September 2014
Prayer for a New School Year
35 Black Oak Drive
Brampton, ON
L6R 1B9
Ph.: 905-458-7080
Fax: 905-458-1657
Principal
R. Pazzelli
Dear Lord, as we begin this new school year, we gather once again as your community of
believers. We thank you for the energy and the spirit that you renewed in us through the
summer months. We thank you for the time to enjoy our family and friends and to reflect on
what is important in our lives. Let this year be marked by enthusiasm and love so that,
with the inspiration of your Spirit, we may continue to grow in our faith. Help us
to fulfill your hope for us with honest intentions and works of faith. Let us be
gentle with ourselves and bring laughter, joy and love to others.
We ask this in your name. Amen
Vice-Principal
A. Fiore
Principal’s Message…
Head Secretary
P. Giuliano
I am very excited to be the Principal of Our Lady of Providence School! I have already
experienced how dynamic and welcoming the Staff and Community has been!
Assistant Secretary
R. Reda
On behalf of the Our Lady of Providence staff, I would like to welcome you back and I hope
that you and your family had an opportunity to enjoy a relaxing summer. I would also like to
take this opportunity to welcome new students and their families to our school. I’m sure you
will find the entire OLOP staff, students and parents to be very welcoming.
Superintendent
L. Storey
905–890–1221
Trustee
S. McLauchlan
905–890-1221
Parish
St. Marguerite
d’Youville
2490 Sandalwood
Parkway East,
Brampton
905-792-8049
Pastors
Fr. R. Mignella
Fr. R. Tolentino
School Council CoChairs
K. Cespite
L. Alonzi
School Website:
www.dpcdsb.org/PR
OVI
Each school year brings new and wonderful opportunities to make a difference in the lives of
your children. The staff at Our Lady of Providence School remains committed to the education
of the whole child; spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, physical as well as hands-on active
learning in which your child’s individual needs, strengths and interests are addressed.
In order to keep you informed of events at the school, you will be receiving a monthly enewsletter (or hard copy – letter included) the first week of every month. You can also visit
our website which will be updated regularly.
If you have any concerns about your child(ren), please contact the teacher immediately to
discuss them. A phone call at the onset of a concern usually resolves it before it becomes a
problem. On our part, if we have any concerns about your child, we will also contact you at
the earliest opportunity. Ms Fiore and I have an Open Door Policy, so please do not hesitate to
come in and introduce yourself or to bring concerns/suggestions forward.
I wish each of you a year filled with rewarding opportunities and look forward to the blessings
that Our Lady of Providence students will experience.
Wishing everyone a wonderful school year!
R. Pazzelli
Principal
Our Lady of Providence
Growing in God’s Loving Care
Beginning in October, newsletters will be distributed to the youngest or only
child of each family.
1
SEPTEMBER – VIRTUE OF FAITH
STAFFING / SCHOOL ORGANIZATION:
To begin the new school year, we’ll focus our attention
on the first of our virtues - Faith. Faith is the great virtue
of believing in God and trusting that God is with us.
The beginning of each school year is
always marked by unexpected changes
which require all of us to be understanding,
accommodating and flexible.
The September school organization is based on projected
enrolment prepared by the Board’s Planning
Department. Such enrolment projection determines the
number of teachers assigned to the school and
consequently, the grade and class configurations.
In the event that student enrolment falls below or above
projections, an adjustment to the number of teachers
assigned to the school follows, which may affect the
placement of your child.
A faithful person believes that we are created, guided by
and destined to be reunited with God.
A faithful person believes that God’s plan for us
includes the right to be safe, especially at school.
A Faithful person…
 Prays regularly and reverently
 Learns from Scripture stories
 Honours people’s God-given names
 Assumes that there is good in everyone
 Accepts the God-given worth of themselves and
others
Staffing and student class placements are now in
place.
Please refer to the attached Staff List, 2014-2015.
SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION:
SCHOOL HOURS:
FIRST COMMUNION and RECONCILIATION –
GRADE 2 STUDENTS
An Information Meeting and Registration will be held on
Monday, September 29 or Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 7:00
p.m. at the church.
8:45 a.m.
10:45 – 11:00 .
11:45 – 12:45 p.m.
2:00 – 2:15 p.m.
3:15 p.m.
CONFIRMATION – GRADE 8 STUDENTS
An Information Meeting and Registration will be held on
Monday, September 22 or Wednesday, September 24
at 7:00 p.m. at the church. If your child will be
confirmed you must attend one of these meetings.
