Next Council Meeting is Monday, October 21st at 6:30pm

The next St. Philip School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 21st from 6:30-8:00pm in the Learning Commons. Reminder: We will have childcare available during the meeting if you need to bring your children along with you. 

Please have a look at the agenda for this meeting, and the meeting minutes and approved financials from our last meeting. 

**All voting members should plan to attend as we will be voting on the budget for this year, and we need a quorum to complete this.** 

2024-2025 Budget

The main focus of this month's council meeting will be to discuss and approve the budget for the 2024-2025 school year. A preliminary budget has been put together, based on already planned activities for this year, and usual expenditures from past years. Columns for the actual expenditures from the past 2 years are also included for comparison. Please take a moment to review this before the meeting, and we will be going through this together during the meeting. 

Based on the preliminary budget, we have about $12,000 available to allocate to additional student activities and resources. This can be used to increase funding for items already included in the budget (for example, Scientists in School), or for new ideas brought forward to council by parents/guardians or educators. 

Our goal is to allocate all the funds, and vote to approve the budget based on our discussions and input from school administration. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com. 

Welcome to our 2024-2025 St. Philip School Council Executive

 

Welcome to our 2024-2025 St. Philip School Council!

Co-chairs: Michelle McIver and Kelly Cochrane

Treasurer: Oreoluwa Okunlola

Secretaries: Julie Demers and Natalie Bishop

Parish Representative: Heather Gordon

Community Representatives: Kris Prince and Christie Guimond

CSPA Representatives: Stacey Woodruff and Tammy Jerome

Hot lunch ordering – JoJo’s pizza Thursdays – Order by September 18th

Ordering for the first term of JoJo’s pizza in School Cash Online is now open. 

This term of pizza will run for 13 weeks beginning Thursday, September 26^th to December 19^th. The cost is $3 per slice per week, therefore the cost for the session for one slice is $39, or $78 for two slices. 

 

Deadline to order is Wednesday, September 18^th. Late orders cannot be accepted. 

 

We are offering 5 options:

-       Pepperoni

-       Cheese

-       Vegetarian

-       Gluten free crust with regular cheese

-       Gluten free crust with vegan cheese

 

If you have questions, please reach out to School Council at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com.

Hot lunch ordering – Lunch Lady Mondays starting September 16th

Lunch Lady is a commercial kitchen that provides a lunch service to many surrounding schools. There is a wide selection of options available to choose from, including allergy friendly and halal options. Freshly prepared meals will be delivered each Monday, and you can choose to order every week, once a month, or for any Monday you choose. 

Orders must be received by Thursday of the week prior.

1. Visit https://order.lunchlady.ca/

2. Register or log in.

3. Add student and select the student’s teacher. For JK to grade 3, this is your homeroom teacher. For grades 4 to 6, please select your afternoon teacher. 

4. Select the order delivery date.

5. Add items to cart (return to calendar for more dates or to switch to another student).

6. Check out and complete your order. 

 

*Be sure to sign up to receive order reminders so you don't miss out on ordering. Reminders come out each Thursday if you haven't yet ordered for the next week.

**If your child is sick on a day that you have ordered Lunch Lady, you can contact ottawawest.east@thelunchlady.ca first thing in the morning to cancel the meal and receive a credit on your account.

Elect your 2024-25 St. Philip School Council

Our next school council meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 23^rd from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in the Learning Commons. All parents/guardians are welcome to attend. Here is the agenda for our next meeting.  

Self-nomination forms to join the School Council Executive

The School Council Executive for 2024-25 will be elected at the first School Council meeting on Monday, September 23^rd. Please complete the Self-Nomination Form if you are interested in taking on one of the following roles: 

-       Co-chair

-       Co-treasurer

-       Secretary

-       Parish representative

-       Community representative

-       Catholic School Parents’ Association (CSPA) representative

-       Voting member-at-large 

**We are in particular need of 2 parents/guardians to take on the co-treasurer roles.**

The Executive and voting members-at-large are expected to attend the monthly council meetings so that we can vote on the budget and various Council initiatives. They should strive to not miss more than one meeting in the year.  

