St. Mary's Catholic School
18 Saunders Street L9Y 0G2 Collingwood, ON, Canada

May At A Glance Wed. May 1: Gr. 7&8s to Vanier for Mass May 1-6: Book fair Thurs. May 2: Gr 7&8s to Vanier for a play and Anderson/Gallo tour of Tim Horton’s ... Fri. May 3: PA Day Sun. May 5: First Communion - 2:00 p.m.- Church May 6-10: Catholic Education Week Monday - Rooted in Prayer Tuesday - Living in Community Wednesday - Doing Justice & Creating Hope Thursday - Journeying Together in Faith Friday - Sharing the Good News Wed. May 8: Mass 9:30 a.m. - all welcome Thurs. May 9: Business Fair all day Open House (5-6:30 p.m.) Same day: Rugby tournament and Business Fair May 14/15: Rosary Celebrations Wed. May 15: Gauss Math Contest Wed. May 15: St. Mary's Night at Wendy's to support Grade 8 Grad Tues. May 21: Parent Council Meeting - 6:15 Wed. May 22 - Tues. May 28: Vancouver Y Exchange participants visiting Collingwood May 21 - June 3 EQAO May 21 - 22: Dairy Farm Presentations Tues. May 21: Kindergarten Open House (5:00-6:15pm) (For new Kindergarten Parents only) Sun. May 26: Grade 7 Confirmation 2 pm Wed. May 29: Grade 7 Trip- Sound of Music - Toronto Fri. May 31: Kindergarten field trip to Rounds Ranch New School Remind! Please download the Remind App from Remind.com, and then join the new St. Mary’s Catholic School, Collingwood class using class code ‘e869f2h’. We are also on FaceBook, and have a website. Science Fair for Grades 4-8 We will be holding a Science Fair for all interested students during the Open House on Thursday, May 9. Applications and instructions are available on the school website (search Science Fair). Please submit applications directly to Ms. Eccleshall. All projects must be student-created. The virtue of the month for May is Compassion. Run4Fun Our first run of 18 run opportunities was this morning. This is a great way to stay active, practice goal-setting, and build confidence. You can still sign up on School-Day to run 5 km, 10 km, or a marathon. Business Fair/Open House The Grade 8s will be holding a Business Fair during the May 9th Open House, both as part of their Economics unit, and as a fundraiser for their Ottawa trip. Date night - Friday, May 10 - a Vancouver Exchange Fundraiser. Drop off St. Mary’s kids for a movie, and then head out to dinner somewhere with your sweetie. $25/child or $35/family includes pizza and popcorn. 5:30 - 7:30. Register on School-Day. Please be sure to make Safe Arrival calls. It saves us so much time if you remember to let us know that your child will be away. The hot weather is coming! (No, really.) Please have your child bring water bottles for gym.

May At A Glance Wed. May 1: Gr. 7&8s to Vanier for Mass May 1-6: Book fair Thurs. May 2: Gr 7&8s to Vanier for a play and Anderson/Gallo tour of Tim Horton’s ... Fri. May 3: PA Day Sun. May 5: First Communion - 2:00 p.m.- Church May 6-10: Catholic Education Week Monday - Rooted in Prayer Tuesday - Living in Community Wednesday - Doing Justice & Creating Hope Thursday - Journeying Together in Faith Friday - Sharing the Good News Wed. May 8: Mass 9:30 a.m. - all welcome Thurs. May 9: Business Fair all day Open House (5-6:30 p.m.) Same day: Rugby tournament and Business Fair May 14/15: Rosary Celebrations Wed. May 15: Gauss Math Contest Wed. May 15: St. Mary's Night at Wendy's to support Grade 8 Grad Tues. May 21: Parent Council Meeting - 6:15 Wed. May 22 - Tues. May 28: Vancouver Y Exchange participants visiting Collingwood May 21 - June 3 EQAO May 21 - 22: Dairy Farm Presentations Tues. May 21: Kindergarten Open House (5:00-6:15pm) (For new Kindergarten Parents only) Sun. May 26: Grade 7 Confirmation 2 pm Wed. May 29: Grade 7 Trip- Sound of Music - Toronto Fri. May 31: Kindergarten field trip to Rounds Ranch New School Remind! Please download the Remind App from Remind.com, and then join the new St. Mary’s Catholic School, Collingwood class using class code ‘e869f2h’. We are also on FaceBook, and have a website. Science Fair for Grades 4-8 We will be holding a Science Fair for all interested students during the Open House on Thursday, May 9. Applications and instructions are available on the school website (search Science Fair). Please submit applications directly to Ms. Eccleshall. All projects must be student-created. The virtue of the month for May is Compassion. Run4Fun Our first run of 18 run opportunities was this morning. This is a great way to stay active, practice goal-setting, and build confidence. You can still sign up on School-Day to run 5 km, 10 km, or a marathon. Business Fair/Open House The Grade 8s will be holding a Business Fair during the May 9th Open House, both as part of their Economics unit, and as a fundraiser for their Ottawa trip. Date night - Friday, May 10 - a Vancouver Exchange Fundraiser. Drop off St. Mary’s kids for a movie, and then head out to dinner somewhere with your sweetie. $25/child or $35/family includes pizza and popcorn. 5:30 - 7:30. Register on School-Day. Please be sure to make Safe Arrival calls. It saves us so much time if you remember to let us know that your child will be away. The hot weather is coming! (No, really.) Please have your child bring water bottles for gym.

