FEB
Principal’s Message
2016
98 Wanita Road
Mississauga ON,
L5G 1B8
Phone 905.891.7619
Fax 905.278.6539
Trustees
Mario Pascucci,
Bruno Iannicca,
Sharon Hobin,
Esther O'Toole,
Luz del Rosario,
Anna Abbruscato,
Anna Da Silva,
Thomas Thomas,
Darryl D’Souza,
Frank Di Cosola,
Shawn Xaviour
Superintendent
T. Lariviere
Principal
Brian Diogo
Almighty God, giver of all that is good.
We thank you for the precious gift of human life.
Guide us to respect all life.
Like St. Francis, help us to see the beauty
and
Goodness in all living things.
Help us to imitate your respect for life.
For the life of children,
making us glad with their enthusiasm,
For the life of young people, hoping for a
better world,
For the life of the sick and disabled,
teaching us humility,
For the life of the elderly, witnessing
patience and wisdom.
We thank you Lord.
Like Blessed Mary, may we always say
yes to your gift of life.
May we have respect for all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Secretary
A. Litster
School Council
Co-Chairs
D. Rookwood
J. Richards
Our liturgical Season of Lent begins with our
“Celebration of Ashes” on February 18th and
continues until Easter. During our six week
Lenten journey we recognize and discuss with
our students our human frailties which causes
us to sin. We prepare for the coming of Easter
through reflection, prayer and charity. We respond to Jesus’ call for a “change of heart” by
becoming stronger in our will to say “yes” to
God and “no” to our selfishness. Our school
community will once again continue the important commitment to our Catholic charity of
ShareLife and encourage everyone to support
our activities as best as they can. We look forward to our Lenten journey together, a strengthened and renewed faith in God’s will.
May God Bless You,
B. Diogo
Principal
Amen
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Living Our Faith
2
PYP
2/3/4
MYP
5
School Council
6
Jayhawk News
7/8/9
Take Note & Upcoming Dates
10
P.A. DAY
Friday, February 5th, 2016 is a Pr ofessional
Activity Day for all students. Please note there
will be NO SCHOOL for the students on Friday, February 5th, 2016 as teachers will be
conducting Student Led Conferences.
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2
Living Our Faith
Virtue Corner
FEBRUARY ~ RESPECT
This month we will celebrate the virtue of RESPECT.
A person with respect…





Treats himself/herself and everyone else
with equal consideration and courtesy
Uses a positive tone of voice and body language
Avoids swearing, name-calling, put-downs,
and inappropriate gestures
Says ‘Excuse me’, ‘Please’, ‘Pardon me’
Avoids gossip
PYP
As a Catholic school we emphasize the virtues
program along with the PYP learner attributes
and attitudes. This month will celebrate the virtue of Respect. We invite parents to discuss the
monthly virtue, IB learner profile attribute and
IB attitude of the month, with their child and determine
ways he/she can demonstrate these qualities in their day
to day lives.
God has given us the virtue of friends and companions
to keep us company and to help us out along the way.
Every person in our lives carries the Spirit of God - and
so every person is our brother or sister through Jesus
Christ.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think
about these things. Philippians 4:8
As brothers and sisters who share one Holy Spirit, we
are all valuable to God. We all deserve to be shown
courtesy, consideration, sensitivity and thoughtfulness,
which are different ways of saying respect..
We also align the Catholic Graduate Expectations with
our program’s focus on the development of the student
learner.
That respect should come first and foremost from ourselves and then we will be able to respect others. We
should be able to expect to be treated with respect by
everyone we meet - our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at
respecting ourselves as well as respecting those around
us.
The Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations
Vision of the Learner:
The graduate is expected to be a collaborative contributor
who:
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
ASH WEDNESDAY LITURGY
Please join us for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy to
be held in the gym on
Wednesday, February 10th, 2016 at 10:45 a.m.
All are welcome.
FEBRUARY
2016
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

