Monthly Archives: October 2023

The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

St. Josephine Bakhita CES News

October 30, 2023

“Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beauties of nature, I asked myself, ‘Who is the owner of all these beautiful things?’ and I felt a great desire to see him, know him, and pay him homage.” – St. Josephine Bakhita

Halloween Dance-a-thon FUNdraiser

TOMORROW’S THE DAY!!!  It’s our first ever Catholic School Advisory Council Halloween Dance-A-Thon FUNDRAISER and we are accepting fundraising donations through School Cash Online up to, and including, Tuesday afternoon! 

This event is THE major School Council fundraiser for the year. We are hoping to raise $10,000, which we will put towards enriching our school environment for the students with such items as Supporting our Guest Speaker Series, Purchasing School T-shirts & Team Jerseys, Adding School Murals, Purchasing School Yard Play Elements and Buying a School Christmas Tree for our foyer!

We would not be able to accomplish such events without the support of the community. Any monetary or prize donation that you could offer would be appreciated. We are excited to make our first fundraiser a big success!  The Dance-a-thon is for students only – unfortunately, we aren’t able to invite parents and family members.

Students are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school or can choose to wear orange and black.  If a student is wearing a costume, we ask that it is not anything that could be considered scary or gory.  If a costume includes a mask, the student may wear the mask during their time in the gym for the dance-a-thon; however, they will not be permitted to wear it during instructional time or at recess.

If you have any questions, please contact parent volunteer Adrienne Brown through the school.

Adrienne Brown and Dance-A-Thon Committee

St. Josephine Bakhita CES Logo

 

Lunch Program Volunteers STILL Needed!

We are going to be offering parents the opportunity to take a day or two off every week from making lunches by offering a Lunch Program through Elementary Schools Nutrition.  Parents will have the opportunity to order lunches (e.g., pizza, subs, or warm meals) for their children on these days through the ESN website.  To be able to offer this program to our families, and for it to run smoothly, we are still looking for two or three volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 11:30-12:00 to organize and help distribute lunches to classes.  Please email our Vice-Principal, Tracy.Mendonca-Freitas@wcdsb.ca if you are interested.

 

School Picture Re-Take Day – November 8th

If your child was absent, or you would like their original school picture re-taken, please note that photographers from Pegasus School Images will return to St. Josephine Bakhita on November 8th for picture re-take day.

 

Reminder – Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Josephine Bakhita CES

 

***ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA PARENTS – PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE DESIGNATED YMCA DAYCARE PARKING SPOTS***

 

Please read the following information and follow our school’s drop off and pick up procedures that have been developed to keep your children, our students, safe.  We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school.  Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.  Parents who choose to drive their children to school may use our Drive to Five option or our designated ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.

DRIVE TO FIVE & Drop Off (8:50-9:05 a.m.)

Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:

  1. “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION for Junior & Intermediate students) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid contributing to the congestion in the Kiss & Drop zone and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day!
  2. Use the school’s Kiss & Drop area (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and wait until you enter the clearly marked Kiss & Drop zone.  To keep traffic moving, parents using the Kiss & Drop zone are kindly asked to not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side.   Please only have your child exit your vehicle in the designated Kiss & Drop zone.  St. Josephine Bakhita parents are not eligible to park in the school parking lot during drop off hours.  If your child requires assistance getting out of your vehicle, please do not use the Kiss & Drop zone – you will need to park on a side street and walk your child to school safely. 

Pick Up

Parents choosing to drive their children home at the end of the school day cannot do so on school property.  The Kiss & Drop zone is for dropping students off before school only and the school parking lots are reserved for staff and daycare parking only.  Parents will need to park on a side street and have their children walk safely to their vehicle if they are providing their children with a ride home.

 

BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAYS

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, and EVERY Wednesday, is BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAY!  If you ordered additional Bear Wear merchandise, it is scheduled to arrive mid-November!

St. Josephine Bakhita CES is on Twitter – Follow us!

Please follow all the #WCDSBawesome things taking place at our school!  You can find us at https://twitter.com/stjbbruins.

