SEPT
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
God of wisdom and might,
we praise you for the wonder of our
being,
for mind, body and spirit.
Be with our children as they begin
a new school year.
Bless them and their teachers and
staff.
Give the strength and grace as their
bodies grow;
wisdom and knowledge to their minds
as they search for understanding;
and peace and zeal to their hearts.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Principal
Amen
Brian Diogo
Secretary
A. Litster
School Council
Co-Chairs
M. Giovanniello
J. McCarthy
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Living Our Faith
2
IB Corner
2/3/4/5
School Council
5
Jayhawk News
6&7
Take Note
8
Upcoming Dates
8
I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing summer and is
rejuvenated and eager to get back to school. I would also
like to take this opportunity to welcome the new students and their families to our school. I’m sure you will
find the entire St. James community; staff, students and
parents to be very welcoming. I look forward to the upcoming school year and working with dedicated staff and
enthusiastic students and parents.
Each school year brings new and wonderful opportunities to make a difference in the lives of your children.
The staff of St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre
remains committed to the education of the whole child;
spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional and physical while
incorporating hands-on active learning in which your
child’s individual needs, strengths and interests will be
addressed.
We also welcome new staff at our school: Ms. Maier (Gr.
5 teacher), Mr. Stesky (Gr. 6 teacher), Mr. Kelenc (Gr. 7/8
teacher), Ms. Tedesco (Planning Time teacher) as well as
Ms. Perreault (Gr. 2/3 teacher) returning for a large part
of the year.
In order to keep you informed of events at the school, a
monthly newsletter will be posted on our school website
at the beginning of each month (www.dpcdsb.org/
jamee). Please ensure to read it for pertinent information regarding your child’s education, IB information,
Catholic School Council updates and other important
school events.
On behalf of the staff, I extend best wishes for an exciting and successful academic school year as we serve
the students in our care. By working together, I am confident that we will be able to provide our students with
the best possible educational opportunities and experiences.
Welcome back!!
B. Diogo
Principal
PAGE
2
Living Our Faith
IB CORNER
Virtue Corner
SEPTEMBER ~ FAITH
This month we will celebrate the virtue of FAITH.
A person with faith…

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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
To begin the new school year, we’ll focus attention
on the first of our virtues - faith. Faith is the great
virtue of
believing in God and trusting that God is with us.
Candidate School status:
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre is a candidate
school* for the Primary Years Programme. This school is
pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are
schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment
to high quality, challenging, international education that
St. James Catholic Global Learning Centre believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer
any of its three academic programmes: the Primary Years
Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP),
or the Diploma Programme (and in addition the IB Career
-related Certificate). Candidate status gives no guarantee
that authorization will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes,
visit http://www.ibo.org
The PYP Process at St. James Catholic
Global Learning Centre
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.
LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
We will notify you as soon as we have our Opening
Mass scheduled. Parents are always welcome to
attend our school celebrations.
SEPTEMBER
2015
NEWSLETTER


Consideration phase (September 2013 – May 2014)
Candidacy phase (May 2014 – current date)
Request for Authorization (April 2015)
 Verification Visit (Fall 2015)
 IB visits the school to verify that the IB’s educational
principles and required standards and practices are in
place
 Visits are typically conducted by two to three experienced IB educators who have been fully trained to be
site visitors
Next phases:
 Authorization
 Schools receive official authorization status as an IB
World School
 Evaluation (every 5 years)
 Ensure that the standards and practices are being
maintained
PAGE
IB Corner
Mission Statement:
We, the inclusive Catholic Community of
St. James, are called and committed to
cultivate an environment where all are
inspired to grow spiritually, intellectually, emotionally and culturally.
We encourage all to become compassionate
life-long learners and active citizens of a diverse global community.
Motto: Creative, Collaborative, Curious and
Compassionate
Creative:
Being a divergent thinker, to demonstrate
their learning.
Collaboration:
Being happy to cooperate and collaborate,
lead and follow depending on the situation.
