16066 Innis Lake Road, Caledon East, ON Tel. (905) 584-2245 Fax (905) 584-0924
Principal: G. Graci Vice Principal: A. Cavaliere Superintendent: L. Storey Pastor: Fr. B. Glynn
Dear Parents/Guardians,
It’s hard to believe that September is behind us and we are already in October. We would like to thank the St.
Cornelius School community for a wonderful start to the school year. It has been a very busy month and we are
Lord God, on this day of Thanksgiving,
We ask your blessing on our family,
Our friends, our home, our health- and happy to share that students are settling into routines.
The excellent turn out at our Open House BBQ/
Curriculum Night is an indication of the strong support, interest and involvement in your child’s education. Your
On the food we are about to eat
We thank you for this time together and partnership is very much appreciated and we look forward to working with you to ensure continued student success.
Help us to remember in this time of
Bounty those less fortunate. And may
Your love consume us all that we
Might share in your glory.
Amen
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and may God bless your families with good health and happiness.
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 : I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E
Receiving Newsletters Electronically-Last Call Page 2
Bussing News Page 4
Catholic School Council News Page 6
Catholic education and initiatives at our school. We would like to extend our thanks and congratulations to our elected members. We are excited to begin planning many exciting events for this school year!
We are excited to share with you in the newsletter the current and upcoming events at the school and also to provide you with information about initiatives around making St. Cornelius a positive learning environment for each and every one of our students. On behalf of the entire staff, we wish you a very Happy and blessed
Thanksgiving on October 12 th .
The many gifts that you have given us.
Parish News Page 7
God bless,
We look forward to working with our new Catholic
School Council to even further enhance the excellent
Important Reminders Page 8
Our first Catholic School Council meeting was a success.
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We would like to thank you once again for your patience, understanding, and support during the first few weeks of school. Our school enrollment is presently at approximately 680 students. Our BBQ & Open House was another great success. Thanks to the Catholic School
Council members and all the volunteers who helped out with the evening! Thank you also to all the parents/guardians who were able to come out and join us.
A reminder that the school yard is for students and staff only. Although your child may know who you are, others are uncertain who are parents or strangers. We kindly ask if you are picking up your children in the school yard at dismissal, that you enter the school yard no sooner than
3:40 p.m. to pick up your children as students may be in the yard for Daily Physical Activity during last period.
Please note that in our effort to be a more Eco-friendly school, we encourage our parents to access our monthly newsletters by visiting our school website: www.dpcdsb.org/CORNE and view all our newsletters there. All information can be retrieved from previous months in case an event or date has been forgotten.
Also, we encourage parents to sign up for the St.
Cornelius School monthly newsletter to be automatically delivered to your mailbox. If you have already completed
A CASL Consent Form (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation), you do not need to resubmit a new one this year. If you did not already sign up for electronic delivery and wish to do so now, we have additional copies of the CASL
Consent form in the office, please ask your child’s teacher for a copy. Note that email addresses will not be shared with others.
As part of the Ministry of Education initiative, the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board has reviewed its Pupil Accommodation Review (PAR) policy.
The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. If you are interested in providing feedback regarding the board’s PAR policy, please complete the survey attached to this newsletter.
th
Students and staff had an opportunity to remember Terry Fox and his courageous fight against cancer along with children who suffer from cancer. Students were asked to contribute a
Toonie for these two great causes. Students from Kindergarten through Grade
8 participated in the walk, run or roller blade on the school grounds. These supports go a long way to not only raising more money for the cause, but also for building school spirit. Together we raised a total of $ 650. Way to go St. Cornelius!
Some of the students in our school have severe life threatening allergic reactions to nuts, peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oils and any peanut by-products. For some children, the smell of nuts can bring on a severe attack. We need your cooperation! We kindly ask that you DO NOT send snacks to school that contain nuts or any nut products.
This extends beyond the school building as well. For example, we ask that the same policy is followed for sports events, extra-curricular events and field trips. Due to the fact that Tim Hortons is not a peanut and nut free facility, we ask that no Tim Hortons baked goods are brought to school or any outside school related event. For example, if students are away at a soccer field for a sporting event, they cannot have Tims products even though students are not at school.
