P r i n c i p a l
J. Quenneville
Vice Principals
S. Bolger
A. Bomben
P. Nalli
Trustee
Peter Ferreira
Superintendent
Cathy Saytar
Parish—St. Joseph
Pastor: Fr. Marc-Andre
Campbell
Assistant Pastor: Fr. Mounir El
Rassi
Tel: (905) 826-2766
V o l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1
S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 1
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to another exciting academic year at St. Joseph S.S! The year has started with lots of energy and enthusiasm as our Grade 9’s attended their Orientation activities and as they look forward to their upcoming
Spirit Day on September 15 th . They already appear comfortable in their new surroundings. The football teams are on the field preparing for their seasons and classrooms are buzzing with excitement as students are getting acquainted with new friends, new teachers, and new year of learning. Even our new Vice Principals, Mr. Nalli and Ms. Bolger, are getting their bearings and revising their wardrobes to include lots of purple! As Vice-
Principal (and newcomer) to the St. Joe’s family last year, I learned very quickly that this is an exceptional place to be and I look forward to working with the staff and students to continue the traditions of excellence we have established.
Schools in Dufferin-Peel have been asked to share a number of important notices with our parent communities. In keeping with our commitment to remaining “a green school”, we have posted the information on our school website as a special edition of the Purple and Proud newsletter. Please take a moment to review the information in this newsletter and feel free to call the school if any clarification is required.
We look forward to working once again with you and your children to ensure that we offer the very best in
Catholic education.
Go Jags!
J. Quenneville
Principal
September 2011
Welcome back to another exciting school year. Special greetings to all those who are new to the Mississauga
South Family of Schools. As the Superintendent of Mississauga South Family of Schools, I am excited to be a part of this vibrant and diverse community. Mississauga South consists of 26 schools; 4 secondary and 22 elementary, as well as 8 parishes, each of which supports our students’ faith formation and catechetical programming. Four trustees represent our family’s jurisdiction: Sharon Hobin, Peter Ferreira, Bruno Iannicca and Mario Pascucci, each of whom is a strong advocate for our schools and Catholic Education. It is our collective hope that you find your school to be a safe, caring, healthy and inclusive Catholic learning environment. It is our aim to provide excellence in Catholic education for your children.
Our Catholic teachers ensure that our young people become more appreciative of the gifts of our faith and realize their distinctive legacy as Catholic citizens. As parents and educators, you are witnesses to the hope that nourishes each child’s faith formation and thus are empowered to help these young people in their journey.

Education is a co-operative endeavour and as parents and guardians, you play an absolutely essential role in your children’s success. We ask you to set high expectations for your children’s academic success. A parent’s expectation of success becomes a driving force to motivate a child.
When children aren’t expected to do well, they often don’t. So please don’t accept mediocre grades and poor study habits; rather get involved and expect your child to achieve to their fullest potential. There are many ways to do this, such as by supervising homework, fostering reading at home, limiting TV, MSN messaging, video games, and talking with your children about the importance of education.
Your child’s faculty have worked hard in preparing for the upcoming school year. The administrative team is prepared to ensure that programming and safety are paramount to your child’s success. As parents, you must also set high expectations for your school. We welcome your involvement, support and suggestions which can help us to improve. Specifically, get involved with your children’s schoolwork and tell us right away about any possible problems, for example, whether work is too easy or too difficult. Get to know your child’s teacher and form a partnership.
I wish all our students a successful academic school year and many blessings.
As your Trustee, it gives me much pleasure to welcome back all students, staff and parents to another year at St. Joseph S.S. A special welcome to those who are new to our school community, may it be all that you expect from a Catholic school. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board is a vibrant part of this community and of our parishes, and the preferred choice for parents and supporters of Catholic education in our region.
We continue to be a Board that our community can be proud of, as our successes mount and our leadership in provincial initiatives continues to be well-recognized and emulated. Each of us contributes to the betterment of our system and, consequently, to the improvement and quality of experience for our students.
Peter Ferreira
Peter.Ferreira@dpcdsb.org
Are You Ticked?
Direction of school support (taxes) has long been an issue for Catholic school boards in Ontario. The fact is that, unless the municipality is notified, the school support designation, for assessment purposes, automatically defaults to public school support when an individual or family moves to a new address. This may have an impact on students’ eligibility to attend Catholic elementary schools, trustee representation on school boards, and on government perception of support for Catholic education. We want to bring a greater awareness around this matter and have created the Are You Ticked ? campaign as the communication vehicle for this awareness. If you would like more information on school support designation or would like us to help you check or change your school support designation to the Catholic system, please call us at (905) 890-0708, ext. 24512.
