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St. Richard Catholic School
7270 Copenhagen Road
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 2C3
Tel: (905) 826-5572
Fax: (905) 826-9564
LOVE ∙ FAITH ∙ KINDNESS ∙ HOPE
www.dpcdsb.org/RICHA
Principal
D. Tucciarone
Head Secretary
G. Falotico
Parish
St. John of the Cross
(905) 821-1331
Pastors:
Rev. Fr. Joseph Kalluvila
Associate Pastor:
Rev. Fr. Felix Antony
Rev. Fr. Sebastian Joseph
E-mail:
stjohnofx@rogers.com
Superintendent,
Mississauga North:
T. Cruz
(905) 890-0708
February/March, 2016 Newsletter
A Lenten Prayer
Good and Gracious God,
You call your people back to you this Lent.
May this sacred season renew our desire to fully live the
promises of our Baptism and to love You with a whole heart
through more frequent prayer, acts of charity and fasting.
May we remember that loving You and one another
Is the most important thing we can do.
In confidence, we ask these things through Jesus Christ
our Lord and Saviour.
Amen.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our Youth Faith Ambassadors, Adult
Faith Ambassadors, Gather Club and ShareLife Committee members who will be
working hard to maintain St. Richard’s dedication to ShareLife and our commitment to
almsgiving during the Lenten season. They will be organizing a number of activities and
collectively we will truly make a difference! Thank you in anticipation once again for
your contributions throughout this Lenten Season and for encouraging your children to
participate in such a worthy cause this Lenten season.
MARCH 14th – MARCH 18th
Trustee
E. O’Toole
Wards Nine and Ten
(905) 812-5163
(Schools are closed)
School Council Chair
A. Green
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Board Chairperson
M. Pascucci
Director of Education
M. Mazzorato
School Website
www.dpbdsb.org/RICHA
MARCH BREAK
Sunday, March 13th, 2016
Set your clocks ahead by one hour before going to bed on
Saturday, March 12th, 2016.
Friday, March 25th, 2016 – GOOD FRIDAY
(Schools are closed)
Monday, March 28th, 2016 – EASTER MONDAY
(Schools are closed)
A MONTH OF VIRTUES: Respect
During the month of February we will focus on the
virtue of respect. God has given us the virtues of
friends and companions to keep us company and to help
us out along the way. Every person in our lives carries
the Spirit of God – and so every person is our brother
or sister through Jesus Christ. As brothers and sisters
who share one Holy Spirit, we are all valuable to God.
We all deserve to be shown courtesy, consideration,
sensitivity and thoughtfulness, which are different ways
of saying respect. That respect should come first and
foremost from ourselves.
We have to respect
ourselves and then we will be able to respect others.
We should also be able to expect to be treated with
respect by everyone we meet – our brothers and
sisters in Jesus.
can get better at showing kindness to everyone we
meet.
A kind person …
 Says nice things about others so they feel
good about themselves
 Sticks up for people who are picked on or
need help
 Refuses to join others who are insulting,
intimidating, mean or hurtful
 Watches and looks for ways to help those in
need
Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at
respecting ourselves as well as respecting those around
us.
A respectful person…
 Treats him/herself and everyone else with
equal consideration and courtesy
 Uses a positive tone of voice and body
language
 Avoids swearing, name-calling, put-downs,
and inappropriate gestures
 Says ‘Excuse me’, ‘Please’, ‘Pardon me’
 Avoids gossip
(All virtues information is included in the front
pages of your child’s school agenda book.)
ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS PARISH
DAILY MASS SCHEDULE
DURING LENT
Monday through Saturday at 9AM
Friday at 7PM – Stations of the
Cross followed by Mass
Confessions:
Saturday – 4:00PM to 4:45PM
A MONTH OF VIRTUES: Kindness
During the month of March we celebrate the virtue of
kindness. God has given us the gifts of friends and
companions to keep us company and to help us out
along the way. Every person in our lives carries the
Spirit of God – and so every person is our brother or
sister through Jesus Christ. As brothers and sisters who
share one Holy Spirit, we are all valuable to God. We
all deserve to be shown concern for our welfare and
our feelings. We have all been given the fruit of the
Spirit called kindness. Kindness can only be seen
through actions. Through prayer and concentration, we
SPECIAL EUCHARISTIC
CELEBRATION
Wednesday evenings at 7PM
To contact the Parish Rectory, please call
(905)821-1331.
