September 2013 Edition Principal Mr. M. Cassar Great Expectations For a New School Year !! Vice Principal Ms. T. Owens A virtue is a habit or established capability to perform good actions according to a moral standard. In other words, a virtue is a habit that shows people and God that we are good people. This month we celebrate the virtue of Faith. Let us pray for the grace and strength to be people of faith, people who can that believe that God’s plan for us includes the right to be safe at school Head Secretary Ms. S. McGee Assistant Secretary Mrs. G. Odoardi School Council Chair TBA As we begin this new school year, we gather once again as your community of believers. Superintendent Mrs. S. Steer We thank you for the energy and spirit that you renewed in us throughout the summer months. Ward 6 Trustee Mrs. L. Zanella 905-890-1211 We thank you for the time to enjoy our family and friends and to reflect on what is most important in our lives. Parish Team Father Jan Gogolewski Guardian Angels Parish Let this year be marked by a new enthusiasm and positive outlook so that with the inspiration of your Spirit, Lord, we may continue to help all your children. (905) 970 - 9175 We at Guardian Angels School, dedicate ourselves to creating and fostering a spiritually rich learning environment that empowers the individual to take responsibility for their personal and interpersonal growth and development. Virtue of the Month: Faith We ask for your guidance as we look for new ways of seeing, understanding and communicating. Make us worthy of your call as teachers and parents so that we may reach out to support and foster trust with each other and look for the spark of the Spirit in every child’s eye. Help us to fulfill your wishes with every honest intention and work of faith. Let us be gentle with ourselves and each other and bring laughter, joy and achievement to all. AMEN September 13th is a P.A. Day. No School for students. There is a possibility that some classes may have to reorganize. Parents of affected students will be informed as soon as possible. Reorganized classes take effect Monday September 16, 2013. OPEN HOUSE/BBQ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23rd Meet your child’s teacher Tour the school Have your child’s face painted Visit the ice cream truck Enjoy a tasty BBQ Meet Trustee Linda Zanella and Superintendent Sue Steer Meet our parent community Meet old friends… make new ones!!! School Council Meeting Wednesday, October 16, 2013 @ 6:30 PM in the library. Please join us !! PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 1 Hello Guardian Angels School! I am excited and honoured to join this school community for what will be, a fantastic year. I am so impressed by the welcoming and friendly nature of all staff, parents and students. My vision will focus on student achievement and the development of our Catholic Virtues in action. As a Catholic School, it is imperative now, more than ever, that we demonstrate by our actions what it means to be Catholic. Our student will act as our Faith Ambassadors to continue to highlight virtues in action. Our motto “To Light, To Guard, To Rule and Guide” highlights our responsibility that we firmly establish ourselves as followers of Christ and that we are asked to be servant leaders. This initiative gives the opportunity for students to experience the joy and personal pride of doing acts of kindness without financial reward. In the words of Mother Teresa, “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” For the past few years, the school has been focusing on literacy. Last year, we focused on mathematics. This year, we will continue to focus on mathematics and re-energize our efforts on reading comprehension. We will continue our major focus on the Three Part Math Lesson, which will be the priority in all classes, from grades 1 to 8. Complimenting that will be a continued focus on Guided instruction in Literacy. All classes, grades K to 8, will focus on Guided Reading and Guided Writing. Our Eco-School and Healthy School initiatives this year will be in full force as we continue to promote stewardship of the earth and our health. All staff graciously offers to provide excellent co-curricular activities in the school to provide students with a balanced school day of learning, fun and exercise. I am thrilled to announce new members to our staff. We welcome: o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Eva Pepic – DECE Kelli-Ann Smith - DECE Barbara Gunia – FSL Antonella Scornaienchi - FSL Laura Villamagna - FDK Laura Lorusso – Grade 1/2 Alanna Mirabelli - Grade 2 Lorraine Galifi - Grade 3 Michael Sutherland – Grade 3/4 Michael Valerio - Grade 4 Paula Gallant – Grade 7 Vanessa Schiavone – Grade 7/8 Sandra Ward Cooper – ERW Michelle Carvalheiro - ERW Ronaldo Meana – Head