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Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
M arc h 2 0 1 5
Prayer for Kindness
God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
- with burning love for you and for all humankind.
Help us to work with you in making all things new in Christ,
- and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Good Shepherd Elementary School
28 Red River Drive
Brampton ON, L6R 2H9
Phone: 905.791.1039
Fax: 905.791.9856
Principal
A. Brunette
Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
- so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing your praise.
Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor, the distressed and the troublesome.
- and for our failure to reverence your Son in their persons.
Allow us to show kindness to all we dialogue with.
- and to see the face of Christ in these encounters.
Vice Principal
S. Chambers
Office Staff
N. Jacques
D. Canal
Superintendent of Schools
L. Storey
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24240
Trustee
S. Xaviour
Parish
St. Marguerite d’Youville
(905) 792-7497
We ask through your Son, our Lord and Saviour,
AMEN
“You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” is an expression used to
explain the power of kindness to win over and persuade people. The day
seems to run more smoothly when we approach situations with a positive
attitude, expecting and hoping for the best from people. It’s often the little
things that make a big difference: a thank you card, a congratulatory note, a
warm greeting or smile. To remain focused on what’s important in life requires
strength. We gather strength through prayer and acts of virtue. Just as a
healthy body requires exercise and good diet, so a healthy spirit requires the
practice of virtue and prayer. Many also perform acts of charity and kindness.
Such practices, performed frequently and ardently, shape character, and
prepare us to face worldly temptations and trials.
Pastor
Fr. Robert Mignella
March Virtue of the Month – Kindness
God wants us to give generously to others around
us.
A kind person…
God wants us to be kind to everyone we meet.
Being kind is about more than just pretending to
be nice. It is about helping and playing with
others because we want to and not because we
feel we have to. God helps us to be kind to our
family and friends because by being kind we are
able to see God in everyone we meet.
IMPORTANT DATES
 March 3 – Lenten Mass
 March 4, 11, 25 – Pizza Days
 March 2, 9, 23 – Sub Days
 March 9 – Police Presentations
 March 6 – Virtue Buddies
 March 12 – Winter Play Day
 March 12 – Family Dinner Night 6:00 p.m.
 March 13 – The Great Gulp
 March 26 – Future Steps Dance Begins
 March 31 – Flex Boundary Letters are due
March Break:
Monday March 16th – Friday March 20th
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
Sacramental Preparations
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School Council News
First Holy Communion:
Next Council Meeting Thursday April 16th @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 2, 2015 10:30 a.m & 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 12:30 p.m.
Sacrament of Confirmation:
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Our Catholic School Heritage:
A Historical
Understanding of Key Issues Related to Catholic Education
What sacrifices did Catholics have to make to send their
children to separate schools?
Because the United Legislature of Canada East and Canada West
roughly had consisted of members advocating non-denominational
common schools and half were in favour of them, separate school
legislation, for about fifteen years, contained three obstacles to
their existence:
(a) Catholics could establish and support a separate school, but
had to continue paying common school taxes. Thus, they paid
tuition for their children in the separate school;
(b) The separate school had no permanence of existence. If the
local commonschool board hired a Catholic as one of its teachers,
then the separate school ceased to exist. Separate schools kept
opening and closing in the early years;
We hope to see you there
Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
As a reminder, school supervision does not begin
each morning until 8:30 a.m. Please do not drop
your children off before that time as there is no
one available to watch them.
Also, we would like to remind you that the
school day ends at 3:15 p.m. Please ensure that
your children are picked up at that time.
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Welcome to Full-Day Kindergarten
Good Shepherd’s “Welcome to Full-Day Kindergarten”
evening will be held on Wednesday May 13th, 2015. All
new Kindergarten students and parents/guardians are
invited to attend.
Grade 8 Graduation Mass & Awards Ceremony
Grade 3 AND 6 Provincial Assessment Of Reading,
Writing and Mathematics
All grade 3 and 6 students in Ontario will again be
participating in the Educational Quality
and
Accountability Office (EQAO) Provincial Assessments
scheduled to take place from May 25 to June 5.
We would ask that if possible, please try to avoid
booking appointments or vacations for your grade 3 and
6 children during this assessment period.
