November 2018

Dear Parents/Guardians:

“If we have no peace, it is because we have for-

gotten that we belong to each other.”

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa reveals how “peace” is not just a

word, but rather an emotional connection that we

all have with one another and God. Peace is an

understanding that belonging stems from God’s

love for us, which is manifested in our relation-

ships with one another in our everyday experi-

ence. The life of our school community is found-

ed and continues to grow on all the goodness that

on comes from bringing peace to one another.

This month’s Virtue is Peace. As a community of

faith, we will work with our students on under-

standing that peace is revealed by the way we act

towards others, speak to others, and how we treat

others. Most importantly it is in our peaceful rela-

tionships that we live according to the values and

the teachings of the Gospel. Peace is achieved

through the good grace of God. As we move

forward into the month of November, we wish you

all the peace of Christ.

M. Femia, Principal

Staff List 2018/2019

Mr. M. Femia - Principal

126 JK/SK Elizabeth Mullins-Kostic 126 E.C.E. Jadwiga Bielejec 129 JK/SK Lori Santelli 129 E.C.E. Ana Paula Fernandes 137 JK/SK Elizabeth Cavaco 137 E.C.E. Dalquis Alarcon 104 Gr. 1 Tina Aceto 114 Gr. 1 Maria Leonetti 139 Gr. 2 Mary Jane Montaldo 115 Gr. 2 Tara Malek-Ossefyans 138 Gr. 2/3 Vanessa Stergiou 125 Gr. 3/4 Anna Sousa 111 Gr. 4 Carolina Parente 110 Gr. 5 Antoniette Panzeca 218 Gr. 5 (F.I.) Fabien Tanguay 209 Gr. 6 (F.I.) Carmela Cavaliere 204 Gr. 5/6 Jennifer Hawley 208 Gr. 7 (F.I.) Jennifer Blandi 207 Gr. 7 Silvio Sansano 213 Gr. 8 Roman Jozwik 214 Gr. 8 (F.I.) Robyn Carey 207 SE/LD Stephane Gagnon 115 SE/LD JR. Teresa Harasim 202 SE/LD INT Ignatius George 105 Behavioural Joe Bonadie 105 C.Y.W. Raymond Azzopardi 106 M.E. David Connell 139 E.A. Edda Pietrangelo 106 E.A. Ana Chochan 106 E.A. Beata Czuchraj 137 E.A. Stephanie Maioto 216 Lib Tech Angela Cymek 216 F.S.L. Terri Bingle 216 F.S.L. – Spec Roxana Drozdowsky 208 Fr. Spec. Sabrina Passero 108 Health/Phys.Ed. Rommel D’Souza 206 Guidance Carl Chyz

108 Instrumental Music

Simon Arruda

216 Vocal Music Ludmila Myshasta

And Olga Shvetsova

Lunch Supervisors Angela Dineshkumar/ Elvy Fisher Sec. Office Irene Aldeias Clerk Typist Linda Filice - Tuesdays Mary Wells - Fridays Head Custodian Pio Iannarilli

Important Contact Numbers

Nativity of Our Lord School Phone: (416) 393-5288 Fax: (416) 393-5051 Nativity of Our Lord Church Fr. Michael Machacek (416) 621-2732 Mrs. F. Cifelli (Superintendent) Mr. M. DeDomenico (Trustee) Ward 1 Public Health Dept. (416)338-7600 Dental Health Dept. 311 Elmbrook Public Library (416) 394-5290

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Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School

35 Saffron Crescent Etobicoke, Ontario M9C 3T8

Telephone: (416) 393-5288 Fax: (416) 393-5053

Goodbyes and Welcomes

We wish goodbye to Mrs. E. Mullins (ELP) who will going

on maternity leave. We thank her for her all her commit-

ment and dedication to her ELP students and families. We

wish a farewell to Ms. S. Napolitano (LTO Grade 2) and

Ms. A. Cugliari (LTO Grade 7). Their teaching assign-

ments will come to an end after this reporting period. We

thank them for all their hard work and commitment to the

students in their classes and the school. We also congrat-

ulate Ms. T. Malek- Ossefyans (Grade 2), Mr. J. Bonadie

(Behaviour), Mr. D. Connell (ME/DD), Mr. S. Sansano

(Grade 7) and Mrs. O. Shvetsova (Vocal Music) who have

been assigned as new teachers at Nativity of Our Lord

School. We welcome them to our Nativity family and look

forward to working with them.

