Dufferin-Peel CDSB
ST. GERTRUDE SCHOOL
Guided by Faith, Committed to Excellence
NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2014
AN EASTER REFLECTION
St. Gertrude
School
815 Ceremonial Dr.,
Mississauga, ON
L5R 3S2
Tel:
905 568 7660
Fax:
905 568 8194
Lord,
the resurrection of your Son
has given us new life and renewed hope.
Help us to live as new people
in pursuit of the Christian ideal.
Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,
the will to want to do it,
the courage to undertake it,
the perseverance to continue to do it,
and the strength to complete it.
AMEN
Principal
T. DeVellis-Carino
Vice-Principal
M. Diab
Secretaries
M. Sgambelluri
M. Cherubino
Superintendent
Mississauga
Brampton Central
L. Papaloni
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die,
shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
John 11: 25-26
Trustee
T. Thomas
Parish
St. Francis Xavier
905 890 5290
Pastor
Rev. Msgr. Edgardo Elias
Pan
School Council
Co-Chair: R. Ballantyne
S. Joseph
Follow us on
Twitter
@DPCDSBSchools
Principal ’s Message
During this Lenten season, we have had the opportunity to reflect on our lives and doing what is right
and just in order to follow the path of Jesus. In the month of March, we celebrated the virtue of Kindness,
and in April, as we continue to foster a safe, caring, healthy and inclusive school community, we will
focus on the virtue of Love.
Thank you to the many parents who were able to join us at our Lenten Mass at St. Francis Xavier
Parish. We were grateful to have Msg. Pan celebrate Mass and remind us that as faithful Catholics , during Lent, we are called to prayer, sacrifice and good deeds.
At an assembly the next day, we had the opportunity to hear about good deeds lead by an organization called, Teachers for Tanzania from the University of Windsor. They are a group of dedicated volunteers who bring needed school supplies, toiletries and physical activity equipment to the children of
Tanzania. As part of our Lenten project St. Gertrude school community is invited to donate the needed
items.
Donations will be accepted until April 8 2014. All donated items will be packed into hockey bags donated by the Toronto Marlies and travel to Tanzania on Easter Sunday!
Your support is truly appreciated!
T. De Vellis Carino
Principal
M. Diab
Vice Principal
Page 2
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
APRIL’S VIRTUE - LOVE
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
This month we celebrate the virtue of Love. God has
given us many guidelines and examples of how to live
our lives. God 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!
A person showing the virtue of love:
On Friday, April 4th at 7:30 p.m. our Youth Faith Ambassadors will be participating in the reading of the Stations of
the Cross at St. Francis Xavier Parish. A special thank
you to A. Markic for working with and preparing our Youth
Faith Ambassadors for this special event as well as leading various other faith formation activities at school.
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Wants the best for others
Is willing to make sacrifices for the good
of others
Learns from the heroic lives of saints &
holy people
Knows that we are all lovable
Prays for others
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Catholic Education Week will be celebrated from
May 5 - May 9, 2014. During this week the Catholic
community celebrates the unique and distinctive contribution that Catholic schools make to our students, our
community and our province. Catholic Education Week
is an opportunity to celebrate the Mission of our Catholic
schools as they strive to integrate the Gospel values of
Jesus Christ in every aspect of school life and curriculum. This year’s theme is: “ Serving in the Love of
Christ.”
The scriptural passage that guides our
theme is: “I am among you as one who serves.’ (Luke
22:27e)
FIRST COMMUNION
Our grade 2 students will receive their First Holy Communion on Saturday, May 10th, at 10 a.m. at
St. Francis Xavier Church. Please continue to
keep them in your prayers.
CONFIRMATION
Our grade 8 students will be receiving the Sacrament of
Confirmation on Thursday, May 1st at 7:00 p.m. at St.
Francis Xavier Church. In preparation, they participated
in a retreat at Queen of Apostles Retreat Centre. It was
a wonderful day for our students to personally reflect on
their spiritual development. As a Faith Community, we
ask you to remember all of our children in your prayers.
