St. Gerard School
Newsletter
1300 McBride Avenue
Mississauga, Ontario
L5C 1M8
Tel. (905) 277-4512
Fax (905) 277-0647
www.dpcdsb.org/GERAR
October 2015
Principal:
S. Calvert
Secretary:
A. Miller
St. Martin of Tours Parish
Pastor:
Fr. Joyson Pottackal
Associate Pastor:
Fr. Gijo
Trustee:
L. del Rosario
(905) 890-1221
luz.delRosario@dpcdsb.org
Superintendent:
D. Amaral
(905) 890-1221
School Council Chair:
M. Sousa
DPCDSB is on Twitter!
For the latest board news
and information, follow us
@ DPCDSBSchools.
Autumn Prayer
God of the Autumn, help us to live
with the grace of falling leaves,
the enthusiasm of the flaming Aspens,
with the serenity of the old trees,
whose roots reach deep into the earth.
God of the Autumn, help us to know
that living and dying are one,
that life is precious, and beautiful, and limited,
that nothing good is ever lost.
God of Autumn, help us to see
in the ways of nature
a way for ourselves.
Amen
New Staff Allocation for 2015-2016
We would like to thank all of you for
your patience and co-operation with
reorganization.
FDK
M. Likarevic and A. Siek
FDK
D. Greco and K. Curley
Gr. 1
E. Rice
Gr. 1/2 L. Collins
Prayer – Christine Robinson “Worship Web”
Gr. 2/3 J. Vidot
Gr. 3
A. Rukavina
Gr. 3/4 A. Zeno
From the Principal
It was a pleasure to see such a great turn out for our Open Gr. 4/5 S. Hill
House Night despite the weather. We are incredibly grate- Gr. 5/6 S. Lepidas
Gr. 6/7 C. Connor
ful to your generosity in supporting our Terry Fox Wak/
Gr. 8
S. Pacheco
Run by sending in your Toonie for Terry and purchasing
NM
M. Evans
tickets for the T-Shirt Raffle. Thanks also to parents and
SN
K. Mistruzzi Canning
students who supported our Scholastic Book fair. The
SERC Teacher
J. Barca
Council’s 50/50 was won by O. Ibanez and the council
SERT
Teacher
H. Dewsnap
raised $65 toward their fundraising goal for this year.
ESL/Science
R. Spudic
Please support our Council’s fundraiser by taking a look at
Librarian
L. Liptay
the brochures sent home. On the top-right hand corner of
FSL
C. Gil
the cover letter there is the code to order online and you
Planning
J. Fernandes
can select the option to have items sent directly to your
ERW’s
O. Ibanez,
home. The Council would like to raise the money to give
M. Kirkeach teacher $10 per student to put toward trips or activipatrick, A. Wicken,
ties that the teacher has planned. We hope that you were
T. Brown, A.
able to connect with your child’s teacher and encourage
Buzdon, A.
you to stay connected with what is happening in our
Seetahal, S. Rocha,
school community and in your child(ren)’s classroom. We
R. Bobak
wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving holiday.
CYW
M. Landucci
God Bless
School Psychologist Dr. N. Krane
S. Calvert—Principal
Speech &Language O. Munn
Social Worker
D. Lyons
Dates to Remember
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Oct. 6 — St. Gerard plays St.
Jerome in Junior Volleyball
Oct. 7—Beginning of year /
Thanksgiving Mass — 10:00 am/
The NM and SN classes are visiting
the Grocery Store. /St Gerard plays
at St. Catherine of Siena in Jr.
Volleyball.
Oct. 8-Eco Schools launch
Oct. 9—See/Hear Clinic
Oct. 12—Thanksgiving Day
Oct. 13—Rosary Apostolate Visits
classes.
Oct. 14—NM and SN classes to the
Library
Oct 19—Election Day. Our school
is a Polling Station.
Oct 19—School Council at 6:30 pm
Oct 22—NM and SN classes to
Riverwood.
Oct. 24, 25, 31, Nov. 1, 7, 8—Rite
of Enrolment—Confirmation
Oct. 27—Kindergarten trip to
Andrews scenic Acres
Oct. 28—PICTURE RETAKE DAY
Nov 7—Remembrance Day
Nov. 16—Rosary Apostolate Visits
Nov. 17—Progress reports sent
home
Nov 18—NM and SN classes to the
Grocery Store.
