St. Matthew Catholic
Elementary School
March 2016
280 Kingsbridge Garden Circle
Mississauga, ON
L5R 1L2
Tel: 905 890-6898
Fax: 905 890-7611
www.dpcdsb.org/MATHW
Principal
E. Plastina
~
Secretary
N. Russo
~
Superintendent
L. Papaloni
~
Trustee
A. Abbruscato
~
Parish Priest:
Fr. C. Macatangga
LENTEN PRAYER
These forty days are Yours, Lord,
Days for thinking about our past
And looking forward to our future,
Help us grow in love for You,
Help us become Your daily friend.
We are sorry for our sins because
They cloud our friendship with You.
We are sorry for our sins because
They keep our world from
The happiness it can achieve.
Help all of us to put Lent into our lives,
And in doing this
Learn to love You so much more.
Amen
Virtue of the Month: Kindness
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@DPCDSBSchools For the
latest board news and information.
Kindness
This month we will celebrate the virtue
pathy can only be seen
of Kindness. Kindness
through actions. It’s not enough to say I
will be kind or I am kind. We must
show that we are kind by our words and
our actions. During this season of Lent,
let us pray that we will treat our friends
and family members with kindness.
What is Lent? Lent is the season of preparation for Easter. It starts on Ash Wednesday
and ends on Easter, lasting 40 days (not including Sundays). We prepare for Easter by
fasting and practicing spiritual discipleship
during this time. Lent is a strengthening of
our relationship with Him—it’s a time to
bring us closer to God. During Lent we stop
filling our lives with temporary happiness
(like candy, video games) and make more
room for God. We are asked to “give up”
something but we are also encouraged to
“give back”. Charity is an important part of
our Lenten promise.
March 14-18
Have a safe and
rest filled
March Break!
Sacrament of Confirmation for Grade 7 Students
Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 11:15 a.m.—12:45 p.m.
Fifth Meeting
Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 2:30 p.m.
Rite of Enrolment for Candidates –Sponsors invited
All Grade 2 , 7 and 8 Students receiving sacraments are invited to LAUSPERENE (Lenten Prayers and Exposition of
the Blessed Sacrament) from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
The School Council Family Skate Night and a Mississauga Steelheads hockey game was a huge success.
Over 200 parents, children and staff participated in this St. Matthew community event. A reminder that St.
Matthew Bears Spirit Wear is now for sale. Samples and order forms are
available in the front foyer. Please join us at our next meeting on
Wednesday, April 6, 2016.
YOUTH FAITH AMBASSADORS
Our Youth Faith Ambassadors are currently preparing The Stations of the
Cross for Holy Thursday, March 24, 2016 at 1:30 p.m. Parents are welcome. Also, YFA will be visiting Dr. Simone’s Warehouse on March
21st. They are collecting hygiene items and candles for Canadian Food for Children during the week of
March 7 to 11. Please bring items such as soap, new washcloths and hand towels, tooth brushes and toothpaste, for children and adults.
UPDATED INFORMATION
If you have changed your cell phone number, home phone number, address, email address, PLEASE notify the
office immediately. It is extremely important to have all up-to-date information in case of an emergency.
COLD AND FLU SEASON
Please use discretion in keeping your children home to recover if they are ill. A child who is coughing, wheezing,
has a fever, etc. is not in a state to learn and will only infect others. If a student is sent to school, it is assumed that
they will participate in all aspects of the school day, including outdoor recess. We
do not provide individual indoor supervision.
DRESS WARMLY
We also remind parents to dress students for weather conditions. We will be having outdoor recess, weather permitting, as much as possible. At all times, we follow the Board guidelines for inclement weather. Snow pants for Primary and Junior students are recommended. Snow boots are essential for play on the snow.
Hats, gloves are also necessary items to keep warm. Indoor shoes are needed! Students are not permitted to wear
boots inside the classrooms. For the safety of all students, dry shoes must be worn inside the school. It is highly
recommended that students have an extra pair of dry socks and clothing in their back packs. Outdoor recesses
may be modified when the temperature ( which includes the wind-chill factor) is minus 20 degrees Celsius.
CLASS LIST FORMATION FOR 2016 - 2017
We will begin work on next year’s class lists in May. If your child(ren) will be returning to St. Matthew School
and there are particular learning needs that you feel we should consider when making up classes, please put this
in writing to the principal by April 30th. Only educational reasons will be considered in this process. Please
do not make requests for specific teachers. Please note staffing is tentative and changes can take place between now and the re-organization day in September.
