301 Avenue Q North, Saskatoon, SK, S7L 2X7 Tel: 659-7340 Fax: 659-2107 web: www.gscs.sk.ca/gor
Newsletter #3 - November 2016
Principal: Mrs. M. Monteiro Vice Principal: Mr. R. Strawson Office Coordinator: Mrs. G. Lockert
Trustees: Mr. T. Fortosky, Mrs. A. Risling and Mr. T. Jelinski Superintendent: Mr. G. Martell
St. Maria Goretti is a Catholic school where we view Jesus as our teacher and role model. Our mission is to provide an inclusive, faith filled Catholic
Education where we all feel safe, respected and comfortable. Together we will foster reverence for God, respect for learning, others and self, plus
responsibility for our actions. Our school mission statement guides our actions as a school community.
                                                 
REMINDERS
Outside front doors will not be opened until 8:25 am. Please DO NOT send your children to
school before 8:25 am.
Did you know that you can call the Pre-Kindergarten class and the START Program directly?
Direct line for Pre-Kindergarten is 306-659-7774 and the direct line for the START Program is
306-659-7755.
DATES TO NOTE


















Thu, Nov 3
Thu, Nov 3
Mon, Nov 7
Thu, Nov 10
Thu, Nov 10
Thu, Nov 10
Thu, Nov 10
Fri, Nov 11
Mon, Nov 14
Tue, Nov 15
Thu, Nov 17
Thu, Nov 17
Fri, Nov 18
Mon, Nov 21
Thu, Nov 24
Fri, Nov 25
Fri, Nov 25
Mon, Nov 28
11:45 am – CSCC Meeting
3:25 pm – Girls volleyball in our gym
2:00 pm – Gr 6/7 goes to Porteous Lodge
Last Day to call for 3-Way Conference Times
10:45 am – Remembrance Day Assembly & Liturgy in gym
3:25 pm – Girls volleyball in our gym
3:25 pm – Boys volleyball at St. Michael
REMEMBRANCE DAY STAT – NO SCHOOL
Teacher’s Convention – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Professional Learning Day – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
AM Picture Retakes – for students who missed taking a picture in October
3:20 pm – Boys volleyball at St. Mary
CSCC Bingo in gym – 5:30 pm doors open; 6:00 Bingo starts
2:00 pm – Gr 1/2 goes to Porteous Lodge
3:30 pm – 7:45 pm – 3-Way Conferences
8:45 am – 11:30 am – 3-Way Conferences
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
10:45 am – Mass at St. Mary Church
STUDENTS AND STAFF WITH ALLERGIES
St. Maria Goretti Community School is a
NUT ALERT school. This means NO nuts
or any foods containing nut products can
come into the school. We have students
who have life-threatening allergies and some with
very serious allergies to these items. Thank you for
helping us keep these children safe.
St. Maria Goretti Community School is
also a FRAGRANCE FREE ZONE: Many
staff, students and visitors have severe
sensitivities to scented products like perfume, hair
care products, soaps and hand lotions. Please
refrain from wearing scented products to school.
Thank you for your cooperation.
ABSENCES OR LATE ARRIVALS
TRAFFIC SAFETY
Parents are required to notify the school if
their son/daughter will be late or absent.
Please call 306-659-7340 any time and leave a
message. Please include your child’s name,
grade, classroom teacher and the reason your
child will be late or absent. If your child
comes in late, please remind him/her to
report to the office. Please remember if your
child is too sick to go outside for recess, please
keep him/her home for the day as that prevents
illnesses from spreading.
A new bylaw has been passed and it is illegal
to make u-turns in front of schools. The
following information from Saskatoon Police:
U-Turns in school zones, whether at an
intersection or not, are illegal. $90 fine. Also,
for the safety of our students, please do not
use the staff parking lots as a drop off or pick
up zone.
