Father Francis McSpiritt February Newsletter 2016
Prayer for Lent
Lord Jesus Christ
You gather Your people during this Season of Lent,
Principal:
G. Sideroff
And You call us to repent.
Vice Principal:
J. MacSween
As we turn back to You again,
Secretary:
K. Walsh
V. Lombardi
Open our hearts so that we might be transformed in Your image,
Remove any barriers that keep us from You,
Superintendent:
D. Finegan-Downey
Brampton North -East
(905) 890-1221
So that we might live fully the life we received at Baptism
And carry our cross each day.
Trustee:
S. Xaviour
By your Grace, may we turn to You in our Need.
Amen.
Parish:
St. Patrick’s Church
(905) 794-0486
Pastor:
Fr. V. Marziliano
Father Francis McSpiritt
Catholic School
55 Lexington Road
Brampton, Ontario
L6P 2B1
Telephone: (905) 794-5031
Fax- (905) 794-9542
Our Virtue for February…… RESPECT
This month, we celebrate the virtue of Respect. We will learn that:
A respectful person….
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Treats himself/herself and everyone else with courtesy
Uses a positive tone of voice and body language
Avoids swearing, name-calling, put-downs, and inappropriate gestures
Says “Excuse Me, Please, Pardon Me”
Avoids gossip
“As brothers and sisters who share one Holy Spirit, we are all valuable to
God. We all deserve to be shown courtesy, consideration, sensitivity and
thoughtfulness, which are different ways of saying respect.”
Father Francis McSpiritt February Newsletter 2016
Growing Together in Faith and Celebrating our Differences
On January 6, our Youth Faith Ambassadors put on a spectacular performance as they presented
the Nativity Scene to Father Vito and the whole school during our Christmas mass.
Congratulations to our Grade 8 leaders and a big thank you to our lead teachers who worked with
our students to prepare for this event.
MESSAGE FROM FATHER VITO
DEAR PARENTS, STUDENTS, TEACHERS, ADMINISTRATORS AND SUPPORT STAFF OF OUR SCHOOL
COMMUNITIES AT ST. PATRICK’S PARISH:
Peace and blessings to all, on this beginning of a new month, February, in the Jubilee Year of Mercy. We
have celebrated this past week the First Confessions of many of our children. How beautiful it is to
remember that God loves us. That no matter what, we are truly and will always remain, his beloved children.
It is the joy and smile on the faces and in the hearts of our little ones that remind us of this fact. May we
always learn from them and do our best to let them remember this great and magnificent truth.
Within a few days, on February 10, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Season of Lent. What a great gift we have
been given to examine the extent of God’s love and acknowledge that at times we have not been ready to
welcome this gift. Lent offers us an opportunity to re-examine our life, our journey of faith, our responses to
events and situations that surround us. All to be examined in the light of God’s Mercy.
May the weeks ahead, leading us to Easter, help us celebrate new beginnings. I remember you all in our
celebrations and pray that continued blessings may come upon you and all your loved ones. Please
remember that every day of the week and on weekends, during this Jubilee of Mercy, our church and the
Holy Doors continue to be open from 7 a.m. To 9 p.m., welcoming you all in prayer, silence and celebrations.
On Ash Wednesday, our parish masses will be celebrated at 8:30 a.m. In English, 1 p.m. In Italian, and 7:30
p.m. In English. I will be visiting our schools and blessing ashes on Monday and Tuesday that same week, so
that each school may hold a para-liturgy on the Wednesday, with the distribution of ashes.
Please remember that our parish church is always ready to welcome you in prayer. Saturday evening at 5
p.m. (in English, the first Sunday Mass of the weekend), Sunday at 8:30 a.m. (Eng), 10 a.m. (Eng), 11:30 a.m.
(Ital.), 1:00 p.m. (Eng), 7:30 p.m. (Eng). There is room for you and your family, both in our pews, and above
all, in the heart of God.
Blessings upon all,
Fr. Vito Marziliano, Pastor
Father Francis McSpiritt February Newsletter 2016
Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences
First term report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016. Along with the report
card, you will receive a confirmation time for your scheduled conference. This conference will
include the student, the teacher and the parents/guardians. During this first conference the teachers
would like to see and speak with all parents and students in order to discuss the first term, and also
to make plans and set goals for the second term. Conferences for first term reports will be held on
the evening of February 4th and during the day on February 5th.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
For the safety of the children, parents / guardians are reminded that the fire route at the front of
the school must remain free of vehicles to provide for emergency access and the safe arrival of 6
busses on a daily basis. Please note that vehicles parked in the fire route at the front of the school or
in the “No Parking” zones on the street may be tagged by By-Law Enforcement. Parents should drop
off students at the side of school in the Kiss “N” Ride area or park their car on street and walk their
child to the yard. In order to avoid congestion both in the front foyer and at the front of the school, it
is highly encouraged for parents to send lunches with their child rather than dropping them off.
