Holy Family School
61 Allan Drive, Bolton, ON L7E 1P7
Phone: (905) 857-1300
Newsletter # 2
www.dpcdsb.org/HOFAM
Principal: M. Clarot
Secretary: M. Proctor
Catholic School Council: M. D’Alelio / P. Ranieri
Superintendent: Les Storey 1-800-387-9501
Fax: (905) 857-9432
October 2014
Holy Family Church - (905) 857-1938
Pastor: Father L. Leger
Associate Pastor: Fr. D. Gikonyo
Trustee: F. Di Cosola (905) 951-8898
A Prayer for Our Community
Principal’s Message
God our creator,
Your gifts to us are countless
and your goodness without limit.
As we come in thanksgiving,
teach us to use wisely
the riches of land and sea.
Grant us hearts that know the needs of others,
that we may give as freely as
we have received from You.
October paints a land so green,
with yellow, orange and red.
We take this opportunity to
give our thanks for family, home and bread.
Help us to see,
in the marvelous succession of seasons
and in the growth and ripening of our crops,
Your splendor.
Amen.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Welcome to New School Council
Page 2
Progress Reports/Parent Interviews
Page 2
World Teacher Day
Page 3
Eco Team News
Page 4
Virtue of the Month--Empathy
Page 5
October/November Calendars
Page 6
I would like to thank the staff, students, and parents for their
genuine efforts towards the positive start of this school year.
I would like to thank all of those parents who were able to
take the time to come out to the school for our
Barbecue/Open House. It was nice to see so many families
in attendance. A special thank you to Mother Nature as the
evening weather was perfect and allowed us to enjoy our
hamburger, hotdog, or grilled chicken outdoors. Thank you
to our outstanding Catholic School Council who organized
and volunteered their time to help make the evening a
success.
As is the tradition here at Holy Family School, once again we
have our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Thanksgiving
is a very special time of the year when we, as a school
community, collect non-perishable food items to help those
who are in need from our own local community. All food
collected will be dropped off at Caledon Community Services
in time for the Thanksgiving long weekend. It is important for
all of us to be grateful for all we have and to show this by
acknowledging those less fortunate. We thank all who
donated for their generosity.
Let us also remember to be thankful for all the little things in
our lives. Often large issues consume us and the little
pleasures and treasures are forgotten. It is in the little things
that God’s graces are often revealed. On behalf of the staff
of Holy Family School, we wish everyone a truly wonderful
Thanksgiving.
M. Clarot
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
1
Holy Family School Council
Thank you to all the members of the 2013 - 2014 School
Council. Your hard work and dedication to Holy Family
School is truly appreciated by all the staff and students.
We are very fortunate to have such a group of dedicated
parents who work so hard and provide so many wonderful
opportunities for all of the staff and students at Holy
Family School.
to Catherine Ecker, parish catechist by calling the parish
office
at
905-857-1938
or
by
email:
catherine.ecker@holyfamilybolton.ca.
Picture Retake Day
School Picture Day is on Thursday,
October 30th, 2014. Please make sure
you send a note with your child if you
are requesting a retake.
Progress Report/Interview
Evening
Welcoming Our New Catholic
School Council
We would like to introduce our new Holy Family Catholic
School Council for the 2014 - 2015 school year:
Co-Chairs: Mima D’Alelio /Paula Ranieri
Past Chair: Kristen Bottos
Treasurer: Josie Marcon
Secretary: Nora Di Domenico
Communication Rep: Sarah Colucci
Community Rep: Joanna DiLorenzo
Fundraising Reps: Natasha Pereira and Noelia Nunez
OAPCE Rep: Jen McEvoy
Teacher Reps: Andree McEwen and Fabia Angelosante
Final Information Meetings
Confirmation and First
Communion
For families who missed the September information
meetings regarding the preparation process for
Confirmation and First Communion there will be a
meeting on Thursday, October 9th from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
The meeting will be held in the church. Young people
wishing to prepare for and celebrate Confirmation and
their parents and parents of young children preparing for
First Communion are asked to attend this
meeting.
