Have a wonderful November St. Daniel Lions!!!!!
Please see the November Newsletter.
St. Daniel Spirit Wear
St. Daniel Spirit wear 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.
Weekly Update Nov 4 - Nov 8, 2024
Prayer
Dear God,
As the leaves change and the days grow shorter, fill our hearts with gratitude and understanding. Help us to honour the past, share our gifts, and cherish time spent with loved ones. Guide us in learning and growing together with respect and love.
Amen
Ninth Week of School
The week kicked off with individual and class photos taken by Edge Imaging, a welcome return to this tradition after quite some time. It was a fun experience, made even more interesting by the fact that two of my former Grade 2 classmates, now married, ended up sitting beside each other in the front row! When I attended their wedding, our Grade 2 photograph (St. Joseph Catholic School, Bowmanville) was displayed for us all to see. God certainly had a plan for Paul and Rhonda.
The weather this week was a bit unpredictable. We started with winter-like temperatures, but summer made a surprise comeback on the 31st. On Tuesday, the students had a memorable lesson on the hockey term "hat trick," prompted by John Tavares's impressive performance in the Toronto Maple Leafs game the night before. Let's just say the announcement was met with a mix of excitement and groans throughout the school!
We also introduced student-created Land Acknowledgements into our daily announcements, showcasing the amazing work of Den's groups. And speaking of amazing, Mme. Palitza’s Grade 5/6 Immersion class wowed us with their incredible haunted house projects!
Our Lockdown practice was a success, with our Lions demonstrating their preparedness. Finally, Spirit Day and Pyjama Day were a blast, complete with a costume parade and a special Kit Kat treat that made everyone's Friday!
Remembrance Day
This paragraph provides further information about our upcoming Remembrance Day Ceremony on November 11th, 2024.
To help us plan effectively and ensure everyone's comfort and safety, please let your child's teacher know by Nov 7 if your family plans to attend. Knowing how many people to expect is important for our preparations, particularly for staying within the gym's capacity limits. While we don't anticipate any space issues, we want to be prepared. In the unlikely event of an unexpectedly large turnout, we may need to schedule a second ceremony. However, after consulting with our School Council Co-Chairs, we believe this is unlikely to be necessary.
We have also invited special guests from our community to join us for this important occasion. We have asked these guests to RSVP to the main office. On the day of the ceremony, our guests will be escorted to their seats and acknowledged by our Master of Ceremonies as a small token of our appreciation for their contributions.
Thank you for your cooperation in helping us make this Remembrance Day Ceremony a meaningful and respectful event for all.
Dental Screenings
Community Dental Screenings activities will continue over the fall at Neighbourhood Health and Wellness Hubs.
Dental screenings are free and all ages are welcome. Registered dental hygienists can also support clients with the Healthy Smiles Ontario and Ontario Seniors Dental Care Plan enrollments.
Grade 4 parents only
Your child’s EQAO scores are now available on the Parent Portal. Please see this video for steps on how to access. https://youtu.be/uSgRuMoNA7E
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!
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 .
Lunch Reminders
On October 15th, we discontinued the Boomerang Lunch program. Students are now responsible for sorting their lunch waste into suitable recycling and compost bins. This initiative reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship and provides valuable learning opportunities for our students, especially those involved in the ECO team and Grade 6 leadership roles.
St. Daniel Catholic School Council
Next Meeting: November 19, 2024 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:
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
November 8 PD Day (No school for students)
Future Date Dec 5 Council Christmas Event