A LENTEN PRAYER
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
O Jesus, you place on my forehead
the sign of your saving Cross:
“Turn from sin and be faithful
to the gospel.”
How can I turn from sin
unless I turn to you?
You speak, you raise your hand,
you touch my mind and call my name,
“Turn to the Lord your God again.”
These days of your favor
leave a blessing as you pass
on me and all your people.
Turn to us, Lord God,
and we shall turn to you.
I would like to take this opportunity to share with
you that my leave has commenced. I am very happy
to congratulate Mrs. Graci-Papayanakis who has
assumed the position of Acting Principal of St.
Cornelius Catholic School. In my absence,
administrative support at our school will be provided
by various Vice Principals within our family of
schools. Following the March Break, a Vice Principal
will be assigned to our school to complete the school
year. As always, your children’s learning, well-being
and safety remain our first priority. Thank you for
your continued blessings and well wishes. To the
students of St. Cornelius—thank you for
demonstrating your excitement and happiness for
me and my family. Your smiles and kind words
brought a smile to my heart.
Sincerely,
Dear Parent(s) /Guardian (s),
MARCH 2015: INSIDE THIS ISSUE
“I Am Normal” Diversity Initiative
Kiss ‘n Ride Reminders
Carnaval a Success!
Safe Schools Focus
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I am very honoured and excited to be appointed as
Acting Principal of St. Cornelius. In my five years as
Vice Principal at the school, we have grown together
in faith and excellence. Our Catholic School Learning
Plan continues to reflect the board and ministry
priorities to improve student achievement and
promote student well-being. Our staff and students,
along with St. John Albion Parish work collaboratively
to create a safe, inclusive and welcoming faith filled
environment for all. Please feel free to contact me at
any time the school if you have any questions or
concerns.
Sincerely,
Together in Faith and Excellence
1
“I AM NORMAL” DIVERSITY INITIATIVE
THE LENTEN SEASON
We have entered the season of Lent beginning with
Ash Wednesday on Wednesday, February 18th. Lent
is not an unhappy time but it is a serious time. With
our families, we take time to think how we are living
up to God’s law of love. We watch and pray with
Christ. We all do our part. Together as parents and
educators, let us make good plans for Lent. We can
choose actions that everyone can participate in.
These actions can help us to atone for our sins, to
become more prayerful, to make our lives more
simple and to share what we have with those in our
community and throughout the world who are in
need. That is the purpose of our Lenten sacrifices.
Some suggested Lenten disciplines for you and your
family to consider: (1) Daily prayer as a whole family;
(2) Almsgiving - setting aside some change each day
as an offering to those in need; (3) Being committed
to doing something positive and to also give
something up. Together as a school community and
within your own families, let us ask God for His
graces throughout this Lenten season.
As part of our “I Am Normal” Diversity School Wide
Initiative, staff and students are engaging in discussions
and activities that help students to recognize, respect,
and value their differences and to realize their full
potential. A theme has been selected to show we are
unified as a school in our commitment to promoting a
safe, inclusive and welcoming school environment. It
involves all students creating their own unique fish. Our
slogan is: “We May All Be Different Fish but in this School
We Swim Together”. Through class discussions,
announcements, and during an assembly, students have
learned how God has created us with different gifts and
how we share in His love.
OPERATION SMILE INITIATIVE UPDATE
For the Lenten season, we prepare for Easter, the
central feast of the liturgical year, by reflecting on
relationships with God, our families, friends and the
rest of the community. We are encouraged to focus
on prayer, fasting and almsgiving and strive toward
reconciling our lives with all members of the
community especially with those who are alienated,
left out and those whom we need to make peace.
A MESSAGE FROM FATHER B.
GLYNN
Dear Parents,
If for whatever reason your child has missed
one of the sacraments of Baptism,
Reconciliation or 1st Holy Communion; I would like to
invite you to call me at 905-880-0080. I am setting up a
catch-up program to help those who somehow missed
the sacraments. I am not so worried about the reasons
why this has happened, I am worried about the
children going with the sacraments; so please don’t be
afraid of calling. Application forms will be available at
the Church and School for your convenience.
It was shared with me, Mrs. McGee, most recently that
two students in the school have raised extra money for
our Operation Smile Initiative. The class initiative is
usually an Advent - Christmas event where we try to
help raise awareness to the Operation Smile cause by
giving instead of receiving. These two six year old
students have humbled me to my core by not asking for
any birthday presents instead choosing to ask for family
donations to our class cause of Operation Smile. These
students raised enough for three surgeries and with the
last of the cookbook proceeds we can add an extra
surgery to a total of four extra surgeries. This is a true
act of selflessness during this beautiful Lenten season.
