OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
25 Mount Royal Circle
Brampton, Ont. L6P 1W3
Phone (905) 913-1703
Newsletter #8
Easter is the gift of HOPE
Easter is the gift of PEACE
Let us rejoice in Him,
Who gives them all.
May God bless you at Easter,
And keep you all year through.
May God give you all the faith it takes,
To make your dreams come true.
May God’s love and wisdom
always help,
April 2012
Principal
Sonia Rotino
Easter is the gift...
Easter is the gift of LOVE
FAX (905) 913-2918
God has given us many guidelines and
examples of how to live our lives. He sent
his Son Jesus to make sure that we could
see what life could be like.
Jesus made one lesson clear above all
other lessons – the lesson to love. Love is
not about us – it is about forgetting
ourselves and looking out for the good of
others. That‘s what Jesus did – he forgot
about himself on purpose. He chose to
give up his life for the good of others – us!
to guide you on your way.
Secretary
Mary Doria
~
Superintendent
Alex Tucciarone
Trustee
Scott McLauchlan
Parish Priest
Father Papais
www.connect2ENDviolence.ca
May God’s light shine down upon you
now, to bless your Easter Day.
—Author Unknown
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK: WALKING IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
May 7 to May 11, 2012
In our schools the Spirit of God is alive! When you walk through the halls, stop and listen.
You will hear the marvelous work of the students and staff reflecting God‘s
graciousness in their learning and teaching. This year‘s Catholic Education Week theme
is ―Walking in the Light of Christ‖. Jesus proclaimed, ―I am the Light of the World‖ and
added that ―whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of
life.‖ (John 8:12)
There are five sub-themes, one for each day of Catholic Education Week: Monday listening in the Light of Christ; Tuesday - learning in the Light of Christ; Wednesday living in the Light of Christ; Thursday - loving in the Light of Christ ; Friday - leading in the
Light of Christ.
Every year, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees‘ Association (OCSTA) provides our
Catholic schools with a resource kit to help schools prepare for Catholic Education Week.
By using these resources, as well as our own school developed activities, we have
prepared a series of activities to highlight why our school should ‗Walk in the Light of
Christ‘. Further information regarding our school activities during Catholic Education
Week will follow. We invite all members of our community to participate in the activities
at our school that will mark the celebration of Catholic Education Week 2012.
http://www.dpcdsb.org/LOURD
Page 2
April 2012
Newsletter #8
SACRAMENT OF FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
First Holy Communion for the grade 2 students
will be celebrated on Sunday, April 15, 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 grade 8 students will be receiving the sacrament of
Confirmation on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at St. Patrick‘s
Church starting at 7:00 p.m.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES LUNCH
AND TREAT DAYS
Sun
1
Mon
2 Lunch Lady
Lunch Lady will be offered on these dates:
April Fool’s Day
Monday, April 2, 16, 23 and 30.
Kindness Virtue
Assembly, 2 pm
Wednesday, April 4, 11, 18 and 25.
SOCIAL NETWORKING SAFETY 101 FOR PARENTS
On Tuesday, June 5, we will be hosting a presentation
by Paul Davis on The Overall Safety of Your Child
Online – And the Impact On Their Future. Topics
covered will be Cyberbullying, Facebook Safety and
Security, MSN Safety, Webcams, iPhone & Blackberry
Use, Legal Matters, Implementation of Safety &
Security and emerging trends like Formspring/
Togetherville, etc. The presentation will begin at 7:00
and will run for 90 minutes with a question and answer
period to follow. Please mark this date on your calendar
and plan to attend.
UNDERSTANDING KEY ISSUES IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION
What effect did the Canadian Constitution create in
the British North America Act (1867) - now entitled
either the Constitution Act or the Canada Act - have
on separate schools?