LENT IN A CATHOLIC SCHOOL
GATHER CLUB
As Catholics, we observe Lent, the forty day period before
Easter that began this year on Ash Wednesday, February
10th, 2016.
During Lent, we imitate Jesus who spent forty days in the
desert in prayer and fasting before beginning His public
ministry. Observing Lent helps to cultivate the spiritual
discipline of making personal sacrifices, reminding us of the
importance of spiritual truths over earthly goods. As we
approach Easter, it is fitting that we meditate on the
serious subjects of the sacrifice that Jesus made to save us
from eternal death and separation from God. He willingly
and single-mindedly embarked on His mission to teach the
Good News and to die on the cross as the ultimate and
lasting sacrifice for our sins – the sacrifice that God
required.
This may be a good time to think about the blessings we
have and about the frivolous things we tend to hold onto.
It may be a good time to give up something we enjoy, or,
to do something that we find difficult, as a reminder of the
true meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice. We can also think of a
Lenten promise we wish to make. Most of all, we can
strive to do good to others as Jesus did to the many
people He met along His journey. It seems that God is
more interested in a sacrifice of the heart than in the
things we give up for Lent. Let us find out more about
what is right in God’s eyes, by reading the Bible regularly,
especially with our children.
The Grade 1 to 5 students involved in the Gather Club
continue to work diligently to promote community and
help those in need. Our parents and students were
very generous and overwhelmingly supported our Toys
for Tots “Cram” A Cruiser campaign. We want to
show you just how successful our campaign was
through your very generous support, so we have
included some photos for you of just how “crammed”
the cruiser was!
Once again, our Gather Club
Members thank our very generous St. Richard students,
parents, friends and staff for generously supporting all of
our efforts to make a difference in the lives of others.
OUR LENTEN JOURNEY…Things Families
Can Do In Their Homes
 Pray the Stations of the Cross
 Read, meditate, contemplate or pray
 Perform an act of mercy, try and make it an
unexpected one (try to do this every day during Lent)
 Attend Mass on Sunday
 Be kind and think: What would Jesus do? (WWJD)
 Put five pennies in one pocket and try to compliment
five people during the day. As you do, transfer one of
the pennies to your other pocket.
YOUTH FAITH AMBASSADORS LENTEN
LITURGIES
Under the direction of and with the support from Mrs.
Pereira, our student Youth Faith Ambassadors prepare
and run a Lenten Liturgy every Wednesday morning
during the Lenten Season. This Lenten Liturgy takes
place in our front foyer, on Wednesdays during Lent at
9:55AM, at the beginning of our morning recess. All
students are invited to participate in the Lenten
Liturgies. Thank you to Mrs. Pereira for providing our
students with the opportunity to take a leadership role
in expressing our Catholic Faith during this special
church season.
Thank you to Mrs. Lesniewski for continuing to
providing our students in Grades 1 to 5 with these
opportunities to live their faith, to be of service and to
make a difference in our community and beyond!
Our St. Richard parents, students, friends, staff and
Gather Club Members make a difference…
COLD WEATHER REMINDERS
We ask that all students come to school with a warm
winter coat, winter boots, hats, mittens/ gloves, a
scarf/neckwarmer and snowpants. In accordance with
school Board Policy and Peel Health regulations, only
when the weather reaches -25 degrees Celsius, or
colder, will students remain indoors.
When the
weather temperature ranges between -20 and -24
degrees Celsius, students will remain outdoors for the
15 minutes recesses, as well as 20 minutes during the
lunch hour. Please ensure that your child comes to
school prepared for the outdoor winter weather.
ATTENDANCE VERIFICATION
Cold and Flu season are here. We need your help in
making our attendance verification work efficiently.
