St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School
Bulldog Bulletin #1
560 Pioneer Drive, Kitchener, ON, N2P 1P2
519-895-1716
WCDSB Vision: Our Catholic Schools: heart of the community, success for each, a place for all.
WCDSB Mission: As disciples of Christ, we educate and nurture hope in all learners
to realize their full potential to transform God’s world.
September 2022
Dear Parents and Guardians
Welcome Back! 2022-2023 is going to be AWESOME (or PAWSOME…see what we did there?)!!
On behalf of the St. Kateri staff, we would like to welcome you a new school year. We hope everyone had a great summer and that your children are looking forward to a year ahead. Whether your child is returning to St. Kateri or attending for the first time, we are excited that you will be part of our school family.
St. Kateri returns most of its outstanding staff from last year; however, there are a few changes of which we’d like to make you aware. Please join me in welcoming the following new staff members to our community: Jessica Robinson (EA), Charmaine Duffield (Itinerant Planning Time), Michelle Borho-Harris (Itinerant Planning Time), Christin Ritz (Planning Time LTO), Stephanie Burgoyne (0.5 Spec Ed Teacher), Laura Charette (French Teacher), Jessica Coloiera (Kindergarten LTO Teacher), Caitlyn Laviolette (Gr. 1/2 LTO Teacher), Jenna Gaetan (Gr. 3/4 Teacher), Jason Mills (Gr. 5 LTO Teacher), Seyi Olawoyin (Gr. 7/8 Teacher). The entire staff will be providing great learning opportunities, both curricular and co-curricular, this year and we are excited to be active participants.
St. Kateri is well known for the strong support it provides to its students. The school community is blessed with great parents/guardians and community members who support a variety of programs and initiatives. This speaks to the team approach that is so important when it comes to achieving the most fulfilling and rewarding experience for your children. We look forward to your support in continuing to provide your children with a healthy, faith-based environment that will encourage them to be actively engaged in their learning.
Please make note of some important introductory information about the school and the school year listed on the following pages. More information can be found in our Parent & Student Handbook on our school website https://stkateri.wcdsb.ca/ . If you haven’t done so already, please subscribe to Newswire (subscription link at the bottom of our school website homepage) and follow us on twitter @Saint_Kateri. Newswire is our school’s primary method of communication with parents, so it’s important that you subscribe to keep up to date with everything happening at our school.
Please be sure to mark your calendars – our in-person ‘Meet the Teacher/School BBQ’ is scheduled for September 15th from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
We look forward to working with you and seeing your children excel spiritually, academically, and socially this school year. Please feel free to call us or make an appointment should you have any concerns at all.
Yours in Christ,
Mr. Dustin Rose Mr. Dave Lynch
Vice Principal Principal
2022-2023 St. Kateri CES Staff List for September 2022
Jessica Coloiera (LTO)/Kali Dasilva- Kindergarten
Crystal Williams Kindergarten
Anita Ribeiro Kindergarten
Danette Jardine Kindergarten
Christine Ribey Kindergarten DECE
Luisa Malleck Kindergarten DECE
Tanya Weiss Kindergarten DECE
Sarah Arndt Kindergarten DECE
Joan Meek Kindergarten DECE
Amber Mask Grade 1
Edith Costa Grade 1
Andrea Dillon Grade 1
Caitlyn Laviolette (LTO) Grade 1/2
Lisa Bannister Grade 2
Lauren Esposto Grade 2
Andrea Shine Grade 2
Christine Nyikos Grade 3
Beth Anne Mehes Grade 3
Jenna Gaetan Grade 3/4
Ina Kulczynska Grade 4
Sarah Brown Grade 4
Michelle Muio Grade 5
Annette Vermeersch Grade 5
Jason Mills (LTO) Grade 5
Karen Gajewski Grade 6
Janet Jack Grade 6
John Nicholls Grade 7
Walter Martins Grade 7
Seyi Olawoyin Grade 7/8
Katarina Filipovic Grade 8
Richard Wagner Grade 8
Kayla Grubb French
Visarios Moustakas French
Laura Charette French (one class)
Franca Sottosanti Special Education
Marg Heffernan Special Education (0.5)
Stephanie Burgoyne Special Education (0.5)
Kendra Gallant/Christin Ritz (LTO) Planning Time
