Principal’s Message
As we enter the season of Advent to prepare
our hearts for the birth of Jesus, it is rather suit-
able that this month’s virtue is CHARITY.
Many of us are already engaging in the mad
rush to purchase gifts to put under the tree on
the 25th, but let us be mindful of the fact that
charity is not always about giving material
things. Our quote for the month is “Where
charity and love are, God is there”. As St.
Thomas Aquinas described it “Charity is
friendship first with God and secondly with all
who belong to God." Our students will be con-
sidering how can we practice charity and gen-
erosity in our community without necessarily
giving material things.
May God bless each and everyone of you dur-
ing this glorious season of Advent.
Advent Mass
Holy Child Catholic School is celebrating our
Advent Mass on Wednesday December 9th at
9:00 am in the Great Hall of the Humberwood
Centre. All families and friends of the school
are invited to attend this celebration.
Christmas Concert
Our annual Christmas concert will take place
on Tuesday December 15th in the stage gym,
beginning at 9:30 am. All parents are welcome
to attend.
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten Registration will begin for all
Elementary Schools on Wednesday, January
13, 2016 at 10:00 am EST.
Parents/guardians with children born in 2012 or
earlier and who will be enrolling in Kindergar-
ten, have the opportunity to apply on-line using
the “Student On-line Admission and Registra-
tion” platform known as S.O.A.R. and found
at the following link: http://soar.tcdsb.org
Parents will be able to complete an applica-
tion for registration from the convenience of
their own home, the office, a public library,
or anywhere there is internet access, 24 hours
a day. The on-line application also offers
access to translations in different languages
with built-in help functions and features.
Alternately, families may choose to register
in person at our school. We will begin to
accept registrations at 10:00 a.m., on January
13, 2016.
As part of the registration process, school
staff will meet with parents. These meetings
may be scheduled on the electronic applica-
tion or in person at the school. During the
meeting, school staff will verify the original
documentation required for registration. This
consists of a Baptismal Certificate, Birth
Certificate and/or Passport, Immunization
record, proof of residence and Application
for Direction of School support.
Applications to register children in grades
other than Kindergarten can also be complet-
ed on the online S.O.A.R. application. Please
share this information with any parents/
guardians with school aged children in the
community.
As in previous years, an extensive promo-
tional campaign will be launched throughout
the City of Toronto, with paid advertisements
in the local media, posters in public centers,
through the board website and on vinyl ban-
ners for display on school property.
For further information, please contact our
school office at (insert school phone num-
ber). For general inquires or further infor-
mation you may contact 416-222-8282 ex-
tension 5314 or visit our website at
www.tcdsb.org
Catholic School Parent Council
Our next CSPC meeting will take place
on Dec. 1, 2015 beginning at 6:45 pm in
Volume Issue
Newsletter Date
Holy Child Catholic School NEWSLETTER
December 2015
PAGE 1
Important Numbers
Holy Child School:
416-393-5433
St. Benedict Catholic Church: 416-
743-3830
McCauley Daycare Centre:
416-394-4766
Public Health Department:
416-338-7600
R. J. McCarthy School Uniforms:
416-593-6900
Police Services: 416-808-2300
Neil McGrath - Principal Adrian Della Mora Joseph Martino St. Benedict Catholic Church CSAC Lucy Pagano - Admin Assistant Superintendent Trustee, Ward 1 Fr. Michael Pace, Pastor Eunice Rodrigues - Chair
Lucy Kuchta - Clerk Typist (416) 222-8282 ext. 2732 (416) 512-3401 (416) 743-3830 Hilda Cupeta - Secretary
December’s Virtue of the Month is
Charity
the PLC. All are welcome.
Cold Weather Policy
The cold weather is here, therefore we will use Environ-
ment Canada guidelines will determine our decisions
about indoor recess. These guidelines have been used
successfully in many schools during the past several
years. Environment Canada (416-661-0123) gives up-
dated information about wind chill temperatures. Equiv-
alent temperatures from –20C to –24C incur shortened
recesses. At –25C and below the students will remain
indoors. We will make announcements over the P.A. in
the event of shortened or indoor recess.
Students are required to wear appropriate winter clothing
during the cold winter months, which include hats, mit-
tens or gloves, scarves and winter boots. All students
require a pair of indoor shoes during the winter
months to wear inside of the school, as they are to
leave their winter boots in their lockers. Thank you
for your cooperation in this matter.
School Bus Cancellations
Cancellation of school bus transportation or school clo-
sures due to inclement weather are reported through the
following vehicles: News releases to all media outlets in
Toronto (listen to the updates on the television or radio
regarding the most up to date information). The main
Board number (416) 222-8282 will also post the status
regarding school operations, which can be heard imme-
diately upon dialling the main number. Updates will also
be posted on the Boards’ 24 hour information line (416)
222-8282, extension 2873. The information will also be
posted on the Board’s website at www.tcdsb.org or by
following @TCDSB on Twitter.
School Supervision
Our school supervision begins at 8:10 am in the school
yard. Parents should refrain from dropping their children
off prior to 8:10 am as students will be unsupervised un-
til the teacher on duty arrives. Our school day ends at
2:50 pm. Parents are encouraged to have their children
go straight home after dismissal as there is no further
supervision provided. Your cooperation in this matter is
greatly appreciated.