 

2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates

October 31         Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser

November 8       School Picture Re-take Day

November 13    PA Day

November 20     Progress Report Card Distribution

November 23     Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 25     Sacrament of Confirmation at Blessed Sacrament Parish

Dec. 25-Jan. 5    Christmas Break

January 19         PA Day

February 14       Ash Wednesday

February 15       Term 1 Report Card Distribution

February 19       Family Day

March 8-15        March Break

March 29            Good Friday (no school)

April 1                 Easter Monday (no school)

April 19               PA Day

April 28-May 3  Catholic Education Week

May 20               Victoria Day (no school)

May 31               PA Day

June 24              Term 2 Report Card Distribution

June 27               Last Day of School for Students

June 28               PA Day

 

 

By |2023-10-30T08:18:45-04:00October 30th, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

St. Josephine Bakhita CES News

October 16, 2023

 

“Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beauties of nature, I asked myself, ‘Who is the owner of all these beautiful things?’ and I felt a great desire to see him, know him, and pay him homage.” – St. Josephine Bakhita

Opening/Thanksgiving Liturgy

Thank you to Fantastic Fr. Luke, our Premier Pastoral Team, our Charismatic Choir, and our Gracious Gr. 8s for their leadership in helping us celebrate a very special opening school year mass last week.  Thank you to the parents and family members who were able to join us too!

Halloween Dance-a-thon FUNdraiser

Dear Parents and Guardians:

We are just one short week away from our first ever Catholic School Advisory Council Halloween Dance-A-Thon FUNDRAISER and we are asking for your help.

This event is THE major School Council fundraiser for the year. We are hoping to raise $10,000, which we will put towards enriching our school environment for the students with such items as School T-shirts, Team Jerseys, Guest Speakers, Murals, School Yard Play Elements, and a school Christmas tree for our foyer.

We are asking the students to collect money through pledges for the Dance-A-Thon. This is a fun and active way to get students involved in their school fundraiser. We recommend they approach close friends and family for their pledges rather than going door to door. Students are strongly discouraged going door to door for safety reasons.

We are not able to accept any cash donations, you must submit your students’ pledges by School Cash Online. All donations of $20 or more will be issued a tax receipt. Please check off on the box if a tax receipt is needed. It is important to note the system will only let you submit a one-time donation amount per student. Once you have completed your transaction, you can no longer modify your donation amount to include additional donations. If you are not signed up for School Cash Online you will need to register. There is a link to register for School Cash Online on the St Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary School website at the top of the page. If you need assistance with School Cash Online please contact the school directly.

Please have all pledges submitted by Tuesday October 31st. There will be an “Early Bird Prize draw” for anyone who submits their pledges by Tuesday October 24th. Each student in the school will receive one ballot for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Also, for every $10 fundraised, students will receive an additional ballot. Students will have a chance to win raffle prizes as well as prizes for the top fundraising classes in each division.

We would not be able to accomplish such events without the support of the community. Any monetary or prize donation that you could offer would be appreciated. We are excited to make our first fundraiser a big success!  The Dance-a-thon is for students only – unfortunately, we aren’t able to invite parents and family members.

If you have any questions, please contact parent volunteer Adrienne Brown through the school.

Adrienne Brown and Dance-A-Thon Committee

St. Josephine Bakhita CES Logo

Lunch Program Volunteers STILL Needed!

 

We are going to be offering parents the opportunity to take a day or two off every week from making lunches by offering a Lunch Program through Elementary Schools Nutrition.  Parents will have the opportunity to order lunches (e.g., pizza, subs, or warm meals) for their children on these days through the ESN website.  To be able to offer this program to our families, and for it to run smoothly, we are still looking for two or three volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 11:30-12:00 to organize and help distribute lunches to classes.  Please email our Vice-Principal, Tracy.Mendonca-Freitas@wcdsb.ca if you are interested.

School Picture Re-Take Day – November 8th

If your child was absent, or you would like their original school picture re-taken, please note that photographers from Pegasus School Images will return to St. Josephine Bakhita on November 8th for picture re-take day.

Reminder – Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Josephine Bakhita CES

 

***ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA PARENTS – PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE DESIGNATED YMCA DAYCARE PARKING SPOTS***

 

Please read the following information and follow our school’s drop off and pick up procedures that have been developed to keep your children, our students, safe.  We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school.  Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.  Parents who choose to drive their children to school may use our Drive to Five option or our designated ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.

DRIVE TO FIVE & Drop Off (8:50-9:05 a.m.)

Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:

  1. “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION for Junior & Intermediate students) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid contributing to the congestion in the Kiss & Drop zone and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day!
  2. Use the school’s Kiss & Drop area (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and wait until you enter the clearly marked Kiss & Drop zone.  To keep traffic moving, parents using the Kiss & Drop zone are kindly asked to not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side.   Please only have your child exit your vehicle in the designated Kiss & Drop zone.  St. Josephine Bakhita parents are not eligible to park in the school parking lot during drop off hours.  If your child requires assistance getting out of your vehicle, please do not use the Kiss & Drop zone – you will need to park on a side street and walk your child to school safely. 

