Phone: 519-669-8843

Monthly Archives: October 2022

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Good afternoon Tornadoes!

It was a great day today at Saint Teresa of Avila.  There were so many Halloween sights to behold, so many activities engaged in and so many fun and exciting costumes!  Food bank donations were collected by Dreisinger Funeral Home and they also handed out prizes! Also, thank you for following our Halloween expectations.  We really appreciate your help.

We know that some students may be bringing some of their Halloween loot for snacks at school. Please remember to follow our “nut-free” snack rule as we do have students with severe allergies. Please remind your child not to share their treats with others at school for the same reason.

The staff at St. Teresa would like to wish all of you a very Happy and safe Halloween!  Please remember to be safe if you are “trick or treating” tonight.  Travel in groups, wear something shiny so that cars can see you, and be VERY careful when crossing the streets.  We look forward to seeing all of you back tomorrow to hear the great stories of the evening.

Have a SPOOK-tacular evening!

 

 

 

 

 

Potential CUPE Strike Action Information Update

As you may be aware, contract negotiations between the Canadian Union of Public Employees – Ontario (CUPE) and the Ontario government have yet to produce an agreement.  While we encourage both sides to come to a fair agreement, we do understand that the breakdown in talks could lead to a strike by CUPE as early as Friday, November 4.  As a result, the school board is currently planning for a switch to remote learning for our students, should that become necessary.  We are currently identifying students who do not have home access to the necessary technology and would therefore require a device provided by the school. At this time, internet devices will not be provided, only Chromebooks will be available.

Please complete this quick survey (https://lf.wcdsb.ca/forms/APC052-05F) to help us prepare for the distribution of devices to families who require this assistance.  There are 3 different St. Teresa schools in K-W, please be sure to select “St. Teresa of Avila”. Please complete this form as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday, November 2nd at the end of the day.  Please only complete this form if you are in need of a device for your children, should we make a switch to remote learning.

Thank you in advance for your patience as we work to ensure our students have the resources they need to continue learning during this uncertain time.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Teresa of Avila C.E.S. ~ Weekly Update October 31-November 4

Good afternoon Tornado Families:

We know students must be getting excited for tomorrow. Please scroll down to see what our expectations are for wearing costumes tomorrow. We have an afternoon filled with activities for the students which we know they will enjoy. We recognize that not all families will be acknowledging this day – and that is okay.

Our Thanksgiving Food Drive ends tomorrow (Monday, October 31st). Thank you to all the families who were able to support this endeavour and make donations. We could not have done it without your generous giving!

We are happy to announce that the orders from our Fresh From The Farm Fundraiser will be available for pickup on November 16th at our school. More information will be shared as we approach that date.

This week:

Monday, October 31

  • Halloween – students may wear a costume or black and orange. Details below.
  • Thanksgiving Food Drive Donations will be picked up by 12:30 pm
  • PM – Halloween Play Day

Tuesday, November 1

  • All Souls and Saints Day

Wednesday, November 2

  • Grade 8 Day at St. David High School (during the school day)
  • Pizza Day (if you ordered through School Cash Online)

Thursday, November 3

  • Lunch Lady (if you ordered through School Cash Online)
  • 6pm CSAC Commissioning for St. Teresa’s Co-Chairs

Friday, November 4

  • “Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgement.” ~ Jan Chozen Bays

Thanksgiving Food Drive

Our food drive ends tomorrow – Monday, October 31st. Our school has partnered once again with Dreisinger Funeral Home to help our local Woolwich foodbank. There are prizes for both classroom and individual donations. We truly appreciate all the support and donations.

Items the food bank needs:

  • Laundry detergent
  • Shampoo
  • Canned Salmon
  • Canned Meat
  • Canned Veggies (Mixed, carrots, peas)
  • Juice
  • Cereal
  • Kraft Dinner
  • Canned Fruit
  • *All non-perishable items are welcome

Halloween Costumes and Treats

Students are invited to wear costumes on Monday, October 31st if families choose. To ensure that all our students have a fun and safe day, please adhere to these guidelines:

