May 2015 Newsletter - Halton Catholic District School Board

ST. MATTHEW CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1050 Nottinghill Gate
Oakville, Ontario L6M 2G3
Phone: 905-847-0088
Fax: 905-847-1014
www.hcdsb.org/matt/pages/newsletter.aspx
MAY 2015
PRINCIPAL: MRS. A. KORITKO
SECRETARY: MRS. S. VARRICCHIO
OFFICE ASSISTANT: MRS. M. BROPHY
SUPERINTENDENT: MR. C. CIPRIANO
ST. MATTHEW PARISH: FR. MARK GATTO
(905) 825-0219
“ALWAYS TOGETHER IN CHRIST”
ADMINISTRATOR’S MESSAGE
Catholic Education Week 2015 highlights the partnership that
remains the foundation of Catholic Education. During the
week of May3 - May 8, 2015, St. Matthew Catholic School is
celebrating Catholic Education Week: EXPLORING
PATHS OF JOY.
Each year, the Catholic community of
Ontario engages in a week-long
celebration of the unique identity and
distinctive contributions of Catholic
education during Catholic Education
Week. This year’s celebration is entitled, ‘Catholic
Education: Exploring Paths of Joy’ and will be held for the
week of May 3-8. The overall scriptural theme is taken from
Luke’s gospel account of the disciples on the road to
Emmaus (Luke 24:32), “Were not our hearts burning
within us while he was talking to us on the road?” We
are hopeful that as the body of Christ, we, too, feel our hearts
burning within us as we explore the paths of joy during this
week.
Our school community will celebrate Catholic Education
Week 2015 in ways that are appropriate to our students’ age.
We invite you to participate in one or other of these activities
as your personal time and work schedule may permit.
There are five sub-themes for each day of Catholic Education
Week:
Monday:
Walking Together and Sharing Our Stories
Tuesday:
Opening the Scripture
Wednesday:
Welcoming Others to the Table
Thursday:
Recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread
Friday:
Proclaiming the Good News
We hope to see many of you during our school celebrations.
St. Matthew Catholic School Staff
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WALK WITH JESUS
For the fifth year, the Halton Catholic District
School Board is pleased to host the Walk
With Jesus event on Thursday, May 7. The
walk will provide a unique opportunity to
evangelize our gospel values. The 20 student
representatives from each of our schools will participate in
the “Walk with Jesus” event. Students will exhibit a sense of
community, social justice and solidarity as they walk from
Bronte Provincial Park to Corpus Christi Secondary School
where they will participate in an outdoor mass. The HCDSB
students will demonstrate that “children helping children” is
an achievable goal and a valid aspiration.
TENTATIVE CLASS LIST
We will soon begin the process of preparing “tentative” class
plans for the 2015-2016 school year. We wish to advise you
that in forming class groupings, the following criteria are
given due consideration:
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Equitable balance of boys and girls.
A range of academic ability and potential,
A mix of students from previous classes to allow for
students to form new friendships, meet different
academic and social challenges,
Students are to receive a new teacher if possible,
Some children are best kept together and others
are best kept separated,
Some classes could possibly be combined grades.
Keeping these criteria of class formation in mind, we will
meet with each teacher to gather an individual profile of
every student’s academic, social, and emotional strengths
and needs. Tentative groupings are compiled and a team of
teachers discuss and make suggestions regarding the
groupings. The class lists then remain “tentative” pending
necessary changes due to enrolment. The objective of this
organization process is to achieve the most “workable”
heterogeneous combination of student groups. With your
trust in our professional judgment, we will continue to
provide all of our students with the best possible learning
environment.
If you have any information that would assist us in the
placement of your child, please put this in writing to Mrs.
Koritko before May 15.
This is a great opportunity to celebrate literacy with our
students and help support our school library at the same
time, so come on out!
If your family is moving or relocating to a different
community, please notify Mrs. Varricchio as this will assist
in our organization for next year.
MAY FOCUS
Our focus for the School Code of Conduct is dress code.
Clothing with inappropriate logos, sayings, and pictures are
not acceptable at school.
Shirts must have sleeves covering the shoulders. No bare
midriffs. Skirts must be no shorter than just above the knees.
Cut-off shorts/shirts and torn jeans are not to be worn at
school.
Pants are to be worn at the waist. Undergarments should not
be visible.
Physical education clothing should provide appropriate
coverage for comfortable, modest and safe movement during
activities. Clothing which is either too baggy or too tight is
not recommended.
