ST. URSULA SCHOOL
April 2014 Newsletter
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
L. Zanella
Trustee
905-840-2707
St. Anne Parish
905-453-1303
Pastor
Fr. J. Cherickal
Risen Lord
Thank you for Your gift of a new day.
Of a new life, of a new forever.
You give hope to us,
And You give meaning to us.
We know that nothing can stop us:
From loving You,
From serving You,
From following You,
From listening to You.
Whatever happens to us we know You are with us,
And You will give us Your gift of a new day,
Of a new life, of a new forever.
Thank you for Easter! Be with us as we move forth in our plans. Amen.
HEADLINES
As we journey through this sacred time, we are reminded of the utmost importance that
Easter means to us as Catholics. Palm Sunday marks the time when Jesus made His entry
into Jerusalem where crowds of people waved palm branches, praising Jesus. Holy
Thursday marks the institution of the sacrament of Eucharist, followed by Jesus’ greatest
sacrifice: crucifixion on the cross on Good Friday. Jesus’ sacrifice is celebrated through
the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, and is the central theme of Christianity. In
Romans 6:4, it states, “What more wonderful reason could we have to celebrate. What is
more important is the true reason behind our celebration, which is that Christ was
resurrected from the dead, making it possible for us to have eternal life.” Jesus willingly
embarked on a mission to teach the Good News, and to make the ultimate sacrifice of
dying on the cross, for us! At Easter, Christ reveals to us that He is the Saviour of the
world. His mission was not an easy one, but his message was simple; to love one another.
As Catholics, we are called to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, continuing to evangelize the
words of Jesus Christ and spread His teachings of love for one another.
The gift of Catholic Education provides us with that gift to openly share in and live the
teachings of Jesus. It is so appropriate that within the Easter season we celebrate Catholic
Education Week, taking place May 4-9th. The theme this year is “Serving in the Love of
Christ”. The scriptural passage that guides our theme is: ‘I am among you as one who
serves’. (Luke 22:27e) As a school, we are continuously aware of the gift of Catholic
education, and openly share this gift at St. Ursula School! K. DaCosta /M. Miller
SCHOOL OPERATIONS
FAITH DEVELOPMENT
Class Placements for 2014-2015
Virtue of Love
Soon staff will begin a series of meetings
to discuss the placement of students for September
2014. When determining placements, criteria
considered are: academic ability and achievement,
work habits and study skills, social factors and
placement history. For various reasons we are limited
in our placement options. However, we do our best to
balance classes, considering the best placement to meet
the individual needs of each student. If you have any
specific concerns about your child’s placement for
September, we ask that you put these in writing. Only
information pertaining to the following will be
considered:
Jesus made one lesson clear above all
lessons – the lesson of love. Love is about forgetting
ourselves and looking out for the good of others.
That’s what Jesus did; 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. Through prayer and concentration, we can
get better at showing love to everyone we meet. 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 and prays for others.
• child’s strengths or needs
• description of child’s learning style
• type of learning environment for your child
Letters are to be submitted to the principal no later
than Monday May 5th. It is not always possible to
align with requests; therefore, we ask for your
indulgence and flexibility. Final decisions rest with the
school.
An
Leaving School Grounds at Lunch
Students staying for lunch on a regular basis
must have parent permission to leave school property
at lunch. For younger students, parents/guardians are
required to come into the school to sign their child out.
Older students must have a dated and signed note
indicating your permission for them to leave the
property. At noon, your child must sign out at the
office and sign back in when they return. This will help
to ensure that both you and the school know the where
abouts of your child. We do not encourage students
leaving at lunch as they are not supervised and there
are safety issues due to the speed of traffic on Bovaird.
Flex Boundary
Parents who have requested flex boundary admittance
for their children will be considered annually, taking
into consideration the number of students enrolling at
the school. Each year, students attending under the
Flexible Boundary Policy will receive a reminder
letter, and are required to submit an annual Flex
Boundary request. Please submit this letter of request
as soon as possible if you have not already done so.
Reminder
Please continue to send in any pop tabs throughout the
term. Congratulations once again to Mrs. Davis’ class
for collecting the most pop tabs in one term.!!Good Job
Stations of the Cross
On Holy Thursday, April 17th, the grade eight
students, under the guidance of Mr. Cioffi and Ms.
