Monthly Archives: February 2023

February 28, 2023

All Student transportation cancelled, all schools are open

Due to the current road conditions, ALL SCHOOL BUSES, TAXIS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION ROUTES operated by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board are cancelled.

All Public and Catholic Schools are OPEN.

All Extended Day Childcare Programs are OPEN.

St. Louis online, daytime, and evening classes are open at all locations

PIZZA LUNCH IS STILL ON AT ST MARGARET

UKELELE CLUB IS CANCELLED AT ST MARGARET

Thursday February 23

• Due to the weather conditions, ALL Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board SCHOOLS AND SITES ARE CLOSED
• ALL SCHOOL BUSES, TAXIS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION ROUTES operated by the WCDSB and WRDSB are cancelled.
• All before and after school programs and child care centres co-located in schools are CLOSED.
• All programs and services offered by St. Louis Continuing Education and Adult and Learning Centres are cancelled

St. Margaret Families:

We realize this is short notice with Term 1 Reports, Shrove Tuesday and the beginning of Lent but tomorrow February 22^nd, we invite staff and students to wear a PINK shirt (or any pink).

Pink Shirt Day was an initiative that began in Nova Scotia, has spread across Canada and is now observed annually around the globe. The purpose of Pink Shirt Day is to take stand against bullying and be an advocate for kindness and inclusivity!

The link below is for parents:

https://www.prevnet.ca/bullying/parents

In addition, Wednesday February 22^nd, is Ash Wednesday and Father Joe will be joining us at 10:30 a.m. for the distribution of ashes.

Parents are welcome to join us!

Mr. Schnarr

Happy Long Weekend!

Remember that Monday February 20th is Family Day and NO SCHOOL!

Tuesday February 21st our Catholic School Council and parent volunteers will be cooking pancakes for ALL students for Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday. Please bring reusable plates and forks. We will have some available.

Wednesday February 22nd is Ash Wednesday. Father Joe will be joining us to distribute ashes!

February 17^th, 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians:

We have had an overwhelming response to parent volunteers supporting our Shrove Tuesday Pancakes!

Mrs. Brochu your Catholic School Council Co-Chair is coordinating the day and the volunteers. She will be emailing the volunteers, (and those lending their griddles) directly with reminders!

On Tuesday February 21^st, volunteers will begin cooking pancakes before the students arrive. After morning announcements at 9:00 a.m., pancakes will begin to be delivered to the classrooms.

We kindly remind parents to be ENVIRONMENTALLY conscious and ask that students bring a PLATE, KNIFE AND FORK to enjoy their pancakes.  They will be rinsed off and sent back home to be cleaned or recycled at the school.

Allergies and food sensitivities can be sent to the classroom teacher! We thank Mrs. Bingham for making our Gluten free pancakes.

If you have any questions, please contact the office at 519-622-6100.

Sincerely,

Mr. J. Schnarr

Principal

February 17, 2023

All Student transportation cancelled, all schools are open

• Due to the current road conditions, ALL SCHOOL BUSES, TAXIS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION ROUTES operated by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board are cancelled.
• All Public and Catholic Schools are OPEN.
• All Extended Day Childcare Programs are OPEN.
• Louis online, daytime, and evening classes are open at all locations.

– HOT LUNCH WILL BE DELIVERED TODAY

-TERM 1 REPORT CARDS NOT SENT TODAY WILL BE GIVEN TO THE STUDENTS TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21ST

-REMEMBER MONDAY FEBRUARY 20TH IS FAMILY DAY AND NO SCHOOL

St Margaret Families:

Our Student Leadership Team voted on doing a Cake Walk this year to raise money for our schoolwide activities.

All items will include a list of ingredients on the container or package.

We are NO LONGER accepting cash, this will all be done on School Cash Online.

Student Leadership will be organizing the tickets for your students so you can hand them out February 14th.

Valentines Cake Walk – Copy

February 2023 News at-a-glance

Please continue to watch for Newswire reminders. Important dates are also our school calendar. Classroom teachers continue to communicate through their google classrooms.

