Greetings Dragon Nation: February 6th 2023
Great News for the Dragon Nation! We are delighted to share that Waterloo Catholic District School Board will continue to offer synchronous virtual learning at St. Isidore Catholic Elementary school for the 2023-24 school year. Please reach out to Michelle Coon (michelle.coon@wcdsb.ca) and share your intentions to have your child(ren) remain at St. Isidore or return to in-person learning. We look forward to strengthening our already vibrant community and hope you will consider St. Isidore your child’s home school for at least one more year.
Students currently enrolled from your respective boards are more than welcome to join us at St. Isidore for another year. Families will be receiving an email this weekend inviting them to do so. I have learned that remote learning is a good fit for several of our families.
Please reach out if you have any questions. Looking forward to continuing our partnership.
Report cards: Friday February 17th Term 1 report cards will be published to Aspen and parents will be able to access this through their Aspen Parent Portal. We have almost 90% of families accessing report cards through the portal and report cards on February 17th will not be mailed out. If you need any assistance accessing or troubleshooting your Aspen account please feel free to contact Michelle Coon in the office 226-241-4651.
Valentine Friendship Fundraiser 
St. Isidore’s Friendship Fundraiser from February 1- February 14, 2023 has begun and our Dragon school community is excited and having a blast so far with daily live announcements, draws and friendship fun. We also will be having a class prize for the class with the highest donations percentage, Mrs. Maley’s grade 2-3’s are currently in the lead for this as the donations are rolling in daily!! Proceeds will support experiential learning opportunities for our students (e.g. Museum, Zoo, Coding, Scientists in Schools). Our goal is to raise $1,000 through donations and pledges which is approximately $7 per student. Our Friendship Fun Fair will be held the afternoon of February 14th and will involve students rotating through various activities led by staff.
What can you do? Help your child secure pledges/donations from family and friends. There are prizes for classes with the highest average pledge amount, early-bird draws and more. Two ballots with your child(ren) names will automatically be included in the random draw bins and contributions of $25.00 and above are eligible for tax receipts.
There is a form attached on School Cash Online for each sponsor (up to 5) you will enter each donation separately, donations over $25 will automatically prompt you for an email address and a tax receipt will be sent to this email address.
Pledges and donations are being accepted until midnight on February 14th!
This month our focus is on the Resilience piece of your child’s umbrella.
What will resilience do for my child?
Help them bounce back from challenges stronger than they were before.
What is resilience?
Why do some people get knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever? It’s their resilience. Over time everyone will face a range of obstacles and difficulties; it’s part of life.
Resilience allows us to adapt or even feel stronger and happier after these times. It helps us to feel less like the victim of our own story and more like the hero.
When it comes to resilience, practising helps. With every storm you successfully weather, your resilience gets a bit better and the more we do that, the stronger we get.
Listen as I introduce this important Umbrella Skill of Resilience.
Make connections
Friends and other social supports improve resilience. Much like your umbrella protects you from the rain, having many strong umbrellas around you is necessary when the rain is too much for you to handle alone. Does your child have multiple friend groups? Maybe one at school, one in the neighbourhood, one with family friends? Help them find opportunities to make new friends and mentors and strengthen the connections they already have. This will add to the network of people they draw support from and who they in turn are able to support. Encourage them to be a friend, to get more friends.
Chat soon,
Dr. Jen, The Umbrella Project