Shorts should be of modest cut and proportion. Proper
footwear must be worn.
LET’S CELEBRATE
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART
Everyone will feel the energy of students,
teachers and staff jumping for the Heart &
Stroke Foundation at Jump Rope for Heart
and Hoops for Heart 2015 on Friday, May
8th.
Thank you to everyone for participating in what will be a fun
and hopefully successful day, and a special thanks to Mrs.
Smith for all of her work in co-ordinating this very meaningful
event.
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
On April 14th and 16th our Junior and Senior teams
competed in the Oakville Battle of the Books at the Oakville
Public Library. This contest between local schools tests the
knowledge of the students and encourages literacy and
learning in a fun and interesting way. Our teams began
meeting with Ms. Hinton and Mrs. Latus in December to
prepare for the battles. Both our teams performed extremely
well and represented St. Matthew Catholic School with a
great attitude and team spirit. We can't wait to start again
next year!
BOOK FAIR
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming back to St. Matthew
Catholic School! This year the fair will take place during
Catholic Education Week, and will be open from
Mon. May 4th-Thurs May 7th. Students will have an
opportunity to view the fair and write a wish list on Monday
before coming to purchase later in the week.
Parents and families are very welcome on Wed. May 6th for
our Family Event; the library will be open from 3:00pm7:00pm.
STUDENT COUNCIL
Our Student Council continues to promote school spirit at St.
Matthew Catholic School as well as in our school
community. We thank them for their leadership in promoting
various activities in our school. Friday, May 22 will be a
spirit day…Super Hero Day. The money raised will be sent
to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto on behalf of the students at
St. Matthew Catholic School.
STUDENT ATHLETES IN ACTION
TRACK & FIELD
Preliminary track and field tryouts are underway during
Physical Education classes for students from gr. 5-8 who will
be recommended to try out for our school team. School team
tryouts/practices will be held tthroughout May. The meet will
take place in early June.
SOCCER TEAMS
Tryouts are under way for the senior school soccer teams.
We hope to be entering a couple of tournaments during the
months of May and June.
BANNERS
We are very pleased this year to have been able to add
banners to our gymnasium, recognizing the successes of our
school teams. This year we have added 2 volleyball
banners, a basketball banner and a hockey banner. None of
this could be done without the dedication of so many of our
staff who work over and above in providing plenty of
opportunities for our students to participate in various
sporting events. Thank you to the students and the
dedicated coaches/teachers.
FOCUS ON FAITH
LITURGIES - Parents and members of the school
community are always welcome to join us in celebrations.
May 28 May Crowning
9:00 a.m. FDK – Gr. 3
10:15 a.m. Gr. 4 – Gr. 8
PARENT INFORMATION CORNER
Our blessing to the Grade 2 students who celebrated their
First Communion in April. Many thanks to Alix Drapack,
Maria Sousa, Holly Darby, Margaret Mascarenhas and
Josie Mason who helped prepare the banners and the
luncheon.
If you have not had a chance to volunteer yet this year, we
have some events coming up that require your help!
Grandparents Day is on Monday, May 11. The forms are
due by May 4. Please remember to retain the bottom portion
for the grandparents so they know where to go. Volunteers
are needed to help out that morning serving refreshments.
We also could use some donations of nut free baked goods,
fruit/veggie/cheese plates. If you can help, please email me
at mliao3@cogeco.ca.
Parent Partners provide a staff appreciation pot luck
luncheon for the staff every year. This year the luncheon will
be on Tuesday, June 2nd. Please get your recipes ready!!!
If you would like to volunteer to help at the lunch in any way
or donate your favourite dish for the staff to enjoy, please
email Sally Perrier at perriersm@gmail.com
The yearbook committee would like you to please continue to
email your school event photos to
stmatthewschoolyearbook@gmail.com
Thank you for your continued support.
Maria Liao
GRANDPARENT/SPECIALSENIOR DAY
KEEP WORKING
There are less than 8 weeks of school until summer
vacation. Parents, please keep help to keep our students
working until the end. The last term is an important one so
let’s not waste it! Behaviour is just as important in May and
June as it is in September and October. Please continue to
give us your support. If you have any questions or concerns,
don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
EQAO UPDATE
As Catholic educators we continue to believe we are in
partnership with our parents. We educate our children in
academics, Catholicity and inclusion. We thank our School
Council who speaks on behalf of our parent community and
who continue to work with us to support us in improving
student achievement through a number of school initiatives.