Here is just a glimpse of what the day before Good Friday looks like at St. Mary’s: Mrs. Doyle, who often holds circles, in honour of the occasion, held an egg. (Sometimes known as peace circles, these discussions give each student a voice and build empathy.) Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Gallo’s class had an egg hunt in the courtyard - one of several today. (The best part, for me, was the emphasis on sharing and collaboration by all of the teachers and students involved.) ... Mrs. Leal’s and Mrs. Baker’s class met up with their reading buddies in Mrs. Vidler’s class and headed to the park. Elsewhere in the school, we saw obstacle course coding, activities in the learning commons, Easter plays, egg painting, searches for mathematical figures, saturated solutions in the staff room with Ms. Lemanczyk, stories, math games, structure building, talks in the garden, indoor recess, and the Great Hot Dog Lunch, which went beautifully. In Mr. Quartermain’s and Mrs. Harvey’s class, the Grade 1 students used art to symbolize their walk with Jesus through the Stations of the Cross, and then reenacted the last supper (using grape juice and wafers). The Walk with Jesus lesson was actually the most fun I have had all week. I showed up unexpectedly in class to find Mr. Quartermain stretching mural paper across the floor. He had prepared a tray of red paint, and small groups of students were to take turns stepping in the paint and then walking along the length of the paper, symbolizing the walk they take with Jesus. (Mr. Quartermain had already taught them all about the Stations of the Cross.) Ms. Harvey, and I, quickly got to washing feet. (Sometimes we did it twice - Aren’t these the feet I just washed? Yes, but I loved doing walking with Jesus so much I had to do it again.) Today, Mr. Quartermain set up a long table set with candles, wine glasses, and wafers, and then shared a story about the last supper. The children discussed and then wrote a reflection on the story, and then they were given the wine. One little one said, We should toast! Mr. Quartermain said, What shall we toast to? All 19, as one and without prompting, lifted their glasses and shouted, To Jesus! May each of you have the most wonderful Easter imaginable. Celebrate with joy and kindness, as our children have done here today. Happy Easter!

Don't forget - sign up for the NEW school Remind account if you want to know what's happening - download the Remind app, then sign in with the code: e869f2h . This is a different account than the one your child's teacher uses (if your child's teacher uses Remind to communicate), and will be used to communicate full school information. It has been a time of great celebration, here at St. Mary's. We celebrated the Big Crunch - a national event that promotes healthy snacks, part...icularly from local markets. We celebrated the recipients of two sets of monthly virtue certificates - empathy and collaboration. We celebrated World Autism Awareness Day. We celebrated some outdoor learning in Kindergarten, and the visit of some furry friends in Grade 2. We celebrated the Great Capture the Flag Game. There were some outstanding moments on that day. (Thank you to the exchange group for leading the event - particularly all those who stepped up to problem solve and organize, and also those who approached each task with flexibility and joy. Thank you to the teachers who gave of their time and space, and went out of their way to make this an outstanding event. There are some house points to be given, of course: Earth and Wind won 3 games each, earning 150 points each. Water earned 200, and Fire got 250. Extra points were awarded to Earth for listening respectfully to Mr. Rait. (100) Sportsmanship/teamwork points (50) were awarded to Fire for an excellent display of team colours, and the cheering efforts, particularly by Maea K, Mya R and Julian V. (50 each for those three plus an extra 50 for Myles L for the house colour showing). 50 points each for some wonderful, helpful acts of kindness - Adam G, Sydney K, Jace B, and Jamal D. They helped with everything from bagging popcorn to sweeping. 50 points to Marcus W, who made the game fun for the little ones, and stepped up to help prevent the game becoming total anarchy. Well done.) Many thanks to Meghann E. for being the Capture the Flag photographer! May we all continue to celebrate the joy that comes from learning, this week.

