November 2012
PRINCIPAL:
K.J. Carey
SECRETARY:
T. Crayden
SUPERINTENDENT:
C. Blanchard
STS. MARTHA AND MARY
PARISH TEAM:
Fr. D. Corkum
905-625-5670
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES:
M. Pascucci
Mississauga Wards 1 & 3
(905) 302-3096
(905) 890-0708, x20161
Fax: (905) 890-0888
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
www.trusteepascucci.ca
INSIDE
Progress Report
EQAO Results
Custody Issues
at School
School Council
Fundraiser
Crossing Guard
Update
STS. MARTHA & MARY
Catholic School
1760 Bough Beeches Blvd., Mississauga, Ontario L4W 2B9
905-624-9625
Visit our school website:
www.dpcdsb.org/MMARY
God our Creator,
Teach us to appreciate the virtue of patriotism;
a true and Christian love of our country.
Let us grow in a love for our country
that consists not of following the easy path,
but of working together to make Canada the land of
goodness that it should be.
Let our patriotism be such
that it will not exclude other nations
but include them in a powerful love.
God, we know that You want our world to be a happy home
for the entire human family.
Please help us to reach out in Christian kindness, charity
and unity to make this world a better place for all Your
children.
Amen
FAITH LIFE
THE VIRTUE OF CONSCIENCE
God has given us the ability to know the
right and decent way to act and then to act
that way. We trust that the common Spirit
we share inspires us and guides us to make
good decisions if we allow our conscience
to become well-formed.
A person of conscience allows prayer and
scripture to influence him/her.
A person of conscience…
 Chooses to do the ‘right thing’ and
feels good about it
 Can see how his/her actions may
hurt others
 Admits his/her wrong-doing and
feels badly
 Says ‘sorry’ and tries to make up for
mistakes
 Keeps promises
†
A PRAYER OF CONSCIENCE
Gracious and merciful God of all creation,
During this season of remembrance, we
remember how You have gifted us with
free will.
You have given us the virtue of conscience
to ensure that we will know the good and
decent way to act and then choose to act
that way.
We come to You now asking for the grace
and strength to form and to follow our
conscience in order to bring to life Your
plan for a safe, caring, inclusive
community here at Sts. Martha and Mary
Catholic School.
May Your virtue of conscience free us to
make decisions that serve the good of all
Your people.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, Your
Son, who lived to show us Your way.
Amen
REMEMBRANCE
DAY SERVICE
Please join us at our
annual Remembrance Day
Service on November 9,
2012 at 10:30 a.m. This service will
provide a unique opportunity for all to offer
our gratitude and respect to our veterans,
peace-keepers and our God for the gifts of
freedom and democracy.
BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
In keeping with our Catholic tradition, during the month of
November, our school community will offer prayers for the
faithful departed. The names of those in our “Book of
Remembrance” will be prayed for as part of our daily prayers.
The book will be incorporated into a liturgical display in the
foyer. You are invited to record the names of loved ones on the
memorial sheet that was sent home this week and return it to your
child‟s teacher.
IMPORTANT SACRAMENT PREPARATION DATES
Schedule for Confirmation classes at Sts. Martha and Mary Parish:
Boys
Nov. 4, 2012
Nov. 18, 2012
Dec. 2, 2012
Dec. 16, 2012
Jan. 20, 2013
Feb. 3, 2013
Feb. 17, 2013
Apr. 7, 2013
Apr. 21, 2013
Girls
Nov. 11, 2012
Nov. 25, 2012
Dec. 9, 2012
Jan. 13, 2013
Jan. 27, 2013
Feb. 10, 2013
Feb. 24, 2013
Apr. 14, 2013
Apr. 29, 2013
Grade 2 Reconciliation: Monday, March 7, 2013; 7:00 p.m.
Grade 2 First Communion: Sunday, April 28, 2013; 2:00 p.m.
Grade 8 Confirmation: Sunday, May 5, 2013; 2:00 p.m.
