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School News ~ February 6

Although a School News email was sent out very recently, there is more news to share. In particular, please see the important information about Shrove Tuesday (we’re serving pancakes), and Winter Play Day (we still need volunteers).

Have a blessed day,

Paul Gautreau
Principal

SHROVE TUESDAY: Tuesday, February 13th is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Mardis Gras, or Pancake Tuesday.  It is a day of festivity and feasting before the 40 solemn days of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday.  To mark Shrove Tuesday, St. Dominic Catholic School Council volunteers will be serving students pancakes and syrup.  This will be more of a snack than a meal, so children should eat breakfast and bring their lunch and snacks as usual.  If you would prefer that your child not be served a pancake, please let your child’s teacher know. Many thanks to our School Council for supporting the continuation of this tradition.

WINTER PLAY DAY:   Volunteers are still needed. If you are available on Friday, February 16th to help out with our Winter Play Day, please fill out this Google Form.  You can volunteer for the morning when Kindergarten, Grade 3, and Grade 6 are outside, or for the afternoon when Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 4, and Grade 5 are outside.

BADMINTON:  In the previous School News email, I missed 7 athletes who also participated in the badminton tournament last week.  Congratulations to Faith, Sophie, Hannah, Gabriella, Annabelle, Veronica, Maysoon who did a great job representing our school at the tournament.

PUSH UP CHALLENGE:  Mr. Paialunga is participating in the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Push-Up Challenge, and he is inviting students in all classes to join him in doing as many push-ups as they can during the month of February. Students can do whatever type of push up they want - straight leg, bent leg, wall pushups, etc.  The goal is simply to have some fun, stay physically active, build an awareness of the importance of mental health, and to see how many push-ups our school can collectively do over the month.  

ON THE CALENDAR:


School News ~ January 31

St. Dominic continues to be a very busy place.  Below are a few highlights and other pieces of information for the month ahead, and beyond. May God continue to bless our wonderful school community!  

PIZZA DAYS:  The last day to order pizza for the February to June session is tomorrow (February 1st). Please go to www.schoolcashonline.com to place your order.

THURSDAY IS ANOTHER POPCORN DAY.  Grade 6 students will be selling popcorn tomorrow for $2 per bag. Proceeds from the sales will go towards supporting Grade 6 year end activities. Please send change with your child if you wish to participate.

FRIDAY IS A PD DAY.  Staff will be working on Term 1 Report Cards or will be taking part in training.  As such, there is no school for students.

BAKE SALE:  On Friday, February 9th, our Grade 6 students will be hosting a bake sale.  Treats can be purchased for 25¢, 50¢, or $1.  Cake Raffle Tickets will also be available for $1 per ticket, $2 for 3 tickets, or $5 for 10 tickets.  Students were asked to bake with nut/peanut free ingredients.  Pre-packaged (store bought) nut/peanut free items are also available.

BADMINTON: Last week, St. Dominic hosted teams from 3 other schools for a badminton tournament.  Our students played well and were great sports!  Congratulations to all the players, including Leah, Emma, Rory, Suri, Evelyn, Mikaela, Mila, Jemima, Charlotte, Thanish, Elisée, Jacob, Sami, Mateo, Greysen, Josef, Austin, Elliott, Josh, Jason, Lucas, Connor, Aadhi, Aayu, and Owen.  Many thanks to Ethan, Joel, Elliot, Joshua, Evelyn and Milana for helping out, to the coaches, Mrs. Baine, Mrs. Fernandez, Mme Luchtenberg, and Mrs. Rayner, and to Mr. Paialunga who was the tournament convenor. 

REPORT CARDS:  On February 14th, you will be able to download your child’s Term 1 Report Card from the Parent Portal.  If you are not quite sure how to access the Parent Portal or your child’s Report Card, please contact the school.

COMING SOON FOR GRADE 3 AND 6 PARENTS:  We will soon be sending forms home to the parents of Grade 3 and 6 students regarding choosing the French program that they would like their children to take as they move forward in school. To help with this decision, the school board is offering a FSL Pathway Information Session on February 5th at 6:30 pm at St Paul's HS. Click  Click here to register for the “café français”. 

