St. Joseph Catholic Elementary
NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015
December, January 2015/2016
St. Joseph School is now on Twitter! For the latest news and information, follow us
@StJosephDPCDSB.
Principal’s Message
Here are our 12 amazing Christmas trees in the Town Square
right beside the Big Tree in
owntown Streetsville. Every
class or grade decorated a tree
with an ornament made by every student in our school. School
Council organized the trees,
bought all the materials for the
ornaments and subsidized hot
chocolate after that! In this way,
we represent our school and our
board in our community. If you
haven't gone to look at the trees
yet, you really should take a
walk on Main Street and see
them.
There is so much going on in
our school at this time. We have
book fair this week - great place
to buy Christmas presents “Evening with Santa,” Spirit
Week, Advent Mass and Caroling in the gym. Our Kindergartens are putting on a Christmas
Concert and our choir is going to the
Board Head Office to sing for the entire Catholic Education Center. This is
such an honour! Congratulations
choir!
We have also been very busy raising
money (bubble gum and candy gram
sales) to donate to our Christmas
Hamper fund for gift cards and food
hampers for needy families in our
Parish this Christmas. Thanks so
much for your kind and generous donations of toys, warm clothing and gift
certificates.
We are in one of the most beautiful
times of the year in our liturgical calendar. The season of Advent is that
time when we celebrate and anticipate the birth of Jesus. We are waiting for His birth and prepare for that
arrival with a great deal of excitement
and energy.
There is so much going on in our little
school, please take a look at our
school calendar and classroom
calendars and see if you are able
to join us in celebrating during
this special season.
We have a new Twitter Account
- you can keep up with all the
very latest events by “following”
us on Twitter. (see above for our
address)
Father Marc-Andre and Father
Joseph are always happy to see
us - weather permitting, we’ll be
having our Advent Mass at 10
a.m. on December 18, 2015. We
can always use extra volunteers
to walk the small ones to the
church with us. A schedule for
Masses over the holidays at St.
Joseph Parish is included inside!
On behalf of our staff and School
Council, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and all the joy a
new year can bring!
God Bless
C. Bacci
You are cordially invited to St. Joseph
Advent Mass at St. Joseph Parish
Friday December 18th at 10 a.m.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR IS COMING TO ST. JOE’S!
Come to our Santa Book Fair event! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school and we
invite you to share in this celebration of “books and reading“ with us. The Book Fair will take
place from Monday, December 7th to Friday, December 11th. Students will have an opportunity to browse the fair and to purchase books during school hours. The Book Fair will also
be open for a special “Evening With Santa” event from 7 pm to 9pm in the library commons
center on Wednesday, December 9th, 2015. The “Evening with Santa”
will be enjoyed by those families that purchased tickets to this
event—but all are welcome to come and support our school and buy a
book! This is a great opportunity to purchase some books for all the
children on your Christmas list, while supporting our school library
commons. Look for a flyer in your child’s backpacks! We are looking
forward to another successful book fair!
Many thanks,
Mrs. Guerrizio
Teacher-Librarian
h
o
p
e
HOPE
People of Hope…
 Expect the best to happen for everyone
 Hold on to their dreams
Virtue for
The Month
of
December
 Always count on God to help them in tough situations
 Trust that things will work out in God’s way
 Look for something good to come out of problems
 Are looking forward to life’s blessings
 Set and stick to their own goals
Page 2
HOW TO HAVE A MORE PEACEFUL ADVENT
Regularly express your love to your spouse, family, relatives and
friends.
Try to relax. Don’t let life’s pressures weigh you down. Don’t take
life too seriously.
Don’t be afraid to have dreams for your future. Try to formulate
goals to help you attain these dreams.
Practice generosity. Find ways to give to the poor and needy.
Let go of your hurts. Everyday take one more step toward forgiving
anyone who has hurt you.
When you find yourself thinking negatively stop and reaffirm God’s
love for you. Recall his mercy and remind yourself that he has a
beautiful plan for your life.
Find the time for regular exercise and eat well.
Choose one intention that you will pray for every day this Advent.
Think of a person you know who needs to experience God’s touch
and pray for him or her every day. Then, watch God work.
Find some time to be alone each day and reflect on the good things
Be sure to spend a little extra time this month with friends. Don’t let God has given you.
the demands of the season isolate you.
Grade 2, Grade 7 and 8 Students will Celebrate 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation!!
This year our Grade 2’s will receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Reconciliation will be held on March 5 at 10 a.m. or March 8
@ 7 p.m. The Grade 2’s will celebrate their first Holy Communion with
their families at St. Joseph Parish at regular weekend Masses in the
spring. The Grade 7’s Celebrate their Confirmation on May 19th @ 7
p.m. and the Grade 8’s will celebrate their Confirmation on May 24th @ 7 p.m. All
our classes are working hard to be ready for their special day. Check our website
Pastoral Plan for more information.
