September 2019
St. Augustine School
Newsletter
Principal's Message
Welcome back to a new school year, St. Augustine students and families, and a special
welcome to all our new families joining us for the first time! It is our honour to serve each and
everyone of you!
I hope you all enjoyed a restful and fun-filled summer! The teachers, staff, and I can't wait to
hear of all your summer adventures. We have all been busy over the last several weeks
preparing the school and classrooms for your return.
I am excited to see all of you next week and to continue to get to know all of you and to serve you. I look forward to the upcoming academic year, knowing it will be filled with many successes by students, parents, and teachers and staff alike. Most importantly, we take on the upcoming year in communion as we continue to mould the minds and spirits of our children as a faith community.
This year’s theme for all Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese is “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST!” This year, let us celebrate and rejoice in what we are called to do as disciples of our faith by listening to Jesus and seeking out and living what He wants of us, knowing and trusting that he gives us the strength to
accomplish anything — in our school, in our homes, in our communities, around the world, and in our lives. Have a wonderful, faith-filled school year!
God Bless,
Mr.Yaptinchay
A SPECIAL WELCOME TO OUR
NEW TEACHERS AND STAFF!
A warm welcome to our new teachers:
Ms. Ali Smith (Kindergarten)
Ms. Andrea Riley (Grade 2)
Ms.Lara Farrell (Grade 4)
Mrs. Gay Pormento (Learning Resource)
Ms. Bethany Elsworth (Music)
We are so very excited to have you as part of the St. Augustine family this year!
A special welcome also to Mrs. Enakshi Patro, Ms. Lowella Lee, Ms. Lauren Dardis, and Ms. Alison Earle, our new Education Assistants, all members of our Learning Resource Team.
A tremendous thank you to Ms. Anna
Yule for serving our school as Vice-Principal
for many, many years. Ms. Yule has stepped down as VP but will continue to work in Grade 3 with her teaching partner, Ms. Gastaldo.
Welcome to Mrs. Dorothy Patzer, our new Vice-Principal. Mrs. Tania Erceg will teach part-time PE (Kindergarten to Grade 2) so that Mrs. Patzer can work in administration part of the week.
We are all so excited for the new
school year!
SCHOOL WEBSITE NEWS
Our school website is under construction and a new website will be revealed imminently. A reminder to visit the website regularly and frequently. It is a valuable reference point for school events, important
dates, weekly updates, reporting student
absence, parent participation portal, and other key resources. We are excited to bring you the new website in the next week or so. A huge thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Moylan, former parents at St.
Augustine School, for their dedication and commitment to the school and parish and for developing and maintaining our school website for many, many years throughout the building campaign. We are grateful
for all you have done!
SUMMER FAITH SHARING
Thank you to all who shared photos this summer of the churches they visited and masses they attended while on vacation.
You can still add yours to our shared album SAS Celebrating our Faith Around the World.
First Day of School
MORNING DROP-OFF
Please, consider walking, riding the bus, or biking to school. The same procedures for drop-off and pick-up will apply as in June.: DROP OFF PROCEDURES. Supervision begins at 8:00, and the first bell rings at 8:30 with a warning bell at 8:27.
PARKING RESTRICTIONS
Parking along Arbutus between 7th and 8th Ave. is 3-minute drop-off. W. 8th Ave. also has the same restrictions at the east end of the block. A bike lane is installed along 7th Ave. Watch where you park; tickets will continue to be issued if drivers park illegally.
Please, drive very slowly in and around the school.
NOON DISMISSAL & PICK-UP PROCEDURES
All children will be dismissed at 12:00pm the first day of school and will be waiting for you in the courtyard or in the laneway under the supervision of staff and parent volunteers according to the PICK-UP PROCEDURES. Thank you for reviewing these procedures to support the safe and secure transition of
ALL students at these important times of the school day.
FORMS AND HANDOUTS
Towards the end of the first week of school, your children will receive a package of notices/info that require your immediate attention. These forms are time-sensitive.
STUDENT PLACEMENTS
Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4 student placements were sent out last week. Please, contact us immediately at office@saschool.ca if you did not receive this email.
KINDERGARTEN GRADUAL ENTRY
All Kindergarten families received an email in July outlining the schedule for the first day and week of school. If you have any questions, please, email the office here.
LINING UP ON THE FIRST DAY:
Click here to see where each grade level will be lining
up in the courtyard the first day of school. Please, share
this with your child(ren) before Tuesday. Cones will be
set up as well to indicate the different grades.
Important Dates
SEP. 3 - 13: KINDERGARTEN GRADUAL ENTRY
SEP. 4: FIRST DAY OF AFTER SCHOOL CLUB
SEP. 4: FIRST SCHOOL MASS
Our first school mass is Wednesday, September 4 at 9:15am prepared by the Grade 7 class. Students are expected to be in full school uniform. Kindergarten
students will not attend this first mass due to gradual
entry. Parents, families, and friends are invited to join
us for this Opening Mass of the school year.
SEP. 6: MEET-THE-TEACHER EVENING & BBQ
SEP. 25: TERRY FOX RUN
SEPTEMBER 5:
MEET-THE- TEACHER
EVENING (AND BACK-TO-SCHOOL BBQ!)
