St. Gregory Catholic School Newsletter 126 Rathburn Road, Etobicoke, Ontario, M9B 2K6 Telephone: (416) 393-5262 Fax: (416) 393-5189

Visit us: http://stgregorytoronto.com or https://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stgregory.org AND follow us on Twitter @StGregoryCS

St. Gregory Parish Superintendent: Mr. D. Yack 416-222-8282 Principal: J. Pannozzo Fr. John Bertao Trustee: Mrs. A. Andrachuk 416-512-3402 Vice Principal: A. Pires (416) 239-4831 CSPC co-chairs: P. Vokins & J. D’Aprile Secretary: C. Pulcini Clerk Typist: S. Shanahan/L. Grise

JUNE –end of school year- 2017

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the St. Gregory C. S. community for your ongoing support

for the education of your children and for the numerous activities we have completed this school

year. Thank you to our CSPC this year that has funded additional resources for the classroom to promote

student achievement and 21st Century fluencies.

As another school year draws to an end, we bid farewell to a number of staff members for various

reasons. Mrs. Alberton and Ms. Mulvihill are retiring. They have been part of St. Gregory for many years

and have served our community with diligence and integrity each and every day. They have touched the lives of all members

of our Catholic community and they will be truly missed. Mr. Junior Cabrera (night caretaker) is also retiring and we wish

him the very best in his retirement.

Mrs. Pires, our Vice Principal, has been appointed Principal at Holy Child. We thank her for her two years at St. Gregory

and the great work she has done for the community and we wish her well as she embarks on her new leadership journey.

Father John is taking a one year sabbatical and we thank her for his many years of service at the St. Gregory parish. He has

been an integral part of our community and we thank him for his guidance and spiritual leadership. Thank you, Father!

Mrs. Maxwell and Mrs. Santelli are transferring to other schools. We wish them the very best in their new placements and

thank them for their efforts at St. Gregory.

Ms. Hetmanczuk, Mr. Severino, Ms. Hanna, Ms. Nassuna, Ms. Visconti, Ms. Trinetti, Mr. Pastuszok, Mr. Grossi, Ms.

Singh, and Mr. Testani are completing their Long Term Assignments at our school. We thank them for all their hard work

and the contributions they have made to our school and wish them well in their future endeavours.

Thank you for making my third year as Principal of St. Gregory Catholic School a rewarding one. I look forward to

working with you next year. On behalf of Mrs. Pires and myself, we would like to wish everyone a safe and restful summer

and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 5th, 2017.

Sincerely, Mr. Pannozzo

Vice-Principal’s Message Farewell! It is with mixed feelings that I will be saying ‘Farewell’ to the St. Gregory

Community and moving to Holy Child Catholic School. It has truly been a great

learning experience. I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know the students,

parents and staff! I thank Mr. Pannozzo for his mentorship, Father John for his

guidance and staff, parents and students for welcoming me to your school. I will use

all that I have learned here and carry that to the next phase of my career. Thank

you for all your well wishes and I wish you and your families many blessings!

Sincerely, Ana Pires

Lord,

We are grateful for the summer months ahead,

And grateful for the summer joys

and the laughter of the children

in our families, our schools and our parishes.

Bless our children during these next months;

may they grow in grace through play and picnics,

camps and friendships, family visits and vacations. Amen

UPCOMING CHANGES at St. Gregory’s Parish His Eminence, Cardinal Collins has appointed Fr.

Sean Lee Lung as Pastor of St. Gregory’s Parish

effective June 29th, 2017.

Fr. Sean was associate pastor at Nativity of Our

Lord Parish before being Pastor of St. Timothy

Parish, Orangeville. Thank you for welcoming Fr.

Sean as your new Pastor who is no stranger to

Etobicoke. And for those who do not attend our

parish, I believe that our students/your child will

soon get to know Fr. Sean who is very

approachable.

As for me, His Eminence has granted me a temporary leave of absence before my next appointment.

The last twelve years of being associated with St. Gergory Catholic School have been a great blessing in

getting to know so many young lives who have so much to look forward to. Thank you for having

considered a Catholic Education for your child. I pray that you will reap the rewards as time goes by.

In addition, all of us have been very blessed with some amazing teachers and management staff at our

school; they truly help make a difference in Catholic Education. Blessings to you all.

