Holy Name of Mary May Newsletter

Dear Holy Name of Mary Families,

As we welcome the vibrant colors and (hopefully!) warmer days of Spring, I would like to take a moment to share some updates and information with all of you.

Spring is a time of renewal and growth, both in nature and within our school community. As we embark on this new season, I encourage our students to embrace curiosity, creativity, and kindness within our classrooms and on the school yard.

With the arrival of Spring, also brings another round of practice drills to ensure that our staff and students are safe in the event of an emergency. In the coming weeks, we will have 3 fire/evacuation drills as well as 1 lockdown drill. The specific dates and times of these drills are not communicated in advance to staff or students, but classes will prepare prior to the school-wide drill. Sometimes these topics are concerning for students. Please take the opportunity, as will we, to discuss the need for these drills to ensure everyone’s safety with your child.

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated from May 6th - 10th at schools across the CDSBEO. The theme this year is "We are Called to Love". The staff and students at Holy Name of Mary look forward to celebrating with a variety of activities during this week, which include a school Mass at Holy Name of Mary Parish on May 8th and our Welcome to Kindergarten event for our new Junior Kindergarten students on May 9th.

Students in Gr. 3 and 6 at HNOM will be completing the EQAO assessment during the last week of May and first week of June. More information for families of students in those grades will be sent home soon.

Wishing you all a joyful and rejuvenating Spring season!

With warm regards,

Colleen Donovan

A reminder to families that during school hours (9:05 am - 3:35 pm) parents entering the school must use the front door and check in at the front office. For the safety of staff and students, classrooms are not accessible during instruction time. Whether dropping off a lunch, water bottle, change of clothes or schoolwork, please enter through the front door of the school and we will ensure your child receives their item. The use of the daycare entrance to access the school is only permitted before and after the regular school hours (9:05 am - 3:35 pm). Thank you for considering the safety of our students.

The afternoon of April 2nd, our Grade 6 students took part in a retreat to deepen their understanding of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. This allowed the candidates for Confirmation an opportunity to prepare for selecting the symbols for the creation of their Stoles.

On April 10th, ten of our Grade 6 students were confirmed. Archbishop Marcel Damphousse and Father Cyprian prepared a beautiful evening in celebration of our Holy Name of Mary students.

We commend all the celebrants and candidates for their journey of faith and wish all of them and their families God’s blessings as they continue with their faith development.

For the past several months, the Grade 2 classes of Holy Name of Mary have been preparing their hearts and minds for both First Reconciliation and First Communion. Instruction has been aided by a beautifully crafted online program, Blessed, created by Dynamic Catholic. Using this program as a springboard, the children have learned about all of the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, with a particular focus on Reconciliation and First Communion. The Grade 2 candidates received their First Reconciliation on April 20th and will receive their First Communion on Sunday, May 5th, at Holy Name of Mary Church. We wish our Grade 2 classes God's blessings as they continue to grow in their faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team has been hard at work. For Black History month they held contests for the students of Holy Name of Mary. Grades 1 - 4 participated in a colouring contest (see pictures below for the winners) and Grades 5 - 8 completed in a Black History trivia Kahoot.

At 6:20 am on May 1st our Grade 7/8 students boarded a Toronto bound train from Smiths Falls set to arrive at Union Station to enjoy a FULL day of activities. They spent the morning at the Railway Museum and Roundhouse Park. Lunch was enjoyed at The Rec Room and then it was off to Ripley's Aquarium. The students took in an afternoon Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals ball game before their departure home with arrival back in Smiths Falls at 11:30 pm.

The grade 7/8 students and staff are very grateful to the school and community for their tremendous support of our recent book and bake sales. The funds raised by our school community contributed greatly towards the expenses of the Toronto trip.

There was a raffle held during the book sale for three Ottawa Senators jerseys which were donated to the school by a member of the community. The proud recipients of the jerseys are Conrad Dumont, Canton Kennedy, and Jas Elsner (see pictures below).

We are thankful for the assistance of our parent volunteers during the well-attended fundraisers. There was a lot of excitement amongst the students in the halls when it was their turn to purchase baked goods or a new book to read. Thank you all for your support!

As we continue in our Easter season, our most important and sacred time as Catholics, our school celebrates together to spread the Good News and give thanks for the Resurrection. From daily prayers and intentions to Masses and school Liturgies, all that we do is done with Love for the Lord.

