FEBRUARY 2016
1325 Bodley Road
Mississauga ON,
L5J 3X1
Principal’s Message
Phone 905.822.4564
Fax 905.822.5622
Ward 2
Trustee
Sharon Hobin
905-301-1210
Sharon.Hobin
A Valentine Prayer
@dpcdsb.org
Superintendent
David Amaral
905-890-1221
Principal
Connie Gale
Secretary
Debby Vieira
St. Christopher’s
Parish
I said a Valentine prayer for you
And asked the Lord above
To fill your heart and bless your soul
With the precious gift of love.
I asked Him for sincerer love
The kind that’s meant to stay
Just like the generous love
You give to those you touch each day.
I prayed love from family
And from every cherished friend
Then I asked the Lord to give you
His love that knows no end.
Reverend Jerry
February has arrived! It is a very eventful month.
We honour February as Black History month. We
have many activities planned for this month starting with the Public Speaking Contest, the continuation of lunch time intramurals, and our monthly
assembly which will be held on Friday, February
26th. Parents are most welcome to attend. During
this wet and cold season we remind our students
that they should have a change of shoes for indoor
use. Students should not be in stocking feet for
Health & Safety reasons. February continues to be
cold, so please ensure your child dresses appropriately for the weather. We look forward to seeing
you on February 10th at 10:30 for our Ash
Wednesday Liturgy. We continue to work in partnership with home, school, and parish to provide
an outstanding Catholic Education for your child.
Make your own sunshine!
God Bless ,
Connie Gale
Author Unknown
Dunn & Reverend
Scott Young
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Family Day
(905) 822-1171
School Council
Chair
Brian Skrepnek
Family Day is Monday, February 15th.
Please note there is no school that day.
School Council
2
Hurricane News
2
Living Our Faith
3
March Break
Transitions
3
Take Note
4
March Break will take place the week of
March 14th to 18th this year. There will be
no school that week.
Upcoming Dates
4
PAGE
2
School Council
Take Note
The next St. Helen School Council meeting will be held
on Monday, February 1st at 6:30 p.m. in the conference
room. Please come out and join us.
Valentine Cake Walk
We are pleased to announce that once again
St.Helen School will be holding a valentine cake
walk on Friday, February 12th. In order to be a
success, we ask for the community to help by donating a cake for this event. Please remember peanut and nut free only. All proceeds will go directly
to Share Life.
Speeches
Speech, Speech! It is that time of year again. Students from
Grade 4-8 will be selected to enter a competition held at St.
Helen School on Thursday, February 11th 2016 at 9:30am.
The winning candidates are invited to move on to the
Mississauga South Public Speaking contest held on Friday, February 18th, 2016.
Black History Month
Black History Month is an opportunity to share the historical
and present contributions of African Canadians.
Black History Month has been celebrated in Canada
since the 1950’s. Black History Month is an opportunity
for Canadians to recognize the significant contributions
individuals of African heritage have made, and continue
to make, in areas such as education, medicine, art,
culture, public service, economic development, politics
and human rights.
A reminder from your Eco Team:
In an effort to be eco-friendly and be recertified as an Ecoschool, we are asking parents, guardians and students to
please pack Eco-conscious lunches. Avoid necessary wrapping and prepackaged items. Use reusable water bottles
and containers for lunches. Every Wednesday, students’
lunches
will be
checked
to make
sure
they are eco
friendly.
The less
waste, the
better!
We look
forward
to your co
2015-16 School Year Calendar
Additional Professional Activity Day: Monday,
April 11, 2016
Terms of the recent contract settlement between the teacher federations and the Ministry of Education included the provision of an
additional Professional Activity Day for the 2015-2016 school
year for both elementary and secondary schools. Recently, boards
were directed to schedule this additional Professional Development Day on or before April 15, 2016.
In the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, the designated additional Professional Activity Day has been scheduled
for Monday, April 11, 2016.
Therefore, there will be no classes for either elementary or
secondary students on Monday, April 11, 2016.
Thank you for your attention to this addition to the 2015-16
School Year Calendar.
Report Cards/Parent Conferences
Term 1 report cards will be sent home on
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016. Parent/
Teacher conferences will take place on the
evening of Thursday, February 4th and on
Friday, February 5th.
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Living Our Faith
Virtue Corner
FEBRUARY ~ RESPECT
This month we will celebrate the virtue of RESPECT.
