Summer Clean Up
Special thanks to Mr. Mirabelli and the custodial staff
for their hard work in making the school look great
for the students!
Staff Changes
Mrs. Moncur has served the Pope John Paul II School
community for many years. It was with mixed
emotions that we say, “good bye” to her. We are
sorry to see her leave, but we are very excited for her
to take on the challenge of serving a number of
schools in Brampton as a Special Assignment
Teacher. She will support the work of other teachers
in the classrooms in her new area. We wish her great
success.
We would like to wish Mr. Pitre well as he is on a
leave for this year. As well, Mrs. Andrews is on a
leave and we wish her all the best.
Welcome once again to Mrs. Parker in the role of
Vice Principal. Also joining our staff is Mme.
Filippo, Mr. Kenny and Ms. Silva. Ms. Marks, Ms.
Simovic, Ms. Rogers and Mr. Racco will be covering
for various staff on maternity leaves.
Open House
On Wednesday, September 21, the staff will host our
annual Open House evening to meet teachers from
7:00pm until 8:00pm. Given that there is a possibility
that we will have to reorganize classes, parents are
encouraged to attend this evening to meet your
child’s teacher as final decisions regarding class
placements will be completed by this time. Look for
more information to follow. We look forward to
seeing you there.
School Hours
Our school hours remain the same as in previous
years. We applaud students who are on time for class
and ready to learn! Punctuality is a valuable life skill
and we must do our part to help children learn the
value of punctuality.
8:30
10:20
10:35
11:00
11:30
1:55
3:00
School Starts
Gr. 4-8 Recess
Gr. 1-3 Recess
K Dismissal
Lunch
PM Recess
Dismissal
Professional Development Day
A reminder that there will be NO SCHOOL FOR
STUDENTS on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. The
day will be devoted to reorganization of classes (if
necessary) and for curriculum and faith development
for staff.
Visitors
All visitors of the school are reminded that they must
report to and sign in at the office when first arriving.
Adults in the building who are not staff must wear
identification stickers for safety reasons.
To further ensure the safety of all students and to
minimize the traffic in school hallways at arrival and
dismissal times, we ask that parents meet their children
outside of the school and away from immediate exit
doors. Staff are on duty 15 minutes before the start of
the school day and are ready to receive the children at
this time.
Any student leaving the school during the day due to
appointments, etc, must be signed out at the office.
Please ensure that you send a note in this regard to
your child’s teacher. This safety feature ensures that
the staff is always aware of when and with whom your
child is leaving.
Transportation
JK-Gr.1
1.0 KM
Gr.2-4
1.6 KM
Gr.5-8
2.0 KM
The distance criteria is determined by the DufferinPeel and Peel Boards of Education and apply to all
students. This year we share 7 buses with James
Bolton School. An additional 2 buses transport more
of our students. With the greater efficiencies in
transportation, only those who qualify for busing are
allowed to ride the buses. If there are limited
“courtesy seats”, these will be addressed in October.
Please adhere to the guidelines above and make
alternate arrangements to transport your child if
he/she does not qualify. Seats are limited
Helpful hints:
•Be at the bus stop at least 5 minutes ahead of pick-up.
•follow all directions from the driver, especially when
getting off and on the bus.
•go directly to a seat and stay seated until let off the
bus.
•keep all belongings inside the bus.
•sit quietly at all times. Speak only in conversational
tones.
•No eating on the bus.
Parents of Kindergarten and Grade 1 students
travelling by bus need to be aware that in the interest
of safety, students will be identified for purposes of
ensuring that no child is released from the bus unless
an adult is present to receive them.
school for birthdays or special occasions. There are
many alternatives such as stickers and pencils. All
food treats will be returned for home use..
If there have been any recent changes in addresses
that may affect your child’s transportation ie. change
of address, daycare, etc. please notify the school as
well as transportation at 905-890-6000. Please check
www.stopr.ca for any bussing changes (cancellations,
etc.).
We thank you in advance for your co-operation.
Please remember that only eligible students may take
the bus.
School Council
According to Ontario Regulation 612, elections must
take place at the same time each year- within the first
30 days of each school year. Nomination forms are
available at the office. All parent nominations must
be submitted no later than Friday, September 23
at 4 pm. We welcome and encourage all
Parents/Guardians to participate on the School
Council and become more informed of school
activities and provide input on planned activities. We
will schedule the first School Council meeting for
Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Agendas
Each student in grades 1 through 8 will receive a
school agenda to assist them with the development of
organizational and time management skills and to
facilitate communication between home and school.
We are pleased to announce that once again the
agendas are supported by the school council, thereby
reducing the cost to you. The cost for each agenda is
$5.
