January 2016 Virtue of the Month Lord, You make all things new You bring hope alive in our hearts And cause our Spirits to be born again. Thank you for this new year For all the potential it holds. Come and kindle in us A mighty flame So that in our time, many will see the wonders of God And live forever to praise Your glorious name. Amen Self-control helps us to resist the temptation to do something that we will regret or may cause harm to ourselves or others. By disciplining our thoughts and actions we resist reacting negatively to pressures from within ourselves or our surroundings and act in a way that we know and feel is right. Each time we exercise self-control we show our love for God and make way for peace in our lives. St. John Fisher Christmas Food Drive - Success! Thank you to all parents, students and staff who were able to donate non-perishable food items for the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. John Fisher Parish. We were able to donate many large boxes of food items to help families in our community in need. PD Day - Monday, January 18, 2016 Our next PD Day is on Monday, January, 18, 2016. There will be no school for students on this day. Teachers will be completing assessments for purpose of reporting. Full Day Kindergarten Registration Please see below for upcoming dates for Full Day Kindergarten Registration for students starting in the fall of 2016. Monday, January 25th, 2016 from 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. (Snow date: Tuesday January 26th, from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.) Wednesday January 27th, 2016 from 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m. Thursday January 28th, 2016 from 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m. Friday January 29th, 2016 from 9:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m. Dufferin-Peel hosts Parent Evening to Support the Transition of Students with Differing Abilities into Kindergarten There will be an information session for parent(s)/guardian(s) of children with differing abilities including vision, hearing, autism, physical/medical and/or developmental delays who are transitioning to Kindergarten in September 2016. The information session will be held at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board -- Catholic Education Centre, Room 301 on Tuesday, January 12, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Snow date, Wednesday, January 13, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Parent(s)/Guardian(s) are also reminded to register their child at their school. Official registration dates are Monday, January 25th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The Snow Date for the evening registration is Tuesday, January 26th, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Additional registration dates are January 27th, 28th and 29th, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CSAC Meeting Please be advised that our next Parent Council meeting will be held on Monday Jan 11, 2016 @ 4:00 p.m. St. John Fisher - Library Book Fair! The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at St. John Fisher School from Monday February 1st– Friday February 5th, 2016. Hours will be extended during parent-teacher interviews giving parents opportunities to shop on Thursday evening until 7:30 p.m. and on Friday until 12:30 p.m. What better way to promote reading to our students than by supporting this important literary event. We invite your entire family to participate by purchasing the latest and greatest in children’s books. Did you know that for every $10 you spend at the Fair up to $6 comes directly back to our school? Your support of this vital literary event is key in helping us obtain new books and resources for our library and classrooms. You’ll find hundreds of quality books at our Book Fair with a wide assortment for all reading levels. A Book Fair flyer that provides a preview of only a FEW of the many books available to purchase at our Fair will be coming home soon! The flyer also contains a special book fair ballot for your child to fill out. You could win $50 in books – $25 for your family PLUS $25 for your child’s classroom! Don’t forget to mark the Book Fair dates on your calendar! We look forward to seeing you during our Scholastic Book Fair and thank you, in advance, for supporting this great literary fundraiser. Mostly, thank you for believing in books and the importance reading has on your child’s future. Eco School: Electronic Communication We are pleased to share that we currently have approximately 130 families signed up for electronic newsletters and communication. However, we still have more than 240 families who still receive paper-based communication from the school. Please help us to meet our eco-goal of reduced paper consumption by signing the form (Canada’s AntiSpam Legislation Consent Form) on the last page of this newsletter. We thank you for your support in making SJF a eco-friendly school!! School/Transportation Cancellation Due to Inclement Weather During the winter months inclement weather may cause disruption of bus transportation and regular school