When you know that your child will be absent, ensure that you call the school and leave a message
before 8:30 in the morning.
If you know that you will be going out of the country while your children remain here at school and
under the care of a relative or friend, you must alert the school and provide us with alternate
emergency numbers in the event that we would need to make an emergency call home.
If you have moved since September, please update your information with the front office.
B.R.A.V.E .Program
On January 25 and 27, the B.R.A.V.E. program visited classrooms from Kindergarten to Grade 5
to educate our children about bullying; “Bullying. Resistance.Anti.Violence.Education”.
Students were involved in an interactive program where they participated in various role-playing
scenarios involving bullying. They were taught specific skills and were given tools for dealing
with these types of situations.
Please take the time to speak to your child about what they learned.
Father Francis McSpiritt February Newsletter 2016
WHEN BUSSES ARE CANCELLED
A reminder to parents and guardians that when busses are cancelled due to poor weather or
driving conditions, they are cancelled for the whole day. If you choose to drive your child to
school on that day, please be aware that you will need to pick them up at 3:15 p.m. Please prearrange a meeting spot in the school yard, as the front of the school is not safe due to an
increased volume of traffic.
Bus information re: cancellation is usually available by 6:10 AM @ www.dpcdsb.org
Our school busses are cancelled only when “all busses are cancelled”.
ALSO NOTE: WHEN BUSSES ARE CANCELLED, PIZZA DAY IS ALSO CANCELLED.
WASTELESS LUNCHES
Our Eco Team has introduced wasteless lunches or “Boomerang Lunches”. We are kindly urging you
to send your child(ren) to school with reusable containers and reusable water bottles that produce
ZERO waste.
Packing Tips:
_ Reusable lunch carrier
_ Reusable container (ex. Tupperware, plastic)
_ Reusable drink bottle or thermos
_ Silverware to wash and reuse
_ HEALTHY snacks (ex. Fruits and vegetables)
Avoid:
_ Paper or plastic bags
_ Plastic wrap, foil, wax or Styrofoam
_ Single-use cans, bottles or cartons
_ Paper napkins
_ Plastic forks and spoons
_ Packaged snacks
Not only will your participation in our program benefit our eco-school, our local community, and
our beautiful planet, but it will also help save you money in the long run!
Please help us reduce our eco-school footprint by sending your child(ren) to school with as little
waste as possible!
Our green planet thanks you,
Father Francis McSpiritt’s Eco Team
Father Francis McSpiritt February Newsletter 2016
School Council
Thanks to School Council for organizing “Pancake Tuesday” in order to recognize Shrove Tuesday, which is
the last day before lent. Order forms were sent home and must be returned in order for your child to
participate. The price for the pancakes is $2.00 with all proceeds going to ShareLife. Please let the Council
know if you would like to volunteer for this event.
The next School Council meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on February 24th in the library. We
look forward to seeing you.
Black History Month
On February 12, 2016 “Njacko Backo”, a percussionist and a singer, will be coming to McSpiritt
to perform for our students in Grades 4 to 8. His performance is entitled “African Voyages” and his
goal is to bring authentic, interactive African music into Canadian classrooms.
We look forward to his visit.
“CARNAVAL DE MCSPIRITT”
The McSpiritt French Club will be organizing a mid-winter carnival week for the students.
During the week of February1 to the 4th , students will be involved in a variety of activities. The
goal is to bring a little bit of Quebec culture into our school.
In addition to “spirit days”, students will participate in a school wide bingo game, announcement
will be bilingual for the week (English and French).
Perhaps we may even get a visit from “Bonhomme Carnaval”!
Dates to Remember
February 1
February 1 - 4
February 2
February 4
February 5
February 9
February 10
February 14
February 15
February 22 – 26
February 24
March 14 – March 18
Pizza Day
“Carnaval de McSpiritt”
Report Cards go Home
Grade 1 – 8 Parent / TeacherConferences - evening
Parent / Teacher Conferences – No school
Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Day for students
Ash Wednesday- students will receive ashes
Valentine’s Day
Family Day – school closed
Dairy Farmers of Ontario presentations
School Council Meeting – 6:30 PM
March Break