Volume 5, Issue 2
October 2015
Principal’s Message
Inside this issue:
All Star Reading Coaches / Terry Fox
Pupil Accommodation Review
Anaphylaxis / School Safety
We Give Thanks
Fire and Lockdown Drills/Absences
Kiss N Ride / Snuggle Up & Read
Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this
occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You
would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.
Popcorn / Health Alert / Pediculosis
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of
our families a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!
We often take many of our blessings for granted
Food Drive—Head Injuries
Resiliency
and I feel truly grateful for the opportunity to be
part of the St. Valentine community. It is the combined efforts of everyone—parish, staff, students
and parents—that make this such a vibrant and
caring learning community. By working together we
move forward as lifelong learners striving for excellence in our personal, social, spiritual and academic
growth.
During this time, let us thank God for the many
blessings He has bestowed upon us and ask Him
to continue to guide us on our journey. Let us also
be mindful of those less fortunate and share to
ease their plight. In previous years, our community
has been extremely generous during food and
Christmas basket drives. Once again this year, we
are asking families to bring in non-perishable food
items that our Youth Ambassadors will collect and
ensure are distributed to our local food bank to
– Harry Jewell
Shoe Drive/Sacraments/Empathy
share for Thanksgiving.
As the term continues, our student activities will
swing into full gear as staff work with your children
on cross country, volleyball and various other clubs
and activities. We look forward to an exciting year!
St. Valentine Catholic School
5610 Heatherleigh Avenue
Mississauga, Ontario
L5V 2V7
Brenda LeClair,
Principal
Emily Moran,
Vice-Principal
Franca Dodgson,
Secretary
David Amaral,
Superintendent of Schools
905 890 0708
Luz del Rosario,
Trustee - Ward 6
Karen Canlas,
School Council Chair
Msgr. Edgardo Pan
Pastor
St. Francis Xavier Church
905 890 5290
Page 2
Volume 5, Issue 2
Wanted: All Star Reading Coaches
The All Star Reading program
provides primary students with a
variety of reading strategies to increase confidence and reading fluency. The
next session will be beginning soon.
Parent coaches are needed one morning or
after-noon per week to work with students on
an individual basis. No experience is required,
training is provided, and the benefits of volunteering are substantial.
Please contact Ms. Ruske at the school if you
have further questions or would like to volunteer as a coach.
Pupil Accommodation Review Policy
Public Consultation
The Ministry of Education released the new Pupil Accommodation
Review Guideline (PARG) in March 2015. This guideline sets ex-
pectations for all school boards on managing and reviewing underutilized school space, including potential school closures, and for the
greater coordination and sharing of planning related information between school boards and other community partners.
The guideline requires all school boards in the province to develop or
revise Pupil Accommodation Review Policies and to invite public input into the policy before it is finalized.
A survey to collect feedback on the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board’s draft amended Policy 6.51 Pupil Accommodation
Review will be available for review and comment on the Board’s website at www.dpcdsb.org until 4:30 pm on Friday, October 16, 2015.
Supporting documents will also be available for reference and review.
Please consider reviewing and providing input on this policy.
Terry Fox Walk—2015
Congratulations St Valentine Bravehearts! On Friday September 26th, we held our annual Terry Fox Walk. Students once again regaled the neighbourhood with signs, spirit and good cheer!
This year, staff and students participated in a variety of activities to honour Terry and raise funds.
There were soccer and hockey shoot-outs versus the quick reflexes of Mr. Dutra, water balloon toss
events with grade 8s braving the pitching arms of eager students and a staff—student volleyball game.
We have tabulated the funds raised and are excited to announce that we raised $1762—we look forward to Mr. Huh shaving his head and Mr. Dutra sticking to the wall with duct tape!
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who contributed to cancer research.
Thank you as well to Mr. Huh , Mrs. Frackowiak, Ms. Ng, Mme. Choy and Mr. Dutra for all their
work in organizing this wonderful event.
Anaphylactic Shock—Classroom Snacks
We felt that all parents would like to be
aware that there are several students in
our school with a severe life-threatening
food allergy to peanuts and nuts. This
is a medical condition that can result in
death within minutes of exposure. Although this may or may not affect your
child’s
class directly, please send
foods with your child’s lunch
that are free from nuts /nut products.
