66 Main Street South, Brampton, Ontario L6W 2C6
Telephone: 905-451 - 1020 Fax: 905-451-0161
APRIL 2014
Principal:
P. Roul
Secretary:
A. Magalhaes
May We Live Strong In Faith
Council Chair:
Jim Doran
Superintendent:
Sue Steer
(905) 890-1221
Trustee: Ward 3
Anna Podesta– da
Silva
(905) 890-1221
Parish: St. Mary
Catholic Church
66A Main Street, South
Brampton, Ontario L6W
2C6 (905) 451 - 2300
Fr. Liborio Amaral,
Pastor
Fr. Vargas Lara
(Associate Pastor)
Fr. Augustine Chan
(Associate Pastor)
WEBSITE:
www.dpcdsb.org
Then go to Elementary
Schools and click on St.
Mary Catholic School
Glorious and eternal God
we bless you this Easter season
for the saving sacrifice
of your dearly beloved Son
who died willingly on a cross
that we might live.
Through his resurrection,
may we live
truly convinced of your love
and committed to your peace.
By the holy power of the Spirit,
make us so strong in faith
that through our daily lives
others too may come to believe.
For Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Amen.
EASTER PRAYER
Easter is the gift of HOPE,
Easter is the gift of PEACE,
Easter is the gift of LOVE,
Let us rejoice in Him,
Who gives them all.
May God bless you during this Easter time and
keep you all year through.
May God give you all the faith it takes to make
your dreams come true.
May God’s love and wisdom always help, to
guide you on your way.
May God’s light shine all around you, to bless
your every day. Amen
This month we will be celebrating the
VIRTUE of LOVE.
God has given us many guidelines and examples
of how to live our lives. He sent his Son Jesus to
make sure that we could see what life could be
like.
Jesus made one lesson clear above all other
lessons – the lesson to love. Love is not about
us-it is about forgetting ourselves and looking out
for the good of the other. That’s what Jesus did
– he forgot about himself on purpose. He chose
to give up his life for the good of others – us!
A Loving Person…
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Wants the best for others
Is willing to make sacrifices for the good
of others
Learns from the heroic lives of saints &
holy people
Knows that we are all lovable
Prays for others
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK THEME:
GROWING TOGETHER IN FAITH (MAY
4 – 10, 2013)
Plans are well underway for Catholic Education
Week which runs May 4—May 10, 2014. This
week provides us an opportunity to reflect on our
enduring gift of Catholic Education. The theme
for Education Week this year is “Serving in the
Love of Christ”. At St. Mary Catholic School
we strive as a school community to work with
you and for you in providing excellence in
Catholic Education in our community. We will
continue to proclaim the gospel through what we
do and what we say.
SUMMER LITERACY CAMP 2014 Summer Literacy Camp is now a THREE
WEEK program.
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Begins the second week of July and runs
from July 7th-25th
Half-day program – 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Monday to Friday
The registration fee is $300 per child
For SK to Grade 6 students
Will be offered at the following sites in
Brampton:
o Ven. Michael McGiveney
o Lester B. Pearson
o Guardian Angels
o St Angela Merici
DRESS CODE FOR THE WARM
WEATHER….
With warm weather soon arriving, it is important
to review the dress code. We require your support
in assisting students to make appropriate clothing
choices when attending school.
We are a Catholic School and, as such, we
encourage our students to dress modestly. At all
times clothing should be comfortable, tasteful
and appropriate to our Catholic school
environment.
Here are the guidelines:
 clothing must display appropriate and
acceptable words and graphics
 shorts and skirts must reach the bottom
of the student’s fingertips when hands
are relaxed at their sides
 tank top straps must have a minimum
width of 5 cm (approx. the width of 3
adult fingers);
 halter tops, mesh shirts, string tops, tube
tops or anything that exposes midriffs
and/or undergarments, skin tight
clothing, spandex shorts or pants, cut off
shorts, torn or ragged clothing and pants
that sag below the waist are
inappropriate attire for school
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sunglasses, hats and bandanas are
inappropriate inside the school building
It is strongly recommended that
students not wear open toe footwear
such as flip flops as they do not provide
adequate protection when they are
playing in the school yard. Students who
are in violation of the dress code will be
asked to change or cover inappropriate
wear. Parents will be contacted to bring
appropriate clothing if necessary. Thank
you for your partnership in our efforts to
instill the values of good taste and
modesty within our Catholic school.
