OCT
Principal’s Message
2015
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
Prayer for the Season of
Thanksgiving
Loving God,
All that we have comes from your
goodness
And all the work of those who love us.
Bless us and the food we share
Watch over those who care for us.
Open our eyes to meet the needs of the
poor
During this time of harvest and thanksgiving.
We make this prayer in the name of
Jesus,
Who is Lord forever and forever.
Amen
Brian Diogo
Secretary
A. Litster
School Council
Co-Chairs
D. Rookwood
J. Richards
It’s hard to believe that October is already here.
It seems that we just welcomed everyone back
and yet a full month has past. It has been a very
busy month. I would like to thank you for your
patience, understanding, and support during the
first month of school. Adjusting to a new
school for many of our new families, new
teacher and new routines can be a trying time
for young students (and parents too). We thank
you for working with us to make this transition
as smooth as possible.
As we enter this time of Thanksgiving, we are
once again reminded of how fortunate we are at
St. James School. Our youth faith ambassadors
have started collecting non-perishable food for
the Thanksgiving Food Drive. All food will be
picked up by St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish for
distribution to families within our community
on Thursday, October 8. Thank you for making
this a special Thanksgiving for those in need.
On behalf of the St. James staff I would like to
wish all families a safe and joyous Thanksgiving.
May God Bless You,
B. Diogo
Principal
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Living Our Faith
2
PYP
2/3/4
MYP
Youth Faith
4&5
5
School Council
6
Jayhawk News
7&8
Take Note & Upcoming Dates
9
THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
There will be no school for the students
on Monday October 13th as we celebrate Thanksgiving Monday.
The school will be closed as we all give
thanks for our blessings.
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2
Living Our Faith
PYP
Virtue Corner
OCTOBER ~ EMPATHY
This month we will celebrate the virtue of EMPATHY.
A person with empathy…






Listens attentively
Watches people’s body language
Notices and responds when someone is upset
Can name his/her feelings
Can see a situation from another person’s point of
view
Knows that different people may feel differently
about the same thing
God has given us the ability to form connections with
each other—to live together. Empathy helps us to connect and live together in a safe, caring, inclusive community. We understand empathy to mean the ability to
identify with and feel other people’s concerns. We believe that in a faith community we are nothing without
relationships. Relationships that grow in a spirit of communion– and understanding that we share an identity
based on being created in the image and likeness of God
and being imbued with one Spirit. An empathetic person believes that we all share one Spirit; that we are
many parts of one body because we are all created in the
image and likeness of God.
IB Verification Visit at St. James
As a candidate school, St. James will be having a
team of experienced IB educators coming in for the verification visit. The purpose of the verification visit is verify that the IB’s educational principles and required standards and practices are in place. Our school’s verification
visit will be taking place on Thursday, October 15 and
Friday, October 16.
During their visit, the team of IB educators will be
meeting with the Principal and PYP coordinator, Superintendents from the board, parents, students and teachers.
Following the verification visit, the relevant regional
office will produce a report based on the findings of the
visiting team and the information provided in the A pplication for authorization. In some cases, this report may
identify matters to be addressed, which are issues that
must be dealt with before the school can be authorized as
an IB World School for the programme in question; if
this is the case, the school will be provided with a timeline for addressing these issues and the support to do so.
If the school’s application meets IB requirements and
there are no matters to be addressed, the Director General
will grant the school authorization to teach the relevant
IB programme. With that authorization, the school will
officially become an IB World School for the programme.
http://www.ibo.org/en/become-an-ib-school/timeline-andstages/request-for-authorization/
At Home Connection: How can parents
get involved in their child’s learning?
Opening/Thanksgiving Mass
On Wednesday October 7th we will be celebrating mass
with Fr. Neil McMillan at 10:15 a.m. at St. Mary Star of
the Sea Church. The church is located at
11 Peter St. S., Mississauga.
Parents & families are invited to join us in this special
celebration as we give thanks to God for our many
blessings.
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
Parents are encouraged to become familiar with the central idea or unit of inquiry that their
child is investigating at school. Parents can locate this
information by looking at the class’ website, classroom
newsletter or by looking the school’s Programme of Inquiry posted at the front of the school. Each grade’s current unit of inquiry is highlighted with a blue frame.
PAGE
PYP
3
PYP
The Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations
Parents can engage in the inquiry process at home by asking questions (e.g. What do I want to know about this
topic? What do I already know?), finding resources (e.g.
What kinds of resources might help? Where do I find
them?), interpreting the information together (e.g. Is this
information relevant to the topic? What information supports my answer?), and reporting the findings (e.g. Students can bring in their questions and findings to share
with the class).
Families are also encouraged to complete the Inquiry
Tickets together at home. The Inquiry Tickets provide
parents and children the opportunity to discover new
things about the class’ current unit and to ask questions to
further their understanding. Once the tickets are complete, students will have the opportunity to share their
new findings and questions with their teachers and peers.
As a Catholic school we emphasize the virtues
program along with the IB learner attributes and
attitudes.
Judge your neighbor’s feelings by your
own, and in every matter be thoughtful.
(Sir. 31:15)
We are dedicated to understanding and caring for
the thoughts, emotions and life of our families,
friends and the global community.
This month we celebrate the virtue of Empathy. God
wants us to care about everyone's feelings.
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
Vision of the Learner:
The graduate is expected to be a caring family member
who attends to family, school, parish, and the wider
community.
This month our school will be focusing on the learner
profile attribute: Balanced.
As balanced individuals we understand the importance
of physical and mental balance and personal wellbeing. We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives-intellectual, physical, and
emotional-to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We also recognize our interdependence with other
people and with the world in which we live.
This month we will focus on the attitude of Empathy.
Empathetic individuals imagine themselves in another’s situation in order to understand his or her
reasoning and emotions, so as to be open-minded
and reflective about the perspectives of others. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with
the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.
Grade 1 Unit of Inquiry
Ms. DeMelo’s grade one class has been focusing on the
transdisciplinary theme of Who We Are to inquire into
the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal,
physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human
relationships including families, friends, communities
and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it
means to be human.
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PYP
MYP
During this unit the students have been focusing on understanding the central idea of the discovery of self and
personal characteristics. The lines of inquiry that were
used to focus the students’ learning and deepen their understanding included:

