2350 Hurontario Street South
Mississauga ON, L5B 1N1
P: 905.277.2448 F: 905.277.5910
October 2013
Principal
G. Pedroso
Vice-Principal
R. Scicluna
Head Secretary
S. Waugh
Assistant Secretary
S. Jones
O God, source and giver of all things, You manifest your infinite majesty, power and goodness
In the earth about us: We give you honor and glory. For the sun and the rain, For the manifold fruits of our fields: For the increase of our herds and flocks, We thank you. For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, We are grateful. Supreme Lord of the harvest, Graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, In union with Jesus, your Son, As atonement for our sins, For the growth of your Church, For peace and love in our homes, And for salvation for all. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen .
Superintendent
D. Amaral
905 –890–1221
St. Catherine of Siena
Dear Parents:
Trustee
B. Iannicca
905
As the fall colours start to display themselves more brightly, as the days begin to get shorter and the darkness comes to us a little bit sooner each day, it is time to reflect on a very positive first month at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School.
Parish
Our annual Open House\BBQ evening, once again, was a very successful event at the school.
2340 Hurontario St.
We would like to thank the whole community for coming out. Thank you to everyone who
Mississauga, Ontario donated their time and talents to make this event so successful. Your support was greatly
L5B 1N1 appreciated!
905-272-1454
Pastors
On behalf of the staff of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School, we hope that you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. As we head more deeply into autumn,
Fr. Camillo Lando,
C.S. Pastor may you make the most of the opportunities in gathering with friends and family for times of prayer and fellowship; these times present us with the chance to strengthen the bonds that unite us as a caring Catholic community!
Fr. Santo Cigolini,
C.S. in Residence
Wishing you a very blessed Thanksgiving!
Fr. Mario Lorenzana,
C.S. Associate Pastor
Yours in Catholic Education,
G. Pedroso and R. Scicluna
School Council
Chair
This newsletters has been distributed to the youngest or only child of each family. As
Ms. N. Thomas-Davis part of our Ecosource initiative, we are working on an electronic mailing list to send communication electronically to our school community
.
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God 1

If you can ’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. -- Mother Teresa
This month we will focus on the virtue of empathy.
God has given us the ability to form connections with each other - to live together. Empathy helps us to connect and live together in safe, caring, inclusive communities. We understand empathy to mean the ability to identify with and feel other people’s concerns. We believe that in a faith community we are nothing without relationships. Relationships that grow in a spirit of communion- an understanding that we share an identity based on being created in the image and likeness of God and being imbued with one Spirit.
We are many parts of one body. An empathetic person believes that we all share one Spirit; that we are many parts of one body because we are all created in the image and likeness of God.
An empathetic person...
 listens when people speak
 notices when someone is upset and tries to help
 can name her-his feelings
 can see a situation from another person ’s point of view
 accepts that others have different perspectives
REFLECTION… How will I know that someone needs me to show empathy today?
OUR DAILY PRAYER FOR OCTOBER — Let us now pray... for the grace and strength to be people of empathy-people who can really identify with and feel the concerns of those around us. Amen
Please note:
All Virtue information is included in the front pages of your child’s agenda.
St. Catherine of Siena
2340 Hurontario St., Mississauga, ON L5B 1N1
T: 905-272-1454 E: office@stcatherine.ca
Sacramental Preparation
FIRST COMMUNION – GRADE 2 STUDENTS
Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 3 p.m.
CONFIRMATION – GRADE 8 STUDENTS
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at 7 p.m.
Classes for candidates are underway through the
Church beginning Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 5.
As a staff, we continue to work together to provide example and consistency in modeling J esus’ 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.
EQAO has published the results of the annual Assessments of Reading,
Writing and Mathematics, Grades 3 and 6, for the school year 2012-2013.
Our results are indicated below:
We continue to work on developing strategies that will improve student achievement!
The school photographer will be
Edge Imaging. Photographs of students will take place on
Wednesday, October 16.
All JK to Grade 8 students will have their picture taken in the morning or afternoon.
If your child should happen to be absent that day, picture retakes will take place on: Wed., November 13.
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God 2

