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www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Good Shepherd’s
Good News
Good
Shepherd’s
Good
News
September 2015
BLESSINGS FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
Good News
@GSHEP_DPCDSB
Loving God,
Extend your blessings over our families this new
school year.
May our school be filled with love, joy and hope.
May our children grow in knowledge,
understanding and wisdom.
May they be strong in body and spirit.
May they have the courage to follow your ways.
Finally Dear Lord, may home, parish and school
work together, to create a world where children
can build a civilization of Love.
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Good Shepherd Elementary School
28 Red River Drive
Brampton ON, L6R 2H9
Phone: 905.791.1039
Fax: 905.791.9856
Principal
A. Brunette
Amen
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
Pastor
Fr. Robert Mignella
September Virtue of the Month - FAITH
To begin the new school year, we’ll focus our
attention on the first of our virtues – faith. Faith
is the great virtue of believing in God and
trusting that God is with us.
A faithful person believes that we are created,
guided by and destined to be reunited with God.
A faithful person believes that God’s plan for us
includes the right to be safe, especially at
school.
School Hours
8:45
Classes begin
10:25 Morning recess
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Afternoon Classes begin
2:10
Afternoon recess
3:15
Dismissal
** Supervision in yard begins at 8:30 every morning
Safe Arrival Program
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 if your child is going to be absent or late. This
communication is vital to ensure the safety of your child. If
we do not hear from you, you will receive a call to verify
your child’s absence from the office.
IMPORTANT DATES
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Sept. 18
Sept. 24
Sept. 25
Oct. 01
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Oct. 01
Oct. 02
PD Day
Open House BBQ
Terry Fox Walk
Opening School Mass 1:00 p.m.
(at Church)
School Council Meeting
Picture Day
To Be Returned to the School:
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Lunch Permission Form
Student Verification Form
Risk & Medical Information Form
Early Dismissal Consent Form
Medical Forms and Medication/Epi-Pens
– if applicable
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
School Entrance
All students are expected to enter the school with their
class at entry times. If you are coming to the school during
the school day please use the front door, and proceed to
the office. All visitors must report to the office. Students
who enter the front door in the morning will be recorded as
late.
Parents who are dropping off their children are asked to
remain outside the black fence or on the park pathway. If
you are waiting on the park path, please be there by 8:30
so as not to be crossing the school yard while students are
playing. No parents should be on the school yard in the
interest of the safety of all children. We appreciate your
cooperation.
Emergency Evacuations
Teachers and students regularly practice emergency
evacuation procedures. These include: safe exit from the
building in the event of a fire and safety actions in the event
of an intruder. If an evacuation of the school site occurs,
our alternate location is Larkspur Public School.
Class Reorganization
Each year, schools are staffed according to projected
enrolment figures provided to us from the Planning
Department. Therefore, all classroom and teacher
placements are tentative when classes start up in
September. Numbers are being reviewed, and if necessary,
reorganization of classes will occur by the scheduled
Professional Activity Day on September 18th. If any such
reorganization takes place, and it involves your child, we
will notify you of the changes by letter. We appreciate your
cooperation, patience and trust if any changes occur that
impact your child.
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Bullying Prevention
The key message for September is “everyone has the right
to be safe at school”. In the process of creating a
Catholic, Caring Community we focus on the three R’s;
Respect for self
Respect for Others
Responsibility for one’s own actions
Please review the Catholic Code of Conduct found in the
front section of the student agenda with your child.
Throughout the year we will continue to work on various
initiatives to support the creation of a safe and inclusive
environment for all of our students at Good Shepherd.
Tips for Parents:
- talk with your children about the Catholic Code of
Conduct
- discuss classroom and school expectations for both
academics and behaviours
- discuss behavioural expectations within your own family
and the values or beliefs upon which these are based.
Traffic Safety
We remind you to follow the kiss and ride, directional
and fire route/bussing route signs on our property.
Also, we ask you to follow the same rules and guidelines
for walking children to school as we expect the children
to follow. Remember that children watch what we do
more than they listen to what we say. Please cross at
the designated crosswalk only!
Student Verification Forms
Parking Enforcement frequently visits schools throughout
Peel Region and issues tickets to vehicles that are in
parking violations including on our premises. Please do not
park your car in the Kiss ‘n Ride zone. Please remember
the importance of abiding by the posted traffic signs at
the school. The safety of our children is worth our utmost
attention to this matter.