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY, CULTURE AND CARING
TERRY FOX RUN
(by: Mrs. S. Monid)
We had awesome weather for our Annual Terry Fox walk on September
28, 2012. Our school spirit had a chance to shine as all grades were
invited to invent a cheer to be presented to the rest of the school before
the walk. Through the generous donations of the Sts. Martha & Mary
School community, we were able to meet our targeted goal and raised
$5,127.23, (including $132.00 t-shirts sales and $145.00 online
donations) bringing our grand total of $101, 769.75, over the past 15
years. Thank you for your continued support as we celebrated the 31st
anniversary of The Terry Fox Walk.
SCARE THE HUNGER HALLOWE’EN FOOD DRIVE
Thank you to all students and parents for their generous non-perishable
food donations collected at our Hallowe‟en Dance last week. Donations
were given to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at Sts. Martha & Mary
Church.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ACTION BEYOND THE SCHOOL: Team
Stair Busters
Sarah Folk, grade 7, and her sister Emily, grade 5, completed a walk to
the top of the CN Tower along with their father on October 21, 2012 in
support of the United Way. As ‘Team Stair Busters’, they climbed 144
flights or 1776 stairs in 24 minutes and 20
seconds. Sarah and Emily’s classmates
donated $90.00 towards the fundraiser.
The Folk family raised $910.00, in total,
for the United Way. We congratulate Sarah
and Emily for donating their time and
energy to the needs of the community by
taking part in such a worthy cause.
If you wish to have your son/daughter
acknowledged for efforts, in support of
social justice actions, please contact the
school.
CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX CAMPAIGN
The Student Leaders have decided to
continue to support the charity event,
‘Operation Christmas Child’. Last year we
experienced outstanding results; classes,
teachers, individual students and their
families made over one hundred
shoeboxes. We would like to ask everyone
to support this very important initiative by
sending in a small monetary donation or by
supplying a small token to include in our
shoeboxes.
Our school community offers great support
and thanks to our student leaders and to
Ms. De Simone, Mrs. Hammond, Ms. Daly
and Mrs. Bellini-Kavals for their
contribution in supporting this very
important event.
Student leaders have already begun the
hard work of getting classes organized and
shoeboxes ready for the due date of
November 15, 2012. We hope that this
year’s ‘Operation Christmas Child’ will be
as big a success (or even bigger) as it was
last year.
MILK BAG MAT MOVEMENT
Under the direction of Mrs. Bellini-Kavals, a
group of student leaders are making sleeping
mats from outer milk bags to send to Haiti.
The milk bags are cut into long strips and
then using a simple chain stitch, students
crochet sleeping mats. Each mat takes about
300 – 500 milk bags which would otherwise
go to landfill. Please send washed outer
milk bags to school. Help us to reduce
plastic garbage and make something useful
for others as the student leaders become engaged in a
modern day quilting (crocheting) bee.
FOOD DRIVE & GIVING TREE
This year, as in the past, the staff of Sts. Martha and Mary School will
organize a food drive and will be accepting non-perishable food items
starting December 1 until December 14th.
Beginning Monday, November 26, 2012, School Council ‘Giving Tree’
will be in the front foyer and ready to accept brand new mittens, scarves
and hats and gifts for receiving children distributed through Dixie/Bloor.
The tree will be decorated with tags that indicate the age and gender of a
child in need.
When you are visiting the school please consider making Christmas a
little brighter for the children in our community by taking a gift tag from
the tree. Gifts should be left unwrapped or placed in a gift bag with the
decorated tag attached, indicating the age and gender of the child.
Thank you in anticipation of your generosity.
PEDICULOSIS
A problem which seems to occur at least once a year in most schools is
pediculosis or head lice.
Head lice are parasites which have been common among human beings
for centuries. They are not connected in any way with dirt, neglect, and
so on. Anyone can be infested with them. Unfortunately, in recent
years, they have become quite common throughout North America. In
order to control these pests, we shall do the following and request your
full co-operation.
If even one case is found in the school, we shall inform all parents of
children in that class. We will be checking friends and classmates, and
if necessary, we will call in the Health Unit. However, we would ask
that you also check your own children and if you find them to be
infested, we ask you to let us know so that we can help you get the
proper treatment and take the necessary precautionary measures.
Even if cases are not reported from the school, it is a wise precaution to
check your children periodically.
If your children are infested, we will be asking you to keep them out of
school until after they have been treated with the correct shampoo and
their heads are entirely clear of both lice and nits (eggs). If we all
cooperate with these procedures, we may not entirely escape outbreaks,
but we will be able to bring them under control quickly.
