St. Sofia
Byzantine Catholic School
Sharing, Caring and Preparing
ШКОЛА СВЯТОЇ СОФІЇ
St. Sofia School
3540 Havenwood Drive
Mississauga, ON L4X 1M9
Tel: 905-625-0823
Fax: 905-412-3073
Website:
www.dpcdsb.org/SOFIA
Twitter:
@StSofia_DPCDSB
Principal
J. Dmytrasz
Vice-Principal
I. Sauvé
Secretaries:
N. Vereshchak
P.Trussler
Superintendent
T. Lariviere
905-890-1221
Parish Priests
St. Mary’s Church
905-279-9387
DIVERSITY PRAYER
Blessed are You, God of all peoples
Blessed are You for the wonderful differences
Of colour and culture,
Of creed and heritage
That make up the human race
I give thanks that I have come to know You
In Jesus,
Your Child,
And my Saviour
May my witness bring others
To Jesus and to You, Amen
DATES TO KNOW
St. Elias Church
905-459-8888
Mitred Archpriest
Roman Galadza, Pastor
A. da Silva
D. D’Souza
S, Xaviour
Caledon
F. Di Cosola
416-706-5679
416-528-8515
416-528-9622
905-951-8898
Mississauga
M. Pascucci
905-302-3096
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
S. Hobin
905-301-1210
A. Abbruscato
416-459-0126
T. Thomas
416-845-8225
L. del Rosario
416-528-6447
B. Iannicca
905-270-0536
FEBRUARY 2016
RESPECT
May I give witness by the example of my life
To the splendor of His truth,
To the joy of His Resurrection,
To His Spirit of love,
Rt. Rev. Mitered Archpriest Dr.
Roman Pankiw, Dean of Central
GTA, Pastor
Very Rev. R. Trynoga, Assistant
Trustees
Brampton
Virtue of the Month
February is BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
This month provides us with special opportunities to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black
Canadians, who throughout history have done so much to
make Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate and
prosperous nation we know today. It is also an opportunity for the majority of Canadians to learn about the
experiences of Black Canadians in our society and the
vital role this community has played throughout our
shared history. Special thanks to Pani Tetrault’s students for their
daily announcements about Black History!
Feb 19 – HOZA! A celebration
of black history.
Feb 21—St.Sofia Singers at
Brampton Beast Hockey
Game at the Powerade Centre, Brampton; the puck
drops 2:00pm!
Feb 23– Public Speaking Contest in gym. 9:45am for Juniors & 1:15pm for Intermediates.
Feb 29—Virtue Assemblies
for RESPECT. In the gym at
11:20am for Gr. 1-4 and
1:20pm for Gr. 5-8.
April 11—NEW! PD Day for
students.
FEBRUARY’S VIRTUE - R E S P E C T
This month we will celebrate the virtue of RESPECT.
God has given us the virtues of friends and companions to keep us
company and to help us out along the way. Every person in our lives
carries the Spirit of God — and so every person is our brother or sister
through Jesus Christ. As brothers and sisters who share one Holy Spirit,
we are all valuable to God. We all deserve to be show courtesy,
consideration, sensitivity and thoughtfulness, which are different ways of
saying RESPECT.
A respectful person…
- Treats himself/herself and everyone else with equal consideration
and courtesy
- Uses a positive tone of voice and body language
- Avoids swearing, name-calling
- Says ‘Excuse me’, ‘please’, “pardon me’
- Avoids gossip
Books about RESPECT
Parents are encouraged to read with their children and to their children about this month’s virtue.
Nobody Laughs at a Lion by Paul
Bright & Matt Buckingham
The Blind Hunter by Kristina
Rodanas
All the Colours of the Earth by
Sheila Hamanaka
Pinduli by Janell Cannon
The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake
STRITENNIA—Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord
Stritennia (“presentation’) refers to the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in
the Temple which we celebrated with our parish priests on February 12th. This
holyday is celebrated 40 days after Christmas and marks the end of the
Christmas season.
