NEWSLETTER
September 2011
Principal
T. Cruz
Vice Principal
D. Carpe
Secretaries
S. Droy
J. Harvey
Superintendent
Mississauga North
D. Oude-Reimerink
Parish
Merciful Redeemer Parish
Phone: 905-812-0030
Pastor
Fr. Vid Vlasic
Associate Pastor
Fr. Robert Mignella
School Council Chair
TBD
School Council Co-Chair
TBD
Trustee
Esther O’Toole
Ward 9
Phone: 905-812-5163
Attendance Verification
Phone: 905-814-9216
Web Site
www.dpcdsb.org/OLMCY
5820 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 5J9
Telephone: (905) 814-9216
Fax: (905) 814-9217
Beginning of School Prayer
Dear Lord
You give us this new school year.
We are excited to be back
With our friends and teachers.
Help us to make the best of a new beginning.
Guide us to make wise decisions and
To do the best that we can.
Help us to make this a happy year.
Let us share with our friends and
make new friends feel welcome.
Principal’s Message
I am very pleased to welcome our entire school
community back for another year. I hope the summer was filled with fun and positive adventures for
all. A very special welcome to the new families who
have joined this community. I would like to extend
a special greeting to our Junior Kindergarten children who are starting school for the first time and
hope that they will develop many happy memories
of our school as they begin this very important
journey. As in the past, we will encourage a cooperative partnership between home, school and
parish to promote positive learning experiences for
our students.
Our Lady of Mercy is an active school that relies on
cooperation and teamwork. We are very blessed
to have a very devoted School Council and Parish
team. Please consider putting in your nomination
to become part of our Council. It is a very important part of the life of our school. Dates for nominations and elections can be found within this
newsletter. Our school website also has a great
deal of information you may find useful and we will
post our newsletters to this website.
If at any point you have questions or concerns that
you would like to discuss with me please simply
call Ms. Droy, our school secretary, and she will be
happy to set up an appointment.
I wish everyone a very successful 2011-2012
school year. Our staff is committed to working with
our parents, parish and community partners as
they support the children in their quest for knowledge and spiritual development. May God bless
each of you.
T. Cruz
Our Lady of Mercy Staff 2011-2012
Grade
Teacher’s Name
JK/SKpm
T. Fang
JK/SKam
J. Adamkowski
Grade 1
C. Loiacono
Grade 1/2
R. Merle
Grade 2
R. Sowinski
Grade 2/3
D. Rodrigues
Grade 3
J. Cahill
Grade 3/4
M. Murphy
Grade 4
P. Fitzgerald
Grade 5
N. Rockarts
Grade 5/6
M. Sherri
Grade 6
K. Karaim-Rudyk
Grade 7
M. Xerri Gagliardi
Grade 7
J. Quintana
Grade 7 /8
J. Guiry
Grade 8
C. Dodaro
Grade 8
C. Roda-Zaffino
EXCEL
L. Austin
EXCEL (CYW) M. Grave
FSL
S. Daley
FSL
D. Guzman
SERT/ESL
T. Hillyer
SERT & PT
H. Maxwell
SERT
T. Fang
SERC
K. Read
Librarian
J. Adamkowski
ERW
I. Chaplia
ERW
B. Banson
ERW
M. Frackowiak
Intervenor
L. Gouveia
Custodian
A. Jones
Head Secretary S. Droy
Secretary
J. Harvey
Vice Principal D. Carpe
Principal
T. Cruz
P.D. Day (Re-organization)
Friday, September 16th, 2011
(No School for Students)
School Operations
SCHOOL HOURS
8:30 Supervision in the yard
8:45
School Entry
10:50 Morning Recess (Grade 1-8)
11:15 Kindergarten Dismissal
11:45 Lunch (Grade 1-8)
12:45 Afternoon Start
2:10
Afternoon Recess
3:15
Dismissal
POLICY AND PROCEDURES
All students are expected to attend school regularly and
punctually. In the event that your child will be late or
absent, please telephone the school before 8:45 a.m. and
12:45 p.m. to inform us of the absence. All students who
arrive after 8:45 a.m. or 12:45 p.m. must obtain a late slip
from the office. This measure is to ensure the safety of
your child. We thank you for your continued support in
following this procedure.
The number to call is: 905-814-9216
Provide the following information:
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Date of absence(s)
Name(s) of student(s)
Communication Updates
Extra-curricular Activities & Excursions
Students will have the opportunity to take field trips and
participate in a number of extra-curricular activities. Permission forms will be sent home to be filled out, signed and
promptly returned to school.
