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MARCH, 2015
355 Annette Street, Toronto, Ontario M6P 1R3
Lorinda Mazza, Principal Dr. Jim Saraco Barbara Poplawski, Trustee, St. Cecilia Catholic Church Marisa Cicero, Olga Geryluk (CSAC Co-Chairs)
Victoria Purri, Vice-Principal Superintendent TCDSB, Ward 10 Father Joseph Tran, Pastor, Teresa Pavlin, CSAC Secretary
Maria Fauceglia, Secretary 416-222-8282 ext. 2486 416-512-3410, 416 -241-7130 416-769-8163 Sandy Moutinho, CSAC Treasurer
St. Cecilia Motto: Learning with Hearts, Hands and Minds - Growing in Harmony
St. Cecilia’s C.S.A.C.
Legacy Leaf Fundraiser
To commemorate our 100 year anniversary, we will be placing a Legacy Tree in our
school. A limited number of leaves for the tree are currently available to families,
alumni and staff for purchase. Each leaf is $100 and every donor will have the
opportunity to engrave his/her leaf with a name or short phrase. The funds raised
will be used to support important projects that will benefit all students, as well as
the community. An order form is found in this newsletter. For more information
about this fundraiser, please visit our Centenary site: http://www.saintcecilia100.ca
April 8th
CSAC Meeting
Our next meeting will be on April 8th * at 7pm. Everyone is welcome and childcare
is provided. A portion of this meeting will be dedicated to
Secondary School Admissions. Our school guidance counselor,
Frank Amato, will join us to address parent questions about the high school options
available to our students and related admissions requirements.
If this topic is of interest to you, please join us!
NOTE: The will be no CSAC meeting in March.
The February newsletter listed the date for the April CSAC meeting as the
15th. This was a misprint – our apologies.
CSAC Grant Committee
We are still looking for parent volunteers to be a part of our new Grant
Committee. There are many types of financial aid programs available to school
communities – we need the help of volunteers to short list the ones for which we
qualify and assist with application submissions. Please contact us if you are inter-
ested!
Marisa Cicero & Olga Geryluk, CSAC Co-chairs
csac.stcecilia@tcdsb.org
Go to www.saintcecilia100.ca
to comment and contribute to our school’s
100th Anniversary.
Principal’s Message
As you’ll see in this newsletter, we have been quite busy at St. Cecilia. This may have been one of the coldest Februarys on record, but it has not slowed us down. I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our staff, students and parent volunteers. Their commitment to a supporting/participating in a large range of extracurricular activities helps to create an exciting, engaging environment – one that so many families in our neighbourhood are eager to join.
Be sure to print our March calendar so you’re kept up to date on the many events happening next month too, like our civvies day to support a focus on clean water, Chess Tournament, Concours D’Arts Ora-toire competition, public library visits, Music Champion work/ performances, swim meet etc.
Our staff has been focusing on incorporating growth mindset and math problem solving strategies in the classroom. Consider the recommendations in the Growth Mindset article we’ve included in this newslet-ter.
SCHOOL HOURS Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
(416) 393-5218
School Website:
http://stcecilia.tcdsb.org
Page 2
Virtue of the Month: fORGIVENESS
Forgiveness is the final form of love. Reinhold Niebuhr
How timely that the virtue for this month is FORGIVENESS, not
only because we are in the season of Lent but also because it is
an important cornerstone of our faith and one that Jesus modeled
for us in his life and death. We are reminded that forgiveness is a
gift to ourselves as we let go of the burden of resentment when
we forgive another person and it’s a gift to our children when we
teach and model it to them.
Blessed Mother Teresa tells us that we need to pray with a heart
full of compassion.
“Lord, open our eyes, that we may see You in our
brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears, that we may hear the cries of the
hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed.
Lord, open our hearts, hat we may love each other as
You love us.
Renew in us Your spirit.
Lord, free us and make us one. Amen”
Special Visitors in Mrs. McClory’s Class
The grade 2/3 students are blessed to have the opportunity of having
Molly Sutkaitis visit the class and tell stories. This remarkably tal-
ented storyteller invites the children’s attention and they listen very
attentively. They truly look forward to her visits.
“St. Cecilia’s 50 Years Ago” Former student, Mr. Formosa, shared stories and personal
items of his time at St. Cecilia’s. The students were a captive
audience and really enjoyed his presentation.
