour-nament at St. Patrick on February 11th, and placed 3rd. The boys passed well, played tough defense, and displayed good sportsmanship. Congratulations, Yan-

nick, Andrew, Gianmarco, Adriano, Jayden, Jessy, Evan, Chad, Nicholas, Johnny, Aiden WM, Diego, Aiden B, and Owen, on a job well done. Thanks and congrats, as well, to Coach Perlin on a great season!

Intermediate Girls’ Basketball Tournament On February 8th, our Intermediate Girls’ Basketball Team participated in the South Region Basketball Tournament held at St. Nicholas of Bari. The girls displayed a com-petitive spirit and worked hard during their games. They finished 4th after four hard fought games. Thank you, Georgina, Emma P, Emma C, Kathleen, Celine, Madelyn, Leah, Raquel, Tiffany, Cassandra, Kawanii, and Kirah for representing our school with pride

and a positive attitude. Thanks, Coach Zanini, for training our students for their tournament.

‘Carnaval’ Week ‘Carnaval’ Week at St. Nicholas of Bari took place from Friday, February 8th to Thursday, February 14th. The students were involved in fun activi-ties daily and they even enjoyed yummy croissants and hot chocolate at the French Café on February 22nd. The Grade 1 to 8 classes participated in the Poster Contest. Congratulations to the winners in each grade for their posters: Lucas M (Gr. 1), Ruben D (Gr. 2), Mila (Gr. 3), Andrea V (Gr. 4), Denver (Gr. 5), Ana S (Gr. 6), Mariza (Gr. 7), and Julianna (Gr. 8). On Thursday, February 14th, the day ended with an announcement of the

Page 2 NEW REGISTRANTS WELCOMED: Call St. Nicholas of Bari at 416-393-5355 or TCDSB Admissions Department at 416-222-8282, ext. 2383

March 2019

Newsletter

Pizza Draw

Student Name:

______________

Grade:

_____________

Parent Signature:

______________

Each month, we ask that this portion of the news-

letter be filled out at home and returned to

school. We hope this will encourage students to

bring the newsletter home and share our school infor-mation with their parents.

Students who return this entry will be entered in a

draw and will be eligible to win a free pizza slice for

themselves and their siblings in attendance at

St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School.

February’s Winner:

Grade 3

winners of Qui est Bonnhomme? and a school wide game of ‘Carnaval’ Salut. Congratulations to Laila L (Gr. 4) and Julia DS (Gr. 3) for guessing Ms. Krupa was Bonhomme. Congratu-lations as well to Ms. Valiulis’s class for covering all the num-bers on the class card and winning a class pizza party to be determined at a future date. Thank you to Mme Brutto, Mme Miranda and M. Zanini for organizing ‘Carnaval’ week and mak-ing it an enjoyable one for the students and staff. Joyeux Carnaval! 100th Day Celebration Extra! Extra! February 11th was Day 100! The Primary students participated in many activities: students brought in groups of 100 objects to share with the class and completed Math activities with 100. The Grade 1s presented their collections and explained if they counted their items by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s or 10’s, the Gr. 1s and Gr. 1/2 made 100 monsters, and the Gr. 2/3s explored making 100 three different ways. They used manipulatives, open number lines, and algorithms. Way to go, boys and girls! You’re more than half way there. Only 94 days to go! Valentine Dance

On February 14th, the students, staff, and par-ents of St. Nicholas of Bari Catholic School en-joyed a fun Red & Pink School Valentine Dance to the beat of DJ Calouro. Heartfelt thanks to Mr. Calouro who transformed our gym into a

lovely venue and CSPC for selling popcorn and sprinkle cookies after the dance. A good time was had by all and CSPC fund-raised $670. Junior W5H Tournament

