St. Bonaventure Bulletin
Virtue of the Month – Peacemaking
“Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you.” ~ John 14:27
During the month of November we will be focusing on the virtue of Peace. The scripture passage that guides us this month is, “Peace I leave to you, my peace I give toyou.” John 14:27. As we celebrate the Year of Faith, we connect the virtue of peace to themass. Each time we gather for Eucharist we are invited to extend a sign of peace to those around us; our family, friends, neighbours, and strangers. Catholic social teaching reminds us that we are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbour has global dimensions in a shrinking world. The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. What can you do to be a peacemaker in your family, your class, our school, our city and the world?
There have been many exciting things happening at St. Bonaventure this month and all of these have happened as a result of the dedication, teamwork and collaboration of students, staff and parent volunteers. Some of the reports in this month’s bulletin feature the work of student writers.
Me To We
On September 28th, 2012, a group of intermediate students attended National We Day at the Air Canada Centre. The day was filled with inspirational and motivational speeches from Canada’s top leaders and social justice speakers as well as entertainers. The speakers inspired these students to take action in the area of citizenship/discipleship at both local and global levels. By taking small steps in our community, we can create positive changes globally.
The Me to We team is looking forward to raising awareness in our school and organizing various fundraising events. Our first local initiative involved the collection of non-perishable items for the North York Harvest Food Bank. “Let the penny games begin!” is the motto of our global initiative. Each class will be taking part in our penny drive! Each class that collects 2 500 pennies will be contributing to giving one person clean water. Our school is helping to reach Free the Children’s goal of providing clean water to 100 000 people in various communities around the world. It’s up to us to create change!
Terry Fox Event
Courage, perseverance, compassion, strength, inspiration...... this is how the students at St. Bonaventure identify Terry Fox, a national hero. Beautiful scenery and enthusiastic energy captivated our Toonie for Terry event on Friday, October 5th, 2012. By participating in our event, we remembered and supported those people living with cancer and those who have lost their battle. This year, we raised $837.59 (yes, we surpassed our goal of $800.00!). THANK YOU to all parents for either joining us for our walk or assisting in the distribution of apples. A wonderful act of discipleship, St. Bonaventure!!
Halloween Dance
There were spirited dancers in an array of fantastic costumes that enjoyed the CSAC sponsored Halloween Dance. Thanks goes out to the parent volunteers who had to deal with some last minute changes as a result of our power outage. They managed to make quick preparations in the morning for what turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for socializing, dancing and building community spirit. Sincere thanks to the parent volunteers who came dressed in costume and who decorated and joined in the fun of the daylong event. Each class had an opportunity to visit the dance throughout the day.
Our Mission:
As a community of Faith and Learning, we pride ourselves on nurturing the spiritual, intellectual, physical and social growth of each community member.
“Discipleship in Action”
1340 Leslie St.
Toronto, ON. M3C 2K9
Ph:416 393 5263 Fax: 416 393 5117
Acting Principal
Maria Meehan
Vice-Principal
Cheryliane Gomes
Superintendent
Michael McMorrow
416 222 8282
Trustee
Maria Rizzo
416 512 3405
Parish
Franciscan Church of
St. Bonaventure -Fr. Paul
416 447 5571
Hours of Operation
8:30 – 3:00
Lunch Hour
11:35 – 12:35
Director of Education:
Mr. Bruce Rodrigues
School Reminders:
Visitors to the School
In the spirit of keeping our school building a safe and secure environment for students, we ask that all visitors, including parents, report to the office. Parents who are volunteering in classes or for CSAC sponsored events are asked to please report to the office where you will be asked to sign the Visitor Sign-in Book. Upon leaving we would appreciate your signing out at the office as well. This allows us to monitor who is in the building throughout the day.
Morning Drop Off
We have two bells in the morning. The warning bell rings at 8:25 and the entry bell rings at 8:30. Students are then escorted into the school by staff. If is most helpful if all students are in the yard and ready for the 8:30 entry.
