St. Cecilia Motto: Learning with Hearts, Hands and Minds - Growing in Harmony

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1 355 Annette Street, Toronto, Ontario M6P 1R3 (416) May 2012 Lorinda Mazza, Principal Dr. Jim Saraco Barbara Poplawski, Trustee, St. Cecilia Catholic Church Mary Ellen Lynch, CSAC Co-Chair Leonor Goncalves, Vice-Principal Superintendent TCDSB, Ward 10 Father Joseph Tran, Pastor, Claire Suhay, CSAC Co-Chair Maria Fauceglia, Secretary ext , Lesley Lindsay, CSAC Secretary Lisa Grise & Carole Mills, Clerk Typists Lyette Obonsawin, CSAC Treasurer Principal s Message The first full week of May every school year is our celebration of Catholic Education. This year s theme is Walking in the Light of Christ. As our days lengthen and the Spring blossoms unfold we are visibly reminded of the transforming power of light in our lives. Christ is that light for us. Jesus proclaimed, I am the Light of the World: he who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. (John 8:12) With that focus on Christ, our Catholic education environment is supported and confirmed. Activities for the week are outlined in more detail later in this newsletter. It s hard to believe that there are only two months of school remaining, and May and June are often the two busiest months of the year. This month includes standardized testing for grades two, three, five, six and seven, as well as grade three to eight participation in Cross Country, Swimming, Track & Field and practicing for Softball. We ll also be Walking in the Light of Christ for Education Week, Jumping Rope for Heart, Praying the Rosary to celebrate Mary, and Processing with the Witness Cross. The month will also include a talent show, a bike rodeo, the First Communion luncheon and dance workshops for the grades one and two. CSAC Don t forget to bring in your basket items for the Fun Fair raffle. Information was sent home at the end of April. Check with your child s teacher if you didn t receive it. Please take a few minutes to do some online grocery shopping through our new fundraising initiative, DonateNaturally.com, where 15% of your purchases will be donated back to St. Cecilia's. New CSAC updates - if you're not on the list please contact a CSAC parent or Co-Chair! Amongst the staff we ve had some change. Mme. Verelst has begun her maternity leave. We welcome Mme. Goguen who is taking her place. We also welcome Mme. Couto who is replacing Mme. Puskarova. I ve also been given permission to announce the upcoming retirements of Ms. Chabane, Mme. Stranges and Ms. Ribeiro at the end of this school year. Next CSAC meeting May 9. Keep your eyes open for new trees in the school yard and some plant work being done. We re leading up to the larger work being done around our school grounds throughout the summer. Our Eco team is keen to ensure that this work includes lots of new trees as well. Lastly, May is the month of Mary, Mother of our Lord. Our school celebration of the Crowning of Mary will take place on May 17th in the gym. Thank you to the Rosary ladies for coordinating this celebration for us each year. We also honour all the mothers in our lives on Sunday, May 13th. Let us cherish the gift of motherhood brought to us through our children. Lorinda Mazza REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS 8:30 Morning Entry 9:55-10:10 Morning Recess 11:30-12:30 Lunch 1:50-2:05 Afternoon Recess 3:00 Dismissal St. Cecilia Motto: Learning with Hearts, Hands and Minds - Growing in Harmony

2 Page 2 The Knights of Columbus and Council No would like to thank the over 120 students, from grades 3-7 who participated in this year s Substance Abuse Poster Contest. We would very proudly like to inform you who this year s winners were in each respective grade. We look forward to your participation next year. Grand Knight Council 4976 Substance Abuse Awareness Program Winners 1st place (grade 3) Mia R. 1st place (grade 4) Mathew V. 1st place (grade 5) Olivia R. 1st place (grade 6) Mia F. 1st place (grade 7) No Name About My Friend Very tough to crack. Once cracked is beautifully sweet. The best of both worlds. By: Chelsea P. We started this walking club a week after we got the iwalk club card. It was a very good idea we thought of to fill our cards. There are four of us in the club. We are Nadia, Clara, Betty and Andrea. We are very proud. It is a lot of fun because we meet some friends on the way home. One of our classmates, Nigel, and his big brother Noah walk with us mostly. We sometimes say that, Without Nigel, there s no entertainment. and that s true! They walk with us half way. We sometimes run to get home fast. At times we just run for fun to beat our school bus! We re encouraging students to walk to school and home but not alone! It s dangerous! You should always walk with at least four people by your side. Thank you! Sincerely, Clara, Betty, Nadia, Andrea Lights, Camera, Action! St. Cecilia s Talent Show 2012 This year junior/ intermediate teachers have decided to host a Talent Show on Wednesday, May 16 th, entitled Lights, Camera, Action! Not only will students be showcasing their talents in a presentation in the gymnasium, but also many areas within the school are going to be setup as a Gallery to showcase student work. Hallways and the gym will be setup for parents and students to observe and appreciate some of the amazing work that St. Cecilia s students have completed this year. The charge for the show will be one dollar per person and proceeds will go to the charity organizations Free the Children, and Unicef to build a well in Africa. Parents and students are invited to come at 6:00pm that night to wander through the student exhibitions before the show. The Talent Show will begin promptly at 6:30pm and we hope that you can make it!

