Gonzaga Memo to Families

From Monday, December 16th to Wednesday, December 18th, Gonzaga’s Peace and Justice Committee will be running their annual Holiday Food Drive. Non-perishable food items can be dropped in the boxes outside the office. As well, we are collecting monetary donations that will be passed on to selected Gonzaga families who may need an extra boost during the holiday season. This has been a tremendous success over the past several years. The Boys Hockey Team is a major contributor to this event, and will be donating proceeds from their weekend games to this cause. We will be accepting donations from parents, staff and students until the end of the day on Wednesday.

Please see the poster from the Student Council's 12 Days of Christmas. Please encourage your children to participate in the holiday spirit!

We are looking for your help to curb a growing problem here in the building. Many students are arriving late unexcused to all classes. There are students being dropped off late, driving to school and arriving late, or simply not getting to class on time. Our hallways and bathrooms need to be cleared every period as students are not getting to class on time and wasting their time and others. As students arrive late to class, they are interrupting teacher's instructional time. They often come in and do not know what is going on as they have missed important information.

We are instructing all teachers to mark any and all students late unexcused if they arrive after the 9:00 am bell. After three unexcused absences in one week, those student will be assigned a detention. If they continue to be late after that, then administration will reach out to those families.

If a student has an appointment and will be arriving to school late, we ask that you send an email to gonzagaabsences@gmail.com to indicate the absence/lateness and then have your child come to the office to sign in and our school secretaries will mark them late excused. We appreciate your support in this matter.

There are many people who have severe allergies to scented products in our building. Gonzaga is a scent free building. Please speak to your children about wearing and/or bringing perfumes and other scented products into the school.

Also, as a reminder, we have students and staff at Gonzaga with severe life threatening allergies to: all fish products, all tree nut products, peanuts including peanut butter and all peanut butter products, and eggs. Nutella products are also not permitted. Since it is very difficult to distinguish between peanut butter and Wow / Soy butter, the NLSchools policy does not permit any food items containing these ingredients in schools. It is be very important for us to work together to help create a safe learning environment for all.

The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Invites Feedback About Mental Health Services to Children and Youth in NL. We’d like to hear from those who have experience with the mental health system for children and youth in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are now offering an online form for you to share your feedback with us. Other ways you can share your experiences with us are by:

Telephone: 709-753-3888

We also welcome virtual meetings and Video Relay Service calls.

For any parent wanting to volunteer to help with Gonzaga’s Duke of Edinburgh Program:

Attached is the annual vulnerable sector check letter that parents and volunteers need so they won't have to pay for their Vulnerable Sector Check and Criminal Record Screening. (These must be done annually so you will need a new one this year.)

Here is the link to apply for the VSC/CRS:

https://www.rnc.gov.nl.ca/what-we-do/criminal-record-screening-certificate-vulnerable-sector-check/

For Parents who want to complete the Award Leader Training, they have to let Ashley know by completing the attached link below titled Award Leader Application.

We also were recently informed that there is no longer a fee associated with the Duke of Edinburgh Program. “On behalf of NLSchools, I am excited to share that NLSchools, Department of Education is now a Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Canada Operating Partner. This important Operating Partner Agreement came into effect mid-November 2024. Recognizing that your school community is an existing licensed Award Centre, we are writing to advise you that while NLSchools Operating Partner Agreement with the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is in effect (minimum 2 years), your school community will no longer be required to pay the annual Award Canada licensing fees.“ Hence, we are working on issuing refunds and hope to have that done before the Christmas break. We thank you kindly for your patience and understanding.

Our Gonzaga Community is happy to note that the PUPS 2025 team is hard at work again this year. We are currently accepting gently used prom dresses, suits and shoes. We are also accepting prom-style jewelry and purses. The volunteer team has been working hard collecting, cleaning, repairing and organizing our current stock. Plans are underway for the first date and time for our for open house for all NL high schools students. If you have any items, please drop them off at the main office Gonzaga.

There is an accumulating inventory of clothes and water bottles outside the gym doors and in the Vikings Vault. Any clothes or water bottles that are left before the Christmas Break, starting December 20th, will be taken and donated to a local charity organization. If anyone, student, parent, volunteer, coach, etc., are missing or have misplaced clothing or a water bottle, please ensure that they are reclaimed before Friday, December 20th.

Please find the following opportunity from the Historic Sites Association for students in grades 7 to Level 3.

From June 27th to July 7th, 2025, the Historic Sites Association of NL and its

partners are taking 100 students from across Newfoundland and Labrador
on the trip of a lifetime. They’ll head to France and Belgium to participate in
a First World War battlefield tour, visiting significant sites where the Royal
Newfoundland Regiment fought. AND they’ll spend time in the five
communities that are home to the Newfoundland Regiment’s bronze caribou

monuments.

The deadline is January 26, 2025. If you have any questions, email atbrand@historicsites.ca or call 709-631-0464. For more information please see here.

As a token of appreciation this holiday season, Lifetouch is offering discounts on school photography!

• 50% off a purchase of $50+ with code CDEC50
• 40% off a purchase of $40+ with code CDEC40
• 30% off a purchase of $30+ with code CDEC30

Valid through December 14, 2024

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.ca or create an online account.

We would like to thank you for your continued support and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the administrative team.

Have a great weekend,

Andrew, Gillian & Peter