Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoyed this special time with family and friends.
Let us take time to give thanks for all that our compassionate God has given us.
Father in Heaven,
Creator of all and source of all goodness and love,
Look kindly upon us and receive our heartfelt gratitude in this time of thanksgiving.
Thank you for all the graces and blessings you have bestowed upon us,
including our food, shelter, and health, as well as our family and friends.
In Your infinite generosity, please grant us continued graces and blessings.
This we ask this in the Name of Your Son Jesus,
Amen.
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Thank you to families who donated non-perishable food items to the Whitchurch Stouffville Food Bank. We were overwhelmed by the number of items donated! Thank you for supporting our neighbours in need and for helping us exceed our goal of over 750 items! Your kindness and generosity are truly appreciated.
EQAO Achievement Highlights, 2023-24
We are pleased to provide you with achievement highlights of our school’s results on the provincial EQAO Test taken last spring. We will be reviewing our detailed EQAO results along with other school assessment data to build on our strengths and address areas requiring improvement. Students who participated in the assessment will receive their individual results in October. For more information on this and other province-wide assessments, please visit www.eqao.com.
Please note that the Grade 3 and Grade 6 EQAO results reflect 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.
Since the 2021-2022 school year, EQAO assessments have been conducted online, establishing a new baseline for student achievement in Ontario. Due to the shift to an online format and updates to the Ontario curriculum for Mathematics and Language, these results are not meaningfully comparable to those from previous years when the assessments were completed on paper.
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.
Catholic School Council (CSC)
St. Mark’s CSC hot lunch program will soon begin! Please note that orders and payment will be submitted via School Day, so if you have not yet registered, visit https://www.school-day.com/. Information regarding our hot lunch program will follow in the upcoming week.
Active School Travel
October is IWALK (International Walk to School) Month, when students around the globe participate in walk-to-school events and celebrate commuting on foot. Families are encouraged to support the movement by walking in our school community!
Let’s get active and support the IWALK movement! GO LIONS!!
Lost and Found Items
A reminder to all parents/guardians to please review the items from our lost and found bin.
SMK - Lost & Found - October 4, 2024If you identify an item that belongs to your child, you are invited to visit the school after 2:45pm dismissal to pick up the item. If you are unable to come by after school, please contact your child’s teacher so that they may assist your child in claiming the item.
Any items not claimed by Friday, October 18th at 3:00pm will be donated to charity.
Halloween
In anticipation of the fun and excitement, as well as the need for caution associated with celebrating Halloween at the end of this month, parents and guardians are asked to review the following information.
Culture is NOT Costume: Students are asked to refrain from wearing a costume that represents a cultural group or ethnicity.
Masks as Part of a Costume are Discouraged: Wearing masks that conceal one’s identity can compromise the safety of our community. We should always be identifiable in our community for the safety and comfort level of others in the community. Please have children leave masks at home.
Awareness of Costume Appropriateness is Important: Costumes that are not appropriate to the moral tone of our Catholic Schools are discouraged.
Awareness of Fear and Evil: Ghoulish costumes are discouraged as they can terrify younger students, students with special needs, or students with phobias.
We Must Be Trauma Sensitive: There may be members of our communities who have traumas that can be triggered by certain costumes.
When in Doubt, Think Saint: Halloween precedes All Souls and All Saints Days. Students are encouraged to dress as saints or religious figures.
We look forward to a fun Halloween Spirit week that will take place October 28-31. Please see our Halloween themed-days below. In addition, we will have numerous Halloween activities and a Halloween Dance on October 31st. We look forward to a fun-filled week!
Next Week’s Activities and Events
Here is a look ahead to next week…
Monday, October 14th:
– Thanksgiving (no school)
Tuesday, October 15th:
– CCAT (Grade 4 students), Day 2; 10:00-10:30am
– X Movement, Day 1
Wednesday, October 16th:
– YCDSB Loonie/Toonie Fundraiser for the Eradication of Poverty; students are invited to bring in a loonie or toonie to support this worthy cause
– CCAT (Grade 4 students), Day 3; 10:00-10:30am
– X Movement, Day 2
Thursday, October 17th:
– X Movement, Day 3
– X Movement Community Event, 6:00-7:00pm in the gymnasium; all parents/guardians are welcome to attend with students
Friday, October 18th:
– Cross Country Board Championship; Go LIONS!!
Upcoming Activities and Events
October 21st: PA Day (no school)
October 22nd: Praying the Rosary with the Rosary Apostolate
October 24th: Picture Day
October 28th-31st: Halloween Spirit Week
October 31st: Halloween Dance
November 11th to 15th: Book Fair
November 11th: Remembrance Day Service in the gymnasium, 10:30am
November 12th: Dental Screening for JK, SK and Grade 2 students, and others as requested by parents/guardians
November 14th: Parent-Teacher Interviews (evening)
November 15th: Parent-Teacher Interviews (morning)
Closing Prayer
In the Church year, October and May are especially devoted to our Blessed Mother Mary, so let us pray…
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 week filled with God’s blessings and graces!
Sincerely,
C. Quadrini, Principal