April 2016 Newsletter
New Life
Pauline Vanier
Catholic School
56 Oaklea Blvd,
Brampton, Ontario, L6Y
4W7
Lord, the resurrection of Your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people on pursuit of
the Christian ideal.
Grant us the wisdom to know what we
must do, the will to want to do it, the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, and the strength to
complete it.
New Saint Joseph People’s Prayer Book
Phone:
905-455-1001
Fax: 905-455-3406
Website:
http://www.dpcdsb.org//p
vani
Principal:
I. Maas
Superintendent
L. Papaloni
Trustees
A. daSilva
D. D’Souza
905-890-0708
Head Secretary:
T. Winckler
St. Jerome’s Parish
8530 Chinguacousy Rd.
Brampton
Phone:905-455-4260
Fax: 905-450-6326
Website:
http//www.stjeromeparis
h.ca
Pastor: Fr. Jan
Kolodynski
School Council Chair
K. LaNave
Opening the Doors of Mercy
Catholic Education Week
May 1st—May 6th
Pope Francis has declared 2016 a “Holy
Year of Mercy” as a way for the Catholic
church to “make more evident, its mission
to be a witness of mercy”. The Holy Year
began on December 8, 2015 and will be celebrated until November 20, 2016. Throughout the year, there will be a series of jubilee
celebrations on the theme of mercy for teenagers, deacons, the sick and disabled, prisoners, catechists and clergy.
As well, Pope Francis opened the Vatican’s
Holy Door on December 8th. The Holy Door
is opened to evoke the concept of forgiveness which is the main focus of a Holy
Year. The theme God’s mercy is illustrated
in fifteen of the sixteen bronze panels that
make up the Vatican Door. There are seven
such Holy Doors in the world, including
one in Quebec City.
Catholic Education Week 2016 combines
both the theme of mercy and the act of
opening doors of reconciliation, mercy and
forgiveness to all around us.
Five sub-themes, one for each of the five
days of Catholic Education Week 2016, help
students to understand the rich meaning of
this year’s theme:
Monday: Mercy that Welcomes
Tuesday: Mercy that Loves
Wednesday: Mercy that Forgives
Thursday: Mercy that Lives the Gospel
Friday: Mercy that Rejoices
Every year, the Ontario Catholic School
Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) provides
our Catholic schools with a resource kit to
help schools prepare for Catholic Education
Week. Using these resources as well as our
own developed activities we have prepared
a series of activities which will highlight
how our school is ‘Opening Doors of Mercy’.
We invite all members of our community, to
participate in the celebrations and activities
that will mark the celebration of Catholic
Education Week 2016 in our school. More
information will follow.
First Eucharist Preparation /Celebration
Our Grade 2 students, with the guidance of
their teachers, have been busily preparing
for their First Eucharist celebration. Grade
2 students First Communion Retreat will
take place on April 20th, at St. Jerome’s
Parish. The Eucharist celebration will be
celebrated at St. Jerome’s Parish on Sunday,
April 24, 2016 at 12:00 p.m.
Learning and Growing Together with God
Confirmation Celebration
School Dress Code Reminders
Our Grade 7 and 8 students are also preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation. The Sacrament celebration will
be celebrated at St. Jerome’s Parish on Wednesday, May
25th, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
We expect that warmer weather will soon be here, making
classrooms somewhat warm and bringing about more casual dress. With this in mind, we will be discussing with
students what is generally considered to be suitable clothing for school. Clothing should be comfortable, tasteful
and appropriate for a school environment. Please refer to
the Dress Code Section of the Student’s Agenda.
EQAO Primary and Junior Assessments
Each student in Grades 3 and 6 in Ontario will be assessed
in Reading, Writing and Math for a period of 3 days beginning Wednesday, May 25th through Wednesday, June 8,
2016. Kindly avoid booking dental, doctor and other appointments during this period. If you have a child in either
Grade 3 or 6, you will receive specific communication and
information regarding the Provincial Assessment just prior
to the start of the testing.
Shorts are permitted, as long as they are neither too tight
nor too short. Tank tops, tube tops, halter-tops, muscle
shirts or anything that exposes midriffs are not suitable for
any student from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Slogans on
shirts will also be carefully monitored. The intent of our
school dress code policy is to continue to provide a modest,
yet comfortable work atmosphere for our students during
the school day. We look forward to your continued support as concerned parents.
School Organization 2016—2017
Safety Awareness-Protecting the Skin
School organization for next year is in the planning stages.
Timelines for making decisions about the number of classes
and teacher assignments will be tentatively determined by
the end of June. To help us with our planning for September 2016, it would be appreciated if you could let us know
now if you will be moving out of our school area over the
summer.
Creating Classes for Next Year
In the next couple of months, we will be making up the
class lists for the 2016/2017 school year. This is a complex
process, and is done in consultation with this year’s teachers, support staff and administration. In each class we
strive for a balance of learning styles, a balance of gender,
a balance of learning needs, and a cross section of abilities.
