ST. TERESA OF AVILA
6675 MONTEVIDEO ROAD
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO
L5N 4E8
PHONE: (905)858-3462 FAX: (905) 858-1673
Website: http://www.dpcdsb.org/AVILA
December 2014 Newsletter
Principal
M. Sturge
Vice Principal
E. Del Grosso-Milek
Secretary
J. Sequeira
Superintendent
Mississauga North
Family of Schools
T. Cruz
(905) 890-1221
ADVENT OF HOPE
Gracious and merciful God of all creation,
During this season of hope, we remember how you sent your Son to be a beacon
of goodness and light in the world.
Give us eyes of hope to see the good in everything and everyone around us.
Give us the grace and strength to be beacons of hope and light for all who enter
this school.
Let all who visit share our hope that this school will remain a safe, caring,
inclusive community.
May your virtue of hope guide our decisions for the service of all your people.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, who lived to show us your way.
Amen.
Pastor
St. John of the Cross
Fr. J. Kalluvila
Trustee Ward 9
E. O’Toole
(905) 812-5163
ST. JOHN OF THE
CROSS PARISH
6890 Glen Erin Drive
Miss., ON L5N 2E1
Tel: (905) 821-1331
Fax: (905) 858-8486
Email:
stjohnofx@rogers.com
Website:
www.saintjohnofthecross.com
MASS TIMES
Weekends:
Sat.: 5:00 p.m.
Sun.: 8:00 a.m., 10:00
a.m., 12:00 p.m., 4:00
p.m.
Weekdays: 9:00a.m.
PASTORAL TEAM
Fr. Joseph Kalluvila, O.Carm
Pastor
Fr. Abraham Kulanjiyil, O. Carm
Assoc. Pastor
John Cannon, Deacon
Kate Watkiss, Pastoral Associate
Principal’s Message
It is December and the liturgical season of Advent is upon us. As a people of faith, this
is a time when we are filled with hope. It is the time in our faith when we are all waiting
for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we journey towards Christmas with our
families and friends, let our hearts also be open to those most in need of God’s love
during this season of giving.
Here at St. Teresa of Avila School we hope to provide a special Christmas for those
in need through donations of gifts for our Angel Tree which will you will see in our
front foyer. This initiative will be led by our Social Justice Team. Please look for
permission forms to come home so you can find out how you may be able to support
this worthy cause.
On behalf of the St. Teresa of Avila School community, Mrs. Del Grosso-Milek would
like to thank you for your continued support. The virtues of hope and kindness are
continuing to be demonstrated throughout the entire school and the spirit of giving
has been embraced by the entire school community.
May the joy and peace of Advent and Christmas be with you and your family today and
all through the year.
M.Sturge
Principal
FAITH COMMUNITY
Please join us for our Family Advent mass which will be
on December 2nd at 7:00 p.m. at St. John of the Cross
church. This is a wonderful way to celebrate the true
meaning of Christmas as a faith community.
Virtue Assembly
The November Virtue assembly was held on Tuesday
November 24th. Father Jim Roth from the Catholic
Education Center was able to join us to bring greetings
and to assist in the assembly. A living wreath was
presented and all classrooms were provided with an
Advent wreath. Thank you to all of the
parents/guardians and family members who were able
to attend and congratulations to our students who
received certificates for the virtue of conscience.
Thank you to Mrs. Flynn and Mrs. Walker for
organizing the beautiful assembly and for the
dedicated participation of their students.
Angel Tree
During Advent, it is traditional for Christians to
prepare for the coming of Christ by sharing with those
less fortunate in our community It is with this spirit
that we will have an ‘Angel Tree’ again this year with
the support of our school support services team. On a
tree, located in front of the office, will be tags
describing a gift that is needed. Permission forms
allowing your child to take a tag will be sent home in
advance. Families interested in purchasing a gift will
be given an angel tag when the permission form is
received. After an unwrapped gift is brought in a white
paper angel will be given out on which your child can
put his/her first name on to be placed on the tree. Our
hope is to have all of the angel tags replaced with white
paper angels. All new, unwrapped gifts must be
brought to school by December 10th. The Social
Justice Committee would also like to thank everyone
for your generous donations to the Operation
Christmas Child initiative. Eighty boxes were sent to
St. John of the Cross Church to be forwarded to
