ST. BERNADETTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1060 White Clover Way, Mississauga, Ontario L5V 1G7
PRINCIPAL:
SECRETARY:
SUPERINTENDENT:
Mrs. M. C. Parker
Mrs. L. Magi
Mr. D. Amaral (905) 890-1221
Phone: 905 501-9498
Fax: 905 501-9501
TRUSTEE:
Mrs. L. del Rosario (905) 890-1221
PASTOR:
Fr. J. Pottackal (905) 279-5742
SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIR: Mrs. Gaspari/Mr. De Costa
MARCH 2016 – NEWSLETTER #7
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Lenten Season
The season of Lent lasts for 40 days, not counting Sundays,
and the Church calls us to almsgiving, prayer and fasting or
sacrificing. At St. Bernadette School, teachers have been
emphasizing and expanding on these practices as they relate
to us in these modern times. Along with special devotions, we
are encouraging our students to reflect on three or more
blessings in their lives that they are grateful for each day. By
more often focusing on our blessings, we hope to instill in
our students the importance of regularly embracing an
attitude of gratitude for the many gifts that God has bestowed
upon us.
The Liturgical Season of Lent began on February 10th with
Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first step on the
Lenten road to Easter. The cross of ashes that we receive on
our foreheads is a sign that we have sinned and that God has
forgiven us. Lent is a time of preparation, reflection and
spiritual renewal. During Lent, the readings we hear at
Church encourage us to say “yes” to God and “no” to our
own selfishness. We can make a fresh start too, and try to
keep in touch with God, to be less selfish and more generous.
O Jesus, you place on my forehead
the sign of your saving Cross:
“Turn from sin and be faithful
to the gospel.”
How can I turn from sin
unless I turn to you?
You speak, you raise your hand,
you touch my mind and call my name,
“Turn to the Lord your God again.”
These days of your favour
leave a blessing as you pass
on me and all your people.
Turn to us, Lord God,
and we shall turn to you.
AMEN.
Let us all use this time of Lent for our own personal reflection
and prayer as we live our lives to serve and love our God.
M. Parker
Principal
VIRTUE EDUCATION
Virtue for March is KINDNESS
This month we will celebrate the virtue of Kindness:
A person who is Kind …

Relates to family members in a loving, compassionate
manner
 Values and honours the important role of the family
in society
 Examines, evaluates and applies knowledge of
interdependent systems for the development of a just
and compassionate society
 Promotes the sacredness of life
God wants us to give generously to others around us.
FEBRUARY BULLYING PREVENTION
Key messaging for the month of F3ebruary was, “Telling an
adult about bullying is not tattling ”. One of the main
strategies for dealing with bullying situations that students
are encouraged to use is ‘telling an adult’. Although this
sounds simple and logical, there are a number of difficulties
and roadblocks associated with this strategy. Younger
children struggle to understand the difference between
telling and tattling while older children struggle with their
desire to deal with situations independently.
Tattling or ratting is defined as telling in order to get
someone into trouble, or telling when there is no one being
hurt, or no rule being broken that could result in a
dangerous situation.
Telling or reporting is defined as reporting unsafe behaviours
to an adult in order to get help for someone – to get someone
out of trouble.
Reporting bullying is both a right and responsibility.
Everyone has a right to be safe at school. Behaviour that aims
to hurt someone physically or emotionally and behaviour
that breaks the rules can create a dangerous and frightening
situation for everyone. The goal of telling is to keep people
safe. Source: Peel Public Health
Tips for Parents
-Use incidents where one child is telling you about sibling
behavior to help children identify whether they are tattling
or telling.
-Practice with your child how to ‘tell an adult’ about bullying
(what happened, how they feel, what help they desire)
-Develop awareness of the ‘reasons’ children state for not
reporting bullying to adults.
receive messages in their mailboxes or during recess times if
necessary.
We thank you for supporting our efforts here at St.
Bernadette School.
SAVE THE DATE: YOUNG RIDER ORIENTATION DAY
WELCOMING ALL KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN TO
YOUNG RIDER ORIENTATION DAY
The intent of the day is to introduce children to school buses
in an informal setting prior to the first day of school.
