ST. URSULA SCHOOL
December 2014 Newsletter
“Where Wisdom Begins In Faith and Wonder”
The mission of St. Ursula school community is to ensure that home, Church and school are collaborative partners in
the building of an environment that reflects Catholic faith and values by celebrating each person as a member
of the Body of Christ and by challenging all to achieve excellence spiritually, socially and academically.
St. Ursula
11 Dwellers Road
Brampton, Ontario
L6X 5C1
Telephone:
905-454-5213
Fax:
905-454-7843
K. DaCosta
Principal
M. Miller
Vice-Principal
G. Galati
Head Secretary
C. Tavares
Assistant Secretary
S. Steer
Superintendent
905-890-1221
D. D’Souza
Trustee
905-840-2707
St. Anne Parish
905-453-1303
Pastor
Fr. J. Cherickal
Lord God
We come to you with excited and grateful hearts
Thank you for this Advent time.
It’s exciting as we get closer to Christmas!
And it’s good for us to slow down
And enjoy each other more.
Fill us with your peace.
Make us better people.
Teach us to appreciate each other more deeply.
Make us aware that you walk with us each day.
Help us to be grateful and joyful.
Make our hearts strong and brave and generous.
These blessings I ask of you Lord during this Advent season.
Amen.
HEADLINES
This month we celebrate the virtue of “HOPE”. We understand that both the world and
its people are from God, and essentially good. The Advent season allows us to focus our
minds and hearts on the good all around us. We are reminded that God chose to send his
Son to us because we are worth it. God knows how great we can be when we all come
together. People of Hope: Keep a positive attitude; Set and stick to their goals; Work to
include others; Can bounce back from tough situations; See the good in others even when
they make mistakes; Let others know that they are good people.
Throughout the four weeks of Advent, there is a focus on preparing for the birth of Christ.
The word “Advent” itself means, “Jesus is coming”. In this time of waiting, we hear the
story leading up to Jesus’ birth, and are reminded of the significance of this season within
the framework of our Catholic faith. As each of the four candles on the Advent wreath
are lit, we witness the growing circle of light revealing Jesus as the light of the world.
We light a candle of HOPE – God wants us to work for the good in the world.
We light a candle of PEACE – The “Prince of Peace” is present among us.
We light a candle of JOY – God fills us with His joy so we may share it with others.
We light a candle of LOVE – May God be our guide to love one another.
We would like to personally thank each of you for your continued support, co-operation
and commitment in working together. We look forward to our continued partnership in
the year ahead, and extend our faith-filled blessings to every family for a holy and
peaceful Christmas.
K. DaCosta/ M. Miller
SCHOOL OPERATIONS
FAITH DEVELOPMENT
Christmas Break
Reconciliation
Just a reminder that the last day of school
before the Christmas break is Friday
December 19tht. Classes will resume on
Monday January 5th.
Fr. Francisco and several other
priests joined us at St. Ursula to provide the sacrament
of Reconciliation on November 25th.This is for all
students who had previously received this sacrament.
Advent Mass
APPLAUSE!
On Tuesday December 2nd at 10:00 a.m. we slowed
down to focus on the season of Advent, through the
celebration of mass with Fr. Paul in our school gym. It
was a lovely mass organized by Mrs. Boyle and Mr.
Briganti. Thanks to Ms. Palmer, Mrs. Cheaney and the
Choir for their lovely singing.
Wonderful partnerships have been built
through a sustainable home-school-parish
team approach. We are extremely grateful for all those
who go above and beyond in making St. Ursula School
a safe, caring and positive place to be!
* The commitment of the St. Ursula Staff, giving so
much time, care and support to your children!
* The faith leadership of Fr. Francisco, and the
pastoral team at St. Anne parish!
* For the dedication of the School Council, for
representing the best interests of your children!
* For our Faith Ambassador “Ursulights” who lead
and model our faith and social outreach projects!
* Our student helpers, Door Monitors, Recyclers,
Classroom assistants, ECO reps., Sound Crew, and
Choir!
Operation Christmas Shoeboxes
Last year’s success with Operation Christmas was a
great success that we once again participated in this
Social Outreach initiative. We congratulate everyone
who contributed to filling the shoeboxes or helping
with postage as we delivered 100 shoeboxes to be sent
to Third World countries. We can be assured that there
will be many happy children on Christmas Day, as a
result of the generosity of St. Ursula School.
