A warm welcome to all students and families of Holy Cross Elementary School! I hope you had an enjoyable
summer holiday and took the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. On behalf of the entire staff, I
would like to welcome you to Holy Cross for what promises to be an exciting and enriching school year. I
especially welcome all new families who are joining our community for the first time and wish you the very best
in your new start.

I feel truly blessed to have spent the first 19 years of my teaching career at Holy Cross, and I am honoured to be
part of the faith and learning community once again. I look forward to spending my 30th year in Catholic
education, and my first year as Principal of Holy Cross together with you.

Holy Cross is a true partnership of home, school and parish community. As partners in education, we will
continue to work together to support all children to reach their full potential, helping them to grow spiritually,
socially, emotionally, academically, artistically and physically. We will continue to make Holy Cross a safe,
productive and inviting place for students to learn. With a focus on inquiry-based learning, we will foster an
environment where children will be encouraged to be creative thinkers and problem solvers, as well as advocates
of social justice, with Jesus as their inspiration and role model.

I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Dino Alberti for his years of faithful and dedicated service to the Holy Cross
community. Both Mr. Alberti and I have worked collaboratively over the past several months to ensure a smooth
and successful transition. Thank you also to Father Chris, Father Tomas, members of the PEC and the entire
school staff for their support during this transition period.

With every September comes an opportunity to reflect on last year and set new goals and challenges for the
coming school year. It is my hope that each member of our community think how we can connect, care and
contribute to make the 2021-2022 year meaningful and fulfilling.

Tuesday, September 7th, 2021 is our first day of school. Students will be in session from 8:55 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
(for Grade 1 to Grade 3) or from 8:55 a.m. to 12:00 noon (for Grade 4 to Grade 7).

Beginning Wednesday, September 8th, students (Grade 1 to 3) will be in session from 8:55 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and
8:55 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. (Grade 4 to Grade 7). Please ensure your child is picked up promptly on both days, as staff
will be participating in meetings in the afternoon.

The Kindergarten gradual entry schedule, which is in effect from September 7th to September 10th, was sent out
in June. Please refer to the schedule for the exact times your child will attend. Beginning Monday, September
13th, all Kindergarten students will attend for the full day from 8:55 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The Archdiocesan theme for the 2021-2022 school year is ‘One Family, One Hope in Christ’. The theme, which is
directly linked to Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Familial Love), will be reflected
in the classrooms and throughout the school.

Regular attendance and prompt arrival at school is important if your child is to gain full benefit from the school
program. Please do your best to ensure your child arrives to school on time each day. If your child is going to be
late or absent for any reason, please call or email our school office. If we do not receive a call or email notification
and your child is not at school, we will call to ensure their safe arrival. We will continue to have staggered
dismissal times to help with social distancing, traffic flow and student safety. The school bell schedule/hours of
instruction are as follows:

We remain deeply committed to continuing to prioritize health and safety and will strictly implement the
protocols and guidelines provided and led by public health and the Ministry of Education.

• Parents must evaluate their child’s health each day prior to coming to school. Children who display any
  symptoms of COVID-19, such as a fever, cough, etc. should remain at home. If a child displays any health
  symptoms (coughing, sneezing, fever, sore throat, etc.) parents will be notified to pick up their child from
  school immediately. Parents/caregivers and students can utilize the provincial K-12 Health Check app K-12
  Health Check (gov.bc.ca) for daily assessment of symptoms. Staff and other adults must also complete a
  daily health check prior to entering the school.
• Students are to be dropped off/picked up at the designated drop-off/pick up areas. Please use the drop off
  zone in the morning. For afterschool pick-up, wait in the pick-up area for Primary students (Grades K-3) or
  wait in your car for Intermediate students (Grades 4-7). It is important for parents/guardians to refrain
  from gathering in groups during these times.
• Dismissal will be staggered in order to comply with the social distancing guidelines. Students in
  Kindergarten to Grade 3 will be dismissed at 2:45 p.m. and students in Grade 4 to Grade 7 will be dismissed
  at 2:55 p.m. daily. Dismissal will be on the North parking lot area.
• Visitors to the school will be limited. Parents must make an appointment to visit the school, and when
  doing so, must provide their contact information upon entry. While we do love to see our families, at this
  time we will need to keep everyone at a safe distance. Thank you for understanding. All visitors must wear
  a mask whey they are inside the school or participating in a parent participation role, even if it is outside.
  Parents/guardians should also wear a mask during pick up times.
• All staff and students in Grades 4-7 are required to wear masks to school. Students in Grades Kindergarten
  to Grade 3 are strongly encouraged to wear masks. Please review how to put on/remove a mask safely
  with your children.
• Students will be required to wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitizer when necessary.
• While learning groups or cohorts are not required any longer, students will practice social distancing
  throughout the day.
• For safety reasons, the playground is closed before and after school.
• Recess and lunch periods will not be staggered this year. Students will play from 10:30-10:45 a.m. and from
  12:15 – 12:45 p.m. Areas will be designated to ensure appropriate space. Students will exit and enter the
  building from their assigned doors.
• Students should bring a full water bottle (labeled with their full name) to school each day. Bottle filling
  stations are available as well. Students are required to bring their snacks and lunch each day in the
  morning. No food is to be dropped off throughout the day and no food sharing will be permitted. We
  encourage children to be responsible for their own items and ask parents to support them to develop
  greater independence in managing their supplies or materials.
• Outdoor balls/equipment for recess play will be provided by the school. Students are not to bring any items
  for recess play from home.
• Students should practice respiratory etiquette (wash hands regularly, sneeze or cough into your elbow,
  etc.) at all times. These will be reviewed by the teachers at school.
• Students are to wear their full school uniform daily. Shoes must be regulation black shoes and running
  shoes should only be worn for PE classes and when outdoors.
• Students should bring appropriate outerwear for the weather (jackets should be brought daily, rain boots
  for the rain, etc.) as we will be going outdoors as much as possible, as encouraged by our Health Authority.
• All curriculum, programs and activities will operate in alignment with the provincial health and safety
  guidelines.
• The school will be cleaned and disinfected daily.
• We are awaiting more information from Fraser Health in regards to COVID 19 exposure notifications. Once
  received, we will share it with you.

