Dufferin-Peel CDSB
ST. GERTRUDE SCHOOL
Guided by Faith, Committed to Excellence
NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2013
St. Gertrude School
815 Ceremonial Dr.,
Mississauga, ON
L5R 3S2
Tel:
905 568 7660
Fax:
905 568 8194
Principal
T. De Vellis Carino
Prayer For A New School Year
Dear Lord, as we begin this school year, we gather once again as a community of believers.
We thank you for the energy and the spirit you renewed in us through the summer months.
We thank you for the time to enjoy our family and friends and to reflect on what is important
in our lives.
Let this year be marked by enthusiasm, and love so that, with the inspiration of your Spirit, we
may continue to grow in our faith.
Help us to fulfill Your hope for us with honest intentions and works of faith.
Let us be gentle with ourselves and bring laughter, joy and love to others.
We ask this in Your name. Amen.
Vice-Principal
M. Diab
Secretaries
D. Bachle
M. Cherubino
Superintendent
Mississauga
Brampton Central
L. Papaloni
Trustee
T. Thomas
Parish
St. Francis Xavier
905 890 5290
Pastor
Msgr. Edgardo Pan
Principal’s Message
Welcome back to another exciting school year at St. Gertrude! As we begin this school year,
we continue to be “guided by faith and committed to excellence” . We are looking forward to
working closely with all staff, parents, parish and community partners to provide a safe, healthy
and inclusive school community for all. A special welcome to the families and staff who are
new to St. Gertrude.
We trust that the summer has given you time for relaxation and renewal. We look forward to
another wonderful year with many opportunities for learning and growing. We hope you feel
comfortable and involved with your child’s learning throughout the year. You are encouraged to
become active partners in the education process. We invite you to volunteer in the school
whenever opportunities are presented. Please share your ideas, encouragements and
concerns with us. This will help us to provide the best possible learning environment for your
child.
The 2013-2014 school year will be a challenging and exciting year as we implement many new
curriculum initiatives set out by the Board and Ministry. We are especially excited to welcome
our Full Day Kindergarten program and many 21st Century learning initiatives.
We are part of the Mississauga Brampton Central Family of Schools. We look forward to
working with our Superintendent, L. Papaloni and our trustee, T. Thomas.
We are thankful for the pastoral guidance provided by the parish team at St. Francis Xavier
Church and look forward to working with Msgr. Edgardo Pan and our parish priests,
Fr. Susairaj Savarimuthu and Fr. Joshua Roldan, who is new to the parish . They will be
visiting the school and celebrating masses and the Sacraments throughout the year.
St. Gertrude is an active school which relies on teamwork and cooperation. We are truly
blessed to have a devoted parish team, an involved school council, supportive parents and a
professional, dedicated staff.
T. De Vellis Carino
Principal
M. Diab
Vice Principal
Page 2
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
SCHOOL HOURS
St. Gertrude School hours for the 2013-2014 school year
are:
08:05-08:20
08:20
10:25-10:40
Outdoor student supervision
School Begins
AM Recess
11:20-12:20
Lunch Hour
 11:20-12:00 Outdoor Recess
 12:00-12:20 Students eat in classrooms
01:45-02:00
02:50
PM Recess
Dismissal
STUDENT ABSENCES
As in the past, we ask that you call the school on the
days that your child will be absent. This is a safety
precaution that can save precious moments should there
ever be an emergency situation. We thank you for your
continued support in following this procedure.
Upon reaching the school answering service, please
leave the following information:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Date of absence
Student's full name
Grade level and teacher
Reason for absence
Date of return
Please continue to call each day that your child is
absent. When your child returns to school, please
provide the teacher with a note regarding the specific
reason for the absence.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAY
Friday, September 13th is a Professional Activity
Day. Students do not attend school on this day.
FIRE DRILLS/EMERGENCY EVACUATION
In accordance with Ministry regulations, three fire drills
will be conducted in the Fall and three in the Spring.