TCDSB 2014—2015
SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR
Mid-Winter Break March 16–20, 2015
Good Friday April 3, 2015
Easter Monday April 6, 2015
Victoria Day May 18, 2015
Last day of classes June 25, 2015
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAYS
June 5, 2015 Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting
June 26, 2015 Provincial Education Priorities
Page 3
School Masses and Sacraments
March 10 @ 10:00 Lent
March 25 Lenten Reconciliation
April 9 @ 12:45pm Easter Mass
Saturday, April 11 Confirmation
April 24 @ 6:00pm Sacrament of Reconcilia-
tion
Saturday, April 25 First Holy Communion
May 22 @ 10:00am Caregivers
June 16 @ 6:30pm Graduation
June 25 @ 10:00am End of Year Mass
Grade 6 Science Classes Visit Ripley’s Aquarium
On Tuesday, February 17th, he grade 6 students visited Ripley’s Believe It or Not Aquarium and had a blast. Students enjoyed a one hour session on biodiversity in Ontario, focusing on invasive species, and were able to see a tank show where a diver described the different fish in her sur-roundings. The students also had the opportunity to pet sting rays and crabs. They also enjoyed their lunch in “Ray Bay” during the sting rays’ feeding time. While touring the aquarium for the rest of the day, the students saw many other small and large aquatic species. I think the biggest hit was the shark! Many thanks to CSAC for providing transportation.
(Mrs. Kowalenko, Mrs. Spalding)
March Book Fair: Grades 4-8
After much consideration and discussion with junior & intermediate students, it has been decided that we will invite Mable’s Fables Bookstore back for a second book fair at our school. Following last year’s fairs, the older students were of the opinion that Mable’s Fables offered a greater variety of literature appropriate to their grade level.
The Mable’s Fables book fair will run from Tuesday, March 24 through Friday, March 27th.
Students in grades 4-8 will also participate in a Book Talk led by one of the Mable’s Fable’s employees. During this presentation, students will be introduced to various books, appropri-ate to their specific grade level, that will be available at the fair. Students will also be taking home a flyer with the dates and times of the fair prior to the March Break. Commissions earned from the sales at the fair will be used to replenish existing library books and to pur-chase new reading materials in both English and French.
Upcoming Events: There will also be a Scholastic Book Fair held during the first week of May for
all grades. More details to follow.
Recycle Your Used Books to Our School Library
We continue to accept used picture books and chapters book at the school library. We ask that all donated books be in good condition and that books be appropriate for students in grades one through eight.
On behalf of staff and students, I would like to express our sincerest appreciation to all families who have donated a va-riety of reading materials to the library. With increasing enrolment, your donations are integral to providing all students with access to quality and current reading materials. Thank you for your generosity!
Mrs. Tavares
Library Volunteers Needed!
We continue to catalogue all existing and new books into the new automated library system. This tedious task has been started by Mrs. Tavares with the assistance of Mrs. Henry. Although most books have now been catalogued into the new system, part of the non-fiction and French collection still needs to be catalogued. As an incentive, the school board is offering a free label maker to all schools that complete the cataloguing of their entire library collection by June.
The library will be closed from March 9-13th to continue, and ideally, com-plete the cataloguing process. Any parents available to assist with inputting the data of the remaining collection are asked to contact Mrs. Tavares at the school (416-393-5218). The cataloguing process is not complicated and can be easily learned by all. Advanced computer skills are not necessary. Mrs. Tavares is confident that if a team of volunteers could be organized during the first week of March, the cataloguing process could be completed and allow Mrs. Tavares to catalogue new reading materials that will be arriving following the upcoming book fairs. Any high school students in need of volunteer hours are also welcome.
Page 4
Valentine’s Day Activities and Dance
Page 5
Me To We Goat Fundraiser
Thank you to all who participated in our ‘We Create Change’ fundraiser from Free the Children. Our dress down day on January 22, 2015 raised $707.85 to try to end poverty overseas by
providing a means of sustainable income. Every $50 raised/donated, buys one goat for a family overseas. With your donations, St. Cecilia has purchased 14 goats for this campaign. Well done!!
Candy-grams Fundraising Update
Our first ever candy-gram fundraiser for Valentine's Day and in support of our Clean Water Project for Ecuador for Free the Children, was a great success! Students and teachers sent candy-grams
to friends and colleagues to support his worthy cause and wish them a Happy Valentine's Day. A total of $ 403.50 was raised!!
SKATING at HIGH PARK
True to our Canadian spirit, the grade 6 stu-
dents enjoyed an afternoon skating at High
Park. “The cold never bothered them, any-way”.
