D u f f e r in -P e e l C a t h o li c D is t r ict S ch o o l B o a rd
ST. GERTRUDE SCHOOL
Guided by Faith, Committed to Excellence
NEWSLETTER
NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER 2014
2012
A Prayer for Peace
Lord Jesus you said to your disciples,
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
Be called children of God."
St. Gertrude School
815 Ceremonial Dr.,
Mississauga, ON
L5R 3S2
Tel:
905 568 7660
Fax:
905 568 8194
Principal
T. De Vellis Carino
Vice-Principal
M. Diab
Secretaries
M. Sgambelluri
M. Cherubino
Superintendent
Mississauga
Brampton Central
L. Papaloni
Trustee
T. Thomas
Parish
St. Francis Xavier
905 890 5290
Pastor
Msgr. Edgardo Pan
Council Chair
S. Dutra
Follow us on Twitter
@DPCDSBSchools
You know how much our world needs your peace, Yet in so many places there
is only war and conflict.
Lord, through the power of your Holy Spirit Transform human hearts,
Give our world a desire for peace,
And help us to do our part.
Principal’s’ Message
It’s hard to believe we are already in November. We are fortunate that our newly elected school council, student council and dedicated staff continue to actively plan many activities at the school .
The staff has been working collaboratively to review and update our Catholic School Learning Plan. You can view the details of
our current plan on our school website. Our school plan is aligned with
the Board plan and is rooted in our shared beliefs that we are called
to :
 Create a safe, caring and inclusive learning environment that is
welcoming
 Work and live in relationships within our communities, modelled
after Christ
 Support all learners in a journey of life-long learning
 Use fair, equitable and transparent assessment practices, informed
by a Christ-centred approach to professional judgment, to create
hope, engagement and growth for all to realize their full potential
 Design and implement effective instruction that is Christ-centred,
purposeful , engaging, inclusive, responsive and which reflects success for all learners.
T. DeVellis Carino
Principal
M. Diab
Vice Principal
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Guided by F aith, Committed to Excellence
THE VIRTUE OF CONSCIENCE
God has given us the ability to know the right and decent
way to act and then to act that way. We trust that the
common Spirit we share inspires us and guides us to
make good decisions if we allow our conscience to
become well-formed.
A person of conscience allows prayer and scripture to
influence him/her.
A person of conscience ...
 Chooses to do the ‘right thing’ and feels good
about it
 Can see how his/her actions may hurt others
 Admits his/her wrong-doing and feels badly
 Says sorry and tries to make up for mistakes
 Keeps promises
A PRAYER OF CONSCIENCE
Gracious and merciful God of all creation, during this
season of remembrance, we remember how You have
gifted us with free will. You have given us the virtue of
conscience to ensure that we will know the good and
decent way to act and then choose to act that way.
We come to You now asking for the grace and strength to
form and follow our conscience in order to bring to life
Your plan for a safe, caring, inclusive community here at
St. Gertrude Catholic School. May Your virtue of
conscience free us to make decisions that serve the good
of all Your people. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Your
Son, who lived to show us Your way.
AMEN
SACRAMENTS
Sacrament of Reconciliation - Grade 2
Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
First Holy Communion - Grade 2
 First Holy Communion Prep Mass
St. Francis Xavier Church – Sunday, January 25,
2015, at 1:30 p.m.
 Sacrament of First Holy Communion
St. Francis Xavier Church – Saturday, May 9, 2015,
at 10:00 a.m.
Sacrament of Confirmation - Grade 8
 Parents and Candidates Meeting with Parish Team
St. Francis Xavier Church – Tuesday, November 4,
2014 at 7:00 p.m.
 Confirmation Prep Mass
St. Francis Xavier Church – Thursday, January 29,
2015 at 7:00 p.m.
 Sacrament of Confirmation
St. Francis Xavier Church – May 7, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
ST. GERTRUDE, Born January 6, 1256
Died: November 17, 1302
St. Gertrude’s life was a life of great spirituality; a
mystical life of a cloistered nun who had a great
devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Lord’s Passion.
