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From the Principal
Volume 6, Issue 5
News from St. Sylvester
Principal
Mr. R. Fernandes
Secretary
Mrs. M. Jamjekian
CSPC Chair
Ms. Dias
Pastor
Fr. Steven
January 2020
““And so it begins again. While there is little doubt that September is the official
start of the school year, in so many ways, January represents a new beginning as
well. Unlike September of course, there is none of the gradual process of getting
used to a new class, new routines and new workloads. Rather, January offers the
chance to build on the great learning from the first four months, and to continue
to develop and grow in the areas of faith, academics, and extra curricular skills.
Rather than start the New Year off slowly, we’ll be continuing to grow with
renewed academic focus on areas we have focused on in our school learning plan
(engaging our students in the curriculum); further igniting of our school spirit (our
literacy spirit day is on the way); and centring it all in our Faith.
January is a time when many turn to the popular past time of making New Years
resolutions. Resolutions are always a good thing to make, but as we know, it is the
act of staying resolute or persistent that make new goals a possibility. Our School
Code of Conduct as well as the Catholic Graduate Expectations (both found in
the agenda) are always a good place to centre your goals for your children. God is
inside everyone is the first point on our Code of Conduct and mirrors the theme
of Operation Kindness. We talk about this idea constantly, but continued
reminders are key for this idea to be truly lived. The Catholic Graduate
expectations speak among other things of the need to create effective
communicators and responsible citizens. Please take an extra minute or two to
review both our code of conduct and the Catholic Graduate Expectations with
your child—both are guaranteed good uses of time in the month ahead.
The New Year may bring both excitement at the idea of new possibilities and
apprehension at the thought of how to reach these possibilities. And it is for this
reason that January’s virtue of Courage offers so much comfort as we move
ahead. The words of Jesus provide our strength and guidance as always. “Do not
be afraid, I am with you.” It can be very difficult to remember or to truly
understand the support that God gives us, but it is so clear that He is there. No
matter what challenges, successes, or failures we experience, God is there.
Knowing that He is there may not change the challenges, successes or failures we
endure, but it should definitely change the way we approach these things. With
God’s support we can face the obstacles put before us. Take courage.
And so as we welcome the year 2020 into our lives, we centre ourselves in the idea
that resolutions are something to consider at any time, but it is the staying resolute
that will lead to success. We focus on the School Code of Conduct, and the
Catholic Graduate Expectations. Most importantly, we allow ourselves to be
guided by Christ, our protector and guide. Blessings to you all and may the year
2020 be a time of health, fulfillment and prosperity for us all..
416–393-5373
School Information
School Enrolment
182 students
School Hours
8:30—3:00
Lunch Hour
11:15—12:15
School Parish
St .Aidan Catholic
Church
(416-494-2704)
Home, School, and Church
Page 2 News from St. Sylvester
It starts with communication
A repeat request— St. Sylvester school needs your help.
We are in the process of planning for next year. Numbers are
needed for each class for next year. With that in mind, it’s very
important that we know if your child will NOT be returning to St.
Sylvester next year.
Kindergarten registration is around the corner and we’re look-
ing to keep our numbers strong. Please spread the word about
the vibrant learning community that St. Sylvester is.
Church News
Our school took time during December to really
remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.
One of the ways we did this was by celebrating with
two Advent Circles which was a perfect way to
centre us all in the spirit and meaning of
Christmas—the birth of Jesus.
The Sacrament of First Reconciliation will be taking
place at St. Sylvester in Jan 13 at 12:45 pm
January is Courage month and we encourage everyone
to try and follow the points below. Those who do it best
will become our virtues stars for January
1. Let your actions be guided by the idea that God is
inside everyone .
2. Know that sometimes doing the right thing is very
tough but with courage you CAN do the right thing
3. Stand up respectfully when you see something
wrong that is being done
4. Live your life in a way that makes others know you
are a follower of Christ
Faith and Character Development
December Virtue Stars (Charity)
Ms. Furtado/ Ms. Demarco Elric Amalaraj
Mrs. Anievas Angeline Limbo
Mrs. Povo Zoey Arcilla
Ms. Ironside Rose Roney
Mrs. Severino Jayden Malbog
Ms. Harrietha Alina Lin
Ms. Stoner Ami Lee
Mr. Meli Krizelle Valino
Congratulations to all these students for demonstrating our
Virtue of the month. They have been awarded a certificate
for remembering that God welcomes us all and that we
should try to welcome others as well.
