Pastoral Plan
2015-2016
PASTORAL PLAN
School Name:
School Mission Statement:
The mission of St. Cecilia School is to provide a strong foundation in our
children’s Catholic educational journey by leading each child on a path of
respect, tolerance and selflessness promoting intellectual, social and emotional
growth.
School Motto: A Vibrant, Caring, Faith Community
Pastoral Plan Links to Strategic Plan/Catholic Board Learning Plan:
 Link: Strategic Plan 2014-2019 Strategic System Plan
 Link: Catholic Board Learning Plan CBLP 2013-2016
Our Parish: St. Anne
Pastor: Rev. James Cherickal
Parish website: www.stanneschurch.ca
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Pastoral Plan
2015-2016
Message from the Pastor:
Dear Parents and Educators, I am quite thrilled with the idea of school Pastoral Plan which
binds our families, schools and parish communities together. May I take this opportunity to
thank all school staff, parish volunteers, our sacramental and youth coordinator Arlene Morgan
and my Associate Father Francesco Marrone, for your dedication and commitment in achieving
this Pastoral Plan and working to bring our faith alive in our children.
May God Bless you all. – Father James Cherickal
Message from the Catholic School Council:
At St. Cecilia we strive to build a strong sense of Catholic community within our school to
benefit our children. Community building must become the heart of any school improvement
effort. Whatever else is involved - improving teaching, relating new forms of governance,
empowering teachers and parents, increasing professionalism, it must rest on a foundation of
our faith and community building. Parents are important in our community and are an integral
part of the Catholic Community at St. Cecilia Catholic School.
Catholic Education Week Theme: Opening the Doors to Mercy
Throughout Catholic Education Week, we ask you to reflect on the significance of Catholic education’s
presence and contribution in our Church, and in our society.
May 1 – 6, 2016 is Catholic Education Week.
During Catholic Education Week we have many events that symbolize the work we do in
Catholic Education every day. This year we have a family engagement night celebrating
diversity, healthy living, the arts and parent engagement. We also celebrate the Crowning of
Mary, celebrating our Mother Mary as a community of faith. We stand up against bullying
by showing solidary with Anti-Bully T-Shirt Day. Finally, classroom teachers work to bring
alive the theme of Catholic Education Week, which is, “Opening Doors Of Mercy,” every day
in their classrooms permeating curriculum delivery and everything we do at St. Cecilia
Catholic School.
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Pastoral Plan
2015-2016
Faith Formation:
Forming ourselves in our Catholic faith is a foundational element in helping each of us
understand and live in the example of Christ.
Faith Related Activities
• Staff faith activities led by Faith Ambassadors
• Staff Liturgies/Reflections during Advent and Lent
• School wide Mass for opening school, Advent, Lent, and Year End
• Choir participating in all masses, strengthening our faith through song
• School Wide Reconciliation
• School wide Remembrance Day Service
• Seder Meal with Grade 8 students
• Rosary Club
• Christmas Concert
• Classroom visits to the school chapel
• Student ambassador lead virtue activities
• Student-led daily prayers during opening exercises
• Daily classroom prayer at the beginning of the day, at lunch and dismissal
• Sacred spaces in each class for individual prayer and as a focus for class celebrations
• Daily Religious Education and Family Life Education
• Informal living and teaching of our faith throughout our day in our treatment/respect of
others
• Celebrating the Virtues program daily with morning prayers and announcements
• School staff meets to plan faith events
• Classroom teachers lead their students in the preparation of Liturgies and Masses
• Staff focus on faith life of the school at monthly staff meetings
• Staff PD opportunities, e.g. “When Faith Meets Pedagogy” conference, Religious Ed inservices
• Brampton North East Family of Schools Faith Ambassador Meetings
• Brampton North East Family of Schools Advent Mass and Reception
• Brampton North East Family of Schools In-School Lenten Retreat
• Brampton North East Family of Schools Lent: “Stations of the Cross”
• Close relationship with St. Anne’s Parish fosters our community of faith
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Pastoral Plan
2015-2016
Sacramental Preparation:
As Catholic we understand sacraments to be "outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace."
Together in partnership with our parish, we support the preparation of God’s children in
receiving the sacraments.
Sacramental celebrations are facilitated by St. Anne’s Parish. Please note that the dates below
were the dates provide by the church. Please speak directly to the church to see which dates
pertain to your child’s sacramental preparation and celebration. St. Anne Church contact
number is 905-453-1303 and their website is located at www.stanneschurch.ca.
Event
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Grade 2
Sept. 15 – 16: PreRegistration (9:30am –
8:30pm, excluding 12:301:30; 4:30-6pm)
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sept. 21 – 24: Parents’
Meeting with Priests (5pm –
8pm)
Oct. 1 - 2: Parents’ Meeting
with Priests (6pm or 7pm)
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Oct. 15: Parents' Meeting
with Priests (7pm) LAST
opportunity for any parents
who missed the First
Communion Registration
Sept. 27- Dec. 13 : Classes
held at St. Anne’s School
(10:30am – 12:30pm)
Jan. 25, 26 : First
Reconciliation Celebration
(7pm)
Feb. 8, 9, 13, 16: Parent
Retreat (7pm- 9pm)
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Grade 7 and 8
Pastoral Plan
Sacrament of First
Communion and First
Reconciliation
Sacrament of Confirmation
2015-2016
Apr. 9, 16, 23 : Holy
Communion Celebrations
(10am, 1:30pm)
Oct. 28 – 30 :
PreRegistration (9:30am –
8:30pm, excluding 12:301:30; 4:30-6pm)
Nov. 3 – 5 :
Parents’
Meeting with Priests (5pm –
8pm)
Nov. 10 – 12:
Parents’
Meeting with Priests (5pm –
8pm)
Jan. 10 – May 1: Classes for
Grade 8’s at St. Anne’s
School (10:30am –
12:30pm)
TBA: Classes for Grade 7’s
held in religion class
Feb 8, 9, 13, 16 : Parent
Retreat (7pm – 9pm)
May 10, 12 : Confirmation
Reconciliation Celebration
(7pm)
May 14 : Rehearsals (11am,
1pm)
May 15 : Confirmation
Celebration (2pm, 6pm)
May 16 - 19 : Confirmation
Celebration (7pm)
May 24 - 26 : Confirmation
Celebration (7pm)
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
Sacrament of Confirmation
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Pastoral Plan
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Liturgical Celebrations:
The Liturgical calendar is marked by the gathering in community to celebrate the Eucharist and
share in prayer.
