NEWSLETTER
March 2016
5820 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 5J9
Telephone: (905) 814-9216
Fax: (905) 814-9217
Principal’s Message
Principal
D. Della Rossa
We have had the opportunity to experience winter
in Ontario in a truly unique way. The amount of
snowfall, although a decrease from other years,
continues to decorate our landscape characteristic
of our great Canadian winters. We wish to express
our thanks to Mr. Jones and his continued efforts
with snow removal to support our school community.
Secretary
S. Droy
Superintendent
Mississauga North
T. Cruz
Parish
Merciful Redeemer Parish
Phone: 905-812-0030
Pastor
Fr. Vid Vlasic
Prayer for Lent
Dear God;
During this season of Lent,
May you help us to thank you for
the new life you gave
Associate Pastor
Fr. Scott Birchall
School Council Co-Chairs
Cristina Gouveia
Michelle Martinovic
to our world and to our spirits.
To find your presence around us in the
sparkle of the sunshine,
a word given in encouragement,
and a smile shared in passing.
Trustee
Esther O’Toole
Ward 9 Phone: 905-812-5163
To open our hearts to your call.
Attendance Verification
Phone: 905-814-9216
To have courage to ask for help
Web Site
www.dpcdsb.org/OLMCY
To serve one another with
your loving compassion.
as we journey
and to know when we have gone
off the path.
To remember what Lent is all about
and to turn our lives toward You.
Amen
There is great excitement surrounding our Spirit
Week that will take place March 7th through March
11th. Please see our schedule of events detailed in
the newsletter. We thank the Catholic School Council and all families who will provided staff with an
appreciation dinner for their efforts and dedication
to education of all our students on the evening of
February 4th. We wish to acknowledge the staff,
students and families work in true partnership to
make Catholic education inspirational for our students.
Congratulations to our Grade Twos who celebrated
the Sacrament of First Reconciliation. We wish to
extend a warm thanks to Ms. MacSween for her
great efforts and spirit with Mrs. Rockarts Grade 7/8
class at Our Lady of Mercy School. We will be welcome back Mrs. Rockarts with open arms as she
returns following the March Break.
Lent is a time of growth, penance and prayers. As
we journey, let us use what remains of the forty
days to pray for peace and harmony in our world.
We continue to see many people within our local
communities and around the world, and that continuously need prayers for peace, food and shelter.
We also pray that our students, families and staff
will be able to journey through Lent in good health
and with peace in our hearts. Please join us for the
Stations of the Cross on Thursday, March 24 at 1:15
p.m.
Have a wonderful March Break! We wish everyone
continued prayerful reflection during Lent and a
blessed Easter.
God Bless,
D. Della Rossa
DPCDSB is now on Twitter!
For the latest board news and information, follow us @DPCDSBSchools.
March Break
Monday, March 14th to
Friday, March 18th, 2015
Virtues and Ontario Catholic School
Graduate Expectations
Affirmation:
I am kind.
I look for ways to help others and show I care.
I show kindness to any person or animal I see.
I do all I can to take care of the earth.
I remember that all things have been created by God.
What is Kindness?
Kindness is caring about what happens to others. It
is doing things to make others happy. Being kind is
showing that you care about anyone or anything because everything is a part of what God has made.
Why practice Kindness?
Kindness should be practiced because it brings us
together and celebrates diversity. It is a virtue of inclusion because
kindness is a universal language that everyone understands. When
we are kind to each other, we no longer use hurtful language or
ridicule anyone; this produces a safe environment where everyone
can increase in self-esteem and feel comfortable to participate.
Through the kindness we give and receive, we begin to understand
how we are connected to those around us. Giving and receiving
kindness are vital to our health, harmony, and hope.
A self-directed, responsible life-long
learner
With the support of our Catholic School Advisory Council
our students will partake in a
series of yoga sessions to
support our mindfulness training to become the best life
learners students can be.
Snowball &Ice Throwing
Playing in the snow can be a lot of fun, however the
school has a rule forbidding the throwing of snowballs
and the kicking of snow onto others. Students are constantly reminded of the dangers of throwing / kicking
snow and ice chunks. Students are reminded that this rule
is in place to prevent the injuries of others.
We encourage students to constructively use the snow to
build snowmen or sculptures. Students getting caught
throwing snowballs or ice chunks will receive consequences. Please remind your child(ren) not to throw / kick
snow or ice at school. Thank you for helping us make the
playground a safe place.
Eco School News
OLOM is going GREEN!
The staff and students are working hard to maintain
our Silver ECO-certified status possibly gold ! The
eco-team has organized several initiatives to educate
our school on the importance of conserving energy,
minimizing waste and reducing
plastic water bottle use. Here is
a snapshot of our Eco activities.
TURN IT OFF TUESDAYS
EARTH HOUR takes place on Tuesdays. The entire
school limits their lights and technology use during this
time. Encourage your children to do the same at home
and set an example by turning off electronics.
Lights Off for Earth Hour - March 19th
Millions of people around the world switch off their
lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm (20:30) -9:30(21:30) in
their local times.
Make Earth Hour an event to share with your friends
and family!
We will be participating on Monday, March
20th, from 2:00-3:00P.M.
Remember, ECO stands for:
Environment, Community, One !
Fire and Lockdown Drills
As part of DPCDSB’s safety protocol, every school is
required to hold three fire drills and one lockdown drill
each term in order to familiarize students with procedures to follow in the case of emergency. Our students
have demonstrated excellent skill during these practices.
Are You Moving
At this time, next year’s school population has been
projected at 320 students. As planning has begun with
respect to formulating classes and general school organization for the 2016—2017 school year, please inform the
office as soon as possible if you are planning to move
between now and September 2016. Also, if you have
already moved and not informed the office of your
new address, please do so immediately as our school
records must be accurate at all times.
