Spirit Week Prize Draw Recipients!

This week we were able to see many talents from our Angel community! We want you to continue sharing your talents with us for our Virtual Talent Show. We would like to congratulate the following families for being this weeks random prize draw recipients:

The Bridgeman, Godin and Hayward families! It was wonderful to see you beautiful smiles on this beautiful day! Stay tuned for our final challenge week!

Summer Learning Programs

Bridge to Success Program – Summer 2020 – Online Distance Learning

2020-Bridge to Success Program Flyer

Letter from Director of Education

Hello Angel families,

Please see the letter from the Director of Education to the students of WCDSB:

Director’s Letter to WCDSB Students

Dear Students of Waterloo Catholic –

This is a June unlike any other and I am quite certain that for you this has been a school year unlike any other. Students, I am writing to you today because I think there have been some significant issues of importance to you – and to all of us – and I wanted to openly address you on these events. I have had other opportunities to address staff on these topics, but now wish to speak directly to you. June is typically a month characterized by celebrations and many of those are tied to end of year or graduation celebrations. Those special moments have been taken from you and I want to acknowledge that there may be some disappointment in that, but I also know that our amazing staff have been going to great lengths to ensure that your end of year is still a memorable one. I congratulate all students for how you have adapted to our new mode of learning. You have been absolutely fabulous.

With that said – I also want to acknowledge that a number of you may be feeling hurt or upset and there could be a few different reasons for that. It could be COVID and its implications for you or your family. Just missing your daily interaction with your friends might have you feeling sad or lonely, or your concerns about next year might have you experiencing an elevated level of anxiety. We have supports for you and again our staff want to be here to support you, and I hope we have been. But I also want to acknowledge another topic which has been in the media a fair bit this past week.

I would like to address with you our attempt to fly a different flag to acknowledge Pride month. This gesture was a genuine response to student voices which were raised in protest last year, articulating a desire to see our Catholic schools fly the Pride flag. The flag was developed in collaboration with our other partners in Catholic education, not just here in Waterloo Catholic. However, the chosen image did provide a beautiful echo back to our Pastoral Plan image for “Called To Belong”, as well as the colours of the rainbow flag. It drew some inspiration from a student design from our Safe Spaces groups – although they did not have direct input into the flag itself. It was work and an initiative begun with great optimism, in the sure belief that we could communicate to all our staff, students and broader community our commitment to be inclusive and to nurture our students in the love of Christ. As your Director of Education, I have the rare privilege of visiting all of our elementary and secondary schools, and there is not one doubt in my mind that our schools are places of inclusion where all students are welcomed. I am very proud of our schools and the work we do to foster inclusion each and every day of the year.

The Pride flag has its origin in 1979 and each of the colours carries significance. As members of our Catholic school system you have been introduced to the love of Christ and his message of acceptance, peace and tolerance. Jesus always reached out to those whom society was rejecting. The message on the proposed flag read: We love because He loved us first. While the image on the proposed flag is consistent with our faith and gospel values, and most certainly was intended to send a message of welcome, some found it problematic that it was not the actual Pride flag. For that I apologize. It was a lesson for us on intent versus impact. We wished to send a positive and inclusive message, but it was not received that way by some. The ensuing debate last week was painful to many and hurt many of you. For that I sincerely apologize, as that is the opposite of what we had hoped for. I hope that you know that your teachers and all the staff at WCDSB are here for you if you need us.

Christ taught us the power of peace and of love, and His message and His model is one we should lean into at this time. Again – I hope that any student who is LGBQT2+ has always found a place of welcome in our schools, but we also commit to continue the dialogue and the work, as we can always be better. We love because He loved us first.

Dear students – I am writing because I am sorry if any of you have been hurt. Please know we celebrate you and all that you are. You are the reason we are here and we hope that as you think about your schools, about the activities that happen day in and day out, as you think about your teachers, your clubs and your school life, that you can reflect in your heart that Waterloo Catholic is a board where inclusion is fostered and where every day you are truly #CalledToBelong

Sincerely,

Loretta Notten

Director of Education

ANGELS GOT TALENT!