Custodian o o Natasha More – Special Assignment teacher Nancy Williams – Child Youth Worker Parent Handbooks will be distributed at our open house BBQ. It outlines all of the expectations and procedures related to school discipline and management. Please review it with your child(ren). Of course, I challenge each parent to become more involved in their child’s education by working with the staff, attending Council meetings and attending parent engagement events at the school. The payoff for you, your child and the school is immeasurable! As always, if I can be of any service to you, please contact me at your convenience. Have a wonderful year! Mr. Mark Cassar, Principal SCHOOL HOURS Grades 1 - 8 9:00 AM – MORNING BEGINS 10:28 AM – RECESS BREAK 12:06 PM – 12:46 PM – RECESS 12:46 PM – 1:06 PM - LUNCH 1:06 PM – AFTERNOON BEGINS 2:29 PM– RECESS BREAK 3:30 PM – SCHOOL ENDS Please note that supervision in the playground begins at 8:45 AM. Please do not leave your children unattended in the school grounds before the teacher supervision begins. THE VIRTUES INITIATIVE A key aspect of the Board’s strategic direction is the continued development of safe, caring, inclusive Catholic school commun ities. As a Catholic Community, we are called to learn, grow an d become more like Jesus. Catholic education provides us the o pportunity to integrate the virtues into our students’ daily activi ty. The virtues will be covered every month during announcem ents, in class during discussions, and at school Living Our Fai th Awards assemblies. September: Faith November: Conscience January: Self-control March: Kindness May: Acceptance October: Empathy December: Hope February: Respect April: Love June: Fairness September’s focus is FAITH. Faith is a virtue of believing in God and trusting that God is with us. Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 2 in our first liturgical celebration of the school year. Grade Three classes will prepare the celebration with Mrs. Lyons, Ms. Schmalz and Ms. Schiavone organizing the choir and music. Parents are welcome to join us. EXCURSIONS AND FIELD TRIPS Educational trips that extend learning opportunities are encouraged. Teachers must follow appropriate Board procedures and by law, the school must have on file permission forms which must be signed by parents. VERBAL PERMISSION cannot be accepted. BUSSING FOR 2013—2014 The board has a system to determine eligibility using a GPS software system. We request that you visit the website, http://businfo.stopr.ca. Once on the site, you will have to change the school year to 2013- 2014 and then enter your address, grade level of your child and School Board, and it will inform you if your child is eligible for bussing for 2013. Your child may be eligible for transportation to and from school if you live beyond the following distances: JK /SK/Gr. 1 Grades 2 - 4 Grades 5 - 8 1.0 km 1.6 km 2.0 km For eligible students, bus pick up and drop off times are available using your OEN number (this is on your child’s report card every year). Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Transportation Department (1-800668-1140 or 905-890-6000) directly. SCHOOL FUNDRAISER We will be kicking off our fall fundraising October on the Thanksgiving Long Weekend. It will run for three weeks. We will be offering chocolate bars provided by World’s Finest Chocolate. Chocolates These fundraising events generate funds that support initiatives within the school. Monies raised through fundraising helped provide new gym equipment, math resources for the classroom, guest artists and subsidized the costs of trips. Please show your support by selling a box of chocolates. We have fabulous prizes this year including an Apple ipad! SCHOOL LITURGY As per board policy, any courtesy seats will be granted mid October 2013. During the month of September, only those students who live in the bussing area are eligible to ride the school bus. Parents are asked to write a letter to the Principal/Vice Principal to request an empty seat. Letters will be accepted until September 28th. After that date, you will receive notice of any empty seats available. Preferences will be given to students from Grades 1 – 4. OUR PARISH TEAM We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Father Jan Gogolewski and the Parish Team of Guardian Angels Parish to our school. We truly appreciate all of their hard work and above all their dedication to the entire Guardian Angels Community. We look forward to their spiritual guidance with our staff and students! Our School Opening Mass will be on Thursday, October 3, 2013 @ 9:15 AM. Father Jan Gogolewski will lead students and staff Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 3 OPEN HOUSE BBQ – MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT The annual BBQ and “Meet the