St. Daniel Weekly Update

January 13 - January 17, 2025

Prayer

Gracious God, we come before you seeking renewal in the new year. Renew our minds, our hearts, and our spirits. May we be transformed by the power of your Holy Spirit, leaving behind the old and embracing the new that you have in store for us.

Seventeenth Week of School

It was great to be back after the break! The chilly Ottawa weather certainly reminded us that winter is here. As I've mentioned before, I'm hoping our backyard rinks and the canal get some help from this cold snap – I'm all for it! Of course, we'll keep an eye on the temperature and if it dips below -25°C, we'll keep everyone indoors.

Sadly, we had to start Monday's announcements with the news that Team Canada didn't win gold. But hey, it's only 364 days until we can reclaim the title!

After two weeks off, it was important to get back into our routines. There was a lot of chatter about the Leafs and their playoff chances against the Senators, which was difficult to hear at first. Thankfully, things settled down by mid-week.

Finally, we got the cold weather the NEC needs to open the canal.  We were also very cognitive of the temperature.  On Wednesday you would have noticed that the upon arrival, the students went straight into the school. This is because the weather was below -25 C.  We did not see the temperature warm up. Therefore we had indoor recesses for the entire day.  If you have some board games that you are willing to part with, they would make a great addition to your child(s) classroom. 

It is always nice to get outside, and a gradual warm up allowed us to do that on Thursday.  It was nice to see all of our children dressed properly for the cold weather.  The fresh air was very welcoming to all.

Please take note that we needed to change our Parent Council Meeting that was to take place on the 21st of January.  It will now take place on the 28th of January, and it will take place in the Learning Commons.

We like to end our announcements on Friday wishing our hockey teams well on the weekend.  I forgot to mention the Bill’s, so I need to do that now!!!!!!  Go Bill’s Go!!!!!!!

Fifth Disease

A case of Fifth Disease was reported at our school on December 9th. The outbreak is now considered over, as 20 days have passed without any new confirmed cases.

Identification of Potentially Gifted Pupils

We are in the process of identifying candidates (Grade 3-6) who may qualify for the Program for Gifted Learners (PGL), an off-site resource withdrawal program for gifted learners in grades four, five and six. Screening involves cognitive, affective and academic assessment of potentially gifted learners. If you would like to speak further about this opportunity, please reach out to your child’s teacher to discuss this further. Thank you!

Grade 6 Upcoming Visits

Grade 6 Transitions - Frank Ryan Parent Info Evening

It’s that time of year when we start planning transition activities to support grade 6 students planning on attending Frank Ryan in September 2025.  Part of these transition activities include information for parents.  We wish to invite parents of Grade 6 students planning to attend Frank Ryan Catholic Intermediate School for the 2025-2026 school year, to a Parent Information Night at Frank Ryan on Thursday,  February 6th at 6:30pm.

During the information evening, teachers and students will discuss some of the key aspects of school life that will include such things as: academic programs, extra-curricular activities and leadership opportunities.  Tonight will also include a program overview of different subject areas. Our leadership team, teachers and support staff will be available to answer questions throughout the evening.

St. Paul Catholic High School Visit

The guidance department will be visiting our Grade 6 students on January 29, at 9:30 AM to present them with information about St. Paul High School. 

If you are interested in your child attending St. Paul, they would like to invite your child to St. Paul for a day of fun-filled activities, and a chance to preview their school play, Alice In Wonderland. This day will include a tour of  the school, a pizza lunch, and some giveaways for a few lucky winners. 

Please mark your calendars for February 19. 

SNOW DAYS

In the event that extreme weather results in the cancellation of school buses, parents are not required to call in their child’s absence if they take a school bus.  The school will remain open.  Should you choose to send your child to school, parents are responsible for transportation to and from school that day.  School hours are from 9:15 to 3:45 p.m.  If you wish to have someone other than a family member pick your child up, a written request with your signature must be delivered to the office.

PIZZA DAY SNOW DAY

We do not cancel pizza delivery on a snow day that happens to fall on a Tuesday.  St. Daniel has most of the population these days.

Grade 6 Photos

Photos for our Grade 6 students will take place on March 5, 2025.  Teachers will speak to them about recommended attire.

St. Daniel Spirit Wear

St. Daniel Spiritwear is now available to order on our new webstore.  Please go to https://stdaniel.secure-decoration.com/ to shop our expanded line of St. Daniel merch!  

The webstore will remain open all year long, but those who order before the deadline on November 30 will qualify for free shipping to the school where you can either pick up your order, or have it sent home with your child.  THIS IS ALSO ON THE LANDING PAGE OF OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE.

OSTA

Ottawa Student Transportation Authority has launched a user-friendly progressive web application to

provide real-time updates about your child’s transportation status. With this app, you’ll receive timely

alerts and notifications directly to your device via push notifications. It’s easy to set up, it’s free, and

notifications are instant. The app will replace emails when it comes to weather cancellation

notifications only; emails will still be circulated for delays, cancellations and other alerts.