You can email your completed form to st.philip.school.council@gmail.com or bring it with you to the Council meeting on September 23^rd. We will also have copies of the nomination form on hand at the meeting. 

Want to learn more about the role of School Council? You can find information on the Ottawa Catholic School Parents' Association website here: http://www.ottawacspa.ca/cspa/school-councils/what-is-a-school-council

Any parent or guardian is welcome to attend any School Council meeting and does not need to take on an executive role to participate. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com. 

Boo Hoo Yahoo Back-to-School Breakfast

All St. Philip parents and guardians are invited to join us on Tuesday, September 3rd for our annual Boo Hoo Yahoo Back-to-School breakfast between 9:00am and 10:30am, at the St. Philip Parish Hall. 

For parents/guardians with kindergarten students, please bring your student along with you to meet new friends. 

If you have any questions, please contact us at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com. 

 

Recap of 2023-24 School Year

As the school year comes to an end, it's a great time to reflect on all that we have accomplished together. Thank you to all educators and the parent community for your support of our council initiatives over the past year. 

With the growth of our school community, we are looking forward to welcoming many new parents/guardians around the council table. This is a great opportunity to hear first-hand from school administration about what is happening at the school, and to share your ideas and feedback on what we can do to support our students. 

The St. Philip School Council supported the following activities/initiatives during the 2023-24 school year:

• Sensory hallways
• Scientists in the School (11 sessions)
• Luv2Groove
• Educator support initiative - up to $100 per educator to purchase items for use with their students. Here are some of the items that were reimbursed to the educators:
• Books for the classroom
• Board games for indoor recesses
• Embroidery floss and paint for art classes
• Math games
• Language flash cards
• Nature play accessories for kinder classes
• Purchase of resources for the leaning commons (funds raised through the Gift of Reading fundraiser)
• Invention Convention and Science Fair
• Outdoor "yard bags" (sports balls, skipping ropes, other items to be used during recess)
• Educator requests:
• Yoga mats and blocks for yoga club
• Storage for new "monkey room" for students with special needs

2023-24 School Community Events:

• Boohoo/yahoo back to school breakfast
• Christmas Social
• Fun Fair

2023-24 Fundraising activities:

• Hot lunch program: JoJo's pizza and Lunch Lady
• Fun Fair (event and community sponsorships)
• Little Caesars pizza kit sales
• Richmond Nursery spring flower fundraiser
• Mabel's Labels
• Gift of Reading in support of the Learning Commons

Please consider joining our team of fun and dedicated parents! If you have questions, please reach out to us at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com. The School Council meets once a month in the St. Philip Learning Commons. All parents/guardians are welcome and encouraged to attend our meetings. 

For up-to-date council news and access to our meeting minutes, please visit the School Council blog at stphilipschoolcouncil.blogspot.ca. 

2023-24 School Council Executive

Michelle McIver and Kelly Cochrane, Co-chairs

Chelsea Fowler and Stacey Woodruff, Co-treasurers

Sarah Prince and Julie Demers, Co-secretaries

Heather Gordon, Parish representative

Janna Redmond, CSPA representative

Sara Cannon, Community representative

St. Philip Fun Fair

Save the Date!

St. Philip Fun Fair

Friday, June 21, 2024

4:30pm to 6:30pm

Food:

• Knights of Columbus BBQ (pre-order by Friday, June 7th at School Cash Online)
• Burger $4.00
• Hot dog $3.00
• Chips $1.50
• Drinks $1.50
• Family pack $25 (2 burgers, 2 hot dogs, 4 chips, 4 drinks, 8 game tickets)
• Lots of dessert and snack options to select from (purchase at event)
• Kona Ice shaved ice truck
• le donut stop mini donut truck
• JoJo's Creameria ice cream truck
• Cotton candy from Ottawa Cotton Candy

Cake raffle:

Our fun fair wouldn't be complete without our famous cake raffle! We are accepting cake donations from the St. Philip community. More details to sign-up will be shared shortly. 

