DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Dear Families,

As we enter the season of Advent, we are invited to reflect on the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. This is a special time of year where we prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of Christ’s birth. It is a season of anticipation, not only of the Christmas holiday but also of the many blessings and moments of grace we encounter in our daily lives.

Advent is an opportunity for us to pause and remember the importance of faith, kindness, and compassion in our community. It is a time to grow in our relationships with each other and with God, as we look forward to the coming of Christ in our hearts. As a school family, we are grateful for each of you and for the ways you support the spiritual and academic growth of your children.

During this Advent season, let us be mindful of those who are in need, both in our local community and around the world. We are called to be a light to others, sharing the gifts of love and kindness in whatever ways we can.

We are excited to share in this journey of Advent with all of you. May this season bring peace and joy to your homes, and may we all experience the hope of Christ's presence in our lives.

Wishing you a blessed Advent season.

Warm regards,

Mary-Kate Bridson, Principal

Holy Name of Mary's Student Council is hosting a “Merry Market” December 11 - 13 in the school gym. This exciting event will provide our students the opportunity to purchase gently used Christmas gifts for their family members at a very reasonable price. The goal of this Christmas activity is to create a festive and meaningful experience that encourages creativity and the spirit of giving. We appreciate your generosity and support in making this event a memorable experience for our students. Together we can spread holiday cheer and foster a sense of community within our school.

Holy Name of Mary staff are organizing Christmas Raffle Baskets this year! Tickets are on sale via School Cash Online beginning today, Thursday, December 5th. Photos of the many Christmas baskets will be posted on our Facebook page for families to view. Winners will be drawn on Wednesday, December 18th and contacted by phone. All proceeds will benefit our local Youth Centre. Thank you for your donations!

School Mass will be held on Thursday, December 19th at 10:00 am. All are welcome to join us in the celebration of Mass with Fr. Cyprian at Holy Name of Mary Parish.

Our newest collection of HNOM Spirit Wear is now available for ordering! All orders are to be completed online using the following link: https://level1customgear.ca/collections/hnom

Orders will be shipped directly to your home. This online shop will remain open for the foreseeable future.

If you have any questions regarding spirit wear, please contact Ms. Jane Renwick who has graciously organized this for students and their families. Ms. Renwick can be reached by contacting the school office at 613-256-2532.

On Saturday, November 30th, HNOM's Lego Coding teams took part in the annual F.I.R.S.T. Lego League Ottawa Valley Qualifying Tournament in Arnprior. The day started with judging sessions where our two teams presented their projects. The Gold Wolves delivered their presentation about responding to airplane fuel spill in marine environments and the Green Wolves presented their ideas for helping to detect and clean up mercury in the oceans. Months of preparation went in to getting ready for the tournament and both teams put in a great deal of hard work through robot building, coding and preparing innovative STEM project presentations. Although our teams did not advance, we improved greatly on our overall average scores in the robot game and learned how to debug a problem our robot had been displaying.

Mr. Sauve, Mrs. Reid and Mr. Lebeau would like to congratulate all team members on their solid efforts and express their pride in how each member of the team represented Holy Name of Mary at this event.

Plans are underway for all students to participate in weekly skating sessions once again at the Almonte Arena in the New Year. We are currently organizing class schedules and busing to make this fun activity come to life.

A reminder that any parents/grandparents who wish to attend skating must have a valid Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) for this school year.

Holy Name of Mary's monthly calendars detailing important upcoming events and activities are emailed to all families by School Messenger at the beginning of each month. A copy of the current monthly calendar can also be found on the school's website. Please refer to the calendars for upcoming activities and events such as sports tournaments, Mass, food orders, etc. to assist in future planning.

Holy Name of Mary recognized Truth & Reconciliation Week in late September. Staff and students learned, reflected and listened.

On September 30th, we welcomed Riley McKenzie, member of the family dance group Prairie Fire Metis Cultural Dancers, through the organization efforts of Marg Graff, School Liaison, Reconciliation Through Art. Riley shared several Metis dances with us and taught students about storytelling through dance.