While it is understood that parents would like to ensure the safety of their children it is important for your child to develop independence in their morning classroom routines. Parents are reminded that they are not to enter the classrooms in the morning, even if their child has missed the entry bell. Primary students, especially, need to learn to be responsible for their personal items and place their own boots, coats, back packs and homework in locations indicated by the teacher.
Indoor Shoes
Students are asked to bring indoor shoes that can be kept at school for the cold weather months. Labelling shoes ensures that they can be easily identified. Primary students may benefit from Velcro fasteners to allow for quick change of footwear.
Labelling Clothing
During the colder months we regularly find student items that end up in the Lost and Found. Labelling student belongings allows for easier identification of these items. Please do a periodic check with your child to ensure that boots, gloves, hats, coats, scarves and sweaters are being returned home and not accumulating at school. Teaching your child to be responsible for personal items is important and demonstrates gratitude for what has been provided to ensure warmth and comfort.
Construction Update
Construction continues on the new addition to our school building. The project is on target with some minor weather related delays. The new boilers have been installed and they are functioning well. We are working to regulate the temperature in the individual classrooms. The brickwork on the next level has begun and the new chimney brickwork is reaching completion. The hoarding next to the building near the boiler rooms will stay until all materials related to the chimney and boilers are no longer required. Site meetings continue to be held every two weeks during which any school concerns are addressed.
Power Outage
As you are aware there was a power outage at the school as a result of the storm on October 30th. Thank you to parents for your cooperation in ensuring that your children had a safe place to spend the day once classes were cancelled. Every effort was made to communicate with parents as soon as information was provided. It was very helpful to have the cooperation of the parents who were able to share information through the parent E-file network. If you have not yet submitted your email address to CSAC for addition to this network you are encouraged to do so. / Repeat Reminder: Parking Lot Drop Off and Pick Up
After the previous Bulletin and E-file messages were shared with the community there was a notable improvement in the safe drop off and pick up of students at the Botanical Gardens parking lot. For that reason, this reminder is being repeated in the hopes that this becomes consistent practice for the remainder of the school year. Snow, ice and challenging driving conditions over the winter months are going to require full community cooperation to ensure student safety.
For increased safety of our students being picked up and dropped off by parents, please note the following. The agreement with the City for the use of the Botanical Gardens lot by our families is based on our compliance with the appropriate use of the facility.
Please ensure that you are not parked or stopped in the driveway area of the lot that leads out on to Leslie Street. Some vehicles have been seen parked or stopped along the grassy area at the south end of the lot. This blocks the flow of traffic and also means that some students are walking out between parked cars to meet their rides. Please ensure that you are only parked or stopped in actual parking spots indicated by the white lines. If you are concerned about your child walking across the lot to your car it is best then to get out of your car and meet your child at the sidewalk. Further, if possible, please use the driveway that exits on to Lawrence Avenue to exit the lot as many of our students are using the sidewalk across the driveway to Leslie Street at this time.
Updated Parent Contact Information
As we endeavoured to contact parents about the power outage it became evident that some student files did not have updated contact information. If the contact numbers of emergency contact individuals have changed, please provide the office with updated information so that we can update our files. It is also good practice for parents to ensure that children are familiar with parent contact numbers, know where parents can be contacted during the day, such as home, work, school or place of volunteering and know who can be called upon in an emergency.
Stay in Touch – Information for Parents from the TCDSB
During the power outage, many parents were wondering where information can be found related to school board emergency announcements. This information was included in last month’s bulletin, but I believe that in “light” of this week’s events, it is important to share it again.
To receive regular updates on news and events from the Board, including urgent information about school bus cancellations and school closures, subscribe to E-News:
or follow us on Twitter
Visit our website frequently for news and information at
Tune in for live webcasts of monthly board and committee meetings at
Cross Country
St. Bonaventure had a very successful Cross Country season. Students won the Divisional Meet with 57 students qualifying for the Regional Meet and 20 students eventually qualifying for the City Finals. The training sessions were well attended by enthusiastic and dedicated student athletes who demonstrated excellent commitment to the distance and interval training. Thank you to the coaches Mr. Polese, Mr. Healy, Ms. Sims and Mme. Nash and the parents and Friar David who supported our students throughout the training and at the meets.