Personal characteristics

My potential

Seeing myself as an IB learner
To begin the unit, students worked together to identify
each other’s unique characteristics and discussed similarities and differences amongst themselves. Throughout the
unit, the students learned about the various learner attributes and attitudes through ongoing discussions and daily
read alouds. The students worked collaboratively and
engaged in role play activities to demonstrate their understanding of the various attitudes. The students became
Attitude Ambassadors as they helped to update our Attitudes display case with pictures of how they can demonstrate the attitudes in action.
I can show empathy.
The grade one class’ next unit of inquiry will focus on the
transdisciplinary theme of How the World W orks.
2015
Middle Years Programme:
October Feature: Sciences
The MYP Science philosophy infuses inquiry, curiosity and ingenuity into the curriculum. The students are engaged in learning through use of research, experimentation, collaboration, and technology. Questions are formulated, and plans to
locate answers are created and executed.
MYP students are asked to develop connections
between course content and everyday life, and create rich understandings of scientific principles. In
doing so, they apply critical and creative thinking
skills to research and design. They also develop a
respect for all aspects of the sciences.
The scientific cycle stems from two main concepts
(as per the diagram), that of inquiring and designing, and evaluating and processing.
I am a confident reader!
They also identified themselves as Attitude Superheroes,
depicting how they can demonstrate a specific attitude
through their actions.
OCTOBER
4
NEWSLETTER
The MYP Year 1 – 3 students (i.e., Grades 6-8) are
all engrossed in their first Science unit. Their curriculum has a sense of uniformity as reflecting on
previous learning and knowledge sets the stage for
deeper and longer lasting learnings. Interdisciplinary ties are very much encouraged throughout the
MYP.
PAGE
5
MYP
Year 1 / Grade 6:
Our Year 1 students are focusing on developing
their understanding of interrelationships through
biodiversity. Their statement of inquiry is:
Biodiversity requires balanced relationships to promote positive globalization and sustainability.
Students’ learning will be focused on the animal
kingdom and the classification of animals. Animal
adaptations within an ecosystem will be exposed
through student questions, research and collaborative sharing.
Year 2 / Grade 7:
Drawing upon their learning from previous grades,
Year 2 students inquire about biotic and abiotic elements that comprise an ecosystem. Their statement
of inquiry is:
Youth Faith
Youth Faith Ambassadors (YFA)
The YFA team is comprised of students from Grades
1 – 8. These students are our faith leaders, coming
together regularly for prayer and spiritual growth.
The children and student advisors make faith a priority in their day, hosting conversations about how
faith can be an internal feeling, as well as how it can
be shared with others. The YFA team strives for
excellence in this latter category. They consistently
take on initiatives that will help the community near
and far.
The first YFA project of the year is our Thanksgiving Food Drive which is running from September
28th - October 5th. We acknowledge that the success of an initiative such as this is rooted in the generosity of our school community. We thank each of
our families for their support!
Human activities and relationships with the environment impact developments in globalization and
sustainability.
Investigation into physical regions found worldwide will lead students to comparing and contrasting elements of an ecosystem.
Year 3: Grade 8
The last year of the MYP has students’ examining
human biology, specifically cell theory, functionality, and the interdependency of systems. Their statement of inquiry is:
Scientific and technological innovation provide opportunities to explore biological functions and relationships.
As the year progresses you can expect our monthly,
“Give Your Change to Make a Change,” Spirit
Day campaign to continue.
Year 3 students will develop their own cell model
sharing accuracy of knowledge of its interior. Organelle’s, cell systems, and the impact of cell research will be investigated.
The YFA’s will also be hosting their annual Candy
Drive following Halloween.
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
Stay tuned for more info.
PAGE
6
School Council
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL (CSC):
As our school population continues to grow, so does the
community served by our Catholic School Council! We
are grateful for the initiative taken by our CSC members
for the 2015-2016 school year:
Joanne Richards – Co-chair
Dwayne Rookwood - Co-chair
Penelope Snowdon - Treasurer
Meredith Erochko - Secretary
Sheila Taylor - Parish Rep
Tess O'Mara - OAPCE rep
Michele DeBoer - Communications Rep
Dwi Hadisunjoto – Community Rep
Grace Siracusa – Community Rep
Mr. Discenza – Co-Teaching Rep
Ms. Perreault – Co-Teaching Rep
Ms. Carreon – Non-Teaching Rep
Mr. Diogo – Principal
JOIN IN:
Stay in touch with Council news… join our e-mail
list! Send an e-mail to stjamesCGLCcouncil@gmail.com with ‘subscribe’ in the subject
heading. Thank you to those who have already signed
