Roncallli Elementary School
Parent/Guardian Newsletter Friday, October 16th, 2026
In just a few short weeks, our school community will come together to observe Remembrance Day—a time to pause, reflect, and honour the courage, dedication, and sacrifices of the brave men and women who have served, and continue to serve, our country and nations around the world. It is an important opportunity to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and to express our gratitude to all who have dedicated themselves to protecting peace and freedom.
This year, our Grade 5 students and teachers will lead our Remembrance Day Assembly, providing a meaningful opportunity for our school community to come together in remembrance, gratitude, and respect.
We invite parents and guardians of our Grade 5 students to join us for this special occasion. Due to space limitations, attendance will be limited to two guests per Grade 5 student.
Assembly Details:
Date: Tuesday, November 10th, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Roncalli Elementary School Gymnasium
Entrance and Exit: We kindly ask all attending parents and guardians to use the rear gymnasium doors when entering and leaving the school.
We look forward to gathering as a school community for this important occasion as we honour the sacrifices of those who have served and reflect on the importance of peace, freedom, and remembrance.
Lest We Forget.
If your child is interested in playing on our Grade 5 Boys Volleyball Team, please review the information provided and complete the attached registration and medical consent form no later than Friday, October 23rd. At this time, we will determine based on registration numbers, if we have enough interest for a team.
With Halloween just around the corner, we are reaching out to our wonderful school community with a special request! As we prepare for the upcoming Halloween festivities, we invite families to consider donating any gently used, clean Halloween costumes that their children have outgrown or no longer need. With the generosity and support of our families, we hope to establish a Halloween Costume Bank, providing students who may not otherwise have access to a costume with the opportunity to select one and participate in Halloween activities, should they wish to do so. Our goal is to ensure that every student who chooses to celebrate Halloween has the opportunity to enjoy the excitement and festivities, while fostering an environment where all children feel included, supported, and valued. Families wishing to contribute are kindly asked to send their costume donations to the school office no later than Friday, October 23rd. We ask that all donated costumes be clean and in good condition so they can be enjoyed by another student. Thank you for your continued kindness, generosity, and support. It is through thoughtful gestures such as these that we strengthen our commitment to creating a welcoming, caring, and inclusive environment where every child feels a sense of belonging. Together, we can help make Halloween a little more special for all our students! 🎃
As the temperatures begin to drop and colder weather approaches, we would like to remind families of the importance of ensuring that students come to school each day with appropriate clothing for outdoor play and activities. Fresh air and outdoor play are important parts of our students' school day, and we want to ensure that everyone can enjoy their time outside while staying warm, comfortable, and safe.
We kindly ask that families ensure their children have suitable clothing for the changing weather conditions, including warm coats, sweaters, hats, mittens or gloves, and appropriate footwear. As temperatures continue to drop and winter weather arrives, snow pants and winter boots will also be essential.
We encourage families to check the daily weather forecast and help their children dress accordingly. We also recommend labelling your child's clothing and personal belongings to help prevent items from becoming lost or misplaced. Please keep in mind that students will participate in outdoor activities whenever weather conditions permit, so being properly dressed is especially important.
A little preparation goes a long way in keeping our Rockets warm, happy, and ready for outdoor fun!
Happy Durga Puja [DOOR-gah POO-jah]! Also known as Navaratri [nuh-vuh-RAH-tree] and Dussehra [ doo-SEH-ruh] in different places around the world. Today, some of our students and classes were engaged in learning about Durga Puja, a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. Durga Puja honours Goddess Durga and her victory over a demon named Mahishasura. It reminds us to be brave, kind, honest, and to stand up for what is right.
