St. Thomas More
Catholic School
Website: http://www.dpcdsb.org/TMORE
Welcome One Another As Christ Has Welcomed You, Romans 15:7
St. Thomas More Catholic School
LENT
3270 Tomken Road
Mississauga, ON., L4Y 2Y7
(905) 279-6472
Fax: (905) 279-3205
Principal
M. Nicoletti
Vice Principal
R. Furtado
Secretarial Staff
A. Rago
L. Antilope
Superintendent
T. Lariviere
(905) 890-1221
Trustee
Mario Pascucci, Chair
Mississauga Wards 1 & 3
(905) 302-3096
(905) 890-0708 x20161
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
School Council Chair
S. Olmedo
Pastor
Rev. John Facey
St. Patrick’s Church
(905) 270-2301
Follow us on Twitter:
@DPCDSBSchools
Jesus prayed and fasted for forty days
In the desert a long time ago.
He showed endurance and restraint
With temptation as His foe.
The length of Lent is forty days
For us a time of preparation.
It starts on Wednesday we call Ash
And it ends with Easter's celebration.
We follow Lent to follow Him
A time of sacrifice and prayer
We give up something we desire
That His example we might share.
By giving up some things in life
During this time of preparation
We show Him that we too are willing
To overcome our own temptation.
Oh, what joy that Lent will bring
At the end of the forty days
When Sunday's bells will ring
With Resurrection’s praise.
Fr. Rudy Volk
September 22, 1930—February 27, 2015
It is with great sadness that we announce that
on Friday, February 27, 2015, Fr. Rudy Volk
passed away after a brief illness. He will be
remembered with humour and love for the
legacy that he left family, friends and parishioners. Fr. Rudy entered the seminary and
was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1990. He
served numerous parishes in the Toronto
area, culminating in his happiest years as a
priest at St. Patrick's Parish in Mississauga
from 1994 until 2007.
Newsletter Inserts: Motivating Your Kids/Teens, Peel
Regional Police-Cyber Academy, Math @ Home-Vol. 6,
Cops for Cancer Letter; Online Reporting Tool
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY
The staff and students of St. Thomas More School would like to
thank Patricia Jaggernauth for celebrating Black History and sharing
Thestory
staff with
and students
of St.who
Thomas
More
School
would like
her
us. Patricia
is best
known
to students
fortoher
thank
Patricia
Jaggernauth
for
celebrating
Black
History
and
sharweather reporting on CP24, provided students with an interactive
ing her
story withpresentation
us. Patricia who
is best the
known
to students CDSB
for
and
inspirational
embracing
Dufferin-Peel
her
weather
reporting
on
CP24,
provided
students
with
an
intertheme “Black History is everyone’s History.” During the question
active
and inspirational
presentation
embracing
Dufferin-Peel
and
answer
portion of the
presentation
Patriciathe
reminded
students
CDSB
theme
“Black
History
is
everyone’s
History.”
During
that “no matter the obstacles we face, God has a plan for
all of the
us.”
question and answer portion of the presentation Patricia reminded students that “no matter the obstacles we face, God has a plan
for all of us.”
Patricia presented to our grade 4-8 students and visited all primary classes on February 27, 2015..
MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS
The staff and students of St. Thomas More School would like
to thank Patricia Jaggernauth for celebrating Black History and
sharing her story with us. Patricia who is best known to students for her weather reporting on CP24, provided students
with an interactive and inspirational presentation embracing the
As Dufferin-Peel
part of the Mississauga
Steelheads
programistoeveryone’s
reach outHistoto
CDSB theme
“Black History
schools,
St. Thomas
More and
School
has portion
been given
block of
ry.” During
the question
answer
of thea presentation
tickets
donated
by a local
sponsor
Friday,
13thwe
Patricia
reminded
students
that for
“nothe
matter
theMarch
obstacles
game
vs. God
the Barrie
Coltsfor
at 7:30pm.
face,
has a plan
all of us.”
The tickets
willgrade
be given
to interested
families
Patricia presented
to our
4-8 out
students
and visited
all priand
staff
on
a
“first
come
first
serve
basis.
“ We
mary classes on February 27, 2015..
ask that you keep the season of Lent in mind and
make a voluntary donation to ShareLife in any
amount you wish.
All money collected will be donated to ShareLife and presented
to Fr. Brian Clough at our March 25th Lenten Mass.
The students, staff, and parent community
at St. Thomas More would like to thank the
Mississauga Steelheads for their generous
contribution to our school community.
Please join us at STM on Tuesday, March 10
at 9:30am to meet the mascot and players.
