MARCH 2015
ST. JOACHIM CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
435 Rutherford Road North, Brampton, ON, L6V 3V9
905-453-4472
Follow us @StJoachimDPCDSB or visit our website at www.dpcdsb.org/JOACH
14Septe
Principal
M. Di Nunzio
Vice Principal
I. Judd
Office Staff
L. Quiambao
Y. McCutcheon
Superintendent
D. Oude-Reimerink
Family of Schools
Brampton North
East
Trustee
A. Da Silva
Parish
St. Anne
Parish Priest
Father J. Cherickal
Associate Pastor
Father F. Marrone
Parish Telephone
905 453-1303
“Through A
Celebration Of Our
Faith All Who Enter
Our School May
Grow Together As A
Christian
Community”
A Lenten Prayer
Dear God
During this season of Lent,
May You help us
To Thank You for the new life You gave
To our world and to our spirits,
To find Your presence around us, in the sparkle of sunshine,
A word given in encouragement, a smile shred in passing,
To open our hearts to your call,
To serve one another with Your loving compassion,
To have the courage to ask for help as we journey
And to know when we have gone off path,
To remember what Lent is all about
And to turn our lives toward You.
Amen
PPRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
This church season gives each of us an opportunity to rearrange our priorities
in a way that brings spirituality into focus. Lent helps us to gain clarity on how
we are living our daily lives. Lent reminds us to be thankful for our
families/friends and to show forgiveness in an effort to mend relationships.
It’s so easy to get absorbed in the constant busyness and hectic pace of life.
Lent encourages us to step back and look more closely at how we are
connecting to God and to see who we, together with our families, are
becoming. The externals – fasting, meatless meals, ashen crosses on
foreheads – should urge us inward to search our hearts. Lent can transform
our lives so we can witness to Jesus’ life, even after the ashes fade. Please
make a special effort to recognize Lent with your child(ren). Take time to
pray, to go to mass, to enjoy the small gifts that are so precious when
children are still young and easily impressionable. Lent is a time for new
beginnings. Let us journey together as a Catholic community of faith!
Yours in Catholic Education,
Your Admin team – M. DiNunzio & I. Judd
MARCH 2015
VIRTUE OF KINDNESS
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
A kind person…
 gives their time to help others
 stands by their friends in time of need
 shares with their friends
 is polite
 cares about other people’s feelings
God wants us to be kind to everyone we meet. Being kind is about more than just
pretending to be nice. It is about helping and playing with others because we want to and
not because we feel we have to. God helps us to be kind to our family and friends
because by being kind we are able to see God in every one we meet.
OUR DAILY PRAYER FOR MARCH
Let us now pray...for the virtue of kindness so that everyone we meet will feel like we are looking out for their good. AMEN
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
The next Catholic School Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 13th.
We welcome all members of our school community to come out and get involved in whatever capacity
they can.
ONLINE REPORTING TOOL
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School board has developed a new way to help nurture a safe, caring and inclusive
school environment. The Online Reporting Tool is intended for students in grades 3 – 8 who become aware of bullying
incidents and negative behaviours. The student can simply ‘click’ on the link found on our school’s website to fill out the
report. The report will then be directly emailed to the principal and/or vice principal and will be dealt with accordingly. At
St. Joachim, this online reporting will ‘go live’ on March 23rd.
It is important to recognize that the Online Reporting Tool is an alternate reporting option. It is best practice to speak
directly with a responsible adult at home and/or in the school.
CONCUSSION POLICY, GUIDELINES AND PROTOCOL
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board has developed a Concussion Policy and Guidelines
for students who have been diagnosed with a concussion by either a medical doctor or nurse
practitioner. School staff cannot diagnose a concussion. Anytime a student reports to the office
with a head injury, the parent/guardian will be contacted and the incident will be entered into
the school’s “Documentation of Head Injuries” log. Your child will be given an information
pamphlet entitled “We want to give you a heads up…Concussions are serious.” This pamphlet
outlines the signs and symptoms of concussions. It also includes information about what to do if
you suspect your child has a concussion and how a concussion is treated. Guidelines have been developed by DufferinPeel CDSB to support a 10-phase “Return to Activity” process following a diagnosed concussion. These guidelines include
5 phases for “Return to Learn” followed by 5 phases for “Return to Play”. With parental consent, school administration
will work collaboratively with school psychology staff to monitor your child’s progress through the 10 phases. For more
information, please feel free to contact the office.
