February 2016
St. John of the Cross School
3180 Aquitaine Avenue, Mississauga, ON L5N 3S5
Tel. 905-824-3058 Fax 905-824-4413
Website: www.dpcdsb.org/JCROS
LENTEN PRAYER
February Newsletter
DUFFERIN-PEEL CDSB
As we begin this season of lent we
call on you to help us to love you
more and more and to reach out to
others in friendship especially those
who need us most.
May the ashes we receive on our
foreheads remind us of our call to
change our ways by making greater
efforts to show our love for our
families and classmates.
May your spirit give us courage and
strength we need to be people of
faith. This we ask in Jesus’ name
Amen
LENT
What does the word “Lent” mean?
Why have we given this name to the
time of preparation before Easter?
Lent comes from an old word
meaning “springtime”.
During the spring of the year, daylight
increases, trees begin to bud and
flowers start to appear.
The new life that comes to the world
each spring is like the renewal of life
that comes when we pray and try
harder to follow Jesus.
PRINCIPALS MESSAGE
On February 10, 2016, at 10:45
a.m., our Ash Wednesday Liturgy
will be held in our school gym in order to acknowledge the most important time of our Liturgical year,
the beginning of Lent and the Easter
Season.
During the 40 days of Lent, we are
trying to become more aware of the
presence of God in our daily life.
Lent is a journey we make together,
in solidarity with each other. It is a
journey we make daily until we are
ready to “recognize” God as Father
and recognize ourselves as sons
and daughters. During this time of
Lent we try harder to follow Jesus.
We look at ourselves to see how our
relationship with Jesus can become
stronger and more meaningful.
During the Lenten season our students will be involved in several projects. With our Lenten focus on
“doing” rather than “giving up”, it is
my hope that the combined experiences of liturgy, the receiving of ashes and our social justice projects will
help students enhance their personal understanding of the significance
of Lent so that they may truly “live
the gospel”.
St. John of the Cross
School
Principal
D. Scardicchio
Secretary
J. Gillis
School Council Chair
A. Cardamone
Dufferin-Peel CDSB
Personnel
Director of Education
905-890-1221
M. Mazzorato
J. Hrajnik
Associate Director
905-890-1221
Associate Director
S. McWatters 905-890-1221
T. Cruz
Superintendent
905-890-1221
Trustee
E. O’Toole
905-812-5163
School Council News!
WORLD’S FINEST CHOCOLATE
FUNDRAISER
St. John of the Cross School Major Fundraiser!!
World’s Finest Chocolates!!
Our Kick-off Assembly will be held on Thurs., Feb. 4th in the gym.
Product will be sent home during parent/teacher interviews on Thurs.,
Feb. 4th and Friday, Feb. 5th. Any chocolates that are not sent home
during interview times will be sent home with the students at the end of
the day on Monday, Feb. 8th.
Fundraiser Event Dates:
February 4th-February 26th
Funds raised this year will go toward Scientists in the School, Sacramental
Gifts and Celebrations, Student Agendas, Classroom and Instructional
supplies, Dance Maxx, Artists in the School and Play Day as well as various
other activities throughout the year that our School Council supports.
Upcoming Pizza and Sub Dates:
Pizza Days - Feb. 4, 11, 18, & 25, March 3, 10, 24,& 31 and April
7 & 14.
Parish
Sub Days - Feb. 2, 9, 16, 23 and March 1, & 8.
St. John of the Cross Church
Upcoming School Council Meeting
Dates:
6890 Glen Erin Drive
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 2E1
905-821-1331
905-858-8486 Fax
e-mail: stjohnofx@rogers.com
website: www.saintjohnofthecross.com
Pastoral Team
Fr. Joseph Kalluvila, O. Carm.
Fr. Felix Anthony, O. Carm.
Fr. Sebastian Joseph, O. Carm.
Kate Watkiss, Pastoral Associate
Monday, March 7th & Monday, May 16th in the School
Library at 6:30 pm
All parents are invited to attend!
New Director of Education - Marianne Mazzorato
We welcome Marianne Mazzorato as our new Director of Education. Ms. Mazzorato
began her career at Dufferin-Peel in 1983. During her 32 years as an educator, she
has served as Elementary Teacher, Vice-Principal, Principal, Superintendent of
Schools, Superintendent of Program and, for the past two years, as Superintendent of
Early Years, Community Partnerships/Relations. From 2011-2013, she was seconded
to the Education Quality and Assessment Office (EQAO) as Chief Assessment Officer..
