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Category: Principal Weekly Update Archives

Principal’s Update

Dear SCCS Families,

Here we are!  Our last official school day of the 2021-2022 school year!  It’s been an amazing year, with lots of unique challenges and successes.  Watching our students grow all year has been a gift, and one which we would not trade for anything!  Thank you for trusting us with your child(ren) this year.  Our students are second to none.

As we head into summer holidays, I want to wish all of you a very happy, relaxing summer. I hope you can take this time to rejuvenate and make some amazing family memories.  Let’s hope for lots of sunshine too.

If your son/daughter forgot to pick up their medication from the front office today, please know that the front office staff will be here tomorrow from 8:00-4:00pm.  Also, one of our Gr. 6 students is missing a violin, so please check to make sure that you didn’t take home the wrong one, and if you did, please let the front office know as soon as possible.  Thank you.  😊

It is that time of year when I can announce that there will be some staffing changes for the 2022-2023 school year.  They are as follows:

  • Mrs. Kathy Lalonde is leaving SCCS after many years. She is going to be working on building a band program in her other school division, which is an amazing opportunity for her!  We wish her all the best as she moves forward with this new opportunity.  She will be missed.
  • We say good-bye to Ms. Rebecca Lerner and Ms. Claire Tompkins, as they leave their term positions at SCCS.  We will miss you and wish you both all the best.
  • We also wish all the best to Mrs. Heba Farg and Ms. Jocelyn Froese, our two Educational Assistants.  Good luck to you both, and we wish you all the best too.

I’d like to welcome two new staff members to the SCCS community next year.  A big welcome to Mrs. Joanne Mulvena, who will be taking over Mrs. Boughton’s maternity leave as Resource teacher sometime in September, and Ms. Kelsey Copeland, who will be our second Gr. 6 teacher next year.  Check out their bios to learn more about them.

Hi, my name is Joanne Mulvena and I am very excited to join the St Charles school community in September as the resource teacher. I have been a teacher for 23 years. Throughout these years I have assumed various roles that include classroom teacher K-12, resource teacher, vice-principal, and principal.  It is my passion to work with children and to support them in reaching their full potential. I am a wife, mother, nana, sister and daughter and my family is extremely important. My husband and I enjoy travelling and have been to Europe and the Caribbean. I am looking forward to beginning my role and creating new friendships and relationships.

Hello, St. Charles, Catholic School Community. My name is Kelsey Copeland and I am very excited to be joining the teaching staff at St. Charles Catholic School this September. I love teaching middle school students and am excited to be back there after a year of teaching fourth grade. Now I will give you some information about myself. I am a huge believer in physical activity helping the brain function best both academically and emotionally. As such I consider myself to be a very active person. I am a member of Manitoba Fusion, a rhythmic gymnastics team that is training to perform at the Canadian National Gymnaestrada this July in Edmonton as well as next July and August in Amsterdam for the World Gymnaestrada. I also enjoy boxing and am trying to train to eventually run a race. I love spending time outside at my cabin especially reading during the summer as it is a way I relax and unwind. I value time spent with my family and love enjoying a good barbecue with them. Finally, I am a huge crafter, whether it be knitting, cross stitching, or creating shirts or cups on my Cricut I love to have a creative outlet. I am looking forward to September to get to know and become a part of the St. Charles Catholic School Community. To the future grade 6, 7 and 8 students and families I am looking forward to being your teacher and can’t wait to see what you will accomplish this coming year! 


SAVE THE DATE

Please save the date: September 9th, 3-6pm SCCS Welcome BBQ. This will be an opportunity to meet the teachers, staff and board of directors as well as connect with parents and classroom reps.  This will also be the tentative date for chocolate bar and raffle pick up. More details to come in the new school year.”

The staff is looking forward to their summer holidays with much excitement!  Please note that they will not be responding to emails over the summer so that they can get some rest and relaxation and spend some much-needed time with their families.  Thank you for your understanding.