Should you be interested in sending in something for your child to share with his/her classmates, we suggest you consider bringing in a non-edible treat such as pencils, stickers, etc. No home or store bought baked products are permitted.
Please note, that to ensure the continued safety of all students, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board with the support of the Anaphylactic Society and the Peel
Health Department has recommended that students not
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bring peanut butter alternatives (soy butter, sunflower butter) to school. We thank you for your cooperation in supporting student safety.
As some of you may be aware, there is a province-wide policy that affects each and every school in Ontario. The intent is to provide students with more nutritious food and beverage choices. To this end, we have been proactive and have worked with our food suppliers to ensure that they are in compliance with this policy (e.g., Catering for Kids,
Airport Pizza, Subway, and Treat Tuesdays). For more information, please visit: www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/healthyschools/policy .
The procedures that we will follow have been recommended by the Board. Students will be instructed that when they hear the announcements “Initiate
Lockdown Procedure” followed by the repeated ringing of the bell, all staff and students will follow the following actions: a) All students and staff inside the building will remain in their classrooms. b) Students or staff in the hallways or washrooms will be expected to go to the closest classroom. Students and staff will remain in the classroom until further instructions are given. c) All students and staff who are outside the building are to quickly move as far away from the building as possible and remain there until further instructions are provided. d) The drill will be conducted with as much sensitivity as possible in order not to cause undue concern with students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
On Monday, October
5 th , St. Cornelius School was pleased to have been selected to launch
Fire Prevention Week in
Caledon East. Our
Kindergarten to Gr. 6 students participated in an interactive presentation with our dignitaries and Sparky the
Fire Dog. Students learned valuable information about fire safety, and explored a Fire House.
The theme for this year is “Here the
Beep When You Sleep- install smoke alarms in all bedrooms.” The Fire Department reminds us of how important it is to check smoke alarm batteries and to prepare and practice home fire plans. Every family should know how to exit their home in the event of a fire. An alternate exit and a meeting place should be determined.
More helpful information can be located at : www.fiprecan.ca
.
It is a policy in Dufferin-Peel CDSB that all of its schools conduct a “Lockdown Procedure” twice a year. This will be initiated should an emergency exist on school property or in the surrounding neighborhood. Part of the process is to practice the “Lockdown Procedures” as we practice our
Fire Drills. On Wednesday, October 21st , we will be conducting a Lockdown Drill with our staff and students.
This year Dufferin-Peel will have a Special Assignment teacher visiting each school in the system on a monthly schedule to assist with the teaching of numeracy across the curriculum. The SAT will be working in partnership with classroom teachers to implement our Literacy and
Numeracy Plan. She will be working with groups of students alongside the classroom teacher to target the learning needs of all students. This teacher may be working in your child’s classroom from time to time throughout the year. We again welcome Mrs. Kastoris as our SAT teacher. Children will have the opportunity to benefit from additional classroom help to ensure greater learning success. We are excited to provide a collaborative teaching opportunity for students in our school. Our goal is rooted in the faithful practice that each individual is a child of God and belongs to our Catholic community of learners.
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Please be advised that we are continuing to implement the transportation computer system. You can track your child(rens) bus stop, pick up and drop off time, delayed buses, cancellations etc. at the following website: www.stopr.ca
.
Thank you very much to those families who follow our Kiss
‘n Ride expectations to keep our students safe. In order to allow for proper traffic flow, we ask that parents allow their children to get out of the vehicle on their own on the sidewalk side. They will be safely escorted across the sidewalk by the teacher on duty. If you wish, you may pull into one of the empty visitors’ parking spots or at R.F. Hall
Secondary School. Please do not park on Innis Lake Road and expect your child to walk across buses and cars.
Please refer to the attachment ‘St. Cornelius School Traffic
Circulation Plan’ for a visual outline of the plan. Thank you for your support in ensuring student safety at the school.
For their own safety and the safety of others, students are expected to follow the following guidelines while waiting for, boarding and riding the school bus.
Students are to wait at the designated bus stop and be considerate of the neighbouring properties.
Students should be on time for the bus. It is suggested the arrival be approximately 5 minutes ahead of the scheduled pick up time.
