St. Joseph Streetsville Catholic Elementary
A Prayer for February
FEBRUARY 2016
Dear Lord, The Great Healer
I kneel before you
Since every perfect gift must come from you,
I pray, give skill to my hands,
Clear vision to my mind,
Kindness and meekness to my heart.
Give me singleness of purpose,
Strength to lift up a part of the burden
Of my suffering fellow men and women
And a true realization of the privilege that is mine.
Take from my heart
All guile and worldliness that with
The simple faith of a child
I may rely on you.
MOTHER TERESA
Children born in 2012 must be registered for FDK!!!
Register Immediately!!!
Principal’s Message
February is Black History month, a month in which
we celebrate the special contributions made by Black
Canadians in the development of our great nation.
Every morning before announcements we will play
music to represent our diverse backgrounds. As well,
every week we will focus on a prominent figure in
Black History: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.
Look for special displays in the school and invitations
to special classroom celebrations to commemorate
our recognition of Black History Month.
There is lots going on in our school. Full day Kindergarten registration just took place - encourage your
friends and neighbours to register NOW!! Report
Cards go home Tuesday, Feb. 2 and Parent/Teacher
Conferences take place on Thursday, February 4th in
the evening. Our Parent Council is also sponsoring a
Parent Event that evening with Kate Jones 5p.m. to
6p.m. She will be speaking to “Great Parenting.”
Join us for our Lenten Mass at St. Joseph Church on
February 17 at 10 a.m.
Our Girl’s Club is selling Valentine’s Candy Grams.
Students can order for themselves or as a special surprise for someone else! We have our fabulous Youth
Faith Ambassadors working on our Valentine’s Celebrations as well as Spirit Days.
We are celebrating Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday
this month. We will be making pancakes for the entire school on “Fat Tuesday”. We are encouraging all
our students to make a special positive promise for
Lent this year.
Wishing you a wonderful February,
C. Bacci
Principal
Virtue of the Month of February: RESPECT
People of Respect…

See God’s presence in themselves
and others

Treat others as they would
like to be treated

Welcome others with smiles
and friendly greetings

Always display good manners

Say ‘excuse me’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
 Avoid the temptation to swear or
gesture inappropriately

