St. Anthony Connect – Parent Report – Thursday, November 26th

Posted on November 26, 2015 by mcguirp

Principal’s Report – Thursday, November 26

Orkidstra – We have started this program at St. Anthony. The Orkidstra program is based on a program started in 1997 by Dr José Antonio Abreu. The Venezuelan program has helped thousands of children in underprivileged areas to acquire instruments, receive music training and experience the joy of playing and singing with others in orchestras and choirs. Today El Sistema involves over 400,000 children and young people and it has inspired programs all over the world. Ottawa’s OrKidstra music initiative is the oldest of such programs outside of South America. We have 14 students enrolled in the program and we are very excited to have this program here at St. Anthony.

November 30th Assembly – We Help Each Other – On November 30th, we will be hosting Pierangela Pica and Angela Ierullo and other organizers of the St. Anthony Gala. The Gala raised $25,000.00 for the school’s greening project in September. The assembly gives us the opportunity to thank Pierangela for creating our school song – We Help Each Other. We are playing this song every day at school to get ready for the assembly. Angela Ierullo will also be honoured for all the work she did organizing the Gala Fundraiser.

We Help Each Other

Step by step You’re one of a kind

Day by day

Keep that in mind

We help each other

Each time you start

Along the way

A brand new day

Building tomorrow

Put out your hand

Reach for the stars

Hang on to mine

Be true to yourself

We’ll help each other

Shine wherever you are

We’ll be just fine

CHORUS

This is your time Your roots are your gift

This is your place To share everyday

We are a family You make a difference

Stand tall with pride Along the way

It’s your community You are an ocean

Whatever tomorrow brings Of colour and light

You can do anything You are the music

Just believe in yourself Making everything bright

And hold onto your dreams

Music and Lyrics by Pierangela Pica Musical arrangement by Rob Clarot

Technology – We have received a $3000.00 grant from Telus to purchase materials for our makerspaces. The money will be split between the learning commons maker space and the science makerspace. We are very excited about this partnership with Telus and we hope this is something we can continue in the future. We are in the process of purchasing more chromebooks with our own money. We will not be receiving any computers from the board this year.

Christmas celebration – we will be having a sing-along on the last day before Christmas. This event will be planned by the teachers and the School Council – all parents are welcome to this event.
Future Programs – In February we will be starting the STARR Gymnastics program. This is a great program for kids and every student will get four sessions with the STAR Gymnastics instructors. After the program finishes, we will offer a lunch-time gymnastics program for students who would like to continue their gymnastics training. The lunchtime program will be subsidized for all parents who require one.
Christmas Food Hampers – Holy Trinity High School will again be helping us by providing family support at Christmas. This year, instead of hampers, we will be providing gift cards to families in need. We will be contacting families over the next few days to find out what store they would like their gift card to come from. If you are in need of some assistance, please let us know by calling the school. We are also working to make sure all our students have the appropriate winter wear for the coming cold months. If you need boots, hats or snowsuits, please let us know and we will arrange for you to get what you need.

Next School Council Meeting – January 21 6:30 pm, then February 18th at 6:30 pm

Teacher’s Report

November Teacher Report – Parent Council, November 26, 2015

Girls and Boys Volleyball

Both teams attended tournaments at St. George Catholic School and represented St. Anthony very well, both in terms of their skills (both teams won 5 out of their 7 games) and team spirit!

Pedestrian Safety Presentations

A School crossing guard visited and reviewed the rules of street safety – in particular crossing at the lights, ensuring eye contact with drivers and staying within the white lines of the crossing area.

Remembrance Day Celebration

Various classes presented poems they had learned, in both English and French. It was the 100^th anniversary of the poem “In Flanders Field” so special attention was given to this work. Mr. McGuire live-streamed the ceremony from the War Museum.