In closing, I share with you the following reflection:

“THE PRIEST … no matter where he is located, the diocesan

priest has to be a sharer of secrets, the carrier of burdens, the

fountain of consolation, and the pillar of strength. Solitary, he

is called father by thousands; poor, he enriches the lives of

thousands; weak, he gives strength to thousands;

unimportant, he does things each day whose importance

cannot be told in any tongue on earth. He is never too busy to

hear another’s sorrows; often too busy to realize his own

burdens. He is a 24-hour-a-day man. He is called from his

dinner; wakened from his sleep; disturbed at his prayers. He

is at the beck and call of any of his people. He is the target of

God’s enemies, the magnet of God’s needy. Occasionally, he

attracts attention; but usually he works unnoticed and un-

acclaimed while he does the noblest work on earth ---- keeps

Christ in the lives of the people.” Taken from a reflection

by: The Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, S.J., Bishop of

Oakland.

Mary, Mother of priests … Pray for us.

Fr. John Bertão

On Thursday, June 22nd our

Grade 8s started off the day by

being acknowledged by the St.

Gregory staff and students in our

traditional “clap out”.

Our students then celebrated

their graduation with a luncheon

and dance at the Weston Golf

Club that afternoon. At 7:00 p.m.

the students reconvened at the

church for Mass, followed by

their graduation ceremony.

Students, family and friends then

gathered in the school gym for

refreshments and farewells. A

most memorable day was had by

all. Congratulations to the

graduating class of 2017!

Our SK students are ‘Off

to great places!’ On

Friday, June 23rd our

Senior Kindergarten

students celebrated their

graduation from

Kindergarten to grade 1

along with their teachers,

ECEs and family and

friends. We thank parent

volunteers for helping to

make this day a special

one for all.

Parents, over the summer months, please continue to monitor your child’s online activities to ensure responsible posting and their cyber safety. Information was sent to parents throughout the year regarding online rules and etiquette, which is available on the TCDSB website at:http://www.tcdsb.org/policyregister/AUP/default.htm (TCDSB’s Electronic

Communication System--Acceptable Use Policy)

A

reminder

to all

that the

last day

of

School

will be Thursday, June 29th .

DISMISSAL is at 3:00 p.m.

Please contact the school at

(416)393-5262 if your child

will not be returning to our

school in September, or if

returning later in September

from vacation.

School resumes on Tuesday, September 5th. Students in grades one to eight will assemble in the school yard. Signs will be posted along with a class list indicating your child’s teacher for 2016-17 school year. Kindergarten students will gather in the Kindergarten Yard.

When placing students in next year’s classes, the various abilities, needs and strengths of the students are considered in their class placement. It is important to understand that due to a possible increase or decrease in enrolment, changes may need to be made in grade organization, teacher assignments and the placement of children, during the month of September or early October.

Summer activities give rise to many opportunities for

learning math. For example, estimating temperature

changes and probabilities, distances, recognizing

patterns, calculating grocery lists for camping trips,

and many more. See this link http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/maths-site/expert-help--2/andrew-jeffrey

for you and your children to explore together this

summer!

Combined classes group children from two consecutive grades in one classroom. Schools combine grades for a variety of reasons. This includes organizing classes to meet student learning needs

and combining grades to balance class size. All classrooms include students with a range of skills and abilities. Combined classes are neither better nor worse than single-grade classes. They are simply one of the many ways schools meet students’ academic and social development needs. Various factors are considered when grouping children into classes: • Learning styles • Social skills • Academic needs At St. Gregory we strive to create a classroom environment that will support the needs of all students. Due to a ministry initiative that decreases the number of students from Grades 1 to 3 to no more than 20 students in each classroom, we will have combined classes next year. Teachers use many different strategies to teach students in combined grades identifying the range of needs in the classroom and planning and programming to meet the needs of all students.

It is always a good time to review the basic

safety rules with your children.

Children should:

Always tell you where they are.

Know their name, age, address, city and

province.

Go places with friends.

Never approach or enter a stranger’s car.

Never open the door to a stranger or let

strangers in the house.

Never say they are alone if they answer the

phone or door.

Never accept gifts from strangers.

Never enter anyone’s home or car without

permission from parents.

Know it’s okay to say “no” to adults,

especially if the adult wants them to do

something which makes them uncomfortable

or they know is wrong.

Know that it is unwise to believe stories such

as a person wanting them to help find a lost

pet, etc.

Know that no one has the right to touch any

part of his or her body that a bathing suit

would cover.

Recognize suspicious behavior and report it

immediately.

Know to tell you if someone has asked them

to keep a secret from you.

Know what to do in case of unwelcome

attention (e.g., walk faster, go to a store,

head for a busy street, walk toward a group

of people and wave as if they see someone

they know).

Scream and keep screaming if something is

wrong.

Kick and bite hard if someone grabs them to

get away.

Know that uniformed police officers are

there to protect.

Parents are encouraged to give their children

a “password” known only to them. This can

be used when a stranger, a friend or family

member approaches them and asks them to

come with them.

Keep these in mind at all times!