Allergy Alert
As we begin a new school year we would like to
inform you that Pope John Paul II is an “allergen
aware school”. There are pupils in attendance who
suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to
certain foods, such as peanut and nut products and/or
milk products. Exposure to the smallest quantities
can cause severe life threatening reactions.
We at PJPII would appreciate the cooperation of the
entire school community by NOT sending any
lunches or snacks that could potentially harm a pupil.
Please make sure that all of your children’s
caregivers are aware of the food restrictions.
Students should be reminded not to share food items.
This year we ask for no food treats to be sent to the
New Playground Structure
Thanks to the hard work of our School Council and
your support, we were able to have a new playground
structure installed over the summer.
This new
structure meets current safety standards. The wood
chips in the area and the plastic frame around the
structure is a great improvement. We hope that the
students will enjoy this new playground safely.
Personal Electronic Devices
Parents and students are reminded of the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic School Board’s policy banning all PEDs.
IPODs, cell phones and digital cameras, will be
confiscated. We thank you in advance for discussing
this expectation with your child and for your support.
These products distract from the learning process and
infringe upon the privacy of others.
Lunch Time Procedures
We will continue to provide a table, writing
instruments and notepaper for parents who are
dropping their child’s lunch off at the school. Please
ensure that your child is aware that his/her lunch is
being dropped off at the school. In the event that your
child is unaware, all students have been instructed to
check the table at the front of the school if they do not
have a lunch or snack. We kindly request your
understanding that we will not interrupt classes to
notify students that their lunch has arrived, as they are
reminded time and again that if they do not have a
lunch or snack, they are to check the lunch table. If
there is no lunch for them, they will then come to the
office and we will contact a parent/guardian.
Reorganization Possible
Each year we begin the school year with classes
based on projected numbers of students provided to
the school by the Planning Department. Despite best
efforts to predict, inevitably, there will need to be
adjustments to meet Ministry class size guidelines. It
is expected that changes may occur at the end of next
week. Please note the September 16th professional
development day may provide time for
reorganization which would be effective as of
Monday, September 20.
PARENTS IN THE SCHOOLYARD
In keeping with Dufferin-Peel School Board Policy,
all visitors to the school must report to the office.
Particularly in the first days of school, it is important
that we all work together to ensure that there are no
adults on school property other than those staff
members who are wearing orange safety vests. You
may be known to your child, but you are a stranger to
other children on the playground. Please make
arrangements to meet your child at a specific
place off of school property at the end of the day.
All students have been told to go to the office or
approach an adult in a vest if they do not see their
parent at the end of the day. By continuing to work
together, we can continue to ensure a safe
environment for your child. Thank you for setting the
example and adhering to this important guideline.
KISS AND RIDE
Our Kiss and Ride ensures a safe arrival for your
child at school while providing convenience of dropoff. It is open at 8:15 every morning. Please adhere to
the posted sign and do not park in the drive thru
lane nor double park in the parking lot. Also,
please do not have your child walk by themselves
through the parking lot as this is a safety concern.
Student Insurance
As required by the Education Act and the Ministry of
Education, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board annually provides parents with information
about cost-effective student accident insurance
coverage via student courier. Although enrolment is
voluntary, the board encourages parents to take
advantage of the inexpensive insurance coverage,
especially if their child/children participate in sports,
excursions/field trips or if parents do not have dental
insurance coverage. Enrolment is required in writing
- there are two options for enrolment:
1) Complete the traditional form and mail it in or
2) Apply On-line at www.insurmykids.com
Emergency Drills
In accordance with Ministry and Board regulations, 3
fire drills and 2 lock-down procedures are conducted at
the school. During a lockdown procedure the bells will
constantly ring inside and outside the school. Please
note at this time only Emergency Personnel are
permitted to enter the school. Practicing these drills is
important for student safety in case a real emergency
occurs. We will continue to prepare students in a
judicious and conscientious manner. For safety
reasons, we ask that students wear proper footwear at
all times.
Green School
Special thanks to our parent volunteer, Mrs. Cardoza,
our school Green Team, Mr. Barnett and all the staff
who contributed to the development of our front
garden. It is a wonderful mixture of flowers, herbs and
vegetables. Special thanks to the care provided over
the summer by Mrs. Cardoza and our custodian, K.
Kennedy-Bourne
Student Monitors
We have been fortunate enough to be allotted funding
for an additional supervisor at lunch time. We appeal
to the community, if there is anyone interested in
helping us by supervising students at lunch, please
contact the office. This is a paid position.
Portable Repairs
We are grateful to the Maintenance Department for
their work on the portables over the summer. All the
portables were inspected and repairs were made as
needed. One of the portables will require extensive
repairs and we are waiting on a decision whether to
make the repairs or bring a new portable on the site. In
the meantime, Mr. MacNeil’s class has been
temporarily accommodated in gym 1.