When the Fathers of Confederation came from New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Canada East and Canada
West to meet in Charlottetown and Quebec, they
quickly concluded, in the words of one of the Fathers,
Sir Charles Tupper, that ―Without this guarantee for the
rights of minorities being embodied in that new
constitution, we should have been unable to obtain any
Confederation whatever‖.
8
Easter
9
5
6
Pizza Lunch
Holy Thursday
Stations of the
Cross– 1:30 pm
Good Friday
12
13
11
School Council
Spring Fundraiser
Ends
Pink Day for Antibullying
16
17
18
Lunch Lady
Eco fest 2012 –
Pizza Lunch
School Eco team to
attend
Friday, April 13, 20 and 27.
Monday
Treat Days will be offered every Friday.
Fri
4
10
Easter
15
Gr. 2 First
Communion, 2 pm
Sat
7
Water Conservation
Presentation
Pizza Lunch
14
Quiznos Lunch
Loretta Penny
Presentation,
Grades K-6, 9 am
19
20
21
Quiznos Lunch
Easter Season
Mass – 1:15 pm
Earth Week Activities
The ECO-School Team has been busy over the past few
weeks. We have written announcements reminding
everyone about Earth Hour on March 30. Our Lady of
Lourdes School participated in Earth Hour on Friday,
March 30 by turning off the lights for one hour from 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The ECO-School Team also
encouraged everyone to participate at home on March 31
to show they care for our planet Earth.
We will continue to have Litterless Lunch days on
Tuesdays during April.
22
23
24
25
26
27 Quiznos
Lunch Lady
Dance Team
Showcase at the
Rose Theatre
Pizza Lunch
Junior Basketball
tournament at
Lourdes—Gym
closed
See, hear testing
at Lourdes
School Council
Meeting 7 pm, all
are welcome
29
30 Lunch Lady
28
Virtue Assembly,
9:45 am
The Virtue for April is
Drum Clinic grades
3-8
Between April 16 and 20, we will be participating in a
Spring Clean Up around the school. We will post the
number of bags of garbage we collect in our May
newsletter.
RAID Program,
Grade 6
Our school ECO team is scheduled to attend the ECO
fest to be held at St. Leonard School on April 17. The
ECO fest will provide an opportunity for educators and
students in our Family of Schools to come together and
engage in a full day of environmental education. The
goal of the team is to Foster environmental stewardship
within our students today and for years to come.
May
In 1867 the Fathers of Confederation made section
93(1) part of the Constitution. It states:
Nothing in any such (provincial legislation) Law shall
prejudicially affect any Right of Privilege with respect to
Denominational Schools which any class of persons
(i.e. separate school supporters) have by Law in the
Province at the Union.
What guarantee for separate schools does the
Canadian Constitution still contain?
Gr. 2 Communion
Retreat day
Thu
Holy Week
Quiznos will be offered on these dates:
All lunches must be pre-ordered with the forms provided
each term and returned to the school on the due date.
Wed
3
Pizza will be offered on these dates:
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Please join us for the Stations of the Cross on Thursday
April 5th at 1:30pm.
Tue
June
2
Scientists in the School, Cavarretta & Sette
3
Junior Speech Competition 7:00 pm @ Holy Spirit
6-11
Catholic Education Week
7
Glee—Evening Performance
8
Crowning of Mary Mass, 1:15 pm
8
Glee—AM/PM performance
9
Book Fair open 3:15 pm to 7:00 pm
7&8
Scientists in the School, JK and SK
10
Café francáis
11
P.A. Day, Term 2 Assessment & Evaluation of Pupil Progress
IT'S TIME FOR SPRING CLEANING!
11
P.A. day– Provincial Priorities and Faith Development
12-15
Chicago Trip, Grades 7&8
If you have any gently used books that you would like to
donate to our school it would be greatly appreciated. The
books in our classroom libraries are well loved and need
to be updated. Please send your donations to the office
and we will send them to the appropriate grades. Many
thanks in advance!