A

Athletics are back:

-Boy’s Intermediate Basketball Tournament February 28^th

-Girl’s Intermediate Volleyball Tournament March 7^th

B

Bell Let’s talk Day was Wednesday January 25^th.

Black History Month is in February!

Bus Evacuation training was completed a second time in class for all JK-8 students.

C

Catholic School Council meeting will be February 6^th at 6:15 p.m. in the school’s Conference Room.

Community Resource Officer from WRPS visited our students on January 18^th.

D

Dog Safety has improved. Thanks for keeping pets a safe distance from the students during drop off and pick up.

E

Early Years / Kindergarten Registration for September 2023 is Monday February 27^th from 10:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. and Tuesday February 28^th from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

F

Forest on our school yard is off-limits and ‘out of bounds’ for staff and students for safety reasons.

Faith:

-Ash Wednesday is February 22^nd at 10:30 a.m. at St. Margaret

G

Grade 8 students have the voluntary opportunity to ‘catch up’ on the Meningococcal vaccine on March 3^rd at the school. A parent information letter will be sent to all grade 8 families.

Grade 8 Mount Mary Parent meeting is Wednesday February 1^st from 6 – 7:00 p.m. The students stay at Mount Mary in Ancaster from March 8^th – 10^th.

H

Hot lunches are organized by our Catholic School Council. Gino’s pizza is every Tuesday. Fridays there is a rotation of East Side / Pita Pit / Harvey’s / Subway

I

Inclement Weather protocols are being reviewed. At this time a bell will ring at 8:35 p.m. when our supervision starts. Students will enter at the gym ramp and stay in the gym, supervised until the bell rings at 8:50 a.m. Bus students receive a message when busses are late or cancelled through STWR.

When busses are cancelled and school is open, parents of walkers MUST call the Office if the children will not be attending. Bus parents DO NOT need to call in.

L

Little Mermaid School Play is Wednesday April 26^th at 7:30 p.m. / Thursday April 27^th

Students from grades 4 to 8 are participating under the Direction of Mrs. Cater and practice regularly. A newswire asking for volunteers was posted. More information will be shared soon.

M

Mental Health / Anti-Stigma Week was January 23^rd to 27^th

MADD presented to our grade 7 and 8 students was January 27^th.

March Break is from March 13^th to 17^th.

N

No Peanut butter or other substitutes like soya etc. If it looks and smells like Peanut butter it will be treated as peanut butter.

Nutrition for Learning is available to ALL students every day in classrooms.

P

Parking Lot Safety! Our parking lot is ONLY for staff, approved transportation vehicles and parents contacting the Office for a specific need. We now have 2 busses, so there is a longer time for approved vehicles to remain parked before leaving the lot. PLEASE find drop off and parking areas safely in the community!

R

Report Cards for Term one will be sent home on Friday February 17^th.

S

Staffing Updates:

-Mrs. Matic returned to Special Education January 24^th. All the best to Miss Weltman.

-Mrs. Fulton returns February 6^th to Kindergarten. All the best to Mrs. O’Dacre.

-Miss Rossiter returns to CYW (Child and Youth Worker) All the best to Miss Rubenstein.

-Mrs. Stamp our Educational Assistant has returned.

-Mrs. Deneau is or ML (Multilingual Learner) on Tuesdays. All the best to Mrs. Mendes.

T

Trips with families are common. Please contact the school Office if the student (s) will be away for any period. Please continue to contact the classroom teacher for absences and copy the office to ensure safety.

U

UMBRELLA SKILL for January was ‘GRIT’ and ‘RESILIENCE’ for February.

Ukulele Club is on Tuesdays during the lunch hour. We have 14 students participating.

V

Volunteers will be welcomed back into the school this year. Stay tuned for the opportunities we offer!

W

Winter is here. Thank you for sending your children prepared to play outside at recess, lunch, and class activities. If you need any support, please contact the school Office.

Z

Zones for students during Recess and Lunch breaks continue. There are 3 zones on the school yard: Primary (grade 1-3), Junior (grades 4-6), Intermediate (grades 7-8). Students in combined grade classes have a choice of either area. In addition, there are weekly scheduled times for the soccer fields, baseball field and basketball areas.

Mr. J. Schnarr

Principal