It will be a busy day tomorrow! We will, of course, be celebrating diversity on International Pink Day. In the afternoon, we are having the Great Games/Movie Buyout - entry is $2/person, and snacks will be available for sale. Cash is fine for this. (If you don't have the $2, you will still be made welcome - we just ask that you pay instead with an hour of community service in your neighbourhood.) At noon, Grades 1-8 will head out for a huge Capture the Flag Game, run by the V...ancouver Exchange Group. House team points will be awarded to students wearing house colours at this time and for demonstrating sportsmanship. Kindergartens will be celebrating with activities in their own rooms and yard. After lunch, there will be a movie shown, with snacks available for sale. The Primary and Junior classes will watch Disney's Brother Bear (a story of how a young boy learns about empathy), while Intermediates investigate global warming with The Day After Tomorrow. We do have alternate activities planned for those who have chosen not to participate in the game and movie. Have you booked in for bowling on April 26? You can book a lane (up to 6 people) for $30 on School-Day. It is first come, first served for the available times. The 6-7 p.m. time slot is, I believe, booked, but there are still openings from 7-8 and 8-9. Pin down your time now - you'll have a ball!

New School Remind! Please download the Remind App from Remind.com, and then join the new St. Mary’s Catholic School, Collingwood, class using class code ‘e869f2h’. In the meantime......... April At A Glance Tuesday, April 2: Autism Awareness Day (wear BLUE) Celebration assembly/Flag Raising 10:05 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. 10:45 a.m.: Short Vancouver Exchange meeting (some 7/8s) Wednesday, April 3: Robotics competition Gr. 8 Grad committee meeting 6:00 p.m. Thursday, April 4: Grad photo retake/sibling/family photos and class photo retakes Sunday, April 7: Green Shirt Day (in support of organ donation) Monday, April 8: School Green Shirt Day Wednesday, April 10: International Day of Pink Movie buyout afternoon 12-3 p.m. Friday April 12: Grade 7s/8s to Vanier 9am for FSL performance Monday, April 15: Rosary Apostolate classroom visits Parent Council Meeting - 6:15 p.m Friday, April 19: Good Friday Monday, April 22: Easter Monday Tuesday April 23: Gr. 7 Vaccinations Wednesday, April 24: Mass 9:30 a.m. - Easter Mass- all welcome Friday, April 26: St. Mary’s Community Bowling Night 6:00 -9:00 p.m. - More information to come.

March 21st. was Down Syndrome Day, and students and staff of St. Mary’s, Collingwood, rocked their mismatched and brightly coloured socks for our annual celebration of our wonderful Down Syndrome community members. We do this to remind everyone that things and people who are different are amazing and beautiful and bring us joy. With our mismatched socks, we strive to build empathy and not just an acceptance of diversity, but a celebration of it. Mrs. Doyle’s Grade 4 class wel...comed one of our newest and most beautiful St. Mary’s family members - Nate’s little brother Liam. We, of course, get to celebrate the joy of our own Brynn, from Ms. Feethams’s class, every day - her belly laugh lights up every hallway and classroom. We have also been a part of the #itstarts Campaign this week. The campaign is geared towards showcasing the positive actions schools are taking to create welcoming and inclusive learning communities. We have been given the gift of many immigrants to Canada. How much richer we are because of their presence!

Hello! Our Remind app seems to be on the blink, so here is an update - tomorrow is Pink Shirt Day (to encourage kindness and to show that we will not tolerate bullying), and Thursday is movie night. (Doors open at 6:15, movie starts at 6:30, and there will be pizza and popcorn for sale. Wear your jammies and bring something on which to lie. Please tell your friends, and come out for a great community event.)

Please be aware that the school is closed today, as are all Catholic schools in the North and West zones. Please be safe, as many roads are closed.

It is February! We have had snow days and deep freezes and thaws and more snow days. Hard to believe it is already the second month of 2019. I have been spending a lot of time walking the halls and peeking into classrooms lately. There is absolutely nothing that warms the heart on a cold day quite like watching students eagerly learning. There are always groups working all over the school - many strumming ukeleles, or reading with their Reading Buddies. Many of our teachers h...Continue reading

