Stacy Shepley, Principal

“Do small things with great love” – Mother Teresa

Dear Families,

Welcome back to our families and especially to our new families joining us as a Charger this year. There are many exciting adventures awaiting our students this year. First, we are building on our work with the Golden Rule. We’ll deepen our faith through examining the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations.  These expectations define our purpose as Catholic educators & learners.  They provide a compass for our students as they develop through their elementary and secondary education. We are called to nourish the giftedness of each individual and to protect the dignity of the whole person. We work, live and believe in an atmosphere of inclusiveness and we are taught to cherish our role as global stewards. Each month instead of the Golden Rule, the focus will be on a different Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectation.

Secondly, new this year is our #Kindness Rocks! Campaign. It bumps up our work with the Golden Rule over the past few years and aligns with the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations. Healthy wellbeing research continues to show that a proactive approach such as kindness is a significant contributor to positive wellbeing. Each student creates a rock with a saying or quote or picture of kindness. The rocks are housed on the religion table in the classroom and when a student receives/notices a kind act/words (either done to them or to a fellow classmate) they take a rock from the table and give it to the student who did the kind act as an acknowledgment. From then on, the student with the rock can pass their rock on to someone else. With a rock for everyone, it’s possible more acts of kindness can be recognized/acknowledged within a classroom. Our Wellness Team will continue work with students to lead activities to encourage students to show kindness and develop a positive wellbeing.

I invite families to follow St. Elizabeth on one (or all) social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram). Some teachers have the Remind app and/or Seesaw app to bridge family and school as well. The staff and I look forward to seeing the families during special events. As always, please contact your child’s teacher or the office if you have any questions.