I too, am looking forward to doing the same thing, and will not be responding to emails until the office officially opens again on August 23rd.  I thank you in advance for your consideration and understanding in this matter.  Please note, that I will send out a communication email prior to school starting at the end of August, with details what you will need to know to start the new school year.

For those families, students, and staff, who are moving on from our SCCS community, we wish you all the best!  You have been an important part of this community, and we know that you will take part of us with you as you begin your new adventures.  Stay safe and remember that we would love to hear from you and know how you are doing!

On behalf of all the staff at SCCS, I wish you and your family a wonderful summer and we look forward to seeing you back in September!

God bless you all,

Tammy

Principal’s Weekly Update – September 10th, 2021

This month shall mark for you the beginning of months.  (Exodus 12:2)

Welcome back to all our returning families and staff, and a very special welcome to all our new families and staff!  We are so happy to welcome everyone to the SCCS community after a wonderful summer break! .

Each Friday, I will send out my Principal’s Weekly Update.  It will be full of information and is a good resource to have.  I hope that you will enjoy reading them each week.  I will also send out communication regarding the pandemic via email as it becomes necessary to share information with families.  My goal is to keep you as informed as possible about what is going on in the building, and your child(ren)’s education.

What a fantastic first week we’ve had!  The energy and excitement in the building is wonderful to see.  Walking around the building you can already see the classroom routines being put in place, and the learning has begun.  It is so exciting to see!  Students are happy to be back in school, seeing their friends, meeting new ones, and establishing their new school year routines.

The staff started back to school officially on Sept. 7th.  It was a full day of meetings; however, we were very happy to begin our new year with a Staff Mass celebrated with our Corporate Board Chair, Fr. Eric.  Our Board Chair Robyn Powell, also visited with staff in the afternoon, to welcome them back to school.

Students returned on Sept. 8th.  We had our virtual Welcome Back to School Assembly, and our Middle Years students also had an extra virtual assembly that afternoon to go over items strictly meant for their grade levels.  Mrs. Prettie and I then had the opportunity to visit each of the classrooms to welcome students to school.  The day flew by quickly for everyone!

Thank you to all students and parents for using the assigned cohort doors for this school year. It’s so nice to see other students helping both their peers and parents find where their cohort doors are located.

Our Kinder students began their staggered start this week, after meeting 1:1 with their classroom teacher on Wednesday.  They had an opportunity to go on a tour of our school.  We’re looking forward to Friday, Sept. 17th, when they will all come together for the very first time as a class.  Kindergarten parents please note:  On Friday, September 17th, please join us outside in front of the school for a meet and greet with Administration. Coffee will be from 8:35-9:30am.  We’d love to see you!

Fr. Michael came by last week to bless each classroom and office. His plan is to return once students are settled to share a special blessing in each homeroom. We certainly appreciate him taking the time to do the blessings.  This is a tradition which has been going on for many years at St. Charles. 

If you haven’t already, make sure that you check out our St. Charles Catholic School pages on Facebook!  There are some back-to-school pictures that have been posted on this page.  The link is on our website, and friend requests from our school community are accepted often!

LET’S LOOK AHEAD AT SOME UPCOMING EVENTS

KINDER PARENT COFFEE AND COMMUNITY

Kindergarten parents are invited to join Administration on Friday, September 17th, for coffee outside the main front school doors from 8:40am-9:30am. 

PAC MEETING

Our first PAC (Parent Association Meeting) of the new school year will be done virtually via Zoom.  It will be held on Wednesday, September 15th at 7:00pm.  A Zoom link will be sent out to all SCCS families on Monday, September 13th.  Please feel free to join our PAC Chair, Lee-Anne Brewer.

FALL WINNIPEG HARVEST FOOD DRIVE

Beginning Monday, September 20th until October 8th, SCCS will be collecting non-perishable food items for Winnipeg Harvest.  Students may bring their items to school starting September 20th and place their items in the bins in our front foyer. 