Works effectively as an interdependent team member.
Develops one's God-given potential and makes a
meaningful contribution to society.
Finds meaning, dignity, fulfillment and vocation in
work which contributes to the common good.
Respects the rights, responsibilities and contributions
of self and others.
PAGE
PYP
The IB Learner Attribute for this month is Principled.
Students will be encouraged to understand that being
principled means listening to the voice inside of them that
tells them right from wrong. Students will learn the importance of being responsible for their own actions and
being honest and fair.
3
PYP
To begin the unit, the students visited The Bradley Museum to learn about the experiences of early settlers at
home. The traveled back in time and explored the daily
life and customs of the Bradley family in the 19th century. The students were able to identify the different
roles and responsibilities of this community and participated in a variety of activities at the museum including
how to bake cookies, patch up clothes, and wrap gifts
with old pieces of cloth.
The IB Attitude for this month is Respect. Students will
be encouraged to respect themselves, others and the
world around them.
To continue the inquiry back at school, the students
collaboratively defined what roles, responsibilities and
rules meant to them. They shared examples of each as
they apply to both the school and home environments
and discussed how they have changed over time. The
students learned how the communities of the past have
influence the way they live today.
Grade 1 Unit of Inquiry
Last month the grade one students used the theme Where
We Are in Place and Time to inquire into orientation in
place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys;
the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
During this unit the students focused on understanding
the central idea that universal human needs shape people’s relationships. The lines of inquiry that were used to
focus the students’ learning and deepen their understanding included:



Different types of relationships
We take care of our needs and the needs of others
How roles can change
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
In order to further develop their understanding of the
central idea, which focused on human relationships, the
students were invited to interview someone in their
family to learn more about the roles and responsibilities
they have at home and/or in the workplace.
The students really enjoyed this task and were excited
to share their videotaped interviews from home with
their peers. Some students even invited their parents to
participate in the Grade 1 Talk Show. During the talk
show, students interviewed their parents and inquired
about their roles and responsibilities at work and at
home. Each episode of the talk show concluded with
questions from the audience. As a result of this experience, the students were able to demonstrate an understanding of how roles change over time, the various
roles and responsibilities of parents and how taking
care of others is an important part of our familial roles.
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PYP
4
PYP
Last month, the grade 3 class also began their unit
of inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme Where
We Are in Place and Time to inquire into the
central idea that human interactions allow us to
make connections and learn from each other. The
lines of inquiry that were used to focus the students’ learning and deepen their understanding included:
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

