CSAC & School Events Calendar

Thursday, November 13, 2014

ANXIETY IN CHILDREN WORKSHOP - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27th


Your St. Agnes CSAC is hosting an “Anxiety in Children” workshop on November 27, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the gymnasium. Our guest speaker is Clinical Child and Adolescent psychologist Dr. Silvia Bernardini.
Please RSVP to lucia.ammendolia@tcdsb.org by Nov. 20.
Topics will include:
 
-        What does anxiety look like in children.
-        Red flags to look out for.
-        Question and Answer period. 
 
Dr. Bernardini’s Bio:
Dr. Silvia Bernardini is a registered Child and Adolescent psychologist.  She obtained her doctorate degree from  the University of Toronto in 2005 and received dual registration as a Clinical and School psychologist from the College of Psychologists of Ontario in 2007.   She has worked extensively in both hospital and school settings throughout the years with children and their families who experience a range of psychological and learning difficulties.  Dr. Bernardini is a founding member of the Clinical Psychology Centre in Thornhill.  At the centre, she focuses her work on children and adolescents who experience distress and limited functioning due to anxiety, depression, and learning challenges.  She assumes a Cognitive-Behavioural and Family approach to helping children and families develop lifelong skills to manage their difficulties.  Her research interests are vast but are mainly focused on parenting and family processes that contribute to child psychopathology.
Again, please RSVP to lucia.ammendolia@tcdsb.org by Nov. 20.
 
Your CSAC executive - Beverly Emer, Angie Sanchez, Maria Aprile and Doris Bortolin
 

IMPORTANT CSAC MEETING - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

Your St. Agnes Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC) next meets on Tuesday, November 18th.

This is a very important, budget focused, CSAC meeting. It's your opportunity to vote on all of CSAC's spending. This spending is MADE POSSIBLE BY YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS through various events organized by your St. Agnes CSAC (like pizza lunches and the recent Halloween dance just to name a few. . . . of MANY).

Your CSAC's spending is focused on parent engagement and enhancing your child's education at St. Agnes. This is your opportunity to provide input and vote on this school year's CSAC spending. Please plan to be there.

The meeting starts at 7 PM, sharp, at the school. It will conclude by 9 PM.

As always, we encourage all St. Agnes school parents and or guardians to attend this and every meeting of your CSAC. See you then!


Your CSAC executive - Beverly Emer, Angie Sanchez, Maria Aprile and Doris Bortolin

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

CSAC NEWSREEL - NOVEMBER 2014

We hope everyone has enjoyed this mild fall weather and are gearing up for the winter season!  We ended October at St. Agnes with our annual CSAC Halloween Dance A Thon!  Great costumes, laughter, and a few shrieks from the Mad Science Lab were all a part of the day!   We raised over $2000.00 which will be used to purchase items for the school community at our November Budget meeting on November 18 @ 7:00 p.m.  Join us and vote on how the funds will be distributed in the school.  We had some generous prize sponsors this year and wish to thank John Vince Foods, Geared to Win Sports, the Hasou family, and the Chin family.

Congratulations to N. Tucciarone for most pledge money raised, Ms. McGrath/Ms. Stewart’s JK/SK class for most pledge forms collected, S. Russo for original costume and A. Li for best homemade costume. 
UPCOMING CSAC EVENTS - Mark your calendars!

Nov 7-CSAC Pizza Lunch (email rftucciarone@sympatico.ca if you can help)
Nov 18 - CSAC Budget Meeting
Nov 21 - CSAC Pizza Lunch
Nov 27 - Anxiety Presentation - Dr. Silvia Bernardini
Nov 28 - CSAC Pizza Lunch

Your CSAC executive - Beverly Emer, Angie Sanchez, Maria Aprile and Doris Bortolin

Friday, October 31, 2014

CSAC Online Calendar Updates for November 2014

Our online CSAC & school events calendar has been updated for the month of November  2014. It's available from your smartphone, tablet and computer 24/7.

The virtue for the month of November is Peace.

It's a busy month. Of special note perhaps are:

  • Remembrance Day on November 11th
  • Parent Interviews on the 13th (evening) and 14th (morning)
  • PA day on the 14th (no classes)
  • St. Agnes CSAC Pizza Lunches on the 7th & 28th (volunteers always appreciated)
  • Picture re-takes on the 18th
  • CSAC meeting (all St. Agnes parents and guardians welcome) on the 18th
  • Confirmation meeting at BT Parish on the evening of the 24th
  • St. Agnes CSAC evening presentation for parents (HPV and HepB) on the 27th
  • Lockdown drill on the 28th

Monday, October 27, 2014

Free Centsible Students Seminar - Wednesday, October 29


A reminder  to parents....

