October 2015
Volume 7 Issue 2
ST. RITA CATHOLIC SCHOOL
Page 1
30 SUMMER VALLEY DRIVE, BRAMPTON, ONTARIO L6Z 4V6
PHONE 905 595-0911 FAX: 905 840-3467
WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.DPCDSB.ORG/RITAE
PUTTING OUR FAITH INTO ACTION
PRINCIPAL
U. Fromm
VICE PRINCIPAL
C. Zeni
SECRETARIES
V. Molinaro
C. Egan
D. Sandiland
SUPERINTENDENT
S. Steer
905-890-1221
ST. LEONARD CHURCH
905-846-5385
Father Nosan
TRUSTEES
D. D’Souza (Ward 2)
905-579-0126
F. Di Cosola
(Caledon/Dufferin)
905-951-8898
MPPs
Brampton-Springdale
M. Harinder
905-495-8030
Dufferin-Caledon
Sylvia Jones
905-951-9382
School Hours:
9:00 Supervision begins
9:15 Entry Bell
10:55 Morning Recess
12:00 Lunch Recess
12:40 Lunch
1:00 Afternoon Bell
2:40 Afternoon Recess
3:45 Dismissal
Virtue of the Month: Empathy
A virtue is a habit or established capacity to perform good
actions according to a moral standard.
Each month we will focus on a specific virtue.
This month we celebrate the virtue of Empathy.
God has given us the ability to form connections with
each other—to live together.
Empathy helps us to connect and live together in safe,
caring, inclusive communities. Empathy refers to the
ability to identify with and feel other people’s concerns.
An empathetic person :
 Listens attentively when someone speaks
 Notices and responds when someone is upset
 Can name her/his feelings
 Can see a situation from another person’s point of
view
 Accepts that people may feel differently about the
same thing
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A special thank you to all the parents who attended
the St. Rita Catholic School Council Elections on
Tuesday, September 29th, which was dir ectly followed by the first school council meeting of the
year. The following people are the 2015-2016 St.
Rita Catholic School Council:
Chair: N. Cedrone
CoChair: A. Mason
Secretary: T. Sposato
Treasurer: J. Crispo
Parish Rep: S. Roman
OAPCE Rep: H. Donahee
Member At Large: L. Moniz
Teacher Rep: Ms. McGougan
Non-Teacher Rep: Mrs. Molinaro
At St. Rita School we are very fortunate to have an
active and dedicated School Advisory Council.
Please feel free to join us at the next Council meeting on Tuesday October 27th, 2015 at 7:00pm.
Please call the office and leave a message notifying
us if your child will be absent. The school’s answering machine allows parents to call in student absenteeism 24 hours a day. We thank all parents who
consistently call when their child is absent. Your
support ensures that our Safe Arrival Program works
efficiently to support the safety of our students. If
you have not yet done so, please take some time to
look over your child’s Student Agenda, which contains this and other important information about
school procedures.
In addition, please be advised that being on time for
school is also an expectation. Your child is considered late when he/she does not enter the school with
their class at 9:15 am. When this happens repeatedly, students often miss 10-15 minutes of the same
subject everyday.
Please note that waiting until the bell rings and then
dropping your child off at the front doors is not an
acceptable practice, as students are entering the
building alone and unsupervised.
October 5th was World Teacher’s Day. We would
like to
thank the teachers at St. Rita School for all they do
for our students. We are very blessed to have such a
dedicated staff, committed to Catholic Education.
This month as students strive to demonstrate the virtue of empathy, St. Rita School its held its annual
Thanksgiving Food Drive. Special thank you to
Mrs. Marr and her Grade 5 class for coordinating
and packing all of the donations. Thank you to all
the families that participated in helping to replenish
the stock at Knights Table so that they can continue
to provide to those families in our community that
often have to go without.
The STOPR website http://businfo.stopr.ca allows
parents to check their child’s transportation information:
 click “student login”
 enter your child’s OEN number as their ‘student
ID’ (the OEN is noted on your child’s report
card)
 enter your address, school name and child’s
grade
 Click “login”
Daily information regarding bus cancellations and
specific bus delays is also available on the STOPR
website.
