March 2016
An Easter Prayer
Lord,
the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people
in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,
the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it,
the perseverance to continue to do it,
and the strength to complete it.
Amen
Virtue of the Month
God wants us to be kind to everyone we meet. Kindness is about more than just pretending to
be nice. It is about helping and playing with others because we want to, not because we feel
we have to. We have all been given the fruit of the Holy Spirit called kindness, which is the act of loving and giving
generously to others as God does.
A Faith Community
Please join us as we celebrate our Lenten Mass on Monday March 21st, 2016 @ 10:00 a.m. in the Church.
Our students will be participating in Stations of the Cross on Thursday March 24, 2016 (Holy Thursday).
Reconciliation for our Grade 6, 7 and 8 students will be held at the school on Thursday March 3rd, 2016.
We will also be having a school-wide retreat ...details to follow shortly.
Sacraments
The next few months are a busy time for many of our students as they prepare to receive their sacraments.
Detailed information about preparation for the sacraments may be obtained through St. John Fisher Parish.
First Confession (Grade 2): Sunday April 10, 2016 @ 2:00 p.m.
First Holy Communion (Grade 2): Sunday May 15, 2016 @ 2:00 p.m.
Confirmation (Grade 7 & 8): Thursday May 12, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m.
St. John Fisher Parish Events
During the month of March, the Catholic Women’s League has scheduled the following
events which will be held in the St John Fisher Parish Hall:
Sunday, March 6th BOOK AND BAKE SALE,
Saturday, March 12th ANNUAL PASTA DINNER (tickets need to be purchased in advance)
Sunday, March 20th EASTER FAIR.
Please contact the parish for further details.
Pizza Lunch Days
Toonie Tuesday Pizza Lunch Day for this month is: Tuesday March 8, 2016
School Council Pizza Lunch Day (pre-orders only) is on: Tuesday March 29, 2016
Well-Being Initiatives
Girl Talk Empowerment:
This year St. John Fisher has started up a Girl Talk Empowerment group which is run by
the grade 7/8 girls. The purpose of this group is to foster an awareness of mental
health and well-being and to empower our intermediate girls to run sessions for our
younger female students. The group also works together to promote and educate our
community on current events happening around the world and what we can do to be “world-changing”. Our main
focus is core values, building teamwork, self-confidence and controlling body and minds. We work together bringing solidarity, justice and faith!
Other Upcoming Events:
Friday March 5th : Lunch and learn for grade 7/8 girls promoting healthy eating and making good choices.
Friday March 10th: The Big Crunch happening at St. John Fisher all the students will partake in making healthy
“crunchy” snack choice! Bring in a crunchy piece of fruit.
Tuesday March 22nd: Take Back the Tap at St. John Fisher where we bring awareness to healthy tap water and reusable water bottles. Bring in a reusable water bottle filled with tap water.
Friday April 1st: Canadian Mental Health Association coming to St. John Fisher to do a lunch and learn for the 6-8
girls about body image, healthy relationships and self-esteem. On the same day there will be a lunch and learn for
the 6-8 boys focusing on Stress and coping with it.
Catholic Education Week Aussie X will be in to enhance, energize and educate of students and community on
mental health and wellness with a focus on anti-bullying.
Sharelife Week Events
We will be having our annual ShareLife Week from April 4th April 8th. During this week, the
school will be holding exciting events to foster school spirit as well as raising funds towards our Catholic charity.
March Break
Please be advised that March Break runs from Monday March 14 to Friday March 18, 2016.
There is no school for students during this week. We wish everyone a safe and relaxing break!
Family Movie Night
Many thanks to all of our families who came out for our Family Movie Night! Everyone had
a fantastic time and it really brought a sense of community to our school. A heartfelt
thanks goes out to our School Council members, staff and volunteers who helped us run a
very smooth event. Without their assistance, this would have not been possible.
EQAO
In May, the Ontario Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) will conduct its annual province-wide testing of knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics of
grade 3 and 6 students throughout the publicly funded school systems. The tests for Grade 3
students and for Grade 6 students will take place between May 25th and June 8th. Parents
and guardians are encouraged to avoid scheduling any doctor’s appointments or any other appointments that
would take your child out of school during the testing dates. Details regarding more specific dates will be forthcoming from classroom teachers.
Pretzel Sales
The pretzel has deep spiritual meaning for Lent going back 1500 years. Children in those times ate
pretzels during Lent because they were made only of flour, salt and water. Fat, eggs and milk were
forbidden during Lent. The pretzel was shaped into the form of two arms crossed in prayer to remind children that Lent was a season of penance.
As part of our celebration of Lent and Easter Season, we will be selling pretzels to students which will be delivered
on Thursday March 24th (Holy Thursday). Forms have been sent home with the students.
Attendance and Punctuality
Attending school regularly and punctually is important not only for academic progress, but also for the growth of
personal responsibility and the development of life skills. When a child is frequently absent from school he/ she
often experience gaps in his/her learning. When a child is frequently late for school he/she misses valuable
information and disrupts the learning of classmates when entering the room. The Education Act states that it is the
responsibility of the parent/guardian to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually. We assist
parents in this endeavor by regularly monitoring attendance and punctuality and notifying parents when there are
concerns.
Bus Information
Please check the Region of Peel’s Transportation Department’s websites (www.stopr.ca and
https://businfo.stopr.ca/) to check for delays and cancellations. All concerns and complaints regarding bus
transportation are to be made directly to the S.T.O.P.R. at 905-890-0614.
Are You Moving?