Please call the school office at (905) 826-5572 ext
#1. Leave a detailed message when reporting student
absences – including your child’s first and last name,
grade, teacher’s name and reason for absence. We have
voice mail available 24 hours a day for your
convenience. A note to the classroom teacher
explaining the absence is expected upon the student’s
return to school.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETINGS
All
parents/guardians
are
welcome to join us at our next
School
Council
meeting
scheduled for Wednesday,
March 2nd, 2016 at 6:30PM.
The meeting will be held in our
school library.
Dates for
upcoming meetings are April
6th, and May 11th. Everyone is
welcome to attend these meetings.
All meetings begin at 6:30PM and are held in our school
library.
Come on out and learn about what is
happening at St. Richard.
INAPPROPRIATE USE OF CELL PHONES
Parents/Guardians are reminded
that students should not be
receiving phone calls or text
messages to their cell phones
during the school day. This is
inappropriate use of Personal
Electronic
Devices
and
contradicts the contract that all
students and parents signed
giving the student permission to bring and use their
personal electronic device (PED) at school – when
invited to do so by a staff member and under that staff
member’s supervision. If parents/guardians need to get
a message to their child, please contact the school office
and we will relay the message to your child. In addition,
students have access to a telephone in the main office if
required. Inappropriate use of Personal Electronic
Devices at school may result in the removal of the PED,
discipline, suspension, loss of privileges, and/or police
involvement.
Please refer to the student norms/rules for use of
Personal Electronic Devices at School which is attached
to this newsletter.
Thank you for your continued support.
STUDENTS ARRIVING LATE TO SCHOOL
A reminder to all parents/guardians
and students that all students are
expected to come to school every
day and on time.
It is very
important that students arrive to
school on time and are ready to
learn, as late arrivals disrupt
instructional activities and classroom routines.
School begins at 8:30AM. Students should be at school
with enough time to line up outside of their entry doors
with their classmates and enter the school with their
class when the bell rings. Students who are consistently
late interrupt and disrupt their class during lessons,
create delays in the office and set poor examples for
those who do arrive to school on time. Punctuality is a
necessary life skill that if practiced now, will be
beneficial in the future. Arriving early or promptly for
your day at work enables you to compose yourself and
ease gently into your environment.
Please note: parents/guardians of students who are
habitually late may be contacted by the Principal, as
well, the Child and Youth Worker and/or our school
Attendance Counsellor / Social Worker may be
involved in order to provide assistance in correcting
these late arrivals.
Please help us to teach your
children
the
value
of
promptness.
Their education
depends on it!
STUDENT SAFETY – CHANGES TO
PARKING
LOT
ACCESS
DURING
STUDENT DROP-OFF/PICK-UP TIMES
The school parking lot is not supervised before school
or after school – our busiest times when students are
being dropped off at school and/or picked up from
school. To ensure the safety of our students, we have
been restricting access to our school parking lot and
request parents/guardians driving children to school use
the supervised Kiss and Ride area, or, park on the
street and walk children, using the designated crossing
areas in front of the school, to safely escort children to
the designated drop-off areas. Your support has been
overwhelming and we are so grateful for your
understanding and support in keeping our students safe!
Thank you!
KISS AND RIDE PROCEDURES
To ensure the safety of our students we require all
parents using the Kiss and Ride area to follow the
procedures outlined below:

Use the Kiss and Ride lane to
drop off or pick up your child.
(Never
leave
your
car
unattended in the Kiss and Ride
Lane – it is against the law and
you may be ticketed.)

Do not use the drive-thru lane for dropping off or
picking up children

Move up the Kiss and Ride lane as far as possible
to maximize the number of cars using the
program

Do not get out of your car and do not back up

Students must exit the car using the passenger
side doors only (the side closest to the sidewalk)
WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED!

The driver then signals to get into the
drive- thru lane (on the left) to exit
Please follow staff directions when you are asked to
move up, drive away, etc.
The staff and faculty of St. Richard Catholic School
appreciate you following these procedures. We thank
you for your cooperation and continued patience as we
work together to ensure the safety of all students using
the Kiss and Ride program, all students walking to
school, as well as all of our bus students.