Your participation at this meeting is
essential because the preparation and registration
process will be explained. Questions may be directed
The progress reports will be sent home
on Tuesday, November 11th, 2014.
Interviews, only if requested by the
teacher or parent, will take place the
evening of Thursday, November 13th,
2014
Pizza Days/Hot Lunch
Program
Once again we will be holding pizza lunches
on a weekly basis. Our first pizza day was
on Thursday, September 25th. As in previous
years, pizza will be provided by Pizza Pizza.
As well, Just Catering Food Service is
providing hot lunches every second Wednesday to those
students who placed an order. The Hot Lunch Program
started on Wednesday, September 24th. These two
programs are being overseen by the Parent Council. Any
comments or questions should be directed to the Parent
Council. Messages for the Parent Council can be left at
the main office.
Halloween Dance-A-Thon
The
Halloween
Dance-A-Thon
is
approaching frighteningly soon and the
gym will be filled with dancing
superheros, princesses & goblins! This
event is our largest
fundraiser of the year and
we have high hopes that it will be even
more spooktacular than last year. All the
information and envelopes will be sent
home with students very soon!
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
2
Attendance Verification
Daily attendance and punctuality are very important.
If your child is unable to attend school, please inform
the school. Messages can be left on the school
attendance line at any time. Your child’s safe arrival
to school is imperative and must be verified by the
office. Our school’s attendance number is 905-8571300 x 1.
Punctuality
It is important that your child be on time for school on a
regular basis. Please be aware that late arrivals have a
direct impact on learning in school and they also disrupt
the classroom teacher during lessons. Please encourage
and assist your child in recognizing that punctuality is a
responsibility which all students should be developing.
Students must report to the office and obtain a late slip if
they are late.
Use of the School Phone
Again, we request that parents make
arrangements with your children prior to
coming to school about home time
arrangements. We will also be discouraging the
use of the phone to call home for forgotten items.
School Hours & Supervision
Supervision in the school yard begins at 9:00 a.m. Please
do not drop your children off at school prior to that time as
they will not be supervised. The school day ends at 3:45
p.m. Parents are asked to ensure that arrangements
are made for their children to leave school at 3:45
p.m. Students are not supervised after 3:45 p.m. Please
do not rely on the school to supervise children after 3:45
p.m. The exception to this is, of course, our students who
are bussed.
Toonie for Terry Update
A big thank you to parents, students and
staff for your active involvement in making
Holy Family School’s Terry Fox fundraising
effort on Friday, September 19th such a
great success!
With your generous
donations, we raised over $425 in our fight
against cancer.
World Teacher Day –
October 5
October 5 is World Teachers’
Day. It is a time to recognize and
celebrate our teachers and
support staff for their commitment
and dedication to Catholic
education here at Holy Family
School. Teachers have a great
influence on us. They help
prepare us for life. They teach us skills we need to
participate and compete. They help us identify our
strengths and weaknesses. They work to make us
stronger students and hopefully, better people. Most of us
can point to a teacher who has influenced us positively in
some way.
We salute and say thank you to the teaching and support
staff at Holy Family School for their ongoing commitment
to student learning.
Lockdown/Hold and Secure
Procedure/Fire Drills
Throughout the year school personnel review safety
procedures with the students on a number of topics.
Emergency evacuation/fire drills are conducted to ensure
that everyone is aware of the procedures to follow in order
to exit the building safely. Our School Board has also
established Hold and Secure/lockdown procedures
should a high risk incident involving weapons occur on
school property, that could endanger the lives and/or the
safety of students and/or staff. We have already practiced
the Emergency Lockdown Procedures and Fire
evacuation with the students. We will continue to review
and practice Lockdown and Evacuation procedures
throughout the school year.