This Lent, Mrs. Beckstead's Grade 5/6 Core class performed the Stations of the Cross in a dramatic tableaux. In a tableaux participants make still images with their bodies to represent a scene. A tableaux can be used to quickly establish a scene that involves many people or a complex setting. Thank you to the families and students for their prayerful participation in the Stations this year, as we all took a dramatic walk along with Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, the other Disciples, the people of Jerusalem and the Roman Soldiers in Jesus’ last days.

Holy Name of Mary Parish is looking for Leaders of Children’s Liturgy for Sunday Mass. If you are interested in helping with a wonderful and fun Ministry, the Parish would love to speak to you! The Parish is also looking to develop their Youth Programs. For more information, please contact Karen at the Parish Office, 613-256-1034 or by email at office@hnomalmonte.ca.

All students will be attending Mass on May 8th during our Catholic Education Week. Families are welcome to join us for the 10:30 am Mass at Holy Name of Mary Parish.

HNOM Catholic School Council is looking for Parents, Grandparents, or Grade 8 Student Volunteers for the End of Year Party!

Catholic School Council will be hosting an end of year celebration on June 11th, and we need your help to make it happen!

• Are you interested in helping build community in our school?

• Looking to meet new people who want to make fun happen?

• Volunteers are needed to help with food, games, face paint and more.

Drop us a line and we can find the best role for your interests HNOMParentCouncil@gmail.com

The next Catholic School Council (CSC) meeting will be held in the school library on Monday, May 13th at 5:30 pm. A TEAMS meeting link will be available for any parent who wishes to attend the meeting from home. Please contact the school office if you would like to attend via TEAMS.

Holy Name of Mary staff and students would like to thank Catholic School Council for the donation of funds to purchase eight Tuff Tables. The tables can be used both indoors and out and are adjustable in height. Tuff Tables can be filled with sand or water and can be cleaned easily for other types of use. In addition, CSC donated funds towards the Gr. 7/8 trip to Toronto and the purchase of further outdoor toys. Catholic School Council's generous donations are greatly appreciated and is a wonderful demonstration of the school community present at Holy Name of Mary school.

Follow Catholic School Council on Facebook for more updates!

Holy Name of Mary participated in a variety of Earth Day activities this year. Despite the "unexpected" power outage, many classes took garbage bags and gloves and cleaned up around the community, raked and added compost to our raised garden beds, and learned about sustainability and “greener living” though videos, movies and activities. Some students and their teachers had waste free lunches! Thanks to all of our staff and students for their Earth Day activities. Remember, every day is Earth Day.

Pope Francis reminds us all of our responsibility to care for our Common Home. Every little bit counts!

Once again, our Senior Hockey team was very competitive at the Regional Tournament at the Carleton Place Arena the first week of April. The Wolves showed a lot of heart, winning the respect and admiration of all in attendance. Despite having a short bench, the Wolves narrowly lost a heartbreaker in their final game, just missing out for a chance to play for the championship.

On March 21st, the junior girls travelled to Notre Dame with some fire in their bellies. Needless to say, the underdogs ran fast because they were hungry for a championship. The recreational team finished the day with a tie and a loss, but it was smiles all the way. The competitive team won all their round robin games and headed to the finals to face the undefeated CCA team. It was back and forth the entire game, which led to the end of regular time at 10 - 10. In the four minutes of overtime the girls were able to sink the game winning basket and hold CCA off until the very end. Congrats girls!

We're thrilled to announce that our junior boys competitive and recreational team had an outstanding performance at the tournament on March 21st at St. John's in Perth. Both teams showed great teamwork, determination, and sportsmanship, making us proud with their hard work and skill on the court.

Our recreational team showcased their skills, taking down CCA in the semis which secured their spot in the finals. They played their hearts out but fell just short to St. Mary's by a score of 12 - 10, resulting in a second-place finish. Congratulations to our recreational players!

Our competitive team totally crushed it winning 3 out of 4 round-robin games which secured them a spot in the finals. The final game was an intense neck to neck match until the last 30 seconds when two of our team members worked together to score 3 epic baskets, clinching the win and first place. Congratulations to our competitive team players!

The Grade 7/8 girls' basketball team displayed GRIT at the tournament on Friday, April 5th at Notre Dame. They persevered despite setbacks and maintained a positive attitude and good sportsmanship. Holy Name is proud of you all.