The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple commemorates the offering and
dedication of the baby Jesus to God’s service by His mother Mary and father
Joseph. Jewish law
mandated that all firstborn males of the
Jewish faith be
dedicated to God’s
service. Joseph and
Mary offered two
doves as an act of
redemption.
Catholic Community, Culture and Caring
In dealing with daily interactions with their peers it is
helpful for students to develop strategies to deal with
situations of conflict or anxiety.
At St. Sofia we encourage the students to use their
'WITS'. This strategy teaches the children how to deal
effectively with minor situations, thereby empowering
them to solve minor situations that may arise with their
peers. Emphasis is also placed on insisting that they seek
adult assistance whenever a situation is physically or
emotionally hurtful.
Please take time to discuss with your child what they may have learned through using this
method. Parental input, encouragement and knowledge are always key in a child's
development of new skill sets.
Our teachers and staff also use strategies and lessons from the Region of Peel Public Health—
Bullying Prevention program.
February’s message is: “Telling an adult about bullying is not tattling.”
Feel free to check out their website: http://www.peelregion.ca/health/bullying/
NATIONAL SWEATER DAY—February 4, 2016
To promote an
awareness of the
importance of reducing
our energy consumption,
across schools in
Dufferin-Peel, St. Sofia’s
school heat was turned
down and staff and students were asked to bundle
up in a favourite sweater.
Right: Pani Solowy’s students dressed up in their mom or dad’s
sweaters!
JUMP ROPE FOR HEART! February 11, 2016
Supporting kids’ health for more than 30 years, Heart&Stroke Jump Rope for
Heart encourages kids to get active by skipping rope while they collect pledges
for heart disease and stroke research. The program gives children the chance to
jump and play alongside 750,000 other kids in more than 4 000 schools across
Canada.
St. Sofia’s Jump Rope
for Heart Event was
lead by Ms. Battiston,
Pani Snihura and Mrs.
Violo. They provided
the opportunity for
students to learn about
healthy eating, physical
activity, and the benefits
of giving back to their community. Many thanks go to the Gr. 8’s for helping out
as station leaders throughout the event. A special thank you to all families who
supported us in this important cause!
GREAT CLASSROOM LEARNING!
Web Resources:
Primary: Math and Logic Puzzles
www.mathisfun.com
Junior: Number Sense and Numbers
www.mathfrog.ca
Intermediate: Integers
www.wiredmath.ca
SAFETY FIRST WHEN DROPPING YOUR CHILD OFF IN THE MORNINGS
Thank-you to all the parents for the concerted effort at helping to keep our students’ safety a priority when
using the Kiss and Ride lane in our driveway.
To ensure the safety of students please follow these guidelines:
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Use the Kiss ‘N Ride lane only; do not drop off you child in the Drive-Thru lane.
Drop children only when it is safe or under the direction of the supervisor on duty.
Please wait your turn.
Your child must exit the car on the right hand side only.
Your child must be ready to exit the car on their own; if they are unable to exit on their own please park on
the street or parking lot and walk your child in.
Please note: If students require adult help to get out of the car with their belongings, please park either at the
school parking lot or side street and walk to the school with your children.
Please do not:
 Drop your child off on the Drive Thru lane.
 Allow your child to exit the car on the left hand side.
 Pass in the driveway..
You may not leave your car unattended, in the drive-through lane at anytime of the day.
PARENTS AND VISITORS IN THE SCHOOL
A reminder that all visitors and volunteers, INCLUDING PARENTS must come to the
office, sign in and pick up a visitor sticker. Anyone not wearing a visitor sticker will
be asked to return to the office to sign in and pick one up.
We thank you for your cooperation in supporting a safe environment at St. Sofia.
ST. SOFIA SCHOOL WEBSITE
DID YOU KNOW? St. Sofia has a school website!
Please visit www.dpcdsb.org and
link to the elementary site @ St.Sofia
to gain information about the school,
parish and Catholic School Council.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board is now on
TWITTER!
