Holy Family School
61 Allan Drive, Bolton, ON L7E 1P7
Phone: (905) 857-1300
Newsletter # 8
www.dpcdsb.org/HOFAM
Principal: M. Clarot
Secretary: M. Proctor
Catholic School Council Co-Chairs: P. Ranieri/M. D’Alelio
Superintendent: L. Storey 1-800-387-9501
Fax: (905) 857-9432
April 2015
Holy Family Church - Pastor: Father L. Leger
Associate Pastor: Fr. David Gikonyo
Church Phone: (905) 857-1938
Trustee: F. Di Cosola (905) 951-8898
Principal’s Message
Easter is the gift…
Easter is the gift of HOPE
Easter is the gift of PEACE
Easter is the gift of LOVE
Let us rejoice in Him,
Who gives them all.
May God bless you at Easter,
And keep you all year through.
May God give you all the faith it takes,
To make your dreams come true.
May God’s love and wisdom always help,
to guide you on your way.
May God’s light
shine down upon you now,
to bless your Easter Day.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Easter Mass / Catholic Education Week
Page 2
Student Transportation / Stopr
Page 3
Eco Team News
Page 3
Virtue of the Month – Love
Page 4
Math Insert April 2015
Page 5
Dates to Remember
Page 6
Spring, the season of new life and renewal, is now upon
us. Our second term is progressing well and it is this time of year I
try to reflect on the many positive initiatives that have been
undertaken during this year.
One of our most significant
accomplishments has been the continuation and further
development of our monthly “Virtue Assembly”. Each class has had
the opportunity to present one of the virtues. The virtues assemblies
have provided our school community an opportunity to be reminded
of our goal of conducting ourselves in a positive manner that we
can all be proud of. In addition, students are recognized and
rewarded for demonstrating these virtues. Please continue to
review our monthly virtues with your children and encourage them
to be positive and caring members of our school community. In
addition, Mrs. Angelosante’s class made and sold Rosary Bracelets
to our school community for ShareLife. In a very short time they
have already raised over $400. On April 2nd, our students will be
participating in the yearly Lenten Retreat. In addition, our Faith
Ambassadors continue their visits to the Davis Center. Our Holy
Family students are matched to a senior from the Davis Center.
They’re matched according to their common interests. Some enjoy
music together, some like sports, and others maybe have a
common sense of humour. This wonderful program allows our
students to build awareness and empathy for our senior community
members. On March 12th, our Faith Ambassadors volunteered their
time at Dr. Simone’s Warehouse. We are extremely fortunate to
have the opportunity to be involved in so many special spiritual
activities. I would like to thank our Adult and Youth Faith
Ambassadors for continuing to renew our faith and for all their extra
efforts.
Also, I want to extend a special thank you to Father Larry
Leger and Father David Gikonyo for their spiritual guidance and
leadership. We have had many opportunities to attend mass as a
school. In addition, teachers have been bringing their classes to
mass over the Lenten season. Attending mass regularly as a
family and as a school, your children will understand the important
connection of school, family and parish.
Please take time to
remember the Lenten practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 14th at the church at 10
a.m. for our Easter mass. I would like to wish all of our families all
the
blessings
and
joys
of
the
Easter
season.
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
Easter Mass
Holy Family School will be closed on
Good Friday, April 3rd, and Easter
Monday, April 6th. Our Easter Mass will
be celebrated on Tuesday, April 14th, at
10:00 a.m. As always, all are welcome to
join us.
School Council
The next parent council meeting is scheduled for
Monday, April 27th at 6:30 p.m. As always, all
parents are welcome and encouraged to attend this
open meeting. The Agenda for the next upcoming
council meeting will be posted on the bulletin board
in the school lobby. A copy of the minutes from the
last council meeting will located in the office for
anyone interested in knowing what is being
discussed but is unable to attend the meetings.
Please feel free to stop in and have a look.
Catholic Education Week
“Catholic Education Week:
Exploring Paths of Joy” is
scheduled for the week of
May 3rd – May 8th, 2015. The
scriptural passage that guides our
theme is: “Were not our hearts burning
within us while He was talking to us on the
road?” - Luke 24:32
The sub-themes for Catholic Education Week
2015 are as follows:
1. Walking Together and Sharing our Story
2. Opening the Scriptures
3. Welcoming Others to the Table
4. Recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread
5. Proclaiming the Good News
Catholic Education Week begins on a Sunday to
highlight the partnership that remains the foundation
of Catholic education between our Catholic schools
and local Catholic parishes. Throughout Catholic
Education Week, we ask you to reflect on the
significance of Catholic education’s presence and
contribution in our Church, and in our society. We
invite all members of our community, to participate
in the celebrations and activities that will mark the
celebration of Catholic Education Week 2015 in our
schools.
