News

Attention St. Kateri community!  Are you looking for a few hours of work from time-to-time?  If you are, then we are looking for an Occasional Lunchroom Supervisor.  Please contact the Vice -Principal today!

519-895-1716

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

This morning, it has come to our attention that some students at  St. Kateri are planning a student walkout this afternoon.  The reason for the walkout is to protest the provincial government’s recent changes to education.  This walkout is occurring at many schools across the region, and across many boards.   Information and messages have been circulated on social media, email and web sites. These planned student walkouts are not Board/School sanctioned events.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board values our students’ voices, and a vision of the learner that includes what it means to be a responsible citizen, a reflective thinker, and a discerning believer. Our school administration and office staff will follow regular attendance/ safe arrival procedures and report the missed class(es) to the parent/ guardian as soon as possible. Our school staff will not be supervising students who participate in the protest as it remains a regular school day.

We sincerely appreciate your partnership in the education of your children. Our priority is to support the learning and well-being of students while maintaining a safe environment.

Please direct any questions/ concerns to the main office.

Sincerely,

Dave Lynch

Principal

St. Kateri Tekakwitha CES Newsletter

Administrators’ Message

Dear Parents,

We have been back to school for a couple of weeks now after what was hopefully a safe and restful March Break for your family.  Should you ever have any questions or concerns related to school, please feel free to get in touch with us – we want to do everything we can to ensure your children get the most out of the last three months of this school year as they can.

Please join us congratulating our Gr. 7 students who made the Sacrament of Confirmation at a beautiful liturgy at St. Aloysius Parish on March 20^th.  A very special thank you to Bishop Crosby for officiating as well as Fr. Jerome and Fr. Venil who continue to help guide us in our faith journey.

April is an important month in our Catholic community as we remember and celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  If you are able, please join our school’s Easter Mass taking place May 1^st @ 10:00 a.m. in our school gym.  Details on additional important dates and activities can be found below.

Wishing everyone a Blessed Lenten Season,

Ms. R. Kavanagh                              Mr. D. Lynch

Vice-Principal                                   Principal

Wear blue to show your support for students with autism on April 2^nd!

Important Information for Parents of Grade 4 Students

The Canadian Cognitive Achievement Test (CCAT) will be administered to the Grade 4 students April 8-10.  The CCAT will identify student learning strengths and needs and will be extremely useful for future programming.  Please try to have your child well rested and try to avoid appointments of absences on these dates.

Parents – please note we will be conducting the second of our two mandated Lockdown Drills on April 11^th.  Teachers use age appropriate language when discussing the reasons why we practice lockdowns.  If you have any concerns, please speak to you child’s teacher, Ms. Kavanagh or Mr. Lynch.

A reminder that Friday, April 12^th is a P.A. Day.

Happy Easter to all of the families in our school community!  A reminder there is no school on Good Friday (April 19^th) and Easter Monday (April 22^nd).

Important Information for Parents of Grade 7 Students

Students in Grade 7 in the Waterloo Catholic District School Board will be administered the Canadian Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (CAT-4) between April 23 – April 30, 2019.

The CAT-4 is a national standardized achievement test designed to measure achievement in the basic skills commonly taught in schools across Canada.

The CAT-4 will provide information for parents, students, teachers and administrators about how well students perform in the basic skill areas. This information will be used to provide direction for curriculum and program delivery at the system, school, and individual student levels.

We celebrate the wonderful job Mrs. Sowa and Mrs. Arruda do for our school on Wednesday, April 24^th this year!

St.Kateri Spirit Wear Day is Thursday, April 25^th!  Wear your Bulldog Spirit Wear!  If you don’t have any then wear some ‘Bulldog Blue’!

Please keep our Grade 2s making their First Holy Communion on Sunday, April 28^th in your prayers. 

School Climate Survey

The WCDSB has a Ministry requirement to conduct a School Climate Survey every two years with students, staff and parents/guardians as they all play a key role in contributing to a positive school climate. Schools need to be safe and welcoming places so that students can feel comfortable enough to learn.

There are 5 dimensions to the MDI – Middle Years Development Index:
i)  social & emotional development
ii)  physical health & well-being
iii) connectedness
iv) use of after-school time
v)  school experiences

This information will be used by your Principal and all staff to help promote an environment of respect, safety, and belonging for all students. Your answers are confidential and will help to provide direction in future planning.  All parents/guardians are invited to participate in the voluntary Ministry Developed survey until April 5, 2019.  To participate, please click our school-based link below.  Thank you for your time.

Link https://wcdsb.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8A2BYWebSfj90Ed?school=KAT

Parent WCDSB Survey @ St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Me to We is holding our last fundraiser of the year during Holy Week.

Anselma House Needs Our Help!

Each day of Holy week we are going to be collecting New items for the Women and Children of Anselma House.

Monday – Household Monday – dish towels, wash cloths, coffee mugs, toilet brushes, plastic cups

Tuesday – Shower Tuesday – shampoo, conditioner, body wash, children’s toothpaste

Wednesday – Little One’s Wednesday – waterproof mittens, diaper cream, crib sheets

Thursday – Bring What You Can – gift cards (grocery store, walmart) , cash donations or anything from the previous days

Thank you so much for your continued support of our community and Me to We Initiatives!