While we hope that a real fire situation never arises, this
practice will help prepare students in the event of a real
fire. In addition we will be reviewing “Lock-Down
Procedures”, “Hold and Secure”, as well as “Mysterious
Objects” in the school.
Follow Dufferin‐Peel on Twitter
(@DPCDSBSchools)
for the latest news and information about the
Board
PICTURE DAY is
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Students are reminded to bring their smiles!
Pictures will be returned in plenty of time for
Christmas.
STAFF AS OF SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
GRADE
TEACHER
ROOM NUMBER
JK/SK
D. Bagnarol
101
JK/SK
S. Martelli
102
JK/SK
S. Barran
103
1
R. Fitzpatrick
110
1
A. McGuire
108
1 - F.I.
A. Viti
114
1 - F.I.
H. Bahsous
111
2
A. Amendola
109
2/3
M. Koziol
107
2 - F.I.
R. McIntosh
112
2 - F.I.
V. Guerreiro
113
3
N. Sanderson
213
3/4
M. Lackey
212
3 - F.I.
A. Markic
215
3 - F.I.
T. Borisenko
219
4
I. Talerico
218
4/5
A. Petrasek
214
4 - F.I.
N. Benevides
216
4 - F.I.
A. Marsala
217
5
A. Lonardi
220
5 - F.I.
M. Silva
205
5 - F.I.
K. Curran
204
6
M. Wasilewski
207
6/7
B. Shelsen
206
7
I. Cassano
202
7/8
B. Todoschuk
208
8
A. Beaton
203
SERT
C. Bryce
117
SERC/ESL
N. Gentili
210
SERC
D. Marques
210
SERT/PT
K. Cinapri
106
FSL/PT
K. Tessar
119
FSL
N. Samai
120
PT
P. DeLuca
104
PT
M. Kapov
118
PT
A. Migdal
115
Library/PT
F. Marchand
Library
ERW
J. Harry-Turner
214/218
ERW
M. Green
109/207
ERW
J. Cristante
108/109
ERW
J. Thomas
220
Secretary
D. Bachle
Office
Secretary
M. Cherubino
Office
Custodians
R. Sapulete, T. Kulpinski,
R. Savoia
Principal
T. De Vellis Carino
Office
Vice Principal
M. Diab
Office
Please note that classroom assignments may be
temporary for the first two weeks of school as new
enrolments or withdrawals may require reorganization.
The Ministry regulations of class size allows little
flexibility in class configurations.
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
SCHOOL COUNCIL
There will be a Catholic School Council meeting at
St. Gertrude School on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at
6:30 pm in our school library.
Nomination forms for parent/guardian
representatives on the Catholic School Council for the
2013-2014 school year are included here and will be
available in the school office between the hours of
9:00 am and 3:00 pm.
Completed nomination forms must be received in the
school office by 4:00 pm on Thursday, September 19,
2013.
If needed, the election for parent/guardian
representatives to the Catholic School Council will
take place in the library at St. Gertrude school on
Tuesday, October 1, 2013, at 6:30 pm by secret
ballot. Eligible voters must vote in person. Proxy
voting is not permitted. An appointed steering
committee will assist with the implementation of
election procedures.
Our first School Council meeting will follow the
election on October 1, 2013, at 6:30 pm.
We look forward to seeing you at the Catholic School
Council information meeting and thank you for your
continued support of your school.
Page 3
SCHOOL MASS AND SACRAMENTAL
PREPARATIONS
Our first school Mass is Tuesday, October 1st at
9:15 am in the gym. Parents are invited to attend.
During the course of the year, the school, our priest and
our parents have the privilege in preparing students for
three of the sacraments:
Reconciliation
Grade 2
Wednesday, January 15, 2014 @ 9:30 am
Holy Communion
Grade 2
Saturday, May 10, 2014 @ 10:00 am
Confirmation
Grade 8
Thursday, May 1, 2014 @ 7:00 pm
Although the school plays a major role in Sacramental
preparation, parents, as the primary instructors of faith,
are key in preparing their children to receive these
Sacraments. Preparatory meetings have been organized
for parents. These meetings will provide you with an
opportunity to be an integral part of your child’s spiritual
growth in these sacraments.