Pick Up

Parents choosing to drive their children home at the end of the school day cannot do so on school property.  The Kiss & Drop zone is for dropping students off before school only and the school parking lots are reserved for staff and daycare parking only.  Parents will need to park on a side street and have their children walk safely to their vehicle if they are providing their children with a ride home.

BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAYS

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, and EVERY Wednesday, is BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAY!  If you ordered additional Bear Wear merchandise, it is scheduled to arrive mid-November!

St. Josephine Bakhita CES is on Twitter – Follow us!

Please follow all the #WCDSBawesome things taking place at our school!  You can find us at https://twitter.com/stjbbruins.

 

2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates

October 31         Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser

November 8       School Picture Re-take Day

November 13    PA Day

November 20     Progress Report Card Distribution

November 23     Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 25     Sacrament of Confirmation at Blessed Sacrament Parish

Dec. 25-Jan. 5    Christmas Break

January 19         PA Day

February 14       Ash Wednesday

February 15       Term 1 Report Card Distribution

February 19       Family Day

March 8-15        March Break

March 29            Good Friday (no school)

April 1                 Easter Monday (no school)

April 19               PA Day

April 28-May 3  Catholic Education Week

May 20               Victoria Day (no school)

May 31               PA Day

June 24              Term 2 Report Card Distribution

June 27               Last Day of School for Students

June 28               PA Day

 

By |2023-10-23T10:59:58-04:00October 23rd, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on The Bruin Bulletin

Elementary School Nutrition Lunch Program

 

ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA SCHOOL

 

Elementary School Nutrition Services is pleased to announce that we will administer your LUNCH program for 2023/2024.

Tuesday Lunch – Domino’s Pizza

Thursday Lunch – Subway, Pita Pit, Osmows, and Boston Pizza alternating weeks

For orders starting October 31,  please have your order placed and paid for by October 25th.   Any unpaid orders will not be processed, and will be deleted from your account.

To Register log on to  : https://stjosephine.esns.ca/

Instructions to Register

  1. Click on the tab REGISTER
  2. Complete all the fields in the registration form
  3. Click on Children to add your student information – select their classroom from the dropdown menu- Add additional children if appropriate
  4. Click on the tab ORDERS
  5. Complete one order form for each child then proceed to payment

Full detailed instructions can also be found under the HELP Tab

IMPORTANT ORDER, PAYMENT AND CANCELLATION POLICIES

ORDERS

All orders must be placed 9 days in advance of delivery, as we must place our orders with our suppliers in this time frame.  Emails will be sent to you to remind you when to order. Orders will only be processed if they are paid in full.

PAYMENTS

Please make your payment at the time of ordering.

CANCELLATIONS– email support@esns.ca

Orders must be cancelled online.   If the order day is highlighted in Red, this order has already been placed and cannot be changed at this time.  Our custom software does allow you to edit orders on your account that have not been placed with our suppliers.  This lunch will be available for pick up at your child’s school at the nutrition break when food is being served.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

If the school board has closed the school due to weather conditions all orders will be cancelled, and a full refund will be posted to your account.

BUS CANCELLATIONS

If buses are cancelled due to weather, all orders will be sent to the school.

Helpful Information

Please ensure that you register your children in the correct classroom as this is where their lunches will be delivered.  If your child is moved to a different room, please log in and edit your child’s information or contact us.

When you see the icon  beside a product this means that there are options available for this product.  When you select this product, your options will appear.

(Eg.  Toppings on a pita, or dressing for a salad)

 

If you are not able to place your order on-line you may contact our office at 519-570-3767 and we will be pleased to help you or email support@esns.ca

By |2023-10-25T16:16:29-04:00October 19th, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on Elementary School Nutrition Lunch Program

The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

St. Josephine Bakhita CES News

October 16, 2023

 

“Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beauties of nature, I asked myself, ‘Who is the owner of all these beautiful things?’ and I felt a great desire to see him, know him, and pay him homage.” – St. Josephine Bakhita

Waterloo Catholic District School Board Communication Guide for Parents – A Reminder

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has established communication guidelines for parents and teaching staff.  Parents are asked to follow the following steps to ensure prompt and efficient resolution to their questions or possible concerns.

Step #1:                            

Parent speaks with the teacher.  Hopefully the issue is resolved.

