www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
October 2013
Good Shepherd Elementary School
28 Red River Drive
Brampton ON, L6R 2H9
Phone: 905.791.1039
Fax: 905.791.9856
Principal
A. Brunette
Vice Principal
M. Daddabbo
Office Staff
N. Jacques
D. Canal
Superintendent of Schools
L. Storey
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24240
Trustee
S. Mclauchlan
Parish
St. Marguerite d’Youville
(905) 792-7497
Pastor
Father R. Tolentino
O God of love, we thank you for what you have given us to enjoy.
For healthy minds and bodies, for love, for family, for friendship, for every gift of happiness.
We praise you for those that help us by their example and encouragement, especially those who dedicate their lives to the cause of peace and love.
Help us to make their sacrifice worthwhile, by the way we live our lives in loving others.
Rekindle in the hearts of all people the longing for peace, and the courage to build it into our lives. Amen.
October has come upon us very quickly. We have experienced a reorganization of classes, resulting in a number of changes, and the addition of a junior and kindergarten class. Thank you to staff, students and parents for your understanding and patience in working with us to enable a very smooth and successful transition. With the arrival of
October, we focus on the virtue of “Empathy”. We understand empathy as the ability to identify with, and feel other peoples’ concerns. We believe that in a faith community, we are built on a foundation of relationships. An empathetic person believes that we all share one
Spirit, that we are many parts of one body – ONE SACRED COMMUNITY, created in the image and likeness of God. Each one of us is challenged to exhibit this powerful virtue of “empathy”.
At Thanksgiving, we take time to be thankful for the blessings we are given, and for the blessings we give to others! As Jesus shares,
“Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do unto me.” Happy Thanksgiving!
During the month of October we will focus on
Empathy. God wants us to care about everyone’s feelings. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in another’s shoes and the capacity to feel what the other person is


 feeling.
People of Empathy….
 Can understand and name their feelings
Care about other’s feelings
Listen carefully to others

Listen for cues in tone of voice
Watch expressions and body gesture for


 messages
Notice when someone is upset
Can see and respect how others look at things
Know that others may feel differently about things than they do
 Oct. 2
 Oct. 3
 Oct. 3
 Oct. 5
 Oct. 7
Confirmation and Reconciliation
Registration
Opening School Mass 1:00
School Council 7:00
World Teacher’s Day
 Oct. 8
 Oct. 9
 Oct. 10
 Oct. 29
 Nov. 5
 Nov. 6
 Nov. 7
Confirmation and Reconciliation
Registration
Junior Softball
Intermediate Softball
Wellness Kick-Off
 Oct. 11
 Oct. 14
 Oct. 15-18
Junior Volleyball Tournaments
 Oct.16,23,30 Pizza Days
 Oct. 17
 Oct. 21
PD DAY – No School
No School
Gr. 4 CCAT Testing;
Cross Country Meet
Gr. 8 Retreat
Picture Retake Day
Progress Reports Sent home
Gr. 8s to D’Youville
Progress Report Interview Evening
For safety reasons, it is very important to notify the school if your child is going to be absent or late. Please call 905-

