OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
25 Mount Royal Circle
Brampton, Ont. L6P 1W3
Phone (905) 913-1703
January 2012
FAX (905) 913-2918
Newsletter #5
A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR
O Lord, as the years change,
may we find rest in your eternal changelessness.
Help us to meet this new year bravely, in the faith that,
while life changes all around us, you are always the same,
guiding us with your wisdom and protecting us with your love,
Principal
Sonia Rotino
Secretary
Mary Doria
~
Superintendent
Alex Tucciarone
through our Savior Jesus Christ.”
(prayer by William Temple, 1881-1944)
Parish Priest
Father Papais
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year and welcome back to
school! We hope that you enjoyed a
very restful and peaceful Christmas
break with family and friends. As we
enter into the next part of this school
year, we look forward to our continued
partnership with you in the spiritual,
academic and social development of
your children. On behalf of our staff, we
wish to thank you for your ongoing
support with the various activities here at
Our Lady of Lourdes.
Best wishes for a
Trustee
Scott McLauchlan
God has given us the ability to choose.
We are able to control how we react to
what happens around us. Through
prayer and concentration, we can get
better at controlling our reactions. We
can get better at showing self-control.
Self-control helps us to resist the
temptation to do something that we will
regret and helps us make good choices.
P.A. DAY MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH
happy and healthy 2012!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY
We wish to thank the community of Our
Lady of Lourdes for your generosity and
giving spirit during the Advent season.
We would like to thank the Fattore family
for their donation in support of our candy
cane fundraising event.
We would like to thank the parents,
students and teachers who contributed
to the Food Drive for the Knights Table,
Toys for Tots for the Peel Regional
Police and Coats for Kids through
ReGeneration Outreach.
This day is dedicated to evaluation
of pupil progress and report card
preparation. There will be no
classes for students on this day.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, January 18th
6:30 p.m.– 7:30 p.m.
(Please note the date change)
All parents are welcome
www.connect2ENDviolence.ca
http://www.dpcdsb.org/LOURD
Page 2
Newsletter #5
Sacrament of First Reconciliation
Our Gr. 2 students will be making their First
Reconciliation at the Service of Light at 7:00 p.m. on
February 29th, 2012 at St. Patrick‘s Church.
Sacrament of First Holy Communion
First Holy Communion for the grade 2 students will be
celebrated on Sunday April 15th, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at
St. Patrick‘s Church. Families must be registered at St.
Patrick‘s Church in order for their child to receive their
First Holy Communion.
Sacrament of Confirmation
The Enrolment Mass and presentation of the crosses
for Grade 8 students receiving the sacrament of
Confirmation was held on December 8th at Our Lady of
Lourdes. The grade eight students will be receiving the
Sacrament of Confirmation on May 29th, 2012 at St.
Patrick‘s Church starting at 7:00 p.m.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES LUNCH & TREAT DAYS
Pizza days are on Wednesdays
January 11th, 18th and 25th.
All pizza lunches have been pre-ordered with the forms
provided at the beginning of the school year. Forms will
be coming home in January for pizza orders from
February to June.
Treat Days will be offered on Fridays and we will be
selling From Farm to Table popcorn and Terra Cotta
cookies for $1.00 each
Lunch Lady is on Mondays
January 9th, 23rd and 30th
KISS AND RIDE AND THE PARKING LOT
REPORTING - INTERVIEWS
Thank you to all our parents who have been obeying all
the parking signage on and around our school
property. Parents are reminded to park in a legal
parking spot when picking up or dropping off their
children. Doing this will make it safe for all students,
parents and staff members during these busy times. A
reminder to all parents that parking is NOT permitted in
the Kiss and Ride Lane. Please do not leave your car
as it backs up traffic in the lane. Teachers are on duty
in the morning and at the end of the day to direct the
students. Your cooperation for the good of all our
student population is appreciated.
