Monthly Archives: February 2020

Did you miss the system wide email this morning about all student transportation (buses and taxis) being cancelled this morning? Make sure you sign up to receive email notifications from Student Transportation Services of Waterloo Region. You will need to know your child’s bus route number (see below) to subscribe to alerts for their bus.

Ask you child what colour bus they are on and you can find their route number below.

• White bus: Route 264
• Red bus: Route 265
• Blue bus: Route 256
• Yellow bus: Route 262

It is important that you subscribe to this email notification service as all delays and cancellations are communicated directly from STSWR not the school.

Drive safe!

Due to current and expected weather conditions, all school buses and taxis are cancelled today. All schools (including St. Louis) and board administrative facilities are OPEN.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has cancelled rotating strikes scheduled for next week.

As a result, all WCDSB schools and St. Louis campuses will be open and running on their regular schedules on Monday, February 24, 2020.

KW Titans FREE ticket offer: Thursday February 20th, 2020

This Thursday, February 20th, your KW Titans are offering a super special for the youth in our community. Since many children will be calling this Thursday their new Friday, with no school the following day, the Titans are welcoming students in our community to the Thursday evening game by offering one youth ticket for FREE with the purchase of a Walk-Up, Game Day regular admission ticket. A youth ticket is for those aged 12 and under.

The KW Titans are coming off a huge win, in a double-overtime game versus the London Lightening at a packed Budweiser Gardens Arena.  This was the team’s first road win this season. The Titans thrive off the energy of their fans, so they are extending a special invite to the youth in our community to come out and make some noise. This game will also be in honour of all the first responders in our region.

Tip-Off is set for 7 pm, at the Kitchener AUD versus St. John’s Edge.

*Note: This offer is only valid for gameday walk-up purchases*

For more information visit our website at kwtitans.com/

St. Agnes parish updates

Please continue to check the parish website for weekly updates and information.

St. Agnes parish website

Subscribe to our School Website calendar

Did you know you can subscribe to our school website Google calendar? Stay connected with up to the minute information regarding school wide events and information. Click on the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe.

St. Agnes Google calendar

Shrove Tuesday: February 25th, 2020

Please see the attached information letter regarding Shrove Tuesday next week. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Mrs. McGlynn in the main office. Please remember to send in a fork for your child as we are doing our part to eliminate plastic use. Each student will be provided 2 snack sized pancakes at the beginning of the day. You still need to pack a lunch and PM snack for your child. More details are provided in the letter below. Thanks to our Catholic School Advisory Council for providing pancakes to the entire school community.

2020 Shrove Tuesday

Ash Wednesday Mass: February 26th, 2020

Our entire school community will be at St. Agnes church for an Ash Wednesday mass at 11am. All are welcome to join us at the church.

Pink Shirt Day: Wednesday February 26th

All staff and students are encouraged to wear PINK on Wednesday February 26th as a sign of support to end bullying and build inclusive, welcoming communities for all. Please wear everything and anything you have that is PINK. Gender knows no colour and everyone can wear PINK.

To learn more about the origins of Pink Shirt Day click HERE

In the absence of a provincially-negotiated collective agreement, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has selected the Waterloo Catholic District School Board as one of the Ontario school boards included in a one day rotating strike on Monday, February 24, 2020.

As a result of this strike, all Waterloo Catholic District School Board elementary and secondary schools will be closed on February 24.

This one day strike is in addition to the province-wide one day OECTA strike already announced for Friday, February 21, 2020.

In addition to the closure of all WCDSB elementary and secondary schools on February 24, please note the following:

Some programs offered at the WCDSB’s St. Louis Adult Learning & Continuing Education Centres will be cancelled on February 24 —  they are:

• Hairstyling will be closed
• Culinary Arts will be closed
• Secondary School Credit Day School will be closed
• Correspondence services will be closed
• Guidance services will be closed.

All other St. Louis Adult Learning & Continuing Education Centres programs will be running as per their normal schedules.

All WCDSB extended day programs will be open for the day as usual (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for students currently registered in the program.

Community use of schools activities will continue as scheduled.

OECTA’s previously announced job actions will remain in effect before and after February 24.

As before, we remain hopeful the two sides will come to a fair and respectful agreement that serves the best interests of our students.

Please see the attached letter regarding Term 1 Report Cards. This a system wide correction to the previous version which went home with reports yesterday.

REVISED Feb 2020 report card letter

Wishing everyone a safe and fun filled Family Day weekend!

Please see the attached for further information.

Vermont Park Winter Carnival

Province Wide OECTA Strike Day: Tuesday February 4^th, 2020

All Catholic schools in the Waterloo Catholic DSB will be closed on Tuesday February 4^th. Extended Day program will continue to run for students who are registered.

Welcome to Friendly February!