On October 5th, we joined world-wide to acknowledge the key role teachers play in guiding children, through the life-long learning process. World Teachers Day gives us an opportunity to recognize and thank the dedication and value of our teachers at Good
Shepherd School, who go above and beyond to enhance the experiences for your children!!
Attendance of students is tracked each morning to ensure that every student has arrived safely. In the event that your child is late or absent, please call the school at (905) 791-1039 and press 1 for the 24 hour attendance line. When leaving a message, please state your child’s name, teacher’s name, grade and the reason for absence or lateness. Please continue to call each day that your child is absent.
Students who arrive late to school must proceed to the office to get a late slip. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Our Good Shepherd Catholic School Council was established on October 3 follows:
Chair – C. Mynerich
Secretary – K. Marsi rd . The members are as
Treasurer – M. Romeiro-Lourenco
Parish Rep – N. Leal
OAPCE Rep – A. Rapallo
Parent involvement within the school community is a key factor in improving student achievement and wellbeing. We are looking forward to working with parents and community members to support the learning of our students.
The No Child Without program offers free MedicAlert membership to students between the ages of 4 and
14. If your child has a medical condition, allergy or takes medication on a regular basis, then you should consider a MedicAlert membership through this program. For information, pick up a brochure at the school office, or visit www.nochildwithout.ca
.
The first initiative of our Student Council is to organize a Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Knight’s
Table. The donations will help support families in need in our local community. Please consider donating nonperishable food items to allow families the opportunity to have a festive Thanksgiving celebration.
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Grade
JK/SK
Teacher
J. Masellis
Room
101
1
1
2
2/3
3
3
JK/SK
JK/SK
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
E. DeBuono/R. Gabil
M. Thimio
T. Costantino
J. Weatherbee
L. Girotto
7
8
8
R. Menichetti
T. Pannozzo
L. Rosero
T. deSousa
S. DiNatale
Planning Time T. Carabott
FSL/PT M. Rado
FSL
Library/PT
ERW
ERW
A. D’Ercole
M. McLouglin
M. Agostinho
K. Kiernander
ERW
ERW
SERT
SERT
SERT/SERC
G. George (ECE)
V. Vistica
L. Owsiana (ECE)
A. Wallace
V. Bria (ECE)
P. McCollum
M. Da Costa
P. Centofanti
L. Siltala
T. Sukreski
N. Natale
103
104
K. Virgilio/S. Parg
M. Patrone
B. Pittiglio
D. Marks
F. Tuerke
216
217
214
201
203
202
110
206
205
Lib
209
207
210
211
212
213
204
109
106
108
207
107
208
Secretary
Secretary
Assistant Custodian
Assistant Custodian
Assistant Custodian
Head Custodian
Vice-Principal
Principal
N. Jacques
D. Canal
N. Marioni
H. Cuevaz
S. Mirabelli
S. Irvine
M. Daddabbo
A. Brunette
Next School Council Meeting
Wednesday, December 5th
@
7:00 p.m.

Many thanks to everyone for making our Terry Fox
Walk another success: the parents, the volunteers, the donors, the teachers and of course all the children who participated. This year, our school community aimed to collect a twoonie from every child, for the Terry Fox Foundation.
To understand how the donated money is used, Ms.
Daisy came to speak about her own cancer survival story and to pass on Terry’s message and continue his legacy. Not only have our students been a part of Terry’s dream to find a cure for cancer, but they have also come to know Terry’s inspirational story and to recognize him as a true Canadian hero.
As a precautionary measure, every school is required to practice six fire drill evacuations and two lockdown procedures throughout each school year.
Initiating a lockdown is a procedure used board wide to convey to staff that a threat from a dangerous article/ stranger exists. In a “Lockdown”, an announcement will indicate the initiation of the lockdown, followed by the ringing of the school bell.
Staff will secure the classrooms by closing windows and blinds, and locking doors. Students will be instructed to move to the floor, where they will remain until further instructions are given. Staff and students will be notified of the end of the Lockdown procedure by an announcement. Please emphasize with your children the purpose of a drill is for practice only, and used for developing safety plans.
In the fall we will be having another fire drill and a lockdown drill to review the safety procedures with the students. Every year we complete these drills to ensure the students are familiar with fire exits and safety procedures in the case of an emergency.
Kiss and Ride Safety
We would like to thank all those who regularly drive students to school and/or pick up using the kiss and ride lane. For those new to Good Shepherd please note the following procedures in place to keep our children safe.
1. Do not pass vehicles in cue to advance your position. Wait in line until your children have entered the school yard and then drive away slowly.
2. Do not get out of your car in the kiss and ride lane. You are welcome to park in the school parking lot or on the roads if you need to escort your child.
3. Children should enter and exit from the right side of the car.
4. Please do not walk through the kiss and ride area. For the safety of the children we ask everyone to use the sidewalk and crosswalk. www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those students who applied to be part of student council this year. All students demonstrated enthusiasm and a positive attitude.
Congratulations to the following students who comprise the Good Shepherd Student Council for
2013-2014: Marisa, Vanessa, Esmond, Zavier,
Cecilia, Julia, Isabella, Annetha, Nicole, Alicia,
Eric, Alessandra, Derinola.
We look forward to an exciting year! Our first event will be planning our Hallowe’en Dance. More information to follow.
Mrs. McLaughlin & Mme. DErcole
This year’s wellness campaign will begin with our kickoff on Thursday, October 10 th . The Wellness committee comprised of students and staff have many wonderful things in store for us this year.
Stay tuned for more information!
Halloween is a fun time for students to dress up and be creative. We will be participating in various activities to celebrate the fun aspects of
Halloween. Students are reminded that any costumes must be appropriate for school and in line with the school’s dress code. Masks that cover the full face or toy guns or weapons are not allowed for school costumes. If you wish to bring treats for the class, please bring non-food items such as stickers and pencils.
Thank you to all visitors who have been using our new entry system. To reduce the flow of traffic through the front, we ask that students come prepared for school with all of the things they will need (ie. Lunches, projects, gym clothes/shoes).
This will reduce the number of items needed to be dropped off at school.
th

