St. Agnes Catholic Elementary School
Our School & Principal's Welcome
Welcome Back, Flames!
It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome you to the 2024/2025 school year. On behalf of the staff at St. Agnes, I extend a warm welcome to our vibrant school community, where the needs of children are our top priority. It is my privilege to serve as Principal of a dynamic team dedicated to the holistic success of each child—mind, body, and spirit. A special welcome to all new members of our community, particularly our Junior Kindergarten children who are starting school for the first time.
We are fortunate to be located adjacent to St. Agnes parish, which enriches our faith life with the support of our pastor, Father Aleks. Under his guidance, our students will have the opportunity to grow in their daily lives and celebrate the Sacraments. Together with our staff, parish team, and parent community, we will strive to make this year safe and excellent for our students in academic, spiritual, and emotional growth.
The staff at St. Agnes is uniquely talented and collaborates effectively to ensure that Christ is present for our children and that a love of learning is both modeled and encouraged. It is important to remember that teachers are only one part of the learning process; parents play a crucial role in determining how well a child performs and how much they learn throughout the school year. Your involvement in your child’s education is vital. I feel truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful school, church, and neighborhood community.
Communication is essential in the teaching and learning process. Please maintain regular communication with your child’s teacher and the school. I look forward to working together to ensure an excellent school year filled with academic excellence and spiritual growth for our students.
Heart of the community—success for each, a place for all.
May God Bless You,
G. Johnstone
Getting Ready for Kindergarten
Welcome to our school community!
We believe that all families are composed of individuals who are competent and capable, curious, and rich in experience. We know our families love their children and want the best for them. Families are experts on their children. They are the first and most powerful influence on children’s learning, development, health, and well-being. Families bring diverse social, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. Families should feel that they belong, are valuable contributors to their children’s learning, and deserve to be engaged in a meaningful way.
Welcome to Kindergarten Event You will be invited to our school this year in the spring, where we can gather in community and get to know each other! There will be an opportunity for you and your child to participate in activities together and ask questions. Let’s get ready to Talk, Create, Read and Play!
Welcome to our mini Flames! We are looking forward to meeting all of you in the fall, and learning and growing together. Each and every day is an opportunity to learn something new, share a smile with a new friend, and grow to become more like Jesus. We cannot wait for your to join us!
Introducing Our Early Years Team
Kindergarten Teachers:
- Ms. Kelsey Kirby
- Mrs. Rogalski
- Ms. Carolyn Diemert
- Mrs. Rebecca Pawelko
Registered Early Childhood Educators
- Mrs. Christine Voelzing
- Mrs. Zofia Watorowski
- Mrs. Najnudel
- Mrs. Kaitlin Bhanji
- Mrs. Lee
- Mrs. Van
We look forward to meeting our new friends in September. Until then…enjoy your summer!
Introducing Our School Community and Learning Spaces
If you have not registered your child for school yet, please visit the Entering Kindergarten webpage to start the online registration process.
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us! We are here to help!
Catholic School Advisory Council
Welcome to our Catholic School Advisory Council!
The education of our children is a partnership, working together to build a strong school community. Welcome, we’re glad you’re here.
What is the Role of the Catholic School Advisory Council?
A school council is an advisory body that functions within the parameters of Ministry of Education and Board policy. School councils provide an opportunity and the means to advise the principal and the Board on any matter on the improvement of pupil achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents/guardians. The ultimate responsibility for the administration and management of the day-to-day operation of the school rests with the principal.
A school council is an important venue for the various stakeholders in education to work in partnership. Its role, in collaboration with the principal, staff, and the community, is to help set the priorities of the school and to enhance learning opportunities, through various activities, for the benefit of our children/students.
What a Catholic School Advisory Council is not
A school council is not a place to pursue your own agenda or advocate for your own child. Individual issues should be pursued through the classroom teacher and/or principal.
Information
Please see the following information from our Catholic School Advisory Council. Our first meeting is Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 7:00pm in the Library of the school. All parents are welcome!
What is the purpose of the Catholic School Advisory Council? Our Catholic School Advisory Council (“CSAC”) works to spread positivity and create a sense of community at St. Agnes through school events and initiatives. We work as a team to make sure that all of our FLAMES feel welcome and valued at school. The purpose of the CSAC is to improve student achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents, through the active participation of parents. CSACs are advisory organizations, with a primary means of achieving their purpose by making recommendations to the Principal of the school and the School Board. Boards and Principals are responsible for considering recommendations made by each CSAC and advising the Council(s) of the actions taken in response to the recommendations.
Last year, our CSAC had a very rewarding year. The CSAC held 5 meetings that were open to the public to encourage input from parents and other members of the school community to inform our discussions of the various issues considered and the best path to achieve success for our students. Some notable achievements of the CSAC in 2024-2025 were the Dance-a-thon fundraising efforts, amazing Spring Carnival, Catholic Education Week event and Volunteer Appreciation activities. In addition, CSAC contributed financially towards our outdoor yard and new playground efforts that took place over the summer.
Minutes of all meetings are available on our school website.
We wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the many individuals who volunteered their time to contribute to the success of the CSAC last year!
How do you get involved? If you want to strengthen the bond between home and school, consider attending CSAC meetings. CSAC meetings are open to everyone in the community, so you do not have to be a voting member to attend. It is a great way to keep up with what is happening in the school. You can also contact members of our CSAC if you have questions about how to get involved at the school or if you are looking for information from a parent’s perspective. Please consider joining the Catholic School Advisory Council meetings for this upcoming year! CSAC meetings take place Tuesdays from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm on the dates listed below. We welcome everyone’s voice, ideas, and opinions!
- October 1, 2024 – Elections
- November 12, 2024 – Budget meeting
- February 11, 2025
- April 22, 2025
- June 10, 2025
We look forward to another successful year with our CSAC team!
Updates
Parent Outreach Plans
Contact Us
254 Neilson Avenue,
Waterloo, Ontario,
N2J 2M3
Phone: 519-885-3180
Extended Day Phone: 519-575-5872
Principal: Gilda Johnstone
Vice-Principal: Angela McLean
School Hours
9:20 — Entry Bell
10:30 – 10:45 — Morning Recess
12:05 – 1:05 — Lunch
2:25 – 2:40 — Afternoon Recess
3:50 — Dismissal
Good News Stories
Good News Stories Coming Soon!
Calendar Highlights
- June 12, 2025
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9:30 am: TRACK AND FIELD REGIONALS
- June 16, 2025
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7:00 pm: CSAC Meeting
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- June 17, 2025
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10:00 am: Grade 3 Trip to Crawford Lake
- June 18, 2025
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- June 19, 2025
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5:30 pm: Grade 8 Graduation
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9:00 pm: Grad Bowling @ Splitsville
- June 20, 2025
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- June 23, 2025
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- June 24, 2025
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- June 25, 2025
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- June 26, 2025
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St. Agnes Catholic Elementary School Calendar
Please use the following link to access our calendar from other applications.
Parish
Our Catholic Faith is taught, reinforced and celebrated in our school, homes and parish. We are so fortunate to have an excellent relationship with our local parish.