If you are possibly moving out of the St. John Fisher area, we would appreciate knowIng
ahead of time. Please notify our school office as soon as possible.
Thank You and Farewell
It is with sadness that we must say farewell to Ms. Marieiro. We want to thank her for her dedication
and devotion to our students and community and wish her well in her future as a Catholic Educator.
Eco Schools- We Need Your Empty Milk Bags!!
For quite some time, all across Canada, a community of volunteers, schools, churches and businesses have been collecting milk bags. The bags are cut into strips, tied together, and then woven or crocheted into mats. The milk bag
mats offer people without beds an alternative to sleeping on the often cold and damp ground. Not only can these
milk-bag mats provide comfort as a bedding alternative, but have been used by health-care professionals as a makeready substitute for an operating bed/table where resources are scarce. It takes approximately 400 milk bags to
make an adult sized mat.
Why Canadian milk bags? They don’t disintegrate, are very strong, don’t retain moisture, have a life span of 25 years,
are UV ray resistant, are washable and are very colorful.
MILKBAGSunlimited has empowered the women in the Third World Countries to create many products from floor
mats to hand bags. MILKBAGSunlimited supplies the materials and the tools , the women work, sell and make money
to support their families.
We are asking you to please send in your clean, empty milk bags or drop them off in our foyer, so our Green Team
can organize and send mats to MILKBAGSunlimited. Not only will you be helping the environment, you will also be
helping women and children in third world countries. Thank you!
Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week 2016(May 1st—6th)combines both the theme of mercy and
the act of opening doors of reconciliation, mercy and forgiveness to all around us.
There are five sub-themes for each day of Catholic Education Week:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Mercy that Welcomes
Mercy that Loves
Mercy that Forgives
Mercy that Lives the Gospel
Mercy that Rejoices
More details to come.
School/Transportation Cancellation Due to Inclement Weather
During the winter months inclement weather may cause disruption of bus transportation and regular school operations. A decision to cancel school transportation and/or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be
announced on the following radio and television stations:
VIRGIN RADIOFM99.9
CHUM AM1050
CFTR AM680
CFNY FM102.1/AM640
CJCL AM590
CHFI FM98.1
CFRB AM1010
EZ ROCK FM97.3
CJBC (FR) AM860
FM Z103.5
FM93.1
FM Q107
CHIN FM100.7/AM1540
CBC99.1
CITYPULSE
GLOBAL NEWS
CTV
CANADA AM
Or check the DPCDSB Community Relations Website at: http://www.dpcdsb.org/pr
Parking In Front of the School
Due to our limited parking facilities at our school, please be advised that all parking directly in front of the
school is for staff members only. Parents and guardians are asked to park at the side of the school by the
St. John Fisher Parish. Parking in the Kiss’n’ride areas is not permitted. As well, please be advised that
Brampton Parking Control has been very active in the area and ticketing vehicles that are parked in
Kiss’N’Ride areas.
March 2016
Sun
Mon
Tue
1
Wed
2
Thu
3
Reconciliation
Grades 6, 7 & 8
6
7
Book &
Bake Sale
at the
Parish
13
8
9
Toonie
Tuesday Pizza
14
15
10
Fri
4
5
Lunch n’ Learn
for Grade 7/8
Girls
11
The Big CrunchHealthy Snack
Zone
16
Sat
12
Annual Pasta
Dinner at the
Parish
17
18
19
24
25
26
Stations of the
Cross
Good Friday
March Break
20
21
22
Easter Fair
at the
Parish
Lenten Mass @ Take Back the
10:00 a.m.
Tap-Awareness
of Tap Water
and Reusable
Water Bottles
27
28
29
Easter
Monday
Parent Council
Pizza Day
23
Pretzel Day
30
31
CANADA’S ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION (CASL)
CONSENT FORM
Parent(s)/Guardian(s)/Adult Student
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) prohibits the sending of commercial electronic messages, including emails and other forms of digital messaging if the electronic message encourages participation in a commercial activity, unless the sender has received the recipient’s consent prior to sending the message.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and St. John Fisher School require your consent to send any electronic messages which promote, advertise or offer for sale goods and services. While partaking in commercial activities is not a core activity of the board or its schools, information about some of the following example activities,
included in an e-mail or in an electronic newsletter, may be construed as commercial in nature, or may fall under an
exception:
·
·
·
Promoting the sale of school products, services or other activities, e.g., offering the sale of tickets to a
school play or other event.
Promoting the sale of products or services of third parties, e.g., offering the sale of discounted tickets to a
sporting event, inviting parents/guardians to a seminar where the speaker may promote his/her products/
services.
Providing information about school photos, field trips, sale of yearbooks, team uniforms, fundraising
events, lunch programs, pizza days, prom or dance tickets, athletic events or similar events and offers.
If you consent to receiving electronic communications, which may contain commercial electronic messages,
such as the examples described above, please sign and date this form, and return it to your school. You may
withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the school Principal, or by unsubscribing to any further commercial
electronic messages you receive from the board/school.
Student’s Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian’s Name: ________________________________________________________________
E-Mail Address: ________________________________________________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ___________________________________
MUNICIPAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT:
Personal information on this form is collected under the legal authority of the Education Act, as amended, and will
only be used to administer the Board/School’s electronic newsletter, e-mail communication process, in order to
comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and for no other purpose. Questions may be directed to the School
Principal or to the General Manager, Communications & Community Relations, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board, 40 Matheson Blvd. West, Mississauga, Ontario L5R 1C5 (905) 890 – 1221/1-800-387-9501.