November Information: 

November is a month to remember, with All Saint’s Day, All Soul’s Day as well as Remembrance Day. November is also the month of Treaties Recognition Week. We will continue as a school community to take time to focus on our school theme of “THIS IS WHY WE ARE HERE”. We continue to talk about how our words and our actions matter too. We will work on cultivating friendships and just being kind to others through Anti-bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. It is always our goal to create an inclusive, positive and safe school environment for all to enjoy. This vision is only possible when all adults work together to support, nurture, and model for students what kindness and respect look like in action. Thank you for being part of this commitment at St. John’s.

Catholic Graduate Expectations

November’s focus for our Catholic Graduate Expectation is on being an Effective Communicator. An Effective communicator gives witness to Catholic social teachings by promoting peace, and justice.

Being an Effective Communicator means: I HAVE A VOICE!

• I speak, write and listen as Jesus would want me to
• I care about others and speak up for them
• I am honest
• I think carefully before I react or speak
• I respect all people and their languages
• I listen to the Word of God

Because I have a voice, I will use it lovingly, and I will live my life like Jesus.

Deep Learning: Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are the skills and attributes that students need in order to thrive in the modern world. Based on international research, the Ontario Ministry of Education has defined seven important categories of transferable skills – sometimes referred to as “competencies” – that will help students navigate the world of work and meet with success in the future.

During the month of November, we will show transferable skills through communication as the ability to express oneself clearly and effectively in different ways, such as speaking, writing, and using media. Communication also involves listening to others, asking questions, and sharing opinions. Communication is important for learning, working together, and making friends.

We encourage you to support your child’s communication development at home by having conversations, reading books, watching videos, playing games, and exploring different media together.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Other Information: 

Dress for the Weather

We have been very fortunate with beautiful fall weather.  It is a good reminder to us all that even as the weather turns cooler, and we will still be going outdoors for multiple recesses every day, whether the sun is shining or not. Additionally, teachers are making great use of the outdoor space as a means of extending the classroom. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather and send in extra clothes, as well as socks and mittens, to ensure fingers and toes stay dry and warm!

If your family needs help to provide warm outdoor clothing for your children please contact the main office. We are always happy to help families in this way.  This is one of the many ways our community provides equity and inclusion for all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

Sign up for Bus Notifications

Use your phone to scan the QR code.

If your child rides a bus at St. John’s, you need to sign up for notifications.

Today, most of our school buses were late. We had many parents/ guardians call the school to complain or show up with their children and express their frustration with staff. Please do not yell at school staff because the bus is late; this is not our fault.

We appreciate that you took the time to bring your child to school. Please take the time to sign up for bus notifications so you can be informed of delays. This is how the school finds out that buses are running late, too. Please do not call the school when your child’s bus is running late.

Today, each child who rides a bus will receive a personalized reminder for a parent/guardian to sign up for bus notifications. The letter will include your child’s route number as you need this to sign up for notifications.

If you require support in Tigrinya, please make an appointment with Segen.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this important sign up.

Strengthen: PD Day: November November 13th (no school for students)

“I can do all things through the One who strengthens me”

Our WCDSB Pastoral Plan this year is Strengthen. With this theme staff and students are exploring how we are the People of God, listening and responding, STRENGTHENED to share the Gospel.

Progress Reports and Conferences

Progress Reports will be going home on Monday, November 20th. 

This year the Progress Report Conferences will be held on November 23rd, 2023 from 4-8PM at our school (St John’s) located on 99 Strange Street, Kitchener ON N2G 1R4. 

We want every parent/ guardian to meet with your child’s teacher to be able to discuss your child’s progress in the term thus far. Your child should attend the meeting with you, if possible.

How to Book a Parent-Student-Teacher Conference:

1. Click the Link: Parent-Student-Teacher Conference 

2. Select your child’s teacher from the “Select Staff” dropdown menu

3. Click “November 23rd” on the Calendar 

4. Pick a conference time (Only available times will be listed)

5. Add your details (Email and Phone number are required in case we need to contact you for any changes, etc.) 

6. Click Book and you will receive a confirmation email

Please note, if you require any assistance in booking a conference please call us at 519-579-0890 and we will be happy to assist you!

Brightspace by D2L

Our school board website has more detailed information for parents who still need to sign up for this app. This is the only online learning environment supported by Waterloo Catholic.

Instruction page (in English) to set up Parent login.

Please click on the link to access the Parents/ Guardians page .

