September, 2012

St. Charles Garnier Catholic School

Principal’s Message:

School seems to be about constant beginnings: new beginnings after each

assessment, new beginnings at the start of each term, new beginnings after

holiday breaks, and new beginnings at the start of the calendar year.

I welcome you, therefore, to the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year!

The successful programmes and initiatives already in place at St. Charles

Garnier will continue, and the school staff and I will do everything possible to

support and enhance the learning and social environment in our school.

I would like to thank all the staff who have moved on to serve in their new

communities for their past service and dedication to the St. Charles Garnier

community. A fond farewell to: Ms. Bertolo, Ms. Bertone, Ms. Boyd, Ms.

Corazza, Ms. Dragicevic, Ms. Harris, Mr. Lima, Ms. Olivieri, Ms. R. Ricci,

Ms. Velinor-Avril. I - indeed, all of us - wish them well in their future

endeavours.

At the same time, we welcome the newest members to our staff: Ms. Ancona,

Ms. Barsoumian, Ms. Hoffman, Ms. Krzyzanowski, Ms. Lewis, Ms. Luka,

Ms. Paradiso, Ms. Perrone, Ms. Russo, Ms. Valiulis, Ms. Verrelli. We are

pleased to announce that our CYW, Mr. Silva, is now a full-time member of

our staff.

St. Charles Garnier has a hard-working and conscientious staff consisting of

teachers, instructors, teaching assistants, child and youth workers, early

childhood educators, guidance counselor, Board support personnel, lunchtime

supervisors, custodians, and secretaries. The staff is dedicated to helping your

children - our children - achieve success as students, helping them to grow into

their roles as members of Canadian society, and helping them to become full

members of our Church. I am pleased to join this staff, and I look forward to

working with my new colleagues in helping our children grow as students,

citizens, and Catholics.

Fr. Daniel and his staff at St. Augustine Catholic Church are an integral part of

our school community. The spiritual leadership that they provide through

monthly masses, periodic school visitations and sacramental preparations

strengthen and unite us as a people of faith.

You, the parent, play the most important role in ensuring that your child

succeeds at St. Charles Garnier Catholic School: you have the greatest

influence on your child, and you know your child best. I thank you - our

partner - for your efforts in supporting your child’s education.

We welcome the involvement of our parents and caregivers in the life of the

school. I encourage you to join and/or attend the meetings of the Catholic

School Advisory Council (CSAC) which provides you with an opportunity to

voice your opinions at school, Board and provincial levels.

S. Lofranco R. De Lorenzo

Principal Vice Principal

St. Charles

Garnier

Catholic School

20 Stong Court Toronto, Ont.

Tel.: 416-393-5363 Fax: 416-393-5174

Principal: Mr. S. Lofranco

Vice-Principal: Mr. R. De Lorenzo Secretary: Mrs. A. Giancola

Clerk Typist: Ms. T. D’Ascanio

Superintendent: D. Yack 416 222-8282 ext. 2267

Trustee: P. Bottoni

Catholic School Advisory Council

Co-Chair: Y. M. Thomas

Parish:

St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church

80 Shoreham Drive Toronto, Ontario

Fr. Daniel Mentesana 416-661-8221

School Enrollment: 450

Hours of Operation: 9:00 – 3:30 Lunch Hour: 12:05 – 1:05

________________________________

Catch the Spirit!

2012/2013 Staff List Continued: C. D’COSTA Family Centre (a.m.)

G. COLAVECCHIA Breakfast Club

I. BOUDOUMIT Kindergarten Language Program A. LIPPI

L. CIMICATA Guidance

CUSTODIAL STAFF V. CRISTELLO Head Caretaker

N. CATANZARO Asst. Caretaker

Regular School Hours

Entrance Bell 9:00 a.m.

Morning Recess 10:10 - 10:25 a.m.

Lunch 12:05 - 1:05 p.m.

Afternoon Recess 2:10 - 2:25 p.m.

Dismissal 3:30 p.m.