developing countries.
G.O.T.C.H.A.
We have been catching our students showing acts of
kindness. Our board is filled with G.O.T.CH.A.
Certificates for this month. Way to go St. Teresa of
Avila students.
Eden Community Food Bank
On behalf of the Eden Community Food Bank we would
like to thank you for your “Toonie Tuesday” donations.
We were able to raise $217.50. Funds raised go
directly to supporting local families in need.
Student Information
It is important that we have up to date records of your
address, phone numbers, and emergency contacts in
the event that the school must contact you regarding
your child. Please inform the office or your child’s
teacher if any information changes throughout the
year.
Student Absence and Arrival Time
We ask that parents continue to call to notify the
school if their child will be absent and/or late. Your
phone call to the school saves us time trying to
ensure your child is safe. Remember that you can call
the school twenty-four hours a day to report your
child’s absence at 905-858-3462- option 1. Upon
reaching the school answering service please leave
the following information: a) Date of absence
b)Student’s full name c) Grade level and teacher d)
Reason for absence e) Date of return.
Students who are late must report to the office
and sign in. School staff is on duty at 8:15 a.m.
in the morning until 8:30 a.m. There is no
supervision for students before 8:15 a.m. and
students should not be dropped off prior for
safety reasons. Students should arrive at 8:25
a.m. to line up and enter the school with the rest
of the class and avoid being late. The school bell
rings at 8:30 a.m. If you arrive after the bell rings,
please bring your child to the office and sign them in.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Parking Lot Safety/Kiss and Ride
As always, student safety is a priority at St. Teresa
of Avila School. Please continue to use the available
parking spaces or park in the designated areas on the
street when picking up or dropping off your child. As
indicated in a letter sent out earlier in September,
the Mississauga Parking Enforcement will issue
tickets for those who are illegally parked. The Kiss n
Ride should be constantly moving to prevent a back
log of traffic. Children should not be walking
across the parking lot unattended in front of cars
or buses and will be directed to use the walkway in
front of the school. Please do not leave your
vehicle unattended in the Kiss and Ride. Thank you
to everyone who are using the Kiss and Ride safely.
We are asking for everyone’s patience and
cooperation to ensure that all of our students arrive
and leave school safely.
Storage and Administration of Medication
Parents are responsible for ensuring that all
medication and forms are updated annually for any
student who requires medication to be administered
at school. If your child requires medication please
have the necessary forms completed and return
them, along with any medication, to the office as soon
as possible. Forms are available at the school office.
Medical Alert-Anaphylactic shock- Nut
Allergies
Please be aware that there are students in our school
with a severe life-threatening food allergy
(anaphylaxis) to NUTs and PEANUTs. This is a
medical condition that causes a severe reaction to
certain allergens and can result in death within
minutes. Although this may or may not affect your
child’s class directly, please send lunches and snacks
to school with your children that are free from
peanuts or nut products. We ask that you do not send
in food products for the whole class to celebrate
birthdays or social occasions. A donation of a book or
game to the classroom is a safe alternative to food
products and will be enjoyed so much longer by the
children. Please feel free to contact your child’s
teacher if you have any concerns or questions. We
thank you for your co-operation and attention to this
health watch.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality of Student & Staff Personal
Information
We now live in an age where most parents/guardians
and many students have cell phones and other
Personal Electronic Equipment (PEDs) that have
photo, recording and videotaping features. The
temptation to take photos, video-tape friends,
teachers at school and other events is high,
especially when parent/family members are unable to
attend the event. The accessibility of these advanced
technologies make it, easy and immediate.
The concerns that schools have, is how can the