3 Page 3 Strawberry Festival St. Cecilia Catholic Church has tentatively scheduled their Festival for June 17th. We await the strawberries to confirm this day. Our annual Volunteer Tea at St. Cecilia School will take place June 14th. Volunteers in the school please save that date and expect an invitation in the next week or two. ST. CECILIA S 8TH ANNUAL FUN FAIR Friday, June 8th, :00 pm to 8:00 pm We would like to invite you and your family to join us for an evening of BOUNCY CASTLE & SLIDE, GAMES, POPCORN, PRIZES, GREAT FOOD, RCMP DOGS & HORSES & MUCH MORE Come & join us in celebrating the richness and diversity of our school community! For the month of May we will be focussing on the virtue of COMPASSION. Our quote is from St. John s Gospel, Jesus saw her weeping...his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. John 11:33. True compassion is not always easy to practice as in the words of Jean Vanier Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Who wants to go there when spring has finally arrived and the sun is shining down on us. This is all the more reason to show our compassion for those who cannot share in the light. FIRST HOLY COMMUNION Our Grade 2 students who attend St. Cecilia Catholic Church received their First Holy Communion on Sunday, April 29th. On May 31st ST. CECILIA CSAC will have a special lunch for all our Grade 2 students receiving their First Communion. The date for this lunch will be announced under separate cover shortly. SWIM TEAM AT ST. CECILIA CATHOLIC SCHOOL The TCDSB Swim Tournament takes place on May 5th and 6th at the Etobicoke Olympium. Come out and cheer on the orange and black striped caps of our sharks.

4 May 2012 The Toronto Catholic Parent Involvement Committee wishes to thank all parents, volunteers and staff that assisted in making the Ward Mini Summits a success. CPIC received excellent feedback on Supporting Student Achievement by Addressing Parent Concerns and Effective Curriculum Nights. A detailed report will be forwarded to the TCDSB and shared with CSACs. Parent Reaching Out (PRO) Grants program has been renewed by the Ministry of Education. CSACs are encouraged to apply for this grant of up to $1000 to assist with parent engagement initiatives at their schools. For more information contact your CPIC representative. Want to learn more about Toronto CPIC? Consider attending a meeting. All meetings are open to the public and listed at The next CPIC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the Catholic Education Centre located at 80 Sheppard Ave. East at 7:00 PM. The Ontario Ministry of Education has recently purchased a subscription to Scholastic s BookFlix for K-Grade 3 students. BookFlix is an interactive, online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction texts. This engaging resource will help early readers (K-Gr. 3) develop and practice essential reading skills. Bookflix is quite intuitive and easy to navigate. Each unit includes the following elements: Watch the Story: streaming video of the story. A Read Along option can be activated to display the audio portion of the story, with word-by-word highlighting, as it plays. Read the Book: related nonfiction text presented in a flipbook format. The Read Along option can be activated to hear the text read aloud with word-by-word highlighting. Key content vocabulary words are highlighted in yellow. Placing the cursor on the highlighted word will display its definition, and the ear icon can be clicked to hear the definition read aloud. Puzzlers: interactive games related to the specific pair. Ear icons can be clicked to hear the game directions, as well as all statements and definitions, read aloud. Meet the Author: a profile of the author of the story. An ear icon can be clicked to hear the profile read aloud. To access from home, use the following link, username and password: Login: toroncdsb Password: toro5988 Used Battery and Used Light bulb Drive Thanks to everyone who has dropped off their used batteries and light bulbs in the boxes in the main hallway. We have collected over 725 batteries and over 50 used light bulbs. Due to this overwhelming response, we will continue our drives and collect your used batteries and used light bulbs to the end of June. Please continue to help us recycle to make our environment healthier!