The Junior W5H Team participated in the Prelimi-nary Tournament at St. John Bosco C. S. on Febru-ary 20th. The team put forth an excellent effort and tied one game. Unfortunately, they did not advance, but displayed dedication and sportsman-ship. Congratulations, Tiago, Gabriel, Rodrigo, Ped-

ro, Nicholas, Antonio, and Sara. Special thanks to Mrs. Panic-cia for coaching the team. ‘Light Up Your Life’ Workshops The Grade 4s enjoyed hands-on and informative workshops wherein they discovered natural and artificial sources of light. During the workshops, the students learned how light can reflect and bend through experimentation. Students also learned about transparent, translucent, and opaque objects around the classroom and explored refracting and bending light with a flashlight. Structures: Under Construction

On February 27th, Scientist Kathy partnered with Mrs. Giannini’s, Mrs. Valiulis’ and Mrs. Ricci’s Gr. 1 students to ignite their scientific curiosity about the attributes and properties of struc-tures. Through a wide variety of engaging hands-on activities, students discovered rigid, flexi-

ble, solid and smooth materials in different types of struc-tures. The Grade 1s put their knowledge gained from these experiments to good use and worked together to build a framework which they then tested for strength and stability. We thank Scientist Kathy for a great learning experience! Pink Shirt Day Travis Price and David Shepherd started Pink Shirt Day in an attempt to stand up for a fellow student who was being bul-lied simply for wearing a pink shirt to school. Today this act of solidarity has become an international movement. Bullying affects everyone and can be extremely hurtful. At St. Nich-olas of Bari Catholic School, staff works hard not to have students engage in bullying and encourages them to work together to elimi-nate it. On February 27th, the St. Nicholas of Bari community was encouraged to wear something pink to symbolize that, as a socie-ty, we will not tolerate bullying anywhere.

Subway Read a Book Certificates Congratulations to Soraia, Gr. 3, Melanie, Gr. 4, and Cassandra, Gr. 8. They received a FREE Kid’s Subway Meal for reading 3 or more books during February 2019. Well done! Winter Clothing Winter is a fun season for students that allows them to experience and enjoy a vari-ety of outdoor activities and sports if they are dressed appropriately. During the win-ter months, students should be wearing coats/jackets, mittens/gloves, hats, scarves and boots when they go outside to play at the recesses. It is also im-portant that coats/jackets are buttoned or zipped up. Please take the time to work with your child to ensure that he/she knows how to button/zip up his/her coat/jacket. All stu-dents must have a pair of indoor shoes at school. Boots are for outdoor use and not to be worn in the classroom. Stu-dents need to have shoes on at all times, especially when go-ing to the washroom, changing classrooms, or participating in emergency drills for fire or evacuation. It is also a good idea to have your child carry a pair of socks in his/her backpack in case of wet feet. Thank you for your co-operation in ensuring your children are coming to school dressed properly. Winter Weather and Related Alerts In 2016, the City of Toronto introduced a new two tiered system for cold weather alerts. The Medical Officer of Health will declare a Cold Weather Alert or an Extreme Cold Weather Alert. A Cold Weather Alert will be issued when temperatures are expected to be –15°C or lower or wind chill is expected to be –20°C or less. A cold weather alert will not necessarily translate into indoor recess as there is a low to moderate risk of frostbite. Students are reminded to dress appropriately for the winter weather conditions. An Extreme Cold Weather Alert will be issued when temperatures or wind chill are expected to reach –30°C or colder for at least two hours. An extreme weather alert will translate into shortened or indoor recesses to ensure the safety of stu-dents and staff. The TCDSB protocol for cold weather can be reviewed at https//www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/ HealthandSafety/Pages/Cold-Weather-Alerts.aspx. Should it become necessary to cancel school bus transporta-tion or close schools this winter due to extreme cold or haz-ardous conditions related to accumulation of snow and ice, the Communications Department and the Toronto Student Transportation Group will endeavour to provide announce-ments and updates by 7:00 a.m. through the following vehi-cles: News releases to radio and television outlets in Toron-to; TCDSB on Twitter; the Board’s 24 hour information line at 416-222-8282, Ext. 2873; the Board’s website at https://www.tcdsb.org/ FORSTUDENTS/ Healthand-Safety/Pages/Weather-Related-Safety-Concerns. aspx; and the Toronto Student Transportation Group at http://www. torontoschoolbus.org. Get all the information all year long by following Twitter @ TCDSB.