CUSTODY OF CHILDREN
On rare occasions, we are faced with difficult situations in which noncustodial parents arrive at our school asking to visit with their child or
take their child home after school. We are best able to serve and protect
the child when we are made aware of legal custody arrangements,
visitation rights and special instructions. If legal custody matters affect
your family, please ensure that our office and classroom teachers are
aware of custodial agreements between parents. We require that a copy
of all legal documentation be kept in your child‟s school records.
CROSSING GUARD CONCERN:
It has been brought to school administration attention by one of our
dedicated Crossing Guards posted at the intersection of Rathburn Road
and Fieldgate Drive that a
number of our
students have been
cutting through a
nearby townhouse
complex avoiding the
intersection and cross
Rathburn Road east of the supervised
intersection.
Secondly, the Crossing Guard located just
in front of the school, on Bough Beeches
Blvd., has reported some drivers leaving
the school have been disregarding the
Crossing Guard, STOP sign, when the
Crossing Guard is on the street. This is a
serious traffic violation and extreme safety
concern.
It would be greatly appreciated if parents
could review the importance of crossing the
roads at the lights and with the assistance
of the Crossing Guards.
ACCIDENTS AT SCHOOL
It is the goal of all staff that students enjoy
both indoor and outdoor activities at school
and remain safe and healthy at all times. It
is an unfortunate fact that accidents do
happen and that injuries must be dealt with
in the quickest and most prudent of
manners. At Sts. Martha and Mary School
staff members have chosen to become
certified in First Aid and annual
recertification is a school priority. As such
there is always someone, certified in First
Aid, available to address any issues of a
minor or serious nature. Our school policy
is to err on the side of caution when dealing
with a potentially serious injury. Agendas
are used to inform parents of minor injuries
and phone calls are made to alert parents to
any injuries that may require monitoring.
SNACKS AND SPECIAL TREATS
Our students continue to
eat their school snacks
inside, either 5 minutes
before recess or after
recess breaks. This
helps to avoid the
problems presented by bees and wasps as well
as those problems that arise from litter in the
yard.
As you are aware many of our students
suffer from allergies. The parents and
students at Sts. Martha and Mary have been
extremely careful and supportive in
promoting a nut free environment. With a safe environment in mind, we
ask that you refrain from sending in food items to mark special
occasions such as birthdays. Children with food allergies are excluded
when birthday items enter the classroom. They have been trained not to
take a chance on any item that hasn‟t been prepared by their parent.
Special events can be marked with a new book for the classroom library,
or a new pencil for each child. Rest assured, teachers do acknowledge
and celebrate birthdays even if a treat doesn‟t mark the special nature of
the day.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN
In the unforeseen event that we should have an emergency in our
school, we will evacuate to Sts. Martha and Mary Church. Safety
regulations require us to have a contingency plan in place should an
emergency occur. In such an event, your child will remain at Sts.
Martha and Mary Church until we contact a parent or guardian.
CURRICULUM
PROGRESS REPORT CARD
With the release of Growing Success, Assessment, Evaluation and
Reporting in Ontario Schools (2010), a number of changes have
occurred in reporting practices in elementary schools, particularly
affecting students in grades one through eight. There longer are three
report cards per year. Instead, students in grades one through eight will
be receiving a progress report to be sent home on November 6, 2012,
and 2 provincial report cards to be sent home on February 5, 2013 and
June 26, 2013.
Junior Kindergarten students do not receive formal reports cards during
the year. Senior Kindergarten students will receive their report cards in
June. Parents of Junior and Senior Kindergarten students will be
provided with opportunities to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss
progress during each reporting period and have been informed of
specific changes to reporting by the classroom teachers.
The parent, teacher, student conferences for grades K – 8, as requested
by the classroom teacher, were scheduled for the evening of Thursday,
November 8, 2012. You are, however, encouraged to contact your
child(ren)’s teacher at any time you require clarification, or if you have
questions or concerns about your child’s progress.
Teachers will endeavour to meet with all parents during term one
reporting and then on an as needs or by request basis for the second
term.