School Professional Learning Form (PLF) Every school in the TCDSB is required to create a Professional Learning Form (PLF) to address the school's urgent criti-cal need. Our urgent critical learning need is to improve student achievement in mathematics across all grades. By fo-cusing on active engagement (between peers/teacher), students will be given opportunities to ask questions, extend their mathematical ideas and strategies. School Urgent Critical Learning Need Informed by the analysis of our school’s data and staff feedback on student learning, mathematics has been identi-fied as our school’s urgent critical learn-ing need. More specifically, we have de-termined a need for improvement in stu-dent critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. Our hope is that a concerted effort and teaching fo-cus on these skills will help students develop effective strategies to move from level 1 to level 2 and from level 2 to level 3 on the Ontario Achievement Chart. Pedagogical Approach Our school will focus on monitoring and moderating student work to assess stu-dent level of learning, progress and achievement of math learning through timely, descriptive feedback. By focusing on active engagement (between peers/teacher), students will be given opportu-nities to ask questions, extend their mathematical ideas and strategies. Re-sults of our EQAO scores in math will determine our success in improving our math needs.

All Saints’ & All Souls’ Day As we approach All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd), let us be grateful for the gift of our faith. We remember at this time all of our deceased family members, relatives and friends. May their souls and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace.

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Assessment Evaluation and Reporting Beginning September 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Education has implemented new policy regulations for Assessment Evalu-ation and Reporting in all provincial schools. The complete gov-ernment document, Growing Success: Assessment, Evalua-tion, and Reporting in Ontario Schools, First Edition, Cov-ering Grades 1 to 12, 2010 may be found at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf. The reporting schedule for the 2018 – 2019 school year will be as follows:

The Provincial Progress Report Card is used to inform and to monitor students’ progress towards achieving the overall and specific expectations so that timely, specific and descriptive feedback can be provided in response to student needs. The First Provincial Report Card, will reflect the student’s achievement of curriculum expectations introduced and devel-oped from September to January/February of the school year, as well as the student’s development of the Learning Skills and Work Habits during that period. The Second Provincial Report Card will reflect the student’s achievement of the curriculum expectations introduced or further developed from January/February to June of the school year as well as the student’s development of Learning Skills and Work Habits during that period. Although there are only three formal reporting periods, communications with parents and students about achievement is a continuous process that occurs throughout the whole of the school year. Please feel free to contact us at any time to re-quest a meeting to discuss your child’s progress.

Elementary Schools

Parent/Teacher Conference Date

Progress Report Card

November 14th (evening) & 15th (evening) 2018

First Provincial Report Card February 13th (evenings) & 14th

(evening) 2019

Second Provin-cial Report Card Report sent home near the end of June

Halloween

On October 31st, Mr. Tanguay's grade 5

and 6 Extended French students created a

real spooky experience for the whole

school! Mr. Tanguay's classroom was

transformed into a dark and eerie Haunted

House! Highlights included howling sounds,

blow up pumpkins, and screaming jack o

lanterns! Thank you to his classes for cre-

ating a fun experience for all.

Advent Mass On Wednesday, December 12, 2018, Nativity of Our Lord School will be celebrating an Advent Mass with Father Michael at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church. The Mass will begin at 7:00 pm sharp. Songs of joy for the Advent season by the grade 1 and 2 classes, school choir and Instrumental Music Band will follow immediately after. Our Advent Mass is a time for Nativity staff, students and community to prepare the way of the Lord for His coming as our King and Saviour.

Please join us as we prepare for Christ in Mass and song. We welcome friends and family of the Nativity of Our Lord School Community. May the joys of Christmas fill your hearts throughout the year!

Extra Clothing at School Accidents do occur from time-to-time at school during class and most especially during recess. Our little ones may have accidents going to the washroom and our older students at times get wet and soiled playing out in the field. Therefore, we are requesting that all students keep extra clothing in school in case of emergencies. As the wet weather approaches, all students are expected to have indoor shoes to be left at school. We would also appreci-ate any sized donation of some smaller uniform items as we can keep a reserve on hand at the office if required.