Celebration
Opening Mass
Remembrance Day
Advent Mass
School Wide Reconciliation
Ash Wednesday Liturgy
Lenten Mass
Holy Thursday Liturgy
Crowning of Mary
Year End Mass
Date
October 14, 2015 1:00 pm
November 11, 2015
December 16, 2015 1:00 pm
November 24, 2015 9:00 am
February 10, 2016
February 17, 2016 1:00 pm
March 24, 2016
May 3, 2016
June 14, 2015 1:00 pm
Social Justice / Outreach Activities / Charities:
Catholic Social Teachings of the Church root our actions in supporting human dignity and the
preferential option of the poor which calls us to serve the most vulnerable in the world.
St. Cecilia School Community actively supports:
• Student led food drive for the Knight’s Table
• St. Anne Parish Emergency Food Assistance Program
• Breakfast club – free breakfast available for all St. Cecilia students
• Charity Fundraisers
• United Way / Share Life
• St. Anne Parish “The Edge” Youth Group
• Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research
• Sick Kids Childhood Leukemia Research
• Community Response Committee-remembrance for
Community members in their time of need and joy
• Christmas Baskets
• Peel Police VS. St. Cecilia Sharelife fundraisers
• Milk Bags Mats for countries in need
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Pastoral Plan
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Recognizing Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations:
Framed by the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations (OCSGE), our graduates will be
effective communicators, reflective thinkers, lifelong learners, collaborative contributors, caring
family members, responsible citizens and discerning believers formed in the Catholic faith
community.
To celebrate the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, we as a school community
make these expectation visible in our offices, hallways and classrooms. We also always use
these expectation as tools to help children grow through progressive discipline practices. We
celebrate when students exhibit themselves as Self-Directed Responsible Life Long Learners,
Discerning Believers, Collaborative Contributors, Effective Communicators, Caring Family
Members, Reflective and Creative Holistic Thinkers and Responsible Citizens.
Further to this as an integral part of our Catholic School Learning Plan, we have purposely
linked our goals of student Inquiry directly to our Ontario Catholic School Graduate
Expectations.
Celebrating Virtues:
A virtue is a habit or established capacity to perform good actions according to a moral
standard. When we practice these virtues we strengthen them and thereby make the presence
of God more and more visible in the world around us.
A virtue is a habit or established capability to perform good actions according to a moral
standard. In other words, a virtue is a habit that shows people and God that we are good
people. Each month we will look at developing one of these virtues:
•FAITH •RESPECT •EMPATHY •KINDNESS •CONSCIENCE •LOVE •HOPE •ACCEPTANCE •SELFCONTROL •FAIRNESS
As a school, we challenge one classroom each month to bring a virtue alive in our school.
This is called “The Virtue Challenge.” We’ll pray about these virtues, we’ll talk about them in
the classroom and we’ll practice them in the hallways and the schoolyard. Our front
showcase always represents of our monthly virtue. We too have a house program where
each of our school houses are named after a virtue. Through the house program all grades
work together living and modeling the virtues. Most importantly, we will make the effort to
treat other students and the adults in our school according to the demands of our virtues.
We will celebrate the progress we make to be a more virtuous Catholic school – a place of
safety, caring and inclusivity for all.
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Pastoral Plan
2015-2016
Visible Signs of our Faith:
Through symbol and service, we are instruments of God’s love whose work within our
communities stands as a witness to our faith.
At St. Cecilia School we have many visible signs of our faith in our classrooms, hallways and
common school areas.
These visible signs include:
•Our chapel as you enter our building
•Display case that brings our virtues to life
•A prayer table in our most visible hallway
•We have scripture quotes on our school walls
•Many pictures that focus on our faith line our hallways
•In our main office we have our picture of Pope Francis and our statue of St. Cecilia
•Our classrooms all have crosses, prayer tables and visible representations of our faith on
classroom walls
•The most important visible sign of our faith you will see when you come to St. Cecilia is
teachers, parents and students working together sharing the light of Christ in all of their
interactions and typifying what it means to let the light of Christ shine through our actions
Resource List for Parents/Guardians:
 Religious Education Curriculum - Ontario Religious Education Curriculum
 Family Life Curriculum - Ontario Family Life Curriculum
 Fully Alive Program information - Ontario Bishops' information on Fully Alive
Resource List for Schools:
Board
 Vocations Units
We have Vocations units as part of the Grades 2, 5, and 8 curriculum. The goal of these
supplementary units is to deepen one’s understanding of God’s call – the “vocare” – to
various forms of life within the Church.
 History of the Parish
Through the resource book Our Story, Our Tradition, Our Journey, grade 7 students have
the opportunity to learn about the history of our parish.
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Pastoral Plan
 Enduring Gift Video
School-Based
• www.stanneschurch.ca

The Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations
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2015-2016