The Student-Parent-Teacher Interview is designed to
complement the Ontario Report Card by enabling
parents to communicate with teachers, to offer useful
information, and to ask relevant questions about their
child‘s progress in order to support their child‘s learning.
Community members are reminded that parking on
school property overnight is not permitted. During the
winter months, snow removal equipment must be able
to remove the snow. Vehicles remaining on the
property overnight or during the day, that do not belong
to staff or to parents volunteering during the day will be
towed away at the owner‘s expense.
STAYING IN FOR RECESS
In the colder weather we receive numerous requests to
allow children to remain indoors when students have a
cold, flu, etc. We cannot comply, as we neither have
the facilities nor the staff to supervise these students.
Moreover, Health Officials indicate that fresh air is
good for children, not harmful, as long as students are
dressed appropriately.
On extremely cold days,
particularly when the wind chill factor lowers
temperatures considerably, we will limit the amount of
time students spend outdoors, or hold recess indoors.
With the exception of these occasions, we expect all
children will go outdoors for recess and during their
lunch break.
A formal written report will be sent home on Tuesday,
January 31st, 2012. Interviews will be held during the
evening on Thursday, February 2nd and during the day
of Friday, February 3rd or at other times by mutual
agreement. You will receive a form in the near future
that will allow you to indicate your preference for
interview day and time.
THINK PAPERS/CONDUCT REPORTS
At Our Lady of Lourdes, we use a variety of techniques
to deal with misbehavior. One technique that we use is
a Think Paper. The Think Paper is a tool that requires
your child(ren) to reflect on what they have done and
what they should/would do the next time a similar
situation were to occur. Think Papers are completed
over the recess times and serve as part of the
consequence for the inappropriate behavior. The Think
Paper is then brought home to parents to share and be
signed and returned the next day. It is our hope that
you would discuss the situation with your child. If a
child receives three or more Think Papers the teacher
may choose to complete a Conduct Report. If your
child receives a conduct report, they have a
conversation with the Principal. They will then be given
an appropriate consequence and you would be notified.
Teachers can also complete a conduct report if the
behavior is very serious and needs parental
involvement and attention right away.
Newsletter #5
FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION FOR
2012-2013
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten for the 2012-13
school year will take place at Our Lady of Lourdes on
the following days:
Monday, February 6th, 2012*
7:00-9:00 p.m.
*Snow Date: Tues., February 7th, 2012 - 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Wed., Thurs. & Fri., February 8, 9 & 10, 2012
9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m.
For more information, call 905 913-1703 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
Junior Kindergarten - Children must be 4 years old by
December 31st, 2012
Senior Kindergarten - Children must be 5 years old by
December 31st, 2012
For more information, contact the school office at
(905-913-1703) or visit our school website.
There will be an information session for parent(s)/
guardian(s) of children with special needs such as
vision, hearing, autism, physical/medical and/or
developmental delays who are entering JK, SK or Full
Day Kindergarten in September 2012. The information
session will be held at the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
Catholic Education Centre, Room 301
40 Matheson Boulevard West, Mississauga
(Hurontario & Matheson)
January 17th, 2012 from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
For more information about this session, call 905-8900708 ext. 24011.
HELMETS FOR KIDS
Looking to purchase helmets? Safe Kids Canada and
Canadian manufacturer, Seven Star Sports, announce
a new relationship to provide low-cost helmets for all
sports, including cycling, skiing, snowboarding and
hockey. A portion of all sales will go to supporting Safe
Kids Canada. Visit their website to download an order
form and view the models available. Please share this
with your family, friends and colleagues! For more
information and to download an order form, please go
to the following link:
http://www.safekidscanada.ca/Professionals/Tools-andResources/Helmet-Order-Forms/Order-helmets.aspx
Page 3
PLAYING SAFELY IN THE WINTER
In order to ensure the safety of all
students, Our Lady of Lourdes has a strict
rule of forbidding the throwing of
snowballs, kicking snow at others and
―snow jobs‖. These activities therefore are
not permitted in the schoolyard. Every student has
been made aware of the importance of this rule.