The cake raffle will be held in the gym, and tickets are available for purchase at the event. 

Prize raffle:

We have some pretty amazing prizes up for grabs at our prize raffle. Be sure to visit the gym to see the prizes and to buy some raffle tickets!

Here are some of the great prizes available:

• Napoleon Entice 36 electric wall-hanging fireplace from the Great Canadian Fireplace Company ($700 value)
• 4 tickets in box seats for an Ottawa Redblacks game, with food and drinks included ($600 value)
• Mini photo shoot with Gillian McColl Photography ($300 value)
• Framed original watercolour painting of a Richmond landmark by PM Dupuis Art ($70 value)
• Original pottery from jmpottery by JoAnn MacLaurin ($65 value)
• Gift basket items and gift cards from:
• GlenCannon Retreats
• Danby's Roadhouse
• The Fox Den Boutique
• Richmond BMR
• Councillor David Brown
• Epicure (Joanne Cronk)
• CC's Corner
• Refresh Nail Spa
• The Skin Studio West
• Emmy's Earrings
• Subway
• Royals Restaurant
• Richmond Village Bakehouse
• Ritchie Feed & Seed
• Willow Wellness
• Quick Pick
• Perth Street Dental
• And much more!

Games/activities:

• Tickets are required - games are 1 ticket, inflatables are 2 tickets
• Game tickets can be pre-ordered by Friday, June 7th on School Cash Online. Tickets can also be purchased at the game ticket table during the event. 
• Inflatables:
• obstacle course
• mega slide
• junior slide
• bouncy castle
• Games:
• inflatable basketball
• bean bag toss
• connect 4
• tug of war
• fish pond game
• and many more!
• Other activities:
• West Ottawa Soccer Club 
• bubble station
• temporary tattoo station

Thank you to all of our community sponsors who contributed to the event through monetary sponsorship or donations to our prize raffle. 

• Gold level sponsors:
• CSMA Martial Arts School 
• EyeTech Optometry 
• Great Canadian Fireplace Company
• Silver level sponsors:
• Bayview Windows
• Gillian McColl Photography
• Selena Tweedie Real Estate
• Bronze level sponsors:
• Ben Wightman, Royal Lepage Real Estate
• Bright Hearing Tinnitus Centre
• Councillor David Brown
• Danbys Restaurant
• Glen Cannon Retreats
• Perth Street Dental
• Rainbow Roofing & Renovations
• Refresh Nail Spa
• Richmond BMR
• Ritchie Feed & Seed
• Subway
• TD Canada Trust - Richmond Branch
• Willow Wellness

Richmond Nursery Fundraiser

We are excited to bring to the St. Philip's School Community something new this year just in time for Easter!

St. Philip School Council brings to you the RICHMOND NURSERY FUNDRAISER. Please support this new fundraiser by purchasing your spring planters or hanging baskets just in time for Mother's day. We will be launching this on School Cash in the coming days with the pick up of the flowers to be in early May.

Your support goes a long way. Did you know that the School Council helps fund important school initiatives like the upcoming Invention Convention and Science Fair, the newly installed "road to regulation" and many more wonderful things that make school fun!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com.

Pizza ordering now open for Term 3

 

Term 3 Pizza Ordering

Ordering is now open for Term 3 Pizza. Orders MUST be submitted by Wednesday, March 20th. Late orders will not be accepted. 

The next term of pizza lunches will run on Thursdays from April 4th until June 20th (12 weeks). The cost is $3 per slice ($36 for the 12-week session). We are offering 5 options:

• pepperoni
• cheese
• vegetarian
• gluten free crust with vegan cheese
• gluten free crust with regular cheese

Orders MUST be submitted through School Cash Online by Wednesday, March 20th. We cannot accept any late orders. 