Eco-News
March 13 is Water Bottle Free Day - Water is a Human Right
Bottled Water Free Day is a national day of action which takes place in March. This day is a
project of the Polaris Institute, working with the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian
Union of Public Employees, the Sierra Youth Coalition, Development & Peace and others. On
March 15, youth in communities across Canada and the world will be mobilizing for the national
day of action against bottled water. For further information, please visit the following website:
http://cfs-fcee.ca/take-action/bottle-water-free-communities/the-issues/no-water-for-profit/. As a
result, St Cecilia, we will be taking the pledge NOT to drink bottled water where tap water is
available. As a result, we are having a dress down on March 13, 2015 to help fund a water refilling station at our
school. We are asking every student to dress down and contribute $2.00. The money raised for this dress down day will
go toward funding a water refilling station for our school.
Please support this worthy cause and bring $2.00 on March 13, 2015.
March 27, 2015 - St. Cecilia Participates in Earth Hour Earth Hour is an international event usually held on the last Saturday of March between 8:30-9:30
pm. During this hour, citizens around the world turn off their lights in support of addressing climate
change. St. Cecilia will participate in Earth Hour on Friday, March 27 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
We will celebrate this event with prayers, and turning off our lights and unplugging all non-essential
lights, computers, and other electrical devices. During this hour, students will also have the oppor-
tunity to participate in various activities such as an outdoor hike, recycled crafts, or storytelling, etc., to learn about the
importance of reducing our use of electricity. Through learning and action, we can make a difference for our planet.
Thank you for your support in this worldwide movement to raise awareness about climate change and protecting our
planet as we invite the whole St. Cecilia Community to participate in Earth Hour on March 28, 2015 from 8:30 p.m. to
9:30 p.m.
The Eco Team
To access eco-information, please visit our St. Cecilia Eco-Team website: https://sites.google.com/site/saintceciliaecoteam/
Page 6
Black History Month
The Grade 4 students and the Perseverance Club led a prayer service, performed songs and presented two
short plays to commemorate Black History Month and the virtues of Courage and Love. The students’ rendi-
tion of ‘Glory’, arranged by Mrs. Spalding, was very moving and the whole school sang along to ‘What is
Love’. The plays featured two prominent figures in Civil Rights history, both Canadian and American, Viola
Desmond and Ruby Bridges. Congratulations to the recipients of the certificates for the virtues of the months
of January and February. Well done!!
Virtues of Courage and Love: Congratulations!
Page 7
CARNAVALE D’HIVER
Page 8
Many thanks to Mme. Choquette and team for organizing great winter activities for the students.
Page 9
R EADING BUDDIES
Grade 1 and Grade 8 students reading together.
Mme Choquette, Mrs. Pelech and
Mme Czulo’s Classes
The Learning Myth: Why I'll Never Tell My Son He's Smart Tue, 19 Aug 2014 14:43:00 By: Salman Khan
My 5-year--old son has just started reading. Every night, we lie on his bed and he reads a short book to
me. Inevitably, he’ll hit a word that he has trouble with: last night the word was “gratefully.” He even-
tually got it after a fairly painful minute. He then said, “Dad, aren’t you glad how I struggled with that
word? I think I could feel my brain growing.” I smiled: my son was now verbalizing the tell--tale signs
of a “growth- mindset.” But this wasn’t by accident. Recently, I put into practice research I had been reading about for the past few
years: I decided to praise my son not when he succeeded at things he was already good at, but when he persevered with things that
he found difficult. I stressed to him that by struggling, your brain grows. Between the deep body of research on the field of learning
mindsets and this personal experience with my son, I am more convinced than ever that mindsets toward learning could matter
more than anything else we teach.
Researchers have known for some time that the brain is like a muscle; that the more you use it, the more it grows. They’ve found
that neural connections form and deepen most when we make mistakes doing difficult tasks rather than repeatedly having success
with easy ones.
What this means is that our intelligence is not fixed, and the best way that we can grow our intelligence is to embrace tasks where
we might struggle and fail.
However, not everyone realizes this. Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University has been studying people’s mindsets towards learning
for decades. She has found that most people adhere to one of two mindsets: fixed or growth. Fixed mindsets mistakenly believe that
people are either smart or not, that intelligence is fixed by genes. People with growth mindsets correctly believe that capability and
intelligence can be grown through effort, struggle and failure. Dweck found that those with a fixed mindset tended to focus their
effort on tasks where they had a high likelihood of success and avoided tasks where they may have had to struggle, which limited
their learning. People with a growth mindset, however, embraced challenges, and understood that tenacity and effort could change
their learning outcomes. As you can imagine, this correlated with the latter group more actively pushing themselves and growing
intellectually.