Waste Audit

This week St. Anthony Catholic School held the first school wide waste audit for the 2015-2016 school year. With the help of several students and staff, we gathered garbage, recycling, and compost materials for a 24 hour period. We then weighed the clear plastic garbage bags and filled in the worksheets, assessing all the data visually. The results indicate that we are doing very well with the compost (food waste and organics measured at 90%) and recycling (paper, cardboard, and newsprint measured at 80%). Garbage was the area we can improve on this school year. In the garbage bags, we found materials that can be composted like food leftovers, pencil shavings. We also found “boomerang” items. These are things that students are encouraged to bring back home for recycling such as yogurt/fruit/jello cups, plastic spoons, and juice boxes. We will have another school wide waste audit in the winter months and hope to see some improvement in the area of garbage.
Students from the Green Club will present the findings at our next assembly.
Anthony is working on the eco-school application in the hopes of achieving silver status..or maybe even gold!

Looking at Pictures Presentation

The Grades 1, 2, 3 /4 and 5 / 6 attended in-school presentation from a volunteer from the National Gallery of Canada. She lead us on an interactive journey towards greater art appreciation using a number of visual art reproductions borrowed from the gallery.

Upcoming Advent Liturgies

30 – 1:45 p.m.
December 7: 10:00 a.m.
December 14: 10:00 a.m.
During Advent we have an outreach project – this year each class will make cards for the residents of St. Vincent Hospital – a long term care facility in our community. Representatives from each class will bring the school cards to the hospital and enjoy a sing-along with residents at some point during the final week before holidays.

Parent Report, Wednesday, February 11

Posted on February 12, 2015 by mcguirp

Parent Report

FSL Letters are coming home Thursday with the report cards. Here is a summary of the information grade 3 and 6 parents will see:

Pathways to French at the Ottawa Catholic School Board

Dear Parents/Guardians of students in Gr. 3,

In Kindergarten, we introduce students to French Immersion in a play based setting. Students spend 50% of their day in English and 50% of their day in French. The aim is to allow students to feel comfortable with the French language in a natural setting.

In Grades 1, 2 and 3, our Board offers a rich Extended French program (1/4 of the day is in French and 3⁄4of the day is in English). This is to ensure that students have a strong foundation in English (as their first language) and that they are ready for literacy and numeracy throughout the grades. It also provides enough FSL instruction to continue in the Immersion pathway as of Grade 4.

Your child is currently enrolled in the Extended French Program of 75 minutes per day (or 1⁄4 of the day). It is that time of year that we ask parents to select the FSL pathway that they feel would best meet their child’s needs in Grade 4.

As you may be aware, our School Board provides two French Second Language pathways in Grades 4 to 6. These are Extended French (1/4 day, the same as your child’s current program) or Immersion French (1/2 day). Both the Extended Pathway and the Immersion Pathways are programs of excellence and high expectations. Each program allows for students to excel in French Language acquisition to serve them at school and beyond.

Grade 3 parents complete the French program selection sheet and return it to the school by March 6, 2015. This sheet will be found in the report card envelope.

Please click here to view a powerpoint presentation on FSL Pathways at the Ottawa Catholic School Board

For Parents/Guardians of Grade 6 students currently enrolled in the French Second Language Extended Program:

As your child has followed the French Second Language Extended Program Pathway in the junior grades, the Core French Second Language Pathway is the suggested next step at the intermediate level in Grade 7. This is a program of excellence and high expectations. The program continues to promote the development of functional fluency in French.

At the secondary level, students following the Core Program Pathway continue to build French language acquisition, studying French at the Applied or Academic levels. Many Canadian post-secondary institutions also provide their students with Second Language learning opportunities to prepare our youth for the job market.

In preparation for the next school year, we ask that you please consider the Pathways to French chart on the reverse side. Please complete the French program selection sheet for your child and return it to your school by March 6^th, 2015.

If you have any questions, please contact the school and speak with your child’s teachers.

Thank you for your support and action on this necessary process to help us prepare for the appropriate French Second Language programming for your child.

Additional Items:

School Programs: We have started our new table tennis program and we are now into the third week. Students are enjoying the coaching and next week we will have four tables available for play. Several students have asked if they can still join and they are welcome to do so. This is a program that we plan to keep going for the remainder of the year.