Access to Bus Information
Please be advised that the following website, businfo.stopr.ca
, is now available to students, parents, school administrators, and school bus operators. This website provides basic information for students and parents, specific to what school do I attend? and am I eligible for transportation? Also, parents of students who are eligible for transportation will be able to login to the businfo.stopr.ca
site and access the specific details of only their child’s transportation arrangements.
Catholic School Councils
Members of Catholic school council must be in place 30 days after school begins. We encourage you to join school council to add your expertise to the council, volunteer your talent and to join committees that help the school flourish. As strong supporters of Catholic school councils we can tell you that many parents have lots of fun, make wonderful friends and contribute to their community. Do not leave it to someone else. Children whose parents are involved in their school do better in school. Give it a try!!!!
We wish you all the very best for this school year. May the good Lord always hold you in the palms of His hands.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board is committed to providing quality Catholic education.
The Board recognizes that the school system gives pre-eminence to the tenets of the Catholic faith, congruent with the protection afforded in the Ontario Human Rights Code , the Constitution Act, 1982 and confirmed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms .
The Board acknowledges that any form of social or cultural discrimination is incompatible with
Catholic moral principles and is in violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Board and its staff are committed to the elimination of discrimination as outlined in Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education
Strategy and the Ontario Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119, in a manner which is consistent with the exercise of the Board’s denominational rights under section 93 of the Constitution
Act, 1982, and as recognized at section 19 of the Ontario Human Rights Code .
The Board is committed to the values of freedom of religion and freedom from discriminatory or harassing behaviours based on religion and will take all reasonable steps to provide religious accommodations within the legal rights afforded to the Catholic school system. Students requesting religious accommodations must present written notice from their parents/guardians specifying their accommodation needs relating to religious observances, including holy days on which they will be absent from school. This notice should be made in advance (preferably at the beginning of each school year) to ensure that scheduling of major evaluations, such as tests, assignments or examinations, takes the religious observances into consideration.
If further information is required regarding Religious Accommodation, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
J. Quenneville
Principal

September 14
September 15
September 16
September 20
September 28
October 3-7
Spirit Day
Picture Day
P.D. Day
School Council Election Meeting 7:00 pm
Terry Fox Day
Early Warning Report Week
October 19
October 21
October 24-28
November 17
College Fair (Direct Energy Centre)
Health and Wellness Fair
Hope for Haiti Week
Culture Shock & Mid-Term Reports
2011-2012 School Year Calendar
First day of classes elementary and secondary schools Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Last day of classes Semester 1 Secondary (Semester Schools Only) Tuesday, January 24, 2012
First Day of classes Semester 2 Secondary (Semester Schools Only) Friday, February 3, 2012
School Year ends Elementary and Secondary Schools Friday, June 29, 2012
Number of school days for the 2011 – 2012 school year 194
Number of Instructional Days in Secondary Schools 188
Number of Professional Activity Days in Secondary Schools 6
School Holidays for the 2011-2012 School Year
Every Saturday and Sunday
Labour Day—Monday, September 5, 2011
Thanksgiving Day—Monday, October 10, 2011
Christmas Break (inclusive)—Monday, December 26, 2011 to Friday, January 6, 2012
Family Day Monday, February 20, 2012
Mid-Winter Break Monday, March 12, 2012 to Friday, March 16, 2012 (inclusive)
Good Friday—Friday, April 6, 2012
Easter Monday—Monday, April 9, 2012
Victoria Day—Monday, May 21, 2012
Secondary Schools – Professional Activity Days
1. Friday, September 16, 2011 Provincial Priorities and Faith Development
2. Friday, November 18, 2011 Provincial Priorities and Faith Development
3.Thursday, February 2, 2012 Principal’s Day: Semester Turnaround
4. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 *Principal’s Day: Year End Reporting and Activities
5. Thursday, June 28, 2012 *Principal’s Day: Year End Reporting and Activities
6. Friday, June 29, 2012 *Principal’s Day: Year End Reporting and Activities
*Semester and year end evaluations and school wide promotion meetings; contact parents with summer school recommendations, OSR and report card preparation; inventory management of books, equipment, learning materials; curriculum development for new course outlines; goal setting for the upcoming school year.
Secondary Schools – Examination Days
Semester 1: January 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 2012
Semester 2: June 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 2012