St. Anthony Connects – the first post for a new year!

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St. Anthony This Week

Welcome back everyone!  We are looking forward to a great new year with a great new yard.  If you haven’t seen it yet, here is my introductory message to all of you!

Below you will find teacher notes and the schedule for the first week.  There are not lots of special activities planned for the first week so we can get forms collected and classes well organized.

I am looking forward to seeing you and your children very soon!

Paul McGuire

Principal, St. Anthony School

Tuesday, September 6

Meet the Teacher Day

  • Students and parents enter the school at 8:30 bell (message to parents)
  • short introduction and welcoming in the gym
  • students form up with their teachers and go to class – parents follow
  • coffee and snacks in the hallway right outside the office
  • teachers intro to parents and teachers – hope to get as many forms signed as possible – non-homeroom teachers assist with in-class sessions
  • emphasis on media form – looking for 100% ‘YES’
  • Meet the teacher done by recess – National Anthem and announcements to be done just before recess to set up the ground rules for the new yard (ie. no jumping off the rocks in the outdoor classroom etc)
  • Tweets today #ocsbfirstday

Wednesday, September 7

No events are on the calendar for the remainder of the week – we will use this time to distribute computers and forms that need to be returned and to collect the student fee.

Forms:

  • media form
  • Acceptable Use Policy for Computers – must be signed by a parent before machines can go home
  • Student Verification and CASL form
  • Walking Letter
  • Student Activity Fee letter
  • Pizza and Milk forms will be distributed later in the month – Pizza will be once per week this year.

Thursday, September 8

Friday, September 9

Teacher Notes for the First

Week of School

JK/SK

Kindergarten News for September 6th-10th, 2016

Welcome back to all of our St Anthony School community!  We hope you had a great summer and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  We look forward to welcoming you and your child back to school on the first day of school for our Meet the Teacher event.  All parents are invited to come to the gym and then to their child’s classroom on Tuesday September 6, 2016 at 8:30 am.  We hope to provide you with some important information and to answer any questions you may have!

Just a reminder all Senior Kindergarten students start on Tuesday September 6, 2016.  The Junior Kindergarten students will have an Orientation Interview on Tuesday.  Most Junior Kindergarten students start on Thursday, September 8, 2016. Junior Kindergarten students registered in the Extended Day Program after school start Wednesday, September 7th
We can’t wait to meet all of our new Junior Kindergarten students and their families, as well as welcome back our Senior Kindergarten students!  The Kindergarten Team was busy getting the classrooms ready for your arrival to school and we can’t wait to get started!  Our schoolyard received an amazing makeover that we are sure all students will enjoy!
We look forward to a great year!
The Kindergarten Team!

Ready for learning…..and some fun too!

KP

Extended Day Program

Welcome to the Extended Day Program at St. Anthony.

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome back some of our families and friends, and at the same time extend a warm welcome to all of our new families.  We look forward to another fun-filled learning experience for all, during the 2016-17 school year.

The Supervisor of St. Anthony Extended Day Program is Ms. Young.

The staff in the Kindergarten program is Ms. Young.

The staff in the School age program is Ms. Katy.

Our emergency cell phone number is 613 914 7028.

Our program opens at 7:00am and closes promptly at 6:00pm.  All children must be signed in and out by a person over the age of 16 years.  Children will only be released by the program staff upon verification of your pick up people you have listed as well as proper photo identification. Please ensure that you see a staff member to get the Safe Welcome Keypad code.  All emergency/pick up persons on your list should be given this information as well. Please keep this code confidential and do not provide the code to your child/ren at any time.

Your online account in the Child Care Registry and Waitlist system belongs to you only.  Please be aware that program staff cannot make/request changes.  Each individual person that has registered a child in the program is responsible for making any additions and or changes over the course of your child’s school year in the Extended Day Program.  Should you have any technical difficulties with the online system you can contact 1-888-722-1540 for support.

Families are encouraged to visit our Family Bulletin Board for more information on our menus, activities and programs.  Should you have any questions or concerns about your child’s care in our program please feel free to speak with the supervisor at any time.  We look forward to building another wonderful year together.  

