St. Jerome School
790 Paisley Blvd W.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5C 3P5
Tel (905) 273 3836 Fax (905) 273 9539
Newsletter
November
2012
Mississauga South
Family of Schools
Trustee:
As We Remember
B. Iannicca
905 270 0536
Dear Lord, during the month of November,
may all the saints look after us.
Superintendent:
May we continually strive for peace and righteousness.
May we always have the wisdom to end strife in lands far and near or within our families and
communities. Let us pray for the peacemakers, especially those who suffered and died for the
sake of justice and peace.
C. Saytar
Grant us peace in our time, O Lord.
A. Aquino
Principal:
Amen
H. Secretary:
The Month of Remembrance
November is the month of Remembrance. This time of year centers around two feast days.
November 1st is the feast of All Saints, where we honour the Saints of our church. November 2nd is the feast of All Souls where on this day we spend time reflecting and remembering
those who have passed away.
C. Bowering
Remembrance Day
On November 11th, Canadians all across the country stop and remember the men, women
and children who were killed in wars. There are parades and memorial services. Everybody
stands in silence as they remember the more than 100 00 brave Canadians who were killed.
World War One Armistice was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
That is why November 11th is called Remembrance Day. Every year on November 11th, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served,
and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace. They serve so
that we may live in peace. Please join us in the school gym on November 9th at 10:30 a.m. for
our Remembrance Day Liturgy.
St. Martin of Tours
VIRTUE OF THE MONTH: CONSCIENCE
God helps us to choose to be good people. Conscience is the voice of God within us. Our
conscience reminds us how to act towards other people and how to be good to others.
Sometimes it is hard for us to do the right thing, but we must always remember that the right
thing to do is not always the easy thing to do. At home, please reinforce that a person of
conscience:

Chooses to do the right thing, even when it is hard

Takes time to think and pray before making decisions

Knows that actions and decisions affect all those around us

Thinks of others before themselves
Parish Priests:
Fr. Joyson Pottackal
905 279 5742
Catholic School
Council Chair:
M. Fleese
Web-site:
www.dpcdsb.org/jerom
Faith Life
Grade 2 First Reconciliation
The grade 2 students will be receiving First Reconciliation on
November 24th at 10:30 a.m. at St. Martin of Tours Parish.
Advent Mass
Please join us as we celebrate our Advent mass together on
December 5th at 10:30 a.m. The mass will be at school. It is a
wonderful opportunity to give praise and glory to God as the
community of St. Jerome School. A special thank you to Father
Joyson and the parish team at St. Martin of Tours for their
spiritual guidance and support!
Around the School
Indoor Shoes/Change of Clothes
Please ensure that your child comes to school prepared to go
outside for recess and lunch hour breaks. It is the expectation
that each child comes dressed appropriately to go outside to
enjoy the weather and get some fresh air and exercise. If your
child is prone to getting wet during recess, please send a
change of clothes, especially socks and sweat pants. Please
ensure that your child brings a pair of indoor shoes to school.
Please label the shoes for our primary students. Running shoes
are preferred because they are safe and can also be used for
gym. Please ensure that the shoes have non-marking soles. We
appreciate your continued support!
Students Watching Sporting Events
Reminder that spectators are not allowed at after
school games. Staff are present to coach or referee the
games. No supervision is provided for other spectators.
Only students who are accompanied by their parent(s)
may stay. All other students will be asked to leave.
Kindergarten Registration 2013-2014
Registration for Junior and Senior Kindergarten for the 20132014 school year, will take place at St. Jerome School on the
following days:
Monday, January 28, 2013
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. *
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Friday, February 1, 2013
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information, call the school at 905-273-3836 or visit
www. dpcdsb.org.
Free OnLine Math Tutoring
Have a child in Grade 7 or 8 who doesn’t understand how to add fractions? Or maybe your teenager is struggling with a geometry assignment? Extra help is now available.
Check out Homework Help, where certified Ontario teachers are
online 20 hours a week to provide free math tutoring for the Grade 7
to 10 math students in Dufferin-Peel.
Students can log in Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for oneon-one confidential help. There are interactive discussion rooms for
each grade where they can view to the current lesson, watch tutors
draw on the whiteboard — and then type their own question for onthe-spot help.
To access http://HomeworkHelp.ilc.org, your child will receive a Board
access code, as well as help setting up an account from their teacher at
school.
Other math resources on the website include videos of teachers leading
students through the top 20 most commonly asked math problems,
interactive math tutorials and highlights of best sessions. And all students have a virtual locker, where their work is saved in video format
for viewing anytime.
Dufferin-Peel is one of 15 English-language school boards offering
Homework Help this school year funded by the Ministry of Education.
Studies show that students who like math and have solid math skills are
more likely to succeed in school and later in life.
