I hope you enjoyed this fall weekend, having time as a family to observe the changing colours of leaves, all while welcoming the cooler temperatures.
O God of Creation,
You have blessed us with the changing of the seasons.
As we embrace the autumn months,
May the earlier setting of the sun remind us to take time to rest.
May the brilliant colors of the leaves remind us of the wonder of Your creation.
May the steam of our breath in the cool air remind us that it is You who gives us the breath of life.
May the harvest from the fields remind us of the abundance we have been given and the bounty we are to share with others.
We praise You for Your goodness forever and ever.
Amen.
Morning and After School Routines
A big thank you to parents, guardians and caregivers for supporting morning drop off and after school pick up, including parking in the church parking lot and walking children to the threshold of the school yard, using the Kiss and Ride loop safely and efficiently, and refraining from bringing in bicycles/scooters and pets in the school yard and FDK pen. Your understanding and efforts are very much appreciated!
As you know, our walkways along the Kiss and Ride route are quite busy in the morning and after school. Parents, guardians and caregivers are asked to please clear the walkways once you have dropped off / picked up your child(ren). This will help keep a safe and efficient walking flow along the walkways. Thank you for your cooperation!
First Communion Parent Volunteers
The St. Mark First Reconciliation/First Communion classes are in need of parent volunteers! The parent volunteer role involves working with a small group of Grade 2 students. The lesson plan will be shared with volunteers ahead of time with a briefing before each class. Volunteers will need to arrive around 20 minutes before classes start. Below are the dates for the classes:
First Reconciliation Class #1 – Saturday, October 28 from 1:30 pm to 3 pm
First Reconciliation Class #2 – Saturday, November 18 from 1:30 pm to 3 pm
First Communion Class #1 – Saturday, January 20 from 1:30 pm to 3 pm
First Communion Class #2 – Saturday, February 10 from 1:30 pm to 3 pm
Interested in the role of parent volunteer or have questions? Please contact Lisa Baker, Pastoral Administrator at St. Mark Parish: lbaker@archtoronto.org .
Please consider this opportunity to support our Grade 2 students in their preparation for these sacraments. The sharing of your time and talent will be valued and appreciated.
EQAO Achievement Highlights, 2022-23
We are pleased to provide you with achievement highlights of our school results on the provincial EQAO Test written last spring. We will be reviewing our detailed EQAO results and other school assessment data, in order to build on our strengths and address areas requiring improvement. Students who participated in the assessment received their individual results in October. For additional information about this and other province-wide assessments, please visit https://www.eqao.com/.
It is important to note that the Grade 3 and 6 EQAO results reflect the results for all students who participated in-person and met or exceeded the provincial expectations. It does not include students who provided no data due to absence, medical reasons, etc. Students enrolled in remote-learning classrooms were excluded from participating in the EQAO assessments unless they attended the assessment in-person.
During the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, the EQAO assessments were administered online for the first time. The results from these last two years serve as a new baseline for student achievement in the province of Ontario. Due to contextual differences, including the new Ontario curriculum, there is no meaningful comparison of these results from previous administrations of the provincial assessments.
Percent of Grade 3 & 6 Students Achieving or Exceeding the Provincial Standard (Levels 3 & 4)
Individual Student EQAO reports for the Grades 3 and 6 Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics will be sent home to parents/guardians this week.
Halloween
We look forward to an exciting and fun Halloween Spirit week that will take place October 23rd to 27th! Throughout the week, students will participate in a number of activities, including Halloween Bingo and Whoooo’s the Ghost?. Each day of the week will have a Halloween inspired theme. Please see the week’s calendar below for information on our themed-days!
We also look forward to students participating by division (FDK, Primary and Junior) in our Halloween Dance on October 31st. Our dance schedule will be shared in our next weekly update.
We are excited to offer students the opportunity to purchase Halloween glow accessories and snacks (Kernels individual snack-size popcorn bag and juice box) for Halloween Day! This school-based fundraising initiative will help to subsidize speaker presentations, in-school interactive workshops and/or enhancement programs for students. Orders for glow accessories and snacks will be placed via School-Day. More information will follow in a separate email early this week.
Picture Day
St. Mark CES’ Picture Day will take place on October 25th and 26th, 2023. Please note the revised changes below for individual and class photos.
October 25th: Grades 1, 2, 3, 3/4, 4 and 5
October 26th: FDK, Grades 5/6 and 6
If any delays occur on October 25th, individual and class photos will continue on October 26th.
Next Week’s Activities and Events
Here is a look ahead to next week…
Monday, October 16th
– Dental Screening, JK, SK, and Grade 2 as well as others as requested by parents/guardians; all day
– CCAT-7, Day 1, Grade 4; 10:00-10:30am
Tuesday, October 17th
– ECE / Child Care Worker Appreciation Day!
– STREAM Centre visit, Grade 3 class at All Saints CES; all day
– CCAT-7, Day 2, Grade 4; 10:00-10:30am
Wednesday, October 18th
– Students pray with the Rosary Apostolate; 8:40am to 12:50pm
> FDK classes, 15 mins
> Primary classes (Grades 1-3), 20 mins
> Junior classes (Grades 3/4 – 6), 40 mins
– CCAT-7, Day 3, Grade 4; 10:00-10:30am
Friday, October 20th
– PA Day (no school)
Upcoming Activities and Events
October 23rd to 27th: Halloween Spirit Week!
October 25th & 26th: Picture Day
Tuesday, October 31st: Halloween Dance
Wednesday, November 8th: CSC Meeting at 6:30pm
Tuesday, November 14th: Report Cards available via Parent Portal
November 16th & 17th: Parent-Teacher Interviews
Closing Prayer
During the month of October, we continue to pray to our Blessed Mother Mary.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
St. Mark, pray for us.
Wishing you a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
C. Quadrini, Principal