Visitors to Our School

Visitors, particularly parents/guardians are most

welcome. In the interest of maintaining a secure,

orderly school environment, we request the

following:

ALL VISITORS MUST REPORT TO

THE MAIN OFFICE UPON

ENTERING THE SCHOOL

Nothing is more important than ensuring that our

school is a safe learning and working environment for

students, staff, and legitimate visitors. By adhering to

the following procedures when visiting the school, you

will help to keep our school safe:

The Office will make the necessary

arrangements if you need to speak to your

child or a staff member.

If you are taking your child out of the school

during the school day, please inform the

Office. The Office will contact your child

using the public address system and request

him/her to come to the office. Remember to

sign your child in/out at the office at all times.

If you are bringing your child to school after

the start of the day, please report first to the

Office.

Walking/Lunch Permission Form

Atttached to this newsletter is the Information Sheet &

Permission Form for the new school year. Parents are

asked to complete and sign this form and return it to

the school as soon as possible.

STAFF LIST 2012-2013

ADMINISTRATION

S. LOFRANCO PRINCIPAL

R. DE LORENZO VICE-PRINCIPAL

A. GIANCOLA SECRETARY

T. D’ASCANIO CLERK TYPIST

TEACHING STAFF

A. BONOFIGLIO Early

Learning

Program

(JK/SK)

S. LEWIS

C. LUKA

D. MARQUES

A. AZEREDO-OLIVIERI Gr. 1

P. CICCI Gr. 1/2

M. STRATI Gr. 1

L. MELI Gr. 2

N. SCALZO Gr. 2/3

T. CICHELLO Gr. 3

C. RICCI Gr. 3/4

K.C. BARBER Gr. 4

P. RAMOS Gr. 4/5

M. TEGGART Gr. 5

J. PETRACCONE-PALACIOS Gr. 5/6

E. MERLO Gr. 6

T. BARSOUMIAN Gr. 7

S. CRISPO Gr. 7/8

A. FUOCO Gr. 8

M. GYDA M.E. Program

A. MONTANARO Library/Phys. Ed.

T. PULLELLA Spec.Ed./Phys.Ed.

J. VALIULIS Spec. Ed.

M. KRZYZANOWSKI Spec. Ed. (a.m.)

C. GUIDO French

R. RACINES French

A. PUMO 5TH

Block

FR. R. COMEAU E.S.L.

P. HOFFMAN Vocal Music

B. FIORINI Instr. Music

SUPPORT STAFF

A. COYLE Child &

Youth Workers M. SILVA

F. ANCONA

Early Childhood

Educators

C. PARADISO

L. PERRONE

R. RUSSO

L. BONOFIGLIO

Education

Assistants

M. DI FONZO

N. GARITO

A. LISI

Z. RIHANA

Accident Insurance Forms

Accident insurance forms have been sent home. We

strongly encourage you to enrol your child/children in

the plan. Insurance forms are to be sent directly to

the company selling the policies.

Virtue of the Month for September

Hospitality

The Safe Arrival Programme

The Safe Arrival Programme is the means by which

school staff, with your cooperation, is able to

determine if a student who is absent from school is safe

at home or elsewhere.

The programme works as follows:

Parents are to call the school before 9:00 a.m.

to inform the School that their child/ren will be

absent/late.

Please leave a message on the school voice

mail for absences; leaving a message in a

teacher’s mailbox may cause an unnecessary

delay in determining an absence.

When a child is determined to be absent and no

information regarding the absence has been

received from the child’s parent/guardian, the

Office will attempt to determine the where-

abouts of the child by phoning the child’s

home and emergency contact phone number.

It is important, therefore, that you provide the school

with up-to-date phone numbers

(home, business, cell.) and emer-

gency contact information for your

child/ren. Throughout the year,

please inform the Office of any

change in phone numbers and

contact information.

Kids Safety and Traffic Please note that the use of the school parking lot to

drop –off and pick up children is not safe and is

not allowed. In consultation with Toronto Police

Services (TPS), parents can briefly stop along the

North side of Driftwood Avenue, and allow their

child to be dropped off or picked up each day.