The good news is that mindsets can be taught; they’re malleable. What’s really fascinating is that Dweck and others have developed
techniques that they call “growth mindset interventions,” which have shown that even small changes in communication or seeming-
ly innocuous comments can have fairly long--lasting implications for a person’s mindset. For instance, praising someone’s process
(“I really like how you struggled with that problem”) versus praising an innate trait or talent (“You’re so clever!”) is one way to
reinforce a growth -mindset with someone. Process- praise acknowledges the effort; talent- praise reinforces the notion that one
only succeeds (or doesn’t) based on a fixed trait. And we’ve seen this on Khan Academy as well: students are spending more time
learning on Khan Academy after being exposed to messages that praise their tenacity and grit and that underscore that the brain is
like a muscle.
The Internet is a dream for someone with a growth mindset. Between Khan Academy, MOOCs, and others, there is unprecedented
access to endless content to help you grow your mind. However, society isn’t going to fully take advantage of this without growth
mindsets being more prevalent. So what if we actively tried to change that? What if we began using whatever means are at our dis-
posal to start performing growth mindset interventions on everyone we cared about? This is much bigger than Khan Academy or
algebra — it applies to how you communicate with your children, how you manage your team at work, how you learn a new lan-
guage or instrument. If society as a whole begins to embrace the struggle of learning, there is no end to what that could mean for
global human potential.
And now here’s a surprise for you. By reading this article itself, you’ve just undergone the first half of a growth--mindset interven-
tion. The research shows that just being exposed to the research itself (--for example, knowing that the brain grows most by getting
questions wrong, not right--) can begin to change a person’s mindset. The second half of the intervention is for you to communicate
the research with others. We’ve made a video (above) that celebrates the struggle of learning that will help you do this. After all,
when my son, or for that matter, anyone else asks me about learning, I only want them to know one thing. As long as they embrace
struggle and mistakes, they can learn anything.
— You can view the original op-ed in Huffington Post
Page 10
St. Cecilia Parish News
Sunday, March 1st at 3:30 p.m.: St. Cecilia's Church 37th Annual St. Patrick's
Mass and celebration. Main celebrant and homilist will be his
Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins. Everyone is invited!
Wed. March 4th: Archdiocese Day of Confessions: St. Cecilia's Church hours to
hear confession: 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m., 12:00-1:00 p.m. and
7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 6th at 7:45 p.m.: Lenten Taizè Retreat at St. Cecilia's Church
Tuesday, March 10th: St. Cecilia's School Lenten Mass at 10:00 a.m.
No First Communion preparation classes during the two weekends of March Break. (March 16 & 22nd.)
Page 11
Page 12
Guidance Corner
High School Registration is Underway!
High school registration nights have begun and will continue into the month of March. Be sure to read through your child’s acceptance packages carefully and complete all of the necessary forms before submitting them on the date of registration.
Pay particular attention to the Reach-Ahead course that is being offered by some schools in the TCDSB. Your child may be entitled to a credit for taking a four week summer school course. This course is a great opportunity for your child to become familiar with their new environment, to meet the new students with whom they will be attending school, and they will begin in September with one completed credit.
Exchange of Information Meetings
Representatives from all of the high schools will be in contact with teachers this month to discuss your child’s progress and to ensure that the secondary school is prepared to receive their new grade 9 students. At the meeting, teachers will discuss proper placement (e.g. academic, applied or locally developed) for your child.
Change of High School Forms
Change forms will become available early in March. Students who would like to attempt to find a placement in a differ-ent TCDSB high school are to request a form from their teacher. Forms must be completed and submitted as soon as possible. Please remember that submitting a Change Form does not guarantee your child a spot in a different high school. Admittance is still based on availability of space.
Have a wonderful March Break! Mr. F. Amato
Guidance Counsellor
francesco.amato@tcdsb.org
Student Safe Arrival The safety of our students is of the upmost importance. When a student is marked absent, unless notified
of the absence, the office staff needs to call each and every student to ensure his/her whereabouts. With
enrolment at over 600, you can appreciate that this task is time-consuming. In order to be more efficient
and to make sure that all of our students are safe, we ask that you follow school procedure and call the
school to notify the office if your child will be away from school. For your convenience, you can leave a
message on the answering machine at any time.
In the morning, the school grounds are supervised only until 8:30 a.m., therefore, we ask that the students
arrive at school on time, ready to begin the school day with their peers. Punctuality is a very important
skill to instill in our children and we ask that you continue to encourage your children to plan accordingly.