EQAO ASSESSMENT
Last spring, an assessment of reading, writing and mathematics was
conducted in all grade 3 and 6 classes in Ontario by the Education Quality
and Accountability Office (EQAO). This assessment is considered a
“snapshot” of the children‟s performance based on their respective grade
level expectations. Individual student results have been sent home with
our grade 4 and 7 students. Sts. Martha and Mary School continues to be
proud of the achievements of our students and teachers.
A detailed outline of our current results can
be accessed at www.eqao.com . Sts. Martha
and Mary’s school goals and action plan
have been posted on our school website,
www.dpcdsb.org/MMARY
EXTENDED FRENCH
INFORMATION MEETING
Parent(s)/guardians, who wish to enroll
their child in a Grade 5 Extended
French class for September, 2013 are
invited to attend an information
meeting at:
need to assess student learning over a period of time. Please
refrain from booking holidays during the school year. Your
consideration and attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
School, Board and Province 2011-2012 E.Q.A.O. results
# Students at or above
Level 3, 4
Grade 3, 2012
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
School
97%
97%
97%
Board
70%
80%
70%
Province
66%
76%
68%
School
94%
97%
75%
Board
78%
78%
63%
Province
75%
74%
58%
Grade 6, 2012
St. Thomas More Catholic School
3270 Tomken Road,
Mississauga, Ontario
905 279-6472
Thursday, January 19, 2013 at 7 p.m.
FIRE DRILLS / LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES
The deadline for submission of
completed applications for the
Extended French program for the
2012/13 school year will be at 3:00
p.m. on Wednesday, February 6,
2013.
We are required to conduct three fire drills in the
fall and three in the spring. We are also required
to practice two lockdown drills during the year.
Lockdown drills involve students moving away
from the classroom door to a location within the classroom away
from windows. Lights are turned off and doors are locked. These
practices are to ensure that students and staff are prepared in case
we should need to go into lockdown. Lockdown would be
initiated by police and/or board personnel.
Full-Day Kindergarten 2013-14:
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten
for the 2013-14 school year, will take
place at the school on the following
days: Monday, January 28, 2013; 7 - 9
p.m.* Wednesday, January 30,
Thursday, January 31, and Friday,
February 1, 2013 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
* Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 29, 2013; 7 p.m. - 9
p.m.
For more information about registration
and the Full-Day Kindergarten
program, call 905 624-9625 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
VACATIONS DURING THE
SCHOOL YEAR
The expectation is to have students in
school for the full year. Teachers have a
great deal of curriculum to cover and
INTERMEDIATE VOLLEYBALL
TEAMS
The coaches of both the Intermediate Girls’ and Boys’ Volleyball teams
would like to thank each team member for a wonderful season. All the
players have shown great sportsmanship, skill and determination.
Although the Intermediate Boys’ Volleyball team did not qualify for the
Family of Schools tournament, they ended their season with fantastic
volleyball skills. Special thanks to all the parent drivers and the boys’
volleyballs coaches, Ms. Prajza and Mrs. Maxymiw, for their time at
practices.
Coaches, Ms. Daly and Mrs. Hammond, wish to congratulate the
Intermediate Girls‟ Volleyball team who demonstrated
tremendous effort and team spirit in the division and advanced to
the Mississauga Family of Schools tournament. The girls
displayed amazing skill and
sportsmanship during the entire season.
Special thanks to all parent drivers and
score keepers.
Mrs. Bellini-Kavals and Mrs. Ford send a special thanks to fellow staff
members whose support enabled them to attend the event. Rescheduled
Board Cross Country meet will take place, Thursday, November 8, 2012
at Centennial Park starting at 10:15 a.m.
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS
INCLEMENT WEATHER AND TRANSPORTATION
Boys’ Intermediate Volleyball Team:
Daniel A., Nicholas B., Tyler B.,
Gabriel D., Joseph D., Dylan F.,
Sebastian L., Matthew L., Frank M.,
Robert M., Matthew R.
During the winter months, inclement weather and/or poor road
conditions may cause the disruption of bus transportation and regular
school operations. In these cases, parents/guardians should develop
alternate care/transportation arrangements.
Girls’ Intermediate Volleyball Team:
Amanda A., Jessica C., Jackie E., Sofia
G., Giuliana J., Madelyn J., Jessica M.,
Rebecca R., Sara V., Larissa W.
