Monsignor Haller School is excited to invite our parents/guardians to come and meet your child(ren)’s teacher(s) and/or school staff Wednesday, September 21 from 5:00 – 6:30 PM. Classroom teachers will be in their classrooms to meet and greet families.

We look forward to a wonderful year ahead.

Our school was selected to participate in the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s annual Adopt a School fundraiser! Every dollar raised in-store at Indigo Kitchener and online between September 12 – October 2, 2022 will go DIRECTLY to our school to help fill our shelves with new and diverse books!

Thank you so much for supporting our school and for helping to inspire a love of reading in our students!

Monsignor Haller Catholic Elementary School – Kitchener Ontario — Indigo Love of Reading Foundation (givecloud.co)

Families are invited to attend a Newcomer Information Night. Please see attached for further information.

Newcomer Info Night

All Start Up Forms have been attached to students’ School Cash Online Accounts, as well as the fee for this year’s agenda which is $5.

Please review all of these mandatory forms and complete as directed.

Student Verification Forms will be sent home this week. Please review, make any necessary edits, sign and return to the school in the same envelop.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Due to a software malfunction, STSWR and our bus operators will not be able to post late notices on websites for transportation routes that are not running on schedule.  Further, late notices cannot be sent to parents via e-mail or text message as normal.

We apologize for this late notice and the issues it will create to your schedules.

We are grateful to have our students back in the building this week! Our school community will focus on building upon our sense of belonging and connection as the students return and throughout the year. We will also continue our focus and commitment to our work with equity. We are devoted to making our school culture one of mutual respect and inclusivity. As well, our staff maintain our priorities with high expectations in academics for each child.

We greatly appreciate our renewed energy, sense of positivity and optimism as we start the new school year.  We are excited to welcome new Hawk Staff to our community too. 

Please join us in welcoming: 

• Elle Bridge ~ Lead Administrative Assistant 
• Jayson Doak ~  Head Custodian
• Courtney Schlegel –  Early Childhood Educator
• Heather Strugnell –  Early Childhood Educator 
• Iliana Pasqualino –  Early Childhood Educator
• Marie Buchholtz –  Early Childhood Educator
• Jessica Nicholson – Kindergarten  Teacher 
• Paisley Farrell – Gr. 1/2 Teacher (LTO)
• Jillian Cotter – Gr. ⅔ Teacher
• Michelle Garland – Planning Time Teacher (PM only)
• Tracy Metzer – Educational Assistant
• Diane Natale – Child and Youth Care Worker (CYCW)
• Tricia McEwan – Primary Itinerant Planning Time (Mondays PM)
• Simion Ciabano – Intermediate Music Teacher (Tuesdays AM)

KINDERGARTEN STAGGERED ENTRY Details – 

Tuesday: No school for kindergarten students. Teachers will have family visits with all JK families and new SK families. 

Wednesday: ALL SK students attend all day 

Thursday: ALL SK students attend all day & half of JK students (*Kindergarten teachers will have communiated this information) 

Friday: ALL SK students attend all day & the other half of JK students 

Monday, September 12th: ALL Kindergarten Students attend all day 

Blessed Sacrament Parish

Monsignor Haller is part of the Blessed Sacrament Parish community. Our Pastor is Father Luke Kopaniak. Please visit the Blessed Sacrament Parish website for more church information. We will also share more information with you soon about the new sacramental preparation for this upcoming year.

Along with our connection to our Parish we have the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGEs). These were developed to provide a framework to represent the distinctiveness and purpose of Catholic education in Ontario. Since the relationship between learning and believing is fundamental in Catholic schools, the Catholic Graduate Expectations  focus not only on knowledge and skills, but also on values and actions. For more information please visit the Institute for Catholic Education . 

Covid School Screening

Staff and students are asked to continue to screen each morning before school using the COVID-19 school screening and stay home when feeling unwell or exhibiting symptoms.  Verification of screening is not required; however, we ask that screening become part of your personal daily routines.  The daily screening tool and related guidance may change throughout the year and notification of any changes will be communicated to you.   For further information please see our WCDSB website: https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/

Safe Arrival Program (Attendance)

If a child will be absent or late for class, we ask you to contact the school 519-579-1230.  Since we have an answering machine, you may leave a message at any time. The school’s administrative assistant  will be at the school to receive your phone calls after  8:30 a.m.