Further to this, as
part of “Sabrina’s
Law”, we are no
longer permitted to
allow treats for
sharing with other students. On special occasions (Halloween, Christmas)
teachers will advise students what foods
they can bring for their own consumption. To acknowledge your child’s birthday, if you would like to send something,
items such as pencils or “dollar store
treasures” that are not edible would be
appropriate. Thank you for your consideration and co-operation in making
our classrooms safer for students.
Volume 5, Issue 2
Page 3
School Safety—Reminder
Parents are welcomed to the school
student programming. Since the hall-
throughout the year, however, for the
ways are busy during pick up times,
safety of all children, parents and visi-
siblings and parents are asked to ar-
tors must use only the front door for
range with your child, a meeting place
entry and must sign in at the office
outside of the school. Messages and
and receive a visitor’s sticker each and
deliveries (keys, lunches, etc.) are han-
every time you visit the building. Visi-
dled through the office. Please re-
tors are not entitled to go to the
member: to most students in the
classrooms as this is a disruption to
school, you are a stranger.
We are on the web: http://www.dpcdsb.org/VALEN
Fire Drills and Lockdown Drills
As a precautionary measure, we will practice fire drills and lock
desks. Classroom doors and windows are secured. Students remain
down procedures throughout the year. We are required to hold 6
this way until the alert is cancelled.
fire drills each year as well as 2 lock down drills.
Discussing these procedures with your child will help reassure the
During fire drills, students are asked to move safely and swiftly
importance of these safety procedures.
to the nearest exit and to report to their designated area outside
In the unforeseen event that we should
of the building. If an exit is blocked, students are reminded to use
have an emergency in our school, we will
their alternate exit. We will have three of the fire drills in the fall
evacuate to St. Francis Xavier Church.
and the remaining three in the spring.
Safety regulations require us to have
In a lock down, students are alerted over the P.A. that we are
this contingency plan in place. In such an
“initiating lock down”. Students are directed to move away from
event, your child will remain with school
all windows and doors and to lie on the floor, if possible under
staff until we contact you.
St. Valentine is now on Twitter! For the latest school news and information, follow us
@ValentineDPCDSB
Student safe arrival at school is
Student Absences
your child is late for school, they
paramount. If your child is absent,
must check into to office before
please call the school attendance
proceeding to class.
line at 905 890 0909, Press 1.
This procedure helps to ensure
the safe arrival of all students. If
Children must be signed out at
the office by an adult.
Page 4
October 2014
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
Gr 6—RAID
Beginning of the Year
3
Mass @ Church
4
5
6
7
Gr 6-8—EDGE
Presentation
8
9
10
16
17
23
24
30
31
Gr 6—RAID
7:00 pm—First Communion Parent Meeting (at Church)
11
12
13
Thanksgiving
Rosary Apostolates
14
15
Gr 6—RAID
Monday—no school
18
19
20
21
22
Family of Schools
Youth Officer
Youth Officer
28
29
Cross Country Meet
Youth Officer
25
26
Board Cross
Country Meet
27
Gr 6—RAID
Bus Evacuation
Training
“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
Dr . Seuss
Page 5
On behalf of the School Council we would like to welcome everyone back and extend a heartfelt welcome to our new families and
faculty. Our main function as a council is to enhance your child’s educational experience by supporting activities and initiatives
that unfortunately are no longer supported by government and school board funding. One way that we do this is through various
fundraising initiatives. We thank you for your support as we launch our QSP magazine sales as well as later throughout the year.
Last year, your support of our fundraising initiatives supported the school in the following ways:
 Purchase of student agendas for grades 1 to 8
 Mementos to commemorate sacraments and graduation
 Pancake Tuesday - proceeds for Share Life
 Purchase VHS/DVD License yearly
 Limo/Mandarin Lunch
 Purchase of Virtues t-shirts for all students JK-Grade 8
 Purchase of classroom games for indoor recess
 Organization and funding of year end community barbeque
That is just the beginning. We are hoping to have another successful school year, and we cannot do that without the help of all
our volunteers.
At St. Valentine School, the parents are our partners in education. Effective home-school communication can be a critical component in the ultimate success of a student. In fact, the purpose of this very newsletter is to keep parents informed about the
events and happenings at our school.
Even if you are not interested in being a council member, you are welcome to attend our monthly meetings and listen to some of
the initiatives we are pursuing and/or provide your ideas as to areas we should be pursing. We are always open to fresh ideas.