23
EQAO begins—until June 6th
19
Ballroom Dance Competition at the Palais Royale, 6 pm
Welcome to Kindergarten Night, 6:30 pm
20
Track and Field Meet, Grades 4 to 8
Confirmation at 7:00pm St. Patrick‘s Church
22
Kindergarten Celebration
25
Year End School mass – 9:30 am
26
Play Day (Rain date: June 29), Reports go home
27
Grade 8 Graduation
28
Fairness Virtues Assembly
29
Last Day of School
29
5
School Council Meeting, 6:00 pm
Social Networking Safety 101 for parents, 7:00 pm
Newsletter #8
Newsletter #8
Page 6
WATER IN THE YARD
As we approach the season of rainy weather, water is
an inevitable feature of the schoolyard and presents an
occasion for younger students to get wet socks and
clothing. Our school approach is to contact parents to
bring dry clothing. This is often inconvenient for
parents. We suggest that you place an extra pair of
socks and track pants in your child‘s backpack in the
event that a change of clothing is necessary.
Helping children connect with each other…..
Are you doing a little spring cleaning or are you wondering how to acknowledge your child‘s up-coming birthday with
their classmates?
How about donating a very much loved or recently purchased game to your child‘s class or donate it to the school?
Rainy day recesses can sometimes be boring without a game or two to amuse students. We look forward to any donations of playing cards or complete board games (no missing pieces). Some games may be fun games for at home,
however not as suitable for school (i.e. Twister) … not to worry, we‘ll find a suitable home for these items through the
St. Vincent de Paul Society or other charities.
Please drop your donated games to the school office. Thank You!!
Please no video or battery operated games.
CLASS LISTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2012
We will begin working on next year‘s class lists in May. If
your child(ren) will be returning to Our Lady of Lourdes
School and there are particular learning needs that you
feel we should consider when making up classes, please
put this in writing to the Principal by April 30. Educational
reasons only will be considered in this process. Please
do not make requests for specific teachers.
We cannot guarantee your request, but we will consider
your concerns along with other factors. Class
placements will be tentative until the second week of
September when our staffing is confirmed.
If your family will be moving from our school area, please
let the office know as soon as possible.
STUDENT COUNCIL COIN DRIVE
The coin drive that the student council is running will
end on April 5th, 2012! Stay tuned for the total amount
of money raised and who the winners are!
Will it be the teachers? Girls? Or Boys?!!!
CHESS TEAM
Congratulations to our
Chess Team who competed
in t he f am il y l e ve l
tournament at Lester B.
Pearson Elementary School
on Friday, March 30. All
the players showed great
skill and sportsmanship
throughout the tournament. You made Our Lady of
Lourdes School proud!
CAFÉ FRANCAIS
Our Lady of Lourdes will be organizing our first Café
Francais on Thursday, May 10, in our gymnasium.
Students will have the opportunity to order plain or
chocolate croissants and white
or chocolate milk. Snacks will be
pre-ordered, using the forms that
will be sent home from each
class. Orders for croissants and
milk will be due by April 30.
Order forms will follow shortly.
Thank you to Mme. Mastrangelo
and her committee for organizing
this exciting event.
EQAO
Page 3
HOMEWORK TIP OF THE MONTH
Maintain a healthy balance.
It is important to help balance the many activities in your
child‘s life - school, homework, family commitments,
religious celebrations, time with friends, part-time
employment, and extra-curricular activities. Although it
may be challenging, at times, to maintain this balance, it
is essential to the health and well-being of the family.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO MOVE?
The Administration of Grade 3
and 6 Assessment of Reading,
Writing and Mathematics 20112012 will be held May 23rd –
June 6th, 2012. Specific dates will
be forthcoming.
We are in the process of planning staffing and
organizing classes for the 2012-2013 school year. If you
are planning to move out of the Our Lady of Lourdes
School area, or are simply changing address within our
boundaries, please let the office know as soon as
possible.