LENTEN MASS
Our students celebrated mass at St. Francis Xavier
Church on Thursday, March 20th at 10:00 a.m. St. Jude
School joined with our school for this special Lenten
Mass. The students were bussed to the church. Special
thank you to all the parents and volunteers who joined
us.
HOLY WEEK
On Monday, April 14th there will be a Tenebrae service at
St. Francis Xavier Parish at 7:30 p.m. Mr. J. Thomas
will be part of St. Michael’s Choir Alumni performing the
nine responsories. All are welcome.
Parents are invited to join us on Thursday, April 17th as
we gather in prayer for the Stations of the Cross at St.
Gertrude School.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
It is critical that the school has all of the up-to-date
phone numbers and emergency contacts in the event
of an illness or injury to your child. Please inform the
office staff of any changes to work, home, cell and
emergency contact numbers. Your child’s safety and
well-being are important to us all.
E.Q.A.O.
Our grade 3 and grade 6 students will be participating in
the Provincial EQAO assessments. These assessments
will take place from June 2 to June 13. It is very important
that your child is present during the assessment. We are
asking that you ensure that your child is at school during
this time.
IMMUNIZATION RECORDS SCREENING BY
PEEL PUBLIC HEALTH
Peel Public Health is required by law to keep
immunization records of all school-aged children in the
Region of Peel. The current review of immunization records is a routine process mandated by the Immunization of
School Pupils Act, 1990. Under the Act, students under the age of 18 must provide proof of up-to-date immunization against: diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps
and rubella. The Act also requires public health departments to issue orders to suspend children whose records
are incomplete. If you have received a letter from Peel
Public Health regarding your child’s immunizations, please
visit www.immunizepeel.ca for more information or
call 905-799-7700.
ARE YOU MOVING?
We are beginning the process of
planning classes and staffing for the
2014-2015 school year.
Please ensure that you complete and submit the ‘Are
You Moving’ form which will be sent home this month
and return to the school as soon as possible.
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
Page 3
2014/2015 SCHOOL ORGANIZATION
PLANNING
Do not park in the bus lane at any time!
Although it is only April, preparations are being made to
ensure that our school is organized for the 2014-2015
school year. As such, in the coming months, teachers
will be working hard on student class placements. As
you can appreciate, many hours of meetings and consultations go into the class building process, to ensure
the appropriate placement of each and every student.
Also, cars should not be attempting to leave
the driveway at the end of the day when students
are leaving the school grounds. This is a very unsafe practice.
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When creating a class, teachers look at the following criteria:
Student abilities and needs in the areas of academic, social, physical and emotional
development
Balance according to gender.
Learning style connected to required learning environments.
Student relationships
Parental/Guardian input (see description
below)
Parental/Guardian input is important to us. It will be
considered along with the other criteria listed above.
Parental/Guardian input in the form of a letter to the
principal should focus on the learning style of your child
and the type of environment in which she/he best
learns. Please include any other information you feel
will assist us in making our decisions, i.e. has been in a
split class. Specific teacher requests will not be considered. Please be reminded that although these letters of
request will be considered, we caution that not all parental requests can be accommodated.
Parents/Guardians who wish to submit a letter are
asked to send them to Mrs. De Vellis Carino by
Thursday, May 1, 2014.
THE BIG GULP
In an effort to raise awareness and promote healthy
living by drinking water, St. Gertrude staff and students
celebrated the Big Gulp on Friday March 21 . Special
thanks to Earth Angles students for promoting healthy
and eco-friendly living. Please remember to pack your
child/ren a reusable water bottle to school everyday!
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
The Mardi Gras Dance-a-thon and delicious pancakes
were enjoyed by everyone. A special thank you is extended to everyone for their support.
A thank you goes out to our team of volunteer for
their organization.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 8 @ 6:30 pm
for our next meeting. All are Welcome!
