St. Jerome School
790 Paisley Blvd W.
Mississauga, Ontario
L5C 3P5
Tel (905) 273 3836 Fax (905) 273 9539
Newsletter
October
2014
Mississauga South
Family of Schools
Trustee:
A Thanksgiving Prayer
God Our Father, we gather together with those we love
on this Thanksgiving Day to celebrate your many gifts to us.
You are truly a loving Father who cares for all our needs.
We also remember that many of your children cannot celebrate
today because they are hungry or homeless or
have no one to love them.
Please show us how we can share our gifts with them.
School Organization 2014-2015
B. Iannicca
905 270 0536
Superintendent:
D. Amaral
Principal:
A. Aquino
H. Secretary:
C. Bowering
FDK
Mrs. Vermeiren and Mrs. Goegan
FDK
Mrs. Malatesta and Mrs. Mezei
Grade 1
Mrs. Kurpis
Parish Priests:
Grade 2
Mrs. Murphy
Fr. Joyson Pottackal
Grade 2
Mrs. Vukosa
St. Martin of Tours
Grade 2/3
Mrs. Van De Wiele– Kimura
905 279 5742
Grade 3
Mrs. Ladner
Grade 4
Mrs. Bugala
Grade 4/5
Ms. Lavorato
Grade 5/6 Gifted
Mrs. Read
Grade 5/6
Mrs. Arruda
Grade 6
Mrs. Burnham
Grade 7
Mrs. Danton
Grade 7/8
Ms. Lucchetta
Grade 7/8 Gifted
Ms. Sacco
SERT/ELL
Ms. Borg
SERC/SERT
Mrs. Srutwa
FSL
Ms. Falvo and Ms. De Maria
Planning Time
Ms. Kimeda
ERW
Ms. Andriano, Mrs. Joys and Mrs. Sarrazin
Secretary
Mrs. Bowering
Custodian
Mr. Taylor
Principal
Ms. Aquino
Catholic School
Council Chair:
M. Fleese
Web-site:
www.dpcdsb.org/jerom
Faith Life
Virtue of the Month: Empathy
This month we will focus on the Virtue of Empathy.
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. We understand empathy to mean the ability to
identify with and feel other people’s concerns. We believe that in a faith community we are nothing without
relationships. Relationships that grow in a spirit of communion- an understanding that we share an identity
based on being created in the image and likeness of God
and being imbued with one Spirit. We are many parts of
one body. An empathetic person believes that we all
share one Spirit; that we are many parts of one body
because we are all created in the image and likeness of
God.
Around the School
Indoor Shoes/Change of Clothes
Please ensure that your child comes to school prepared
to go outside for recess and lunch hour breaks. It is the
expectation that each child comes dressed appropriately
to go outside to enjoy the weather and get some fresh
air and exercise. If your child is prone to getting wet
during recess, please send a change of clothes, especially
socks and sweat pants. Please ensure that your child
brings a pair of indoor shoes to school. Please label the
shoes for our primary students. Running shoes are preferred because they are safe and can also be used for
gym. Please ensure that the shoes have non-marking
soles. We appreciate your continued support!
We are an Allergen Aware School
As a caring community, St. Jerome School is committed
to supporting the needs and safety of all our students.
Our student population includes students who are susceptible to anaphylactic reactions and who have severe
life-threatening allergies. Please ensure that you are
sending safe food to school so that all of our students
will be safe. Please avoid all nuts and nut products!
World Teachers’ Day
October 5th is the day specifically designated to recognize the contribution of teachers. World Teachers’ Day
was inaugurated in 1994 to commemorate the signing of
the UNESCO/ILO. More than 100 countries currently
celebrate World Teachers’ Day. At St. Jerome we are
very fortunate to have so many dedicated individuals
who work to provide for the education of the young
people in the community. Thank you to all our teachers!
School Safety
Parents are welcomed to the school throughout the year, however, for the safety of all children, parents and visitors will now
be required to ring the door bell at the front door for
entry, and must sign in at the office and receive a visitor’s sticker each and every time you visit the building.
Visitors are not entitled to go to the classrooms as this is a disruption to student programming. Since the hallways are busy
during pick up times, siblings and parents are asked to arrange
with your child, a meeting place outside of the school. Messages and deliveries (keys, lunches, etc.) are handled through the
office. Please remember to most students in the
school, you are a stranger! We also ask that parents do
not enter the schoolyard during school hours as this is
also a safety issue.
