ST. JEAN BRÉBEUF CATHOLIC SCHOOL 63 Glenforest Road Brampton, ON L6S 1L8 Phone (905) 791-8529 September 2015 Newsletter #1 SEPTEMBER PRAYER God of love, We begin this school year filled with hope for all these days will bring. There are some changes that will challenge us to grow and new classmates that will quickly become new friends. Help us to say words to others that give peace. Help us to show love through all of our actions. Help us to be children who pray each day. Faithful God, be with us as we create a new community in our classrooms. Be with us in the happiness and joy we will share with each other. Guide us in the challenging and hard days throughout the year. Be with us as we participate in the fun of learning, as well as the hard work of doing our unique part. Jesus, our close friend, thank you for calling each of us by name and bringing us together again. Thank you for our teachers who work hard to help us enjoy school. May this first week of school be a welcome beginning of the many wonderful things God has to share with us. May we always feel safe, included and loved as we walk together each day of this school year. Amen. OPEN HOUSE Open House will take place on Thursday, September 24 between 6 :00 and 7:15. pm. This is a good opportunity to meet your children’s new teachers. We look forward to seeing you all then. P I C T U R E D A Y School photos will be taken on Wednesday, September 23. Picture retakes will be done on Thursday, November 5. Dress your best and wear your smile! FAX (905) 791-6468 Principal Michael Araman ~ To begin the new school year, we will focus our attention on the first of our ten 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. Secretary Marilyn Kelly-Bernard ~ Superintendent Denise Oude-Reimerink ~ SCHOOL HOURS Trustee Shawn Xaviour ~ School begins A.M. Recess Lunch Hour Outside recess Students eat lunch in their classroom P.M. Recess DISMISSAL 9:15 a.m. 11:05 am to 11:20 am 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm 12:00 pm to 12:40 pm 12:40 pm to 1:00 pm 2:25 pm to 2:40 pm 3:45 p.m. SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING Thursday, Sept.30 7:00 pm in the Library. All Welcome Parish Pastor Father J. Pham Associate Pastor Father M. Zacharias Visit our School Website: www.dpcdsb.org/jbreb Page 2 Newsletter #1 STUDENT AGENDAS We have provided every student from grade 1 to grade 8 with an agenda for this school year. Please ensure that you take note of your child’s student agenda as it contains the school Code of Behaviour, the Dufferin Peel Homework Policy, and serves as an invaluable tool to assist them with homework planning. The agenda is also a daily means of communication between teachers and parents and a way to assure that homework is being completed each night. VOLUNTEERS/EXCURSION SUPERVISORS NEEDED We encourage parents to volunteer their time if possible at St. Jean Brébeuf School. We value your talents, experience, knowledge and skills. This year anyone working in our school as a new employee, volunteer or excursion supervisor must have a Criminal Reference Check completed by the Peel Police. Criminal Reference Checks are free of charge for volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering please come into the school and pick up a volunteer Criminal Reference Check form. Thank you to our volunteers for all of your help last year. ALL STAR READING PROGRAM The All Star Reading Program will be implemented again this year. If your have two hours a week for ten weeks to volunteer as an "All Star Reading Coach", we would appreciate your time and efforts. For more information please contact the school and ask for Mrs. Connolly. STUDENT DROP OFF Parents of JK to 8 students are asked to not come past the gate when dropping off children. Teachers are on duty from 9:00 to 9:15 and will supervise your children. Supervision starts at 9:00 a.m. Students should not be dropped off before this time as there is no supervision. LEAVING FOR LUNCH Over the past week we have had several students leaving for lunch with parental permission to go to the local Pizza Pizza. Out of concern for the safety of our students, this is a practice that we do not encourage. There are many older students who frequent Pizza Pizza over the lunch hour. Often there is not enough sitting room for our students and there is no adult supervision. We will be offering pizza lunches at St. Jean Brébeuf in the near future. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. STUDENT SAFETY REMINDERS The safety of our students is always our highest priority. We kindly ask for your help in adhering to the following procedures: Daily attendance and punctuality are very important. If your child is going to be absent from school, or late, please inform the office at 905 – 791 – 8529. All visitors, including parents of JK to grade 8 students, volunteers, board personnel, etc. are requested to enter the building through the front door, by ringing the doorbell and then going directly to the office to sign in. During the lunch hour, all students who stay for lunch are expected to remain at school, and all students who go home for lunch are expected to go home every day. If there is a change in the regular lunch hour procedure for your child, parent/guardians are asked to provide the teacher with a note explaining the change. When delivering your child’s lunch to school please advise your child in advance you will be doing so, and write his/her name and teacher’s name on the bag. Your child can come down at 12:40 p.m. to pick it up from the lunch table. The lunch table is located in the hallway, outside the Library. We would greatly appreciate your co-operation in this matter. Our school driveway is a matter of great concern in regards to the safety of our students. Therefore, we strongly urge you to use the Kiss and Ride lane to drop off or pick up your child. Kindly assist us in reminding children to use the walkways to enter upon and exit off of school property. Parents/guardians of Kindergarten students are invited to escort their children to the Kindergarten yard. Supervision of students begins at 9:00 a.m. Please remember that animals are not permitted on school property. When it is necessary for your child to leave school early, please send a note to your child’s teacher advising