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2016
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Location: to be determined
RECESS REMINDERS
At St. Bernadette School we do not tolerate bullying. Students
are encouraged to let adults (administration, teachers) know
if and when they are being bullied. Informing an adult is
very important so that as a community we can work together
to combat bullying in our school.
We will continue to work with our students through class
work, discussions and school presentations on how to stop
bullying.
Our next PINK shirt day is scheduled for April 13th which is
the International Day of Pink. This day we ask all students
and staff to wear pink in order to show their support for
those victims of bullying as well as, to demonstrate to all that
at St. Bernadette School we say NO to bullying!
SAVE THE DATE: EQAO TESTING FOR OUR GR. 3 & 6
STUDENTS
Our Grade 3 and 6 students will be participating in our
EQAO testing from May 25th to June 8th, 2016. Please avoid
scheduling appointments and vacations during these dates.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO MINIMIZE CLASSROOM
INTERRUPTIONS - CHANGING PLANS, DROPPING OFF
CLOTHING AND HOME-WORK IN THE OFFICE
Parents please encourage your children to remember to bring
all their items to school in the morning. Calling classrooms to
remind students to pick up materials, causes interruption to
the class and lessons being taught and the school does not
have enough personnel to make these calls. Also, if you are
picking up your child early from school for any reason please
indicate this in your child’s agenda or send a note to the
classroom teacher.
Uninterrupted instructional time is very important to the
learning environment of all our students. Frequent
interruptions to a classroom results in loss of concentration
and delivery of lessons which ultimately will affect a child’s
learning process. Therefore, we will not call a classroom
unless we deem it to be vital. Teachers will continue to
We continue to reinforce the need for students to play games
and activities safely. At St. Bernadette School, we have a
hands-off policy. This means that activities such as contact
sports, tackling, play-fighting, tripping, pushing, piling on
and any rough play are not permitted. Students are
consistently reminded of these rules by staff, supervisors and
administration. We recommend that parents have
conversations with their children about the types of games
they play at school. We need your help to reinforce with
them the dangers and consequences of rough play and the
importance of notifying staff on duty during recess time. The
health and safety of our students is always our priority at St.
Bernadette School.
WEATHER
With the constant change in temperatures this winter
seasons we have come to discover that many of our students
come to school properly dressed but at recess they are
forgetting to dress appropriately. Please discuss with your
child the need to dress for the weather. Here at St.
Bernadette we consistently remind our students that they
must dress for recess. Wearing proper clothing permits our
students to go outside and enjoy the break and fresh air
without having to worry about the weather.
As well, please have your child check our Lost and Found bin
on a regular basis for any lost items of clothing. This bin
seems to attract many items including gloves, coats, boots
and other items.
COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF
Parent/Guardians are encouraged to communicate with
school staff via agendas, telephone or person to person. We
discourage communication via board email. If you have any
concerns regarding your child and need to communicate
with their teacher please call to set up a meeting.
We thank you for your support in this area.
CLASS LISTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2016
Staff will soon be meeting to organize class lists for
September 2016. If there are any special learning needs your
child has that you feel we should know when making up
classes, please do so in writing to the principal by April 29th.
Letters received that list a request for a specific teacher will
not be considered. Please limit comments to specific learning
styles. Requests for your child to be placed with a “friend”
will not be considered. If you feel your child has an ongoing
conflict with another child, please write us a letter and we
will do our best to separate them. All staff work hard to
balance class lists by abilities, gender and learning style.
Please keep in mind that capped primary classes (max 20)
often result in combined classes throughout the school. As a
result, requests for students not to be placed in a combined
grade will not be considered.
PLAN AHEAD . . .
We are in the process of planning staffing and organizing
classes for the 2016-2017 school year. If you are planning
on moving out of the St. Bernadette school area, or simply
changing address within our boundaries, please let the office
know as soon as possible in writing. Families with students
who live outside of the school area are reminded that they
must apply through the Flex Boundary policy to the Principal
for permission to attend the school in September 2016.
Consideration will be based on the following:
confidence.
MAKE MATH PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE!
“What are some math activities I can do to support my
child’s math learning at home?”