Our first meeting is on Wednesday October 7th at 7:00 pm in the library.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated support.
St. Valentine Catholic School Council
Volume 5, Issue 2
Page 6
Kiss N’ Ride
The success of this program is dependent
supervision begins at this time.
If you need to park to escort kindergarten
upon parents, guardians, members of our
children to their area, please park either in
community, staff and students becoming
the spots at the front of the school or in
knowledgeable about the program and
the side parking lot.
committed to following the basic princi-
For greater success of our Kiss N’ Ride
ples.
program, we are asking for your help. If
Please drive to the end of the Kiss’n Ride
you are able to volunteer your time before
and drop off your child. They will then
the school day begins, please contact the
walk on the sidewalk and walk across the
school building and into the school yard.
Drop off time begins at 8:15 a.m. as yard
office.
Parents should NOT be using the front
Thank you for your support and co-
of the school to drop off students—this
operation in this safety matter.
area is for school bus use only.
DPCDSB is now on Twitter! For the latest board news and information, follow us @DPCDSBSchools.
Shoe Drive
Popcorn Sales
St. Valentine School will be supporting St. Joseph Secondary School’s Varsity Boys Football team by participating in their 3rd Annual Shoe Drive. For the month of October, we will be collecting gently used shoes to donate to
St. Vincent de Paul. Families who
would like to contribute are asked to
please bring in your gently used shoes
to the St. Valentine office or send
them in with your child to be given to
their classroom teacher. Thank you for your support!
Fabulous Fridays are back!
In order to help fundraise for various initiatives throughout the school year, we will be selling popcorn every
Friday beginning October 16th.
Students will have a choice of flavours—butter salt, white
cheddar, sweet kettle corn, dill pickle, salt and vinegar—
to choose from.
Each bag will sell for $2 and
students will be called down
before afternoon recess.
Preorders will not be taken.
Pediculosis
From time to time, there may be cases of pediculosis
hair. By the time that the nits or empty egg sacs
or head lice in our school. This should not be a cause
are noticed on the head of one child in a class or
for alarm. Lice are a nuisance, but are not hazardous
family, it is likely that other children also have head
to your child’s health, as they do not carry disease.
lice.
One of the most important steps to both their pre-
If a child has pediculosis, we will ask the parent to
vention and treatment is knowledge. Head lice do not
come to school and pick up the child. An alert
fly or jump. They can only hitch rides from one head
letter is sent home to parents of the infected class.
to another, and they prefer clean scalp and
Volume 5, Issue 2
Page 7
Parish Parent Meetings and Sacrament Dates
Reconciliation and First Holy Communion:
Parent Meeting at St. Francis Xavier Church:
Thursday October 8 - 7:00 p.m.
Confirmation:
Parent Meeting at St. Francis Xavier Church:
Tuesday November 3—7:00 p.m.
Inscription Masses
Celebration of Sacrament of Reconciliation
Sunday December 6—9:00 am
Friday January 29—9:30 a.m.
Confirmation Preparation Mass:
Inscription Masses
Thursday January 28—7:00 p.m.
Sunday November 8 @ 9:00 am
Celebration of Sacrament:
First Holy Communion Preparation Masses
Thursday May 12 —7:00 p.m.
Sunday January 24 & Sunday February 7 @
The following summarizes parent meetings and
sacrament celebrations that have been planned
for St. Valentine students.
All events take place at St. Francis Xavier
Church.
12:00 pm
Celebration of Sacrament of First Holy
Grade 8 Graduation and End of the School
Year Mass:
Communion
Monday June 27—9:30 am
Saturday April 23—10:00 a.m.
Virtue for October—Empathy
This month we will focus on 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. We
understand empathy to mean the ability to identify with and feel other people’s concerns. We believe that in a
faith community we are nothing without relationships. Relationships that grow in a spirit of communion- an understanding that we share an identity based on being created in the image and likeness of God and being imbued
with one Spirit. We are many parts of one body. An empathetic person believes that we all share one Spirit;
that we are many parts of one body because we are all created in the image and likeness of God.
REFLECTION… How will I know that someone needs me to show empathy today?