Parents can also use Stong court as an alternative

as we have a new crossing guard to assist with

crossing the street safely. Children under the age

of nine need to be with an adult or older child

when crossing the street. We now have crossing

guards at the intersections of Jane/Stong, and at

Stong/Driftwood. Parents can help their children

by reminding them when crossing to please pay

attention to traffic and follow directions of the

crossing guards

School Yard Supervision

Before School: 8:45 - 9:00 a.m.

Lunch Period: 12:25 - 1:05 p.m.

There is no teacher supervision in the school yards

before 8:45 a.m. If parents send their children to

school before teachers are available for supervision,

parents are responsible for their children’s safety.

Supervised Lunch Period

The school provides a supervised lunch period, from

12:05 to 12:25 p.m. for students who must stay at

school for lunch. After this twenty-minute period, the

students are dismissed from their lunch area to a

supervised play area until 1:05 p.m.

Students who remain at school for lunch are expected

to comply with our lunchtime rules:

for safety reasons, students must remain seated

during lunch period;

students must ask for permission to leave the

classroom;

students are expected to use a normal speaking

tone;

all students are required to clean-up after

themselves and to conduct themselves in a

respectful manner when dealing with peers and

supervisors.

Students who stay for lunch cannot

leave the school grounds unless an

adult signs them out. Phone calls

or letters from parents, guardians,

family members, etc. granting

permission to leave the school

during lunch are invalid.

Students who abuse the privilege of eating lunch at

school will be excluded from the supervised lunch

period.

Behaviour Guidelines

As proud members of the St. Charles Garnier Catholic

School community, we demonstrate respect for our

school and each other by following these rules:

RESPECT: For those responsible for our

learning and for one another.

RESPECT: For our learning environment in

classrooms, hallways, washrooms, and play

areas.

RESPECT: For others in the Catholic School

Community by wearing appropriate clothing

and using good manners and language.

Agenda Books - $8.00

Agenda books are available

for students from grades three

to eight. Agendas are very

useful as homework and study

aids for our children, and as a

means of communication

between teacher, parent, and student. If you are new at

St. Charles Garnier or if you have not done so already,

please send in your agenda money as soon as possible.

Curriculum Night

Curriculum Night and CSAC elections will take

place on Wednesday, September 27, 2012. More

information will follow during first week of

school in September.

Textbooks

Textbooks are very expensive, ranging

in cost from $40 and up. Please help us

to keep our textbooks in order. Parents

will be required to reimburse the school

for any textbook that has been lost or

damaged beyond use.

Homework

Many parents ask teachers about the amount of

homework for which their children should be

responsible. Homework involves

reviewing the work of the day,

completing work not finished throughout

the day, doing special assignments,

reviewing for assessments, and practicing

to build and sustain confidence in the

ability to demonstrate participation in the

learning process. The Board has

established a formula for determining

approximate daily averages of homework per grade

level: the student’s grade times 10 minutes (e.g., grade

six times 10 minutes equals sixty minutes of

homework).

Student Progress - Parent/Teacher

Interviews

An official report card shall be sent to parents three

times during the school year. Parents should retain a

copy for future reference. The original will be placed

in the Ontario Student Record (OSR) file.

Parent/teacher interviews are scheduled twice during

the school year: at the end of the

first term (November 15th

&16th

)

and at the end of the second term

(February 14th

& 15th

).

If at other times you have questions

regarding your child’s progress,

please feel free to contact the school

and make an appointment to meet with your child’s

teacher.

Cellular Phones

More often than not, your child does not need to bring

a cellular phone to school. You may contact your child

or your child may contact you via the

landline phones at the school office,

(please keep in mind that your child must

ask a staff member for permission to use

the school phones).

If you feel the need to send your child to

school with a cellular phone, please note that as per

Board recommendation your child’s phone must be

turned off during the school day; this includes the

lunch and recess periods. Unfortunately, experience

has shown that cellular phone cause distractions; for

example, some students have been known to text

message each other during lessons, etc. Failure to

follow this rule may result in confiscation of the phone

and/or denial of the privilege of bringing the phone to

the school.

Please be advised that the school will not replace

any lost or stolen phones.