Teacher” evening will occur Monday, September 23rd. The BBQ will be held from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM and teachers will be available to meet you in their classrooms from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Order forms for BBQ food will come home next week. Only preorders will be accepted. No food will be sold that evening. There will be clowns, face painting and balloons for the kids. We will also have an ice cream truck offering slushies and ice cream. We look forward to socializing with you and having fun coming together as a Catholic School Community. SCHOOL SECURITY PROTOCOL We have taken proactive measures to secure the safety of staff and students by locking the front door. Visitors may gain entrance by pressing a buzzer mounted on the wall, beside the door. The buzzer activates a 2-way speaker and camera system. The Office will then be able to tell who is at the door through a TV monitor and thus, regulate visitor access to the school. MASSES Celebration Date and Time Location New School Year/ Thanksgiving Mass Thursday, October 3 @ 9:15 AM School Remembrance Day Liturgy Monday, November 11 @ 9:15 AM School Advent Confessions Wednesday, December 4 @ 9:15 AM School Advent Mass Wednesday, December 18 @ 9:15 AM School Virtue Mass Wednesday, February 5 @ 9:15 AM School Ash Wednesday Liturgy Wednesday, March 5 In Class Lenten Mass Thursday, April 3 @ 9:15 AM School Resurrection/Easter Mass Wednesday, April 23 @ 9:15 AM School Year End Mass/ Guardian Angels Feast Day Wednesday, June 18 @ 9:15 AM School Special Masses First Reconciliation Date and Time Wednesday, March 19 @ 9:15 AM Confessions for Grade 8 Students First Communion Wednesday, March 19 @ 10:30 AM School Sunday, May 25 @ 3:00 PM Our Lady of Fatima Parish Confirmation Saturday, May 31 @ 5:00 PM St. Edmund Campion School SUNDAY MASS We should all be faithful to our parish church, be involved in it, participate actively in the liturgy and attend Mass on Sunday regularly. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: #2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bond to participate in the Mass.” #2181 = The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and the confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason. Make every effort to attend Mass every Sunday. Without Sunday we cannot survive in our faith. LIVING OUR FAITH AWARDS We celebrate student success by holding once-a-month assemblies with students. There are three awards per class given out: Living Our Faith Award, Most Improved Award and an Academic Award. The assemblies start with a brief liturgical reflection. This process provides an intimate and special opportunity for students and parents to celebrate success. Our first assembly will be Wednesday, October 30, 2013. All parents are welcome to join us. Parents of children receiving awards will receive personal invitations. GUARDIAN ANGELS WEBSITE Every few days, Mrs. Gallant updates the website with letters, information and other pertinent items. Looking for a document or information? Need to contact our School Council Chair? …check out our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg Thanks to Mrs. Gallant for up keeping the website. SAFE SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT Location School Guardian Angels is a Catholic community that respects and pro motes the uniqueness of all its members. By following the teac hings of Jesus, we pledge to provide everyone with a safe, carin g and peaceful environment, which ensures the respect and acc Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 4 eptance of all. Because of these beliefs, bullying will not be to lerated. Your child deserves a safe environment to work, learn and play in. If you have any concerns, please contact us. Thank you for supporting us as we support your child. STUDENT AGENDAS Students in grades 1 to 8 will be using student agendas to organize their work and as a tool to communicate with parents. Students are required to use their agendas daily, and parents should be checking the agendas nightly for homework, upcoming assignments and notes from the teacher. The cost of the agenda will be $5.00 and are available to students to purchase. Funds from the sale of agendas will cover its cost with any residual funds going towards supporting student activities in the school. PIZZA DAYS Pizza orders are for one month at a time. Partial and late orders are not accecpted. Thanks to Ms. McGee and all the student runners as well as all of our volunteers for supporting this. VOLUNTEERS Volunteers play an important role in the life of our school community. They help to enhance the learning opportunities available to students and make a difference in the academic life of our students. If you can spare some time to read with