She became the first great apostle and prophet of the
devotion to our Lord’s Sacred Heart as a symbol of God’s
infinite love for us. In honour of St. Gertrude, we will celebrate Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 at 9:00 am.
Parents are welcome to join us for Mass and a reception
in the Library hosted by School Council.
On Tuesday, November 11 2014 at 10:30 am, we r emember all the br ave men and women
who have survived wars, those who continue to serve our country and particularly those who
have made the ultimate sacrifice. All family members are welcome and encouraged to attend.
During the month of November, St. Gertrude’s Youth Faith Ambassadors will be praying for those from
our school community who have passed before us. These may be relatives, friends, or people in the service of our country. The names will be recorded in our Book of Remembrance which will be kept in our
school foyer.
We invite you to send in the name(s) of a loved one to be remembered in our Book of Remembrance.
Guided by F aith, Committed to Excellence
A Safe, Caring & Inclusive school Environment
means working together to:
1. Plan ahead
As we have moved along in the school year,
there have been a great number of calls to the
school for students about last minute instructions from home. This may cause confusion
and may lead to placing students in unsafe situations.
Please help us avoid these confusions. Please plan
ahead and send notes to the teacher with any special
instructions for your child.
2. Arrive on time
School begins at 8:20 am. Starting at 8:05, staff supervision is provided in the school yard and in the “kiss &
ride” areas. Late arrivals are disruptive to the learning
environment. Students who arrive after the bell are
asked to come to the office for a late slip. Thank you to
everyone for making a special effort to be on time.
3. Support allergy aware needs
As you are aware many of our students
suffer from allergies. With a safe and inclusive environment in mind, we ask that you not send in
food items to mark special occasions such as birthdays. Children with food allergies are excluded when
birthday items enter the classroom. They have been
trained not to take a chance on any item that hasn’t
been prepared by their parents. Special events can be
marked with non-edible items such as new pencils or
stickers for each child.
WOWBUTTER NOTICE:
The Board continues to maintain the position that
schools should discourage parents/guardians from
sending peanut butter substitutes to school where students have peanut allergies for the following reasons:
1) If a child with a life threatening peanut allergy sees it,
they may experience anxiety and/or physical panic reaction as a result of visually seeing the WOWBUTTER, or
at minimum, the child and his or her family members
may have safety concerns about the product being in
school;
2) It can create significant challenges for teachers, and
especially students, to identify real peanut butter from
the substitute;
3) If one student sees another with WOWBUTTER, they
may believe it is peanut butter, and may take the message home that it is acceptable to bring peanut butter,
and may bring their own peanut butter to school as a
result; and,
4) The presence of this look alike can create potential
circumstances of bullying / threats toward students with
life-threatening peanut allergies.
Page 3
4. Welcome visitors and volunteers
All doors are locked throughout the building. To gain entry, all visitors are required to look at the camera, push the
buzzer and wait for staff to release the lock at the front
door. Visitors to the school are reminded to go to the office to sign in and receive a visitor’s sticker. Parents are
not to use other doors to gain entry to the school.
A reminder that volunteers in our school must have a
Criminal Reference Check (CRC) completed by Peel Police. Please note that this includes all parents/guardians
who wish to volunteer as a supervisor on a class trip.
CRC’s are free of charge for volunteers. Forms are
available at our school office.
5. Report Injuries
Despite our efforts to remain safe and healthy, accidents
happen. When injuries occur, they are dealt with in the
quickest and most prudent of manners. Our school policy
is to err on the side of caution when dealing with all injuries. Agendas are used to inform parents of minor injuries
and phone calls are made to alert parents of any head or
other injuries that may require monitoring.
6. Donate to help our school, our community and our
world
Special thank you to all families for supporting the Food
Drive for our needy families and our 1st Spook-a-thon
which helped to raise funds for our school.
Special lunches, popcorn, Milk & cookies will be
offered for sale with proceeds going towards our
school.
You may observe that the staff dresses in a casual manner on Fridays. To do so, staff have agreed to make a
donation in support of the United Way of Peel and ShareLife.
