St.

Ursula Catholic School

426 Lacroix Street
Chatham, ON
N7M 2W3
(519)352-3620
V O L U M E

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I S S U E

M A Y

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Principals Message

1-866-336-6139
www.st-clair.net

Dear Parents and Students,

Director: Dan Parr

Superintendent: D. Crawford
Chair of the Board: J. Vanheck
Board Trustee: A. Labadie

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Full Day
Kindergarten
Orientation

Grade 3 and 6
EQAO Testing

Upcoming First
Nations, Metis,
and Inuit Meeting

Virtue of the
Month

Parish Update

Walk the Talk

Noelles Gift

Directors Insert

Pure Dance
Recital

NO SCHOOL
May 23Victoria
Day

We welcome May. Trees burst into leaves and temperatures warm the
landscape. In the first week of May we celebrate Catholic Education
Week, and throughout the month we remember our Mother, Mary, in a
special way.
It is hard to believe that there are only two months left in the school
year. Where did the time go? We have another busy month ahead of us
with many activities planned such as our Muskoka trip for Grade 7 students, Education Week, Track and Field and much, much more!!
The month of May is dedicated to honour Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
This month we also honour our Mothers. Please remember the many
moms that do so much for us and dont expect anything in return. Take a
moment to say a special prayer for these Fabulous ladies
and give your mom a special hug on Mothers Day!!!!!
Mrs. Kelly VanBoxtel

SCHOOL COUNCIL UPDATE

OurMay
MaySchool
SchoolCouncil
Councilmeeting
meetingwill
willbe
beheld
heldon
on
Our
Tuesday, May 3rd at 6:30 p.m. at UCC by attending the
Monday, April 12th at 7:00 p.m.
R is for Resiliency - Relationships Event
This is a closed meeting for school council members only.

Our next school paraliturgy will be

Our next school mass will be celebrated
celebrated on May 2 at 9:30 a.m. in the
on April 2 at 9:30 a.m. at the church.
gym. Please feel free to join us for this
Please feel free to join us for this Lenten
celebration.
celebration.

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We are a

Full Day Kindergarten

Bucket
Filling
School!

We Fill
Buckets
NO Dipping.

ORIENTATION
We look forward to meeting our new FULL DAY Kindergarten students
for September 2016. An Orientation day will be held on June 21 (more
information to follow). This will give you and your child an opportunity
to become acquainted with the Full Day Kindergarten environment.
Please bring only the child who will be attending our FULL DAY
Kindergarten for 2016 to the Orientation. We are looking forward to
meeting our future St. Ursula Chargers. Please confirm your attendance
by calling the school at (519)352-3620.

GRADE 3 AND 6 EQAO TESTING

Beginning May 25 until June 8, our students in grade three and six will be participating in the provincial assessments in Mathematics, Reading and Writing from the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). Please check our school calendar for specific dates and times.
Here are some suggestions to support your childs learning at home in preparation for the EQAO
Language (reading and writing) section of the assessment:
The assessment includes a number of different question types - multiple choice, short
answer as well as open response. The reading and writing assessments measure whether students understand what they read in different kinds of texts and how they express their thoughts in
a number of forms of writing.
Research has shown that attitudes regarding assessments impact results.
Let your child know that each question on the assessment is based on the learning
expectations in The Ontario Curriculum, which is what students are learning in classrooms
every day. There is no need to be nervous. Help them realize that it is a positive opportunity to share and celebrate her/his learning and academic growth!
EQAO provides information for parents. These are found at www.EQAO.com. Parent
Resources are at the top of the page.. There are a number of items (brochures, infographics,
previous assessments) you may access on this web page that may assist you and your child when
discussing EQAO.
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the school principal.

VOLUME

1,

ISSUE

PAGE

WOW, our school

raised $2100 at
our St. Ursulas
QUARTER
AUCTION on April
28th to go
towards
technology within
the school.
Thanks to all the
parents and staff
who attended this
event as a
participant or
vendor!!!!!

The Virtue of Hope

This month we celebrate the virtue of Hope. Many of the Grade Eight students will be confirmed
this spring. One dimension of Confirmation is their acceptance of their Christian responsibility of Baptism. It means that they will not only think and tall about ways of
goodness but they will also look for ways of putting this goodness into action. They
will honour commitments even when difficult. It also means that the will be dependable and reliable and bring hope to our world.

