St. Daniel Weekly Update

December 16 - December 20, 2024

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

As we light the third candle of Advent, help us to prepare our hearts for Your coming. Fill us with peace and joy, and teach us to share Your love with everyone we meet.

Fifteenth  Week of School

St. Daniel's School had a busy and festive week! We began with a beautiful Advent liturgy led by Mrs. Farrell's class, and our choir continues to uplift us with their wonderful music. Despite some typical Ottawa weather causing bus delays on Tuesday, all students successfully completed their bus safety drills – a big thank you to Omar, our Bus 99 driver!

Adding to the excitement, our staff engaged in our annual "Reindeer Game" – a fun, competitive tradition where we try to collect reindeer clothespins by challenging each other to rock-paper-scissors. Even the students were caught up in the excitement! Unfortunately, Mr. Gentle (the eventual winner) proved too strong for Mrs. Boyle and me this year, but we'll be back!

Our annual White Elephant Sale was a heartwarming success, raising money for St. Basil Church and our Grade 6 class, while allowing students to buy gifts for their loved ones. A big thank you to Mrs. Farrell, Ms. Hebert, and everyone in the St. Daniel's community for making this wonderful event possible.

Some of our St. Daniel Lions had a blast at the Melnyk skate on Thursday! We're so grateful for this opportunity and the memories made. Go Sens Go!

With winter weather upon us, remember to "walk like a penguin" to stay safe on slippery surfaces. It's an important skill to have in Ottawa!

The St. Daniel Choir's visit to our community Long Term Care Home on Friday was a joyous occasion, marking the welcome return of a cherished tradition after a pandemic-induced hiatus. Their performance brought smiles and warmth to the residents, reminding us all of the power of music and connection.

Important Reminders:

St. Basil's Church Trip: Don't forget about our upcoming trip to St. Basil's Church on December 17th! Please return your permission forms for the bus ride as soon as possible. A big thank you to St. Basil's for their generous bursary, which allows all St. Daniel students to attend two Masses there each year.

Pizza and Popcorn Orders for January - March 2025

Pizza and Popcorn orders for January-March are up in School Cash Online.

Deadline for popcorn was December 13 and for Pizza is Dec 18 at noon.

St. Basil Church News

Children's Pageant on Christmas Eve

St. Basil's will be having a Children's Christmas Pageant this year prior to the 4:30 Family Mass on Christmas Eve.

Practice schedule:

Dec 22 in the Church following the 10 am Mass (30  minutes)

The day of the pageant: Dec. 24, 3:30 pm arrival and costume set up in the Church Hall, Pageant starts in the Church at 4 pm, followed by the Family Christmas Eve Mass at 4:30 pm. 

There are roles available for older children/youth interested in reading, and for younger children there are non-speaking roles such as angels and shepherds.

If interested, please email us to let us know how many children you'd like to participate and their ages at stbasilsfamilyfaith@gmail.com. The children must make 2 out of the 3 practices.

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.

Special Mass

Arrangements have been made for our Christmas Mass at St. Basil Church.  It will take place, December 17, 2024.  It will begin at 10:00 AM.  Please note that students will be bused to the church. A hard copy of a permission letter was sent home on December 5, 2024.  We have asked for this permission letter to be returned to the school by December 11, 2024.

Christmas Mass

Excursion Form

St. Daniel White Elephant Sale

Thank you all the support for the White Elephant Advent Project.  It was a great success.  Once again money raised from this event goes directly to St. Basil, and our Grade 6 class.

St. Daniel Christmas Concert

Mark on your calendars, Dec 19, 2024.  We will have our Christmas Concert in the Gym beginning at 1:30 and ending at 3:00.  Plan on staying for the entire performance.  We want to encourage parents to stay, as leaving in the middle of performances should be avoided if at all possible.

Should there be a Snow Day on Dec 19, the alternate date for the concert is Dec 20, same time.

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.  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!

Bus Evacuation Drill

On Tuesday all St. Daniel  students participate in a bus evacuation drill. This taught the children the front and back emergency exit procedure, how to operate the radio, and to show them emergency exits.

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 .

St. Daniel Catholic School Council  

Next Meeting:  January 21, 2025   6:30 Virtual

Please email Principal if you wish to attend.  You will then be sent a link.

Council Christmas Event    Dec 5    6:00 PM - 8:00 PM   Gym/LC/Hallway

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

Dec 17   St. Daniel Christmas Mass at St. Basil Church 10:00 AM (students will be bused)

Dec 18    Deadline for Pizza Orders Cash on Line

Dec 19    Christmas Concert  1:30 PM

Dec 20    Last Day of School before Christmas Break

Future Jan 25   Leafs vs Sens

St. Daniel Christmas Spirit Week

Monday Dec 16 Christmas Colour Day:  Wear red and green

Tuesday Dec 17  Twinkle Tuesday  Dress up like a Christmas Tree, an Elf,or Santa, a reindeer or a toy from Santa’s workshop

Wed Dec 18  Candy Cane Day!   Wear stripes in any colour!

Thursday Dec 19  Ugly Sweater Day:  Find your best ugly sweater

Friday Dec 20  Christmas (Break)!  Get cozy and enjoy a Christmas movie Pyjama Day