JUNE 2008 James Culnan Catholic School 605 Willard Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6P 3M2 416-393-5325

Lillian Ugrin, Principal Christina Barreira, Secretary Michelle Leblanc, Clerk Typist Colleen Tovey-Shackleton Superintendent of Education 416-222-8282 ext. 2732 Barbara Poplawski, Trustee, TCDSB, Ward 10 416-512-3401 St. James Catholic Church Monsignor Bianco, Fr. Juan Trivino, 416-767-6451 St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church Fr. Karm Borg, 416-767-7054

REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER 2008

JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN

Please call the school secretary Ms. Barreira—416-393-5325 to arrange an appointment

Placement of children in the morning & afternoon classes will

be made on a first come, first served basis.

Come to me , all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

SAINTS FOR JUNE 13—St. Anthony of Padua 24—St. John the Baptist 29—Sts. Peter and Paul

Are you moving? If you are moving and your children will not be attending Our school in September, please contact the office. This information is needed asap to prepare for September.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25,2008

Today is the last day of school for our students.

Dismissal is at 3:15 p.m.

Happy Summer

Holidays!

First Day of School September 2, 2008

SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR 2008-2009

First Instructional Day of School ……… ....September 2, 2008 Day of Reflection for Staff ………................October 10, 2008 Thanksgiving Day ……………………. ........October 13, 2008 Provincial Education Priorities Day ..............October 24, 2008 First Term Reporting Day ……………. ...... December 5, 2008 Christmas Break ………...... Dec. 22, 2008 to January 2, 2009 Provincial Education Priorities Day……..... February 13, 2009 Family Day.................................................. February 16, 2009 Second Term Reporting Day ……………. .... March 13, 2009 Mid Winter Break ……………………... March 16—20, 2009 Good Friday ………………………………....... April 10, 2009 Easter Monday ………………………. ……..... April 13, 2009 Victoria Day ………………………….. ….. ...... May 18, 2009 Last Instructional Day of School…………......... June 25, 2009 Third Term Reporting Day ................................. June 26, 2009

TEXTBOOK & LIBRARY BOOK RETURN Your cooperation is requested in ensuring that all textbooks and library books be returned to the school by June 13th. The cost of replacing these books is very high. Lost books must be replaced by the student.

JAMES CULNAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL

INVITES PARENTS

To attend the last CSAC meeting of this school year

On Tuesday , June 17, 2008. At 7:00 p.m.

In the Staffroom

LOST & FOUND ARTICLES A wide variety of lost and found items remain to be claimed by students. These articles will be placed on a table in the hallway during the final week of school. Lost items which are not picked up by July 4th will be donated to charity.

VISITORS All visitors are required by

“School Board Policy”, to report to the office prior to visiting any

other area of the school.

SCHOOL ORGANIZATION SEPTEMBER 2008 Teachers who have been working with your child(ren) all year know them well. They will make a determination of place-ment in the student’s best interest. PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST SPECIFIC TEACHERS/CLASSES FOR NEXT YEAR. After careful deliberation and discussion, and consultation with administration and other staff members who may be able to provide valuable input, teachers from both the receiving and sending grade develop class groupings for September. Teachers spend a great deal of time on this task to ensure that all of the children are placed in the most appropriate learning environment. The following factors (not necessarily in this order) are considered to ensure a balanced composition of class groupings: ◊ Academic abilities ◊ Behavioural needs ◊ Gender balance ◊ Birth date ◊ Learning Style ◊ Maximum Class Size ◊ Previous placement/combined class ◊ Social grouping ◊ Special Education needs Please note - if we experience an increase or a decrease in enrolment in September it may be necessary to re-organize class groupings. This would occur before the end of September. NAVY BLUE & WHITE DRESS CODE We ask parents to support the school dress code and ensure that your child/ren is/are dressed in the navy blue and white dress code attire before leaving home each day. Inappropriate attire is not acceptable. Do you know what your child is wearing to school? If your child comes to school in inappropriate clothing, you will be contacted.

Tuesday, June 17 Final CSAC Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 20 PIZZA DAY

Our final Pizza Days for the year! Many thanks to Mrs. Gatt & Mrs. O’Marra for organizing these special days. Additional thanks to our parent volunteers for their ongoing help.

Wednesday, June 18 FINAL SCHOOL MASS

9:10 a.m. All parents are invited to join our staff and students for our final school mass. We will thank God as a school community for all of his blessings throughout this school year.