Thank you so much boys. God bless.
NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY
Thank you to all families who visited and
supported our Book Fair. We were able
to purchase many new exciting book
titles, kits and equipment for our
library. As always the students showed
great enthusiasm for reading and the books for
sale. This happens because of your support of
literacy at home!
Together in Faith and Excellence
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NEWS FROM THE ST. CORNELIUS GREEN
TEAM
“As stewards, human beings
recognize that the environment
does not belong to them, but is a
gift entrusted to them which
demands responsibility in action.
Human beings discern the role
granted to them by God by
exercising their intelligence and
ethical judgement.”
(Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2013)
As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce waste the staff
and students at St. Cornelius are collecting milk bags to
help in the Ebola Outbreak efforts in Sierra Leone. Milk
bag mats are in great demand and are currently being
shipped to Africa and other countries worldwide via Dr.
Simone’s Missions in Mississauga.
This social justice project keeps non-biodegradable
plastic milk bags out of our landfills
and recycled into sleeping mats for
the needs of others around the
world. It takes between 500 and 600
milk bags to create one mat! We will
be collecting bags until the end of
May. Thank you for your support!
A reminder that we continue to have each Wednesday
as a Waste Free Lunch Day. Keep up your commitment
to helping our environment!
Remember St. Cornelius,
GET INTO THE GREEN SCENE
PRAYER PALS DURING OUR LENT SEASON
During this Lenten season two teachers have joined
together to shine a light on extra prayer and meaningful
time spent together by trying out Prayer Pals. Mrs.
McDonnell’s grade four class and Mrs. McGee’s grade
one class has buddied each of their students together to
share their Lenten journey together. Each Prayer Pal
prays together, and prays for each other’s families, they
have shared in some art activities together and have
been provided the opportunity to send each other
thoughtful messages and words of encouragement.
Each class has a basket outside and special messages
are shared between each of the Prayer Pals. Their
excitement has been very sweet to watch and we look
forward to the next few weeks together.
JUNIOR BASKETABALL HIGHLIGHTS
The Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ basketball teams
proudly represented our school at the recent Family of
Schools “mini” tournaments at St. Andrew School on
February 19!
The boys’ team had an early start to the day and fell
short by only one basket to St. Andrew School. They
soon turned things around and won their next two
games against St. Peter and St. Benedict School. The
team placed first overall and moved on to represent our
school at the Family of Schools tournament at St.
Marguerite D’Youville Secondary School on February
25! Although they did not fare as well at this
competition, all players are commended for their hard
work, determination, and team spirit!
Team members include: Jacob F., Jericho R., Peter A.,
Beck K., Mason P., Marcus D., Sebastian M., Joshua S.,
Steven L., and Francesco F.
Coaches: Mrs. Foley and Mr. Zimmerman
The girls’ team tied two games and lost one during the
mini tournament, placing third overall after round-robin
play. All team members played hard and displayed
tremendous school spirit and sportsmanship!
Team members include: Amanda M., Ashley S. Olivia C.,
Valentina R., Taya L., Aliyana B., Madelin B., Katrina S.,
Sophia V., Riley L.
Coaches: Mrs. Kehoe and Mrs. Coward
MARCH BREAK
A reminder that March Break is
from Monday, March 16th to
Friday, March 20th. There will be
no school for students on these days. We hope
everyone enjoys a safe and restful March Break.
Together in Faith and Excellence
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KISS ‘N RIDE REMINDERS
100th DAY OF SCHOOL
We are experiencing congestion
at the end of the day in our Kiss
‘n Ride Lane which blocks buses
from entering the driveway. This
congestion then backs up Innis
Lake Road as well as poses a problem where our buses
cannot enter the school driveway. We kindly request if
you pick up your child, please do not block the entrance
to our driveway. Rather, please drive out and loop
again so to allow buses entrance into the school. Also,
a reminder to please not park in our accessible parking
spot unnecessarily.
The grade 1 and 1/2 class celebrated the 100th day of
school on Feb. 11. Students participated in various
activities centered around the number 100. They
counted,
estimated and
measured 100
steps, wrote
about 100,
drew pictures
of 100, did 100
exercises and listened to stories about 100. The
highlight of the day was the “museum walk” where they
had the opportunity to visit the other classes and view
other students creations made with 100 items.
NEWS FROM OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL
COUNCIL
CARNAVAL A SUCCESS!