Mass Times
Weekends
Sat. 5:00 p.m.
Sun. 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.,
12:00 & 4:00 p.m.
Weekdays
Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m., First
Friday only-no morning mass 7:oo p.m.
Reconciliation
Saturday 4:00- 4:45 pm
EQAO Primary & Junior Assessments for
Grades 3 and 6
The dates for the Primary and Junior Assessments for Grade 3 and
Grade 6 in Reading, Writing and Mathematics are: May 25 – June 8,
2016. Please keep this in mind when booking appointments!
Bus Cancellations & School Closures on Inclement Days:
For information on bus cancellations and school closures please check
the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board website at
www.dpcdsb.org/cec or check the STOPR website at ww.stopr.ca and
press Delays and Cancellations.
Eco Team
Announcement!
Every Wednesday is Waste-free Wednesday
Let’s use recyclable containers for lunch and reduce
our garbage. Therefore, reducing our carbon footprint!
Wednesday, February 3rd, is Winter Walk to School
Day. Let’s give our cars a break and reduce pollution.
We would like to get students to walk to school with
their families. So bundle up and get ready to walk!
Also, on Thursday, February
4, Dufferin-Peel Catholic
schools and board sites will
turn down the heat and put on
a sweater in honour of World
Wildlife
Fund’s
(WWF)
National Sweater Day.
The event is held each year across Canada to raise
awareness about the importance of energy
conservation. According to the WWF, heating makes
up 80% of all energy used in homes and schools across
Canada. If every Canadian home and school turned
down the temperature of their home or school by two
degrees during the winter for four months, that would
save enough energy to close an entire coal-powered
plant.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February is black history month which
coincides very well with our school efforts year to promote a positive understanding of diversity in our community.
Along with classroom activities and a
library display, our school is hosting a special
presentation on Wednesday, February 3rd. Students in grades 2-8 will have the opportunity to
experience and enjoy a presentation on St. Josephine Bakhita. As well, the FDK –Grade 1 students will partake in a hands-on drumming
presentation. During the entire month of February,
students will be involved in various activities that
celebrate diversity. The Kindergartens will be involved in a Cultural Day on February 18th.
F E B R U A R Y 20 1 6
Indoor Shoes!!
We are once again requesting that
your child have a pair of indoor shoes
to be left at school. As you know, it is always important for your child’s health and safety to have
shoes to wear in the classroom and in the halls.
It is imperative that your child has shoes on if an
emergency, such as a fire drill, occurs. There is
no time to stop and put on boots or other footwear.
Report Cards will be sent home on Tuesday, Feb. 2nd.
Parent/Teacher Interviews will take place
on Thurs. Feb. 4th from 3:45-9:00 pm
and Fri., Feb. 5th from 9:oo am -12:00 pm.
Feb. 5th is a P.A. Day - no school for students
Grade 8
Graduation
Photos ~
Will take place on:
Wednesday, February
Provincial Family Day! Monday, Feb. 15th, 2016 24th in the morning.
Enjoy activities with your family!
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. Recently, boards
were directed to schedule this additional Professional Development Day on or before April 15, 2016.
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.
Use of School Phones
Our office is limited in the number of incoming and outgoing calls it can accommodate. Telephone lines need
to be available for emergencies, daily school business and parent calls. Students will only be permitted to use
the school phone in cases of emergency. An emergency is considered to be an illness or injury.
School Yard Safety
In consideration of the safety of the students,
please do not park your vehicle in front of the
school during dismissal time. This causes
unsafe conditions, where students may run
between the parked buses to get to your vehicle.
Parking is available before 3:15pm in the west
parking lot, however, please be advised that
pylons will be placed at the exit in order to deter
anyone from exiting the lot during bus loading
times. Please exercise extreme
caution when leaving the parking
lot and driving through the Kiss
‘n Ride lane. NO vehicles are
allowed to drive or park on the
school playground.
The safety of the students is our highest
priority - please drive safely!
Healthy School Focus
St. John of the Cross continues to participate in the
“Healthy Schools Challenge”. There are a number of
initiatives that support the development of a safe, caring,
inclusive and healthy school community.
Bullying
prevention and positive behavior are promoted through our
Virtues and Steps to Respect Programs. Other activities
include our Eco School activities,
promoting healthy eating and activities
and Virtues discussed in class.
Students and parents are reminded to
pack health snacks and lunches, preferably in
litter less containers.