Thursday, June 19 GRADE 8 GRADUATION

Good luck and God’s blessings to our grade eight students who will celebrate their graduation from James Culnan School. This special day will commence with a special mass at 9:00 a.m, Luncheon for the graduates at 11:30 a.m. (Mandarin Restaurant) followed by a Grad dance at 1:00 p.m The awards ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the gym followed by a social in the cafetorium. Best wishes to these very special young people!

Friday, June 20 SK “MOVING ON”

CELEBRATION 9:30 a.m in the cafetorium

10:00 in the classroom Our SK students will participate in a special “Moving On” Celebration in the classroom. This will commemorate the end of the Kindergarten years. We will celebrate with parents and friends by singing, dancing and reading together. Our CSAC and parents will provide treats for everyone.

GREENTECH UPDATE A special thank you to all students, parents and staff who have supported our Thinkgreen Fundraising Programme. All the cartridges deposited in the Thinkgreen boxes do not end up in landfill sites and for every 12 recyclable cartridges we collect, one tree is planted through The Tree Canada Foundation in our school’s name. Parents please note that your work place can also donate its used print cartridges to our school. Simply call toll free 1-888-868-1515 ext. 260 and all the funds generated will go to your child’s school.

Dear Jesus, be with us as we travel this summer. Keep us safe and free from care. St. Christopher, give us a safe journey. This is our hope and prayer.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL Tuesday, September 2, 2008

At 8:45 a.m. Meet your friends and your new teacher in the school yard. Look for grade level SIGNS. NOTE: If it should rain on the first day of school, please adhere to the following procedures: ◊ SK students will meet in the SK

classroom ◊ Students in Grades 1-6 will meet in

the gymnasium ◊ Students in Grade 7 & 8 will meet in

the cafetorium

BUS ROUTES Bus routes will be updated over the summer. We will provide you with updated schedules during the week of Aug. 25, 2008. We will post the final schedule at the main entrance. This will assist parents and students to familiarize themselves with the new routes before school begins.

TRUSTEES 2008 —Wards 1. Joseph Martino 2. Ann Andrachuk—Vice-Chair 3. Sal Piccininni 4. Mary Cicognal 5. Mary Rizzo 6. Rod Davis

7. John Del Grande 8. Oliver Carroll 9. Catherine LeBlanc-Miller—Chair 10. Barbara Poplawski—Honorary Treasurer 11. Angela Kennedy, 12. Paul John Crawford Diego Noronha, Student Trustee

COMINGS AND GOINGS If you plan to register your child for September or plan to move from our school community—please let us know. The more accurate our numbers are in September, the fewer changes we have to make when school begins. Please contact Ms Barreira, secretary, at the school office: 416-393-5325 to advise of any changes. As well, if you have families arriving in our school community, encourage them to visit our school. We will be available during June 30th, July 2-4 and August 25– 29, 2008. Office hours during the last week of August will be 8:30a.m to 3:30 p.m.

REPORT CARDS Third term report cards will be issued to students on Monday, June 23, 2008. Parents are advised of the MOET policy requiring completion and returning page 3 before June 25th. It is very important that we adhere to board and ministry requirements. Thank you for returning page 3 as soon as possible. NOTE: Report Cards not picked up by students by the last day of school—will be available in the office the first week of July and the last week of August before school opens. Please note: report cards will not be mailed.

Class Organization When the children come to school on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 a tentative class and grade organization is in place. However, it is important to understand that due to possible increase or decrease in enrolment, changes may need to be made in grade organization, teacher assignments, and placement of children during the month of September. If changes are required, every effort is made to ensure that the various abilities, needs and interests of the children are taken into consideration and that each class will include students with a variety of needs, strengths, and experiences.

JUNE ASSEMBLY AWARDS On June 17th, we will hold our final Awards Assembly. Many students will be recognized for their participation in various school activities. This once again provides an opportunity for our students to begin a personal portfolio to showcase their talents and achievements. Certificates will be given for many athletic and academic activities.

AWARD

Confirmation & Communion St. James, St. Paul the Apostle, and St. Joan of Arc were a few of the churches who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation and Communion with our students. We appreciate the efforts of the parish priests to prepare our students to receive these sacraments.

SUMMER SAFETY

Boys and girls, we remind you to be safety conscious during the

summer months. We know how easy it is to forget about safety. We remind our parents to help children to be cautious about safety—on their bicycles, while swimming and wherever they are playing. We

want all our students to return safely in September. Have an enjoyable and safe summer. Enjoy your family!