When you visit the school, please ring the bell. When prompted, please state your name and business and
report to the office once you gain entry. Please be aware that the students are instructed not to open the
doors for anyone but staff and classmates.
Finally, please adopt the practice of dropping off your student in the school yard or at the front doors.
With the exception of our very young FDK students, children can proceed to their classrooms or the office
on their own. This will develop more independence in your child, make it easier to monitor the pres-
ence of adults in the school and create less congestion in the hallway. Therefore, we ask that you ‘Kiss
and Drop Off” your children at the beginning of the school day.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our children safe.
Page 13
Special Events for March
March 2—School Support Staff Appreciation Day: http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/support-staff-appreciation-day-2015.aspx
March 7—Lift Jesus Higher Rally: http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/lift-jesus-higher-rally.aspx
March 8—International Women’s Day
March 16-20—March Break
March 21—International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination: http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/international-day-for-elimiination-of-racial-discrimination.aspx
March 21—World Down Syndrome Day: http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/world-down-syndrome-day.aspx
March 22—World Water Day: http://www.tcdsb.org/pages/world-water-day.aspx
Earth Hour—March 27th 10 a.m. (for school); March 28th 8:30 p.m. (at home) http://www.tcdsb.org/board/environment/earthhour/pages/default.aspx
Board and Committee Meetings
March 3—Budget Committee
March 5--Student Achievement Committee
March 9--Special Board
March 10--Governance & Policy Committee
March 12--Corporate Affairs Committee
March 25—Special Education Advisory Committee
March 26--Board
March 30--OAPCE Toronto
(Meeting dates subject to change; check the website for the latest information: http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/TrusteesoftheBoard/boardmeeting/information/Pages/Meeting-Schedule.aspx)
Remember to follow us on Twitter @TCDSB for all the latest news and information, or visit our web-
site at www.tcdsb.org.
Monthly Update from the
Board
March 2015
TCDSB Safe School Inquiry
Public Meetings Wednesday, March 4, 2015
6:30- 9:00 PM St. Andrew Catholic School, 2533 Kipling Avenue
Etobicoke
Wednesday March 25, 2015 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM Senator O’Connor Secondary School, 60 Rowena Drive North York
*All Public Meetings are open to any person or group from the TCDSB community wishing to present their views. No prior registra-tion is required. Those wishing to testify may contact Christina DeLuca from TCDSB Corporate Services at 416-222-8282 ext. 2473 or by email: christina.deluca@tcdsb.org
No Change to Secondary School Admission Policy
At This Time
No changes to the policy will be implemented in the short term. Status quo remains until further consultations are conducted re-garding any proposed recommendations arising from the first phase of parent input and the findings of first cycle of School Accommoda-tion Reviews. For more information, see the letter from the Director on our website: http://www.tcdsb.org/News/othernews/2015/Pages/Letter-from-Director-of-Education-Regarding-Secondary-School-Admissions-Policy.aspx
Voices of Charity
The Director of Education, Angela Gauthier, presents her latest webcast which focuses on the pursuit of innovation and excellence in TCDSB schools: http://youtu.be/fD19Ff5ZaC4
Upcoming Information Sessions for Parents
CSAC Training Session—Understanding school funding and the Board budget; more about fundraising--March 4th, 7 p.m. at Cath-olic Education Centre, 80 Sheppard Avenue East
OAPCE Toronto hosts PRO (Parents Reaching Out) Grants Work-shop #1 Partnerships, connecting to curriculum--April 1, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Information for Students:
Summer Employment—Focus on Youth Accepting Appli-cations Until March 27th
Check online for detailed information http://www.tcdsb.org/forstudents/focusonyouth/pages/foy-2015.aspx
Scholarships, Bursaries, Awards, Contests—Get the latest information here: http://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/AwardsScholarshipsBursariesContests/Pages/default.aspx
TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES 2014 – 2015
Ward 1 Joseph Martino Ward 2 Ann Andrachuk Ward 3 Sal Piccinnini Ward 4 Patrizia Bottoni Ward 5 Maria Rizzo Ward 6 Frank D’Amico Ward 7 Michael Del Grande, Chair Ward 8 Gary Tanuan Ward 9 Barbara Poplawski Ward 10 Angela Kennedy Ward 11 Nancy Crawford, Vice-Chair
Hanna McGroarty, Student Trustee Chris MacDonald, Student Trustee Angela Gautier, Director of Education
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