Panther Community,

Entering May this week feels almost surreal! As we immerse ourselves in the vibrant blossoms of spring, let’s seize the chance to conclude the year with vigor. With unwavering resolve and persistence, let’s focus our efforts on ensuring these remaining months of the academic journey are unforgettable. Let’s stay committed to growth and achievement, making each moment truly significant along the way!

Looking Ahead:

Catholic Education Week is May 6 – 10

The theme for Catholic Education Week this year is “Embracing the Call to Love.” This theme aligns with Mental Health Awareness Week, emphasizing the importance of love and compassion in fostering well-being. Recognizing that God embodies love, we are reminded of our continuous duty to embody this love in our interactions. Amidst our ongoing efforts towards Equity and Inclusion in Catholic schools, prioritizing love serves as a poignant reminder that all individuals are unconditionally cherished as God’s children.

• All families are invited to join us on the school yard as we pray a Living Rosary on Monday May 6th at 9:45 am weather permitting
• Monday ~ People of Hope
• Tuesday ~ People of Faith
• Wednesday ~ People of  Mercy
• Thursday ~ People of Justice
• Friday ~ People of Joy

We are undertaking a whole school art project with the hope that students will understand that appreciating their own unique, personal identities ultimately leads each of us to love ourselves and one another. We will have all staff and students at St. Paul to create a self portrait on a background colour and merge them into a mural in the entrance of our foyer.

This week we will continue Circuit Training gearing up for the Track and Field event on May 10th. These sessions aim to enhance students’ strength, speed, endurance, and agility, crucial for optimal performance at the upcoming event. It’s imperative for students to attend wearing proper athletic attire, including suitable footwear, to ensure their safety during training.

As the Track & Field event draws nearer, students will receive detailed information about the day’s schedule, organization, expectations, and safety protocols.

Catholic Graduate Expectations

This May, our attention turns once more to the significant Catholic Graduate Expectation of embodying the essence of:

A Caring Family Member.

A Caring Family Member exemplifies Catholic social teachings through the advocacy of peace and reverence for all.

To be a caring family member means embracing the principle of CARE:

Cultivating love for God, myself, and my family,
Affirming care and respect for my ‘family’ within school, Church, the community, and beyond,
Revering and cherishing God’s creation and every facet within it,
Enacting care through prayer for all my fellow beings, and endeavoring to emulate the life of Jesus.

Deep Learning ~ Transferable Skills ~ Inclusion and Belonging

Transferable skills are essential attributes that equip individuals to excel in today’s society. Often referred to as “competencies,” these skills are vital for students as they navigate their future careers and pursuits.

Throughout the month of May, as members of the Catholic community, we will demonstrate transferable skills through a focus on Inclusion & Belonging.

During this period, we will embrace new encounters and individuals with an open heart, devoid of prejudice. We will actively seek out and celebrate diverse viewpoints, enriching our own perspectives. Furthermore, we will commit to educating ourselves about various cultures, religions, and ways of life.

We extend our gratitude for your unwavering support and collaboration in fostering a vibrant and inclusive educational journey for your child.

Parents wield significant influence over their child’s educational journey through engaging in conversations about school learning. Explore our WCDSB Monthly Math @Home Newsletter for insights into how students grasp concepts like shape relationships and measurement, paving the way for formula development in length, area, volume, and beyond!

Math@HomeIssue 8

Math@Home Issue 9

WCDSB Presents: Human Trafficking Prevention Education for Parents

Registration Poster – Human Trafficking Prevention Education

EQAO webinars for Parents: Register for free live webinar on April 30th or May 7th and learn about EQAO’s primary ad junior Assessments of Reading Writing and Mathematics.

Register Here!

April 30th CPIC Human Trafficking virtual parent workshop

May 6th-10th – Catholic Education Week

May 10th – Track & Field Meet at Rez (Gr 4-8)

Thursday, May 16th Staff Recognition Celebration – Years of Service!

May 20th – Victoria Day (No School)

May 21st – Intermediate Co-Ed Soccer @ RIM Park – PM only

Thursday, May 23rd Multi-Cultural Festival & Silent Auction

May 25th – Grade 7 Confirmation at the Church (10:30am)

May 26th – Grade 2 First Holy Communion at the Church (1:30pm

Wednesday,May 29th Welcome to Kindy Night

Week of May 20th Grade 3 EQAO

Week of May 27th Grade 6 EQAO

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

June 4th – Grade 8 Trip to Tim Horton’s Camp

June 5th – Cross Country @ Bechtel Park (grades 3-8)

June 12th – Regional Track and Field Meet @ Resurrection

June 14th – Year End Mass at St. Francis Church – 9:30am

June 19th – Junior Boys & Girls 3-Pitch @ RIM Park – PM only

June 25th- Term 2 Report Cards Go Home

June 25th – Class of 2024 Graduation at the Church (6:30 pm) Dance at the School

June 27th- Last Day of School

June 28th – PA Day (No school for students

Panther Community,

WCDSB is pleased to present a virtual parent and guardian information evening on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 from 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Bestselling author and survivor advocate Timea Nagy will speak about digital safety awareness and human trafficking prevention education. Please note that the chat will not be open for the presentation. If you would like to ask questions ahead of the event, please fill out this form.