Day of Pink
Holy Family School will be taking
part in International Day of Pink
on Wednesday, April 8th, 2015.
Students and staff are encouraged to join us by
wearing pink and celebrating diversity to unite
against bullying in our school.
Class List Formation for
2015 - 2016
We will soon begin the process of making up the
class lists for next fall. This is a complex procedure
which takes into consideration not only the needs of
the individual child, but frames those needs in the
context of the larger classroom group. In each class
we strive for a balance of learning styles, a balance
of gender, a balance of learning needs and a crosssection of abilities.
The current teachers of a grade, support staff and
administration all take part in the process. If you
wish to provide input into the process, please take
into consideration the following guidelines:
Input must be made in writing to the Principal no later
than April 30th, 2015. Requests should be made in
terms of educational contexts, e.g. your child’s
learning needs/strengths/style, information not
already known to the school, best learning
environment. Please do not make requests for
specific teachers as staffing is always tentative and
changes can take place between now and
September. Also, letters must be written yearly.
Requests made in the past will not be considered for
the up-coming year. Therefore, if you have made a
request in the past and your request has not
changed you must put it in writing every year.
Please inform the office if you know that you will be
moving from Holy Family School for the 2015 -16
school year.
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
E.Q.A.0. Testing – Grades 3 & 6
EQAO assessment for Grade 3 and
Grade 6 students will run from May 25th
to June 5th. We kindly ask that parents
refrain from booking appointments or
holidays during this time. Parents may visit
the EQAO website at www.eqao.com for many
resources and useful information regarding EQAO,
including sample tests from last year.
How can you help your child with testing? First
of all, talk with your child and help reduce the anxiety
related to any type of testing situations. You should
also be sure that your child has enough sleep, eats
a nutritious breakfast and is well hydrated.
Research shows that students who are well rested
and have enough fuel to stimulate brain activity
achieve higher scores on average.
Student Transportation -Stopr Website
Effective June 1, transportation
eligibility information for 2015-2016 will
be available on our website. To confirm
the transportation eligibility status for
your child for the 2015-2016 school year, please
access our website at www.stopr.ca. Access the
“Am I Eligible for Transportation?” icon, select 20152016 and enter the required address, 2015-2016
grade level, and program information to obtain the
transportation eligibility status for your child. This
website allows parents to login and find their child’s
transportation information by following these
instructions:
 type in the website address:
http://businfo.stopr.ca
 click “student login”
 enter your child’s OEN number (found on
child’s report card), street/house number,
school and grade
 click “login”
This will automatically display the child’s
transportation information, if they are eligible for
bussing. This capability for “student login” will be
available for parents starting the second last week of
August until the end of June each year. This feature
will be locked down during the summer for route
planning purposes. Additional features of this
website are: School Information, Which School Do I
Attend and Transportation Eligibility, and Delays and
Cancellations. Parents are encouraged to check
this website before the start of school in September
for route information including pickup and drop-off
times.
Also, please note that the board
Transportation Eligibility Policy is as follows:
Kindergarten – Gr. 1
Grades 2 – 4
Grades 5 – 8
1.0 km
1.6 km
2.0 km
Eco Team News
We had some fun ECO activities in March. Thank
you to all the students who took part in “The Great
Gulp” on Wednesday, March 11th. We gathered all
the students in the gym and the ECO Team talked
about the importance of using and enjoying our tap
water. They talked about how plastic water bottles
are filling our landfill sites, are found floating in lakes
and rivers and how they are just bad for the
environment. They talked about the importance of
recycling properly. It was nice to see so many
students with their many styles of reusable water
bottles. We did a count down and everyone had a
big water gulp together.
On Friday, March 27th, Holy
Family School celebrated Earth
Hour. We had all the classes
turn off any unnecessary
lighting, computers, and smart
boards, to do our part in
observing Earth Hour. Each class was also asked
to write down any suggestions that they might have
on how each family could spend the official Earth
Hour on Saturday, March 28th, between 8:30 and
9:30 p.m. We encourage all families to think up fun
and creative ideas for how to spend their Earth hour
together as a family. We will encourage students to
share their ideas during the following week. You
can
find
out
more
by
looking
at
www.wwf.ca/EarthHour
We are continuing to try and make a difference to
our clean air outside. Again to those parents who
have conscientiously remembered to turn off their
engines while waiting in the Idle-Free Kiss ‘N Ride
Zone, THANK YOU!!!!! It does make a difference to
the air around the school. Please visit
www.caledon.ca/environment for more information
regarding this bylaw.
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
The ECO team continues to collect the milk bags.