Medication at School
If medication must be administered at school, signed
request/authorization forms from the parents and the
supervising physician must be obtained whenever a
prescription is initiated or changed. Please do not send
medication with your child to school without the proper
authorization. These forms are available in the office.
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
3
International Student
Programs
www.dpcdsb.org
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board in
collaboration with the Canadian Education Exchange
Foundation, University of Toronto Mississauga and
Newcomer Centre of Peel is pleased to invite students,
parents, guardians, teachers and administrators to an
International Education information session.
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2014 @ 7:00 p.m.
Location: St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Learning
Centre, 3566 South Common Court, Mississauga
Information regarding the International Student Program,
the new Summer ESL Credit Program for International
Students, our Student Exchange Program, and
Community supports available to newcomers, will be
shared. Full details of the various programs and
opportunities will be provided by several guest speakers
and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Our
current International Students and their families are
encouraged to attend. For more information, contact
Rita Borg at 905-412-3341 ext. 31460 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org
We are also continuing to collect old cell phones and their
accessories. Please send in any cell phone items or drop
them off in the box located in the
office. Please only cell phone items.
A reminder that we are also
continuing to be an Idle Free Zone.
Please turn off your car while waiting
for your child. Letting your car idle
produces a lot of exhaust that we are
breathing in. Please help us to keep the air clean. Let’s
continue to make Holy Family School an environmentally
friendly place to be.
Bolton Fall Fair
Thank you to Mr. Read for all his work in organizing and
putting together Holy Family School’s annual display for
the Bolton Fall Fair. The theme for this year’s fair was:
Cowboys and Cowgirls.
News from the Eco Team
Welcome back to another Eco friendly
year at Holy Family School.
Our
message will stay the same as in
previous years. We have already started
our recycling program. We encourage
all students and staff to take extra care
to make sure that items are placed into the proper
recycling containers. We ask that all juice boxes are
empty and that the straws are placed into the garbage.
Yogurt containers are certainly convenient, but we still
cannot recycle them. Try using a small Tupperware
container and then the container can be reused again the
next day. Please use your recyclable water bottle. We
do not want to see any plastic water bottles in the blue
bins.
Students are reminded to continue with
the Boomerang Lunches and Litter-less
Lunches. A Boomerang Lunch is one
that is packed with a zip-lock bag, in
order to hold items to be returned home:
unfinished or uneaten edibles would be returned home for
composting. Litter-less lunch containers include reusable
water bottles, thermoses, sandwich boxes and snack
boxes, creating no garbage but still having a place to put
unfinished foods for composting at home. For more
information please visit www.wastefreelunch.com.
School Website
Don’t forget to check out our school website for the latest
monthly newsletter and important updates. Our website
is: www.dpcdsb.org/HOFAM.
In addition, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board is on twitter. You can follow the Board’s twitter feed
@DPCDSBSchools for all the latest Board news,
including school and bus cancellations.
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
4
Apple Crunch Day
Holy Family School is excited to be a
part of this annual event. We are
always trying to encourage students to
choose a healthy snack. Apples that
are grown in the local orchards are a
wonderful way to make the right choice. On Wednesday,
October 1st, the students of Holy Family took the big
crunch at 11:00 a.m.
For the record books…9,200 Caledon students and staff
at all eighteen elementary schools in the Town of Caledon
crunched on Caledon grown apples all on one day.
The goals of this initiative are to:
 Improve food literacy in children and youth;
 Bring together groups in Caledon that are
connecting children and youth with good food;
 Better enable these groups to share resources,
ideas and experience work together on advocacy
and facilitate efforts across the Caledon to get
children and youth eating growing cooking
celebrating and learning about healthy local and
sustainably produced food
Eight Easy Guidelines to a Climate Friendly Diet and how to
Take a Bite Out of Climate Change
1. Eat with the Seasons – Choose food grown close to home.
2. Shop Local – Farmers’ Markets, u-picks, farm stands & local
shops.
3. Cook Fresh – Reduce consumption of prepared foods.
4. Eat More Plants – Fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, legumes
& grains.