Curious:
Being curious about learning, the world, its
people and cultures.
Compassion:
Being understanding and empathetic to others around you. Demonstrating Christ’s message of love and open-mindedness about the
opinions of others around us.
What is the Primary Years Programme?
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is the first stage of the
International Baccalaureate programme. It is for students aged
3 to 12 and focuses on the development of the whole child, not
only in the classroom but also in the world outside through
other environments where children learn. It offers a framework
that meets children’s several needs: academic, social, physical,
emotional and cultural.
http://www.ibo.org/pyp/ - The IB Primary Years Programme
video
3
IB Corner
Please take a look our school’s updated Programme of
Inquiry displayed in the front foyer of the building.
Essential Agreements
Classes in a PYP start off every school year by creating
an essential agreement. This means that rather than
teachers imposing rules, everyone works collaboratively to establish an agreement of how the class will function. This process takes into consideration the different
needs and personalities of each student and ensures a
positive and successful learning environment. The classes at St. James CGLC spent the first week of school
creating their own essential agreements. These agreements are a collection of positively framed statements,
written by all group members and agreed upon by all.
The essential elements are a powerful way of bringing
out the best in both individuals and the entire school
community. Each of the classes engage in this collective decision-making process and signed their names
confirming their participation and agreement with the
final product.
September Virtue: Faith
The PYP curriculum is centered around six Units of Inquiry at
each grade level. In order to offer a balanced programme of
units at each grade level, the PYP has identified six transdisciplinary themes representing significance knowledge areas.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen
(Heb. 11:1)
The themes are: Who We Are, Where We Are in Place and
Time, How We Organize Ourselves, How the World Works,
How We Express Ourselves, Sharing the Planet. All of the
Units of Inquiry constitute our school’s Programme of Inquiry
which provides a balanced programme of concepts, knowledge,
skills, attitudes and action.
As a faith community we are discerning believers who
appreciate the wonder and beauty of the world and its
people. God made us to live together as a family community.
SEPTEMBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
PAGE
IB Corner
The Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectations
Vision of the Learner:
The graduate is expected to be a discerning believer formed in
the Catholic Faith community who celebrates the signs and
sacred mystery of God’s presence through word, sacrament,
prayer, forgiveness, reflection and moral living.
IB Learner Profile
4
IB Corner
Each month we will also focus on the development
of Attitudes, an essential element of the PYP
framework. The Attitudes are dispositions, values,
beliefs and feelings towards learnings. This month
we will focus on Appreciation. Students will learn
about appreciating the wonder and beauty of
the world and its people.
The cornerstone of the IB programme is the Learner
Profile. These are the ten most important attributes of
an international person. At. St. James Catholic Global
Learning Centre we want our students to become inquirers, thinkers, communicators, and risk-takers
who are knowledgeable, principled, caring, openminded, balanced and reflective. In all ar eas of the
school, the teachers and staff model these attributes.
The aim of the PYP is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity
and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a
better and more peaceful world.
http://ibo.org/en/benefits/learner-profile/ - IB learner
profile information
This month our school will be focusing on the learner
profile attribute of being Reflective.
Reflective lear ner s give thoughtful consider ation to
their own learning and experience. They know their
own strengths and limitations.
SEPTEMBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
The IB Learner Profile includes a variety of qualities that are important for creating positive and
productive citizens. The IB Learner Profile includes being inquirers, thinkers, communicators,
risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring,
open-minded, well-balanced, and reflective individuals. We want our students to demonstrate
these qualities as they become internationally
minded, faith-filled, life-long learners.
PAGE
5
IB Corner
St. James IB-MYP
School Council
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL (CSC)
The IB-MYP programme’s philosophy stresses the
importance of a providing a rigorous academic program for students aged 11 -16. It emphasizes, with
equal importance, the need for students to develop a
sense of social responsibility and global awareness.
Service to one’s community becomes a task at the
forefront of the program, particularly in the upper
years.
