May Newsletter
St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic
Elementary School
430 Van Kirk Drive Brampton, ON L7A 0J2
Phone: 905-846-0078 Fax: 905-846-9044
Board website: www.dpcdsb.org
School website: www.dpcdsb.org/bakhi
As some of you may already know, it was announced at the Board meeting on
April 29 that I will be leaving St. Josephine Bakhita at the end of June to
continue my journey at Our Lady of Mercy in Mississauga. As this school year
draws to a close, please know that I am grateful that God has allowed me the
privilege of working with a highly dedicated group of people; amazing students,
staff, volunteers, and parents over the past 2 years!
I look forward to the change that lays ahead in my new school
community. However, it is with sadness that I am leaving such an amazing
staff, incredible students and wonderful parents who have always
demonstrated such support in our school.
From my days as a classroom teacher to my years as an administrator, I can
honestly say that I always strive to live by two simple rules. These are simple
rules but for me have made all the difference when working with students,
staff, parents and the parish community. I treat people exactly the way I wish
to be treated and I have always lived by it. The other is I give all students as
much time, support and commitment as I would expect my own children to
receive. I hope that I was able to stay true to these rules during my short time
at St. Josephine Bakhita.
It was a privilege to serve you and I am grateful for your support over the past 2
years as we worked together to make this school a vital force in the life and
development of your children.
Principal
S. Boulanger
Vice- Principal
G. Johnstone
Head Secretary
M.Misasi
Assistant Secretaries
M. Jaques
C. Ruggiero
Superintendent
S.Steer
905–890–1221
Trustee
D. D’Souza
905–890-1221
Parish
St. Leonard’s Parish
187 Conestoga Drive
Brampton
Ontario, Canada
L6Z 3X8
(905) 846 – 5385
It is with great pleasure that I proudly hand over the community to Ms. G.
Johnstone (our current Vice-Principal) who will be Principal at St. Josephine
Bakhita in September. She has a wealth of knowledge and expertise and
already knows the community. I am confident that all of you will continue to
support her in the future!
Steeve Boulanger
Principal
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Virtue of the Month- ACCEPTANCE
God has placed His creation, including people, in our care. We come to God
asking for the grace to be accepting of others. It is our hope that throughout
May, we are ever mindful of those who have suffered tragedy- through famine,
war and natural disaster.
A person showing the virtue of acceptance:
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Is friendly and open to all God’s people
Senses God’s presence in people of all ages, beliefs, genders, cultures
and/or abilities
Avoids temptation to judge or negatively stereotype
Looks for positive traits in others
Notices who is left out and includes them
Sticks up for the disadvantaged.
Together in Faith
For most of the twentieth century, supporters of the separate school system
continued to seek the right to education. Then in 1984, the Ontario
government, to the surprise of many, granted Catholics the legal right to
operate fully funded high schools. The next major improvement in funding
occurred in 1997 when the provincial government restructured the education
system and funding formulas. Achieving justice took long years of advocacy
and effort in the face of indifference and opposition and some internal conflict.
Catholics remained determined, strengthened by their values and convictions.
Separate school boards and their supporters proved their determination to
provide a Catholic education for their children by opening and operating
schools in spite of serious financial problems.
Taken from: Our Story. Our Tradition. Our Journey
School Procedures
First Eucharist
On April 16th, 2016 the grade 2
students received the Holy Sacrament
of Communion. We would like to
congratulate the students on such a
significant milestone in their Catholic
religious journey. A special thank you
to all the parents and family members
for helping the students prepare for
their Holy Sacrament, and sharing in
the grade 2s special day.
Confirmation
We would like to congratulate
both our grade 7 and 8 students
who had their Confirmation
during the months of March and
April.
It is with great pride that we join
with your families and the parish
community in witnessing the
completion of your Baptismal
promises.
Are You Moving?
To help us with our planning for next September, it would be appreciated if you
could let us know now, if you will be moving out of our school area over the
summer. If you know of any families moving into the area with children who plan
to attend St. Josephine Bakhita, it would be helpful if you could alert us. The more
information we have, the better we are able to organize staff and students for
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September. In the absence of accurate information, schools often have to reorganize classes in September due to
unexpected fluctuations in population. All we need is a quick note or call.
If you currently live outside the school boundary and are attending St. Josephine Bakhita on a flex boundary request,
you will need to request flex boundary for next year. The “Flexible Boundary” procedure is reviewed annually. Please
note that flex boundaries will be looked at on a case by case basis and are not guaranteed from year to year. If you are
requesting flex boundary, please note that transportation is your responsibility. The Board will not provide either
transportation or additional supervision for students admitted under this procedure. Note, the students admitted
under this procedure do not automatically become eligible for the Secondary School serving the school. A separate
request must be made to the Secondary School Principal.