school, maintain and protect the confidentiality of
our students and staff when acts that seem so
innocent can potentially have serious/harmful
consequences. If photos, video clips are placed on
Facebook pages, YouTube and other websites, control
is lost on who can view it. In addition, written consent
from the participants must be secured to post such
information.
Duffer in-Peel Catholic School Board adheres to
strict policies and guidelines on maintaining the
confidentiality of students and staff. At the
beginning of each year, parents/guardians sign forms
granting/disallowing photos of their child(ren) to be
taken for school use (i.e., in classrooms, hallway
bulletin boards and assembly video presentations).
Schools should not post personal information on their
web-sites. Personal information is defined in Section
2 of the MFIPPAct, as 'recorded information about
an identifiable individual'.
Personal information should only be posted where informed consents have been obtained from all
affected individuals or from persons who are legally
authorized to consent on their behalf.
Informed consent requires that the person
consenting understands the exact nature of the
information for which con-sent is sought, the
potential consequences of signing the consent form,
and be given the right to revoke the consent at any
time. As such, we require parents/guardians/students
to respect and adhere to Dufferin Peel’s policy on
Confidentiality of Student & Staff Information.
Custody of Children
On rare occasions, we are faced with difficult
situations in which non-custodial parents arrive at
school asking to visit their child or to take their child
home after school. We are best able to serve and
protect students when we are made aware of legal
custody arrangements, visitation rights and other
special instructions. If legal custody matters affect
your family, please ensure that our office and
classroom teachers are aware of any custodial
arrangements that may affect your child during
school hours.
Pediculosis
It is important to bring your attention to a problem
that occurs in most schools. Head lice are parasites
which have been common among human beings for
centuries. They are not in any way connected to
uncleanliness. If a case is found in our school, we shall
inform parents of the students in that classroom. If
your children do become infested, we will be asking
you to keep them out of school until after they have
been treated with the correct shampoo and their hair
is entirely clear of both lice and nits (eggs). We ask
that you check your own children regularly. If we all
cooperate in these procedures, we may not entirely
escape outbreaks, but we will be able to bring them
under control quickly.
During the winter season, many parents are
concerned about school policy on outdoor recess. It is
generally accepted that when the wind chill factor
drops below -25°C, students should not go outside
for recess. Dufferin-Peel C.D.S.B. Policy uses a wind
chill factor of -20° C as a determining factor for
modified recess. We ask that students come dressed
appropriately with hats, gloves, mittens etc. Where
possible, please put identification on your child’s
belongings. Please note that all students should have
indoor shoes during the winter months so that the
classrooms are kept as clean and dry as possible.
During the winter months, inclement weather may
cause disruption of bus transportation and regular
school operations. A decision to cancel transportation
and/or close schools is usually made by 7:00 a.m. and
will be announced on the Board website and the
following radio stations:
CFNY – 102.1 FM
CFRB – 1010 AM
DC103FM
CHAY – 93 FM
Q107 – 107.1 FM
CJMR – 1250 AM
TALK640 – 640 AM
CHEZ ZP7.3
CJBC (Fr.) 86
Front Door Monitor System
For visitors and parents to our school, in order to
assist you better:
 Please stand facing the camera and ring the
bell once.
 Please wait for a response….remember,
schools are busy places!
For the safety of our students, we ask that
you always state the reason for your visit.
We also ask for your patience and understanding if it
is during prayers and announcements and if our
secretary is away from her desk for photocopying
etc. For students arriving between 8:00 a.m. & 8:15
a.m. for the Breakfast Club, please ring the bell once
and wait for a response: Thank you for your
cooperation and support!
Flu Season
Winter Weather
CKFM – 99.9 FM
CHIN – 100.7 FM, 1540 AM
CHUM – 1050 AM
CJCL – 590 AM
CFTR - 680 AM
CHFI – 98.1 FM
JACKFM – 92.5 FM
CBC – 740 AM
CIAO – 530 AM