Centisble Students information evening this Wed Oct 29 at 7pm in the school gym.

This evening is funded by the TCDSB Parent's Reaching Out (PRO) Grant. CSAC applies for this grant.  In the past we have had speakers on Internet Safety, Parenting, etc.  

Parents have suggested to bring in a speaker to teach kids about money and finances. 

Please try to fit this in to your schedule this week!
 
 
Your St. Agnes CSAC

Friday, October 24, 2014

CSAC Pizza Lunch Dates

Here's just a quick note to give you the schedule for this school year's CSAC Pizza Lunch days. These lunches are made possible by the volunteers from your St. Agnes CSAC and other super volunteers from our St. Agnes parent community. More volunteers are always welcome and appreciated. If you're able to volunteer on any of these dates, please contact the school office. Many thanks!

So, to mark your calendars, here are those Pizza Lunch dates:

Friday, November 7  
Friday, November 21
Friday, November 28 
Friday, December 12 
Friday, January 9   
Friday, January 30           
Friday, February 6 
Friday, February 20  
Friday, March 13  
Friday, March 27 
Friday, April 10   
Friday, April 24  
Friday, May 8  
Friday, May 22 
Friday, May 29 
Friday, June 12

Sunday, October 19, 2014

October 22 CSAC Meeting

Your St. Agnes Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC) will next meet on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7pm, sharp, in the staff room.

Included on this meeting's Agenda is a presentation by Karen Dobrucki, of Evergreen, regarding the green space at St. Agnes.

A copy of the October 22nd Agenda is posted in the Key Documents area of our CSAC blog, or click here for a direct link to the Agenda.

Please note that the meeting dates for the entire school year will be (all commencing at 7pm, at St. Agnes):

November 18 - CSAC Budget Meeting
December - No meeting scheduled 
January 21, 2015
February 21
March -  no meeting scheduled
April 15 - CSAC Budget Meeting
May 19
June - no meeting scheduled


All parents and guardians of St. Agnes students are welcome to attend any CSAC meeting. We hope to see you there.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

REMINDER: WELCOME BACK BBQ FORMS ARE DUE SEPT 17TH

St. Agnes Welcome Back BBQ

Tuesday September 23rd (rain or shine)

5 to 8pm

 
PRE-ORDER FORMS DUE THIS WEDNESDAY SEPT 17!

NO LATE FORMS WILL BE TAKEN!

 
Please, get your form in ASAP!

If you require another copy - please contact the school TODAY!

Friday, August 29, 2014

School Renovation Update: August 29, 2014

Hello St. Agnes families,

Just in case you may have missed today's emailed letter from Mr. Shea, here is that letter (note the updated timeline for the renovation):


August 29, 2014
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

We are very happy to welcome you and your children to the St. Agnes School community. We have been busily preparing to receive the children both from a curricular perspective as well as from a facilities perspective.

Part of the preparation for the Full Day Kindergarten program includes renovation and an addition. During the summer work it became necessary to undertake Type 3 asbestos abatement to remove asbestos-containing vermiculite within the exterior brick wall. Subsequent to this work an independent consultant (SPL Consultants Limited) conducted air quality testing and the results indicated that all is safe.  The extensive nature of our renovation is ongoing and will continue as school begins. We anticipate the work at St. Agnes to be completed by late November to early December.

In the meantime it will be necessary that all students enter and exit the school property via the kindergarten ramp and west door (nearest the staff room). The school yards cannot be accessed any other way.

Thanks to all for your anticipated patience as we work to completion of our two new classrooms. The final product will make this all worthwhile.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Yours sincerely,

John Shea
Principal
 
There will likely be some delays with the drop-off and pick-up routine during the renovation. Please try to give yourself some extra time.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

School Renovation Update (pictures)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer.

I thought some might be interested in the state of the school's renovations (to accommodate all day kindergarten in September). So, here's a few pictures.

What they show is construction of the foundation for the new south wall of the two kindergarten classrooms. As a reminder, one of these classrooms will replace the area formerly known as the Peace Garden. As it's a closed work site, I was unable to see what work has been completed inside.

For more information on the renovation plans, please see the April 9, 2014 posting on our CSAC Blog and the renovation plan drawings in the Key Documents area of our blog.