Homework Help began in 2007-08 at schools in the HamiltonWentworth Catholic District School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth
District School Board. Across Ontario, about 150,000 students will now
have access to the online site.
This website is another addition to the online resources available for
Ontario’s teenagers. Sign in as a guest and see for yourself.
Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers who have some time to share during the
week to assist the students of St. Jerome in the following areas:
All Star Reading
Providing assistance with reading to students (1/2 hour per student/session). Students are seen approximately three times per week
and “coaches” focus on specific strategies that are identified by the coordinator. Each coach receives training prior to the program. We will
contact you with schedule details, including a training time if you are
volunteering as an All Star Reading Coach.
Library
Providing assistance in the library to maintain the collection of books.
If you can spare 1/2 hour or more per week, please contact Mrs. Sisti
with your availability.
Thank you for your consideration!
Kiss ‘N Ride
PLEASE NOTE THAT CARS ARE NOT TO USE
THE BUS LANE AT ANY TIME. Parents are also
asked to use our proper Kiss ‘N Ride lanes and not
to pull into the school lanes.
Parents please do not leave your car unattended in
any of the Kiss ‘N Ride lanes at any point in the
school day, most especially at lunch time. If you
are dropping off a lunch for your child please park
your car in a designated parking spot or on the
street. Please note that if you are using the Kiss ‘N
Ride you should not be getting out of your car to
help a child exit, you should not pop open your
truck to retrieve knapsacks, and all students must
exit from the right passenger side of the car for
their safety. We ask that parents use extra
caution when using our Kiss ‘N Ride lanes in the
winter months. Please drive safely and take your
time. Our focus is always to keep all of our
students safe.
School Yard Safety
Just a reminder that student supervision begins at
9:00; students must not be dropped off at the
school before this time. Please also note that the
Kindergarten gates must be kept closed at all
times!
School Safety
Parents are welcomed to the school throughout the year,
however, for the safety of all children, parents and visitors must
use only the front door for entry and must sign in at the
office and receive a visitor’s sticker each and every time
you visit the building. Visitors are not entitled to go to the
classrooms as this is a disruption to student programming. Since
the hallways are busy during pick up times, siblings and parents
are asked to arrange with your child, a meeting place outside of
the school. Messages and deliveries (keys, lunches, etc.) are
handled through the office. Please remember to most
students in the school, you are a stranger! We also ask
that parents do not enter the schoolyard during school
hours as this is also a safety issue.
PEDs—Personal Electronic Devices/Valuables
Students are asked not to bring to school any valuables, items of
importance, toys, or other items valuable to them. Examples of
these items may include (but not limited to) Game Boys,
expensive sports equipment, cell phones, walkman, CD players,
MP3 players, trading cards, cameras, etc. These items present a
temptation which causes theft to occur and can also be a great
distraction to the learning process. If students choose to bring
these items on school property, the items will be given to the
office and a parent will need to pick them up. The school will not
assume responsibility for the care and loss of these items and we
will not spend precious school time to conduct investigations.
Cell phones, MP3 players, Ipods, digital cameras and all PEDs are
not to be used on school property. It is against School and Board
policy to have these devices on school property or at any school
sanctioned event.
Criminal Reference Check
In compliance with Ministry directives, a Criminal Reference Check is
required if you wish to volunteer your services in the school, transport
students and assist on trips. Copies of the Criminal Reference forms are
available in the office. An annual declaration is required for all valid
Criminal Reference Checks that are on file in the school office. A
Criminal Reference Check will be required this year if you plan to
volunteer for both in school and out of school activities.
Website
Parents are encouraged to visit our website! The
site is
www.dpcdsb.org/jerom. Please take the time to check it out. All
school information and parent information is on the site and updated
regularly. All previous and current newsletters are on the site. Our
web-site is another excellent tool to keep parents connected to what is
happening at school.
Leaving At Lunchtime
Parents please be advised that ALL students must have written
permission from a parent/guardian to leave the school at lunch. Verbal
permission (over the phone) will not be accepted. A signed and dated
note with a parent/guardian signature is required for each occurrence.
The note must come to the office and students are required to sign out
and to sign back in when they return for afternoon classes.
Anaphylaxis Alert
There are several students in our school with a severe life-threatening
food allergy to peanuts and nuts. This is a medical condition that can
result in death within minutes of exposure. Although this may or may
not affect your child’s class directly, please send foods with your child’s
lunch that are free from nuts /nut products. Further to this, as part of
“Sabrina’s Law”, we are no longer permitted to allow treats for sharing
with other students. All of these treats will now be sent back home.
On special occasions (Halloween, Christmas) teachers will advise
students what foods they can bring for their own consumption. To
acknowledge your child’s birthday, if you would like to send something,
items such as pencils or “dollar store treasures” that are not edible
would be appropriate. Thank you for your consideration and cooperation in making our classrooms safer for students.