Our annual Meet-the-Teacher Evening is scheduled or
Thursday, September 5. The gym doors will open for a the general session at 5:45pm.
After the general session, at 6:30pm parents are asked to proceed to their child’s classroom for a 30 minute presentation by the teacher. A second session will be offered at 7:00pm, which will also last 30 minutes. This is a mandatory meeting, and we ask that at least one parent be present.
Immediately after your session with your classroom teacher, we invite you to join us in the courtyard for our 3rd Annual Back-to-School BBQ hosted by the PEC. The PEC would like to welcome everyone back and will be BBQ’ing for you! Please, stay after your classroom session(s) for a relaxed, casual evening BBQ and social to kick off the new year as a community.
The evening schedule is as follows:
5:45pm Doors Open
6:00pm General Session (in the gym)
6:30pm Meet-the-Teacher Session #1 (in classrooms)
7:00pm Meet-the-Teacher Session #2 (in classrooms)
After your classroom session, please, join us in the school courtyard/playground for our BBQ social.
Please, fill out the online Back-to-School BBQ Information and Sign-up/order Form to register and place your order. Deadline: September 2
Parent Participation Hours available. We need a set up crew and a clean up crew for the event. Please, be on the lookout for this via our Parent Participation Portal.
Coach's Corner
CROSS COUNTRY
Cross Country will begin practices on September 9. Students from Gr. 3-7 who are interested in joining this team will receive a participant commitment letter outlining athlete expectations. Gr. 2 students will be able to participate but will have their practices during class times. Athletes will be placed in 2 categories:
competitive and fun run. Placements will be made closer to the event.
Practice schedules will be communicated the first week of school.
CISVA CROSS COUNTRY TRACK MEET:
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2 @ SWANGARD STADIUM
VOLLEYBALL
Volleyball will also be available for Gr. 5-7 and practices will begin on September 9. Practice schedules will be finalized by the end of the first week of September. Players interested will also receive a participant commitment letter outlining athlete expectations. Game schedules will be available later in September.
Students who plan to join both sports are welcome to do so. There will be some practice overlaps and students in Cross Country are expected to attend ALL practices due to its limited time frame.We are very excited to begin our year off running!!! Go Lions!
Our School Day
LUNCHES: Please, ensure recess snack and lunch food is included in your child’s pack each day. As the city has new disposal regulations, all children will be bringing home whatever is left from their lunches. We can accept recycle items and garbage only. All food/ related items must be taken home.
HOT LUNCH: Hot lunch will begin Sep. 10 and will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year. Our hot lunch provider will be in contact with you this week via email.
BACKPACKS: We are again asking that students do NOT bring rolling backpacks. Lockers for our Grade 2-7 students do not have space for such large items.
EDU-PAC: EDU-PAC school supplies have been delivered and are ready to go.
EARLY DISMISSAL:
A reminder that it is 2pm Early Dismissal every Wednesday.
SCHOOL BREAKS:
As our numbers grow, we are challenged with limited play space available to us. This year, we will again be staggering both morning and lunch recesses.
Here is the break schedule we will be using:
10:10-10:25 Morning Recess #1
10:30-10:45 Morning Recess #2
11:45-12:15 Lunch Recess #1
12:15-12:30 Lunch (whole school)
12:30-1:00 Lunch Recess #2
SPECIALIST TEACHING DAYS:
French: Monday,Tuesday,Thursday
PE: Monday to Friday
Music: Monday to Thursday
YEAR CALENDAR:
Click here to view a month-to-month Google calendar of our school year. Use the navigation arrows at the top left of the page to move through the months of the year.
If you prefer a one page snapshot of the school year, please, click here: 2019/20 Year-at-Glance Calendar. Both these calendar options are available on the school website.
F Y I
WALKATHON (OCT.11):
Our main fundraiser for the year is ready to kick off! Walkathon forms will be available soon with important information and
the Walkathon Pledge Package! Our goals this year include the continued improvement of the courtyard play space, outfitting the Learning Commons with a projector system and new flexible learning spaces, investing in resources, technologies, and programs to better implement the new BC curriculum, and to support the development of our athletics program. Back this year to assist with our fundraising is the ONLINE Pledge option for the Walkathon, the link to which will be sent home the
first week of school. Stay tuned!
REMINDER: New Traffic Patrol Family Responsibilities
In June, we explained that starting September 2019, each grade level classroom will be assigned a specific month for traffic patrol. For your assigned month, the Parent Participation expectation is that each family volunteer a MINIMUM of two shifts for morning drop-off and two shifts for afternoon pick-up. Each classroom will be assigned a traffic liaison who will be in touch with you in the weeks before your classroom’s assigned month to develop a schedule for the month. Families with siblings will only be expected to fulfill these expectations for their oldest child. We will begin with our Grade 7 families in September, Grade 6 in October, Grade 5 in November, and work our way through the year in descending order down to Kindergarten. Traffic Patrol will remain open to all parents on the parent portal for the entire year for those who want to volunteer to fulfill their Parent Participation required hours
even if it is outside of their assigned month. Thank you to our Grade 7 families for tackling September. Be on the lookout for communication from your Grade level traffic liaison throughout the year!