up.
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 at all council meetings.
Tuesday Oct 13
Tuesday Nov 10
Tuesday Jan 12
Tuesday Feb 9
Tuesday April 12
Tuesday May 10
OPEN HOUSE BBQ:
Thank you to all who volunteered their time and energy
to help with the Welcome Back BBQ prior to the open
house. It was wonderful to see so many members of the
St. James community getting to know one another and
enjoying the beautiful evening!
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
School Council
FUNDRAISING:
The Catholic School council will soon be launching our major
fundraising effort for the year. We are compiling our list of
goals, the proposed budget, as well as the school’s funding
‘wish list’. A survey will be sent out shortly to obtain input
and feedback from the school community regarding the goals
and program ideas for this year. Stay tuned – we want to hear
from you!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
The CSC is looking for volunteers to help organize and
run our Hallowe’en Dance. Please contact us through the
council email if you are able to help in any way with this
event. Remember, many hands make light work and every contribution is valued.
COMMUNITY SPONSORS:
Thank you to Great Canadian Pizza and Italia Produce for
helping to nourish us at our council meeting in September.
PROGRAMS/ITEMS FUNDED BY CSC SO
FAR:
Using funds put aside from the 2014-15 school year, we
have been able to provide funding for the Student Agendas for the 2015-2016 school year.
LUNCH PROGRAM:
St. James is pleased to offer several convenient, healthconscious options for parents who are looking to purchase lunch/lunch items for their children. The Lunch
Lady will be visiting our school every Monday and
Thursday to provide lots of healthy options for lunches.
Ordering can be done on-line once you register your child
on their website (www.thelunchlady.ca). If you have any
questions about the program, you can contact The Lunch
Lady at 905-569-9036 or malou@thelunchlady.ca.
Monday – The Lunch Lady
Tuesday – Pizza
Wednesday – Sub Day (Details to Come)
Thursday – The Lunch Lady
We welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions.
Please e-mail us at stjamesCGLCcouncil@gmail.com.
For meeting minutes and other council information, visit us
at www.dpcdsb.org/JAMEE/Parents/
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Jayhawk News
7
Jayhawk News
Going On Vacation
Pizza Day
We ask that you please take a moment and send a
note to the office informing us of the dates your
son/daughter will be away. This
will help to cut down on the phone
calls needed to track down the
missing student(s). We thank you
for your help in this matter.
We have restarted our pizza days running every
Tuesday. Pizza slices are $3.00 each. There will
be no preorders going home and the students will
be able to order and pay on the morning of pizza
day. We ask kindly that you make your payment
by cash only, sorry no
cheques.
Sub Lunch Day
We will be implementing a sub lunch day to take
place every Wednesday. We will forward more information as soon as more details are available.
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 partners.
The guideline requires all school boards in the province
to develop or revise Pupil Accommodation Review Policies and to invite public input into the policy before it is
finalized.
A survey to collect feedback on the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s draft amended Policy 6.51
Pupil Accommodation Review will be available for review and comment on the Board’s website at
www.dpcdsb.org until 4:30 pm on Friday, October 16,
2015. Supporting documents will also be available for
reference and review. Please consider reviewing and
providing input on this policy.
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
Changing Weather
Students are asked to ensure that they have a pair
of indoor shoes at school. We ask that children
change their footwear when they come inside in an
effort to keep our classroom floors clean.
Children are expected to participate in recess activities and are reminded to dress for the weather.
Children may also wish to have a change of clothing at school in the event that they get wet while
playing outdoors.
Gym Attire
As many of our St. James students from grade 3-8
are participating in our regular intramurals, athletic
teams, and gym periods, it is important for students to wear appropriate gym attire. Running
shoes, shorts, sweatpants, warm-up pants, t-shirts,
or a hooded sweatshirt are necessary to participate
in gym or any extra-curricular activities. Please
ensure that your child is prepared with their appropriate gym attire prior to their participation in any
physical activity. It is the students responsibility
to bring their gym clothes on the days they are participating in these events
PAGE
Jayhawk News
8
Jayhawk News
Halloween Safety
Trip Permission Forms
It is that time of year when our “little ones” will want to
visit their neighbours for trick or treating. We remind
students and parents of a few safety rules:
For your convenience, we are now providing backup copies of our school event/field trip permission
forms on our website. If your son/daughter has
misplaced a form please proceed to http://
dpcdsb.org/jamee to print and sign a copy to be
submitted.