OUR DAILY PRAYER FOR OCTOBER—Let us now pray… for the grace and strength to be people
of empathy – people who can really identify with and feel the concerns of those around us. AMEN
Thanksgiving Day Food Dr ive
But when you give to the poor,
do not let your left hand know
what your right hand is doing, so
that your giving will be in secret;
and your Father who sees what is
done in secret will reward you.
~ Matthew 6:3-4
The St. Valentine Youth Faith
Ambassadors will be collecting
non-perishable food items for the
St. Mary’s Food Bank during
the weeks of September 28—
October 9. Ambassadors will
be coming around to classes
collecting food donations.
Please be generous during this
time of thanksgiving. Thank
you for your continued support
in our efforts to give back to our
community.
Head Injuries
Even when it may appear
to be insignificant, we inform parents of all reported head injuries that happen at school. We do this
in recognition of the potential danger of any injury
involving the head area. Our intent is not to alarm you,
but to keep you informed.
Please remind your child to let a staff member know if
they bump their head or if they get hurt at school.
Your child’s safety is our number one priority.
Volume 5, Issue 2
Page 8
The Last Word
Tips For Raising Resilient Kids
By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.
10 Tips For Raising Resilient KidsWhile adulthood is filled with serious responsibilities, childhood isn’t exactly stress-free. Kids take tests,
learn new information, change schools, change neighborhoods, get sick, get braces, encounter bullies, make new friends and occasionally get hurt
by those friends. What helps kids in navigating these kinds of challenges is resilience. Resilient kids are problem solvers. They face unfamiliar or
tough situations and strive to find good solutions. “When they step into a situation, [resilient kids] have a sense they can figure out what they
need to do and can handle what is thrown at them with a sense of confidence,” said Lynn Lyons, LICSW, a psychotherapist who specializes in
treating anxious families and co-author of the book Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous
and Independent Children with anxiety expert Reid Wilson, Ph.D.
This doesn’t mean that kids have to do everything on their own, she said. Rather, they know how to ask for help and are able to problem-solve
their next steps. Resilience isn’t birthright. It can be taught. Lyons encouraged parents to equip their kids with the skills to handle the unexpected, which actually contrasts our cultural approach. “We have become a culture of trying to make sure our kids are comfortable. We as parents are trying to stay one step ahead of everything our kids are going to run into.” The problem? “Life doesn’t work that way.”
Anxious people have an especially hard time helping their kids tolerate uncertainty, simply because they have a hard time tolerating it themselves.
“The idea of putting your child through the same pain that you went through is intolerable,” Lyons said. So anxious parents try to protect their
kids and shield them from worst-case scenarios. However, a parent’s job isn’t to be there all the time for their kids, she said. It’s to teach them to
handle uncertainty and to problem-solve. Below, Lyons shared her valuable suggestions for raising resilient kids.
1. Don’t accommodate every need.
According to Lyons, “whenever we try to provide certainty and comfort, we are getting in the way of children being able to develop their own
problem-solving and mastery.” (Overprotecting kids only fuels their anxiety.) She gave a “dramatic but not uncommon example.” A child gets out
of school at 3:15. But they worry about their parent picking them up on time. So the parent arrives an hour earlier and parks by their child’s
classroom so they can see the parent is there. In another example, parents let their 7-year-old sleep on a mattress on the floor in their bedroom
because they’re too uncomfortable to sleep in their own room.
2. Avoid eliminating all risk.
Naturally, parents want to keep their kids safe. But eliminating all risk robs kids of learning resiliency. In one family Lyons knows, the kids aren’t
allowed to eat when the parents are not home, because there’s a risk they might choke on their food. (If the kids are old enough to stay home
alone, they’re old enough to eat, she said.) The key is to allow appropriate risks and teach your kids essential skills. “Start young. The child
who’s going to get his driver’s license is going to have started when he’s 5 [years old] learning how to ride his bike and look both ways [slow down
and pay attention].” Giving kids age-appropriate freedom helps them learn their own limits, she said.
3. Teach them to problem-solve.
Let’s say your child wants to go to sleep-away camp, but they’re nervous about being away from home. An anxious parent, Lyons said, might say,
“Well, then there’s no reason for you to go.” But a better approach is to normalize your child’s nervousness, and help them figure out how to
navigate being homesick. So you might ask your child how they can practice getting used to being away from home. When Lyons’s son was anxious about his first final exam, they brainstormed strategies, including how he’d manage his time and schedule in order to study for the exam. In
other words, engage your child in figuring out how they can handle challenges. Give them the opportunity, over and over, “to figure out what works
and what doesn’t.”
