St. Philip School
345 Fairview Road West
Mississauga, Ontario L5B 3W5
(905) 306-8420
www.dpcdsb.org/PHILP
February 2016
Principal
G. Hilton
Head Secretary
J. Corvari
School Council Chair
R. Da Ponte-Matos
Superintendent
T. Lariviere
Mississauga East
Trustee
B. Iannicca
bruno.iannicca@dpcdsb.org
905-270-0536
Parish
Cristo Rei Church
3495 Confederation Pkwy
905-270-1133
www.cristoreiparish.com
Pastor
Fr. Carlos Macatangga
School Website
www.dpcdsb.org/PHILP
Principal’s Message
Inquiry-Based Learning continues as a focus for the learning of students
and staff at St. Philip School. Inquiry is a type of learning that encourages
students to explore their own questions and interests, within the context of
the Ontario curriculum. Combined with long-standing practices such as direct
teaching, and an emphasis on basic literacy and numeracy skills, we are
seeing that Inquiry-Based Learning promotes student engagement and
deeper learning.
Please also mark your calendars for an Inquiry Fair on Thursday, May 5
from 6:30 to 7:30PM. During this Catholic Education Week celebration,
parents are invited to the school for a presentation from their child(ren)
about their learning during an Inquiry unit. This event was a big success
last year, and we look forward to another great celebration of learning this
year!
Please remember that the March Break will be Monday, March 14th to
Friday, March 18th. Students and staff will return to school on Monday,
March 21st.
With Kind Regards,
Mr. G. Hilton
Principal
LENTEN REFLECTION
Good and Gracious God,
You call your people to you this Lent.
May this sacred season renew our desire
to live fully the promises of our baptism
and to love you with a whole heart.
Through more frequent prayer,
acts of charity, and fasting,
may we remember that
loving you and one another
FOCUS
is theFAITH
most important
thing we can do.
In confidence, we ask these things
through Jesus Christ
Our Risen Lord and Saviour.
Amen
FAITH FOCUS
• avoids gossip
SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION
Let us pray this month, for the grace and courage to be
people of respect –so that everyone we meet will feel like
we are their brother and sister in Christ.
Sacramental preparations are well underway. Parents of
students receiving the holy sacraments have attended
information meetings at Cristo Rei Church, and are
involved in preparation classes. Please note the following
dates:
First Holy Communion for Grade 2 Students
Saturday, May 14 @ 5:30PM @ Cristo Rei Church
Confirmation for Grade 8 Students
Sunday, May 29 @ 2:30PM @ Cristo Rei Church
Sacraments are celebrations of special moments of
encounter between God and human beings. Thank you for
all your work as parents helping to prepare your child for
these very special and holy occasions.
FEBRUARY’S VIRTUE - RESPECT
During the month of February we focus on the virtue of
respect.
MONTHLY STUDENT AWARDS
Congratulations to the students chosen to receive the
following awards. These awards go to students who did
an exceptional job demonstrating the virtues in their
school-work and in their interactions with peers.
December
Team Player Award:
Joseph T.
Ms. Pipe
Brooke A.
Ms. Parisotto
Adam P .
Ms. da Silva
Student of the Month Award:
Tye C .
Ms. Hrovat
Matthew J.
Ms. Giannini
Durval L..
Ms. Sasso
Principal’s Award:
Maria P
Ms. Roy
Eden A.
Ms. Giannini
Christina T
Ms. Pilotti
Primary
Junior
Interm.
Primary
Junior
Interm.
Primary
Junior
Interm.
God has given us the virtues of friends and companions to
keep us company and to help us along the way.
ACADEMIC FOCUS
Every person in our lives carries the Spirit of God – and so
every person is our brother or sister through Jesus Christ.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR 2016 2017
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.
Children must be at least 4 years old by December 31,
2016 to register for kindergarten
Respect should come first and foremost from ourselves. We
have to respect ourselves and then we will be able to
respect others. We should also be able to expect to be
treated with respect by everyone we meet – our brothers
and sisters in Jesus.
Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at
respecting ourselves as well as respecting those around us.