Together, with your support we will get through this challenging time. We thank you in advance for your trust
in us as we continue to work to ensure the health and safety of our entire school community.

A Catholic faith community is rooted in a set of common beliefs about God’s will for all people. A virtue is a habit
or established capacity to perform good actions according to a moral standard. When we practice these virtues,
we strengthen them and thereby make the presence of God more and more visible in the world around us. This
year, as a school community, we will focus on a particular virtue each month. Teachers will identify the virtue
with their students, and incorporate it in their teaching and learning opportunities. One student per grade who
has demonstrated the virtue consistently or who has shown growth in the area will be recognized with a theme
pin and in the monthly newsletter. The virtue for the month of September is RESPECT. Mutual respect is a way
we live in harmony with one another. It helps us to see others as God sees them, to accept them as they are and
to treat them with dignity. When we respect others, we see goodness in them, just as God created them to be.

In order to assist with the communication between home and school, a monthly newsletter will be published as
well as a weekly memo with important reminders. It is important that you read these communications in order
to be informed about school policies and procedures as well as notable accomplishments and upcoming events.
In an effort to be environmentally friendly, the newsletter and weekly memos will be emailed to you and posted
on our website. Please ensure your correct email address and contact information is updated.

The liturgy is a wonderful way to come together as a faith and learning community and give thanks to God for
our many blessings. School Masses will occur every second Thursday morning at 9:15 a.m. (unless otherwise
noted) at Holy Cross Church. At this time, school Masses are only limited to students and school staff. We hope
to be able to gather together as a faith community soon. School Masses will follow school guidelines regarding
mask wearing.

At this time, due to current restrictions, visitors to the school will be limited. Parents will need to make
appointments to enter the school and must wear a mask when doing so. Upon entry, parents will need to sign
in and provide contact information. This will help us to maintain a safe and productive environment for all our
students and staff. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Please save Thursday, September 16th for our annual Meet the Teachers Evening. Parents will meet teachers
VIRTUALLY and hear about the curriculum and goals for the year. This is an important opportunity for you, as
parents, to learn how you can support your children in their learning. Pre-recorded video links will be sent out
and information will be shared about class expectations, routines, and important dates. It is an expectation, as
outlined in your parent statement of commitment that every family participate, even if it is virtual.

Ensuring a safe and healthy school environment is a responsibility shared by students, parents and staff. It is
important that all members of the school community be aware of their role in promoting children’s safety. We
have a number of students in our school who have serious, life threatening allergies to peanuts and nut
products. This means that any contact with peanuts, nuts or nut products, in even trace amounts, may
endanger a life. We are requesting the assistance of all families to keep our school a peanut and nut aware
environment. Please do not send snacks and lunch items that contain nuts or nut oils. We appreciate your
cooperation in this matter.

All students who have a medical alert and require medication such as an epi-pen, must have an updated form
signed by their family doctor (if indicated on the form). These forms were sent out by Mrs. Krumpak and are
due by or before Friday, September 10th. This is an annual requirement whether or not there are any changes.

