April 2016 Newsletter
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
Catholic Elementary School
6930 Forest Park Drive, Mississauga, ON L5N 6X7
Ph. 905-785-0066 Fax: 905-785-0075
Board web site: www.dpcdsb.org
School web site: www.dpcdsb.org/TCHLD
It is with great sadness that we share the news of the recent passing of one
of our students. Cassidy Ferreira, 4 years old in Mrs. Dykstra and Ms. Asis’
class, passed away suddenly Friday March 11, 2016. This is a shock to all of
us and we are going to miss her as part of our school family. We will be
celebrating Cassidy’s memory at our April Virtue Assembly. Please join us.
Details will be shared soon.
Heavenly God,
please give us the strength
to experience this grief.
Bless Cassidy’s family,
and help them to be able
to give each other the support
and the love they need at this time.
May Cassidy’s soul
Rest in peace.
Amen
Principal:
C. Jack
Vice-Principal:
C. Sforza
Administrative Assistants:
J. Lusk, J. Hube
Catholic School Council Chair:
Elizabeth Cardoso
Superintendent of
Mississauga North:
T. Cruz
905-890-1221
Trustee Ward 9 & 10
Esther O’Toole
905-812-5163
Parish Information
Website:
http://www.saintjohnofthecross.com/
Email:
stjohnofx@rogers.com
Mass Times:
Saturday: 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m./10:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m./4:00 p.m.
905-821-1331
Fax: 905-858-8486
Parish Mission Statement
"As members of the St. John of the
Cross Parish Community, we
acknowledge that all we are and all
we have are gifts from God. We take
ownership of these gifts which are
time, talent and treasure. We will use
them in the service of our community
and encourage others in the
community to do the same”.
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Virtue of the Month- LOVE
God has given us many guidelines and examples of how to live
our lives. God sent His Son Jesus to make sure that we could see
what life could be like. Jesus made one lesson clear above all: the
lesson to love. Love is not about us, it is about forgetting ourselves
and looking out for the good of others. That’s what Jesus did, He
forgot about Himself on purpose.
A person showing the virtue of love:
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Wants the best for others
Is willing to make sacrifices for the good of others
Learns from the heroic lives of saints & holy people
Knows that we are all lovable
Prays for others
Together in Faith
In 1867 a major political change affected Catholics’ ability to develop their
school system. With the approach of Confederation, Bishop Lynch and
Thomas D’Arcy McGee, an Irish Catholic Liberal politician from Montreal,
began working to secure Catholic rights regarding education in the British
North America Act. Under section 93, all the educational rights held by
religious minorities at the time of Confederation were secured
constitutionally. Catholic historian Mark McGowan explained the
significance of the section: “For Catholics in Ontario this meant the right to
establish, manage and control their own schools, and to share
proportionally in the government funds allotted to education”.
Catholic Education Week
“Opening the Doors of
Mercy”
May 1-May 8, 2016
As always Catholic Education
Week begins on Sunday to
highlight the parish-homeschool partnership that remains
the foundation of Catholic
Education. We are pleased to
announce the theme of 2016 is:
“Opening Doors of Mercy”
There are five sub-themes for
each day of Catholic
Education Week.
Monday “Mercy that
Welcomes”
Tuesday “Mercy that Loves”
Wednesday “Mercy that
Forgives”
Thursday “ Mercy that Lives the
Gospel”
Friday “ Mercy that Rejoices”
Catholic Education Week
Prayer
Taken from: Our Story. Our Tradition. Our Journey
Stations of the Cross
On Wednesday March 30, 2016 we gathered in the gym for the reenactment of the Stations of the Cross. All parents were invited to join us for
this special celebration. Thank you to Mrs. Firhoj, Madame Marcinkiewicz,
and the choir led by Madame DeBono and Mademoiselle Hinterhoeller for
planning this special event.
Youth Faith Ambassadors
The Youth Faith Ambassadors in Ms. Viola’s and Mrs. Cetra’s classes
presented the Virtue of Kindness into Action in March by participating
God of Love, and compassion,
help us to open the door of
mercy in our school
communities, in our families,
and in the world.
Let Mercy guide our living and
bring us closes to the heart of
the gospel. May we live as Jesus
with mercy that welcomes,
loves, forgives and calls us to
live the gospel joyfully.
Amen
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in a new Lenten Outreach Project. The “Take Your Shirt Off Your Back”
initiative reflects Jesus’s message of mercy and service to others in need.
Thank you to the generous donation of clothing received from the St.
Therese School Community.