Thank you to all for your ongoing and continuous
support of our annual fundraising programs. These
fundraisers help us to do incredible things in the school
to benefit the children and overall school community –
without you and your support, none of it would be
possible so THANK YOU for your support. Our
Chocolate bars campaign this year was again a huge
success – thank you to all families who participated in
this program.
Everyone is welcome to attend our meetings to learn
more about school initiatives and where our fundraising
dollars are used to support the school goals. Our next
School Council meeting is on Wednesday, April 2nd at
6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
We wish everyone a blessed Lenten Season.
YOUNG RIDER ORIENTATION DAY
WELCOMING ALL KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN TO
YOUNG RIDER ORIENTATION DAY
Introduce your children to school buses prior to
the first day of school
Saturday, August 22, 2015
9:00 am – 12:00 noon
During the week of February 23rd – 27th, St. Cornelius
celebrated its annual Carnaval week. This was an
amazing week and a wonderful experience for all staff
and students! All staff and students had the opportunity
to participate in wonderful events such as tuque and
scarf day, pyjama day, wacky hair day, and to end off the
week, red and white day! Bonhomme Carnaval also
made a visit to the school.
All teachers and students enjoyed the week, playing
Bingo each morning. All classes had the opportunity to
participate in colouring contests, a mural contest, 3D
Bonhomme contest, raffles and a week of enjoyable
festivities. We will continue working on our "Palais de
Glace" at the front of the school. On Thursday, March
5th, the grades 3-8 classes will participate a dramatic
play, "Blanche Neige" presented by the Dufflebag
Theatre. A great big thank you to the FSL teachers for
organizing all of the week's events and to all classes who
participated in the contests!
To confirm your attendance and preferred time slot,
please call the bus company listed below in June 2015.
Parkview (Caledon/Dufferin) 905-846-1070.
Together in Faith and Excellence
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RECESS REMINDERS
We continue to reinforce the need for students to play
games and activities safely. At St. Cornelius School, we
have a hands-off policy. This means that activities such
as contact sports, tackling, play-fighting, tripping,
pushing, piling on and any rough play are not permitted.
Students are consistently reminded of these rules by
staff, supervisors and administration. We recommend
that parents have conversations with their children
about the types of games they play at school. We need
your help to reinforce with them the dangers and
consequences of rough play and the importance of
notifying staff on duty during recess time. The health
and safety of our students is always our priority at St.
Cornelius.
Also with the extremely cold temperatures we have
been experiencing, please remember to send children
with proper outdoor apparel. An extra set of
gloves/mittens is often helpful.
YEARBOOK
The yearbook committee is hard at work gathering
pictures and assembling pages for this year's yearbook.
Order forms for the yearbook will be distributed soon.
If you have a concern about your son/daughter’s
photo being included in the yearbook, please advise
the administrative team at the office.
HEALTHY LUNCHES FOR CHILDREN
Did you know that a healthy lunch includes
foods from at least 3 of the 4 food
groups from Canada's Food Guide
to Healthy Eating? Parents want
lunches to be healthy,
convenient, affordable and most
of all eaten and enjoyed by their
children, while kids want
something that is fun, appealing,
tastes good and is approved of by
their friends. Involve children in
the planning and preparation –
they're more likely to eat their lunch
that
way. Put a copy of Canada's Food Guide on the fridge
and encourage your children to include lunch foods
from at least 3 of the 4 food groups.
Here are some tips to make nutritious lunches for your
children:
-Add variety to make sandwiches delicious.
-Use a cookie cutter to make interesting star, animal or
heart shapes.-Try a variety of breads (e.g. wholegrain,
rye, roti, enriched or cheese flavoured breads, rolls,
bagels, English muffins or pita bread).
-Mini pitas stuffed with meat, vegetable or cheese.
-A filled roti or tortilla wrap, cut into small pieces
-Flavoured cream cheese on whole-wheat melba toast,
bagel chips, crackers or rice cakes.
Cool Foods
Children like to eat foods cold that
adults wouldn't imagine having.
Cold leftover pizza, chicken fingers, fish
sticks
Cold pasta or cold macaroni and cheese with tuna,
sliced meat or extra cheese
Mini-kabobs with cubed meat, cheese, sweet peppers,
cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, grapes, melon or kiwi
Leftovers
Lunch can be leftovers or even a breakfast type of meal.
Meat or vegetable stew, Chili con carne, leftover
pancakes or waffles, preferably whole-wheat.
Pre-Packaged and Easy
Include a small treat or an occasional pre-packaged
lunch item if that is important to your child.
Although most children love fruit, at lunch they may not
have the patience or time to peel fruit.