Nov. 19—Interview evening
Nov, 25—NM and SN To the
Library
Nov 28—First Reconciliation at St.
Martin of Tours church at 10:30
am.
Dec. 7—HEP B / HPV clinic—Round
2 for grade 7 and 8 students
Dec. 8—Advent/Christmas Mass—
10:00 am
Dec. 21 to January 1—Christmas
Break
SCHOOL HOURS
Yard Supervision begins at 8:45 a.m.
School begins: 9:00 a.m.
Recess:
10:20—10:35 a.m.
Lunch Hour:
12:00—1:00 p.m.
Afternoon Recess:
2:30– 2:45 p.m.
Dismissal:
3:30
OPENING SCHOOL MASS
Our opening school Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, October
7th at St. Martin of Tours Church at 10:00 a.m. All are welcome!
Virtues Education at St. Gerard
The Virtue for the Month of September was Faith. A Faithful person Prays
regularly and reverently, learns from scripture stories, honour’s people’s
God given names, assumes that there is good in everybody and accepts the
God-given worth of themselves and others.
At the end of each month the classroom teachers choose one person from
the class that exemplifies the virtue of the month. This month’s Virtue
award winners are: Navarra M., Isabella R., Rence M., Christina R., Bailee
B., Rachel D., Joaquin C., Ana V., Aly A., Faustina M., Ihna B., Erin W., Luca
A., Julian R. Congratulations to our Virtue Award Winners.
The Virtue for the Month of October is Empathy
The virtue for the month of October is EMPATHY. Judge your neighbour's feelings
by your own, and in every matter be thoughtful (Sir. 31:15). The St. Gerard school
community is committed to caring about everyone's feelings, just as God wants us
to. As empathetic followers of Jesus, we are confident in the dignity of ourselves
and others; we believe that the cross is the ultimate sign of forgiveness.
People of Empathy: Can understand and name their feelings; Care about other’s
feelings; Listen carefully to others; Listen for clues in tone of voice; Watch expressions and body gestures for messages; Notice when someone is upset; Can see
and respect how others look at things; Know that others may feel differently
about things than they do and respond generously to help others.
SAFETY REMINDERS

If your child is going to be late or absent please call the school at 905-277- 4512 and leave a message
clearly stating your child's name, teacher name, grade and the number of days your child will be absent. The line is available to you 24 hours a day. If your phone number, cell number or work numbers change, please notify the office. It is necessary that we have the most up to date information
in order to reach you in case of an emergency.

Arrive at school on time to allow children to enter with their classmates to avoid front entry lates.
When a child is late they miss valuable teaching time. Late arrivals cause disruption to the other students and also to
the teacher who has already started lessons for the day. Students should enter and exit the school by their designated
door and only enter or exit thru the front door if they are late or are being picked up early. In order to help ensure
the safety and security of our children, please remember, that to many of them, you are a stranger so as a visitor to
the school you must always report to the office first. A reminder to parents the supervision in the yard begins at 8:45
am therefore, children should not arrive or be dropped off before this time. A reminder also to Parents that they
should not be waiting in the yard when a teacher is on duty. The waiting area is behind the painted yellow line on either side of the yard.
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When dropping off or picking up your children from school, the safety of all students and staff must be considered.
Vehicles are stopping in non designated areas such as the front and side of the school, the plaza across the street as
well as the driveways located at the front of the school and the back of the plaza. The students being dropped off in
these areas are at risk of being hurt when crossing without the aid of the crossing guard. Please use the Kiss and Ride
area located in the Church parking lot if you are driving your children to school. If you walk them to school, please
cross with the crossing guard. Thank you for your consideration and co-operation with this important manner.

Send lunch with your child in the morning to limit traffic in through the front door at lunch time. If you are bringing a
lunch for your child either because they have forgotten it or as a treat, we have provided a table in the foyer for you
to leave the lunch. It is not necessary for you to wait. Your child is instructed to pick up his/her lunch at 12:00. This
will help us keep all the children safe as well as limiting the congestion and noise in the school front hall. During the
lunch hour, all students who stay for lunch, and those who go home for lunch, are expected to follow the same routine
every day. Consistency in this routine will help to ensure the safety of students. If there is a change in the routine, parents are asked to send the teacher a dated and signed note explaining the change.
