St. Michael’s School Newsletter
9387 Holmes Street, Burnaby, BC V3N 4C3
Telephone (604) 526-9768 Fax (604) 540-9799
Website: www.stmichaelschool.ca
April 21, 2016
Number 29
WE SAY GOODBYE
We are sad to announce the following changes on staff.
We are sorry to say that Mrs. Patricia Hunt, who served as our Office Manager, is no longer employed by
St. Michael’s School. Mrs. Hunt was a hardworking, talented and valued employee for many years and we
are very thankful to her for her dedicated service and contributions to our organization. We wish Mrs. Hunt
God’s blessings in her future endeavours and will miss her greatly.
Mrs. Carol Bradshaw, who served as our school librarian and computer teacher for many years and has
been on medical leave, officially retired from the CISVA in December 2015. Mr. Da Silva, who has been
Mrs. Bradshaw’s replacement, will continue in this role. We wish Mrs. Bradshaw good health and God’s
blessings.
This June, after over 30 years of dedicated service to the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver
Archdiocese (CISVA), Mrs. Barbara Baldissera, our Kindergarten teacher, is setting her sights on a welldeserved retirement and spending more time with her family. Her husband, Dino Baldissera, is also
retiring after serving many years with the Catholic Independent Schools. All of us here will miss Mrs.
Baldissera, and will never forget her contributions to our school and to the Catholic school system as a
whole.
We also say good-bye to Mrs. Silvia Havas, who will be transferring to Immaculate Conception
Elementary School in Delta in September. Mrs. Havas has been a part of St. Michael’s School for many
years and, although we are sad to see her leave, we are happy that she is able to be closer to home.
We say good-bye to Ms. Brittany Bird, who will be heading to the Newman Theological College in
Edmonton this September where she will be working on her Masters of Religious Education. We are very
grateful for her two years of service and for her contributions to our music program.
Mrs. Wendy Tantongco will be going on maternity leave in September as she and her husband are
expecting their second child!
Mrs. Lisa Benes who has been job sharing with Mrs. Baldissera this year will also be leaving us in June.
We thank Mrs. Benes for being such a wonderful member of our St. Michael’s community.
We ask for your prayers and support during this time of transition.
SUMMER UNIFORM
nd
Students may begin wearing the summer uniform on Monday, May 2 . The summer uniform is
optional. Winter uniforms may be worn year round. PLEASE HAVE STUDENTS BRING THEIR
SWEATER or VEST TO SCHOOL EACH DAY.
MANDATORY NEW KINDERGARTEN PARENT MEETING
We will be holding a mandatory meeting for parents who have a child entering Kindergarten
th
in September. The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 5 , at 7:00 pm.
This meeting is for parents only. Please make arrangements for child care.
PLEASE PRAY
Please pray for Mrs. Nicole Rozenbaum and her family. Mrs. Rozenbaum’s father passed away last
Saturday. Eternal rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him, may he rest in peace.
APRIL CALENDAR CORRECTION
th
th
The Tri-City track meet is NOT on April 28 , but on May 13 .
NON-UNIFORM DAY
On Thursday, April 28th, the Student Leadership Team will host a non-uniform day. The theme is
“Outside-In Day”. Participating students are permitted to wear casual clothes outside-in and/or backwards.
Students who do not wish to participate must wear their uniform. Please note that if your child participates
in a non-uniform day he/she is required to donate a minimum of $2. All money raised goes to our social
outreach projects.
A BABY GIRL!
Congratulations to the Abraham family who welcomed a baby girl on April 19th. Nasyan weighed 8lbs 3oz
and both mom and baby are doing well.
PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITY
rd
Saturday, April the 23 we will begin building the outdoor learning center and retaining walls. Please let
Dave Vela know if you are able to spare some time to come and give us a hand. Your children will
appreciate it! Start time will be 8:00am.
Please bring a shovel, sledge hammer and/or pick, if you have them.
Coffee will be served and lunch!
Please contact Dave Vela at [email protected] to let him know if you can make it.
ODYSSEY OF THE MIND
rd
A round of applause to our three Odyssey of the Mind teams who all placed 3 in their respective
categories at the annual Odyssey of the Mind competition this past Saturday. All the groups performed
extremely well and should be proud of their efforts. We extend our gratitude to Ms. Cheung, Mrs. Perrin
and Mrs. Anagnostou for coaching the teams and to Mrs. Cho, Mr. Balenovic and Mrs. Mistry who
volunteered to judge teams at the event. A thank you also goes out to Mr. Mian, Mrs. Andom, Mrs. Nicklin,
Mr. Leptick, Mrs. Yonathon and Mrs. Juca who volunteered to help at the tournament.
