Holy Family School
61 Allan Drive, Bolton, ON L7E 1P7
Phone: (905) 857-1700
Newsletter # 4
www.dpcdsb.org/HOFAM
Principal: M. Clarot
Head Secretary: M. Proctor
School Council Co-Chairs: M. D’Alelio / P. Ranieri
Superintendent: L. Storey 1-800-387-9501
Fax: (905) 857-9432
December 2014
Holy Family Church - Pastor: Father L. Leger
Associate Pastor: Fr. D. Gikonyo (905) 857-1938
Trustee: F. Di Cosola (905) 951-8898
Associate Pastor: Fr. S. Holandez (905) 857-1938
“May the star of Bethlehem
Trustee: F. Di Cosola (905) 951-8898
Advent Prayer
Catholic School Council Chair: S. Scerni
Superintendent: P. McMorrow 1-800-387-9501
which shone brightly over the first crib
Loving God, we seek You in both
The light and the darkness,
The silence and the sounds,
The fullness and the emptiness
Of this Advent season.
stand guard over your home, filling it
and all the earth with light and peace.”
Fill our hearts with hope for Your coming,
Love for those who are most in need,
And faith in our promises.
May this time of preparation help us
Celebrate the birth of Your Son
With deep gratitude and abundant joy.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
The Light of the world.
Amen.
Jesse Tree of Hope
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Upcoming December Events
Page 2
Ex. French Info Meeting / ELP Registration
Page 3
Weather Cancellation Information
Page 4
Eco Team News
Page 5
Virtue of Month – Hope
Page 5
Bullying Prevention Corner/The Season of Advent
Page 6
The Season of Advent / Dates to Remember
Page 7
During this Advent season, Holy Family will again be having
our Jesse Tree of Hope. Beginning Monday, December 1st,
the tree in our front foyer will be filled with ornaments. On
each ornament, we have asked for a gift card or a gift for a
girl or a boy in different age groups. Items most in need are
for boys and girls in the 11 – 15 age group. Please pick one
or more ornaments from the tree. All items need to be in by
Wednesday, December 10th. All gifts will be brought to
Caledon Community Services to be distributed to children
this Christmas. We are thankful for what we have and in
serving
others, we live as Jesus did. Thank you for your
P
generosity.
Christmas Break
The last day for school before the Christmas break is Friday,
December 19th. School will resume in the New Year on
Monday, January 5th, 2015.
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
Family Advent Mass and
Christmas Art Exhibit
Holy Family School will be holding our
Annual Family Advent mass at 7:00 p.m. at
Holy Family Church. After mass families
are welcome to come over to Holy Family
School from 8:00 to 8:45 p.m. where students’
Christmas art work will be on display. Also the Parent
Council will have hot chocolate available and our school
choir will be singing Christmas carols. We look forward to
seeing all of our parents/guardians here to see the art
work our talented students have created and to come
together in preparation and celebration of the Eucharist.
Book Fair
Holy Family will be hosting a
Scholastic Book Fair in the
library from Monday, December
1st to Thursday, December 4th
throughout the day until 4:30 p.m. The book fair will be
open until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 4th. The
latest popular books will be available for purchase by
students and parents. Money raised will be used to
purchase books and materials for the library. On Monday,
students will be invited to browse and make wish lists of
items they would like to purchase. Student purchases
begin on Tuesday, December 2nd. If you would like to
volunteer for any length of time please call Mr. Hill.
Upcoming December Events
It’s Hearing and Vision
Screening Time!!!
Advent Retreat
On Thursday, December 11th, we will be
having our annual Advent Retreat.
Everyone in the school will be grouped
and will participate in making a few
Advent crafts and doing related activities.
It will be lots of fun.
School Screening Association will be
visiting our school this year on December
12th, 2014 to conduct their clinic. Your
child’s hearing and vision should be
screened every year.