A decision to cancel bus transportation and/or to close schools is made
by 6:00 a.m. Decisions are based on several factors including
precipitation, air temperature and road conditions. A decision to cancel
bus transportation may be system wide (where all buses in Dufferin
County and the Region of Peel are cancelled) or municipality specific
(where buses in one or more municipalities are cancelled).
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
Tuesday, October 23,
2012 at Centennial
Park, 43 members of
the Sts. Martha and
Mary Cross Country
team completed their
races through rain,
mud and cold winds.
All members of the team completed their
events. Many of the races had over one
hundred runners competing.
Congratulations to all team members
because you represented the school with
good sportsmanship and determination.
The following members places within the
top 15 and will continue to the Board
finals.
Sara W.
Brian M.
Emily R.
Erin C.
Sara V.
Jessica M.
Noah D.
Grade 4
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 8
Grade 8
Grade 8
Grade 8
9th Place
5th Place
13th Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
6th Place
12th Place
All 63 members of the team wish to extend
their heartfelt thanks to parent volunteer
coach, Mrs. Sanhueza, for her hard work
and encouragement. We sincerely
appreciate the help of all parent volunteers
and fans for their help and support in the
challenging weather conditions. A hearty
thanks to Mr. Clarke and Mrs. Wylie for
bringing extra tents.
If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate in the
afternoon. Therefore students transported to school by parents require
the same transportation home.
Notification: Information regarding bus cancellation and other
emergency information announcements can be obtained by visiting
www.stopr.ca or businfo.stopr.ca
A bus cancellation and/or school closure message will also be
available online at www.dpcdsb.org. Parent/student general
inquiries, please call 905 890-6000 or 1-800 668-1140.
DID YOU KNOW? Sts. Martha and Mary has a school web-site!
Please visit www.dpcdsb.org and link to the elementary site @ Sts.
Martha and Mary to gain information about the school, parish and
council.
LUNCH POLICY: We require written permission from parents for
students to leave school property during lunch hours. For safety
reasons, students are expected to return to supervised school grounds
upon their return. Students who leave the school during the lunch hour,
with parent permission, are the responsibility of the parent. If children
normally remain at school during lunchtime and parents decide to take
them off school grounds, please remember to sign your child out and
then back in again at the office. Please do not drop off child(ren) at the
front of the school unattended. Students are required to be signed in the
office by an adult.
VISITORS TO THE SCHOOL: Visitors to the school are required to
stop in at the office to sign in and receive a visitor‟s sticker.
All visitors, who are meeting with teachers, are asked to remain in the
main office until the staff member has been contacted and available to
meet and escort you to a suitable location for the respective meeting.
Visitors are reminded that at no time should they escort children to
the classroom. Your assistance in this matter will better ensure a
safe school environment for one and all.
DISABLED PARKING
Please reserve the
disabled parking spot in
the front of the school for
visitors and/or members
of our school community who have been
granted a disabled parking permit and
require close proximity to our school. As
per the ministry guidelines, the individual
to whom the permit is issued must be in
the vehicle and the permit must be visibly
displayed on the dashboard or sun visor
when it is parked in the designated
accessible parking space.
An Historical Understanding of Key Issues Related to
Catholic Education:
Has the Ontario government always supported separate
schools?
Yes, as did its predecessor, the United Legislation of
Canada East (now Quebec) and Canada West (now
Ontario) during its total life from 1841 to 1867. One of
the first pieces of legislation it passed in 1841 was the
Common School Act, with a separate school clause.
PETS AT SCHOOL: We would like
to remind parents, for safety reasons, if
you have brought a pet with you when
meeting or dropping off your child, we
ask that you please wait on the sidewalk
east or west of the school, on Bough
Beeches Blvd., and dogs are not
permitted on the school grounds.
DATES TO REMEMBER….
November 6: Progress Report sent home
November 7/8:
Hearing & Vision
Testing
November 8: Progress Report interviews
November 9: Remembrance Day Liturgy
November 12-19: Book Fair / Evening
purchases on Wed. November 14; 3:308:30 p.m.
November 15: Mississauga East Youth
Ambassador’s commissioning.
November 16: P.A. Day, No Classes and
Office Closed
November 20: 7 p.m. School Council
Meeting in school library
November 27: Holy Name of Mary Grade
8 Information & Grade 9 Registration
Night 7 p.m.
