DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

November has been a busy month at Holy Name of Mary with many activities and events taking place: intramural sports; hosting a Junior Boys' Volleyball tournament with 11 participating teams from our Board; team sports with tournaments at other schools; weekly choir practices; and Lego Coding Club to name a few. Leading up to our Christmas Break, we have many fun Christmas events planned at school and in our community. You will find the details below in this newsletter and on our school's website.

We have begun Advent, a time to count down the days that remain before the birth of Jesus. It is a joyful time of waiting and hoping. Here at Holy Name of Mary, we are preparing for the birth of Christ with many upcoming Advent activities and liturgies scheduled.

On behalf of the Staff at Holy Name of Mary, our Administration team would like to wish our students' and their families, a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

We hope our families have an enjoyable and restful Christmas holiday. We look forward to seeing our students on January 8th, 2024.

Colleen Donovan, Lori Beckstead, Lauren Lenouvel & Megan Richards

Office Administration

This Christmas Season, in lieu of teacher gifts, the Staff of Holy Name of Mary are encouraging families to make a donation which will directly benefit our school community. Donations received will be used to buy gift cards for families in need within our Holy Name of Mary community. We will gladly accept donations made through Cash Online which will close at midnight on Sunday, December 10th. Following protocols, we kindly ask that no cash donations are made.

Please consider making a donation of $2, $5, $10, $20, $25, $30, $40 or $50.

Thank you in advance for your kind support.

School Mass will be held at Holy Name of Mary Church on Wednesday, December 13th at 10:00 am. All are welcome to join us in the celebration of Mass with Fr. Cyprian at Holy Name of Mary Parish.

Below is the Mass schedule for Holy Name of Mary Parish on Christmas Eve/Day. All families are welcome to join in the Celebration.

Sunday, December 24th at 5:00 pm - Christmas Eve Mass (School Choir performing)

Sunday, December 24th at 10:00 pm - Midnight Mass

Monday, December 25th at 10:00 am - Christmas Day Mass

Our Kindergarten classes will be presenting individual Christmas Concerts in the school gym on Friday, December 15th (inclement weather date: Tuesday, December 19th). Each Kindergarten class is holding their class concert at a separate time for families to enjoy (see schedule below). To avoid congestion in the school between concerts, please arrive no more than 15 minutes in advance of your child's scheduled time. There will be plenty of seating available for families to enjoy their child's Christmas Concert.

If you plan to sign your child out after the concert, please let your child's teacher know in advance if possible.

10:00 am - 10:30 am: Mrs. Murphy/Mrs. Baldwin

11:00 am - 11:30 am: Ms. Moore/Mrs. Soares

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm: Ms. Vollebregt/Ms. DesRoches

1:00 pm - 1:30 pm: Mrs. Bowers/Mrs. LaChapelle

Mrs. Charron's and Mme. Dods' grade 1 and 1-2 classes will be holding a Christmas Social on Friday, December 15th in their classrooms from 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm. We hope parents of these students can join them for Christmas crafts and various activities.

In lieu of a traditional Christmas Concert at the school, our students will be visiting various locations in our community on Wednesday, December 20th to sing festive carols which they have been practicing. Details on locations and times will be provided when plans are finalized. Caroling will be held outdoors at the various locations. We hope our families can join us in welcoming the Spirit of Christmas through song. Please note that our kinders and 1 Immersion and 1-2 Immersion classes have chosen different Christmas events to celebrate the season with their families (see above for details).

Holy Name of Mary Student Council will be holding an exciting Spirit Week leading up to the Christmas Break; the week of December 18th - 22nd. Students and Staff are encouraged to participate in the festive spirit. See below for a summary of daily activities planned.

We are currently making arrangements with Holy Name of Mary Parish for Sacramental Preparation for First Communion, Reconciliation and Confirmation. Information will be sent home to families prior to the Christmas Break.

Children who are currently in grade 2 and above are eligible to prepare for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion. To participate in First Communion, your child must have been Baptized in a Catholic Parish. Children who are currently in grade 6, 7 or 8 and have received the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion are eligible to be Confirmed.

A reminder to families whose children will be absent from school for 4 or more days for vacation or other travel, that a Temporary Absence Form needs to be completed and handed in to the office prior to your child's absence from school. The Temporary Absence Form can be found on our school's website or a copy can be picked up from the front office.

Request for Administration of Medication Forms are required for any short-term (3 - 7 day) medication that your child may need while at school. These forms are to be provided to the front office for our records and before medication can be dispensed. All medication should be brought to the front office when your child arrives each morning for the safety of all children. Medication forms are required by our Board office and must remain on file until the end of the current school year.