Pajamas & Movie Day and
Christmas Sing- a- Long
We will be having our annual Pajamas & Movie Day on
Friday, December 19th. Students are invited to dress in
their favorite pajamas while enjoying a traditional
Christmas movie in the afternoon. We will be holding our
Christmas Sing-a-Long on Friday, December 19th at 10
a.m. Parents/guardians are welcome to join us for our
Sing-a-Long.



Holy Family Parish
Christmas Schedule
All are invited to attend Christmas Masses
at Holy Family Parish.
Christmas Eve Masses:
Wednesday, December 24th – 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m.,
10:00 p.m. and 12:00 midnight
Christmas Day Masses:
Thursday, December 25th – 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon
Boxing Day Mass:
Friday, December 26th – 10 a.m.
Growing children are very susceptible to middle
ear problems and one of the best ways to prevent
hearing loss is early detection of middle ear
function issues.
A visit to an audiologist costs upwards of $50.00
and is not covered by O.H.I.P. However, if your
child is referred to a hospital clinic by your doctor,
the cost is covered by O.H.I.P.
Your child’s hearing is not being monitored unless
they are being seen by an Audiologist or and
E.N.T.
A Free vision screeing is included with the
Hearing Clinic. Eye Examinations are covered by
OHIP.
A fee of $15.00 is collected to help offset the cost of
bringing this clinic to our school. A permission form has
already been sent home with your child. Please fill out
the form, include the $15.00 fee and return to the school
prior to the clinic date.
Skating
As you are already aware our students will be going
skating in December. Some of our students are in need
of skates and helmets. If you have skates and helmets
that you would consider donating to the school please
send it to your child’s classroom teacher. Your support
would be greatly appreciated.
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
P. A. Days
JK/SK Registration
Please note that Monday, January 19th, 2015 is a PD Day.
This day is for “Term 1 Assessment and Evaluation of
Pupil Progress”. As well, Friday, February 6th, 2015 is
also a PD Day. This day is set aside for Parent/Teacher
interviews. There will be no school for students on either
of these days.
Please note that registration for the Full Day Early
Learning Program for four and five year olds will
take place on the following dates:
School Council News
The School Council would like to thank the students of
Holy Family for making this year’s Halloween Dance-AThon a success! Due to their outstanding fundraising
efforts, a total of $7375.00 was raised. This money will go
towards purchasing resources for the school and funding
events for the students.
Congratulations to our top fundraisers:
JK/SK: Christian P.
Primary: Cosimo C.
Junior: Emily S.
Intermediate: Breanna S.
Mr. Read/Ms. Martin's class was treated to a sub lunch for
being the class that raised the most money. Way to Go!
Congratulations to the Grand Prize Draw winners:
Vanessa R. -- Samsung Galaxy Tablet
Emily V. -- Ipod Touch
Gabriele N. -- $250 Vaughan Mills Gift Card.
We would also like to extend a very BIG thank you to all
the members in our community and families of the
students for their support and generous prize donations.
The next School Council meeting will be
held on Thursday, January 29th, 2015 at
6:30 p.m. As always, parents are
welcome and encouraged to attend this
open meeting.
Extended French
Information Meeting
Grade 4 parent(s)/guardians(s), who wish to enroll their
child in a grade 5 Extended French class for September
2015, are invited to attend an information meeting at Holy
Family School on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015 at 7:00
p.m. Applications will be accepted commencing Tuesday,
January 20th, 2015.
The deadline for accepting
applications is Tuesday, February 17th, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
If the number of applications received exceeds the
number of spots available, a lottery will be held on
Wednesday, February 25th, 2015.
Monday, January 26th, 2015
7:00 -- 9:00 p.m.
(Snow Date: Tuesday, January 27th 7 -- 9:00 p.m.)
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, Jan. 28th–30th
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
For first year ELP - Children must be 4 years old by Dec.
31st, 2015
For second year ELP - Children must be 5 years old by
Dec. 31st, 2015
Parents/Guardians should bring the following documents
when registering their child:
 proof of age
 original Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate (for
parent and child) or Baptismal Certificate of other rite
in communion with the Holy See of Rome
 updated immunization records
 proof of Canadian citizenship or of Landed Immigrant
status
 ***proof of home address (TWO of the following:
property tax bill, current utility bill, real estate
document or Government of Canada issued forms—
NOTE: Driver’s Licenses are not acceptable.)