5 Virtue Award Winners for March and April FORGIVENESS JUSTICE SEBASTIEN A. SABRINA B. JOLIANA B. JOHN B. OMID C. TATIANNA C. KAYLEIGH C. EMMA C. CASSANDRA G. KYLE D. ALYSSA F. MIKHAILA G. SAM G. EVREN H. LAUREN K. NISHA K. MELISSA L. JULIA L. HAYLEY M. AIMEE M. QUINLAN M. DANIEL N. ZACHARY P. RICARDO P. DIEGO P. OLIVIA R. DUNCAN R. KAYCELINE S. TYARA S. TOMAS V. ALEXIS C. TYSEN W. MADISON A. JACOB A. REBEKAH A. KAYLA B. JAYQUAN B. OLIVIA B. FIONA B. ISABELLA C. CONRAD C. BRENDAN D. ELLE D. MAURO D. MARIA PAMELA D. MARIA G. BENJAMIN G. THOMAS G. SOPHIA H. MARLO H. CAVIN K. STEVIE K. ELISA M. JORDAN M. KATIE M. EVA N. SARAH O. DARIYA O. DAVID P. DANIELLE R. MIA R. ROBBY S. PAWEL S. PEDRO V. NEXT SCHOOL MASS Wednesday, May 30th, 1:15 PM May is SPEECH, LANGUAGE & HEARING Month Story Time! As a parent, you are your child s most important teacher. You can encourage learning through simple everyday moments. When you spend time talking and playing with your child, you are helping your child to learn and do well at school! Family story time is often a favourite part of the day for parents and children alike. Reading stories with your child can help to strengthen his/her listening and speaking skills skills which are necessary for achieving academic success. Here are five tips for using family story time to help your child develop good oral communication skills: Read together a little bit every day. Explain the meaning of new or unfamiliar words and abstract language used in the story (e.g., busy as a bee ; you are what you eat ). Ask your child questions to explore the important story events and details (e.g., Where did the story happen? ; What is the problem in the story? ; How will they solve the problem?). Invite your child to share opinions about the story (e.g., Can you think of a different ending?; What is your favourite part of the book?; How do you think the character felt?). Connect things that happen in the story with his/her life experiences. If you have questions about your child s communication development, please speak to your child s teacher or your school speech-language pathologist. Communicating for Learning

