School News & Announcements
Lenten Spirit Week - March 15th - 19th
Please check out our poster for our fun filled themed days to support our Lenten Project and our Literacy Initiative this March starting with Dr Seuss Day on March 2nd. Donations are to be made on School Cash Online. Help us meet our $2000 goal! Many thanks for your continued support! Tuesday, March 2nd: Dr Seuss Day! Wear your stripes |
Confirmation Information for our Gr 6 Families
"Through Confirmation we are strengthened with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to live out our baptismal call to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” The Holy Redeemer Christian Initiation of Children Team invites parents of children who have reached the age of eleven (or grade six) and older to an Information Seminar which will explain our preparation process, resources and expectations for your family. In conjunction with the curriculum taught at your child’s Catholic school, this process is designed to prepare you to lead and support your child during this next phase in his/her Christian Initiation journey. Parent and child must attend the following Information Seminar in order to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation at Holy Redeemer Parish: Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. via LIVESTREAM on the Holy Redeemer Parish Facebook Page For any questions, please contact Christian Initiation of Children Team cic@holyredeemer.ca |
French Pathways Gr 4 & 7
It is that time of year when we ask parents of Gr 3 & 6 to select the FSL pathway that they feel would best meet their child’s needs in Grade 4 and 7. As you may be aware, our School Board provides two French Second Language pathways in Grades 4 to 12. These are Extended French (1/4 day), the same as your child’s current program) or Immersion French (1/2 day). Both the Extended and the Immersion Pathways are programs of excellence and high expectations. Each program allows for students to excel in French Language acquisition to serve them at school and beyond. Please complete the French program selection using the electronic form below by February 26, 2021. For further information on French Programs at the Ottawa Catholic School Board, please visit the following website: ocsb.ca/french. Click here to register your child for the Grade 4 FSL pathway. Click here to confirm the Gr 7 FSL pathway selected for your child. |
Lenten Project
Our Lenten Project this year will support 3 local charities in Ottawa. Help us achieve our goals with a $5 donation on School Cash Online to support our Lenten project and participate in our themed days next week. Proceeds will be provided to the following local organizations; Ottawa Food Bank provides fresh and non-perishable food, as well as supplies such as diapers, toiletries, and cleaning supplies to its network of over 100 emergency food programs across the city. Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre works exclusively with children up to the age of 12 and their families. We are committed to developing and delivering a wide range of mental health services to help children and families struggling with severe emotional, behavioural and social challenges. ONFE - Ottawa Network For Education Every child should finish school prepared to take on the world. ONFE is harnessing the resources of our incredible community to equip local youth with the tools, knowledge, and skills they’ll need to thrive in post-secondary studies, and to build fulfilling careers.
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For Gr 6 students
An important message from Holy Trinity High School for our families of Gr 6 students,
Typically, around this time of year, we hold an information night at Trinity for parents of grade 6 students looking to learn more about grade 7. Since we cannot do that this year, we have recorded our presentation and posted it on our school website. We have also included a link to a Google Form so that parents and students can submit any questions they might have. Here is the link to the school website where this info can be found (i.e. the parents tab of the Trinity website) . Information for our Gr 6 families can be found on the left side. |
Pizza Fundraiser
Lorenzo's Kanata (Glen Cairn) 100 Castlefrank Road www.lorenzoskanata.ca (613) 836-3311 Please mention or show this flyer when ordering and Lorenzo's will donate 25% of all sales (in-store, over the phone, or online) to the school for technology resources! Valid only on the above date. *This offer is not valid through Uber Eats or Skip the Dishes* |
Bottle Drive Fundraiser!
Our Catholic School Council presents their Bottle Drive Fundraiser. Please donate your empties from January 30th to February 21st. Two locations for drop offs! See poster for more details. Thank you for your support to our school. |
Mental Health Support
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) offers various services to help those struggling with mental health concerns. To learn more about how to talk about mental health, check out have THAT talk.
School Mental Health Ontario also has many great resources for students, parents and families on their website at www.smho-smso.ca.
Mental health supports for parents and children
In order to be able to take care of others, parents need to take care of themselves. OPH would like to remind parents that their mental health and well-being are as important as ever and that it’s okay to not be okay. Several free online resources are available for parents and children, including:
In addition to the above resources, OPH would like to promote the benefits of getting outside as an important part of mental health. Parents are encouraged to take breaks during the day to get outside with their children, seeking out safer activities that limit their family’s contact with people from outside their household and allow for physical distancing and mask-wearing as much as possible. More information on keeping active during the pandemic can be found here: OttawaPublicHealth.ca/ActiveDuringCOVID19.
COVID-19 safety reminders for parents
We know parents and guardians are doing their best right now to keep children safe, healthy and entertained. As we try to reduce the currently high levels of COVID-19 in our community, OPH is asking parents to keep the following in mind:
The importance of COVID-19 testing for children
While OPH appreciates parents’ efforts to follow public health guidelines and limit their children’s contact with others, we are still seeing a significant increase in the number of children and youth testing positive for COVID-19. At the same time, we’ve seen a significant decline in the number of children and youth being tested. This decline, combined with the surge in the number of people testing positive, has resulted in an overall positivity rate of 14 percent with 21 percent among children aged 5-12. We know there are likely many more undiagnosed infections in our community and unless we test more, we will not be able to identify them and proactively work to protect others with whom they may have come into contact. We understand parents and children have many reasons to refrain from testing, including concerns about the long lines experienced earlier in the pandemic, guilt over socializing during the holidays or fear of the Nasopharyngeal swab. However, refraining from testing is adding to the growing risk of community spread, which could lead to added pressures on the healthcare system, delays for needed care, and could ultimately lead to an extension of the lockdown and other restrictions. OPH is strongly encouraging parents/guardians who have children with COVID-19 symptoms, or who have been in close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, to please get them tested as soon as possible. Doing so could mean saving a life. For more information on COVID-19 testing for children, please see the attached document in both English and French; we would encourage you to please share it amongst your channels. OPH knows parents/guardians are doing their best right now to balance work and home obligations, their children’s virtual learning and their own personal care and well-being. We have data showing that the stress caused by this situation is significant and are asking the community to be compassionate, accommodating, and supportive of parents, guardians and one another during this difficult time.
Thank you. Merci. Meegwetch. Dr. Vera Etches |
Kindergarten Registration Continues
Picture Day for Virtual Academy Students
**Please note: Our in-school students will now have the school photos on March 4th (K-Gr 3) and March 5th (Gr 4-6 & Milestone pictures). No appointment is required for our physical students. These dates are subject to change depending on the provincial direction** For our families participating in Virtual Academy this year, we have organized March 4th for school photos with Edge Imaging at our school, following OPH protocols. Gr 6 students will not require school day bookings, as their school day photo will be at the same time as the Milestone photo. Please click on the appropriate links to book the appointment. MDP-St Martin de Porres - New VA School Day Booking Reschedule Request March 4, 2021
MDP-St Martin de Porres - New VA Milestone Gr 6 Booking Reschedule Request March 4, 2021 The deadline for booking is February 28th, 2021. No appointments will be taken after this date as the photographers require time to retrieve the bookings and set up. A confirmation email and an appointment reminder will be sent to parents 1 week prior and 1 day prior.
Should you require support with the booking, please feel free to contact Edge via email at sgoulet@edgeimaging.ca |