Changes to your child’s bus number or bus stop
must be arranged and approved by STOPR. For
STOPR insurance purposes, and in the event of any
type of busing emergency, it is critical that the
STOPR’s, bus driver’s and school’s bus lists are accurate at all times. Students should never take a bus
for which they are not officially registered. Students
who attend St. Rita School on flex boundaries are
not eligible for busing. Parents/guardians of students on flex boundaries who would like to be
considered for access to a ‘courtesy seat’ should
submit their request in writing to Mrs. Zeni. No
school can assign courtesy seat students for the first
4 weeks of school. We ask that all Transportation
related questions be directed to our Transportation Dept. at 905-890-6000.
Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/ritae
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or original over the counter container). Parents are
responsible for ensuring that all medication and
forms are updated annually for any student who requires medication to be administered at school.
Forms are available at the school office or from your
child’s teacher. Please check and note expiry dates
on all medication.
Sabrina’s Law is an Act to protect anaphylactic pupils in publicly funded schools in Ontario. It is
named “Sabrina’s Law” in honour of an Ontario student who died following an anaphylactic reaction in
2003. This law requires that every school board establish and maintain an anaphylaxis policy.
If your child has a severe allergic reaction to peanuts, peanut by-products, bee/wasp stings etc.,
please let the school know as soon as possible. It is
essential that the information you provide us with is
accurate and up-to-date. There are various forms
which need to be completed by you and your family
doctor if it is necessary to store and dispense an EPIpen or any other medication at school.
We continue to have students with severe, life
threatening allergy to certain foods, such as peanuts
and nuts. This is a medical condition that may cause
severe and life threatening reactions to certain allergens within minutes. Although this may or may not
affect your child’s class directly, we require your
continued cooperation in sending foods to school
with your child that are free from peanuts, nuts or
their by-products.
Reliable Life Insurance forms were sent home with
students in September. As required by the Education
Act and the Ministry of Education, the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board annually provides
parents, via the students, with information about cost
effective student accident insurance coverage. Although enrollment is voluntary, the Board encourages
parents/guardians to take advantage of the inexpensive insurance coverage, especially if their child participates in sports, excursions/field trips, or if parents
do not have dental insurance coverage. Enrollment
is required in writing. Plans range from $3.50—
$26.50 per child for the school year. There are two
enrollment options:
 Complete the traditional form and mail it in
 Photocopy the form and fax it to Reliable Life at
1-905-522-7211 or 1-800-463-KIDS (5437)
Parents alone have the right to insure their children.
Please do not send food products to be shared in
your child’s classroom (including doughnuts and/or
Timbits, which are NOT nut-free). If you would truly like your child to share their special day with their
classmates we suggest that you consider non-food
items such as pencils or stickers.
Letters will be sent home with the students whose
classroom members have specific allergies. Please
check with your child, and in their backpack, for
those letters regarding the type of allergy and products to be avoided. Please pay careful consideration
to school lunches and snacks and refrain from sending in items that are made of, or contain, nuts or peanuts. We offer our heartfelt thanks for your support
in making our school a safe environment for all.
Please note that school staff cannot dispense medication of any kind without the proper authorization and
a properly labeled container, (i.e. prescription bottle
Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/ritae
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With the coming of the colder weather, we remind
you that children need to dress appropriately for outdoor recess. We recognize that temperatures can
change throughout the day and suggest that children
come dressed in layers. Please note that we encourage all students to bring running shoes to school for
the purpose of wearing them solely indoors and for
gym. As the wet and muddy weather approaches,
we need to ensure that the hallways are safe and
clean.
Volunteers are always welcome at St. Rita School.
We encourage parents/grandparents to become involved in various aspects of school life. If you are
interested in sharing your time and talents, please
request a ‘Volunteer’ form from the office. All volunteers are required to have a recent Criminal Reference Check or must file an Annual Criminal Reference Declaration. This measure is to ensure the safety of our students. The paperwork may be requested
at the school office and must be taken to the Peel
Regional Police headquarters (if you live in Brampton) or faxed to the OPP, for Caledon residents, for
processing.
Please note!
With the exception of JK and SK, parent volunteers
will not be assigned to work in their child’s/
children’s classroom. Teachers will solicit field trip
supervisors as/when needed. Volunteers participating as field trip supervisors must have a recent
Criminal Reference Check or must file an Annual
Criminal Reference Declaration.
Mrs. Palmer and the choir for the gift of music.
Please join us for our Advent mass on December 8th
at St. Leonard’s Church. More details to come.
Our QSP magazine fundraiser is now on! Don’t miss
out on great subscription deals for yourself, your
family and friends. Please note that there are new
items that you can purchase now through the new
QSP catalogue. We are also offering Terra Cotta
Cookie Company cookie dough as an alternative
fundraiser. This campaign will run until Friday October 23rd, 2015.