IMPORTANT !!!! SAVE THE DATE FOR GRADE 8 GRADUATION!!!!
Our Graduation Date this year is set for Wednesday, June 29 , 2016. It will begin at 10 a.m. at the Portuguese Center
on Queen St. We hope all our parents/guardians will be able to attend this special event with your children.
Page 3
Girls Club Collects for our St. Vincent de Paul Families
This Christmas Season our St. Joseph Girls’ Club sponsored several families in our
St. Joseph Parish Community. Your generosity was overwhelming. Thank you so
much for all your donations. Our Parish Community is very grateful. Advent is a time
of Hope, Peace and Joy for all. Let us do our part to help one another during this
blessed time of year. Special thanks to Mrs. Snopek, Mrs. Belsito and Mrs. Kowal
for leading our Girls Club this year.
Ski Trip for Intermediate Students!
We are happy to provide the Intermediate students with the opportunity to learn to ski. On Monday, January 11;
Monday, January 25; Monday, February 8 and Monday, February 22, students will travel to Hockley Valley Ski Resort in Orangeville. The cost of the program which includes a daily lesson,
lift ticket, rental of equipment and transportation is $ 181 For those students with their own equipment the cost is $ 154.
At Hockley, the students pay for three visits and the fourth visit is free. All
students and supervisors are looking forward to hitting the slopes!
St. Joseph EQAO Results
2014-2015


4
We have maintained a consistent result in
Reading the past several years. We dropped
in Writing 13%. However , there was a huge
improvement in Math - gaining 25%. We will
continue to maintain successful instructional
guided practice in Literacy (reading) and
work to increase our Writing Literacy which
is clearly an area of need for us at the Grade
3 level. The attitude chart on Mathematics
shows a marked improvement as well in
students' confidence in solving Math questions.
We have maintained a consistent result in
Reading and Writing for the past several
years. We are in line with achievement with
the Board and the Province in these areas.
We will continue to maintain successful instructional guided practice in Literacy
(reading and writing). We increased our
Mathematical literacy up 13% over last year.
As with Grade 3, the attitude chart on Mathematics shows a marked improvement as
well in students' confidence in solving Math
questions.
Remembrance
Day Assembly
Thanks to Mr. Thrasher for organizing a beautiful Remembrance Day Celebration. Our
grade 8’s performed a thought
provoking liturgy and Mrs. Sajda
and Mrs. Foster’s classes (under
the direction of Mr. Thrasher)
presented a play in tableau form
telling the story of a soldier who
went off to war and did not return. Mr. Thrasher is new to our
school and he certainly made a splash with his entrance
with this celebration. All students enjoyed watching and
participating in such a moving and heartfelt liturgy. Many
thanks to our supportive parents and grandparents who
attended our assembly.
A few reminders from the office… Please remember to drive in
the South Driveway and come through the drive through lanes when dropping off and picking up from
PLASP. It becomes a dangerous situation when driving in the one way (exit) entrance the wrong way.
 Make sure your child brings a spoon or fork for their lunch. We're happy to provide, but the office
doesn't always have them in stock.
 Many parents make last minute calls to re-arrange pick ups and this is not always easy to accommodate. As much as
possible, keep your routine simple and consistent for picking up your children. And finally,
 Remember to call the attendance line when absent or late. Dial (905) 826-4422 - press 1. You can leave a message
at anytime and we will get it.
Christmas Mass Schedule @ St. Joseph
Thursday, December 24
(Christmas Eve)
Friday, December 25
(Christmas Day)
Thursday, December 31
(New Year’s Eve)
Friday, January 1, 2014
(New Year’s Day)
4 pm , 6pm, 8 pm, 10pm
& 12 midnight
8 am , 9:30 am, 11 am ,
& 12:30 pm
5:30 pm
9:30 am, 11 am & 12:30 pm
Advent Reconciliation:
December 15h: 7 pm – 9 pm
Parish Office closed December 24/15 – January 2/16
Page 5
Junior Speech Competition: (top row; left to right )
Zachary, Ryan, Michaela, Sarah, Abigail, Angelina, Anna
Primary Recital Students: (bottom row; left to right)
Amara, Santiago, Emily, Ivana, Ethan
Intermediate Speech Competition
Participants: (from left) Anthony
K., Aryan, Tiana, Isadora and
Chelsea.