Laura Haffner Planning Time
Tom Henning Planning Time
Michelle Borho-Harris Primary Itinerant Planning Time
Charmaine Duffield Junior Itinerant Planning Time
Kristi Radisic Junior Itinerant Planning Time
Nicole Zuk Intermediate Itinerant Planning Tim
Colette Schneider Library Technician
Cathy Sowa Admin Assistant
Dawn Ciupa Admin Assistant (LTO)
Deb Hutteri Education Assistant
Jessica Robinson Education Assistant
Edna Campbell Education Assistant
Sandra Whitty Education Assistant
Michelle Franks Education Assistant
Abbey Rice Education Assistant
Jody Brown Education Assistant
Asher Newing Head Custodian
Joel Heineman Afternoon Custodian
Shawn Spain Afternoon Custodian
Jackie Grebinski Lunch Supervisor
Pat Drummond Lunch Supervisor
Sylwia Stempien Lunch Supervisor
Sara DeRose Lunch Supervisor
Dustin Rose Vice Principal
Dave Lynch Principal
Daily Schedule for 2022 – 2023
The daily schedule for the school year is:
8:35 a.m. Entrance of students
8:40 a.m. National anthem, prayer, announcements, and the start of classes
9:45 – 10:00 a.m. Recess break
11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Lunch and Lunch Recess
1:45 – 1:55 p.m. Recess break
3:05 p.m. Dismissal of students
First Day of School Procedures – Tuesday, September 6th
Parents of students entering Year 1 Kindergarten (JK) have been contacted by their child’s teacher identifying their staggered visit times.
Students in Grades 1-8 will make their way to the blacktop on Tuesday, September 6th between 8:20-8:35 a.m. Most students will know their teacher, class, and classroom/entry/portable due to our Sneak Peek program. If a student needs help finding their class, staff, wearing St. Kateri vests, will be on the blacktop and able to assist.
Safe Arrival Program
If a child will be absent or late for class, we ask parents/guardians contact the school (519-895-1716). Since we have an answering machine, you may leave a message at any time from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. The school’s administrative assistant will be at the school to receive your phone calls beginning at 7:45 a.m.
When you call to report the absence or anticipated lateness of your child, please note the following information:
- Child’s full name
- Child’s grade and classroom teacher
- Reason for the child’s absence / lateness (*)
* It is important for the parent / guardian to contact the school when their child will be late for class. When arriving late for class, the student must report to the office. For your information, the school staff will consider a student late for class in the morning should she / he not be in the classroom when the national anthem is played.
Yard Supervision
Staff members are on the school yard for yard duty Gr. 1-8 beginning at 8:20 a.m. Please have your children arrive at the school after supervision begins in the morning. Parents of Kindergarten students are asked to stay with your children until the bell rings at 8:35 a.m.
At the end of the school day, students are expected to go directly home unless they are with a parent or involved in an after-school activity. Staff members supervise dismissal from 3:05-3:20.
Office Hours
The main office is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 3:45 p.m.
Entrance Doors
For safety reasons, please note all entrances to the school will remain locked during the school day. A buzzer monitoring system is in place for visitors at the front entrance of the school.
Board and School Website
For up-to-date information about the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, please check out www.wcdsb.ca, subscribe to WCDSB Newswire, and follow Waterloo Catholic on Twitter @WCDSBNewswire
Sign up for St. Kateri’s Newswire by subscribing on the bottom of our website to keep up with everything going on at St. Kateri: https://stkateri.wcdsb.ca/ Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter too – @Saint_Kateri
All the information you need … 24 hours a day … 7 days a week! www.wcdsb.ca
2022-2023 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates
September 6 First Day of School
September 13 First School Council Meeting – 6:00-7:30 p.m.
September 15 Opening School Mass – 10:15 a.m. (parents welcome)
September 15 Meet the Teacher & School BBQ 5:30-7:00 p.m.