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SCHOOL ACCESS PROTOCOL: School front doors locked—Visitors may gain entrance to the school by pressing a buzzer
mounted on the wall outside the building, beside the front door. Your co-operation and understanding will help us to
manage instructional time and safety for your children. We respectfully request that you limit your visits to the school
during daytime as much as possible in order to protect instructional time and reduce interruptions to the classrooms.
A reminder also to Kindergarten parents that once the Kindergarten door is closed you are late and must report to
the office. You cannot enter the building with the Intermediate students.

Traffic Safety / Crossing Guard
For the safety of the children, please ensure that your children cross at the appropriate intersection and adhere to all
crossing guard directions. The City of Mississauga provides a crossing guard to assist students to cross safely to the
school.
Peanut and Other Life Threatening Allergies, Sabrina’s Law Anaphylaxis Reaction
There are some students in our school with a severe, life-threatening allergy to peanuts and nuts. This is a medical condition that causes severe reaction to certain allergens and can result in death within minutes. We ask that you do not send
food treats to school as well as being mindful to not send lunches or snacks that contain peanuts/nut products. We do not
allow WOW Butter as we cannot verify it from peanut butter. We cannot guarantee that any classroom is nut free, but
we are attempting to minimize the exposure and keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.
School Verification Forms
We thank all the families who completed and returned the Student
Verification Forms promptly. These forms are very important as
they ensure that we always have up-to-date information for your
child. If you hve not already done so, please send this form back to
your child’s teacher. Please check phone numbers, etc. carefully so
we always have the most updated numbers to contact you. Don’t
forget to include your email address if you wish to receive this
email and other communications electronically. Please make sure
you advise the office of any additional changes to contact information etc., throughout the year.
Celebrating Birthdays
Celebrating birthdays with friends is important to all. At school we
will be announcing birthdays of students on a daily basis.
Some families choose to have special celebrations and invite friends
to their homes or out to a special location for their birthdays. We do
have some requests from parents to bring birthday treats to share
with their class. Because we have students with life-threatening allergies we do NOT allow food items to be brought to classes. We are
happy to assist in the sharing of NON FOOD treats ONLY.
Our Eco Team is Back Again!
St. Gerard's Eco Team is back for another year. Thank you
to all parents, staff and students for helping us achieve our
Gold status last year for the third year in a row! We are happy to announce that we are eligible to apply for Platinum status this year!
We need your help. Here are some of the intitiaves we will
be taking on weekly:
Tap Water Tuesday: Remember to bring your water bottles
to school
Wasteless Wednesday: All lunch waste will be going
home. For more information on how to pack a wasteless
lunch, please see attached document.
Lights out Lunch: To conserve energy, we will be turning
off the lights on Fridays.
Coming up: Eco Team assembly October 8th
Walk to school challenge in November
Eco Source workshops in November
Keep checking newsletters and the bulletin board in the computer lab for more Eco News and events.
School Newsletters
The school newsletters will keep you appraised of dates
and events occurring during the school year. It is only
one vehicle for providing communication between
home and school. A newsletter will be sent home
monthly with your child as well as being posted each
month on our school website.
Before and After School Programs
Visit www.plasp.com and register your child
online today or call 905-890-1711
PLASP Child Care Services operates Before and After
School Programs for children up to 12 years of age at this
school.
The Before School Program operates from 7:30 a.m. until
school start. A nutritious breakfast is served daily.
The After School Program begins once school is dismissed
and goes until 6:00 p.m. Children participate in recreational
activities, are served a nutritious snack daily and have time
for homework.
After School Program for children in Full Day Kindergarten
PLASP After School Programs, at this school, follow the Kindergarten curriculum based on children learning through
play. Snacks and age appropriate activities are provided
daily.
Fee assistance is available.
PLASP PLAYGROUND SAFETY
The PLASP program has a permit for their before and after
school. During the warm weather, this often involves outdoor play. Please do not interfere with their play areas or
programs. Students and adults are asked to avoid walking
through their playground, riding bikes there, etc…
Thank you for your cooperation.