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Chocolate Fundraiser A big congratulations to everyone for supporting our Nativity Chocolate Fundraiser. Due to your collective efforts, we raised over $11,000. Special thank you to our top 6 families who sold a total of 113 cases. 1st Prize: Anabella, Dimitri and Dylan Santos (sold 44 cases) 2nd Prize: Joshua and Sienna Sousa (sold 21 cases) 3rd Prize: Trevon & Nateya Weir (sold 15 cases) 4th Prize: Raequan Campbell-Dennis (sold 13 cases) 5th Prize: Emiliya, Maddie and Alex Valkov (sold 11 cases) 6th Prize: Calandra Schmoll (sold 9 cases)

Congratulations to all the raffle winners. On behalf of the school community, thank you to all of the members of the Chocolate Fundraising Committee: Mrs. Aldeias, Mrs. Blandi, Ms. Cavaliere, Mrs. Panzeca, Mrs. Parente, Mrs. Pietrangelo, and Ms. Sousa It has truly been a Community Affair.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL PARENT COUNCIL (CSPC) NEWS

Please join us at our next CSPC meeting on Thurs-day, November 22nd at 7:00 p.m. in the school library (2nd floor). Rita Marrari - Co-Chair Nick Giovanili - Co-Chair Tiffany Sousa- Treasurer Tracey Kapshey - Secre-tary

Boys’ Volleyball We would like to congratulate all the boys on the inter-mediate volleyball team. They demonstrated determi-nation, teamwork and focus on the court. Both on and off the court they supported each other and as a result are divisional champions and will move on to the re-gional tournament. Mrs. Mullins and Mrs. Cavaco would like to recognize the efforts of Marco Riodino, Nico Sanin, Tega Otubu, Ryan Maia, Jacob Sereda, Ryan Ebrahem, Justin Pavese, Aaron Wekpe, Michael Partchenko, and Isaac Tigley.

Kindergarten Christmas Concert The three ELP classes will come together on December 6, 2018 to celebrate Jesus' birthday with a presentation of songs, family sing- along and just like any birthday party, we will end with a special treat . The concert will begin at 2pm. The children are excited as they prepare for this spe-cial time of Advent. Additional information about this cele-bration will be sent out to the Kindergarten parents.

Peace—Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. John 14:27 November is Peace month and we encourage everyone to try and follow the points below. Those who do it best will become our virtues stars for November. 1. By opening ourselves to God, we will feel peace within us. 2. Every person can work for peace by carefully considering how their words and actions make others feel. 3. Be guided by the words of Paul to the Colossians: “The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions that you make.

PHOTO RETAKE Wednesday, November 21st, 2018 @ 9:00 am

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HOMEWORK

With the start of a new school year, your child is getting back into the habit of completing homework on

time and with care. Here are a few of the many benefits of homework:

It reinforces skills and concepts taught at school

It develops self-discipline, self-motivation, time management and organizational skills It creates a link between home and school How can you as a parent help your child? Make sure your child has a good night’s rest and eats a balanced diet

Provide a quiet, regular place to do work Listen to him/her read.

Provide occasional words of encouragement Contact teachers if you have questions or concerns about homework assignments

LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES “Keeping our Students and Staff Safe” The Toronto Catholic District School Board has a primary responsibility to ensure the safety of stu-dents and staff inside Board buildings and on Board property. In partnership with the Toronto Police Services and the Toronto District School Board, a city wide safety emergency school lockdown pro-cedures plan has been developed. The “Emergency Lockdown Procedure” is initiated should a high risk incident involving weapons, hazardous chemical spills, severe weather warning, student/stranger intrusion, etc. occur in the school or on school property, or there are circumstances in the vicinity of the school that could endanger the lives and/or the safety of students and/or staff. In order for all students and staff to become familiar with the expectations during a lockdown, our school will be practising emergency lockdown procedures as we have normally done with fire drills. During these drills there will be signs posted on the entrance doors indicating that the school is in lockdown. The doors will be locked and no one will be allowed into the school. This is the same pro-cedure that will be followed in a real situation. We will be holding 4 lockdown practice drills dur-ing the school year. They will be held on: Thursday, October 25, 2018, Thursday, November 22, 2018, Monday, January 28, 2019 and Monday, April 8, 2019.

