8 Parkway Ave, Brampton, Ontario L6X 2G4
Telephone: (905) 451-8501
Fax: (905) 451-7535
NEWSLETTER
October 2015
Principal
M. MacDonald
Secretary
A. Ashton
Superintendent
Miss. Brampton Central
L. Papaloni
Parish
St, Jerome Parish
Phone: 905-455-4260
Pastor
Fr. Jan Kolodynski
School Council Chair
S. Pio
School Council Vice Chair
L. Clayton
Trustee
D. D’Souza
Ward 5
Phone: 905-579-0126
Attendance Verification
Phone: 905-451-8501
Principal’s Message
September has been very busy with
For the gifts you have given
many activities such as our Open
The colour of the season reminds us
House, BBQ, Book Fair and not to
of the beauty
mention reorganization of classes.
You alone can create.
Last week, we celebrated our Opening
We are thankful for the food you provide
School Mass. We also participated in
in the harvest.
a school-wide Terry Fox walk around
You have filled the earth with your gifts.
our neighbourhood.
You have blessed us.
Our students are now settled into conWe are ever grateful!
sistent classroom routines. Please
continue to work with our teachers to
ensure your child’s academic and behavior expectations are met. Please
reinforce to them the importance of
being on time and ready to learn and
be productive each day and make
sure they are getting adequate sleep
at night.
Our School Council is planning our
upcoming Halloween and MacMillan’s
Fundraisers. Thank you to the School
Wednesday Pizza Days this year
Council members for all their organiEach Wednesday, students are invited to zation and thank you in advance for
bring $2.50 for each slice of warm pepyour support of these fundraisers. All
peroni and cheese pizza they would like
money collected goes directly to supfor their lunch. No order forms are nec- porting the students in various ways
essary. Pizza will be delivered FRESH
throughout the school year.
each Wednesday. (Due to different lunch
On behalf of the staff here at St. Jotimes, Pizza orders for
seph School, we wish you and your
Kindergarten students
family a Happy Thanksgiving!
will be done separately
Autumn Prayer
Lord, we come before you in Thanksgiving
by their teachers.)
Web Site
www.dpcdsb.org/JOEBR
M. MacDonald
Upcoming MacMillan’s Fundraiser
We are pleased to inform you that as a result of our success last year St. Joseph
will be hosting MacMillan's and Christmas Wreaths
Fundraisers again. MacMillan's offers products for everyone including appetizers, desserts and holiday time savers.
Order forms will be provided this week and products will
be sent home in time for the holidays.
School Operations
Communication Updates
CHANGES TO PHONE NUMBERS
OPEN HOUSE
Thank you to all who have completed and returned the Student Verification Sheets. The information requested is essential for communication with home in the event of an
emergency. If you change your phone or cell numbers or
any contact information, please notify us of the changes.
Many thanks goes out to all those who attended our Open
House on Wednesday, September 23rd. The evening was a
great success. Thank you to School Council and the parent
volunteers for assisting with the barbecue and the book fair.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
& EXCURSIONS
This year your child will have the opportunity to participate
in a variety of field trips and extra-curricular activities. In
preparation for these events, permission forms will be sent
home. It is essential that these forms be filled out and
promptly returned to the school. No student will be allowed
on any trip or activity without a signed permission form.
Thank you for your cooperation.
VISITORS TO SCHOOL
& CONTACTING STAFF MEMBERS
If you wish to speak to a staff member, we request that you
call and book an appointment. This enables our staff to plan
ahead to meet you without disrupting any planned activities
during or after school.
VISITORS AND VOLUNTEERS
To ensure school security for students and teachers, the
Board policy requires that all visitors (including parents)
and volunteers must report to the office when entering the
school. Please enter through the main doors only.
Volunteers are welcome and appreciated in the school. If
you wish to volunteer, you must complete a criminal reference check. If you completed a criminal reference check last
year, and submitted a copy to the school, you are requested
to complete an Offence Declaration Form this year. Please
contact the school office for more information.
Lunch Students & Leaving School Grounds
The school lunch hour is 11:50 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. When
children stay for lunch, they eat with their classmates and
remain on school property throughout the lunch period.
Supervision is provided by staff and a Student Monitor
