Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board
459 Victoria Ave West P7C0A4 Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

YOU DID IT! It's been a week. Our hats, mittens, glasses and anything else are off to you in the endeavour of remote learning!... We know many of you were balancing your own career, whilst being teacher/lunch supervisor/coach and maybe ref between your "students". YOU rocked it. It's okay if it wasn't perfect... remember things are not perfect during a pandemic. To our Educators! You also ROCKED it. We know it wasn't easy and it was a challenge - but trust us, the feedback we have heard has been nothing short of amazing. Some of you were teaching while your own kids were home (some of them young enough to sit on your lap). We saw the encouraging messages and inspiring lessons with the ability to think outside of the box. A special thank you goes out to our Special Education teams who were able to connect with their students at their home schools during the week. Words can never express the gratitude we have for each of you and the impact you have on your students. To our Board staff behind the scenes. We know there were phone calls, device rollouts, technology support, communication initiatives and even moral support. Thank you for all you have done this week! To our students - the resilient leaders of tomorrow! We watched you learn and grow, maybe you even showed your grown-ups a few things. We know you missed your friends, but we were happy to see you were able to learn virtually with your furry friends close by. Many of you shared photos with us and on your own social media accounts. We had so many, we couldn't possibly use them all, but we did try and capture as many as we could. Thank you for documenting a part of our living history. See everyone tomorrow! Don't forget your mask!

Dear Families, We’re looking forward to seeing you on Monday, January 11th! A few gentle reminders for our return to school:... Please be aware, our travel advisory is still in effect for students. Please ensure you are completing the self-assessment prior to school. Masks must be worn (grades 4-12). Kindergarten to Grade 3 students are recommended to wear masks. Continue hand washing/sanitizing and maintain physical distancing. Please avoid congregating in groups - as advised by public health. If you have borrowed any devices, please ensure they are returned to the school on Monday - along with any power cords. These devices are NEEDED for programming within our schools. Please for everyone’s safety, avoid congregating outside of our school buildings before and after school. When dropping off or picking up your child, please try and be as efficient as possible in order to avoid overcrowding areas; keeping the risk of exposure low for our families. We all need to be vigilant during these challenging times. Thank you for your continued efforts to keep your children safe and our staff safe. We are grateful for everyone’s support to help flatten the curve. Thank you, and have a great weekend. https://www.tbcschools.ca//student-travel-advisory-still-e

Dear Families, With today’s Ministry announcement, we are returning to conventional learning (in-person) as we are fortunate to live in the North, with a lower number of cases. Read the Ministry’s full release - attached below. ... We will see all of you at school on Monday, January 11th. Elementary- Full-Day Face to Face Secondary- Morning Face to Face and Afternoon Virtual Virtual School (Learn at Home) students will continue as usual Please ensure if you borrowed a TBCDSB device, please return it to your school (along with all cords). Thank you to EVERYONE this week - parents, guardians, students and staff who got through this week of remote learning/teaching/working all while balancing your own family life. Thank you. https://news.ontario.ca//ontario-extends-teacher-led-onlin

Dear Families, please see an update from the TBDHU regarding Holy Family and St. Bernard School. https://www.tbcschools.ca/about/news?story=2916

O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining... 'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night divine! #tbcdsb #tbcschools #tbay #oholynight #christmaseve #christisborn #nightdivine #gloriousmorn #merrychristmas #christmasmagic #believeinthemagicofchristmas See more

Remembering Tom Before we left for the Christmas break, our Board family received heartbreaking news. Our friend, mentor, colleague and former Associate Director and Superintendent of Business, Tom Mustapic passed away peacefully with his family by his side after a difficult battle with ALS. ... Our Board was fortunate to have Tom as a team member for 25+ years. He was a leader that many looked up to and respected because of his unwavering integrity and passion for doing the right thing for others. Tom was the Superintendent of Business for the majority of his career, where ensured budgets were balanced and creative projects were completed. No project was too big for Tom because he always had a detailed plan to ensure nothing could fail. If a problem came up, Tom had a solution and delivered with a positive attitude. Outside of work Tom contributed immensely to school communities, his true passion was coaching high school basketball. For many years Tom was instrumental in leading the St. Ignatius Boys Basketball team to several SSSAA championships and OFSAA appearances. Tom always thought of our organization as a team and constantly stated how valuable our members are. One of his famed quotes was: Our staff is the reason for our success. The key to our future. Our biggest asset. In Tom’s passing, we have lost one of the main reasons for our success and one of our biggest assets. Although he is gone, his legacy lives through his family; his wife Cindy and their children Christian and Matthew - a remaining key to our future. We will lovingly remember our friend Tom as a Coach on the courts of St. Ignatius (and player on the same court for Lakeview High School). We will remember his kindness, unwavering optimism and his dedication to the numerous organizations within our community. We will remember his gentle smile and his ability to make everyone feel important, valued and appreciated. His spirit will live on through our schools and most importantly, we will carry his memory in our hearts In lieu of flowers, donations to the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board Awards Trust Fund will be greatly appreciated. A scholarship fund has been set up under Tom’s name. Tom, we will miss you.

