Veritas Newsletter February 2025

What's Going On At Veritas!

We have reached the halfway mark of this school year! Thank you to all our families for your support and encouragement of your children and Veritas School.

As a Group 1 Independent School, Veritas receives 50% of the per student funding granted to the local public school district. Tuition compensates for small portion of the difference. Donations from individuals is also an important component of our funding. During the January special collection at Sacred Heart Parish, our congregation contributed $5600 to Veritas School. This money is used to provide tuition assistance to those families in need. On behalf of all students and staff, we sincerely thank you!

Re-enrollment forms will be sent home with your child in the middle of February. One form is required per child. Please return them to the school by Wednesday, March 5th, 2025. This information is crucial in planning our staffing needs and our budget for the 2025-2026 school year. We are also accepting application forms for Kindergarten in September, as well as some of our other grades. If you know of families interested in Veritas for Kindergarten or other grades, please have them contact the school office as soon as possible.

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated the first week of February (Feb 3-7). Many activities are planned, including trivia challenges, School Mass, a pop-up Praise Club, and a free school-wide lunch on Friday, February 7. Our outreach during Catholic Education Week is collecting adult gloves, hand warmers, and toe warmers to support Operation Warm Hands, which is run by The Garage Community Space. Hand and toe warmers can be purchased at Canadian Tire. Donations will be collected until Thursday, February 6!

Finally, our Celebration of Learning will be held on Tuesday, February 4 from 4:30 - 6:30! All families are welcome to drop in during this time and see what their children have been learning! We look forward to seeing everyone during this event!

February Dates

Monday, Feb 3 - Pizza Hut Hot Lunch

Tuesday, Feb 4 - Celebration of Learning @ 4:30 - 6:30

Wednesday, Feb 5 - School Mass Led by Grade 5

Wednesday, Feb 5 - McDonalds Hot Lunch

Friday, Feb 7 - Free Lunch (chicken strips and veggies)

Monday, Feb 10 - Pizza Hut Hot Lunch

Monday, Feb 10 - VPSG Meeting at 7:30 pm

Wednesday, Feb 12 - Boston Pizza Pasta Hot Lunch

Thursday, Feb 13 - Veritas School Council Meeting @ 7 pm

Friday, Feb 14 - Half Day, Dismissal at 12:00 Noon

Monday, Feb 17 - Family Day (Veritas School Closed)

Tuesday, Feb 18 - Pizza Hut Hot Lunch

Wednesday, Feb 19 - Hot Dog Hot Lunch

Friday, Feb 21 - Grade 6-9 Skiing / Snowboarding at Shames Mountain

Monday, Feb 24 - Pizza Hut Hot Lunch

Wednesday, Feb 26 - Chicken Strip Hot Lunch

Wednesday, Feb 26 - Pink Shirt Day

Note: Basketball games for grade 6 and 7 are not included above as there are too many games to list! Please check your Seesaw team messages for updates on practice and game times.

Items of Interest

New Applications: Veritas School is currently accepting applications for September 2025’s kindergarten class! Application forms can be downloaded from our website or picked up in the school office. Please send in any application forms as soon as possible, as our Admissions Committee will begin reviewing our kindergarten applications soon.

2024 Tax Receipts: Tax Receipts for the 2024 year are available at the school office. If you would like your tax receipt sent home with your child, please contact the school office via email, Seesaw, or phone.

Dressing for the Weather: Please remember to ensure your child comes to school properly dressed for the weather, whether that be rain and wind or snow and cold! Students go outside, unless there is thunder and lightening or the wind chill is colder than -20 degrees Celsius.

Sick Children: If your child is unwell, please keep them home until their symptoms have improved!

School Council: The fifth School Council meeting is on Thursday, February 13 at 7:00pm at the school. The meeting begins with an open invitation to all, before we move to the in-camera portion of the meeting. The mandate of School Council is to oversee the operation of Veritas School, including finances and staffing.

Absentee Notes: Please contact the school explaining your child's absences with a Seesaw message to Office Staff and your child's teacher. Absentee reports are crucial to our school's funding, as numerous unexplained absences throughout the school year can mean less government funding for your child.

Veritas Parent Support Group

A message from Birke Schemmerling-Araujo, VPSG Chair . . .

Thank you to all the volunteers in all the ways that you contribute! We are in need of volunteers and volunteer teams for the following areas:

Hot Lunch Program: Silvia and Sabrina will be stepping down as the Hot Lunch Program coordinators at the end of this school year. As such, we are looking for a new Hot Lunch Coordinator or a team to share this role! Silvia and Sabrina are willing to provide support and training over the next few months to facilitate a seamless handover. If you are interested please contact the school office. Without volunteers, VPSG's Hot Lunch program will not operate!

Treat Thursdays: We are looking for an individual or a team to organize and run Treat Thursdays! This involves purchasing treats (popsicles, cookies, etc.) and selling them after school one day a week. If you are interested, please contact the school office!

Completed Fundraisers: Our fall and winter fundraisers did very well! Approximate profit from various fundraisers include:

- $2300 from Davison Apples

- $1700 from Mom's Pantry

- $3700 from Purdy's and the Christmas Craft Fair

- $650 from Christmas Dessert Trays

Current Fundraisers: Upcoming fundraisers include will include

- Ascent Coffee

- Purdy's Chocolates

Hot Lunch: This Hot Lunch session runs until Spring Break. The grade 4 parents are responsible for Wednesdays in the month of February and the grade 9 parents are responsible for Wednesdays in March. Thank you for your support!

VPSG Meetings: The next VPSG meeting will be on Monday, February 10th at 7:30 pm. There will be coffee and tea available, and childcare will also be provided in the gym by a few of our dedicated grade 8/9 students. I look forward to seeing everyone.

VPSG Executive: The VPSG Executive includes a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Birke Schemmerling-Araujo is our Chair, Ashley Medeiros is our Vice-Chair, Gillian McCutcheon is our Secretary, and Joan Iamele is our Treasurer. If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to reach out to me (Birke) via text (250-615-1491), Facebook, or email (birkepferd@hotmail.com).

Catholic Corner

The Catholic Church dedicates the month of February to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This month, we are challenged to strengthen our family life! Challenge your family to

Sit down around the dinner table together more frequently.
Put away your devices between arriving home from work and your child's bedtime and spend time together going for a walk, playing a game, etc.
Ask your child about a highlight of their school day each night.