September 30 National Truth & Reconciliation Day-Orange Shirt Day
October 10 Thanksgiving (no school)
October 18 Smile! School Picture Day
October 24 PA Day (it’s a Monday)
October 28 Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser
November 18 PA Day
November 21 Progress Report Cards go home
Nov. 21-25 Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week
November 24 Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 29 Advent Liturgy – 12:30 p.m. (parents welcome)
December 21 Christmas Mass @ St. Aloysius Parish
December 26 – Jan. 6 Christmas Break
January 20 PA Day
February 17 Term 1 Report Card Distribution
February 20 Family Day
February 22 Ash Wednesday Liturgy in the school gym, 12:40 p.m.
March 13-17 March Break
March 31 PA Day
April 7 Good Friday (no school)
April 10 Easter Monday (no school)
April 14 Easter Mass – 10:15 a.m., gym (parents welcome)
April 18 Gr. 4 Bible Celebration – 10:15 a.m.
April 21 PA Day
May 1-5 Catholic Education Week
May 22 Victoria Day (no school)
June 2 P.A. Day
June 16 Mission Day
June 23 Closing School Mass, 10:15 a.m.
June 27 Term 2 Report Card Distribution Date
June 28 Grade 8 Grad
June 29 Last Day of School (Regular 3:05 p.m. dismissal)
Health Information
Early in the school year, the secretarial staff will be forwarding student information forms to all parents. Please complete/update your child’s information as carefully and as quickly as possible and return the form to the school office. It is vitally important that we have up-to-date information on each child in our care should there be an emergency. (Parents of a child who has an anaphylactic condition, a heart condition, epilepsy, asthma or diabetes are asked to be especially cautious in ensuring that the school staff are aware of the student’s condition and provide all pertinent information should an emergency arise)
COVID Protocols
We continue to ask families to remain partners is helping us maintain safety for everyone in our school community. Please continue to screen your children daily for any illnesses and keep them home if needed. If you are unsure, please use the ministry’s COVID-19 screener:
https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
Plans of Care
Hard copies (paper copies) of Plans of Care (if your child has a medic alert) will be sent home the first day. Please return these with any updated information, to your child’s teacher by September 9th.
Waterloo Catholic District School Board Communication Guide for Parents
The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has established communication guidelines for parents and staff. Parents are requested to follow the following steps to ensure prompt and efficient resolution to their questions or possible concerns.
Step #1: Parent should speak with the teacher / staff member. Issue resolved. If issue is not resolved, proceed to Step #2.
Step #2: Speak with the principal. If you have not spoken with the teacher /
staff member directly, the principal will ask you to do so. Should you not wish to do this, the principal will involve the teacher / staff member in a three-way discussion. The principal may request, at any time in the process, that you put your concerns in writing. The principal may involve, at any time in the process, others who may be helpful in resolving the issue.
Role of the Trustee: Parents may contact the trustee at any time. The trustee
will direct the parent to follow the process outlined above.
Role of the School Council: The St. Kateri School Council is not a forum to
discuss parent-teacher / staff member-student issues. If these matters are brought to any Catholic School Council member or any School Council meeting, the concern will be referred immediately to the principal.
Visitors and Volunteers in the School
For the safety and well being of our students and staff, all visitors to the school, including parents and guardians, must sign in and obtain a Visitor badge at the main office. The badge should be returned to the office upon your departure.
Similarly, whenever volunteering in the school, please sign in at the office and obtain a Volunteer badge before proceeding into the school. The badge should be returned to the school secretary when you leave the school.
In advance, we thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
School Volunteers
St. Kateri Catholic School is looking for interested volunteers who would like to share their time and talents with the staff and students at our school. Volunteers strengthen and enrich educational programs and foster greater cooperation among all the partners in our Catholic school community.
Our school welcomes volunteer involvement in a variety of areas and capacities. Volunteers may provide short term or long-term commitment to such things as: supervising on school excursions, serving as a guest speaker, working in a classroom, or helping to run special events.
Volunteers derive a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from their work and our school life is certainly very much enhanced by their generous efforts.
If you are interested in volunteering in our school, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Principal, Dave Lynch, or Vice Principal, Dustin Rose, at the school (519-895-1716).
Nuts, Peanuts, Peanut Butter Substitutes and Their By-products
St. Kateri CES has students who could experience serious consequences if exposed to peanuts, nuts, or their by-products (e.g., peanut oil, peanut butter). In some cases, the reaction could be life threatening. Merely smelling or touching a peanut product could cause an anaphylactic seizure or reaction resulting in a serious consequence. For the same reason, please do not send spreads to school made with other nuts such as Nutella.