A respectful person …
• treats himself/herself and everyone else with equal
consideration and 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”
Parents/Guardians should bring the following
documents when registering their child for
kindergarten:


proof of age of the child (birth certificate or passport)
original Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate (for
parent/guardian and/or child) or Baptismal Certificate
of other rites in communion with the Holy See of Rome
 proof of Canadian Citizenship or Landed Immigrant
status (birth certificate or passport)
• updated immunization records
 proof of home address (two of the following: current
utility bill, property tax bill, real estate document, or
Government of Canada issued forms)

proof of English Separate School Support (may be
done at the time of registration by completing an
Application For the Direction of School Support and/or
a Separate School Lease Agreement available at the
school)
For more information about registration and the Full-Day
Kindergarten program, call 905 277-0990 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
COMMUNITY / EXTRACURRICULAR FOCUS
SCHOOL COUNCIL CORNER – A Message From
Your School Council
The St. Philip School Council is comprised of parents,
teachers, a community representative, and our school
Principal, who volunteer their time and efforts to work for
the benefit of our entire school community. All parents of
St. Philip students are welcome to attend any meeting.
Please consider joining us at any of our upcoming meetings.
All meetings take place on Tuesday evenings beginning at
6:30PM at the school:
Apr. 19 & June 14.
Next School Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 @ 6:30 PM
After School Program
PLASP Child Care Services operates an After School
Program at this school, and there are currently spaces
available.
The After School Program begins once school is
dismissed and goes until 6:00 p.m. Children participate in
recreational activities, are served a nutritious snack daily,
and have time for homework.
Fee assistance is available.
To register your child, visit the PLASP
Program Director, After School. For further
information, call 905.890.1711 or visit
the website at www.plasp.com
SCHOOL ORGANIZATION
FOCUS
MARCH BREAK
The March Break will be Monday, March 14th to Friday,
March 18th. Students and staff will return to school on
Monday, March 21st.
All St. Philip School Parents are invited to join us.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND
EXCURSIONS
Students will have the opportunity to take field trips and
participate in a number of extra-curricular activities.
Permission forms will be sent home to be filled out, signed
and promptly returned to school.
NO STUDENT WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE ON A
TRIP OR EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY WITHOUT
WRITTEN CONSENT FROM THEIR PARENT
/GUARDIAN. VERBAL CONSENT OVER THE
TELEPHONE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Teachers give ample notice for trip consent forms. We
encourage parents to support these educational
opportunities by volunteering to assist and supervise these
excursions. For the safety of your child, excursions
lacking appropriate adult supervision will be
cancelled.
ATTENDANCE
Our attendance line is: 905-306-8420. Please call to
register an absence. You can call 24hrs a day
including weekends if you know your child will be
absent from school. An answering machine is available
to take information.
Please provide the following information:
• Name(s) of student(s)
• Name of student’s teacher(s)
• Grade of student(s)
• Reason for absence
If an absence is not reported, our policy is to call home to
verify student absenteeism. A parent or guardian must
sign out students at the office who leave early.
All students are expected to attend school regularly and
punctually. All students who arrive after 8:30 a.m. or
12:30 p.m. must obtain a late slip from the office. This
measure is to ensure the safety of your child. We thank
you for your continued support in following this procedure.
ALLERGIES
We would like to remind you that St. Philip School is an
allergen aware school. We have a number of students in our
school who have severe allergic life threatening
reactions to peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oils and any
peanut/nut by-products. As in the past, in order to not put
any child at risk, we are requesting that PEANUTS,
PEANUT BUTTER, PEANUT OILS AND ANY
PEANUT/NUT BY-PRODUCTS NOT BE BROUGHT
INTO THE SCHOOL. Please also do not send any products
that look like peanut butter (e.g. Wow Butter) as it is
difficult to distinguish these products.
NON-EDIBLE TREATS
We are asking that all parents please refrain from bringing
in food items as treats for other students in celebration of
special occasions such as birthdays or holidays. Several
students in our school suffer from severe food allergies, and
we also try to help students make healthy food choices. As
much as possible, we strive to create an environment where
students are only eating food approved by their parent.
Please consider non-edible treats such as stickers or
erasers if you would like your child to share a special
occasion with other students in the class. Thank you
for being considerate of our students with food allergies.
PARKING LOT and KISS’N’RIDE REMINDERS
Thank you very much to the many parents who safely use
the parking lot and the Kiss’n’Ride drop-off and pick-up
area! We know that winter results in a more crowded
school parking lot, and we really appreciate the added
patience and courtesy of drivers. This patience and
courtesy goes a long way in maintaining a safe environment
for all!
A few reminders to help ensure a safe parking lot:
-Parents wishing to drop off children at school are asked to
please enter from the east driveway only and exit
from the west driveway only.
-If you wish to use the Kiss'n'Ride lane (the lane next to the
sidewalk), we ask that you please stay in your vehicle and
let your child(ren) exit the car on their own, and from the
sidewalk side only.