School Procedures
DETERMINING CLASS PLACEMENT FOR SEPTEMBER 2016
The staff of St. Therese of the Child Jesus School will meet in the
spring to begin discussing appropriate placement for each student
for September 2016. When determining placement some of the
criteria we consider are academic ability, individual work habits and
study skills, maturity, date of birth, social factors, and placement
history. We aim for classes that have a balance of gender, ability
and behavioral needs. As you know your child best, we appreciate
your input concerning special needs for your son or daughter. With
this in mind, if you have concerns about your child’s class
placement for September 2016, we ask that you put your concerns
in writing. A ‘Parent Request for Class Placement Form’ was
provided in the March newsletter for this purpose. A new form is to
be completed each year as we do not retain requests from one
year to the next.
Parents/Guardians are asked to include in your request the strengths
and needs of your child along with a description of his/her learning
style. You may wish to include the type of learning environment in
which your child has experienced the most success. Please do not
make specific requests for teachers as staffing is always tentative
and changes can and often do take place between the time of
tentative class placement and September.
Are You Moving?
To help us with our planning for next September, it would be
appreciated if you could let us know now, if you will be moving out
of our school area over the summer. If you know of any families
moving into the area with children who plan to attend St. Therese of
the Child Jesus, it would be helpful if you could alert us. The more
information we have, the better we are able to organize staff and
students for September. In the absence of accurate information,
schools often have to reorganize classes in September due to
unexpected fluctuations in population. All we need is a quick note
or call. Thanks!
School Dress Code Reminder
We expect that warmer
weather will soon be here
making some classrooms
somewhat warm and bring
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. Shorts are
permitted as long as they are
neither too tight nor too short.
Tank tops, tube tops, halter
tops, or anything that exposes
midriff are not suitable for any
students from Kindergarten to
Grade 8. The intent of our
school dress code policy is to
provide modest yet
comfortable, work atmosphere
for any students during the
school day.
Lost and Found
Our Lost and Found Box is
overflowing. We often find
many lost items at our school.
Items like shoes, hats, jackets,
gloves, etc. are collected and
placed in the Lost and Found
box. Please look through to see
if any items belong to your
children.
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Immunization Updates
Peel Health will be reviewing immunization records of all students. Peel
Health must have proof that your child has been fully vaccinated
(immunized) according to the Ontario Immunization schedule. If you
receive a letter, please ensure that your child has received the
required vaccine(s), then give the date(s) your child received these
vaccine dose(s) to Peel Public Health immediately to update your
child’s record. To update: call Peel Health at 905-565-0426 (Att.
Immunization Records) or online at www.ImmunizePeel.ca .
School Procedures Continued…
REGISTRATION FOR JK IN 2016-2017
Pre-registration for the 2016-2017 school year was held in January. If
you missed this opportunity to enroll your child or know of someone
who has moved into the area, please contact the school for
registration information. Mark on your calendars our Welcome to
Kindergarten Night, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. At WTK Night we will explain
the routines and format for Full Day Kindergarten, and involve families
in a number of interactive, hands-on activities.
Upcoming School Council
Meetings
April 14, 2016*
*5:00 pm as Parent Engagement
Event to follow
May 12, 2016
Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. All are
welcome to attend.
Safety First
Playground Safety Tips
Playgrounds provide a great source of exercise and a place where
children can socialize, play creatively and test their skills. With the
milder weather approaching, we want to ensure that students are
involved in activities that are healthy while enjoying the great outdoors.
These safety tips help to create a welcoming and inviting area for all
students during recess!
Here are a few simple tips to help keep students safe on the
playgrounds:
 Play safely and take care of yourself and others
 Rocks, sticks and sand stay on the ground
 Use outdoor equipment safely; alert a supervisor if items go
out of bounds. Do not try and retrieve items from parking lots
or backyards
 Show teamwork and good sportsmanship
 Play cooperative games and invite friends of all skill levels too
play.
 Solve conflicts with words or tell the supervisor on duty
 Do not swear
 Listen to reminders from supervisors. Be prepared to work out
a conflict by using Accountable Talk
 Respond to signals/bells and proceed to line up quickly
Student Monitors
We are presently looking for parents
who may be interested in taking on
the role of Student Monitors. We are
looking for individuals who would be
interested to fill in when there is a
need due to illness or vacations. All
student monitors need a current
Criminal Reference Check and to
complete out an Application
Package.
Duties of the Student Monitor
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Carry out supervision duties
assigned by the Principal.
Be aware of the school rules.
Be prompt in reporting for
supervision assignments
Review and carry out school
emergency plan if need be
Please contact the office if you are
interested.
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If someone is hurt or injured, let a supervisor know as quickly as
possible.
Above all:
 Have fun! Recess is a great time to enjoy the outdoors and
hang out with friends!
