St. Vincent de Paul School
665 Willowbank Trail Mississauga, Ontario L4W 3L6
Tel: (905) 848- 5397 Fax: (905) 848-0738
Principal: Mr. L. Dodaro
Secretary: Ms. S. Ferenc
Trustee: Mr. Mario Pascucci (905) 302-3096
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Fax: 905-890-0888
Telephone: 905-890-0708 ext. 21061
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
www.TrusteePascucci.ca
Superintendent: Mr. C. Blanchard (905) 890-1221
Pastor: Fr. John Facey (905) 270-2301
January 2014
Prayer of New Beginnings
God of new beginnings,
we are walking into mystery.
We face the future, not knowing
what the days and months will bring us
or how we will respond.
Be love in us as we journey.
May we welcome all who come our way.
Deepen our faith
to see all life through your eyes.
Fill us with hope and an abiding trust
that You dwell in us amidst all our joys and sorrows.
Thank You for the treasure of our faith life.
Thank You for the gift of being able
to rise each day with the assurance of
Your walking through the day with us.
God of our past and future,
we praise you.
AMEN
JANUARY’S VIRTUE – SELF-CONTROL
In January –we celebrate the virtue of self-control.
God wants us to do what we know and feel is right.
A person with self-control…
is patient, knows how to wait
his/her turn, can calm him/herself
down and think before reacting to
situations, knows how to avoid
physical
aggression
(hitting,
kicking, pushing, etc.), can think
things through
ADVENT GIFT DONATIONS AND
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
I cannot tell you how touched and amazed I was with the
outpouring of generosity and kindness that our Parents,
staff, students and community demonstrated during the
advent season. The families that we provided for were
greatful, and very appreciative. Your actions were
exemplary of our Faith and the greatness of the human
spirit. On behalf of Families of the St Vincent de Paul
community thank you for your heart warming gifts.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Reconciliation 7pm
Muskoka Info. Night 6:30 pm
PA Day –No School for students
Catholic School Council Meeting @ 6:45 pm
JK Registration
7 pm
JK Registration Snow/ Rain date
Reports go home
Parent-Teacher Inter. Evening
Family Day – Holiday – No School
Jan. 13
Jan. 14
Jan. 20
Jan. 22
Jan. 27
Jan. 28
Feb. 4
Feb. 6
Feb. 17
Please be Careful
We hope everyone had a safe Christmas break. As you
know, our school communities experienced a significant ice
storm over the winter break. Our custodial and maintenance
staff continue to work with plant services contractors to
remove ice and snow. For everyone’s safety, please note the
following:





Please walk carefully when on school/board
property; do not run.
Please ensure students dress appropriately for the
conditions. We ask all visitors to wear proper
footwear for the conditions, including boots/shoes
with non-slip soles.
Although efforts have been undertaken to clear
sidewalks, paths, patches, parking lots and paved
play areas, in some cases these efforts were less
than successful due to the ongoing freezing
temperatures combined with the base of ice
resulting from the ice storm. These situations will
continue to be addressed.
Our parking lots do have ice buildup. Please
exercise caution when leaving your vehicles. As
always, please drive safely.
Please let us know if you see any concerns
while on our school/board properties.
ADVENT SCHOOL MASS
Virtues Alive in our Classrooms and School Yard
The entire St. Vincent de Paul, St. Basil
and St. Edmund communities held our
Advent Family evening Mass at St.
Patrick’s church, and we had a wonderful turnout.
Our choir was part of the celebration and represented
our school very well in song and behavior. Thank you
to all the families that were able to join us, and to
those who provided treats as well. In addition, thank
you to the parent council members who were able to
organize the social.
Here is a sampling of what was shared at our Virtues’
assembly:
• by spending time with someone
• acknowledge when a classmate is upset about
something, and is concerned about cheering
them up.
• a student who stood up for what was right and
reached out to include someone who had been
excluded in the past.
ADVENT FOOD DRIVE
Our annual Advent Food drive was very successful.
Thank you to all the families who donated food for
those in need.
SUNRISE RETIREMENT HOME
Thank you to our choir and choir leaders who shared
their Christmas spirit with our elderly community.
The seniors were filled with joy as our choir sang and
shared their wonderful songs.
•
•
•
helping younger students on the playground
when they have no one to play with
noticing and responding to someone who is
upset
student gave support to another who had shared
a personal story of loss
POSITIVE SCHOOL CLIMATE
& Anti-Bullying
During our Advent season our classrooms prepared
Anti-bullying and Positive Climate statements.
Students in each class created a pledge which was
either a positive catch phrase/ chant/ message which
expressed their thoughts towards a safer school
environment. Each classes’ Positive Message was
shared with our whole school at our Virtues
assembly, and will be read each week over the
announcements to help promote our Gospel Values.
VIRTUE ASSEMBLY
During our Advent season we celebrated our Catholic
Virtues with a liturgy from our Youth Faith
Ambassadors, songs, positive messages and
examples of the good behavior our students have
demonstrated since September. Examples of “Virtues
in Action”- behavior which students demonstrated in
the classroom or school yard was shared as part of the
celebration of Virtues. We wanted to congratulate our
students for the positive actions they have been taking
and to continue on that path of living our Gospel
Values.
