Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
De ce m b e r 2 0 1 4
Prayer for Advent
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
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
Advent - A Time of Hope
God of Hope You sent us Jesus, the Light of the World.
As we light our Advent candles one by one, a week at a time,
May we rekindle within ourselves
The desire to make peace with Him.
May the flame of His presence grow brighter and brighter
In our hearts, In our school, And in our world.
May the God of Hope fill us with joy and peace this Christmas
By the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Throughout the season of Advent we will have time to reflect, pray
and give thanks for our many blessings. Our community outreach
to support needy families in our community and globally, remind
us of how truly fortunate we are. As we await the coming of Jesus,
let us be reminded that Christ is at the heart of Christmas.
The Good Shepherd Catholic School community brings a message
of faith and hope to our world through generous donations of time,
food, clothing, and gifts for those who are in such need of hope.
May God bless each of you in our community; staff members,
students, parents, pastoral team, and trustee for being the hands of
Jesus for those in need. The staff of Good Shepherd Catholic
School wishes your family a blessed Advent and Christmas
season!
Pastor
Fr. Robert Mignella
December Virtue of the Month – Hope
Hope is the virtue of relying on God. It
keeps us searching for true happiness,
sustains us during hard times, and keeps us
from being discouraged.
People of Hope

Expect the best to happen for everyone

Hold on to their dreams

Always count on God to help them in tough
situations

Trust that things will work out in God’s
way.

Look for something good to come out of
problems
IMPORTANT DATES
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Nov. 30
Dec. 3, 10, 17
Dec. 5
Dec. 7
Dec. 11
Dec. 11
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Dec. 14
Dec. 19
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Dec. 21
Jan. 5
Jan. 14