5. Grow Your Own – Try the 100 yard diet – start simple with
herbs.
6. Savour the Harvest – Dry, freeze, can, preserve, pickle and
more.
7. Choose Local Alternatives – Honey & maple syrup to
sweeten and local for high emission foods like meat, dairy &
eggs.
8. Avoid Food Waste – Reduce, re-use and recycle leftovers &
avoid refrigerator rot.
Thank you to the Town Of Caledon from Holy Family School for
including us and for providing the delicious apples.
Youth Faith Ambassadors
Congratulations to our new Youth Faith Ambassadors.
We have 24 students from our grades 7 and 8 classes
who have chosen to help out this year. Again this year,
we will be involved in outreach to our Grandfriend
program at the Davis Center and to the Canadian Food
for Children warehouse. We will continue to do the
morning prayers and announcements. We will be
preparing Advent and Lent retreats and helping out at the
masses and virtue assemblies. We are going to have a
very busy and unforgettable year. We commissioned our
Youth Faith Ambassadors at our Virtue assembly on
Thursday, October 2, 2014.
Virtue of the Month-Empathy
During the month of October, we will be focusing on
empathy. We understand empathy to mean the ability to
identify with and feel other people’s concern. An
empathetic person believes that we all share one Spirit;
that we are many parts of one body because we are all
created in the image and likeness of God.
An empathetic person:
- Listens attentively
- Watches people’s body language
- Notices and responds when someone is
upset
- Can name her/his feelings
- Can see a situation from another person’s
point of view
-
Knows that different people
differently about the same thing.
may
feel
Bullying Prevention Corner
In October the classroom lesson focuses
on the definition of bullying. The key
message is “bullying is not acceptable”.
Through various activities the students
will understand the vast array of
behaviours that can be bullying
(physical, verbal, social) and explore the
emotional impact of those behaviours on others. Students
develop the ability to understand and apply the definition
of bullying through constant exposure, repeated use and
consistency. Using the same definition of bullying
throughout the school and at home allows both students
and adults to more effectively prevent and deal with
bullying situations.
 Bullying is:
being mean to others, on
purpose, to hurt them or their feelings.
 Bullying Behaviour: is intended to hurt, is
repeated and involves unequal power and
control.
Tips for Parents:
- review the definition of bullying with your
child/ren
- talk with younger children about inside and
outside hurts
- talk with older children about intimidation,
gossip, rumors and cyber bullying
- encourage children to share their feelings about
bullying behaviours that they have experienced,
witnessed or engaged in.
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
5
October 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1
Sat
2
3
4
10
11
17
18
-Virtue Assembly
-PIZZA
5
6
7
-Walk to School
Week begins
-Int. Quebec Info.
Meeting-- 8 p.m.
12
13
-Thanksgiving
Day – School
Closed
19
14
20
15
16
-PIZZA
21
22
-Hot Lunch
27
9
PIZZA
-Jr. Girls’ and
Boys’ Volleyball
Tournament
-School Mass
-Gr. 2s to Peel
Safety Village
26
8
-Hot Lunch
28
-Grs. 3 and 6 to
Crawford Lake
23
24
25
-PIZZA
29
-ELPs to Round
the Bend Farm
30
-PIZZA
-Photo Retakes
31
-Halloween
Dance-A-Thon
November 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
-Hep B/HPV
Clinic
9
4
-Lego Club
10
5
-Hot Lunch
-Gr. 8s to St.
Michaels for
student
shadowing
11
12
-Progress
Reports go home
-Lego Club
16
17
23
24
25
-Lego Club
13
19
-Hot Lunch
7
8
-Virtue Assembly
-PIZZA
-Interview Night
18
-Lego Club
6
-PIZZA
14
15
-P.A. Day—No
school for
students
20
21
22
27
28
29
-PIZZA
26
-PIZZA
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
6
We believe that each individual is a unique gift of life from God, and we believe in the innate spiritual goodness of all peo ple.
7