KISS AND RIDE LANE
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Be sure your child has his/her backpack
Please exit from the passenger side doors at
the curb
WALKING TO SCHOOL
We would like to ask parents/guardians to
encourage their children to walk to school. Walking
is a great form of physical activity. If walking all the
way to school is not possible, how about walking
part of the way? Dropping your children off a few
blocks from school and having them walk the rest of
the way would be a healthy alternative.
SCHOOL SPEECHES
The St. Gertrude students from grades 4 through 8
competed in a school wide speech competition on
February 11th. Thomas N. was the first place winner in the intermediate division with an informative
speech on “The Importance of Being Outside.”
David L. placed second in this competition and
Nicole W. placed third.
In the junior division, Alexandria O.
placed first with an interesting speech
on “Ghosts”. Angel L.. placed second and Isabelle M. placed third.
Thank you to all the participants of
our first French Speech Competition!
Congratulations to Oneah D., who will
be representing St. Gertrude School
at the Board level competition on April 2nd.
Congratulations to all the public speaking winners and participants!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to our grade 8 student
Angel L. for winning 1st place in the Canadian Legion
Public Speaking contest which took place on February
23. “How to be Mature” was the topic of Angel’s speech.
Page 4
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
ST. GERTRUDE 25th ANNIVERSARY
On May 13th we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary.
In preparation for this special event we have been working on a number of initiatives this year with the support of
our School Council. This includes the Peace Garden, the
Greening project, Stained Glass Project, 25th Anniversary Yearbook as well as various other in-school activities. Please save the date as more details and information will follow regarding the events of the day.
RUNNING CLUB
Hurray! The running club is up and running!
Thank you to all the many students and Mme Beneviedes
and Mme McIntosh for leading the way!
Also, to help us with our greening project, we will gladly
accept greenery donations for planting in our Peace
Garden. Thank you in advance for your generous support.
MATH MANIA
BASKETBALL
On Thursday March 27, 2014, a team of five intermediate
students, led by I. Cassano, participated in the annual
Math Mania competition held at Our Lady of Peace
School in Brampton. The two grade seven students, Luke
A. and Vincent N. and three grade eight students, Brenda N., Benjamin D. and David L., competed in individual
grade level and group math challenges from all five of the
math strands. Our students demonstrated a high level of
knowledge, skill, and application of mathematics and are
to be congratulated for working together and for representing St. Gertrude, demonstrating the highest level of
responsibility, sportsmanship and the virtues of our faith.
RAPTORS BASKETBALL NIGHT
On February 27, 2014, eighty-seven children and their
parents has a fabulous time at the Air Canada Centre.
We watched our Toronto Raptors play an exciting game
against the Washington Wizards. In the third OT, the Wizards won the game with a final score of 134 to 129.
Thank you to all who joined us and thank you to B. Shelsen for coordinating this community event.
We have had a very exciting intermediate basketball season so far. Intramural games began in
January and continued into February. In
March we chose school teams and practice teams from the players who regularly
participated in the intramurals. The
Teams played well in their exhibition
games including their games at the Air
Canada Centre. We are looking forward to the pod tournaments on April 7th and 9th and the Family tournament
on April 14th.
Boys Team
Mariano A., Joshua B., Jake C., Chirag D., Justin D.,
Matthew H., David L., Jireh M., Alex R., Dante R., Justus
S., Marco S., Patrick S., Daniel T.,
Girls Team
Kaylynn A., Cassandra C., Sabrina C., Nicole D., Victoria
F., Ariane I., Olivia I., Trisha J., Daniela ., Katrina L.,
Erica M., Brenda N., Sara P., Vanessa S., Monica S.,
Nicole W.
JUNIOR INTRAMURAL BASKETBALL
CHESS CLUB
The Chess Club has started
for Grades 3 to 8. We will be
playing games at lunch and
after school to prepare for the
upcoming Family of Schools
tournament to be held on
April 25.
Thank you to A. Migdal, A. McGuire, B. Shelsen and M.
Lackey for sharing and teaching their skills.
K. Tessar and M. Silva would like thank the junior boys
basketball team for their commitment and teamwork.