Product Placement? Now how did that get in there?


























I have no idea if they're on schedule. As a reminder though, the renovations weren't scheduled to be completed before mid-October 2014.

Enjoy August!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Our Sympathy for Mr. Shea

It is with great sadness that we share with the school community that Mr. Shea's mother, Audrey Shea, passed away on Tuesday, May 20th.

Visitation for Audrey Shea will be held at the Sherrin Funeral Home, 873 Kingston Road, on Friday, May 23rd from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. The funeral mass will be held at St. John's Catholic Church, 794 Kingston Road, on Saturday, May 24th, at 10:30am.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Major School Renovation Details

As you will likely be aware, St. Agnes Catholic School will receive a major renovation in the near future to accommodate (in September 2014, this fall) Ontario's all day kindergarten program. Your CSAC would like to summarize the information received from the TCDSB's Project Team that we believe you need to have:

1) Renovations estimates are like all other complicated estimates. Expect changes and delays.

2) This renovation will commence in July 2014. That is, after the last day of classes.

3) This renovation is not expected to be completed by September 2014.

4) The latest estimate is that this renovation will be completed in mid-October 2014.

5) There is expected to be drop-off/pick-up circle impact while the renovation is completed. The extent and duration is to be confirmed by the TCDSB Project Team and based on the renovation's progress.

6) Until the renovation is completed, the all day Jr. and Sr. Kindergarten classes are expected to occupy the school's library and one other classroom (not a portable).  Details are to be confirmed by the school and the TCDSB Project Team, ASAP.

7) The latest Project Team's renovation drawings are posted to your St. Agnes CSAC's site, in the Key Documents area (top right corner). The drawings (downloadable/printable) are as follows:
Drawing 1: Shows the existing school and the renovation area.

Drawing 2: Shows the single story addition to the renovation area, including a single story extension to the existing kindergarten classroom. Note that the Peace Garden is replaced with a kindergarten classroom; there would be a new stairway from the drop-off circle; there will be a new, entirely fenced and level playground for the kindergarten classes; the existing entrance by the library will remain for non-kindergarten students;  there are many proposed trees to be planted.

Drawing 3: Shows the interior details of the renovation area. Note the new washrooms, cubbies and entrance way for the kindergarten classes.

We hope you find this information helpful and that you'll share it with anyone else who may be impacted by this renovation and not already signed-up for automatic email updates from the St. Agnes CSAC. Hint: they can sign-up on the CSAC site too.

As mentioned in the school's April Newsletter, the drawings provided here are available for viewing in the school's office as well.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Help Your Child LOVE Math! No, Seriously.

Toronto's Catholic School Board has just produced an online web portal of resources to help kids (in grades 1-8) develop a love for mathematics. It's pretty cool.

Games like Math Playground, Johnny's Math Page and Fun 4 the Brain, plus many more, are all there for kids and parents so they can work together to develop a love (or at least a strong like) for math.

Click here for a link to the Board's web portal. A link is also posted to our CSAC blog (with many other multi-lingual educational resources), in the "Information Links" section (bottom left corner).

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

MAJOR SCHOOL RENOVATION UPDATE

Please plan to attend the St. Agnes CSAC meeting on Wednesday, January 15.

There will be an approximately 1 hour presentation/discussion led by TCDSB staff regarding the very soon to commence major school renovation to accommodate all day kindergarten for September 2014.

This renovation may impact every school parent (from drop-off/pick-up routine to school grounds safety).

The meeting will commence at 6:30 PM sharp in the school's library. A copy of the full meeting Agenda is posted in the Key Documents area of our blog. Please click here for a link to the Agenda.

Please pass on this important news to your friends who may not be registered for automatic CSAC blog updates.

Thank you.

Your St. Agnes CSAC





Sunday, January 5, 2014

Calendar Updates For January 2014

Our online CSAC & school events calendar has been updated for the month of January 2014.

The virtue for the month of January is Courage.

Of special note perhaps are:

  • Grades 1 - 3 skating afternoons
  • Grades 4 - 8 ski trips
  • Mats from Milk Bags (Fri., Jan 10)
  • CSAC Pizza Lunch (Fri., Jan. 10) - volunteers always needed & appreciated
  • CSAC Meeting (Wed., Jan. 15) includes an update on the school's upcoming significant renovation
  • PA Day (Fri., Jan 24)

Our great CSAC online calendar (available 24/7 from your smartphone, tablet or desktop) is routinely updated for you, so check-in often!