For the latest Board news and
information
FOLLOW US ON Twitter
@DPCDSBSchools or
@StSofia_DPCDSB
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
The DELL TABLETS have arrived!
Students and staff have begun to embrace 21st century
learning with the introduction of our Dell Tablets!
These class-set of 30 tablets are providing opportunities
for students from FDK to Grade 8 to learn more about
inquiry, critical thinking
skills, research skills, evaluating and synthesizing information from different
sources, appropriate internet use and digital citizenship and more!
Our next meeting
April 19, 2016 at 6:30 P.M. in our Library
ALL ARE WELCOME!!
UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER…
Poetry Café presented by Pahn Chwartacky’s students on
March 10, 2016 at 3:00pm.
Gr. 7 Ottawa Trip Parent Presentation: by Explorica
Keating on March 22, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Library.
School Re-dedication Day: May 5, 2016
Parent Engagement Evening: on May 10, 2016 at St.
Timothy School
Teachers are also beginning to get training and
PD on how to set up class
sites using Office 365, for parents to access work assigned, feedback, calendars dates and more! Feel free to
ask your child’s teacher about this and how they will incorporate this as part of your child’s learning.
Many thanks to our Special Assignment Teacher, Mr. Orofiamma and Pani Neave for supporting our teachers and
students in their orientation of the tablets and facilitating
new learning!
We also look forward to the arrival of a second set of tablets,
these will be iPads, geared more for the primary students.
Currently, our Special Education Resource Class (with Panna
Maxymiw) has three iPads for SERC students to use that are
equipped with assistive technology.
So much learning to be had by all!
THE CHESS CLUB IS BACK!
This year the Chess Club is preparing for another
round. Students in Grades 4-8 are invited to join.
This year we are setting our goal on winning the
Board tournament on April 1, 2016 at
St. James Global Learning Centre, so
participants are asked to bring their
“A” game. Indeed, having fun is
important too and the Chess club is a
place to have fun. The club is run by
Pahn Chwartacky and Pani Waschuk.
INDOOR SHOES PLEASE!
The winter weather is
upon us. In order to
keep our students
comfortable and to
keep the school environment clean, please
ensure that your child
has a pair of “indoor” shoes. This will help to reduce the amount of mud, dirt and snow brought
indoors and it will help Pahn Antonio and our custodial staff as they work to keep St. Sofia clean.
MS READ-A-THON
St. Sofia is once again participating in the M.S.
Read-a-thon. The kick off assembly will be held on
Friday, March 11th where students learn many
facts about Multiple Sclerosis and where they will be
introduced to Mike, a resident of Mississauga who
lives with M.S. Our school has been participating in
the M.S. Read-a-thon since 1998.
Please encourage your child to participate in this
worthy cause. The reading period will be from
March 11 to April 1st, 2016. More details to come!
A big thank you to
Pani Dowhal and
Panna Maxymiw
for organizing this
special event!
PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST
St. Sofia students are busy preparing for
the Public Speaking Contest which will
take place on Tuesday, February 23rd
at 9:45am for Juniors and 1:15pm for
Intermediates.
Representatives from each of our
intermediate and junior classes will
present to their peers in the gymnasium.
Parents are welcome to attend!
REMINDER:
Remember that boots like
UGGS or moccassins are
not considered indoor
shoes!
LIBRARY NEWS from Pani Neave
The primary and junior students are busy reading the
nominated books in the Forest of Reading program.
Grades 1,2,and 3 students hear
and discuss the books during their
Library times. They have
participated actively and have
enjoyed the many connections that
the books offer.
Students from Grades 4, 5 and 6
have joined the Forest of Reading Club and are reading the
books independently. It is wonderful to hear their opinions
on reading. Students will vote for their favourite author in
April.
We are very proud of our JK and SK
students for their effort to always
return their books on time. They have
been very engaged listening to stories
and looking through many books.
Happy reading!