St. Joseph Catholic Elementary
NEWSLETTER
DEC./JAN., 2014/2015
December, January 2014/2015
Admin’s Message
Here is our amazing float. The
School Council and friends built
the float and students with their
parents and myself walked with
the float in the Streetsville Santa
Claus Parade! It was an exciting
day! A wonderful time was had
by all and we do appreciate the
co-operation of the weather that
day - nice mild temperatures
and no rain! We did ourselves
proud in representing our
school, community and board.
for our float. Thanks to Mrs.
Kockovski, Martin and Tiana for designing banners for walkers in the
parade to wear. We were a sharp
looking bunch!
Our little school has lots going
on; parents and extended family
are invited to participate in our
special events - so take a look at
our school calendar and classroom calendars and see if you
are able to join us in celebrating
Thanks to Mr. Coelho, Sophie and
Nate for driving the float. Thanks to all this special season.
our parents who participated in the
Parade: Mr. Meuller, Ms. Simone,
Father Marc-Andre and Father
Mrs. Dias, Mrs. Dub, Ms. Canoletti,
Asch are always happy to see us
Mrs. Kockovski, Mrs. Oliveira, Mrs.
- we’ll be having our Advent
Tabar, Mrs. VanDommelen, Mrs.
Mass at 10 on December 11,
Skinner, Mrs. Reiss, Mr. Silvestri, Mr. 2014. We can always use extra
We appreciate the efforts of
Johnson, Mr. Aliozor and Mrs.
volunteers to walk the small ones
everyone in making this long
to the church with us. A schedule
Sayewich.
sought after dream of participatfor Masses over the holidays at
ing in the parade with a float.
We are in one of the most beautiful St. Joseph Parish is included
Thanks to all those wonderful
times of the year in our liturgical cal- inside!
carpenters: Mr. Radman, Mr.
endar. The season of Advent is that On behalf of our staff and School
Sayewich And Mr. Coelho. Mrs. time when we celebrate and anticiCouncil we wish you a Very MerCittadino who organized pine
pate the birth of Jesus. We are wait- ry Christmas and all the joy a
cones and classroom banners. ing for His birth and prepare for that new year can bring!
Every single student in our
arrival with a great deal of excitement God Bless
school decorated a pine cone
and energy.
C. Bacci
You are cordially invited to St. Joseph
Advent Mass at St. Joseph Parish
Thursday December 11th at 10 a.m.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR IS COMING TO ST. JOE’S!
Come to our Winter Book Fair event this December! The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our
school and we invite you to share in this celebration of “books and reading“ with us. The Book
Fair will take place from Monday, December 8th to Friday, December 12th. Students will
have an opportunity to browse the fair and to purchase books during school hours. The Book
Fair will also be open for a special evening event from 3:30pm to 8pm
in the library/resource center on Wednesday, December 10th, 2014.
This is a great opportunity to purchase some books for all the children
on your Christmas list, while supporting our school library. Look for a
flyer in your child’s backpacks! We are looking forward to another successful book fair!
Many thanks,
Ms. Pelaccia
H
O
P
E
Page 2
HOPE
People of Hope…
Virtue for
The Month
of
December

