LOOKING AHEAD!

Happy Friday you A-W-E-S-O-M-E Hurricanes! 

Did you know next Tuesday is the "67th day of school?"  That's right, 666666666666.....77777777777777!  Had to get that into one of our newsletters, sorry folks!

In any case, please find our Hurricane WEEKLY Newsletter December 8 - 12 2025 (CLICK LINK) for all the great stuff  happening at Hurricane Country, as we WIND UP towards Christmas!

Celebrating Advent WEEK #1 HOPE, NEXT WEEK PEACE!

We want to extend a very big shout-out to Mrs. Circelli's Grade 4s who beautifully led our recent School Mass this week, celebrating the first week of ADVENT and the theme of "hope." They did a super job! Father was so complimentary of both these leaders, as well as our staff and students, who listened and participated so reverently throughout the mass.  We thank the Losannes sisters for being awesome altar servers.  Leo, you were fantastic on the slideshow operation.  And our choir?  Simply outstanding!  As we shared following the mass, they "sounded like angels!"  The most important thing however, was the message from Father's homily when he invited us to be CHILDREN OF GOD - always hopeful, authentic, kind, joyful and forgiving.  He echoed that's age is not a limiting factor, ALL OF US young and old, are invited to live with and in this spirit!  Way to go Hurricanes, you always make us soooo proud!  Families are welcome to join our up and coming liturgies, celebrating the next three weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas;

• Week #2 PEACE December 9th @ 1:45pm (led by Mr. Cullen's Gr.5/6s)
• Week #3 JOY December 12th @ 9:15am (led by Mr. Story's Gr.3/4s)
• Week #4 LOVE  December 18th @ 9:15am (led by Mrs. Newell & Ms. Precious Gr.6s)

November's Heart-of-a-Hurricane Recipients

We wanted to give a BIG salute to our 4 Heart-of-a-Hurricane Recipients for the month of November.  We had over 65+ hearts submitted by staff noticing kind actions, brave works and creative gestures!  Congratulations to Mrs. Uyede/Mrs. Andovski's KINDERGARTEN class, Gabriela (PRIMARY), Eridania (JUNIOR) and Lucas (INTERMEDIATE) - each of these classes and students demonstrated all of the umbrella traits and skills we have tried to promote, in helping our young people find success, happiness and resiliency in "school and in life."  We celebrated with a donut party in each class, because WHEN ONE OF US SUCCEEDS - WE ALL CELEBRATE!  Keep showing a "heart-of-a-Hurricane" everyone!

St. John Parish Annual Christmas Children's Mass and Pageant 

Holy Trinity families are invited to attend the Children's Mass on December 24th (Christmas Eve) at 5pm.  The mass will be geared for young people and there will even be treats offered after mass as well as a visit from Santa Claus!  And if your child wants to get involved in the Nativity, please see instructions below;

Children from JK to Grade 6 are invited to participate in the annual Christmas pageant on December 24th at St. John Church again this year.  Interested children must attend both practices listed below:

• Sunday, December 21st, following the 11 AM Mass until approximately 2:00 PM in the community room.

• Wednesday, December 24th at 4:00 PM in the church.

Costumes will be provided.  Children may also make and wear their own costumes.  On December 24th, all participants are asked to meet at the church at 4:00 PM. Parents may select one of the reserved seats at the front. They are asked to keep their child’s outerwear (coat, hat, etc.) in the seat. The children will have a practice in the church without costumes before parishioners arrive. At 4:30, they will get dressed in the community room. By 4:50, they will sit together in the chapel at the back of the church before Mass starts at 5 PM. The children will participate in the procession at the start of Mass. After the procession, they will sit with their families. Please try to have your child sit near the end of the pew if possible. After the Gospel Acclamation (Alleluia), two young adults will read the Nativity Story while the children reenact it. If you plan to take photos, please do not leave your seat. Before the final song, the children will be invited to the front of the church for a group photo with Father. Afterwards, they will be led to the community room to change out of their costumes. One parent should go to the community room at the end of Mass to pick up their child.

If your child plans to participate, please email Lourdes at [email protected] or Marivic at [email protected].

Safety Around Ponds, Greenspaces and Spillways

We've have had some feedback from neighbourhood residents noticing school-aged children on local ponds and spillways, which could potentially be very dangerous with the varying thicknesses of ice and especially with the varying temperatures.  We have made some announcements to our student-body reminding our students of the dangers of this - we would appreciate your support if you could help remind your children to be safe and avoid these areas as well.  Thank you Hurricanes - STAY SAFE!

Christmas Present for All Hurricanes from our Healthy Snack Program!

We are delighted to share that our Healthy Snack Program will be hosting a special holiday event for all students and staff on Tuesday, December 16 at 2:30 PM.  Every Hurricane will enjoy milk and a holiday sprinkle cookie (with a gluten‑free option available for those with sensitivities).  To make the occasion even more festive, our jolly administrators will read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” as the entire school pauses to celebrate together.

This event is free and offered as a small way of thanking our Hurricane community for your ongoing generosity and TOTAL SUPPORT. Your support helps us provide healthy snacks that complement meals for many students each day.  We look forward to sharing this joyful tradition with your children and celebrating the season together.  Warm holiday wishes from the Healthy Snack Program Team!

Celebrating Christmas at Hurricane Country!

The last week before the holiday break, we are scheduled to have several exciting activities for our community, with the highlight being our first-ever “A Very Buddy Christmas Sing-along” on Wednesday December 17th at 11:30am. Hurricane families are invited to come and enjoy the celebration of Christ's birth with us as we gather with our reading buddies to sing some Christmas songs, hand in hand! We are looking forward to sharing this special activity with all of you. 

Below you will find information about our 2025 Christmas Hamper Drive. We are privileged again this year to have the opportunity to support 10 families in the Guelph & Wellington Community in partnership with Saint Vincent De Paul. The list attached indicates each families’ information, the classes assigned to each family as well as ages and specific requests and information pertaining to the family. Our Hamper Drive will run from November 24 until Friday, December 12th, 2025. Your unwrapped contributions are welcome to begin anytime. School cash on-line will also be available if you would like to contribute in this manner. Any money donated through cash online will be used to purchase gift cards for our families.  Thank you in advance for your contributions!  

Meet Your Family & Their Wishes…

We'll end with this.  At our recent school mass, father mentioned a really powerful metaphor in a story about HOPE he shared with our students.  Without going into great detail, the main part of the story talked about a time when a dead stump miraculously grew a brand new, fresh-green shoot out from its side.  It was a really meaningful example to remind all of our staff, students and parents in attendance that no matter what the circumstances are around us, especially when they involve despair, pain, difficulty or confusion - our God calls us to remember His promise to us, that he will never abandon any of us.  This is revealed in His greatest gift through the "coming" of Jesus Christ at Christmas, the greatest sign of His LOVE, PEACE, JOY and HOPE He has for each and everyone one of us!  On the other hand, God also invites each of us to be that for each other!  Be that green shoot of hope, patience, grace or care for someone else, or for the world.  Be a "child of God!"  Take care of yourselves and each other Hurricanes!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Mr. Breadner Mr. Della Croce

VICE-PRINCIPAL    PRINCIPAL