Volume 4 Issue 3
November 2014
Inside this
issue:Items
EcoSchools
/ Valuable
Secondary School Information
Poppy
We are but children small,
We are too little to do it all.
Children you may do your part.
Love each other is how you start.
Play without fighting.
Share your games and toys.
Be kind and thoughtful,
To all girls and boys.
Kindergarten Registration 2015-2016
Medic Alert / All Star Reading
Cold Weather/ Family Christmas Craft Night
St. Vincent de Paul / Cross Country
Junior Volleyball / Virtues —Conscience
Homework Help
Cold and Flu Season
St. Valentine Catholic School
5610 Heatherleigh Avenue
Mississauga, Ontario
L5V 2V7
Brenda LeClair,
Principal
Tom Prugo,
Vice-Principal
November Remembrances
November is an important month as we celebrate All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Remembrance
Day. All Saints Day reminds us of those who lived faithful lives in the church and on All Souls Day
we remember those who have died. There are many in our community who have recently suffered a loss
of a loved one and we continue to support them during these difficult times. On Remembrance Day
we remember those who gave their lives for freedom through various missions in pursuit of peace. It is
appropriate that Conscience is the virtue this month. We are called to do the right thing, and pray for
God‘s guidance to make informed decisions. Our children are reminded to have the courage to stand
up for the values that they are being taught at home and at school. It is a time
when we need to reflect and share the light in our hearts and continue to be
peacemakers in our own community. Thank you to the parents in our
community who tirelessly devote countless hours to make St. Valentine a
great place to learn and achieve together.
Franca Dodgson,
Secretary
David Amaral,
Superintendent of Schools
905 890 0708
Peter Ferreira,
Trustee - Ward 6
416 805 7110
Karen Canlas,
School Council Chair
Msgr. Edgardo Pan
Pastor
St. Francis Xavier Church
905 890 5290
Volume 4 Issue 3
Page 2
St. Valentine is an Eco School
We're back! That's right, this school year the Eco-Team is back and hungrier than ever! The Eco-Team is
comprised of students from grades 4 – 8 who want to help “green” St. Valentine School by participating in
various activities that reduce the ecological footprint of our school. Our students pledged to do everything in
their power to save the planet, conserve our resources, and help St. Valentine maintain gold status as a certified eco-school.
Stay tuned for several fresh ideas and important initiatives to make this program a huge success.
The Eco-Team would like to thank all members of our school community for their continued efforts to reduce
the amount of waste we use, and help our world be a cleaner, brighter, and greener place! Here are some ways
you can continue to help the Eco-Team:



When you pack your lunch reuse containers and reduce waste.
Put juice or water in a reusable bottle.
Wednesdays are Walk to School Wednesday
During this school year, nutrition, healthy lifestyle and daily physical activities will be addressed in daily curriculum and extracurricular activities in our effort in developing a healthier school .
Valuable Items at School
Students are discouraged from bringing valuable
used as a measure of safety to and from school
items to school. If they break or go missing, the
(i.e., cell phones), they must remain out of sight (ex.
school will not be responsible.
in a school bag and turned off).
A reminder that cell phones, headphones, i-pods,
Students who violate this Board policy will have
cameras, MP3 players and other electronic
the item confiscated until a parent is able to pick up
equipment are not allowed at school. If they are
the item.
Secondary School Parent Information Nights
St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School
Grade 9 Registration Information Nights
will take place on Tuesday November 11th
at 7:00 pm for parents interested in registering their children at St. Joseph Catholic
Secondary School for 2015-2016. For
more information please contact St. Joseph
at 905 812 1376.
Iona Catholic Secondary School Arts and
Culture Pathway information
night will take place on Wednes-
day November 5th at 7:00 pm in the Cafeteria for parents interested in enrolling their
children in the Iona Arts and Culture Pathway. For more information, contact Iona
Catholic Secondary School at 905 823
0136.
Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary
School Grade 9 Registration Information
Night will take place on Thursday, November 20th at 7:00 pm in the school gym for
parents interested in enrolling their daugh-
ters for September 2013. For more information, contact Holy Name of Mary at 905
458 5541 ext 64104.
St. Martin Catholic Secondary School
Grade 9 Registration Information Night will
take place on Thursday, November 20th at
7:00 pm in the school gym for parents interested in enrolling their child for September
2015 in the Regional Sports program. For
more information, contact St. Martin at 905
279 3171.
Volume 4 Issue 3
Page 3
Full-Day Kindergarten Registration for 2015-16
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten for the 2014-15 school year, will take place at St. Valentine
School on the following days:
Monday, January 26, 2015
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Thursday, January 29, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday, January 30, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
* Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
For more information about registration and the Full-Day Kindergarten program, call 905 890
0909 or visit www.dpcdsb.org.
We are on the web: http://www.dpcdsb.org/VALEN
Medic Alert—No Child Without
cal information on their Medic Alert
The No Child Without Program offers a
bracelet or necklace.
free Medical Alert membership to students who attend our school from Kindergarten up to their 14th birthday. If your

means of the child‟s Electronic Health
needs then you may want to consider a
Record through the 24 Hour Emergen-
Medic Alert membership. Your child‟s
cy Hotline.
needs in an emergency will be communicated efficiently through the medic Alert
membership in this manner.