T.T.C. Photo ID T.T.C. Identification cards, for intermediate students will be issued on September 26 . Intermediate students needing the ID card because of age or height restrictions will need to pay $4.75 to cover theof the TTC ID Card. The grade 7 & 8 classroom teachers procedures to be followed in preparation for this day.

SUMMER 2008 READING PROGRAM

The TD Summer Reading Club is a reading program for children providing materials and incentives that encourage boys and girls to keep reading and enjoying books during the long lazy days of summer. To find out more information about the club and how to join, drop in to your local public library branch or visit the Toronto Public Library web site at http://kidspace.torontopubliclibrary.ca

Summer is Almost Here! The last few weeks of school are upon us and students and parents alike are all looking forward to a much needed summer holiday! We want to wish all of you a safe and happy summer and hope you have the chance to spend some time together as a family. And remember when you are planning for fun in the sun, there are lots of ways to keep your child’s mind active and sharp. 1. Visit the Public Library. The public library not only offers wonderful books to read, but they have great interactive summer programs that are both fun and informative. Check out the web site for details. 2. Visit the Museum/Science Centre/Zoo - all are great outings that the kids will enjoy and learn from! 3. Play games that encourage literacy. Scrabble and Boggle are great ways to spend rainy days or eve-nings together as a family. 4. Encourage your children to keep a summer journal. This will help keep up there writing skills and will be a big help if they have to write a “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” essay in September! 5. Card games are a great way to sharpen numeric skills - cribbage anyone? On behalf of all the members of CSAC we want to wish you a safe and happy summer and thank you for all of your support over the past year. We will be back in September and hope you will consider joining CSAC.

ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS in Grade2 and Grade 8 First Communion and Confirmation Certificates are issued by Monsignor Bianco and Father Trevino at the Sunday masses at St. James Church. Please attend church services to receive your Certificate.

Cross Country Divisional Meet

May 8, 2008 at Earl Bales Park

At the Divisional Track & Field Meet 8 talented students from James Culnan C.S. competed against other schools in the City Finals at Earl Bales Park. Our athletes ran exceptionally well and we are ex-tremely proud of the results. Grade 7 :

Maria Markovac Gold Medallist Grade 6 :

Jacob Carroll Silver Medallist Alexander Stohr 21st Patrick Deer 23rd Congratulation boys for winning the Cities 11 year boys pennant and medals. Grade 5

Aileen Agada 21st Michael Krol 60th Grade 3

Victoria Faria 27th Anthony Correia 56th Congratulations to all participants. James Culnan is very proud of your talents and efforts. Thank you to all Track & Field coaches and teachers volunteered to coach at lunchtime. Now that this is over we look

List of Choir Members who participated in the Music Monday Concert

Mrs. Feness’s Class

Cynthia Pham Jaimuel Galan Karolina Zablotny Kaitlynn Pickering Savanno Martins Gomes Caitlin Dobbin

Ms. Romanin’s Class

Diana Chamale Lindsay Correia Gabriella Mendez-Matre Alexandra Mujica Carissa Muscat Maria Nguyen Andrew Reyes Julia Talkowska Brian Vargas Curillo Tyler Vieira

Mrs. Carey’s Class

Marcia Pereira Angelique Evans

Ms. Cicarelli’s Class

Carina Cardoso Valentina Fernandez Nichole Sacco Veronica Pires Rebecca Circosta Emily Garaci

Ms. Cerezo’s Class

Jasmine Lightfoot-Stutt Isabella Rivero Tseyone Girma Tyler Pennells Ashly Azevedo Elizabeth Villa

Principally speaking … Dear Parents/Guardians, As the month of June is upon us, signalling the approach of another school year coming to a close, we gather our thoughts reflecting upon this academic year. We congratulate the stu-dents for their participation in the many extra-curricular activi-ties afforded to them by their teachers. Students in grades 2 and 8 have a very special mem-ory of this year. They received, respectively, the Sacrament of Holy Communion and the Sac-rament of Confirmation. Thank you to Monsignor Bianco for supporting our teachers and stu-dents in this endeavour. Most recently our students in grade 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7 com-pleted annual CAT/3 and EQAO assessments. They worked diligently with their teacher’s guidance and instruction throughout the year to prepare for these assessments. We wish well as they await the results!

Congratulations & Thank You!