operations. A decision to cancel school transportation and/or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be announced on the following radio and television stations: VIRGIN RADIOFM99.9 CHUM AM1050 CFTR AM680 CFNY FM102.1/AM640 CJCL AM590 CHFI FM98.1 CFRB AM1010 EZ ROCK FM97.3 CJBC (FR) AM860 FM Z103.5 FM93.1 FM Q107 CHIN FM100.7/AM1540 CBC99.1 CITYPULSE GLOBAL NEWS CTV CANADA AM Or check the DPCDSB Community Relations Website at: http://www.dpcdsb.org/pr Farewell and Welcome Back We are saddened to say good-bye to our Mrs. Scarcello. We want to take an opportunity to thank her for her dedication to our students and wish her well! At this time, we would like to welcome back Mrs. Papa who returns to us from her maternity leave. We are excited to have her back with us! Pizza Lunch Dates Toonie Tuesday - Tuesday, Jan. 12th, 2016 Parent Council Pizza Day - Tuesday Jan. 26th, 2016 (Pre-Orders Only) Earth Rangers Presentation The Earth Rangers Presentation is a dynamic, fun and interactive presentation for grades 1-6. The program consists of a high quality, curriculum-linked assembly, which uses positive, science-based information to educate students about the importance of protecting biodiversity, while highlighting a variety of conservation initiatives across Canada. Through the power of live animal demonstrations and exciting audience interaction, the program inspires students, and motivates them to become actively involved in protecting the environment. St. John Fisher is excited to have the Earth Rangers visit our school on Monday January 11th, 2016. Author Visit-Philip Roy Author, Philip Roy, will be visiting St. John Fisher School on Wednesday January 27th! Philip Roy is the author of many well-loved books such as Mouse Tales, Jellybean Mouse, Submarine Outlaw and Journey to Atlantis. His books reach students of all ages and therefore all classes will have the opportunity to attend his presentation. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Philip Roy to our school! Report Cards & Parent Teacher Interviews (Grades 1-8) Term 1 Report Cards for students in grades 1-8 will be sent home on Tuesday February 2, 2016. ParentTeacher interviews will be held on the evening of Thursday February 4th, 2016 and during the day on Friday February 5th. More details will follow shortly. Waste-Free Lunch Challenge– January 18th-22nd Did you know that school lunches are a major source of waste in Ontario? In fact, the average student’s lunch generates a total of 30 kilograms of waste per school year, or an average of 8,500 kilograms of waste per school per year. St. John Fisher School will be participating in the Waste-Free Lunch Challenge during the week of January 18-22. During this week, students are encouraged to reduce the amount of lunch waste. To help minimize the amount of waste produced at our school, please make an effort to pack a waste-free lunch for your child. To be “Waste Free”, consider using the following: -Reusable lunch bag -Reusable containers -Thermoses -Reusable cutlery -Reusable napkins Thank you for continued support of promoting environmental awareness and accountability at St. John Fisher! Visit www.ontarioecoschools.org and www.wastefreelunch.com for more information. Extended French Information Meeting Grade 4 parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for September, 2016 are invited to attend an information meeting at St. Jean Brébeuf, 63 Glenforest Rd, Brampton, on Thursday January 14, 2016 @ 7:00 p.m. Family Movie Night-Rescheduled We are happy to announce that our Family Movie Night will take place on: Friday February 19th, 2016. The movie, brought to you by the St. John Fisher School Catholic School Advisory Council & ACF film licensing, will be voted on by students and announced shortly. Grab your blankets, pillows & lawn chairs! Load up the family and come out and join us in the St John Fisher School gym for an evening of fun & entertainment. Popcorn, other snacks and drinks will be available for purchase. Prices and more details to follow. Dressing Appropriately for the Weather Now that the colder weather is upon us we respectfully remind you to ensure that your children come to school dressed warmly to participate in recess activities. When weather conditions are severe we may reduce the outdoor play time, or have indoor recess entirely, but fresh air and exercise are vital components for successful learning, so we will endeavour to have children play outside whenever possible. Help your children by having them come to school appropriately dressed with scarves, hats and mittens. For health and safety reasons and to help keep the school clean, we would ask that students have shoes to be worn indoors that are different from those worn outdoors. Winter Play - Snow and Ice Although we have not yet seen much of the wintery weather, snow and ice are a reality in the winter months. We review our rules about NOT throwing snow or ice at school regularly however we ask for your support by reviewing with your child the dangers of this and that it is NOT allowed at school. The school rule is that snow stays on the ground – no snowballs, kicking snow or other