- While waiting for, and boarding the bus, students should practice good traffic safety principles. Students are not to board the bus (in their neighborhood) until the bus is completely stopped and the lights are flashing. Extra precautions should take place in the winter months when the roads are slippery.
- Students should remain seated while the bus is moving.
Students are not to reach out or put any part of their body out of the window.
- Students may talk quietly with their friend in the same seat
-Students are not to eat or drink on the bus
- Students are expected to follow the direction of the bus driver and respond accordingly.
The conduct of individual students on the bus directly affects their safety and the safety of others. For this reason, the authority of the driver, principal and vice principal of the school must be recognized. When improper conduct is reported on the first occasion, the principal/vice principal shall speak to the pupil. On the second occasion, a letter and/or phone call is made to the parent. Subsequent reports of improper conduct may result in the restriction of bus privileges. At the discretion of the principal/vice principal, severe misconduct or repeated misconduct may result in removal of bus privileges . Please note that students are not permitted to travel on other students’ school busses. In the event of an emergency, this may be considered depending on seat availability. In this case, parents are required to send a letter to the school with their child and a special form will be filled out at the office. As well, please ensure that if you need to pick up your child from school that you send a note with your child. Students are required to take the school bus home if notification from the parent is not received.
From time to time, we understand that due to daycare reasons, students must go to another residence after school. This involves travelling on another school bus.
PLEASE NOTE: Students MUST have a note from their parents indicating which bus they are traveling on, the name of the student and the bus stop. As well, please
NOTE, this service is for EMERGENCY daycare or babysitting purposes only, not for homework or socializing at the end of the day. Parents must arrange for student pickup if this is the case. All transportation notes must be received in the office by morning recess in order to process the appropriate paperwork as we bus approximately 500 students a day.
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During the week of October 13-16, our grade 4 students will be administered the CCAT (Canadian Cognitive
Abilities Test). The results of this test help students who may be eligible for gifted programming for the future.
Every Tuesday, students can purchase popcorn or chips for $1.00 each. These items will be sold at our milk room before lunch recess.
Our Youth Faith Ambassadors are organizing a Thanksgiving Food Drive.
This will support the Knight’s Table
Food Bank. Please drop off any nonperishable food items at the school by
October 9th. Thank you for caring for your generosity.
Malnutrition shuts down the body’s digestive track and often children cannot eat, even when regular healthy food is given to them. However, the doctors have discovered that candy with its high content of sugar can start the digestive track working. This allows these children to consume food, thus, saving their lives. Please help us save children’s lives. The organization running this is Dr. Simone’s Canadian Food for Children.
Please collect and drop off hard candy (no chocolate please) and anything that can be stored in a railway container to school and we will bring to St. John’s Albion
Church.
Together in Faith and Excellence
rd
During Waste Reduction Week, students are encouraged to use reusable lunch containers, reusable water bottles and bring litterless lunches to school. Last year, St.
Cornelius received Gold Certification from Eco-Schools for our initiatives. Let’s continue to do our part to make a difference to our planet.
Our junior and intermediate co-ed softball teams competed at the BECDM family of school's tournaments on September 29 (Junior) and September 30
(Intermediate) at the North Hill ball diamonds in Bolton.
Results will be shared in the next newsletter.
CROSS-COUNTRY
Our school Cross-Country team (Gr.5-8) has started training three days per week in preparation for the
BECDM family of school's Meet at Monora Park in
Orangeville on Friday, October 16. Students who qualify at that Meet will go on to compete at the Board Meet on
Monday, October 26 at Centennial Park in Etobicoke.
JUNIOR VOLLEYBALL
The junior girls and boys volleyball teams will compete in the Family of School's MINI tournaments on October 8 at
St. Benedict School, Orangeville.
GO COUGARS GO!!!
We are asking parent(s)/guardian(s) to begin sending dry flattened milk bags (the exterior bag) to school. The milk bags will be woven into sleeping mats for countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The students will be learning craft as an extra-curricular activity. With your support, students will learn about how to support the global community. For more information please visit the website for the organization at www.milkbagsumlimited.ca
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Your Catholic School Council Members for
2015-2016 are:
Co-Chairs- Loretta DeGrazia-Humphries & Carol
Caprara; Treasurer - Laura Prestia; Secretary-
Charmaine Spiteri; Parish Representative- Etilia
Nalli; OAPCE Representative- Brenda Giardetti;
Community Representative- Sabryna DiIorio;
Voting Members- Rosina Bastasin, Susie
Sorochan, Michelle Simone, Daniella Wilson,
Tanya Mamone
The Catholic School Council Resource Handbook has been updated to bring it in line with Ont. Reg. 612/00, Ont. Reg.