Patricia, seen here with Mrs. Nicoletti and Mr. Furtado, presented to
the grade 4-8 students and visited all primary classes on February 27,
2015.
Please note that no tax receipts will be given for donations.
SOCIAL JUSTICE AT STM
Pan Am Games Toronto 2015
Social Justice Through Our Milk Bag Program:
What happens to milk bags? They can end up in recycling bins,
landfills or as sleeping mats. Yes! Milk bag mats offer people without beds, an invaluable, durable and washable alternative to sleeping
on the often cold and damp ground.
The Ministry of Education,
the Ministry of Tourism
Culture and Sport and the
TORONTO 2015 Pan
American / Parapan American Games Organizing Committee
are working together to educate youth about the TORONTO
2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games through the following programs:
Pan Am / Parapan Am Activity Day Kit
Kids ‘n Play
Personal Best
PlaySport
The program developed by the Ministry of Education for elementary schools and after-school programs, will give children
the opportunity to learn about the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games
and participate in a wide range of activities.
The STM Youth Faith Ambassadors would like you, the students
and parents to bring in their used milk bags and leave them in the
box in the front foyer by our prayer table to help those less fortunate
in our world.
VIRTUE OF THE MONTH
STUDENT VOICE
We encourage parents to discuss the monthly Virtues
with their children.
Junior Girls Basketball:
Special congratulations to the Junior Girls’ Basketball team, who
battled through a tough season, and showed fantastic improvement in each of their league games. All players were fully committed to learning and playing the game of basketball, and we are
very proud of them! Special thanks to our Grade 8 assistant
coaches: Natasha, Ola and Michela for their dedication and support throughout the season. Thank you to Mme. Kinash and
Miss Sequeira for coaching the team.
Written by: The Junior Girls Basketball Team
Basketball Scorekeepers - Thank you to the Gr 8 team of Sylvia,
Hannah, Katherine, Kendra, Dominik, Marija, Sydney and
Galyna, for their ongoing help with scorekeeping, timekeeping
and assistance to referees and coaches from both STM and visiting schools. Your professionalism is appreciated!
Eco-School “Radical Recyclers”:
Our group of “Radical Recyclers” will continue their rounds of
Recycling Collection every Monday to promote our eco-school
initiatives. As well the Eco Team would like to encourage all
students and parents to consider packing “litterless” lunches.
Thank you to Miss Faria, Mrs. Venditti, Mrs. Capizzano, and
Mrs. Noronha for leading our Eco Team.
Written by: The School Eco-Team
Youth Faith Ambassadors:
Our YFAs continue to work under the direction of Mrs. Salema
and Mrs. Delfin to assist with our monthly Virtues Assemblies,
School Masses and other ongoing social justice initiatives.
Written by: The Youth Faith Ambassadors
Chess Club:
The Chess Club has begun meeting in preparation for the upcoming Chess Tournament. Thank you to Mr. Grogan for
coaching the Chess Team.
LENTEN MASS & PARISH NEWS
All parents/guardians and family members are invited to join us
at our Lenten Mass on Wednesday, March 25th at 9:30am at
St. Patrick’s Church.
Please join us at our Virtue Assembly of Kindness on
March 31st at the following times:
1:10pm JK/SK, Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8
1:50pm Grades 1, 3, 4/5, 5, and 7
Please contact the St. Patrick’s Church at (905) 270-2301 for any
further information relating to up coming Sacraments. The
following information is for students registered and attending
weekly classes at St. Patrick’ Church:
First Holy Communion Dates:
Sat.., April 25 @ 5:00 p.m.
Sun., April 26 @ 10:00 and 12:00
Sat., May 2nd @ 5:00 p.m.
Sun., May 3rd @10:00 and 12:00
Confirmation Dates:
May 25 & 27 @ 7:00 p.m.
LIBRARY NEWS
Through the school website you have access
to many electronic resources including
BookFlix Ontario (an online resource
that joins video storybooks with related
nonfiction eBooks.) and Britannica (an
online encyclopedia that includes articles,
images, videos, primary sources, e-books, and recommended
Websites, and a world atlas.) To access these resources just go
to the school website and follow the path below:
PEEL REGIONAL POLICE PROGRAMS
Neighbourhood Police Unit
We would like to thank Constables Steve
and Paul for visiting STM as part of their
role to promote positive relationships and
support our safe schools initiatives.