Expect the best to happen for everyone

Hold on to their dreams

Always count on God to help them in tough situations

Trust that things will work out in God’s way

Look for something good to come out of problems

Are looking forward to life’s blessings

Set and stick to their own goals
HOW TO HAVE A MORE PEACEFUL ADVENT
Regularly express your love to your spouse, family, relatives and
friends.
Try to relax. Don’t let life’s pressures weigh you down. Don’t take
life too seriously.
Don’t be afraid to have dreams for your future. Try to formulate
goals to help you attain these dreams.
Practice generosity. Find ways to give to the poor and needy.
Let go of your hurts. Everyday take one more step toward forgiving
anyone who has hurt you.
When you find yourself thinking negatively stop and reaffirm God’s
love for you. Recall his mercy and remind yourself that he has a
beautiful plan for your life.
Find the time for regular exercise and eat well.
Choose one intention that you will pray for every day this Advent.
Think of a person you know who needs to experience God’s touch
and pray for him or her every day. Then, watch God work.
Find some time to be alone each day and reflect on the good things
Be sure to spend a little extra time this month with friends. Don’t let God has given you.
the demands of the season isolate you.
Grade 2 and Grade 8 Students will Celebrate 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation!!
This year our Grade 2’s will receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. All our classes are working hard to be ready for their special
day. The Grade 2’s will celebrate their first Holy Communion with their
families at St. Joseph Parish at regular weekend Masses in the spring
and the Grade 8’s will celebrate their Confirmation with their families
at masses in April and May.
IMPORTANT !!!! SAVE THE DATE FOR GRADE 8 GRADUATION!!!!
Our Graduation Date this year is set for Wednesday, June 24 , 2014. It will begin at 10 a.m. at the Portuguese Center
on Queen St. We hope all our parents/guardians will be able to attend this special event with your children.
Page 3
Intermediate Girls Volleyball
Family Tournaments:
The intermediate girls volleyball team completed their season November 27th with a tough
semi-final loss against St. Sebastian at the Mississauga North Family Tournament. Even
though the girls did not reach their ultimate goal of reaching and winning the Board tournament, it was successful season nonetheless. Their season began with a second place
finish at the St. Francis Catholic Cup and from their they went undefeated through the regular season. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, but the girls should be proud
of their accomplishments, hard work and sportsmanship. A special thank you to Mr. Bernais and Mr. Murray for the time they put in to coaching the girls this year.
Girls Club Collects for our St. Vincent de Paul Families
This year our St. Joseph Girls’ Club is sponsoring several families in our St. Joseph Parish
Community this Christmas Season. If you are able to donate any gift cards or unwrapped
new toys please drop any donations to the school office as soon as possible. Please contribute generously if you can and be a part of the spirit of the season. Advent is a time of
Hope, Peace and Joy for all. Let us do our part to help one another during this blessed time
of year.
Youth Ambassadors for Christ Program:
Under the leadership of Mme Da Silva, Mrs. Guerrizio, Mrs. Pelaccia and Mr. Abbas we are happy to offer our intermediate students a Youth Ambassadors for Christ Program. The purpose of this program is
to encourage our students to continue to honour Jesus’ teachings through service to our school community.
The role of the Youth Ambassadors for Christ is to:
Become active Catholic Christians
Develop in their own faith
Contribute to our school community through service
Demonstrate their belief in the word of God
Become active witnesses to our faith
Develop leadership roles in informing, modeling and promoting the virtues
This year we are very fortunate to have so many students who have volunteered to be Ambassadors.
These students are:
Daniela G.
Sabrina L.
Hannah D.
Hailie E.
Nicole K.
Riley O.
Mia K.
Martin K.
Michael U.
Keegan D.
Christina C.
Sebastian F.
Trinity T.
Aryan M.
LizMarie C.
Maripaz G.
4
We
are proud of these students and we look forward to working with them and supporting them in a variety of activities throughout the year!
Remembrance Day Assembly
Thanks to Ms. Dinis’ and Mr. Sawa’s classes for heading up our wonderful Remembrance
Day/Conscience Virtue Liturgy . All students enjoyed participating in such moving and heartfelt liturgy.
Thanks to the many parents who attended our assembly.
Ski Trip for Intermediate Students!
We are happy to provide the Intermediate students with the opportunity to
learn to ski. On Monday, January 12; Monday, January 26; Monday, February 9 and Monday, February 23 students will travel to Hockley Valley Ski
Resort in Orangeville. The cost of the program which includes a daily lesson, lift ticket, rental of equipment and transportation is $149.00. For
those students with their own equipment the cost is $122.00. At Hockley
the students pay for three visits and the fourth visit is free. All students
and supervisors are looking forward to hitting the slopes!
A warm welcome to K. Krowlewski - new Special Education Teacher for
Primary Division replacing L. Belsito. Welcome!
Christmas Mass Schedule @ St. Joseph
Wed., December 24
(Christmas Eve)
4 pm , 6pm, 8 pm, 10pm
& 12 midnight
Thurs., December 25
(Christmas Day)
8 am , 9:30 am, 11 am ,
& 12:30 pm
Wed., December 31
(New Year’s Eve)
5:30 pm
Thurs., January 1, 2014
(New Year’s Day)
9:30 am, 11 am & 12:30 pm
Advent Reconciliation:
December 10th: 10 am – 12 pm / 7 pm – 9 pm
December 16th: 7 pm – 9 pm
Parish Office closed December 24/13 – January 2/14
Page 5
Junior Speech Competition: (top row; left to right )
Johan, Anthony, Ana, Cassandra, Angelina, Agustin,
Isadora, Alina, Ema, Malachy, Shayne
Primary Recital Students: (bottom row; left to right)
Kamora, Lauren, Abigail, Zachary, Olivia, Diego, Ximena
Intermediate Speech Competition
Participants:
Maddie, Chelsea, Liz, Hanah, Annie, Natalie, Caroline
St. Joseph Public Speaking Contest
All of the Junior and Intermediate Students completed a speech in our school. Individual classes held their own Speech
Contests and two students from each class were chosen to represent their class in the school competition on Thursday,
November 20th.
Judging was very hard that day for our guest judges: Mrs. Lopreiato, Mrs. Sangiorgio and Ms. Yap. Thanks to our Primary Students who recited poems while the judges filled out the scorecards. Thanks to Mr. Sawa for being MC and Mrs.
Falcone and Mrs. Seung for organizing our school event.
Congratulations to Isadora who won for the juniors; and Hanna who won for the Intermediates. Both girls did a great
job representing our school at the Family of Schools Competition. Isadora placed 3rd at the family competition.
Kindergarten Registration for 2015-16
If your child was born in 2011 YOU MAY REGISTER YOUR CHILD FOR JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN
Registration for Kindergarten for the 2015-16 school year, will take place on:
Monday, January 26, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
* Snow Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
For more information about registration and the Kindergarten program, call 905 826-4422 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
A special treat from our French as a
Second Language Teacher, Mme DaSilva.
A time for ” La Magie”
On Monday, December 1st we welcomed all the way from
Quebec “Le Magicien” Marc Tardiff. All students from Jk to
grade 8 enjoyed an hour of magic in French and in English.
As you can see - he produced a dove out of thin air!!! This
presentation was made possible through a grant from the
government as part of Canada-Ontario Agreement
on Second Language Instruction - French as a Second
Language Action Plan. We are excited to begin this magical time with this show!
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 2014. 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:
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
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 2013-14 school year, will be held at all Dufferin-Peel Catholic elementary schools on Monday, January 27 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. and January 29, and 30 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.
Think Papers/ Conduct Reports
At St. Joseph we use a variety of techniques to deal with misbehaviour. One technique that we use
is a Think Paper. The think paper is a tool that requires your child(ren) to reflect on what they have
done and what they should/would do the next time a similar situation were to occur. The think paper is then brought home to parents to share and be returned the next day signed. It is our hope
that you would discuss the situation with your child. If a child receives three or more think papers
the teacher would then complete a Conduct Report. If your child receives a conduct report they
have a conversation with the principal of the school. They will then be given an appropriate consequence and you would be notified. Teachers can also complete a conduct report if the behaviour
is very serious and needs parental involvement and attention right away.
Access our Website and receive your newsletter
and other important information online at:
http://www.dpcdsb.org/JOST
Self-Control: Virtue for the Month of
January
SELF-CONTROL
People of Self-Control…