SAFE SCHOOLS INITIATIVES:
Please refer to the attached document regarding
additional Liturgical Calendar Dates.
VOLUNTEERS - CRIMINAL REFERENCE
CHECK:
We are pleased to welcome our volunteers for another
year to supporting learning in our school. We appreciate
their commitment & support and look forward to a great
year!
The DPCDSB has implemented changes to their
Criminal Reference Check / Declaration Form
procedure. In accordance with the Safe Schools Act,
all volunteers, including those going on one day
school trips, must have a Criminal Reference Check.
Criminal Reference Checks
Anyone working in our school as a new employee or
volunteer must have a Criminal Reference Check
completed by the Peel Police. CRC are free of charge
for volunteers. Forms will be available from the office.
Start Bell – school begins
Morning Recess
Lunch
Afternoon Recess
Dismissal
a) Before School Hours Supervision
For your child’s safety, we request that he/she not be on
school property until supervision begins at 8:30 a.m.
b) Front Door Entry
Our school is now equipped with a front
door speaker/buzzer/video monitoring
system. The installation of this system
has allowed us to enhance the safety and
security of students and staff by locking
the front doors after classes begin.
This change in access to our school
requires a new access protocol that will
apply to all visitors, including parents and guardians.
c) Attendance and Punctuality
All students are expected to attend school regularly and
punctually. In the event that your child will be late or
absent, please call the school and follow the prompts to
leave a message.
This can be done 24 hours a day. For students who are
absent and for whom a call is not received, we will
attempt to contact you.
Growing in God’s Loving Care
2
PLEASE CALL: 905-458-7080
TRANSPORTATION 2014-2015
Please leave the following information:
Transportation is provided to students who meet the
guidelines as follows:




Date of the absence
Student’s full name
Grade level and teacher
Reason for absence
Kindergarten and Grade one students who live 1.0 km
from the school
Grades 2-4 who live 1.6 km from school
All students who arrive after 8:45 a.m. or 12:45 p.m.
must obtain a Late Slip.
The safety of all the children is our shared concern
and priority.
e) School Driveway
We respectfully ask that drivers refrain
from stopping or parking in the Drive
– Thru Lane in front of the school.
This area is a FIRE ROUTE and fines
for a violation are high. Stopped or
parked cars also create a safety
hazard.
f) Catholic Code of Conduct
The Catholic Code of Conduct can be found in the front
of your child’s agenda. Please review this information
with your child/children. Behaviour and school
expectations will be reviewed with all students at our
divisional assemblies.
g) Respect for Self, Respect for Others
As a staff, we continue to work
together to provide example and
consistency in modeling Jesus’
message to our students. We will assist
and remind students of the importance
of being respectful and working together to create a safe,
caring, inclusive community.
COMMUNICATION:
Open communication between home
and school is very important. Although
we will be reporting to you formally during the year,
please do not hesitate to contact us at any time if you
have questions or concerns. A phone call at the onset of
a concern usually resolves itself before it becomes a
problem.
On our part, if we have any concerns about your child,
we will also contact you at the earliest opportunity.
Please use your child’s Agenda to maintain
communication with the teacher. If you wish to meet
with a teacher please phone the school for an
appointment. Thank you!
Grade 5-8 students who live 2.0 km from school.
Please visit the following website to determine bussing
eligibility for your children. www.stopr.ca.
There are a number of features on that website, the most
important being “Am I Eligible for Transportation?”
Should you find that your child is eligible for
transportation, route information will be posted on the
site, as well as at the front of the school.
COURTESY SEATING
A limited number of seats are available
for students who are ineligible for bussing.
If the number of applicants exceeds the number of
available spots, criteria are taken into consideration, such
as age of the student and distance of home address from
the school.
Application forms are available in the main office.
We will inform applicants in October, after the
Thanksgiving weekend, as to whether a seat can be
provided.
LUNCH POLICY:
Please be reminded that the lunch hour is from 11:45
p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Where children stay for lunch, they
will eat with their classmates and remain on school
property.
Students eat lunch daily from 11:45 p.m. until 12:05
p.m. If you are delivering your child’s lunch to school,
please do so between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. When
lunches are delivered late, it reduces the amount of time
that students have to eat. Please also write your child’s
name on his/her lunch bag and place it on the table by
front entrance. Thank you for your support.
