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We look forward to seeing the St. Dominic Savio Families on Thursday, September 27th at 5:30 pm. 
Please see attached flyer for more information:  School BBQ Fall poster 2018

St. Dominic Savio is excited to be featured in this month’s Ontario Eco Magazine.  Click the link below to read about the amazing things St. Dominic Savio participates in:   Eco Magazine

September 17 – 21

Prayer for the Beginning of the New School Year

“Dear Lord, as we begin this new school year, we gather once again as your community of believers.

We thank you for the energy and the spirit that you renewed in us through the summer months. We thank you for the time to enjoy our family and friends and to reflect on what is important in our lives.

Let this year be marked by enthusiasm and love so that, with the inspiration of your Spirit, we may continue to grow in our faith.

Help us to fulfill Your hope for us with honest intentions and works of faith.

Let us be gentle with ourselves and bring laughter, joy and love to others.

We ask this in your name.

Amen”

It has been a wonderful full week at St. Dominic’s.  Students are starting to settle into their routines and are involving themselves in various clubs and/or committees within our school community.  The hallways are bustling with energy as students re-acquaint themselves with friends and the busyness that a school environment offers. We have had a wonderful start to the school year and plan to keep the momentum going all year long!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

“Without a sense of caring, there can be no sense of community. – Anthony D’Angelo”

Our St. Dominic parent community cares!  Thank you to those of you that took your personal time to gather and clean up our school gardens.  We truly appreciate your time and efforts in making our grounds look beautiful.

Special Visit from our Fire Department

The school community welcomed our Fire Department onsite to remind everyone to slow down in school zones.  Thanks for looking out for our Dragons and ensuring that they arrive to school safe!

Welcome to The Umbrella Project

Please see the Umbrella Project Parent Letter below:

This school year, your child will be participating in The Umbrella Project. The Umbrella Project is a curriculum designed to help your child learn the skills of emotional wellbeing. This year we will be focusing on gratitude, grit, self-compassion, autonomy, mindfulness, resilience, intrinsic motivation, integrity and hope. Developing these skills will help your child lead a happier, more

successful life. Learn more on the umbrella of emotional wellbeing on our website here: http://www.umbrellaproject.co/video/

You are invited to follow along with your child’s learning journey for each new skill by subscribing to our weekly newsletter (details below) where we will provide information, stories, challenges and tips about fostering the skill your child is focusing on in class. Caregivers have a powerful impact on childhood wellbeing and your participation will help to deepen your child’s understanding of these important skills.

You can also follow the Umbrella Project on social media for additional tips,resources and information. Find all the details here: http://www.umbrellaproject.co/parent-resources/

Please email us at admin@umbrellaproject.co to share your stories, ask questions, and give feedback about what has worked well in your home. We would also love to hear your suggestions for improvement. Our goal is to help children prepare for all of life’s weather and we welcome opportunities to grow and improve. Health and happiness,

Dr. Jen Forristal (Founder of the Umbrella Project)

Umbrella Project Survey

We have partnered with Professor James D. A. Parker at Trent University to measure and track changes in attitudes and behavior in the classroom. This is an important piece in ensuring the success of wellness programming and will help your school continue to improve their wellbeing initiatives. We will be asking your child to complete a brief survey this fall and again at the end of the project in the Spring. The survey, which will take only 10 to 15 minutes to complete, will ask your child about their emotions and schools behaviors. The survey will be completed at school either in a paper and pencil format or online (to a website maintained by researchers at Trent University).  A formal letter to parents will be going home this week with more information on the survey.

School BBQ and Open House

Everyone is welcome to come to our BBQ on Thursday, September 27th. Classrooms will be open for visits and teachers will be in their classrooms starting at 5:30 to 6:15 to meet parents and informally discuss curriculum expectations. From 6:15 – 7:00, classrooms will be closed and everyone will be invited to participate in the festivities outside. Remember Me Catering will be selling hamburgers and hotdogs. We look forward to seeing everyone on the 27th!

Parent Drop Off and Pick Up

Thank you to our parent community for keeping our Kiss and Drop area a safe place for student pick-up and drop off.  Just a reminder that school staff are on the schoolyard beginning at 8:45 a.m. Please have your child(ren) arrive at the school after supervision begins in the morning. In addition, when picking up your child(ren) in the back schoolyard, we are asking for all parents to remain on the path.  The safety of your child(ren) is our main concern.

ALLERGIES, MEDICATIONS AND MEDICAL ALERT

If your child has an allergic reaction to any food or insect, please contact the main office and ask for an Administration of Medication: Epipen form. We ask that all children who require Epipens carry them on their persons (not in their backpacks) at all times. In addition, we ask that all children bring a spare Epipen to school in the event of an anaphylactic reaction and a second dose is required.