Twitter
Help us spread the word! Dufferin-Peel is on Twitter!
For the latest board news and information, follow us @
DPCDSBSchools.
Dogs on School Property
For the safety of our students, parents, guardians and staff,
please do not bring dogs on school property during the
school day (9:00 to 4:00), most especially when you are picking up or dropping off students. Several students have severe
allergies and animals may be unpredictable when confronted by a
group of children. Please note that no pets are allowed in
the school building at any time. Also note that no pets are
allowed on school property during school sanctioned events.
Thank you for helping to keep the school environment safe for
all!
Students Watching Sporting Events
A reminder that spectators are not allowed at after
school games. Staff are present to coach or referee the
games. No supervision is provided for other spectators.
Only students who are accompanied by their parent(s)
may stay. All other students will be asked to leave.
Terry Fox Walk
On September 26, 2014 the St. Jerome community participated
in our annual Terry Fox Walk. On the walk each student had a
sticker to write the name of someone they wanted to dedicate
the walk to. As a school we dedicated our walk to Steven Sadlowski, a student that lost his life to cancer, and to all the many
friends. Our community raised $1700. We thank you for your
generosity and support of the Terry Fox foundation!
Kiss ‘N Ride
PLEASE NOTE THAT CARS ARE NOT TO USE
THE BUS LANE AT ANY TIME. Parents are also
asked to use our proper Kiss ‘N Ride lanes and not
to pull into the school lanes. This is especially
important this year as we begin to offer Full Day
Kindergarten classes.
Parents please do not leave your car unattended in
any of the Kiss ‘N Ride lanes at any point in the
school day, most especially at lunch time. If you
are dropping off a lunch for your child please park
your car in a designated parking spot or on the
street. Please note that if you are using the Kiss ‘N
Ride you should not be getting out of your car to
help a child exit, you should not pop open your
truck to retrieve knapsacks, and all students must
exit from the right passenger side of the car for
their safety. We ask that parents use extra
caution when using our Kiss ‘N Ride lanes in the
winter months. Please drive safely and take your
time. Our focus is always to keep all of our
students safe.
School Yard Safety
Just a reminder that student supervision begins at
9:00; students must not be dropped off at the
school before this time.
EQAO
At St. Jerome School we are very proud of our EQAO
results!
Grade 3
School :
Reading 78%
Writing 83%
Math 83%
Board :
Reading 73%
Writing 83%
Math 67%
Province: Reading 70%
Writing 78%
Math 67%
Grade 6
School:
Reading 97%
Writing 92%
Math 64%
Board:
Reading 82%
Writing 82%
Math 57%
Province: Reading 79%
Writing 78%
Math 54%
It is important to keep in mind that these results are a
snapshot of student achievement, and must be considered
along with a variety of assessments which occur in the
classroom.
Criminal Reference Check
In compliance with Ministry directives, a Criminal Reference
Check is mandatory if you wish to volunteer your services in
the school, transport students and assist on trips. Copies of the
Criminal Reference forms are available in the office. An annual
declaration is required for all valid Criminal Reference Checks
that are on file in the school office. A Criminal Reference Check
will be mandatory this year if you plan to volunteer for both in
school and out of school activities.
Website
Parents are encouraged to visit our website! The site is
www.dpcdsb.org/jerom. Please take the time to check it out.
All school information and parent information is on the site and
updated regularly. All previous and current newsletters are on
the site. Our web-site is another excellent tool to keep parents
connected to what is happening at school.
Pediculosis
From time to time, there may be cases of pediculosis or head
lice in our school. This should not be a cause for alarm. Lice are
a nuisance, but are not hazardous to your child’s health, as they
do not carry disease. One of the most important steps to both
their prevention and treatment is knowledge. Head lice do not
fly or jump. They can only hitch rides from one head to another,
and they prefer clean scalp and hair. By the time that the nits or
empty egg sacs are noticed on the head of one child in a class or
family, it is likely that other children may be affected. If a child
has pediculosis, we will ask the parent to come to school and
pick up the child. An alert letter is sent home to parents of the
infected class. Please note that students must be checked in the
office on their return to school after treatment before they will
be allowed to return to class.