If you still need help accessing your child’s D2L classroom site, please see the instructional videos which are available in the following languages:

• English

• Spanish

• Arabic

• Tigrinya

• Ukrainian

Together, we will build a strong community that is committed to lifting up others, repairing harms of the past, and creating a better tomorrow for all. #Strengthen

Important Dates

November 6th – CSAC meeting #2 6pm – 7:30pm

November 13th – PA Day (no school for students)

November 20th – Progress Reports go home

November 23rd – Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences (pm)

December 25th – Christmas Break Begins

January 8th – Back to School New Year 2024

January 19th – PA Day (no school for students)

February 15th – Term 1 Reports go home

February 19th – Family Day (no school for students)

March 8~15th – March Break (no school for students)

March 29th – Good Friday (no school for students)

April 1st – Easter Monday (no school for students)

April 19th – PA Day (no school for students)

May 20th – Victoria Day (no school for students)

May 31st – PA Day (no school for students)

June 25th- Term 2 Reports go home

June 27th- Last Day of School

June 28th – PA Day  (no school for students)

The staff and students of St. John’s would like to say a huge THANK YOU to our Library Technician, Ms. Gerhardt, today on “Canadian Library Workers Day”.  From cataloging so many books, story time with classes, and supporting schools with technology and other resources, we say thank you. You are always ready to lend a helping hand to staff, students, and visitors alike. You play a valuable role in our school and we truly appreciate you! We hope you enjoy your day!

Thank you Ms. Gerhardt!

The staff and students of St. John would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our Bus Drivers today on “National Bus Drivers Day”.  You are sometimes the first smiling adult a child sees each morning and the last before they get home.  You always brave the weather to get our kids safely where they need to be, while being a shining example for students as you do it!  You are truly superheroes and today we want to say THANK YOU!

Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day is TODAY, Tuesday, October 17th.

The staff and students of St. John’s would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our Early Childhood Educators today on Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day.  It is often said that “It takes a big heart to work with a small child.”  We are so thankful for your efforts with our youngest learners.  Our students in Kindergarten learn and grow so much, thanks to your efforts with them, day-in and day-out.  Your endless patience, kindness and enthusiasm with our youngest learners helps to create an environment that they want to be in, that their parents trust, and that builds the foundation for a wonderful educational experience for years to come.  Shout out to Ms. Nantel, Mr. Pezzack, Ms. Yang, and Ms. Alvarado.

Everyone here at St. John’s would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you!

Hello Thunder Families!

School is busy with lots of engaging learning in our classrooms as well as sports teams and upcoming clubs for our students.

We are continuing to work through our fall safety drills which include three fire drills, one inclement weather drill, and a lockdown drill. Our students are learning the importance of being prepared for a wide variety of emergency situations and they are demonstrating they know how to stay safe. Staff are always preparing students in developmentally appropriate ways about the meaning and importance of these drills.

Home and school communication is very important; please connect with your child’s teacher should you have any questions or concerns. Likewise, teachers will contact you directly if they have great success stories to share or any concerns, as we value the home & school partnerships. If you are unsure how to contact your child’s teacher, please log into their online Brightspaces by D2L class or call the office. Instructions for Brightspaces by D2L are shared again below.

Happening this week: 

Photo Retakes on Monday

Don’t forget! Photo retakes are Monday October 16th after lunch.

This is for students who were absent on picture day and/ or students who would like to have a new picture. It is not required for all students.

Individual Education Plans

If your child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) their documentation will come home this week. Classroom teachers and individual subject teachers (e.g., FSL, Planning Time, etc.) are responsible for developing your child’s IEP. They are also responsible for assessing, evaluating, and reporting on the achievement of the expectations in your child’s IEP.

Any questions can be directed to your child’s teacher(s), Mrs. Praught or Mrs. McLeod, our special education teachers. A kind reminder to our families to please review, sign the consultation page, and return it to the school as soon as you are able.

Attention Grade 4 & 7 families:

Last spring, students in Grades 3 and 6 participated in the provincial Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics. This assessment is administered in all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an independent agency of the Government of Ontario.

If your child took part in the assessment last year, results will be coming home in a brown envelope addressed to the parent of the child. Please check their backpack and/ or ask your child where the envelope is so you can see their individual results.

• EQAO info. Video digital assessment
• EQAO assessments – Understanding the provincial standard and the levels of achievement

Early Childhood Educators’ Day: Tuesday October 17th

National Bus Drivers’ Day: Wednesday October 18th

Canadian Library Workers’ Day: Friday October 20th

Other Information: 

Is your Child Feeling Sick?