We also request that you do not send peanut butter substitutes (usually made from soy) with your children. Because these products look and smell like real peanut butter, it puts our staff members in a difficult situation with determining whether a product could cause an anaphylactic reaction.
For the safety of these students, we ask that you do not send peanuts, nuts, or their by-products to school with your child. Moreover, from time to time, some parents are very generous in sending treats to school to be enjoyed by the students in their child’s class during a celebration or special event. Should you do so, we ask that you take care that the foods are not made with peanuts, peanut oil, etc. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Entry and Exit of Students
Each class has a designated exterior door for entering and exiting the building in an orderly fashion. To ensure orderliness, as well as the security and safety of the students, the students are asked to only enter or exit the door intended for their class. It is very difficult for a teacher to supervise their class if the students use a variety of exit doors.
Should they arrive late for class, students should enter through the main entrance, at the front of the school, and report to the office for a late slip.
St. Kateri Catholic
Community involvement in our school is a key element in maintaining a spirit of collaboration and mutual support. Our Catholic School Advisory Council (CSAC), an advisory body to the school principal, is an important group. Besides providing leadership in the community and a parent/community voice, the Council also contributes valuable advice on numerous issues and school initiatives. We ask that you consider becoming a member of the St. Kateri Catholic School Council for the 2022 – 2023 school year. The Self-Nomination form is below. Please fill it out and return it to the attention of Dave Lynch by Friday, September 9th if you would like to join our CSAC. Our orientation session and initial meeting will be held in the Learning Commons (Library) on Tuesday, September 13 beginning at 6:00 p.m. CSAC Meeting Dates for this school year also include: October 4, December 6, February 7, April 4, and June 6. Meetings will take place in our school’s Learning Commons from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
St. Kateri CES – Catholic School Advisory Committee Self Nomination Form
2022-2023
YES! I would like to nominate myself to sit on St. Kateri’s Catholic School Advisory Council for the 2022-2023 School Year
Name:_________________________________________________________
Name(s) of child(ren) attending St. Kateri: _____________________________________________________
Contact #: __________________________________________
Email Address: _______________________________________
*return to the school to the attention of Dave Lynch by Friday, September 9th
*alternatively, you can simply call the school or email Mr. Lynch David.Lynch@wcdsb.ca to nominate yourself for our CSAC
Dress Code, Electronics, and Cell Phones
Dress Code
A reminder to parents and students that St. Kateri does have a dress code for its students. Please respect the Dress Code at all times, including co-curricular activities and off-site excursions.
The following guidelines will help parents and students when choosing clothing that will contribute to a positive school environment:
- Clothing may not display any derogatory or inappropriate writing or pictures.
- Hats need to be removed upon entering the building
- Shorts and skirts should be of modest length
*Students who are inappropriately dressed will be reminded of the dress code or asked to change
Electronics
Students are not permitted to have personal electronic gaming devices at school at any time. Items may be confiscated and held at the office until a parent/guardian is able to retrieve it.
Cell/Smart Phones
If a student brings a cell phone to school with parental permission, the cell phone must remain turned off and either in the student’s backpack or a safe place in the classroom during the school day, unless it is being used specifically for a learning purpose under the direction of the teacher. Students must use the phone in the main office if they need to call home during school hours. The school is not responsible for any lost or damaged cell phones or electronic devices. Parents will be contacted should a student have difficulty following the school’s phone policy.
Students Transported To/From School by Bus:
Student Transportation will have sent parents information on pick-up and drop-off times and location. You may also wish to find your child’s bussing information at www.stswr.ca .
**Please note: If your child qualifies for bussing, please ensure you have logged into STSWR and verified their route details. Please also note the recent message from student transportation regarding some possible delays.
**Delayed Start to Student Transportation:
Students assigned to small or adapted vehicles (vans and small yellow busses) will have transportation begin Sept. 12th instead of Sept. 6th. This included the following bus routes: 700-723, 800-862, V01-V39, W01-W45.
**Any student/family who has changed their address in June, July, or August will have their transportation service begin Sept. 19th.
Please contact Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region (STSWR) at 519-744-7575 with any questions.