We appreciate your co-operation in keeping us up-to-date
regarding pertinent information for your child e.g. change
in address, telephone numbers, etc. Accurate information
is vital should we need to contact you in an emergency
situation. Please ensure that you complete and return the
Student Verification Forms (even those whose information
is correct) that have been sent home with your child.
National Walk to School Day October 7, 2015
Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical on the environment
invites us to be ‘Stewards of the Earth’. The National Walk
to School Day on October 7th provides an opportunity to
reduce gas emissions and answer our Catholic call to care
for God’s Creation.
Custody of Children
On rare occasions, we are faced with difficult situations in
which non-custodial parents arrive at school asking to visit
their child or to take their child home after school. We are
best able to serve and protect students when we are made
aware of legal custody arrangements, visitations rights and
other special instructions. If legal custody matters affect
your family, please ensure that our office and classroom
teachers are aware of any custodial arrangements that may
affect your child during school hours.
Good Shepherd has been selected to work with community
partners, including the Peel Regional Police, to encourage
other options, such as, having students walk or bike to
school, in an effort to decrease traffic and increase
physical activity. If successful, the campaign will help to
reduce the number of vehicles at drop off and pickup
times and help keep our students safe. This campaign
aligns with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board’s focus on Ontario Catholic School Graduate
Expectations in conjunction with the Education Ministry’s
‘Healthy Schools’ initiative.
'A Child’s overall physical activity is linked to physical
and mental health as well as academic performance'.
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
Volunteers Needed
If you have extra time during the school day and wish
to help out at Good Shepherd please speak to your
child’s teacher or the office staff. Volunteers are
used to support our reading programs, supporting
staff and school activities, attend field trips and
other various functions. This is a great way to get
involved in your child’s school community. All
volunteers in the school must have a yearly police
check available at the local police division office
dated within the last 6 months. When you receive
your letter please bring it to the main office so that
we can add you to our list of volunteers.
Crossing Guard Location
Sunny Meadow & Peter Robertson
Sunny Meadow & Larkspur/Red River
Please use the cross walk and crossing guards to cross
the road. They are there for the safety and well
being of our students.
Delivering Lunches
When delivering your child’s lunch to school please
advise your child in advance you will be doing so, and
write his/her name and teacher’s name on the bag.
Your child can come down at 11:30 a.m. to pick it up
from the lunch table with minimal disruption to the
class. The lunch table is located in the lobby, outside
the office. Children will not be allowed to run out to
a waiting car to retrieve a lunch. We would greatly
appreciate your co-operation in this matter.
Valuables
There is no place in the school to store valuable
belongings. Please do not allow your children to bring
any valuables (jewelry, money, hand held games or
other electronic devices such as MP3 players or
current popular trading cards or toys), to school as
we cannot be responsible for their safekeeping.
Telephones, cameras, skateboards, roller blades and
other expensive items should not be brought to
school. If students are seen using cell phones while
at school, the cell phone will be confiscated and
parents will be contacted to come and retrieve the
device and depending on the circumstances, students
may be suspended. The school is not responsible for
lost or stolen items. If a ball goes over the fence or
onto the school roof, students are to tell the teacher
on duty.
Allergy Aware School
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Annual Terry Fox Run
On Friday, September 25th, 2015 @ 12:30 p.m. Good
Shepherd will be participating in the national “Terry Fox
Walk”. Students are asked to wear appropriate outdoor
clothing and shoes as they participate in a neighborhood
walk honouring Terry Fox. Students are invited to donate
a “toonie” or more which will go towards Terry’s dream of
Cancer Research. More information will follow.
Transportation Information
We are in the process of confirming our student population
and the students that qualify for transportation. If your
child qualifies for transportation they would have received
a red or orange bus tag. The red tags are for students in
JK, SK or Grade 1 and should be attached to the outside of
his/her knapsack. The orange bus tags are for older
students and these should be kept inside their knapsack.
This is a reminder that applications to ride the bus on a
courtesy seat are due to the office by Wednesday,
September 30th and seats, if available, will not be assigned
until Mid-October.
For more information please visit www.stopr.ca
Medication at School
If medication must be administered at school, signed
request/authorization forms from the parents and the
supervising physician must be completed. These forms are
available in the office. The required forms and the
medication are given to the office where it will be housed
in a safe location. The medication must be in the original
packaging with the correct labeling. Please do not send
any medication in Ziploc bags or other containers.
Medication must not be kept with the child (i.e. pocket,
back pack etc.) or in the classroom with the exception of
epi-pens and inhalers. Students should administer the
medication in the office with the supervision of an adult.
