Dear Tornado Families,

We have made it to the last update for the school year, and what a year this has been! There is so much to be grateful for as we wrap up this year. We have welcomed new families, said goodbye to old friends, laughed together, learned together, played together, and sometimes cried together, and done all this with grace and patience. Thank you for being amazing!

We want to say good luck to Mrs. DArcy, who will be teaching at Resurrection High School next year! Thank you for everything you have done for our students. We will miss you!

We also say good luck to Mrs. Bower, one of our outstanding Educational Assistants, and Miss Santos, our exceptional Child and Youth Care Worker, who joined us this year. Thank you, and we will miss you too!

We want to thank all our parents and students for a great year at Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic School. We wish you a relaxing and restful summer break. Take the time to spend with your families and rejuvenate, and we look forward to seeing you in the new school year.

September Startup

• September Return: Grades 1 through 8 return to school on Tuesday, September 5th, beginning at 8:35 a.m. Our bell times remain the same.
• Office Reopening: The school office reopens on Tuesday, August 29th. Information and reminders regarding first-day procedures will be shared via newswire or school messenger.  New families coming to Saint Teresa of Avila are encouraged to register online over the summer.
• Kindergarten Students will have a staggered entry and DO NOT begin on Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, as the Teachers and DECE will be taking part in interviews. Year Two (Senior Kindergarten) students begin on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023. A phone call or email with all the information will be sent out with specific times for interviews and staggered entry dates during the week of August 28th or earlier.  Monday, September 11th, all JK and SK students attend school.
• As communicated earlier, the Extended Day program will not be running next school year (2023-2024). It will be re-evaluated for the 2024-2025 school year.
• 2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Please have a look, as March Break looks a little different next year. Elementary-Calendar-2023-24

HAVE A SAFE AND RELAXING SUMMER BREAK!

Term 2 Report Cards for your child(ren) in Grades 1 to 8 and the second Communication of Learning for children in Kindergarten will be sent home today, Tuesday, June 27th. 

Please sign and return the bottom portion to school on Wednesday, June 28th.  This form is a legal document that must be attached to the copy of the report and included in your child’s Ontario School Record file.  Please note this is an opportunity for you and your child to comment on goals, student achievement, and home support.

Our teachers are certified by the Ontario College of Teachers and thus highly trained; they are responsible for classroom assessments and evaluations. Our teachers have provided the grading and specific comments found on your child’s report card following Ministry Guidelines.  If you have any questions about the grades or comments, don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher directly.

Save the Date Garden Party 2023

Good Afternoon Tornado Families:

Parent(s)/Caregiver(s): Remember to pack lunches this week, as Pizza Day and Lunch Lady ended last week. Next year, the lunch program will begin the first week of school, so look for information in August.

Congrats, Class of 2023!

Congratulations to our grade 8 graduates who will be leaving us this year! Some of our graduates have spent all their educational lives at St. Teresa of Avila. We are so proud of the individuals you have become and thank you for all your service. We look forward to celebrating you on Tuesday at your graduation!

Thank You To Our CSAC Council

Thank you to our CSAC council for all their work this year to bring fun events to our students and for providing them with opportunities and new gym equipment!  If you would like to join CSAC next year, email paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca.

Click here to go directly to the CSAC webpage

CSAC Parent Outreach Letter 2022

Thank you to our CSAC council and the Knights of Columbus for our delicious BBQ on Tuesday! We ran out of hotdogs (sorry), but if you’d like to order more of the delicious burgers to cook at home, you can do so through the Knights of Columbus.

16 – 6 oz burgers $32.00 (incl tax)

15 – 5oz maple sausages $30.00 (incl tax)

Orders and e-transfers can be sent to this email GK8192@ontariokofc.ca.  Orders are filled almost immediately.

YEARBOOKS

Capture the memories of this school year for your child(ren). You can purchase yearbooks through School Cash Online.

THANK YOU TO YOU!

Thank you to all our families who have supported us this school year! Parent and school connections are so crucial for our students’ academic, spiritual, physical and mental health and well-being. We will continue to build on the growth we saw this year into our next school year. We will continue to emphasize our Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, an important part of our faith-based learning at St. Teresa of Avila.

We strive for excellence, and manners matter!

ICE-OCSGE-Web

Please have a look at what is coming up this week:

Monday, June 26

• Practice patience and kindness

Tuesday, June 27

• Final Report Cards go home
• 6 pm Grade 8 Graduation

Wednesday, June 28

• Wear your Spirit Wear! Or wear red and/or blue
• Talent Show – AM School Dress Rehearsal, 12:30 PM Parent Performance

Thursday, June 29

• Last day of school
• Wear red and/or white to celebrate Canada Day!