Please try to avoid booking appointments or vacations
for your grade 3 or 6 child during this assessment
period.
Also, it is imperative that you keep us informed about
changes in your place of work, phone numbers and in
daycare arrangements. In the event
of an emergency our records need
to be up-to-date so that we are able
to contact you. Please contact the
office when there are changes in this
information. Thank you for your
cooperation.
EQAO WEBSITE
If parents would like to have their children practice
EQAO questions prior to the test at home, they may go
to www.eqao.ca and click English, then click parent
information. There are assessments available from
previous years as well as the exemplars for marking.
You will see level 1 (code 10) to level 4 (code 40)
answers provided for many of the short answer
questions in the exemplars which refer to the
assessments provided.
WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN NIGHT
On Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. we will be hosting
a Welcome to Kindergarten evening for those students
and their parents who will be starting school for the first
time in September. Children and their parents will be
involved in activities that promote student school
readiness. At the end of the evening, each child will
take home a bag of materials to promote readiness
activities at home. These bags are provided in
conjunction with The Learning Partnership.
EASTER FOOD DRIVE
We started collecting food items on
March 22 for our Easter Food Drive, in
support of the Knights‘ Table. This
organization assists those in need in
our community. We will be collecting
non-perishable food items until April 4.
FROM THE LIBRARY
Our Lady of Lourdes will be hosting a Spring Book Fair
during Education Week from Monday May 7 to Thursday
May 11. Students may view the Book Fair on Monday
and Tuesday and are welcome to make purchases on
Wednesday or Thursday during scheduled times. The
Book Fair will also be open for purchases on
Wednesday, May 9 from 3:15 pm to 7:00 pm. Preview
flyers will go home with students the week before. Thank
you for your continued support.
Students in the Primary, Junior and Intermediate
Divisions will be voting on their favourite Forest of
Reading selections at the end of this month. For each
program, readers are encouraged to read all or a
selection of the books, and then vote for their favourite.
The program celebrates Canadian books and authors.
The results of our school vote will be sent to the Ontario
Library Association (OLA) where they will be added to
the provincial votes. Winners will be announced after
the voting day in late April.
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Newsletter #8
Newsletter #8
Page 5
SOS!!! Save Our Subscriptions!
The QSP Magazine Sale is Returning Fall 2011!
COMING THIS FALL! DIGITAL MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS!
Please help us by saving your magazine orders and renewals
for our QSP Magazine Fundraising Program.
We get great magazines at great prices. QSP will honour any price coupons.
Our School earns a profit while you save on your magazines.
Our Children - Any reading material, including magazines, encourages children to read.
Ignore those renewal notices from the publishers and order your magazines through our school this Fall. If you can‘t
wait, order anytime at www.qsp.ca!
Let friends and family know about our fundraiser and ask them to save their orders for our program!
Remember, if you have any questions regarding your magazine order; please call
QSP Customer Service at 1-800-667-2536
Thank you in advance for your support. We count on your participation!
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS
World Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd, part of April‘s Autism Awareness Month — an
official declaration by the United Nations in 2007. This day encourages individuals across
the globe to take measures to raise awareness about the prevalence and rate of autism in
our society as well as encourages early diagnosis and early intervention.
Some good news for Canadians in light of Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness
Month — the federal government in Canada last week announced new federal funding
(http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20120327/autism -treatment-care-research-chairfunding-announced-120327/) to support research into Autism Spectrum Disorders. This
funding will create the Chair in Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research
Program, allowing researchers to develop and bring innovative approaches to the treatment
and care of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
More good news in the area of assistive technology: keep an eye out for free apps this
week. Many developers are offering their apps for free on World Autism Awareness
Day. In addition, Technology is (Spl) Education (http://techinspecialed.com/) is
having a series of app giveaways on their site. Many of these apps incorporate visual
learning, a pedagogical practice that is used successfully with many individuals with
autism.