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St. Joseph and St. Ursula Parish

May - Youth Ministry Newsletter
4 HOME ALONE PROGRAM Grade 5/6 youth - 7:00 8:30, Spirit and Life Centre FREE
4 CPR/First Aid Program - Grade 7/8 youth 6:00 8:00 pm, Spirit and Life Centre FREE (2nd class)
5 CPR/First Aid Program Grade 7/8 youth 6:00 8:00 pm, spirit and Life Centre FREE (3rd class)
8 Youth Ministry Volunteer Appreciation Mass 9:30 St. Ursula Church
10 13 Muskoka Woods Experience Grade 7s from our 3 parish schools
15 Confirmation Session #4 4:00 8:00 pm (mandatory)
19 CPR/First Aid Program Grade 7/8 youth - 6:00 8:00 pm Spirit and Life Centre FREE
24 GP Vanier School Mass 1:00 pm at school RCIA Adapted for Children Sacraments
25 Sacrament of Confirmation Rehearsal 6:00 pm with Sponsors St. Joseph Church
26 Sacrament of Confirmation - 7:00 9:00 pm St. Joseph Church

RCIA Adapted for Children Program

St. Ursula Catholic School

Congratulations!!! from Father Matt Kucharski and Sue McMath

Jayden Miller and Raven McClinton upon receiving the Sacraments of
Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion
Ava Konstantinou upon receiving the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion

RCIA Adapted for Children Program

St. Joseph School

Congratulations!!! from Father Matt Kucharski and Sue McMath

Brady Winegardner, Shaun Guy, Faith Hurst, Dakota Jones and Joe Jones
for receiving the Sacraments of Baptism and First Holy Communion
Isaiah Russell for completing his Profession of Faith as well as receiving his First Holy
Communion

PAGE

Walk So Kids Can Talk

Join us on Sunday, May 1, 2016
Kingston Park, 10:00am
You have the power to save and change kids lives. Walk to support Kids Help Phone so we can
help kids feel more empowered to take on lifes challenges, big and small.
Kids Help Phone is a national charity that provides confidential and anonymous counselling to
kids between the ages of 5-20. Every minute of every day, no matter where kids are or how they
get in touch with us, the professional counsellors at Kids Help Phone are there to listen when no
Caption
describing
one else
can or will.
picture or graphic.

Walk. Donate. Share your strength.

Be a Kids Help Phone Hero. Unite with thousands of Canadians for a fun 5K walk.
Let kids know they are not alone. Sign up as an individual or a team of heroes with family, friends or co workers.

Thousands of everyday heroes in communities across Canada will be walking side by side in
support of Kids Help Phone on May 1 in the Walk so Kids Can Talk presented by BMO to ensure
professional counsellors will always be there to listen when kids reach out. Join us at Kingston
Park in Chatham. Registration is at 9:30am and the walk begins at 10:00am.

EachCaption
year, the Noelles Gift Foundation donates thousands of dollars to support students and families of
describing
the St. Clair Catholic District School Board and the Lambton Kent District School Board, who are in need of
picture or
emergency funding. The foundation also supports Student Nutrition Programs across Sarnia-Lambton and
graphic.
Chatham-Kent.
The charity and its work are a celebration of the life and memory of Noelle Paquette, a former Kindergarten teacher with St. Clair Catholic.
For more information about the Noelles Gift Foundation, you can read the organizations newsletter by
clicking on the link below.
http://noellesgift.ca/newsletter.php

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Helping Your Child to Succeed at School

READING ANDWRITING MILESTONES

As your child becomes a more fluent reader and clearer writer
Fluent readers think about what they are reading in the context of other experiences they
have had. In this stage, your child:
Connects ideas and experiences in print to his or her own knowledge and experience
Predicts events in a story
Values reading and does so on his or her own initiative
Extends reading skills to writing and begins to:
- Use a variety of strategies to spell words correctly
- Use a variety of types of sentences
Write about things he or she cares about (it could be your family, a video game
or a pet)

For some fun things to do, visit www.tvokids.com and click Ages 11 and Under for these
great games.

To catch the reader's attention, place an

interesting sentence or quote from the story
here.

Word fun: Spelling, comprehension, word games

The Amazing Spelling Fleas Fun with grammar, spelling and reading comprehension.
www.tvokids.com/games/amazingspellingfleas
Spelling: Spelling unfamiliar words
Spot and Spell Try to spell all the words correctly.
www.tvokids.com/games/spotandspell
Reading Round-Up Word search the tvokids.com way!
www.tvokids.com/games/readingroundup
Reading: Book titles and reviews for all levels
Reading Rangers Book Club Read book reviews written by kids. www.tvokids.com/ugc/
readingrangersbookclub
Source: Ontario Ministry of Education
Ca
ption

Reading and Writing with Your Child, Kindergarten to Grade 6: A Parent Guide

PURE DANCE RECITAL

(For every grade in entire school)
coming to
St. Ursula Catholic School
June 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Mark your calendars!!
Details to follow soon!!!