Visit www.ottawaschoolbus.ca to learn more. Questions and concerns can be directed to

pwahelp@ottawaschoolbus.ca.This initiative reflects our commitment to better serving our communities and improving the well-being of our students during transportation.

Parking

As a reminder, the north side of the street in front of the school is a no-stopping zone. Please be mindful of the no-parking zone on the south side as well. We've noticed increased congestion in these areas, which creates a potentially unsafe environment for our students and neighbours.

To help alleviate this, we kindly ask that you park a block away and walk the short distance to school. Your cooperation in making our school zone a safer place for everyone in our community is greatly appreciated!

We also wanted to bring to your attention concerns about entering the back parking lot for drop off and pick up of EDP students.  Please be cautious and go very slow when entering and exiting the parking lot.

We are looking at having a two way mirror installed to alleviate the blind spot.  We will keep you posted.

St.  Basil Children’s Choir

St. Basil's would like to start a Children's Choir for children from grades 2 to 8. Rehearsals would be at St. Basil's Church on Sundays after the 10 am mass, and run from 11:15 to 11:45 am so that parents can enjoy a coffee while their children rehearse. Children will sing once a month at mass, and would still have the opportunity to go to Children's Liturgy if they so wish. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining, please contact Chantal Balthazar at chantalbalthazar@gmail.com. 

Snowsuit Fund

The Snowsuit Fund provides new snowsuits to children aged 0-15 who are Ottawa residents and considered low-income. Eligibility criteria include proof of the child's age, household income, and address. Families can apply for the program by appointment only through the Snowsuit Fund website. There is a nominal $10 fee to help cover administrative costs.

Breakfast Program

Dear Parents/Guardians,

All students are invited to attend the breakfast program.  If you do not want your child to participate in the breakfast program, kindly contact your teacher with this request.

Arrival / Dismissal Drop off / Pick up

Please be aware the procedures that are in place for dismissal and pick up.  To promote the safety of our students at St Daniel Catholic School, we have developed and implemented a plan to ensure the safe arrival and dismissal of our children. Parents and school staff have a vital role in this process. 

ARRIVAL: Children enter the gate which is located at the east end of the school . They do so between 9:00 - 9:15 a.m. Students will then proceed to the schoolyard. No adults are allowed on the school yard before, during or after school. Educators will be in these designated areas.  At 9:15 when the bell rings, students will line up with classes, and then they will proceed into the school through their designated door, and be escorted with their teacher to their classroom.  In the case of inclement weather, students will enter the school from designated doors, and be directed by staff to their classrooms. We ask your full cooperation as the safety and security of our children is a whole school approach.  

Dismissal:  Everyone will be dismissed from their classrooms between 3:38 - 3:45pm.  When the buses arrive, kinders will start boarding buses at 3:40, followed by Grades 1-6 students.  EDP students will leave at 3:44 to walk directly to EDP.  Walkers will leave at 3:44 to leave school for home.  

Drop Off /Pick UP If you are driving your child to school in the morning or picking them up at dismissal time, we ask you to park your car away from the school and WALK-A-BLOCK. We ask that you do not enter the Bus drop off zone, these are off limits to all cars between 9:00 AM - 9:30 PM and  3:30 PM - 4:00 PM .

Reminder EDP

We for students both before and after school to not enter classrooms with parents.  These rules have been in place for a very long time. It is important they are followed. 

St. Daniel Catholic School Council  

Next Meeting:  January 21, 2025   Cancelled

Rescheduled to January 28, 2025  6:30 PM  Learning Commons

School Website

We encourage all of our Parents/Guardians to check our St. Daniel website daily during the week.  Updated information from the Board is published, as well as weekly updates from the school, as well as important dates  listed on the school calendar. Please take note that the information that is on weekly updates will also be sent via school messenger.

Reminders:

School Messenger

 Please sign up for School messenger to make sure you will be receiving all communication from our school. If this is not completed you may miss out on receiving some important announcements from our school. School Messenger

Parent Portal

****** VERY IMPORTANT TO COMPLETE THIS PROCESS OR YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ACCESS REPORT CARDS 

Please visit Login - enCompass to access your students information and in future their report cards.  Please review the contact information listed.  If any changes need to be made please email Daniel@ocsb.ca with the new updates.  

Office Administrator 

Please take note that often times you will not be able to speak to our Office Administrators 30 minutes before the end of school bell at 3:45 PM. This is a very busy time.  Requests to have students be removed from the bus or ready for you to pick them up early should be done in the morning,  by communication in the agenda or a voicemail message before 12:00 PM.  Please understand that these types of requests may not be addressed if you are calling late. We would kindly ask that if you are requesting a pick up at 3:30, please wait until 3:45.

Thank you 

Important Dates

January 28  Parent Council Meeting  Learning Commons  6:30 PM

Future Jan 25   Leafs vs Sens

Future  March 5  Grade 6 Photos