May 2012
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
25 Mount Royal Circle
Virtue of the Month
Phone (905) 913-1703
A Blessing in Honour of Mary
Acceptance
Inside this issue:
EQAO, Dress Code,
Welcome to
Kindergarten, Parent
Presentation
2, 3
Requests from the
4, 5
School, YMCA, Summer
Programs, Catholic
Education Week
Activities
Autism Speaks, Book
Flix for K-3, QSP
Reminder, Parent
Presentation, Letter
from the Principal
6, 7
Monthly Calendar,
Upcoming Events
8
Principal
Sonia Rotino
Secretary
Mary Doria
Superintendent
Alex Tucciarone
Trustee
Scott McLauchlan
Parish Priest
Father Papais
The virtue of Acceptance
means
we
accept
ourselves and others just
the way we are. God
created all of us in His
image, and God does not
make mistakes. Being a
part of God‘s family means
that we love and welcome
everyone just the way
Jesus did. Sometimes we
find ourselves in situations
where it is easier to follow
the crowd than to stand up
for what we know is right.
However, Jesus wants us
to accept everyone even
when it is hard.
Lord God,
you have given us life
And guided us on our journey.
Be with us as we honour Mary
In song and prayer this month.
We turn to you for protection,
Holy Mother of God.
Listen to our prayers
And help us in our needs.
Save us from every danger,
Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
Amen
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‖, ―whoever follows
me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.‖
(John 8:12)
There are 5 sub-themes, one for each day of the 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
We have prepared a series of activities to highlight how our
school will ‗Walk in the Light of Christ‘. 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.
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
April showers will bring
May flowers as we
celebrate the Crowing of
Mary and the Rosary this
month.
Mary, the mother of
Jesus,
exemplifies
humility, kindness, love
and acceptance. A silent
yet strong role model for
us all to emulate. We
honor all mothers on
Mother's Day which we
will celebrate on Sunday,
May 13.
PEACE GARDEN
When dropping off or
picking up your child from
school please watch
and remind them to stay
out of the flower beds and
peace garden, as we
have planted bulbs and
will soon plant flowers.
As well, a reminder to
parents who drop off and
pick up their children by
car in front of the school,
please do NOT let your
children off in front of the
peace garden. Remind
your children not to cut
through the peace garden
and stay out of the flower
beds.
Gentle reminder signs
have been placed in the
beds.
Earth week was from April 16 to 20 at school. We participated in
many activities throughout the week including a Spring Clean
Up where we collected 7½ bags of garbage from our property.
Our ECO team attended the ECO fest held at St. Leonard School on April 17. Students learned a lot about taking care
of our earth. They were given a spruce tree to plant in our garden at the front of the school.
We turned off our lights for Power Hour on March 30 and encouraged students to do the same at home on March 31.
We continue to turn our lights off in our classrooms over lunch on Friday afternoons in an effort to conserve energy.
We will continue to have Litterless Lunch Tuesdays in the month of May.
UNDERSTANDING KEY ISSUES IN CATHOLIC EDUCATION
What separate school rights does
section 93(1) of the Canadian
Constitution guarantee?
 To
Once section 93(1) was enacted,
why did Ontario’s separate school
supporters continue to suffer
Section 93(1) protects all the provisions
of the last separate school legislation
passed before Confederation. This
legislation was called the Separate
School (Scott) Act of 1863. Among
others, the Act provided the following
rights:
 To receive equitable funding
financial hardship?
 To have separate school boundaries
The Separate School (Scott) Act of
1863 did not anticipate the creation
and/or growth of corporations and
public utilities in Ontario or the creation
of public high schools. These two
omissions caused over 100 years of
financial hardship and inequity for
separate school supporters.
receive government grants
equitable with those of the public
school system
enlarged
 To elect separate school trustees
with all the powers of public school
trustees
 To form a separate school board with
five or more Catholic heads of family
resident in a public school jurisdiction
EQAO
EQAO WEBSITE
The Administration of Grade 3 and 6
Assessment of Reading, Writing and
Mathematics will be held May 23 to June
6, 2012. Specific dates will be forthcoming.
Please try to avoid booking appointments or vacations for
your grade 3 or 6 child during this assessment period.