  • Costumes should not be such that they interfere with classroom activities.
  • Students must be able to sit, walk, breathe, see, hear, and go to the bathroom without assistance. No masks or face paint are allowed (due to vision impairment and students touching their faces and getting face paint on school materials, etc.)
  • No fake weapons of any kind are allowed. We recommend leaving props at home so they do not get lost, stolen, damaged or broken, and to avoid upset and crying students.
  • Costumes that are provocative, revealing, or employ questionable props are not allowed.
  • Costumes that depict violence, alcohol or drugs are not allowed.
  • Costumes that could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, gender identity, heritage, race, ethnicity, or religion are not allowed.
  • Appropriate and safe footwear must be worn.
  • Stickers, pencils, and crayons are great Halloween treats to bring. No food treats, please as we do have food allergies at school.
  • All students are asked to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the Christian values of St. Teresa of Avila C.E.S and the WCDSB.

CSAC – School Council

Please go to our school webpage by visiting stteresaelmira.wcdsb.ca  and clicking on the School Council tab to check out the minutes of our first meeting and also to learn more about our Catholic School Advisory Council. Everyone is always welcome to join our next meeting, virtually or in-person, on Tuesday, November 8 at 6pm. If you cannot commit to joining our CSAC but would like to offer to volunteer for events when required, please email paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca.

Click here to go directly to the CSAC webpage

Here is a repeat of our Parent Letter sent earlier:

Dear St. Teresa of Avila families!

Happy Fall to all the St. Teresa of Avila families and faculty.  The fall weather came quickly, as did the first Parent Council meeting.  I am sure most of us are adjusting to school drop offs, pickups, lunches and all the running around that an academic year holds. With the first few weeks behind us, the Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC) wanted to send this note to both introduce ourselves and extend our wishes for volunteers.

We would like to introduce you to our Catholic School Advisory Committee Executive for 2022-2023:

Being a part of this great school and community means so much to all of us.  Now that we are back to a (dare I say!) a “normal” school year, the parent council is ramping up the year’s activities. These activities not only provide fun and finances for this school year but also for years to come.

Parent Council organizes and facilitates fundraising events including this year’s Fresh From the Farm.  Some of the upcoming initiatives these fundraising events support are: special lunches, the yearbook, bus transportation for sports and field trips, the year-end family BBQ, graduations, agendas and so much more.

We have also contributed to projects that helps support student engagement, such as the Buddy Bench, STEAM equipment, new technology, various sporting events and the outdoor play areas.

CSAC also supports community building activities such as spirit day and the Umbrella Project assemblies.  There is also a strong alignment with the WDCSB’s Pastoral theme and St Teresa of Avila Church special celebrations and sacraments.

How Can You Help?

We need volunteers to help grow our parent council.  We understand that volunteering looks different for everyone.  We are hoping for help with single days, hours, planning, and/or council membership.  Time constraints vary for all of us; are meetings missed occasionally…. yes! Is that ok…yes!

Please think about what or if you can provide any time, as we all know it takes a community to raise a child…or in this case over 200! Should anyone have any questions, thoughts or ideas, please feel free to reach out to one of the co-chairs.  The next parent council meeting at the school is on November 8, 2022, with 5 others planned throughout the school year. The meetings can accommodate a hybrid option upon request so parents can have the opportunity to attend in-person or virtually. If you are able to attend November 8th meeting (at 6pm), please email Paula Pizarro @ paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca

Please consider attending our next meeting to see the Council in action and to find out how you can help!

Sincerely,

Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC)

CSAC Parent Outreach Letter 2022

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PARISH ~

Please have a look at this week’s Parish Bulletin here: October 30 2022

Go ENG Girl Fall Event

Go ENG Girl Fall 2022 Event on Saturday, November 19th, 2022 at the University of Waterloo!  An invitation to all parents/guardians, girls, and non-binary youth in Grades 7-10 to participate in the GO ENG Girl Fall 2022 Event hosted at the University of Waterloo!  An awesome opportunity to learn about the amazing world of ENGINEERING, explore great things that women are doing, and participate in an awesome design challenge!  Parents/Guardians will have opportunity to learn more about Engineering Admissions, Questions and Answers, and participate in a STEM activity! Click on the poster to find out how to register.

Go ENG Girl Poster

Hot Lunches 

We are happy to share that Lunchbox by SchoolCash Online will be offered at our school for the 2022/2023 school year.

