MISSION STATEMENT
Mission Statement
St. Bernadette Elementary School is
committed to educate and serve our students in
a safe, caring and inclusive Catholic
environment. Students will be challengedto
develop the spiritual values and intellectual
skills necessary for their growth as responsible
citizens in a changing society.
St. Bernadette School is a Catholic
community. We demonstrate our love for
God by respecting each other and by striving
to meet the expectations of our Catholic
faith, the Ministry of Education, and those
established by parents, teachers and
students.
Our mandate is to encourage in children the
life-long desire to learn, and find joy, delight
and enthusiasm in the learning experience.
Students should grow in sense of self-worth,
respect for all members of our community,
personal responsibility in the uses of
freedom, and love of God. Students have the
right to go to school. With that right brings
the responsibility to respect the rights of
others.
As our motto suggests: Together We Are
One.
VIRTUE EDUCATION
Every month we will gather as a community to
recognize the virtues in the actions of our
students. These virtues are displayed in everyday
learning, at recess and in extracurricular
opportunities. The virtues are rooted in the Gospel
Values and emphasized in the Catholic Graduate
Expectations with an emphasis on the
development of the whole child.
These are the virtues that we will recognize and
promote throughout the school year:
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
Faith
Empathy
Conscience
Hope
Self-control
Respect
Kindness
Love
Acceptance
Fairness
BELIEF STATEMENTS…
We believe that
… we grow in our faith as a community by
living the Gospel values of love, justice,
compassion and service in our daily lives.
…each individual within the community can
grow intellectually, emotionally, socially and
spiritually through meaningful and challenging
learning experiences.
…we bring out the best in each other by
working together to create an inclusive
community.
…all partners in our school – staff, parish,
parents and volunteers striving to put children
first by building networks that communicate
openly and work cooperatively.
…each individual is made in God’s image
deserving to be treated with respect, kindness
and acceptance to foster a safe, caring and
inclusive learning environment.
… a professional staff working collaboratively
to enhance the learning environment and their
own learning enriches the lives of everyone.
St. Bernadette Elementary
School
1060 White Clover Way, Mississauga, Ontario
L5V 1G7
_________________________________
Pastoral Plan
2011 - 2012
Mississauga South
THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
Through Special Liturgical Celebrations…
Catholic Education in Ontario is a privilege that we
have had for more than 160 years. The distinction
of Catholic Education lies in the collaboration
between the home – school – and parish in
educating the whole child. We celebrate our
uniqueness and our similarities as we remain rooted
in our Gospel values. In our Catholic Schools we
celebrate together and transform our schools into
church – where we celebrate the works of Jesus
Christ. Together with all our partners we learn and
work together as followers of Jesus – our Master
Teacher.
As Catholics, we praise God every day and we are
thankful for our many blessings. We use special
times of the year to highlight our thanks to God for
all that He has done for us by coming together in
church. Our school year celebrations where the
home, school and parish gather together will be:
Opening School Mass, Advent Mass, Ash
Wednesday Liturgy, Lenten Mass, School
Graduation Mass, and End of the Year Mass.
M.J. Vowles- Principal
As a community of faith, we show our compassion
and generosity by giving to those in need. We will
continue to look for opportunities to demonstrate our
commitment to Jesus and His ministry through
community service projects and prayer. Students at
St. Bernadette reach out to their community by
participating in visiting the Senior residents with the
gift of Christmas music, Sharelife and United Way
contributions, sponsoring a Christian child in Chili,
the Mitten Tree, Christmas baskets for families,
Toonie Tuesday & food drives. This year we will
become involved children helping children through
the Free the Children initiative. We will also support
the Third World through class efforts to fill
“BAGGS”.
Parish & Home Connections
St. Bernadette Elementary School is very fortunate
to have Father Joyson & Father Phillip as our
spiritual leaders. They visit our school community
share in development and expression of our
Catholic Faith. Ongoing and effective
communication between home, parish and school is
essential for supporting our students’ faith formation
and creating successful learning experiences in the
development of our Catholic graduate expectations.
Parents are welcome to attend school liturgies,
sacramental preparations and are encouraged to
support our efforts in creating a strong sense of
Social Justice within the community. We participate
in many school outreach projects and community
charities.
SCHOOL PASTORAL PLAN
As Faith Ambassadors for our students, our school
pastoral plan allows us to explore our role in the
formation of our future Catholic leaders.
Through the Use of Prayer…
Prayers, reflections, readings from Scripture, and
O’ Canada are part of every student’s opening
exercises. Prayer gathers us together as a
community of faith and then resonates in all our
activities throughout the school day.
Through Community Service & Outreach
Projects
Through Sacramental Preparation
Sacramental preparation is central to the faith
formation of each and every student. At
St.Bernadette, our grade two and grade eight
teachers, supported by the parish team at St. Martin
of Tours Parish, spend a great deal of time
preparing students for the sacraments of
Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation.
These are truly significant moments in the formation
of our student’s catholicity and to our commitment to
the Catholic Church.
LITURGICAL YEAR AT A GLANCE
DATE
CELEBRATION
Grade 2 Parents
Sept.19 or 20
at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting
First Communion,
St. Martin of Tours
Parish
Meeting
Confirmation, St.
Martin of Tours Parish
Thanksgiving Mass,
St. Bernadette
Grade 8 Parents
Sept. 26 or 27
at 7:00 p.m.
Oct 7th at 10:00 a.m.
Nov 21 at 7p.m.
First Reconcilliation
Dec. 14th
at 1:00 p.m.
Feb 27th
at 10:00 a.m.
April 18 at 10:00 a.m
Advent Mass,
St. Bernadette
Lenten Mass,
St. Bernadette
Grade 8 Confessions
and Confirmation
Rehearsal, St. Martin
of Tours Parish
April 21 at 10:30a.m.
April 22 at 2:00 p.m.
April 28 at 10:30a.m.
April 29 at 2:00 p.m.
First Holy
Communion Dates at
St. Martin of Tours
Parish
April 19th at 7:00p.m.
Confirmation,
St. Martin of Tours
Catholic Education
Week
May 6-11
June 14th at
1:00p.m.
End of Year Mass
St. Bernadette
June 26th
10:00: a.m.
Graduation Mass
(entire school
attends)
St. Martin of Tours
Church