Look for ways to encourage and
praise others

Talk kindly about others and avoid
gossip
Very Special Thank-You for all your Help and Donations
this Christmas Season
A very special thank-you to all of our families and supporters for their generous contributions. Thanks for all of your donations we were able to provide food vouchers for our needy parish families and put presents under the tree for these
families. Under the direction of D. Snopek, L. Belsito, A. Kowal and C. Cardozo the Girls’ Club generously gathered donations to make others’ Christmas special. Thank you and great job!!
Our Ice Hockey Team is awesome!!!
It’s a co-team made up of players from Our Lady of Mercy and St. Joseph
Streetsville. This year’s version of the St. JoeMercy Jets Hockey Team took to the ice for the Annual “All Saints” Intermediate
Ice Hockey Tournament. Due to the fact that they won the Tier 2 Championship last year, the team has been promoted to the
Tier 1 Championship division. The Jets won 2 games and lost 1. They finished in 2nd place. (Not too shabby!!) In the playoff
round on February 2nd the Jets are set to face off against their Streetsville rivals - the Dolphin Street Public School!! Stay
Basketball!!
Junior Boys Basketball
The Junior Boys Basketball team has been preparing for the start of the Mississauga North Basketball Season. They participated in the St. James Catholic Cup Pre-Season Tournament and placed 3rd. They showed improvement during the day,
losing the semi-final 25-21 against a strong St. Luke team. The boys will have two more exhibition games against St. Theresa of Avila and St. Sebastian before the regular season begins later this month against traditional rivals St. Rose of Lima
(Feb. 9), St. Elizabeth Seton (Feb. 11), and Divine Mercy (Feb. 16). With a successful season, the boys will qualify for the
Mississauga North Family Tournament which takes place February 25th.
Intermediate Girls/Boys Basketball
Tryouts for the Intermediate Girls Basketball took place in January and the team was selected. The girls have been practicing and providing competition for the Junior Boys Basketball Team and have been progressing daily. The season doesn’t
officially start until March/April, but the girls are trying to get a head start on things by building some team chemistry.
Intermediate Boys Basketball Team tryouts should be taking place towards the end of February and/or the beginning of
March.
February is Black History Month
Every year we celebrate Black History month in February.
This is a time to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians who, throughout history have done so
much to make Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate and
prosperous nation we know today. Mrs. DeSouza’s and Mrs. Scaffidi’s classes have completed our front display case entitled “We
Have a Dream” fashioned from Martin Luther King Jr.’s
Speech. Have a look if you are in the school!!
There are many celebrations taking place throughout Dufferin
-Peel this year. For a complete listing of all events see our Dufferin-Peel website http://www.dpcdsb.org
School Council Meeting
The next School Advisory Council Meeting will be held Wednesday,
February 24, at 6:30 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend!
Santa came to visit St. Joseph! Awesome! We had a lovely time on December 9, 2016. Santa talked
to us and read us a story, “The Night Before Christmas” We decorated Ginger Bread Houses and had
our picture taken with Santa. Mr. Mendel was kind enough to take pictures and Mrs. Mendel and
Mme. Zanier were amazing “Santa Elves”. Thanks to Santa Claus for taking time out of his busy
schedule at the North Pole! Thank you to all our staff and families that participated in this very worth-
Rocks and Rings is coming to St. Joseph February 2nd and 3rd
The Curling Canada Rocks & Rings program is designed to introduce
the Olympic sport of curling to elementary school children. By bringing the curling rink to the school gym we reach children that would
otherwise not have access to the roaring game. The best part? We
bring everything to the kids —no field trip or school buses required!
Curling is a highly social sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. It is a
fantastic physical activity that can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.
It also promotes sportsmanship and camaraderie and is an inexpensive
and less dangerous alternative to many other sports.
The Curling Canada Rocks & Rings program visits participating
schools for a full school day.
We take over the gym as classes take turns visiting for 40 minutes
sessions of fun and instruction. Various drills, relays and teambuilding activities are used to introduce students to the sport of curling. It is a highly interactive program with the emphasis on fun!
At the end of the session, each student receives their own Rocks & Rings graduation certificate that they can share and
discuss with their parents. It also provides valuable information including where and how the student and his or her parents can get involved in curling in their area. Each school also receives a complimentary" Getting Started in Curling"
package courtesy of Curling Canada. This package helps teachers to further their student's learning and participation in
the sport. Many Thanks to Mr. Bernais and Mrs. Foster for organizing this special event for our kids.
Jose is Principal For a Day!!!
Thank you to all students
who sold chocolate in our
Major Fundraiser for our
school. We managed to raise
over $7,000. A big thank you
to our School Council for
organizing this tremendous
event. Malachy H. sold the
most boxes of chocolate in
the school and won an iPod.
Mrs. Foster’s Class, Ms.
Lazo/Snopek’s class and
Mrs. Falcone’s class won
pizza lunches for selling the
most boxes in their divisions.
Jose won Principal for a day
and he loved being the Big
Cheese for the day!
He especially loved doing
announcements for the
whole school.
Thanks to everyone for a
very successful Chocolate
Sales Drive.
Jenso will take his turn as
Scientists in the School...visited Our Scientist in the School
our Grade One Classes and they had a fabulous time learning
all kinds of hands on Science.
The Grade One classes were very excited to participate in a
Scientist In School workshop. Scientist Megan facilitated the
workshop, “Keep Track: Animal Autographs”. The Grade One
students used a microscope to look at polar bear fur and
bugs, examined snake skin, various furs and skulls, made an
animal print in Plaster of Paris, researched animals and their
tracks. All of the students had a great time participating in
these hands-on activities and learned a lot! Thank you to our
Parent Council for subsidizing the cost of the workshops for
the students.
Program is subsidized by our
generous Parent Advisory
Council.
Thank you!!!
Thank you!! To all who have sent in
gently used games and donated brand
new ones to our school.
We are still desperately seeking all
board games and cards for use during
indoor recess. All games donated are
gratefully accepted. We will have a drop