LENT:  Our preparations have begun for Lent. To celebrate Shrove Tuesday on February 13, our School Council will be serving pancakes and syrup to students during the first block of the day.   On Wednesday, February 14th at 9:45 a.m., we will be gathering in the Gym for an Ash Wednesday liturgy.  Finally, on February 21st, we will be having an assembly to kick off our Lenten Fundraiser.  Stay tuned for more details about all of these events.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW MATH IS TAUGHT IN ONTARIO?  Join Dr. Christine Suurtamm, Professor Emeritus in Mathematics Education at the University of Ottawa, on February 22nd for a session entitled, “Understanding Mathematics for the Elementary Learner”.  Click this link to register.  

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION IS NOW ON! Children who will be four by December 31, 2024 may be registered to begin Junior Kindergarten at St. Dominic in September. Simply click this link to REGISTER ONLINE NOW.  

ON THE CALENDAR:

School News ~ December 14

The countdown is on and the excitement is ramping up!  Below are a few last minute bits of information for this week and next. 

May you and your family have a very merry Christmas filled with much joy, peace and spirit. 

Sincerely,

The staff of St. Dominic


COOKIES AND CAROLS PYJAMA PARTY: Join us for some Christmas free fun tomorrow from  6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the school gym.  Children must be accompanied by parents or guardians. Donations of new waterproof mittens or cash to support our sister school, St. Brigid, would be greatly appreciated. 

MASS:  Father Virgil will be at school tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate an Advent Mass with us.  Family members are welcome to join us.

ADVENT FUNDRAISER: We have collected close to $500 for St. Brigid Catholic School families and for the Orléans-Cumberland Food Bank.  Thank you for your generosity. If you are still thinking of making a donation, please do so today. Simply go to School Cash Online.

SPIRIT WEEK: In the spirit of Christmas, we have something special planned for every day next week:

ON THE CALENDAR:


School News ~ November 28

November is drawing to a close, the weather is getting colder, and Advent is about to begin.  Below is some information that will hopefully help as we wrap up this month and get ready for December.

SPIRIT WEAR: The deadline for ordering St. Dominic spirit wear is TODAY (even though the website says otherwise).  To see what’s available, please visit https://www.tuckgear.ca/collections/st-dominic-spiritwear.

COLD WEATHER: While today’s temperature at noon was only -5°C, with the windchill, it felt like -12°C, and we had many chilly children outside at recess! A warm coat, sweater, boots, a hat and mitts are necessities outside at recess these days. 

CLASS PHOTOS:  Lifetouch, our photo provider, will no longer be providing a complimentary class photo to each family, unless you order a photo package. In the event that you are not ordering a photo package, but still wish to order a class photo, please order online at mylifetouch.ca using either the child's Picture Day ID or their school student ID number; go to "Add On" and select "Class Picture". Families that require additional help ordering can call LifeTouch's Customer Service team at 866-457-8212.  

AFTER SCHOOL PICK UP:  We want to keep pedestrians safe. Please remember that the “Stop and Go Zone” and our Parking Lot should NOT be used when picking up children after school.  

ON THE HORIZON:


School Picture Day

Next week, we will host our School Picture Day on Thursday October 19th. Friday October 27


Students will be brought to the gym, by class, for individual portraits to be taken. You will receive proofs of these photos in the coming weeks, should you be interested in ordering prints. 


Additionally, group class photos will be taken. This is a return to group pictures which we haven’t had for several years!


YOUR CHILD WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GROUP PHOTO UNLESS YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE CONSENT FOR USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FORM IN THE PARENT PORTAL. 


If you have completed this form, THANK YOU! If you have DENIED consent on this form, your child will not be included in the class photo.  If you do not fill out the form and it is BLANK,  your child will not be included in the class photo.


This form must be completed ANNUALLY, so even if you have filled it out in the past, you must fill it out again for this school year.


We have over 100 children whose forms have not been returned.  Please action this today!