As a summative task, the students wrote a newspaper article showcasing the person they interviewed.
They also completed family trees to highlight the
important people and relationships in their lives.
The next unit of inquiry for the grade ones will focus
on the central idea of how the arts provide opportunities for self-expression and cultural awareness.
This unit will be studied under the IB transdisciplinary theme of How W e Express Ourselves.
FEBRUARY
2016
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Early settlers use the earth to create communities
Pioneers worked in partnership with the First
Nations people
Compare and contrasts lifestyles then and now
The students in grade 3 also visited The Bradley
Museum at the beginning of this unit inquiry to
learn about the experiences of early settlers. While
there, they learned about the early settler life as
they participated in making traditional Christmas
foods and inquired about how life was different
back then. During this unit the students will learn
about the different communities in earlynineteenth-century Canada and how they influence
the way we live today. They will use the social
studies inquiry process to learn about the different
ways their lives are similar to and different from
the lives of people in the past and about the various challenges faced by people in the past.
PAGE
MYP
5
MYP
February Feature: Arts
Dance:
The IB-MYP classifies the Arts as, “A form of human expression and a unique way of knowing.” Holistic opportunities are at the centre of student experience and opportunities to develop social, emotional, intellectual and personal intelligences are equally
balanced.
MYP Year 1 - 3 students are currently focused in a
Dance Inquiry.
As such, students learn and communicate through
creating, performing and presenting. They are asked
to convey feelings, experiences, ideas and reactions.
This is accomplished through visual works and performing arts (dance, drama and music). Recognition
that the creative process is not linear and that success in any one art form may stem from initial failed
attempts is honoured. Children are encouraged to
work through the creative process with both a creative and critical lens, attempting possible pathways
and solutions before deciding on one that best suits
their skill set.
In each form, students are led through a cycle of
learning, focused on four equally important objectives (see Arts Cycle diagram). These categories
honour curiosity, imagination, courage and determination as necessities of any Ar ts inquir y.
Students began their Dance units of study in January and will continue learning about the art of
dance throughout the month of February. Learning how dancers count music and dance sequences,
along with understanding how beat and rhythm
affect or contribute to the movement will be at the
forefront of the experience. Why? Simply put,
because dancers must understand the music in
which they perform too. It is what helps them remain on time and off of the person’s toes beside
them.
MYP students are very fortunate to be led through
this unit by Mr. Stesky. His
background knowledge and
experience will certainly provide a very rich and dynamic
series of lessons for our most
seasoned dancers and to those
with two left feet.
Together, students will learn the basic steps of a
traditional Ukrainian dance. They will then transfer that knowledge to choreographed sequences
creating a short routine. Partnering and individual
work will be part of the process.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to supply the
beautiful costumes, but we are confident that the
experience will come to life through the spirit of
performance.
Looking forward to
seeing and hearing
about the great accomplishments to
come for all our
MYP students.
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
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6
School Council
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
Please join us for the Catholic School Council
meetings. The meetings are always lively, informative, and very productive! Meetings start at 6:30
p.m. and childcare is provided.
Monday February 8 (please note date change)
Tuesday April 12
Tuesday May 10
School Council
REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT:
The School council will be supporting St. Mary Star
of the Sea in their effort to resettle a Syrian family in
the area. A family with young children has been
identified and is currently going through security
screening. We will share their arrival date when it is
announced, along with a list of remaining household
and personal items that we will be helping to collect
on their behalf. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
CHILDCARE FOR COUNCIL MEETINGS:
Do you know a high school student who loves children? St. James is looking for babysitters to care for
children during the council meetings. This is a great
opportunity to earn volunteer hours, or a small stipend. Please contact the council email for more information.
FAMILY SKATE EVENT:
Our third annual Family event will be held on Sunday, March 20th at Carmen Corbassen Community
Center. We hope you and your family can come out
for an afternoon of skating, crafts, and refreshments.
The event runs from 12:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. More details to follow soon...
NUTRITION GRANTS:
St. James is very fortunate to have been awarded
two grants, each for $1000! The PRO Grant
(Parents Reaching Out) will be used to run a nutritional workshop for parents and is aimed at giving
parents ideas for creative, quick, and healthy breakfast and lunch options for the school week. The
second grant, Metro's Green Apple grant, will focus
on student nutrition workshops and a healthy eating
campaign to help increase fruits and vegetables
consumption. More details on this exciting nutrition program will follow. As always, parent volunteers are important to the success of our initiatives. If you can volunteer some time to help,
please e-mail the school council.
RECENT ITEMS FUNDED:
Busing for school Mass
Hallowe'en Dance costs
2015-2016 School Agendas
Council Meeting Costs
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
STAY IN TOUCH:
For meeting minutes and other council information,
visit us at www.dpcdsb.org/JAMEE/Parents/
We welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. Please e-mail us at stjamesCGLCcouncil@gmail.com.
To stay in touch more informally, please join our
Facebook group. This group only speaks for the parents and not the school. To subscribe, please search
Facebook under: St. James CGLC Parent Council
and click on "join".
PAGE
Jayhawk News
Jayhawk News
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre
St. James Lottery for 2016-2017 Enrolment
Kindergarten to Grade 8 Registration: 2016-17
School Year

Please note the following registration dates for Kindergarten to Grade 8 at St. James Catholic Global Learning
Centre for the 2016-17 school year.

Registration for St. James will take place on February 1,
2016 from 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. and on February 2, 3,
4 and 5 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (To be considered
for any lottery, registrations must be received with
full documentation by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February
5, 2016).


(February 2, from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., has been designated as a snow day for St. James registration.)
The following documents will be needed when registering for all grades:

proof of age (Birth Certificate)

original Roman Catholic baptismal certificate (for
child and/or parent/guardian) or baptismal certificate
from an Eastern Church in full communion with the
Holy See of Rome. If the child has not been baptized,
and the parent/guardian is a baptized Roman Catholic
or is baptized from an Eastern Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome, the parent/
guardian must bring their own baptismal certificate.

updated immunization records

proof of Canadian citizenship (Birth Certificate or
Passport) or Landed Immigrant status

proof of home address (two of the following: property tax bill, current utility bill, real estate document or
Government of Canada issued forms) **A driver’s
license is not an accepted document
Only complete registrations will be accepted. All documentation must be received at
the time of registration.
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
7