November TBA: Grade 8 Confirmation
Enrollment, any mass
Nov. 26- Dec. 14: Giving Tree / Food
Drive (St. Vincent de Paul Society)
December 2: Advent begins
December 11: 7:00 p.m. Sts. Martha and
Mary Family Advent Mass at the church
December24-January 4: Christmas Break
January 19: 7:00 p.m. Extended French
Information Meeting
SCHOOL COUNCIL CORNER
Prepared by School Council
DANCE-A-THON/FUNDRAISING UPDATES:
Halloween Dance-a-thon: The Halloween Dance-a-thon, which
took place on Oct. 31st, was another great success. This
wonderful event, which is one of our major fundraising events;
raised, as of October 30, 20122, $6, 338.35 for School Council
initiatives. School Council would like to thank all parents and
community members who donated the great prizes for this year‟s
fundraising event.
Pizza Thursdays: School Council has been overwhelmed with
positive feedback about Pizza Thursdays. This ongoing event has
raised over $5,000.00 thus far this year.
Thank you for the generous donations from local businesses
and families:
Cineplex
Playdium
Edible Arrangements
Yamaha
Families:
C. Ales
V. Gandin
C. Brenzavich
M. Ragan
SCI Logistics
E. Folk
G. Rovito
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE
TRAINING:
On Saturday, November 10, 2012, members of the executive
council will attend a Training Session for Catholic School
Councils, at St. Joseph S. S., to help members clarify roles and
responsibilities of the School Council. This is an excellent
opportunity to foster relationships with
other parent representatives on School
Councils.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF
SCHOOL COUNCIL:
Catholic School Councils are an
integral part of the school community,
working in partnership with home,
school and parish. Examples of some
of the initiatives supported by school
council at Sts. Martha and Mary School
include our open house BBQ, Dance-athon and guest speaker events, to name
a few. The three goals and objectives
of School Council are to:
1) Support school administration and
staff to augment and supplement school
curriculum needs such as literacy and
numeracy initiatives;
2) Support the efforts of extracurricular activities; and
3) Facilitate open communication and
sharing of information within School
Council and to general school
community.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MINUTES:
Anyone who would like to review
archives of past School Council
meeting minutes is invited to visit
www.dpcdsb.org/MMARY and click
on the “School Council” tab in the
menu bar. Current council minutes are
also posted on the bulletin board in the
main foyer corridor.
SCHOOL COUNCIL WISH LIST:
Every year, School Council agrees on a
“wish list” of items that we feel would
benefit our school. The funds for these
events and items come directly from
School Council fundraising efforts! In
the past, some of the items and events
that school council has supported have
included: Grade 8 graduation
mementos and refreshments, Mad
Science, Pizza Thursdays, Open House
Barbeque, repairs to the sound
equipment, repairs to instruments in
support of the instrumental program, and the Halloween Dance-athon. At our next School Council meeting in November, Council
members will vote on the wish list for this year! Next month‟s
Council Corner will report on the results of our vote.
NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING:
All parents are welcome to join us at our next School Council meeting
scheduled for Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 7pm in the school
library.
NUTRITION NUGGETS
by Andrea Olynyk, Registered Dietitian
Food allergy is a topic of conversation
amongst many parents and educators, with
Sabrina‟s Law prominently displayed on
most school websites and newsletters.
Sabrina‟s Law is an Act to protect pupils attending publicly
funded schools in Ontario who have anaphylactic reactions to
foodstuffs. Named “Sabrina‟s Law” in honour of an Ontario
student who died following an anaphylactic reaction in 2003, the
law came into effect on January 1, 2006. This law requires that
every school board establish and maintain an anaphylaxis policy.
It also requires that principals develop individual plans for pupils
at risk of anaphylaxis.
When School Council members prepare to offer a “food-related”
event, part of the preparation involves decisions over foods served
that could pose a danger to those with food allergies. Most of us
have met people allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, which are
among the most common allergens in North America, but
allergies to milk, eggs, fish, sesame seeds, soy and wheat seem to
be much more common these days. Whether this is because the
prevalence of food allergy is increasing in Canada, the diagnosis
process is more precise, or whether the media has simply “hyped”
this issue is unclear to researchers at this time. What scientists
seem to agree on is that Canadians tend to be far too quick to play
the “allergic” card to describe what may only be minor food
sensitivities, a practice that can prove deadly to those with true
anaphylaxis.