In late September, Amanda Landry, CDSBEO's Elementary Indigenous Education Consultant, visited our Grade 1-3 students regarding National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The students participated in different presentations depending on their grade: Mind Maps, creating an Orange Shirt Day banner, The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada and a story on The Orange Shirt. The staff and students enjoyed these educational activities.

Team Sports: Holy Name of Mary students have participated in many team sports events since the start of the school year: soccer, cross country running, flag football and volleyball. Both Junior and Intermediate boys' and girls' teams participated in these events. Our students proudly represented Holy Name of Mary at these tournaments placing well against the competition, demonstrating skill, sportsmanship, tenacity and team spirit. The staff and students of Holy Name of Mary are very proud of our school's sporting achievements this Fall.

Intramural Sports (Grade 6 - 8 students): We have just wrapped up another season of intramural flag football at Holy Name of Mary. This year we had a record six teams all vying for football supremacy. In the end, it was the team of Davin O’Dell, Murray Guthrie, Darren Smith, Fletcher Freeman and Knox McNeely that claimed the trophy! Congratulations on another exciting season.

Volleyball is the current intramural, which has seen fierce competition. We had over 40 students sign up this year. Stay tuned for the results in the New Year.

Our Catholic School Council met on October 16th. During the meeting, tentative plans for upcoming social events were discussed in addition to other topics.

The next Catholic School Council meeting is scheduled for February 19th at 5:00 pm in the school Library. 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.

Our Student Council has done an excellent job putting together events to promote school spirit. Our students have enjoyed various dress up days, as well as whole school events and contests. We would like to extend our thanks to our Catholic School Council for their financial support in making our Spirit Weeks extra fun.

We are looking forward to hosting our first annual Merry Market on December 11-13th. Thank you to all who have donated.

On behalf of HNOM Student Council, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Our lost and found is once again bursting at the seams! Please remind your child to stop by the rolling rack and table at the front of the school to check the items we have collected to see if any items belong to them. We also encourage parents to drop by the school to check out our lost and found area. We have noticed a number of snow pants and winter jackets that students may wish to have over the Christmas Break. All items remaining by December 18th will be packaged up and delivered to the Hub to help support our community.

Holy Name of Mary students once again held a successful food drive for our local Food Bank at Thanksgiving. This year we collected over 1000 items, weighing 1042 pounds; an impressive increase over last year! We are very proud of this achievement and the contribution our Holy Name of Mary families made to our community during Thanksgiving.

During the food drive, homeroom classes were challenged to see which class could donate the most items per student. Mrs. Kinch's Grade 3 Immersion class won the challenge and enjoyed a pizza lunch in recognition of their efforts.

Thank you to the Grade 5/6 Immersion class who counted and packed the food and toiletries.

Families interested in volunteering with their child's class must have a valid Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) on file at the school. Please contact the school office to obtain a letter from the principal if you would like to request a VSC through the OPP. Please note that the process of obtaining a VSC can take several weeks. As HNOM has tentative plans for classes to attend skating sessions in the New Year, we encourage families to start the process of obtaining a VSC soon so that you can enjoy the school skating sessions with your child if you wish.

NOTE: As mentioned in prior school emails and updates, a VSC is for the current school year and not a year from the date received; a change from previous school years.

Holy Name of Mary students held a very successful Terry Fox Fundraiser in September. Our school community raised over $2,100 exceeding our expectations for this important cause and the students walked an impressive 4400 km around the track at Gemmill Park.

Our thanks once again to our incredible school community - parents, staff, and students - for the extraordinary generosity and enthusiastic participation in this year's Terry Fox Walk!

Holy Name of Mary School and First Student Bus Lines held a bus evacuation demonstration in early September to ensure students feel safe while riding the bus and are aware of protocols in case an accident occurs.

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 days) 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.

The first day of school following the Christmas break is Monday, January 6th.

🎄We hope our families have an enjoyable and restful Christmas season.🎄