February 17th St. Marguerite D’Youville
Welcomes Motivational Speaker
Baruti Kafele
Educators and parents are invited to join us for an
evening presentation at 7:00 p.m. in the high school‟s
cafeteria. Principal Kafele aims to motivate and
empower parents and staff to help our male students
to strive for academic excellence and to become wellrounded individuals. Principal Kafele has done a lot of
work in motivating black, male students to achieve.
However, he brings a powerful message of inspiration
to male students of all ethnicities by addressing the
“crisis of self” in developing positive attitudes and a
blueprint for achieving success. Mr. Kafele is a
published author and travels around the world to help
educators, parents, and students achieve academic
success in school. Location: St. Marguerite d‟Youville
Catholic Secondary School, 10815 Dixie Rd, Brampton.
Staying Healthy
The best ways to reduce the risk of becoming ill or
spreading flu viruses include:
• Wash your hands frequently: Wash your hands
often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand
sanitizer, especially after you cough or sneeze.
• Practice good hygiene: Cover your nose and mouth
with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the
tissue in the trash after you use it. If you don‟t have a
tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are
spread this way.
• Stay Healthy: Eat healthy foods, stay physically
active and get adequate rest to keep your immune
system strong. [Also, do not share food].
• Monitor your health: If you develop flu-like
symptoms (fever, dizziness, nausea, vomiting,
shortness of breath) stay home from school or work
and limit your contact with others while you are sick.
Parents may want to consider contacting their doctor
or call Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000 if your
symptoms get worse.
Fifth Disease-Please Inform the School
Fifth disease has the potential to put staff,
volunteers and other parents, who may be pregnant, at
risk. As a school we are asking, if your child shows
symptoms of fifth disease please bring him/her to
your family physician to obtain an actual diagnosis.
Symptoms may include: mild usually non febrile
infection, a “slapped cheeks” rash on the face followed
by a fine lace like rash on the trunk and extremities,
rash may be more pronounced during exercise, stress
or environmental changes (e.g. temperature and
exposure to sunlight). In exceptional cases, the rash
can take up to 5 weeks to disappear entirely. In the
event that your child is diagnosed with fifth
disease, could you please inform the school.
Speaking of Board Games
If you have board games that are complete and in
relatively good condition, we would be more than
willing to accept them at the school. During inclement
weather periods, these donated board games would
serve to keep students engaged in activities.
Girls on the Run (GOTR)
Girls in grades 4-8 were recently invited to a
presentation by GOTR to be part of a program that
recognizes that every girl is special, that every girl is
strong and that every girl is a winner. Parental
permission forms have been sent home with all
students who attended the introductory meeting.
Thank you to the School Council for their support of
this program at Pope John Paul II School.
WINTER WEATHER REMINDERS
Snow and Ice
Throwing snow balls and sliding on ice is fun. However,
as much fun as it is, snow and ice can be very
dangerous when there are many people in our school
yard. Most student injuries happen during the winter
time. Snow is always to stay on the ground and sliding
on ice is not permitted. The safety of your children is
of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, snowball
throwing, kicking snow or ice or throwing snow at
anyone, is not tolerated at Pope John Paul II School.
Indoor Footwear
Students are expected to wear shoes in the school
building at all times. Once students are at their
classrooms, they are expected to remove their winter
boots and replace them with indoor shoes. Please
ensure that your child has indoor footwear to be worn
in the school. Wet floors and hallways can result in
possible slippery conditions, which may result in
injuries.
Please note that in the event of an
emergency evacuation, students will not have the
opportunity to put on shoes, boots, clothing articles,
etc. Please ensure that your child has a pair of shoes
at school, to keep their feet warm and dry.
Reminder--Colder Weather
During the colder months we often receive requests
from parents that their children be permitted to stay
inside. This request is often accompanied by a note
suggesting their child is not well or has a slight cold.
If students are not well enough to go outside, then
they should not be coming to school (unless
accompanied by a doctor‟s note). We neither have the
facilities nor the staff to supervise the students both
inside and outside at the same time. We expect that
all children will go outdoors for recess and lunch
break. Student activities during lunch and the two
recess breaks will remain indoors when the wind
chill equivalent temperature is minus 25 degrees
Celsius or lower.
2. Please do not allow your child to cross into the
parking lot unsupervised. Parents are required to walk
their child to the car if they have parked in the
parking lot.
3. Please do not park in the driveway off of Kingsview
Dr. This is a strictly “No Parking” zone and vehicles
will be ticketed.
4. Please be mindful of passing traffic when pulling
out of the Kiss and Ride lane.
If we all adhere to the above guidelines, we can
continue to provide a safe environment for our
children!
Time is of the Essence
Student Transportation of Peel
STOPR is a consortium, formed by agreement between
the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and
the Peel District School Board, for the purpose of
providing a common administration of transportation
services for students residing in the Region of Peel.