EQAO 2015– GRADE 3 AND 6
Each year, all Grade 3 and 6 students in Ontario are assessed in reading, writing and mathematics.
Developed by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) and after consulting with more
than 1,000 teachers, as well as parents and the broader community across Ontario, these assessments
go beyond traditional tests of the past. Their ultimate purpose is to improve student achievement.
EQAO assessment is scheduled to be administered during the weeks of May 26th – June 4th.
We ask that parents of students in these grades ensure that their children are in attendance during these weeks.
Visit DPCDSB on the web for Board and School profiles at http://www.dpcdsb.org/EQAO.
INQUIRY IN GRADE ONE
In our grade One French Immersion classes, we have been using the Inquiry process and hands-on activities
to learn about objects and structures in Science. Students have been exploring the characteristics (colour,
size, shape, materials, texture, function and recyclability) of a variety of objects. Integrated with our unit on
Geometry, students greatly enjoying building 3 dimensional structures with recycled objects and have
been increasing their vocabulary through spontaneous and authentic discussions in French.
MARCH 2015
WE ARE STEWARDS OF THE EARTH – ROOM 17
"The Grade 2 French Immersion students in Room 17 have been exploring the ways in
which our actions can pollute the wonderful water we drink and precious air that we
breathe. Posters were created to highlight the things we can do to keep our air and
water clean for years to come, such as "Ne mets pas les dechets dans l'eau", "On doit
recycler tous les jours" and "Ne prends pas la voiture ... utilise l'autobus."
Poster created by Arielle P.
POETRY AT ST. JOACHIM
On Thursday, February 19th, students in grades 4 – 8 participated in the St. Joachim Poetry
Slam. The winner of the Intermediate Division was Charlotte W. with her poem entitled
“Brampton”. Honourable Mentions go out to Piotr N., Fiona S., Justin E. and Jonay P. The
winner of the Junior Division was Marques S. with his poem entitled, “A Life of a Firefly”.
Honourable Mentions go to Sarah Z., Heather M., Daniel Anthony F., Brittany S. and
Henry B.
Both Charlotte W. and Marques S. went on to the Brampton North East Family of School
Poetry Slam that took place at Father Francis McSpiritt School on February 27th to proudly represent St. Joachim School.
Congratulations to all of the teachers and students who worked hard to prepare and participate in this event.
CONCOURS D’ART ORATOIRE
Grade 5-7 French Immersion students shared their French speeches with the school community on February 23 rd. Two to
three students were chosen from each class to participate in the school competition. Topics included:
Youtube (Angelina L.) Magic (Joseph L.), King Henry the 8th (Aleksandra F.). Henry B. (Gr. 5) speech on video
games and Macy M’s. (Gr.7) speech on world hunger will be presented at the board level competition on
March 10th at St. Francis Xavier Parish. We would like to congratulate all of our speech participants. Bon
Courage!
BASKETBALL NEWS
On Friday, February 13th, the Junior boys basketball team participated in the family tournament at Sacred
Heart. The boys played with heart, determination and class. They won their first game against Lester B.
Pearson School with a score of 6 to 4, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon. The next game was
against St. Cecilia and game them a run for their money. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and St. Cecilia
scooped by with a win. The last game was with Sacred Heart. An exciting fast paced game was played
with both teams spending the majority of the time at the foul line. With only minutes to go, Sacred Heart fended us off
and we lost the final game of the afternoon. Mrs. McCalmont, Mrs. Napoli and Ms. Procaccini are extremely round of the
way these boys played and learned throughout the season. Huge congratulations to Ethan, Jaiden R., Jaiden B., Christian,
Roldan, Anthony, Nicholas, Daniel, Damola, Breton, Robbie and Duarte.