For the past 3 months our Coding Team has been preparing for a FIRST Lego League Tournament. This has involved building Lego robots, writing code to achieve ‘missions’ in a robot game, and researching problems/solutions surrounding art and technology. The tournament took place on Sunday, December 3rd in Kanata and both the Green Wolves and the Gold Wolves represented our school community in a way we can all be proud of. The Gold Wolves were awarded the Core Values trophy. This award is given to the team that best displays the Core Values of: Discovery, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, Teamwork, and Fun. Holy Name of Mary would like to congratulate both the Gold Wolves and the Green Wolves for all the hard work they put into making this season a success! Go Wolves!

The Blue Buffalos took home the title this year in intramural football. Congratulations to Henry Janveau, Conrad Dumont, Ryan Caldwell, Murray Guthrie and Canton Kennedy.

A big thank you goes out to our officials: Theo Hashimoto, Alex Finner, Nash Malkov, Braedyn Stoddart and Ryan Caldwell.

During December, students in grades 6, 7 & 8 who signed up, are participating in intramural volleyball during lunch recess.

Congratulations to the Junior Girls' Competitive and Recreational Volleyball teams. Both teams gave it their best efforts and were excellent representatives of Holy Name of Mary during their tournament on November 30th at St. John Catholic High School in Perth. The competitive team lost some very close games and unfortunately did not make the final rounds. The recreational team did make the semi-finals and lost a very close best of three match against an undefeated St. John’s team. Congratulations girls!

On Tuesday, December 5th, Holy Name of Mary hosted the Junior Boys Volleyball Tournament which included 11 teams from our Board. What a thrilling day for our Junior Boys’ Volleyball team! A huge shoutout to our fantastic players who brought their A-Game to the tournament. In the round robin, our boys dominated, claiming the top spot. The final against St Mary’s was a nail-biter, losing the first set but making a stunning comeback in the second set. The third set kept everyone on the edge, but St Mary’s clinched the victory. A huge congratulations to all the boys! Your hard work, perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication truly made us proud.

The Junior Boys' volleyball B team had a great tournament, playing well, supporting each other and winning one of their games with an impressive display of their skills. It was a fun and exciting day for the team members.

Please see below for information from the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Health Unit.

A few reminders regarding snow days:

• Please send your child to school on snow days dressed for the winter weather. Snow days are like any other school day. Children will be going outside for morning, lunch and afternoon recess.

• If your child is walking home by themselves on snow days, please inform their teacher through TEAMS or by contacting the school office, so that we are aware.
  

• ONLY the front Kiss & Ride Zone will be available on snow days for end of day pickup. This is to ensure the safety of our students and staff during inclement weather.
  

• There will be NO pizza or sub lunches provided on snow days. Please ensure your child comes to school with a lunch. The school office will notify families with the rescheduled date if sub or pizza lunches are cancelled.

• If your child routinely walks to school, please ensure you call the office on snow days if your child will be staying home. The office needs to be aware of your child's absence to ensure the safety of all our students.
  

A reminder to parents/grandparents who are interested in volunteering in the classroom or on field trips, that a valid Vulnerable Sector Check is required to be on file at the school office. Please contact Megan Richards or Lauren Lenouvel (school secretaries) to obtain the required letter to initiate the process with the OPP detachment. Please note that all Vulnerable Sector Checks are to be completed online through the OPP website and a visit to the OPP detachment is no longer required.

With weekly skating trips to the arena and our school ski club poised to get underway in the New Year, we encourage families who wish to volunteer to obtain their Vulnerable Sector Checks as soon as possible. The turnaround time to obtain the required document is now three to four weeks and we would not want to disappoint parents or children.

Our Catholic School Council is starting to plan exciting events to be held in the New Year. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 13th at 5:30 pm in the School Library. All are welcome to attend.

• School Access - All parents/visitors must enter the school using the front doors and check in at the office during school hours (9:05 am - 3:45 pm). Classrooms and hallways are not accessible during school hours for the safety of staff and students.

• Dress for the Weather - Students are outside for morning, lunch and afternoon recess. Please ensure that your child is appropriately dressed for the daily weather conditions. Our Kindergarten classes spend extra time outside first thing in the morning. Children should arrive at school fully dressed (snow pants, hat, gloves) to enjoy the outdoors.

• Drink/Water Bottle - A reminder to parents to pack a drink or refillable water bottle for your child each day.

• Extra Clothing - Accidents do happen from time to time so we ask that children keep an extra set of clothing in their backpack. During the winter season it is also advisable to pack an extra pair of gloves if possible.