St. Joseph Public Speaking Contest
On Wednesday, November 18th we held our annual
Public Speaking Competition for both the Junior and
Intermediate Divisions. Congratulations to the following students for representing their classes at the competition: Michela C, Sarah J, Melissa T,
Ryan D, Zachary Z, Abigail S, Angelina R, Ana K, Anthony K, Aryan M, Tiana K, Isadora C and
Chelsea N. In the Junior Competition Melissa T placed first, Angelina R placed second and Ana
K placed third. In the Intermediate competition Aryan M placed first, Isadora C placed second and Tiana K placed third. Melissa T and Aryan M went on to represent St. Joseph School
at the Family Competition held at St. Faustina. Between the speeches Grade Three students
recited poems. Congratulations to the following Grade Three students for representing their
classes: Amara A, Santiago S, Ivana L, Ethan C and Emily K. Thank you to Mrs. Thompson, Mr.
Higgins, Ms. Jennings and Mrs. Palmieri for being judges at our competition.
We are very proud of you!
Kindergarten Registration for 2016-17
If your child was born in 2012 YOU MAY REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN
Registration for Kindergarten for the 2015-16 school year, will take place on:
Monday, January 25, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
* Snow Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2016, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
For more information about registration and the Kindergarten program, call 905 826-4422 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
Flag Football
At St. Joseph!
In the howling wind and biting rain, the St. Joseph Jets donned the blue
and white ready to take on the formidable foes of Mississauga North. The
Jets took the field for Game 1 and came out on fire. They used their
speed and trickery to upset a surprised Albert of Jerusalem in convincing
fashion to the tune of 25 to 6.
Full of confidence, and a little too giddy, the Jets came out flat against
Bernard and lost Game Two - 6 to Nothing!
In Game 3, the Jets coaching staff crunched some numbers and the Jets
manufactured a 12-12 tie with Faustina. OFF to the Quarter Finals!!!
In Quarter final action, the Jets faced Faustina for the 2nd time in a row. With wind gusts up to 89 km an hour, both squads had trouble
with an air game (let alone standing upright!)
On the ground, both teams were being stymied by great defense. In the second half, the
Jets caught fire for a brief moment and darted through the wind for the first and only score
of the game. Jets defenders shut Faustina doewn the rest of the way. On to the Semi Finals!
With the elements still wreaking havoc, the Jets and Simon Stock took to the turf. In another defensive battle, the teams took turns running at each other, trying to find a hole, but
being thwarted at every opportunity. At the end of the First Half the defense had a brief
lapse in judgement and Stock scored the first touchdown of the game. The Jets pressed
hard but came up empty, sending Stock on to the finals.
Due to their opening win against Albert, the Jets came 3rd place on a technicality. The
coaching staff is extremely proud of all the players for their effort. You made St. Joseph
extremely proud. Thank you to Mr. Bernais, Mrs. Foster and Mr. Thrasher for coaching!
A warm welcome back to Mrs. Lumb, our Educational Resource Worker, who
is returning from a Parental Leave.
Eco News!
As an ECO GOLD CERTIFIED school, we are very successful and committed to being Stewards of the Earth through our many eco initiatives. Our Eco New Year’s
resolution for 2016 is wasteless lunches every day of the week at St. Joseph
School. Everyone is encouraged to bring in a wasteless lunch, and snacks, every
day. A wasteless lunch is one that comes in reusable containers
so that there is no garbage. A friendly reminder that we are fortunate to
have a water filling station. Please bring in a reusable water bottle and refill it throughout the day at our water filling station. By bringing wasteless
lunches to school, we can do our part to reduce the amount of garbage we
send to landfill sites. In North America we make enough garbage every day
to fill 70,000 garbage trucks. Lined up bumper to bumper, over a year, they
would stretch halfway to the moon. Did you know that one student taking a disposable lunch to
school creates a total of 30 kilograms of lunch waste every year. That is about how much a
grade two student weighs.
Welcome Officer Billy - Our Kids LOVE officer Billy! He
comes outside with us at Recess and he loves to pass on
his messages of “Staying Safe and Responsible in our
Community.”
Officer Billy is our Community Officer from Peel Police. His
next visit is April 1, 2016. He also attends many of our
school functions. Thanks Officer Billy for all you do for our
school. (pictured left to right: Jessie, Ethan, Officer Billy, Josip, Daniella)
Come out and join us at our next School Advisory Council Meeting:
Wednesday, January 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Library Commons Center at our
school. All parents/guardians are encouraged to attend.
Self-Control: Virtue for the Month of
January
SELF-CONTROL
People of Self-Control…
 Follow their conscience
 Are patient with themselves and others
 Share and take turns
 Are able to use prayer to calm themselves down
 Think before they react (W.W.J.D.*)
 Look for peaceful ways to solve conflict
 Try to do what’s best for everyone
 Have the power to stand up for what is right
*What Would Jesus Do?