Meetings at ST. FRANCIS XAVIER PARISH
First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion:
Thursday, Sept. 26 @ 7:00 pm, Parents meeting
Sunday, Oct. 20 @ 10:30 am, Inscription
Confirmation:
STUDENT INSURANCE
As required by the Education Act and the Ministry of
Education, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board annually provides parents with information about
cost-effective student accident insurance coverage via
student courier. Brochures will be sent home with your
child soon.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board does
not provide any accidental death, disability,
dismemberment or medical expenses’ insurance on
behalf of students participating in these activities.
If you have any questions, require assistance or prefer
to enroll online or by phone, please contact the Client
Services Department of Reliable Life Insurance through
one of the following options:
1 800 463 5437 or 905 523 6525
E-mail: insuremykids@reliablelifeinsurance.com
Web: www.insuremykids.com
The information is also posted on the board
website:
http://www.dpcdsb.org/cec/students+and+Parents/
Tuesday, Jan. 7 @ 7:00 pm, Parent Meeting with
Bishop Boissonneau
Sunday, Jan. 26 @ 10:30 am, Inscription
Thursday, Jan. 30 @ 7:00 pm, Preparation Mass
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
The new transportation guidelines
were effective September 2010. The
eligibility is based on the students’
home address.
Grades K to 1: 1 km
Grades 2 to 4: 1.6 km
Grades 5 to 8: 2 km
Parents are reminded to access information on the
Transportation website (www.stopr.ca). This site
contains information regarding school transportation
eligibility, delays and cancellations. Your child’s student
OEN number can be found on his/her report card.
Courtesy transportation (empty seat ridership)
applications are available at the school office. Courtesy
transportation will not be allocated until mid to late
October.
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
Page 4
HEPATITIS B, MENINGITIS & HPV INOCULATIONS
Peel Health will continue to offer free immunization against
Hepatitis B and Meningitis for students in Grade 7, as well
as HPV for Grade 8 girls. If you have any questions please
call the Peel Health Department at (905) 799-7700. The
following dates have been assigned to St. Gertrude School:
HEP B & Meningitis
Gr. 7 Girls & Boys
HPV
Gr. 8 Girls only
Dose #1 Sept. 11, 2013
Dose #2 TBA
Dose #1 Sept 11, 2013
Dose #2 TBA
Dose #3 TBA
Health Departments, by law, must keep a current
record of your child’s immunizations. It is the
responsibility of the parents to keep their child’s
records up to date.
BBQ & OPEN HOUSE/CURRICULUM NIGHT
Thursday, September 19, 2013, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm
BBQ 5:30 pm-6:30 pm,
Meet the teacher 6:30 pm-7:30 pm
Information regarding the BBQ, sponsored by Council will
be coming soon. You are encouraged to attend this
evening to meet your child’s teacher and learn about this
year’s program.
EARLY PICK UP FOR YOUR CHILD
If you are picking up your child(ren) at school at a time
other than regular dismissal, 2:50 pm, we ask that you
send a note with your child.
Example
“Dear Ms. Smith, please send Joey to the office on
Tuesday, Sept. 11/13 at 1:30 pm to be picked up by
myself (alternate name). He will be going to a doctors
appointment. Parent Signature”
If you intend to send someone else to pick up your child,
please ensure that the persons name is written on the
note. You or the appointed person is to report to the office
to sign him/her out. Your child’s teacher will ensure that
the child is at the office at the designated time.
We thank you for your co-operation in supporting a safe
environment at St. Gertrude.
VALUABLES
Students are requested to leave, valuables such as iPods,
electronic games, money or items of importance at home.
BOOK FAIR
F. Marchand, our Teacher Librarian, will host a book fair in
the Library from Monday, September 16 to September 23,
until 3:15 pm daily and 6:30 - 7:30 pm, during Open
House. Further information will come home with your
children shortly.