Each month, we are sharing the Action for Happiness calendars on our school website. Here, you will find simple daily actions that you can practice and share with others. You can also get daily reminders to your phone or integrate the calendar with your personal calendar. Check it out here: https://www.actionforhappiness.org/calendars

Healthy Schools: February celebrates Winter Walk Day

February 5^th, 2020 is #WinterWalkDay across Canada. It’s the perfect opportunity for parents and kids to get outside together and stretch those legs! Walk to and from school to improve physical and mental health, create a healthier environment, safer streets, make friends and have fun! Walking is the simplest form of exercise and helps kids get the 60 minutes of daily physical activity they need. It’s also a great cure for winter blues and helps students concentrate better in class.

We, at St. Agnes, will have a special guest joining us at school to welcome all our students. Chief Larkin, of the Waterloo Regional Police, will be with us to start the morning and greet students as they arrive on the property.

We encourage as many students as possible to join a walking school bus or get dropped off a few blocks away from the school. Here are some ideas:

• If you can walk safely to school, wrap up warm, leave the car at home and travel to school on foot with your friends.
• If you live too far to walk the whole way, try getting dropped off at a friend’s house or a few blocks away from the school so you can walk the last leg.
• If you take the school bus, have a winter walk in the school yard at breaktime so you can get active too!

We are looking forward to a great start to our day on Wednesday…rain, snow, or shine!

EcoSchools: National Sweater Day Thursday February 6^th

Our school will be taking part in National Sweater Day on Thursday, February 6^th!

National Sweater Day is an annual event organized by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada. On National Sweater Day, WWF asks Canadians from coast to coast to turn down thermostats by two degrees Celsius at home, at school and at work to highlight the role that energy conservation plays in preventing climate change.

Our school buildings will be a litter chillier on February 6^th, so we are asking that all students wear or bring a sweater to school.

Through participation, we hope to understand how everyday actions affect our planet’s future.

We are looking forward to a cozy day in the classroom!

Continue the learning at home, too!

The best part about National Sweater Day is that you and your students can do it anywhere and anytime! Encourage your students to get permission to turn down the thermostat by a few degrees when they get home so that they can wear their favourite sweater all day.

On National Sweater Day, make a yearlong commitment to wildlife and the planet. There are many things we can do in our everyday lives to help keep climate change in check:

• Use less heat and energy. If every Canadian turned down their thermostat by 2 C in the cold season throughout the year, up to 10 per cent of space heating energy consumption and 4 megatons of carbon dioxide could be saved each year. This is equivalent to taking more than 850,000 vehicles off the road or running more than 1,000 wind turbines for a year.
• Calculate your personal consumption footprint, then work to reduce it. This can include choosing energy from renewable sources, reducing waste and cutting back on single-use plastics.
• Take hands-on action for nature with your school or in your community. Visit Living Planet @ School to learn about the other activities students and educators can take such as schoolyard or shoreline litter cleanups, Earth Hour and more!
• Use our voices to encourage others – whether its friends, family, businesses or government – to embrace sustainable practices and policies for wildlife and climate change.

Welcome to our new custodians!

Beginning Monday February 3, 2020, our new custodians will be joining the St. Agnes community. Please say hello to Mrs. Hutchings during the school day, and Mr. McGrath for the after school hours when you see them at school.

Coronavirus information

Every school in the WCDSB has been asked to share this communication which has been provided jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

CMoH Jan 27EN

We have been encouraged to redouble our efforts in our schools by reminding/ re-enforcing:

• good hygiene – washing hands thoroughly and with soap or sanitizer;
• covering one’s mouth and nose when one sneezes or coughs;
• staff and students stay home when ill.
• It is also wise to get a yearly flu vaccine, available from clinics or pharmacies.

You may also find the Ministry of Health’s dedicated website helpful as a resource of information.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

Grade 7 Immunizations: Thursday February 6^th

A reminder that Public Health will be at St. Agnes on Thursday February 6^th in the afternoon for grade 7 immunizations.

Grade 4-8 Chicopee Ski trip: Friday February 7^th

All students from grade 4-8 have been invited to attend the Chicopee Ski trip. Permission forms must be completed and handed in to your child’s teacher in order for them to attend this trip. If your child is not going on the trip they are expected to be at school for the day on Friday February 7^th. Please make sure you call the school if your child is going to be staying home for the day.

Important:

• buses will be leaving St. Agnes by 8:15am on Friday morning. Students need to arrive early if they plan to attend the ski trip.
• Buses are arriving back at St. Agnes AFTER regular school dismissal. Arrangements for student pickup must be clearly communicated to your child’s teacher.

Spirit Wear days: Every Thursday

Wear red, black, and white every Thursday and show your spirit, Flames!

N4L February 3^rd – February 7^th: multigrain Cheerios, melba toast, penguin crackers, multigrain vegetable crackers, apple sauce (no sugar added), carrots, apples.

Please note: cheese strings & yogurt tubes will only be served in select classrooms due to food allergies.

Catholic School Advisory Council

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday February 10^th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in the Learning Commons.

 Check our School website frequently

Just a reminder that our school website contains a number of valuable, up to date sources of information. Examples include our school web calendar, a WCDSB info feed, our St. Agnes Twitter feed, links to School Cash Online, links to online school registration, links to Student Transportation Services, our Catholic School Advisory Council information and meeting minutes, etc. Please check the school website regularly.