Our Chocolate Fundraiser at St. Joseph
We had an amazing fundraiser at our school this past couple of months. Thanks to our tireless Parent
Council who worked really hard to organize, hand out chocolate, take inventory, count money, buy prizes
and determine prize winners. Thanks to all our parents who generously sold chocolate and supported our
school.
On November 17 we held a “Chocolate Assembly” to have our prize winning draw - as well as to
acknowledge the students and classes in each division who sold the most chocolate for our school.
Our winners are:
Highest chocolate sales - Corey M., Charlie R., Gavin W., Alina S., Molly D., Matthew B., Malachy H., Alex
M., Meaghan A.
Primary Division - Mrs. Snopek’s Class
Junior Division - Mrs. Falcone’s Class
Intermediate Division - Mrs. Foster’s Class
3 - 5 lb. Chocolate Bars - Molly D., David Z., Hannah N.
Movie Passes - Hunter B.
Principal for a Day - Jenso S.
Here is a comprehensive list of all of the items the money will go to buy:
Team Jerseys, school beautification, participation in Streetsville events i.e.(Christmas Tree Decorating,
Bread and Honey Festival and Remembrance Day etc), Graduation (SK and Grade 8), awards for students,
prizes for competitions and fundraising, assemblies, visitors and presentations for our school, props for
plays and presentations, outdoor playground equipment, school trip augmentation, Sacraments, Playground updates, Equipment for Kindergarten, Peace Garden, garden for our new Kindergarten classroom,
busses for events and trips, taxi’s for extra curriucular participation, updating Tech equipment and adding
to our technology grid (iPads, SMARTBoards), sporting events and academic competitions.
Our goal at St. Joseph is that all the money from fundraising activities goes directly back to our students in
some form or another. St. Joseph is a very special place and we offer a tremendous amount of extra curricular programs for students. These programs do require outside revenues to support them.
We do appreciate the support of all of our fundraising efforts. Please know that the fundraising we do in
some form or another directly enhances your child(ren)’s experience at our school. We are grateful for the
support from our parents and guardians that allow our students to participate in so many events and enhance the life of our school.
ECOSOURCE WORKSHOPS...During
the first week of December, EcoSource, an innovative environmental organization specializing in fun, hands-on programs that focus on how each of us can change our daily
habits to become better environmental citizens presented
workshops to each class. The workshops were fun, informative and grade appropriate. Thank you to EcoSource for
coming in to teach us how to make better choices in order
to reduce our Eco footprint.
Our Entire Junior Division went to Ripley’s Aquarium for a visit. A great time
was had by all!! Thanks to
Mrs. Scaffidi for organizing
this one of a kind experience!!
Family Tournaments:
The intermediate girls volleyball team completed their season
November 26th with a tough semi-final loss against St.
Therese of the Child Jesus, at the Mississauga North Family
Tournament. Even though the girls did not reach their ultimate goal of reaching and winning the Board tournament, it
was successful season nonetheless. Unfortunately, all good
things come to an end, but the girls should be proud of their
accomplishments, hard work and sportsmanship they displayed this season. Good luck next year to Christina C., Rebecca, Oyin and Jessica who have dawned the St. Joseph Volleyball jersey for the last time as graduating Grade 8s. As for
the rest of the team, a strong foundation and hunger has
been uilt to help attain their ultimate goals next year. A special
thank you to Mr. Bernais and Mrs. Foster helping instill the values,
comradery and skills necessary to be successful both on and off the
court.
Mme Zanier certainly loved coaching our
Intermediate Boy’s Volleyball team. Even
though Mme Zanier is only a 0.4 teacher at
our school she has been so active in our
Extra Curricular program here at our
school. Our boys did well and learned a lot
this season. They won their first exhibition
game in the season. Many thanks to our
boys and Mme Zanier for all their hard
work.
6
Sun
7
3
Thu
2
10Candy Gram
Wed
1
9
Tue
8
Wear Christmas
5
Fri
4
Sat
25Christmas
Christmas
Vacation Begins
19
12
School Book
Fair Ends
Candy Gram
Selling
18
Day
10 a.m. MASS
p.m. Carolling in
Gym
24 Christmas
26
Eve
Jan 1
We are back at
School Monday, Jan-
31
Happy New Year uary 4, 2016
Socks or Accessories
17
Selling
a.m. Identification
Review Committee
Meetings
16
Candy Grams
Delivered
6:30 - Evening with
Santa
Wear RED, GREEN
Rosary Apostolate
15
11
December 2015
Mon
School Book
Fair Begins
9:45 Lockdown Drill
14
23
13
OR YOUR FAVOURITE
CHRISTMAS SWEATER
22
30
Wear Your Christmas
PJ’s
21
29
10:30 Choir performs
at the CEC
20
28
Kinder Christmas Concert
27
New Years EVE