Congratulations goes out to our Junior Girl's Basketball Team who showed a tremendous amount of effort and skill on
their way to winning one of the Brampton North East mini tournaments, outscoring the three other teams by a total of 5212. The next stop on our journey was a place in the final of the BNE family tournament on February 26th. With the team
down by three points with only seconds to go, our team captain Helena, drove in, scored and got fouled. With no time left
on the clock, and the court cleared and she was left with the task of hitting one free throw to send the game into
overtime. The only sound you could hear were the pounding hearts of the players, coaches and spectators as she calmly,
took a breath and nailed the greatest shot in the history of St. Joachim basketball! Even though our team would lose that
final in overtime to St. John Bosco, coaches, Mde. Hodzic and Mr. Galea could not be more proud of the effort displayed.
Congrats to our wonderful team: Helena, Brittany, Jasmine, Jillian, Juliana, Julia, Kayla, Emma, Neila, Gabby. Alyahna,
Tanisha, Joanna, Desiree and Kalisa.
TOON BOOM
Our St. Joachim Toon Boom Computer Animators are on their way to creating amazing things!
Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Lugtu would like to thank all of the students who tried out for the
Computer Animation Teams however, only two teams of four students will be going on to the
tournament in April. Both the Junior and Intermediate teams are working hard and look
forward to showing off their skills! Go St. Joachim Toon Boomers!
Stay tuned for exciting news on Lego Robotics! Coming soon to St. Joachim!
MARCH 2015
ENVIRONMENT CLUB NEWS
The Great Gulp ... A Toast to Tap Water!
The Region of Peel and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board have invited all staff and students to
celebrate Peel tap water by taking part in a school wide synchronized drink of tap water. Clean and refreshing
water is available at any tap in the Region of Peel. Tap water is inexpensive, good for your heath and a wise
choice to reduce waste and protect the environment. Our school’s Great Gulp event will take place on Thursday, March
12, 2015. Help support this initiative by sending your child to school with a reusable water bottle or cup so that they can
make a toast to tap water. As a participating school, we will be entered into a draw for a water refill station for the school
or reusable water bottles for each student. When thirsty, remember that tap water is a safe, clean, convenient choice that
is good for you and the environment. To learn more about Peel tap water visit www.peeltapwater.ca.and remember that
... St. Joachim continues to accept 4L MILK BAGS as well as printer cartridges, cell phones, laptops and digital cameras. By
bringing these items, we are helping to keep non-biodegradable items out of our landfills. Thank you for your help!
THE BIG CRUNCH
The Great Big Crunch is a special day of good food education, ending with a massive, synchronized
bite into a crunchy apple to celebrate. Together on Thursday, March 12th at 2:45, we will join students,
teachers and individuals from across Canada as we all take a bite of a crunchy apple to salute healthy
and local eating. Thank you to Mr. DeFrancesco and Burnac Produce for the generous donation of an
apple for each student and staff member of St. Joachim.
STUDENT COUNCIL
Exciting News!! St. Joachim's Student Council is up and running. They are busy planning new events. Stay tuned, more
information to follow.
TRAFFIC SAFETY - KISS AND RIDE GUIDELINES /PARKING AT THE FRONT
Please read and follow the following simple guidelines so the program will run as smoothly as possible.
 Try to arrive a bit early, not just at the 9:00 bell. This helps to reduce congestion due to the last minute rush.
 Kiss n’ Ride means just that. Prior to putting your child in the car, say goodbye to them. At the drop off, the child
only needs their seatbelt released and then they can exit the car on the passenger side only.
 Drivers should wait until they are at the drop zone before they let their child exit the car.
 The drop off zone is always on the passenger side of the car.