SECURING OUR SCHOOL
Our exterior doors of the school are locked
during school hours with the exception of our
front doors by the office. All students use the
front entrance. As a reminder, all parents
and guests are to report to the office.
PRINCIPAL’S PEN
It has been two months of learning and
growing together here at St. Maria Goretti! I
have had the opportunity to spend time in
classrooms and have been impressed by how
much your children have grown. We invite you
to come and celebrate your child’s learning
during the 3-Way Conferences. Please call the
office to book a time convenient for you. I
hope to see you all on November 24th or 25th.
We continue to work at making our school a
safe place for students to learn. I have
explained to students that the term “playfighting” does not exist in the English
vocabulary. Please re-inforce this with your
child at home as well, and remind them that
hands are for helping!
God Bless!
Mrs. Maria Monteiro
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL
CSCC meets the first Thursday of every
month. Please join us for our next CSCC
Meeting on November 3rd at 11:45 am.
UPDATING STUDENT INFORMATION
Please call the school and let us know if you
have changed your telephone number or have
moved. In case of an emergency, we need
accurate, updated information to contact you.
MESSAGES to STUDENTS
In an attempt to get all messages relayed to
students and to have them going to the right
location after school, please try to make sure
your child knows when they leave home in the
morning about appointments or where they are
to go after school. There are an increasing
number of calls to the office and classrooms
are interrupted. Telephone calls will not be
put through to classrooms for students
during class time. Messages for teachers
will be forwarded to their voice mail.
COLD WEATHER
Students are expected to go outside for recess
and noon breaks if the temperature and wind
chill are within the guidelines (-25° or warmer).
Please ensure that your children are dressed
warmly for the cold weather - winter jackets
with functioning zippers, winter boots, toques,
mitts and ski pants. If your child does not have
these please let the school know. If the busses
are not running, parents need to inform the
school if their child will be absent. Please
note that even if the busses do not run, the
school is still open.
AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM
Monday to Friday from 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm.
Limited spots, parents will be contacted when a
spot becomes available. The program is only
available to families if the parents are
working and/or going to school.
Registration form are available at the office.
For more information, call the Boys and Girls
Club at 306-683-8378.
GIDEON BIBLE PRESENTATION
We would like to thank volunteers from the
Gideons for coming to our school and handing
out Bibles. All Gr 4s received a New
Testament and Psalm from the Gideons who
share Bibles globally every year.
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball games are on Thursdays
after school. Thanks to our coaches
Mrs. Prevost, Miss Wist, Miss Guth,
Mr. Smela and Mr. Strawson.
PICTURE RETAKES
Picture retakes are on Thursday, November
17th at 9:00 am for students who missed taking
a picture in October. PreK2, if you need
retakes please make arrangements to come to
school in the morning. Please bring back your
picture proofs so that only necessary retakes
are taken. If your child doesn’t like the shirt
they wore, retakes will not be taken. If there is
a distinct flaw in the proof, retakes will be
taken.
EAL NEWS
3-way conferences will be held on November
24th and 25h. If you would like an interpreter for
3-way conferences, please let me know as
soon as possible so that I can make
arrangements
Shawna Hersikorn, EAL Teacher
PROGRESS REPORTS & THREE-WAY
CONFERENCES
Three times a year, each child
from Gr 1 – Gr 8 receives a
progress report/report card. PreKindergarten will not be having
Three-Way Conferences as Mrs.
Ziegler will contact parents to set up home
visits. Kindergarten receives progress reports
in Term 2. Kindergarten – Gr 8 students have
a 15 minute Three-Way Conference involving
the teachers, student and the parent/guardian.
This year progress reports will again be sent
home after the conferences. Teachers work
hard to have your son/daughter share his/her
learning goals and class work with you. We
hope that all parents along with your child(ren)
will attend the conference to celebrate their
learning. Our conferences will occur on
Thursday, November 24th from 3:30 pm to
7:45 pm and on Friday, November 25th, from
8:45 am to 11:30 am. There are no classes
for students in the morning or afternoon on
Friday, November 25th since the staff is
involved in professional development. Please
call 306-659-7349 for a conference time by
Thursday, November 10th before 3:00 pm.