If your child has an illness, a medical condition or a physical disability that may require monitoring/awareness/a special response in an emergency, you are asked to contact the main office. We will send a Medical Alert form home. We will also request a meeting to develop a protocol for your child while at school or at a school related event.

According to Board policy, school staff or volunteers should not be involved with the administration of medication. However, the Board recognizes that on occasions, schools will need to be responsible for students who are receiving medication, or who under certain circumstances may require an emergency response to a severe allergic reaction. If your child requires such medication, please contact the main office and ask for an Administration of Oral Medication form. This from MUST be completed before any medication may be administered!

Wellness Tip of the Week

Teach your kids the “language of feelings”.

One of the most important things you can teach your children is to recognize what they are feeling and to express their feelings in words. Help your children grow by teaching the many words for different emotions, and using examples when those feelings arise in themselves and others.

People’s actions can be “bad” but the feelings themselves are never “bad”. One reason children get stuck and don’t want to talk about feelings, even if you ask them to, is because they can confuse how they feel as being “bad” or “a problem” when it is actually the tough thing that happened that is the problem. Feelings are like important road signs, if we understand them and listen to them. They can teach us where to go next and what to look for.

Many children shut down when they are upset because they think all feelings except for happy ones are negative and shameful. When you teach your kids the language for many different feelings and invite them to explore and share them, it makes difficult feelings normal and healthy. The result is the development of emotional smarts and social skills. They can deal with what they are feeling, and have stronger friendships too. This also helps them have better self-esteem.

Even anger can be helpful when kids learn how to cope with it. The emotion of anger brings awareness that something is hurtful. When we recognize that we are hurt, our problem-solving skills can improve.

Numeracy Riddle of the Week

Which shape doesn’t belong?  Why?

Dates to Remember

• Tuesday, Sept 18 – Safety Patrol Training
• Tuesday, Sept 18 – Fire Drill
• Tuesday, Sept 18 – School Council 6pm
• Thursday, Sept 20 – WE DAY
• Friday, Sept 21 – PA Day
• Monday, Sept 24 – Junior Co-ed Soccer Tourney at RIM Park
• Tuesday, Sept 25 – Intermediate Boys/Girls 3 Pitch at RIM Park
• Tuesday, Sept 25 – PHOTO DAY
• Wednesday, Sept 26 – French Fun Night
• Thursday, Sept 27 – Opening School BBQ
• Thursday, Sept 27 – Constable Andre visits Primary classes
• Friday, Sept 28 – Terry Fox Run

Dragon Update for September 10-14th

Welcome back Dragons to a new year of learning together!  We have had a wonderful summer filled with great weather and hopefully the chance to re-energize and rest for the upcoming school year!  This first week of school has been filled with lots of laughter, smiles and love…and we can’t forget the learning! Students have been engaged in various activities including lots of team building exercises that have students building balloon towers, playing rapid Pictionary and participating in epic games of Rock, Paper, Scissors all while getting to know their peers.  We know that the spirit and energy that we see the first week will continue all year long!

Welcome to our New Dragons!

We welcome many new Dragons here at St. Dominic.  We hope you feel welcome and loved. In addition to new students, we would like to welcome the following new staff members to our school community:

1. Detzler – Early Years
2. Wakeford-O’Brien – Itinerant Music
3. Vitorino – FSL
4. Hambleton – PLT
5. Bernad – ECE
6. Bradley – EA
7. Meyer – ESL
8. Poppe – LHS
9. Haynes – LHS

Umbrella Project

We are very excited to announce that for the next two years we will be piloting “The Umbrella Project” at St. Dominic School.  This project is an interactive, inquiry-based project teaching the skills of emotional well being. Through classroom lessons and observation of the world around them, students will learn real life applications of each umbrella skill and gain deeper insight into why these skills are essential. The umbrella project highlights the synergy between all of the identified skills, which creates the strongest umbrella of well being. By the end, the students will create a bank of powerful and inspiring stories of emotional well being that they can reflect on for years to come.  Our first theme that we will be discovering is the theme of Gratitude.  We look forward to building our Umbrellas this year!  To read more about this initiative, please check out the link below:

http://www.umbrellaproject.co/

Opening School BBQ

Our Opening School BBQ will take place on Thursday September 27th from 5:30-7.  Come and take the opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and enjoy a hot dog/hamburger, chips and a pop.  We hope to see you there!

Safety Drills

It is our goal to continue to provide a warm, welcoming and safe learning environment for all.  The entire school community will be participating in various safety drills this upcoming week including both fire and lockdown drills.  Please continue to talk to your children about the importance of safety in a school environment. We take a lot of pride to ensure that we offer a safe environment and will continue to support students through this lens.