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Grade 3 and 6 results have now been released.
Individual student results have been sent home. School results are as follows:
Percentage of all students at or above the Provincial
Standards (Level 3 & 4):
Reading
Grade 3 73%
Writing
83%
Math
63%
Grade 6 73% 69%
49%
The Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test will be administered to all grade 4 students during the week of
October 15th. In order to qualify for additional testing and the enrichment program, students must score at the
95th percentile or above on two of the three areas, and at the 90th percentile in the remaining area. If parents do not want their child to participate in this test, please contact the classroom teacher.
The Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board’s homework policy may be viewed in full at www.dpcdsb.org/homework .
This month’s homework tip: Develop a positive attitude.
It is important that family members come to an agreement on the positive value of homework. Gaining this consensus sets the stage for a successful learning environment within the home. Remember…the attitude you express about homework will be the attitude your child acquires.
Our Youth Faith Ambassadors are a group of
Intermediate students who volunteer their time at the school to lead various faith initiatives. Their first initiative this year will be the ‘Soap for Hope’ and
‘Candies for Kids’ drive to donate to Canadian Food For
Children. They will be collecting bars of soap and hard candies (from your Hallowe’en loot!) to take with them on November 4 th when they visit the Canadian Food For
Children warehouse operated by Dr. and Mrs. Simone.
We thank you for your donations.
Information was sent home this week regarding Pizza
Orders. Our pizza days will occur every Wednesday until
Christmas vacation. We ask that orders be submitted in the envelope provided with exact change. Envelopes cannot be shared between siblings, therefore please submit one envelope per child.
Pizza Days will be held on the following days:
 Wednesday, October 16, 23, 30
 Wednesday, November 6, 13, 20, 27
 Wednesday, December 4, 11, 18
We are very fortunate this year to have the Roots of
Empathy Program at our school this year. Mr.
Menichetti’s Grade 6 class will participate in this program where the students will participate in a series of classroom visits by an infant and parent.
Facilitated by a Child and Youth Worker (ROE
Instructor) the grade 6 students will experience guided observations of the loving relationship between a mother and baby. Students will learn to identify and reflect on their own thoughts and feelings and those of others throughout the program.
We would like to welcome Baby Scarlette and her mom to our school community.
Welcome!
Whether it is your first time entering school or you are returning, we are very excited that you have chosen to be a member of a strong and vibrant
Catholic school community. As the newly appointed
Superintendent of the Brampton
East/Caledon/Dufferin/Malton (BECDM) Family of
Schools, I would like to take the opportunity to thank our devoted teachers, school administrators, administrative assistants, custodians and support staff, who have spent countless hours to ensure that the school year offers tremendous opportunities for learning for all our students.
As a Catholic school, we are privileged to be supported by our local pastors, who in partnership with the school staff, actively nurture the spiritual development of our students. In addition, our three trustees - Frank Di Cosola, Scott McLauchlan, and
Thomas Thomas - are committed advocates of
Catholic Education and the success and well-being of all students.
As we anticipate the tremendous opportunities that await another school year, I would like to thank you for entrusting us with your child(ren) and for your support of Catholic education. It is a covenant that all of us within the BECDM take very seriously.
Sincerely,
L. Storey
Superintendent
Brampton East/Caledon/Dufferin/Malton Family of schools

www.dpcdsb.org/gshep