Please
remember
that
student safety supersedes
parents’ convenience. Staff
members are on duty to
ensure that our students
are safe. If you have
concerns or suggestions about our Kiss and
Ride procedures, please put them in writing
and hand them in at the office. Please do not
openly address staff with inappropriate
comments or gestures in front of our
students. Thank you for your continued
support.
TRANSPORTATION CANCELLATIONS /
SCHOOL CLOSURES
A decision to cancel school transportation and/or close
schools, due to inclement weather, is usually made by
6:00 AM. Only the Director of Education has the
authority to cancel transportation and/or close schools.
If buses are cancelled in the morning, they do not run in
the afternoon.
Please listen for DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC
DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD cancellations or closures.
Announcements are made on the following radio
stations:
VIRGIN RADIO –
99.9
CJCL – 590 AM
CHIN FM 100.7
CFTR - 680 AM
EZ ROCK 97.3
FM 93.1
CHUM AM 1050
CFNY – FM 102.1
CFRB – AM 1010
FM Z103.5
FM Q 107
CHFI – FM 98.1
CJBC (Fr.) AM 860
AM 640, AM 1540
Announcements are made on the following TV
stations: CP 24
GLOBAL NEWS
CBC
CFTO / CTV
Or log onto the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Baord web-site at: www.dpcdsb.org
ECO NEWS…
St. Richard School will once again be working towards
our ECO Schools Certification! Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle!!! Our ECO team, under the direction of Mrs.
Jordan, is committed to help reduce our carbon
footprint by reducing, reusing and recycling. Our ECO
team is encouraging all of us to be eco heroes by
supporting initiatives around the school and the local
community that promote a greener lifestyle. St.
Richard’s Eco Team is challenging all students to
bring lunch, beverages and snacks to school in
reusable containers in the hopes of eliminating the
need to throw wrappers, etc, in the garbage, and to
eliminate the need to recycle at school. Please support
this LITTERLESS LUNCH initiative and assist our
school in our quest to a GOLD Eco Schools
Certification! Thank you to Mrs.
Jordan for taking on this huge
endeavour and for empowering our
students to take on a leadership role
and to make a difference not just to
our school, but to effect change in
the world! Thank you!
HEALTHY
(H.E.A.L.)
EATING,
ACTIVE
LIVING
A snack is a mini meal that includes choices from one or
more of the 4 food groups. Growing children need to
eat more calories and nutrients relative to their size to
meet their high-energy demands for the day. However,
there is a difference between high calorie low nutrient
foods such as a chocolates and cookies, and high calorie
nutrient dense foods such as rice cakes, or yogurt.
Choosing a variety of foods from the 4 food groups
each day will help you to make healthy snack choices
for your child.
DPCDSB is now on Twitter! For the latest
board news and information, follow us
@DPCDSBSchools.
TUCK SHOP
“FOOD” FRIDAYS
A reminder to all parents that on “Food” Friday lunch
days, students eat their lunches at 11:30AM and have
their outdoor recess, weather permitting, from
11:50AM-12:30PM.
HEALTHY SNACKS
We are continuing with our Healthy Snacks program.
Healthy Snacks (e.g.: bananas, pears, apples, carrot and
celery sticks) will be available to all students on
Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of May. Students
are enjoying a healthy snack immediately after the
afternoon recess break. No registration is necessary.
There is no fee charged to students in order to receive
the healthy snacks.
Donations to help fund the
program are welcome. A big thank you to the Ministry
of Children and Youth Services, YMCA for providing St.
Richard with the generous grant to offer this program,
and to our School Advisory Council who subsidize this
program for our students.
Tuck Shop is back by popular demand! Thank you to
Mrs. Lysyuk, Mme. Ditaranto and Ms. Tonkovic for
running our Tuck Shop with some of our Junior
students. All items offered for sale in the Tuck Shop
are compliant with the Ministry’s Food and Beverage
Policy. Tuck Shop will be available on Mondays and
Wednesdays from 12:05-12:30PM. Presently, students
are able to purchase chocolate milk, chocolate chip
cookies and fudge chocolate chip cookies (NUT FREE)
from Terra Cotta Cookies (for $1.00 each) and baked
Lays chips ($2.00/bag).
