Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Oc to be r 2 0 1 4
Prayer for Thanksgiving
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. Mclauchlan
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 small change. 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!
Parish
St. Marguerite d’Youville
(905) 792-7497
Pastor
Fr. Robert Mignella
October Virtue of the Month - EMPATHY
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
IMPORTANT DATES
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Oct. 1
Oct. 1
Oct. 2
Oct. 2
Oct. 2
Oct. 5
Oct. 7
Oct. 9
Oct. 9
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Oct. 13
Oct. 15
Oct.16
Oct. 17
Oct. 23
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Oct. 28
Nov. 5
Nov. 6
Nov. 11
Nov. 13
Communion Registration
Junior Softball Tournament
Intermediate Softball Tournament
See Hear Clinic
School Council 7:00 p.m.
World Teacher’s Day
Picture Orders Due
Junior Volleyball Tournament
Central Committee of Catholic
School Councils Meeting – St.
Francis Xavier SS 5:30 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day - No School
Gr. 7’s & 8’s-Media Walk Toronto
Picture Retake Day
Cross Country Meet-Orangeville
Aquinas Regional Arts Program
Visit for Gr. 8’s
Author Visits
Gr. 8s to D’Youville
School Council 7:00 p.m.
Progress Reports Sent home
Progress Report Interview Evening
Page 2 of 4
Good Shepherd’s Good News
World Teachers Day
On October 3rd, we joined world-wide to acknowledge
the key role teachers play in guiding children, through
the life-long learning process. World Teachers Day
(Oct. 5th) 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!!
Safe Arrival Program
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.
Catholic School Council
Our Good Shepherd Catholic School Council was
established on October 2nd. The members are as
follows:
Co - Chairs – M. Avila and D. Kieffer
Secretary – L. Stellino
Treasurer – C. Ercoli
Parish Rep – N. Leal
OAPCE Rep – A. Rapallo
Fundraising – J. Sundaramoorthy
Community Rep – E. Jara
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.
Medic Alert Program
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.
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Good Shepherd Staff 2014-2015
Grade
JK/SK
JK/SK
JK/SK
1/2
1
1
2
3
3
4
4
5
5/6
6
7
7
8
8
Planning Time
FSL/PT
FSL
Library/PT
ERW
ERW
ERW
ERW
SERT
SERT
SERT/SERC
Teacher
J. Masellis
V. Vistica
L. Owsiana (ECE)
A. Wallace
V. Bria (ECE)
T. Carabott
M. Da Costa
L. Siltala
T. Sukreski
P. Centofanti
M. Rado
R. Gabil/M. Grabowski
R. Menichetti
P. McCollum
L. Girotto
J. Weatherbee
N. Natale
L. Rosero
M. McLoughlin
S. DiNatale
A. Zuccaro, G. DeCouto
K. Tenaglia
A. D’Ercole
M. Thimio
M. Agostinho
S. Parg
K. Virgilio
M. Patrone
B. Pittiglio
T. Pannozzo
F. Tuerke
Secretary
Secretary
Assistant Custodian
Assistant Custodian
Assistant Custodian
Head Custodian
Vice-Principal
Principal
102
110
106
105
107
108
109
209
210
208
211
212
204
201
203
202
207
206
205
Lib
216
217
214
N. Jacques
D. Canal
N. Marioni
H. Cuevaz
S. Mirabelli
S. Irvine
S. Chambers
A. Brunette
Thanksgiving Food Drive
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.
Room
101
103
Next School Council Meeting
Thursday, November 6th
@
7:00 p.m.
Page 3 of 4
Good Shepherd’s Good News
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Annual Terry Fox Walk
Family Numeracy Night
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 toonie from every
child, for the Terry Fox Foundation. We are proud
to say that as a school community we raised
$457.95!
Save the date!
You are invited to join us on
Wednesday, November 19th in the evening for a
Family Numeracy Night. More details will follow.
Come out and enjoy an evening of math games with
your child and learn more strategies for supporting
your child’s numeracy development at home.
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.
Halloween
Evacuation Drills/Lockdown Drill
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.