If the issue is not resolved, proceed to Step #2.

Step #2:

Speak with the principal.  If you have not spoken with the teacher directly, the principal will ask you to do so.  Should you not wish to do this, the principal will involve the teacher / staff member in a three-way discussion.  The principal may request, at any time in the process, that you put your concerns in writing.  The principal may involve others who may be helpful in resolving the issue.

Role of the Trustee:

Parents may contact the trustee at any time.  The trustee will direct the parent to follow the process outlined above.

Role of the Catholic School Advisory Council:

The St. Josephine Bakhita CSAC is not a forum to discuss parent-teacher/staff member-student issues.  If these matters are brought to any Catholic School Council member or any School Council meeting, the concern will be referred immediately to the principal.

 

Morning School Yard and Dogs on School Property Policy Reminder

A reminder that we respectfully ask parents and caregivers to say ‘good-bye’ to their children at the school yard boundaries at the beginning of the day, allowing our school staff to supervise your children/our students for the 15 minutes before the opening bell at 9:05 a.m.  By treating the 15 min. before the beginning of the school day as a ‘before school recess’ without parents on the yard, we will alleviate some of the congestion on the school’s blacktop, provide students with another opportunity to connect/play with friends & classmates, and allow students to be supervised on school property by our highly capable St. Josephine Bakhita staff.

At the end of the day, parents and caregivers are permitted to meet their children on the school’s blacktop; however, please respect our school’s dog policy – that no dogs are allowed on the school campus to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Opening/Thanksgiving Liturgy

Parents are invited to join our school’s Opening Liturgy on Thursday, October 19th at 10:45 a.m. in our gymnasium.  Fr. Luke, the Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, will lead our liturgy, which was rescheduled due to construction delays.

 

Halloween Dance-a-thon FUNdraiser

Dear Parents and Guardians:

The St Josephine Bakhita Catholic School Advisory Council will be holding our very first fundraiser in two short week! The Halloween
Dance-A-Thon will be taking place during the school day on Tuesday October 31, 2023. The Dance-A-Thon is not open for parents to attend.

This event is a major School Council fundraiser for the year. We
are hoping to raise $10,000, which we will put towards enriching our school environment for the
students with such items as School T-shirts, Team Jerseys, Guest Speakers, Murals, School Yard Play
Elements, and a school Christmas tree for our foyer.

We are asking the students to collect money through pledges for the Dance-A-Thon. This is a fun and
active way to get students involved in their school fundraiser. We recommend they approach close
friends and family for their pledges rather than going door to door. Students are strongly discouraged
going door to door for safety reasons.

We are not able to accept any cash donations, you must submit your students’ pledges by School Cash
Online. All donations of $25 or more will be issued a tax receipt. Please check off on the box if a tax
receipt is needed. It is important to note the system will only let you submit a one-time donation
amount per student. Once you have completed your transaction, you can no longer modify your
donation amount to include additional donations. If you are not signed up for School Cash Online you
will need to register. There is a link to register for School Cash Online on the St Josephine Bakhita
Catholic Elementary School website at the top of the page. If you need assistance with School Cash
Online please contact the school directly.

Please have all pledges submitted by Tuesday October 31, 2023. There will be an “Early Bird Prize draw”
for anyone who submits their pledges by Tuesday October 23, 2023. Each student in the school will
receive one ballot for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Also for every $10 fundraised, students will
receive an additional ballot. Students will have a chance to win raffle prizes as well as prizes for the top
fundraising classes in each division.

We would not be able to accomplish such events without the support of the community. Any monetary
or prize donation that you could offer would be appreciated. We are excited to make our first fundraiser
a big success!

If you have any questions, please contact parent volunteer Adrienne Brown through the school.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Adrienne Brown and Dance-A-Thon Committee

Lunch Program Volunteers Needed!

We are hoping to offer parents the opportunity to take a day or two off every week from making lunches by offering a Lunch Program through Elementary Schools Nutrition.  Parents would have the opportunity to order lunches (e.g., pizza, subs, or warm meals) for their children on these days through the ESN website.  To be able to offer this program to our families, we require five or six volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays from about 11:30-12:00 to organize and help distribute lunches to classes.  Please email our Vice-Principal, Tracy.Mendonca-Freitas@wcdsb.ca if you are interested.

This week is Bike, Walk, or Roll Week in Canada!

School Picture Re-Take Day

If your child was absent, or you would like their original school picture re-taken, please note that photographers from Pegasus School Images will return to St. Josephine Bakhita on November 8th for picture re-take day.