Recycling/ECO School
At St. Jerome School we encourage you to reduce the amount of
garbage going to landfill sites. We collect recycling materials from
classrooms each week. We want to encourage students to bring litter
less or boomerang lunches and reusable water bottles, as we did last
year! It is very important to us to treat our earth with respect and to
preserve our earth for future generations! Our ECO club is well
underway so please stay tuned for all the exciting initiatives that will
take place this year.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Our next council meeting will be Wednesday, November 7 at
6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
We thank our parent council for sponsoring our first
fundraiser. The order forms were due back to school on
October 15th, 2012 and we are now awaiting delivery of the
products ordered. We thank you for your continued support
and generosity in helping to make our students’ learning
experiences the best that they can be!
Dates to Remember
Mark your Calendar
November 2
Hep B Clinic Grade 7
November 6
Progress Reports go home
November 8
Interview Evening (if requested)
November 9
Remembrance Day Ceremony 10:30
Girls Night Grade 7 and 8
Phone Calls
The office often gets requests from students to make phone
calls home to ask parents to bring forgotten items such as
running shoes, textbooks or homework. We are reinforcing
with students that it is their responsibility to bring all
necessary items to school and to arrange in advance their out
of school activities. Students will not be given permission to
make such calls. Also, please make after school arrangements
with your children prior to school. We make every attempt
to minimize interruptions to classes.
Textbook Policy
Textbooks/Library books are the property of the school and
are loaned out to students with the expectation that they will
be returned in good condition. The teachers keep record of
each textbook that students are given. Cost will be incurred
by students if books are lost or not returned in good
condition.
Cold Weather
With the arrival of colder weather, students are reminded to
dress appropriately (hats, mitts, boots, etc.) and to wear all
clothing that they came to school in when they go out for
recess. During the winter season it is generally accepted in
Dufferin—Peel that when the wind chill factor drops below –
25 C, students should not go outside for recess.
Pizza Program
Please support our pizza days. Order forms from October to
December have been sent home. We thank all of the families
that returned their pre-payment order forms. We will be
running pizza days every Thursday. Please note that no pizza
slices will be available for sale on Thursdays, we will only be
accepting pre-paid orders. We thank you for supporting this
school fundraiser this year!
Cross Country
We thank Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Van De Wiele-Kimura who
have been working very hard with the students training for
cross country. We congratulate the cross country team
members for their effort and enthusiasm. The team members
are: Cristina B., Brianna B., Scott C., Luca C., Lara F., Kaitlyn
H., Matthew L., Vivian L., Mathew M., Eamon M., Jakub M.,
Dante N., Serena N., Mathew S., Philip S., Elexis S., Zoe S.,
Wojtek S., Daniel S., Alexander T., Veronika V., Dylan W.,
Konrad W.
November 14
Youth Faith Ambassador Rally
November 16
PA Day. No school.
November 21
Intermediate Remembrance
Presentation 6:30 p.m.
November 24
Grade 2 Reconciliation 10:30 a.m.
December 5
Advent Mass 10:30 a.m.
(note time change for the mass)
December 6
Grade 8 Information Night at St. Martin
PA Days:
Nov 16, Jan 21, Feb 8, May 13, June 7
Christmas Break:
Monday, Dec. 24 to Friday, January 4, 2013
March Break:
Monday, March 11 to Friday, March 15, 2013 inclusive
Extended French Information Night
Grade 4 parent(s)/ guardian(s), who wish to enroll their child in a
Grade 5 Extended French class for September, 2013 are invited
to attend an information meeting at:
School: St. Philip
Address: 345 Fairview Road West
Date: January 16, 2013
Time: 7:00 p.m.
At the present time, the above mentioned school is the designated centre for our area. Applications will be accepted at that
centre until 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 6th, 2013.
Iona Arts Parent Information Night
On Thursday, November 15, 2012 Iona Catholic Secondary
School is hosting its annual Information Night from 6:30 p.m. to
8:00 p.m. Parents will learn about the Arts programs in Drama,
Dance, Music, Visual Arts and Voice. Students and parents will
have the opportunity to speak to the Arts teachers as well as
current students in the program. There will also be school tours .
The information session will run from 6:30 to 7:15 followed by a
showcase from 7:15 to 8:30. The school is located at 2170 South
Sheridan Way. For more information parents are asked to contact Alice Howell at 905-823-0136, extension 65142.
Grade 8 Information Night at St. Martin
The grade 8 parent/guardian information night will take place at
St. Martin Secondary School on Wednesday, December 6th, 2012
starting at 6:30 p.m. The school is located at 2470 Rosemary
Drive. For further information please call St. Martin at 905-2793171.