When you call to report the absence or anticipated lateness of your child, please note the following information:

• Child’s full name
• Child’s grade and classroom teacher
• Reason for the child’s absence / lateness (*)
• Any COVID related illness

* It is important for the parent / guardian to contact the school when their child will be late for class.  When arriving late for class, the student must buzz at the front door so office staff can allow entrance.  School staff will consider a student late for class in the morning should the student not be in the classroom when the national anthem is played and the student does not enter the school with their class in the morning. 

Having your child(ren) arrive on time is encouraged and appreciated.

Yard Supervision

Staff members are on the school yard for yard duty beginning at 8:35. Please have your child(ren) arrive at the school after supervision begins in the morning.

Office Hours

The main office is open daily from 8:15 a.m. until 3:45 p.m.  

Start Up Forms

All start-up forms will be processed through School Cash Online. There are several documents that require the input of information and there are a couple of read-only documents. Please log into your school cash online account to complete these forms for EACH child. https://wcdsb.schoolcashonline.com/

No NUTS Please (or Nut Substitutes)

At Monsignor Haller, we have students who could experience serious consequences if exposed to peanuts, nuts, or their by-products (e.g. peanut oil, peanut butter).  Depending on the child, the reaction could be life threatening.  Merely smelling or touching a peanut product could cause an anaphylactic response or reaction resulting in a serious consequence.  For the same reason, please do not send spreads to school made with nuts, the most popular being Nutella. We also request that you do not send peanut butter substitutes (usually made from soy) with your child(ren).  Because these products look and smell like real peanut butter, it puts our staff members in a difficult situation with determining whether a product could cause an anaphylactic reaction.

CSAC: Catholic School Advisory Council

Monsignor Haller Catholic School Advisory Council (formerly School Council) is a group of volunteer parents, guardians, community members, teachers and administrators committed to making our school a great place to learn and grow! The council sees family involvement as one of its main priorities and is committed to welcoming parents into the Hawk  community by increasing communication, removing barriers, and creating opportunities to get involved! Meetings will be from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. every second  Tuesday of the month..The initial meeting of the 2022/2023 council will be held  Tuesday, October 4th in person  in our Learning Commons. If you would like to be a regularly participating member of the advisory council please complete the CSAC Member Form electronically by September 10th, 2021 that was posted in school cash online  If you are interested in participating.

Waterloo Catholic District School Board Communication Guide 

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has established communication guidelines for parents and staff.  Parents are requested to follow the following steps to ensure prompt and efficient resolution to their questions or possible concerns.

Step #1: Parents should speak with the teacher / staff member.  Issue resolved.  If issue is not resolved, proceed to Step #2.

Step #2: Speak with the principal.  If you have not spoken with the teacher / 

staff member directly, the principal will ask you to do so.  Should you not wish to do this, the principal will involve the teacher / staff member in a three-way discussion.  The principal may request, at any time in the process, that you put your concerns in writing.  The principal may involve, at any time in the process, others who may be helpful in resolving the issue.

Role of the Trustee: Parents may contact the trustee at any time.  The trustee 

will direct the parent to follow the process outlined above.

Role of the School Council: The Monsignor Haller  Catholic School Advisory Council is not a forum to

discuss parent-teacher / staff member-student issues.  If these matters are brought to any Catholic School Council member or any School Council meeting, the concern will be referred immediately to the principal.

Health Information

Early in the school year, the administrative assistant will be forwarding student information forms to all parents.  Please complete/update your child’s information as carefully and as quickly as possible and return the form to the school office.  It is vitally important that we have up-to-date information on each child in our care should there be an emergency. Plans of Care have been sent home to be reviewed and returned to school asap. Parents of a child who has an anaphylactic condition, asthma, seizures or diabetes are asked to be especially cautious in ensuring that the school staff are aware of the student’s condition and provide all pertinent information should an emergency arise. We ask for two inhalers/epi-pens so that one is kept with the student and the second is kept at the office. 

Entry and Exit of Students

Each class has a designated exterior door for entering and exiting the building in an orderly fashion.  To ensure orderliness, as well as the security and safety of the students, the students are asked to only enter or exit the door intended for their class.  It is very difficult for a teacher to supervise their class if the students use a variety of exit doors. Students should not be entering the school from the front doors at the office. Students are considered LATE if they do not enter with their class and at that time will be directed to enter the front of the school and sign in to get a late slip from the office. 

