December/Decembre 2017

  St. Bernard School December’s Virtue is Humility  

Advent Season Our first few months of this school year have been very busy for all of us. As we enter this advent season, please remember to take the time to slow down to enjoy this very special season of hope.  On behalf of the staff of St. Bernard School, we wish all of our families peace, joy and many blessings this Christmas season. We have begun our Advent activities as a school community. We have had our first Advent Prayer Service and we are collecting canned goods for Christmas Cheer once again this year. We are also collecting donations for our Children’s Aid Society/Dilico Christmas Basket Initiative. Advent offers us the opportunity to heal relationships, encourage those who have little hope, and grow in God’s love. We will be celebrating the next two Advent Prayer Services every Monday morning in December. 

     Our Christmas Mass will be celebrated: 

    Wednesday, December 13th at 9:45 a.m.   Gr. 3 – 6   Corpus Christi Church 

   Primary Advent Prayer Service 

Thursday, December 14th at 9:30 a.m. JK – Gr. 2 

St. Bernard School Gym  Catholic Virtues In Action In humility, we depend on God, the Giver of all good gifts, and in humility, we share our giftedness with others. During the month of December, we will be focusing on the virtue of humility. One of the main points of exploration for this virtue will be the natural link with our Advent activities as we prepare for Christmas. As the month progresses, our students will be learning about humility in many different contexts and through varied activities.  

 Catholic School Council 

Next meeting: Tuesday, December 19, 2017 School Learning Commons 

 

   Bullying Prevention Week 

 Bullying Awareness Week was November 20th – 24th. Students participated in various activities, including our prayer service, Mismatched Sock Day, class discussions, reading books about bullying in the Learning Commons, making bullying prevention posters, Pink Healthy Snack, and listening to or being a part of daily bullying prevention announcements. Special thanks to our Safe and Accepting Schools Team who helped to make these initiatives a HUGE SUCCESS! Khai, Ethan, Owen, Kayla, Paige, Lola, Ariel, Colson, Avery, Connor, Layla, Bennet, Kirsten, Emma, Emma, Ava, Winner, C.J. and Melise.   

           

         Kiss & Ride and Pick Up A reminder that there is no supervision inside or outside  of the school before 8:30 a.m. and after 3:45 p.m. When dropping off your child or sending them to school,  please ensure that it is not before 8:30 a.m.  Our school day ends at 3:25 p.m. Please be sure to be on time when picking up your child.  *Please do not park in the front staff parking lot to drop off  or pick up your child, as that is designated for staff only. 

  

 

 Christmas Cheer In the spirit of Christmas, St. Bernard School is collecting non-perishable food items to  help support local families in need. We are asking for basic dried and canned food items to be brought to school until Friday, December 15th. Some examples of what students could bring are: canned fruits and vegetables, soups, pastas, tomato sauce, canned pasta sauce, peanut butter, coffee and sugar.  Let’s see how many items we can collect! Thanks to the Grade 6 Christmas Cheer team for organizing this activity. The team includes: Connor, Greydon, Carson, Andrew, Mircea, Jayla, Emma, Noah, Colin, Drew and Grady.   Children’s Aid Society Christmas Initiative St. Bernard School is excited to pair up with local organizations to help support families and children. We are working with Children’s Aid Society to support 2 separate families and are paired with Dilico to support other children in need. Students and families are kindly asked to support this initiative with a $5 donation but any amount will be gratefully accepted. Money can be donated in cash or through our Cash Online Program. All proceeds collected will purchase items for the families. Any donation that you can make will be greatly appreciated and will help to make some children’s Christmas that much more magical. We will be collecting donations until Wednesday, December 13, 2017.   

 Flamenco The fast footwork, precise palmas and colourful costumes of flamenco dancers from the World Dance Centre had junior students shouting "Olé!" during their presentation in our gym. The dancers, Diane, Rebekah and Sue were accompanied by local flamenco guitarist and composer Matt Sellick who shared his inspiring story and his knowledge of this lively dance and music style. Music and dance make everyday activities more fun! Try doing your own Bulerias at home while you help your parents empty the dishwasher.  

          

    

  

 

Transportation And Change Of Routines Please remember to send a note or call the school prior to 2:30 p.m. if your child will not be riding the bus at the end of the day. We must receive a note every time you change your child’s routine. Also send a note to let us know if someone other than the parent/guardian is picking up your child. Without notification, your child will be sent home on the bus. Please note whether you will be using Kiss & Ride or picking your child up at the new Pick-up zone. This procedure will help avoid confusion at the end of the day, as we prepare the children to go home. Your anticipated cooperation is greatly appreciated.    

 Scent-Safe School As  a scent-safe school, we are asking all staff, students and visitors to please take extra care in using products that do not have a strong scent. We have staff members who are sensitive to scents, often causing very bad headaches and sometimes even nausea.  No perfumes, hairspray, scented hand sanitizers, or room fresheners should be used in the school. Thank you in advance for your consideration.  

 

 Book Club  Here are the top 10 titles as chosen by our Book Club members.  Add some of these great reads to you Christmas list!  

1. Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock (Jaeda)* 2. Dork Diaries #6 by Rachel Renée Russell (Isabella) 3. The Grave Robber’s Apprentice by Allan Stratton (Josie) 4. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Kate) 5. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Isabella) 6. The Royal Woods by Matt Duggan (Maya) 7. I am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai 8. Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine 9. Dear Canada Series. A Time for Giving: 10 Tales of Christmas Various Authors (Jaeda) 10. The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm (Scarlett & Matilda)** 

 Book Club meets every Thursday morning in Mme Meraki’s room. All junior students are welcome to join!  *Eye of the Crow author Shane Peacock was born in Thunder Bay! This novel is the boy Sherlock Holmes’ first case. If you like mystery and “whodunit” books, then this one is for you!  **The Fourteenth Goldfish is by the author of the Babymouse graphic novel series! 

  

    

European Handball  Congratulations goes out to all the junior boys and girls who participated in this year’s European Handball tournament. Games were filled with fun, excitement and most importantly dedication and teamwork! We were very proud of the sportsmanship displayed by all of our students. Thank you to our boys and girls for a job well done!  Team members included: Jenny, Daxen, Madison, Reece, Jordyn, Owen, Ruby, Jack, Brynn, Easton, Abby, Steven, Sara, Nolan, Holly, Tristan, Ava, Bailey, Kristen & Michael.    

  Eco Schools A dynamic team of Superheroes visited the primary classes this month to teach their friends about recycling “do’s and don’t”.  They want to remind everyone that the following items can be recycled at our school: #1 - Paper (NOT construction paper or paper towels) #2 - Juice Boxes (straws removed) and Milk Cartons (emptied and rinsed) We will be visiting classes again throughout the month to make sure recyclable items are not ending up in the trash.   School Waste Audit The Eco Schools Team also collected and weighed all the garbage in the school and found that we throw away over 120 lbs of garbage every day and over 25% of the garbage in each bag was food waste! Let’s work together to reduce our waste at St. Bernard School.   

 

  

- December 13th Advent Mass Gr. 3-6 at 9:45 a.m. Corpus Christi Church   

- December 13th CAS Christmas Initiative - last day to donate - December 14th Advent Prayer Service JK - 2 Gym 9:30 a.m. - December 15th Last day to donate for Christmas Cheer - December 19th Catholic School Council Meeting 5:30 p.m. - December 22nd Last Day of School before Christmas - January 8th School Begins