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St. Pius X Catholic School 71 Jane Street Toronto Ontario MS6 3V3 Tel: (416) 393-5237 Principal: P. Tari Vice Principal: TBA Secretary: M. Maringola Superintendent: J. Wujek (416) 222-8282 ext. 5371

Trustee/Chair: T. Lubinski (416) 512-3404 Parish: St Pius Catholic Church 2305 Bloor St. West Rev. B. Shea (416) 767-1859

CSPC Chair: D. Hough CPIC (Parent Engagement--TCDSB) OAPCE Toronto (Provincial Voice for Parents) www.tcdsb.org/oapce-toronto School Hours 8:45: Supervision beings 9:00: School bell rings 10:42-11:57: Morning Recess 11:45-12:45: Lunch Hour 2:10-2:25: Afternoon Recess 3:30: Dismissal

March 2019

Catholic School News

Dear St. Pius X School Community,

Thank you for attending the Parent-Teacher conferences. Your

child(ren’s) ability to succeed is enhanced through an essential partnership between home and school. Together, we can best serve the needs of our students and optimize student

achievement and well-being.

A Prayer for Lent

O gracious Master, infuse in our hearts the spotless light of Your

Divine Wisdom and open the eyes of our mind that we may

understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of

Your blessed commandments, so that having curbed all carnal desires,

we may lead a spiritual life, both thinking and doing everything to

please You. For You, O Christ, our God, are the enlightenment of our

souls and bodies; and to You we render glory, together with Your

Eternal Father, and with Your all holy, life-creating Spirit, now and

ever, and forever.

P. Tari Principal

Welcome to our Niagara University Faculty of Education Students: Alexa Resendes/Kristos

Tfilisfisods

X Movement Program In January, our students had the opportunity to participate in the X Movement program. This year the focus was on self-regulation. The students had an awesome time getting physically active with our wonderful coaches, Sloth and Big Sauce! G. Agres

W5H On Wednesday, February 20th, the Junior W5H Team competed in the preliminary round. The team spent many lunch hours for the past several weeks preparing and practicing various general knowledge questions. The team demonstrated excellent sportsmanship and enthusiasm as they versed St. Cecilia and St. Paul. St. Pius X placed second at the preliminary round and we are very proud of the team's effort. Congratulations are extended to Emma Bartlett, Kennedy Brennan, Emily Farmer, Sarah Koen, Lara Lima, Rachel Martin and Julia Santos. We also thank the coaches (Ms. Cioffi, Ms. Sousa and Ms. Ruffolo) for helping to prepare the team this year. Mrs. Ruffolo

Diabuddies is an awareness campaign focusing on school-age children. Through this campaign, our focus is ensuring that students with Type One Diabetes (T1D) are safe, empowered and accepted within our school communities. We want to

showcase that even with a chronic disease, a healthy, successful life can be achieved with the right support. We are increasing awareness about T1D across Ontario by school presentations provided by passionate parents, T1D youth volunteers and elite athlete speakers. These presentations offer education on T1D, breaking down misconceptions and empowering students and staff. If you are interested in learning more, please check out our website: https://ichallengediabetes.org/kids-in-school-initiative/diabuddies-campaign/ M. DeAbreu

Boys Basketball Tournament

Congratulations goes out to the St. Pius X Intermediate boys’ basketball team for their strong showing this year. After winning the Divisional pennant at a tournament held at Holy Family, the boys moved onto the Regional tournament held at St. Patrick’s Secondary school. Although we lost our first game, we won our second game in a hard-fought battle in overtime. The boys showed great determination in the come from behind

win. Unfortunately, we lost our semi-final game by one point, which put an end to our season. The boys showed good sportsmanship and represented our school with great pride that day. They are to be commended for all their efforts. Ms. Cairo and Mr. Zubac

On Saturday February 9th, our school community joined in to experience and enjoy a night of watching hockey and community building at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. Over 260 St Pius X students, families and friends enjoyed watching the Toronto Marlies win 4-2 in an action packed hockey game. In addition, Ms. Kowalczyk lead our choir in a heart stirring National Anthem. The choir sang like angels!! The choir members were: Nathan C. Audrey T., Avery A., Julie B., Wren P, Catherine M, Maya B, Gia D, Valerie P, Sara N, Audra M, Rowan S, Mairead O, Ewa C, Joseph G, Adele Y, Mattea F, Stella M, Victoria F, Emerson H, Lucas P, Sofia S, Sara K, Stella S, Henry C, Lorelei C, Mariano P, and Gustavo S. Thanks also to Ms. Kowalczyk for giving up part of her Saturday to help us out. P. Tari