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Community Corner
Heads Up
St. Therese will be sending a junior and an intermediate team to
the academic competition, on April 20, 2016. The students test
their knowledge against other schools in responding to
challenging trivia questions. Thank you to our coaches, Ms. Viola,
Mrs. Ramlogan and Mrs. Davis for their time and efforts in
preparing our students.
Intermediate Basketball
Clubs, Teams and Sports News
Primary Floor Hockey
The Primary Floor Hockey Teams enjoyed very exciting games
during February and March. The winners of the semi-final
games had the opportunity to play for the St. Therese Cup!
Congratulations to all who participated. Thank you to Mr. Knapp,
Mr. Leo, Mrs. Abbott, and Mrs. Mugford for giving up their lunch
hour to supervise games. A special thank you to the
Intermediate students who helped the primary students develop
their skills and sportsmanship.
French Connection Française
French Connection Française mentors will begin their initial
training in April to make sure that they are ready to greet and
welcome the new EF students. In June the French Connections
Française mentors will be joining the new Extended French
students for their shadow day. We are looking forward to
welcoming the new students to St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
EQAO Provincial Assessment
GRADE THREE AND GRADE SIX EQAO PROVINCIAL
ASSESSMENT
All grades 3 and 6 students in Ontario will be again participating
in the provincial assessments scheduled to take place May 25 to
June 8, 2016. It is very important that all grade 3 and 6 students
Intermediate Boys
The Intermediate boys’ basketball
team has begun their practicing. Their
first game was scheduled for Thursday
March 31, 2016 against St. Teresa of
Avila. The team is made up of:
Daniel M. B., Arveen C., Kyle D. C.,
Jackson G., Aidan H., Zacharia J.,
Chrsitopher L., Esteban P., Eric S. ,and
Jack T.
A special thank-you to Mrs. Mugford
for being the coach. We wish the boys
a great season.
Intermediate Girls
The Intermediate girls’ basketball team
has begun their practicing. Their first
game was scheduled for Thrusday
March 31, 2016 against St. Teresa of
Avila. The team is made up of:
Lara B., Breaghana C., Michelle M.,
Sydney D., Cianah M., Justyna L.,
Olivia A., Kirsten S., Atinuke O., Natalie
C., Brogan N., Jessica C.
A special thank-you to Mrs. Mills and
Madame Marcinkiewicz for being the
coaches. We wish the girls a great
season.
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participate in this assessment. Therefore we kindly ask
that parents try to avoid medical and dental
appointments during the assessment periods. Watch for
more details closer to the assessment dates.
EQAO Parent Tips-Strategies for Success
Stay Positive
Dates to Remember
April 1 Popcorn Sales Begin on Fridays
April 5 Confirmation Retreat Gr. 8 @ Camp
Brebeuf 10:00-3:00
April 8 Popcorn Sale $1.00 a bag
NEW: April 11 P.A. Day No School
Always celebrate your child’s successes and hard work each
day. Remind your child that the assessment will have questions
asking them things that they have already learned in class.
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Be sure your child receives enough sleep every night
so they are well rested.
During test days ensure your child eats
a healthy breakfast and remember to keep a positive
attitude in the home environment.
Do not force your child to study for these tests. They
are already working hard at school.
Reading With Your Child
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Remember to keep reading fun and share how much
you like to read. Parents
are the best role models to demonstrate
love of reading. Children learn by
example.
Encourage your child to read a variety of
texts including fiction and non-fiction.
Have your child orally reflect, relate, and
retell what you are reading.
April 13 International Day of Pink
April 14 Catholic School Council Meetingfollowed by Parent Engagement Evening
April 15 Popcorn Sale $1.00 a bag
April 19 Grade 8 Graduation Photos
April 20 Rosary Apostolate
April 20 Heads Up Competition
April 21 Spring Fling Dance-a-thon
April 22 Earth Day
April 22 Popcorn Sale $1.00 a bag
April 22 Virtue Assembly/Memorial @ 1:30 p.m.
April 27 HPV and Menigitis Vaccinations
April 29 Internet Safety Presenation Gr. 7 and
Gr. 8
*June 23 Grade 8 Graduation - St. John of the
Cross Parish, 7:00 pm
Writing With Your Child
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Demonstrate ways in which you use writing in
everyday life.
Doing Mathematics at Home
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Play with numbers
Do mental calculations such as estimating, grocery or
restaurant bills. How much of a tip do we give our
pizza delivery person? Demonstrate to your child the
practical uses of mathematics in daily life.
Encourage your child to communicate their answers
using pictures, numbers and words.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus School will
be presenting two evening
performances of the Trials of Alice in
Wonderland on May 3 & 4. Watch out
Broadway!
Ticket information will be sent home
later this month.
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