students, help teachers in the classroom (other than your own child’s) assist in the literacy room, photocopy, count money for special events etc., we need you! If you are interested in volunteering within the school, please contact Mrs. Moniz, our volunteer coordinator. Please note that anyone working or volunteering in our school must have a criminal reference check completed by the local police service before volunteering can begin. PICTURE DAY Our Picture Day is on Friday, October 11. All FDK to Grade 8 students will have their pictures taken in the morning or afternoon. We are pleased to announce that Life Touch will be conducting the photo shoots. VALUABLES A reminder that AS PER BOARD POLICY, students are not allowed to bring PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES like cell phones, pagers, iPods, MP3 players, cameras, etc. to school. These items, especially cell phones, will be confiscated and parents will be required to pick them up from the office. Please keep your child’s valuables at home. Staff cannot be responsible for any valuables that your child brings to school. Money, jewelry, Pokemon cards, electronics, toys, etc., should be kept at home. “Wheelie shoes” and “Bay Blades” are not allowed at school. PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES Just a reminder to students and visitors to the school that PED’s such as cell phones, cameras, iPod, electronic games etc are NOT to be used on school property or during school related activities, such as field trips or sporting events. If students have a cell phone for use on the way home after school, it must be turned off and stored away out of site in their knapsacks during school hours. Devices may be confiscated, and parents will be required to pick it up from the Principal/Vice Principal. SCENT FREE POLICY Children are discouraged from wearing perfume and cologne to school. Some of our students and staff have asthma and allergies. The smell of perfume can trigger allergic reactions and breathing difficulties for them. CHILD ILLNESSES Please keep your child at home if he/she is sick. We discourage children who have a fever, are coughing, vomiting, or have a runny nose, from coming to school. They will recover from their illness much quicker if they are resting at home. SCHOOL BUS SAFETY RULES The conduct of individual students on the bus directly affects the safety of all the students on the bus. The driver’s attention needs to be on the road. We are requesting that all parents/guardians reinforce the School Bus Rules with their child(ren). All Students Should: Be at the bus stop 5 minutes prior to their stop time. Never play close to the road. Be ready to board the bus by waiting in an orderly line. Board the bus in single file, use the handrail and sit down in their seat as quickly as possible. Listen to the bus driver. Always remain seated while the bus is moving. Do not throw anything out of the window. Keep the aisles clear of objects (backpacks, lunches, etc.). Do not shout or cause any other unnecessary noises. Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 5 Never put any part of your body out an open window. Be sure to look all ways before crossing the road. Do not damage the bus in any way. Do not throw garbage on the floor. Do not consume any food or drink on the bus. Bus privileges will be revoked if need be. Thank you for your support in ensuring that our students journey safely to and from school. ATTENDANCE Please call to register an absence (905) 595-0909, press 1 for the attendance. You can call 24hrs. An answering machine is available to take information. Please provide your child’s name, grade and teacher’s name. If an absence is not reported, our policy is to call home to verify student absenteeism. A parent or guardian must sign out students who leave early. A reminder to parents and students that an expectation set out from the beginning of the year clearly indicated that all students must arrive to school on time. Being consistently and continuously late interrupts the classroom during lessons, creates delays in the office and sets a poor example for those who do arrive on time. Please note that issues with lates and absenteeism will be dealt with strictly, and may involve the school’s Administration, Child Youth Worker and Social Worker. Please help us teach your children the value of promptness. DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY dispensing and storage of ANY medication must occur from the Office. TEXTBOOKS School textbooks are school property and are loaned to the students annually. The expectation is that textbooks will be returned at the end of the school year. Students are responsible for these textbooks and will be asked to pay if these books go missing or have been vandalized. The cost of an average