Pack small bite size pieces of fruit like grapes, pineapple
chunks, strawberries, cherries or pieces of melon. Send
containers of applesauce or canned fruit, cut oranges
into wedges, halve kiwis and include a spoon to scoop
out the flesh. Make a small cut into banana stems for
easier peeling. Pack fruit into protective plastic
containers to prevent bruising.
SAFE SCHOOLS FOCUS FOR MARCH –
Bullying Can Be Stopped
This month we look at safe strategies students can use
when faced with a bullying situation. Students learn
how to deal with bullying using the ‘3 Rs’ – Recognize
bullying behaviour; Refuse to be bullied; Report bullying
behaviour. There is no set formula that works for
dealing with every bullying situation. Students need to
learn a variety of strategies and the skill to determine
when and how to apply them safely. Key strategies that
will be addressed include: avoiding, playing with others,
Together in Faith and Excellence
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staying calm, ignoring, walking away, saying ‘stop’,
being assertive and telling an adult.
Tips for Parents:
- review strategies with your child
- help your child practice speaking assertively (role play)
- take time with your child to make a plan for how you
want them to deal with situations
THINKING ABOUT POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR
With regular practice, polite words and actions will
come naturally to your child. Here are ways to help
parents in working towards encouraging positive
behaviour in their children in any situation:

Point out examples. Your youngster can learn
by watching what others do (“It was polite of
that man to hold the door for us”). If you get
thank-you note in the mail, read it to your child
so he can see what thank-you notes are for and
how they’re written.

Be consistent. A youngster who uses good table
manners at home, for instance, is more likely to
use them in restaurants and in other people’s
homes. If you expect your child to ask before
being excused or to try foods he’s offered when
he is a dinner guest, have him use those
Manners at your table.

Give quiet reminders of how to act. Before
your youngster leaves a friend’s house, say,
“Let’s help clean up before we go.” When he
receives a gift of something he already owns,
you might quickly say, “What a great toy!”
VIRTUE CORNER
Our Virtue for
the Month of
March is
Kindness. God
wants us to give
generously to
others around
us and be kind
to everyone we
meet. A kind
person gives
their time to
help others,
stands by their
friends in time
of need, shares
with their
friends, is
polite, and
cares about
other people’s
feelings. Being
kind is 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.
Together in Faith and Excellence
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IMPORTANT DATES:
April 8 – Scientists in the Schools – Ms. DiFeo and
Mrs. Luchin’s Class
PLEASE PLACE DATES ON FAMILY CALENDAR
March 2 – Just Catering for Kids
April 9 – Easter Mass – 9:45 am in gymnasium (all are
welcome to attend)
April 9 – Subway Lunch Day
March 3 & 4 – BECDM Orangeville
Hockey Tournament
April 10 – Lifetouch Team and Club Photo Day
March 5– Dufflebag Theatre Presentation for grades
3-8
April 13 – Just Catering for Kids
March 5 – Subway Lunch Day
April 14 – Waste Reduction Presentations
March 6 – First Nations, Metis and Inuit Presentation
for grade 4 & 4/5
April 15 – Grade 2 classes to visit Church
March 9 – Just Catering for Kids
April 16 – Grade 2 – 1st Communion Retreat
April 16 - Pizza Day
March 12 – Pizza Lunch Day
April 16 – Rosary Apostolate
March 13 – ShareLife Hockey Game 1:30 p.m. for
grades 1 – 8
April 18 – Mrs. Moretta’s class 1st Communion –
11:00 am – St. John Albion Parish
March 16 – 20 – Mid-Winter Break - no school for
students
April 20 – Just Catering for Kids
March 23 – Just Catering for Kids
April 21 – Welcome to Kindergarten Night – 6:30 pm
in gym
March 26 - Rosary Apostolate
April 23 – Sub Day
March 27 – FDK Well Being Day (am)
April 23 – Intermediate Boys (am) and Girls (pm)
Basketball tournament at St. Andrew School in
Orangeville
March 30 – Scientists in the School
March 30 – Just Catering for Kids
March 31 – Scientists in the School (1/2 day)
April 25 – Mrs. Morrison’s class 1st Communion
11:00 am – St. John Albion Parish
March 31 – Peel Water Story Presentation
April 27 – Just Catering for Kids
March 30 – April 3 - Holy Week
April 27 – Dental Screening for Grades FDK, and
Grade 2.
April 2 – Pizza Day
April 30 – Pizza day
April 3- Good Friday
April 6 – Easter Monday – no school for students
Together in Faith and Excellence
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