Peel Regional Police Youth Education
Department
In collaboration with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board, many informative programs are offered to positively
Board Resources > Library e-Resources > Elementary Library e engage and influence youth from Grades 1 to 8. We welcome
-Resources
our Youth Education Officer, Constable David, who will be
The username for both resources is “duffpeel” and the pass- speaking to classes on March 5th, April 23rd and May 6th, 2015.
word is “duff7878”. For more information stop by the school
March 5th Topics:
library and talk to Mr. Schatz
Grades 7-8
Digital Leadership
Grades 5-6
Cyber Citizenship
EQAO PROVINCIAL ASSESSMENT
NEXT GENERATION LEARNING
Starting shortly after the March Break, all grade 3 and 6 students
will begin preparing for the EQAO provincial assessment.
We encourage parents/guardians to visit the link below for additional information on the assessment and parent resources to
assist your child at home.
http://www.eqao.com/Parents
Please remind your child that this EQAO practice is an important part of their learning, and will better prepare them for
the province wide assessment which will take place from May
25th to June 5th, 2015. Parents/guardians are asked to consider
avoiding making school day appointments during the assessment period. A more detailed assessment schedule will be sent 21st Century or Next Generation Learning involves the integration of new technology that is appealing to students, parents
home as we approach the assessment dates.
and teachers alike. There are many online tools that can be used
to engage, assess and develop students’ mathematical skills.
Below are some online sites that are currently being used in
some classrooms across the board.
RAZ KIDS
PLEASE CONTINUE
READING WITH
YOUR CHILD
We strongly encourage parents or guardians to spend some time
and continue reading with their child. Using the RAZ KIDS
reading program allows you to spend some quality time together, while further enhancing your child’s reading development. If
you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.
Math Related Sites:
https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org
https://www.khanacademy.org
http://www.explorelearning.com
https://www.prodigygame.com/canada
http://nlvm.usu.edu
http://www.multiplication.com
http://www.adaptedmind.com
http://ca.ixl.com
PLEASE ARRIVE ON TIME
Start Time
9:00 a.m.
AM Recess
11:11 a.m.
Lunch
12:06 p.m.
PM Recess
2:29 p.m.
Dismissal
3:30 p.m.
We applaud students who are on time for class and ask all
students to make a concerted effort to come to school
in a timely manner, with all homework completed,
ready to learn. Punctuality and preparedness are valuable
life skills. Parents/guardians will be notified of students
who are repeatedly late.
FOOD REMINDERS
We would like to remind parents that there
are a number of students in the school with
life threatening allergies to various food
products. Birthday celebrations and
festivities for special occasions are part of
the educational experience, however, we are requesting
that parents not send food items to their child’s class.
Instead, consider alternatives such as: stickers, pencils,
etc., to ensure the safety of all of our students.
Please drop lunches at the table in the
hallway outside the office and remind your
child that his/her lunch is being dropped
off at the school. Parents are also
encouraged to leave after dropping off their
child’s lunch and not to open the door for
other parents. We are asking for your cooperation in this
matter to enhance student safety and ensure that your
child(ren) will have enough time to eat their lunch.
SCENT FREE ZONE
St. Thomas More has implemented the
Dufferin-Peel initiative “WE SHARE THE
AIR.” This is a scent awareness campaign
for staff, students and the school community,
that will help keep our students with severe
allergies and sensitivity to scents safe in the school
environment. We are asking staff, students and visitors to
our school to kindly avoid using perfumes/colognes in
our school environment.
BUS STUDENTS
ELIGIBILITY DISTANCE
JK/SK-Gr. 1
Gr. 2-4
Gr. 5 - 8
1.0 KM
1.6 KM
2.0 KM
INCLEMENT WEATHER
During the winter months inclement
weather may cause disruption of bus
transportation and regular school
operations. A decision to cancel school
transportation and/or to close schools is
usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be
announced on the following radio and television stations:
VIRGIN RADIO FM99.9, CHUM AM1050, FTR
AM680, CFNY FM102.1/AM640, CJCL AM590,
CHFIFM98.1, CFRB AM1010, EZ ROCK
FM97.3, CJBC (FR) AM860, FM Z103.5,
FM93.1, FM Q107 CHIN FM100.7/AM1540,
CBC99.1, CITYPULSE, GLOBAL NEWS, CTV
CANADA AM
For further inquiries, such as cancellations, pick/drop-off
times and locations, please see visit the transportation
website at: www.stopr.ca.
REMINDER OF BUS RULES








be at the bus stop at least 10 minutes ahead of
pick-up
follow all directions from the driver, especially
when getting on and off the bus
go directly to a seat and stay seated until the
driver opens the door for drop-off
keep all belongings inside the bus
sit quietly at all times
speak only in conversational tones
no eating on the bus
do not speak with the bus driver while the bus
is in operation, unless necessary
VISITOR’S PROTOCOL
In keeping with Dufferin-Peel Catholic
District School Board Policy and enhancing student safety, all visitors to the
school must report to the office. We
ask parents not to walk though the
school hallways to drop off their children.
