Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of this new school year. ​

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Bless our students, staff, and parents/caregivers as we begin this journey of learning and growth being pilgrims of hope. ​

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Fill us with your wisdom, guide us with your love, and help us to be a source of encouragement and support for one another. ​

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In Jesus' name, we pray. ​

Amen.​

Welcome Back!

The staff of St. Martin are excited to be back and ready to make this a great school year. We especially want to welcome those new to the school, whether from another school or coming to school for the first time.

As a community of Christian believers, we ask for God’s blessing on all our students, families, staff and all individuals who are a part of the St. Martin community. As a staff, we are reaffirming our commitment to Catholic Education and our determination to continually provide exemplary education at St. Martin. Our continued strong partnership of home, school and church provides our children with a solid foundation for their spiritual, emotional, academic and physical lives.

We welcome the input of all members of our community so that we can continue to grow in a positive way. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mrs. S. Perkins & Mr. P. Saranchuk (ECE)- Kindergarten

Mrs. L. Graffi Grech & Mrs. C. Rimar (ECE)- Kindergarten

Mrs. Noseworthy & Ms. J. Rodriguez (ECE)-Kindergarten

Mrs. Viscek - Kindergarten

Mr. T. Phillips- Grade 1

Mrs. J. Ciccone- Grade 1

Mrs. Pokolic - Grade 1/2

Mrs. L. Szabo- Grade 2

Mrs. C. Smith-Riddle - Grade 2

Mrs. Novakovich - Grade 2/3

Mrs. P. Downey- Grade 3

Mrs. Pellizzari - Grade 3/4

Ms. Buchan - Grade 3/4

Mr. Ruberto - Grade 4

Mrs. T. Scott- Grade 4/5

Mrs. Biasetti- Grade 5

Mr. Moreira - Grade 5/6

Ms. R. Cossitt - Grade 6

Mrs. C. Bonadio- Grade 6

Mrs. Weber - Grade 7

Mr. S. Santoro- Grade 7

Mrs. A. Komar- Grade 8

Mr. C. Winslow- Grade 8

Mrs. Magno - PTM

Ms. MacDonald PTM

Madame. L. Mignelli - FSL

Madame K. Lessard - FSL

Mr. C. Orsini-Casalena- ERT

Mrs. N. Hanc- ERT

Mr. Jessome - Itinerant Arts Teacher

Mrs. J. Cahill- Educational Assistant

Mrs. M. Dostie-Educational Assistant

Miss. I. Lipiec- Educational Assistant

Mrs. B. Richer- Educational Assistant

Mrs. J. Shoalts- Educational Assistant

Ms. D. Fleming- Librarian

Mr. J. MacKay- Caretaker

Mr. S. Gaspar- Caretaker

Mrs. Tice- CYW

Ms. T. Kardas - Administrative Assistant

Ms. S. Ryerse - Administrative Assistant

Mr. M. Reich - Vice Principal

Mr. J. Tornabuono - Principal

At St. Martin, students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 will not be required to use cell phones for academic purposes. Therefore, there is no need for these students to bring a cell phone to school. Each classroom as well as the main office, has a telephone for issues that require a more immediate response.

Grade 7 & 8 students who bring their cell phones to school must have the phone stored out of view and turned off or onto silent mode during the instructional day. They may only use it if their teacher permits it for learning.

Any student that requires a cell phone for health or medical purposes, or to support special education needs are permitted to use their cell phone as necessary.

At St. Martin, each Grade 7 & 8 teacher will have a place for students to store their phone for safe keeping during non-instructional times. If a teacher sees a cell phone that is not stored out of view, students will be required to hand in their device in for the instructional day. The cell phone will be placed, by the student, in a secure storage area designated by the principal.

If a student refuses to hand in their personal mobile device, the Ministry requires that the student be sent to the principal’s office. Consequences for failing to hand in their phone is at the principal’s discretion.