Admissions are open to Catholic children and children of
Catholic parents. For more information, contact Holy
Family School or call the Admissions Department at 905890-0708 ext. 24500 or visit the board web site at
www.dpcdsb.org.
2015 Entry Planning Meeting
for Special Needs Students
On Thursday, January 8th, 2015, the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board will present an Information
Night for Parent(s)/guardian(s) of students with Special
Needs in the areas of Vision, Hearing, Autism,
Physical/Medical and/or Developmental Delays in the
cognitive and/or motor areas. The session will run from
7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will be held in Room 301 at the
Catholic Education Centre at 40 Matheson Boulevard
West, Mississauga. (Snow date: Tuesday, January 13th,
2015.) Parent(s)/guardian(s) of Special Needs students
should ensure they register at their local school on the
above-mentioned registration dates.
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
Weather Cancellations
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 RADIO FM99.9
CFTR AM680
CFNY FM102.1/AM640
CFRB AM1010
CJBC (FR) AM860
FM93.1
CHIN FM100.7/AM1540
CHUM AM1050
CJCL AM590
CHFI FM98.1
EZ ROCK FM97.3
FM Z103.5
FM Q107
CBC99.1
CITYPULSE
CTV
GLOBAL NEWS
We will be communicating one of four standard messages
to the radio stations. The four announcements and their
effect on the transportation system are as follows:
1.
“DUFFERIN - PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES SERVING ST. ANDREW, ST.
BENEDICT AND ST. PETER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
AND R. F. HALL SECONDARY SCHOOL ARE
CANCELLED FOR TODAY.”
2.
“THE DUFFERIN - PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES AND THE PEEL DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES IN THE TOWN OF CALEDON
AND THE COUNTY OF DUFFERIN ARE CANCELLED”.
This means that all runs listed under announcement #l
PLUS the following are cancelled. • All schools in the
Town of Caledon and all school runs that begin in the
Town of Caledon. This includes Holy Family School.
3.
“THE DUFFERIN - PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD BUSES ARE CANCELLED.”
This means that: ALL Transportation services provided
by the Dufferin - Peel Catholic District School Board and
The Peel District School Board, including buses, vans and
taxis have been cancelled for the entire day.
4.
“THE SCHOOLS AND OFFICES OF BOTH THE
DUFFERIN - PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
ARE CLOSED.”
This means that: ALL Dufferin - Peel Catholic District
School Board and Peel District School Board schools and
offices are closed to all students and staff.
Important: Please remember that if buses are
cancelled in the morning, they will not run in the
afternoon either, even if the weather and road
conditions improve during the day. If you bring
your child to school in the morning, please make
sure you have made arrangements for your
child’s pick up after school.
Winter Weather Reminders
Please assist us in encouraging your children to
dress appropriately for the cold weather. Please
ensure that your child is wearing his/her boots,
hats, gloves and scarves. Except under unusual
conditions, students will go outside during recess
and lunch hour.
For our younger students, please ensure that
your child has an extra change of clothing
(socks and pants) stored in their back pack.
This will help prevent phone calls home when
your child comes to the office with wet
clothing. All items of clothing should be labelled
so that each student can more easily locate
his/her own clothing from the class coat rack area.
Each term many items make their way to the “Lost
and Found” bin and are never claimed. Labelled items
can be returned more easily and mixed up items sorted
out more readily. If your child brings home any clothing
item by mistake, please return it to the school so that this
mix up may be corrected.
Students are expected to wear shoes in the school
building at all times. Please note that in the event of an
emergency evacuation, students will not have the
opportunity to put on shoes, boots, clothing articles, etc.
Please ensure that your child has an extra pair of shoes
at school, to keep their feet dry and warm during wet
and/or snowy weather.
Snow and Ice
Please remind your children that their
safety is of the utmost importance to us.
Snow is always to stay on the ground.