(lunch supervisor). For safety reasons, students either stay
for lunch or leave for lunch every day. Changes to this routine are done only with written permission by a
parent/guardian. Students are not allowed to call home to
go out for lunch. A parent must come to the school to sign
them out. Parents accept the responsibility for conduct,
safety and the well being of students when they are given
permission to leave school property. Thank you for continuing to support this safety routine.
VALUABLES
Students are reminded not to bring valuables such as electronic games, toys, personal items of importance, or money
to school. The school does not accept responsibility for the
above. Wherever possible, personal items should be marked
with the child’s name. Students will be asked to have parents pick up from the office any inappropriate items brought
to the school.
SCHOOL DRESS CODE – Cooler Weather
Students are expected to adhere to standards of
modesty, neatness and good taste in their attire
within our school. As temperatures drop, students need to dress warmly and have an additional pair of pants and socks handy for unexpected playground splashes. Please remember
to bring a pair of indoor shoes to keep mud and sand at bay.
PEDICULOSIS
Head lice are parasites which have been common among
humans for centuries. They are not connected in any way
with dirt or neglect. Anyone can be infested with them. We
ask your cooperation in following our school procedures for
controlling these pests.
If cases are found in the school, we will inform parents. We
shall check friends and classmates of the affected students.
However, we request that you also check your own children
and if you find them to be infested, we would ask that you
let us know. Information on the proper treatment can be
obtained from a pharmacist or the Peel Regional Health Department. If your children have head lice, we will ask you
to keep them out of school until they have been treated with
the correct shampoo and their head is entirely clear of lice
and nits (eggs).
Terry Fox Walk—Sept. 30th
On Wednesday, September 30th, we
had an assembly commemorating Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. Following this, each class headed out for
our Terry Fox Walk through the neighbourhood. Afterwards, they were treated
to water and a snack courtesy of the Gorman family of Connor and Hayden.
Virtue of the Month
Affirmation:
I understand other’s feelings and difficulties.
I am able to share in the joy of others.
I can sense the hurt around me.
I care about who is in trouble or has made a mistake.
School Council
All parents are welcome and encouraged to attend our
School Council Meetings! It is a good place to hear
about some of the initiatives that are happening at St. Joseph Elementary as well as an opportunity to connect and
meet with other parents in the community. Input is welcome so come and join us. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.
The members of this year’s School Council are:
S. Pio
Chair
What is Empathy?
L. Clayton
Vice Chair
Empathy is the ability to experience and respond to another
person's feelings. Empathy is widely recognized as a universal
virtue, closely related to many other virtues, such as love, compassion, kindness, tolerance, respect, and acceptance. When
you have empathy you understand the emotions and difficulties
of others around you and respond in a positive way. This helps
others see your moral character and helps you influence people
and win friends.
T. Suppa
Treasurer
T. Fanzo
Secretary
L. Morasky
OAPCE Representative
R. Ungar
Parish Rep
A. Cyr
Parent Rep
K. Howard
Parent Rep
L. Dinis
Parent Rep
T. Fanzo
Fundraising Rep
M. MacDonald
Principal
S. Cannon
Teacher Rep
A. Ashton
Non Teaching Rep
I am a loyal and committed friend.
Why practice Empathy?
You need empathy to survive and succeed in the world. By
experiencing empathy we can understand how certain actions
and words can hurt others. This understanding stops us from
hurting those around us. Without empathy, we travel down the
road of violence and destruction. You will find happiness and
serenity only in caring for others.
How do you practice Empathy?
Before you do anything or make any decision, simply ask yourself: How will it affect others? Will it have a negative impact
on their well-being? If I were in their shoes, how would I react?
This practice is basically the gold rule. Instead of being preoccupied with your own self-interest, everyday ask yourself:
What can I do to reduce other people's suffering? How can I
bring some sunshine to someone's life? How can I make a difference in my corner of the world, here and now?
You are practicing the Virtue of EMPATHY when you…