Scholastic Book Fair A big thank you to all the parents and, students and staff who supported our annual Scholastic Book Fair. We achieved our main goal to promote reading and watching children discover new books - success has no price tag. A very special thanks to all the hard working volunteers who offered their time to help out Bridget Nielsen, Melanie Macdonald, Janet English, Lisa Dess, and Indre Valadka-Paz we couldn’t have done it without you! A huge thank you to Mr. Tari for helping with planning and attending event! We hope you enjoyed our community Scholastic Book fair. Your support enables us to enrich our school and students with books, technology, field trips and more. THANK

YOU! M. Diodati

On February, 8th Ms. Wright took the intermediate girls basketball team to their first tournament at Holy Family Catholic School. The girls competed with team spirit, passion, and talent. Our first game came to a double overtime and we lost by 2 points. We won our next game, but sadly lost our last game. Due to the 2-point double overtime, we were unable to compete in the finals, coming in overall ,very close 3rd place. Regardless, the team had a blast and they were all very proud of themselves. Special thanks to Mr. Landry who helped Ms. Wright and Ms. Atkinson coach the girls and who showed support on the day of the tournament. Fantastic job girls! YOU MADE ST. PIUS PROUD! C. Wright

The Grade 2 classes had a blast with Scientist Julie from Scientist in the School. The students gained hands on learning of the six simple machines being taught in class. Through exploration students discovered that simple machines can make work easier. Students raised a flag by using a pulley, constructed a car with wheels and axles and saw a can being crushed by a screw in action. A special thank you to our parent volunteers for joining us!

The children had the privilege of visiting the Runnymede Health Care Center. They sang songs, read stories, made Valentine's day cards and even put on a little dramatic performance for the seniors. L. Palozzi

On February 21st and 22nd, the kindergarten classes hosted a Scientists in the School workshop called "Water Fun." The students had an opportunity to participate in various water activities. They investigated materials that absorb and repel water, and they explored the concept of buoyancy, by experimenting with floating and sinking objects. The children also enjoyed making their own boats and learning how to move them up the classroom stream. Thank you to our parent volunteers and to parent council for funding this learning opportunity. C. Cioffi

The grade 7 and 8 received a 1-hour mini CPR workshop on February 19th and 20th, 2019 by The Mama Coach - Yvonne Chan. They were given information on:

Why is it important to know CPR?

What is the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest?

The signs that someone is experiencing a Stroke

Proper technique for doing chest compressions and CPR

Every student had an opportunity to get hands on practice doing chest compressions on adult and infant manikins Y. Chan

Monthly Update from the Board

March 2019

TCDSB SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR 2019-2020 Number of school days 194 Number of Professional Activity Days 7 Labour Day September 2, 2019 First Instructional Day September 3, 2020 Thanksgiving Day October 14, 2019 Christmas Break December 23, 2019–January 3, 2020 Start of second semester for secondary schools February 3, 2020 Family Day February 17, 2020 Mid-Winter Break March 16-20, 2020 Good Friday April 10, 2020 Easter Monday April 13, 2020 Victoria Day May 18, 2020 Last day of classes for all students June 26, 2020 Seven (7) Professional Activity (PA) Days for ELEMENTARY schools: October 11, 2019 Provincial Education Priorities/Faith Development November 15, 2019 Parent-Teacher Conferences December 6, 2019 Provincial Education Priorities January 17, 2020 Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting February 14, 2020 Parent-Teacher Conferences June 5, 2020 Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting June 26, 2020 Provincial Education Priorities

Never Miss Out on Important News Follow @TCDSB on Twitter to stay up to date on parent engagement opportunities, scholarships, contests, employment and community service opportunities for students, weather related cancellations or closures, consultations and more. Not a Twitter user, no problem. Subscribe to E-News and have the same information delivered to your email weekly. https://web1.tcdsb.org/InterestSubscription/subscription.aspx Let’s Help Catholic Charities by Supporting ShareLife ShareLife’s mission is to “Live the Gospel by providing for those in need” This is done through their support of many diverse Catholic social service agencies here in the GTA and beyond. This year, ShareLife Week for Schools will be celebrated the week of April 8-12. All students and staff are invited Board-wide Civvies Day on Friday, April 12, 2019 to raise funds for the ShareLife campaign. Your donation of a loonie or a toonie will go a long way to supporting youth, the elderly, the marginalized and the vulnerable. We thank everyone in the TCDSB community for all that they do throughout the year to help others—giving of their time and their resources to make a difference. We applaud those efforts, and take great pride in the commitment to living our Catholic values and putting faith into action. Important Information and Opportunities for Students:

Student Trustee Election Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Visit board website for information www.tcdsb.org (see Students) FaithTalk—Radio Maria Contest We are excited to introduce a contest for your students this spring. Please share this information with your students who would be interested! Grade 7 – 12 TCDSB students are invited to submit a two-page (500 word) proposal (in any format) about how they are ‘living their faith’ today! If selected, a student will be on air, at Radio Maria Canada for a 30 minute segment speaking about their faith during Catholic Education Week May 5-10, 2019! USE THE HASHTAG #TCDSBFAITHTALK Topics can include: Faith and Social Media, Religion in our Classroom, Inclusion and Equity, Virtues of the Month, Catholic Graduate Expectations in Today’s World, Catholic Social Teachings, Parish Connection, Christian Meditation, Rooted in Christ: we Belong, we Believe, we Become, Acts of Kindness etc.

Email your submission to ncc.team@tcdsb.org by no later than Friday April 5, 2019 Download the RadioMaria App, or visit https://www.radiomaria.ca/ to listen to programs.

We Belong Celebration May 21, 2019 As we journey through the first year of our pastoral plan, “Rooted in Christ, we Belong, we Believe, we Become”, the Nurturing our Catholic Community Team invites you to share your ideas of belonging. We want to hear from our students and staff about how they are nurturing the concept of belonging and inclusion in their schools, in their families, in their parishes and their community. We invite you to submit student artwork, written work, videos/slideshows, songs or any other creative expressions of belonging to ncc.team@tcdsb.org by no later than Friday, March 22, 2019. When sharing your initiatives on social media, tweet or post @TCDSB with the hashtag #TCDSBelongs so we can follow your progress. For ideas and resources linked to our pastoral plan, click here. All submissions will be featured on the TCDSB website, as well as at our year-end celebration to be held May 21st. All schools will be invited to send two representatives (any combination of student, parent, teaching or non-teaching staff, school administrator). Proceeds to Angel Foundation for Learning https://www.tcdsb.org/forstudents/newsandevents/2018-2019/pages/cslitskatingevent.aspx

TCDSB 2019 Music Festival April 1 - 30, 2019 Elementary: April 1st to April 18th, Secondary: April 23rd to April 30th, Registration Dates: From February 25th to March 8th, 2019 https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/schoolprogramsk12/arts/music/festival/pages/default.aspx

Reminder: TCDSB Anonymous Alerts App Toronto Catholic District School Board is pleased to offer students a communications tool called Anonymous Alerts. The Anonymous Alerts reporting system helps to promote safe, positive and accepting School climates by empowering students to anonymously report inappropriate behaviours to school staff. The system allows for 1-way or 2-way anonymous encrypted communications between submitters (students, parents or community members) and Administrators and/or school staff. Users of the system have the option to remain anonymous or to reveal their identity when submitting a report. Click here for more information https://www.tcdsb.org/programsservices/safeschools/pages/anonymousalerts.aspx

For information about scholarships, contests, community service opportunities and more, see https://www.tcdsb.org/FORSTUDENTS/OpportunitiesForStudents/Pages/default.aspx For information about events and initiatives of the Catholic Student Leadership Team, visit https://catholicstudentleadership.com/

The Nurturing our Catholic Community Team is pleased to provide you with information and resources relating to the Virtue of the Month as well as other significant events coming up for the month of March. we BELONG Year End Celebration One Month Left To Submit Your Projects

As we continue our journey through the first year of our pastoral plan, “Rooted in Christ, we Belong, we Believe, we Become”,

the Nurturing our Catholic Community Team reminds schools to share their ideas of belonging. We want to hear from our students and staff about how they are nurturing the concept of belonging, inclusion and equity in their schools, in their families, in their parishes and their community. We invite you to submit student artwork, written work, videos/slideshows, songs or any other

creative expressions of belonging to ncc.team@tcdsb.org by no later than Friday, March 22, 2019. Consider how your school ensures that everyone feels welcomed, included, respected and valued. Consider how your school and parish work together to ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging to the church, to the school, to the community. When sharing your initiatives on social media, tweet or post @TCDSB with the hashtag #TCDSBelongs so we can follow your progress. For ideas and resources linked to our pastoral plan, click here. All submissions will be featured on the TCDSB website, as well as at our year-end celebration to be held May 21st. And all schools will be invited to send two representatives (any combination of student, parent, teaching or non-teaching staff, school administrator) to the celebration.