If you have any questions or if this applies to your child
please speak to someone in the office.
Celebrating Special Occasions
As a result of being an allergy aware
school, no food or food based treats
can be brought in to share with your
child’s classmates. If you should
choose to bring in treats for
Halloween, Valentines, birthdays,
etc., please make sure they are not
edible e.g. pencils, erasers etc.
Good Shepherd is an Allergy Aware Environment and as such we respect the needs and rights of the students in our school
with life threatening allergies. To create a safe environment we are asking that no nuts or products made from nuts are
sent to school. Even if your child is not in a class with other students there is a possibility of cross contamination of our
common areas like the library or computer lab. There are also other students with specific allergies to other foods such as
strawberries or shellfish. If your child’s teacher has sent home a note regarding specific food allergies please provide other
options for your child for lunch.
If your child has a life threatening allergy please provide the school with the most up to date information. We are also
asking for at least one Epi-pen to be provided to the school in the case of an emergency.
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Good Shepherd’s Good News
Extra-Curricular Activities
Good Shepherd provides many extracurricular activities
for the students to become involved with outside of the
classroom. Sports such as volleyball, softball and cross
country running begin in early September. Students
should listen carefully to the morning announcements for
opportunities to try out for sports teams or participate in
intramurals or other clubs and activities.
Masses
We will continue our tradition of celebrating school mass
at St. Marguerite d’Youville parish with Fr. Robert. We
will be walking to church for our Opening Mass in October
and our End of the Year mass in June. A walking
excursion form will be sent home shortly for permission
to walk to the church on these occasions. Our tentative
masses this year are as follows:
Thursday, October 1st @ 1pm
Advent Mass - TBD
Tuesday, March 3rd @ 10:00
Tuesday, June 9th @ 10:00
We may require parent volunteers to walk with classes.
Please make sure you have submitted your Criminal
Reference Check to the office should you wish to help
out.
Sacramental Preparation
This year students in grades 7 and 8 will have the
opportunity to receive the sacrament of confirmation.
Our grade 2 students will also have the opportunity to
receive the sacraments of reconciliation and first
communion. Please make sure you look for further
information coming from the parish. All students will be
required to attend preparation classes and a retreat,
organized through the church, in advance of receiving
the sacrament.
Oct. 3 at 10:30am –Confirmation Enrollment
Oct. 7 @ 7pm or Oct. 17 @10:30am– Reconciliation
and First Communion Enrollment
www.dpcdsb.org/gshep
Student Accident insurance
Important notice to parents, guardians
regarding insurance for students who
participate in out-of-school excursions and
extra-curricular sports activities.
Effective September 2012 the Dufferin-Peel Catholic
District School Board requires that parents, guardians
and adult students provide written acknowledgment
that they have received information regarding Student
Accident Insurance especially for those students
participating in out-of-school excursions and/or extracurricular sports activities.
Although the Board takes every precaution to provide
a safe learning environment for students, accidents
can and do happen. Some accidental injuries result in
medical, dental and/or other expenses that are not
covered by the provincial health care or employer
group plans. As the parent, guardian or adult student
you become responsible for these expenses. Some
families have private accident insurance which is able
to respond to costs arising from injuries however many
families do not.
Under the Education Act, an Ontario school board may
“provide, by contract with an insurer under the
Insurance Act, accident and life insurance for pupils,
the cost of which is to be paid on a voluntary basis by
the parents or guardians. R.S.O. 1990, c.E.2, s.176,
par.4.”
As required under the Education Act, the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board arranges for the
distribution of student accident insurance brochures
(i.e., ‘insuremykids’). However, please be advised
that the Board assumes no responsibility for the cost
of the plan, applications, premium payments or
claims; nor does the Board receive any remuneration
from the Reliable Life Insurance Company.
Furthermore, the Board does not and cannot insure
students.
When signing the permission form for trips or
participation in athletics, you will notice an area of
the form that requires you to check off your
acknowledgement of the life insurance brochure.
Please check off both boxes.
Picture Day
Friday, October 2nd is picture day for all students at
Good Shepherd School.
SCHOOL COUNCIL ELECTION/MEETING
Thursday, Oct. 1st
7 p.m.
Head Injury Policy
When a student receives an injury to the head, it is
Board Policy that we inform parents. We will attempt
to reach you even when it is a very minor injury. Please
try not to be too alarmed should you receive a call.
Please remind your child to let a staff member know
immediately, if they are hurt at school.