Just a reminder to share your photos and videos of you talents Angels! All submissions are entered into a draw for a prize pack! The submissions must be in by Friday at noon! Let’s share those talents Angels!! You can tweet then using the handle @StMichaelAngels or send them to me at heather.papp@wcdsb.ca

SHOW US YOUR TALENT ANGELS!

For a chance to win this weeks prize pack we are asking you to show us your talent! You can send a video or picture to showcase the talent that you have! All of the entries will also be submitted to our year end virtual talent show! Submit your talent videos or pictures to heather.papp@wcdsb.ca

We cannot wait to see your amazing talents! Contest closes on Friday at noon!

EXCITING NEWS – TALENT SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA AND SPIRIT WEEK CHALLENGE!!

We all know that the Talent Show has been a long standing tradition at St. Michael School! We do not want to lose that tradition because we are not together in our school building – so we will be having a School-wide VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA!!

Our dedicated staff want to ensure that you still get the experience to participate and showcase your talent! From June 1-12 – you will have a chance to submit a video and/or picture of you showing us your talent! All submissions must be submitted to Mrs. Hall at michelle.hall@wcdsb.ca or Mrs. Johnson at colleen.johnson@wcdsb.ca or Ms. Staples at patricia.staples@wcdsb.ca. You can also send videos my way at heather.papp@wcdsb.ca.

We are looking for the following:

Video Talents such as:

Dance – show us your moves!
Sports – trick shots included!
Musical instruments – even homemade instruments count!
Singing – I know we have some beautiful Angel voices!
Martial Arts – activity and discipline all in one!
Improv (acting/comedy) – do we have some jokesters??

Photographed Talents

Drawings – we have amazing artists – let’s showcase your talents!!
Written stories/Poetry – why not video yourself reading an original poem?
Photography shots – get your cameras ready!
Makeup artists – now is the time to experiment!!
Fashion creations – sew away!!

OTHER CRITERIA

You must ensure that you use appropriate vocabulary and content (no offensive content)
Appropriate dress code (wear clothing that would be suitable to wear at school).
Must be no longer than 2 minutes.
Videos may be edited to fit the time restrictions.
Videos must be clear in audio and visual (video quality). You may be asked to re-submit your video is we cannot hear you or it is too blurry!
Photographs of drawings must be clear (picture quality)
Written stories must be written neatly so that we are able to read it. They can be typed as well to ensure legibility. Feel free to video yourself reading a portion of it as well! Or even a poem!

The Talent Show is open to ALL ages. Be sure to include the name and age of the student when submitted your video and/or picture!

Take a look at the video below to help you decide how you would like to participate! I even hear that we have some talented staff as well – you may get to see some of their hidden talents too!

Talent Show Extravaganza Video!

SPIRIT WEEK CHALLENGE – ANGELS GOT TALENT WEEK!

To support the talent show – we will be having our #angelsgottalent week! Please post your video or picture of your talent to Twitter using the handle @StMichaelAngels or send the entries my way at heather.papp@wcdsb.ca

Your name will be entered into a draw for one of our weekly prize packs! We have had amazing participation in our previous weeks and we hope this will be the same! I look forward to seeing all of our talented angels this week!!

ANGEL UPDATE – JUNE 1-5

GOOD AFTERNOON ANGEL FAMILIES!

Recently the Minister of Education announced that we would not be returning to school for the remainder of this year. We are so sad to hear this news and we continue to hope for a quick resolution to the many safety issues that we have as a part of large gatherings. Hopefully, things will return to “normal” for September. Whatever the case, please know that we miss you all greatly and we can’t wait to get back to a point when we can gather, see your smiling faces and once again, begin to learn together! Stay strong during the days and weeks until that can happen! If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to reach out!

