St. Alexander October Newsletter

We are excited to welcome all St. Alexander families to our Meet the Teacher Open House on Thursday, October 8, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

This special evening is a wonderful opportunity for families to visit the school, meet staff members, and learn more about their child's classroom community. Students are encouraged to proudly show their parents and guardians their classroom, desk, locker, and some of the exciting learning spaces they enjoy each day.

Adding to the fun, the Knights of Columbus will be serving as our BBQ Masters, helping us bring our school community together over a delicious barbecue. We are grateful for their continued partnership and support of St. Alexander Catholic School.

As you walk through the school, you will easily recognize our staff members in their St. Alexander Huskies T-shirts, ready to welcome families, answer questions, and celebrate the wonderful start to the school year.

We look forward to an evening of fellowship, connection, and school spirit as we continue to work together to support the success and well-being of all our students.

We can't wait to see you there! Go Huskies! 🐾💙💛

Over the past few weeks, our St. Alexander school community has experienced an exciting period of growth and change. Due to our increased enrollment, we were fortunate to receive an additional Grade 3 classroom. This welcome addition led to a reorganization of our Grade 2 to Grade 4 classes to best support the learning needs of all students.

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our staff, students, and families for their patience, flexibility, and understanding throughout this transition. Change can be challenging, and we are truly grateful for the positive spirit and support shown by our school community as we worked together through this process.

We are also pleased to welcome several new and returning members to our St. Alexander team:

• Mrs. Bigda joins us as our new Grade 3 Classroom Teacher.
• Miss Burke joins our team as our morning Grade 2 Teacher.
• Mrs. Duchesne joins our Primary Division as a valued Primary Team Member.
• We are delighted to welcome back Ms. Principi, who will serve as our morning Resource Teacher and afternoon Grade 2 Teacher.

We are excited for the many opportunities ahead and look forward to the positive impact these wonderful educators will have on our students and school community. Please join us in extending a warm St. Alexander welcome to our newest team members and a heartfelt welcome back to Ms. Principi! 🐾💙💛

St. Alexander is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a Thanksgiving Food Drive. The proceeds of this food drive will be donated to Pelham Cares, who will distribute them to families in need within our community.

Donations will be accepted beginning on Monday, October 5th - Friday, October 9th.

We are asking families with a child in our various grade divisions to donate different items. These donations will provide multiple food options to prepare for Thanksgiving.

• In our Kindergarten Division, we are asking families to donate breakfast items such as cereals, peanut butter, jams, cereal bars, oatmeal, pancake mix, maple syrup, dried fruits, canned fruit juice. Please ensure that all nut products are placed in a separate bag.

• In our Primary Division (Grades 1-3), we are asking families to donate items for baking and snacks such as sugar, brown sugar, muffin mix, cake mix, cookie mix, icing, flour, oil, popcorn, crackers.

• In our Junior Division (Grades 4-6), we are asking families to donate items for lunch and dinner, such as pasta sauces, pasta, soups, rice, gravy, ketchup, mustard, relish, canned tuna, mayonnaise, spices, salt, pepper, olive oil, cooking oil, macaroni and cheese, juice boxes.

• In our Intermediate Division (Grades 7-8), we are asking families to donate canned fruits and vegetables, canned fish, juice boxes or canned fruit juices.

If you are unable to contribute the specific items in your child's division, any non-perishable items will be welcomed. Your continued generosity is both valued and appreciated. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Yours in Catholic Education,

Huskies Staff

We are grateful for the opportunity to come together as a school community to celebrate the blessings of the season. On Tuesday, October 6, at 11:30 a.m., we will gather for our Thanksgiving Mass with Fr. Paul and Fr. Daniel at St. Alexander Church. We are thankful to Mr. Boon's Grade 6 class, who will be helping to lead the celebration through the readings.

All families are warmly invited to join us for this special Mass as we give thanks for the many gifts in our lives.

Our Kindergarten and Grade 1 students will participate in a separate Thanksgiving liturgy with Fr. Paul and Fr. Daniel on another day, allowing them to celebrate in a way that is meaningful and age appropriate.

We look forward to celebrating this joyful season of gratitude together! 🍂🙏

We are excited to celebrate Halloween together on Friday, October 30th! Students are invited to wear their Halloween costumes or dress in orange, purple and/or black to join in the festive spirit.

To help ensure a fun and comfortable experience for everyone, please remember that costumes featuring weapons, blood, or frightening themes are not permitted. Our Halloween celebration is intended to be enjoyable for all students, including our youngest learners and those with special learning or sensory needs.

Throughout the day, classes will participate in a variety of Halloween-themed activities. We will also hold our annual Halloween Parade beginning at 9:30 a.m. Students will exit through the front doors and follow a route along the edge of the Tarmac on school property, continuing around to the back of the school before re-entering through the door closest to the kindergarten play area.

As we celebrate, we kindly ask families to remember that many of our students have food allergies and sensitivities, including life-threatening anaphylactic allergies. To help keep everyone safe, please do not send any food items to school for Halloween.

Thank you for your support and understanding. We look forward to a fun-filled day of creativity, community, and Halloween spirit

Effective immediately, we have a new way to report changes to any information with regard to your child(ren) such as a change in address, contact phone number, Parent information or Emergency Contact Information. All changes can now be done online through the Parent Portal. Instructions are outlined below. Changes can be made at any point during the school year. Once you complete the changes through the Portal, the school office will receive notification and can update your student's record in a timely manner. This will ensure that the school has up-to-date information on file at all times.

Volunteers in Our School

We are grateful for the many family members who support our school through volunteering. As a reminder, the Volunteers in the School Policy was updated last year to align with Ministry requirements. Beginning this school year, all volunteers, including those assisting with field trips, serving as volunteer drivers, or participating in school activities, must have a Police Vulnerable Sector Check (PVSC) completed and on file at St. Alexander School. 800.9 - Niagara Catholic Volunteers AOP.pdf

For your reference, we have attached the Board policy along with the letter required to obtain a PVSC.

Thank you for your ongoing support, partnership, and commitment to our school community.

Once again, we will be creating a yearbook for families to purchase. All classes from kindergarten to grade 8 will be showcased in the yearbook. Each class will have 2 pages dedicated to them, and many pages will showcase special days and celebrations throughout the year for all students.

If you do not want your child in the yearbook, please contact your classroom teacher directly.

Information on ordering copies of the yearbook and opportunities for purchasing advertisement space will be communicated at a later date.

Congratulations and thank you to Kristin DeDivitiis and Alycia Tallman for agreeing to Co-Chair once again this year. CSC is a group of parent volunteers who support our children in many ways. A very big thank you to Tiffany Miller, Jennifer Gasparotto,, Jade Jones, Maria Reid, Sarah Musso, Amanda Preston, Ashley Baron, Victoria Jaski, Chrissa Carrier, Christian Betancour, Adreine McClure, Alice Betancourt. Alycia Tallman, Alana Taylor, Aidan Longo, Jennifer Chaput, and Christina Fontana for volunteering to be part of our St. Alexander Catholic School Council.

Our next meeting will be held on November 24, 2026 at 5:30 pm in the school library.