If parents would like to have their children practice EQAO
questions at home, they may go to www.eqao.ca and click
‗English‘, then ‗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.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES LUNCH AND TREAT DAYS
Lunch Lady will be offered on
Monday, May 7, 14 and 28.
Pizza will be offered on
Wednesday, May 2, 9 16, 23 and 30.
Treat Days will be offered every Friday.
We offer From Farm to Table popcorn, Terra
Cotta Cookies and Ice Cream Sandwiches
.
All lunches must be pre-ordered with the forms provided
each term and returned to the school on the due date.
Page 2
FROM THE LIBRARY
Our Lady of Lourdes will be hosting
a Spring Book Fair during
Education Week from Monday May
7 to Thursday May 10. The theme of
the Book Fair is Luau—Say Hello To
Great Books! 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. Thank you
for your continued support. If you would like to help out
and volunteer at the Book Fair on Wednesday or
Thursday, please contact Mrs. Marsi.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN
DRESS CODE
On Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 pm
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.
With the warm weather approaching, we would again like to take this
opportunity to review the dress code expectations at Our Lady of Lourdes.
As a Catholic school, we believe that there must be a commitment to high
standards of modesty, neatness, cleanliness and good taste. Therefore, while
halter-tops, short shorts, spandex bike wear, muscle shirts, flip flops and
similar clothing and shoes may be acceptable for beach wear, they are not
appropriate for classroom instruction. Shirts should be of appropriate length
where they can be tucked into pants or a skirt. No midriffs or belly buttons
should be showing. Shorts and skirts should be the appropriate length for
school (e.g., longer than the length of your arm and hand when held at the side
of your body). Suggestive or inappropriate language or violent symbols are not
permitted on any clothing or personal belongings. Sunglasses, hats, (including
bandanas worn as head covering) are not to be worn inside the school. Nonmarking running shoes are to be worn during physical education classes. Tight
and/or revealing clothing is not acceptable. Bra straps should not be visible
and the width of shoulder straps on tops should be at least 5 cm wide.
We appreciate your support.
EMPOWERING PARENTS: CYBER & INTERNET SAFETY WORKSHOP
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.
JUNIOR BASKETBALL
The Junior Boys‘ Basketball team placed second overall at their tournament
held at Our Lady of Lourdes on April 25, 2012. All of the players worked
together as a team and displayed great skill and sportsmanship throughout
the day. Thank you to Mr. Boland for coaching the team.
The Junior Girls‘ Basketball team won first place at their tournament, also held on April
25, 2012! As a result, they advance to a Family Level Tournament held at St.
Anthony's School on May 4. We wish them the best of luck! Thank you to Mrs. Malfara,
Mrs. Stewart and Ms. Soragnese for coaching the team.
Page 3
FREEZER
MOVING HOMES?
Warmer weather is approaching and we would
like to give the students freezies on Playday and
offer ice cream sandwiches on Treat Fridays. To
do this, we need somewhere to store the
products. If you have a freezer you no longer
need and would like to donate it to the school,
please contact the office. Thank you.
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.
The Our Lady of Lourdes
YMCA Before and After
School Program is currently
accepting registrations for
September 2012. Our program will be serving children ages 4-12. The children will be active and
engaged in activities that promote:

physical activity, discovery, choice, fun
and friendship, leadership and character
development
For more information on how to register please
contact, Josephine Lopez-Centre Supervisor at
905-857-3531
or
e-mail
at
Josephine.lopez@ymcagta.org.‖
PEACE GARDEN BENCHES
Also, it is imperative that you
keep us informed about changes
in your place of work, daycare
arrangements
and
phone
numbers. 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.
If you are affiliated with a
Garden
Centre
or
Landscaping business, we
would like to talk to you about
purchasing some concrete
benches for our peace
garden.
We have raised
money throughout the year for
the creation and maintenance
of our peace garden at the
front of the school and now
we would like to add a place
to sit, where students can
quietly reflect and pray. If you
are able to help, please
contact Ms. Zanella at your
earliest convenience.
DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS 2012
Elementary Summer School
Summer Literacy Camp
Grades 7 and 8
Grades SK to 6
Tuesday July 3 to Friday July 20, 2012
Tuesday July 3 to Friday July 27, 2012
8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. daily
Fee for Service Program
Students recommended by the Principal
No transportation provided
Bussing provided at home school pick up points
Deadline for applications: June 1, 2012
Deadline for applications: June 7, 2012







Divine Mercy
Good Shepherd
Metropolitan Andrei
St. Angela Merici
St. Gertrude
St. Jerome
St. Raphael
Mississauga
Brampton
Blessed John XXIII
Fr. C.W. Sullivan
St. Albert of Jerusalem
Lester B. Pearson
St. Barbara
St. Bonaventure
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
St. Isaac Jogues
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Gerard
For more information and registration forms regarding
these summer programs please contact your local
elementary school or visit our website at http://
www.dpcdsb.org/CEC/CNE
Page 4
St. Gregory
Sts. Martha and Mary
Orangeville
St. Andrew
Bolton
St. Nicholas
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK ACTIVITIES
May 7-11, 2012
Grade/Teacher
JK/SK, Grade 1, Grade 2,
Grade 2/3 and 4/5
Whole School
Grade 8 - Boland
Grade 1 – Drepaul
Grade 3/4 - Zanella
Grade 4/5 - Soragnese
Activity
Time
Monday, May 7 – LISTENING in the Light of Christ
9:00-9:40 Guida
Jump Aerobics
9:40-10:20 Visentin
10:50-11:30 Paolella
12:35-1:10 Deputat
1:10-1:50 Champsi
1:50-2:30 Drepaul
2:30-3:10 Soragnese
Book Fair
Students are able to browse at
the Book Fair and make Wish
Lists, as per schedule
Location
Gymnasium
Room 104
Presentation of Art History
Projects
Reading the book ―A Chance to
Shine‖ and follow up activities
Class Prayer Service
12:30-1:15
Room 215
12:40-1:05
Room 107
2:50-3:15
Room 204
Reading the book ―Journey to
the Heart‖ and then creating
Tableaux
2:30-3:15
Room 203
Tuesday, May 8 - LEARNING in the Light of Christ
Whole School – directed by
Guida and Visentin pm
JK/SK
Whole School
Crowning of Mary Mass
1:15 pm
Whole School
Book Fair
Purchase at the Book Fair
during the school day and from
3:15 to 7:00 pm
Room 104
Whole School
Bake Sale
3:15-7:00 pm
Room 103
JK/SK – Guida and
Visentin
Grade 7 - Rodda
Making Kites
10:30-11:15
Rooms 101 & 102
Reading the book ―Lighthouse‖
and follow up activities
2:30-3:05
Room 213
Book Fair
Students are able to browse at
the Book Fair and make Wish
Lists, as per schedule
Wednesday, May 9 - LIVING in the Light of Christ
Gymnasium
Room 104
Thursday, May 10 - LOVING in the Light of Christ
Whole School
Café Francais
As per class schedule
Gymnasium
Whole School
Book Fair
Room 104
Grade 2 - Deputat
Poetry Recital
Students are able to purchase
at the Book Fair during the
school day
9:30-10:30
Grade 3 - Malfara
Mother‘s Day Tea Celebration
1:30-2:30
Room 202
Grade 2/3 - Champsi
Mother‘s Day Tea Celebration
1:30-2:30
Room 201
Grade 1 – Paolella
Room 109
Reading the book ―A Chance to
12:40-1:15
Room 108
Shine‖ and follow up activities
Friday, May 11—P.A. Day – Provincial Priorities and Faith Development – no school for students
QSP
MAGAZINE
FUNDRAISER
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 and you can save up to
85% off of newsstand prices!
Our School earns a profit while you
save on your magazines.
Our Children are encouraged to
read or model your reading
behaviour to improve their literacy
skills.
Ignore renewal notices from the
publishers and order your magazines
through our school. 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!
Give magazines as gifts this year!
STUDENT COUNCIL COIN DRIVE
Our coin drive ended on April 5, 2012! Thank you to
everyone who donated their loose change. It was staff
against the boys and girls of the school. The boys were the
clear winners with only $3.65 in silver against their total amount of pennies.
The teachers had $7.60 in silver and the girls had $34.75 in silver, against the
total number of pennies. Over $300 was raised for our Peace Garden! Thank
you again.