If your child is already part of the No
Enables first responders to quickly obtain up-to-date medical information by
child has a medical condition or special

www.nochildwithout.ca
Child Without Program and there have
been changes to their medical condition,
medications, emergency contact information, call Medic Alert at 1-877-2825378 to update your child‟s file.
Communicates with the parent or emergency contact upon activation of the
Gives emergency first responders
immediate access to your child‟s medi-
hotline.
For further information, visit
All Star Reading Program
All Star Reading will begin soon at St. Valen-
Coaches will receive training and materials necessary
tine School! The reading support program
to help students struggling with literacy acquisition.
provides students in the early primary grades
If you are able to help by sharing an hour of your time
with an opportunity to read with an adult and to
each week, we would love to have you join our team!
practice essential skills needed to read inde-
Please contact Ms. Ruske or Mrs. DeSouza at the
pendently.
school for details.
November 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Page 4
Sat
1
2
3
9:00—First
4
5
Rosary Apostolates
Grade 8s to St.
7:00 pm—
Joseph SS
Photo Retake
11
12
Remembrance Day
St. Joseph SS
Communion In-
Confirmation Parent
scription Mass
Meeting (at Church
7
8
13
14
15
Evening—Parent
PA Day
Day
with the Bishop)
(at Church)
9
6
10
Progress Reports go
home
meeting with grade
Teacher
8s
Interviews
16
17
18
19
20
9:00 am—
Intermediate Trip to
Dental Screening
Dental Screening
1:30—ROCK
Confirmation
Living Arts Centre
(Gr Jk, SK, 2, 4, 6,
(Gr Jk, SK, 2, 4,
OUT (Anti
8)
6, 8)
Bullying Presen-
Inscription Mass
(at Church)
23
21
22
28
29
tation)
24
25
26
27
30
Advent Begins
Let us learn from Christ how to pray, to forgive, to sow peace,
and to be near those in need.
Pope Francis
Page 5
2014—2015 St. Valentine Catholic School Council
On Wednesday October 8th,
the 2014- 2015 St. Valentine Catholic School Advisory Council met for the first time this year.
Part of the agenda included creation of the Executive body.
Congratulations to the following members who graciously accepted positions on the Executive:
Mrs. Canlas- Chair
Mrs. Kwan - Treasurer
Mr. Fong - Secretary Mr. Mathias and Mr. James- Parish Representative
Mrs. Pegas-Ferreira and Mrs. Lasquite - OAPCE Representative
Mrs. Giove—Community Representative
Mr. Canlas—Fundraising Chair
Mrs. Balestra comprises the remainder of Council.
QSP Magazine Fundraiser
Our 2014-2015 QSP Magazine Fundraiser continued to be a great
success! Thank you to everyone who supported St. Valentine School
through this event! In the next few months, the monies received from QSP
will be allocated to various endeavours
aimed at supporting your child’s experience at St. Valentine!
In the near future, a monkey will make an appearance to deliver prizes!
Just as a reminder—magazines can be purchased or renewed throughout the
year on the QSP website—
www.qsp.ca
(school id—18412 )
Volume 4 Issue 3
Page 6
Cold Weather
During the winter season the school
With the arrival of colder weather,
wear all clothing that they came to
as to how we determine when children
propriately (hats, mitts, etc.) and to
that students have indoor shoes that
receives calls from concerned parents
students are reminded to dress ap-
school in. For health reasons, we ask
will or will not be allowed outside for
are kept at school.
It is generally accepted that when the
that in the event of an emergency
recess.
Another reason for indoor shoes is
wind chill factor drops below –28 C,
evacuation, students will not have the
recess. Dufferin-Peel CDSB poli-
Please make sure clothing is labeled—
students should not go outside for
opportunity to put boots on.
cy uses a wind chill factor of –25 C as
this will help in the return of lost items.
the determining temperature.
Family Christmas Craft Night
St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Donations
This year the Society is continuing with changes made to their donation program last year. This is in an effort to maintain the dignity and privacy of each
family. With this change we are moving from hampers to Gift Cards for No
Frills and Walmart. This change has been made at neighbouring conferences
On Wednesday December 10 St. Valentine School
will be hosting our second Family Christmas Craft
Night. With the busy-ness of family lives, we invite you
to take a break and come to the school and spend some
and has been well received. This provides financial support to families to continue their own Christmas traditions. In addition, this allows the Society to
ensure each family receives a fair and equitable amount to meet cultural and
dietary restrictions. There is nothing better than the joy of parents to see
time in your child(ren)’s class(es) to create a craft keepsake. We will also be having gingerbread house building
in the gym and refreshments. As an added bonus, we
their children opening their gifts on Christmas Day.
This will also give the family a chance to celebrate the
warmth and cheerfulness / closeness of Christmas
together. Further details will follow under a separate
have been able to book the jolly man in red and a photographer who will be available to take family photos for
the season.
letter. In advance, thank you—as always— for your
generosity!