On Friday October 2nd, 2015the students, staff and
parent volunteers of St. Rita, participated in a community walk/run to raise funds in support of cancer
research. The event was a tremendous success!
Thank you to our School planning committee led by
Mrs. Gabrielse. The weather was fantastic, providing a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the beautiful
sunshine as we walked or ran in support and memory
of Terry Fox. Thank you for your support!
Our School Opening and Thanksgiving Mass was
held on Friday October 9th, 2015. Thank you to
Father John for his spiritual leadership and guidance
and for helping all of us understand the importance
of being thankful for all that we have. Special thanks
to our Liturgical Committee and the Primary staff
and students for their excellent preparation and to
Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/ritae
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Head lice is a problem that occurs at some point in
most
schools. Head lice are parasites which have infected
human beings for centuries. They are not related in
any way to dirt, neglect, or poor hygiene. Anyone can
be infested. Unfortunately in recent years they have
become quite common throughout North America. In
order to control these pests, whenever a case is found
in the school we will be notifying the parents of all
students in that class, asking you to check your own
child and if you find them to be infested, please let us
know. Treatment information can be obtained from a
pharmacist or the Regional Health Department. If your
child does become infested by head lice, we will ask
you to keep him/her out of school until after they have
been treated with the correct shampoo and their hair is
entirely clear of both lice and nits (eggs). By following these procedures we might not entirely escape outbreaks, but we will be able to bring them under control quickly. Even if a case has not been reported by
the school, it is a wise precaution to check your children periodically. Pediculosis is only spread by direct
contact with a ‘case’, often through the sharing of
combs/brushes or by exchanging hats. It is hoped that
parents and teachers will be on the alert for excessive
scratching and will instruct the children regarding prevention.
Students are reminded not to bring to school any valuables, toys or other items of importance to them.
These items present a temptation which might result in
distraction to the learning process and unfortunately,
sometimes in theft. If students choose to bring these
items onto school property, the school cannot accept
responsibility for their care or loss.
As in the past, we ask students not to bring or wear
Halloween costumes to school. This practice will ensure that costumes are not ruined in anyway as well as
ensuring the safety of students as sometimes costumes
can be a tripping hazard. Instead, students are invited
to dress in orange and black on October 30th. While
we do not ignore Halloween completely, we encourage teachers and students to concentrate more on All
Saints Day.
We have received many inquiries regarding
WOW Butter. Please note that due to an inability to differentiate between WOW Butter and
real Peanut Butter, parents/guardian’s are requested NOT to send this product to school as
a part of your child’s lunch and/or daily
snacks. We thank you for your cooper ation!
The No Child Without program offers a free
MedicAlert membership to students who attend
our school and are between the ages of 4 up to
their 14th birthday. If your child has a medical
condition, allergy or is required to take medication on a regular basis then you should consider
a
MedicAlert membership through this program.
MedicAlert is your child’s voice in an emergency.
MedicAlert membership:
 Gives emergency first responders immediate
access to a your child’s medical information on
their MedicAlert bracelet or necklet
 Enables first responders to quickly obtain up
to date medical information by means of the
child’s Electronic Health Record through the 24
Hour Emergency Hotline
 Communicates with the parent or emergency
contact upon activation of the Hotline
 Allows free updates of the child’s medical
record as needed
MedicAlert identification can alert school staff,
friends, coaches and others about your child’s
medical condition should an emergency occur.
For further information come to the office for a
brochure or go to www.nochildwithout.ca.
To register your child you will need a No Child
Without brochure from the school Office. If
your child is already part of the No Child Without program and there have been changes to
their medical condition, medications or emergency contact information, call MedicAlert at 1866-679-3220 Ext 1 to update your child’s file.
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October 2015
Sun
Mon
empathy
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
Virtues Assembly
2
3
4
5
6
7
Paul Davis
Presentaion
8
9
School Mass
10
11
12
No School
Thanksgiving Day
13
14
15
Family of Schools
Council Meeting
16
Picture Day
17
18
19
20
School Council
Budget Meeting
21
Bus Driver Appreciation Day
22
23
24
Terra Cotta Cookie
Dough Orders
LAST DAY
25
26
27
School Council
Meeting 7:00pm
28
29
30
31
November 2015 conscience
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
5
Virtues Assembly PM
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Picture Retake
Day
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
First Day of
Advent
30