Please ensure your child brings a healthy recess snack and lunch to school each day. Reusable water bottles
should also be brought daily and labeled with your child’s full name. In the interest of being responsible
stewards of the Earth, as well as not having the ability to large amounts of food waste in our garbage, any
leftover food items and containers will go back with your child in their lunch kit so it can be put into the
compost at home. Please send school lunches in reusable containers, helping to reduce the amount of waste
going into the landfill.

While we enjoy celebrating and recognize the birthdays of our students, please help us ensure that they remain
simple in nature. If you wish, a simple “nut-free treat” that is from a commercial vendor or a donation of a
book or a game for the classroom is greatly appreciated. We also ask that birthday invitations not be
distributed at school, as this can sometimes be very difficult when some students are left out. Teachers will
speak more about this in their ‘Meet the Teacher’ correspondence.

Supervision begins each day at 8:35 a.m. and ends at 3:10 p.m. It is important that students are not dropped
off prior to this time in the morning or picked up after this time in the afternoon. We ask that you be respectful
of staff and parents who are supervising and enforcing the rules that have been established for the safety of all.
Please adhere to all speed limits as well as the no parking/no stopping signs in the neighbourhood.

• Morning Drop Off: Use the drop off zone in the North Lot for drop off. Supervisors will open your car door
  and students will exit and line up in their designated area in the North Lot. Cones will identify each area.
  When exiting the lot, turn right onto Delta Avenue.
• Afterschool Pick Up: Please use the parking lot and wait for pick up or park on the street and walk onto the
  property. Cars parking in the lot prior to 2:45 p.m. are to BACK IN to the spaces. Wait in the pick-up area
  for Primary students (Grades K-3) or wait in your car for Intermediate students (Grades 4-7). Be careful
  when pulling out and watch for students/parents crossing. When exiting, turn right onto Delta Avenue.

Students who need to leave early during the school day for an appointment must be signed out at the school
office by a parent or guardian and signed back in when they return to the school. Mrs. Krumpak will be able to
assist parents with this process.

Our Titans Afterschool Club will begin on Wednesday, September 8th, 2021 and will operate daily on regularly
scheduled school days (in accordance with the school calendar) from 3:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. TAC will be held in
the Music Room in the Church Basement. Please return the registration forms and payment if you are
interested in enrolling your child in TAC by the deadlines. The cost is $15 per day.

Please remember to log on to the OnVolunteers Portal on our website to ensure you are completing your hours
and fulfilling your obligations for Parent Participation. An email was sent out to all families in June in regards to
how to log on. Please leave your Surname/Last Name in CAPITAL LETTERS with your family number following it.
You are welcome to update any other information in your user profile as well. Ensure that the primary email
on the Portal is the email of the parent who is completing the participation hours for the family.

Our athletics program will begin the first week of school. We will start our fall season with Cross Country, Boys’
Soccer and Girls’ Volleyball. The CISVA Athletic Commission is finalizing details in regards to team sports to
ensure that we are meeting all health and safety protocols. Practices, games/tournament dates will be
forthcoming once the athletic calendars are set. Please ensure that you return all permission forms on time so
that your child is able to participate and join the various teams. While things may continue to look a little
different in regards to sports, we look forward to another exciting year of Titans Athletics!

Welcome back to Mrs. Sonia Wilkinson who is returning from her maternity leave. We also welcome
Mr. Francis Apacible and Mrs. Yolanda Peragine who have been hired as Education Assistants.

We had a very busy summer with a lot of exciting camps offered at the school. Thank you to the following staff
members for their amazing work and for providing wonderful opportunities for our students!

• Titans Summer Camp: Mrs. K. Crescenzo, Ms. L. Ranallo, Mrs. T. Sorace, Mr. J. Villella, Miss B. Ferrara,
  Mr. G. Ciolfitto, Miss R. Malsegna
• Kindergarten Jumpstart: Miss E. Malsegna, Mrs. M. Alberti, Miss R. Malsegna
• Titan’s Volleyball Camp: Ms. V. Campbell, Mr. C. DeFazio, Miss T. Goluza

Students should use their planners as a tool for learning by recording and completing their daily work, setting
goals, and making note of important dates throughout the year. This will help foster good organization and
time-management skills and will be an effective tool for communication between home and school. Please be
sure to check your child’s planner daily. Individual teachers may ask for planners to be initialed each night.

Please Note: Gym strip will be sold on September 8th, 9th and 10th from 2:55 to 3:25 p.m. under the covered
area at the front of the school. The cost for shorts is $22 and the cost for t-shirts is $18. Cash or cheques only.