Holiday Sing –a-long December 19th
* To our PLASP supervisors, Ms. Sahai and Ms.
Rashid and to our bus drivers and crossing guard!
On the last day of school before we break, the tradition
here at St. Ursula is our annual Christmas sing-a-long.
The Girls Club, Mrs. Policelli and Mr. Atkinson will
organize this event which takes place at 1:15 p.m.
Parents are welcome to join!
* To our lunchroom supervisors Mrs.Konings, Mrs.
D’Sa, and Mrs. Bell. Thanks for all you do!
Year of Faith
* For the continued support of Sue Steer, our
superintendent of Brampton West and our new
Trustee Darryl D’Souza.
Pope Benedict XV1 proclaimed a Year of
Faith, beginning on October 11, 2012. We are called
to give ourselves more fully to God by professing our
faith in Jesus Christ. By following the 7 Faith Habits,
we can be assured that we are bearing witness to the
light of Christ.
Primary Christmas Concert Jk-3/4
Habit 1: Offer a prayer at mealtime.
Habit 2: Reach out to help a neighbor in need.
Habit 3: Savor a few minutes of daily silence.
Habit 4: Call upon the saints.
Habit 5: Ask for God’s blessing each morning.
Habit 6: Give thanks to God each night.
Habit 7: Receive the Holy Eucharist for strength and
Nourishment.
On December 3rd we will be having a
Primary Christmas Concert for our JK’s to 33. Our 3/
3/ 4 classes organized by Mrs.Cheaney and Ms.
Palmer. Parents/guardians are invited to join us that
evening from 6:00p.m.-7:00p.m.in the gym for the
evening event of our Primary Christmas music and
presentations. We will also have a school presentation
from 10:00a.m.-11:00a.m. that same day. All are
welcome 
PROGRAM & CURRICULUM
AROUND THE HALLS
Reporting to Parents
Intermediate Girls and Boys Volleyball
First term reports will be sent home on
February 3rd. Parent/Teacher interviews will be
arranged for every student, which will take place on the
evening of February 5th and in the daytime of February
6th.Please know that you are encouraged to contact
your child’s teacher if you have any questions or
concerns at any time.
P.A. Day
As a result of the new timelines for reporting, there
will be a P.A. Day on Monday January 19th. This day
is allocated for staff to work on assessment and
evaluation.
Congratulations to the Volleyball teams, for
their fine efforts this season. Both teams are to be
commended for their dedication and skill development.
Thank you for your fine display of sportsmanship and for
representing St. Ursula School.
Full-Day Kindergarten Registration for 2015-2016
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten will take place
at St. Ursula on the following days:
Monday January 26th 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Snow Date: Tuesday January 27th
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, January 28th,
29th and 30th. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
To register your child, please bring the following:
• proof of child’s birth and age
• Catholic baptismal certificate for child/parent
• immunization records for your child
• Landed immigrant papers if not a Canadian citizen
• proof of home address
• proof of English Separate School Support (may be
done at time of registration)
Please note: There will be an information session for
parents of children with special needs such as vision,
hearing, physical, and developmental or autism, who
are entering into JK or SK in September 2015. The
information session will be held at the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board – Catholic Education
Centre (40 Matheson Blvd. West) on January 8th, 2015
at 7:30 p.m. in Room 301. Parents are reminded to
register their child here at the school in order to plan
for a successful entry into school.
Extended French Information Meeting
Grade 4 parent(s)/guardian(s) who wish to enroll their
child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for
September 2014 are invited to attend an information
meeting at:
St. Anne School
124 Godden Street, Brampton
Tuesday January 14, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Transportation is provided for eligible students in the
program if they attend the school for their region.
Thanks to all the coaches, Mrs. Laughlin and Mr.
Iantorno, Mrs. O’Brien, Mrs. McCallen and Ms. Yousif.
Thank you also to Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Cioffi for
convening tournaments.
Winter Lights @ Cassie Campbell
Students from out choir will be performing at “Winter
Lights” celebration on Friday December 5th at 11:00
a.m. You are invited to come out to Cassie Campbell to
support our choir. Various acts from Brampton
Northwest will take place throughout the day! This is a
great way to join in the Christmas cheer. Thanks to Ms.