Snowball throwing, kicking snow or ice,
or throwing snow at anyone is not tolerated here at Holy
Family School.
Indoor Recess Donations
During indoor recess our students are often
looking for games to play. If you have board
games, playing cards, lego, etc. that your
family is no longer using we would greatly
appreciate if you would donate them to the
school.
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
Cross Country Finals
This year we were able to take 10
students to the Board Finals at
Centennial Park in Etobicoke. We had
a great day with all the runners placing
well with their individual race times. Holy Family School
was very excited to learn that our Grade 5 boys’ team
placed 3rd overall in the Dufferin-Peel School Board.
Congratulations to Marco. A., Stephen B., Luke D., and
Luca D. It was a fantastic finish to a good year.
Intermediate Volleyball
The Boys’ and Girls’ Intermediate Volleyball
teams represented the school well in our
tournaments. They demonstrated great
sportsmanship. Congratulations to: Alex R.,
Cristian C., Anthony C., Anthony H., Fabiano B.,
Joseph C., David J., Jaxon K., Mark C., Brianna A.,
Martina C., Daniella F., Alexa F., Taylor G., Sara M.,
Grace M., Olivia P., Jessica R., and Larissa Z. Thank you
to the coaches, Mr. Mazanik, Mrs. Oliveira, and Mrs.
Mammoliti.
ECO Team News
The ECO team continues to promote
Boomerang Lunches here at Holy
Family School. It is important for us
to make sure that we, as a school, are
not putting our organic waste into the
garbage. Please take home the
banana peels, apple cores and half eaten sandwiches
and place them into the composter at home or into the
roadside compost bins for pick up. These items can be
used to make great compost for our gardens. Students
are also being reminded to use the recycle bins properly
at school. The paper goes in the gray bins and other
recyclables go into the blue bins. Please keep using your
reusable containers every day. Our Grade 5 Extended
French class have also started a plastic water bottle
campaign. We are hoping that they find no plastic water
bottles in the school. We would like to thank Eco Caledon
for their Waste Reduction Workshop. Students had an
opportunity to learn about better recycling practices.
Parents please remember that we are an
Idle Free Zone. Your cars need to be
turned off when you park and drop off
and/or when picking up your child at the
school. We have been observing cars
being left idling in our lot.
As the Advent season is beginning, our Eco Team would
like to remind everyone to reuse gift bags and wrap
presents carefully so that we do not waste paper. The Eco
Team would like to wish everyone a safe and Eco friendly
Christmas. Merry Christmas and God Bless from the
ECO Team.
Youth Faith Ambassadors
Thank you for all your generous
donations to help make Operation
Christmas Child a success. Holy
Family School was able to fill 32
shoeboxes with much needed
items for those less fortunate. The
Youth Faith Ambassadors helped
to wrap the boxes so a child will receive their very own
Christmas present this year.
Virtue of the Month—Hope
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of
the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
During the month of December, we
will be focusing on the virtue of
hope. We believe that God comes
to us as a real human who can show
us the way of life. We understand
that both the world and its people
are from God and so are essentially good. Furthermore,
God has given us this Advent season year after year in
order to focus our minds and our hearts on the good all
around us. Year after year, we are reminded that God
chose to send his Son to us because we are worth it. God
knows how great we can be when we all come together.
When we look at the world through the eyes of God we
see it becoming more and more like the reign of God that
Jesus describes.
People of Hope…






Keep up a positive attitude
Can bounce back from tough situations
Set and stick to their goals
See the good in others even when they make
mistakes
Work to include others
Let others know that they are good people
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
Bullying Prevention
Initiative Corner
BLESSING OF AN ADVENT WREATH
All make the sign of the cross as the reader says:
Our Bullying Prevention message for
December is that “We all want to feel
included.” Our focus is on including and
accepting others. The key message
underscores the idea that all of us
desire the same thing and we all have some
responsibility in creating an atmosphere that is inclusive.
Everyone wants to know they have a friend by their side.
This month we want everyone to try and include people
who may not feel as if they are included in everything.