School boards are now required to disable access to social media platforms on school networks and board devices. This is intended to limit the number of interruptions in class and to benefit the mental health and well-being of students. Niagara Catholic already blocks access to some social media sites. Now all will be unavailable to students.

We are excited to invite you to attend St. Martin's Meet the Teacher Open House on Tuesday, September 30th, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. This will be an opportunity for you to meet your child's teacher as well as see your child's classroom.

Do you have dress code items that no longer fit your children? We have a solution for you!

We are asking families that wish to donate gently used dress code clothing to send items to the school between September 8th and September 29th. Items can be dropped off at the front door or sent in with your child(ren). Our staff will then organize the received dress code items by size and display them so that on Wednesday September 18th, at our Open House and Meet the Teacher event parents can take items.

We are blessed to begin this school year by being able to celebrate school masses together. Unfortunately, because of our student population, combined with the size capacity at St. Martin Catholic Church we will be hosting school masses in our gymnasium.

Our Opening School Mass will be on Tuesday, September 16th at 11:30 am Parents are welcome to attend masses.

The St. Martin Catholic School Council will be busy planning and getting organized for all the things that make St. Martin Catholic School so special. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in our school library. At our first meeting we will be electing a Council Chairperson. . As a Catholic School Council, we are mandated to meet 4 times yearly. There is a place for everyone on the St. Martin Catholic School Council. Get involved and make a difference. If you would like to be nominated for Chairperson of the Catholic School Council please email us at: st.martin@ncdsb.com and state your intention.

Early in the school year, you will be receiving a copy of the student Verification Forms which the school keeps on file for all children in our building. The information provided should be current and up to date, as it is critical that we have a means of contacting you during the day should there be a need. Please return these with changes indicated in the space provided by Thursday, September 25, 2025. Should there be any changes during the school year, please keep us informed. It is imperative that we have accurate and complete information on file. If you have a current email address, please be sure to add the address on the form in the space provided!

The challenge for all parents is to send foods that are nutritious and nut free and that will keep our kids energized and alert at school all day. They also need to be tasty, so that our kids will actually want to eat them! Those can feel like competing goals at times. Here are tips for making school lunch easier:

1. Try to include a variety of colours and textures to make the food appealing to kids. You want them to actually eat what you’ve packed!

2. Use up those dinner remnants. Brown rice can be tossed with black beans and served at room temperature. Cooked pasta can be transformed into a pasta salad. Chicken can be sliced and wrapped up in a tortilla with lettuce and veggies.

3. Include a sweet treat that is healthier than pre-packaged foods. Homemade granola bars, whole wheat muffins, or even homemade doughnuts are fun treats that are worlds better than anything you can buy at the store!

4. No matter what, always make sure lunch is balanced by including fruit, vegetable, protein, and carbohydrate!

At St. Martin Catholic, we continue to have several students with Anaphylaxis – a severe life-threatening condition caused by an allergic reaction to certain food products (i.e.) PEANUTS, dairy, medications, latex products, inhalers and insect stings from bees or wasps. Residue on any material that has been touched by hands that have not been properly washed may also trigger a severe allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis requires immediate first aid (Epipen) and immediate medical intervention. Classroom teachers who have children with anaphylaxis are working hard to prevent accidental exposure to products that trigger life-threatening reactions. We will also be forwarding home a letter informing all parents of the presence of a child with anaphylaxis in the class and requesting that all parents co-operate by not sending specific foods for lunch or snacks that could trigger a life-threatening reaction.

Those with a medical concern, please return all medical forms signed by a physician by September 12, 2024. Please provide all epi-pens and medications needed.

Thank you in advance for your assistance and co-operation regarding this life-threatening matter.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE and SAFE ARRIVAL

St. Martin Catholic School and all schools throughout Niagara Catholic use the Safe Arrival program to manage student attendance reporting. The Safe Arrival program reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance by making it easier for you to report your child’s absence and easier for staff to respond to unexplained student absences. The Safe Arrival program allows parents to report their child’s absence quickly and conveniently in one of three ways:

1) Use the SafeArrival website, https://go.schoolmessenger.ca. The first time you use the website, select Sign Up to create your account using your email address. After logging in, select the Attendance tab to Report an Absence.