Palmer, Mrs. Cheaney, Ms. Yousif and Mr. Briganti for
organizing and supervising this event. Thanks to our
joyous Choir as well!
Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week
In Dufferin-Peel, November 17th-21st was recognized as
Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. It began with
a minute of silence on November 17th at 10:00 a.m. as
everyone throughout the Board took a stand against
bullying. At St. Ursula, we constantly promote a safe
and inclusive environment, and we continued to do so
this week, through daily prayers on announcements, and
various lessons taught in the classrooms.
Each day one of the girls from the Grade 8 Girls Club
delivered a positive message on the announcements in
regards to bullying, self-esteem and promoting positive
relationships. Way to go girls and St. Ursula. We are
always taking a stand against bullying.
St. Ursula Royal Tree huggers are going for Green
and going for a Repeat Gold!
Our Tree huggers Eco Team are working hard at
promoting environmentally responsible stewardship. The
club models and promotes our care for God’s creation by
running the annual Brampton Clean city clean-up,
conducting waste audits, performing ecofriendly
assemblies, and engaging our community in various
other eco activities. We achieved gold status last year we
are working hard to repeat this. Eco staff members are
Mrs.Azevedo, Mr. Iantorno, Mrs. Smyth, and Mr.
DaCosta. Way to go Royal Tree huggers!!!!!!!!
LEAVING SCHOOL GROUNDS AT LUNCH
Your children may be asking you permission to leave
the school at lunch to go to local fast food restaurants
that have opened up in the area.
Please note that we do not encourage
students to leave school at lunch as your child is not
supervised when they leave school property.
There is not a teacher with them as some students may
have indicated. Also, students are walking on Bovaird
(a highway) where there is heavy traffic that travels at
a high speed, and there is an ongoing construction in
the area. In the event you do allow your child to leave
school at lunch, a parent note, dated and signed must
be submitted, which indicates that you are taking
responsibility for your child at lunch.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Allergies
Please note that while there may be
treats at Christmas, NO nut and
peanut products can be sent to school.
COMMUNITY
Campion Community Christmas
You are invited to attend St. Edmund
Campion School for their community Christmas event
being held on Saturday Dec. 6th from 11:00 a.m.–
2:00 p.m. Join in the festivities of singing, cookie and
ornament decorating, games, crafts and pictures with
Santa! Donations of non-perishable food items are
requested.
Catholic Register Drawing Contest
The Catholic Register is conducting a Christmas
drawing contest. The top entry in each category:
Gr. 1-3, Gr. 4-6 and Gr. 7-8 will receive a $50 gift
certificate for a day at the movies. The winning
pictures will appear in The Register’s Christmas
edition, December 21st.
COUNCIL’S CORNER
Next School Council Meeting
The next scheduled School Council
meeting will take place on Wednesday December 10th.
Meetings take place in the school library and begin at
7:00 p.m. Come and learn about the great work of our
School Council!
Sub and Pizza Lunch Programs
Shortly you will receive lunch order forms for Sub and
Pizza days. This order form will cover from January to
March. Order forms are due back before Christmas
holidays so that the lunch programs can begin as school
returns in January.
Chocolate bar Fundraiser
The chocolate bar fundraiser was a great success. We had
our assembly on November 5th where the top sellers were
announced. Congratulations to Matthew F. and Destiny
and Preston P.who sold 20 boxes each. Thanks to all
families who supported this fundraiser!
TRAFFIC SAFETY
To ensure the safety of everyone and prevent
the risk of accidents, please follow the appropriate signs and road markings to maintain a smooth
flow of traffic through the school parking
lot and the Kiss & Ride lane. This will also
alleviate anyone entering the parking area from the
exit driveway and coming upon a car traveling in the
opposite direction. Please note: Cars cannot be left
parked in the Kiss & Ride lane.
A Christmas Wish
A special blessing to you and your family for a
Christmas filled with the light of Christ! May
Jesus’ love be shared among each other and
May His example be modeled by all of us!
Entries must be original, in color, drawn, or painted on
an 8.5 x 11 inch page, and illustrate some aspect of the
Nativity of Jesus at the first Christmas in Bethlehem.
An entry form can be obtained at the office that parents
must complete and sign before sending in to The
Catholic Register. (Attached)
Deadline for submissions is December 12th.
Wishing you a peaceful and holy
Christmas!
Staff of St. Ursula School