In keeping with compliance to meet the Ministry initiative of capping classes in the primary grades at 20 students, with only 10 percent of classes across the board eligible to exceed the cap. At St. Catherine of Siena School, we experienced a reorganization as a result of shifts in our population. This resulted in changes in our primary and junior classes to ensure compliance with the cap and to ensure balanced classes. Prior to the September 13 PA
Day, staff worked to create new classes that ensured a mixture of abilities and personalities. We also, where possible, maintained classes and student-teacher relationships.
Below is the current organization at St. Catherine of Siena: (next page)
Ms. Arango
Mrs. Duncan
Mrs. Zagalak
Ms. Colautti
FDKA
FDKB
FDKC
FDKD
Ms. Barrasso
Mrs. Sitas
Mrs. Menezes
Mr. Brennan
Mrs. Bialecka
Mr. Stephen Mintz
1A
1B
1/2A
2A
2B
2/3A
Mrs. Ferraro / Connolly
Mrs. Venchiarutti
Mrs. Zenga
3A
3B
3C
Mrs. Sobala
Mrs. Zador
Ms. English
Ms. Hyacienth
Mr. Thrasher (LTO)
Mrs. Sherriff
Mrs. Cargioli
Ms. Sgro
Mr. Devito
Ms. Tropea
Ms. Torun
Ms. Leo
4A
4B
4/5A
5A
5B
6A
6B
7A
7B
8A
8B
Teacher Librarian
Mrs. Bagin-Kotyk
Mrs. Cover
Mrs. Cimino
Mrs. Cose
Ms. Shoufani
Ms. Sluga
Ms. HKalil
Ms. Ivancsics
Mme. Jorge
Mme. Posteraro
SERC
ESL/SERT
ESL/SERT
ESL/SERT
ESL/PT
ESL/PT
ESL/PT
Planning Time
FSL
FSL
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God
We strive to make sure that our school is a safe, caring, healthy and inclusive place in which to learn and to work. Fire drills, visitors’ badges/sign in and other safety and security protocols and practices are important components of our commitment to maintaining a safe and secure school environment.
You may be aware that, through the province’s Safe
School Welcome Program, our school received a grant that provides for the installation of a front door speaker/buzzer/video monitoring system. The installation of this system allows us to proactively enhance the safety and security of students and staff by locking the front doors. This change in access to our school requires a new access protocol that applies to all visitors, including parents and guardians. The new system has now been installed and activated.
Under the new system, visitors may gain entrance by pressing a buzzer mounted on the wall outside the building, beside the front door. The buzzer activates a two-way speaker and camera system. The Office will then be able to determine who is at the door, by observing on a video monitor. This will enable better regulation of visitor access to the school.
The following are also part of our new protocol:

All outside doors are locked and entry can be gained only through the front door.

All visitors, including parents/guardians must sign into the office and wear a Visitor’s badge.

Access during lunch time may be delayed depending on the availability of staff who are required to monitor the new system.
The co-operation and understanding of parents/guardians will be an important factor in the success of our new protocol. In this regard, parents/guardians are encouraged to:

Arrive at school on time to allow children to enter with their classmates to avoid front entry lates.

Send lunch with your child in the morning to limit traffic in through the front door at lunch time.

We respectfully request that you limit your visits to the school during the daytime as much as possible in order to protect the instructional time and reduce interruptions.
Thank you for your understanding and co-operation as we implement the new access protocol. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
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As a precautionary measure, we will practice fire drills and lock down procedures throughout the year. We are required to hold 6 fire drills each year as well as 2 lock down drills.
During fire drills, students are asked to move safely and swiftly to the nearest exit and to report to their designated area outside of the building. If an exit is blocked students are reminded to use their alternate exit. We will have three of the fire drills in the fall and the remaining three in the spring.
In a lock down, students are alerted over the P.A. that we are “initiating lock down”. Students are directed to move away from all windows and doors and to lie on the floor, if possible under desks. Classroom doors and windows are secured. Safety regulations require us to have this contingency plan in place. In such an event, your child will remain with school staff until we contact you.
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.
PLEASE CALL: 905-277-2448 Press # 1
Please leave the following information:

Date of the absence
 Student’s full name

Grade level and teacher

Reason for absence
All students who arrive after
9:00 a.m. or 1:03 p.m. must obtain a Late Slip.
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.
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God
For your child’s safety, we request that children not be on school property until supervision begins at 8:45 a.m.
The Breakfast Club provides meals/snacks for needy students every morning beginning at 8 a.m. in the school ’s Breakfast Room.
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 and at the Community Information Board.
Please be reminded that the lunch hour is from
12:03 p.m. – 1:03 p.m. Where children stay for lunch, they will eat with their classmates and remain on school property.
Students eat lunch daily from 12:03 to 12:23 p.m. With the new front door policy (locked), we encourage students to bring their lunches with them in the morning. If you are delivering your child’s lunch to the school, we will open the doors at noon. Please have your child’s lunch labeled with their name and class, and place it on the lunch table. When lunches are delivered late, it reduces the amount of time that students have to eat. 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.
4