NO STUDENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE
ON A TRIP OR EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY
WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THEIR
PARENT /GUARDIAN.
VERBAL CONSENT OVER THE TELEPHONE WILL
NOT BE ACCEPTED. No exceptions will be allowed.
Teachers give ample notice for trip consent forms.
We encourage parents to support these educational opportunities by volunteering to assist and supervise these excursions. For the safety of your child, excursions lacking appropriate adult supervision will be cancelled.
Pick-Up and Drop-Off Policy
Parents or designated individuals are required to sign children in at the office when bringing them to school late and
must also sign them out at the office when withdrawing
them from school before regular dismissal time.
Parents are requested to provide the classroom teacher with
a note if it is necessary for a child to leave for an appointment. Please meet the child(ren) at the main office and sign
them out. Upon their return, they must report to the office
for an admittance slip.
Name of student’s Teacher(s)
Reason for absence
Date of Return
A Student Verification Form for each child has been sent
home. All sheets (even those which have correct information) should be returned to the appropriate classroom
teacher. If you have not returned yours, please do so as soon
as possible, as this will greatly help us to update our records.
In case of an emergency, we need current phone numbers
and up-to-date information to contact you immediately.
Please add cell phone numbers if available. In addition, any
students leaving or returning to the school due to appointments must be signed out and in at the office.
Visitors & Volunteers
To ensure school security for students and teachers, the
Board policy requires that all visitors (including parents)
and volunteers must report to the office when entering the
school. Please enter through the main doors only. Identification stickers are required to be worn when visitors are in the
school.
Volunteers are welcome and appreciated in the school. If
you wish to volunteer, you must complete a criminal reference check. If you completed a criminal reference check last
year, and submitted a copy to the school, you are requested
to complete an Offence Declaration Form this year. Please
contact the school office for more information.
Lunch Students & Leaving School Grounds
The school lunch hour is 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. When
children stay for lunch, they will eat with their classmates and remain on school property throughout the
lunch period. Supervision is provided by staff and a
lunch supervisor. For safety reasons, students either
stay for lunch or leave for lunch every day. Changes to
this routine are done only with written permission by a
parent/guardian. Students are not allowed to call home
to go out for lunch. The office is very busy at this time
and phones are needed for office communication and
emergency phone calls. Parents accept the responsibility for conduct, safety and the well being of students
when they are given permission to leave school property. We thank you for continuing to support this safety
routine.
Afternoon Recess Change
Due to changes in Ministry Planning time guidelines our
Afternoon recess will change by 5 minutes. It will now
run from 2:10-2:25pm.
Virtue of the Month
Safety Procedures
Beginning and Dismissal of School
1. Kiss and Ride Program
Our Virtue for September….Faith
To begin the new school year, we’ll focus our attention on the
first of our virtues – faith.
Faith is the great virtue of believing in God and trusting that
God is with us.
A faithful person believes that we are created, guided by and
destined to be reunited with God.
A faithful person believes that God’s plan for us includes the
right to be safe, especially at school.
A Faithful person…
Prays regularly and reverently
Learns from Scripture stories
Honours people’s God-given names
Assumes that there is good in everyone
Accepts the God-given worth of themselves and others
Gracious and merciful God of all creation,
You have loved us since before we were born.
From our mothers’ wombs to our eternal place in heaven
You have given us the gifts to live and grow in safety.
We come to You now asking for the grace and strength
to follow Your plan and to form a safe, caring, inclusive
Community here at
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic
School.
May our faith in You and Your plan lead
us to know and feel Your presence among
us.
We ask this in name of Jesus, Your Son,
who lived to show us Your way.
Amen.
Vehicles entering school property from
8:30 to 8:45 a.m. are to use the school’s
Kiss & Ride Program. The program is
supervised by staff and volunteers.
There are two lanes to enter the Kiss and Ride, and then
three that have very specific functions.
The lane on the right and closest to the school is for
buses and emergency vehicles ONLY.
There are two lanes to the left of the cement barrier that
serve different purposes. The right Kiss and Ride lane is to
be used for dropping children off at the Drop Off Point.
This drop off point is approximately half of the lane or the
first five vehicles at the front of the Kiss and Ride lane.
Please DO NOT let children leave the car anywhere before
that point. You are definitely putting them in serious danger
of possibly being struck by a vehicle. Children should be
prepared with their bags to exit the vehicle on the passenger
side only. Never exit a vehicle from the driver’s side. Drivers should remain in their vehicles at all times, and a Kiss
and Ride supervisor will assist them to exit the vehicle.