Flex Boundary Requests
Parents who are requesting consideration for flex
boundary are asked to write a letter expressing this
request and submit to the office by March 31 st. Flex
boundary for FDK will not be considered until September
2015. As a result you must register at your home school.
Parking Lot
Thursday, June 25th at 7:00 p.m.
St. Marguerite d’Youville Parish
Green Team
The Green Team would like
to invite everyone at Good
Shepherd to join us for the
Great Gulp on Friday, March
13, 2015.
Please bring a
reusable water bottle to
school and take a school-wide
gulp of tap water with us!
The Great Gulp is an annual
event held every March to
help create awareness about
the importance of Peel
drinking water in our lives.
We have registered our school
and we can win a tap water
refill station or reusable
water bottles for the entire
school!!
Help
us
promote
and
celebrate tap water in Peel!
Thanks for your support.
The Good Shepherd Green
Team
We continue to experience issues in our parking lot. We
are asking for your patience and consideration for the
safety of your children. Hopefully the snow will melt
soon and we will acquire more space in our parking lot,
however we are insisting that students not be dropped
off in areas outside the kiss and ride area. Dropping off
at the cross walk, in the parking lot, in the drive thru
lane of the kiss and ride and at the front of the school is
not permitted. Students MUST be dropped off in the
kiss and ride zone ONLY! Please respond to and respect
the staff members on duty who are enforcing these
safety practices for the sake of your children. As you
know our driveway is very busy in the morning. Please
leave earlier and drop off closer to 8:30 to avoid the
congestion that occurs closer to the start of the school
day. Leaving home earlier will also ensure that your
child is on time for school.
We thank you for your continued cooperation in helping
us to keep everyone safe.
Upcoming Liturgical Dates:
Holy Week: March 29th – April 4th
Palm Sunday – March 29th, 2015
Holy Thursday – April 2nd, 2015
Good Friday – April 3rd, 2015
Easter Sunday - April 5th, 2015
Easter Monday – April 6th, 2015
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Peel Police Youth Education
As in previous years, our Peel Police
Education Officer will be presenting
a variety of programs to our students.
This year students will have the
following presentations:
Kind is Kool – Bullying 1 – Grade 1 & 2
Everyday Hero – Bullying II– Grade 3
Power to be Awesome – Bullying III – Grade 4
Cyber Citizenship –Internet II – Grade 5 & 6
Digital Leadership – Internet III – Grade 7 & 8
Ballroom Dancing
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
School Trips
As the warm weather approaches, classes may be
planning field trips. Parent volunteers will be needed
to assist with supervision on these trips. In order to
volunteer you must have a Criminal Reference Check
completed and present the original to the office to
keep in our records. Forms are available from the
office to present at the local police station. Some
reference checks take as long as 3 weeks to conduct so
we ask that you consider submitting your paperwork
well in advance of any school trip.
Lenten Reflection
Each year, the Season of Lent is offered to us as a time
of renewal. Usually, we take up this Lenten journey as
the gift of personal renewal in terms of our
relationship with the Lord. Our renewal becomes
concrete when it comes down to self-denial which
allows us to live our faith more authentically.
th
Beginning in March 26 , 2015 every class in our
school will receive five lessons of ballroom dancing
from Future Steps. The cost for this program will be
covered by the money we have raised from our pizza
sales. Parents will be invited to our Ballroom
Dancing Showcase on May 7th 2015, during Catholic
Education Week, where all classes will showcase the
dances they have learned. Save the date!
Healthy Schools – Winter Play Day
The Healthy Schools Committee is proud to announce
that Good Shepherd will be having its second annual
Winter Play Day on Thursday, March 12, 2015 from
12:45-2:45! Together with the City of Brampton, we
look forward to having everyone participate in some
fun outdoor activities and stay warm with some
yummy hot chocolate! Don't forget to dress for the
weather! Choose wisely and stay healthy!
The alms giving we do helps us express our gratitude
and allows us to exercise generosity. However, Lent
can also be a time to focus beyond ourselves. It can be
a time of renewal that is offered to us to hear the cry
of the poor and grow in solidarity with them.
Ultimately, this is spiritual renewal as well and helps
us grow closer to our Lord who tells us that if we wish
to love him, we must express that love as love for the
least of our brothers and sisters.