The TCDSB remains committed to the environment and continues to look for innovative ways to promote conservation through energy and waste reduction initiatives. We are asking you to fully participate with your child as we continue to do our part. Let’s become leaders in this environmentally friendly waste-reduction program. It involves the following three simple steps:

1. Lunches and snacks should be packed in re-usable

containers, not in disposable bags.

2. In order to avoid spills, we ask you to use containers that are re-sealable.

3. To ensure the safety of students who suffer life

threatening, anaphylactic reactions, please place all foods in reusable containers in their original package or wrapper. This will allow the food ingredients to be clearly indicated and help all staff and students to be aware of possible allergens introduced in the school environment.

Left-over food, which can be disposed of in the green bin program available at your home, can easily be brought back home by your child in his/her containers. Thank you for your on-going support with our school’s environmental efforts.

Take your child to the public library to join the TD Summer

Reading Club. Your young teens can join Word Out:

Teen Summer Reading and go online with other book

loving teens to talk about favourite books. Check out the

Toronto Public Library site for more details

Http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca.

Download stories to devices. This is a great idea for long

car rides or a relaxing hot summer afternoon. See

Downloads and eBooks at

http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca.

Have your child keep a Word Book to print words they see

in the environment and on travels (e.g., names of places,

things, people, activities, etc.).

Before you leave on a trip, make a Bingo card of things

you might see. When your child gets bingo, reward

him/her with a comic, joke book or other fun reading

materials.

When you travel, bring games, books, word searches,

crossword puzzles and writing materials that will entertain

your child.

Help your child learn a new and interesting word each

day/week. Challenge your child to use it as often as

possible.

Pick something in nature to observe over the summer, talk

and write about its changes (e.g., a tree, a flower, an

insect, an animal, etc.).

Engage in oral word games to extend your child’s

vocabulary (e.g., categories, I Spy, I Pack My Suitcase,

etc.)

Thanks to all the coaches who have

volunteered their time and talents to

coach/lead the various teams and

committees this year! Students have

learned the value of responsibility,

teamwork and school spirit! A special

thank you goes to Mr. Cooper who has

taken on the task of writing up ‘Cooper’s

Corner’ for our monthly newsletters

again this year, sharing all the athletics

news happening at St. Gregory! Go

Gregs Go!

CPSC is excited to announce Online Ordering in the 2017-2018 school year!! All orders for CPSC-run activities such as the school milk program, pizza lunches, subway lunches, movie night pizza, bingo tickets, etc. will be handled through a new online ordering system in 2017-2018. Details of this system will be sent home in the first week of school. Stay tuned!

Congratulations to all recipients of the June Growth Mindset button: ‘I have a positive attitude!”.

Growth Mindset resources can be found under the parent resources tab at https://www.mindsetkit.org/growth-mindset-parents

GROWTH MINDSET

Monthly Recognition: I have a positive attitude

TEACHER June Ms. Rosa Maya M. Abraham O.B.

Ms. Andreacchi Mia Sofia

Ms. Salmond Olivia P. Madelyn O.

Ms. Maxwell/Santelli Ava Joseph Mig & Christina

Mrs. Botelho Anna Jane L. Valencia J.

Mrs. Roy/Trinetti Victor I. Douglas R.

Mrs. Ceddia Noah R. Alessia M.

Ms. Mulvihill Jacob Frida

Mrs. Barone Joshua L. Christian D.

Ms. Alberton Julian M. Patrick D.

Mrs. Gentile Emmanuel G. Victoria I. Lola N.

Mrs. Yetman Mekenzie C. Madison M. Knowlton M.

Ms. Loughlin Fiona P.

Ms. Brajuka/Grossi Paulo S. Ashton T.

Ms. Steponaitis Mia

Mr. Zinko Rory N. Macar P. Giselle S.

Ms. Hetmanczuk Mary P. Travis J. Francisca M-M

Ms. Micallef Jack L. Andrea S.

Mrs. Hall Maria C. Wesley J.

Mrs. Quartarone Micaela V. Vince J. Joshua B.

Mrs. Cicirelli/Pastuszok Joseph Pierce Griffin

Mr. Pruchnicky Kalyna D. Victoria R.

Mme Abboud Arturo P. Renee P.

Mrs. Martinez/Nassuna Noah S. Laura B.

Mrs. Dalmau Amelia L. Kathrin C. Stephanie P.

Mr. Severino Christina B. Anne G. Amy B.

Mme Bahsous Clara B. Sofia B.

Mr. De Medeiros Lucas A. Lauren O. Steven P.

Ms. Hanna Carescia J-V Isabell D. Sarah U

Mrs. Pitoscia Abigail S. /

Stefen B.

Michael B. /

Michael M.

Connor C. /

Andrew S.

Mrs. J. Pires Mara R.