Once your child(ren) has been dropped off, you can access
the left ‘drive through’ lane and ‘slowly ‘ exit the Kiss and
Ride. There is a serious issue with vehicles travelling too
fast through this lane, either to get to the front of the line or
to exit. You will not be able to stop in time when a child
comes out between cars.
When entering or exiting, be VERY mindful of pedestrian
traffic. Cars travelling southbound on Glen Erin and turning
into the driveway often run the red light, and pull in quickly.
There is a cross walk on the south side of the driveway.
Many children from both schools utilize the crosswalk. You
must be vigilant. Pedestrians always have the right of
way .
Thank you for co-operation!
Remember - SAFETY FIRST!!!
2. Supervision in School Yard
Staff are on duty for 15 minutes before the start of the
school day and throughout the 40 minutes lunch recess.
Therefore, you may safely leave your child in the school
yard upon arrival in the morning or returning to the school
after lunch.
3. Picking Up Students at Dismissal
At the end of the school day, parents, babysitters, older siblings are to meet students outside (Grades 1-8) at the side or
back doors. The front area and doors of the school are only
for Kindergarten parents, staff and bus students. Parents
picking up their children by car at the end of the school day,
can only stop in lane 2 of the Kiss & Ride Lane and must
stay in their vehicles.
Health
Medication
On occasion, the school is asked to store
and/or give medication to students. A
completed form must accompany each
request for medication to be stored and
given out by the school personnel. Ask
the Office to supply you with the appropriate forms.
Medical Alerts and Anaphylaxis forms were sent home at
the end of June to facilitate doctor’s appointments and
time to complete documentation. This is necessary to
update files and inform staff of concerns.
Peanut Awareness & Other Allergens
We have a number of children in our school who have
severe life threatening allergic reaction to peanuts, peanut
butter, peanut oils and any peanut by-products, as well as
dairy, egg, shrimp and nuts.
Other life threatening allergens may include allergies to
flour products, sesame seeds and types of seafood if ingested by the student.
* Please refer to the Allergen Awareness letter sent
home on the first day of school and an additional letter
specific to each class if it is necessary. Additional information on anaphylaxis can be found on our school website.
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE
As required by the Education Act and the Ministry of
Education, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board annually provides parents with information about
cost-effective student accident insurance coverage via
student courier. Although enrolment is voluntary, the
board encourages parents to take advantage of the inexpensive insurance coverage, especially if their child/
children participate in sports, excursions/field trips, or, if
parents do not have dental insurance coverage.
Enrolment is required in writing -- there are two options
for enrolment:
1) Complete the traditional form and mail it in
2) Photocopy the form and fax it to Reliable Life at 1-905
-522-7211 or 1-800-463-KIDS (5437).
Parents alone have the right to insure their children.
School Council Elections and Nomination Forms
If you are interested in an elected position on School
Council, please pick up a self-nomination form at the
office or send a note in with your child. Please ensure
that you fill out your self-nomination form and return it
to the office by September 23th. Elections will take
place before the first School Council meeting on Thursday, October 6th 2011.
MedicAlert’s No Child Without Program is at Our
School
The No Child Without program offers a free MedicAlert
membership to students who attend our school and are between the ages of 4 up to their 14th birthday. If your child
has a medical condition, allergy or is required to take medication on a regular basis then you should consider a MedicAlert membership through this program. MedicAlert is
your child’s voice in an emergency,
MedicAlert membership;
Gives emergency first responders immediate access to a
your child’s medical information on their MedicAlert
bracelet or necklet
Enables first responders to quickly obtain up to date medical information by means of the child’s Electronic Health
Record through the 24 Hour Emergency Hotline.
Communicates with the parent or emergency contact upon
activation of the Hotline
Allows free updates of the child’s medical record as needed
MedicAlert identification can alert school staff, friends,
coaches and others about your child’s medical condition
should an emergency occur.
For further information come to the office for a brochure or
go to www.nochildwithout.ca.
To register your child you will need a No Child Without
brochure from the office.
If your child is already part of the No Child Without program and there have been changes to their medical condition, medications or emergency contact information, call
MedicAlert at 1-866-679-3220 to update your child’s file.
Dates to Remember
September
16
PA Day - Re-organization and
Division Meetings
23
26
School Council Nomination Forms Due
First Communion Parent Meeting. Merciful
Redeemer Parish 7:00pm
Open House 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
28
October
5
6
Confirmation Parent Meeting Merciful
Redeemer Parish 7:30 p.m.
Opening Mass - 9:30 a.m. at the school
6
School Council Meeting and elections
10
6:30 p.m.
Thanksgiving