him/ her of the time that you will be picking your child up. Your child will be asked to meet you in the office at the indicated time. When dropping off or picking up students during school hours, please go to the office to sign your child in or out. BUSSING REMINDERS Students who are eligible to take the school bus should be waiting at bus stops at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled bus arrival time. Kindergarten and Grade 1 students must be met at the bus stop by a parent/guardian. Children who do not see a parent or babysitter will remain on the bus and will be returned to the school to be picked up there by the parent/babysitter. Kindergarten and Grade 1 students must have their red bus tag attached to the outside of their knapsack at all times. Should your child lose his/her tag please let their teacher know so that it can be replaced. Gr. 2-8 bus students have been given an orange bus card. They have been asked to keep this card in the pocket of their agenda or in the pocket of their knapsack. The card should not be attached to the outside of their knapsack. Students who must cross the road at their stop should Newsletter #1 wait on their side of the road until the bus has stopped, students should look both ways and wait for the driver’s signal before stepping onto the road. The conduct of individual students on the bus directly affects their safety and those of their classmates. When improper conduct is reported on the first occasion, school administration shall speak to the student. On the second occasion, a letter and/or phone call will be made to the parent/guardian. Subsequent reports of improper conduct may result in the restriction of bus privileges. Severe misconduct may result in the removal of bus privileges. BUS COURTESY SEAT POLICY Our Transportation Department provides bussing for students to his/her home school as follows: 1.0 kilometer Kindergarten and Grade 1 1.6 kilometers for Grades 2-4 2.0 kilometers for Grades 5-8 3.8 kilometers for Grades 9-12 Students who are not eligible for transportation may request the use of empty seats through an application to the school office. If you would like your child to be considered under the “Courtesy Seat Policy,” please make this request in writing to Mr. Araman as soon as possible. If it is determined that seats are available, they will be assigned at the beginning of October. Please note that courtesy seats for the 2014-2015 school year expired on the last day of school. ALLERGY AWARENESS Life threatening allergies, including anaphylaxis, can pose a very significant risk to student safety, and in June 2005, the Ontario government passed Sabrina’s Law, which addresses issues affecting students with life threatening allergies. St. Jean Brébeuf School is an allergen aware school. There are children in attendance who suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to certain foods, such as peanut and nut products. Exposure to the smallest quantities can cause severe life threatening reactions. As part of our effort to reduce the risk for students with life threatening allergies, the staff members of St. Jean Brébeuf School have been in-serviced in recognizing the signs and symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction and are aware of emergency procedures in dealing with an anaphylactic reaction, which is a severe and life threatening allergic reaction. Please DO NOT send any lunches or snacks that contain peanuts or nuts, which could potentially harm a child. We would like to keep the classrooms allergen free. In an effort to do so, any child that brings a lunch into the classroom that might contain a life threatening allergen will eat their lunch in another location in the school designated for that specific purpose. Please make sure that all of your children’s caregivers are aware of this request. Page 3 CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL Thank you to parents who submitted nominations to be members of the School Council. Our School Council elections will be on Wed., Sept, 24 th between 8:30 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. if they required. Our first council meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. All parents are welcome to attend. ST. JEAN BREBEUF STAFF 2015-2016 1. J. Baiocco 2. V. Theophylactou 3. TBA 4. S. MacDonald 5. J. Mauti 6. R. Griffith 7. K. Boyle 8. A. Srsa 9. J. Catenacci 10. F. Mirza 11. C. Grima 12. S. Faelis 13. C. Scavetta 14. E. Moretto-Howard 15. M. Peresan 16. T. Burns 17. C. D’leema 18. E. Connolly 19. D. Foley 20. G. Romeo 21. TBA 22. L. Galati 23. R. Michaud 24. R. D’Ambrosio 25. K. Matias 26. G. Millar 27. C. Liu 28. M. Hunt 29. T. Birt 30. J. Brown 31. C. Solano 32. A. Patel 33. M. Kelly-Bernard 34. M. Araman JK/SK JK/SK Gr. 1 Gr. 1/2 Gr. 2/3 Gr 3 Gr. 3/4 Gr. 5/6 Gr. 6/7 Gr. 8 Gr. 5 & 6 EF (French) Gr. 5 & 6 EF (English) Gr. 7 EF (French & English) Gr. 8 EF (French) Gr. 8 EF (English) Library/S.E.R.C./P.T. ESL/PT S.E.R.T. Planning Time F.S.L./P.T. Extended French P.T. ERW ERW DECE Child Youth Worker Psychologist Speech & Language Social Worker Head Custodian Evening Custodian Evening Custodian P. L. A. S. P. Head Secretary Principal DPCDSB is now on Twitter! For the latest board news and information, follow us @DPCDSBSchools September 2015 Sun Mon 7 Tue 8 Wed Thu Fri Sat 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 First day of school 13 14 15 P. A. Day— No school for students 20 21 22 School Council Nominations due 4:00 pm 27 28 29 23Picture 24 School Council elections if necessary Open House 6:00—7:15 25 26 Day; First Communion Parent Meeting 7 pm @ St. Anthony Church 30 1 2 3 School Council Meeting at 7:00 pm Upcoming Events: Oct. 6—Opening Mass, 10 am @ school Oct. 7—Confirmation Parent Meeting, 7 pm @ church Oct. 12—Thanksgiving Nov. 3—Hep B, Meningitis-all Grade 7s, HPV Clinic-Grade 8 girls Nov. 5—Picture Retake Day Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28,-Catechism all Gr. 7 & 8 Confirmandi, 6:157:30 pm @ St. Anthony Church Nov. 11—Remembrance Day Nov. 17—Progress Reports sent home Nov. 19—Parent/Teacher Interview Evening Nov. 23—5EF & 6EF to Silvercreek Dec. 2—Advent Confession, 9:45-12 noon, @ school Dec. 18—Last day of classes before Christmas Break Dec. 21-Jan. 1—Christmas Break Jan. 4, 2016—School resumes