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.
Some of our students require medication during the school day. All medication is to be stored in the office, except where directed by a physician. Board Policy requires that we have signed request/authorization forms from parents and the supervising physician in the office.
These forms are available in the office.
We have sent information home to each parent in this situation that we have been made aware of and encourage you to follow up.
If you have not received these forms - especially for EpiPens - please contact the office. In some cases of asthma, the doctor may advise that a student should carry an inhaler. We comply with advice of doctors in these situations, but we must be made aware of the arrangements.
When medication is approved for storage, it must be labeled with the student’s name, name of medication, prescription information and dosage. The medication is to be brought to the school in the bottle that was provided by the pharmacist. Please do not have students deliver medication to the office; it should be brought in by an adult. Medication that is sent to school without the proper documentation will not be stored or dispensed by school personnel.
This also applies to over-the counter medications such as, Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, cough medicine, Benadryl, and allergy medications.
The GREEN
TEAM is continuing their great success from last year!
To build on receiving Silver certification, St. Catherine of
Siena has invited EcoSource, a Peel Region greening initiative to join us over the next 2 years. EcoSource will be working with the GREEN TEAM to promote many school-wide green activities. To start we will be conducting a whole school waste audit in November!
Thank you to all the students who signed up to be their classroom representative. GO GREEN!
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.
On Tuesday, September 24, we had our first Catholic
School Council Meeting with elections. We are proud to have Ms. N. Thomas-Davis as our School Council Chair.
It is time to start our
THANKSGIVING FUNDRAISER to raise necessary funds that assist with various programs and activities for all the students. This year’s fundraiser was sent home early this month, offering several gift ideas, as well as a few tasty treats, at every price point to make sure we can all participate.
Please return the top three copies (white, yellow and pink) of the order form and monies collected on or before
OCTOBER 18 .
Please make sure that your child’s name is on both the order form and the money envelope. Retain the green copy for your records. All cheques must be made payable to ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA CATHOLIC
SCHOOL.
All students from Kindergarten to
Grade Eight are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to school on Thursday, October
31st. Please remember that guns, swords or weapons of any kind are not permitted at school on this day. Also, due to safety reasons, students are not allowed to wear full masks to school.
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God 5

Friday, October 11, 2013
has been designated as a
Professional Activity Day for teachers for faith development and curriculum. There will be no classes for students.
The celebrated virtue of October is empathy. Empathy means the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. There are many people in our community who are less fortunate than us and they are in need of some of the basic necessities like food. During the first two weeks of this month, our school will be hosting a
Thanksgiving food drive as we empathize with those who have less than us . All classes will have large bags for the students to bring in any nonperishable goods which will be dropped off at the fire station on Thursday, October 10th, 2013 by Ms.
Tropea's grade 8 class. The donations will then be picked up by The Mississauga Food Bank who will distribute the food in time for Thanksgiving. Some items that are in high need are peanut butter , canned fish , canned fruit , rice and macaroni and cheese however, any nonperishable goods are appreciated.
On Friday, September 27, St. Catherine of Siena participated in the annual Terry Fox walk.
Congratulations to our students and staff for their generous donations – in excess of $800 dollars – to support cancer research.
Sincere thanks are extended to Mrs.
Connoly, Mrs. Ferraro, and Mrs. Ciminio for their assistance with this year’s event.
For the latest board news and information, follow us
@DPCDSBSchools.
Thank you to the St. Catherine of Siena School
Community for supporting the Fall Scholastic Book Fair.
Through Book Fair sales, the library has more of an opportunity to purchase additional resources to benefit the students as well as the teachers. As a result of a very successful Spring Book Fair last May, based on sales, Scholastic Canada donated over $1000.00 in books to a designated children’s hospital, through various charitable organizations, on St. Catherine of
Siena’s behalf. A copy of the certificate has been included in the newsletter. Thank you once again for supporting children in becoming “lifelong learners” through encouraging reading every day.
Th is year’s Book Fair and Open House was a great success. Geronimo Stilton was very excited to meet and visit with the many students and families Thursday evening. During the Open House and all through the week, the students completed ballots for a draw to win a
Grand Prize of $25 of Scholastic books and products for themselves as well as the classroom teacher, other prizes included books and posters. The Fall Scholastic
Book Fair $25.00 grand prize was awarded to Joshua B. and his teacher, Mr. Mintz. Congratulations to all of the other winners as well. A special thank you to all of the
Book Fair volunteers: Mrs. Lotito, Mrs. Owczarczuk, Ms.
DeLhorbe, Mrs. Cimino, and the returning grade nine students, for their contributions in making the Fall
Scholastic Book Fair a great success.
Book Exchange has officially begun in the library, which occurs on a weekly basis. Parents and family members, if you can please help your child(ren) remember to take care of the library books they borrow. Help them remember to keep their books away from food or liquids, smaller siblings that might want to draw or cut the colourful pages, or any pets that might harm the books.
Remind to return their book(s) the day of their scheduled library visit.
In order to keep your child(ren) interested and excited about their book(s), please give them the opportunity to tell you, read to you or read the book with them, if possible, and often. Let us work together at exciting
Siena students about reading.
L. Leo,
Teacher-Librarian
Many Hands, Many Lands, One Heart, One God th
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Conversation
Club Begins
(Big Brothers and Sisters)
3:30
10
Virtue Assembly
Pizza Day
Jr Volleyball @
St. Gerrard
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30 31 Nov. 1
Nov. 2