6 Page 6 Next week, the students at St. Cecilia School will be participating in Catholic Education Week. From the 6th to May 11th. Students will be working on a variety of activities and learning opportunities relating to the theme of Loving in the Light of Christ. Students will participate in activities and discussions that encourage and promote acceptance of others, equality and teamwork. Most activities will focus on how together, the teachers and students at St. Cecilia School, allow all students the opportunity to shine. Activities will also lend themselves to promoting our school as an anti-bullying learning and play zone. Students are asked to follow the list of activities below to show their support for a safe and welcoming school environment for all types of learners and students. Catholic Education: Walking in the Light of Christ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105) A line from Shakespeare s Hamlet kept intruding into my consciousness as I reflected on our theme for Catholic Education Week 2012: Walking in the Light of Christ. Light somehow generated the concept of the sun and sunrise and Shakespeare s line but look, the mourn in russet mantle clad walks o er the rim of yon high eastern hill (Hamlet Act 1; Scene 1) resurrected itself and invaded my memory. Sunrise, even on a very cold Canadian morning, is still very beautiful. Once again the sun begins to flood the earth and drive darkness away. Light reveals the beauty that darkness concealed and we walk confidently in that light. John s Gospel in particular stresses the image of Jesus as being the Light of the World. It does not come to us as a surprise that once again the existence of publicly-funded Catholic education is challenged and called into question. The prevailing secularism and consumerism of our age are at a profound philosophical counterbalance to the Gospel values that should underpin our Catholic schools. The worldwide fiscal situation, the corresponding loss of employment, the seeming lack of trust in those who manage and regulate our financial systems might all be seen as a kind of enveloping darkness, from which hope is almost absent. Into this blackness we are asked to bring the radiant Light of Christ. We, who are all of us involved in Catholic education, are asked to walk in that life-giving light. And each of us must do our own walking. Walking is an individual exercise. We make the choice to walk in the Light of Christ. This year s five sub-themes follow the alliteration of listening in the Light of Christ, learning in the Light of Christ, living in the Light of Christ, loving in the Light of Christ and leading in the Light of Christ. Each sub-theme invites us to consider how our listening, our learning, our living, our loving and our leading are impacted by doing that in the Light of Christ. Do we stop our chatter to really listen? Do we really want to learn that somewhere in our life a shadow has fallen because we let it happen? Does our living proclaim in action what we say in words? Do we love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Do I lead in the spirit of the servant leadership which Jesus exemplified at the Last Supper when He washed the feet of His Disciples, an action which was the work of a slave? We are human and we fail, but failure is overcome when we rise up and start again. We live in a world of light, be it natural or artificial. Without sunlight, life on this earth is impossible. Without the light of Christ, our spiritual walking is an ambling in darkness. Light makes vision possible. Light illuminates the world around us. Light exposes what is hidden, even in our own lives. The light of Christ welcomes us to view the beauty of creation as the work of the Father who created us in His own image. And we do not walk alone. As Catholics and Christians, we are school communities who walk together in the Light of Christ. The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14) and that Word is the lamp for my walking feet and the light that illuminates my path. God is light and in God there is no darkness, so let us walk in that light. As parents and educators, the Gospel of Matthew has a message about light for us. In chapter 5, verse 14, Matthew writes about light and leadership. Jesus is speaking to His Apostles and says to them, You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way let your light shine before others. In your walking and in your talking, you are the light for your Catholic community. We can be a light to the broken-hearted, the misunderstood, those broken by bullies or torn by self-doubt. Jesus, however, did not leave us alone to deal with this. He promised us and sent us the Spirit to be our light and our guide. Noel P. Martin Director of Catholic Education

7 TCDSB Multi-Year Strategic Plan We are pleased to announce the approval of the Toronto Catholic District School Board s Multi- Year Strategic Plan revised mission and vision statements, and identification of six key strategic directions. Through a collaborative and consultative process, the Board s Multi-Year Strategic Plan was created to provide clarity, focus and a shared sense of purpose. The mission and vision statements clearly articulate our values and beliefs. Our Mission: The Toronto Catholic District School Board is an inclusive learning community rooted in the love of Christ. We educate students to grow in grace and knowledge and to lead lives of faith, hope and charity. Our Vision: At Toronto Catholic we transform the world through witness, faith, innovation and action. Our Strategic Directions: Living Our Catholic Values Fostering Student Achievement and Well-Being Providing Stewardship of Resources Strengthening Public Trust and Confidence Inspiring and Motivating Employees Achieving Excellence in Governance. The Education Act stipulates that every school board must develop a Multi-Year Strategic Plan. The TCDSB s Multi-Year Strategic Planning process was launched on April 7, 2011 with trustees and senior staff determining the areas of focus and refining the scope of the work and the action plan. This was followed up with several collaborative sessions, consultations with Director s Council, Education Council, Union and Association Representatives, the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee and Catholic School Advisory Council Chairs, were conducted as part of the Environmental Scan. The student voice was captured through the student trustee and with input from the Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team. Throughout the process, drafts of the plan were shared with stakeholders through the board s website and a series of meetings with principals, vice-principals, superintendents, association and union representatives, the Special Education Advisory Committee, the Catholic Parent Involvement Committee and feedback was encouraged. We thank everyone who has provided input into the Plan, and we encourage all of you to become familiar with our Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions. Our Multi-Year Strategic Plan is a living, breathing document that will inform the Board Learning and Improvement Plan, the Annual Performance Review of the Director and the Annual Governance Review. It will also inform the strategic and operational plans of facilities, human resources, finance and the budget process and priorities. In addition it will provide a foundation for the Performance Appraisal of Superintendents and Principals. Please visit our website at to view our Multi-Year Strategic Plan and supporting documents. Where there is no vision the people perish - Proverbs 29:18 TCDSB SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR Victoria Day: May 21, 2012 Last Day of Classes: June 28, 2012 REMAINING PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAYS June 1, 2012: June 29, 2012 Assessment and Evaluation Provincial Education Priorities