Register Here:

Registration Poster – Human Trafficking Prevention Education

The staff and students of St. Paul would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all the Administrative Assistants on this “Administrative Assistant’s Day.” Behind every successful day at our school – however, success is measured – is YOU.

YOU are the face of our institution, the first smile our students and families see when they arrive.

YOU are the medical experts, providing ice, tissues, paper towels, and bandaids. YOU are the mental health experts, bringing calm to bodies, minds, and hearts. YOU are the ones our students turn to for everything they need, the ones all staff members rely on, and the ones our administrators go to.

YOU are the one!

Today, we acknowledge the sacrifices you make in your personal time, your family time, and in your lives for the betterment of the school. We recognize the dedication you have to our community, and we acknowledge the challenges you handle with grace.

Today, we acknowledge YOU and the impact you have on our world. You keep us all going!

We especially want to take a little time today to recognize Mrs. Pieczewski, the Administrative Assistant here at St. Paul!

Safe Arrival Details for Families Post 4

You must call your children’s absences in early so you do not receive a phone call from the automated attendance line.

Please see the attached links for information on the Safe Arrival attendance app and

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:a49d803f-3695-4e60-8b58-fe0488aec0c4

Questions & answers

 SafeArrival for Families FAQ

Panther Community,

Thank you to the staff who volunteered at food4kidsWaterlooRegion this week.

Confirmation is Saturday May 25th at 10:30am at St. Francis Parish

Grade 2 First Holy Communion is Sunday May 26th at 1:30 pm

Dwayne Morgan Flyer

Our Intermediate students will have an opportunity to see Dwayne Mogan live and out Junior students will be watching live from their classrooms.

Important Safe Arrivals Information

2 – SafeArrival Sample Letter to WCDSB Parents

2B – SafeArrival for Families FAQ

School Board Calendar:  The 2024-2025 School Year Calendar has been posted to our Board’s website.  The first day of school for the 2024-2025 school year for students is on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. For more information and to view the entire list of dates and holidays for the 2024-2025 school year, please visit the Board’s website.

Students Entering Grade 9:  The HIF 10 Individual and Family Living course has been designed to ease the transition for students transitioning to high school. The course begins with an introduction to online learning which will build a student’s skills as they navigate any digital platform. As the course progresses, students will cover key learning expectations in numeracy, literacy, science, and geography, as well as developing learning strategies that will aid them as they progress through high school.  This credit can count as one of a student’s two mandatory online credits before graduation and will count as one of their 18 elective credits toward graduation requirements.

This is an online course. There is no in-person or digital class time for this course, however, teachers will have daily office hours to support students with their work.

Here is the link to register!

April 16th & 17th – Everett Smith Dance Classes (JK – Gr 4/5)

April 24th – Multicultural Festival Planning Meeting Learning Commons (6 pm)

May 1st & 2nd – Caribou Math

May 6th-10th – Catholic Education Week

May 8th – Folk Dance Festival at The Aud (7pm)

May 8th – June 12th – EQAO (Grades 3 & 6)

May 10th – Track & Field Meet at Rez (Gr 4-8)

May 20th – Victoria Day (No School)

May 21st – Intermediate Co-Ed Soccer @ RIM Park – PM only

May 23rd – Multicultural Festival – Evening Time TBD

May 25th – Grade 7 Confirmation at the Church (10:30am)

May 26th – Grade 2 First Holy Communion at the Church (1:30pm)

May 29th – Welcome to Kindergarten Night (6:30 -7:30pm)

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

Dear Panther Families,

The following links provide Safe Arrival for Families information in detail. Please take time to review these steps as the application will go live on Monday, April 22nd

2B – SafeArrival for Families FAQ 2 – SafeArrival Sample Letter to WCDSB

Parents2 – SafeArrival Sample Letter to WCDSB Parents

Panther Families,

One of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all our students arrive safely to school every day.  To improve our safe arrival process, we are adding a new system that will make it easier for you to report – and respond to – school absences of your student.

The new student absence reporting system will let you use a mobile app, a web site, or an interactive toll-free 1-833-251-3283 phone line to report an absence in advance. As a result, it will take the school less time to verify student attendance, and less time to begin to notify parents and guardians of absences that were unexpected or unplanned.

This time savings makes it faster and more efficient to account for all students and their safety.

If your child is marked absent and the absence hasn’t been explained in advance, our new SafeArrival system will be able to rapidly contact you by automated phone call, text message, email, or mobile app push notification to get a reason for the absence. Calls and contacts will continue until you choose an option to explain the absence.

This new, automated SafeArrival process is part of our SchoolMessenger notification system from West, and our new SchoolMessenger mobile app for iOS and Android devices. It’ll be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to make it convenient for you to report future absences.

You’ll soon be receiving more details on how to sign up for SafeArrival and we look forward to all families taking part.

1 – 2a. SafeArrival WCDSB Pre-Announcement Text

This is a friendly reminder about the WCDSB event “Guardians of the Game: Navigating Your Child’s Online World” event tonight, April 9th, 2024 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM.

We look forward to having you here!