Dear Tiger Families,
What a wonderful week we had again! We had our first whole school assembly this week where we were able to come together as a whole school community and end in a school-wide dance to “ROAR”. The energy and school spirit felt in the gym was awesome! We are blessed to live, love, and learn together at St. Vincent de Paul!
Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations and Deep Learning Monthly Themes
At St. Vincent de Paul School and in all Catholic schools, we strive to provide a faith-filled, holistic, student and Christ-centred education from kindergarten through grade 8. We help develop students who are responsive, adaptive, and inquisitive in order to respond to a world that is fast-paced, continuously evolving, and often unpredictable while also caring for their spiritual development, equipping them to be discerning believers open to God’s will for their lives. This year, our students will learn more about the Ontario Catholic Graduate expectations and how they relate to the Transferable Skills mandated by the Ministry of Education. Below are the themes that our students will be learning more about this year both within and outside of their classrooms.
September: Collaboration
We are thrilled to introduce September’s Deep Learning Skill: Collaboration. Our students will engage in a range of classroom activities aimed at developing this Transferable Skill throughout the month. To kick-start this exciting journey, we will hold an assembly to familiarize everyone with the concept of collaboration.
Collaboration involves building positive and respectful relationships, sharing ideas, and learning from one another. Students will have opportunities to assume different roles within their groups while respecting and valuing everyone’s ideas and opinions. They will also learn to resolve conflicts in appropriate ways. Additionally, they will explore how to connect with different groups using various technologies, expanding their collaborative experiences in both physical and virtual settings.
Thank you for your unwavering support in creating a collaborative learning environment for our diverse community.
Class Re-organization
This year, we have had some growth in our student population. As noted in previous communications, class placements are tentative in September. Staffing and classroom changes are directed by the Board office and this process occurs during the first two weeks of school. We have been notified that a class will be added to our school however we are still waiting to finalize staffing and when the changes will take effect. The process of creating class placements is more complicated than it may appear. The Ministry of Education sets class size compliance thresholds and we meet those by first looking at school-level compliance and then at Board level compliance. The School Board reports to the Ministry on Board level compliance. For the WCDSB to be in compliance, we will have to redistribute numbers within some of our classes. The good news is that the addition of a classroom and redistribution do mean smaller class sizes in most of our classrooms.
Our staff is working diligently to reconfigure our class placements. Our hope is that students will be informed of their new class and teacher next week and that students will begin their new class as soon as staffing is confirmed. We thank you in advance for your understanding and will communicate to families as soon as we can confirm the opening of the new class.
Catholic Schools Advisory Council (CSAC): We Need YOU!
St. Vincent de Paul’s Catholic School Advisory Council (formerly School Council) is a group of volunteer parents, guardians, community members, teachers, and administrators committed to making our school a great place to learn and grow! The council sees family involvement as one of its main priorities and is committed to welcoming parents into the Tiger community by increasing communication, removing barriers, and creating opportunities to get involved! Meetings are from 6:00pm – 7:00pm on Tuesdays of the meeting month. The initial meeting of the 2023/2024 council has been rescheduled to this Wednesday, September 20th. If you would like to be a regularly participating member of the advisory council please complete the CSAC Member Form found on School Cash Online or contact the school for more information.
Supervision
Supervision begins at 8:45 am. For the safety of your children we request that your child NOT be on school property until a supervisor is on duty. For safety, please ensure that your children leave home with ample time to ensure that they are in the schoolyard when the bell rings. Encourage your children to use appropriate crosswalks and walkways. Establish routines at home that will assist your child to arrive on time. For safety reasons, students only on the playground, please. If your child arrives late, they are asked to report to the office to check in. Thank you for your support!
Meet the Staff Night on Tuesday, September 19th!!
Come meet the staff this Tuesday, September 19th! Thanks to our Catholic Schools Advisory Council who has organized food trucks to be at the school for any families who would like to purchase an easy dinner. We will have S.W.A.T. Truck, Fo’Cheezy, and Beavertails on site starting at 5:30 pm. Cash, debit, and credit will be accepted. Classrooms will be open for families to meet their child’s teacher from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. What a great way to not only meet your child’s teacher but also new families and friends! See you there!
Intermediate Girls and Boys 3-Pitch Tournament
Good luck to our Intermediate boys and girls’ 3-pitch teams who will be participating in a one-day tournament on Tuesday, September 19th! Many thanks to our amazing coaches, Ms. Schade, Ms. Huisman, Ms. Martin, Ms. Hertner, and Ms. Green for all of their help in preparing our athletes
Start-Up Forms and Student Verification Forms
If you have not already completed the start-up forms on School Cash Online, please do so today! Also, please ensure that you carefully review the Student Verification Form (paper copy sent home). Families/guardians are asked to verify and, if applicable, make changes to the information that the school has on file, such as updating medical information, etc. Please return this form to school so that we can update our files.
Plans of Care
Please ensure you have returned the necessary forms for any Plans of Care (anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes, seizures, etc.) to the office along with any medication needed so we can update our files. Please be aware that our school strives to be a NUT FREE environment. We have students with life-threatening allergies to nuts and other allergens. No peanut butter or other nut products are allowed. Please check labels before sending items in school lunches and for snacks. Even a trace of nut oil from one child’s fingers to a desk surface can cause a deadly reaction. Please note that Wow Butter (soy product) is not allowed as well since we cannot distinguish between it and peanut butter. If your child’s medical needs change over the course of the school year, please inform the office.
Emergency Protocols
As is typical to the start of the school year, staff have reviewed safety protocols with our students to ensure their safety in the event of an emergency. We have practiced fire drills and will also practice lock down, tornado, and bomb threat drills. While we emphasize to our students that these are practices, it important that they take them seriously as a necessary precaution. As per WCDSB policies & procedures, we are required to hold 3 fire drills, 1 lock down drill, 1 tornado drill, and 1 bomb threat drill each term. We have already completed two fire drills and our students were amazing and followed exited the school in a quick and orderly manner. Way to go Tigers!!
Girls Robotics Workshop (Grades 6 to 8)
Google and FIRST Canada are looking for participation from WCDSB in their girls’ coding/robotics event at the Google Head Office in Waterloo. The two days will consist of:
- Ignite Her Creativity: Build and Program Robots•
- Inspirational Stories: Women @ Google Share Their Journeys
- Speed Networking: Connect with Google Experts
Interested students can register now at: firstroboticscanada.org/girlsroboticsworkshop
International & Indigenous Languages Program
Attention! Parents and WCDSB school communities!! Children JK- Grade 8 can still register for 1 of 20 teacher-led, year-round language programs offered FREE.
Programs are offered on Saturday mornings and an additional Chinese program offered on Monday evenings. All instructors are proficient in that language and are WCDSB employees. These fun, engaging, academic language programs support personal growth, cultural identity and offer a chance for children to meet new friends.
Teacher Meet and Greet: Saturday, September 23rd
First Class: Saturday, September 30th
Many languages have waiting lists and others have space available. Check out the online registration form and St. Louis website for details. We are also seeking language instructors. All qualified applicants are welcome and encouraged to apply.
Registration Form – LINK
Deadline: end of September or while space remains available
** additional languages will be considered for Elementary programs if 23 or more students enroll