PED Policy
The school follows the current Board policy regarding
Personal Electronic Devices (PED’s). Items such as
cameras, cell phones are not permitted on school
property. However, if you choose to provide your child with
a cell phone, please be reminded that it must be turned
off and out of sight throughout the school day. Please refer
to the student agenda for details regarding PED’s.
The school does not accept responsibility for the above.
Personal items should be marked with your child’s name.
SECURITY AT ST. GERTRUDE
SCHOOL DRIVEWAY / KISS ‘N RIDE
By the end of the month, our new monitoring system
should be in place. At this time, all doors will be locked
throughout the day. Visitors will need to ring the door
bell and wait for staff to verify and admit them into the
school building.
Starting at 8:05 am, staff is on duty at the front of the
school. Please be reminded that students should exit
vehicles on the passenger side, by the sidewalk at the
front of the school. The driver’s side is a “drive thru” lane.
Cars must not park in the driveway at any time. For
safety reasons, students are reminded to use the
walkways when walking to the schoolyard and to
avoid walking across the front of the school.
Please be reminded that for the safety of our students, all
visitors, including parents, must come to the office, sign in
and pick up an identification badge.
Starting at 8:05 am, staff wearing orange vests are on duty
to supervise the students in the school yard. We ask that
parents wishing to wait for the morning bell, wait outside
the school yard - behind the “students only” painted line or
behind the fence, in the field. Your assistance is
appreciated as staff works to ensure the visibility and safety
of all students.
When the bell rings at 8:20 am, the classroom teachers will
come to the entrance doors to collect students.
FDK–FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN
Parents/Guardians of Full Day Kindergarten students are
encouraged to walk into the classrooms and help students
take off outdoor coats and get ready for the school day.
CROSSING GUARD
We are very pleased to have Mrs. Suida back as our
crossing guard at the north side of the school. We are
asking that all children who need to cross Ceremonial
Drive, use the crossing guard. The safety of our children is
always our first priority.
Page 5
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
ENTRY AND EXIT
Teachers will be reviewing with their students which
doors to enter and exit. Students are asked to use the
assigned doors for their entry and exit. We ask that
parents meet their children outside the school and
along the fence near the appropriate door.
LUNCH TIME SUPERVISORS (Student Monitors)
We have four paid lunch supervisors at the school
supervising students during the lunch hour. We are in
need of substitute supervisors. These would to be
available in the event that a regular supervisor is ill or
unavailable. Please contact the school office for
additional information.
THE LUNCH TABLE
Once again, a table has been placed in the foyer for
lunches. Please ensure that your child’s name is on the
lunch container. We are encouraging healthy lunches.
Classes are not to be interrupted for students to pick up
lunches. Please let students know in the morning if they
should expect to have a lunch dropped off. They should
be responsible to come down and pick up their lunch.
We cannot be responsible if a lunch goes missing. We
stress that there are students with food allergies. Please
check with your child’s teacher and avoid any foods that
may harm others.
BIRTHDAY “TREATS”
We realize that parents mean well when sending treats
into classes for celebrations and birthdays. However,
many of our students suffer from various allergies.
These children experience a variety of effects when
exposed to the allergen, including anaphylactic
shock. Anaphylaxis is a serious, sometimes life
threatening reaction. In an effort to ensure the
safety of all students, we ask that you do not send in
food items for these occasions. You may provide
non-edible items, eg. pencils.
SCHOOL AGENDAS
As you know, organizational skills are imperative in the
success of a child in school. To assist in this process,
school agendas will be handed out to the children in
Grades 1-8. Your child is responsible to record their
homework, important dates, teacher notices and so on in
their agendas. The agenda is also an excellent
communication tool between the teacher and the parent.
We are asking that you, as a parent, check your child’s
agenda on a daily basis and initial. You will
also notice that the Board has included the Catholic
Code of Conduct and Homework Guidelines in the
agenda. The teachers will be reviewing this with their
students and we ask that parents take the time to go
over it with their child(ren). The School Council is
thanked for purchasing the agendas for the students.