Math games: On no-homework days, quiet evenings, and
during vacations, play math games. Math puzzles and games
can show that math is fun. They also require trial-and-error
thinking, enhance numeracy and logical thinking, and
promote discussions. Many mathematicians say a love of
puzzles and games inspired their math abilities.
Check out Mathies, a website designed for Ontario K -12
students and parents:
mathies.ca
ST. BERNADETTE’S ECO TEAM
Here we are, already into March! Only just over a month to
get to our Eco School deadline! We hope to see great gains in
our energy conservation practices and in our waste sorting
practices. The Eco Team happily celebrates the efforts made
by our students to properly recycle paper in proper bins.
We are hoping to get all school members on board for our
next challenge which is the Re-usable Water Bottle Promotion Counts. The Eco Team happily will celebrate the
efforts made by our students to bring in their re-usable water
bottles. Students are encouraged to drink water daily for
healthy reason. We encourage students to bring in their own
personal re-usable water bottles.
CURRICULAR NEWS
St. Bernadette School is well on its way in assisting our
students in achieving academic success. This year our focus
has been on teaching students explicit terminology
specifically in the areas of math and language. We find that
if we teach our students a variety of words meaning the same
thing then they are able to understand instructions and
complete tasks with accuracy and ultimately achieve success.
As parents you can help your child to succeed by exposing
them to a variety of language and terminology. Reading to
your child daily allows students to build on their vocabulary
and become more confident in their reading abilities.
In partnership; home, school and parish are foundations to
assisting students to succeed academically, socially and
emotionally.
INSPIRING YOUR CHILD TO LEARN AND LOVE MATH
Did you know?
succeed in school and improves their future career
prospects
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. This
includes careers we may not expect, such as culinary arts,
animation, and fitness
are more likely to stick with an activity and keep searching
for a solution to a problem.
The ECO Team will also be visiting classes to help them in
their waste sorting efforts, as they deal with decisions about
garbage and recycling. We can all make a difference in
making our earth a cleaner place to live in.
The Dufferin Peel District School Board and the Region of
Peel have invited all students and staff to celebrate Peel tap
water during Canada Water Week by taking part in a school
wide synchronized drink of tap water. Our school’s Great
Gulp event will take place on Wednesday, March 23nd
2016. 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. The St. Bernadette Eco Team
encourages all students and staff to bring a reusable water
bottle to school as part of our efforts to help the environment
through our commitment to be a “BOTTLED WATER FREE
ZONE”.
There are many reasons to give up drinking bottled water,
but here are a few our Eco Team wants you to consider:
Disposable water bottles take approximately 1, 000 years
to decompose in a landfill and over 80% of all bottles are
NOT recycled (650 million water bottles are making their
way to Ontario landfills each year).
It requires 3 litres of water and 1 litre of oil to produce one
bottle of water.
Peel tap water is a safe, clean, convenient choice that is
good for your health and the environment.
To learn more about Peel tap water visit
www.peeltapwater.ca.
Special thank you to Mrs. Montanaro, Mrs. Mills and our
dedicated Eco Team for making a difference here at St.
Bernadette School.
EARTH HOUR - TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!
We would like to take this time to invite all St. Bernadette
families to participate in EARTH HOUR, which is an
international celebration of the conservation of electricity
generated by lights. On Saturday, March 20, 2016 from 8:30
to 9:30 pm, we are asked to turn off all electrical sources of
light and see what we can do instead. The Eco Team would
like to challenge our St. Bernadette community to come up
with novel and fun ways to celebrate this hour with your
family, friends and neighbours.
VISITORS TO ST. BERNADETTE SCHOOL
A reminder, for the safety of all our students and staff, we ask
that all visitors please check in at the office and obtain a
Visitor’s badge. We ask that you sign in and out.
Thank you in advance for assisting us in keeping St. Bernadette
School safe.
.
STUDENT ILLNESS-STAYING IN FOR RECESS
Students who are ill should be kept home where they are
most comfortable and can get better, sooner. A child who is
too ill to go out for recess is too ill to be at school. Your cooperation to keep your child home when he/she is ill is
appreciated.
