ST. BASIL CATHOLIC SCHOOL
SEPTEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER
We Are God’s Family
Loving God, we thank you for the gift of this new school year.
Help us always appreciate the opportunity to learn
And the gift of gathering at a school,
a gift not available to every child.
May our classrooms be places of hospitality,
compassion, excitement, blessings and joy.
May our minds, and our hearts be filled with knowledge
of you, our world and all that will
help us grow in faith of you.
We ask this through your Son,
the greatest teacher and student of all.
Amen
Principal’s Message
Welcome Back to School
Welcome back to a new school year St. Basil school community! A
special welcome to our JK students who are entering into the school system for
the first time and into full-day kindergarten! The beginning of a new school
year is an exciting time and I look forward to once again working with dedicated
staff and enthusiastic students and parents. Staff has been working very hard
over the past few weeks in preparation for our school opening which was a
HUGE job due to the extensive construction on site. Thank you to teachers who
have been preparing their classrooms, Mrs. Sweeney for preparing the main
office and a special thank you to our custodial team for all of their hard work!
As always, we encourage a cooperative partnership between home,
school and parish to promote a positive learning environment for our students
by keeping contact with your child’s teacher, volunteering in the school, supporting the parish or serving on our Catholic School Council. Your support and
input is necessary and valued to ensure the success of our students.
We look forward to working with you and your children over the next
ten months to provide a highly rewarding year, both spiritually and academically. School Curriculum/Open House Night will be held on Thursday, September
24, starting with a BBQ at 6:00 p.m. followed by in class visits at 7:00. Come
out and meet our NPU Officers, Constable Karl and Constable Kevin!
M. Tomczak, Principal
PRINCIPAL
M. TOMCZAK
SECRETARY
M. SWEENEY
SUPERINTENDENT
T. LARIVIERE
905-890-1221
STS. MARTHA AND MARY
PARISH TEAM
Fr. Darrin Corkum
905-625-5670
www.stsmarthaandmary.org
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
OF TRUSTEES:
M. Pascucci
Mississauga Wards 1 & 3
(905) 302-3096
(905) 890-0708 x20161
Fax: (905) 890-0888
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
www.trusteepascucci.ca
ST. BASIL SCHOOL
4235 Golden Orchard Dr.
Mississauga, Ontario
L4W 3G1
Phone: (905) 624-4529
Attendance Line
(905) 624-4529 Press 1
PLEASE CALL THIS
NUMBER WHEN YOUR
CHILD IS ABSENT
Virtues
Initiative
St. Basil Catholic
School will be continuing the Virtues Program this year. This
program is designed
to help us nurture
virtue and character
development in the
lives of our students.
Each month, the entire school will focus
on a different virtue.
Classroom activities
and school wide activities will all focus on
the nurturing of a specific virtue.
We would appreciate
your support in discussing these virtues
with your child and
encouraging behaviours that would
demonstrate these
virtues. Here is a list:
Sept: Faith
Oct: Empathy
Nov: Conscience
Dec: Hope
Jan: Self Control
Feb: Respect
Mar: Kindness
Apr: Love
May: Acceptance
June: Fairness
KISS ‘N RIDE
The Kiss n’ Ride lane is ONLY FOR USE IN THE MORNING. It is
a convenience provided to parents with the intention of parents
remaining in their cars. Therefore, only children who are capable of safely opening and closing car doors by themselves are
permitted to use the Kiss n’ Ride lane. Parents who need to get
out of their cars to let their children out should park on the
street in legal parking areas.
CARS ARE NOT PERMITTED IN THE DRIVEWAY AT THE END
OF THE SCHOOL DAY. Only buses are allowed entry. The
school parking lot is for staff vehicles only. Please either use
Kiss ‘n Ride or park on the street at arrival and dismissal
times. We welcome parent volunteers to help with Kiss n’
Ride.
STUDENT INSURANCE
As required by the Education Act and the Ministry of Education, the DufferinPeel Catholic District School Board annually provides parents with information about cost-effective student accident insurance coverage via student
carrier: ‘insuremykids Protection Plan’ forms were distributed to students the
first day of school. Effective September 2012 the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board requires parents, guardians written acknowledgement
that they have received information regarding Student Insurance especially
for those students participating in out-of-school excursions and/or extracurricular sports activities and is indicated on the respective parent permission forms (ref: GF115 Elements of Risk) distributed when students participated in educational excursions. Although enrolment in the student insurance is voluntary, the board encourages parents to take advantage of the
inexpensive insurance coverage, especially if their child/children participate
in sports, excursions/field trips, or, if parents do not have dental insurance
coverage.
Two options are offered for enrolment:
1) Complete the traditional form and mail it in or 2) Photocopy the form and
fax it to Reliable Life at 1-905-522-7211 or 1-800-463-KIDS (5437). Parents
alone have the right to insure their children.
MEDICATION
Please contact the office to obtain the appropriate medical forms if you require the school to store and distribute your child’s medication during the
school day. These must be completed by the parent and doctor. If your child
has a severe medical condition or allergy, please meet with school administration to provide up-to-date information. Children should remain at
home if they are not well enough to participate in the entire day, including
recesses.
LUNCH HOUR ROUTINES AND SNACKS
If you plan to drop off your child’s lunch, please assist us in efficient distribution by reminding your child to come
to the office at lunch time. Please label the lunch bag with child’s name and teacher/grade. There is a black basket
just outside the office where you can drop off the lunch. A reminder that students who regularly stay for lunch are
NOT permitted to leave school property without a signed and dated note from parents each time they leave
school grounds. We encourage consistency. Students either go home for lunch or stay in school for lunch. Thank
you for supporting this important safety routine. A form regarding lunch routines will be sent home this week.
