October 2013 Edition Principal Mr. M. Cassar Vice Principal Ms. T. Owens Head Secretary Ms. S. McGee Assistant Secretary Mrs. G. Odoardi School Council Chair Mrs. E. Amorin Mrs. C. Cabello Superintendent Mrs. S. Steer Ward 6 Trustee Mrs. L. Zanella 905-890-1211 Parish Team Father Jan Gogolewski Guardian Angels Parish (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. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Thank you to the Guardian Angels community for attending our fabulous Open House/BBQ held in September. The event was a huge success. Over 500 people attended for a fun-filled night that was highlighted by a tasty BBQ, cotton candy, ice cream and face painting for the kids. We had the opportunity to speak with many of you. You shared your hopes and dreams for your children and were very enthusiastic about how Guardian Angels fits into those plans. On behalf of the entire staff at Guardian Angels, we pledge to work with you to help make those dreams come true. October will be a busy month. We celebrated our Thanksgiving Mass where paused to thank God for the many blessings in our lives! It is our hope that you were able to spend some time with family and friends during the Thanksgiving weekend to contemplate all that is good in our world. Guardian Angels continues to be a leader in Catholic education as our staff begins the many co-curricular activities that complement our rigorous academic program. Volleyball, choir, soccer and Cross Country are just some of the amazing aspects of our school. Our Halloween Dance is on the horizon too. Parents on our School Council were nominated and are poised to take a visible, proactive and positive approach to engaging parents in the education of their children. We congratulate the entire School Council member for stepping up and taking an active role in supporting the school. Sincerely, Mark Cassar, Principal Theresa Owens, Vice Principal UPCOMING Thursday, November 7, 2013. Parent-Teacher-Student Interview evening… More Information to follow Friday October 11… is a Professional Development Day for all staff. There is no school for students. Monday October 14… is Thanksgiving Monday. The School is closed. School Council Meeting Wednesday, November 13, 2013 @ 6:30 PM … Held in the library. Please join us!! All parents are welcome. THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE “Jesus made it very clear, Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, You do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Mother Theresa Thank you to all of our families for your generosity in donating food for our food drive! Our school and our Community thanks you for your support! Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 1 PRINCIPAL /VICE PRINCIPAL MESSAGE We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the families who helped support our Thanksgiving Day Food Drive. We will be able to deliver a significant amount of nonperishable food items to those in our community that truly need our support. . We often take many of our blessings for granted and I feel truly grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Guardian Angels community. The combined efforts of everyone – parish, staff, students and parents – make this such a vibrant and caring learning community. By working together, we move forward as lifelong learners striving for excellence in our personal, social, spiritual and academic growth. Thank you also for supporting our efforts to build community, work collaboratively, promote respect, and put academics first. Together, let’s move from ‘me to we’. Mr. Mark Cassar, Principal Ms. Theresa Owens, Vice 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 SCHOOL FUNDRAISER 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 opportunity to integrate the virtues into our students’ daily activity. The virtues will be covered every month during announcements, in class during discussions, and at school Living Our Faith Awards assemblies. September: Faith November: Conscience January: Self-control March: Kindness May: Acceptance together. Empathy helps us to connect and live together in safe, caring, inclusive communities. We understand empathy to mean the ability to identify with and feel other people’s concerns. We believe that in a faith community we are nothing without relationships. Relationships that grow in a spirit of communion – an understanding that we share an identity based on being created in the image and likeliness of God and in with Spirit. An Empathetic person believes that we all share one Spirit; that we are many parts of one body because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. October: Empathy December: Hope February: Respect April: Love June: Fairness This month we will focus on the virtue of Empathy. God has given us the ability to form connections with each other – to live We will be kicking off our fall fundraising 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: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. APPLE IPAD (top prize given to the student who sells the most boxes…5 box minimum) APPLE IPOD (second prize given to the student who sells the second most number of boxes…4-box minimum.) TWO TORONTO MAPLE LEAF TICKETS (third prize given to the student who sells the third most number of boxes…4-box minimum.) A MOUNTAIN BIKE! (Fourth prize given to the student who sells the fourth most number of boxes…3-box minimum.) Plus 20 other prizes!! The more you sell – the more you can win! A permission form will come home for you to return to the school ONLY if you do Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 2 not want to participate. Otherwise, one box per family will come home with the oldest or only child. For parents who prefer an alternate of how to support Guardian Angels, donations of $40.00 will be accepted in lieu of selling a box of chocolates. FROM OUR SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIRS It is hard to believe that