As we begin the school year, we would like to remind all students eligible for bus transportation to/from school and their parents of the following:
- When traveling to school, students should be at their designated pick-up location five minutes before the scheduled arrival of the school bus.
- The student and her/his parents should develop a contingency plan should the child miss the school bus when traveling to school (e.g., return home; walk to a neighbour’s home; walk to school, etc.)
- When departing school, should any student miss her/his bus, that child should immediately go to the school office for assistance. She/he should not walk home.
- Only students eligible to ride a school bus will be allowed to do so when riding to/from school. Those who are not eligible to ride a bus will not be permitted to do so. If a child is not eligible and she/he wishes to visit the home of a classmate, it will be the responsibility of her/his parent to make transportation arrangements.
- Transported students will only be allowed to ride their designated bus to/from school. A pupil will not be permitted to ride another bus for which they are not eligible.
- There will be an assembly for students eligible for bus transportation early in the school year. At the assembly, procedures and expectations will be reviewed.
Healthy Eating in Class/Snack and Litter-Free Yard
In order to promote healthy eating, students at St. Kateri will be allowed to eat healthy snacks during class, at times determined by the teacher. Students will eat smaller, healthier portions throughout the day which will promote a healthy body weight and improve concentration. Because students are eating healthy snacks in class they will not bring recess snacks outside. This will enable students to be active for the entire recess and keep our yard litter-free.
Some examples of healthy snacks students could bring to school include:
- Granola bars (nut free)
- Fruit
- Crackers and Cheese
- Bread Sticks
- Yogurt
- Cottage cheese topped with grapes
- Oatmeal cookies
- Chocolate milk and a small homemade muffin
- Toasted pita points with salsa
- Dry breakfast cereal in a sealed container with a drinkable yogurt
Parent/Guardians are encouraged to send healthy snacks for their children for this program to be a success.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Thursday, September 15th from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Meet the Teacher and School BBQ Night at St.Kateri
- Visit your child’s classroom
- Meet your child’s teacher
- Take the night off from making dinner – Grab a burger at our BBQ
(hamburger, bag of chips, and water/pop/juice…no pre-ordering necessary)
Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Kateri CES
Please make note of the following information and adhere to our school drop off and pick up procedures that are in place to keep our students safe. We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school. Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.
Drop Off (8:20-8:35 a.m.)
Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:
- “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid navigating and contributing to the congestion in front of the school (bus loading zone) and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day! Black Walnut Drive (beside Carlyle Park), Perin Place, Vintage Cres or Nathaniel Cres are all good options.
- Use the school’s driveway (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and drop your children off in front of the school in front of or behind the school bus zone. To keep traffic moving and keep the bus zone free from traffic, parents who choose to pull into the school driveway may not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side. Please do not stop or park in the through lane, or Visitor Parking. St. Kateri parents are also not eligible to park in the daycare parking lot or school parking lot.
Pick Up (2:30-3:05)
Parents choosing to pick up children at the end of the school day cannot do so using our school driveway or Visitor Parking spots as they need to remain free of traffic for our school busses and are not safe options for children to cross thru lane traffic, respectively. Parents are also not able to use the Daycare parking lot, which is reserved parking. At the end of the school day, parents are required to park on a side street and have their children cross safely at the crosswalk in front of the school. The City of Kitchener works closely with all schools to ensure the streets around them are safe for students, parents and others in the community. Please keep these City of Kitchener bylaws in mind if you choose to drive your children to school.
Parking is not permitted:
- Within 1.5 metres of a driveway
- Within 3 metres of a fire hydrant
- Within 9 metres of an intersection
- In a bike lane
- In a school bus loading zone
Note: Please also be aware of all the no parking/no stopping areas around our school.
Each year, the city receives complaints about drivers in school zones. Here are some of the practices to avoid:
- Stopping or Parking in a restricted zone
- Blocking a driveway when you park your car
- Travelling too quickly
- Making U-turns
- Parking in a driveway without the homeowner’s permission
Please be respectful of residents who live on streets around our school.
By-law Enforcement staff regularly patrol school areas to help keep everyone safe by watching for infractions. By working together, we can ensure St. Kateri continues to be a safe, nurturing, and engaging school where your children will meet with success. Thank you in advance for your understanding, cooperation and support.
Please feel free to contact us at the school should you have any questions or concerns.