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.