Dates to Remember

• Tuesday September 11 – Fire Drill and Lockdown
• Thursday September 13 – Fire Drill
• Tuesday September 18 – Safety Patrol Training (PM)
• Tuesday September 18 – Fire Drill
• Thursday September 20 – WE Day!
• Friday September 21 – PA Day

Agendas have arrived at St. Dominic Savio.  If your child is between grades 1 to 6 and has not yet purchased an agenda, please have them bring in $6.00 cash on Monday, September 10th to receive this item.

Thursday, September 27th is the OPEN HOUSE/SCHOOL BBQ.  This event will take place at the school from 5:30-7:00pm

Pizza Mondays will begin on Monday, September 17th, 2018.  If you would like your child to order pizza for the month of September this is now available on cash online.  Simply go to:  https://wcdsb.schoolcashonline.com/

The first day of school was a great success!  It was so wonderful to see all the students.
There are just a couple of reminders for parents, guardians and students:
– If you carry an Epipen, please ensure that students bring their Epipen to the office tomorrow with the Critical Medical Forms.
– Agendas are currently on backorder.  We are anticipating that the agendas should be in next week.  When the Agendas come in, this will be communicated to parents/guardians via Newswire.
– Picture Day will be Tuesday, September 25th, 2018.
– Please remember, when dropping off your children at the Kiss N’ Drop, that this is strictly for dropping off students.  There is NO PARKING in this area and it is enforced by a Parking Bylaw Officer.  Also, please be aware that STAFF PARKING, is only for staff.  This parking lot has limited parking for staff so we ask that no parents/guardians use this area.
– There are TWO NUTRITION breaks and ONE LUNCH break.  Parents/guardians, please ensure that each child has enough food for 2 breaks and a lunch.
We look forward to carrying on the first day successes throughout the school year!

Back to School Reminders:

• • If you have not logged in to Student Transportation for your child that takes the bus, please do so to ensure your pick up time and drop off time. www.stswr.ca/
  • Please ensure your child is packed with two nutritious snacks and one nutritious lunch each day. Also, pack a reusable water bottle that is labelled with the student’s name on it.
  • Nutrition for Learning will commence on Monday, October 1^st, 2018. More information regarding this program will be communicated in September.
  • The first Pizza Day will take place on Monday, September 17^th, 2018. Monday Pizza Lunches can be paid by Cash Online. Guardians/Parents will be notified via Newswire when this program is activated on Cash Online.
  • Please ensure your child comes to the first day of school with well labeled, indoor and outdoor shoes. The indoor shoes will always remain at the school.
  • Senior Kindergarten students DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL ON TUESDAY. All returning Kindergarten students, who are now Senior Kindergarten students will have their FIRST DAY ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5^th, 2018.
  • If your child is ever going to be absent or late please remember to call the Attendance Line at St. Dominic Savio BEFORE 9:15am. 519-576-5503.
  • On the first day of school all students will meet at the back of the school. Teachers will have signs to help students direct themselves to their appropriate homerooms. The students that have not picked up their first day packages and are not aware of their teacher’s name, will be filtered into the gymnasium and shown to their homerooms.
  • For parents/guardians dropping off their child in a vehicle, please use the Kiss N’ Drop area, located on Victoria Street. This area is designated strictly for driving through the semi circle, dropping off your child and driving out of the semi circle. There is NO PARKING at anytime in the Kiss n’ Drop and this area is monitored by Parking Enforcement Officers. Please respect all individuals trying to use this Kiss N’ Drop and keep a steady flow of traffic moving through this area.

We look forward to seeing each and everyone of the students on
Tuesday, September 4^th, 2018 at 9:15am.
Enjoy the Labour Day Weekend.

Don’t forget to come out today for St. Dominic Savio’s SNEAK PEEK.
This is a great opportunity to pick up the first day packages, which includes important information for the school year.
Also in are the student Agendas.  These agendas are ready to be purchased for $6.00 for students in grades 1 to 6.
The school will be open from 8:00am – 5:30pm.
We look forward to seeing you today at St. Dominic Savio.

St. Dominic Savio will be open for a “Sneak Peek” for all students from 8:00 until 5:30pm on Thursday, August 30th, 2018.  This is a great opportunity for students to find out who their teacher will be for the 2018-2019 school year and to know where their classroom is.
The Staff at St. Dominic Savio encourages all parents/guardians to come at some point during these hours to pick up First Day Packages.  These packages include useful information to help families throughout the school year and mandatory system forms that are required to be filled out and returned the first day of school.   We look forward to seeing everyone Thursday, August 30th between the hours of 8:00 am through to 5:30 pm.

This is also a friendly reminder that SK students start school on Wednesday, September 5th!

The following students will be recognized tomorrow at our year end assembly for living the theme of ‘Perseverance’ and ‘Finishing Strong’. They will be receiving a pizza lunch and treat tomorrow as well.  Great work Dragons! Congratulations!