Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

                                                                                                                                             ~Isaiah 41:10

 

Dear Tiger Families,

This week, we celebrated Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Season of Lent.  As a school community, we celebrated at school by marking our foreheads with ashes to remind us to ‘repent, and believe in the Word of the Gospel.”  Many thanks to our parents who were able to join us and a special thank you to Deacon Nick for leading us in our Liturgy.  The season of Lent is a high point in the Catholic calendar.  In his message for Lent 2023, Pope Francis reminds us that “during Lent we are invited to ascend “a high mountain” in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline – ascesis – as God’s holy people.   At SVdP, we look forward to the opportunity for “spiritual self-improvement” as we look towards living Lent with mercy and to the experience of opening our hearts to others.  Let us endeavour to take some quiet time to reflect and commit to finding ways to make even greater improvements in our lives.  We are very blessed at SVdP to have the opportunity to work together as a Catholic community: teachers, parents, students, and Church.  May we continue to appreciate one another and the significant efforts of all the partners within our community.

Lenten Project

As we enter the Lenten season, the staff and students of St. Vincent de Paul school would like to initiate a school-wide almsgiving opportunity. As in the past, the generosity of our students and their families has been wonderful!  Our contributions from this year’s project will support Monica House, a local shelter for women and children under the age of five years old.  Beginning on Thursday, February 23rd, 2023, each classroom will begin to collect items to donate to the shelter.  Your child’s teacher will let you know what items your child’s class will be collecting via their classroom websites.  It is our hope, as a school community, that we can collect a number of items to help this group of mothers and their children. Please note that all items are due by Thursday, March 23rd, 2023.   Thank you in advance for your continued support with all of our school initiatives.

 

BEACH DAY DANCE-A-THON: March 9th!

We are very excited to announce that St Vincent de Paul will host a Beach Party Dance-a-thon on Thursday, March 9, 2023.  This event will be an opportunity for all students to participate in physical activity and help to raise money for their school. Our Dance-a-thon will be Beach themed and students may dress in appropriate attire for this event (shorts, sunglasses, sun hats, etc). All donations are very much appreciated!

It has been some time since our Dance-a-thon and we know our students will be excited to have some fun!  Euro-Beat DJ Services will be providing music for the day.   The goal of our fundraiser is to support these specific initiatives: 

  • revitalization of outdoor learning spaces :  (i.e. natural playground in Kindergarten area and in Grades 1-8 area)  
  • new  books for each classroom

PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES!!!!

  • If we raise a total of $12 000.00 as a school, all students will win an Ice Cream and Water Fun day!
  • If we raise a total of $10 000 as a school, all students will be treated to a Movie and Popcorn Day.  
  • If we raise a total of $8000.00, all students will be treated to gum and candy (provided by Mr. Leonard and Mrs. Sica)
  • Top class sales from each Division will win a lunch trip to Boston Pizza
  • Other great prizes to be won include:  
    • 1 Hour Free Ice Time at Kitchener Auditorium for up to 50 people!
    • 4 passes to Airborne Trampoline
    • Gift cards to Play With Clay
    • Gift Cards to Go Bananas
    • Family pass to Twin Valley Nature Park
  • Top seller prizes in each Division will receive the following prizes:
    • Early Years/Primary:  $200.00 to African Lion Safari
    • Junior Division:  $200.00 to Skyzone
    • Intermediate Division:  Air Pods

Please ask family members and family friends to pledge. We ask that students do not go door to door and ask strangers for pledges.   Please note: all pledges must be completed on St. Vincent de Paul SchoolCash Online by Thursday March 9, 2023.  ***NO CASH OR CHEQUES WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE SCHOOL***

Let’s go Tigers…. let’s dance the day away and raise some money for our school!!

 

 

Lunch Room Supervisor Appreciation Day!

 

 

This Friday, March 3rd,  we say a very special thank you and show our appreciation for our amazing Lunch Room Supervisors!  Thank you to Ms. Petch, Ms. Gouveia, Ms. Braga, Ms. Reid-Faria, and Ms. Field for all they do and for keeping our students safe inside and at play outside!  We couldn’t do it without you!

 

 

 

Our Teams Are Off To Regionals!

This past week, our Intermediate basketball and volleyball teams played their play-off games.  Congratulations to the girls volleyball team on a huge win against St. Gabriel’s and to our boys basketball team for their playoff win against Our Lady of Fatima on Wednesday!  Both teams now move on to Regionals this Wednesday and Thursday.  We are so incredibly proud of our teams and their hard work and commitment to giving their best at every game.  Look out Regionals….the SVDP Tigers are coming!!!  Way to go, TIGERS!