The 10 students made their coaches proud by their efforts to do their best and showing great sportsmanship at
the pod tournament. Way to go Conrad C., Christian C.,
Andrei D., Marc D.C., Justin J., Vincent M., Massimo M.,
Damola S., Yafet T., Frasier T. A special thank you goes
out to the Grade 7/8 students who helped out during
practices and at the tournament: Joshua B., Jireh M.,
Justus S. Thank you to our teachers, M. Silva and K.
Tessar for your dedication and training.
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
DATES TO REMEMBER
DIVERSITY CONFERENCE
On Wednesday, March 19, 2014, a group of grade 7
students, under the direction of Ms.Cassano and volunteer teacher, Ms. Oreto, attended the Diversity conference held at Blessed Trinity. Students listened to guest
speaker, actor and CBC host, Anthony McLean, who
encouraged everyone to "REACH OUT" to people from
all parts of society and to not "put anyone in a box".
Next, students participated in three different "break out"
sessions, led by student volunteers from St. Francis
Xavier, where they interacted with students from others
schools and engaged in co-operative games and activities. Finally students listened to an informative presentation given by Mr. Brandstetter, also from St. Francis
Xavier, on the ways we can learn to not judge others
before getting to know them. The Diversity team left
the conference with a renewed understanding of the
wonderful multi-cultural society of which our country is
made, and a commemorative "Reach Out" T-shirt!
The Diversity Team members: Luke A., Charnelle B.,
Nicole D., Trisha J., Megan M., James P., Sarah S.,
Daniel T., and Anthony T..
SKILLS CANADA COMPETITION
On March 18, B. Todoschuk and teams from St.
Gertrude travelled to St. Bernadette Elementary School
to participate in the DPCDSB Skills Canada competition. Our Design and Technology team consisting of
Antoni K.. Olivia I., Richelle D., and Olivia C. won the
gold medal to beat out many other schools for the
right to represent Dufferin-Peel in the Ontario Skills
Competition that will be held at RIM Park in Kitchener
Ontario on May 5. Congratulations also goes to
Katarina R., Erica M., Matthew S. and Nicole W. who
represented St. Gertrude's grade 7 Design and Technology team.
Page 5
April 1&2
April 2
April 4
April 4
April 4
April 7
April 7
April 8
April 9
April 10
April 14-18
April 17
April 21
April 23
April 24
April 25
April 25
April 28
April 29
April 30
May 1
May 2
May 5-9
May 9
May 10
May 13
See / Hear Testing
Gr. 4 & 4/5 Living Arts Centre
Stations of the Cross, St. F/X Parish
Gr. 4 F.I. Living Arts Centre
Gregg Le Rock Concert Gr. 4&5 FSL
Virtue Assembly
Fr. Joshua Visits
School Council Mtg @ 6:30
Int. Girls Basketball Tournament
Jump Rope for Heart Kick Off Assembly
Holy Week
Stations of the Cross, St. Gertrude, 1pm
Easter Monday
Confirmation Practice @ ST. F/X
Int. Basketball Family Tournament
MBC Chess Tournament
Spirit Day - Wear Blue & White
Gr. 4 Medieval Presentation
Jump Rope for Heart Event Day
Confirmation Practice @ ST. F/X
Confirmation Grade 8 @ 7pm
Little Red Theatre JK-3
Catholic Education Week
French Café
First Holy Communion Grade 2 @ 10 am
25th Anniversary Mass @ 6:30 pm
PIZZA AND SUB ORDER DATES
Monday, April 7
pizza day
Monday, April 14
pizza day
Wednesday, April 16
sub day
Monday, April 28
pizza day
Wednesday, April 30
sub day
Monday, May 5
pizza day
Monday, May 12
pizza day
Wednesday, May 14
sub day
Monday, May 26,
pizza day
Wednesday, May 28
sub day
Monday, June 2
pizza day
*Monday, June 9th
PA Day NO PIZZA
*Tuesday, June 10
pizza day
Wednesday, June 11
sub day
Monday, June 16
pizza day
Monday, June 23
pizza day
Wednesday, June 25
sub day
HOLY SATURDAY
PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entrance of
Christ into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-9), when palm
branches were placed in His path, before His arrest on
Holy Thursday and His Crucifixion on Good Friday. It thus
marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent,
and the week in which Christians celebrate the mystery of
their salvation through Christ's Death and His Resurrection
on Easter Sunday. Beginning in the fourth century in Jerusalem, Palm Sunday was marked by a procession of the
faithful carrying palm branches, representing the Jews who
celebrated Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. In the early
centuries, the procession began on the Mount of the Ascension and proceeded to the Church of the Holy Cross.