DETERMINING CLASS PLACEMENT FOR SEPTEMBER 2016
The staff of St. Josephine Bakhita School will meet in the spring to begin discussing appropriate placement for each
student for September 2016. When determining placement some of the criteria we consider are academic ability,
individual work habits and study skills, maturity, date of birth, social factors, and placement history. We aim for classes
that have a balance of gender, ability and behavioral needs.
As you know your child best, we appreciate your input concerning special needs for your son or daughter. With this in
mind, if you have concerns about your child’s class placement for September 2016, we ask that you put your concerns in
writing. A ‘Parent Request for Class Placement Form’ which is provided for this purpose. A new form is to be completed
each year as we do not retain requests from one year to the next. Parents/Guardians are asked to include in your
request the strengths and needs of your child along with a description of his/her learning style. You may wish to include
the type of learning environment in which your child has experienced the most success. Please do not make specific
requests for teachers as staffing is always tentative and changes can and often do take place between the time of
tentative class placement and September.
Medication & Students
For safety reasons, and as per board policy, children and staff are not permitted to administer medication, including
over the counter medicines. All medication must be administered by the office and forms need to be filled out and
signed by parents, with a medical note attached. Please call the school to let us know when your child requires
medication and we can make the necessary arrangements to ensure everyone's safety, but if at all possible, please
administer all medications at home, or have an adult administer it for you.
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Allergy Awareness
There are a number of students at St. Josephine Bakhita School that have a severe life threatening allergy to nuts. It is
therefore imperative that families refrain from sending to school any foods that contains nut
products, eg. Peanut butter, Nutella, snacks with nuts or any product that has “may contain
traces of nuts” on the label. Due to the severity of allergies within our school, we ask that
parents not send in any baked goods to share with classmates, not even during special
occasions such as birthdays. Non-food items are encouraged, such as stickers, pencils, etc.
We will not be permitting any food items to be brought into a classroom to share.
Safety First
Bicycle Safety
It is wonderful to see students bringing their bikes to school, however students are reminded of the following
regarding the safe operation of their bicycle:
1. Wear a helmet
2. Obey all traffic rules when coming to school/ going home
3. Walk your bike when on school property
Students are asked to park and lock their bike on the bike racks
Protection from the Sun
As the weather warms up it is important that students are reminded of the danger of overexposure to the sun.
Please remind your child(ren) of the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Wear protective clothing to cover exposed skin
Wear a hat to protect both the eyes and skin
When possible, stay out of direct sunlight
Wear sun block, the higher the protection factor number, the greater the protection.
Bring ample fluids to school to ensure hydration
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Community Corner
Grade Three and Grade Six EQAO/ Provincial Assessment
Each year grade three and grade six students in Ontario are assessed in reading,
writing and mathematics. The Education Quality and Accountability Office
(EQAO) has developed the assessment that is used in all schools. This year at St.
Josephine Bakhita School the dates for the Primary and Junior Division
Assessments will take place between May 25 and June 8. Kindly avoid booking
dental, doctor and other appointments, vacation or activities during the test
period in order to support maximum participation by all students. More
information for grade 3 and 6 parents will follow with exact dates and times.
Catholic Education Week
We would like to thank you all for
your generosity in our Food Drive
for the Knights Table.
Ban the Bottle Campaign:
Did you know that it takes 1000 years for a plastic water bottle to biodegrade?
In an effort to help our earth, the FDK students in Mrs. Tassone and Mrs.
Cunningham’s class have begun a campaign to reduce the number of plastic
water bottles that are being used in our school. The students surveyed various
classes and concluded that too many students were using plastic water bottles.
Throughout the month of April, we are encouraging students to bring in their
reusable water bottles. The Kindergarten’s will be making posters and
announcements to remind students of the importance of reusable water bottles.
Please bring in your reusable water bottles! We can make a difference!
As well a special thank you to all of
the Grandparents who joined us
on Grandparents Day which took
place on May 4th. It was wonderful
to see all the Grandparents and
hear about their experiences.
Finally, we would like to thank all
of those parents who were able to
take time out of their busy
schedules to join us in the
activities that were taking place.
We appreciate your support!
Legislative Page Program
Sahil a grade 8 student, has been
selected to serve as a Legislative
Page at the Legislative Assembly of
Ontario in Toronto. During his
time as a Page, Sahil will have the
opportunity to meet key
parliamentary figures and learn
about the parliamentary system of
government first hand. We are
very proud of Sahil, and wish him
all the luck during his time as a
Page.