BOOK FLIX FOR KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 3
The Ontario Ministry of Education has purchased an
annual subscription to Scholastic’s BookFlix—an
interactive online literacy website! This subscription
includes remote access so students can use BookFlix at
home or anywhere else there is an Internet connection!
To login from home: Username: duffpeel, Password: duff7878
AUTISM SPEAKS
The fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day was April 2,
2012. Every year, autism organizations around the world
celebrate the day with unique fundraising and awarenessraising events. On April 27, we sold ice cream sandwiches to
raise money for Autism Awareness and research. The
proceeds of $120 will be donated to Autism Speaks on behalf
of Our Lady of Lourdes.
THANK YOU!!
Many thanks to the families who have donated books to the school. Some of the books have been placed in
our library collection and others have made their way into classroom libraries. We are always in need of
books to increase our collection and to replace those that become damaged or lost and appreciate your
support. As well, thank you to all those who have donated games for rainy day recess play.
ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING SAFETY 101 FOR PARENTS
Page 6
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
May 2012
Sun
Mon
For Zumba classes, please refer to
the registration package sent home
on April 27, 2012. Classes begin
Wednesday for those who have
registered.
Tue
1
Wed
Thu
2 Pizza Day
3
4 Treat Friday
Scientists in the
School, Cavarretta
& Sette
Junior Speech
Competition 7:00
pm @ Holy Spirit
Jump Aerobics—
Skipping
Presentations
Grade 8 to meet
Bishop at St. Patrick
7 Lunch Lady
8
9 Pizza Day
Jump Aerobics—
Skipping
Presentations
Crowning of Mary
Mass, 1:15 pm
Book Fair open 3:15 Café francáis,
pm to 7:00 pm
9:00am—2:10pm
10
Bake Sale, 3:157:00pm, Rm 103
R.A.I.D. Grade 6
Sat
5
Junior Girls Family
Basketball
Tournament @ St.
Anthony (pm)
Zumba 6:00-6:35pm
6
Fri
11
P.A. day–
12
Provincial
Priorities & Faith
Development—
No School For
Students
Zumba 6:00-6:35pm
Catholic Education Week
13
14
15
16 Pizza Day
Lunch Lady
Staff & Students:
National Denim Day
to Support Care for
Breast Cancer
Smart Start Cyber
and Internet Safety
Parent Workshop,
6pm
R.A.I.D. Grade 6
17
18
19
Treat Friday
Lunch Lady Hot
Dog Day (order
forms to follow)
Zumba 6:00-6:35pm
20
21
22
No school for
students
25
26
Treat Friday
Zumba 6:00-6:35pm
28
29
30 Pizza Day
Lunch Lady
Confirmation at
7:00pm St. Patrick‘s
Church
Virtue Assembly,
1:30pm
R.A.I.D. Grade 6
24
Welcome to
Kindergarten Night,
6:30 pm
Victoria Day—
27
23 Pizza Day
31
The Virtue for May is
San Diego Yogurt
Treat Day
Zumba 6:00-6:35pm
EQAO Testing
June
4
R.A.I.D. Grade 6
13
San Diego Yogurt Treat Day, Zumba classes 6:00-6:30pm
5
School Council Meeting, 6:00 pm
19
Ballroom Dance Competition at Palais Royale, 6 pm
Social Networking Safety 101 for parents, 7:30 pm
20
6
Intermediate Beach Volleyball Tournament, San Diego Yogurt Treat
Day, Zumba classes 6:00-6:30pm
Track and Field Meet at St. Marcellinus, Grades 4 to
San Diego Yogurt Treat Day, Zumba classes 6:00-6:30pm
22
Kindergarten Celebration, 10:30am and 2:30pm
7
Glee—Evening Performance, 7:00pm
25
Year End School mass – 9:30 am
8
Glee—AM/PM performance, 9:00am and 1:30pm, Meningitis and
Hepatitis B Immunizations (grade 7), HPV vaccine (grade 8 girls)
26
Play Day (Hot Dog lunch included, courtesy of School Council),
Reports go home
7&8
Scientists in the School, JK and SK
27
Grade 8 Graduation
11
P.A. Day, Term 2 Assessment & Evaluation of Pupil Progress
28
Fairness Virtues Assembly
12-15
Chicago Trip, Grades 7&8
29
Last Day of School, Play Day Rain Date