Pizza Days
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 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
 Wednesday, November 5, 12, 19
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. More
information will follow regarding our Hallowe’en
Dance!
Buzzer Entry System
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. There may be times when we cannot
answer the buzzer right away due to other demands
in the office. We thank you for your patience while
waiting.
Student Leaders
This year we will be combining our Youth Faith
Ambassadors and Student Council to form a new
group of Student Leaders. Our Student Leaders will
be comprised of a group of dedicated Intermediate
students, who volunteer their time at school to lead
various faith, Liturgical, Global and Local Outreach
initiatives together with school based Spirit Days.
This year on October 23, a ceremony will be held at
St. Marguerite d’Youville parish to commission our
Student Leaders together with other Youth Faith
Ambassadors in our Brampton East, Caledon,
Dufferin, Malton family of schools.
Page 4 of 4
Good Shepherd’s Good News
EQAO Results
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):
Grade 3
Grade 6
Reading
53 %
78 %
Writing
88%
76 %
Math
49%
35%
CCAT – Grade 4 Testing
The Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test will be
administered to all grade 4 students during the week of
October 20th. 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.
Homework Tips
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.
Kiss ‘n Ride Safety
 Please do not PARK your cars in the ‘Kiss and Ride’
lanes as this causes unnecessary traffic backlog.
 Students should exit from the right hand side of the
car. It is dangerous to have students exiting on the
left hand side of the car into the ‘Drive Through’
lane.
 Please do not use the ‘Drive Through’ lane to drop off
your children.
 Students and parents must cross at the designated
crosswalk. Please do not cross in the middle of the
‘Kiss and Ride’ and ‘Drive Through’ lanes.
 Please do not drop students off at the front door.
School Yard Safety
When bringing your child to school in the morning,
parents are asked to wait behind the black fence by the
parking lot. As per board policy, any visitor on school
property needs to sign in at the office. While your child
knows who you are, you are a stranger to the other
children. If you would like to wait on the park path by
where the primary students enter, then you must be
there before 8:30. Please do not cross the school yard
between 8:30 and 8:45 while students are playing. We
thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
A Message from our Superintendent
Welcome Back!
Whether it is your first time entering one of our schools
or you are returning, we are very excited that you have
chosen to be part of a strong and vibrant Catholic
school community.
The Brampton East/Caledon/Dufferin/Malton Family of
Schools, are privileged to be supported by our local
pastors, who in partnership with the school staff,
actively nurture the spiritual and academic
development of our students. In addition, our Trustees
- Frank Di Cosola, Scott McLauchlan, and Thomas
Thomas - are committed advocates of Catholic
Education and the well-being and success of all
students.
The main theme for this year’s Catholic Education
Week which is inspired by the work of Pope Francis and
his “Joy of the Gospel” is the biblical story of “The
Road to Emmaus”, namely that we are all on a life
journey of faith where Jesus reveals himself to us.
As we continue this sacred journey together, united by
our faith, please know this is a covenant that all
partners involved in your child’s education make with
great pride and a strong sense of responsibility and
humility. We are privileged that we have the
opportunity to work with you to provide an excellent
Catholic education for your child.
Thank you for believing in the importance of a Catholic
education and best wishes for another successful school
year.
God Bless,
L. Storey
Superintendent of Education
Brampton East/Caledon/Dufferin/Malton Family of
Schools
Dare2draw
On October 4, 2014 all grade 7 and 8 students had the
chance to once again participate in the Dare Arts
Program. This was a great experience as it brought us
all together to create beautiful cards which will be sold
to raise funds for aboriginal youth to receive art
lessons.
I think this amazing program, is a great cause and it
was easy to participate in, as we were doing what kids
love to do; draw!
Giving back to aboriginal children by creating cards felt
really good inside. It’s great to see how we as Grade 7
and 8 student leaders at Good Shepherd School can
help other children, the same age as us, receive similar
learning opportunities.
We look forward to doing programs like this one in the
future and we would all definitely recommend this
program to everyone!
Alessia F. Grade 8 Student
www.dpcdsb.org/gshe
INFORMATION FROM BRAMPTON LIBRARY