PIZZA WEDNESDAY…
Pizza slices are available for purchase every
Wednesday for $1.50. All orders must be in by
9:30 a.m., if your child is late on Wednesday,
please make sure they have a lunch as additional
slices will not necessarily be ordered. C. Sevigny,
M. Birmingham, and parent volunteers will once
again organize these special days. The School
Council uses the profits for a variety of school
related activities.
EQAO UPDATE
This year the EQAO assessment will take place
between May 26th and June 6th for students in
grade 3 and grade 6. Kindly avoid booking
dental, doctor appointments or vacations
during this time. For further information visit
DPCDSB on the web for Board and School
profiles: http://www.dpcdsb.org/EQAO
Hot Dog Day
Intermediate students will once again oversee
Hot Dog Day. Proceeds will go towards schoolrelated activities. Our Hot Dog Days for April are
scheduled for Friday April 25th. Order forms
will not be sent home. A package is $3.00 and
additional hot dogs are $1.50. Thank you to A.
Michalsky and R. Poli for organizing.
Safety First when dropping students
off at school
The safety of all children and staff must be
considered as paramount at all times when dropping
students off at school.
The number of serious incidents related to traffic
circulation at the front of the school and in the Kiss
and Ride area during morning arrival and afternoon
dismissal has risen. These incidents include vehicles
entering the site in the wrong direction, parking and
pulling out of no parking zones, parking in bus lanes,
to name a few.
It is imperative that all parents and guardians who
drive their children to school adhere to the traffic
circulation plan and comply with the traffic and
parking signage on the site. It is equally imperative
that all drivers follow the direction of staff managing
the traffic circulation on the school site.
Thank you for your consideration and co-operation
with this important matter.
PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES
(PEDS)
As part of our efforts to promote and maintain a
positive Catholic climate in our schools, the board
approved a policy regarding Personal Electronic
Devices (PEDS) i.e. cell phones, cameras,
IPODS, MPs players, Blackberries, video games
on school property. In this regard, all PEDS must
be kept out of sight, turned off and not used within
school premises or during school-sanctioned
activities. To prevent the loss or damage of PEDS,
we encourage students to leave their PEDs at home
as the school cannot be responsible for their safe
keeping.
HOMEWORK HELP...
The Ministry of Education and the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board are committed to
increasing student success in mathematics and as a
result the board has been invited to participate in a
Homework Help Pilot Expansion Project again this
year. The Homework Help Initiative for Grade 7-10
math students was officially launched on Sunday,
September 23, 2012. Every student in Grade 7 to 10
in the board is eligible to register and use the free
online tutoring service. Students across the board
were given information on how to log in by their
classroom teacher who has introduced this homework
support opportunity to their students. Homework
Help is available in 13 languages.
NELSON MATH WEBSITE....
Teachers, students and parents can visit this site for
web links and other online support for Nelson
Mathematics K-8 at www.nelson.com
ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
Absences and Lates
Student safe arrival at school is our first priority.
If your child is going to be absent, PLEASE call
the school attendance line at 905-451-1020.
Leave the necessary information on the
answering service. This helps us to streamline the
morning routine and ensure quickly that our
students are safe at school or at home.
Please ensure that your child arrives to school on
time each morning. This will allow your child to
avoid missing any valuable instruction time, and
eliminate any distractions in the classroom. Late
arrivals must check in at the office before going
to class. Your cooperation will be appreciated.
Staying in for recess… When students are in
attendance at school they are expected to
participate in all school activities which includes
recess. Therefore students are expected to arrive
at school with the appropriate dress for weather
conditions. All children should have hats,
scarves, gloves, warm coats and boots labeled
with their names.