Follow their conscience

Are patient with themselves and others

Share and take turns

Are able to use prayer to calm themselves down

Think before they react (W.W.J.D.*)

Look for peaceful ways to solve conflict

Try to do what’s best for everyone

Have the power to stand up for what is right
*What Would Jesus Do?
7
Sun
6
Fri
5
13
9 - Hope Liturgy
27
19Santa Hat Day 20
Candy Grams for
Sale
Last Day for
Book Fair
12
December 2014
Thu
3 G.C. Pita Lunch 4 Lunch Mom’s
Wed
11Lunch Mom’s
Tue
2 Pizza Day
10
Mon
1Magician Visit
9Pizza Day
Grade 8 - Gonzaga Visit
Book Fair Nite
G.C. Pita Lunch
8
Book Fair Browsing
Book Fair Browsing
10 a.m. Advent Mass
@ the Church
Toonies for Turkeys
17G.C. Pita Lunch 18Lunch Mom’s
Toonies for Turkeys
16Pizza Day
Candy Grams for
Sale
15
Mrs. DeSouza’s K class
performs
14
Red and Green Day
26
Carolling in the afternoon
25
Boxing Day
Candy Grams Distributed
24
Christmas Day
31
Christmas Eve
Christmas Movie
Day
Xmas Outfit Day
30
23
Christmas PJ Day
29
22
Spirit Week!
21
28
New Year’s Eve
Sat
Mon
Tue
Pizza Day
20
Wed
G.C. Pita Day
G.C. Pita Day
G.C. Pita Day
G.C. Pita Day
Kindergarten Registration
28
21
14
7
Fri
3
Thu
2
10
New Year’s Day
9
17
15
Lunch Mom’s
Lunch Mom’s
16
24
8
23
Lunch Mom’s
31
22
Winter Blah’s Spirit
Day!
29
30
Lunch Mom’s
Grade 6/7 (Mrs. Gaskin’s
Class) to SilverCreek
1
January 2015
6
Sun
5
13
Pizza Day
4
12 Ski Trip
19 PA DAY
New Term II
Pizza Day
Report Card Writing
27
Pizza Day
26
6:30 SAC
Rosary Apostolate
11
18
25
Ski Trip
7 - 9 Kindergarten
Registration (JK)
Sat