October Virtue Stars

Mrs. E. Mullins-Kostic/Ms. J. Bielejec – ELP/1 Nifemi Adeoye, Maria Sumaliling-Dellosa and Johnpaul

Polidori

Mrs. L. Santelli/Mrs. A. Fernandes – ELP/2 Savanna Atkins, Luca Uruena and Camila Salazar

Mrs. E. Cavaco/Ms. D. Alarcon – ELP/3

Chelsea Echalar, Sarah Hurd and Matthew Sebastiana

Mrs. T. Aceto – Gr. 1 Valeria Sanchez-Aristizabal and Ethan Veloso

Mrs. M. Leonetti – Gr. 1

Kristina Balaisis and Julia Spahiu

Ms. M.J. Montaldo – Gr. 2 Max McGee and Aylen Pelayes

Ms. S. Napolitano—Gr. 2

Sophia Arevalo and Lloyd Appiah-Kubi

Mrs. V. Stergiou – Gr. 2/3 Nicholas Acosta and Victoria Gagliardi

Ms. A. Sousa – Gr. 3/4

Favour Bankole and Caitlin Guino

Mrs. C. Parente – Gr. 4 Sara Villegas and Francesco Gagliardi

Mrs. A. Panzeca – Gr. 5

Akpevweoghene Adjogri and Emilio Apa

Mr. F. Tanguay – Gr. 5 FI Nathan Ahulun, Raequan Campbell, and Robert Byliniak

Ms. C. Cavaliere – Gr. 6 FI

Deeley Twizere and Gabriela Martinez

Mrs. J. Hawley – Gr. 6 Andrew Castil and Andrei Castil

Ms. A. Cugliari—Gr. 7

Estelle Ferreira

Mrs. J. Blandi – Gr. 7 FI Joel Mathew and Dylan D’Souza

Ms. R. Carey – Gr. 8 FI

Paris Hoang and Tano Nguyen

Mr. R. Jozwik – Gr. 7/8

September Virtue Stars

Mrs. E. Mullins-Kostic/Ms. J. Bielejec – ELP/1 Emma Darabos, Brennan Soriano and Audrey Rush

Mrs. L. Santelli/Mrs. A. Fernandes – ELP/2

Harrison Clark and Mia Khoury

Mrs. E. Cavaco/Ms. D. Alarcon—ELP/3 Willy Arevalo, Lilliana Jigoulina and Abigail Iannone

Mrs. T. Aceto – Gr. 1

Aubree Hefford and Ivan Glonczi

Mrs. M. Leonetti – Gr. 1 Martina Gomez and Samantha Kay

Ms. M.J. Montaldo – Gr. 2

Mikhaela Gutierrez Reyes and Isabelle Varkonyi- Nesbitt

Ms. S. Napolitano - Gr. 2 Nicholas Da Silva Moniz and Karol Meckowiski

Mrs. V. Stergiou – Gr. 2/3

Hannah Byanjeru and Sabina Hayes-Hadzic

Ms. A. Sousa – Gr. 3/4 Isabella Costa and Calleah Del Castillo

Mrs. C. Parente – Gr. 4

Jake Ferreira and Abbey Cattaral

Mrs. A. Panzeca – Gr. 5 Harmony Garcia-Spence and Cheryl Simpson

Mr. F. Tanguay – Gr. 5 FI

Chloe Accardi, Brooklyn Bronn-Drake, and Courtney Bronn-Drake

Ms. C. Cavaliere – Gr. 6 FI

Eldon Torres, Ilija Vislavski, and Jacobo Sanchez-Aristizabal

Mrs. J. Hawley – Gr. 6 Ryan Maycenic and Ally Ordonez

Ms. A. Cugliari—Gr. 7

Roman Parypa

Mrs. J. Blandi – Gr. 7 FI Camila Vidal and Rosie Giesl-Butler

Ms. R. Carey – Gr. 8 FI

Morgen Giesl-Butler and Nina Stupar

Mr. R. Jozwik – Gr. 8 Cameron Sherrard and Liwia Grzebula