That being said … I have something to say to the many parents out there who are working with our students each day…THANK YOU! Your efforts are noticed, appreciated and valued! We are so glad that you are helping your children, our students, in their educational journey and that you continue to do so even with the announcement of not getting to return to school this year. The work you are doing will help them greatly in September and we are so grateful for your efforts. THANK YOU!

Remember, we still have four weeks left of school and we encourage you to continue engaging in your distance learning. We want to ensure that learning can continue, so that when we are back to school, it is like we never left! I realize it is a challenge with the current status of the school year, and the nice weather, but it is important!

Please know that we are so thankful for your continued efforts at home and we are so proud of the many Umbrella skills that you are demonstrating each and every day. This is not easy and you continue to impress the entire staff at St. Michael. Continue to stay safe and continue to take care of yourselves. Reach out to others and continue to pray for an end to this pandemic.

Have a great week Angels!

ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL

We are currently in the process of making plans for the pick-up of personal items and report cards, drop-off of school items (library books, text books, etc.), and all of the other necessary year-end procedures. We are just waiting for approval to proceed with the communication of our final plans. Please check NewsWire regularly during the month of June so you don’t miss out on important and time-sensitive information.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE MONTH – UMBRELLA SKILL FOR JUNE

This month, we focus on one piece of what makes a powerful umbrella of well-being skills and this month we are adding healthy lifestyle. Exercise is great for our body and brain. It also releases neurochemicals which are important for bonding with your family and kids. To get us started – take a look at all of our awesome Angels that took part in our Active Angel challenge last week:

Watch more in the video below from the Umbrella Project Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/umbrellapjct/videos/486828201735834/

WCDSB LEARN AT HOME

As we move forward, please remember that on our WCDSB board website you will find from our home page a link to WCDSBLearn@Home where a host of additional resources for all learners will be found. We also encourage you to continue to visit our WCDSBPray@Home webpage as well as our FAQ page. You can also follow the #STEAMDays hashtag where lots of fun and engaging activities are being posted.

Active Angel Challenge Results!!

WHAT AN AMAZING WEEK OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!

We had over 130 entries for our Active Angel challenge this week and we couldn’t be more proud of all of our families participating! We hope that you continue to participate in the future weekly challenges! Once again, we had our incredible staff, who miss you dearly, come out to say congratulations in person!

We completed the random draw and Congratulations goes out to Spencer, Kayleigh, Felicity, Thomas, Janka, Zalan, Brennan and Nathan for winning a prize pack! It was so great to visit and drop off some joy to you today!!

We also have a video of the Jensen family receiving their prize pack! Take a look below!

Truly blessed to be working in a community of Staff Angels as well!

For those that did not win – please know that there will be more chances – so keep sharing those pictures and using Twitter – we will continue to celebrate all of our Angels as best we can!!

Take a look below at some of the entries that were submitted during the week!

Have a great weekend and stay tuned for the next challenge which will be posted on Sunday! Its a great one!!

Stay safe,

Mrs. Papp and the staff of St. Michael School

ACTIVE ANGEL CHALLENGE

The Active Angel challenge is taking place all week! You are encouraged to post your pictures of you being active on Twitter using the handle @StMichaelAngels If you don’t access Twitter – you can send any pictures to heather.papp@wcdsb.ca

So let’s see you bike, run, walk, dance or anything else that shows you being active! All submissions are due by Friday at noon for a chance to win a prize pack!

ACTIVE ANGEL CHALLENGE!

Good morning Angels!

Don’t forget our Spirit Challenge this week is titled ACTIVE ANGELS! We are asking families to submit a picture of themselves and their family being active for a chance to win a prize pack! Pictures should be posted on Twitter using the handle @StMichaelAngels or sent to me via email at heather.papp@wcdsb.ca

All contest entries are due on Friday at noon!

So time to bike, run, walk, dance, jump or whatever you want to do to show your activity! Our Active Angels will be in full force this week! Can’t wait to see your pictures Angels!