Hip Hop instruction will be starting soon. The program will cost $50.00 for ten weeks – subsidies are available. This program will be introduced on soon and sign-ups will take place during the assembly. There will be more information soon.

Culture Shock – our students will be trained by members of this troupe

Squirmies: We will be running a second session of Squirmies starting February 23. Subsidies are available as always.

Other items of interest:

Ash Wednesday is next week (February 18th). Father Felix from St. Anthony Church will be visiting the school to take part in our Ash Wednesday liturgy. Parents are welcome to attend.

Christie Lake Girls Camp took place last weekend. By all accounts it was a great success. We had eight girls from grades 2-6 who took part in the camp and they had a great time with Christie Lake staff. A boys camp is in the planning stages – more information to follow.

Walk Zones for next year. OSTA has finalized the walk zones for next year for grades 1 – 6. The maps are on display outside the office. A fuller explanation of the new zones can be found in the February 9 – 13 Community Blog

Pizza and milk programs – these programs are going very well at st. Anthony. Our first pizza day was a great success – all the students seemed to enjoy Domino’s. Our next pizza day is this Friday and we will continue pizza days every second Friday for the remainder of the year.

More Chromebooks – the School Board has provided our school with 20 new Chromebooks. We are now getting close to have one machine for every junior student. We are encouraging the students to bring the machines home with them so that they have this wonderful resource to help them with their learning both at home and at school. Students are now beginning work on their own e-portfolios. Every student from grades 1-6 will write at least two entries this term on things they are learning in class. They will be able to share this learning with their parents as more machines come home with the students.

This is the template all students will be working from

Report Cards – the first term report cards are going home Thursday (February 12). While there is no formal interview night set up for this term, parents are very welcome to contact their son or daughter’s teacher to set up an interview. Teachers will also be contacting parents if they feel an interview is necessary. Congratulations on all the hard work accomplished by our students this term!

St. Nicholas at St. Anthony – we are offering St. Anthony parents the opportunity to take high school credits through St. Nicholas Adult School here at St. Anthony. A flyer explaining what parents need to do to get involved is coming home with the report cards.

Principal’s Report to School Council – Wednesday, January 14th

Posted on January 15, 2015 by mcguirp

Principal’s Report – Wednesday, January 14, 2015

1. Programs: Our winter/spring programming is about to begin. Here is a breakdown of what we have scheduled:

Little Horn Theatre: Audrey Lemieux will be starting a music program with all our students starting January 21^st. The music portion of Little Horn will continue on to February 27^th. Jamie Vargus – the principal trainer of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet will be here January 19^th to offer workshops to the junior (grade 4-6) students.

Y Kids Academy – This is a FREE 12 hour healthy living program designed specifically for grades five and six students. Upon successful completion of the program, our grade six students will also receive a FREE, one year, no strings attached membership to the YMCA–YWCA! The program starts next week, but we are still looking for parent volunteers to help out. Volunteers would simply help escort the students to and from the Y as we will be walking.
Table Tennis – Forms for this program will be handed out Thursday. We will be offering this program after school (3:15-4:15)once a week for our students starting January 27 going to April 21. The price of the 10-week program is $30.00. Subsidies available.

Hip Hop Dancing – We will also be offering a 10-week hip hop dance class (juniors only) on Wednesday at lunchtime. Registration will take place on Wednesday, January 21. The program will cost students $25.00 for the 10 weeks. Subsidies available.
Young Rembrandts – The drawing program will begin again January 22 for 5 sessions. Total cost: $54.00 (full subsidy available) Registration deadline is January 19^th.

2. Pizza Days! We will be running pizza days twice a month starting January 30^th. Forms for pizza have gone home and are due back January 20^th. This will be our school fundraiser for the year. All profit will be going directly back into the classroom.

3. Second session Milk Program – begins January 19^th and goes to April 10^th. This program is intended as a fundraiser as well. We will report on the proceeds from this year’s program to School Council in June.