“It is in giving, that we receive” Francis of Assisi
Staff and Council will once again have the opportunity to
contribute to Christmas baskets for families in need.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society
To further assist families in our community, St. Vincent de
Paul Society is requesting financial assistance with
cheques payable to St. Vincent de Paul Society (tax receipts available for donations of $20 or more) and/or gift
certificates from our local vendors. (See attached)
MILK BAGS FOR Mats
Milk bags, (larger outside coloured bag) will be collected
at St. Gertrude School to be converted into Mats for the
people in other developing countries.
Please send your empty, clean milk bags with your child to
school.
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Guided by F aith, Committed to Excellence
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
On October 24th, 35 Gertrude Gators had a fabulous day at
our Family of Schools Cross Country Meet in Brampton. Our students, from grades 5-8, represented our school
well and competed to the best of their ability. The weather
was gorgeous and our wonderful school spirit was there for
all to see and hear. We had many students who placed in the
top 15 and therefore qualified for the Board Meet which was
held on October 30th. These students were: Sanaa S. 6th ;
Josephine S. 4th ; Anika K. 14th; Julien K. 4th; Frazier T
10th; Crystal L. 12th; Dante R. 2nd and Nicholas D. 7th.
In addition, our grade 8 boys team, which included Aaron B.
Jake C. Lysander G. John Tino C-S. and Cole C., placed 2nd
overall. This group of 12 students gave it their all at the
Board Meet. A special mention goes out to Dante D. who
placed 4th. Way to go Gators!!!!!
Since the middle of September these dedicated runners
trained three times a week under the guidance of their coaches, P. DeLuca, N. Gentili, S. Martelli, and J. Surzyn.
VOLLEYBALL
Thank you to M. Silva, N. Benevides and R. McIntosh for
coaching our Junior teams. The Coaches would like to thank
all team members for their dedication, hard work and great
sportsmanship throughout the season. Both teams placed
first in the Pod Tournament. Special mention goes out to our
boys who place 2nd in the Family and Congratulations to the
girls who placed 1st in the Family and moved on to represent
St. Gertrude at the Board Tournament.
Jr. Girls team members: J osephine S., Olivia O., Elisa G.,
Patrice E., Alicia G., Chantelle G., Hanna K., & Kristina S.
Jr. Boys team members: J ustin J ., Daniel P., Conr ad C.,
David J., Matthew K., Shawn F., & Matthew D.
Eco News Corner
The Eco-Team's Earth Angels are happy to announce
that once again this year, we are motivated to continue
to preserve our environment. Thanks to everyone's support, St. Gertrude was awarded the silver status certification in the 2013-2014 year. With everyone’s support
and cooperation, this year we are going for GOLD!
To help us achieve GOLD status,….we will continue
with Lights out Fr idays (after noons only) and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle initiatives such as the Waste
Free Challenge. Our new challenge this year is to contribute to the Greening of our school grounds. Popcorn sales are helping to support the Green Project.
Waste Free Challenge
In October the school participated in a WasteFree challenge. The goal of this challenge was
to celebrate and learn about the amount of
waste we create from school lunches, to encourage
healthy and nutritional lunches and at the same time
help parents reduce the cost of lunches. Thank you to
all those who participated to reduce our school’s
waste. As per our audit, St. Gertrude reduced their garbage by 3lbs! Please continue to send waste-free lunches whenever possible.
Remember, a waste-free lunch consists of reusable:
-lunch container / bag
-drink container
-Stainless steel forks and spoons
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Guided by F aith, Committed to Excellence
HEALTHY SCHOOLS
St. Gertrude has re-launched the Walking to
School program on October 8 2014. This program
encourages families to lead a more active lifestyle
by walking to and from school.
FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
2013/2014
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten for the 2014-2015
school year, will take place at St. Gertrude School on the
following days:
Please continue to encourage students to walk to
school. For more information about being ACTIVE,
please visit www.peelregion.ca.
Monday, January 26, 2014
January 26 – 30, 2014
*Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 287 2014
7-9 p.m.*
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
7-9 p.m.