Carvalho will depict for us the passion of Christ,
through the Stations of the Cross. This powerful
presentation reinforces for us the sacrifices Jesus made
for us, so that we could have eternal life.
Share Life
Share Life is a fund raising campaign that supports all
Catholic charities in our Archdiocese and Third World
countries. Each year parents, students and staff are
asked to be generous in directing their alms to Share
Life, demonstrating continuous support by concretely
modeling faith in action. Throughout this year we
collected donations for Spirit days and staff contributed
to Share Life through “Casual Fridays” and a Shrove
Tuesday breakfast. We are all constantly answering
the call to respond to Social Outreach, for which we
should be very proud of our efforts to raise awareness
of the need to help others. The “Ursulites” thank you
for the Lenten collection for the “B.A.G.S” initiativeBe a Giving Source! Classes have contributed to the
bags in order to help those in third world countries.
Catholic Education Week
Catholic Education Week takes place the week of May
4-9th. This year’s theme is “Serving in the Love of
Christ”. The scriptural passage that guide’s our theme
is:’ I am among you as one who serves.’ (Luke 22:27e)
This year’s five sub-themes, one for each of the five
days of Catholic Education Week, help students to
understand the rich meaning of this year’s theme:
Monday: Serve with faithfulness, Tuesday: Serve with
humility, Wednesday: Serve with compassion,
Thursday: Serve with justice, Friday: Serve with joy
PROGRAM & CURRICULUM
Virtue Houses at St. Ursula
The Virtue Houses continue to meet monthly at St.
Ursula on the last day of the month. Students come
together in their virtue groups to participate in group
discussions, role plays and virtue based activities.
Students met in their groups on March 31st and had a
wonderful time exchanging their secret handshake,
listening to a story and then representing a scene and
then discussing the virtue of the month “kindness”.
Students discussed how they show kindness at home
and school and then were encouraged to fill out a
“kindness bucket ticket” and added it to Ms. Bryce’s
big bucket in the foyer. The next virtue house is April
30th. The Virtue Houses are positive for St. Ursula
School as they foster friendships and interactions
between students and teachers across all grade levels.
EQAO
All grade 3 and 6 students in Ontario will
participate in provincial assessments taking place May
27th - June 6th. We ask that parents try to avoid making
appointments during the assessment periods. Watch for
more details to be coming home soon.
Summer Literacy Camp / Summer School
Each summer, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board offers opportunities for your child to
attend a summer school program. Summer Literacy
Camp is available for students in Senior Kindergarten
to grade six (July 7th-25th) and Summer School is
provided for students in grade seven and eight (July 2nd
-18th). Your child’s teacher may discuss this as an
option for your son/daughter. Summer Literacy Camp
involves a fee for service and transportation is the
parent’s responsibility. Summer School (Gr. 7/8) is
offered with no cost. Registration forms can be
obtained from the school. See the attached flyer.
TRANSPORTATION 2014-2015
Important Notice regarding Transportation
Eligibility for Students Currently in Grades 1, 4
and 8
Eligibility for transportation is determined based on
distance criteria established in Board policy. For
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, these
are:
Jk-Grade 1
1.0 kilometre
Grades 2-4
1.6 kilometres
Grades 5-8
2.0 kilometres
Grades 9-12 4.8 kilometres
Students in Grade 1, 4, and 8 eligibility for bussing may
change next year as your child moves respectively to
grades 2, 5 and 9.As the distance criteria increases in
the noted grade levels, students who are currently
eligible for transportation in grade 1, 4 and 8, may no
longer be eligible for transportation when they move
to next grade level.
Effective June 1, transportation eligibility information for
the 2014-2015 will be available on the STOPR
website, www.stopr.ca . Access the “Am I Eligible
for Transportation?” icon, select 2014-2015, enter
the required address and 2014-2015 grade level to
see if your child is eligible for transportation.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Accident Insurance
Parents are reminded that each school year, forms are
distributed in September providing you with information
about cost effective student accident insurance coverage.
Enrolment is voluntary, but the Board encourages parents
to consider this inexpensive coverage. Application forms
are available throughout the year at the office if you wish
to apply for this insurance coverage.