LIFETOUCH PHOTO DAY

School photos will be taken on Monday, September 20th, beginning at 9:00am.

MEET THE TEACHER EVENING

Our annual Meet the Teacher Evening will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 22nd.  More information will follow next week, along with a Zoom link. We hope you can join us.

TERRY FOX DAY/CHRISTIAN SERVICE DAY

Our annual Terry Fox Day/Christian Service Day will be held on Friday, September 24th.

Hello St. Charles Families! This year we will be participating in our annual Terry Fox Walk/Run on Friday, September 24th, 2021. Once again, this year we will have the opportunity to donate for this great cause online through our own schools’ fundraising page! The link can be found below. This year our goal is to raise 1 dollar for every student in attendance at St. Charles!  Let’s all do our best and “Try Like Terry” and make this the most successful Terry Fox Run Walk/Run we have had at St. Charles Catholic School!

Donation link: http://www.terryfox.ca/StCharlesCatholicSchoolWinnipeg

Thanks,

Mr. Bourquin (K-4 Phys. Ed. specialist)

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

Please note: Due to Thursday, September 30th being declared the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, our Orange Shirt Day will be held on Wednesday, September 29th at SCC

A BIG WELCOME PRIVATE MUSIC LESSON FAMILIES TO THE 2021-2022 ST. CHARLES P.M.L. YEAR!

Our Fabulous Conservatory Music Instructors are so excited to be back in person with all the students for the beginning of our PML year.Our PML program will begin in a couple of weeks starting the week of Tuesday September 21st – 23rd/21. 

***IMPORTANT – Please check your email for an official PML greetings with startup information. If you did not receive this important start up email for PML lessons, please Contact the PML Coordinator – Mrs. Kathy Lalonde so that you can be added to our group contact list. klalonde@stccs.ca 

VIP HOURS / CHILD ABUSE REGISTRY CHECK FORMS

If you plan on volunteering within our school; in class or for any school functions or field trips, a Child Abuse Registry Check form must be completed, processed, and approved every school year.  These applications generally take at least 6 weeks to be processed by the Child Abuse Registry Check office in downtown Winnipeg (once the bulk of them are submitted) and returned to our school. Child Abuse Registry Check forms need to be completed each and every school year by family members PRIOR to any volunteering;  NO EXCEPTIONS.  Forms will be sent home in backpacks within the next week or so. Please complete the form(s), date and sign each page where necessary, ignore the 3rd page (but leave it attached) re. payment as there is NO cost to you. Provide copies of or send an email to reception@stccs.ca with photos of the 2 pieces of ID you have chosen to note on your form and return your completed form(s) to the school via your child’s backpack or the mailbox next to the Front Entrance Doors of the school. Should any information be missing from your application, it will be sent back to you to fill in the missing information. Having your Child Abuse Registry Check completed now ensures that we have volunteers available and ready to go should in-school volunteering be permitted during the school year.

BASC NEWS

Welcome back to BASC everyone.

Just a few reminders:

  • Please text me in the mornings when you are on the sidewalk as we are still attending to other students.
  • When picking up students after school please make sure we can see you.  This is for safety reasons.
  • Please leave all BASC & Lunch forms with payment in the mailbox as teachers do not have time to check backpacks each day. The mailbox is checked a few times a day.
  • To see pics of your child in BASC, check out the BASC Instagram.
  • Please make sure to be filling out the monthly BASC form as we need to know how many students we have in each cohort.
  • There is no BASC on September 30th.
If you have any questions or concerns about BASC please do not hesitate to contact me at 204-880-8245. Thank you, Kim

Spirit of wisdom, help us to remember that we are made in God’s image and that we have the responsibility to cherish our lives as God’s gift to each of us.  Gracious God, you have gifted to us the gift of our humanity.  May we use our gifts to create schools where love and justice reign and where wisdom and responsibility can be seen in our actions.  Amen.