Me to We Team

Kindergarten Registration is still available for the 2019-2020 school year. Children born in 2015 are eligible for JK and children born in 2014 are eligible for SK. Call the school today!

The WCDSB has a Ministry requirement to conduct a School Climate Survey every two years with students, staff and parents/guardians as they all play a key role in contributing to a positive school climate. Schools need to be safe and welcoming places so that students can feel comfortable enough to learn.

There are 5 dimensions to the MDI – Middle Years Development Index:
i)  social & emotional development
ii)  physical health & well-being
iii) connectedness
iv) use of after-school time
v)  school experiences

This information will be used by your Principal and all staff to help promote an environment of respect, safety, and belonging for all students. Your answers are confidential and will help to provide direction in future planning.  All parents/guardians are invited to participate in the voluntary Ministry Developed survey until April 5, 2019.  To participate, please click our school-based link below.  Thank you for your time.

Link https://wcdsb.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8A2BYWebSfj90Ed?school=KAT

Parent WCDSB Survey @ St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Pizza is here! Today is pick up day! Please come to the St. Kateri Gym to pick up your order between 3-6pm. There is no storage for orders that are not picked up, so it is important that you come by today.

Enjoy your delicious pizza!!

Just a reminder that Pizza kits need to be picked up at St. Kateri, tomorrow, Thursday March 7th between 3pm-6:00pm!  Thank you for participating!

Administrator’s Message

Even though it doesn’t yet feel like it, spring is just around the corner!  I know our students can’t wait to have the chance to play on the field once again – it has been closed for much of the winter due to icy conditions.

I would like to take this opportunity to formally welcome our new vice principal, Ms. Rosemary Kavanagh, to St. Kateri!  Ms. Kavanagh has been with us for only a short period of time but has already had a chance to meet many of our students and parents and see all of the great things our community has to offer.

Our amazing teachers and staff continue their great work supporting the learning of every student at St. Kateri.  We have been working on a number of Numeracy and Literacy initiatives, both school-wide and in divisional teams, that have resulted in excellent, quantifiable gains in the learning and achievement of your children!

Finally, we hope you were able to attend our Family Math Night on February 28^th to gain a better understanding of the exceptional teaching and learning taking place in our school each and every day.

Yours in Education,

R. Kavanagh   D. Lynch

Shrove Tuesday this year is on March 5^th.  Once again, our generous Catholic School Council will be providing students with pancakes to start their day!

Parents – you are welcome to join us at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 6^th for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy in the school gym

A reminder that March Break this year begins Monday March 11^th making the last day of school before the break Friday, March 8^th.  School will resume on Monday, March 18th

A reminder that if you ordered a Little Caesars Pizza Kit, it will be ready for pick up March 7^th between 3-6 p.m. in our school gym.  Thank you to our Catholic School Council for organizing!  Money raised will help us purchase a much-needed new high jump mat!

Inclement Weather

When the weather is poor in the morning, please listen to your local Waterloo Region radio station for important information concerning school closures or bus cancellations.  You can also sign up for our Board’s Newswire and receive a notice directly to your personal email.  Visit the WCDSB website (www.wcdsb.ca), scroll to the bottom of the home page and input your email address.  It’s that easy!

St. Kateri will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and showing school spirit by wearing Green and Gold on March 19^th!

Sacrament of Confession

Father Jerome and five other priests will be at the school the morning of  March 27^th giving our students the opportunity to attend Confession.  Thank you Fr. Jerome and Fr. Venil for continuing to help guide us in our faith journey.

Our Kindergarten and Primary students will enjoy watching a live performance, in our school gym, of The Paper Bag Princess on March 28^th.  Thank you to our Catholic School Council and your fundraising efforts for making this possible!

March’s Math Focus: Connecting

Students need to see the connections and the relationships between mathematical concepts and skills from one strand of mathematics to another. As they continue to make such connections, students begin to see that mathematics is more than a series of isolated skills and concepts, and they can use their learning in one area of mathematics to understand another. Seeing connections among procedures and concepts also helps deepen students’ mathematical understanding. Further, making connections between the mathematics they study and its application in their everyday lives helps students see how useful and relevant it is in the world beyond the classroom.

You can help at home by asking some of the following questions while your child completes their math homework:

¨ When could this mathematical concept or procedure be used in daily life?

¨ What connection do you see between a problem you did before and today’s homework?

¨ Does this remind you of another strategy?

¨ Can you think of a real-world connection that would be similar?

April’s Focus: Reflecting

Parents please take a moment to read the following letter regarding the Momo challenge:

Parent letter – digital citizenship

Congratulations to the entire St. Kateri community for a successful Little Caesar’s Fundraiser.

We were able to raise $3072 which will help to purchase phys ed equipment for the students!  We would also like to congratulate the top two sellers of pizza kits! The Cabrera Lopez Family was our top seller and have won a $100 gift card to Fairview Mall! The Novosel Family is our second prize winner, winning a $50 gift card to Fairview Mall!

A Reminder that the Kits will be ready for pick up on Thursday March 7th starting at 3pm and ending at 6pm. Please put this in your calendar as there is no where to freeze the kits after that day.

St. Kateri:

On Tuesday, March 5, 2019 St. Kateri will be celebrating the beginning of Lent by having pancakes.  Students will be offered 2 pancakes, courtesy of our Catholic School Council Tuesday morning.  Gluten free pancakes are available for those students with a gluten intolerance.