A snowball, which hits another student can result in a
serious injury. Students have been informed about the
consequences for throwing snowballs and that ignoring
this rule can result in suspension.
In an active schoolyard, sliding and tunnelling in the
snow can be fun; however, a child could still get hurt.
Therefore, we are asking students to refrain from
sliding on ice patches and to stay off snow piles made
by the snowploughs.
We encourage our students to constructively use the
snow that winter brings us, to build snow people, forts,
sculptures, etc. Please assist us by reviewing with your
child the dangers of throwing snowballs and the
importance of preventing injury to other children. This
will help to make our school yard a safe place for all our
students during the winter.
JOIN OUR TEAM!
Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education
program that helps students develop both ecological
literacy and environmental practices to become
environmentally responsible citizens. Our school is
hoping to become a bronze level EcoSchool this year.
We have recently formed our EcoTeam with student
representatives. We would be happy to have parents
join our EcoTeam in January to offer expertise or to
help with the implementation of our action plan. If you
would like to participate on our EcoTeam please
contact the school and leave a message for Miss.
Drepaul or Miss. Trentin.
MITTENS, SCARVES AND HATS
We will be collecting new mittens, hats and scarves
this month for Regeneration Outreach. Regeneration
Outreach has been called to bring healing, personal
growth and spiritual awareness to marginalized youth
and adults, all within a safe and caring environment.
Please send in new mittens, scarves and hats during
the month of January. Thank you in advance for your
generosity.
For further information, please see:
http://www.regenbrampton.com/#/contact-us
Page 4
Newsletter #5
Even though the deadline for
sending in orders and getting
prizes has passed, you can
still order online. If you want
to renew other magazines, or order a new magazine,
or order gift subscriptions later in the year, you can still
take advantage of QSP‘s great prices all year long –
and you will still benefit our school with each order!
Just go to: www.qsp.ca and click on ―Shop Now‖ and
use our group order 33183. Questions? Contact QSP
Customer Service number: 1-800-667-2536. There is
also a link on our school website.
FAMILY LITERACY DAY
January 27th is Family Literacy Day® (FLD)! As stated
on the website, the day was created by ABC CANADA
Literacy Foundation in 1999 as a national initiative that
promotes the importance of reading and learning
together as a family.
This year, the theme for Family Literacy Day is ‗Take
the Learning Journey!‘ Learning happens everywhere,
which makes it easy to include learning activities as a
part of your daily life. Once you realize how the things
you do on a daily basis already involve learning, it‘s
easy to
make
everyday activities
learning
opportunities. Take the Learning Journey as part of
Family Literacy Day® 2012 by downloading the
Passport at www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.
ABC Life Literacy Canada is pleased to announce that
the Family Literacy Day Colouring Contest presented
by Raise-a-Reader is back for a second year! Families
across Canada can now enter the contest via the
Contest section at www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.
The contest acts as a great homework assignment to
encourage children to learn at home with families.
Yummy Lunches … Tasty Snacks!
Healthy eating plays an important role in a child‘s
growth and learning. Kids need to develop healthy
eating habits at a young age. One way to do this is to
provide kids with balanced lunches and snacks. A
healthy lunch contains one food from three out of the
four food groups from Canada‘s Food Guide. These
food groups are: "Vegetables and Fruit", "Grain
products", "Milk and Alternatives" and "Meat and
Alternatives".
Did You know?
• Homemade lunches allow you to control the amount
of salt, fat and other nutrients your child receives.
• Nutritious lunches and snacks can be quick to make
as well as fun, tasty and interesting to children.
• Snacks, limited to two or three times a day and well
before meals, will not interfere with a child‘s appetite.
•Water is important for brain function and hydration.
Tips for Parents
• Choose ―fruit juice‖ over ―fruit drink‖. Look for juices
that contain 100% fruit juice. ―Fruit drinks‖ are made
up of sugar, flavorings and some vitamin C.
• Use dinner leftovers for a nutritious lunch.