The St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre
is an optional program offered at the St. James
School Site.
If we have not exceeded our allotment of student spaces, your registration will be complete
and you will be notified.
If we have exceeded our allotment of student
spaces, we will conduct a LOTTERY on Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the school
gymnasium or library.
If you are not successful in the lottery for
available spaces, your child will be placed on
the waitlist according to the lottery results,
should spaces open up during the 2016-2017
school year.
As a program of choice with limited pupil
places, the Board practice of lottery to determine eligibility will apply should applications
received by the registration deadline exceed
available pupil places. Siblings of students
currently in the program would also be part of
the lottery and are not automatically guaranteed a pupil place to ensure equity of access to
the regional program. A waitlist for the current school year will be maintained should pupil place become available during the year.
Available Spaces for 2016-17
We will have 23 spaces available for JK in September 2016.
Currently all other grades are full and we are
working off our current waitlist until June 30th,
2016. Any registrations received during the period
of February 1st – February 5th will be included in
our 2016-17 lottery being held on Tuesday, February 9th, 2016.
This lottery will create and identify our new 201617 waitlist (replacing the previous year’s waitlist).
PAGE
Jayhawk News
Student-Led Conferences
Thursday, February 4th & Friday. February 5th,
2016
Please be advised that once again every classroom
will hold STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES, r ather than the usual formal parent-teacher interview.
Due to the nature of these conferences, student attendance is essential.
Student led conferences are intended to provide you
with a deeper view into your child’s learning this
term at St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre.
We look forward to partaking in this innovative and
collaborative experience with you and giving our
students at St. James the opportunity to lead their
own learning.
Student-led conferences are a recommended practice
in the IB Programme and a means to communicate
information about assessment. Reporting on assessment is about communicating what students know,
understand and can do. It describes the progress of
the students’ learning, identifies areas for growth,
and contributes to the efficacy of the programme.
The purpose of conferences is to share information
between teachers, students and parents.
Overview of student led conferences from the Ministry of Education:
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/studentled/
overview.shtml
8
Jayhawk News
The Region of Peel Presentations
The Region of Peel visited our school last month with
their Saving Water with Dew Drop presentations for
the primary classes and In-Class Water Story Presentation for the older gr ades. These inter active wor kshops helped students understand the importance of
water in our daily lives, water conservation, the water
cycle, and how water and wastewater are treated in
Peel. The kindergarten and primary students were able
to identify ways we can conserve water and learned
that every drop counts! Thank you to the Region of
Peel for doing such a wonderful job!
National Sweater Day is February 4th
Since 2010, over a million Canadians have participated
in National Sweater Day at their schools, workplaces
and homes. National Sweater Day is a fun way to learn
about the importance of saving energy
and to inspire you to use less heat all
winter. Students at St. James will be invited to wear their “WACKY WOOLIES” on Thur sday, Febr uar y 4th to help
bring awareness to this campaign.
Water Bottle Free Awareness Campaign
Please stay tuned for information about our upcoming
water bottle free awareness campaign as we try to set a
new goal to save as many water bottles as possible next
month using our new water bottle fill station outside
the office.
FAMILY DAY HOLIDAY
MONDAY FEBRUARY 15TH, 2016
NO SCHOOL
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
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Jayhawk News
9
Jayhawk News
Book Fair
Immunization
Our book fair is coming! The book fair will be held
in the library from February 1st to 5th. Please feel
free to come and browse the various items.
Peel Health will be reviewing student immunization records. Children whose records are not complete will be receiving a notice from Peel Health
requesting that immunizations be completed. Suspension from school as required by Peel Health
can result if student immunization is not up to
date. If you receive a notice from Peel Health
please take the time to reply to their request.
Mon.
Tues.
Wed.
Thurs.
Fri.
3:30
2:45
2:30
2:30
3:45
9:15
- 4:15 p.m.
- 3:25 p.m. & 3:45 - 4:45 p.m.
- 3:25 p.m.