Mary, did you know? While we may not be able to be all together in person students were able to be together in through liturgical dance, which included our Grade 2 students from our Learn@Home school from the classes of Ms. Bakich and Ms. Querry, Ms. Calabrese, Mme Miller, Ms. Parnham and Mr. Raposo as well as Grade 2 students from Corpus Christi school in Ms. Sottile’s Class. Utilizing the technology of GoogleClassroom, both virtual and conventional students were able t...o come together and participate in Mary, did you Know. A liturgical dance, choreographed by Mrs. Biesental - a perfect beginning to our Christmas holidays. Thank you to EVERYONE who made this possible - from the IT department, various Educators, Communications Team and Superintendents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq3mJKZPrA0&feature=youtu.be

C A R D winners! One of our favourite traditions at the Board Office is the annual Christmas Card contest! ... This year... due to the pandemic, we didn't get to celebrate the way we traditionally do. USUALLY we would take the chair of the Board to each school, where they would present the winner with their prize and we would take their photo and celebrate in a creative way!. This year we couldn't do this BUT we did have Pino, Allison, Sheila, Omer and JP on hand to FORMALLY announce the winners. AND Allison held up a snowflake to make it feel more festive! Kindergarten Winner: Russel Janiec - St. Francis! Primary Winner: Brayden Frost - @holyfamilytbcschools Junior Winner: Elektra Chickekoo - @stanntbcdsb Senior Elementary: Prisha Brar - @tbcschools_eq Secondary Winner: Viviana Choi - @stpatricktbcdsb Congratulations to our talented students! We had some amazing submissions and we are so blown away with the talent within our schools! #tbcdsb #tbcschools #tbcdsbkindergrow #kindergrow #christmascardcontest #talentedstudents #art #design #crayon #paint #pencilcrayon #contest #weloveourschools See more

C A U G H T Olivia caught the Gingerbread man. He didn't run fast enough! ... #tbcdsb #tbcschools #tbcdsbkindergrow #gingerbreadman #christmas #kindergartenchristmas #kindergrow #kindergarten #brighteyes #december #winter #christmascrafts See more

Bûches de Noël What do you get when you take one very creative Teacher on an evening stroll through Dollarama? YOU GET AN AWESOME TASTY TREAT!, that's what you get! ... Mme Erdman at St. Elizabeth School came up with a fantastic and delicious idea ... make your own yule log - aka, Bûches de Noël! Did you know, because its history traces back to the Middle Ages, Bûches de Noël is considered part of France’s oldest culinary traditions! This is a tradition with a twist, where the students were able to get creative and decorate their own Bûches de Noël and of course, show it off to us! We loved the enthusiasm (even if it was sugar related), because of course, they needed to taste them for quality assurance. Thank you for inviting us Mme Erdman! And Ms. Pizzi and Mr. Oster ... how was it after we all left?

It's a marshmallow world in the winter When the snow comes to cover the ground It's time for play, it's a whipped cream day I wait for it the whole year 'round ... We're loving this gingerbread house from the KinderEagles in Ms. McEwan and Ms. LePage’s room @tbcschools_stjd #tbcdsb #tbcschools #tbcdsbkindergrow #learning #play #gingerbreadhouses #kindergarten #kindergartencrafts #christmas #merrychristmas #kidscrafts #snow #holidays #snow #cardboardgingerbreadhouse See more

Dear TBCDSB Family, please see the attached update from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit regarding St. Margaret Elementary School. https://www.tbcschools.ca//positive-covid-19-cases-st-marg

C A N 'T H O L D them BACK! No matter what happens, students and staff of St. Bernard Elementary School continue to show us that NOTHING, can break their spirit.... WE know last week was tough, but you continued to persevere and get through it. In fact, you're kind of like the Whos down in Whoville.... And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low, then it started to grow. But this sound wasn't sad! Why, this sound sounded glad! Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing without any presents at all! He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming! It came! Somehow or other, it came just the same! -- Thank you Flames for continuing to show your best Christmas Spirt. We enjoyed your beautiful socially distanced Christmas Choir on River! Merry Christmas, friends.

BEE BOT'ing Around! MOVE over Pat and Vana! Mr. Mackett and Mrs. Biesenthal are in town, with their traveling code show!... These KinderColts at Corpus Christi Elementary School had their first lesson in coding - utilizing Bee Bots! Bee Bots are a rechargeable floor robots designed for early learning. Bee Bots are the perfect tool to learn about sequencing, estimation, problem solving and geo-spatial reasoning through coding. Together this group decided on directions and programmed the Bee Bot to move around the room. Coding isn't a buzz kill when you have these Teachers in your room!

This morning, Mr. Gatto and Ms. Quadrilatero proudly presented a large cheque to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation's Northern Cancer Fund. This year’s donation is poignant, as a former Holy Family School alumni is currently undergoing cancer treatments. Funds were raised through staff dress-down day donations, with each year Staff choosing a different organization within the community. ... Thank you Flames staff!!!