Jan. 15
First Sunday of Advent
Pizza Days
Santa Photos – 12:30-4:30
Second Sunday of Advent
Advent Mass – 1:00 at the school
Good Shepherd’s Live Nativity
6:30-8:00
Third Sunday of Advent
Last Day of School before
the Christmas Break
Fourth Sunday of Advent
First Day back from Christmas Break
Parent Information Night for Grade
5 – 8 Extended French @ St. Jean
Brebeuf 7 p.m.
School Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m.
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
Safe Arrival
For safety reasons, it is very important to notify the school
if your child is going to be absent or late. Please call 905791-1039 and press 1 to leave a message if your child is
going to be absent or late.
Late Arrivals
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Health and Hygiene
Please be aware that children who are unwell should
not be at school. If your child becomes ill during the
school day we will contact you, or your designated
caregiver, to pick up your child. We are not able to
care for sick children at school.
We have noticed an increase in students arriving late.
With the colder weather and the increase in traffic in the
Kiss and Ride lanes please prepare to leave a little earlier
to get to school for the 8:45 start. Late students should be
checking into the office to obtain a late slip. We will
continue to monitor late arrivals and send communication
home regarding this should your child demonstrate
frequent late arrival to school.
Winter Dress
Bus Cancellations and/or School Closures
For health reasons and to help keep the school clean,
we ask all students to have indoor shoes. You may
also wish to pack a spare set of clothes, especially
socks, pants and gloves, in case your child becomes
wet during recess. This would allow them to change
into more comfortable clothes and eliminate the
need to disturb parents for new clothes.
During the winter months inclement weather may cause
disruption of bus transportation and regular school
operations. A decision to cancel school transportation and/
or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be
announced on the following radio stations:
VIRGIN RADIO 99.9
CHUM 1050
CFTR 680
CFNY 102.1
CJCL 590
CHFI 98.1
CFRB 1010
EZ ROCK 97.3
CJBC (FR) 860
Z103.5
93.1 FM
CFTO
CITYPULSE
GLOBAL NEWS
CBC
CHIN100.7
FM/1540 AM
Information is also available on the board website.
Green Team Update
The Green Team has been working hard to bring back all of
Good Shepherds eco-friendly initiatives. Each week the
students on the green team go around and check to ensure
that lights are out when no one is in the room, that
recyclables are placed in the appropriate bins, and make
weekly announcements to encourage students to pack
waste free lunches by using plastic containers and reusable
water bottles.
Right now the green team is running an Eco Wreath
Challenge. Each class at Good Shepherd is participating by
creating a wreath using only recyclable materials. They will
be hung this Monday December 8th and the winning class
will be awarded an extra recess period.
Tis the season to Go Green!
Join us for Good Shepherd’s Living Nativity
December 11, 2014
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Christmas Lights, Extension Cords and
Burlap are still needed.
Please bring a donation of non-perishable
goods to support our Helping Hands
Program.
Please ensure your children come to school prepared
to participate in all outdoor recess breaks. All
children should have hats, scarves, gloves, warm
coats and boots, labeled with their name (and send
extras too!). This will enable them to enjoy a fresh
breath of air at recess time! Students who wish to
play in the snow MUST have snow pants.
Let it Snow!!
Snow is always an attraction on the yard. We expect
that students will build and play in the snow and
enjoy our Canadian weather. Students are reminded
of our school rules surrounding snow. Throwing of
snow is not allowed for any reason. Snow is to
remain on the ground at all times.
Kiss ’N’ Ride Update
With the weather getting colder and the snow coming
soon, it is apparent that more students are being
driven to school. With the additional vehicles using
Kiss and Ride it becomes imperative that parents
have patience and follow the expectations for all
drivers. Parents are reminded that unless you have
parked in one of the spaces in our parking lot, you
should not be getting out of your vehicle and going to
drop off or pick up your child.
We are also reminding you that no vehicle should stop
in the drive through or bus lane to pick up or drop off
their children. This is very dangerous and blocks the
lane for those cars exiting. Teachers are on duty at
the bus lane, kiss and ride drop off lane and at the
crosswalk to ensure the safety of all our students.
Pylons are placed to direct the flow of traffic. Please
respect the measures we have in place in the interest
of the safety of your children.
Catholic School Board Trustee
We thank our outgoing Trustee, Scott McLauchlan for
his many years of service to our students, staff and
parents at Good Shepherd. All the very best Scott!
We would also like to welcome our recently
appointed new Trustee, Shawn Xaviour.
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
School Council News
Next council meeting is Thursday, January 15, 2015 at
7:00 pm.
Thank you
Our Halloween Dance and Halloween Cookie sales raised
$210.00 for the Children’s Wish List. Thanks to all who
contributed and to the Spirit Squad for organizing the
fundraiser.
Family Math Night
On November 19th Good Shepherd hosted its Second
Family Math Night. Thank you to all those parents, staff
and students in attendance.
ADVENT EVENTS at GOOD SHEPHERD
Advent is a time of reflecting and preparing for the
Christmas season. The Good Shepherd community is
hoping to make this holiday season memorable for
families in our community through the Helping
Hands Initiative through the parish. This year we are
adopting 4 families at Good Shepherd. Information
was forwarded last week outlining the needs and
seeking donations. Our Helping Hands Program will
run from November 24th to December 12th.
Additionally, during the last week of school (Dec.
15-19) we will be holding a spirit week to help raise
funds for the Helping Hands initiative. See below.
Our Living Nativity event will take place on
December 11th at 6:30. We will be collecting nonperishable goods that evening.
Also on December 11th at 1:00 p.m. we will be
celebrating our Advent Mass, at school. Parents are
welcome to join us at mass.
Spirit Squad
Hey Good Shepherd, it’s your Spirit Squad here! During
the month of November we had many Bullying
Awareness activities and events for the students, such
as inspirational songs played every morning, positive
self-esteem cards put on every student’s desk and much
more! We also had a positive poster/poetry contest.
There were many beautiful posters and poems, and it
was difficult to choose. After much debate we chose