• Involve children! Kids are more likely to eat a lunch
that they helped to prepare.
• Surprise your kids once in a while. Add a couple
cookies, a handful of popcorn, an ‗I love you‘ note or
a little gift to their lunch.
For more info call Region of Peel – Public Health
at 905-799-7700 or visit peelregion.ca/health
Helpful websites: dietitians.ca, peel-obesity.ca,
eatrightontario.ca
UNDERSTANDING KEY ISSUES IN CATHOLIC
EDUCATION
JUNIOR BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Why did Catholics find the non-denominational
religious education of the common school
unsatisfactory?
Congratulations to the Our Lady of Lourdes junior boys
volleyball team for placing first overall at their
tournament held at Holy Spirit on November 23rd, 2011.
Catholics wanted separate schools where all the beliefs
of the Catholic Church would be taught, where the pupils
would live their faith in a sacramental and community
manner in proximity to the parish church and priest, and
where religion would permeate the reading, literature
and history curriculum. Furthermore, as modern times
arrived, the multiculturalism of the public school‘s
student body necessitated the eradication of the
teaching of Christianity.
Newsletter #5
EXTENDED FRENCH INFORMATION MEETING
Grade 4 parent(s)/guardian(s), who wish to enroll their
child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for
September, 2012 are invited to attend an information
meeting at:
St. Jean Brébeuf
63 Glenforest Road, Brampton, L6S 1L8
(905) 791-8529
Wednesday January 18th, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
At the present time, St. Jean Brebeuf school is the
designated centre for Our Lady of Lourdes.
Applications will be accepted at St. Jean Brebeuf until
3:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 8th, 2012.
FRENCH IMMERSION INFORMATION MEETING
Senior Kindergarten parents/guardians, who wish to
enroll their child in a Grade 1 French Immersion class
for September, 2012 are invited to attend an
information meeting at St. Joachim.
French Immersion Centres
Date and time
Our Lady of Providence
St Angela Merici
St Joachim
Tues., January
10th, 2012
7:00 p.m.
The deadline for submission of Applications will be
2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 8th, 2012.
Page 5
CYBER SAFETY
The Internet has brought many benefits, but it has also
raised some safety concerns such as the potential for
crime and predators. To make sure children have a
safe and rewarding experience on the Web, parents
must understand the sites children are exploring and
using and the safety issues they may face.
The use of computers by children needs to be
monitored closely by parents. Children should
never have computers in bedrooms, especially if
there is a webcam attached to the computer.
The Canada Safety Council recommends that children
who use the Internet follow these Online Safety rules:
 I will not give out any personal information online
without my parents‘ permission. This includes my
name, phone number, address, e-mail, location of
my school, my parents‘ work address/telephone
number and credit card numbers, and my picture.
This goes for anywhere on the Internet, including
email, chat rooms, newsgroups—even Web sites
that promise me free stuff or prizes, or on Web
pages that I make myself.
 When using the Internet, I will always use a pretend name or nickname that doesn‘t reveal
whether I‘m a boy or a girl.
 When creating a password, I will make one up that
is hard to guess but easy for me to remember. To
avoid having it stolen, I will never reveal it to anyone (except my parents) - not even my best friend.
 I will not respond to any message that makes me
uncomfortable. I will show an adult right away.
RECESS RULES FOR STUDENTS
We encourage all student to experience their outdoor
recess break in an enjoyable and safe manner. To
ensure that students play safely and never endanger
the safety of other children during recess times, we
have some very important rules for all children to
follow in our school yard.

Keep Your hands and Feet to Yourself

Use Appropriate Language

Respect All Persons

Respect All Property

Play Non-contact Games Only

Stay on School Property

Food Stays Inside

Rocks, Stones and Snow Stay on the Ground
Please review these rules and expectations with your
children.
 I will arrange to meet a friend I have made on the
Internet ONLY if one of my parents has been informed and will be present.