To reduce or prevent the spread of the flu, it is
important to use certain measures such as washing
hands, cough and sneeze etiquette, eating
nutritiously, getting plenty of sleep and staying home
when ill. Custodial staff help prevent the spread of
disease through protocols such as: cleaning hard
surfaces, washrooms being cleaned and disinfected,
paper is stocked, and soap dispensers are
checked/and filled. Hand sanitizers are also placed in
the office, library and various classrooms throughout
the school.
SEVERE WEATHER & EMERGENCY EVACUATION
In rare circumstances, our students and staff may
need to evacuate the building as a result of an
emergency in the building or in the nearby community.
Our evacuation site is West Credit Secondary
School, located at 6235 Montevideo Road in
Mississauga. Board regulations and safety precautions
require this contingency plan. Should an evacuation be
necessary, you will be notified as soon as possible and
your child will be held at West Secondary School
until we make direct contact with a parent/guardian.
SCHOOL EVENTS & NEWS
PALS
PALS (Playground Activity Leaders in Schools) is
running smoothly. The PALS program provides
leadership opportunities for the Grade 4, 5 and 6
student leaders as they interact with students in the
Primary grades and plan and lead fun and safe
activities on the playground.
Cross Country
Our girls Cross Country team came in second place
at the Board meet and brought home a banner
which will be displayed in our gym. Congratulations
to our team and thank you to Mrs. AmbroseLeroux, Mrs. Lotesto and Mrs. Lillicrop for
coaching. Way to go team!!
Christmas Spirit Week
Volleyball
Our Intermediate boys’ volleyball team demonstrated
great sportsmanship and dedication in each and every
game that they played this season and are
commended for their outstanding efforts. Thank you
to their coaches for sharing their gifts of time and
talent- Mrs. Zuniga, Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Ako-Adjei.
St. Teresa of Avila will be having a Christmas Spirit
Eco-school News
Tuesday - Trim the Tree Tuesday. Each class will
week from December 15 to December 19. The
following outlines the activities planned:
Monday - Wear your cozy pajamas to school.
Here are some of the things we need your help with:
Using reusable containers: To help with waste
reduction school-wide, please consider sending drinks
and yogurt in reusable containers.
Waste-Free Wednesdays: Please send your child
with reusable containers and utensils.
Walk to School Wednesdays: We are going to be
asking the students to participate in Walk to School
Wednesdays in order to cut down on the pollution
that is produced by cars. This will help eliminate the
chemicals that go into our air. Thanks for your help
in creating an Eco Friendly school environment.
St. Teresa of Avila ECO Team
compete to decorate a paper Christmas tree for
Public Speaking Competition
St. Teresa of Avila School welcomes French
their class.
Wednesday - What would Jesus do Wednesday?
Children will be encouraged to perform random acts
of kindness.
Thursday - Christmas movie day. Special Holiday
movie to be chosen for primary students in the am
and junior/intermediate in the pm.
Friday - Christmas clothing/colours day. Spread
holiday cheer with your holiday hat, slippers, scarf,
sweater or holiday colours.
Immersion!
On November 25th our school hosted a speech
competition. Students from Grades 4-8 worked hard
The French Immersion Program at St. Elizabeth
creating speeches based on topics that were
Seton Elementary School was established as a Grades
important to them, while Grade 3 students recited a
1 to 4 program with St. Teresa of Avila Elementary
poem that they memorized. Two representatives
School as the sister site that would continue the
were chosen from each class to share their speech
program for students in Grades 5 to 8. We are
with their division. As classes gathered together in
excited to welcome the Grade 5 French Immersion
the gym, students confidently presented their
Program and students at St. Elizabeth Seton
speeches to classmates, teachers and the judges.
beginning September 8th, 2015. Administrators of
Although everyone did an amazing job, the judges
St. Elizabeth Seton and St. Teresa of Avila will be
deliberated and chose one candidate from each
working closely together to support a variety of
division who represented our school proudly at the
transition activities. Please contact the school office
Annual Speech Competition on November 28th.
should you have any further questions.
