St. Joachim
435 Rutherford Rd North Brampton, ON L6V 3V9
Telephone: 905.453.4472
Fax: 905-453-8615
Principal:
A. Alonzi-Peever
Vice-Principal:
M. Di Nunzio
Head Secretary:
J. Sequeira
Secretary:
Y. McCutcheon
Superintendent:
M. Vecchiarino
Trustee:
A. Da Silva
Pastor:
Fr. James Cherickal
Associate Pastor:
Fr. Paul Magyar
December 2012
Volume 2, Issue 5
Come, long-expected Jesus.
Excite in me the joy and love
and peace it is right to bring to
the manger of my Lord.
Raise in me, too, sober
reverence for the God who
acted there, and hearty gratitude
for the life begun there.
I pray in the name of Jesus
Christ, whose advent I hail.
(Catholic Online)
May the warmth of Jesus’ love
surround you and your families this
holiday season and always.
Best wishes for a joyous and
peaceful Christmas and New Year.
The Staff of St. Joachim School
@DPCDSBSchools
CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
www.dpcdsb.org/JOACH
“Through A
Celebration Of Our
Faith All Who
Enter Our School
May Grow Together As A
Christian
Community”
During the weeks of Monday December 2 to Friday
December 14th, St. Joachim will be collecting gift certificates ONLY for the needy in our school and St.
Anne’s Church community. Some suggestions for gift
certificates include Fresh Co., Wal-Mart, Toys R Us
and Bramalea City Centre. The student Faith Ambassadors will collect the vouchers from the classrooms
daily. Thank you to everyone for your continued generosity toward our Christmas fundraisers!
Inside this issue:
-Advent Wreath
-Snow Stays on the Ground
-Christmas Break
-School Council
-French Immersion
-PA Day Jan. 21
2
-Junior Volleyball
-Kindergarten Christmas
Celebration
-Moving
-ShareLife Movie Day
-Cold Weather Guidelines &
Indoor Shoes
3
-St. Joachim Christmas Open
House
4
-Bus Safety
-Full-Day Kindergarten
Registration for 2013-2014
-Dufferin-Peel Kindergarten
Meeting for Parents of Stu
dents with Special Needs
5
-Staying Safe Using the
Internet
-Dates to Remember
6
Virtue of the Month: HOPE
This month we celebrate the virtue of
Hope. We believe that God comes to
us as a real human who can show us
the way of life. God has given us this
Advent season year after year in order
to focus our minds and our hearts on
the good all around us.
A Person of
Hope:
Keeps up a positive attitude
Sets and sticks to goals
Sees the good in others even when
they make mistakes
Page 2
ADVENT WREATH
CHRISTMAS
BREAK
The last day for
school will be
Friday, December
21st, 2012. School
will commence in
the New Year on
Monday January
7th, 2013.
Advent traditions reflect a spirit of
expectation and, therefore, unfold
gradually. The custom of an Advent
Wreath began in the 16th century in
Germany and was popularized
among Catholics with the liturgical
movement in the mid 1900’s.
The wreath may be any size, made
of evergreens, and either placed on
a table or suspended from the ceiling. The colour of the candles is not
an essential factor, because the
symbolism is primarily in the flame.
It is popular that 3 of them be purple, the traditional colour of Advent,
and one rose coloured, for the Third
Sun-day of Advent called Gaudete
(“Rejoice”) Sunday.
Wreaths have always been symbolic
of victory and glory. The Advent
Wreath’s symbolism goes beyond
this; lying in the tension between
Darkness and Light. Each year in Advent people wait once again in darkness for the coming of the Lord, his
historical coming in the mystery of
Bethlehem, his final coming at the
end of time, and his special coming in
every moment of Grace.
SNOW STAYS ON THE GROUND
As winter approaches – we remind
students that “Snow Stays on the
Ground”. Every child in the school
has been made aware of the importance of this rule in preventing injury to others. Please assist us by
reviewing with your child, the dangers of throwing snowballs and the
importance of preventing injury to
other children. Together we will create a schoolyard, which is safe for all.
SCHOOL COUNCIL
FRENCH IMMERSION
The next formal meetings of the School
Advisory Council (from 7:00pm to 8:00
pm) will be on:
Thursday January 17
Thursday February 21
Thursday March 7
Thursday April 18
Thursday May 16
Thursday June 13
All parents are encouraged to attend.
A French Immersion meeting will be held for
all Senior Kindergarten parents who are thinking of enrolling their children next year in our
French Immersion Program for grade one.