◊ Coaches for providing extra curricular activi-ties for our students

◊ Track & Field: Mrs. Clough, Mrs. Skeath, Mrs. Weing, Miss Feness, Miss Doma-gala, Miss Pokrwyka, Mrs. Giordano, Mrs. Allen

◊ Softball: Miss Doma-gala, Miss Romanin

◊ Soccer: Mr. Astorino ◊ Choir: Mrs. Myshasta ◊ Instrumental Music:

Mr. Lambert ◊ Teachers for organiz-

ing excursions for our students:

◊ Gr.8 to Claremont Mr. Astorino, Miss Pokry-wka, Miss Weing, Mrs. Giordano,

◊ Gr.6,7,8, toBishop Marrocco/Merton Drama Mrs. Corlett and Ms.Martincic, Miss Pokrywka, Mr. As-torino, Miss Weing, Miss Domagala

◊ JK/SK SportPlay Mrs. Paladino, Miss Ciccale,

◊ Medieval Fair Miss Ciccarelli, Mrs. Carey,

◊ Ceramics in the Class-room Miss Feness, Miss Romanin, Mrs. Usher, Mrs. Warner, Mrs. Pearman Smith,

◊ Mme. Allen for arran-ing the visit to the French restaurant Matignon

◊ JK/SK Ms. Ciccale Mrs. Paladino trip to Pio-neer Village

◊ Mme. Allen for bring-ing Free The Children awareness to JCCS

◊ Gr.7 & Gr.8 teachers for assisting with Fri-day Career Day pres-entations in May

James Culnan Catholic School

VISION

STATEMENT

The James Culnan Catholic School community seeks to:

◊ ENRICH Catholic spirituality and faith development

◊ RESPECT the indi-

vidual and embrace diversity

◊ PROVIDE Ministry

of Education cur-riculum to meet the diverse need of our students

◊ NURTURE academic

potential for life long learning

◊ RECOGNIZE the

value of all teach-ing partnerships: HOME, SCHOOL AND

PARISH.

Cancellation of

Summer Camps Program

The Committee of the Whole Board passed a motion cancelling TCDSB Summer Camps for 2008. It is with regret to inform you that insufficient enrolment in our TCDSB Summer Camps program had necessitated this decision. The Board had taken every opportunity to consider viability of the program and also to ensure that they were adequately marketed. Unfortunately the numbers had not materialized in the quantity needed to make the camps financially feasible. Registrations would be returned with the fee, a letter of apology and a brief listing of other alternatives. The Board thanked those who supported the camps.

THANK

YOU

Spring QSP Family

Reading Fundraiser

Thank you for your tremendous support that had made this a very successful fundraiser. Subscriptions should had started or shortly ( some seasonal magazines do not publish as frequently as others).

Any question regarding order, please call :

QSP Customer Service at 1-800-667-2536 Please do not renew with the publishers as the school would not receive any profits nor benefit. In order to help the school, any subscriptions or re-newal can be placed through QSP website at

www.qsp.ca

CSAC BUDGET UPDATE We want to thank you all for your support throughout the school year with our various fund raising efforts. As outlined below, each class benefits from our fund-raising with money allocated to each class, which can be used to help fund transportation for class trips, etc. As well we were able to help the JK/SK rooms get some needed new equipment. Funds were also allocated for both SK and Grade 8 graduation celebra-tions. The following details the spending of the James Culnan CSAC 2007/2008

ITEM APPROVED AMOUNT

REMAINING BALANCE

Current Account Balance $10,652.00

Dance-a-thon Seed Money (for 2008) $2,000.00 8,652.00

Grade 8 Graduation 300.00 8,352.00

SK Graduation 100.00 8,252.00

Teacher Appreciation Breakfast 150.00 8,102.00

Class Money $200/class—20 classes 4,000.00 4,102.00

JK/SK School Room Supplies 2,000.00 2,102.00

Destination Imagination 200.00 1,902.00

Prologue Evening Event 1,500.00 402.00

Closing Account Balance $402.00

Yesterday 75 of our students competed in the Divisional Meet at Centennial Park against 12 other schools where we were the finalist school. The sunny weather was perfect for a track meet. James Culnan students were amazing and exhibited wonderful team spirit. Congratulations to all those students who competed, and especially to those who move forward to the Regional Meet in Tuesday June 3rd. These are 33 athletes in total: some students are in multiple events.

