2024 - Page 6 of 13 - Waterloo Catholic District School Board

Wishing You a Blessed Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded of the importance of gratitude and reflection. With September behind us and Thanksgiving just ahead, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the exciting kickoff to the 2024 school year. The past month flew by, filled with energy, new initiatives, and community-building events, marking a busy and successful start across the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.

Grounded in our faith, Thanksgiving reminds us to reflect on the many blessings we’ve been given and to share them with others. It calls us to extend our hands and hearts to those in need. Many of our schools have embraced this spirit by organizing food drives in response to the growing issue of food scarcity affecting many in our region. These efforts beautifully reflect the spirit of charity that is at the heart of our Catholic community.

In that same spirit, we are once again teaming up with St. Mary, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows parish (Kitchener) and launching a system-wide fundraiser to support A Better Tent City and Bridges (Cambridge), focusing on helping those experiencing homelessness. As we gather with our loved ones to celebrate this season of gratitude, we also recommit ourselves to serving and uplifting the most vulnerable in our communities.

Wishing you and your family a joyful Thanksgiving, filled with peace, gratitude, and God’s blessings. May this season renew our commitment to faith and service, as we continue to foster a caring and compassionate community for all. We hope you spend your Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by those you love and take the opportunity to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

Tyrone Dowling
Director of Education

October 11th, 2024|

Upcoming Board of Trustees’ Meeting: Monday, October 7, 2024

Board of Trustee Board Meeting: Monday, October 7, 2024 @ 6:00 pm – Agenda: 2024-10-07_COW_Agenda

Location: 1st floor Board Room, Catholic Education Centre, 35 Weber Street, Kitchener

General Information About WCDSB Board Meetings

Information About the Board of Trustees

(Note: Agenda files can be large. If you are experiencing issues downloading a file, right-click on the link and choose “Save Target As…”.)

October 3rd, 2024|

Celebrating Indigenous Excellence and Advancing Truth and Reconciliation at WCDSB

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) remains deeply committed to honouring Indigenous excellence and advancing the work towards Truth and Reconciliation. As part of this commitment, a variety of educational opportunities were offered to our students and staff during the week of September 23, 2024.

Beginning on September 23, Every Child Matters flags were raised at all schools and board sites, and remained in place until September 30, symbolizing our dedication to honouring survivors of residential schools. On September 30, all staff and students were encouraged to wear orange shirts as a visible reflection on the profound impact of the residential school system on Indigenous communities.

During the week of September 23, over 600 WCDSB students from 14 schools, in Grades 5 to 7, participated in the Celebrating Indigenous Diversity and Excellence event at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum. Through hands-on experiences, students engaged in activities such as drumming, dancing, and learning about Inuit and Métis traditions. These experiential learning opportunities directly supported our ongoing efforts towards Truth and Reconciliation.

Video: https://youtu.be/ipp-qZrKWSo

At the Catholic Education Centre, staff were invited to take part in a smudging and prayer service at St. Mary’s Church, followed by a walk alongside Indigenous community members to Victoria Park, as an act of solidarity and reconciliation.

Video: https://youtu.be/gzKhod5M9Rw

Together, we honoured the resilience and strength of Indigenous communities and reaffirmed our dedication to fostering a future grounded in justice, understanding, and healing.

October 1st, 2024|

Strong Start to Reading

About Strong Start to reading™:

Strong Start® Charitable Organization offers a literacy program called Letters, Sounds and Words™, which has been specifically designed to help young children who need extra practice when learning essential early reading skills. To learn more about Strong Start, please visit their website.

The Letters, Sounds and Words program at our school:

Strong Start’s Letters, Sounds and Words program is a fun and engaging way for community members to help young children acquire the essential literacy skills they need to be confident and successful learners. This 10-week program targets children in Year 2 Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2 who are lagging behind in their early reading skills. Children are matched with trained community volunteers who come into our school to work one-on-one with them, playing carefully designed games and activities. The program is designed in 4 strands to help children learn the names of letters, a sound each letter represents, how to recognize focus words and how to read a word using the sounds of its letters. Classroom teachers select which children would most benefit from this program, as well as the strands in which they should be enrolled.

How you can get involved at Strong Start at our school:
You can make a difference! Volunteer at our school and help a young child learn to read. Contact our school’s Strong Start Site Co-ordinator to get involved.
As a Strong Start volunteer, you will:

•       Attend two, 2-hour training sessions
•       Work one-on-one with a child in Year 2 Kindergarten, Grade 1 or 2 in our school
•       Play games and activities designed to help develop the child’s literacy skills (All materials are provided)
•       Make a minimum time commitment of 30 minutes/week for 10 weeks

“It’s so exciting to see a child start on that path of identifying letters and sounds…it’s amazing to watch. I would highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to volunteer.” – Bethany Jakob, Volunteer Coach.