Page 3 A community of FAITH anchored in HOPE with HEART and CHARITY. FAITH, HOPE and CHAR-

Kindergarten Registration for September 2019 is open and children born in 2015 are eligible. In order to complete reg-istration, parents need to complete the JK registration form via the Board’s online website at http://soar.tcdsb.org/ Login.aspx and then drop by the office with the following doc-uments: child’s birth certificate; immigration papers, if appli-cable; baptismal certificate; immunization records; two utility bills as proof of residency; and a Direction of School Support. Additional information can be found at 416-222-8282 at Ext. 5320 or 5314 or www. tcdsb.org/kindergartenregistra- tion. ~ Thank you! ~

High School Registration is Underway!

High school registration nights have begun and will continue into the month of March. Be sure to read through your child’s acceptance packag-es and complete all of the necessary forms be-fore submitting them on the date of registra-tion.

Pay particular attention to the Reach-Ahead course that is being offered by some high schools in the TCDSB. Your child may be enti-tled to a credit for taking a four week summer school course. This course is a great opportuni-ty for your child to become familiar with his/her new environment, to meet the new stu-dents with whom they will be attending school, and complete one credit before they begin high school in September. It’s a win-win situation if your child’s school offers the course.

Exchange of Information Meetings

Representatives from all of the high schools will be in contact with teachers this month to dis-cuss your child’s progress and to ensure that the secondary school is prepared to receive their new grade 9 students as well as meet any needs that they may have. Teachers will also discuss proper placement (e.g., academic, ap-plied or locally developed) for your child at these meetings.

Change of High School Forms

Change of High School Forms are available in late February/early March. Students, who would like to attempt to find a placement in a different TCDSB high school, are to request a form from their teacher or principal. Forms must be completed and submitted as soon as possible. Please remember that submitting a Change of High School Form does not guarantee your child a spot in a different high school. Ad-mittance is still based on availability of space.

Literacy Skills

Your child is growing up in a media-rich, technological world. Changes in society are happening so quickly that children need time to think about the underlying messages in print or in oth-er media. Here are some ways you can help to foster critical literacy skills:

• Help your child understand the speaker’s viewpoint or per-spective;

• Discuss the fairness of the message and look for the mis-leading effects of missing information;

• Talk about how language is used to persuade people; for example, talk about the powerful effects of language in advertising; and

• Ask if your child has learned something new that prompts new questions. Does it change what your child thinks about the topic? How can he or she find out if it is accurate?

Geometry

The ability to identify and describe shapes, sizes, positions, directions and movement is important in many work situations, such as construction and design, as well as in creating and un-derstanding art. Becoming familiar with shapes and spatial relationships in their environment will help children grasp the principles of geometry. Below are some suggestions for what you can do to help your child develop a better understanding of the principles of geometry.

Identify shapes and sizes. When playing with your child, identify things by their shape and size. “Pass me a sugar cu-be.” “Take the largest cereal box out of the cupboard.”

Build structures using blocks or old boxes. Discuss the need to build a strong base. Ask your child which shapes stack easi-ly and why.

Hide a toy or a book and use directional language to help your child find it. Give clues using words and phrases such as up, down, over, under, between, through, and on top of.

Ask your child to draw a picture of your street or neigh-bourhood. Talk about where your home is in relation to a neigh-bour’s home or the corner store. Use directional words and phrases like beside and to the right/left of.

Page 4 For general information about the Toronto Catholic District School Board, please visit the website at www.tcdsb.org.

Disclaimer ~ From time to time, the school will send home information from non-profit and for-profit organizations. We remind parents and guardians to exercise caution any time they participate in or enrol their child(ren) in an outside organization’s event after school hours. The school and the TCDSB are not liable for the quality of service these organizations provide or for the safety of the participants. We forward this information to keep our parent community informed of the wide variety of opportunities available within our local community.

Kindly keep the March 2019 Calendar of Events

for future reference.

Literacy

Corner

Numeracy

Corner