Electronic Games and Gadgets Many wonderful and expensive

electronic games and gadgets provide

children with many hours of fun and

amusement. Often, children bring

these games and gadgets to school,

and sometimes they are broken, lost, or stolen. We

will attempt to find lost items or retrieve stolen ones -

but we are not always successful.

The school will not replace any broken, lost or

stolen games and gadgets. It is therefore strongly

recommended that your child keep such toys at

home.

Exclusion from Recess and Other

Activities

If a child is well enough to attend school, the child is

well enough to take outdoor recess, physical education

and participate in all regular programs. If there is a

legitimate reason(s), however, why your child must be

exempt from certain activities, please send a written

request with appropriate medical documentation to the

school.

Catholic School Advisory Council

You will be kept informed of the dates of our

regular Catholic School Advisory Council

(CSAC) meetings and of all important

issues, discussions and outcomes

pertaining to and arising from those

meetings. The CSAC is the means by which you,

the parent, have an opportunity to voice your

opinion and to influence school operations. The

elections for the executive positions will take place

on September 26th

at 7:00 p.m. Elections will be

held at this time. Please complete a nomination

form to stand for elections. We look forward to

meeting you! Please do join us!

Our Parish - St. Augustine’s

We are blessed to have the continued

spiritual guidance and leadership of Father

Daniel and his staff.

Liturgical Celebrations

There are three pillars supporting

Catholic Education: the home, the

church, and the school. The staff

members of St. Charles Garnier look

forward to working with our parish to

develop the spiritual awareness of our

students. In addition to delivering the

Religion and Family Life Programmes,

and in helping to prepare students to

receive the Sacraments of

Reconciliation and Confirmation, our staff will also

plan a series of liturgical celebrations throughout the

liturgical year. Parents are always welcome to

participate and join in these celebrations. Please check

our monthly newsletter for the time and dates of

planned celebrations.

Anaphylactic Allergies

A conservative estimate is that one

in fifty Canadians suffers from life-

threatening allergies to certain

foods, medications, or insect stings,

or non-food materials such as latex.

These allergies produce a

hypersensitive (anaphylactic) tissue reaction to an

allergen. For those susceptible, exposure to even a

small amount of the substance to which they are

allergic can cause an anaphylactic reaction. Peanuts

and nut products are the most common foods that

cause anaphylaxis, but shellfish, fish, eggs, sulphites,

milk, sesame seeds, or any other food can cause this

dangerous condition. Symptoms may include any of

the following: flushing of face and body; swelling of

eyes, face, lips, tongue and throat; hives; vomiting;

diarrhea; wheezing; a feeling of foreboding, fear, and

apprehension; weakness and dizziness; inability to

breathe; loss of consciousness; and coma.

The recommended emergency treatment for a student

suffering an anaphylactic reaction is the administration

of epinephrine (adrenaline) by an auto-injector (e.g.,

EpiPen®). The person affected must then be rushed to

hospital to receive further medical attention, even if the

symptoms decrease with the administration of the

epinephrine.

What we can all do to keep our children safe at

school:

If possible, please limit or do not send any peanut or

peanut products (e.g., peanut butter)

or other nut or nut products (e.g.,

Nutella) or non-food products (e.g.,

latex bandages, balloons etc.) to

school. Be on guard and read the

labels on food and non-food

products to ensure that they do not contain allergens

that may cause an anaphylactic reaction.

Responsibilities of Parents with Anaphylactic

students:

Parents of those students known to suffer from

anaphylactic reactions are to inform the school. As

well, they are to ensure that their child carries an

EpiPen® at all times, and that another EpiPen® is

stored at a central location at school. The requirement

for two EpiPens® to be at school with your child is

provincial law and Board policy.

Responsibilities of School Staff to Anaphylactic

students:

School staff shall keep one pen stored in a central

location. As well, staff members will be aware of

which students may suffer an anaphylactic reaction,

and some have been in-serviced in the proper response

to an anaphylactic emergency.