March’s Virtue is Forgiveness Please visit our website for the monthly resources connected to the virtue of the month. https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/VirtueoftheMonth/Pages/Default.aspx Additional resources to consider: A simple but rich article about forgiveness: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-addiction-connection/201409/the-psychology-forgiveness Carfleo Resources for the Sacrament of Reconciliation: https://carfleo.com/2016/05/24/the-sacrament-of-reconciliation-and-penance-teaching-resources/ “It is not possible to live without forgiveness, or at least you cannot live well, especially in the family. Every day we wrong each other. We must take account of these errors that we make due to our fragility and our selfishness. However, what is required of us is to heal the wounds we make straight away, to immediately weave again the threads we have broken. If we wait too long, it all becomes more difficult. And there is a simple secret for healing wounds and undoing accusations: never let the day finish without apologizing. … If we learn to say we are sorry immediately and to offer mutual forgiveness, the wounds are healed, the marriage is strengthened, and the family becomes an increasingly solid home, that resists the shocks of our evils, great and small.”—Pope Francis

Easter Drawing Contest 2019

The Catholic Register is conducting its eighth annual Easter drawing contest. The top entry in each of 3 categories will receive a

$75 gift certificate for a day at the movies. The winning drawings will appear in The Register’s Easter edition, April 21, 2019; and

will appear on The Register’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The contest is open to children enrolled in Grades 1-8.

One prize will be awarded to the top entry in each of these categories: Grades 7-8, Grades 4-6 and Grades 1-3. Submission forms

and information: https://www.catholicregister.org/eastercontest

Submission deadline is noon April 12, 2019.

Let’s Help Catholic Charities by Supporting ShareLife ShareLife’s mission is to “Live the Gospel by providing for those in need” This is done through their support of many diverse Catholic social service agencies here in the GTA and beyond. This year, ShareLife Week for Schools will be celebrated the week of April 8-12. All students and staff are invited Board-wide Civvies Day on Friday, April 12, 2019 to raise funds for the ShareLife campaign. Your donation of a loonie or a toonie will go a long way to supporting youth, the elderly, the marginalized and the vulnerable. We thank everyone in the TCDSB community for all that they do throughout the year to help others—giving of their time and their resources to make a difference. We applaud those efforts, and take great pride in the commitment to living our Catholic values and putting faith into action. Angel Foundation for Learning Updates Save the Date for the Angel Foundation for Learning Golf Tournament: February is a fine time to start filling your calendar with summertime fun and July 3, 2019 promises to be just that at The Angel Foundation for Learning Annual Golf Tournament. Also, the Golf Fore All 2019 is now available offering tremendous green fee discounts at many of Toronto and South Central Ontario's finest courses with a discounted price for TCDSB staff ($10 of proceeds goes to The Angel Foundation for Learning). 7 Days and Gratitude for the Curious: Only 7 days left to pick out something fabulous from The Angel Foundation for Learning's Curiosities Art Gallery. We would like to thank all those who came out to support the show and the students from Cardinal Carter, Madonna and Msgr. Fraser North for the incredible art they donated to make this a profitable and exciting event. Have a peek at this year's event photos and we're looking forward to working with more schools next year! The Role of the Pastor in the Catholic School This newly published resource document created by the Archdiocese of Toronto, provides Pastors with tips and information on nurturing relationships with the Catholic schools in their area. The Role of the Pastor in the Catholic School (English Resource)

Catholic Teachers Guild Annual Lenten Retreat https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCommunity/News/2018-2019/Pages/CathollicTeachersGuild.aspx Other Dates to Note:

March is Celtic Canadian Heritage Month

Feb 22, 25, 28, March 1 – Northern Spirit Games

Feb 28 – March 1 – CSCO Conference

March 2—World Day of Prayer

March 2 – Lift Jesus Higher Rally

March 4—Education Support Staff Appreciation Day

March 5 – Ordinandi Youth Event

March 5 – Shrove Tuesday

March 6 – Ash Wednesday

March 8—International Women’s Day

March 21—World Down Syndrome Day

March 21—International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 22—World Water Day

March 26, 28 – Christian Mediation Follow Up In-services

March 29—Earth Hour School Challenge (10:00-11:00 a.m.—Earth Hour)

March 30—Earth Hour, 8:30-9:30 pm

April 2—World Autism Awareness Day Visit the board’ website for further information about these observances: www.tcdsb.org

For other news and information: Remember to visit the Nurturing Our Catholic Community website regularly for resources on a wide variety of topics including poverty, Catholic Social Justice Teaching, Respect for Life, Bereavement, as well as special events throughout the school year. https://www.tcdsb.org/BOARD/NURTURINGOURCATHOLICCOMMUNITY/Pages/Default.aspx Archdiocese of Toronto Event listing https://www.archtoronto.org/catholic-outreach/calendar-events TCDSB’s website for information about events around TCDSB: www.tcdsb.org Should you have any inquiries relating to Religion and Family Life, or any of the information contained in this email, please feel free to send a message to ncc.team@tcdsb.org