We will assign times for those that have not
signed up. There will be a reminder note sent
home on November 22nd. Parents, we
appreciate your efforts to attend the
conference with your child and to review your
child’s goals and progress in the portfolio.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAYS (PLD)
Saskatoon Catholic Schools have professional
learning days for elementary school staff for
staff meetings, planning, collaboration and
professional development. On these days
there are no students at school. The PLDs for
the 2016 - 2017 year are: Tuesday,
November 15th, Friday, January 27th,
Monday, March 13th, Thursday, May 18th and
Friday, June 9th.
WE REMEMBER
HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOLS
All of us will learn more about the
service of our veterans as we prepare
for this Remembrance Day. We will
have a Remembrance Day Assembly
and Liturgy of the Word on Thursday,
November 10th at 10:45 am in the gym. All
students and staff will receive a poppy and
are asked to bring a 25¢ (or more) donation
for the Legion. Students in groups like Scouts
and Cadets are asked to wear their uniforms
for this important assembly. Please join us for
this event or the Remembrance Day ceremony
at SaskTel Centre on November 11th. Doors
open at 9:30 am.
Upcoming events for Spirit Week:
SCHOOL NURSE PRACTITIONER
CHRISTMAS HAMPER PROGRAMS
My name is Rochelle Riemer and I am the new
nurse practitioner on the School Wellness
Team. I am at St. Maria Goretti on Tuesday
afternoons and Thursday mornings. In my role
I am available to provide health care to the
students, their families, and whenever possible
the school staff. I am able to assess, diagnose
and treat common medical disorders, give
prescriptions, provide counseling, write
referrals to other health professionals and
specialists, provide information on health topics
and health promotion and prevention and
collaborate with other members of the School
Wellness Team as well as other health
agencies and professionals. I can assist
families in making and attending appointments
with other health professionals, help steer
through the medical field and be a liaison
between the medical world and school. I work
out of the SWT office located by the gym and
attend community engagement activities in the
school. Please feel free to stop in and see me
or call me any time at (306)381-3454.
Mon, Oct 31st - Costume/Orange and Black Day
Tue, Nov 1st - Wacky Hair Day
Wed, Nov 2nd - Stripes Day
Thu, Nov 3rd - 80s day/Neon Day
Fri, Nov 4th - School Colors Day (blue/yellow)
Our student leaders will be fun ambassadors at
the Halloween Dance and the Family
Engagement Night. We have three student
volunteers to help out and talk about
Halloween safety. One of our leaders will be
wearing a costume Max the Safety cat. Student
helpers are Jennica, David, Jhaybelynne and
Kriztov.
St. Mary Parish:
 Registration for hampers will begin on
November 14th and close on December 2nd.
 Applications will be taken from 1:00 pm to 3:00
pm, Monday to Friday at St. Mary’s rectory.
 Applications must be made in person.
 Applicants are asked to please bring the
following: Current Health Card of all household
members and proof of current address.
 Applicants must live within St. Mary’s Parish
boundary OR must be registered members of
St. Mary’s Parish or Guadalupe Parish.
 The Committee has again decided that all the
hampers will be delivered to homes directly.
 Deliveries of the Christmas Hampers will be
made on December 21st from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00
p.m. only. In order to receive a Christmas
hamper, applicants MUST be at home during
these hours.
In order to avoid duplication, all applications will
again be coordinated through the Salvation Army’s
database.
The Salvation Army:
 You can register at 339 Avenue C South from
November 17th - December 16th.
 Hours are from 9:00 am - 11:30 am and from
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Monday to Friday.
 You will need to bring:
 Proof of income
 Health cards for everyone in your family
 Proof of address
 Proof of family allowance