St. Anthony Extended Day Program Staff

Ms. Myers Grade One/Two

Welcome Back!  I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and is ready to begin school rested and ready to learn! This year I look forward to welcoming both grade one and two students! I hope parents will be able to join their children on the first day of school. We will gather in the gym and then go to our classroom where we will have a chance to meet each other properly!  Your child will be bringing home a school agenda containing various information items that require your review and attention. Please check your child’s backpack!  “Happy New Year” to all new and returning families!

Grade Two/Three Ms. Moga

Dear Parents/Guardians,

September is a time of new beginnings, which I look forward to sharing with your child. Once a week, I will write a short post for the St. Anthony Connects Blog to keep you up to date with classroom and school activities.  This year, I will also have a class site that you may wish to visit (https://sites.google.com/ocsb.ca/moga). I look forward to meeting you and your child on the first day of school!

Yours truly,

Ms. Moga

Moga

 

Ms. Manzoli’s Opening note to grade 3 parents

Welcome Back News From Mrs. Manzoli’s Class

Dear Parents,

Welcome back for another exciting educational journey.  Hello, my name is Mrs. Manzoli and I will be your child’s grade 3 teacher for the 2016-2017 school year.  This year your child will have the opportunity to grow and learn about the world that surrounds them.  It will be my privilege to work with you to provide a rich, loving, learning environment for your child.  I will strive to keep you informed of our activities throughout the year via your child’s agenda, monthly newsletters and information that will also be posted on the “St. Anthony Connects” blog (stanthonyconnects.edublogs.org.).  You may also contract me via your child’s agenda or by phoning me at St. Anthony’s Catholic school (613-235-0340).

Today your child will be coming home with an agenda and may information items. Please take some time with your child to review the information and become familiar with your child’s agenda. This will be a crucial tool in order to keep lines of communication open between school and home.  Agendas will be checked daily.  

Your child will need to provide the following classroom items this year:

  • A box of Kleenex and 5 zip lock freezer bags.
  • Indoor running shoes that will remain at school.  
  • Clearly label all clothing
  • Knapsack and Lunch box which will include two snacks and a healthy lunch. St. Anthony Catholic continues to run a recycling program that includes paper and compost only.  Your child will be asked to bring home any other garbage home. Please check your child’s lunch boxes daily to ensure that these items are removed from their bags.  We will continue to encourage “waste-free” lunches, packed in reusable containers.

Please remember that a large part of your child’s educational experience takes place outside of the classroom.  Take the time to find out about their school day, read with them, review their daily work and encourage their successes.

Yours truly,

Mrs. Manzoli                         

Mr. Nixon – Our new Primary and Junior French  Teacher!    

Chris

Dear Parents & Guardians,

It is with pleasure that I introduce myself as your child’s French teacher for the 2016-2017 school year.


My name is Christopher Nixon and this will be my first year teaching at St. Anthony School. Over the last 4 years, I taught in various regions of Quebec and Ontario. I will be teaching Extended French in grades 4, 5, and 6, and Extended in grade 3.

Lessons in class will focus on a combination of listening, speaking, reading and writing in French. My goal is to increase your child’s interest in the French language and improve their ability to communicate with others. In addition, I am planning classes to be highly interactive and engaging in order to meet the needs and interest of every student.

I look forward to helping your child succeed in learning the French language, and look forward to meeting you and your child to discuss progress in class throughout the year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me by e-mail: chirstopher.nixon@ocsb.ca


Sincerely,

Christopher Nixon

M. Chartrand French Classes

Let me introduce myself again; my name is Mr. Chartrand. I have 20 years of experience in teaching a second language. I will be your child’s Grade 1 French Teacher and Grade 4/5 French Immersion teacher. I can’t wait to begin another exciting year at St. Anthony’s. Please read the Newsletter found on St. Anthony’s school website. I have provided a paper copy for the first newsletter only.

1re année

En français, we will work on our vowel sounds and focus on the letter A, a. Our theme this month will be All About Me and Things at School.

4ième/5ième année (Immersion)

En Science, this week we will work on Les Habitats.

En Sciences Sociales, we will begin a review of the Physical Regions of Canada and link the science unit “Les Habitats”

En Français, we will begin our unit on Au Restaurant, we have our first dictée next Friday with a vocabulary test as well. The unit project has been introduced and the outline is available on-line. Groups will be determined next week and I will need to know the name of the Restaurant.

En Arts, we will study different lines and draw a monochromatic 3d picture of Albert Einstein.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, we are focussing on routines, rules and regulations in the gym, demonstrating an awareness of health and safety practices and a basic awareness of their own well-being.