1st Place Winners: 400 metres Franktonny Camacho 1500 metres Jake Caroll 200 metres Bryan Chamale 200 metres Aileen Agada 200 metres Tianna Moses 100 metres Jevon Moses 100 metres Aileen Agada 100 metres Tianna Moses Long Jump: 1st Place: Kevin Umana and Jevon Moses High Jump: 1st Place: - O’Neil Brook, - Anita Dziecielski - Adam Rodrigues - Aileen Agada - Jaime Matias Shot Put: 1st Place: - Jared Skeath - Rachel Flores - Bryan Chamale - Jevon Moses

Relay: 1st Place: 12 yr. old boys - O’Neil Brook - Andre Cedeno - Kevin Umana - Bryan Chamale - Marshall Agada (Sub) Relay: 2nd Place finishers: - 1500 metres Maria Markovac - 200 metres Jared Skeath - 200 metres Michael Krol - 100 metres James Webster - 100 metres Marshall Agada Long Jump: 2nd Place Michal Krol High Jump: 2nd Place - Khassy Meyers - Joanna Makary Shot Put: 2nd Place - Dayneris Alvarez - Matthew DaSilva

Relay 2nd Place: Gr. 8 Boys - Franktonny Camacho - Robert Barrett - Jared Skeath - James Webster - Tevin Bibby - Johnny Caia (Sub) 3rd Place Finishers who will com-pete at regionals: 800 Metres: Andrew Czerwinsky Alex Stohr Long Jump 3rd Place: Jared Skeath High Jump 3rd Place: Tevin Bibby Shot Put 4th Place: Jennifer Zerafa 800 metres 5th Place: Monah Jarrah 1500 metres 6th Place: Robert Rodrigues

Written and Designed by: Jessica Ovalles and Santana Vargas.

Thank you to our dedicated coaches: Ms. Weing, Mrs. Skeath, Ms. Feness, Mrs. Giordano, Ms. Domagala, Ms. Pokrywka, Mme. Allen, Ms. Askin and Mrs. Clough. A special mention goes to the parents of the athletes who reorganized their schedules to take their children to morning practice at Runnymede Collegiate. Thank you parents for your cooperation.

On Wednesday May 28, 2008 many of James Culnan’s students participated in a wonderfully organized Spring Concert, thanks to Ms. D. Weing and Mrs. N. Giordano. The choir and band sang and played beautifully. A special thanks to Mrs. L. Myshasta and Mr. D. Lambert for taking time to conduct those very talented students. Special thanks to the band, choir and the other who participated in the Spring Concert. Another special thank you to Mrs. L. Ugrin for her support and to Mr. Hennessey and the caretaking staff for their assistance. The show was a great success.

Written and designed by: Jessica Ovalles and Ciera La Rose

The students of James Culnan were lucky enough to be involved in a Career Day activity on every Friday in the month of May. Many hard working people took time off their busy schedules to come and speak to the students about what they do. Many people came with various jobs to speak to our students about the possi-ble careers they could choose from. We had many interesting presentations including a RCMP officer, Cpl.Cathy McCrory, Josie Renda & Lisa Marino who are ECE Educators. We also met Ava Abbot who specializes in graphic design and marketing. Angelo Vvilecchia, a heating ventilation technician, Rob Fantaccion an electrician, Ray Dwyer a plumber and Luigi Di Matto a security technician. We were extremely lucky to be able to witness a presentation from Elisa Mirabelli who is an engineer. We were also grateful to witness a tasteful presentation from Vince Locciato. We also enjoyed a presentation by Curtis Nash an ex-pro football player who now is an excellent CYW in our school. We listened to a presentation by Mandy Morris and her partner who are police officers in the eleven division. We were lucky enough to be included in a presentation by a talented musician, Andrew Camilleri. Dr Farrugia who is a veterinarian came in to talk to our students. Mr.Galati, a hard working lawyer came to talk to our students as well. We learned a lot about law and the workplace in a courtroom and office. We also received a visit from Monsignor Bianco who is a talented teaching priest. He has completed many things in his life and is a great role model. All the presentations were interesting and informative. The students learned a lot from each person who visited James Culnan Catholic School. The students were all excited to meet new people and gain insight about the various career paths they can choose. A special thank you goes out to all the talented hard working people who informed our students. A very special thank you goes out to Mrs.Ugrin and all of the other teachers who organized each speaker.

Written and designed by: Ciera La Rose and Jessica Ovalles