September 2015

St. Catholic School 636 Glenholme Avenue , M6E 3G9 SEPTEMBER - Hospitality Phone: (416) 393-5236 “Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do Fax: (416) 397-6096 unto me.” Matthew 25:40

The following is the tentative staffing model for the academic year 2015 / 2016 Principal’s Message ELP/1 Early Learning Program Ms. Johnston ECE Ms. Fajardo Dear Parents/Guardians, Once again we find ourselves in a new academic year. Many exciting things have been ELP/2 Early Learning Program Ms. Ierullo ECE Ms. Macri planned for our time together. The TCDSB is entering a new Catholic Pastoral three year plan, and the first year (2015/2016) is dedicated to the Year of the Family. Please ELP/3 Early Learning Program Ms. Mazzuca find the TCDSB Prayer for Harmonizing our Faith Through Family, Parish and School ECE Ms. Marrella that your child will be learning at school. SK-01/1 Senior Kindergarten /Grade 1 Ms. Barsoumian

Almighty and Ever-loving God, 01/1 Grade 1 Ms. Zingarelli We give you thanks for the blessings of our Families, where the seed of faith 01/2 Grade 1 Ms. Matusaitis is planted; for the Body of Christ, the Church, where faith is celebrat- 01-02/1 Grade 1/2 Ms. Mira/ ed; Ms. Bianca and for our Schools, where faith is nurtured. 02/1 Grade 2 Ms. Iafrate Lord, we believe that Catholic Education is at its best when Families, Parishes and Schools 02/2 Grade 2 Ms. De Francesco play, pray and work together to spread the Good News to all. 03/1 Grade 3 Ms. De Melo Help us to imitate the unity of the Trinity as we continue to grow in our faith and love towards you, 03/1 Grade 3 Ms. Vitti and to one another.

Through the guidance of the Holy Family, 03/2 Grade 3 Ms. Jorge the model of all Christian families, and the intercession of all the , 04/1 Grade 4 Ms. Di Ioia may our Families, Parishes and Schools remain places where the is shared 04-05/1 Grade 4/5 Mr. D’Mello with joy, courage and love. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen. 05/1 Grade 5 Ms. Ventura Thank you for your continued support. Yours in Partnership, 05-06/1 Grade 5/6 Ms. Ferraro Ms. M. Bernardi 06/1 Grade 6 Ms. Nespolo 06-07/1 Grade 6/7 Ms. Selvaggio Principal 07/1 Grade 7 Mr. Albanese/ Ms. M. Bernardi Mr. Speer Vice Principal 07-08/2 Grade 7/8 Mr. Ziemanis Ms. M. Coluccio Secretary 08/1 Grade 8 Ms. Barbeau-Tufts Ms. T. Costanzo 08/2 Grade 8 Ms. Jones Clerk Typists SE/1 Multiple Exceptionalties Mr. Bilotta Ms. M. Sewell Ms. S. Salvadori All classes will be finalized on September 30, 2015 as per the Ministry of Education’s guidelines. Classes and staff changes are Superintendent determined by an increase/decrease in student enrolment. Ms. G. Iuliano-Marrello School Hours Trustee

Ms. M. Rizzo 8:15am - Playground supervision begins Enrolment: 580 8:30am - Entry Bell 10:12am - 10:27am - Recess 11:15am- 12:15pm - Lunch

St. Thomas Aquinas Church 1:40pm - 1:55pm - Recess Father Ruggiero & Father Gustavo 2:55pm - Dismissal for bus students 3:00pm - Dismissal for all students (416) 782-8943 *APPROPRIATE DRESS CODE Safe Arrival Procedures Office Procedures

When a student is reported absent by the teacher, but ●Please remember to call in all absences, clearly stating not by the parent/guardian, the Safe Arrival Program your child’s name, grade and reason for absence. (secretary) phones the home and/or the emergency ●If your child usually leaves school with a school bus but is contact to determine the child’s whereabouts. It is the being picked up, please advise the office before 2:15pm so responsibility of the parent/guardian to inform the school that we may advise your child. that their child is going to be absent or late. The school ●If your child will be absent for a period of time, please will also call to determine why the child is absent. In provide the office with a letter stating the name of your order for the Safe Arrival Program to operate properly, child or children, dates of vacation and the reason for the the parent/guardian must contact the school before extended absence. 8:30 a.m. to report that their child will be absent or late ●Please advise the office of any changes in address or that day. A message can be left on the answering ma- phone numbers. chine before 8:00 a.m. If there is no call from the ●If you have received a notice from the Toronto Public parent/guardian, then we assume that the child is in Health Department regarding immunization, please have some kind of danger. It is, then that a phone call is this form completed by your doctor and return it to the made to the parent/guardian to inform them that their office. child is not in school. To ensure your child’s safety, you must inform the school of your child’s absence or lateness before 8:00 a.m., otherwise unnecessary phone calls will be made and this defeats the real purpose of the Safe Arrival Program. Calling all Parents and Students: Thank you for your continued support and cooperation! We are asking the cooperation of all parents and students to help make the daily running of our school more efficient and less disruptive.