4. Teach your kids concrete skills.
When Lyons works with kids, she focuses on the specific skills they’ll need to learn in order to handle certain situations. She asks herself,
“Where are we going with this [situation]? What skill do they need to get there?” For instance, she might teach a shy child how to greet someone
and start a conversation.
We are on the web: http://www.dpcdsb.org/VALEN
Volume 5, Issue 2
Page 9
10 Tips For Raising Resilient Kids (continued)
5. Avoid “why” questions.
“Why” questions aren’t helpful in promoting problem-solving. If your child left their bike in
the rain, and you ask “why?” “what will they say? I was careless. I’m an 8-year-old,” Lyons
said. Ask “how” questions instead. “You left your bike out in the rain, and your chain rusted. How will you fix that?” For instance, they might go online to see how to fix the chain or
contribute money to a new chain, she said. Lyons uses “how” questions to teach her clients
different skills. “How do you get yourself out of bed when it’s warm and cozy? How do you
handle the noisy boys on the bus that bug you?”
6. Don’t provide all the answers.
Rather than providing your kids with every answer, start using the phrase “I don’t know,” “followed by promoting problem-solving,” Lyons said.
Using this phrase helps kids learn to tolerate uncertainty and think about ways to deal with potential challenges. Also, starting with small situations when they’re young helps prepare kids to handle bigger trials. They won’t like it, but they’ll get used to it, she said. For instance, if your
child asks if they’re getting a shot at the doctor’s office, instead of placating them, say, “I don’t know. You might be due for a shot. Let’s figure
out how you’re doing to get through it.” Similarly, if your child asks, “Am I going to get sick today?” instead of saying, “No, you won’t,” respond
with, “You might, so how might you handle that?” If your child worries they’ll hate their college, instead of saying, “You’ll love it,” you might explain
that some freshmen don’t like their school, and help them figure out what to do if they feel the same way, she said.
7. Avoid talking in catastrophic terms.
Pay attention to what you say to your kids and around them. Anxious parents, in particular, tend to “talk very catastrophically around their children,” Lyons said. For instance, instead of saying “It’s really important for you to learn how to swim,” they say, “It’s really important for you to
learn how to swim because it’d be devastating to me if you drowned.”
8. Let your kids make mistakes.
“Failure is not the end of the world. [It’s the] place you get to when you figure out what to do next,” Lyons said. Letting kids mess up is tough and
painful for parents. But it helps kids learn how to fix slip-ups and make better decisions next time. According to Lyons, if a child has an assignment, anxious or overprotective parents typically want to make sure the project is perfect, even if their child has no interest in doing it in the first
place. But let your kids see the consequences of their actions. Similarly, if your child doesn’t want to go to football practice, let them stay home,
Lyons said. Next time they’ll sit on the bench and probably feel uncomfortable.
9. Help them manage their emotions.
Emotional management is key in resilience. Teach your kids that all emotions are OK, Lyons said. It’s OK to feel angry that you lost the game
or someone else finished your ice cream. Also, teach them that after feeling their feelings, they need to think through what they’re doing next, she
said. “Kids learn very quickly which powerful emotions get them what they want. Parents have to learn how to ride the emotions, too.” You might
tell your child, “I understand that you feel that way. I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes, but now you have to figure out what the appropriate next step is.” If your child throws a tantrum, she said, be clear about what behavior is appropriate (and inappropriate). You might say, “I’m
sorry we’re not going to get ice cream, but this behavior is unacceptable.”
10. Model resiliency.
Of course, kids also learn from observing their parents’ behavior. Try to be calm and consistent, Lyons said. “You cannot say to a child you want
them to control their emotions, while you yourself are flipping out.” “Parenting takes a lot of practice and we all screw up.” When you do make a
mistake, admit it. “I really screwed up. I’m sorry I handled that poorly. Let’s talk about a different way to handle that in the future,” Lyons said.
Resiliency helps kids navigate the inevitable trials, triumphs and tribulations of childhood and adolescence. Resilient kids also become resilient
adults, able to survive and thrive in the face of life’s unavoidable stressors.
Downloaded from: http://psychcentral.com/lib/10-tips-for-raising-resilient-kids/
We are on the web: http://www.dpcdsb.org/VALEN