For safety reasons, if a student is going home for lunch,
a written request signed and dated in your child’s
agenda or a separate note from you is required for
each occurrence, unless you have indicated that your
child goes home every day.
Growing in God’s Loving Care
3
PEANUT AND OTHER LIFE THREATENING
ALLERGIES – SABRINA’S LAW
ANAPHYLAXIS REACTION:
As we begin the new school year, we would
like to inform you that Our Lady of Providence
School is an allergen aware school. There are pupils in
attendance at our school who suffer from severe and life
threatening allergies to certain foods, such as peanut and
nut products.
Exposure to the smallest quantities can cause severe and
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.
We would appreciate the cooperation of the entire school
community by NOT sending any lunches or snacks that
contain peanuts/nut products. We want Our Lady of
Providence to be a safe environment for all students.
Thank you for your assistance with this initiative.
If your child has been diagnosed with this allergy and
you have not notified the school, please do so
immediately. There are forms that must be
completed.
A written communication will be sent to the parents of
children notifying them of the nature of a life threatening
allergy when it is specific to their child’s classroom.
Your continued cooperation in support of our efforts to
create a safe and healthy learning environment for all is
greatly appreciated!
HOMEWORK POLICY:
Please refer to your child’s agenda that outlines the
Board’s Homework Policy. It is also available on our
website.
VALUABLES, PERSONAL ELECTRONIC
DEVICES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY (PED
POLICY:)
Students are requested not to bring
valuables, items of importance or money
to school. The school does not accept
responsibility for the above. Every
effort will be made to help students find missing items.
Personal items should be marked with your child’s
name.
Cell phones are not to be used on school property. This
rule applies to students and parents.
STUDENT DRESS CODE:
Board Policy states that all
students are expected to dress
in clean, neat and practical
attire. Appropriate attire is the
criterion for acceptable dress
that most often reflects our
attitude toward any given situation. The expectation here
is that we avoid such recreational wear such as tank tops,
halter tops, muscle shirts, tube tops, spaghetti straps,
short shorts, cut offs, hats/headgear, wallet chains and
shirts with inappropriate logos/symbols.
Please do not send birthday
snacks / cakes / treats into the school.
There are many alternatives such as
stickers and pencils.
The items are contrary to both the philosophy of our
Catholic schools and the standards that we set as parents
and educators.
We appreciate the cooperation of the entire school
community. We want Our Lady of Providence Catholic
School to be a safe environment for all students.
All students are reminded to have sports equipment and
after school arrangements made prior to coming to
school each day. The school phone is to be used for
emergency purposes only.
MEDICAL CONCERNS:
STUDENT VERIFICATION FORMS:
If your son / daughter has any medical
concerns, please ensure that you inform
the school. Information may be shared directly with
the classroom teacher / office. If medication is required,
forms will be sent for completion by parents and the
family doctor. All information is held in confidence.
Student Verification Forms for each child has been sent
home. All forms should be returned to the appropriate
classroom teacher by no later than Friday, Sept. 19.
This information will help us to update our records. We
ask you to return this form even those which have
correct information.
USE OF TELEPHONES:
Growing in God’s Loving Care
4
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE FORMS:
LUNCH/MILK PROGRAM:
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.
We have started our milk program again
this year. We will announce over the PA when we will
start selling milk (chocolate and 2% white) at lunch time
(11:45 – 12:00 pm) every day for $1.00.
We will commence our lunch program soon
with Pizza Depot and Mr. Sub. Keep a look
out for order forms coming home soon.
We will also post the information on our
website. www.dpcdsb.org/PROVI
You may purchase coverage for your child at
www.insuremykids.com or by calling toll free at
1-800-463-KIDS (5437). Please direct your question to
a Reliable Life Insurance Representative
BAR-B-QUE AND OPEN HOUSE:
The Our Lady of Providence Bar-b-que and Open House
will take place on Thursday, September 25, 2014.
Order forms to request hamburgers or hot dogs have
gone home.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL:
Communication between home and school is greatly
enhanced by parental involvement with the Catholic
School Council. All parents/guardians are encouraged to
come out to meetings and participate.
The aim of the Catholic School Council is to promote
the vision, values, sacramental life and Catholic
practices of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board and the Catholic community it serves and to
advise the principal and the Board.
Catholic School Council Elections:
According to Ontario Regulation 612, School Council
elections must take place within the first thirty days of
each school year.