textbook is about $50.00 each. Please encourage your child to take care of textbooks! FREE DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM The Region of Peel Health Services is promoting Healthy Smiles Ontario, a free dental program to students who meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Healthy Smiles Ontario is a new program for children 17 and under who do not have access to any form of dental coverage. If eligible, children will be able to visit a licensed dental provider such as a dentist or dental hygienist for basic dental services including fillings, xrays and scaling at no cost to the family. Children are eligible if they: As a school, we have implemented the government mandated 20 minutes of daily physical activity. Ask your child’s teacher about the program or visit the Ministry’s Website at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/dpa_boards.pdf ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION We will be sending home REACT forms for parents to fill out in the event that your child has a medical concern. The form requires information on the medical issue, and a picture of the child. Parents are responsible for ensuring that all medication and forms are updated annually. If your child requires medication please have all pertinent forms completed and returned with the medication to the office as soon as possible. A reminder that children are not allowed to keep ANY medication on their persons, in their desk, backpack or anywhere in their classroom, unless ordered by their doctor. In such case, documentation is necessary. All live in Peel have a valid Ontario Health card are under 18 years of age are members of a household with an Adjusted Family Net Income of $20,000 per year or less AND do not have access to any form of dental coverage (including government funded programs like Ontario Works) Please contact Peel Public Health at (905) 799-7700 for more information regarding Healthy Smiles Ontario Program and to book an appointment for a free dental screening. STUDENT INSURANCE As required by the Education Act and the Ministry of Education, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board annually provides parents with information about cost-effective student accident insurance coverage. Although enrolment is voluntary, the board and school recommends parents take advantage of this inexpensive insurance coverage, especially if your child participates in sports or field trips, or if parents do not have dental insurance coverage. A Chipped tooth or broken glasses can happen unexpectedly. Please complete the forms the school provides and mail it or you can apply on line at www.insuremykids.com COMBINED CLASSES FOR 2013-2014 Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 6 Combined grades are an unavoidable reality at our school due to fluctuating enrollments in each grade. Combined classes are a reality in many of the schools in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Being in a combined grade is in no way prejudicial to a child’s education. Within Ontario, all schools are bound by a strict teacher-pupil ratio. This will be particularly evident as we strive to meet the hard cap of 20:1 in the primary grades and the guidelines of 25:1 in Grades 4 -8. Until we finalize our enrolment, all class arrangements and teacher placements will be tentative. Lunches should be dropped off between 12:00 PM and 12:30 PM. Parents can simply place their child’s lunch in the appropriate class basket. Class runner will deliver the lunches to the classrooms. Parents will label the lunch with the student and teacher’s name. Student helpers earn volunteer hours delivering the lunches. Note that priority will be given to dealing with office and student needs not answering the new front doorbell, so if you choose to drop lunches and other materials off late, you will need to exercise patience. Thank you in advance. PERMISSION FORM PACKAGE NUT ALLERGY AWARENESS POLICY Recently you received a number of permission and information forms to fill out. Please do so at soon as possible and return them to your child’s teacher. Thank you. Please be reminded that no nut products are allowed in school. We have a number of staff and students who have potentially fatal anaphylactic sensitivities to nut products. Please do not send peanuts, other nuts, Nutella or any other nut products. Thank you. CUSTODY OF CHILDREN On occasion, we are faced with difficult situations in where noncustodial parents arrive at school asking to visit or remove their child. We are best able to serve and protect students when we are made aware of legal custody arrangements, visitation 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. HEAD INJURY POLICY HEALTHY SNACKS We have noticed a number of students coming to school with