Mrs. Rupnik’s Primary Language Class

I hope your family enjoyed a wonderful summer and that your child is excited to start a new school year! I have been working hard, setting up our classroom and getting ready for our first day of school. The first week of school is always busy as families settle into the familiar back to school routine.

 

Please make sure to read the ‘welcome class newsletter’ that will be sent home on Tuesday along with other important school information. I look forward to meeting you at our Open House on Tuesday, September 6 (morning class 8:30-9:15 and the afternoon class 12:30-1:15 pm).

 

For daily information on St. Anthony Catholic School, please check on social media feeds below.

http://san.ocsb.ca/our-school

https://www.facebook.com/St.AnthonySchoolOttawa?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/StAnthonyOCSB

https://www.instagram.com/stanthonyocsb/

https://stanthonyconnects.edublogs.org/

 

Sept. 5 – Sept. 9

Mrs. Troccoli’s Grade 4/5 Team News

Welcome back to a new school year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer enjoying all the beauty of the outdoors! I look forward to getting started with my new team and hope to meet many of our parents during our Open House Tuesday morning – the first day of school!

 

We will spend the week getting to know each other as we begin to learn together.  There will be lots of important information going home with your child in their ‘mailbag’.  There is also our class newsletter with details of what to expect in our class in the coming month. Please read all the information carefully with your child and return any notes to school as soon as possible. If you ever have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call the school and I will return your call or you can send a note in your child’s ‘Reminders’ notebook.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year working cooperatively with you and your child.

I strongly believe….Together Everyone Achieves More

Mrs. S. Troccoli

Ms. Nora Colaiacovo grade 5/6 class

Nora

Hello Parents,

Welcome back to a 2016-17 school year, I really look forward to spending the coming school year with your sons and daughters!  I will teach your child Math and Language Arts in the morning and our afternoon schedule will vary to cover the remainder of the curriculum (Science, the Arts, Religion and Family Life, and Phys. Ed. and Health). M. Girard and M. Nixon will teach immersion or extended French during 3rd block each day. There are many exciting activities planned for the year ahead and I am looking forward to working with you and your child. Together, as parents and teachers we can truly provide a comfortable, motivating, stimulating and challenging environment for your child.

Classroom Expectations

Our class has established some basic rules that we will use to guide us throughout the year.  I would like to share them with you:

    1 – Respect Yourself

           2 – Respect Others

3 – Respect Property

We will concentrate on taking responsibility for our own actions and learning.  Therefore, responsibility and respect will be major themes in our classroom.  It is also our goal to lead students to become lifelong learners and to help build positive character.  This will also be reinforced by our school board spiritual theme  “Sent to be the Good News”.  We will work together to support each other to be the best we can be socially, academically and spiritually and to live the Gospel Values.

Supplies

In order to maintain the cleanliness of our school and classroom environment, it is essential that students have a pair of indoor shoes that can be left at school. In addition, I ask that each child bring a pencil case. I have provided pencils to get the school year started, for which each student is responsible. Your child has been supplied with a Chromebook that will assist with tracking of assignments, tests, and special events.  Please use your child’s Chromebook as a communication tool with us. I have also supplied your child with a “mailbag” for transporting important notes to and from school and I will occasionally use this to keep you up to date on your child’s progress.  Work will be sent home for your signature periodically. Our class newsletter will be posted on the Saint Anthony Blog each month and I will share the newsletter to each student’s Gmail account, so in the interest of saving paper, I will no longer send home hard copies.

  Homework

A homework duotang has been assigned to each student.  Homework will be sent home with your child in the duotang every second Monday.  Along with completing the homework, your child is also required to read for a minimum of 20 minutes each evening. Completed homework is to be returned to school on Friday. Most major projects will be completed in class, but occasionally work that is not completed during class time will be sent home.  

Math

Our first unit will be Numeration.  Your child will read, represent, compare, and order whole numbers to 100,00 (grade 5) and 1,000,000 (grade 6), decimal numbers to thousandths, proper and improper fractions, and mixed numbers. We will use various manipulatives and place value charts to represent and explore relationships among numbers. A thorough understanding of place-value concepts permits students to work confidently with very large or very small numbers. Along with this, we will work toward learning the multiplication tables.  Please review multiplication facts to 10 with your son/daughter regularly at home.   