Reminder – Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Josephine Bakhita CES

 

***ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA PARENTS – PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE DESIGNATED YMCA DAYCARE PARKING SPOTS***

 

Please read the following information and follow our school’s drop off and pick up procedures that have been developed to keep your children, our students, safe.  We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school.  Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.  Parents who choose to drive their children to school may use our Drive to Five option or our designated ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.

DRIVE TO FIVE & Drop Off (8:50-9:05 a.m.)

Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:

  1. “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION for Junior & Intermediate students) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid contributing to the congestion in the Kiss & Drop zone and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day!
  2. Use the school’s Kiss & Drop area (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and wait until you enter the clearly marked Kiss & Drop zone.  To keep traffic moving, parents using the Kiss & Drop zone are kindly asked to not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side.   Please only have your child exit your vehicle in the designated Kiss & Drop zone.  St. Josephine Bakhita parents are not eligible to park in the school parking lot during drop off hours.  If your child requires assistance getting out of your vehicle, please do not use the Kiss & Drop zone – you will need to park on a side street and walk your child to school safely. 

Pick Up

Parents choosing to drive their children home at the end of the school day cannot do so on school property.  The Kiss & Drop zone is for dropping students off before school only and the school parking lots are reserved for staff and daycare parking only.  Parents will need to park on a side street and have their children walk safely to their vehicle if they are providing their children with a ride home.

 

BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAYS

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, and EVERY Wednesday, is BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAY!  If you are looking for purchase some more St. Josephine Bakhita Bruins Bear Wear, our online store is open until Wednesday at midnight!

Visit https://stjosephinesw2023.itemorder.com/ to place your order.

The online store closes (will not accept any additional orders)

on Wednesday, October 18th at 11:59 p.m.

St. Josephine Bakhita CES is on Twitter – Follow us!

Please follow all the #WCDSBawesome things taking place at our school!  You can find us at https://twitter.com/stjbbruins.

 

2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates

October 19         Opening School Liturgy (10:45 a.m.)

October 31         Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser

November 8       School Picture Re-take Day

November 13    PA Day

November 20     Progress Report Card Distribution

November 23     Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 25     Sacrament of Confirmation at Blessed Sacrament Parish

Dec. 25-Jan. 5    Christmas Break

January 19         PA Day

February 14       Ash Wednesday

February 15       Term 1 Report Card Distribution

February 19       Family Day

March 8-15        March Break

March 29            Good Friday (no school)

April 1                 Easter Monday (no school)

April 19               PA Day

April 28-May 3  Catholic Education Week

May 20               Victoria Day (no school)

May 31               PA Day

June 24              Term 2 Report Card Distribution

June 27               Last Day of School for Students

June 28               PA Day

 

By |2023-10-16T07:53:18-04:00October 16th, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on The Bruin Bulletin

Dance -A-Thon

Dear Parents and Guardians:

St Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary School will be holding our very first fundraiser. The Halloween
Dance-A-Thon will be taking place during the school day on Tuesday October 31, 2023. The Dance-A-Thon is not open for parents to attend.

This event is a major School Council fundraiser for the year. We
are hoping to raise $10,000, which we will put towards enriching our school environment for the
students with such items as School T-shirts, Team Jerseys, Guest Speakers, Murals, School Yard Play
Elements, and a school Christmas tree for our foyer.

We are asking the students to collect money through pledges for the Dance-A-Thon. This is a fun and
active way to get students involved in their school fundraiser. We recommend they approach close
friends and family for their pledges rather than going door to door. Students are strongly discouraged
going door to door for safety reasons.

We are not able to accept any cash donations, you must submit your students’ pledges by School Cash
Online. All donations of $20 or more will be issued a tax receipt. Please check off on the box if a tax
receipt is needed. It is important to note the system will only let you submit a one-time donation
amount per student. Once you have completed your transaction, you can no longer modify your
donation amount to include additional donations. If you are not signed up for School Cash Online you
will need to register. There is a link to register for School Cash Online on the St Josephine Bakhita
Catholic Elementary School website at the top of the page. If you need assistance with School Cash
Online please contact the school directly.

Please have all pledges submitted by Tuesday October 31, 2023. There will be an “Early Bird Prize draw”
for anyone who submits their pledges by Tuesday October 23, 2023. Each student in the school will
receive one ballot for a chance to win some awesome prizes. Also for every $10 fundraised, students will
receive an additional ballot. Students will have a chance to win raffle prizes as well as prizes for the top
fundraising classes in each division.