2) Using your mobile device, download and install the SchoolMessenger app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (or from the links at https://go.schoolmessenger.ca). Use your new login information to access your account. Select Attendance to Report an Absence. If you would like to receive attendance notifications on your mobile device please enable Push Notifications in the Settings area of the app. The document Using the SchoolMessenger app will give instructions for using the App.

3) The toll-free number 844-287-6287 will allow you to report your child absent without creating an account.

Parents are to ensure their child(ren) are at school by 9:00 a.m. Notification will be required for all students leaving school during the day for an appointment. All parents must sign out their child before leaving the school. The sign-in and out book is located just inside the main front door. If you are picking up your child for an appointment, parents are asked to wait in the vestibule or just outside the front door and a staff member will escort your child to you. When possible, parents are asked to please make appointments outside of the school day.

To help minimize the risk of infection to students and staff, access to the building will be limited to staff and essential service workers only.

Friday, September 12 is Picture Day! Our school Photographer is Lifetouch.

On Thursday September 18 all students at St. Martin Catholic School will be participating in The Terry Fox School Day Walk. This will also be our first Spirit Day. All students are welcome and encouraged to wear red and white. It is an Alternate Dress Code Day. A monetary donation can be made directly through the Terry Fox Foundation donation link.

All students and staff are invited to wear the colour orange on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025 in support of Orange Shirt Day. In recognition of the harm done to generations of children by the

Residential Schools, September 30th has been declared Orange Shirt Day throughout Canada.

All schools throughout Niagara Catholic; including St. Martin, will support Orange Shirt Day. Teachers will provide age-appropriate educational activities to students regarding the significance of Orange Shirt Day.

9:00 am Entry Bell

9:00 am-10:30 am Instructional Block 1

10:30 am -10:50 am Recess- Gr. 5-8 & 2 Kindergarten Classes; Nutrition Break1 Gr. 1-4 & 2 Kindergarten Classes

10:50 am -11:10 am Recess Gr. 1-4 & 2 Kindergarten Classes; Nutrition Break1 Gr. 5-8 & 2 Kindergarten Classes

11:10 am- 1:10 pm Instructional Block 2

1:10 pm - 1:30 pm Recess- Gr. 5-8 & 2 Kindergarten Classes; Nutrition Break2 Gr. 1-4 & 2 Kindergarten Classes

1:30 pm-1:50 pm Recess Gr. 1-4 & 2 Kindergarten Classes; Nutrition Break2 Gr. 5-8 & 2 Kindergarten Classes

1:50 pm - 3:20 pm Instructional Block 3

3:20 Dismissal

Parents are reminded to ensure that their child(ren) have the required utensils needed to eat their snacks/lunches as well as a reusable water bottle they can fill at the hydration stations. We are no longer permitted to distribute plastic/styrofoam spoons, forks or cups to students that do not have them.

Please ensure that use of School Cash online for the purchase/payment of food days, field trips, donations etc. This is a safe and easy-to-use online program that allows you to make convenient and secure payments from the comfort of your own home. To register, please click here

Our Niagara Catholic's new theological theme for 2022-2026 will be "Called by Name". Our theological theme will direct us through daily prayer, faith formation sessions and school and system faith-centered events for the upcoming years:

2022-2023 Called by Name: You are Mine

2023-2024 Called by Name: Hear My Voice

2024-2025 Called by Name: Follow Me

2025-2026 Called by Name: Go and Make Disciples

“You are mine” (Isaiah 43:1)

What does it mean when we say that God calls us by name? Just as each and every one of us belongs to a particular family, so we belong to God’s family. There are billions of people in the world but God knows each person personally and by name. John referred to Jesus as the gatekeeper of the sheepfold when he said, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3). Let us not forget the importance of calling a person by name, of listening attentively to their story, of realizing that God dwells within them.