Students who need to stay indoors for medical reasons must
have a doctor’s note to indicate this.
products may trigger adverse health reactions (e.g., asthma
attack, anaphylactic reactions and shortness of breath) in
individuals with asthmas, allergies, migraines or chemical
sensitivities. Other less serious but equally debilitating
symptoms include headache, sore throat, runny nose, sinus
congestion, wheezing, dizziness, anxiety, anger, nausea,
fatigue, mental confusion and an inability to concentrate. In
order to support those individuals with sensitivities to
fragrances and scents, and to possibly prevent others from
developing such sensitivities, we are asking your cooperation
in avoiding the use of spray perfumes and fragrances in the
school. In particular, students should use roll-on deodorants
after gym classes. Other spray deodorants are misused in the
change rooms and hallways.
FLU SEASON
We would like to remind parents of the need to have a
network of support to care for children especially in case of
midday illness. As we go through this difficult time when
everyone is anxious about the spread of germs please note
that the Health Department repeatedly recommends that the
best practice to prevent the spread of viruses is:
 Wash hands with soap and water thoroughly and
often
 To cough or sneeze into a sleeve or tissue
 Stay home if you are sick
When children become sick during the course of the day, a
plan needs to be in place to care for him/her. As with all
medical issues, we continue to take direction from Dufferin
County Health on how to best respond to community illness.
INDOOR FOOTWEAR
For SAFETY reasons, students MUST wear shoes in the school
building at all times. Please note that in the event of an
emergency evacuation, students will not have the
opportunity to put on shoes, boots, clothing articles, etc.
Please ensure that your child has an extra pair of shoes at
school, to keep their feet dry and warm during snowy
weather. SOCKS AND SLIPPERS ARE NOT FOOTWEAR.
STUDENT LATENESS
There has been a gradual increase in the number of students
arriving just as the bell rings or after. Please note that classes
begin at 8:30 am sharp and students should arrive at school
prior to that time in order to ensure that they are prepared to
begin work on time. Please review the need to be punctual
with your children. Once the last of the student lines have
entered the building at the back, the doors are closed and
locked. A child who is coming in late must report to the office
for a late slip as part of the safe arrival program. Lateness is a
disruption to the class and other students. Please try to impress
upon your child the need to be on time.
Supervision of pupils in the mornings begins at
8:15 am. To ensure your child’s safety, please do
not bring your child to school before 8:15 a.m. as
no one will be available to supervise students.
AWARENESS OF FRAGRANCES
Fragrances and scents are found in a wide range of products
including perfume, aftershave, deodorant, soap, air
fresheners, fabric softeners, laundry detergents, facial tissues
and candles. Exposure to fragrances and other scented
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
Our next council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March
30, 2016. Please come out and join us!
No School from March 14-18, 2016 - March Break
DATES TO REMEMBER – PLEASE MARK YOUR
CALENDAR
March 3
March 8
March 10
March 14-18
Quantum “Lego” Presentation to
grades 1-6
School wide Lenten mass 1:00 pm
BIG Crunch assembly - pm
MARCH BREAK – NO SCHOOL
March 13
March 17
March 21
March 21-25
March 22
March 23
March 24
March 25
March 28
March 30
Daylight Saving Time Begins –Spring Ahead
St. Patrick’s Day
Back to School!
Holy Week
Portuguese tarts/sugar donuts – St. Joseph’s
BIG Gulp
Holy Thursday
Grade 2s to Butterfly Conservatory
Good Friday – No School
Easter Monday – No School
School Council Meeting
East Credit Pupil Accommodation Review
Mtg #2 6-9pm at St. Joseph S.S.
LOOKING AHEAD
April 4
April 11
April 12
April 13
April 15
April 19
April 22
April 27
Ballroom Performance - AM
PA Day – No School
Skills Competition
Confessions/Confirmation
Rehearsal for Grade 8s – St. Martin
of Tours Church
Grad Photos – SKs AM
8s PM
Confirmation – 7:00 pm St. Martin
Of Tours Church
NED Performance
St. Bernadette School – District
Support
ATTACHMENTS
2016 CCCSC MarketPlace Brochure
STUDENT ACTIVITIES A
Medication at
Treats
CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF CATHOLIC EDUCATION