Access the Parent Portal or create an account by going to: https://www.ocsb.ca/parents/navigating-our-school-system/parent-portal/


Read or view instructions on how to create an account by going to: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1affwqtblvzMvxPb2EzISKlQXXayqqFIVslsuKz2a3rk/edit


Pizza Thursdays from School Council

School Council is pleased to be starting Pizza Thursdays again this year. Session 1 will run every OTHER THURSDAY from October 26 to January 25 (alternating weeks).

You can place your orders starting now at www.schoolcashonline.com - you have until NOON on Friday, October 20th to order. No late orders will be accepted, no refunds will be offered.

You can choose cheese or pepperoni pizza, one or two slices. All students from JK to grade 6 are eligible. Pizza is once again provided by Toppers Pizza on whole wheat crust, per the Ministry of Education requirements.

Adult volunteers are still needed - for more information and all questions, please reach out to School Council by emailing info@stdominicCSC.com

School News for September 8, 2023

September 8, 2023

Dear St. Dominic Families,


What a joy it was to see the school filled with students and staff this week! It was also wonderful to see everyone settling into the routines of the new school year. Many thanks to students, parents and staff for all you did to help make the first week of school go so well. While a little less heat would have been welcome, our school community is truly blessed.  


Paul Gautreau

Principal ~ St. Dominic


BOO HOO, WOO HOO BREAKFAST ~ Many thanks to all the volunteers from our School Council for organizing such a great welcoming breakfast yesterday morning.  Thanks to all the St. Dominic parents and guardians who joined us for this community building event.  The next School Council event is their inaugural meeting taking place on September 27 @ 6:30 p.m. in the staff room.  All parents/guardians are welcome to attend.


MORNING SUPERVISION ~ While we love when children arrive at school early, please know that there is NO SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS BEFORE 9:00.  Somedays, you may see  children and staff from our Extend Day Program (EDP) in the school yard before 9:00, but please know EDP staff are only responsible for children registered in their program. 


PARKING LOT ACCESS ~  To reduce the chance of accidents, unauthorized vehicles are not permitted to enter the school parking lot between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. Instead, please park at Vista Park or on neighbourhood streets.


TO DO LIST FOR PARENTS:


MEET AND GREET ~ On Tuesday, September 12th, please join us between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. for our annual Meet and Greet. The evening is designed to give you the opportunity to meet your child(ren)’s teachers and to see their classroom(s).  While this is a parent/guardian focused event, feel free to bring your children, too. We hope to see you there!


ACTIVATING BLACK STUDENT SUCCESS WORKSHOP ~ Discover how you can support your child’s success by attending this parent engagement workshop.  It takes place on Saturday, October 14, 2023, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at 570 West Hunt Club Road.  You can participate online or in person. For more information, please visit the link above. 

School Council News

The St. Dominic Catholic School Council is made up of a parent volunteers and school staff. The School Council plans a variety of special events and fundraisers for St. Dominic students and their families throughout the school year. The School Council also provides input on topics such as  the code of conduct, budget priorities, and school goals. Meetings are held in the school staff room on a monthly basis. Please consider joining!  For more information, please:

Rudhro Prince Memorial Walk ~ September 24, 2023

Dear family and friends,

 

Please join us on September  24th, 2023 at 9am at Andrew Hayden Park (3127 Carling Ave) for our 5th annual Rudhro Prince memorial walk. 


Our mission is simple, We want to keep our son's legacy alive by supporting the organizations nearest and dearest to his heart. The proceeds from the walk will be donated to Asthma Canada, C.H.E.O, and St. Mary Elementary School. 


An estimated 23.4 million people currently live with this disease  including 7 million children.

It accounts for roughly 250,000 deaths a year. We want to spread awareness about the effects of asthma-being that it is one of the most common diseases in the world without cure. Please come out and support us on September 24th at Andrew Hayden Park. Together,  we are working to achieve our vision of a future without Asthma. 


Please register/donate at Rudhroprincememorialwalk.eventbrite.com


Share and Invite your friends and family on September 24th, 2023 at 9am at Andrew Hayden Park.