Public Library
A gentle reminder to all Holy Child families that stu-
dents who go to the Public Library in the Humberwood
Centre after school dismissal are not supervised. The
library has many patrons and therefore cannot be ac-
countable for the supervision of students, of any age,
PAGE 2
who choose to use their services. The library also reserves
the right to complete incident reports on patrons who are
not following the library rules, or who display disruptive
behavior. These reports may result in suspension of library
privileges. Parents are kindly asked to review expectations
with their children. Your cooperation in this matter is
greatly appreciated.
Administration of Medication
Principals, teachers and support staff of the Toronto Cath-
olic District School Board are NOT permitted to adminis-
ter any type of prescription medication during the school
day, unless we have written signed authorization from
you, the parent AND the prescribing physician. The forms
to dispense any medication must be updated on a regular
basis and are available from our school office. These
forms, once completed, are kept on file at the school. This
includes, most importantly, Epi-Pen prescriptions for
students with allergies. If your child has an anaphylactic
allergy, 2 up to date EpiPens MUST be supplied to the
school. Should you require additional information or have any
questions about this protocol, contact the Special Services
Department at (416) 222- 8282 ext. 2486. Your co-
operation in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Extra-Curricular Activities
We are very proud of our boys and girls intermediate vol-
leyball teams at Holy Child. The boys finished as finalists
in the regional and city championship round making them
second out of 169 TCDSB elementary schools. A tremen-
dous feat by any standard. This is the first Holy Child boys
volleyball team in 12 years to make it to the City Champi-
onship, due largely to the coaching, time, effort and dedi-
cation of Mr. Pagniello and Mr. Ricci. Congratulations and
well done. We are very proud of you!
Holy Child Uniform
Parents are reminded that Holy Child has a crested uni-
form. Students are expected to come to school dressed in
their school uniform, which consists of blue bottoms and
white tops.
If the white top does not have the Holy Child crest stu-
dents are expected to wear the maroon crested vest or
crested pullover. Students who are deemed to be out of
uniform will be sent to the office and parents will be noti-
fied. The crested uniform allows us to identify Holy Child
students in the shared Humberwood Centre facility. Your
cooperation is greatly appreciated. Parents wishing to pur-
chase crested articles of clothing can contact our school
uniform supplier at 416-593-6900 for inquiries.
GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20School/
Documents/AFTER%208%20TRANSITION%20GUIDE%
202015.pdf
Transition Guide for Parents is available in several lan-
guages
https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/
GuidanceCoopEd/Transition%20to%20High%20School/Pages/
default.aspx
Celebrating The Year of the Family
Visit the website for resources https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/
NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/Year-of-Family/Pages/
default.aspx.
Toronto Catholic Family Film Festival
Coming April 21st
Top 10 Films will be screened at the festival to be held at
Cineplex Cinemas, Yonge and Dundas. Check out the trail-
er for the festival: https://m.youtube.com/watch?
v=UTLQ61tntVM&feature=youtu.be
And all the other information and resources: https://
www.tcdsb.org/tcff
Film submissions accepted until February 19th
Archdiocese of Toronto’s Project Hope
A reminder to all that the Archdiocese of Toronto has passed
the midway point of its 100-day “Project Hope” $3 Million
Emergency Refugee Resettlement Campaign. The goal is sup-
porting the settlement of 100 refugee families within the
Greater Toronto Area as soon as possible. Schools are encour-
aged to partner with their local parish to raise funds for this
worthwhile effort. Get more information online: https://
www.tcdsb.org/pages/project-hope.aspx
Christmas
Holidays
Christmas hol-
idays will run
between De-
cember 21nd
through to Jan-
uary 1st. Clas-
ses will re-
sume Monday,
January 4,
2016. We wish
everyone in
the Holy Child
community a
safe and happy
and blessed
Christmas Sea-
Attendance and Punctuality
In accordance with the Ministry of Education for Ontar-
io, Holy Child has procedures to monitor regular attend-
ance and punctuality at school. Prolonged absences, spo-
radic attendance and tardiness result in a lack of continu-
ity in student learning. Please ensure that your child(ren)
arrive to school on time and prepared for their learning.
Personal Property
Parents are requested to ensure that their children‘s
clothes, boots, gloves, scarves, running shoes, lunch kits,
etc. are labelled with the child‘s name. Clothing does get
misplaced and many children have identical or similar
clothing. If a child has lost or misplaced an article of
clothing, there is a good chance it will be in the Lost and
Found box in the office. Children should look in this
box; parents are also encouraged to come to the school
and look for lost items.
Electronic Communication Policy
Personal devices may be used periodically for curriculum
related activities under the supervision of a classroom
teacher. This 21st Century Learning initiative is called
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Otherwise, all person-
al communication devices, including but not limited to
cell phones, pagers, video/camera phones, still/video
cameras, computers and recording devices must be se-
curely stored and in silent mode by the User on any
Board school property during regular school hours. More
information concerning this TCDSB Policy can be found
at the following website: http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/
Policies/Pages/A29.aspx
Accidents
Despite the constant reminders and attention given to
issues of safety, occasional accidents do happen. In the
case of minor accidents (cuts, scrapes) band aids and ice
will be provided. In the event that a child continues to
experience discomfort or is in distress, it is the school‘s
practice to notify the parent/guardian. Therefore, it is
imperative that the school has, at all times, an up-to-date
telephone number for your home, work, and emergency
contact person.
Resources for Students Heading to High School
Helping students prepare for high school
https://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/SchoolProgramsK12/
PAGE 3