As the practice spread throughout the Christian world by
the ninth century, the procession would begin in each
church with the blessing of palms, proceed outside the
church, and then return to the church for the reading of the
Passion according to the Gospel of Matthew. The faithful
would continue to hold the palms during the reading of the
Passion. In this way, they would recall that many of the
same people who greeted Christ with shouts of joy on
Palm Sunday would call for His Death on Good Friday-a
powerful reminder of our own weakness and the sinfulness
that causes us to reject Christ. In different parts of the
Christian world, particularly where palms were historically
hard to obtain, branches of other bushes and trees were
used, including olive, box elder, spruce, and various willows. Perhaps best known is the Slavic custom of using
pussy willows, which are among the earliest of plants to
bud out in the spring. The faithful have traditionally decorated their houses with the palms from Palm Sunday, and,
in many countries, a custom developed of weaving the
palms into crosses that were placed on home altars or other places of prayer. Since the palms have been blessed,
they should not simply be discarded; rather, the faithful
return them to their local parish in the weeks before Lent,
to be burned and used as the ashes for Ash Wednesday.
HOLY THURSDAY
Holy Thursday is the day on which Christ celebrated the
Last Supper with His disciples, four days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Only hours
after the Last Supper, Judas would betray Christ in the
Garden of Gethsemane, setting the stage for Christ's Crucifix-ion on Good Friday.
GOOD FRIDAY
In the Catholic Church, Good Friday is the day on which
we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross,
the act that brought salvation to all who believe. It is the
culmination of Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday,
and it takes place two days before Easter Sunday.
Holy Saturday is the final day of Lent, of Holy Week, and
of the Easter Triduum, the three days (Holy Thursday,
Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) immediately preceding
Easter, during which Christians commemorate the Passion
and Death of Jesus Christ and prepare for His Resurrection. As on Good Friday, there is no Mass offered for Holy
Saturday. The Easter Vigil Mass, which takes place after
sundown on Holy Saturday, properly belongs to Easter
Sunday, since liturgically, each day begins at sundown on
the previous day. (That is why Saturday vigil Masses can
fulfill our Sunday Duty.) Unlike on Good Friday, when Holy
Communion is distributed at the afternoon liturgy commemorating Christ's Passion, on Holy Saturday the Eucharist is only given to the faithful as viaticum—that is, only to
those in danger of death, to prepare their souls.
EASTER SUNDAY: THE GREATEST CHRISTIAN FEAST
Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar. On
this Sunday, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. For Catholics, Easter Sunday comes
at the end of 40 days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving
known as Lent. Through spiritual struggle and self-denial,
we have prepared ourselves to die spiritually with Christ on
Good Friday, the day of His Crucifixion, so that we can rise
again with Him.
COMMUNION - OUR EASTER DUTY:
Because of the central importance of Easter to the Christian faith, the Catholic Church requires that all Catholics
who have made their First Communion receive the Holy
Eucharist sometime during the Easter season, which lasts
through Pentecost, 50 days after Easter. (The Church also
urges us to take part in the Sacrament of Confession before receiving this Easter communion.) This reception of
the Eucharist is a visible sign of our faith and our participation in the Kingdom of God. Of course, we should receive
Communion as frequently as possible; this "Easter Duty" is
simply the minimum requirement set by the Church.