•
•
•
•
Several students took it upon themselves to
make cards and illustrations for a student who
experienced a sad event.
Another child noticed a child feeling sad, and
invited her to play with her at a learning centre.
Helping a classmate learn a new program on
the computer
student took a hurt student to the office to get
ice
We look forward to more examples of our
students living their Gospel Values.
WEATHER CANCELLATIONS
During the winter months, inclement weather and/or poor
road conditions may cause the disruption of bus
transportation and regular school operations. In these
cases, parents/guardians should develop alternate
care/transportation arrangements.
A decision to cancel bus transportation and/or to close
schools is made by 6:00 a.m. Decisions are based on
several factors including precipitation, air temperature and
road conditions. A decision to cancel bus transportation
may be system wide (where all buses in Dufferin County
and the Region of Peel are cancelled) or municipality
specific (where buses in one or more municipalities are
cancelled).
If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate
in the afternoon. Therefore students transported to school
by parents require the same transportation home.
Notification
Parents/guardians, students and school staff are asked to
monitor the following radio/television stations after 6:00
a.m. to receive bus cancellation/school closure
information.
A bus cancellation and/or school closure message will be
posted on the Board's main webpage at www.dpcdsb.org,
on Twitter @DPCDSBSchools and on the Board's phone
message
system
at
905-890-1221
begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
905-890-1221
end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
Thank you for your support as we focus on providing safe
transportation for all our students.
Attached for your information only, and in the event
that “THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES AND THE PEEL DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES IN THE TOWN OF CALEDON
ARE CANCELLED” the list of runs which would be
cancelled are also attached.
EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
If any of your child’s contact
information has changed, please notify
the office as soon as possible.
Especially Parent/ Guardian phones
numbers and additional emergency
contacts. When injuries arise, and/ or weather
becomes an issue it is very important that we have the
most current contact information for each child.
SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS
Supervision begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m.
Please do not bring/send your children to school earlier
than this time. Given safety concerns, it is not a good
idea to leave your children outside unattended as
student supervision in the yard begins at 8:45 and not
before. Please make other arrangements for the care of
your children prior to 8:45 a.m. Please meet your child
at the school at 3:30p.m. when they are dismissed.
DRIVEWAY—KISS AND RIDE SAFETY
Many thanks to parents / guardians who
have been using the correct and safe
procedure for dropping their children off
in the morning in our Kiss and Ride program. Our
driveway is made safer when everyone cooperates.
Please ensure you have pulled up to the front of the
drop-off line to let children in or out of your car. The
driveway gets very congested as 9:00 a.m. approaches,
and many students are arriving after the bell rings.
Please be aware that it is our expectation that children
arrive at school on time and prepared to work. In
addition, please use the available parking spots on
Willowbank Trail directly in front of the school when
picking up and dropping off your children. This makes
for a safer driveway and Kiss N Ride.
WINTER IS HERE
Parents are reminded that students should be dressed
appropriately for winter weather conditions. Recess is
considered a part of the school day and thus students in
attendance are expected to participate in this
activity. Consideration will be given to reducing the
amount of time outdoors for children when the temperature
is -20 degrees Celsius, and cancelling outdoor recess when
colder.
Kindergarten Registration for 2014-15
GAMES
ROOM/
DONATIONS
INDOOR
RECESS
Registration for Kindergarten for the 2014-15 school
year, will take place on the following days:
Monday, January 27, 2014 - 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, January 30, 2014 - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Friday, January 31, 2014 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
*Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 - 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
The following documents will be needed when
registering:
(for child and/or parent/guardian) or baptismal
certificate from an Eastern Church in full
communion with the Holy See of
Rome. If the
child has not been baptized, and the parent/guardian
is a baptized Roman Catholic or is baptized from an
Eastern Church in full communion with the Holy
See of Rome, the parent/guardian must bring their
own baptismal certificate.
Passport) or Landed Immigrant status
proof of residence
If you have any
games,
cards,
boards
games
that are fairly
new
and have no
need
for
them
anymore.
Please
be sure that
they
contain all the necessary pieces for the students to have
fun. Please consider donating them to classrooms or
our new Games Room. We are trying to build up a
Games Room that will allow students to have fun, but
also promote pro-active play.
VOLUNTEERS MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
Volunteering is a great way to
be involved in the life of the
school and really does help
make a difference in the lives of
the students. If you have some time to spare, please
contact the school and the School Council as a place
to share your talents.
Anyone working in our school as a new employee or
volunteer must have a Criminal Reference Check
completed by the Peel Regional Police. CRC’s are
FREE for volunteers. The Brampton police station has
a quick timeline for completing Criminal Checks.
Website
Please
continue
to
visit
our
website
at
http://www.dpcdsb.org/VPAUL. Our school newsletter, as
well as many board memos, announcements and
information will be posted. Next we will have a new easier
to use website. Please visit.