While the exact prevalence in Canada is unknown, it has been
estimated that more than 600,000 or 1-2% of Canadians are at risk
of anaphylaxis from food and insect allergy, with food allergy
affecting up to 6% of young children in North America. We need
to ensure that we remain vigilant in ensuring that our children
don‟t arrive at school with foods that may truly be deadly to other
students and that we are educated on the facts surrounding “true”
allergy.
The danger in exposure to allergens for children is related to the
risk of anaphylaxis, which is a most serious allergic reaction that
is rapid in onset and may cause death.
An allergen is always contained in the
protein of a food. On first exposure to
peanut butter for example, the immune
system treats the allergen (peanut
protein) as something to be rejected and
not tolerated. This process is called
“sensitization” and is dangerous in that
it often lulls unsuspecting parents into a
false sense of security that their child
has no allergy to the offending product.
However, upon re-exposure of the
peanut butter to the now “sensitized”
individual, an allergic reaction may
result, which could be mild in nature or
could be deadly, as in anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis is a serious medical
condition that requires immediate
intervention.
I frequently get asked “why wasn‟t this
big issue when I was in school everyone brought peanut butter and no
one died then?” One of the problems is
that there isn‟t a universally accepted
definition of food allergy, and there is
also a lack of well-established
guidelines for diagnosis. Many people
use the term “allergic” far too loosely, triggering thoughts of death
from the mere presence of sesame seed dust in the air when they
simply experience a scratchy throat or hives when they consume
the product. Other people can eat an “offending” food with no
reactions whatsoever, but only when it has been cooked. Many
people with fruit allergies for example, have symptoms when they
eat fruit raw; however have none when it has been cooked. This
is due to the denaturation of the protein via the cooking process
that renders it ineffective as an allergen to many. Healthcare
providers agree that it is therefore of utmost importance to refrain
from using the term “allergic” universally to describe minor
irritations to foods that we all have to some degree. We need to
ensure that we reserve this term for those people who are seriously
and severely at risk of illness and death from exposure to allergens
‘Nutrition Nuggets’ is written by Andrea Olynyk, Registered
Dietitian and Professor of Nutrition at the University of Guelph;
Andrea is a School Council member devoted to promoting
community nutrition, and in particular, to educating children,
young adults and parents on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
„Nutrition Nuggets’ is provided as information for parents and not
reflective of Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
DPCDSB is now on Twitter! For the latest board
news and information, follow us @DPCDSBSchools.
An Historical Understanding of Key Issues Related to Catholic Education:
How long have Catholic separate schools been educating Catholic children and
contributing to the public good in Ontario?
For about 170 years. In the early 1800s there were separate schools in many cities,
towns and townships. In Peel, three separate schools opened before Confederation
(1867): St. James in Malton in the 1830s, St. John‟s Agriculture College (1861) and St.
Patrick‟s (1861), both in Wildfied.
Beyond Catholic Education Survey: The Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) is
conducting a survey called Beyond Catholic Graduation, about the influence of Catholic
education in the lives of graduates of Catholic secondary schools. This survey is part of
a study of how the goals of Catholic Education are reflected in the lives of graduates of
Catholic secondary schools. These goals have been summarized in the Ontario Catholic
School Graduate Expectations. If you are a Catholic school graduate, please take a few
minutes to take the survey.
https://beyondcatholicgraduation.com/surveyviewer2/index.php?surveyID=ZTSE9
It’s
Back!
Operation Christmas Child brings hope and joy to children in desperate situations
worldwide through gift-filled shoe boxes and the message of God‟s unconditional
love.
Over the next week, we would like the help of all of us at Sts. Martha and Mary to
fill shoe boxes with gifts of toys, school supplies, and hygiene items. These gifts
will bring hope to children, their families, and communities. It sounds
simple….and it is….but the impact is ENORMOUS!
Christmas is about sharing the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ, with the world.
Help spread His love and peace to a world in need by being part of this special
Christmas project. Please remember all gifts are due by:
Thursday November, 15, 2012.
Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for making a difference.