If you as a parent wish to provide input into the process,
please take into consideration the following guidelines:
 Input must be in written form to Ms. Maas no later
than Friday, May 6, 2016
 Frame your request in terms of educational contexts
e.g. your child’s learning needs/style; information not
already known to the school; tips on what has worked
best for your child in the past
 Please be advised that letters which cite the names of
individual teachers, or names of children you wish to
be placed with your child will not be considered
There is no guarantee that requests will be fulfilled, but all
will be considered.
Over exposure to the sun can cause skin damage. We remind students regularly to take precautions to protect their
skin during recess times. The following are some suggestions to help protect skin:
 Wear protective clothing to cover the skin
 Wear a hat to protect both the eyes and the skin
 When possible, stay out of direct sunlight
 Know your skin type, for example fair skinned people are
more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation
 Wear sun block; the higher the protection factor number,
the greater the protection
Parents are encouraged to reinforce these strategies with
their children regularly.
Clean Clothing Reminder
At times, our play area behind the school can become quite
muddy. We ask that students keep an extra pair of pants
and socks in their backpacks or at school.
April Virtue of the Month is LOVE
During the month of April, we celebrate the virtue of
LOVE. God has given us many guidelines and examples
of how to live our lives. He sent his Son, Jesus, to make
sure that we could see what life could be like. Jesus made
one lesson clear above all other lessons—the lesson of love.
Love is not about us; it is about forgetting ourselves and
looking out for the good of the other(s). That’s what Jesus
did—he forgot about himself on purpose. He chose to give
up his life for the good of others—us! Becoming a truly
loving person is challenging. It takes prayer and concentration to get used to making little sacrifices for the good of
others. Making little sacrifices on purpose so that others
will have a bit of food, a bit of shelter, a bit of peace, a bit of
quiet, a bit of fun, a bit of friendship.
A LOVING person:
 Wants the best for others
 Is willing to make sacrifices for the good of others
 Learns from the heroic lives of Saints and Holy People
 Knows that we are all lovable
 Prays for others
Bullying Prevention Corner– If You’re Not Part of the
Solution, You’re Part of the Problem
In April, students will be focusing on the role of the bystanders/witness in bullying situations. Research shows
that bystanders make or break bullying episodes—they
hold the power to stop bullying. They provide the audience
for students engaged in bullying behaviours. Students will
discuss what it means to be a bystander, explore why people let bullying happen and learn safe and effective strategies to use if they witness bullying. The theme for this
month is ‘If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of
the problem’. Every child should feel they have the power
to prevent and safely help in bullying situations.
Tips for parents:
 Encourage your child(ren) to show empathy for others
who are being bullied (befriend them, include them)
 Teach your child(ren) to intervene appropriately or
walk away and tell an adult.
 Role model being ‘part of the solution’ when you encounter difficult situations in your life
Dates to Remember
Monday April 4
Tuesday, April 5
Wednesday, April 6
Thursday, April 7
Friday, April 8
Saturday, April 9
Monday, April 11
Tuesday, April 12
Wednesday, April 13
Thursday, April 14
Monday, April 18
Tuesday, April 19
Wednesday April 20
Thursday, April 21
Friday, April 22
Sunday, April 24
Monday, April 25
Tuesday, April 26
Wednesday, April 27
Thursday, April 28
Friday, April 29
Popcorn Orders
Sunday, May 1
Please be aware that the April 6th popcorn orders will not
be available due to unforeseen circumstances. Students
who ordered for April 6th will receive their popcorn on
Wednesday, June 1st instead.
-CSC Meeting 6:45 in the Library
-Pizza Lunch
-Baptism Session in the School
Library at 6:00 pm
-Rosary Apostolate
-Wasteless Wednesday
-Walking Wednesday
-Confirmation Preparation Work
shop
-Sub Lunch
-Grade 6 trip to War Plane
Museum
-CCCSC Marketplace at St. Joseph
Secondary
-PA Day (no school)
-Pizza Lunch
-International Day of Pink Board
Wide
-Wasteless Wednesday
-Walking Wednesday
-Shelter in Place Drill
-Hot Lunch
-Ban the Bottle Monday
-Pizza Lunch
-First Communion Retreat at St.
Jerome’s
-Walking Wednesday
-Wasteless Wednesday
-Sub Lunch
-Earth Day
-First Communion at 12:00 pm at
St. Jerome’s Parish
-Team, Club and Group Picture
Day
-Ban the Bottle Monday
-Grade 6-8 Drama Trip to
St. Augustine Secondary
-Pizza Lunch
-Baptism Session 6:00 pm
-Secretary Day
-Wasteless Wednesday
-Walking Wednesday
-Hot Lunch
-Grade 7 Diversity Conference at
Blessed Trinity
-Catholic Education Week begins