As of late, more and more parents are bringing lunches to school for their children. This practice causes many disruptions around the lunch hour. We encourage all parents to send a lunch with the students when they come to school in the morning. Lunches prepared at home are most often more nutritional for the children and certainly less expensive than purchased lunches.

We are noticing that more and more children are arriving late for classes in the morning. When students arrive late, they not only miss out on morning pray- ers, announcements and classroom lessons, but they also disrupt the teacher and all the other students in the class when entering late. It also places an unnecessary burden on our office staff because late slips have to be issued for each student and an attendance entry must be made in our computer sys- tem for each late student. It is very important that all children, from an early age, learn to develop good habits of attendance and punctuality. This will serve them well, not only during their educational career, but also later on in life.

Recess If students are going to be absent, it is the parents’ responsibility to call the school and let us know. If you call outside of school hours, It is a general rule that if a child is well enough to attend please leave a message with the student’s name, grade, teacher school, he/she is well enough to have outdoor recess and name, date and reason for the absence. Your cooperation will go a long way to help us with our Safe Arrival policy. participate in all regular programs. However, if there are legitimate reasons why your child must be exempted Please be reminded that students are dismissed at 3:00 p.m. from certain activities, please send a written request and at the end of each day. Please be prompt in picking them up appropriate medical certificate to your child’s on time. If children are not picked up on time, it creates a su- classroom teacher. pervision problem for school staff.

The following is the information received from our secondary schools regarding open houses this fall. Please note that the information is also posted on the board’s website at https://www.tcdsb.org/school/OpenHouses/Pages/ default.aspx and that website will be updated if any of the information should change over the next few months. Secondary Schools Open Houses for 2015

October 13 October 28 St. 's College School Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School 74 Wellesley Street West,Toronto 1760 Martin Grove Road, Etobicoke (Girls only) Power/St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School 105 Eringate Drive, Etobicoke October 14 6:30 p.m. Loretto College School Neil McNeil High School 151 Rosemount Avenue, Toronto 127 Victoria Park Avenue, Scarborough (Girls only) (Boys only) Notre Dame High School October 15 14 Malvern Avenue, Scarborough (Toronto) Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School (Girls only) 1107 Avenue Road, Toronto St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School 685 Military Trail, Scarborough October 21 Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts October 29 36 Greenfield Avenue, North York Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School Madonna Catholic Secondary School (Home of the Arts School@Marrocco) 20 Dubray Avenue, North York 1515 Bloor Street West, Toronto (Girls only) St. Basil-the-Great College School St. Mary Catholic Secondary School 20 Starview Lane, North York 66 Dufferin Park Avenue, Toronto St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School November 3 49 Felstead Avenue, Toronto Archbishop Romero Catholic Secondary School 99 Humber Boulevard, York October 22 Loretto Abbey Blessed Cardinal Newman Catholic Secondary School 101 Mason Boulevard, North York 100 Brimley Road South, Scarborough Please call the school 416-393-5510 for details Blessed Catholic Secondary School (Girls only) 40 Sewells Road, Scarborough Senator O'Connor College School Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional 60 Rowena Drive, North York Arts Centre November 4 28 Colonel Smith Park Way, Etobicoke Bishop Allen Academy 6:00 p.m. 721 Royal York Road, Etobicoke Chaminade College School October 26 490 Queen's Drive, North York Msgr Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary School (Boys only) 2170 Kipling Avenue, Etobicoke November 5 October 27 Brebeuf College School Dante Alighieri Academy 211 Steeles Avenue East, North York Beatrice Campus, 50 Ameer Avenue, North York (Boys only) Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School 4640 Finch Avenue East, Scarborough 2 St. Andrews Boulevard, Etobicoke James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary School Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School 1440 Finch Avenue West, North York 3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School St. Joseph's Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School 959 Midland Avenue, Scarborough 3379 Bayview Avenue, North York 6:30 p.m. (Girls only)

LIVING OUR CATHOLIC VALUES To apply Catholic Social Teachings to all that we do.