Can you lend a hand? We're trying to help our friends from Pope John Paul II School Community earn the TbayTel for good funding to help with their project: A Mile in My Mocs Click here to vote, and learn more! http://www.tbaytelforgood.net/poll/fall-2020-2000-category/

B E H I N D the scenes We really need to take a second to tell you something...... There are teams of amazing educators behind your child's choreographed dances, plays and liturgical dances. They are enthusiastic, encouraging, dedicated and motivated to make each holiday or event special and memorable. This year is weird, very weird. BUT here they are... as energetic as usual playing double and triple roles as choreographers, videographers, editors and up-loaders. No matter what school, what board, what grade - there is a team behind the scenes dancing along with your child - and it is SPECIAL and heartwarming. We know how much you do and how much time, effort and care goes into making these recitals and productions, especially with the addition of full PPE. Thank you.

- I M A G I N E - The year is 1900. You are a Canadian born into a loving and caring family...... #wewillrememberthem

We visited the awesome KinderLions at St. Francis School! Ms. Janiec, Ms. Kuschak, Ms. Albert and Ms. Melideo never disappoint with their creative classrooms! We were treated to an inside look at a "paint night" inspired, Remembrance Day art sessions. We love visiting Kindergarten, especially when these students show us how they remember, and why Remembrance Day is important to them.

Radio Knights = Christmas Cheer Days! SO WE HAD A BLAST.... Over with Mrs. Sutherland, Ms. Zachary and the Gr.4/5s at St. Thomas Aquinas!... As part of their Lenten Campaign, this class lead the Christmas Cheer train and paired up with 99.9 The Bay and their friend John! This amazing group had the opportunity to zoom in during the 36-Hours of Cheer Marathon... and had the most festive attire to go along with it. This incredible school community raised $2100.00 ANDD THEN Mr. Lacaria, donated $100 and challenged other Principals and administrators within our Board to do the same! Kindness is contagious and these Knights sure know how to give back and encourage and inspire others. Thanks Knights for inviting us. And Thanks John Ongaro for playing The Doobie Brothers - so we could chair dance together.

MEET Basketball. Yep. Basketball. Basketball lives in Ms. Frankow and Ms. Runciman's Kindergarten room! Maybe he bounces? Either way, we love interesting names that the kids come up with.... NEXT!! *swipe* Meet, Golden. She lives in Mrs. Meo's room and has the perfect view of the classroom from her reindeer. NEXT!! *swipe* Meet, Sparkles. He lives in Ms. McEwan and Ms.LePage's Kindergarten room and was hiding on-top of the projector. We wonder, have Golden, Sparkles and Basketball met? Are they friends? Do they have to stay in their own cohort? St Jude Elementary School, we need to know, please advise. See more

Oh HELLO Mrs. Ozbolt! We know you're smiling, despite being behind a sheet of plexiglass, a mask and some safety glasses! ... This is what we look like... each and everyday. Secretaries, Educators, Custodians, Administrators, Counsellors and Staff - this is us. We're all still smiling behind all of this, because we love what we do and we love your kids. Happy Sunday, see you tomorrow! #tbcdsb #tbcschools #saints #safetyfirst #ppe #weloveyourkids #welovebeingatschool #wegotthis #sundayfunday #onceasaintalwaysasaint #educators #tbay #thunderbay #northernontario See more

Positive COVID-19 Case - Holy Family Dear Families, please see the attached information with a letter from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. https://www.tbcschools.ca/about/news?story=2900

Kindergartners... they understand us more than we even know. ... We love you, Kindness Ninjas. @st.pius.x.tbcdsb #tbcdsb #tbcschools #starbucks #starbuckscanada #coffee #starbuckscoffee #tbcdsbkindergrow #kindergarten #welovethem #coffeelovers #kidsknowusbetterthanweknowourselves #kidsandcoffee #smartmove See more

We Roots to Harvest Every year, our staff collect funds for dress-down day and donate to a charity or organization. This year, due to COVID-19, we have worked even more closely with an organization close to our hearts - Roots to Harvest. Not only are they "punks growing food", they are an INCREDIBLE team of dedicated and loving people who continue to give back, everyday to our community. Roots to Harvest provides opportunities for people to engage with sustainable food prod...uction while honing inclusive, instructive and empowering programs! Thank you Erin (Roots to Harvest) for coming by yesterday and thank you to our models Louise and Sue! We can tell you're all smiling beneath the mask! One BIG thank you to our Board office staff - you are incredible humans who are helping other humans! We are so lucky we work with such generous hearts.

Dear Families, please see an update from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, regarding St. Martin Elementary School. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to all individuals and families affected. https://www.tbcschools.ca/about/news?story=2897

S A I N T S C O N S T R U C T I O N. co You have had a few sneak peeks as to what the grade 11 St. Patrick High School Specialist High Skills Major students have been doing... and it's pretty unreal.... Mr. Verardo's class, like most high school classes across the province, have been staggering their weeks; online one, in person the other. Semesters have now been turned into quadmesters and of course, school in general looks a lot differently. These students have successfully constructed two mid-century modern sheds despite this year's changes and challenges. They are not only functional, but they are chalked full of character! Way to go Saints, you never cease to amaze!