summer has come and gone and we are well into fall. With the leaves changing to the bright brilliant fall colors could only mean a few things..... Thanksgiving, Halloween and our first Parent Council meeting of the year. We had a terrific turnout this past meeting on Wednesday October 2nd, but would like to encourage parents to attend these meetings. This gives everyone an opportunity to be involved in your children's school, be the voice of ideas and to be a part of the school that your child attends. Your child appreciate it knowing that you as their parent are involved in the planning of some of the fun upcoming activities. This also gives parents the opportunity to get to know some of the people within your community. Do not look at the Parent Council as a chore look at it as a fun adventure that you will always be able to share with your kids. Years down the road, they will thank you for it. What better gift to receive from your child when he or she looks at you and thanks you for all that you have done for their school. Our next parent council meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday November 13th at 6:30 pm. Guardian Angels open house was a great success, we would like to thank all those involved in the preparation and the planning on such a terrific evening, and we certainly hope that everyone enjoyed himself or herself. This year Guardian Angels school is striving towards becoming a gold certified Eco School therefore, we would kindly request as much assistants from the parent or caregivers when packing your children's lunches. This would help a great deal and would encourage the children to be environmentally conscious. Regarding fundraising, our first fundraiser are World’s Finest Chocolates.....yum!! I know we all look forward to this. Please sell what you can for every little bit helps and there are some terrific prizes up for grabs. We would also like to remind all parents that when we do these fundraisers the money that is raised goes into assisting with the cost of many different events ie. Assist with keeping the costs down for bussing for school trips, helps to pay for prizes for special events, school sport uniforms etc... So let us work hard on these fundraisers and try to raise as much as we possibly can. Last but not certainly not least, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving for we all have so much to be thankful for. Including the love, family, friends, health and Jesus. We should also be very thankful and blessed for all those men and women that have given their lives and fought for our freedom and continue to fight for peace around the world. If not for them, we would have nothing to be thankful. Please remember to wear your Poppy proudly during the month of November and support our veterans. A hug or a big Thank you to our veterans goes a long way. As well I would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and a safe and spooky Halloween. Sheri Cabello & Kelly Pacheco Chair, Guardian Angels Parent Council DANCE IN SUPPORT OF ONE OF OUR OWN Guardian Angels student Antonio Mastroangelo was diagnosed with Leukemia in March. He also has Down Syndrome. The medical expenses can be overwhelming. A dinner dance for the family to help support their son. It will be held at Vasco da Gama Hall, 25 Fisherman Drive Brampton on November 23rd at 6pm. Tickets are: $75 for adults and $25 for children. There are many prizes to be won. For more information, please contact Kelly Pacheco 647-271-4154 SCHOOL LITURGY Our School Opening Mass will was on Thursday, October 3, 2013 @ 9:15 AM. Father Jan Gogolewski led students and staff in our first liturgical celebration of the school year. Grade Three classes did an amazing job preparing the celebration with Mrs. Lyons, Ms. Schmalz and Ms. Schiavone organizing the choir and music. Many parents joined us, which helped make our first mass this year very special. TERRY FOX EVENT This year, to celebrate the Terry Fox Run, students, staff and parent volunteers participated in a community event to raise funds to support Cancer research. The event was a tremendous success. Weather cooperated, providing a wonderful opportunity to enjoy an autumn walk around the school. Students were entertained through a weeklong awareness campaign that included an assembly, a staff-student volleyball game and BINGO on the announcements each day. All monies raised went to the Terry Fox Foundation. Thank you to Mrs. McCannel for her dedication and support towards this worthwhile cause. She has organized this event since 2004 and we have raised almost $13,000. Thank you to all the staff and students who made the event such a success. Special thanks to the following staff who helped organize the 10th Annual Terry Fox Event: Mrs. Stoker, Mrs. Parris, Mrs. Gibson Power, Mrs. Fournier, Mr. Merino, Mrs. Kotarska, Mrs. Sivasankaran, Mrs. Kotarska and Mr. Morris. A special thanks to our Volleyball players, both students and staff, who Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 3 participated in our fun volleyball game and to our staff who participated in Crazy Hair Day. Thank you to our school community for supporting another successful Terry Fox Event. for 2013. Your child may be eligible for transportation to and from school if you live beyond the following distances: TELEPHONE CALLING THE SCHOOL Each day our office receives numerous phone calls from parents with messages for their children. With the lines tied up, these calls are often left as messages on our machine. In an effort to ensure that we do not miss one of these messages and not get it to your child on time, we ask that you please ensure that arrangements are made the night before and children know what they are to do after school. In addition, we encourage parents to send lunches, notes and messages in the morning with their child(ren) in an effort to avoid interruptions at the classroom level. We understand that emergencies do happen and we will do our best to assist in these situations. Thank you for your cooperation. WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY 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 (1-800-6681140 or 905-890-6000) directly. 