Criminal Reference Checks—Declaration Forms
Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board has implemented changes to their Criminal Reference Check/
Declaration Form procedures. In keeping with the Safe
Schools Act, all volunteers including those going on one
day school trips, MUST have a Criminal Reference
Check. If you have the time or inclination to be a volunteer, assist with school trips, drive for sports events,
assist with our fundraiser, be an active member of
school council or dealing with children in any capacity,
please contact the office for a criminal reference check
form. Criminal Reference Checks are FREE for volunteers.
If you already have an updated Criminal Reference
Check on file at the school, you must complete an Annual Criminal Offence Declaration Form. Please come
into the school office for this form. Thank you for your
support.
Medications at School
When parents request that medication be stored at
school and made available by school personnel, the parent /guardian is responsible for the completion of a
Storage and Distribution of Medication Form. These
forms can be obtained from the school office and must
be completed by both the parent and the physician.
The completed form is placed on file at the office. Medication is stored, after consultation with parents, and
made available to students under the supervision of
school personnel. To ensure the safety of all students,
please do not send medication to school, unless arrangements have been made with the Principal in advance.
recognition of the potential danger of any injury involving the
head area. Our intent is not to alarm you, but to keep you
informed. Please remind your child to let a staff member
know if they bump their head or if they get hurt at school.
See attched brochure for your information.
Students may choose to wear a costume or wear orange
and Black to school on Friday October 30th. There are
some requirements that must be followed by all:
 SAFETY is the first consideration. Students must be
able to participate in all regular activities including
recess in their costumes.
 Costumes can be worn to school. Students will not
Medical Alerts
have an opportunity to change at school.
If your child has a severe allergic reaction to peanuts,
 No masks may be worn
peanut by-products, bee/wasp stings etc., please call
the school as soon as possible. There are medical forms  No props should be brought to school
 Costume theme must be non-violent and nonthat will need to be filled out. It is important that the
threatening
information you provide us with is accurate and up to
date. Our school is part of the Medic Alert program that  The school cannot assume any responsibility for
wear and tear on a costume.
will provide free Medic Alert bracelets for kids.
Fire Drill / Lockdown Procedures
In accordance with Ministry regulations, three fire drills
will be conducted in the fall and three in the spring per
school year. While we hope that a real fire situation
never arises, this practice helps prepare students in the
event of a real fire. In addition, our School Board has
established lockdown procedures should a high risk incident involving weapons occur in the school, or on
school property, that could endanger the lives and safety of students and staff. We will practice the Emergency
Lockdown Procedure with students two times during
the school year and review it periodically.

Please DO NOT send treats for your child to share
Pupil Accommodation Review Policy Public Consultation
The Ministry of Education released the new Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (PARG) in March 2015.
This guideline sets expectations for all school boards on
managing and reviewing underutilized school space, including potential school closures, and for the greater
coordination and sharing of planning related information between school boards and other community
Bikes, Skateboards, Rollerblades & Scooters
Students who ride bicycles to school are reminded that partners.
The guideline requires all schools boards in the Province
once they are on school property, bicycles are to be
walked to the bike rack, locked up and are not touched to develop or review Pupil Accommodation Review Policies and to invite public input into the policy before it is
until dismissal time. Please keep in mind that the
locked bicycles are not supervised and leaving them on finalized.
A survey to collect feedback on Dufferin Peel Catholic
the school grounds you do so at your own risk.
Skateboards, scooters and rollerblades are not allowed District School Board’s draft amended Policy 6.51 Pupil
Accommodation review will be available for review and
at school.
comment on the Board’s website at www.dpcdsb.org
until 4:30 pm on Friday, October 16, 2015. Supporting
Reporting Head injuries
documents will also be available for reference and reEven when it may appear to be insignificant, we inform
parents of all reported head injuries at school. We do this in view. Please consider reviewing and providing input on
this policy.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will hold a series of public information sessions for Grade 8 students and their parents/guardians interested in enrolling in a Dufferin-Peel Catholic secondary school for the
2016-17 school year.
“Our secondary information sessions are intended to provide parents and guardians with an overview of the programs and services
offered at Dufferin-Peel secondary schools,” said Joanna Boudreau, Principal of Secondary Program and Student Success. “These sessions
also provide Grade 8 students with an opportunity to tour the school and talk to current students about the transition into high school.”