DATES TO REMEMBER - FEBRUARY
(Dates may be subject to change)
Feb. 1: Term 2 Begins
Feb. 1-5: Book Fair
Feb. 2: Virtues Assembly; 9:00AM; gymnasium
Feb. 2: Term 1 Report Cards are sent home for
students in Grades 1 – 8
Feb. 2: Book Fair; 8:30-3PM
Feb. 3: Book Fair; 8:30-3PM
Feb. 3: School Council Meeting; 6:30PM
school library
Feb. 4: Book Fair; 8:30-3PM, 3-8PM
Feb. 4: Parent/Teacher/Student Interview
Evening
Feb. 5: Book Fair; 8:30-1:30
Feb. 5: PA Day (No pupil attendance)
Feb. 9: Shrove Tuesday
Feb. 10: Ash Wednesday
Feb. 10: Ash Wednesday Liturgy; 2PM; gymnasium
Feb. 11: See/Hear Clinic
Feb. 12: Rosary Apostolate
Feb. 12: Pizza Lunch
Feb. 15: FAMILY DAY (School is closed)
Feb. 19: Pizza Lunch
Feb. 23: African Drum and Dance Presentation
Feb. 24: Pink Shirt Day
Feb. 24: Youth Faith Ambassador Liturgy; 9:55AM
Feb. 26: Sub Lunch
FOOD FRIDAYS (April – June)
Apr. 1: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 8: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 15: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 22: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 29: Sub Lunch
May 6: Pizza Lunch
May 13: PA Day (No pupil attendance)
May 20: Pizza Lunch
May 27: Sub Lunch
June 3: Pizza Lunch
June 10: Pizza Lunch
June 17: Pizza Lunch
June 24: Sub Lunc
DATES TO REMEMBER - MARCH
(Dates may be subject to change)
Mar. 1:
Mar. 2:
Mar. 3:
Mar. 4:
Mar. 4:
Virtues Assembly; 10:15
Youth Faith Ambassador Liturgy; 9:55AM
School Council Meeting; 6:30PM Library
Rosary Apostolate
Jr. Youth Faith Ambassadors to Merciful
Redeemer Parish for We Are Called:
Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Conference
Mar. 4: Pizza Lunch
Mar. 4: Mississauga North Chess Tournament at
Our Lady of Mount Carmel S.S.
Mar. 9: Youth Faith Ambassador Liturgy; 9:55AM
Mar. 11: Pizza Lunch
Mar. 14 – 18 MARCH BREAK (School closed)
Mar. 21: Holy Week Begins
Mar. 24: Holy Thursday (Stations of the
Cross – Times TBD)
Mar. 25: GOOD FRIDAY (School is closed)
Mar. 28: EASTER MONDAY
(School is closed)
Mar. 29: School Council Chocolate Fundraiser
“Kick-Off” Assembly in gymnasium; 1PM
DATES AHEAD
(Dates may be subject to change)
Apr. 1: Rosary Apostolate
Apr. 1: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 5: St. Richard Feast Day & Mass of the
Resurrection; 1:00PM at St. John of the
Cross Church
Apr. 6: School Council Meeting; 6:30PM
School library
Apr. 8: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 11: PA DAY (School is closed)
Apr. 12: Virtues Assembly; 9AM; gymnasium
Apr. 15: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 21: Welcome to Kindergarten Evening
(Rescheduled to May 18th, 2016)
Apr. 22: Pizza Lunch
Apr. 28: Graduation Photos for Gr. 8 students
Apr. 29: Sub Lunch
PEDs
It’s a privilege not a right
NORMS
Students are expected to…
 Only bring registered devices to school
 Know and follow the Wi-Fi network agreement
 Use their device for educational use only and as directed by
the teacher
 Keep their device(s) off at all times unless instructed by the
teacher
 Leave their device turned off in the classroom during
indoor and outdoor recess and school related events
 Respect the property of others
 Not take photos, audio, video or images of an individual or
group
Inappropriate use of board technology and/or PEDs may result
in the removal of the PED, discipline, suspension, loss of
privileges, and/or police involvement.