PEC ELECTIONS
Parish Education Committee elections will take place at the end of May, with two positions up for election.
The nomination committee is looking for candidates interested in running. This is your opportunity to
increase your involvement and have an influence on the direction of the school. The committee meets
monthly, generally on the fourth Tuesday of the month, at 7:30 pm. If you are interested in standing for
election or have any questions, please contact a member of the Nominations Committee, Kerry Smith:
604-524-8613 or at [email protected] or Lukas Hardjowasito: 604-540-2405 or at
[email protected] or Susie Doiron at 604-524-4203 or at [email protected] or you can complete a
nomination form available from the parish or school office. Candidates must be Catholic, a participating
member of the parish, and over 21 years of age.
EMERGENCY STUDENT RELEASE DRILL
th
The school will be conducting an emergency release drill on May 4 . A letter was sent home last week
regarding the details.
PLEASE READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY.
ABSENTEE NOTES
A reminder that any time your child is absent from school, for any reason, a note must be sent in upon the
child’s return. The note must include the name of the child, the dates of absence, the reason for the
absence and the signature of the parent. We are required by the Ministry of Education to collect absentee
notes or our funding may be affected. It is the responsibility of the parent to be proactive and send in
notes when required. Please do not leave it up to the school office to send home reminders for notes. This
is a very time consuming task for the office.
Thought of the week…
"The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the
planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish."
~Pope Francis
ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOL
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS STUDENT RELEASE DRILL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4th, 2016
Stop and think about where you were at 11:00 am yesterday.
Were you on your way to work? Were you already at work? Would you be able to get to the
school? If roads are damaged and all major bridges closed, is there someone within walking
distance of the school who could pick up your child? Have you appointed this person as your
emergency alternate care provider on the Emergency Release Form that you submitted to the
office?
The school has been involved in an ongoing Emergency Preparedness program to ensure the
care and safety of each student and staff members at our school. We are planning, in the event
of a disaster, to provide the best care we can for your child, but we need your help.
We ask you to be aware of our school’s earthquake policies and procedures. This is especially
important as we are planning an “Emergency Student Release.” Looking after and releasing
students into the care of a parent or designated alternate care provider is our top priority.
The Emergency Student Release will take place Wednesday, May 4th, 2016 at 1:20 pm.
Students will follow emergency procedures, including evacuation to the school field, and
emergency stations will be set up. A student release station will be assembled near the
playground.
We ask for your help in the following areas:
• Please treat this as a “real emergency” and plan to pick up your child/children between 1:30 2:15 pm on Wednesday, May 4th.
In order to alleviate long line ups and to spread out the release of the students, pick up times
have been divided by family house colour:
 1:30 –
 1:45 –
 2:00 –
 2:15 –
Red: last name beginning with letters A - C
Blue: last name beginning with letters D - K
Green: last name beginning with letters L - Q
Yellow: last name beginning with letters R - Z
If you know in advance that you are not able to pick up your child, please notify one of
your designated alternate care providers to pick up your child at that time.
Please park only in the designated area in the school parking lot.
Report to the Student Release Center (by the field) to pick up your child/children.
Students will be released only from this area and only to the parent or emergency alternate
care provider whose name you have listed on the Emergency Release Forms submitted
to the office.
Please be prepared to show proper identification (i.e. BC Driver’s License) when reporting to the
Student Release Centre. This will be critical in the event that the staff member in charge of this
area does not recognize the individual.
Please be PATIENT and CALM if there is a line – we will do our best to release your child(ren)
to you as quickly and efficiently as possible! REMAIN CALM –You will set the tone for your
children. They will need your calm reassurance and guidance. Your patience and cooperation
will be needed and appreciated.
Once you have picked up your child(ren), please keep your child(ren) with you and exit the
school grounds as quickly as possible. – this is not a time for playing or socializing.
Social conversation or children running and playing will only add to the confusion.
We need to keep the field clear to ensure the safety of all students and to keep the student
release process as quick and efficient as possible.
Any children who have not been picked up during the release time will be kept in the Student
Care Centre located on the playing field until their parents or designated care provider comes for
them. (In a real emergency, students will remain in this care area until picked up. For this
reason, it is important that parents or alternates come as quickly as possible following an
emergency so that the children are put into their parent’s care, and school personnel can leave
to attend to their own families.)
Please do not phone the school on the afternoon of the student release. All school personnel
have been assigned to emergency teams, and will need to focus on caring for students and
preparing to release students to their parents. In the event of a real emergency, we will need to
have the phone lines open to contact emergency services.
Thank you in advance for your willingness to follow these guidelines and for your assistance in
making it possible for us to handle this emergency release drill in an effective and efficient
manner. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school before the Student
Release on May 4th.