soda pop and “energy drinks” like Red Bull. Red Bull is banned in several countries because of its adverse health effects. One can contains 80 mg of caffeine and 8 oz. of sugar and will increase hyperactivity. One can of pop contains enough sugar to negatively affect the pancreas and increase weight and energy levels. When a student receives an injury/bump to the head (however minor), it is a Board Policy that we inform parents. A phone message will be left at one of your contact numbers. This is precautionary only and we ask that you check your child when they get home for any signs of a concussion or illness. Guardian Angels is working hard to promote healthy eating. These drinks defeat the purpose. Please provide water, juice, or milk in your child’s snacks and lunches!! STUDENT BIRTHDAYS It is important when you are dropping off your child in the morning that you enter the Kiss and Ride lane and proceed to end of the lane before allowing your child to get out of the car. Students must exit from the right hand side of the car (closest to the school) and parents should remain in the car. Parents may then enter the “drive thru” lane to exit the parking lot. At the end of the day or at lunch, if you are pulling into the Kiss and Ride lane, please do NOT leave your car. Many parents have received tickets from the Municipality for this. If you need to come into the school, you must park on one of the local side streets, or in the spots at the front of the school, do NOT park in the side lot as moving traffic is dangerous to children at this location. These rules are enforced and you could be fined if not abiding by the rules. When a student has a birthday, we give them a birthday card and a WHAT WOULD JESUS DO BRACELET. Students with birthdays have their names called during the morning announcements as well. REVERSE LUNCHES We have seen great success with the reverse lunch process this year. Children eat their lunches in the last 20 minutes of the lunch hour. Benefits include: more in class teaching time, students finish their lunches completely. Teachers have noticed students being more calm and ready to learn for their afternoon classes. Less food is wasted and students transition to the afternoon work period more easily. DROPPING OFF LUNCHES DROP OFF AND PICK UP PROCEDURES If walking your child to school in the morning or picking them up at the end of the day, parents are asked to remain either behind the black fence by the parking lot, on the path closest to the school, or on the perimeter of the school pavement. This is for your child’s safety, as teachers on duty cannot distinguish parents from “strangers” in the yard with such a large Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 7 school. NOTE: parents are responsible for arranging to pick you their child on time at the end of the day. Students from grade 2 to 8 are released at their exit door. Kindergarten and gr 1 students ONLY are released hand to hand, so those parents must park and make contact with the teacher for their child to be released. We want you to read our newsletter! Only bus students exit at the end of the day through the front doors. Students walking with siblings are asked to have a meeting spot at the back of the school. Please meet your child at the back or wait in the Kiss and Ride. Answer the question below and you can help your child win a free pizza lunch, courtesy of Mr. Cassar and Ms. Owens . Thank you for your cooperation for student safety. GUARDIAN ANGELS DATES Friday, Sept. 13 Friday, Sept. 20 Me to We Day for some grade 8 students Wed, Sept. 18 & Thurs, Sept 19 Monday, Sept. 23 Brampton Fire Safety Presentations Open House BBQ Wed, Sept. 25 Fire Drill Thursday, Sept. 26 Terry Fox Event Thursday, Oct 3 Opening School Year Mass 9:30 AM @ Guardian Angels Friday, Oct 4 World Teacher’s Day Friday, Oct 11 Photo Day Monday, Oct 15 Peel Health HPV and HEP immunizations for gr. 7/8 students Wednesday, Oct 16 Parent Council Meeting @ 6:30 PM Monday, Oct 28 Lock down drill Tuesday, Oct 29 Fire Drill Wednesday, Oct. 30 Living Our Faith Awards PA Day - No school for students Answer:___________________________ Child’s name:___________________________ ___________________________________ ____ Teacher:____________________________ ___ Date: GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT __________________________________ GUARDIAN ANGELS Students are encouraged to visit Mr. Cassar and Ms. Owens to returnwork to Ms. ASAP. This show off Please their amazing andMcGee accomplishments. positive reinforcement helps to build self-esteem and promote trust and respect between students and staff. See the next page for some pictures of great students doing great work! Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 8 Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 9