Advent
The Advent season is filled with preparation and expectation. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season, let us strive to keep Advent a season of waiting and longing, of conversion and hope, meditating often on the incredible love and humility of our God in taking on flesh of the Virgin Mary. In our shopping and baking, let us remember to purchase and prepare something for the poor. When we clean our homes, let us distribute some of our possessions to those who lack many necessities. While we are decking the halls of our homes, let us not forget to prepare a peaceful place in our hearts wherein our Savior may come to dwell.
We will celebrate the first week of Advent as a school community on Monday with a virtual liturgy prepared by Mrs. Fletcher and Mrs. Medeiros’ Grade 3 classes.
Giving Tree Initiative
Thank you to all of our families who have aready donated to this wonderful initiative. Should you wish to particpate, final donations will be collected on November 30th:
- Parents can donate directly to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul via St. Matthew’s parish: https://www.ssvpsaintmatthew.org/Donate.asp.
- Parents can donate via School Cash Online
- Students can select an ornament form their classroom tree (bulletin board display) to take home and parents can send in a gift card(s) to the school. If this is your wish, please write a note in your child’s agenda for their teacher and an ornament will be sent home with a suggested gift card.
Upcoming Joy Days
Staff and students are invited to participate in our upcoming JOY days:
Friday December 4th – Christmas Pajama Day
Friday December 11th – Christmas Sweater Day
Friday December 18th – Dress Like an Elf Day
Parent-Teacher Interviews
Thank you for meeting with staff last week to participate in Parent-Teacher interviews. We are grateful for your ongoing communication, commitment and partnership in Catholic Education.
Lockers
All Grade 1-8 students have now been assigned a locker. Parents are asked to please review the the protocols for locker usage below with their children:
- No locks are permitted on any lockers
- Lockers will be used for outerwear ONLY (boots, snow pants, mittens, hats, gloves)
- Students may keep a pair of indoor shoes on the top shelf of their lockers. They will not be permitted to keep any other personal belongings in their lockers other than their outerwear – this is to avoid the need to make repeated visits to the locker and to shorten the time spent at the lockers. This also includes locker shelves, mirrors, baskets etc.
- Students will not be permitted to access their locker during class time
- Teachers will stagger the times students are sent to their lockers to retrieve their outerwear in order to avoid congregating in the hallways
Poinsettia Fundraiser
Thank you for supporting our fundraiser! For those of you who placed an order for poinsettias and festive arrangements from Terra Greenhouses, you can pick them up on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2020 from 3:30-5:30 pm at the front bus loop. Thank you to our Catholic School Council members for assisting with this distribution.
Early Dismissal
On Friday December 18th, students will be dismissed at 1:45 pm. Parents are reminded to make arrangements accordingly.
COVID-19 School Screening Tool
Yesterday, the Ontario government released changes to the COVID-19 School Screening Tool used to monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in children.
The guidelines continue to evolve as we learn more about COVID-19, how it spreads, and how it affects children and adults in different ways.
The updated screening tool offers a more comprehensive checklist of the type and number of symptoms needed for a child to stay home for a period of time and seek medical advice.
Please note that the COVID-19 School Screening Tool is not to be used as a clinical assessment or intended to take the place of medical advice; a diagnosis or treatment.
The online COVID-19 Screening Tool will be updated soon to include these new revisions.
In the meantime, you are asked to keep screening your children for COVID-19 each day using the updated guidelines in the link below:
October 1st Update – COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children As always, the health and safety of our students, staff and families is our highest priority, and we will continue to take direction from the Ministry of Education and Halton Region Public Health to ensure all protocols are in place and followed in each of our schools.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we work together to keep our school community healthy and safe for all.
Important Upcoming Dates