Currently, Dufferin-Peel operates 26 Catholic secondary schools in Mississauga, Brampton, Bolton and Caledon. These schools continue to
be recognized among the top performing schools in the province each year. With over 49 Specialist High Skills Major programs, three regional Arts Programs, one regional Sports Program, two International Baccalaureate Programs, two regional Advanced Placement programs, Extended French and Career Path programs, and the only publically funded All-Girls secondary school in the region, Dufferin-Peel
Catholic schools offer students a variety of learning options to suit their individual education goals.
The LUNCH LADY
We are offering students an opportunity to have a hot lunch which is brought in by the Lunch Lady.
Lunches will be brought in on Wednesdays. The Lunch Lady has provided hot lunches to children
across the country. The service is affordable and healthy and you can pre-order lunches for up to
three months at a time. If you need to cancel for a specific day, you can just call The Lunch Lady directly by 8:00 a.m. for a credit to use another time. 48 hours notice is appreciated for trips and appointments.
(Sorry, no refunds—credits only). Uncollected lunches are NOT left at school.
Soon you will receive a paper menu with dates, prices, and instruction for ordering. Once you receive your menu,
ordering online is available to you at www.thelunchlady.ca and all inquires are to be made directly to the Lunch
Lady.
TERRY FOX FUNDRAISER FOR CANCER RESEARCH:
Thank you to all who participated in the Terry Fox walk by either donating money, buying raffle
tickets and encouraging your child to wear red and white! Thank you to our students (and a few
graduates) for their great sales expertise on the night of Open House. We raised $581.65 in ticket
sales and donations of a toonie for Terry. Justin won this year's Terry fox T-shirt. Congratulations.
Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful day for our walk. This year we received giant stickers that said "I run for _____" so many students set their intentions before the walk, which was a
thoughtful touch.
Thank you once again from the Terry Fox Committee.
School Council Information
We would like to thank all those who put their names forward for Council this year. We did not
need to hold an election as the number of nominations did not exceed the number of members
we are allowed.
Our first Council Meeting will be on Monday October 19 at 6:30. All members of our parent community are welcome to attend School Council meetings and volunteers are always welcome.
Please note that all Council members and volunteers must have a valid Criminal Reference
Check.
SHARELIFE
Staff have contributed funds to ShareLife in order to “dress down” on Fridays. Thank you to staff for their generous
donation to ShareLife.
CONFIRMATION – GRADE 7 & 8 STUDENTS
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated by students in both grade 7 and 8 this year. The Rite of Enrolment for these students will take place on the following dates:
October 24th at 5:00 p.m. Mass
October 25th at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Mass
October 31st at 5:00 p.m. Mass
November 1st at 8:00,10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m
November 7th at 5:00 p.m. Mass
November 8th at 8:00,10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m
You must attend one of these masses to be enrolled in the Sacrament.
WORLD TEACHERS’ APPRECIATION DAY
On Monday Oct. 5, we celebrate UNESCO World Teacher’s Day along with over 100 countries across the globe.
Teachers influence and touch lives. They lead students on their faith journey, influence career and life choices, and
work hard to teach the skills needed to participate and compete in the world. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to
the teachers of St. Gerard School for their commitment to Catholic education and for the outstanding work they do
with students daily.
Food Drive
t is time once again for the St. Gerard School community to think of how we can help others. We have been asked
by “Eden Food for Change” to assist them in collecting food for their food bank. Our school goal is to fill at least 4
blue recycle bins. If we reach or exceed our goal, the students will be rewarded with an additional 15 minutes of
recess time!
Starting next Wednesday, October 14, 2015, Ms. Connor’s and Mrs. Mistruzzi Canning’s classes will collect nonperishable food items until Wednesday, October 21, 2015. Items most needed include:
Canned vegetables
Large cans of juice
Tetra packs of juice
Oatmeal
Cake and cookie baking mixes
Please kindly send non-perishable food items with your child to school to help others in need. Thank you for your
generous support. All food donations are greatly appreciated. We’re looking forward to that extra 15 minutes of
recess time!
Sincerely,
Ms. Connor and Mrs. Mistruz-
zi Canning