This year, the main celebrations take place from October 16th to October 21st. People celebrate Durga Puja [DOOR-gah POO-jah] in India, Bangladesh, North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and many other places around the world. During these special celebrations, families and communities come together to pray, share food and clothing with others, exchange sweet desserts, enjoy dancing and drumming. Garba [GUHR-bah], Dandiya [DAHN-dee-yah], and Dhunuchi [dhoo-NOO-chee] are traditional dances associated with the festival. Most importantly, these festivals remind us that we can all make the world a better place by showing kindness, helping others, standing up for what is right, and choosing love over hate. Let’s remember that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference!
Happy Durga Puja to everyone who is celebrating!
As the colder weather approaches, we are once again reaching out to our school community for donations. We kindly invite families to consider donating any gently used, clean winter clothing items that their children have outgrown or no longer need. Items such as winter coats, snow pants, hats, mittens, gloves, sweaters, and winter boots would be greatly appreciated.
Through the generosity of our families, we hope to ensure that every student at Roncalli has access to appropriate winter clothing, allowing them to stay warm, comfortable, and fully enjoy outdoor play and activities throughout the colder months.
If you have winter clothing items, in good condition, that you would like to donate, please feel free to drop them off at the school office at your convenience. Every donation, big or small, can make a meaningful difference!
As some of our students prepare to celebrate Halloween, we would like to provide families with advance notice regarding the school’s expectations for costumes worn during the school day on Friday, October 30th. These guidelines are in place to help ensure that Halloween is a safe, inclusive, and enjoyable experience for all students.
Please ensure that any costume worn to school adheres to the following guidelines:
- No Masks: Masks of any kind are not permitted to be worn in the school. This includes full-face and partial-face masks. Masks can be unsettling for some students and may also create safety and identification concerns within the school environment.
- No Weapon or Dangerous-Object Props: Props or costume accessories that resemble weapons or other dangerous objects are not permitted at school. This includes toy weapons, replicas, or any item that could reasonably be mistaken for a weapon.
- Appropriate Clothing and Images: Costumes and clothing should be appropriate for a school setting. Items displaying or promoting inappropriate, offensive, or illegal substances or content are not permitted.
Additional information regarding the Halloween activities planned at school will be shared with families at a later date.
If you prefer that your child NOT participate in any of our Halloween activites, please inform your child's teacher prior to Friday, October 30th.
In the spirit of Halloween, we would love to do our Halloween School Wide Walk with our students on Friday, October 30th weather permitting, but we will need some help in order for it to go ahead. The plan would be:
- All students with their classes and teacher would do a walk on the trail behind our school in the afternoon from approximately 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
- On the trail spread out in various sections would be as many parents/guardians dressed up in school appropriate costumes giving out halloween treats to all the children (this will be a lot of fun for the adults as well !)
- It would be great if the volunteers could bring some treats to give out to the kids (we have approximately 460 students)
- If you cannot attend, but would like to donate any halloween treats for us to use for various activities throught the day, that would be much appreciated as well
- If you are available and would like to help out with this event, please email trinapearce@nlschools.ca no later than Friday, October 23rd.
- We will make a final decision on this event once we see how many volunteers we are able to get
- Volunteers would have to be available from 12:50 - 2:00 PM on Friday, October 30th.
Our walk will also include our annual walk by Lane's Retirement to see some of the residents.
We are often asked whether parents/guardians are permitted to send Halloween treats to school for the students in their child’s class. Yes, families may send in treats, provided the following guidelines are followed:
- Enough for Everyone: If treats are sent in, there must be enough for every student in the class.
- Individually Wrapped: All treats must be individually packaged or wrapped for safe distribution.
- Allergy Awareness: Please carefully review and adhere to our school’s allergy alerts. Our current allergy alerts include:
- Peanuts/Tree Nuts
- Visible Eggs
- Fish/Shellfish
- Sesame
- Hummus
- Sunflower Seeds
- Sunflower Protein
- Distribution: The classroom teacher will determine the most appropriate time during the school day to distribute any treats that have been brought in for classmates.
- No Obligation: Please note that there is no expectation from the school that families provide treats. Sending treats is entirely optional.