School Community News
OUR LADY OF MERCY WELCOMES FRENCH IMMERSION
The French Immersion Program at Divine Mercy
Elementary School was established as a Grades 1 to
4 program with Our Lady of Mercy Elementary
School as the sister site that would continue the program for students in Grades 5 to 8. We are excited
to welcome the third group of Grade 5 French Immersion students and families to Our Lady of Mercy
beginning September 2016. The Grade 4s and
Grade 5 French Immersion students shared in a
Friendship Day with the Grade Fours from Divine
Mercy on Friday, February 12th. Our Welcome to
Parent Night for French Immersion will take place
Wednesday, June 1, 2016.
Community Connection
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Catholic Education Week will be the week of May 1st –
6th, 2016.
As always, Catholic Education Week begins on Sunday
to highlight the parish-home-school partnership that
remains the foundation of Catholic education. We are
pleased to announce the theme for 2016 is:
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.” – Matthew 5:7
“Heureux les miséricordieux,
car ils obtiendront miséricorde.” – Matthieu 5,7
The subthemes for Catholic Education Week 2016 are
as follows:
Monday May 2: Mercy that Welcomes
Spirit Week
MARCH 7—11
7
Pyjama Day
9:30 Dufflebag Theatre
8
Wacky Hair Day
9
Crazy Sock Day
10 Yellow & Blue DaySchool-Wide Movie Day
11 Jersey Day &
Staff/Student Volleyball Game(AM)
Intermediate Spring Dance (PM)
Lundi Mai 2: La miséricorde qui accueille
Tuesday May 3: Mercy that Loves
Mardi Mai 3: La miséricorde qui aime
Welcome To Kindergarten Night 6:00-7:00PM
Wednesday May 4: Mercy that Forgives
Mercredi Mai 4: La miséricorde qui pardonne
Sick Kids Walk 9:30 A.M.
Thursday May 5: Mercy that Lives the Gospel
Jeudi Mai 5: La miséricorde qui vit l’Évangile
Friday May 6: Mercy that Rejoices
Yearbook Orders
Vendredi Mai 6: La miséricorde qui rend grâce
“Our Lady of Mercy Yearbook”
If you are interested in purchasing a
yearbook please send in $25.00 cash or
a cheque payable to
“Our Lady of Mercy” as soon as possible!!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4th, 2016
Be “the voice of children” and walk with us during
Catholic Education Week.
Food Allergies & Anaphylaxis
Our Lady of Mercy is an allergen aware school.
There are pupils in attendance who suffer from severe and life threatening allergies to certain foods.
Exposure to the smallest quantities can cause severe
life threatening reactions. Anaphylaxis is a severe
and life threatening allergic reaction. The most common allergen triggers are food, insect stings, medications, exercise, and latex. An anaphylactic reaction
involves symptoms from two or more body systems.
Safety of all our students is paramount.
We at Our Lady of Mercy, would appreciate the cooperation of the entire school community by NOT
sending any lunches or snacks that contain any ingredients identified as food allergens for students in
your child’s class.
Please make sure that all of your children’s caregivers are aware of the food restrictions. We also ask
that you review the letters that were sent home at
the beginning of the school year that spoke to specific allergens in your child’s classroom.
For celebrations, we are once again asking that food
NOT be brought into the school since we cannot
control the ingredients in many baked items.
If you have any questions, please talk to your child’s
teacher or to school staff. Your co-operation in helping to keep all our pupils safe is greatly appreciated.
Our Catholic Heritage
How did separate school boards survive without corporation tax revenues? The separate school trustees
controlled the boards’ budgets with more pupils per classroom than in the public schools, with much lower wages,
with bare-bones programs, with small playgrounds, and
with minimum expenditures for the erection of new
schools. These methods still could not balance their budgets. The main contribution for the survival of separate
schools came from the religious teaching Orders. They
supplied principals and teachers and worked for salaries
of $300 to $600 a year when public school teachers were
earning $3,000 and up. There is no question that Ontario’s Catholics owe today’s separate schools to the religious Orders.
Dates to Remember
March
4 Chess Tournament -(Jr. Team)
7—11 Spirit Week
7
Pyjama Day—9:30 Dufflebag Theatre
8
Wacky Hair Day
9
Crazy Sock Day
10 Yellow and Blue Day—School-Wide Movie Day
11 Jersey Day &
Staff /Student Volleyball Game(AM)
Intermediate Spring Dance (PM)
14-18 March Break
19
Earth Hour 2:00-3:00 p.m.
23
Rosary Apostolate Visit
24
Stations of the Cross—1:15 p.m.
25
Good Friday - School Closed
27
Happy Easter
28
Easter Monday - School Closed
29
Youth Education Officer Visits Gr. 5s and 6s
30
Grad Photos—SK and Grade 8 students
Spring Photos
31
Hot Dog Day
April
4 and 5—Yoga Classes Begin
6
School Council Meeting 6:30 p.m.
10
Confirmation 3:00P.M. @ Merciful Redeemer
13
Team and Club Photos
19
Yoga Session #2
20
Pro Grant Parent Evening 6:30-7:30P.M.
23
First Communion 5:00P.M. at Merciful Redeemer
27
Rosary Apostolate Visits
28
Hot Dog Day
May
May 1—6 Catholic Education Week
3
Welcome to Kindergarten 6-7PM
10
Yoga Session #3
13
P.A. Day
18
School Council Meeting-6:30 p.m.
23
Victoria Day-No School
25 to June 8 EQAO Gr. 3 and 6 Testing