-off center at our Parent Teacher
Interview times:
Junior Jets Sports club
The Junior Jets Sports Club has been enjoying their Wednesday noon hours in the
gymnasium. So far, they have played indoor soccer, handball, dodgeball, and basketball. There is an open invitation to all boys and girls in Grades 4, 5, and 6 who
would still like to join us. Please see Mr. Murray for a permission form. The goal of
the program is to offer students an opportunity to get some exercise in a positive and
fun environment. The Junior Jets Sports Club will continue to run every Wednesday
Family Day, March Break AND a new PA Day!!
Don’t forget!! Family Day is Monday, February 15 - there is no school that day. For those of
you planning special events for March Break - it takes place March 14 thru March 18 this
school year. And - as a result of contract negotiations the Ministry has added April 11 as a new
PA Day for teachers. Mark your calendars. Have a great March Break everyone!!
Our Child and Youth Worker Mr. Grave
Mr. Grave has been working with a number of our students at St. Joseph. His job is to
help students deal with any difficult issues they may be facing including: feelings, bullying, difficulties at home, relationship building, self confidence, awareness of body
issues, social skills and how to get along with friends and acquaintances.
If you would like Mr. Grave to work with your child(ren) on any counseling issues or
emotional issues you simply need to call the school and sign a permission form.
Thanks Mr. Grave for all the great work you do! (Oh - and he skis with us too on ski
days!)
Zones of Regulation
We are currently using the “Zones of Regulation” Program in our school. Each
classroom is working on 4 Zones of Feelings in their class.
The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions. A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, explosive behavior, devastation,
or terror when in the Red Zone.
The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions; however, one has some control when they are in the Yellow Zone. A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in
the Yellow Zone.
The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as
happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone. This is the zone where
optimal learning occurs.
The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings, such as when one
feels sad, tired, sick, or bored.
The optimum zone for learning is the green zone but we do know that sometimes its
unavoidable to be in the other zones. The trick is the tools you need to work on in order to get
yourself out of a particular zone and back into the green zone.
Our staff is working hard to make sure our students know all the tools to work toward being in
the green zone.
Advent Challenge of Hope: Mr. Murray’s Class
During Advent each student in Mr. Murray’s class did work around
their homes to prepare for Christmas without being asked first by a
parent.
The Grade 4 students were then given money from their parents for
reaching their goals of helping around the house. The students
brought in this money that they earned and donated it to a grocery
shopping spree. Back at school, each student prepared a complete
meal for a homeless person which consisted of a
sandwich, fruit, vegetables, and a bottle of water. Each brown bag lunch was decorated with messages of Hope.
Our Grade 4 students put their faith into action by
extending the Virtue of Hope to the most needy during Advent. A lovely message of hope delivered by Mr.
Murray’s class!!
The Online Reporting Tool
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School board has developed a new way to help nurture a safe, caring and inclusive school environment. The Online Reporting Tool is intended for students in grades 3 – 8 who become aware of
bullying incidents and negative behaviours. The student can simply ‘click’ on the link found on our school’s website to fill out the report. The report will then be directly emailed to the principal and/or vice principal and will be
dealt with accordingly.
It is important to recognize that the Online Reporting Tool is an alternate reporting option. It is best practice to
speak directly with a responsible adult at home and/or in the school.
The GIRL’s CLUB is selling Candy
Grams for Valentine’s Day. We will be
selling them for 25 cents!!! All money raised is going to
the United Way. Sales start Mon. Feb. 1 and last day
to buy is Monday, Feb. 8th.
Eco News!
The Eco Team has started off the year with a bang! We decided that our New Year’s Resolution would be to have
Wasteless Lunches everyday. We have been encouraging all staff and students at St. Joseph School to pack their
lunches in reusable containers. During the week of January 19 th-22nd, our entire school participated in a board-wide
Waste-Free Lunch Challenge. We conducted a waste audit before and during the
challenge. We were successful in reducing the amount of garbage produced at lunch.
On Thursday, February 4th, our school will be participating in National Sweater
Day. National Sweater Day highlights the importance of saving energy
and aims to inspire everyone to use less heat all winter. We have learned
that heating accounts for 80% of residential energy use in Canada and is a
major source of emissions. If all Canadians lowered their thermostats by
just 2 degrees Celsius, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about
4 megatons – that’s equivalent to shutting down a 600 mega watt coalfired power station or taking nearly 700,000 cars off the road! So turn off your your heat and
wear your favourite sweater to school on Thursday, February 4th to stay warm!
A special request from the office….if you need to make special arrangements to pick up your child(ren) from school please try to make arrangements
earlier rather than later. Children benefit if the routine for school pick-up and drop off
remains as consistent as possible. (ie - if they take the bus - they always take the bus;
if parents drive and pick up - they always drive and pick up). Last minute changes
called into the office are difficult for us to manage and sometimes messages get confused or mixed up. Please try to keep routines for coming and going to and from
school consistent for your child(ren).
Parents, please call the attendance line (1) and leave a message when your child
are going to be absent or late.
Parents, please try to avoid last minute pick-up of your child. Write a note to the
7
14
Sun
Valentine’s Day
21
28
1
Mon
Tue
Ground Hog Day
23
16
Wed
PA Day - Interviews
13
Fri
Lunch Mom’s/
National Sweater Day
Interview Night
5 - Parenting Presentation in the Gym
12
20
Thu
11Lunch Mom’s
19
27
6
18Lunch Mom’s
26
5
25Lunch Mom’s
3 Rocks and Rings 4
6:30 p.m. School Advisory Council
24
10 a.m. LENTEN
MASS @ St. Joseph
Parish
17
day
9Rosary Apostolate 10Ash Wednes-
Ice Hockey Tournament
Finals/ Pizza Day
Rocks and Rings
Report Cards Go Home
2
February 2016
Ski Day
Candy Gram Sales
Start
8
Ski Day
Chinese New Year
15
Family Day
NO SCHOOL
22Ski Day
29
Sat