Thank you to everyone who has sent in their clean
dry “outer shell” milk bags. Please continue to send
in the “outer shell” plastic bags. This will help keep
these non-biodegradable plastic milk bags out of our
landfills and they will be recycled into sleeping mats
for the needs of others around the world.
We are looking forward to seeing our gardens start
to grow again. If you look in the front flower beds of
the school, you can already see the tulips starting to
push through the ground. We hope this is a good
sign that spring is finally here.
Holy Family Hockey Team
Congratulations to the Holy Family
School
Hockey
Team
for
demonstrating great sportsmanship
and representing our school well in
two tournaments. Congratulations to:
Loris D., Cristian C., Nicolas B., Jordan
A., Mark C., Matthew F., Tyler K., Joseph C., Julian
D., Ryan D., Aaron D., Tea M., Melina B., Adam C.,
Nico N., Anthony C., Jaxon K., and Andrew D. A
special thank you to our two dads that helped to
coach the team: Mr. DiDomizio and Mr. Bozzo, as
well as, Mrs. Crognale and Mrs. Mammoliti.
Dance Team
The Holy Family Dance team
will be participating in the
Brampton, Malton, Caledon and Orangeville 10th
Annual Dance Event to be held at The Rose Theatre
on Tuesday, April 21st, 2015. The team has been
practicing all year long in preparation for this event.
The coaches and team are looking forward to
representing Holy Family School at this event.
Youth Faith Ambassadors
On Thursday, March 12th, 2015 the Youth Faith
Ambassadors went to Dr. Simone's warehouse to
pack boxes of school supplies and loaded a shipping
container headed to Guatemala. The YFA's
demonstrated teamwork as they worked together to
stack boxes of food. They also worked alongside
other volunteers showing the virtues of respect and
kindness. The YFA will be going back to the
warehouse again in April.
Virtue of the Month -- Love
In April, we celebrate the virtue of love. God has
given us many guidelines and examples of how to
live our lives. He sent his Son Jesus to make sure
that we could see what life could be like. Jesus
made one lesson clear above all other lessons – the
lesson to love. Love is not about us – it is about
forgetting ourselves and looking out for the good of
the other. That’s what Jesus did – he forgot about
himself on purpose. He chose to give up his life for
the good of others – us! It takes prayer and
concentration to get used to making little sacrifices
for the good of others. Making little sacrifices on
purpose so that others will have a bit of food, a bit of
shelter, a bit of peace, a bit of quiet, a bit of fun, a bit
of friendship. Through prayer and concentration, we
can get better at showing love to everyone we meet.
Bullying Prevention Corner
April’s anti-bullying theme is “If
you’re not part of the solution,
you’re part of the problem.”
Research shows that bystanders
make or break bullying episodes –
they hold the power to stop bullying. They provide
the audience for students engaged in bullying
behaviours. We can all be part of the solution by
using the 3 R’s of bullying: recognize that someone
is being bullied, refuse to let the bully pick on the
person, and report the bullying to an adult.
Tips for parents:
encourage your children to show empathy for
others who are bullied (befriend them, include
them)
teach your children to intervene appropriately or
walk away and tell an adult
role model being “part of the solution” when you
encounter difficult situations in your life
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
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
April 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
1
-April Fool's Day
5
-Happy Easter
6
-Easter Monday
-School Closed
12
7
-Lego Robotics
13
8
19
20
-Int. Hep B/HPV
Clinic #3
26
9
4
-Holy Saturday
10
11
-Gr. 6s at Cedar
Glen
16
17
18
23
24
25
-PIZZA DAY
21
-Dance Team to
Rose Theatre
27
3
-Good Friday
-School Closed
-PIZZA DAY
-Gr. 6s at Cedar
Glen
15
-Easter Mass @ 10
a.m.
-Rosary
Apostolate—p.m.
Sat
2
-PIZZA DAY
-Holy Thursday
-Virtue Assembly
-Lenten Retreat
-HOT LUNCH
-Gr. 6s to Cedar Glen
-Int’l Day of Pink
14
Fri
22
-HOT LUNCH
28
-PIZZA DAY
29
-School Council
Mtg. @ 6:30 p.m.
30
-PIZZA DAY
May 2015
Sun
Mon
Tue
3
4
Wed
5
Thu
6
-HOT LUNCH
10
11
-P.A. Day—No
School for
Students
17
12
13
25
-School Council
Mtg. @ 6:30 p.m.
-EQAO testing
begins
1
2
7
8
9
14
15
16
21
22
23
28
29
30
-PIZZA DAY
19
20
-Victoria Day—
School Closed
24/31
Sat
-PIZZA DAY
-Rosary
Apostolate—p.m.
18
Fri
-PIZZA DAY
26
27
-Virtue Assembly
-Welcome to
Kindergarten Night @
7:00 p.m.
-PIZZA DAY
31
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