Pink Day Against Bullying
Medication
In a constant effort to maintain a safe and
welcoming school, the message of acceptance, kindness, inclusiveness, communication and modeling for
each other is shared over and over again. Each year we
participate in Pink Day, where everyone is encouraged
to wear something pink, in an effort to stand up against
bullying. This takes place internationally, following an
incident in Nova Scotia, where someone was bullied
for wearing pink. To show your support against
bullying everyone is asked to wear pink on Wednesday
April 9th.
In the event you require your child be given medication
of any kind at school, specific forms must be obtained
from the school and completed by your doctor. Under no
circumstances can medication be stored or given out until
the appropriate forms are returned to school.
Fire Drills/Lockdown
We will be practicing a lockdown drill in the upcoming
weeks. Three more fire drills will be held in the spring,
as per Board policy. It is vital to be well prepared in the
event of an actual evacuation or emergency situation.
AROUND THE HALL
Earth Week at St. Ursula School
St. Ursula’s Earth Week in March was a huge success
and the “Royal Treehugers” are already planning the
next one for April. From our Meatless Monday to our
Flick off the lights Friday, students were actively
engaged in the many activities that were planned
throughout the week. We are hosting another Earth
week in April with the following program:
Monday April 21- Meatless Monday
Tuesday April 22-Earth Day- Walk to School
Wednesday April 23- Waste Free Wednesday and
Book Swap in Room 104 @ Lunch Recess
Thursday April 24-Thirsty Thursday (drinking only
tap water)
Friday April 25- Flick Lights off Friday
Together we all make a difference to the environment,
Go Royals and Royal Treehuggers!! 
The Great Gulp Challenge
The Great Gulp Challenge took place on Wednesday
March 20th and proved to be a huge success! Students
were asked to bring an ecofriendly water bottle filled
with tap water to school. Students and teachers all did
this and the Brampton Guardian even came to take our
picture! Our Goal at St. Ursula is to eliminate the use
of plastic water usage. A huge thanks to Mrs. Baptista
who organized this along with our Royal Treehuggers!
Poster Contest Winner
We are pleased to announce that Malaika from Mrs.
Basiukiewicz’s class and her family won the Terra
Cotta Conservation Family Pass for their poster
illustrating the ways they save and protect the earth.
Way to go Malaika and family!
Mark the Dates: St. Ursula School Play
St. Ursula is proud to announce that our School Play,
“Rockin Royals” will take place on May 7th and May
8th at 7:00 p.m. The play, written by Ms. Charles, is
about St. Ursula School, the teachers, the students and
what happens here.The cost per ticket is $2.00 and
seating is limited so please be sure to get your ticket.
Students and teachers are enthusiastically practicing for
this at lunch recesses. A letter will be coming home
soon regarding the play but be sure to mark these dates
on your calendar.
COUNCIL’S CORNER
OAPCE & DPCDSB Presents…
Conference for Parents:
“75th Years of Parent Engagement”
Conference and AGM
Friday May 23rd and Saturday May 24th
The Toronto Marriot
901 Dixon Road
Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School
4555 Tomken Road, Mississauga
A variety of workshops and vendors will also be
offered after the keynote speaker.
Register at www.opace.on.ca
Next School Council Meeting
Please join us for our next meeting being
Held on Wednesday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m.
“St. Ursula’s Got Talent!!
Our “Got Talent” night is almost here! Please see the
attached flyer for a wonderful evening filled with many
activities celebrating the many talents of our
community. The event is taking place on June 5th at
7:00 p.m. There is an RSVP attached to the flyer that
we ask you return by Friday May 2nd.
PLEASE COME AND GET INVOLVED IN
YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY!
St. Maguerite d’Youville Catholic Secondary School in
partnership with Brampton/Caledon &Dufferin Peel
School Board presents “ Financial Literacy, Having
the Money Talk” with guest speaker Mr. Tom Hanza,
President, Investor Education Fund. This will occur on
Wednesday April 30th 2012 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at St.
Marguerite d’Youville C.S.S. 10815 Dixie Road,
Brampton. Please RSVP to St. Ursula School.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING
A STUDENT MONITOR?
Can you help out? We are always looking to hire
some Student Monitors, who can be called upon to
assist in supervising students through the
lunch hour.
If you have been looking for a small part-time job
opportunity and have some time over the lunch
hour, please call the school office at 905-454-5213.