Phone Calls
The office often gets requests from students to make phone calls
home to ask parents to bring forgotten items such as running
shoes, textbooks or homework. We are reinforcing with
students that it is their responsibility to bring all necessary items
to school and to arrange in advance their out of school activities.
Students will not be given permission to make such calls. Also,
please make after school arrangements with your children prior
to school. We make every attempt to minimize interruptions to
classes.
Recycling/ECO School
At St. Jerome School we encourage you to reduce the amount
of garbage going to landfill sites. We collect recycling materials
from classrooms each week. We want to encourage students to
bring litter less or boomerang lunches and reusable water
bottles, as we did last year! It is very important to us to treat
our earth with respect and to preserve our earth for future
generations!
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
It is with great pleasure that we introduce our 20142015 Catholic School Council.
Chair: M. Fleese
Secretary: I. Singh
Treasurer: D. Pike
Parish Rep: C. Preyra
OAPCE Rep: C. MacIntosh
Parent Reps: L. Gatto and T. Li
Teacher Rep: H. Srutwa
Non-Teaching Rep: I. Andriano
Dates to Remember
Mark your Calendar
Our next council meeting will be Wednesday, October
8th at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend. We thank
you for your continued support and generosity in
helping to make our students’ learning experiences the
best that they can be!
Pizza/Milk Program
Please support our pizza days/milk program. Forms
have been sent home for the October to December
orders. There will be no pizza sales on pizza days, we
will only accept pre-orders. St. Jerome students love
our pizza days and our milk program (and so do our
parents). We thank you for your continued support in
both of these initiatives.
Halloween
We have many students with severe allergies this year.
We remind families that if you are planning to send
Halloween treats or loot bags to school that they can
not contain edible products. All edible products or
loot bags that contain edible products (chocolates,
candy, cookies, cupcakes, etc.) will be sent back home
with your child. This will also help us promote a
healthy snack school environment. In addition, we will
also be stressing the fact that the most important
aspect of our activities at this time of year is the
celebration of two great Feast Days. November 1 we
honour All Saints Day in our church, and we are
encouraged to pray that we might emulate their
example in our daily lives. On the following day,
November 2, we will remember all those who have
gone before us in faith by celebrating the Feast of All
Souls. Again, we are reminded that while those who
have died are out of sight, they are not out of mind or
beyond our prayers.
October 1-3
Camp Muskoka Grade 8
October 7
Immunization Clinic Grade 7/8
October 8
Catholic School Council 6:30
October 13
Thanksgiving Day, no school
October 15 –17
Grade 4 CCAT testing
October 21
Cross Country Meet at Erindale
October 28
Picture Re-take Day
November 5
Grade 8 to St. Martin
Catholic School Council 6:30
November 11
Progress Reports go home
November 14
PA Day, no school
November 29
Gr. 2 Reconciliation 10:30 a.m.
Planning Ahead:
PA Days:
Nov. 14, Jan. 19, Feb. 6, May 11 and June 8
Christmas Break:
Monday, Dec. 22 to Friday, January 2, 2015 inclusive
March Break:
Monday, March 16 to Friday, March 20, 2015 inclusive
Fire Drills/Lockdown/Hold and Secure
As a precautionary measure, we will practice fire drills and
lock down procedures throughout the year. We are required to hold 6 fire drills each year as well as 2 lock
down drills. During fire drills, students are asked to move
safely and swiftly to the nearest exit and to report to their
designated area outside of the building. If an exit is
blocked, students are reminded to use their alternate exit.
We will have three of the fire drills in the fall and the remaining three in the spring. In a lock down, students are
alerted over the P.A. that we are “initiating lock down”.
Students are directed to move away from all windows and
doors to a safe area. Classroom doors and windows are
secured. Students remain this way until the alert is cancelled. In hold and secure our exterior doors are locked
and no one can enter or exit the building. Discussing these
procedures with your child will help reassure the importance of these safety procedures. In the unforeseen
event that we should have an emergency in our school, we
will evacuate to Huron Park Community Centre. Safety
regulations require us to have this contingency plan in
place. In such an event, your child will remain with school
staff until we contact you.
Immunize on Time Report Every Time
This is just a reminder that it is your responsibility to report all immunizations your child receives to Peel Public
Health. Contact them at: immunizepeel.ca or 905–7997700.