BULLYING AWARENESS AND PREVENTION
WEEK - NOVEMBER 17 - 21 2014
Ontario has designated the third week of every
November as Bullying Awareness and Prevention
Week to help promote safer schools and a positive
learning environment. During this week, Ontario students, staff and parents are encouraged to learn more
about bullying and its effect on student learning and
well-being. Students and staff will be involved in many
activities to become aware of and prevent
Bullying.
STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS
This year the Grade 7 and 8 classes selected two students per class to represent them on this year ’ s Student Council. The representative's are:
Ms. Cinapri: Nicole W. & Aaron D.
WINTER WEATHER
All students are reminded to dress appropriately for weather conditions and go
outdoors for recess. For many children,
a spare pair of socks, gloves or extra
clothing may save a parent a trip to the
school. If your child is not well enough to
participate in outdoor recess, please consider keeping him/her at home.
Dufferin-Peel C.D.S.B. policy uses a wind chill of –25C, as
the temperature for modified recesses. At St. Gertrude,
students will remain inside when the wind chill is reported
at –25C or lower and we will modify the duration of lunch
recess when the temperature reaches –20C. As always,
ensure your child is prepared for the extremes of
Canadian weather.
Spook-a-thon Update
Mr. Todoschuk: Sarah S. & Kaylynn A.
Ms. Wasilewski: Angel A. & Justin D.
Mr. Migdal: Tracey G. & Anthony H.
Secretary: Sabrina C. Mr. Todoschuk:
Thank you to staff advisors: Ms Cinapri and Ms Talerico
Thanks to the organizing committee on Council, the support from our parent volunteers and enthusiastic contributions from students and staff, our first Spook-a-thon was a
great success! Special thank you goes out to our community sponsors! Thank you to Gino’s Pizza for providing
prizes for our participating students.
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEW S
Following the Feast of St. Gertrude Mass on Tuesday, November 18 2014, 9:00am,
Council is hosting a reception with staff and parents in the Library.
Please come out and meet the new Council and enjoy the peaceful Nativity
Scene and beautifully decorated Christmas Tree.
Special thank you goes out to our Christmas Decorating Committee of volunteer parents for creating this
Christmas wonderland for all to enjoy.
Dates to Remember….
Nov. 6 School Bus Evacuation Drill- Mrs. Diab
Nov. 6 Int. Boys Volleyball- visiting Stephen Lewis School
Nov. 11 Reports Go Home
Nov. 13 Parent / Teacher Interviews
Nov. 17 6:30 pm, Gr.8 Information Parent mtg, RE: Ottawa
Trip (tentative June 10-12 2015)
Nov. 19 Gr. 4-8 going to Hershey Centre
Nov. 18 Feast of St. Gertrude Mass– followed by
reception hosted by Council– all welcome!
FRENCH IMMERSION INFORMATION MEETING
Senior kindergarten parent(s)/guardian(s), who
wish to enroll their child in the Grade 1 French Immersion class for September, 2015 are invited to
attend an information meeting at:
School:
Address:
Date:
Time:
St. Gertrude
815 Ceremonial Drive
Wednesday November 26 2014
7:00 pm.
Nov. 17 Anti Bullying Week begins- teachers
Nov. 20 Gr. 8 Parent Mtg. St. FX Secondary
Nov. 20 Santa Photos –details to follow
Nov. 20 Int. Boys VBall Pod- St. Gertrude hosting
Nov. 21 One Movement Presentation, Anti Bullying Gr. K-8,
Nov. 23 Confirmation Inscription Mass, 10:30 am,
St.Francis Xvier Parish
Nov. 26 French Immersion Information Mtg for Parents @ St.
Gertrude school , 7pm
Nov. 26 Junior Achievement – Gr. 5’s
Nov. 27 Int. Girls Vball tournament @ St. Gertrude
Nov. 28 Int. Boys V.Ball Family Tournament,
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, 2014 are invited to attend an information meeting at:
School:
Address:
Date:
Time:
San Lorenzo Ruiz
100 Barondale Drive
Tuesday,January 13 2015
7:00 pm.