FLEXIBLE BOUNDARY PROCEDURE
A reminder to parents/guardians of students that are at St. Matthew under Flexible Boundary.
This procedure is reviewed annually. Permission is granted under the following conditions:
i) Transportation is your responsibility. The Board will not provide either transportation or additional supervision for students admitted under this procedure.
ii) This permission for attendance will be reviewed by the Principal, annually, no later than the end of March
iii) The student admitted under this procedure does not automatically become eligible for the secondary school
serving this school. If it is not the secondary school he/she would normally attend, application for Flexible
Boundary consideration will have to be made to the secondary school principal at the appropriate time.
If you would like to continue to be granted permission under this procedure for the 2016-2017 school year,
please put your request in writing by March 25, 2016 by completing a standardized Flex Boundary Form which
will be sent home. Confirmations for Flex Boundary will be sent out in May.
LOCK DOWN AND FIRE DRILLS
We are mandated to have 3 fire drills and one lock-down drill per term. Teachers regularly
review emergency procedures with students. Fire alarms and Lockdown bells are used as
part of these drills. Please take the time to reassure your children at home that our school is a
safe place and that when an alarm goes off, not to feel scared or worried. Reinforce with
your child that following the teachers’ instruction, listening to their direction and staying
calm at all times is the best thing to do. Please note: All students must have indoor shoes. In case of a fire drill,
children must be wearing shoes at all times.
SCHOOL HOURS AND SUPERVISION
Students should not be arriving to school prior to 8:35 am. Supervision of students begins at this time. Students
are not allowed to come into the building and wait in the doorways without adult supervision. Similarly, students are dismissed at 3:20 p.m. Please ensure that your child is picked up by this time.
Students should not be returning to school after hours to retrieve home-work/belongings.
THE GREAT BIG CRUNCH!
On March 10 at 2:30 p.m. all students and staff members of St. Matthew will receive a juicy, locally
-grown Ontario apple and join several thousand students across Canada, in taking a bite to promote healthy
eating and living! Take a bite with St. Matthew!
ECO TEAM UPDATE
THE GREAT GULP: The Region of Peel and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
have invited all students to celebrate Peel tap water during Canada Water Week , by taking part in a
school wide synchronized drink of tap water. Our school’s Great Gulp event will take place on
Tuesday March 22, 2016. Help support this initiative by sending your child to school with a reusable water bottle or cup so that they can make a toast to tap water. As a participating school, we will be entered into
a draw for a water refill station for the school or reusable water bottles for each student. Peel tap water is a safe,
clean, convenient choice that is good for your health and the environment. To learn more about Peel tap water visit
www.peeltapwater.ca.
PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
Two of our Intermediate students participated in the Royal Canadian Legion Public Speaking Competition held on February 27, 2016. In order to determine the representatives from St. Matthew,
each student presented in front of his/her class, with the intention of representing their class at the
school competition. Five speeches were selected to present to a larger audience and judged based on
the criteria from the Royal Canadian Legion . The top two presentations were awarded the opportunity to speak at
the Legion. Congratulations to Nathaniel C. and Yzabelle P. for representing St. Matthew at the competition. Yzabelle will be moving forward to the Regional Competition to be held on March 5th.
MBC CHESS COMPETITION
Our school will be competing in the Mississauga Brampton Central Family of Schools Chess
Competition on Thursday, March 31st. It will be held at St. Gertrude School, 815 Ceremonial
Drive in Mississauga, from 7:50 to 2:00 p.m. Our Primary, Junior and Intermediate teams will be
representing the school.
EQAO PRIMARY AND JUNIOR ASSESSMENTS
This year, Grade 3 and 6 students will once again participate in Provincial Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing. Testing will take place between May 25 and
June 8. Since attendance will be extremely important during the EQAO testing period, parents are asked if at all possible to refrain from arranging doctor or other appointment or vacations during this time.
UPCOMING EVENTS…
March 9
Grade 8 Grad Photos
March 10
The Great Big Crunch
March 14-18
MARCH BREAK
March 17
St. Patrick’s Day
March 21-25
HOLY WEEK
March 21
Youth Faith Ambassadors go to Dr. Simone’s Warehouse
The Circles of the Rosary
March 22
The Great Gulp Challenge
March 24
Holy Thursday—The Stations of the Cross at 1:30 p.m.
March 25
Good Friday: No School
March 27
Easter Sunday
March 28
Easter Monday: No School
March 31
Chess Tournament at St. Gertrude