4. EQAO – we are starting to work on EQAO preparation now. Teachers will be meeting over the next week to plan strategies to assist all students in preparation for the tests in May and June. This school does extremely well in EQAO and we plan to continue our upward trend. In reading and writing we continue to improve from grade 3 to grade 6. In math, the trend is not as strong, but we have a team of teachers working on math instruction this year and this could have a positive impact on how are students do. The most important thing is to start early to identify the students are risk in the areas of reading, writing and math.

5. First Term Report Cards – these will be coming out February 13^th. We will not hold a formal meeting night this round, but parents can schedule a meeting with their classroom teacher to discuss the term I results. Teachers will also be contacting parents where there are areas of concern.

School Council – Wednesday, November 12

Posted on November 13, 2014 by mcguirp

St. Anthony School

School Council Meeting Wednesday, November 12

Agenda

Prayer: Mr. McGuire

Prayer

Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:15

(Common English Bible translation)

True Christians do not know vengeance. They are the children of peace. Their hearts overflow with peace. Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace.

–Menno Simons

prayer of the day

Sovereign Lord, forgive us for choosing violence instead of grace. Give us the courage to trust that the cross is more powerful than the sword. Help us to live without fear in the light of your promise. Amen.

– Common Prayer

1. Business items:

2. Information items:

3. Principal’s Report:

Programs at school:
Opera Lyra:
Table Tennis:
Young Rembrandts:
Christmas baskets:
Mrs. Pollock, our office administrator will be leaving us for a new school starting this week. We would like to thank Mrs. Pollock for all the wonderful work she has done at our school and we wish her well at her next school.
Digital Citizenship:
Aviva: https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

More detailed report from Mr. McGuire:

1. Programs at school: We ran a very successful conclusion to the fun2run program early November. The juniors ran the 3KM course without much difficulty. They certainly loved the ghost stories along the way. This was a very positive partnership with CHEO and we hope to be able to participate in the program next year.

Opera Lyra: Thanks to a very generous donation, we were able to take part in the school Opera Lyra program. The grade 5/6 students played an active role in the production and we are preparing a thank-you package for our supporter.

Table Tennis: We would like to run a table tennis program after school. Table Tennis Canada would like to offer a program, but we need tables. If anyone has tables they would like to donate to the school please let me know.

Young Rembrandts: This is an art program that will run for the next few weeks. The cost per student is $54.00 and it will run for four weeks starting this Wednesday. There is a full subsidy available for families who require one. We are starting out with 12 students.

2. Christmas baskets: We are collecting information on families who will be in need of a Christmas basket. If you know of any family who could use a basket please let me know. The baskets will be supplied by Holy Trinity High School and will be distributed December 12.

3. Mrs. Pollock, our office administrator will be leaving us for a new school starting this week. We would like to thank Mrs. Pollock for all the wonderful work she has done at our school and we wish her well at her next school.

4. Digital Citizenship: Starting this week, teachers in all grades will be offering students five lessons on digital citizenship. The program is call Samaritans on the Digital Road. This is the second year the program has been offered. It covers the keys issues that students need to be aware of in this digital age.

5. Aviva: The Aviva Campaign continues to go very well – we are in the third qualifying round and currently sit in 9^th place nationally and first in the education category. We are always looking for more supporters who will vote for us daily – this will help in the semi-finals. Here is the link for voting: https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

Next meeting: December 10 – this will be a social – all parents are welcome!!

Plans of council for upcoming months:

community supper on a Friday night in the winter 6:00 – 8:00 PM – a potluck dinner will be planned – also some entertainment will be proposed
June BBQ will be planned again
end of November will work on a pizza day – Nov 27th – we really need more parent volunteers for this!!
making Dec 10 a social event for school council
math workshop – Marian Small – check for a date in the spring. Mr. McGuire will do this.
school council really interested in getting more people out at the next meeting.

St. Anthony Connects

St. Anthony is part of the Ottawa community!

Category Archives: school council