Professional Activity Day –PD Day
Please note that Monday January 21st,
2013 is a Professional Activity Day. There
will be no classes.
You are invited to attend an information meeting at St Joachim School on Wednesday January 16th, 2013 at 7:00 pm.
For more information go to http://
www.dpcdsb.org/CEC/Programs/
French+Immersion/
The deadline for submission of applications
will be 2:00 pm on Wednesday February 6th,
2013
December 2012
Volume 2, Issue 5
Page 3
JUNIOR VOLLEYBALL
Congratulations to the junior boys volleyball team for finishing second
at the mini tournament. The boys showed excellent sportsmanship
and played extremely well entire day but came up short in the finals
against Lester B. Pearson. Team members include: James, Abraham,
Duarte, Kaleb, Maxwell, Geoshan, Devante, Lucas, Daniel, Clevoy and Damian.
Thank you to coaches Mrs. Box-Hodgins and Mrs. Di Tosto.
Thank you to the junior girls volley team who showed excellent dedication and for all
your hard work, through out the season. Special thanks to Cheyenne, Ana Maria, Jazmin, Aysu, Jillian, Stefanie, Clarissa, Christina, Angela.
Kindergarten Christmas Celebration
Join our Kindergarten classes for a Christmas Celebration on Thursday
December 20th, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. in the Old Gym. Please sign in at the
desk in the front hall.
MOVING
If you are planning to move out of the area over the Christmas holidays, please contact
the school as soon as possible to request the needed transfer forms.
ShareLife Movie Day—December 14
On December 16th, there will be a movie day. Grades 1-4 will attend in the morning and
grades 5-8 in the afternoon. Our Kindergarten students will be watching a film in class.
We are asking for a donation of $2.00 for this event, however, any donations are welcome. Please have donations in by Friday December 7th, 2012. Thank you for your continued support.
COLD WEATHER GUIDELINES & INDOOR SHOES
Winter’s here and therefore
please ensure your children
are dressed appropriately.
Children who are too sick to
go outside at recess should
be resting at home. We
ask parents to ensure that
children come with mitts/
gloves, winter outerwear,
hats, boots and scarves.
We also recommend that
students bring an extra pair
of socks and mitts and have
a pair of indoor running
shoes. Running shoes are
the minimal safety requirement for the mandated Daily
Physical Activity. It is imperative that all students
have a proper pair of run-
ning shoes for Physical Education classes.
Running
shoes with platforms or
wheels are not safe. Please
ensure your child has a
proper pair of running shoes
left at school or in their
school bag on a daily basis.
Page 4
St. Joachim Christmas Open House
Students and their families are invited to our school on Tuesday December
11th, 2012. We are expecting a large number of people to attend a fun evening of taking a photo with Santa and refreshments.
Photo with Santa – Photos with Santa will be available beginning at 5:30
p.m. in the New Gym. We anticipate a large turnout and to help expedite
things, we will only be able to take one picture per family.
Pictures will be taken with our school digital camera and by school staff.
Families are asked to donate a canned good to have your photo taken
with Santa. All photos will be distributed to the students before December
20, 2012.
Parking – Where possible please walk to school or car pool. Parking is always limited and the school yard will be open to increase our parking capacity. Please be careful arriving to school and leaving when parking in the
school yard.
Supervision & Safety – All students attending are expected to have their
parents in attendance.
St. Joachim is a wonderful community. We look forward to a great evening
during such a festive and joyful time as we prepare for the coming of our Lord
Jesus. We thank the School Council for supporting this evening.
KISS & RIDE
A special thank you to all parents who are
using the Kiss and Ride safely and correctly.
It was established to provide convenience and
safety for students and parents driving to our
school to drop off and pick up their children.
We encourage parents of grade one and
grade two students to pick up and drop off
their child at the Kiss and Ride to avoid having
to park. Please call the office if you want to
add your child’s name to the list of those students who are escorted to the Kiss and Ride
area at the end of the day.
Parents are asked NOT to exit their cars
while in the Kiss and Ride lane. This creates a very dangerous situation in the drive
thru lane. If you need to exit the vehicle in or-
der to unload your children, please park on a
neighbouring street to do this safely.
A few other safety reminders include:



The inside line (which is the lane closest
to the school) will be the drop off lane
and the outside lane will be the drive
away lane.
Do not park in the drop off lane, it backs
up traffic for all parents, simply wait for
your child to be escorted to the car
Do not make a left turn from the Kiss
and Ride. The signage was put up after a recommendation and approval
from Brampton Safe City Council and
City Council.
