We welcome December and begin to focus on the festive season ahead. December

is an exciting time as we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ. We will

be celebrating as a Catholic School Community with a St. Columba Christmas

Concert on Monday, December 17th at 6:00p.m. in the gym. We welcome all

community members to share in this celebration! There will be singing, student

performances and much more! Please join us.

Students have completed their first term of studies. They are encouraged to set

goals for second term. Thank you to all parents who attended parent teacher

interviews. It is through our partnership that your children will achieve their goals

and experience success at school.

We have a busy month ahead with a number of activities planned for the students.

Please refer to the calendar attached for specific dates and events. As we enter

this holy season of Advent, and prepare our hearts and our homes for the

celebration of Christ’s birth, we continue to celebrate the many blessings we have

in our community. We also reflect on how we can act on the virtue of charity and

show compassion for others in need.

We wish all families in our St. Columba Catholic School Community a blessed holi-

day season. Merry Christmas, and all the best for a fabulous 2019!

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

J. Pasia

Principal

From the Principal...

December’s Virtue is Charity

By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as

ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, "binds

everything together in perfect harmony"

December 2018

ST. COLUMBA CATHOLIC SCHOOL

St. Columba C.S.

10 John Tabor Trail

Scarborough, Ontario

Tel. 416-393-5380

Principal

J. Pasia

Administrative Assistant

A. Kotiadis

Superintendent

S. Campbell

Parish

St. Barnabas Church

Tel. 416-298-0989

Fr. HanSoo Park

CSPC

M. Hackett (Chair)

M. Esprit(Co-Chair)

I. Moreno-Alvir (Treasurer)

School Hours

9:00a.m.-3:30p.m.

Lunch Hour

11:45—12:45

Swim to survive program

Our grade 3/4 and 4/5 students have started the swim to

survive program. It runs for 3 consecutive Mondays starting

November 26, December 3, and 10. The students are really

enjoying themselves. Thank you to Ms. Lyn and Ms. Perrella

helping supervise the students.

CAUGHT YOU CARING AWARDS

The Caught You Caring award is an Anti-Bullying Program at St. Columba. The award is given to students who take extra care to show compassion and help others.

CONGRATULATIONS to all students who were “Caught Caring”.

Winter Weather Reminders

When your child is sick…..

It is important that your child stay home and rest to

get better quicker and avoid spreading germs to other

children.

Some of the common symptoms that indicate your

child is ill are:

Diarrhea

Vomiting-two or more episodes in a

24 hour period

Fever (greater than 38 degrees Celsius) along

with common cold symptoms such as sore

throat, headache, loss of appetite, runny nose.

As we enter the season of the great Canadian

winter, we review our safety practices for the chil-

dren during the winter months. Children are

outside for breaks three times per day and need

to be prepared with appropriate clothing for the

weather at all times. We do our best to ensure

that your child wears all of the warm weather

items you send with them to school. Please be

sure your child has indoor foot-

wear at school, as boots will not

be worn in the classrooms.

December Activities

Students will have the opportunity to have their photo taken with Santa again this year! This will take place on Wednesday,

December 12, 2018.

Swim to survive - Monday, December 3 and 10, 2018

PA DAY - Friday, December 7, 2018—no school

Pizza Making—Wednesday, December 5th, 2018 - Grades 1, 1/2, 2/3

Advent Mass - Monday, December 10, 2018 @ 7:00PM @ St. Barnabas Church.

All are welcome to attend

Advent breakfast - Wednesday, December 12, 2018 starting @ 10:00 -11:45AM

St. Columba Christmas Concert– Monday, December 17 @ 6:00—7:30PM. All are welcome!

Santa’s Eco Christmas store - Tuesday, December 18-21, 2018 in the library

St. COLUMBA Catholic

St. COLUMBA Catholic School

The last day of classes before our Christmas break is

Friday, December 21th, 2018. We wish all of the fami-

lies in our school community a blessed holiday.

Classes resume Monday, January 7th, 2019

Happy New

Year!

3

Advent began Sunday, December 2nd

See the parish bulletin for Mass schedules and

celebrations taking place this holy season.

DRESS DOWN FRIDAYS FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2018

All students are encouraged to donate $1.00 each Friday to dress down

December 6, 2018 - red and white day

December 14, 2018 - yellow, green, and blue day

December 21, 2018 - Ugly Christmas sweater day

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH RECEIPENTS FOR NOVEMBER — Peace

Julien Bartholomew

Elizabeth Selvarajan

Jeriel Wilson

Tanya Fernando

Althea De Leon

Taylor Mohammed

Dominic Duarte

Sandy Alafif

Danuston Reginold

Brendan Tescione

Nutrition Program

Thank you to Ms. Junor, Ms.

Angeles, and all volunteers for

providing all students with the

nutrition program everyday. It

is a pleasure knowing that all

students and staff are given a

healthy snack every morning.

St. Columba on the Web Just a reminder that you can also find our monthly newsletters and calendars at our school website. You can find it at https://www.tcdsb.org/schools/stcolumba/Pages/default.aspx Stay in touch TCDSB invites you to receive regular news and information from across the board. Find out quickly about the many good news stories from our school communities and our students, as well as critical notifications about bus cancellations, closures or other urgent information. Subscribe to E-News, the TCDSB’s free digital news service for weekly updates delivered directly to your email weekly throughout the school year. To register, visit our website at www.tcdsb.org and select the E-News icon from the right hand side of the home page or click here: http://www.tcdsb.org/News/eNews/Pages/default.aspx

Toy Store Donation

Please bring any new or used toys/items to the school on Monday, December 10, 2018. Santa’s Eco Christmas

store will be happening from Tuesday-Friday,

December 18-21, 2018 all day in the library. Items/Toys will be sold from $0.50 - $4.00 max depending on the size. All proceeds will be going back to the ECO-team

for our learning garden.

Volunteers Needed!!!

We are looking for volunteers for the

Advent breakfast on Wednesday,

December 12, 2018. If you are able to

help out, please contact the school at

416-393-5380 by Monday, December

10, 2018.

Canned food drive

Students are encouraged to bring in one non-perishable

food item to school by Monday, December 17, 2018 for

the donation to the our Local Food bank.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER 2018

FOR CHILDREN BORN IN 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians;

Kindergarten Registration will begin for all Elementary Schools on

Wednesday, January 16th, 2019 @ 10:00 a.m.

Parents/guardians with children born in 2015 or earlier and who will be enrolling in

Kindergarten, have the opportunity to apply on-line using the “Student On-line

Admission and Registration” platform known as S.O.A.R. and found at the following link:

http://soar.tcdsb.org

Parents will be able to complete an application 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.

As part of the registration process, school staff will meet with parents. These meetings may be

scheduled on the electronic application 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 done 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 promotional 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 banners for display on school property.

For further information, please contact our school office at 416-393-5380. For general inquires or

further information you may contact 416-222-8282 extension 5314 or visit our website at