Green Acres Farm
On Tuesday, October 23, Ms. Ieraci and Ms. Rescigno’s classes took an exciting trip to Green Acres Farm. While there, the students had the opportunity to pet farm animals such as goats, sheep and rabbits. They picked and weighed chicken eggs and sorted them by size. The children got to go on a hayride, learn about where food comes from, carve a pumpkin and eat its roasted seeds. After some arts and crafts they had an exciting scavenger hunt! (Shared Grade One Writing Activity)
Cosmic Connections
The Cosmic Connections program that came to St. Bonaventure this month was most certainly a smashing hit. In the day, the grade six students were dazzled by an amazing power point presentation by a volunteer educator who graced our school with his knowledge and enthusiasm. By night, students and parents were invited to witness, in person, the constellations and International Space Station pass. This great learning opportunity was an enjoyable time for children and adults alike during which we all learned about our solar system. A huge thanks to our friends at Cosmic Connections for facilitating such a fabulous day. (Independent Grade Six Student Writing Response)
Mansfield
- Mansfield Outdoor Education Centre was both fun and educational. We loved all of the activities and the natural environment was beautiful. The most important part is that we bonded, got along and tried to bring out the best in each other. We even made new friendships with students in our class that we hadn’t gotten to know before the trip. We enjoyed being trusted with free time using the outdoor fields, the hiking trail, and the indoor games and activities. We learned a lot about outdoor living skills from the teachers at Mansfield. We really liked this experience and we are thankful for the opportunity. (Grade Eight Small Group Shared Writing Activity)
- Mansfield was a great educational outdoor experience. There was some minor rain, but we still had a lot of fun orienteering, fur trading and more in the beautiful forests! During our independent time we played volleyball, basketball and soccer or went hiking on the trails. One evening we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows. Another evening, we enjoyed activities together and watched short films with an environmental focus and popcorn for snack. We enjoyed great meals with tasty dessert. Each meal, a group was responsible for helping to serve and clean up. We thank the staff for making this experience so enjoyable. We wish we could go back! (Grade Six/Seven Small Group Shared Writing Activity)
The grade six students in the Extended French classes carried on the tradition of the St. Bonaventure Haunted House. Under the direction of Mme. Cote-Campbell and Mme. Nash, the students transformed their classroom into a creatively decorated haunted house which provided an opportunity for their peers to enjoy the dramatic and artistic talents of the students as they hosted each class. Thank you to the parents, teachers and volunteers who worked together to create this spooky space that showcased our students’ creativity.
News From the Toronto Catholic District School Board:
- Have Your Say: Survey Regarding the Multi-Year Strategic Plan
In order to assess how well the MYSP is being communicated and implemented, the entire TCDSB community, as well as representatives of our partner organizations in Catholic education, are invited to complete a brief electronic survey that will be available online from November 1st to November 17th.
Trustees, employees, parents, guardians, clergy, TCDSB ratepayers and community members will are all encouraged to take a few minutes to complete and submit the survey and provide feedback on the initial impact of the Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2012-2015.
Please note that the Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2012-2015, hyperlinked Strategic Actions and supporting documents can readily be found on the TCDSB website:
Please check the Board’s website on November 1st and take time to complete the survey. Your input is much appreciated.
- Working Together To Educate All - Education and Community Resource Fair - November 17, 2012
For parents, educators and members of the community (organized by TCDSB Special Services): representatives from community organizations and TCDSB special services departments will have information booths and will provide presentations on: transition to high school for students with learning disabilities, supporting the transitioning of students with autism; cyber bullying; videogame addictions; and dealing with mental health concerns in teens.
- Secondary School Open Houses