Congratulations to our students and thank you to Mrs.
Medeiros and Mrs. Lillicrop.
EXTENDED FRENCH INFORMATION MEETING
Grade 4 parent(s)/guardian(s), who wish to enroll
their child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for
September, 2015 are invited to attend an information
meeting at: St. Therese of the Child Jesus at
6930 Forest Park Drive, Mississauga, L5N 6X7. It
will be held on January 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
At the present time, the above mentioned school is
the designated centre for our area. Applications will
be accepted at that center until 3:00 p.m. Tuesday,
February 17th, 2015.
School Council
We would like to thank our School Council for
supporting a number of initiatives within the school
the first being the development of a literacy room.
This will be a two year process but will ensure that
our students are equipped with rich, literacy
materials to enhance their achievement. In addition,
the Raz Kids on-line reading program has been
purchased for our students from K- 4. Please feel
free to speak with your child’s teacher if you have
any questions about this program. The School Council
has also purchased the student agenda’s for the year
and has supported our Artists in the School program.
All parents are invited to attend our next meeting on
Tuesday January 14, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. in the library.
DPCDSB is now on Twitter! For the latest board
news and information, follow us
@DPCDSBSchools.
Please visit our St. Teresa Avila
website at:
http://www.dpcdsb.org/AVILA
Dates to Remember
December 2
Advent Family Mass- 7:00 p.m.
St. John of the Cross Church
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
staff to
visit grade
8’s.
December 3
Pizza Lunch
December 4
Comic Arts Presentation Grades
2-6
December 8
Dance Program
December 9
R.A.I.D. Presentation- Grades 6
FDK Christmas concert at 2:00
p.m.- Mrs. Evans & Mrs.
Thompson
December 10
FDK Christmas concert at 2:00
p.m.- Mrs. Fernandes, Mrs.
Bhola, Mrs. Coniglio
December 11
FDK Christmas concert at 2:00
p.m.- Mrs. Taylor & Mrs.
Augusto
Rosary Apostolate to visit all
grades
December 12
Dance Program
December 15
Spirit Week
Pajama Pant Day
Dance Program
Grade 8’s trip to Meadowvale
Theatre- “ A Christmas Carol”
December 16
Spirit Week
RAID program for Grade 6
Trim the Tree
December 17
Spirit Week
Pizza Lunch
What Would Jesus Do?
December 18
Spirit Week
Christmas Movie Day
December 19
Spirit Week
Holiday colour day
December 22
– January 2,
2015
Christmas Break
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
January 5
WELCOME BACK !!
Full-Day Kindergarten for 2015-16
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten for the 201516 school year, will take place at St. Teresa of Avila
School on the following days:
Monday, January 26, 2015- 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
*Snow Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 - 7:00-9:00
p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, January 28, 29, 30,
2015
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The following documents are required for
registration:

Registration Form

Proof of age of the child
Birth certificate or passport.

Original Roman Catholic baptismal certificate
For child and/or parent/guardian. Includes baptismal
certificates from an Eastern Church in full
communion with the Holy See of Rome. If the child
has not been baptized, and the parent/guardian is a
baptized Roman Catholic or has been baptized in an
Eastern Church in full communion with the Holy See
of Rome, the parent/guardian must bring their own
baptismal certificate.

Updated immunization records
Immunization Card, Peel Health Form or Letter of
Exemption.

Proof of Canadian citizenship
Birth certificate, passport or permanent resident
status.

Proof of home address
Two of the following: property tax bill, current utility
bill, real estate document or Government of
Canada issued forms.

Emergency rural address numbers
For identifying your property, if applicable.

Proof of English Separate School Support
May be done at the time of registration by
completing an Application For the Direction of School
Support and/or a Separate School Lease Agreement
(Peel or Dufferin).
Please be sure to bring complete documentation with
you when you register. Admissions are open to
Catholic children and children of Catholic parents.
Kindergarten students must be at least 4 years of
age by December 31, 2015.
For more information about registration and the
Full-Day Kindergarten program, call 905-8583462 or visit www.dpcdsb.org