 I will not send an insulting or rude message to anyone online. This is not good Netiquette.
 I will not disable any filtering software my parents
have put on the computer.
 I will not open e-mail, files, links, pictures or games
from people that I don‘t know or trust. I will always
ask an adult first.
 I will not take words, pictures or sound from someone else‘s Web site without their permission.
 I will not believe everything I read on the Internet. I
will always check the source of the information and
confirm it with my teacher, parent or librarian.
Source: Media Awareness Network
Page 6
Newsletter #5
MATH HOMEWORK HELPLINE
Grades 7 and 8 students may register for the Math
Homework Helpline. Homework Help is a free online
math help for students in Grades 7-10. Homework Help
is funded by the Ministry of Education and administered
by the Independent Learning Centre. It provides free,
live one-on-one tutoring from Ontario teachers Sunday
to Thursday from 5:30pm– 9:30 pm ET.
Register Now to gain access to everything that
Homework Help has to offer. Ask A Tutor, 24/7
Resources and our math specific tools. It’s free!
To access the OERB, go to the following website:
https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org
Student user id: dpcdsbstudent
Student password: oerbs
DPCDSB Community Programs from Adult and
Continuing Education
Winter 2012 DPCDSB Adult and Continuing Education
program flyers arrive at your doorstep the week of
January 2, 2012.
You are invited to join in these exciting community
programs.
o Computer ABC‘s Day Program
o Car Maintenance for Women
o Secondary Night School Credit
o French as a Second Language
o Adult Coop and Credit
o General Interest Programs
o International Languages
o English as a Second Language
o Citizenship and ESL Classes
o Health and Fitness
o Much Much More
Register now for lifelong learning opportunities! Call 905891-9263 ext.0 or www.dpcdsb.org/cec/cne
Newsletter #5
Christmas Ball Decorations
Thank you to everyone who participated
in our fundraiser and purchased a
Christmas Ball decoration. We collected
over $500 to go towards the statue of Our
Lady of Lourdes for our Peace Garden!
Food Drive
Wow, we had a fantastic competition
going on between the classes for who
could donate the most food.
Congratulations to everyone for your
wonderful contributions. Mr. Sette’s class
came in first place by donating 240 food
items.
Page 7
Candy Grams
We had a great response for our Candy
Grams, selling just over 1600 Candy
Grams! We collected over $500 to go
towards the statue of Our Lady of
Lourdes. Candy Grams were delivered on
December 21st. Thank you to everyone
for their ongoing support.
Wear your Our Lady of Lourdes
Spirit Wear every Friday!
Toys For Tots
Thank you to everyone who donated new, unwrapped toys to the Peel Regional Police’s
Toys For Tots program. Our community officers had to make two trips in their vehicle
to transport all the toys we collected!
Primary Crafts
Primary students had a great time making Christmas crafts in the
month of December!
Stay tuned for events coming up in the new year!!!
January 2012
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
4
5
6
7
The Virtue for
January is
SELF-CONTROL
1
2
3
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
8
9
22
French
12
Return to school
16
17
18
PA Day—no
school for
students
Grad Picture
Day
Extended French Info
Mtg, 7:00pm, St. Jean
Brebeuf,
23
24
13
Great
14
Lakes Outreach
Program, grades
1,2,3,6,7 & 8
Pizza Day
Pizza Day
19
20
21
26
27
28
School Council Mtg 6:30
Lunch Lady
29
11
Immersion Info.
Meeting, 7:00
pm, St. Joachim
Lunch Lady
15
10
25
Family Literacy
Day
Pizza Day
30
31
Lunch Lady
Report Cards go
home
Upcoming Events:
February
8
Deadline for French Immersion and extended
French program applications
23
Our Lady of Lourdes School Blessing
29
March 14—18 March Break
22 SMART Start program parent presentation for
parents of grade 7 students, 7:00 pm
April 22
First Reconciliation at St. Patrick‘s Church
May
Good Friday
25
Easter Monday
23
Victoria Day