-If you believe your child needs assistance in exiting
the vehicle, then we ask that you use the parking
spots at the front of the school, or available parking
on the street. You can then exit the vehicle with your child
and safely walk with them to the school, and this can all be
done without causing a delay for those who are using the
Kiss'n'Ride in the manner for which it was designed.
-We also ask that you please pull up as far as possible
in the Kiss'n'Ride area (ideally to the stop sign),
before letting your child(ren) out. We realize this may result
in a slightly longer walk for your child(ren), but it really
helps the Kiss'n'Ride to avoid being backed up.
-Please have children enter your car only when you are in
the curb lane in Kiss’n’Ride. Please do not block the drivethru lane.
-Please also remember that the bus lanes at the front of the
school are always reserved for busses. This is not an area
for parents to park and drop off their children.
-Please consider dropping your child off a few minutes
earlier in the morning, or picking them up a few minutes
later at the end of the day. Even on the busiest of days in
Kiss’n’Ride, there’s usually very little traffic between 8:15
and 8:20 in the morning, and after 3:05 in the afternoon.
Thank you for your attention to these matters. We know
that everyone is in a hurry, especially in the morning dropoff time, but our number one concern is always the safety
of all members of our community at St. Philip School. Thank
you for taking the time to be considerate of others by
following these important safety reminders!
COLD WEATHER DRESS
Students are asked to bring the necessary
clothing and shoes/boots with them in
order to ensure they are dressed
appropriately to meet the challenges of
the winter season. Warm clothes, snow
pants, boots, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves
and coats are needed for outdoor play. Having an extra
pair of pants, socks, and mittens is always appreciated for
children that play in the snow.
Please note that recess is part of our school day and all
students are expected to go outside for recess. If a student
is too ill to participate in all components of the school day,
including recess, please do not send him/her to school. If
there are specific medical reasons which should exclude a
child from going outside, please submit a doctor’s note to
the office.
At times, the weather conditions will not allow students to
go outside for recess. This decision is made in accordance
with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Policy
and Peel Public Health Cold Weather Guidelines, which
direct schools to consider reducing the amount of time
children spend outdoors when temperatures reach -20C or
colder (with or without wind chill) and to keep children
indoors when the temperature reach -25C or colder (with or
without wind chill).
INDOOR FOOTWEAR REQUESTED
All students are asked to bring a pair of indoor shoes
to school. Students are to change into their indoor shoes
when in the building. This will assist in keeping our
classrooms clean and dry. (Wet floors can cause slips and
falls.) Also, in the event of a fire alarm, students will not be
able to stop to put their boots on; therefore, it is critical for
students to wear shoes at all times..
SNOWY DAYS
When the winter months are here and the
snow and ice are plentiful, the temptation
to pick it up and play with it is so strong!
Our schoolyard is full of children playing,
and snowballs flying through the air are
dangerous. As such, the school policy is that snow stays on
the ground. Snow and ice are not to be picked up for any
reason.
TRANSPORTATION
A
decision
to
cancel
school
transportation and/or close schools, due
to inclement weather is usually made by 6:00 AM. Only the
Director of Education has the authority to cancel
transportation and/or close schools.
A bus cancellation and/or school closure message
will be available online at www.dpcdsb.org or by
calling the board office 905-890-1221.
Please know that when buses are cancelled in the
morning it means there will be NO bus service for
the entire day. If your child is staying home on a day
when buses are cancelled, we ask that you please
inform the school by calling our attendance line at
905 306-8420.
Upcoming Important Dates
-Wed Mar. 2 … Lenten Confessions 9:30AM
-Thurs Mar 3 … Gr. 8 Grad Picture Day
-Mar. 14 thru Mar. 18 … March Break
-Mar. 21 thru Mar. 25 … Holy Week
-Thurs Mar 24 … Lenten Retreat Day
-Mon Apr. 11 … PA Day
-Tues Apr. 19 … School Council Mtg 6:30PM
-Thurs May 5 … Inquiry Fair in evening
-Fri May 13 … PA Day
-Sat. May 14 … First Communion 5:30PM
-Mon May 23 … Victoria Day
-Sun May 29 … Confirmation 2:30PM
-Mon. June 13 … PA Day
-Tues June 28 … Grad ceremony @ Goetz 6;30PM
-Wed June 29 … Grad Lunch & Dance
-Thurs June 30 … Year End Mass 9:15AM