 Drivers: do not get out of your vehicle. There are other cars lining up behind you. Please just drop off the children
and then keep traffic moving. Do not stay and watch the kids walking into the yard. If you need to get out of the
car to help your child(ren) please find a parking spot or legal street parking in the area.
 Obey the bus loading, no stopping, and no parking signs. The area is patrolled regularly and fines can quickly add
DROP OFF THE CHILDREN SAFELY AND QUICKLY. PLEASE BE PATIENT. DO NOT CUT OFF OTHER CARS.
PLEASE RESPECT STAFF - OUR PRIORITY IS STUDENT SAFETY.
i-ENGAGE – BULLYING PREVENTION FOR PARENTS
Holy Spirit Elementary Catholic School Council hosts their PRO Grant-funded presentation of Anthony McLean and his
bullying message on Thursday April 9th, 2015 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Anthony delivers a powerful presentation for
parents looking for practical strategies to keep their kids safe, this upbeat and interactive presentation is packed with
useful resources. Some of the areas he will touch upon include:
(i)
How to protect our kids from bullies (without turning our kids into bullies!);
(ii)
How to get kids to open up and talk about what’s happening at school;
(iii)
How to break apart cliques and
(iv)
How to keep kids safe online.
Location: Holy Spirit Elementary School, 25 Bloomsbury Ave, Brampton, ON, L6P 1W9. Please call the school for more
information 905-794-8039 and RSVP at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BZ27SZB
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, March 2nd
Catholic School Council Meeting 7 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11th
Rosary Apostolate
Thursday, March 12th
1:30 Virtues Assembly, 2:30 The Big Crunch & The Big Gulp
March 16 – March 20
MARCH BREAK
Monday, March 30th
La Maleta Play – grades 4 - 8
Thursday, April 2nd
1:30 Stations of the Cross – Families are welcome
Thursday, April 16, 23 & 30
Parents and Children Together (PACT) Parent Group 5:45 – 7:45 (see insert
Dufferin-Peel Catholic
District School Board
COLLABORATIVE PROGRAMS:
PARENT GROUPS
Are you a parent of a child/children between the ages of 4 and 9 who has experienced any of
the following:





Calls from the school about your child misbehaving in school;
Finding it difficult to manage your child’s behaviour at home;
Your child hits others when he/she feels angry;
Your child has a hard time settling when he/she feels upset or angry;
You and your spouse disagree about how to consequence or reward
your child’s behaviour.
Peel Children’s Centre and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board are excited to
offer and facilitate a FREE parent and children’s group at St. Joachim Elementary School.
Parents and Children Together (PACT) is a three-week group with an opportunity for parents
to come together to share and learn strategies to help support your child’s positive behaviour
so they can get along better at school and at home. Children will also have an opportunity to
participate in a group (in a separate room) to learn self-calming strategies they can apply both
at school and at home.
Location of Groups:
St. Joachim Elementary School
435 Rutherford Rd, North, Brampton
** light refreshments provided **
Dates: Thursday April 16, 2015; Thursday April 23, 2015; Thursday April 30, 2015
Time: 5:45 pm – 7:45 pm

If you are interested in learning more about this group program and/or are
interested in registering, please call Ms. Maria DiNunzio or Mrs. Irene Judd at
905-453-4472, press 0.
 To register, you need to leave your name, contact number, and list the names
and ages of your children that will be participating in the group.
“When parents are engaged, students improve, classrooms improve
and the entire community benefits”
(CODE, 2012)
RegistraƟon requested by February 27th, 2015
to the aƩenƟon of
Grace Williamson at Grace.Williamson@dpcdsb.org 905‐890‐0708 ext. 24005 or
Maryann Di Adamo at Maryann.DiAdamo@dpcdsb.org 905‐890‐0708 ext 24411
Please provide your name, contact informa on and the number of par cipants a ending.
SEAC liaison : Chris ne Koczmara, (Vice‐Chair) and Andrew Pawlak (Member at Large)