Students Transported To/From School by Bus:

We are a growing school and we have 4 bus routes for our school community. Our bus loading and unloading zone is supervised by school staff. If you need to confirm your child’s bussing please login into your account at  www.stswr.ca  If you no longer wish to ride the bus, or you would like to begin riding again please fill out the form online: https://www.stswr.ca/policies/information-for-parents-students/do-not-ride/

As we begin the school year, we would like to remind all students eligible for bus transportation to/from school and their parents of the following:

• When traveling to school, students should be at their designated pick-up location five minutes before the scheduled arrival of the school bus.
• The student and family should develop a contingency plan should the child miss the school bus when traveling to school (e.g. return home; walk to a neighbour’s home; walk to school, etc.)
• When departing school, should any student miss their bus, that child should immediately go to the school staff for assistance and they should not walk home.
• Only students eligible to ride a school bus will be allowed to do so when riding to/from school.  Those who are not eligible to ride a bus will not be permitted.  If a child is not eligible and they wish to visit the home of a classmate, it will be the responsibility of the families to make alternate transportation arrangements.
• Transported students will only be allowed to ride their designated bus to/from school.  A pupil will not be permitted to ride another bus for which they are not eligible.  
• There will be bus meetings for all students riding bus transportation early in the school year.  At the meeting and expectations will be reviewed.  

Dress Code

The Monsignor Haller community is one where we strive to nurture a respectful and inclusive environment.  Our school Spirit Day is every Wednesday (NEW this year) and we encourage everyone to show their school spirit by wearing a Monsignor Haller  school shirt or navy blue as our school colour. We do not have school uniforms but the following guidelines will help parents and students when choosing clothing that will contribute to a positive school environment:

• Students need to be comfortable to learn
• Students may express their individuality while remaining respectful
• Students will exemplify inclusivity by avoiding clothing that promotes discrimination, hate, violence, illegal substances and/or profanity

*We ask that our younger students have a change of clothing in case of an accident. All students will need a pair of indoor shoes as well. 

Please check our school calendar for important dates.

YOU Matter ~ What You Do Matters ~ The World Needs YOU to Make a Difference!

Special Message from Director of Education Tyrone Dowling

Dear Waterloo Catholic Families,  

COVID Health and Safety Protocols

STSWR hopes you had a restful summer. We have been working diligently to ensure all students have a safe ride to and from school. Due to the cyber incident at WRDSB this summer, we have had some changes to our processes that you should be aware of.

Student Changes Requiring Modification to Transportation

We are currently not receiving changes through our BP Live system for either WCDSB or WRDSB (downloading from Aspen). Until this functionality is restored (no timeline currently) schools will need to notify their area Technician directly (via email) of the address changes to have these students added to the bus.

I will be working through all new registrations, address changes, etc. in the order that they come in from you and will update them as soon as possible.

Opting Out of Transportation

If students reside in the bus zone, but require only partial or no busing, please direct parents to the “Do Not Ride Form” located on our website. As the pandemic continues, these forms will assist STSWR with accurate headcounts as we plan for September and further changes to school procedures during the school year. For younger students, it is especially important to ensure students are not assigned to a bus in error and put on the wrong bus at the end of the day.

Families may opt out of busing altogether or for either morning or afternoon busing only. The form lets the school, the bus driver, and STSWR know that students will not be taking the

bus in one or both directions. If a student qualifies for busing, families can opt in again at any time throughout the school year by using the same form.

When STSWR receives the “Do Not Ride” form, the child will be removed from the bus list accordingly for the morning, the afternoon, or both.

This process will be used temporarily to assist STSWR with gathering timely, accurate information. STSWR will communicate with schools if and when we will revert back to the original process.

Options for Families

The Ministry of Education is recommending active travel (cycling, scootering, walking) as a safe and healthy option that will reduce demand on busing transportation. We know active transportation boosts immunity, provides fresh air, builds lung capacity and health, contributes to mental health, and increases focus in the classroom. If families feel they must drive, they need to consider the dangers of traffic congestion at the school site, and plan to park a short distance away to ensure the space is safer for all our students. Check our website’s Walk Zone or contact us for “Drive to 5” maps that show safe and legal parking options a short distance from school.

Contact Leslie at STSWR for Walk Zone support including route mapping and other resources at leslie_maxwell@stswr.ca.