 

 

 

Earthquake Fundraising

As many of you know, WCDSB has a long tradition of fundraising to assist relief efforts when natural disasters strike.  The devastation of the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria has once again called us to action. While rescue and recovery efforts continue, it has already been confirmed that more than 35,000 people have died.  Many thousands more — including many current refugees — are in desperate need of shelter, food, clean water, and medicine.  Consequently, the Senior Team and Board of Trustees would like to invite all WCDSB students and staff to participate in a centralized fundraising campaign via the Canadian Red Cross (operating under the umbrella of the International Red Cross).

Donations of ANY AMOUNT will support the range of emergency services the Red Cross is delivering to those in need including interim housing, clothing, food, and other essential supplies.

All fundraising efforts will be collected centrally using the following link: Donations – Earthquake in Turkey & Syria

The deadline to participate is Friday, March 10, 2023.  

 

Student Achievement and Spring Testing

Below are the three tests that will take place this spring:

GRADE 4’s – CANADIAN COGNITIVE ACHIEVEMENT TEST (CCAT) – March 29-April 5, 2023

In the period of March 29 – April 5, 2023, the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test Level 10 (CCAT 7) will be administered to all grade 4 students in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.  The purpose of this board-wide screening of the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test Level 10 (CCAT 7) is to:

  1. Identify your child’s cognitive areas of strength and areas of need
  2. Provide information about your child’s learning style
  3. Provide information to your child’s teachers in order to help them meet instructional objectives

The CCAT 7 is divided into three sections (verbal, quantitative, non-verbal) and each section has three tests. The CCAT 7 will be administered over a three-day period and each testing session will last about 40 – 45 minutes out of the regular school day.  If you do not wish for your child to participate in this assessment, please inform your school principal no later than March 24, 2023.

 

GRADE 7—CAT-4 (CANADIAN ACHIEVEMENT TEST)  –  April 12-19, 2023

Students in Grade 7 in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will be administered the Canadian Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (CAT-4) between April 12 – 19, 2023.  The CAT-4 is a national standardized achievement test designed to measure achievement in the basic skills commonly taught in schools across Canada. The specific skill areas in which your child will be assessed include language arts, reading and mathematics. The CAT-4 takes approximately four hours to complete over a three-day period.  The CAT-4 will provide information for parents, students, teachers and administrators about how well students perform in the basic skill areas. This information will be used to provide direction for curriculum and program delivery at the system, school, and individual student levels.  If you wish your child to not participate in the testing, please contact your child’s school principal by March 31, 2023.

 

EQAO TESTING – Primary and Junior Assessments in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics:

This year’s cohorts of Grade 3 and Grade 6 students will participate in the Primary and Junior EQAO testing during the period of  Wednesday, May 10, to Wednesday, June 14, 2023.  Please mark your calendars and avoid booking appointments on these dates, if at all possible, to avoid interruptions during these testing dates.

 

EQAO Webinar for Parents and Guardians of Elementary School Students 

Register for this free live webinar and learn about EQAO assessment results and Ontario’s large-scale assessment program at the elementary-school level. EQAO will review highlights from the 2021–2022 assessment results. The session will also highlight how the primary-division (Grade 3) and junior-division (Grade 6) assessments have been modernized. The presentation will be approximately 45 minutes and will be followed by a live Q & A session with EQAO staff. To register, click HERE.

 

School Yard Reminders…

 The supervisors at SVdP must ensure that students do not engage in any type of unsafe behavior.  To this end, students are expected to follow appropriate behaviour on the playground so that we all help in creating a safe school environment.

Snow and Ice…..

The cold months have arrived and snow and ice will be plentiful.  Students are reminded that throwing snowballs, ice, or kicking snow are NOT allowed.  In order for our school to be as safe as possible, the school rule must be that snow and ice stays on the ground. 

Dressing for Winter….

Just a gentle reminder that students should be continuing to dress warmly for outdoor recesses.  Except when the weather is extremely cold or wet, the students will be going outside during the recess and lunch periods.  All students should have coats, hats, mittens, scarves, and warm boots. Please provide a pair of indoor shoes as students are required to wear footwear at all times. Please remember that children who are too ill to go outside should be resting at home. 

Please support us in creating a caring and safe schoolyard by speaking with your child(ren) about these important rules and policies.