Fall cold/flu season is beginning. If your child is feeling sick, they should not attend school to prevent transmission to others.  Students should not attend school if they have the following symptoms that are not related to other conditions:

• Fever and/or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Decrease or loss of taste or smell
• Muscle aches or joint pain
• Extreme tiredness
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy/congested nose
• Headache
• Nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Pink eye
• Decreased or no appetite

After being sick, students may return to school when symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if they had nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea) and do not have a fever and do not develop any additional symptoms. If your child returns to school before this time, you will be called and asked to pick them up. We need to prevent illness from spreading throughout our school community as much as possible.

Transportation: Do NOT Ride Form

Parents are reminded that if their child is eligible for a bus but does not take the bus, they are asked to complete a DO NOT RIDE form. This ensures Student Transportation has the correct information for bussing and pick up/drop off plans.

DO NOT RIDE FORM from https://www.stswr.ca/

Brightspace by D2L

Our school board website has more detailed information for parents who still need to sign up for this app. This is the only online learning environment supported by Waterloo Catholic.

Instruction page (in English) to set up Parent login.

Please click on the link to access the Parents/ Guardians page .

If you still need help accessing your child’s D2L classroom site, please see the instructional videos which are available in the following languages:

• English

• Spanish

• Arabic

• Tigrinya

• Ukrainian

Math @Home

Parents can make a big difference in their child’s learning by discussing their learning at school. Families can support their child’s success by finding ways to make a connection between what is being learned at school and outside the classroom. Check out our WCDSB Monthly Math @Home Newsletter for ideas on multiplication. In the 2020 Mathematics curriculum, there is more focus on fundamental math concepts, such as learning multiplication facts of 0 x 0 to 12 x 12 to enhance problem-solving and mental math.  Click on the title above for a link to the newsletter for families.

After School Homework Spaces & Tutoring 

A group of Community Organizations is working together to provide after-school tutoring and homework spaces for our community. The grade ranges from 1 to 12, but with a specific focus on students in Grades 7 to 12. Here is the link to see the full schedule and details for each site: https://www.caminowellbeing.ca/tutoring

For more information, please contact Raas Siddiqui @ rsiddiqui@caminowellbeing.ca or (519) 404-2549

Tutoring Poster for Families and Students

This is why we are here!

Important Dates

November 6th – CSAC meeting #2 6pm – 7:30pm

November 13th – PA Day (no school for students)

November 20th – Progress Reports go home

November 23rd – Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences (pm)

December 25th – Christmas Break Begins

January 8th – Back to School New Year 2024

January 19th – PA Day (no school for students)

February 15th – Term 1 Reports go home

February 19th – Family Day (no school for students)

March 8~15th – March Break (no school for students)

March 29th – Good Friday (no school for students)

April 1st – Easter Monday (no school for students)

April 19th – PA Day (no school for students)

May 20th – Victoria Day (no school for students)

May 31st – PA Day (no school for students)

June 25th- Term 2 Reports go home

June 27th- Last Day of School

June 28th – PA Day  (no school for students)

Picture Re-take day is Monday October 16th

This is for students who were absent on picture day and/ or students who would like to have a new picture.

It is not required for all students.

Re-takes will happen after lunch.

EXTENDED deadline to order items is October 20th.

SchoolTee Spiritwear

Our online store for ordering Spiritwear is still OPEN!!! Families can purchase items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants with our new school logo. These make great Christmas gifts for your children. All orders will arrive in November…well before the Christmas holidays!

How do I order online?

Click on the link below for order instructions.

23-24 St John’s Spirit Wear order Form

Lunchbox orders at St. John’s

Did you know that our lunch time food program started in October? This year, we have Subway on Tuesday and Gino’s Pizza on Thursday.  We do not offer a milk program. ALL food orders must be placed through Lunchbox which is on School CashOnline.

Our Lunchbox program is a school fundraiser for the entire year. This means a contribution will be made to our school for each meal that is purchased during the week. We appreciate when families purchase pizza on Thursdays through Lunchbox rather than dropping off pizza for their children. Thank you for supporting our school fundraiser.

If you are not interested in supporting our Lunchbox fundraiser throughout the year we respect your decision. However, we kindly request that you send your children to school with a lunch in the morning on Thursdays rather than dropping off pizza. We are extremely busy delivering Gino’s pizza to classrooms at lunch time and the additional requests to deliver lunches to classrooms is not manageable.

Why did we move to Lunchbox?

Every family needs to use School CashOnline to complete the start up forms for school. Having our food orders in the same place creates a “one stop shop” for families who would like to order lunches during the week.

How do I order on Lunchbox?