Choose brightly coloured costumes

Use face paint instead of masks

Plan a safe route with your child

Remind your child of road safety rules

Accompany your children

Remind children not to enter homes

Check the treats before allowing your children to eat
them
Picture Day
If for any reason your child was absent on picture
day, we will be holding picture retakes on Thursday
October 29th, 2015.
You will find the copies kept under Quick Links –
Trip Permission Forms.
School Access Protocol
We would like to remind you that our school uses a
front door speaker/buzzer/video monitoring system.
This access to our school requires a protocol that applies to all visitors, including parents and guardians.
Under the system, visitors may gain entrance by pressing a buzzer mounted on the wall outside the building,
beside the front door. All visitors, including parents/
guardians must check into the office. Please do not go
to the classroom. Access dur ing lunch time may be
delayed depending on the availability of staff who are
required to monitor the system, please be patient.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to:


Terry Fox Walk-A-Thon
Students and staff will be participating in the annual
Terry Fox Walk-a-Thon on Friday October 2nd,
2015 during the afternoon. Parents are welcome to
participate in the walk with the students. We hope to
see everyone come out for this worthy cause.

Arrive at school on time to allow children to
enter with their classmates to avoid front
entry lates.
Send lunch with your child in the morning to
limit traffic in through the front door at lunch
time as office supervision is limited at this
time.
We respectfully request that you limit your visits to the school during the daytime as much as
possible in order to protect the instructional
time and reduce interruptions.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we continue to implement the access
protocol.
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
PAGE
9
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.
UPCOMING DATES
Oct
2 - Terry Fox Walk at 1:15 p.m.
Oct
5 - Gr. 4 Trip to Studio 89
Oct
6 - Dental Screening Gr. JK/SK/2
Oct 12 - Thanksgiving Day, No School
Oct 19 -
Cross Country Meet at Centennial Park
Oct 29 -
Picture Retake Day
OCTOBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
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.
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