Pauline Vanier hosting
Dec. 1 Virtue Assembly, 10:40 am- parents invited
Dec. 2 Council mtg, 6:30, All Parents invited
Dec. 5 Advent Mass, 1:00 pm, St. Gertrude- parents welcome
Dec. 11 Gr. 2 visit the Living Arts Centre
Dec. 15 School Wide Advent Retreat
Tuesdays
Cookies & Milk
Fridays
On Thursday, November 20, 2014,
Santa is coming to
St. Gertrude School.
Please join him for photos, crafts, milk & Cookies.
More information coming soon!
INCLEMENT WEATHER
With the winter season fast approaching, we would like
to remind you of bus cancellation procedures.
Occasionally, because of inclement weather or other
emergency situations, buses may have to be cancelled.
Information regarding bus cancellation and other
emergency information announcements can be obtained
by listening to the following radio stations:
640 AM
740 AM
680 AM
88.5 FM
98.1 FM
Q107
104.5 FM
90.3 FM
107.1 FM
92.5 FM
100.7 FM
Make sure the announcement is for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic
District School Board. If transportation is cancelled, the
schools will remain open except under extraordinary circumstances and when announced.
If buses are cancelled and parents or guardians choose to
bring their child to school, it is also their responsibility to
pick them up at the end of the day.
Christmas Collections:
Toy Drive & Hat & Mitten Drive - The gift of giving is great modelling for
children. As we approach the Christmas season we are asking families to
donate an age and gender appropriate gift for needy children. St. Gertrude is
also asking for donations of Hats and mittens as well as toiletries.
Thank you Mme. Samai, Mrs. Jorge, Ms Bagnarol & Mme. Guerreiro for leading these initiatives for
needy children. Student leadership/assistance is also provided by Student Council with
Mrs. Cinapri and Mrs. Talerico & Youth Faith Ambassadors with Mme. Markic and Mrs. Wasilewsk.
*****************************************************************************************************
Thanksgiving Food Drive
On behalf of St. Gertrude School, we would like to extend a sincere thank you to the many families that
very generously donated non-perishable food items for our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Your donations were truly appreciated by the Knights Table.
Reminders and Resources: Cold and Flu Season
OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL HERITAGE
As cold and flu season approaches, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic
District School Board continues to be vigilant in ensuring that
our schools are clean and that our school communities are
educated regarding good hand hygiene and cough etiquette. These practices are promoted on an ongoing basis, but
as the prevalence of colds and flu increases, our board increases the cleaning of contact surfaces, as well as reminds schools
to review cold and flu prevention with students and staff. Many
resources are utilized from our regional health units.
Were these four obstacles removed?
A reminder, as well, that communicable diseases can be contracted in public places throughout the year. For example, coldrelated viruses, such as Enterovirus, are transferred from person to person through hand contact. Cold and flu viruses typically peak from December through February, but can start as
early as October.
Regional Health Unit Resources
Please assist us by reviewing good hand washing procedures,
as well as other preventative measures, as outlined in the various Peel Health and Wellington Dufferin Guelph (WDG) resources available to you through their websites. As always,
children who are unwell, should be kept at home.
Flu Clinics
Also available on the Peel Health and WDG websites, are the
schedules of local Flu Clinics.
For more information, visit the health unit websites:

Peel Health website: http://www.peelregion.ca/health
Direct links to the above information can be found in the Parent Section of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board website at
www.dpcdsb.org
Yes. The United Legislature of Canada East and Canada West
in 1853, 1855 and 1863 removed all four hindrances. There
was no more double taxation. It did not matter if there was a
Catholic teaching in the common school. The separate school
board did not need the permission of the common school
board to open a new or additional separate school. The number of Catholic heads of family to establish a separate school
was lowered from twelve to five. As a result, the number of
separate schools grew considerably.
What effect did the Canadian Constitution, create in
the British North America Act (1867) (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 begin
embodied in that new constitution, we should have been unable to obtain any Confederation whatever.”
What guarantee for separate schools does the Canadian Constitution still contain?
In 1867 the fathers of Confederation made section 93 (1) part
of the Constitution. It states: Nothing in any such (provincial
legislative) Law shall prejudicially affect any Right or 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.