any other activity with snow or ice that could be harmful. The safety of all of our students is our number one priority. Using snow to make forts or snow people is a wonderful way to enjoy winter. Students are encouraged to be respectful of what others have created. It should be noted that these structures are temporary and staff on supervision duty are not expected to help safeguard these as their primary responsibility is to ensure student safety. Late Arrivals We ask that you call the school on the days that your child will be absent or late. This is a safety precaution that can save precious moments should there ever be an emergency situation. We thank you for your continued support in following this procedure. If your child will be late or absent from school, it is very important that you notify the school before 8:30 a.m. by leaving a voice mail message on the attendance line at 905-793-8900 and pressing 1, for the attendance voice mail. Please speak clearly and leave the child’s FIRST and LAST NAME, the teacher’s name, and the reason for the absence or lateness. Any student arriving at school late is required to come to the office to request a late slip. This allows us to change our attendance information, and mark your child late, rather than absent. We would also like to ask for your cooperation with afternoon dismissal. The last 30-45 minutes of the day is extremely important in the classroom. If you need to pick your child up earlier than 3:00pm we ask that you please send a note to your child’s teacher in the morning, advising them of the time required for pick up and the reason. We cannot interrupt classes during this time, for unannounced departures. January 2016 Sun 3 Mon Tue Wed 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 -Parent Council Meeting @ 4pm in the Library Toonie Tuesday Pizza 4 Welcome Back! Happy New Year to all. 10 18 19 MADDPresentation for Gr 7 & 8 Fri Sat 1 2 8 9 15 16 22 23 Extended French Info Meeting @ St. Jean Brebeuf -Earth Rangers Presentation 17 Thu 20 21 PA DayNo school for students Waste-Free Lunch Week 24 25 26 27 28 29 Kindergarten Registration 7-9pm Parent Council Pizza Day -Kindergarten Registration 9am-3pm Kindergarten Registration 9am-3pm Kindergarten Registration 9am-3pm -Author Visit Philip Roy 31 CANADA’S ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION (CASL) CONSENT FORM Parent(s)/Guardian(s)/Adult Student Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) prohibits the sending of commercial electronic messages, including e-mails and other forms of digital messaging if the electronic message encourages participation in a commercial activity, unless the sender has received the recipient’s consent prior to sending the message. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and St. John Fisher School require your consent to send any electronic messages which promote, advertise or offer for sale goods and services. While partaking in commercial activities is not a core activity of the board or its schools, information about some of the following example activities, included in an e-mail or in an electronic newsletter, may be construed as commercial in nature, or may fall under an exception: · · · Promoting the sale of school products, services or other activities, e.g., offering the sale of tickets to a school play or other event. Promoting the sale of products or services of third parties, e.g., offering the sale of discounted tickets to a sporting event, inviting parents/guardians to a seminar where the speaker may promote his/her products/ services. Providing information about school photos, field trips, sale of yearbooks, team uniforms, fundraising events, lunch programs, pizza days, prom or dance tickets, athletic events or similar events and offers. If you consent to receiving electronic communications, which may contain commercial electronic messages, such as the examples described above, please sign and date this form, and return it to your school. You may withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the school Principal, or by unsubscribing to any further commercial electronic messages you receive from the board/school. Student’s Name: _______________________________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian’s Name: ________________________________________________________________ E-Mail Address: ________________________________________________________________________ Signature: ____________________________________ Date: ___________________________________ MUNICIPAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT: Personal information on this form is collected under the legal authority of the Education Act, as amended, and will only be used to administer the Board/School’s electronic newsletter, e-mail communication process, in order to comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation, and for no other purpose. Questions may be directed to the School Principal or to the General Manager, Communications & Community Relations, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, 40 Matheson Blvd. West, Mississauga, Ontario L5R 1C5 (905) 890 – 1221/1-800-387-9501.