Nomination Forms are available at the office.
All parent nominations must be submitted by Friday,
September 26, 2014 at 4:00 p.m.
We encourage all parents to consider running for School
Council. It is a great opportunity to get involved in the
school community.
Our first Catholic School Council Meeting will take
place on Monday, September 30, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
beginning with elections.
The Bar-b-que takes place from 5:30 – 6:15 pm.
The Open House (when classes are available for visits)
takes place from 6:15 – 7:45 pm.
This event is a wonderful way to meet other members of
the school community, teachers, administration, parents
and students alike.
School Council will also host a recruitment table for
Nominations for membership in our Catholic School
Council. Please consider nominating yourself!
TERRY FOX RUN:
Our Lady of Providence Catholic School Terry Fox
Walk will take place on Wednesday, September 24,
2014.
We will walk around the school. While this event is a
fun day for students, it is also an important occasion to
focus on the ongoing efforts of many to continue the
research that leads to better treatments, a cure and to
maintain student awareness.
Thank you for your support! More information will
follow.
Growing in God’s Loving Care
5
PICTURE DAY:
The school photographer is
LIFETOUCH.
Photographs of students will take place on
Friday, October 3, 2014.
All JK to Grade 8 students will have their photo taken in
the morning or afternoon.
For the latest board news and information, follow us
@DPCDSBSchools.
In an effort to help protect our environment and
reduce the amount of paper that we use at our
school, we have implemented a process where
families can receive their monthly newsletters and
other information through e-mail.
Should you wish to receive newsletters and other
school information via e-mail, please ensure that
you have returned the ‘CANADA’S ANTI-SPAM
LEGISLATION (CASL) CONSENT FORM’
provided to you on the first day of school this year.
This form is also attached with this Newsletter
should you require it.
ATTACHMENTS:
LIBRARY NEWS:
If your child should happen to be absent that day,
picture retakes will take place on: Wednesday,
November 12, 2014.
DPCDSB is now on Twitter!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Child and Family Services Letter
Parent Information Night re: International Student
Program
Staff List, 2014-2015
Liturgical Calendar Dates
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation Consent Form
OPEN HOUSE & Bar-b-que Invitation
School Council Nomination Form
DATES TO REMEMBER:
September
12
22 or 24
23
24
25
25
26
26
29
30
PA Day – no school
Confirmation Information Night (7:00)
Freedom Day Event, for Intermediates
Terry Fox Walk
Freedom Day (Gr.7-8 students)
Bar-b-que and OPEN HOUSE at 5:30
& 6:15
OPENING MASS at 10:00 am
Final Day for Submission of School
Council Nominations
Reconciliation + First Communion
Info Night
School Council Meeting @ 7:00
October
1
2
3
9
10
13
23
23
Reconciliation + First Communion Info
Night
Kick-Off Assembly for QSP Fundraising
Picture Day
School Council Chairs Meeting
Confirmation Retreat (Gr. 8)
Thanksgiving Monday
Hep B, Mennigococcal & HPV Clinic
Information evening re: Int. Baccalaureate
Hello everyone and Happy New School Year! I would
like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My
name is Heather Sheehy and I am the Teacher-Librarian
here at Our Lady of Providence School. I am very
excited at the prospect of working with your children
again this school year.
Students will soon be checking out library books. If they
are young enough, please consider taking time to read
their library books together. If your children are readers,
you may wish instead to ask them about what they are
reading. Please encourage your child to return their
books on time and in good condition. A reminder that
with wet weather children must take extra care of their
library books. Books damaged by water are more prone
to tears and end up discarded.
In October, the Ontario Library Association will release
their list of nominated titles for the 2015 Forest of
Reading Awards. We will place our order for these
books as soon as those lists are made public. In
December, students will be invited to consider whether
or not they wish to participate. In January, students in
Grades 4 to 8 will be offered the chance to participate in
these voluntary reading programs. They run during the
lunch hour and the format is similar to an adult book
club. The Blue Spruce Book Award for kindergarten to
Grade 3 students is run during class time.
A huge and heartfelt thank you goes out to the many
families who have donated gently loved books to our
school library over the summer. As we move into fall,
should you come across books no longer being used in
your home remember that they will always be welcome
here, assuming they are in great condition.
I look forward to meeting you at the Open House in
September if not before.
Growing in God’s Loving Care
6
Growing in God’s Loving Care
7
Growing in God’s Loving Care
8