We would not be able to accomplish such events without the support of the community. Any monetary
or prize donation that you could offer would be appreciated. We are excited to make our first fundraiser
a big success!

If you have any questions, please contact parent volunteer Adrienne Brown through the school.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Adrienne Brown and Dance-A-Thon Committee

St. Josephine Bakhita CES Logo

By |2023-10-13T08:28:15-04:00October 13th, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on Dance -A-Thon

The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

St. Josephine Bakhita CES News

October 10, 2023

 

“Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beauties of nature, I asked myself, ‘Who is the owner of all these beautiful things?’ and I felt a great desire to see him, know him, and pay him homage.” – St. Josephine Bakhita

 

Morning School Yard Changes for Grade 1-8 Students and No Dogs on School Property Policy

Beginning, Wednesday, October 11th, we respectfully ask parents and caregivers to say ‘good-bye’ to their children at the school yard boundaries at the beginning of the day, allowing our school staff to supervise your children/our students for the 15 minutes before the opening bell at 9:05 a.m.  By treating the 15 min. before the beginning of the school day as a ‘before school recess’ without parents on the yard, we will alleviate some of the congestion on the school’s blacktop, provide students with another opportunity to connect/play with friends & classmates, and allow students to be supervised on school property by our highly capable St. Josephine Bakhita staff.

At the end of the day, parents and caregivers are permitted to meet their children on the school’s blacktop; however, please respect our school’s dog policy – that no dogs are allowed on the school campus to ensure the safety of our students and staff.

Beckview Drive Boulevard Work

The City of Kitchener has asked our school to share with parents that the completion of the boulevards in front of the school is scheduled to take place this week.  If possible, parents who drive their children to school are asked to use our ‘Walk a Block’ or ‘Drive to 5’ model due to the increase of activity on the street the next few days.

Thanksgiving Food Drive

A HUGE BRUIN THANK YOU to our awesome community for donating the equivalent of 425 meals to The Food Bank of Waterloo Region!  Thank you to our Student Council, and teachers, Ms. Hunter and Ms. Gravenor, for organizing and leading our Thanksgiving Food Drive.

School Cash Online

For safety and efficiency reasons, Waterloo Catholic District School Board would like to reduce the
amount of cash & cheques coming into our schools. It takes less than 5 minutes to register.
Please follow these step-by-step instructions, so you will begin to receive email notifications
regarding upcoming events involving your child(ren).

There is NO CASH being accepted for school trips, lunches or fundraising. If you have any questions please contact the office.  226-444-9774.

School Cash Online – Registration Instructions

Thanksgiving Food Drive

A BIG BRUIN THANK YOU to our students for participating in last Thursday’s Terry Fox Run, and to our community for donating to The Terry Fox Foundation to support cancer research!  Appreciation to staff members, Mrs. Kay, Ms. Jakub, Ms. Sottosanti, and Mr. Nicholls for organizing the event.

Opening/Thanksgiving Liturgy

Parents are invited to join our school’s Opening Liturgy on Thursday, October 19th at 10:45 a.m. in our gymnasium.  Fr. Luke, the Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, will lead our liturgy, which was rescheduled due to construction delays.

Halloween Dance-a-thon FUNdraiser

Our Catholic School Advisory Council’s primary fundraiser for the school year will be a Halloween-themed Dance-a-thon taking place Tuesday, October 31st in our school gymnasium.  The funds raised will support student learning programs and augment student life at St. Josephine Bakhita.  Examples of initiatives include: a Guest Speaker Series, Purchasing School Athletic Jerseys, Paying for Play Elements on the School Yard, Family Math Night Prizes, Bussing to School Track & Field Meet, Grade 4 Bible Celebration, and Gr. 8 Graduation.  More information will be shared in the coming weeks!

 

Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Josephine Bakhita CES

Please read the following information and follow our school’s drop off and pick up procedures that have been developed to keep your children, our students, safe.  We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school.  Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.  Parents who choose to drive their children to school may use our Drive to Five option or our designated ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.

DRIVE TO FIVE & Drop Off (8:50-9:05 a.m.)

Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:

  1. “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION for Junior & Intermediate students) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid contributing to the congestion in the Kiss & Drop zone and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day!
  2. Use the school’s Kiss & Drop area (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and wait until you enter the clearly marked Kiss & Drop zone.  To keep traffic moving, parents using the Kiss & Drop zone are kindly asked to not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side.   Please only have your child exit your vehicle in the designated Kiss & Drop zone.  St. Josephine Bakhita parents are not eligible to park in the school parking lot during drop off hours.  If your child requires assistance getting out of your vehicle, please do not use the Kiss & Drop zone – you will need to park on a side street and walk your child to school safely. 

Pick Up

Parents choosing to drive their children home at the end of the school day cannot do so on school property.  The Kiss & Drop zone is for dropping students off before school only and the school parking lots are reserved for staff and daycare parking only.  Parents will need to park on a side street and have their children walk safely to their vehicle if they are providing their children with a ride home.

Good Luck Athletic Teams!

Good Luck to our Girls’ Basketball Team and our Co-ed Flag Football Team who see action this week!

BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAYS

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, and EVERY Wednesday, is BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAY!  If you are looking for purchase some more St. Josephine Bakhita Bruins Bear Wear, our online store is now open!

Visit https://stjosephinesw2023.itemorder.com/ to place your order.

The online store closes (will not accept any additional orders)

on Wednesday, October 18th at 11:59 p.m.

BOOMERANG LUNCH PROGRAM

At St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary School we are adopting a Boomerang Lunch policy to help make a

difference for our environment and to reduce the amount of garbage we produce.

The Boomerang Lunch Program focuses on important objectives! We hope to reduce waste and

encourage students and their families to review and think about the way they prepare and

package lunch and snack foods.

HOW IT WORKS

All pre-packaged waste from your child’s lunches will be returned home in their lunch bags. This includes any packaging,

plastic bags and wrapping. Any compostable items such as fruit peelings and uneaten crusts of sandwiches will also be

sent home. We will not compost these at school.

Thank you for your support with this very important

initiative.

St. Josephine Bakhita CES is on Twitter – Follow us!

Please follow all the #WCDSBawesome things taking place at our school!  You can find us at https://twitter.com/stjbbruins.

 

2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates

October 19         Opening School Liturgy (10:45 a.m.)

October 31         Halloween Dance-a-thon Fundraiser

November 13    PA Day

November 20     Progress Report Card Distribution

November 23     Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 25     Sacrament of Confirmation at Blessed Sacrament Parish

Dec. 25-Jan. 5    Christmas Break

January 19         PA Day

February 14       Ash Wednesday

February 15       Term 1 Report Card Distribution

February 19       Family Day

March 8-15        March Break

March 29            Good Friday (no school)

April 1                 Easter Monday (no school)

April 19               PA Day

April 28-May 3  Catholic Education Week

May 20               Victoria Day (no school)

May 31               PA Day

June 24              Term 2 Report Card Distribution

June 27               Last Day of School for Students

June 28               PA Day

 

By |2023-10-10T07:54:30-04:00October 10th, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

The Bruin Bulletin

St. Josephine Bakhita CES News

October 2, 2023

 

“Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, the beauties of nature, I asked myself, ‘Who is the owner of all these beautiful things?’ and I felt a great desire to see him, know him, and pay him homage.” – St. Josephine Bakhita

School Picture Day – Monday, October 2nd

Smile!  Photographers from Pegasus Photography will be onsite Monday taking school pictures!  Families will receive a proof sheet with an online code to view student images with additional ordering choices.  Proofs will be sent to the school approximately two weeks after photo day!  No money is being collected on Photo Day.

Terry Fox Run/Walk – Thursday, October 5th

  • The St. Josephine Bakhita Terry Fox Run is taking place this Thursday!  Students will be be spending a 40 minute block to run/walk around the school!  Students are asked to remember to bring their running shoes and some extra water that day.  Parents are asked to consider donating online to the Terry Fox Foundation using our school’s donation page – St. Josephine Bakhita Elementary School – Kitchener, ON | Terry Fox School Run

Bruins Thanksgiving Food Drive – October 2-6

Families are asked to consider donation to our Thanksgiving Food Drive to help support those in need this Thanksgiving season.  Donated items will be picked up by the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

Learning Commons, Gym, and Yard Updates

Our Learning Commons (Library) will be open for classes to use this week!  It will; however, be about another four weeks before all of our books are catalogued and students can begin signing them out.

Our gym is scheduled to open this week!  We will finally begin using it during recesses (to relieve some pressure from the blacktop), for Physical Education classes, intramurals, and inter-school team play.

Our outdoor basketball rims should be installed in the coming days.  Once they are ready, line game painting on the blacktop will take place.