Lunchbox is a convenient, online ordering platform featuring local vendors. An ordering calendar has been coordinated for the school community and can be found on our SchoolCash Online items page.

The ordering features the following options:

  • Wednesday – Twice The Deal Pizza
  • Thursday – Lunch Lady (there are some gluten-free options available)
  • Orders may be placed weekly or in advance, for the full length of the program.

Please read the following document that shows you how to order:  How-to-Order-Guide (St. Teresa Avila)

The Umbrella Project Message for Parents

The Umbrella Project skill for November is all about Mindfulness, the skill that helps us to stay present in our experience instead of spending most of our time thinking about the past or worrying about the future.

What will mindfulness do for my child?

Mindfulness has been shown to have many benefits. Paying attention to the present moment can boost our mood, improve our self-confidence and help us think more clearly. It can also improve our immune system’s ability to fight disease. Mindfulness can increase brain size, specifically the parts responsible for learning, memory and empathy. It is an important skill in our umbrella and supports development of the other skills in our umbrella. 

It helps us pay attention to our feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations and our environment, in the moment, without labeling them as good or bad (non-judgement). This means we aren’t feeling bad or trying to change our feelings. Instead, we are just noticing them and becoming more aware of them and the world around us. This may seem simple, but mindfulness takes practice. On average, we spend half our time thinking about something other than what we are doing in the present. This distracted mind has a big impact on our happiness and well-being!

Start with intention and your ‘Why’ to shift from ‘doing’ to ‘being.’

For many of us, life has become an endless to-do list we are constantly in the process of trying to complete. Doing has taken over most aspects of our lives and it dominates the way we parent. In most cases, we have drifted so far into the doing side of life that we have forgotten why we are “doing” in the first place. To reconnect to our wellbeing, we need to shift our focus to another state and that is ‘being.’ Being present, being with the people we love, being in our experience. Mindfulness is the practice of being, of connecting to and staying present with our moment to moment experience.

To begin the journey of shifting away from the constant parenting cycle of doing, start with why. Why are you making dinner or helping with homework? What is the point of getting in a cold car at 6 pm to take your child to soccer lessons, ballet or swimming? Is it for joy, a connection to your child, exercise, growth and challenge? Or is it a task on your to-do list to check-off, an arbitrary achievement without purpose? It’s easy to become a task master, drilling our children to higher levels of achievement just for the sake of achievement. In the process, we can undermine their well-being and our own.

Asking ‘Why?’ will help you connect to the experience of the task instead of feeling like it is another chore to be done. When you identify an item without an underlying ‘Why’, spend some time thinking about whether that should really be taking up precious moments of your life.

Listen as I introduce this important Umbrella Skill of Mindfulness. 

Chat soon, 

Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project

DAILY SCREENING & MASKING

Fall cold/flu season is beginning – it is important that any student not feeling well should stay home and also follow the guidance of the screening tool found on our school website.

While it is not mandatory to wear a mask – the screener does indicate in what situations and for how long we should wear a mask i.e., wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including school and child care). Thanks for your support with following the screener guidance.

  • For 10 days after you tested positive (or from when symptoms started, whichever came first)
  • For 10 days after last their exposure to the person who tested positive for COVID‑19

Coming Up:

  • November 6 – Back to Standard Time (Fall back an hour)
  • November 8 – CSAC (Parent Council) Meeting 6pm (in-person and virtual options) – All parents are welcome
  • November 11 – Remembrance Day
  • November 14-18 – Bullying Awareness Week
  • November 15 – Picture Retake Day
  • November 16 – Fresh From The Farm Fundraiser order pickup
  • November 18 – P.A. Day (No School for students)
  • November 21 – Progress Report Distribution
  • November 24 – Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences
  • November 28th – Gr. 7 Vaccinations; Intermediate Girls Basketball Tournament

Anishnabeg Outreach Centre – Charity Pumpkins

A Message from the Anishnabeg Outreach Centre

If you, your friends, co-workers or family are looking for a fall activity in the city this weekend, please consider coming to our fall carnival at AO this Saturday. We will have a family fire area and fun and games for families.

We will also have a couple thousand charity pumpkins available for any family who needs a pumpkin. We grew these pumpkins in our reconciliation garden this summer and proceeds from the charity pumpkins will be used to help fund a new refrigerator truck for our spirit bundle delivery program.