The STOPR website http://www.stopr.ca provides
access for up-to-date information regarding delayed
buses as well as bus cancellations due to inclement
weather. This website also contains transportation
policies, procedures, forms, frequently asked
questions and links to each Board‟s website.
Mornings in any household are very busy times. As the
weather gets colder, we notice a trend in more
students arriving for school late. Please understand
students are missing important instructional time and
are disrupting classes upon their late arrival. Arriving
to school on time provides students with an
opportunity to get ready for their day and teaches
students the importance of punctuality. Supervision is
provided from 8:15 on. We ask that you make every
effort to ensure your child is at school on time. Even
10 minutes of lateness a day translates to 200
minutes, over 3 hours, of lost instructional time in a
month. Thank you for your support and understanding.
Kiss and Ride
School Board PED Policy
It is a pleasure to greet many of our families each
morning as they make use of our “Kiss „n Ride”.
Wishing you a “Good Morning” contributes to our
positive school climate. Teachers are present each
morning to supervise the safe arrival of the students.
Please keep in mind that their role is supervisory only.
It is expected that students should be able to exit
from the vehicles at the curb independently. Parents
who are driving should remain in their vehicles and
students should be prepared to quickly get out of the
vehicle on the passenger side allowing the car to move
on and the next one to come in. The “Kiss „n Ride”
program is very popular with over 100 vehicles
participating each morning but it can only operate
smoothly with everyone cooperating.
To promote respect for the dignity of all members of
our school community and to enhance student
achievement and safety, the use of a Personal
Electronic Devices is strictly prohibited in the school
(including portables) or during school related activities
(such as retreats, field trips, sports events, etc.).
Failure to comply with this policy may result in the
confiscation of the PED and/or disciplinary action as
outlined in the Catholic Code of Conduct. The school
and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
assume no responsibility for the loss, recovery, repair
or replacement for any PED brought onto school
property.
It is the policy of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board that PEDs are to be kept out-of-sight,
turned off and not used within school premises or
during school-sanctioned events.
To prevent the loss or damage of PEDs, the school
encourages students to leave their PEDs at home.
Please remember the following when dropping off or
picking up your child:
1. Please do not park in the Kiss and Ride lane.
Intermediate Basketball
Our intermediate Girl‟s and Boy‟s teams will be making
use of the new facilities at St. Michael‟s Secondary
School as they compete in the Bolton Tournament on
February 14th. Congratulations to all the students
and staff who have been working hard to prepare for
the tournament and good luck to all of you.
Knights of Columbus Free Throw
Congratulations to the students who competed in the
Knights of Columbus Free Throw competition on
January 22nd.
Marina B. and Zoe A. went on to the Regional
competition on February 5th.
Thanks to Mrs.
Mandolfo, Mrs. DeMelo and Mr. D‟Agostino for their
support of this activity.
Public Speaking
Congratulations to all our Grade 7 & 8 students who
prepared and presented speeches in their classes in
January. Representing their classes in the gym were
the following students: Katie M., Victoria R., Tristan
Z., Stephanie C. John Paul B., Michelle N., Brittany L.,
Chelsi S., Erica C., Daphne C., Isabella C. and Taylor W.
Selected to compete in the Holy Family CWL Public
Speaking Competition were, Daniel C. whose topic was,
Fears and Phobias and Jeremy R. who received the
trophy for the CWL Feb. 5th competition. He will be
going on to the Regional competition in March with his
History of the Hockey Mask speech. Good Luck!
Dance
The PJPII Primary/Junior and Intermediate Dance
Teams have been selected and are preparing to
participate in the Brampton, Bolton, Orangeville and
Malton 6th Annual Dance Event which will take place
at The Mississauga Living Arts Centre on Tuesday
April 26th, 2011. Ticket information will be available
soon.
The Intermediate Dance Team members are: Cierra
W., Veronica M., Logan F., Chloe H. and Victoria R.
The Junior Dance Team consists of: Bethney N.,
Brianna A., Leah D., Isabella D., Caitlin M., Lauren M.,
Riley M., Madison O., Emma S., Liliana S., Sarah S.,
Isabel W., Julian L. and Marco, M.
Happy Dancing!
Showtime
This year there is a team of teachers working with
many talented students to prepare a stage production
of a selection of TV and theatre musical numbers.
Music fills the halls of the school as everyone
prepares. Performances will take place on April 5th,
6th and 7th.
Hockey
This year we have two Intermediate Hockey teams.
They have had practices after school and some early
morning exhibition games against St. Nicholas School.
Special thanks to Mr. Barnett and Mrs. Mangiapane, as
well as parent volunteer Mr. Maiolino for their
coaching support of our hockey teams.
Youth Ambassadors
We are very grateful to everyone who supported our
Soap for Hope drive. Our Youth Ambassadors took all
donations to Dr. Simone‟s warehouse when they
visited. In addition, special thanks to the families who
donated bikes which went to Peru. The next visit to
our Grandfriends is February 25th.