Our ultimate goal is to make EVERY day an
ACTIVE week and a Healthy Day ! We are pledging to
make our school a healthier environment.
KINDERGARTEN CULTURAL HERITAGE DAY
Our Full Day Kindergarten Students will be celebrating their cultural heritage in class on Thursday February
18, 2016. Their parents will be able to visit our classroom at 10:00—11:30 am for a Trip Around The World.
The Kindergarten Children will be performing a few special selections for parents followed by a multicultural
luncheon.
F E B R U A R Y 20 1 6
BEHAVIOUR IN THE PLAYGROUND!
Students are encouraged to experience their outdoor recess breaks in
an active, enjoyable and safe manner. To ensure that students play
safely we have a couple of very important rules for all students to
follow:
1. “NO CONTACT”
We have a ‘no contact’ rule in the schoolyard. This means that
students are to play games that do not involve physical contact.
Students are reminded that if a game develops where contact
becomes a part of that activity, they are to remove themselves from
that activity and report to the adults on duty.
Bus Safety
Please take some time to review with your
children the importance of playing safely while
waiting for the school bus.
Winter conditions can be hazardous at the bus
stops, especially around snow banks. When
the snow banks are high, the appropriate
location to wait for the bus is where the area
has been shoveled and a pathway exists. Bus
drivers have been instructed to be cautious
about where students are picked up and
dropped off.
2. “SNOW STAYS ON THE GROUND”
Every child in the school is made aware of the importance of this rule
Please ensure that arrangements are made for
in preventing injuries to others. A snowball that hits another and your children to be picked up from their bus
causes injury is viewed very seriously. Students are encouraged to stop.
constructively use snow and build forts, sculptures and so on. Please
review these rules with your children so that together we can create a
schoolyard that is safe for students during the winter months!!
Library News!
This year we will, once again, be participating in the Forest of Reading. This is a literacy initiative created by school and public librarians that expose students from JK- High school to Canadian
books and writers. The intent of these programs is to foster a love of reading and discussions on literacy.
The students in our school in grades K-2 will participate in the Blue Spruce section of the Forest of Reading
Program. The Blue Spruce program brings recently published Canadian children’s picture books to our JK to grade 2
students. This program will run in our library and be led by myself. The students will have the opportunity to have each
story read to them and discuss various literacy components and text features. Our final task will be to have each child
vote on their favorite book from Blue Spruce. This is a wonderful and exciting program that our students in the past
have enjoyed.
Mrs. Lichacz
"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1620)
From Your Student Council ~
During the Valentine season, The St. John of the Cross Christian Student Council is
planning the following activities:
Monday February 8th: PJ
Day
Tuesday February 9th: Mardi Gras Day (Wear Purple and Green and Be Wacky) AND
Valentine Cookie Day (Nut Free-Peanut Free) - $2 (proceeds go to ShareLIfe)
Friday, February 12th: Valentine’s Dance. Each class will be assigned a set time in the gym to ‘dance’
away the day. Students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 5 are asked to bring $2.00 and Grade 6, Grade 7
and 8 students are to bring $3.00 as they will be dancing all afternoon! The theme this year is linked to the
Jubilee of Mercy, “Love One Another As I Have Loved You”.
Friday February 12th: Wear Red, Pink and White
Prayer to St. Valentine
We are thankful for the gift of love,
and for the gift of knowing
that you are watching over us
in everything that we do.
Your power of healing and love for others has shown us
the true meaning of loving others, ourselves and most of all, God.
The first blooms of crocus flowers in spring
symbolize a celebration of new life,
a new beginning and a new person in all of us.
Your continuous blessings of hope, strength, courage and love will
strengthen and enrich our faith in you.
Carry us on your wings of love and sweet flowing grace.
Inspire us to help others and dedicate our lives
into service for others.
Guide us through life and through all obstacles and difficulties.
Let us not be tempted to do things against your will.
Let peace and justice be in our hearts and let helping others be our mission.
This we ask through Jesus Christ’s name.
St. Valentine pray for us.
Amen.
Eco-team Campaign
St. John of the Cross will be getting some TLC!
As an on-going initiative to cut down on our energy usage at St. John of the Cross,
we are starting an Operation TLC campaign. This message will be posted by the
light switches in every classroom. It will remind us to do 3 things before we leave
our rooms. 1. Turn off our computers and smart boards, 2. Turn off the lights when
we leave the room and finally, 3. To close the doors.
Time for some TLC!
Ms. Meany/ Mr. Hogan