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Milk Bags
We are proud to announce that the staff and students completed 10 sleeping mats made out of recycled milk bags and
are ready to ship them out for distribution in Ecuador. Mrs. Berthiume crocheted 5 mats in her spare time. A special
thank you to Victoria a Grade 2 student who brought in over 100 milk bags per week and kept the mat weaving team
well stocked in supplies. Mat weavers consisted of Mia, Isabelle, Olivia, Lauren and Reanna. Thank you to Kylen and
Mrs. Boniferro for their collection and preparation of the milk bags.
Clubs, Teams and Sports News
Eco-Team
The Eco-Team has been very influential this year in making sure that we are aware of how our actions affect our Earth.
The team, along with Ms. Waters, Ms. Commisso and Ms. Biffis planned the clean-up of the yard on Earth Day, April
22nd!
Earth Day Activities
On April 22nd, the St. Josephine School Community participated in a school-wide Spring Clean-Up of our school yard to
celebrate Earth Day! Staff and students also took part in a virtue assembly that focused on loving oneself, ones
neighbour, ones earth and God and were called to reflect on the beautiful gift of creation. Thanks to everyone for all
their co-operation and support.
Intermediate Girl’s Basketball Team
Our Basketball team has been hard at work. They participated in a mini tournament on April 28 th. We would
like to thank Ms. Rodrigues for her time and dedication to the team, which is made up of: Dominique,
Alexandria, Emma, Amaria, Shante, Tabitha, Renae, Ashleigh, Alissa, Morayo and Nya.
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Bakhita Dance Team
The Dance Team competed at the 11th Annual Dance Event on Tuesday,
April 19, 2016 @ 1:00 pm that took place at the Rose Theatre. They won
the People’s Choice Award and the Diamond Award!
Camp Olympia
Parent Corner
Our Grade 7 students will be
heading to Camp Olympia from
May 16-18th. We are looking
forward to a wonderful time,
getting to know each other and
enjoying the outdoors!
There are only two months left before summer break but your school
council is as busy as ever!
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Video Dance-a-thon
fundraiser! The kids had a fantastic time with Professor Jamz who put on
an outstanding, incredibly fun day. Thanks to your support we raised over
$9,000!! The prize assembly will be on April 29th.
The Popular Book Company publishes the Canadian Curriculum, English
Smart, Math Smart and additional study books that can be purchased in
various retail stores. They have contacted us with a very special offer on
these books which we are excited to pass on to our parent
community. Special offer details will be sent home May 9th.
Gr. 8 Trip to New York
The grade 8 students will be
travelling to New York City from
May 24-May 27. They will be
seeing some major sights like the
911 Memorial as well as having
the opportunity to watch the
home team, Blue Jays play the
Yankees!
Movie night is scheduled for June 17th. In order to offer all of the fun
activities everyone enjoys on Movie Night we rely on volunteers. Please
let us know via the office if you are able to offer any of your time to help
us make Movie Night fun for everyone!
Lunchbox Orders continues to be very popular lunch service. We are
happy to extend Extreme Pita and Boston Pizza lunch days into May.
The next council meeting is June 1st at 6:30pm in the library. All parents
are welcome!
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May 1-6
May 3
May 4
May 5
May 6
May 11
May 12
May 13
May 16-18
May 18
May 19
May 20
May 23
May 24-27
May 24
May 25- 27
May 25
May 26
May 27
June 1-3
June 1
June 6
June 7
June 8
June 9
June 10
Catholic Education Week
FDK Faith-Based Play Day
Grandparents Day
Faith-Based Play Day (Gr. 1-8)
Virtue Assembly 9:30/ 11:00
Bakhita Idol @ 1:30
Pizza Making (Mrs. Faye’s class)
Wizard of Oz trip (Gr. 4-6)
PA Day- no school for students
Camp Olympia Trip for Gr. 7 students
Pizza Making (Mrs. Tassone’s class)
Welcome to Kindergarten Night 6:30-8 pm
Jr./ Int. Track and Field Day & Special Games
Victoria Day- No School
Gr. 8 New York Trip
Swim to Survive 1:00-2:00 (Abbas)
EQAO for Gr. 3 students
Swim to Survive 9:30-10:30(Abbas)
Swim to Survive 10:00-11:00 (Abbas)
Fieldtrip for Gr. 6 DeCaro
EQAO for Gr. 6 students
FDK trip to Ripley’s Aquarium (Aylward/ Mendonca/ Mintz)
Gr. 3 Bowling Trip
Scientists in the School- Grade 4
Scientists in the School Grade 4
Swim to Survive (Pyczek’s class) 1-2 pm
Swim to Survive (Farjou/ Protomanni) 1-2 pm
FDK Spring Concert @ 1:30pm
Year End Mass @ 1:30/ 2:45pm Everyone Welcome
Swim to Survive (Jones class) 1-2 pm
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