298 and with Board Policy 4.01. The updated document is now housed on the Dufferin-Peel website. Below is the path to access the updated Catholic School Council Procedures and
By-Laws: www.dpcdsc.org
↓
Catholic Communities
↓
Central Committee for Catholic School Councils
↓
CSC Procedures & Bylaws (top toolbar)
On behalf of the entire St. Cornelius Catholic School Council, we would like to welcome new and old families back for another extraordinary school year. Over the past two years, the St. Cornelius School Community and Catholic School
Council have raised over $40,000.00 in profits thanks to your support through our various fundraisers. Profits were used to enhance school programs and benefit students.
Our first fundraiser for this year, Big Box of Cards, was kicked off on September 25 th ! Each family received a starter box and an order form. Please remember that all order forms and money must be returned to the school on Tuesday October
13 th ONLY!
The starter box must be returned if you are not ordering any boxes, otherwise keep it and it will be delivered as one of your orders. Boxes must contain all 30 cards.
Together in Faith and Excellence
Remember there are great prizes to be won:

Our top selling class wins a class pizza party.
 Our top individual student wins a 16GB iPod touch.
 Movie Gift Certificates, for every box of cards your family sells, your name will be place in a draw to win one of 10 - $25 gift cards.

Grand Prize, for every three boxes of cards your family sells, your name will be placed in a draw to win a 16GB iPad Mini!
A big thank you to all the families who came out to our Open
House BBQ on Wednesday September 23 rd , it was a huge success! We hope all families had a great time and were able to reconnect with the school community and enjoyed visiting your children/s classrooms.
Again this year we are running our lunch programs, pizza, sub and milk. They are starting in early October and each child should have received an order form. If you did not receive an order form please let your child’s teacher know.
Upcoming Events:

Pumpkin Mash – Friday October 30 th in the school gymnasium.

St. Cornelius Annual Christmas Marketplace –
Saturday November 28 th from 9:00-3 p.m. Please save the date! More information will follow over the next month. If you are interested in a vendor table please connect with Carol Caprara at 416-605-8324 or email petrini.minime@sympatico.ca
.
This year the school council has enrolled in the Reminder
App, which allows parents and guardians to sign up for text message reminders from the School Council. It is 100% private, no personal cell numbers will be given or exchanged, it is all done through a private number given to the Council from the app.
The Council will send out regular reminders for our school fundraisers, lunch and milk programs and special events hosted by the council.
If you are interested in signing up for this please:
1.
Please text this number 289-276-0836
2.
With the message of @sccsc1516
3.
Final instructions will be texted back to you
We hope to continue supporting our school so to supplement incredible experiences and opportunities for our children.
Thank you!!
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Welcome back to another school year! Our library has undergone some renovations over the summer and while we are a little later getting circulation going this year, our library has a brand new look and we are excited to get books into the hands of our St. Cornelius readers! Open book exchange for students began on Wednesday September 30. We have lots of exciting new titles in our school library to entice even the most reluctant reader so please don't forget to drop in regularly.
Also, we were excited to host our first author presentation this year. On Thursday, October 1 St.
Cornelius welcomed Susan Aguilo, Canadian children's author. She will presented to grades 1-8. With her high energy and friendly nature, she demystified the writing process, inspired creativity and made writing real for kids. Attached is an order form to order books she has written. You can also visit her website www.abedtimeadventure.com
Confirmation Parent Meeting for
Parents and Gr. 7 & 8 Candidates:
Gr. 7’s on Tuesday, October 20 th at
7:00 p.m.
Gr. 8’s on Wednesday, October 21 st at 7 pm at St. John's
Church.
First Reconciliation Parent Meeting for Parents and
Students:
Wednesday, October 14 th at 7 pm at St. John's Church.
