The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
Phone: 905-455-1001 Fax: 905-455-3406
Principal: D. Furlong
Vice-Principal: P. Krolewski
Secretary: A. Mijandrusic
Parish: St. Jerome Church
Pastor: Fr. Jan Kolodynski
905-455-4260
Superintendent: G. Prajza - 905-890-1221
Trustee: T. Da Silva - 905-459-7089
Gracious and merciful
God of all creation, during this season of hope, we remember how you sent your Son to be a beacon of goodness and light in the world.
Give us eyes of hope to see the good in everything and everyone around us.
Give us the grace and strength to be beacons of hope and light for all who enter this school.
May the virtue of hope guide our decisions for the service of all your people.
We ask this in the name of
Jesus, your Son, who lived to show us your way.
Amen.
This month, we celebrate the virtue of hope .
God has given us this Advent season, year after year, in order to focus our minds and our hearts on the good all around us.
We are reminded that God chose to send his Son to us because we are worth it. God knows how great we can be when we all come together.
When we look at the world through the eyes of God we see it becoming more and more like the reign of God that Jesus describes.
People of Hope …
 keep up a positive attitude
 can bounce back from tough situations
 set and stick to their goals
 see the good in others even when they make mistakes
 work to include others
 let others know that they are good people
Let us pray for the grace and courage to be people of hope – people who can see, participate in, and contribute to God’s goodness emerging around us.

CHRISTMAS SHOE BOX GIFT
Thank you to all the students and families who generously donated a Christmas shoe box filled with wonderful items and lots of love for a child in a developing country.
The Youth Faith Ambassadors, parents, and staff delivered these Christmas shoe boxes to
Dr. Simone’s warehouse on Friday, December
12 th . The students had an opportunity to meet and speak with Dr. Simone. “The Canadian
Food for Children ” will ensure the boxes are delivered to children in poor villages.
HAT & MITTEN TREE
Thank you to all parents and students who have made donations to The Hat & Mitten Tree in the front hallway. These new items will be delivered to The St. Vincent de Paul Society for distribution to needy children in the Peel region.
SCHOOL ADVENT MASS
Thank you to the students and teachers in the
Primary Division for preparing the prayerful
School Advent Mass. The choir was amazing! It was great to see some parents and younger siblings join us. Thank you to Father Jan for celebrating this Mass and helping us to prepare our hearts for Jesus at Christmas
Thank you to all our big and small elves who prepared and distributed the candy grams to the students. ShareLife is a worthy charity as it helps many families in need.
PRIMARY CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Thank you to all the primary students and the choir members (grades 3 to 8) for the great job they did performing at the Christmas concert.
Thank you to the stage crew and M.C.’s
A special thank you to the staff for planning, organizing and preparing the students during this very busy season: Applause to S. Muzzatti,
T. Berry, M. Schaus, M. Nichols, M. DeSouza,
A. Prlic, A.M. Henry, T. Passarelli, A. Mayer,
L. Stott and T. Gutt.
Thank you to all the staff, parents and grandparents for your wonderful support. The
Gym was full! The non-perishable food items you donated will be delivered to the food bank.
LOST AND FOUND
Please remind your children to check the Lost and Found Box for their personal clothing. Items not claimed will be given to the St. Vincent de
Paul Society.
Please remember to label your child’s hats, mitts, boots, jackets, snow pants, etc.
THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT CONTINUES
Tuesday:
“OCEANS ALIVE” Presentation
Thank you to the School Council for sponsoring these two wonderful presentations for the students.
Junior Craft Day
Wednesday:
Primary Craft Day
Mr. Connelly’s Class’ Bake Sale
Students plan to donate funds to the local food bank
Thursday:
Movie Day
A contribution of $1.00 will go towards ShareLife
Friday:
FLANNEL PAJAMA DAY
Last school day prior to holidays
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
Saturday, December 20 th to Sunday,
January 4 th . Students return to school on Monday, January 5, 2009.
LATE ARRIVALS - The school day starts at
8:30 a.m.
Please make every effort to have your child arrive on time. It is important to establish good habits. Punctuality is a life skill.
Students arriving after 8:35 a.m. will be asked to respectfully wait outside the front door during the playing of our national anthem and morning prayers , approximately 2 ½ to 3 minutes. The front door will then be opened.
INDOOR SHOES - Students need a pair of dry shoes or slippers to wear inside the classrooms.
Wearing wet outdoor boots or shoes can cause a slipping hazard for all students in the classroom.

EXTENDED FRENCH INFORMATION
MEETING
Grade 4 parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child in a grade 5 Extended French class for September 2009, are invited to attend an information meeting at:
St. Monica School
60 Sterritt Dr. ; Brampton
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
7:00 p.m.
SK parents/guardians , who wish to enroll their child in a grade 1 French Immersion class for
September, 2009 are invited to attend an information meeting at:
St. Joachim School
435 Rutherford Rd. North; Brampton
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
7:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION
Please notify the school at 905-455-1001, before
8:30 a.m., if your child is going to be late or absent. Pauline Vanier’s answering machine is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This will save Mrs. Mijandrusic, our school secretary, many hours of phone calls to ensure your children are safe.
SCHOOL YARD SAFETY
Please review our school yard expectations for all students:
We respect everyone – our friends, adults, our neighbours, and our neighbour’s property.
We play non-contact games (hands-off).
We use appropriate language.
We remain on school property at all times.
We try to resolve our disagreements by talking with each other. We can ask an adult for help.
Snow, ice, rocks, sand remain on the ground
Please re-enforce these expectations with your children.
LUNCH HOUR SUPERVISOR
Beginning in January, Pauline Vanier School will require one more Lunch Hour Supervisor . If you are interested, please contact the school office.
Paid work hours are: Monday to Friday
11:20 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.
READING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Do you have one half hour a week to share the gift of time?
Would you like to make a difference in the life of a child?
Are you interested in reading to younger students and/or listening to them read to you?
Consider volunteering in the All Star Reading
Program at our school.
Please contact the school office and leave your name and phone number.
FUNDRAISER SUBCOMMITTEE
The School Council would like to form a subcommittee of interested parents to explore various fundraising opportunities and to make recommendations to the Council.
If you would like to help, please contact the office and leave your name.
JOE RICH PRESENTATION
“Parenting – The Long Journey – “What to Pack”
This presentation will take place on Thursday,
February 12, 2009 at the Mississauga
Convention Centre. Refer to the flyer (pink sheet) for more information. Submit your request for tickets early.
QSP MAGAZINES
Thank you for supporting this fundraiser. Should you have any questions regarding magazines ordered, please contact the QSP Customer
Service Phone number 1-800-667-2536 and/or www.qsp.ca
. Our Group ID # is 16609.
Orders can be placed on-line all year long.