Administration of Medication

The school’s staff is not permitted to administer any

type of prescription medication unless written, signed

authorization from the parent(s) and the prescribing

physician is on file. The forms

granting staff permission to dispense

prescription medication must be

updated on a regular basis; they are

available from the school office.

As per Board policy, staff members will not dispense

non-prescription medication to students.

Pick Up and Drop Off for Students

For the safety of the students, all students in grades 1

to 8 need to enter and exit using the assigned entry

and exit doors in the playground area at the back of

the school. Kindergarten students will use their

assigned doors at the front of the school. Students

with siblings in Kindergarten will go to the

kindergarten class and be dismissed from there.

School Dress Code

The dress code (referred to as

“Appropriate Dress Code”)

consists of any combination of

white and navy blue garments

(e.g. plain white top, navy blue

bottom or, navy blue top and

bottom, no denim). There is a

great deal of choice and

flexibility available to parents

and students with this type of dress code. You will be

able to purchase a variety of clothing styles at retailers

of your choice. You may also choose to go to

COLOLINE (416-855-2227) to purchase tops with a

school crest

Junior and Senior Kindergarten

Enrollment

Frequently asked questions about registration at

Catholic Elementary Schools:

Who can register? Catholic children or children of Catholic

custodial parent; must have proof of

Catholicity.

What documents do I need? Child’s birth certificate

Catholic Baptismal certificate

(or other proof of Catholicity)

Ontario Health Card

Record of immunization

Proof of residency– lease, utility bill, etc.

If your status is other than Canadian citizen,

immigration documentation is also required. Further

inquiry may be made by contacting the TCDSB

Admissions Dept. at 416-222-8282, extension 5320.

Can I send photocopies of the documents? Please provide original documents where possible to

the school at the time of registration. School will make

copies and return the originals to parents.

How old does child have to be for kindergarten? Children born in 2008 are eligible for Junior

Kindergarten in September 2012.

Children born in 2007 are eligible for Senior

Kindergarten in September 2012.

Is J.K. mandatory? J.K. is not mandatory and if a parent chooses not to

send their child to junior kindergarten, the child will

still be placed in senior kindergarten the following

September in order to keep children with their same

aged peers.

A Prayer for the New School Year

God our Father, we thank you

for our learning power,

our ability to love, to work, to laugh.

Let us enjoy these gifts as we use them.

Let us use them to help one another

as you helped us.

God our Father, we thank you

for the talents you have given our parents,

our teachers, and all those who help us learn.

May we give thanks for the privilege of coming

to St. Charles Garnier Catholic School.

Amen

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT

SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES 2012-2013

Wards 1. Peter Jakovcic 416-512-3401 2. Ann Andrachuk, Chair 416-512-3402 3. Sal Piccininni, Vice-Chair 416-512-3403 4. Patrizia Bottoni 416-512-3404 5. Maria Rizzo 416-512-3405 6. Frank D’Amico 416-512-3406 7. John Del Grande 416-512-3407 8. Tobias Enverga 416-512-3408 9. Jo-Ann Davis 416-512-3409 10. Barbara Poplawski 416-512-3410 11. Angela Kennedy 416-512-3411 12. Nancy Crawford 416-512-3412

Andrew Walker, Student Trustee 416-512-3413

St. Charles Garnier Catholic School 416-393-5363

Number of School Days 194

Professional Activity Days 6

Labour Day September 3, 2012

First Instructional Day September 4, 2012

School Year Ends June 28, 2013

Thanksgiving Day October 8, 2012

Parent-Teacher Conferences November 16, 2012

Prov.’l Educ. Priorities December 7, 2012

Christmas Break Dec. 24, 2012 - Jan. 4, 2013

Assess., Eval. & Reporting January 25, 2013

Parent Teacher Conference February 15, 2013

Family Day February 18, 2013

Mid-Winter Break (inclusive) March 11 to 15, 2013

Good Friday March 29, 2013

Easter Monday April 1, 2013

Victoria Day May 20, 2013

Assess., Eval. & Reporting June 7, 2013

Last Day of School for students June 27, 2013

Prov.’l Educ. Priorities/Faith Day June 28, 2013