A person with respect…
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3
Take Note
Shrove Tuesday
Tuesday, February 9th 2016 is Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove Tuesday ends the season of Epiphany and
is the vigil for the starting of Lent. All of the students of St. Helen will be enjoying a pancake
breakfast to celebrate the special day,
courtesy of our parent council.
Treats himself/herself and everyone else with
equal consideration and courtesy
Uses a positive tone of voice and body language
Avoids swearing, name-calling, put-downs,
and inappropriate gestures
Says ‘Excuse me’, ‘Please’, ‘Pardon me’
Avoids gossip
God has given us the virtue 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 shown courtesy, consideration, sensitivity and thoughtfulness, which
are different ways of saying respect..
That respect should come first and foremost from ourselves and then we will be able to respect others. We
should be able to expect to be treated with respect by everyone we meet - our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at
respecting ourselves as well as respecting those around
us.
HAND WASHING IS IMPORTANT
Hand washing, when done correctly is the single
most effective way to pre-vent the spread of infectious diseases such as the flu. Please help us reinforce the proper techniques with your children.
Follow these four simple rules:
1. Wet your hands with warm running water
2.
2. Add soap and rub your hands together, making a
soapy lather. Do this away from the running wa-ter
for at least 15 seconds. Wash the front and back of
your hands, between your fingers and un-der your
nails.
3. Rinse your hands well under warm running water. Let the water run back down the sink, not
down the elbows. Turn the water off with a paper
towel and place it in the garbage.
4. Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean towel.
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2016
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4
Take Note
Take Note
Are You Moving
Be Smart, Get a Head Start
If you are planning a move, or have already moved, please
let us know. You are required to complete new assessment
forms even if you move within our school boundaries. If you
are moving to a new school we will give you a Transfer
Form to take with you to the new school. If you are moving
but would like your child to remain at St. Helen, please submit your request in writing. We will be preparing classes for
September 2016 and this information will be helpful in determining class sizes. In the past we have had to reorganize our
classes in September due to unexpected transfers.
Head lice is always present in the community. By
checking your child’s head once a week for head lice,
you will catch it early and treat it before it has a
chance to spread. Should you suspect that your child
(ren) have head lice, please notify the school.
Remember, an infestation of lice is not a reflection on
the cleanliness of your child. In fact, students with
appropriate hygiene habits are as susceptible to lice
as any other group. A reminder to all to refrain from
sharing hats at any time, but especially during the
winter months.
Any infected student will need to be checked before
reentry to class. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Peel Health (www.peelregion.ca/health/) is available
to provide advice to parents, school staff and students about treatment and prevention.
If you currently live outside the school boundary and are
attending St. Helen on a flex boundary
request, you will need to request flex boundary for next
year. The “Flexible Boundary” procedure is
reviewed annually. Please note that flex boundar ies
will be looked at on a case by case basis and are not
guaranteed from year to year. If you are requesting flex
boundary, please note that transportation is your
responsibility. The Board will not provide either
transportation or additional supervision for students
admitted under this procedure. Note, the students
admitted under this procedure do not automatically
become eligible for the Secondary School serving the
school. A separate request must be made to the
Secondary School Principal.
If you would like to be considered for flex boundary for the
2016-2017 school year, please let the office know. A request
for flex boundary letter will need to be completed and returned to the office by March 2016.
Flu Season
We are heading into the flu season. Being
parents ourselves, we are only too aware of the
work pressure you experience when providing
care at home for a child who is ill. Nevertheless,
aside from being the best course of action for
your child, keeping your sick child at home may
also serve to limit the spread of influenza in the
community of school
children and staff.
UPCOMING DATES
February 2nd - Term One Report Cards sent home - Immun.
February 10th - Ash Wednesday Mass @ 10:30
Clinic for Grades 7/8
February 12th - Gr 6/7/8 Valentines Dance - Valentine
Cake Raffle
February 4th - Parent/Teacher Interview evening
February 15th - Family Day—No School
February 5th - P.A Day - Parent Teacher Interviews
February 22nd - Rosary Aposolate
February 8th - Gr. 5/6 & 7/8 To Scanlon Creek
February 26th - Virtue Assembly @ 10:45
February 9th - Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Breakfast
February 29th - Dental Screening for all ages
February 11th - Speech Competition
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2016
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