- 3:25 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m. & 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
- 10:30 a.m.
Valentine Cake Raffle
We are pleased to announce that St. James School
will be holding a valentine cake raffle on Friday
February 12th. In order to be a success, we ask for
the community to help by donating a cake for this
event. Please remember peanut and nut free only.
Forms will be sent home providing details of the
event. Proceeds will go toward a Heart and Stroke
Foundation donation as well as student activities in
the spring.
Additional Professional Activity Day: Monday,
April 11, 2016
Terms of the recent contract settlement between
the teacher federations and the Ministry of Education included the provision of an additional Professional Activity Day for the 2015-2016 school year
for both elementary and secondary schools.
In the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board, the designated additional Professional
Activity Day has been scheduled for Monday,
April 11, 2016.
Therefore, there will be no classes for either elementary or secondary students on Monday,
April 11, 2016.
Cold Weather Temperatures
Be sure to visit our school website. All newsletters and other
pertinent information are always updated.
http://dpcdsb.org/jamee
St. James is now on Twitter! For the latest news and information, follow us @StJamesDPCDSB
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER
The main risks of exposure to extremely cold
weather for relatively short periods (recess or
lunch periods) is that of frostbite. Someone who is
protected by clothing or is physically active may
be able to withstand exposure to colder temperatures. Therefore, it is recommended that consideration be given to reducing the amount of time outdoors for children (grade 8 and under) when the
temperature is -20 degrees Celsius or colder.
When the temperature or equivalent wind chill temperature is - 25
degrees Celsius or lower children
will be kept indoors.
PAGE
10
Take Note
Take Note
Parents In The Yard
Visitors
For your child’s safety we request that he/she not be on
school property until supervision begins at 8:45 a.m.
Please do not drop your child off at the school prior to
8:45 a.m.
We would also like to remind you that parents should
drop off/pick up their children outside the school gates.
Parents are not permitted to be in the school yard at any
time. Although you may be known to your own child
you are a stranger to the other students in the yard.
Anyone entering the school must come to the office
right away. The school is a very busy place and we
have many visitors/parents dropping in for a variety
of reasons. To ensure we maintain the integrity of
the classroom program by avoiding interruptions, and
for the safety of our students, all visitors must come
to the office. We ask that you also convey this
information to older brothers and sisters of our
students. This way we know that anyone in the halls
or in the school yard an authorized visitor. All
students leaving the school early will be released
through the front office as they must sign out. If
Kiss and Ride
The safety of our students and parents is of great
concern to us here at the school.
Please drive SLOWLY through the Kiss and Ride lane
as well as the drive through lane.
Please do not block the Kiss and Ride zone and areas
that would hinder the movement of cars.
Cars cannot be left in the lanes at any time.
Student Absences/Lates
Please use our 24 hour answering service to inform the
school of late or absent students. We must hear
from a PARENT or GUARDIAN if a
student will be absent, arriving late or
leaving early. Phone 905-891-7619
If a pattern of unexcused lateness or absents
becomes apparent, parents will be contacted by
the school.
your child arrives late we ask you to
NOT accompany them to class.
Snack and Treats for Students
We are asking that all parents please refrain from
bringing in eatable snacks and treats to the
classrooms. Several students in our school suffer
from a severe food allergy to all nuts, peanuts and all
nut products. There is also a Ministry PPM where
the purpose of this memorandum is to set out
nutrition standards for food and beverages in publicly
funded elementary schools in Ontario. For more
information about the new PPM please visit, http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca/extra/eng/ppm/150.html. If
you would still like to do something special for the
classroom, a small non-eatable gift for each student
or perhaps a classroom gift, i.e. board game for
inclement recess, may be a great alternative. Again,
we thank you for your co-operation.
UPCOMING DATES
Feb 10 - Ash Wednesday Liturgy 10:45 a.m.
Feb
1 - 5
Registration Week
Feb 12 - Valentine Cake Raffle
Feb
1 - 5
Book Fair
Feb 15 - Family Day, No School
Feb
5 -
P.A. Day, No School
Feb 22 - Planetarium Presentation
Feb
9 -
Lottery 7:00 p.m.
Feb 25 - FDK Apple Store Trip
Feb
4&5
Student Led Conferences
Feb 26 - FDK Apple Store Trip
Feb 26 - Gr. 1 Dance Workshop
FEBRUARY
2016
NEWSLE TTER