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
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:
- “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!
- 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