our winners from the Junior and Intermediate Divisions.
Congratulations to Jessica in grade 5 and Liana in grade
7! Thank-you to everyone who participated in our
Bullying Awareness week!
Some Key Differences Between Bullying and
Conflict (based on the work of Dan Olweus, 1993)
Normal Conflict
Occasional
Not pre-planned, in the heat of
the moment
Genuine upset to both parties
Trying to work things out
Not trying to take something from
someone
Both parties admit some
responsibility
Effort to solve the problem by
both parties
Bullying Behaviour
Is a repeated happening
Premeditated, on purpose,
intentional, planned
Person being bullied is more upset
Trying to be the one in control
Want to take power or possessions
from someone
Blame is laid on the person who is
bullied
No effort to solve the problem by
the person bullying
Region of Peel-Public Health: Conflict is Inevitable, Bullying is Not
As Christmas is fast approaching, Good Shepherd’s Spirit
Squad has been planning a fun week for the last few
days of school before the Christmas break.
Cookies will be sold the week of December 15-19 for $1
each. There will also be a different fantastic event
happening each day of the week. Please see the
schedule below for our Christmas activities. We would
also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone at
Good Shepherd an amazing, blessed Christmas, and a
joyous New Year! See you in 2015!
Spirit Week
Monday: Dress up as your favourite Christmas character!
Tuesday: Wear your warm and cozy Christmas sweaters!
Wednesday: Wear your awesome Christmas Accessories!
Thursday: Wear your pajamas to school, and Movie Day!
Friday: Good Shepherd’s Christmas Themed Dance!
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
Full-Day Kindergarten Registration for 2015-16
Registration for Full-Day Kindergarten for the 2015-16
school year, will take place at Good Shepherd on:
Monday, January 26, 2015
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday, January 30, 2015
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
* Snow Date:
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
For more information about registration and the Full-Day
Kindergarten program, call 905-791-1039 or visit
www.dpcdsb.org.
Extended French Information Meeting
Grade 4 parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child
in a Grade 5 Extended French class for September 2015,
are invited to attend an information meeting at:
St. Jean Brebeuf
63 Glenforest Rd. Brampton
Wednesday, January 14th, 2015 @ 7:00 p.m.
The deadline for applications is Tuesday, February 17th,
2015 @ 3:00 p.m.
Support Catholic Education
Make Sure Your School Support Designation is English
Separate (Catholic) it’s a powerful message in support of
Catholic Education.
Even if you have been an English Separate School
supporter in the past, the designation DOES NOT follow
you when you relocate. Every time you move, it is
essential that you re-declare yourself as a Catholic school
supporter.
Hope for Haiti
Last July, a group from Good Shepherd School travelled to
Jacmel, Haiti to work with the poor. While there, three
children died because the orphanage, Sisters of Charity,
did not have the money to have them seen by a doctor.
The cost was $12.00! In response, the intermediate
students have created Christmas ornaments with the
actual photos of the children from the orphanage. Any
donation (minimum of $2.00) will go DIRECTLY to Sisters
of Charity Orphanage. They will be on sale the night of
the Living Nativity. In the words of Jesus, 'Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers
and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40.
Healthy Schools
Our Healthy Schools committee has been formed. Keep a
look out for information and fun facts about eating and
staying healthy, physically, mentally and spiritually to
support the well-being of all.
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Dufferin-Peel hosts Parent Evening to Support the
Transition of Students with Differing Abilities into
Kindergarten
On Thursday, January 8th, 2015 the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board’s Special Education and
Support Services Department will host a Kindergarten
entry planning information session. This meeting is for
parents and guardians of children with differing abilities
which affect their learning, such as vision, hearing,
speech, autism, physical/medical and/or developmental
delays in the cognitive and/or motor areas, who are
entering Kindergarten in September 2015.
The meeting will be held at the Catholic Education
Centre, Room 301-Third Floor, 40 Matheson boulevard
West, Mississauga (Hurontario & Matheson) from 7:00
p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Snow Date: January 13, 2015
For more information about this session, call 905-8900708 ext. 24011.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) are also reminded to register their
child at our school office. Official registration dates are
January 26th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., January 28th,
29th, and 30th, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The
Snow Date for evening registration is January 27th, 2015,
from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Use of Personal Electronic Devices at School
Presentations
Our School Board Policy states that all PEDs are to be
turned off and not used within school premises or during
school-sanctioned activities. This would include the use
of cameras during school presentations. The taking of
photos and videos of individual students is considered to
be the collection of personal information under privacy
legislation. There are times during the year where we
may take photos/videos of students and school activities
for school and/or board promotional purposes e.g.
Newsletters. In such instances, where the end use of the
images and personal information collected is specific,
parental consent is obtained in writing.
When parents or visitors take photos/videos of students
during school performances, the personal information
(e.g., images, video) of students who are not their
children may be captured. In such cases, the school and
board have no control over the end use of those images
or personal information. Given the present digital and
social media age in which we live, we cannot put the
privacy of our students at such risk. It is for this reason
that the taking of photographs or videos during school
performances/activities will not be allowed. Where
possible, we will provide an opportunity for you to take
photos of your child only, either before or after the
performance. We thank you for your cooperation and
understanding in this matter.
Donations of Christmas Lights, Extension Cords and Burlap are still required.
Blessing of the Nativity will take place at 6:30 p.m.
by Fr. Robert Mignella
Please bring an unwrapped toy or non-perishable food items in support of
our Helping Hands Program