Bus Planner Web

You can find Bus Planner Web on our website (www.stswr.ca) by clicking on Professional Login at the bottom of our home page. Busplanner Web will look a little different this year based on recent upgrades. If you need assistance with signing in, please let me know. Also, you can now use this login to pull your student lists, route reports and emergency call lists. Please refer to our new “How To: BusPlanner Web” on our website for further assistance. BusPlanner Web should be used to extract all bus-related lists because it contains the most up-to-date information. Aspen will only be updated periodically and could be out of date at the time of retrieval. The search function in BusPlanner Web is currently not working. Please use the Student Listing Report to find transportation information.

Thank you,

Debby Gravenor

Transportation Technician – South West Area

Good evening Haller Hawk Families,

Please know that families may begin accessing student classroom placements tomorrow through their School Cash Online account. School Cash Online is powered through Google translate should families prefer a different language. If you do not yet have a School Cash Online account, you may use the following link to register: SchoolCashOnline.com: Welcome

Please know that class lists may change in the weeks ahead pending enrolment and staffing changes.

We also ask families to please complete the startup forms for their child(ren) as soon as possible through School Cash Online as this information is very important for school staff and student safety.

We are excited about Back to School 2022 and look forward to seeing everyone! Happy Labour Day Weekend!

On Wednesday the Ontario government released a new set of COVID protocols, and an updated daily screener that has been divided into a screener for those who are non-immunocompromised and those who are immunocompromised. Please review the following information carefully. Here is the link: https://www.wcdsb.ca/living-learning-looking-forward/

Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19

Full Document

Daily Screening

COVID-19 Daily Screen for Non-Immunocompromised People

COVID-19 Daily Screen for Immunocompromised People

In the community (including in schools and childcare settings), it is the responsibility of the individual with COVID-19 symptoms or a COVID-19 positive test to determine who their close contacts are and to notify them of their potential exposure.

If You Test Positive / Isolation Requirements

If you test positive for COVID-19 and have symptoms, you must:

Isolate until symptoms have been improving for 24 hours (or 48 hours if gastrointestinal symptoms) and there is no fever present.

If you test positive for COVID-19 and do not have symptoms:

You do not have to isolate and may attend work / school, and you are not required to wear a mask – although wearing a mask is recommended. If symptoms develop. You must isolate immediately.

Once your symptoms have cleared, you must:

For a total of 10 days after your symptom onset, continue to wear a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools and childcare).

Isolation Requirements for Close Contacts of Positive Cases

A close contact is defined as an individual who has a “high-risk exposure” to a confirmed positive COVID-19 case, an individual with COVID-19 symptoms, or an individual with a positive rapid antigen test result.

“High risk exposures” include:

• Anyone living in the same household during the infectious period.
• Anyone who has had direct contact with infectious body fluids of the case (e.g., coughed on or sneezed on)
• Anyone who has been in close proximity (less than 2 meters) for at least 15 minutes or for multiple short periods of time without consistent and appropriate use of masking.

If you have had a “high risk exposure”, you must:

For a total of 10 days after the last exposure to the COVID-19 positive case or individual with COVID-19 symptoms, wear a well fitted mask in all public settings, self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate immediately if you develop any symptom of COVID-19 and seek testing.

Masking, Physical Distancing & RAT Testing

Masks are not required for students, staff and visitors in schools, school board offices, or on student transportation.

The WCDSB continues to support a mask-friendly environment in schools and workplaces, and recognize there are times when staff or students may need to wear masks in alignment with provincial or federal guidance or may choose to wear masks if there is a high incidence of illness in our community. Masks continue to be available upon request to staff and students in the 2022-23 school year.

There are no longer any physical distancing or cohorting requirements.

Rapid antigen tests are provided to staff/students upon request, and/or upon return from an unplanned absence. Schools are being supplied accordingly.

Re-Entering Canada After Foreign Travel

Federal Government International Travel Requirements

You must isolate for 10 days starting on the day you enter Canada, if you:

• know that you have COVID-19 or
• show signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or
• have received a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test taken less than 10 days before the day on which you enter Canada or
• have any other reasonable grounds to suspect you may have COVID-19

Isolation ends after the 10th day from the day on which you entered Canada.

Positive Case Reporting

There is no provincial public health requirement for workers who test positive or have isolated due to COVID-19 symptoms to provide proof of a negative test result or a positive serological test result to their employers in order to return to work. It is expected that students and staff who have tested positive or who have symptoms of COVID-19 will follow public health isolation recommendations.