Please return it to your child’s teacher promptly. We ask that you continue to respect our policy of sending nonfood items only for birthdays and other classroom celebrations, and nut-free products for lunches and snacks, to
protect our children with severe allergies.
Pizza Days will be held every Wednesday for students from Gr. 1 - 8 starting Wednesday, September 23rd. If
you wish your child to participate in this school fundraiser, please send money with your child’s order. First order
forms will be sent out on September 8th will cover the period of September 23rd to December 16th . Cost will remain the same at $2.00 for a pepperoni slice. Therefore, please send $26 if you are ordering ONE slice per week
until Christmas break. Thank you for your continued support! Don’t forget...we also have Monday Sub Days
and Friday Lunch Moms. Check your child’s backpack for order forms!!
PARISH NEWS
The St. Basil community is pleased to welcome all back to a wonderful school beginning. Fr. Darrin Corkum will
be celebrating our Thanksgiving/Opening Mass here at the school on October 7 th at 10:30 a.m. Join us if you
are available.
Further dates will be provided for Masses and sacramental celebrations once they have been established in a
subsequent newsletter. We look forward to a rich spiritual journey with students and parents in the St. Basil
community.
BUS ELIGIBILITY
Bus Transportation Eligibility for 2015/16
2.0 kilometers for students in Grades 5 to 8
1.6 kilometers for students in Grades 2 to 4
1.0 kilometers for students in K- Grade 1
Applications for empty seats will be available in the school office beginning Sept. 14, 2015. No empty seats will be granted
before early October. If you have questions regarding busing, call the Board Transportation Department at 905-890-6000
or obtain an appeal application at www.stopr.ca.
SCHOOL SAFETY—SECURE ENTRY PROTOCOL
Parents are welcome to the school throughout the year. However, for the safety of children, all parents and visitors must use
only the front door for entry and must sign in at the office and receive a visitor’s sticker each and every time you enter
the building. We now have a new security system with speaker/buzzer/video monitoring. Remember you are not a
stranger to your own children, but may appear as one to other students. Parents dropping off or picking up students are
requested to wait outside the fenced area. Parents should not enter the school at lunchtime when picking up their child.
Please wait outside.
Classroom/Staff Organization for 2015/2016
Below is our current school organization for opening day, September 8/15. This organization is based on projected enrolment established through the School Board. Currently, there are slight differences in our actual
enrolment and we await direction from the school board regarding any possible reorganization of the classrooms. Please note that your child’s class is not final until after reorganization occurs. If reorganization is
necessary, it will take place during the Professional Activity Day scheduled for Friday, September 18, 2015. If
your child’s placement or classroom teacher changes, you will be notified.
Grade
FDK
FDK
1
2
2/3
3
4
5
5/6
6/7
7/8
PT
SERC/SERT/ESL
SERT/Library
FSL/PT
Teacher
A. Brooks/A. Veizaj (DECE)
L. Galli/A. Duliunas (DECE)
K. Da Costa-Cabral
R. Aiello-Restaino
R. Jelavic
B. Malinowski
M. Diamond
C. Areias-Cabral
J. Roda/M. Meneses
R. Ranalli-Murzydlo
S. Balanyk
S. Granzotto, S. Policciardi
T. De Melo
J. Brady
M. Tollis
Dates to Remember
Sept. 8 Welcome Back!
Sept. 18 Professional Activity Day (No School)
Sept. 22 School Council Elections
Sept. 23 Picture Day
Sept. 23 First Pizza Day!
Sept. 24 OPEN HOUSE BBQ 6PM
Class visits 7PM
Sept. 25 First Lunch Moms !
Sept. 25 Terry Fox Walk/Run
Oct. 1
Gr. 7 Hep B/Men
Gr. 8 Girls HPV
Oct. 5
First Sub Day!!
Nov. 4 Picture Retake Day
ERW A. Haddad
ERW M. Sebastian
ERW C. Baca
Head Custodian E. Aro
Night Custodians R. Belli, S. Care
Ms. Fiore, Ms. Siwek, Ms. Kapustynski
(Lunch Monitors)
***
HAPPY RETIREMENT MRS. ROSSIT!!
St. Basil School will miss you and we want to
thank you for your many, many (more than 30)
dedicated years to our school community.
We send you our prayers and thoughts as
your begin this newest phase of your life.
Come visit us and keep in touch!
SCHOOL COUNCIL
Consider becoming involved in your child’s school by
joining the St. Basil Catholic School Council. Members
meet monthly, and learn more about supporting the
school community.
Elections and/or selection of executive positions for the
2015-2016 Catholic School Council will be held at the
first council meeting on Tuesday September 22 at 7:00
p.m. in the library. Nomination forms are available in
the school office. Deadline for submission of forms is
4:00 p.m. on September 18th, 2015.
CUSTODY OF CHILDREN
On rare occasions, we are faced with difficult situations in which non-custodial parents arrive at school asking to visit
their child or to take their child home after school. We are best able to serve and protect students when we are made
aware of legal custody arrangements, visitation rights and other special instructions. If legal custody matters affect
your family, please ensure that our office and classroom teachers are aware of any custodial arrangements that may
affect your child during school hours.