Notice when someone is hurt or needs a friend

Care enough about her/him to stop what you are doing
and let her know you care

Listen and try to understand

Forgive when you are hurt and give those around you
another chance to be your friend instead of hurting
back
We have held one School Council Meeting so far this
year. All meetings are held on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the
school library. The School Council Meetings for the
2015/2016 school year are:
October 26
November 30
February 8
April 18
June 6
School Council Meetings are open to all parents.
Please join us at our next meeting.
 Help people and animals in need
You need more practice when you…
 Do not notice that people or animals around you are sad or
having problems
 Think what you are doing is more important than what is
happening to others
 Don’t stop to listen or show you care
 Judge or criticize
 Hurt others back because you are angry
.
Virtues T-Shirts
Dates to Remember
Virtues T–Shirts:
Over the last few
years, we have held
monthly Virtues assemblies and will continue them this year.
Three years ago, we
purchased Virtues TShirt for every child in
the school to wear
during our monthly
Virtues Assemblies.
We thought they would be great for showing school
spirit and the value of celebrating the Virtues. They
were originally purchased jointly through School Council
and School fundraising.
October
At our last School Council Meeting, we decided that we
would not fund the purchase of new ones, as most children would have outgrown their old ones by now and it
would be a significant cost to the Council this year.
However, it was felt that the virtues T-Shirts should be
offered as an option for parents to purchase at a cost of
$7.00 per T-Shirt. We need a minimum or der of 50
T-Shirts for the company to process the order. A separate survey form will go home so that you can indicate if
you are interested in ordering T-Shirts and how many
you wish to order for your family. Adults can order them
too if they wish. No money will be collected at this time.
If we have over 50 T-Shirts requested from the survey, a
separate order form will go home to indicate sizes.
First Communion and Confirmation
ALL PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND
FIRST COMMUNION AND CONFIRMATION
PACKAGES MUST BE PICKED UP AT THE PARISH AFTER ANY SATURDAY/SUNDAY MASS, FILLED OUT
AND BROUGHT TO THE MEETING
WITH A COPY OF YOUR CHILD’S
BAPTISM CERTIFICATE.
REGISTRATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL OCTOBER 25th.
12
Thanksgiving
14
Junior Boys Volleyball Tournament
16
Cross-country Family Meet
19
Photo Day
21
Halloween Dance-a-thon Pledges due
26
School Council Meeting—7 p.m.—library
27
First Communion Parent Information Session
28
Virtue of Empathy Assembly—2:30 p.m.
30
Halloween Dance-a thon
4
Grade 8’s visit St. Augustine Secondary
5
Dental Screening—KDGN, Grade 2 & 4
17
Progress Reports go home
18
Gr. 8 Parent Information Night—St. Augustine
19
Interview Evening (as needed)
HALLOWEEN
Students have the option to wear costumes to school on
Friday, Oct. 30st. For safety reasons they must follow
these guidelines:

Do not bring weapon replicas such
as swords, knives, guns or objects
that could injure others.

Do not wear costumes that may be
too gory or scary. We have young
children who may be frightened.

Masks may not be worn in hallways or outside as
they pose a safety risk with such a large number of
children. Make up is a better option.

Costumes may get damaged at school. Please ensure
that you are prepared with a back up for the evening.

For those who do not wish to wear a costume, we
encourage them to wear black and orange.
CONFIRMATION PARENT ONLY MEETING
Tuesday November 3th - 8:00 p.m. St. Jerome Parish
Junior Girls Volleyball Tournament
November
FIRST COMMUNION PARENT ONLY MEETING
Tuesday October 27th - 8:00 p.m. St. Jerome Parish
9
Have a fun and safe Halloween!