Maybe you might just put a smile on their faces. There is
always room for one more friend, one more happy face.
And remember, if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re
part of the problem.
The Season of Advent
Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent is the
season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays)
leading up to the celebration of Christmas. The Advent
season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and
minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and
also to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.
The final days of Advent, from December 17th to
December 24th, focus particularly on our preparation for
the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas).
Advent devotions including the Advent wreath, remind us
of the meaning of the season. The use of the Advent
Wreath is a traditional practice which has found its place in the
Church as well as in the home. The blessing of an Advent
Wreath takes place on the First Sunday of Advent or on the
evening before the First Sunday of Advent.
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Response (R/.) Who made
heaven and earth.
Then the Scripture, Isaiah 9: (lines
1-2 and 5-6) or Isaiah 63 (lines 1617 & 19) or Isaiah 64 (lines 2-7) is read:
Reader: The Word of the Lord. R/. Thanks be to God.
With hands joined, the leader says:
Lord our God, we praise you for your Son, Jesus Christ:
he is Emmanuel, the hope of the peoples, he is the wisdom
that teaches and guides us, he is the Savior of every nation.
Lord God, let your blessing come upon us as we light the
candles of this wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christ’s promise to
bring us salvation. May he come quickly and not delay.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/. Amen.
The blessing may conclude with a verse from
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”:
O come, desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of
humankind; bid ev’ry sad division cease and be thyself our
Prince of peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.—
From "Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers"
The staff of
Holy Family School
wish all of our
students and their
families a very
blessed
Christmas Season.
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
December 2014
Sun
Nov
Mon
30 DEC
-1st Sunday of
Advent
Tue
Wed
1
2
-Book Fair open to
4:30 p.m.
-Collection for
Jesse Tree of
Hope begins
7
-Lego Club
-Rosary
Apostolate—p.m.
-Book Fair open to
4:30 p.m.
8
-2nd Sunday of
Advent
9
21
-4th Sunday of
Advent
10
16
17
-Hot Lunch
-ELP Christmas
Concert—11:00 a.m.
22
23
-Christmas Break
Begins
11
6
12
13
19
20
-SeeHear
Screening
-Skating—a.m.
18
-PIZZA
-Skating—a.m.
24
-Christmas Eve
5
-Virtue Assembly
-Skating—a.m.
-PIZZA
-Advent Retreat
-Family Advent Mass
--7 p.m. @ H.F.
Church
-Christmas Open
House—8:00-8:45
p.m. @ H.F. School
Sat
4
-PIZZA
-Book Fair open to
8:00 p.m.
-Last day for items
for Jesse Tree of
Hope
15
-3rd Sunday of
Advent
Fri
3
-Hot Lunch
-Book Fair open to
4:30 p.m.
-Lego Club
14
Thu
-Last Day of School
before Christmas
Break
-Pajamas & Movie
Day
-Christmas Sing-aLong – a.m.
25
-Merry Christmas
26
27
-Boxing Day
January 2015
Sun
Dec
Mon
28
Dec
Tue
29
Dec
Wed
30
Dec
Thu
31
-New Year’s Eve
4
5
6
13
19
-P.A. Day—No
School for
Students
25
3
9
10
15
16
17
22
23
24
21
30
31
-PIZZA DAY
27
-JK Registration
7 – 9 p.m. (Snow
Day)
-Virtue Assembly
-PIZZA DAY
20
26
-Last day of
Christmas Break
8
14
-Start submitting
applications for Ex.
French 2015
-JK Registration
7 – 9 p.m.
2
7
-Rosary Apostolate—
p.m.
-Ex. French Info
Meeting—7 p.m.
Sat
1
-PIZZA DAY
-Immunization
Clinic #2
-Entry Planning
Meeting @ CEC
12
18
Jan
-Happy New Year!!!
-School resumes
11
Fri
28
-JK Registration
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
29
-JK Registration
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
-PIZZA DAY
-School Council
Mtg. @ 6:30 p.m.
-JK Registration
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
-NET Retreat for
Gr. 7s
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
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.
8