We sent home a one page form (yellow sheet) with instructions about ordering on Lunchbox. If your child did not receive/ bring home this sheet please click on the instructions below. We have a one page summary or the 11 page detailed explanation.

One page Lunchbox summary

Detailed Lunchbox FAQs

Deadline for Ordering

The lunch ordering deadline is Sunday at 12pm ET (noon) for the upcoming delivery week. There are no exceptions to this deadline. 

You can order one week at a time or multiple weeks in advance.

If you have questions about signing up for our Lunchbox food program please call the main office and we will do our best to assist you.

If you have problems with your child’s order you will be re-directed to info@lunchboxorders.com. The school is not responsible for managing cancelled orders, student absences, refunds, etc. You must deal with Lunchbox directly.

Thank you for contributing to our school fundraiser lunch program through Lunchbox. We truly appreciate your support!

Halloween: Tuesday October 31st 

Halloween is an exciting time of year for many students. There are thoughts of costumes, parties and of course, sugary treats! We would like to ensure that all students feel welcome to celebrate at school, should they choose to do so. We also want to be sure that students who do not observe Halloween feel safe coming to school for a regular day of learning. Your child will review the same information below in class.

What can my child wear to school on Halloween?

• Regular clothing for a normal school day
• Black & orange clothing
• A Halloween costume that meets the following criteria:
  • No masks or props are allowed (e.g., pitch forks, weapons, fake blood, etc.)
  • Costumes cannot make fun of other people or cultures
  • Costumes cannot be violent or excessively scary
  • Students will continue to go outside for recess and will participate in Phys Ed class. The costume must be appropriate for both.

If a costume violates our Catholic values, the student will need to call home for a change of clothing.

Costumes will only be worn until 12pm. Then, students will change into regular or black & orange clothing. Please make sure your child has an appropriate change of clothes for the afternoon.

Can I send treats in for the class?

• While we appreciate the willingness to share with others, we kindly request that you DO NOT send any treats in to school
• We have a number of life-threatening allergies in the school; therefore, we do not want to take the risk of sorting through candy that comes into the school

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Thank you for helping to ensure October 31st is day where all our school members feel included and safe.

SchoolTee Spiritwear

Our online store for ordering Spiritwear is now OPEN!!! Families can purchase items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants with our new school logo. These make great Christmas gifts for your children. All orders will arrive in November…well before the Christmas holidays!

How do I order online?

Click on the link below for order instructions.

23-24 St John’s Spirit Wear order Form

Deadline to order items is October 12th.

Lunchbox orders at St. John’s

Did you know that our lunch time food program started in October? This year, we have Subway on Tuesday and Gino’s Pizza on Thursday.  We do not offer a milk program. ALL food orders must be placed through Lunchbox which is on School CashOnline.

Our Lunchbox program is a school fundraiser for the entire year. This means a contribution will be made to our school for each meal that is purchased during the week. We appreciate when families purchase pizza on Thursdays through Lunchbox rather than dropping off pizza for their children. Thank you for supporting our school fundraiser.

If you are not interested in supporting our Lunchbox fundraiser throughout the year we respect your decision. However, we kindly request that you send your children to school with a lunch in the morning on Thursdays rather than dropping off pizza. We are extremely busy delivering Gino’s pizza to classrooms at lunch time and the additional requests to deliver lunches to classrooms is not manageable.

Why did we move to Lunchbox?

Every family needs to use School CashOnline to complete the start up forms for school. Having our food orders in the same place creates a “one stop shop” for families who would like to order lunches during the week.

How do I order on Lunchbox?

We sent home a one page form (yellow sheet) with instructions about ordering on Lunchbox. If your child did not receive/ bring home this sheet please click on the instructions below. We have a one page summary or the 11 page detailed explanation.

One page Lunchbox summary

Detailed Lunchbox FAQs

Deadline for Ordering

The lunch ordering deadline is Sunday at 12pm ET (noon) for the upcoming delivery week. There are no exceptions to this deadline. 

You can order one week at a time or multiple weeks in advance.

If you have questions about signing up for our Lunchbox food program please call the main office and we will do our best to assist you.

If you have problems with your child’s order you will be re-directed to info@lunchboxorders.com. The school is not responsible for managing cancelled orders, student absences, refunds, etc. You must deal with Lunchbox directly.

Thank you for contributing to our school fundraiser lunch program through Lunchbox. We truly appreciate your support!

Does your Grade 7 or 8 child need help with reading, writing, math or technology skills? If so, we can help! Please open the flyer below for more information.

Saturday Skills Builder flyer 2023