Friday, June 30

• Sleep in! NO SCHOOL

A Message From Fr. Peter & Parish News

Please have a look at this week’s Parish Bulletin here: June 25 2023

In the bulletin, you will also find some events for the adults in the community. Be sure to check them out!

• Monday, June 26th: Parent Support Coffee Time
• Saturday, July 1st: Young Adults Night
• SAVE THE DATE: Friday, September 15th – Annual Garden Party

Hot Lunches ~ Done until September

WOOLWICH COMMUNITY SERVICES & COUNSELLING

https://woolwichcounselling.org/upcoming-events/

Visit https://www.woolwichcommunityservices.org for the most up-to-date information. WCA Brochure

The Umbrella Project – Mastery

Encourage learning over proving yourself

One of the biggest mistakes we make in learning is to imagine we need to impress people and prove ourselves instead of being able to accept that we don’t know everything. That’s why we are learning! It is distracting and tiring to feel that we need to be constantly proving how much we know and undermines the actual learning process. Kids who feel this way are likely to quit at the first sign of failure or when someone comes along who is more experienced, as if that person or experience is a threat to their identity.   

To help your children master skills with an open mind and humility, teach them “The Terrible 10 Rule”, which is as follows: expect the first 10 times you try something new to be terrible.

A simple but a clear message about expectations for the learning process.

Why would we expect to be good at things we haven’t learned or practiced yet?  

By setting our expectations of ourselves as absolute beginners, it allows our egos the space to relax through the first few attempts at anything new. It also allows us to learn from those around us with more experience instead of finding ourselves in a mental competition for who is better. Explain to your children that time and experience are the critical ingredients to mastery, not some natural talent we are simply born with and ready to display on the first attempt.

I explain more about mastery in this summary video. 

Until next time, 

Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project

…One Last PSA – TikTok

We know that you can find some really cute and entertaining videos on Tik Tok and learn some cool hacks. But did you know TikTok is not intended for users under 13 years of age?

With any app or website, some of the content may contain swearing and mature content. Some students watch these and then repeat/re-enact at school, where we have a young audience. You know your child(ren) best, so you decide what your child(ren) can/cannot watch. Consider using Family Pairing so you can monitor what your child(ren) sees. Reminding your child not to repeat at school is also helpful.

For more information, read below:

https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/user-safety

https://www.tiktok.com/safety/en/guardians-guide/

Coming Up:

• September 5: First Day of School!

There are pylons in front of the school where the construction may continue today.

We recommend parents park at the church and walk students over to avoid congestion.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Bus 316 has been delayed by 10-20 minutes due to construction.

There is unplanned construction at the front of the school. You may want to pick up your child in the church parking lot. Please call the school if you’d like your directed to church! 519-669-8843

Thank you to all our families who were able to attend our End of Year BBQ last night!

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for donating all the burgers, hot dogs and condiments.

Thank you to our Catholic School Advisory Council for organizing this event and providing the drinks, vegetables and chips:

Co-Chairs: Rebecca Metzger & Lindsay Soetemans

Rebecca Pritchard

Michael and Julie Kuntz

Amy Nero

Christine Johnson

Jessica Melady

Theresa Mendler

Sally Gimenes

If you would like to order the delicious burgers from yesterday, you can purchase them from the Knights of Columbus:

16 – 6 oz burgers $32.00 (incl tax)

15 – 5oz maple sausages $30.00 (incl tax)

Orders and e-trasfers can be sent to this email GK8192@ontariokofc.ca.  Orders filled almost immediately.

Looking forward to seeing our families tonight at our BBQ!

Thank you to CSAC and the Knights of Columbus for sponsoring this event!

If you forgot to place an order, there may be some extras after all the orders are distributed.

Good Evening Tornado Families:

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s in our school community! We have less than two weeks to go and we have a few big events coming up! Read on to see what is happening.

Reminder: Extended Day Program Cancelled Next Year

Due to low enrolment numbers, the Extended Day Program at St. Teresa of Avila School for the 2023-2024 school year will not be operating.

Waterloo Catholic District School Board is required to determine viability at all schools yearly. Viability is determined based on pre-registration that takes place between January and May.  There must be a minimum of 15 students pre-registered for a program to be deemed viable.    

Please watch for the opportunity to express your interest in the Extended Day Program in the next upcoming school year.

If you did not register for Extended Day but were planning to, please email extended.day@wcdsb.ca as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor interest for the future.  