Congratulations to the Grade 7/8 boys' basketball team as they participated at their tournament on April 5th at St. John Catholic High School in Perth. They displayed a lot of heart at the tournament and lost some very close games. Great work boys!

The 2023-2024 HNOM Intramural Volleyball Champions:

Olivia, Canton, Mason, Egan, Keegan (not pictured), Ferris and Chloe.

The 2023-2024 HNOM Intramural

Floor Hockey Champions:

Ryan, Aden, Braedyn, Hunter, Murray (not pictured) and Tieryn (not pictured).

The 2023-2024 HNOM Intramural

Floor Hockey Champions:

Nash (not pictured), Aden, Theo, Carson and Gabriel (not pictured).

Our Mental Health Team has been focusing on building Umbrella Project skills for the past several months. The Umbrella Project is a board-sponsored program focusing on building wellness skills, such as Resilience, Kindness, and Grit! Each month, classroom teachers are given resources to share with their classes, including books and videos, to teach the skill of the month. These skills are a part of our students' learning skills and are necessary skills to help “weather the rain that comes with life.”

This month we are shifting our focus to a skill that helps us persevere in the face of challenges, Grit!

The Umbrella Project Lead, Dr. Jen, has a few tips for us in using Grit which we are sharing below.

“Grit is the skill that stops us from quitting on the bad days and gives us courage to persevere towards our goals and passions. With the rainy, cold, weather we could all use a bit of extra grit to get through those chilly early spring challenges.

What will grit do for my child?

Excellence in anything we do requires commitment, hard work and failures along the way. Grit helps us continue to practice the things we would like to improve instead of giving up. Having grit can help us overcome obstacles even on the toughest days. In every type of work or school subject, grit can be as important to our success as talent or intelligence. It allows us to rise to the challenge of difficult goals and run the last mile.

Make working on weak spots a game

Even in the face of abundant strengths, our weaknesses will often lead us to give up. As often as you can, find the game in working on your child’s weaknesses. Practicing anything can be intense and span many years to get to a level of excellence. Try to help your child find the fun in the tough spots instead of feeling like they aren’t good enough.

Here’s an example:

When my daughter was struggling with how quickly she could do mental math, we found ways to make it a fun challenge by engaging her in games designed specifically to increase

processing speed. By adding some fun to this otherwise frustrating task, she was able to quickly improve and move on with renewed confidence.

In addition, remember that fun and laughter also improves cognitive flexibility and can help our children think of new ways to solve the problems they are facing."

Our Mental Health Team has been working towards our Mental Health Week activities all year! Mental Health Week falls on May 6th -10th and coincides with Catholic Education Week each year. The Mental Health Team is comprised of administrators, parents, teachers, students and our Student Support Worker.

Mental Health Week is an opportunity to promote mental health and well-being across our system. The concurrent celebration of Catholic Education Week and Mental Health Week in May reinforces the correlation between practicing faith and positive mental health. Our school plans a range of accessible and engaging activities that can contribute to the resilience and well-being of our students, ourselves, and our school communities. But remember, protecting and promoting mental health is not just for Mental Health Week. It is an everyday endeavor, and we hope we all find a way to work some of these activities into our daily and weekly schedules this week and every week!

Stay tuned for more information about Mental Health week! Look for fun Scavenger Hunts on the Kids Help Phone website, Christian Meditation, Wellness Challenges, and other student-led activities.

Yesterday, May 2nd, was the last day to purchase popcorn through School Cash Online in support of the kindergarten's upcoming field trip. For only $5.00, students will receive popcorn on May 10th and May 24th.

Holy Name of Mary will be holding our highly anticipated track meet for students in grades 3 - 8 at Gemmill Park on Tuesday, May 14th (rain date May 16th - note the change in date from the calendar sent home earlier this month). Details on this exciting day, including a rough schedule, will be sent home closer to the date.

Parent volunteers are always welcome to help with the many different track events. A reminder that a current Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) must be on file at the school office. Please note that the current turnaround time to obtain a VSC from the OPP is about three weeks.

School Cash Online opens on May 13th and closes on May 23rd for June food orders - our last food order for the year! Please note that there will be no food orders the week of June 24th (milk, sub and pizza); the last full week of school. As always, no late orders will be accepted due to the amount of administrative work required to organize the food orders.

The school will be closed on Monday, May 20th to recognize Victoria Day.

There will be no school for students on Friday, May 31st as it is a PA Day. Staff will be spending the day working on Report Cards.