As we begin this school year, please remember that my door is always open, and if you need to contact me, my email is tnarynski@stccs.ca  My office number is 204-837-1520 ext. 222. 

My hope is that we have an amazing year, filled with God’s blessings. May we remember to support each other, communicate with each other, and be kind to one another. 

Enjoy your weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all next week!

Tammy

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PRINCIPAL’S WEEKLY UPDATE

As I am sure you are aware, ‘in response to the COVID-19 situation in our province, Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools currently in remote learning in the cities of Winnipeg and Brandon, as well as in the Red River Valley and Garden Valley school divisions, will continue with remote learning until June 7, 2021. This decision is informed by various public health factors and variables such as cases, and ICU and hospital capacity.’

The Department of Education and Public Health continues to emphasize the importance of getting students back in classrooms for in-person learning while focusing on safety, health, and well-being.

For students who are doing remote learning for another week, your child’s classroom teacher will be sending you an email to arrange pickup of a student learning package for next week. If you are not able to pick up, please know that we understand, and just let your child’s teacher know.
Again, thank you for your continued support and understanding while we navigate this pandemic.

We can’t wait to have all of our SCCS students back in our building!

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PRINCIPAL’S WEEKLY UPDATE

The Pandemic and Spring Break Travel/Self-isolation
If you are thinking of travelling internationally or inter-provincially over Spring Break, please note that there will be a required 14 days of isolation when you return, and prior to be able to come back to school. Please see the information below and click on the link below for up-to-date information.

“As per the public health order, 14 days of self-isolation is required for people returning or coming to Manitoba from all jurisdictions.
Individuals who travelled internationally or inter-provincially must go into mandatory self-isolation (quarantine) for 14 days from the date of arrival to Manitoba.”

Here is the link for more information:
https://www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs/orders/index.html#travel-self-isolation

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PRINCIPAL’S WEEKLY UPDATE

I want to start my update this week with recognizing everyone’s concern about the growing number of COVID cases in our city and province.  There is a shift in concern in the way we are looking at the daily case numbers and the news surrounding those numbers. 

I want to thank you very much for all your support, kind messages/words, and for understanding the uncertainty of navigating this pandemic from a school perspective. I am continuously sharing your well wishes with my staff, and I know many of you have reached out to them as well.  Staff appreciate your support as they continue navigate through the many changes being implemented from the government level. 

To put it into perspective, our SCCS community started the school year in the Yellow Response Plan, (seems so long ago doesn’t it?).  We were then moved to the Modified Orange Level Response Plan, followed by the Restricted Orange Plan that we are currently in. As you are aware, plans for our Critical Red Response Level are now being put in place in case we get notification from the government that we need to move to this level. 

On behalf of all my staff, I would like to thank you for keeping your children home when they are ill or picking them up quickly if they become ill at school.  Also, please remember that if someone in your household is ill, students are not allowed to come to school even if they are well.  (as per the government mandate that came into effect not long ago) 

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PRINCIPAL’S WEEKLY UPDATE

Thank you very much for your prompt responses to our Tier 1 and Tier 2 critical services workers emails that were sent out this past Tuesday. Please note: Our Tier 2 responses have now been closed.

All parents who are Tier 1 workers will have a spot at SCCS for your child if schools are moved to the Critical Red Response Level. Any Tier 1 parents who are not going to send their child to school during this Critical Red Response Level are asked to notify me immediately at tnarynski@stccs.ca

If you are a Tier 2 parent, I will be in touch with you early next week to let you know if accommodations can be made for your child during the Critical Red Response Level.

If we are mandated by the government to move to RED more details will be made available for SCCS’s Critical Red Response Level Plan. Remote learning will be offered to Kindergarten to Gr. 8 students if schools move to RED, and a timetable will be provided to all families with this information.