We are excited for the beginning of another great school
year. We look forward to meeting our new St. James
families and reconnecting with our returning ones.
Please join us for our first council meeting of the year
and the council elections: Tuesday, September 22 at 6:30
p.m. Childcare is provided.
WELCOME BACK BBQ ~ Volunteers needed !
Our Welcome Back BBQ will once again be hosted during the Open House event on September 17th. We have a
parent who has graciously volunteered to lead the planning of the BBQ, but we require additional parent volunteers to make it happen. Please e-mail the school council
if you are able to help.
[st.jamescglccouncil@gmail.com]
BECOME A COUNCIL MEMBER!
At St. James, the IB-MYP will be offered as a three
year program, from Grades 6-8. Students can expect to work in collaboration with peers on rich
problem based tasks that foster the development of
their creative and critical mind-sets. Reflecting on
individual strengths and challenges, as well as goal
setting will be inherent in the program. Creating
connections to the Learner Profile Attributes and
Approaches to Learning will too be of the utmost
importance. An IB-MYP goal is for students to develop a deep understanding and awareness of themselves as learners. The challenge is to learn how to
learn, i.e., acquire transferable strategies to aid
them in future studies, life decisions, etc.
The IB-MYP requires its staff to receive specialized
training in his/her teaching area(s). As a result, the
Grades 6-8 students will be involved in a rotary
system.
SEPTEMBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
Ready for a rewarding and impactful role in the school
community? Please consider joining the Catholic School
Council. Nomination forms can be picked up at the
school office. Please return the completed forms by
Tuesday September 22nd, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
ELECTION VOLUNTEERS
In September we will be electing members for the Catholic School Council and will require an election subcommittee to run the nomination process and the elections. Please e-mail the school council if you are able to
help.
[st.jamescglccouncil@gmail.com]
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/
PAGE
Jayhawk News
6
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. Our first pizza day will be Tuesday September 15th. 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, sor r y no cheques.
Volunteers
Volunteers play an important role in our school.
Many activities would not be possible without their
help. Often there are class trips that require parent
volunteers. We would encourage your involvement
and welcome your support. All volunteers must submit a Criminal Reference Check. Forms are available in the office.
Medication
On occasion, the school is asked to store and/or give
medication to students.
1. A completed form must accompany each request
for medication to be stored and given out by the
school personnel. It is the prerogative of the
Principal to decide whether or not medication
will be stored or given out and may establish
such conditions as are deemed necessary regarding any specific request.
2. School personnel will not assume responsibility
for the administration of any medication.
3. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to
monitor the quantity of medication stored by the
school
4. Storage of Medication Forms can be picked up
in the office.
SEPTEMBER
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
Safety:
Bicycles, Skateboards, Scooters, Roller Blades
Students are reminded that bicycles, skateboards and
scooters must be walked on the school property. If
you are wearing roller blades please proceed carefully to the office immediately and change into your
shoes
7
Jayhawk News
Trip Permission Forms
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.
You will find the copies kept under Quick Links –
Trip Permission Forms.
Picture Day
School Access Protocol
We will be holding our picture day on Tuesday
September, 29th, 2015. If for any reason your child
is unable to attend that day, we will be holding picture retakes on Thursday October 29th, 2015.
Terry Fox Walk-A-Thon
Students and staff will be participating in the annual
Terry Fox Walk-a-Thon on Friday October 2nd,
2015. Parents are welcome to participate in the walk
with the students. We hope to
see everyone come out for this
worthy cause.
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
SEPTEMBER
2015
NEWSLETTER
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 new system, please be patient.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to:
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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.
PAGE
8
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
Sept 17 - BBQ Open House
Sept 18 - P.A. Day, No School
Sept 22 - Gr. 5 Trip to Queen’s Park/Toronto City Hall
Sept 29 - Picture Day
SEPTEMBER
2015
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.
P.A. DAY
There will be a P.A. Day on Friday,
September 18th. Please take note that
there will be NO SCHOOL on that
day.
NEWSLETTER