By virtue of our , we are called to SERVE. As practising Catholics, we, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, will be contributing to make the world a better place for those less fortunate than our- selves. Once a month, during our Dress Down for Charity Days, our school community will be donating the funds collected to various charities.

Thank you for your help in putting our best foot forward!

SEPTEMBER - Terry Fox Foundation OCTOBER - Free the Children - We Scare Hunger NOVEMBER - TCDSB Angel Foundation DECEMBER - CNIB - Vision of Hope JANUARY - St. Francis Table FEBRUARY – Free the Children – Adopt a Village MARCH – Sharelife APRIL – Habitat for Humanity MAY – Ronald McDonald House Charities JUNE - Me to We – Take Action Camp

Terry Fox

Terry Fox was an active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977. While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope. Terry was forced to stop running outside Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had now appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened as Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22. The heroic Canadian is gone, but his legacy was just beginning. Yearly, a Terry Fox Walk/Run happens across Canada in his memory.

LIVING OUR CATHOLIC VALUES To apply Catholic Social Teachings to all that we do.

CHILDREN’S PREPARATION FOR THE SACRAMENTS OF RECONCILATION, FIRST COMMUNION AND CONFIRMATION

COMMUNION St. Thomas Aquinas Parish welcomes the Grade 2s, as they begin their preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Children in grade 2 or over the age of 7 are eligible for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion.

Parents Information Night – Wednesday , September 16th 2015 – Mass at 7 pm followed by a presentation. Parents and students are both expected to attend.

Classes for the First Communion begin on Saturday, September 19th, 2015 from 3:00 – 4:30pm (please arrive early).

A detailed schedule will be provided on the first day.

CONFIRMATION: St. Thomas Aquinas Parish welcomes the Grade 7s and 8s, as they begin their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Classes begin on Saturday, September 12th 2015 from 2:30 pm – 4:30pm in the Church Hall (please arrive by 2pm on the first day).

Parents Information Night – Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015 – Mass at 7 pm followed by a presentation. Parents and students are both expected at attend.

A detailed schedule will be provided on the first day.

CSPC CORNER

Mass Dates September 21, 2015 @ 10:00 a.m. - Mass CSPC 2014-2015 Executive:

October 14, 2015 @ 1:00 p.m. Mass Chair: Ms. Maria Codinha November 16, 2015 @ 10:00 a.m. - Mass Treasurer: Ms. Paula Pedro December 3, 2015 @ 9:45 a.m. - Reconciliation Secretary: Ms. Anita Liut December 17, 2015 @7:00 p.m. - Community Novena Mass January 28, 2016 @10:00 a.m. - St. Thomas Aquinas Feast Day Mass February 10, 2016 @ 9:00 a.m. - Ash Wednesday Mass March 9, 2016 @ 9:45 a.m. - Reconciliation A Message from CSPC April 5, 2016 @ 1:00 p.m. - Easter Mass Dear Parents/Guardians, April 13, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. - Sacrament of Reconciliation If you have any suggestions or concerns please fill in April 30, 2016 @ 11:00 a.m. - Sacrament of First Holy Communion this form and return to the CSPC mailbox located May 9, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. - Sacrament of Confirmation (Gr.7s only) near the main office. This form must be received by May 12, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. - Sacrament of Confirmation (Gr. 8s only) CSPC at least one week before the regularly sched- June 23, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. - Graduation Mass uled meetings. June 29, 2016 @ 10:00 a.m. - Mass Name: ______

Student’s Name/Grade: ______

Invitation to subscribe to [email protected] Suggestions/Comments: ______With the start of a new school year, the Toronto Catholic District School Board is pleased to remind all staff, parents and members of the Community about [email protected], a free electronic news subscription for anyone interested in receiving regular news updates about our Catholic Schools.

To activate your subscription to this free news service, please visit IN CASE OF A SCHOOL EVACUATION/EMERGENCY the board’s website at www.tcdsb.org and click on the E-NEWS icon on the left-hand side of page. Staff/students may be directed to another location when St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School is under lockdown or in need of an evacuation procedure. The site will be determined by the information that is available to maintain the safety of students/ staff community. North site: STA Church/Sts. Cosmos & Damian School South site: Fairbank Public School

Catholic Parent Involvement Committee (CPIC): www.tcdsb.org/cpic

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 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.