December 2012
Volume 2, Issue 5
Page 5
BUS SAFETY
Ensuring student safety on the bus is an important goal at St. Joachim school. Even if your
child does not take a school bus daily, every child needs to know bus safety rules for when
they take the bus for school field trips, or trips to the church. Please go over the following
safety rules with your children:
 Listen to the bus driver at all times, they are the adult on charge
 Go directly to your seat when you get on the bus and remain seated until the bus stops at
your intersection
 Never eat, drink, fight, horseplay, or swear on the bus. Do not open or close windows
 Do not vandalize bus seats, or any property on the bus
 Respect private property while you are waiting for the bus
 If someone is misbehaving on the bus, tell the bus driver
 If you get hurt on the bus or you see someone get hurt on the bus, let the bus driver
know right away and inform the school right away
Full-Day Kindergarten Registration for 2013-2014
Kindergarten registration for the 2013-14 school year will take place at all Catholic elementary
schools in Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon, Bolton and Orangeville on the following days:
Monday, January 28, 2013
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Friday, February 1, 2013
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
* Snow Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Dufferin-Peel hosts Kindergarten entry planning information session for
parents of children with special needs
On Thursday, January 17, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board’s Special Education and Support Services
Department will host a Kindergarten entry planning information session. This meeting is for parents and guardians of
children with special needs which affect their learning, such as vision, hearing, physical, developmental or autism, who
are entering Kindergarten in September 2013. The meeting will be held at the Catholic Education Centre from 7:00 p.m. –
8:30 p.m. For more information about this session, call 905-890-0708 ext. 24011.
WHAT:
Kindergarten Entry Planning for Children with Special Needs Parent Information Session
WHEN:
Thursday, January 17, 2013
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Catholic Education Centre – Room 301 (Third Floor)
40 Matheson Boulevard West, Mississauga (Hurontario & Matheson)
Kindergarten registration for the 2012-13 school year, will be held at all Dufferin-Peel Catholic elementary schools on
January 28 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. and January 30, 31 and February 1 from 9:00-3:00 p.m.
For more information, parents/guardians should contact their local Catholic school, visit the board website at
www.dpcdsb.org, or call the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board at 905-890-1221.
Page 6
Staying Safe When Using the Internet
Here are some easy things that you can do to stay safe when using internet, cell phones or webcams:
Monitor Online Activity
 If someone you don’t know approaches you or makes you feel uncomfortable online, tell your
parents and do not write to them
 Never meet anyone in person you have met online without your parents’ permission
 Do not buy or accept gifts from anyone you meet online
 Never call anyone you met online
 If you are unsure about something ask your parent or guardian
 Remember that the people you meet online may not be who they say they are
 Make sure that an adult is nearby when chatting on the Internet
 Always check with your parents before entering a chat room and tell your parents about your
online friends
 If something online is making you feel uncomfortable there may be a good reason for you
leave that Internet location and tell someone about it
 Share e-mail addresses of people you write with your parents
 Remember that nothing you write on the web or email is completely private
 Immediately delete unknown e-mail attachments without opening them as they can contain
harmful viruses.
From http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ncecc-cncee/factsheets-fichesdocu/net-cell-cam-eng.htm
DATES TO REMEMBER
DECEMBER
2Advent begins
5-8
Intermediate Camp Brebeuf Trip
510:00 a.m. Gr 2 FI Communion Prep
6National Day of Remembrance and
Action on Violence Against Women
9:00 a.m. Gr 2 Communion Prep
8Hanukkah begins
10Human Rights Day
1110:00 a.m. Gr 2 FI Communion Prep,
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Santa Evening
139:00 a.m. Gr 2 Communion Prep
14ShareLife Movie Day
18a.m. Notre Dame Feeder School
Concert (Grades 4-8)
1910:30 a.m.Virtues Assembly
201:00 p.m. Gr 2 Communion Prep,
2:30 p.m. Kindergaten Christmas
Celebration.
24 to January 4 Christmas Break
25-Christmas
26-Kwanza begins
JANUARY
6Feast of the Epiphany
16Martin Luther King Day
12 p.m. Environment Club-Green Wall
Workshop,
7 p.m. FI Information Meeting
177 p.m. School Council
21PA Day Term 1 Assessment
22Term 2 begins
236:30 p.m. Peel Public Health Session
for Parents
286:00 p.m. JK/SK Registration
291:40 p.m. Virtue Assembly,
6:00 p.m. JK/SK Registration
(snowdate)
30-Feb. 1—9 a.m. to 3 p.m. JK/SK Registration