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. PARENT COUNCIL 2013-2014 We celebrated World Teachers’ Day on October 5, 2013 in order to commemorate all the hard work and dedications our educators provide our children every day. Most of us can point to an educator who has influenced us positively in some way. Take a moment to reflect on the teachers you have today, or have had in the past. If there is someone, who has had a major influence on you in the past, has made learning fun and interesting, or has helped you to achieve success in some way, take a moment to thank that person if you can or simply thank one of your current teachers by telling them you appreciate them. THANK YOU STAFF!!!! 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 We are pleased to announce our 2013-2014 Catholic School Council team. It is the role of the Council to advise and consult in a collaborative and respectful manner, with the school staff, on matters that pertain to the school as a whole. We would like to welcome: Principal: Mr. Cassar Vice Principal: Ms. Owens Council Chairpersons: Mrs. Pacheco, and Mrs. Cabello Teacher Representatives: Mrs. Graesser and Mrs. Sepe Non-Teacher Representative: Mrs. Sivasankaran Parish Representative: Mrs. Saunders-Georges Treasurer: Mrs. Rositano, Mr. Andrade (support) Secretary Mrs. Saroli (Mrs. Arghittu support) Members at large based on first week’s attendance: E. Amorin, L. Machado, A. Caringi, D. Cordi Nardi, N. Arghittu, L. Saroli, J. Njoki, K. Cosgrove, S. Neslon, P. Nelson, W. Lewis, C. Spence, T. Morgan, S. Rachner, M. Belgrave, S. Joaquim, S. Lopes, J. Wilson, N. Rositano, J. Estevao, R. Mehuish, E. Andrade, P. Cordeiro, M. Romano Our next meeting is November 13th at 6:30 p.m. 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 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! Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 4 OPEN HOUSE BBQ – MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT The annual BBQ and “Meet the Teacher” evening occurred Monday, September 23rd. The BBQ was held from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM and teachers were available to meet families in their classrooms after the BBQ. Three clowns attended entertaining the kids, face painting and balloons for everyone. We also had an ice cream truck and a fire truck available to add the festivities. We had an excellent time 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 Remembrance Day Monday, November 11 @ 9:15 AM Wednesday, December 4 @ 9:15 AM School Advent Mass Wednesday, December 18 @ 9:15 AM School Virtue Mass Wednesday, February 5 @ 9:15 AM Wednesday, March 5 School Advent Confessions Ash Wednesday Liturgy 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. 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 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 Location School 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 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 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 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. PIZZA DAYS The process for pizza days has changed this year for a number of reasons. Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 5 First, the one staff member who ran the every other week program is no longer at Guardian Angels. As such, Ms. McGee, our secretary, has graciously offered to run the pizza program. Because this is an extrememy time-consuming process, we do not have the ‘manpower’ to collate orders weekly. If at least 4 parents are willing to commit to helping Ms. McGee every week, we may be able to switch to allowing weekly pizza orders. For now, it will remian a month by month process. Other benefits to ordering once per month include: Your child carrying money to school only once Peace of mind that lunch is taken care of once a week The option of buying a package or indicual items The second change came in the pizza supplier. The Ministry of Education mandates that food sold in school must meet nutritional standards – particularly in the quantities of ingredients like fibre, sodium, sugar and fat. Last year’s vendor did not meet these standsrds. As such, Dominoes has been contracted since they can order the product that meets our nutritional guidelines. The cheese, pepperoni, sauce and dough all meet the standards. Because our pizza program eliminates many of the artificial ingredients found in cheaper products, the cost is slighlty higher. It is still significantly cheaper than the price if you walked into the store to buy it. Even the cookie meets guidleines for fibre ands sugar content and is all natural. September’s orders topped 65 pizza resulting in over 500 slices being delivered weekly. That’s double the volume we did last year. Clearly, most parents love the value for the dollar and the ease of ordering once. We will continue to use the once a month ordereing at this time until consistent volunteers come forward. 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 the program. If you wish to volunteer to help out, please contact Ms. McGee at the school. 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-Amaral, 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. 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.). Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 6 Do not shout or cause any other unnecessary noises. 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 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 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 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 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: 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 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 dispensing and storage of ANY medication must occur from the Office. 