It is with tremendous sadness that we say goodbye to one of our beloved students. His obituary follows. Our prayers are with Jakob's family. Our lives were made better and happier with the presence of this lovely boy. Please consider registering as an organ donor if you have not yet done so - you truly can give the greatest gift. In Loving Memory:... Jakob Jure Baric May 12, 2011 to February 1, 2019. With a very heavy heart, we announce that Jakob Jure Baric, age 7 our beloved son, brother, family member and friend passed suddenly on Friday, February 1, 2019. We lost Jakob late last week as a result of complications from a heart condition Jakob battled with courage and dignity for his entire life. Jakob was a loving son and best friend to his parents Robert and Gabriela Baric and the best little brother to his siblings Adriana, Joey and Katie. He will be sorrowfully missed by all who knew him, especially Dede Joso and Baka Maca Baric (paternal grandparents) and Dedo Josip and Baka Anica Zuzic (maternal grandparents). Cherished nephew of John and Vesna MacIntosh, Rodrigo and Mariana Iglesias, Kirk and Michelle Miller, Mike and Doriana Baric and Anton and Tiffany Baric. He will be missed immensely by all his cousins who adored him so much. He touched the lives of so many; our beloved happy boy. His laugh was truly contagious, his smile disarming. He brightened the lives of everyone around him. A big joker who loved to sing at the top of his lungs. As we sit here trying to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts, we find a bit of solace in knowing that his last day with us was one of his best. He spent the day playing with his siblings and cousins, who he adored, until the very end. He left us the way he came in, in his Mama’s loving arms and we find comfort in knowing he was not alone. In memory of Jakob, donations may be made to SickKids Foundation - Labatt Family Heart Centre. Please click on the "Donation" tab above to make a donation. SickKids Foundation will automatically direct all donations in Jakob's name to the Labatt Family Health Centre. Donations may also be made in Jakob's memory to Trillium Gift of Life Network. To make a donation or to receive more information about organ or tissue donation, please click on the "Donation" tab above. Please take a moment and sign the online guest book or leave a condolence message for Jakob's family. https://www.arbormemorial.ca//obit/jakob-jure-baric/29789/ How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard A.A. Milne

One of the habits we teach at St. Mary’s, when we teach The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is Habit #7 - Sharpen the Saw. The example given in Stephen Covey’s program is of a logger, whose productivity gradually decreases. His supervisor checks on the logger and realizes that the logger’s saw is dull and ineffective, making his work much slower and more difficult. When asked why the logger didn’t stop to sharpen his saw, the logger replied that he didn’t have time - he ...Continue reading

Last week, the Girls’ Basketball Team took on the parents. As you can see from the photos, that was a fierce and furiously fought battle, and yet.SO much fun to watch. The Barrie Colts stopped in to create some buzz around the St. Mary’s Community Colts Game, to be held on January 19th at 7:00. Tickets are available on SchoolDay for $21 each, if you would like to come out and share an evening of great hockey and cheer on the St. Mary’s Studio 121 singers, who will be singin...g the anthem that evening. Check out the mascot! It is the season of Advent, and the school is truly a place of joy and hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW1pbuyGlQ0 Classes have been busily preparing for the Christmas Concerts. (The Christmas Concert Schedule is posted on the website.) Come by and check out: Shepherds and wise men chattering in the hallway, Kindergarten teachers walking hunched over in front of their class performances as if they have suddenly become invisible, Classes filing, in costume, through the staff room, and up the ramp to the stage, picking up props as they go, The announcement of a carol met with an oooooh of appreciation because the children know the song, Older students eager to help the wee ones with songs and dances, The smell of lovely baking wafting out of the staff room, Delighted and proud children presenting crushed pieces of cake and cookies with their fingers to the office staff, Mrs. Parent surrounded by towers of chocolate boxes, and Christmas wishes extended to all who enter and exit the building. Today of all days was a rain day. (Think of 450 wriggling bodies trying to be still and silent during our Concert dress rehearsal, and then having no outdoor recess.) So... we got creative and invited the students to walk laps at lunch recess, blasting Christmas carols through the loudspeakers. For twenty minutes, the halls rang with sounds of laughter and music - a high point in the day. Another one was the STEM experiment in the staff room (A.K.A. the staff room fridge). As I type this, the air is filled with gales of laughter as our intrepid staff members try to identify mystery lunch leftovers. (Hmmm. That means there will be one less smell wafting out of the staff room.) Thank you, everyone, for your courage and strong stomachs! Thank you to our wonderful students, staff and parents who have made this an outstanding week!

I call my parents every day. I used to see them every day. My Dad and I built my log house on an acre severed from their land while my Mom ferried sandwiches and endless cups of tea and hot chocolate to the hot/cold/tired/exhilarated workers. For years, my children came off of the school bus, threw their bags into our back hallway, then headed next door to Nannie and Grandad’s for fresh baking and conversation. We shared dogs. I drove through their driveway each evening so th...Continue reading