If for whatever reason your child has missed one of the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation (Confession) or
First Holy Communion, please contact Fr. Bob at 905-
880-0080. Father is setting up a catch-up program to help those who somehow missed the sacraments. He is not so worried about the reasons why this has happened, as he is about the children, so please don’t be afraid of calling. Application forms will be available at the church for your convenience.
Together in Faith and Excellence
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. Empathy refers to the ability to identify with and feel other people’s concerns.
What Empathetic People Do:
• Listen attentively
• Watch people’s body language
• Notice and respond when someone is upset
• Can name her/his feelings
• Can see a situation from another person’s point of view
• Know that different people may feel differently about the same thing.
We are in need of volunteers to act as Reading Coaches for students in grades 1, 2 and 3.
The commitment involves assisting students to develop independent reading strategies. If you are able to spend an hour or two once or twice per week please call the school and leave your name and phone number. All volunteers must have a Criminal Reference Check or recent Declaration (please contact the office for an appropriate form). Interested volunteers will be contacted to schedule a training session and determine volunteer availability.
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Bullying is Unacceptable
In October classroom teachers and students will focus on the definition of bullying. The key message is “bullying is unacceptable ”. Through various activities the students will understand the vast array of behaviours that can be bullying
(physical, verbal, social) and explore the emotional impact of those behaviours on others.
Students develop the ability to understand and apply the definition of bullying through constant exposure, repeated use and consistency. Using the same definition of bullying throughout the school and at home allows both students and adults to more effectively prevent and deal with bullying situations. Bullying is: Being mean to others, on purpose, to hurt them or their feelings.
Bullying Behaviour: is intended to hurt, is repeated and involves unequal power and control.
Tips for Parents:‐ review the definition of bullying with your children (see the school policy document for more detail on the definition) - talk with younger children about inside and outside hurts - talk with older children about intimidation, gossip, rumours and cyber bullying.
Encourage children to share their feelings about bullying behaviours that they have experienced, witnessed or engaged in.
The Online Reporting Tool is now active on our school’s website. The Online Reporting Tool provides an opportunity for students to fill out a report which will be sent directly to the principals and vice principals on conditions that impact the well-being and safety of the school community.
PLEASE PLACE DATES ON
FAMILY CALENDAR
October 2015:
Oct. 7: Virtues Assemblies
Oct. 8: Thanksgiving Mass at 9:45 a.m. - All are
Welcome!
Oct. 12: Happy Thanksgiving
Oct. 13-16: Gr. 4 CCAT Testing
Oct. 13: Big Box of Cards Order Forms and Money are due
Oct. 13: Karate Kids
Together in Faith and Excellence
Oct. 16: Family Cross Country Meet at Monora Park in Orangeville
Oct. 19-23 th : Waste Free Lunch Challenge
Oct. 20: Karate Kids
Oct. 20: Gr. 7- Confirmation Parent meeting at St.
John's Parish at 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 21: Lock Down
Oct. 21: Gr. 8- Confirmation Parent meeting at St.
John's Parish at 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 26: Board Cross Country Meet at Centennial
Park in Etobicoke
Oct. 27: Karate Kids
Oct. 29: - First Reconciliation meeting for Parents at
St. John Albion Parish at 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 29: I.B. Program Information Meeting at Notre
Dame Catholic Secondary School at 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 st – Pumpkin Mash (more information to follow)
November 2015:
Nov. 3: Karate Kids
Nov. 9: Catholic School Council Meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the library- All are welcome.
Nov. 10: Karate Kids
Nov. 10: Grade 4 – 6 Mass at 10:00 am at St. John
Albion Parish- All are welcome!
Nov. 11 th : Remembrance Day
Nov. 12: Picture Retakes / Class Photos
Nov.16-20 th : Bullying Prevention and Awareness
Week
Nov. 17: Progress Reports sent home with students
Nov. 17: Karate Kids
Nov. 18: African Drumming Assemblies Gr. K-8
Nov. 19th - Parent/Student/Teacher Interview
Night
Nov. 24: Karate Kids
Nov. 28: Christmas Marketplace
ATTACHMENTS:
1.
International Languages Flyer
2.
Pupil Accommodation Review Process
Parent Survey
3.
Susan Aguilo, Author Visit Order Form
4.
I.B. Program Information Session Flyer from
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
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