2024 St. Philip Invention Convention & Science Fair

 

Calling all Inventors & Scientists!! St. Philip School Council will be offering the opportunity to have fun preparing and presenting an invention or science project for friends and family. This is a non-competitive, voluntary, extra-curricular event designed to inspire students to dive into their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) potential. Each student will have the chance to choose a topic, create a display, and present it to the school community for judging. Feedback on their project will be offered from our team of special judges. Joining is totally optional, it is simply to learn and have fun!!

Who? – Grades 1-6, joining is optional and preparation is done on your own time.
What? – This is your chance to create an invention or science project and share it with others. You can do a project by yourself, with a friend or in a group of three. To get ideas talk to your parents/guardians or teachers and check out the library or the internet.
How? – Sign up online HERE and see the Invention Convention & Science Fair rules to get you started.
When? – You can get started on your project right away. Registration due by Sunday, March 24th. Presentations of projects are May 15th @ 6:00pm in the school gym.

Have questions or need help? Please contact Sarah Prince @ Sverheyd@gmail.com

New sensory hallways!!

The St. Philip School Council was excited to partner with the school to provide two sensory hallways for students. This is a great initiative that helps students with self-regulation, and provides a calming activity when they need a body break to help them succeed in their learning. This new "Road to Regulation" was introduced to students at the Mindfulness Monday session last week. 

School Council Fundraiser - Little Caesars Pizza Kits and Cookie Dough

 

Back by popular demand, the St. Philip School Council has organized a Little Caesars Pizza Kits and Cookie Dough fundraiser! Clear out your freezers and make room for these frozen goodies, which are perfect for dinners and party favourites that are quick and easy to prepare.  

Each pizza kit includes 3 pizza shells, sauce, cheese, and pepperoni (if applicable). Personal size pizzas are also available (9 personal pizzas per kit). **There is also a gluten free pizza kit option! You can also choose from Crazy Bread or Italian Cheese Bread kits. Cookie dough is also available in the following flavours: sugar cookie, peanut butter, chocolate chunk, and oatmeal raisin.  

DEADLINE TO ORDER

The deadline to order is Sunday, February 11, 2024.

PICK-UP: Orders MUST be picked up on the delivery date of Thursday, February 29th from the St. Philip Church Parish Hall. **Parents MUST pick-up the orders. Students CANNOT bring the orders home on the bus due to the size and weight of the boxes.

A tentative pick-up time will be provided a few days prior to delivery (expected to be between 3:30pm to 6:00pm), however this will be confirmed by email on the day of delivery. 

HOW TO ORDER:

1. Go to our personalized fundraiser page at pizzakit.ca. Fundraiser ID is 437046.
2. Create an account, or log in if you already have an account.
3. Select the products that you would like to order, and add them to your cart. 
4. Go to your cart and check-out. Payment is available by major credit card. 

PRIZES

The homeroom class who has the most orders will win a pizza party! So encourage all of your friends and family to place orders! 

*You can indicate multiple students (siblings) in the order, and this will be split between the siblings' classes. For example, you have 2 children in grades 4 and 6. You order 3 kits, and indicate both students names on the order. 1.5 will be allocated to the grade 4 class, and 1.5 to the grade 6 class. 

**A minimum of 25 pizza kits must be ordered for the class to be considered for a pizza party. 

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions, please contact the School Council at st.philip.school.council@gmail.com. 

Parent Engagement Night with Aubrey Noronha

 

The St. Philip School Council, along with the School Councils from our family of schools, is pleased to offer a Parent Engagement Night on Wednesday, January 31st from 6:30-8:30pm at Sacred Heart High School in Stittsville. 

Aubrey Noronha presented to St. Philip students this week, and is looking forward to meeting with St. Philip parents and guardians as well, to engage on the important topic of diversity and inclusion, particularly, anti-racism. 

Come out to listen to this great speaker, and meet other parents in the school community. Child care is available on site by volunteer high school students.