Throughout this time, you and your child may engage in activities such as:

  •         read and write numbers found in newspapers or magazines
  •         compare and order examples of numbers found in the newspaper.
  •         your child can count out the amount of money needed when you are purchasing items together at a store.

Language Arts

Although the teaching of literacy skills is embedded across all curricula, it is the language curriculum that is dedicated to instruction in the areas of specific knowledge and skills – listening and speaking, reading, writing, and viewing and representing – which helps all students become successful language learners.

The areas of focus throughout this month in reading will be making connections through shared and guided reading, and read-aloud activities. The students  continue to learn about each other through short writing and oral language activities. They will consider and discuss bullying, ways to solve problems, how to make friends, and how to understand different points of view. Media literacy will be another focus as the students prepare slogans and posters in class to motivate and inspire the rest of the St. Anthony School community to become involved in the Terry Fox Run.

Nora 2

Ways You Can Help Your Child At Home:

 

  • Set aside time for homework each night
  • Talk about what happened at school each day
  • Please check your child’s Google calendar every day
  • Practice basic Math facts regularly (addition, subtraction and multiplication)
  • Encourage independent problem solving
  • Have your child read each evening for 20 minutes

 

Important dates:

Friday, September 23: Clean up the Capital at St. Anthony Catholic School

Tuesday, September 27: Terry Fox Event (watch for more information being sent home)

Finally, I sincerely believe that by working together we can achieve anything we set our minds to. I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns. You can leave a message for me at the school office at 613-235-0340 or write a note and send it in your child’s mailbag.

I am looking forward to a great year with your kids!!!!

Mrs. N. Colaiacovo

   How to Motivate      Your Child

 

  • Help them set goals

 

Goals help turn expectations into reality / Post goals where your children can see them often / Goals should be measurable, specific, time sensitive, and attainable

 

  • Encourage resiliency

 

Resiliency helps children be ready for whatever comes their way / Resiliency helps children solve their own problems, focus on their strengths and learn from mistakes

 

  • Set proper expectations

 

Children are keenly aware of how their parents view them / Have high expectations and communicate them with your child / Re-evaluate expectations when necessary / Base expectations on child’s strengths and weaknesses

 

  • Support their learning style

 

Does your child learn best by hearing, seeing or doing? / Auditory learners are engaged when they can incorporate listening into learning / Visual learners are engaged when they can incorporate seeing into learning / Kinesthetic learners are engaged when they can incorporate doing into their learning

 

  • Show that school is important

 

Maintain a good relationship with your child’s teacher / Know what’s happening in the classroom / Be positive about school and homework / Encourage consistent attendance and timeliness

 

  • Use encouraging words

 

Encouragement has a larger impact than praise / Notice effort – “ You are really working hard!” / Use descriptive words / Encouragement can be given regardless of performance

 

  • Reinforce learning

 

Watch a movie of a book that your child is reading in school and discuss / Visit museums / Learn together as a family about different cultures / Explore new interests / Read with your child

 



 

        

Our first day at St. Anthony

We had a great day together at St. Anthony!  This morning, the kids were lined up ten minutes before school even started!

We all stood outside in the summer sun and realized we were ready for an exciting year.

Everyone found their class, no one got lost and the staff were very happy to see everyone again.  We have lots of new staff this year – including me – but that didn’t seem to matter at all.  St. Anthony has a system and it works really well.

Kids were playing soccer by the first recess.  The play structure was busy all day and kids loved being in the wonderful shade provided by our beautiful trees.

I took lots of photos – over 60 at last count.  Included in these photos is a class shot for every class in the school.  At the end of the year at the final slide show, the kids will get a chance to see how much they have changed in ten short months!  You can se all the flickr photos here.

We pledge to make learning visible for all of you this year – through this blog, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Instagram.  We want to keep you involved and informed on what is going on at your school!

What’s coming up?

  • Extended Day Care starts tomorrow
  • JK Orientation continues
  • Our opening assembly will be this Friday at 2:15
  • Please remember to hand in verification sheets and the $20.00 student activity fee

Next few weeks

Our Program Night will be Tuesday, September 16

We will soon be looking to form our School Council for 2014-2015 – this is a very important volunteer position and we need as many people as we can get to fill a number of important roles.

So, on to day two!!