TEXTBOOK POLICY
Textbooks are the property of the school and are loaned
out to students with the expectation that they will be
returned at the end of the school year in good condition.
The teachers keep a record of each textbook that students
are given. Please help to keep our costs down by
encouraging your child to take proper care of them. There
will be a replacement cost if the textbook is lost or not
returned at the end of the school year.
TERRY FOX WALK
This year St. Gertrude School will participate in the
annual Terry Fox Walk/Run for cancer research on
Friday, September 27 2013, 9:00 am.
Rain date is Monday, September 29.
St. Gertrude School will be participating in the “Toonie for
Terry Walk” along with other schools in Dufferin -Peel.
Teachers will be talking to their classes about the
importance of Cancer Research and the impact that Terry
Fox had throughout our country. Parents are welcome to
join us for the walk. Further information will go home in a
permission letter at a later date.
PLASP CHILD CARE SERVICES
PLASP operates before and after school programs in this
school, for children up to 12 years of age. There are still
some places available. Please contact PLASP Child Care
Services at 905 890-1711 or come see the PLASP staff
here at the school before 8:30 am or after 3:00 pm. Feel
free to visit their web site at : www.plasp.ca
STORAGE AND ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION
Parents are responsible for ensuring that all medication
and forms are updated annually for any student who
requires medication to be administered at school. If your
child requires medication, please have the
necessary forms completed and return them, along with
any medication, to the office as soon as possible. Forms
are available at the school office.
MEDICAL ALERT – ANAPHYLACTIC SHOCK Peanut Allergies
This year, as in the past, we will continue to have
some students with severe life threatening food
allergy to NUTS (PEANUT) ALLERGIES. This is
a medical condition that causes a severe reaction to
certain allergens and can result in death within minutes.
Although this may or may not affect your child’s class
directly, please send foods with your child to school that
are free from peanuts or nut products.
Guided b y Faith, Committed to Excellence
Page 6
VIRTUES PROGRAM
Within our Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board, we will be integrating virtues formation into all areas of our school life
within the context of our faith. The “Virtues Program” will help us to nurture virtue and character development in the
lives of our students. It is truly character development within our Catholic School Environment. We will embrace the challenges as we continue to implement the Virtues Program within our school in the year 2013-2014 Each month we will focus as an entire school, on one of the virtues. We will begin with a liturgy in the school gym. Each month, teachers will
continue to nominate two students who are exemplary in demonstrating the virtue of Month. The names of these students
will be added to a leaf which will then be added to our Virtue Tree.
Faith – Our Virtue For September
To begin the new school year, we will focus our attention on the first of our virtues - FAITH
Faith is the great virtue of believing in God and trusting that God is with us. A faithful person
believes that we are created, guided by and destined to be reunited with God. A faithful person believes that God’s plan for us includes the right to be safe, especially at school.
A Faithful person is someone who …
 prays regularly and reverently
 learns from Scripture stories
 honours people’s God-given names
 assumes that there is good in everyone
 accepts the God-given worth of themselves and others
Please join us for our first Virtue Assembly on Friday, October 4, 2013 @ 12:30
Empathy - Our Virtue For October
September 2013
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1
2
3
LABOUR DAY
FIRST DAY
NO SCHOOL
OF SCHOOL
4
5
6
8
9
11
12
13
10
HEP B/MENINGITIS &
HPV IMMUN. CLINIC
Sat
7
14
PA DAY
NO SCHOOL
15
16
First Day of
Book Fair
17
18
SCHOOL
PHOTO DAY
19
OPEN HOUSE
& BBQ
20
21
22
23
Last day of
Book Fair
24
25
26
GR. 2 PARENT
INFO MTG 7PM @
ST. FX CHURCH
RE: RECON. & 1ST
COMMUNION
27
28
29
30 TERRY
FOX WALK
(RAINDATE)
TERRY
FOX WALK