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 PERMISSION FORM PACKAGE Recently you received a number of permission and information forms to fill out. Please do so at soon as possible and return them Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 7 to your child’s teacher. Thank you to those parents who have returned the packages already. 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 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. STUDENT BIRTHDAYS 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 LUNCH TIME 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 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. 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 pop can contains enough sugar to negatively affect the pancreas and increase weight and energy levels. 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!! PROGRESS CARDS REPORT Students will bring home a Progress Report Card on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. It will communicate the student’s progress in various subjects as well next steps for improvement. Teachers will contact parents if an interview is requested. OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL HERITAGE A Historical Understanding of Key Issues Related to Catholic Education: Our Catholic School Heritage 1. How long has the Catholic separate schools been educating Catholic children and contributing to the public good in Ontario? For about 170 years in the early 1800s there were separate schools in many cities, towns and townships. In Peel, three separate schools opened before Confederation (1867): St. James in Malton in the 1830s, St. John’s Agriculture College (1861) and St. Patrick’s (1861), both in Wildfield. 2. Has the Ontario government always supported separate schools? Yes, as did its predecessor, the United Legislature of Canada East (now Quebec) and Canada West (now Ontario) during its total life from 1841 to 1867. One of the first pieces of NUT ALLERGY AWARENESS POLICY Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 8 legislation it passed in 1841 was the Common School Act, with a separate school clause. 3. Why did the United Legislature of Canada East and Canada West keep improving separate school legislation? It responded to Catholic parents, trustees, bishops and priests, editors of the four Catholic newspapers, members of the business and professional world, all of whom argued for legal and financial rights for separate schools. 4. Was there opposition to separate schools before Confederation? Guardian Angels School recognizes the cultural event of Halloween but attention will be paid to the religious significance of All Saints Day, which is the honoring of the whole Church Triumphant united to Christ in the enjoyment of the vision of God. Costumes Students can wear their costumes on Halloween Day. We ask that your child come to school dressed in their costume. Please keep in mind that we are a Catholic school and students need to be dressed appropriately even at Halloween. No masks or replica weapons and knives are allowed. Yes, as now, there were advocates of one school system. Protestant spokespersons believed in the adequacy of the common (now public) school’s basic non-denominational Christianity, which constituted an important element of the common school’s religion lessons and their readers. They held that beliefs specific to certain religions should be taught in the churches and homes. HALLOWEEN SAFETY TIPS 5. Why did Catholics find the non-denominational religious education of the common school unsatisfactory? 2. Do wear light colored clothing, so drivers can see them Catholics wanted separate schools where all the beliefs of the Catholic Church would be taught, where the pupils would live their faith in a sacramental and community manner in proximity to the parish church and priest, and where religion would permeate the reading, literature and history curriculum. Furthermore, as modern times arrived, the multiculturalism of the public school’s student body necessitated the eradication of the teaching Christianity. 3. Do carry a flashlight, so your child will be able to see on dark streets. HALLOWEEN IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS During the early years of Christianity, the church leaders found it best to add the new religious ideas to earlier, already established beliefs. All Saints Day was proclaimed on November 1st so that the people could continue to celebrate a familiar festival, which respected the spirits. The mass that was said on that day was called Allhallowmas so the evening before became known as Hallows Eve, or Halloween. Eventually the church recognized that Halloween had become a culture event rather than a religious event. Please remind your children of safety guidelines for Halloween: 1. Don’t wear a face mask, so your child will be able to see clearly 4. Do go out with an adult, or an older brother or sister, if under 12 years of age. 5. Do stay away from cars, and strangers in cars. 6. Do watch cars and look both ways when crossing the street. 7. Do wear costumes above their shoes, so kids will not trip. 8. Do not to eat any treats until they are home, and their parents/guardians have checked it. 9. Do not treat or treat alone. 10. Do make sure your parents know the route you are taking. Implications for Schools: Halloween should be considered a cultural ritual in which children participate. In today’s culture, it is rarely a celebration of the Celtic religion. Children today often dress in costumes, which reflect the heroes of the culture, for example, Batman. GRADE 7 AND 8 HOMEWORK HELP While some claim that Halloween’s association with the Ancient Celtic religion is a threat to Christianity; clearly the Church did not when establishing All Saints Day and the Day for the Commemoration of All Souls. In the same way, Father’s Day is a cultural event, which does not detract from our understanding of God as Father. Visit the Homework Help website for free help from Ontario certified teachers. On this site, students have access to live chat rooms between the hours of 5:30-9:30 from Sunday to Thursday and 24/7 resources such as videotaped lessons and interactive tutorials. Homework Help is ideal for understanding homework, reviewing lessons, studying for tests, and searching math topics. Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 9 Register today at https://homeworkhelp.ilc.org/. All you need to register is your student OEN number, which is found on your report card. If you have additional questions, please contact your classroom teacher. Parents and students, check out these websites for math fun and help! Primary: www.mathisfun.com Junior: www.mathfrog.ca Intermediate: www.wiredmath.ca DOGS Just a reminder to parents that we have many students who are allergic or are scared of dogs. Dogs are NOT allowed on school property. If you are walking with your dog in the morning, you must remain off school property. Thank you for your assistance. PARENTS VISITING DURING RECESS Parents are reminded that they should NOT be at the fence area during recesses or around the school property. This is permitted ONLY in the mornings for drop off and at the end of the day. While your child knows you, you are a STRANGER to everyone else. Your child needs time to socialize and play with other children. Parents who come onto school property during school hours must sign into the office and wear a visitor’s badge. Anyone loitering in the parking lot or near the field will be approached by staff and asked to leave the property. SOCCER UPDATE Congratulations goes out to the girls’ soccer team who played an excellent tournament on October 2nd. The girls played with great skill, effort, and determination, and made it to the semifinals. The girls only let in two goals the entire day, due to their amazing defensive skills. Way to go girls –Guardian Angels is very proud of you! The team members are: Brianna L., Melanie A., Emily D., Kristyn D., Valerie S., Meghan R., Samantha P., Isabella T., Alina U., Naomi B., Leah D., Alexis D., Jessica D., Isabel C., Rebecca F. Thank you to coaches Mrs. Bedford, Mr. Sutherland and Ms. Schmalz for their hard work and dedication. learn from the advice from figures as Martin Luther King III, Chris Hatfield and Spencer West. This experience opened the eyes of our students to want to take the focus out of only their lives to how they could help their entire school, community and the world. Building on this event, the students have formed their own group of Me To We at Guardian Angels. This group has already gotten themselves involved with the food drive taking place in October and plan on starting a clothing drive for those in need starting in November. Great job Angels! Thank you to Mr. Labuda, Mrs. McCannel and Mr. Merino for supporting this initiative. STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS Nominations were handed in, campaigning was done, speeches were made, and the students have spoken. This year’s elected Student Council Executive has now been announced. Prime Minister – Sarah P. Deputy Prime Minister – Bryan D. Minister of Finance – Kushal M. Minister of Social Justice – Julia L. Minister of Student Affairs – Alexis D. and Delroy M. Minister of Environment – Zicco F. Minister of Athletics – Lucas F. Parliamentary Secretary – Jaden G. Congratulations to all the winners. All of the nominated candidates showed an outstanding effort during this year’s campaign. Grades 4 to 8 classes are now choosing their class representatives to add to the elected executive student council. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, October 16 th during lunch recess. The elected students are anxious to get started planning this year’s fun filled activities for all students at Guardian Angels. The Guardian Angels Student Council is the student voice of the school. They will be planning school wide special events and fun activities (dances, spirit days, and social justice initiatives) throughout the year. Stay tuned for all the details as they become available. Thank you to Mrs. Gallant, Mr. Merino, Mrs. Galos and Mr. Caputo for their work on this initiative. ME TO WE 13 students of Guardian Angels school took part in Toronto's annual Me To We Day at the ACC in September. This event allowed the students to not only see thoughtful entertainment acts but they were able to hear the stories and Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 10 We want you to read our newsletter! Answer the question below and you can help your child win a free slice of pizza and a drink courtesy of Mr. Cassar and Ms. Owens. Answer:_____________________________ Child’s name: _________________________ Friday, Oct 11 PD DAY – no school for students Monday, Oct 14 Tuesday, Oct 15 Thanksgiving Monday – School is closed Peel Health HPV and HEP immunizations for gr. 7/8 students Wednesday, Oct 16 Cross Country Even Monday, Oct 21 Fire Drill Tuesday, Oct 22 Continuation of Peel Presentations to students Monday, Oct 28 Lock down drill Kindergarten classes on trip to Downey’s Farm Wed., Oct. 30 Living Our Faith Awards o Grades K-4 @ 9:30 AM o Grades 5-8 @ 11:00 AM Thursday, Oct 31 Halloween Police AMAZING THINGS HAPPENING AT GUARDIAN ANGELS Teacher:____________________________ Date: ______________________________ Please return to Ms. McGee ASAP. GUARDIAN ANGELS DATES Wednesday, Oct 2 Parent Council Meeting @ 6:30 PM Picture Day Thursday, Oct 3 Opening School Year Mass 9:30 AM @ Guardian Angels Saturday, Oct 5 World Teacher’s Day Monday, Oct 7 Peel Police Presentation to students Wednesday, Oct 9 Chocolate fundraiser kick off Visit our website: www.dpcdsb.org/guardg 11 Students are encouraged to visit Mr. Cassar and Ms. Owens to show off their amazing work and accomplishments. This 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 12