Address: 236 Woodhaven Road, Kitchener (near Wilson Avenue and Kingsway Drive area) 10am-2pm on Saturday, October 29th

Please check out this poster for more details:  Pumpkin Poster

Monday, October 31st – Halloween

Halloween Costumes and Treats

Students are invited to wear costumes on Monday, October 31st if families choose. To ensure that all our students have a fun and safe day, please adhere to these guidelines:

  • Costumes should not be such that they interfere with classroom activities
  • Students must be able to sit, walk, breathe, see, hear, and go to the bathroom without assistance. No masks or face paint are allowed.
  • No fake weapons of any kind are allowed. We recommend leaving props at home so they do not get lost, stolen, damaged or broken.
  • Costumes that are provocative, revealing, or employ questionable props are not allowed.
  • Costumes that depict violence, alcohol or drugs are not allowed.
  • Costumes that could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, gender identity, heritage, race, ethnicity, or religion are not allowed.
  • Appropriate and safe footwear must be worn.
  • Stickers, pencils, and crayons are great Halloween treats to bring. No food treats, please, as we have students with food allergies and sensitivities.
  • All students are asked to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the Christian values of St. Teresa of Avila C.E.S and the WCDSB.

In the afternoon, the staff have organized some special activities for our students! It will be a spook-tacular day!

CSAC Information and Minutes

Dear St. Teresa of Avila Families,

Please go to our school webpage by visiting stteresaelmira.wcdsb.ca  and clicking on the School Council tab to check out the minutes of our first meeting and also to learn more about our Catholic School Advisory Council. Everyone is always welcome to join our next meeting, virtually or in-person, on Tuesday, November 8 at 6pm. If you cannot commit to joining our CSAC but would like to offer to volunteer for events when required, please email paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca.

Click here to go directly to the CSAC webpage

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali to those in our St. Teresa of Avila community who are celebrating!

A Letter From Parent Council and Call for Volunteers

Dear St. Teresa of Avila families!

Happy Fall to all the St. Teresa of Avila families and faculty.  The fall weather came quickly, as did the first Parent Council meeting.  I am sure most of us are adjusting to school drop offs, pickups, lunches and all the running around that an academic year holds. With the first few weeks behind us, the Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC) wanted to send this note to both introduce ourselves and extend our wishes for volunteers.

We would like to introduce you to our Catholic School Advisory Committee Executive for 2022-2023:

Being a part of this great school and community means so much to all of us.  Now that we are back to a (dare I say!) a “normal” school year, the parent council is ramping up the year’s activities. These activities not only provide fun and finances for this school year but also for years to come.

Parent Council organizes and facilitates fundraising events including this year’s Fresh From the Farm.  Some of the upcoming initiatives these fundraising events support are: special lunches, the yearbook, bus transportation for sports and field trips, the year-end family BBQ, graduations, agendas and so much more.

We have also contributed to projects that helps support student engagement, such as the Buddy Bench, STEAM equipment, new technology, various sporting events and the outdoor play areas.

CSAC also supports community building activities such as spirit day and the Umbrella Project assemblies.  There is also a strong alignment with the WDCSB’s Pastoral theme and St Teresa of Avila Church special celebrations and sacraments.

How Can You Help?

We need volunteers to help grow our parent council.  We understand that volunteering looks different for everyone.  We are hoping for help with single days, hours, planning, and/or council membership.  Time constraints vary for all of us; are meetings missed occasionally…. yes! Is that ok…yes!

Please think about what or if you can provide any time, as we all know it takes a community to raise a child…or in this case over 200! Should anyone have any questions, thoughts or ideas, please feel free to reach out to one of the co-chairs.  The next parent council meeting at the school is on November 8, 2022, with 5 others planned throughout the school year. The meetings can accommodate a hybrid option upon request so parents can have the opportunity to attend in-person or virtually. If you are able to attend November 8th meeting (at 6pm), please email Paula Pizarro @ paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca

Please consider attending our next meeting to see the Council in action and to find out how you can help!

Sincerely,

Catholic School Advisory Committee (CSAC)

CSAC Parent Outreach Letter 2022

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