This year, the EQAO (Educational Quality and Accountability
Office) tests for Grade 3 and Grade 6 will be held during the
week of June 1 – June 5.
Please ensure your child is well rested and at school during
this time. YOUR child does make a difference so please
continue to work with us as we demonstrate the many
successes of your child.
Inviting all Grandparents & Special Seniors!
On Monday, May 11 all Grandparent(s) or Special
Senior(s) of St. Matthew Catholic School students are invited
to our school.
Our guests will visit their grandchild(rens)’ classroom
followed by a reception in the gym where they can enjoy a
cup of coffee/tea and freshly baked treats.
SUN PROTECTION
Do remember, parents, that the sun’s rays are very strong.
We need to protect our skin from over exposure to the sun.
Please ensure that your child/ren have protection from the
sun by using sunscreen and wearing hats and long sleeves
on hot, sunny days. Children are allowed to bring sun block
to school to put on. However, they are to use it themselves
and they are responsible for anything they bring.
Response forms are due back no later than May 4.
HEALTH AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE
On Tuesday, May 12th, we will be serving fruit and cheese
kebobs. Fruits are sources of many vital nutrients for our
bodies, such as vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber and folic
acid. By eating more fruits, you are helping your body stay
healthy and reduce the risks of obesity and some chronic
diseases. If you are interested in volunteering or have any
healthy snack ideas you would like to share, please contact
Zsuzsanna Nucara (zen1275@cogeco.ca)
EDUCATION / HEALTHY SCHOOLS
Just a note of thanks to all who were able to attend the
speaking event on the 20th of April. We were pleased to
have close to 300 parents/friends join us.
DR. KARYN GORDON spoke about Motivating our
Kids/Teens. We hope that you enjoyed it.
Dr. Karyn offers a complimentary monthly newsletter called
“dk Leadership: Inspiring Relationships At Home & At Work”.
Her specialty is Building Emotional Intelligence (Motivation,
Time Management, Organization, Decision-Making,
Confidence, Communication, Career Direction) for all 5
generations (Traditionalist, Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen
Z). So whether you are trying to motivate your Gen Y
employee, or understand your kids at home – her newsletters
will provide a refreshing way to understand those around
you. Visit her website at www.dkleadership.org for further
information.
Education/Healthy Schools Committee
DOGS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
The concern for safety and the question of equity go hand in
hand when examining the issue of dogs on the school
property. If any one person is allowed to bring a dog(s) on to
the school grounds, the same permission would have to be
extended to any parent or family member choosing to do the
same thing. Restricting dogs/pets from school sites is in the
best interest of the broadest cross-section of the school
community. Furthermore, this restriction attends to the
obligation principals have to pay assiduous attention
tohealth and comfort of all their pupils. (Education Act
S.265, (1j)). For this reason, we request your support in our
request to please keep your dogs off St. Matthew Catholic
School property.
ALLERJECT EPINEPRINE- Auto Injectors at HCDSB
School Sites
Allerject is a new epinephrine auto injector, recently
developed and available for parents/guardians to select for
the emergency treatment of their child’s anaphylaxis.
Allerject’s, new option, the automated voice
instruction guides patients and caregivers step by step
through the injection process in the event of an emergency.
For more information on the Allerject go to: www.allerject.ca
When God Made Mothers
When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was
into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel
appeared and said. "You're doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one."
And God said, "Have you read the specs on this
order?" She has to be completely washable, but not
plastic. Have 180 moveable parts...all replaceable.
Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that
disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure
anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love
affair. And six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said. "Six pairs
of hands.... no way."
It's not the hands that are causing me problems,"
God remarked, "it's the three pairs of eyes that
mothers have to have."
That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. God
nodded.
One pair that sees through closed doors when she
asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she
already knows. Another here in the back of her head
that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to
know, and of course the ones here in front that can
look at a child when he goofs up and say. 'I
understand and I love you' without so much as
uttering a word."
God," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "Get
some rest tomorrow...."
I can't," said God, "I'm so close to creating
something so close to myself. Already I have one
who heals herself when she is sick...can feed a family
of six on one pound of hamburger...and can get a
nine year old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly.
"It's too soft," she sighed.
But tough!" said God excitedly. "You can imagine
what this mother can do or endure."
Can it think?"
Not only can it think, but it can reason and
compromise," said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger
across the cheek.
There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You that
You were trying to put too much into this model."
It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."
What's it for?"
It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain,
loneliness, and pride."
You are a genius, " said the angel.
Somberly, God said, "I didn't put it there.”