To learn more about the Strong Start’s Letters, Sounds and Words program and register for training, please click here.

Please contact: michelle.scott@wcdsb.ca if you re interested in becoming a Strong Start Coach at St. Elizabeth Catholic School.

September 30th, 2024|

St. Peter Community Enhances Safety

On September 19, 2024, the St. Peter Catholic Elementary School community and their neighbours gathered to celebrate the completion of a safer access route to the school, made possible through the generous support of a grant from the City of Cambridge.

The “Neighbours Helping Neighbours” initiative brought together students, parents, local residents, WCDSB staff, and municipal experts to collaborate on transforming Brooklyne Road, which leads to the back parking lot of the school. The result is a newly designed, pedestrian-friendly environment that prioritizes safety and encourages walking to school. The project includes traffic-calming measures, a dedicated pedestrian path for students, and the introduction of student safety foot patrollers, ensuring that families feel more confident in choosing active transportation options.

September 25th, 2024|

St. Peter Community Enhances Safety with “Neighbours Helping Neighbours” Initiative

On September 19, 2024, the St. Peter Catholic Elementary School community and their neighbours gathered to celebrate the completion of a safer access route to the school, made possible through the generous support of a grant from the City of Cambridge.

The “Neighbours Helping Neighbours” initiative brought together students, parents, local residents, WCDSB staff, and municipal experts to collaborate on transforming Brooklyne Road, which leads to the back parking lot of the school. The result is a newly designed, pedestrian-friendly environment that prioritizes safety and encourages walking to school. The project includes traffic-calming measures, a dedicated pedestrian path for students, and the introduction of student safety foot patrollers, ensuring that families feel more confident in choosing active transportation options.

The celebration brought families and neighbours together to explore the newly improved road and share a community meal, highlighting their collective dedication to creating safer public spaces for everyone.

This initiative was made possible through the City of Cambridge’s “Keep Calm” grant, which encourages community-led efforts to enhance local neighbourhoods.

Before and After

Before the project, students had to navigate through vehicle traffic on Brooklyne Road to access the sidewalk.

Now, with the new safety measures in place, students can enjoy a safer and more engaging route to school.

September 25th, 2024|

Thank you, Sharp Edge Line Painting!

A big thank you to our friends at Sharp Edge Line Painting for doing such a great job with all our new line painting! Our playground has many more areas to play now, and with the new warning lines of when we are entering a ball zone. Additionally there are some bright red curbs where our busses load and unload all our students.

September 24th, 2024|

Thank you, Q-Mack!

A huge shout out to our friend Q-Mack! He came to speak to all of us – and entertain us like no other – about being an ALL-STAR and using Attitude, Leadership, Love, Self-Control, Teamwork, Accountability, and Respect! Thank you Q-Mack for showing us some cool tricks, magic, awesome tunes, and delivering a great message for us all!

September 24th, 2024|

Terry Fox Run – Fundraising Goal Surpassed!

We are please to announce that we surpassed our $1000 fundraising goal by $300, thus raising a total of $1300 for our Terry Fox Run this year.

Students worked very hard and had a wonderful afternoon running laps, earning tokens for the number of laps they completed.

Thank you to our community for your generous support!

September 24th, 2024|

WCDSB Celebrates 2024 KW Legacy Scholarship Recipients

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is thrilled to announce that three of our outstanding students have been awarded scholarships through the KW Legacy Scholarship Fund. This year marked the 10th annual Golf for Scholarships event, which collected an impressive $125,000 at Conestoga Golf and Country Club. With this year’s tournament, KW Legacy has now raised over $1 million since the charity was founded a decade ago.

More than 220 golfers and volunteers participated in the event, which took place on September 7, 2024. The tournament was dedicated to raising funds to help local high school students pursue post-secondary education. Over the past 10 years, KW Legacy has awarded more than 100 scholarships of $5,000 or more to deserving students.

We deeply value our partnership with KW Legacy and are incredibly proud of our students who earned this year’s awards:

KW Legacy John Heffner Sr. Automotive Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Luke De Sousa (Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School)
KW Legacy General Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Aeva Rennie (Monsignor Doyle Catholic Secondary School)
KW Legacy General Scholarship – $5,000 awarded to Jenna Haveman (St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School)

These scholarships will provide invaluable support to these talented students as they pursue their academic and career goals. We congratulate them on their achievements and sincerely thank KW Legacy for their ongoing partnership and generosity in supporting the future success of our students.

Aeva Rennie

Jenna Haveman

September 20th, 2024|