At times, the weather conditions will not allow
students to go outside for recess. This decision
is made in accordance with the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board Policy and Peel
Public Health Cold Weather Guidelines which
direct schools to modify recesses when the
temperatures reach –20 degrees C or colder
and to keep children indoors when the
temperature reach –25 degrees C or colder.
Moreover, health officials indicate that fresh
air is beneficial, as long as students are dressed
appropriately. We obtain our
weather information from the Environment
Canada Weather Information Line and follow
Board guidelines. With the exception of these
occasions, all children will go outside for all
recesses and the lunch break.
ECO TEAM
Eco Team has been busy over the last few
months planning and organizing different
events throughout the school.
In January, we did a waste and energy audit in
the school. We are very pleased to say that our
school garbage intake has decreased from
previous years.
In March, we participated in Peel’s “The Big
Gulp”. Every classroom used reusable bottles
which we filled with tap water and at 10 a.m.
we all had a Big Gulp. Every participant was
handed a water drop that was then added to
the Earth’s Bucket in order to fill it. What a
great success.
On Friday, March 28 the school participated in
Earth Hour. The eco team challenged the school
to try to practice everyday of that week. Classes
caught with their lights out during the week
received lights out certificates on their
classroom door.
April is a busy month and the eco team is proud
to announce that we will be having another
Earth Week celebration. Keep looking for our
upcoming events like; Earth-Olympics; Earth
appreciation day; Earth colour days and more.
This month we are also launching our “Trash Be
Gone Tuesdays” a litterless lunch initiative to
have in our school for years to come.
We thank you for all your support of our Eco
School.
Easter Food Drive
The St Mary School community will be
participating in a Food Drive to support local
charities over the Easter season.
Please
consider donating non perishable food items
leading up to Easter weekend. All donations will
be delivered on Thursday April 17th to a local
charity. This is an opportunity to discuss with
your child the importance of giving to those in a
time of need and the role we play as a catholic
community to care for those less fortunate.
The Passion of Our Lord
The grade six students are preparing to present
the Pasion of Our Lord during Holy Week. On
Wednesday April 16th at 1:00 our school will
gather to reflect on the life and death of Jesus.
If you are available at this time please join us as
a faith community in preparation for Easter.
Modern Art at St. Mary
Piet Mondrian was born on March 7th 1872 and died
on February 1st at the age of 71.
Mondrian was born in Amersfoort in the
Netherlands. In 1892 Mondrian entered the
academy for fine arts. He already was qualified as a
teacher he began his career as a teacher in primary
education but he also practiced painting.
He painted images of his country like windmills
fields, and rivers. Mondrian made his art by using 4
colours red, blue, yellow, and black.
In 1911 Mondrian moved to Paris and changed his
name by dropping the second a from his name.
We learned that the same colours can’t touch but
white can touch and his last painting was completed
in 1944.
Piet Mondriaan art by Mr. Ozog and Ms. Stokoes
class I hope you enjoy
Dates to Remember:
April 11 – Grade 2 Retreat
April 14 – 18 – Holy Week
April 16 – Passion Play (school Gym) 1:00
April 17 - Holy Thursday Luncheon
April 18 – Good Friday (no School)
April 21 – Easter Monday (no school)
April 23 – Intermediate girls basketball
April 23 – School Council Meeting
April 24 – First Communion Lunch
April 25 - Hot Dog Day
April 29 – Easter School Mass
May 5 – Welcome to Kindergarten
May 5-9 – Catholic Education Week
May 8 – Intermediates to Dance presentation
Student Poetry
Our students have been working on poetry over the
last little while. The students hopeful of the warm
weather and sunshine to come in spring as
expressed by one of our student poems.
Spring
Warm and fresh and hear the birds chirp.
March, April, May are all in spring and my
birthday.
Fresh grass and sports to play soccer, football,
tennis.
Good times and friends to play with.
Fresh fruit right off the tree.
Plants bloom are bears wake up from winter
sleep.
Wind blows threw your hair I’m happy winter is
gone.
No more heavy suits just a sweater.
There is a bit a rain but not too much.
Nice to be outside and play.