Grade 7 & 8 Saturday Skills Builder

If you have a child in Gr. 7 or 8 and they are looking for additional help with reading, math, or technology skills, check out WCDSB’s Saturday Skills Builder program!

Drop off and Pick up Policy at St. Josephine Bakhita CES

Please read the following information and follow our school’s drop off and pick up procedures that have been developed to keep your children, our students, safe.  We encourage students in Gr. 4 – 8 who live within 1.6 km of the school (0.8 km for JK – Gr. 3 students) to walk to school.  Those who live further than 1.6 km (0.8 km JK – Gr. 3) are eligible for bussing.  Parents who choose to drive their children to school may use our Drive to Five option or our designated ‘Kiss & Drop’ zone.

DRIVE TO FIVE & Drop Off (8:50-9:05 a.m.)

Parents who choose to drive their children to school are asked to either:

  1. “Drive to Five” (BEST OPTION for Junior & Intermediate students) – Drop your child off a block or two away from the school (5 min. walk). You will avoid contributing to the congestion in the Kiss & Drop zone and the walk will do your child good – they will be that much more alert to begin their day!
  2. Use the school’s Kiss & Drop area (SECOND BEST OPTION) – Pull into the school driveway and wait until you enter the clearly marked Kiss & Drop zone.  To keep traffic moving, parents using the Kiss & Drop zone are kindly asked to not get out of their vehicles and children may only exit the vehicle from the passenger side.   Please only have your child exit your vehicle in the designated Kiss & Drop zone.  St. Josephine Bakhita parents are not eligible to park in the school parking lot during drop off hours.  If your child requires assistance getting out of your vehicle, please do not use the Kiss & Drop zone – you will need to park on a side street and walk your child to school safely. 

Pick Up

Parents choosing to drive their children home at the end of the school day cannot do so on school property.  The Kiss & Drop zone is for dropping students off before school only and the school parking lots are reserved for staff and daycare parking only.  Parents will need to park on a side street and have their children walk safely to their vehicle if they are providing their children with a ride home.

Crossing Guard

We have been notified The City of Kitchener has appointed a second crossing guard to assist students crossing Huron Road. The City of Kitchener’s Transportation Services Department has asked the school to remind parents that students should wait for the crossing guards before crossing Huron Rd. or Beckview Dr.

BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAYS

Don’t forget that this Wednesday, and EVERY Wednesday, is BEAR WEAR WEDNESDAY!  If you are looking for purchase some more St. Josephine Bakhita Bruins Bear Wear, our online store is now open!

Visit https://stjosephinesw2023.itemorder.com/ to place your order.

The online store closes (will not accept any additional orders)

on Wednesday, October 18th at 11:59 p.m.

BOOMERANG LUNCH PROGRAM

At St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic Elementary School we are adopting a Boomerang Lunch policy to help make a

difference for our environment and to reduce the amount of garbage we produce.

The Boomerang Lunch Program focuses on important objectives! We hope to reduce waste and

encourage students and their families to review and think about the way they prepare and

package lunch and snack foods.

HOW IT WORKS

All pre-packaged waste from your child’s lunches will be returned home in their lunch bags. This includes any packaging,

plastic bags and wrapping. Any compostable items such as fruit peelings and uneaten crusts of sandwiches will also be

sent home. We will not compost these at school.

Thank you for your support with this very important

initiative.

St. Josephine Bakhita CES is on Twitter – Follow us!

Please follow all the #WCDSBawesome things taking place at our school!  You can find us at https://twitter.com/stjbbruins.

Doon-Pioneer Park Community Centre Programs

2023-2024 School Year Calendar – Some Important Dates

October 2            Smile!  School Picture Day

October 6            PA Day (no school for students)

October 9           Thanksgiving (no school)

November 13    PA Day

November 20     Progress Report Card Distribution

November 23     Parent-Teacher Conferences

Dec. 25-Jan. 5    Christmas Break

January 19         PA Day

February 14       Ash Wednesday

February 15       Term 1 Report Card Distribution

February 19       Family Day

March 8-15        March Break

March 29            Good Friday (no school)

April 1                 Easter Monday (no school)

April 19               PA Day

April 28-May 3  Catholic Education Week

May 20               Victoria Day (no school)

May 31               PA Day

June 24              Term 2 Report Card Distribution

June 27               Last Day of School for Students

June 28               PA Day

By |2023-10-02T07:46:20-04:00October 2nd, 2023|NewsWire|Comments Off on The Bruin Bulletin
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