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Attention Parents – The HCDSB Needs Your Feedback!
The HCDSB is currently working to develop a new Board website. Please visit www.hcdsb.org to take a brief survey to provide feedback about what’s important to you, as our Board redesigns its site. Your input is valuable and will help in the development of a new and improved website that will better meet your needs. Thank you for your participation and involvement.

St. Raphael Community Skating Trips
Our annual community Skating Trips have been planned for the following mornings: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 (Grade 1 - 8) and Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 (Grade 1 - 6) at Appleby Arena New this year ALL STUDENTS MUST WEAR A C.S.A. APPROVED HOCKEY HELMET

JK/SK Registration 2010/2011
JK/SK REGISTRATION – January 26th & 27th, 2010 Tuesday, January 26th and Wednesday, January 27th, 2010; 9:00 a.m. – 12 Noon and 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Registration for JK students for September 2010 and new SK students will be held on the above dates. PLEASE NOTE: Registrations are not considered complete and will not be processed until we have all the necessary documentation. You will need to bring the following support documents with you at the time of registration: Birth Certificate Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate Immunization Record Junior Kindergarten children are required to be 4 years of age on or before December 31st, 2010. Senior Kindergarten children are required to be 5 years of age on or before December 31st, 2010. PLEASE NOTE: If your child requires bussing, he/she will be registered in the morning. Children currently attending Junior Kindergarten are not required to register for Senior Kindergarten. Placement for Senior Kindergarten will be automatically processed by the school for September 2010. We make every reasonable effort to accommodate placement requests but this is sometimes impossible due to transportation availability, enrolment during the summer and situations beyond our immediate control. Please avoid disappointments and ensure that if daycare is required~that it is flexible. The school cannot be responsible for daycare arrangements.

School Uniform Parent Meeting
We will be hosting a Parent Information Meeting with regards to School Uniforms on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 7:00p.m. in the school gym. Superintendent John Langil and Sara Catroba, representative from McCarthy's Uniforms will be present to address questions. Our community vote with regards to School Uniforms will take place from Monday, January 17th until Wednesday, January 27th, 2010. Individual family ballots will go home on Monday, January 17th, 2010.

SCHOOL UNIFORM INFORMATION


Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year
In the true spirit of Christmas we would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families who have helped to share the spirit of Christmas through our Food Drive, collection of Canadian Tire Money and Out of the Cold project. Merry Christmas and God Bless the St. Raphael Families I Promise… to make Christmas a holy day with Christ ~not a holiday without Him to remember that the real symbols of Christmas are the Star, the Stable and the Crib to teach my children that Santa Claus is the nickname of St. Nicholas ~ who gave to the poor in honour of Christ The Creator makes Christmas possible Friends make Christmas beautiful Music makes Christmas festive Giving makes Christmas joyous Love makes Christmas complete

Board Operating Policy 11-41, School Uniform Dress Code/School Dress Code
At the Wednesday, November 18, 2009 Catholic School Council meeting it was decided by a majority to move forward with Board Operating Policy 11-41, School Uniform Dress Code/School Dress Code. Currently, the Catholic School Council and school administration are developing an Action Plan, outlining the Parent Information Night, balloting procedures, and any other pertinent information related to this initiative. The Action Plan will be communicated to the St. Raphael community on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.

School Choir sings "O'Canada" at the Bulldogs Game
St. Raphael School Choir will be singing “O Canada” at the Hamilton Bulldogs vs. Toronto Marlies Game Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum Purchase your tickets for $15.00 each through the St. Raphael School office. Please fill out the attached form, and return to the school office with your payment by Friday, November 20th. Sorry, no late orders will be taken.

Remembrance Day Liturgy
Remembrance Day November 11, 2009 Please join us for a school liturgy to reflect and remember the people who have fought and lost their lives for us in the past on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:45a.m. at the church.

Halloween Hoedown
Halloween Hoedown – Happy Halloween!!! Thank you to everyone for supporting our annual school fundraising campaign. Congratulations to Nicole Rocco and Luca DeBenedictis for winning our first Early Bird Draws. All pledge forms and money must be submitted by Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 to be considered for the top individual prizes and top class prizes. We appreciate the student enthusiasm and family support with our fundraising campaign.

WASTE REDUCTION WEEK OCT. 19 - OCT. 23/09
Throughout WASTE REDUCTION WEEK all students are encouraged to bring a litterless lunch to school each day. We hope this week will help set some consistent routines in our daily school life to reduce the amount of garbage we are producing.

Grade 8 Community Outreach Project OUT OF THE COLD
The Out of the Cold program in Hamilton serves the less fortunate in our community, providing them with lunches, hot meals, clothing and overnight accommodations. This year, the grade 8 students will lead in the collection of items for this very important organization. The students in grades 6, 7 and 8 are asked to collect toiletries in a Ziploc bag and students from JK to Grade 5 are asked to collect toques and gloves. It is our Christian responsibility to take care of each other, especially the under privileged. Let's come together to show our commitment to help as many people as we can.

Happy Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God. ~Ray Stannard Baker (David Grayson) Best wishes to all our families for a blessed Thanksgiving.

HINI Flu Virus
For updated information on the H1N1 Flu Virus, please go to: http://www.hcdsb.org/h1n1

Welcome Back
Welcome back to St. Raphael Catholic School for the 2009/2010 school year. St. Raphael School prides itself on its close working relationships with parents, the staff of St. Raphael's Church and various community partners. We look forward to continuing to build these relationships throughout the new school year. Communication between home and school is essential in helping the students reach their full potential. If you have a concern please do not hesitate to express it to us at the school. On behalf of the staff, we extend good wishes for another exciting and successful school year. By continuing to work together and to focus on our five key objectives: Faith Development, Student Achievement, Safety, Home Communication and Community Building, we will be able to provide our students with the best educational opportunities.

Catholic Parents Conference
On Saturday, October 17th, 2009, parents are invited to attend our second annual Catholic Parents Conference which will take place at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in Oakville. Admission is FREE and includes workshops, a luncheon, door prizes and vendors! More details to follow...

St. Raphael School Welcome Back Community BBQ
Please join us as we begin the 2009/2010 school year with our Welcome Back Community BBQ Thursday, September 10th, 2009 5:00p.m. - 7:00p.m.

Class Lists
Official class lists for the 2009/2010 school year will be posted on Friday, September 4, 2009. You will need your child's OEN number to identify their class placement. You can find your child's OEN number on their June report card.