For alternate childcare options, please visit the OneList Waterloo Region site to access information about other programs in your area.

For assistance with the OneList Waterloo Region site, please contact OneHSN Support at:

1-888-722-1540 or support@onehsn.com.

(If the links do not take you to the websites, copy and paste the link into the address bar.)

If you are a caregiver and have space in your daycare, please forward your information to paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca

Please have a look at what is coming up this week:

Monday, June 19

• Practice patience and kindness

Tuesday, June 20

• PM – Junior Boys and Girls 3-Pitch Tournament!
• 5-6:30 pm CSAC and Knights of Columbus sponsored School BBQ!

Wednesday, June 21

• Wear your Spirit Wear! Or wear red and/or blue
• Pizza Day (if you ordered through School Cash Online)
• PM – Kindergarten Stepping Up Ceremony!
• Indigenous Peoples Day

Thursday, June 22

• Lunch Lady (if you ordered through School Cash Online)
• 10 am End of School Year Mass – All are invited to attend

Friday, June 23

• Final Umbrell Assembly
• PM – Play Day!

CSAC – School Council – Thank YOU and End of Year BBQ!

Thank you to our wonderful Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC) for all their work this year to provide materials and opportunities for our students!

Our CSAC along with the Knights of Columbus invite all our families to an end-of-year BBQ on Tuesday, June 20th, from 5 to 6:30 pm at our school!

If you would like to learn more about CSAC or would like to join us next year so we can provide fundraising events and other opportunities for our students, please email paula.pizarro@wcdsb.ca, and I will be sure to reach out to you before the end of August or beginning of September.

Click here to go directly to the CSAC webpage

CSAC Parent Outreach Letter 2022

A Message From Fr. Peter & Parish News

Please have a look at this week’s Parish Bulletin here: June 18 2023

In the bulletin, you will also find some events for the adults in the community. Be sure to check them out!

• Saturday, June 24th – Deep Cleaning of the Full Church Complex – if you are able to help that day, please get in touch with the church
• Sunday, June 25th – Garden Tour 2023
• Monday, June 26th: Parent Support Coffee Time
• Saturday, July 1st: Young Adults Night
• SAVE THE DATE: Friday, September 15th – Annual Garden Party

Knights of Columbus are selling their famous Maple Burgers and Maple Sausage! Place your order before June 26th. See the bulletin for details.

Region of Waterloo Libraries ~ 2023 Spring Programs

• RWL Wilmot Programs, RWL Woolwich Programs, RWL Wellesley Programs

A full listing of events and registration can be found on the Events Calendar.

Hot Lunches 

• 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 entire length of the program.

WOOLWICH COMMUNITY SERVICES & COUNSELLING

https://woolwichcounselling.org/upcoming-events/

Visit https://www.woolwichcommunityservices.org for the most up-to-date information. WCA Brochure

The Umbrella Project – Mastery

Use timed intervals of practice to improve mastery

In working towards mastering anything, deliberate, focused practice plays a critical role. Robert Greene, world renown master in the subject of mastery, emphasizes this important idea:

“This process of hardwiring cannot occur if you are constantly distracted, moving from one task to another. In such a case, the neural pathways dedicated to this skill never get established; what you learn is too tenuous to remain rooted in the brain. It is better to dedicate two or three hours of intense focus to a skill than to spend eight hours of diffused concentration on it. You want to be as immediately present to what you are doing as possible.” 

In a generation plagued with infinite distraction, how do we create space for focus and hard wiring of skills?

One great way to help children accomplish distraction free work is to have them work in manageable blocks with intentional rest in between. Start with 20 minute intervals of practice/work with 10 minute rests and adjust according to your child’s current capacity (maximum 1 hour of work before a break). Instead of a long and distracted work session, this will allow for shorter focused bursts of work with anticipated breaks in between, a much better strategy for learning.

Here are a few tips for creating focus:

• Set a timer for the work and rest intervals
• Turn off notifications on computers, set phones to airplane mode or put them in another room if your child has their own devices
• Encourage your child to get water, use the washroom or take care of any other distracting needs that may come up
• Use headphones if the environment is noisy
• Have your child get the work ready to go in advance so there is no set-up required
• Have your child plan what will happen in the rest intervals – ie. go outside, dance around the house, get a snack etc.

Teach your children to value focus and practice this skill regularly.

Want to learn more? You can watch this short video I recorded for you.

Health & Happiness, 

Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project

Coming Up:

• June 27: Term 2 Report Cards Go Home; Grade 8 Graduation
• June 28: Talent Show
• June 29: Last Day of School