Parent Involvement Catholic Parent Involvement Committee (CPIC): www.tcdsb.org/cpic
Parents who take an active, supportive role in their child’s education and school are showing a strong positive exam-
ple to their children. There are several ways to be involved in your child’s education.
Our next CSPC (Parent council) meeting will be on Jan 7th at 5:30 pm. Please remember that you can visit our
website for updated CSPC news and minutes.
Our Parent Council are now starting to get ready for their chocolate sale fundraiser. Thanks to all those who have
and are continuing to work for our students.
Page 3
Kindergarten Registration for September 2020 The Toronto Catholic District School Board invites families with children born in 2016 to register for Kindergarten beginning
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 10 a.m. EST.
Registration options:
Online: Parents will be able to complete their application online at: https://soar.tcdsb.org/Login.aspx. A follow up with visit to the
school to present the required documents will be scheduled following the online application.
In Person: Parents can register at their local school with the required documents.
Information: 416-222-8282 ext. 5320 or 5314, www.tcdsb.org/kindergartenregistration
Healthy living
There are so many things that contribute to
healthy active living. This month, we’re look-
ing at three.
1. Stay active—Our DPA program aims to
do this with two to three sessions a week
in the gym and one roadrunner day
2. Eat healthy foods—our nutrition program
provides fresh fruit or vegetables each day
3. Get your sleep—please ensure your child
comes to school rested because a rested child is a
healthy child.
Happening at a School Near You
Staffing news
We wish Mrs. Severino all the best as she prepares for her
Maternity leave. Mr. Bernardino will be in the Gr. 3/4
class for the remainder of the year and we are grateful to
have him with us 5 days of the week.
We welcome Ms Christidis who will supply teaching for
Vocal Music until Ms. Dominguez returns.
We also will be welcoming 5 CYW students from Jan to
April in our JK/SK and SK/1 classes
Continuing the Eco Fight!
We continue to try and help change the world one
lunch bag at a time.
Our Eco team’s current goal is a war on packaging.
Think about it. Packaging is excessive, for the most
part horrendous for the environment, and often just
not necessary.
So what do we do next?
We start small and aim big. Our Eco team is
encouraging all parents and students to aim for waste
free snacks. The less packaging, the healthier the
snack generally is. Fruits and vegetables are great
snacks and they can go in Tupperware containers. If
you don’t want fruits and veggies, then go for home
baked goods—again in a Tupperware container. We
understand that some products—chips, chocolate
bars, etc are just going to have poor packaging. At the
minimum, try to reduce your reliance on those
products. Kool aid jammers? Please just don’t buy
them. Take it from me….WATER is the way to go (in
a reusable bottle of course).
And a few other important things
A picture says a thousand words? Keeping the Christ in Christmas was the name of the Primary Christmas play so beauti-fully performed on Dec 18th at St. Sylvester. Thanks to all who were able to make it out.
Thursday, January 16—6:30—7:30 pm
Get ready to be entertained!
St. Sylvester students have already been taught
plenty about environmental awareness. They’ve
also been treated to a performance extra
ordinaire by Alexis from Friendly Fables.
Now it’s time for the parents to have both
experiences as well.
Thanks to a ministry grant for parent engage-
ment, we invite all parents (and kids) for our 6th
annual literacy night event. We will be providing
patties for the first 75 people there (1 per
person). More news in our parent email, but come
out for an evening of learning and fun.
Guaranteed enjoyment on the way.
How you can help your child succeed at school
Our school learning plan this year aims to help our
students improve in their problem solving (math and
every day problems) as well as in their skills of critical
thinking which emphasizes a move from simple facts
to fact analysis.
Facts are important for our general knowledge and it’s
important that we know how to find facts through
reading, research and conversation. That’s step one.
Step two involves digging deeper. What do you do
with those facts? For instance, it’s fine to know what
the recommended hours of sleep are for children (9-
11 hours according to the National Sleep Foundation)
but next would be a look at why it’s important to get
that many hours and what happens to your overall
health and well being when you’re sleep deprived—
lack of focus, possible weight gain, memory loss etc…
The first part (the fact) is the WHAT? The second part
(analysis) is the SO WHAT? Next month, we’ll get into
the NOW WHAT?
Children will succeed best when they know the school
and their parents are working together for their best
holistic education possible.
Charity for those who most need it A sincere thanks to all parents who were able to contribute to either the St. Vincent de Paul Ham-per boxes organized by St. Aidan Church or to Chalice.ca. The St. Sylvester community contrib-uted greatly to families in need. This is such a perfect way to show your children the importance of giving to others and we thank you for your generosity.