Cross Country
St. Valentine fielded a very successful team on
students: Matthew B, Charlize C, Christo-
finished in top form.
Cleavon N, Courtney R, Nia R, Mary
October 21st at Erindale Park. All runners
Congratulations to all the students who participated and thank you to Ms. Morris and Mme.
Rundsztuk for their coaching talents .
Team members include the following
pher D, Nicola F, Alesha K, Angeli L,
Faith S.A., Maegen S, Kaitlyn T, Achala
T, Julia W and Ira Z.
Congratulation to Courtney R. who competed in the Board meet on October 29th.
Volume 4 Issue 3
Page 7
Boys and Girls Junior Volleyball
O., Ivana E., Lara D., Charlene S., Sarah
Congratulations
played well and improved their skills but
B., Holly T. and Rebecca M .
to the girls and
unfortunately just fell short of qualifying for
On behalf of the athletes, we would like to
boys junior vol-
the Family of Schools Tournament.
thank Mrs. Dimaapi and Mr. Huh for their
leyball teams for
Representing the boys were: Tim R., Erich
time and dedication to coaching these two
their excellent
C., Miles R., Luke M., Darryl M., Miguel
fine teams.
representation of St. Valentine School.
and Olu N.
They exhibited great team skills and de-
Also, we would like to thank the many parent
Representing the girls were: Alesha K.,
volunteers who drove the boys and girls to
Nia R., Sarah B., Marta O., Samantha
their away games.
velopment in their abilities. Both teams
Virtue for November—Conscience
This month we will focus on the virtue of conscience. God has given us the ability to know the right and decent
way to act and then to act that way. We trust that the common Spirit we share inspires us and guides us to make
good decisions if we allow our conscience to be well-formed.
A person of conscience allows prayer and scripture to influence him/her.
REFLECTION…
What trials or troubles would I be willing to put up with in order to follow my conscience?
OUR DAILY PRAYER FOR NOVEMBER—
Let us now pray… for the grace and strength to be people of conscience – people who know the good and de-
cent way to act and then choose to act that way. AMEN
Free Online Math Tutoring Available
Have a child in Grade 7 who doesn’t quite un-
derstand how to add fractions? Or maybe your
teenager is struggling with a geometry assign-
help setting up an account from their teacher at
school.
ment? Extra help is now available.
Other math resources on the website include
Check out Homework Help, where certified
top 20 most commonly asked math problems,
Ontario teachers are online 20 hours a week to
provide free math tutoring for the Grade 7 to
10 math students in the [add local school board
name].
Students can log in Sunday to Thursday, 5:30
p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for one-on-one confidential
help. There are interactive discussion rooms for
each grade where they can view to the current
lesson, watch tutors draw on the whiteboard —
and then type their own question for on-thespot help.
To access http://HomeworkHelp.ilc.org, your
child will receive a Board access code, as well as
videos of teachers leading students through the
school year in the expansion of a pilot project
funded by the Ministry of Education. Studies
show that students who like math and have solid
math skills are more likely to succeed in school and
later in life.
interactive math tutorials and highlights of best
“Many students continue to struggle with math.
sessions. And all students have a virtual locker,
By expanding Homework Help, we are giving more
where their work is saved in video format for
students the extra help they need to succeed and
viewing anytime.
graduate,” explains Kathleen Wynne, former Min-
Dufferin-Peel is one of 15 English-language
school boards offering Homework Help this
ister of Education.
Homework Help began in 2007-08 at schools in
the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District
School Board and Hamilton-Wentworth District
School Board. Across Ontario, about 150,000
students will now have access to the online site.
This website is another addition to the online
resources available for Ontario’s teen-
Volume 4 Issue 3
Page 8
The Last Word
Reminders and Resources: Cold and Flu Season
As cold and flu season approaches, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board continues to be vigilant in
ensuring that our schools are clean and that our school communities are educated regarding good hand hygiene and
cough etiquette. These practices are promoted on an ongoing basis, but as the prevalence of colds and flu increases,
our board increases the cleaning of contact surfaces, as well as reminds schools to review cold and flu prevention with
students and staff. Many resources are utilized from our regional health units.
A reminder, as well, that communicable diseases can be contracted in public places throughout the year. For example,
cold-related viruses, such as Enterovirus, are transferred from person to person through hand contact. Cold and flu
viruses typically peak from December through February, but can start as early as October.
Regional Health Unit Resources
Please assist us by reviewing good hand washing procedures, as well as other preventative measures, as outlined in the
various Peel Health and Wellington Dufferin Guelph (WDG) resources available to you through their websites. As
always, children who are unwell, should be kept at home.
Flu Clinics
Also available on the Peel Health and
WDG websites, are the schedules of local
Flu Clinics.
For more information, visit the Peel Health
unit website:
http://www.peelregion.ca/
health
Direct links to the above information can
be found in the Parent Section of the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board website at www.dpcdsb.org
We are on the web: http://www.dpcdsb.org/VALEN