During inclement days, students will be permitted to
walk through the front doors.
Parents are also reminded that the church parking lot is
not a supervised area. For the safety of our students, parents or guardians are discouraged from having their children wait for them in the church parking lot to be picked
up. Parents or guardians are reminded to promptly pick
up their children at dismissal and instruct their children to
go the main office immediately, if they do not see their
parents or guardians at dismissal.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
IMPORTANT DATES
Our next meeting is on April 13, 2015 at 7:00 pm in the school
library. We hope that you can attend!
2014-15 St. Thomas More Catholic School Council
Council Executive:
Chair:
S. Olmedo
Vice-Chair:
M. Gwiazdowski
Secretary:
M. Kohl
Treasurer:
T. Zappulla
Parish Rep.:
T. Schmiedt
OPACE Rep.: C. Farmer
Other Members: T. Beaudry, M. Conte,
A. V. Devotta, A. Farmer,
J. Hawtin, R. Kochevar,
D. Moore, M. Swiezawski,
M. Thompson, T. Whelen
Principal:
M. Nicoletti
Vice-Principal:
R. Furtado
Teacher Rep:
Mrs. Bielecka
Non-Teaching Rep:
Miss Rodriguez
March 2-6
Eco School Team’s Waste less lunch Audit
March 5
Peel Regional Police Youth Education
Officer Presentations
March 8
Daylight Savings Time (Move Clocks
Ahead 1 Hour)
March 10
Mississauga Steelheads Assembly
9:30am Gr. JK/SK, Grades 2, 4, 5/6, 6, & 8
10:00am Gr. 1, 3, 4/5, 5, & 7
1:06pm Vaccinations (Grade 7 Meningitis
and Grade 8 HPV)
2015-2016 CLASS PLACEMENTS
In May of each year, teachers and administrators work together to
discuss the academic and social/emotional needs of your child, and
determine the class placement that will best meet these needs. Please
be aware that there may be a need to develop combined classes – a
reality in all schools in the province. Until we finalize our enrolment
in September all class arrangements – and teacher assignments – are
tentative. The goal of the extensive process we employ is to ensure
we create the best possible educational environment for all our students. If you wish to have input that will assist us regarding placement of your child for September 2015, please submit the educational needs of your child in writing to Mrs. Nicoletti no later than
Friday, May 15, 2015.
IMMUNIZATION RECORDS
Peel Health will be reviewing immunization records of all students
at our school. If you receive a letter, please ensure that your child has
received the required vaccines and update your child’s records at
www.ImmunizationPeel.ca or 905-799-7700.
March 13
Pajama Day
Mississauga Steelheads Game vs. Barrie Colts
@ The Hersey Centre at 7:30pm
(all donations go to ShareLife)
March 16-20
March Break
March 17
St. Patrick’s Day
March 24
Rosary Apostolates (AM)
March 25
Lenten Mass
March 29
Palm Sunday
March 31
Virtues Assembly: KINDNESS
1:10pm JK/SK, Grades 2, 4, 6, and 8
1:50pm Grades 1, 3, 4/5, 5, and 7
MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS
TICKET REQUEST FORM
As part of the Mississauga Steelheads program to reach out to schools, St. Thomas More School
has been given a block of tickets donated by a local sponsor for the Friday, March 13th game vs.
the Barrie Colts at 7:30pm.
The tickets will be given out to interested families and staff on a “first come first serve basis.” We
ask that you keep the season of Lent in mind and make a voluntary donation to Sharelife in any
amount you wish. All money collected will be donated to Sharelife and presented to Father Brian
Clough at the March 25th Lenten Mass at 9:30am.
The students, staff, and parent community at St. Thomas More would like to thank the Mississauga
Steelheads for their generous contribution to our school community.
The ___________________________family would like to make a donation to Sharelife
in the following amount $_____________ and we request ___________Steelheads tickets.
Student Name:____________________________
Teacher:____________________________ Grade: _______
Student Name:____________________________
Teacher:____________________________ Grade: _______
Student Name:____________________________
Teacher:____________________________ Grade: _______
Student Name:____________________________
Teacher:____________________________ Grade: _______
Student Name:____________________________
Teacher:____________________________ Grade: _______
Please note that no tax receipts will be given for donations and students and parents are responsible for
their own transportation to and from the game. Cheques can be payable to Sharelife.
Please return this form with the attached envelope to your child’s teacher.