121 Royal Orchard Drive (905) 454 - 4458 Principal Vice Principal Superintendent Trustee S. Mifsud C. Pitoscia L. Zanella Brampton, Ontario L6X 4K9 FAX (905) 454 - 0360 Secretary Parish Pastor Associate Pastor N. Eisan St. Anne Church Fr. J. Cherickal Fr. P. Magyar CHILDREN ARE OUR FOCUS. THEIR GOOD IS AT THE CENTRE OF ALL THAT WE DO PARENT NEWSLETTER October 2012 School Mission Statement is . . . The partners of St. Maria Goretti School recognize that all are called to a lifelong process of conversion and development in a community of love established by Jesus Christ. Within this community, each individual has great dignity and deserves to live, work, play, and study in an environment which promotes one’s potential, self-worth and self-discipline so as to be a valued member of society. Prayer of Thanksgiving Blessed are you, loving Father, for all of your gifts to us. Blessed are you for giving us the gift of family and friends. We pause and give you thanks, Lord, for all these gifts: For the rains that give life, for the harvest. As we rejoice in your kindness, We pray for those who are in need. Open our hearts to them and teach us to be generous to others as you are to us. Thank you, God! Amen Virtue for the Month of October: EMPATHY funds for cancer research. To date our children have raised $600. God has given us the ability to form connections with each other - to live together. Empathy helps us to connect and live together in safe, caring, inclusive communities. School Mass St. Maria Goretti will celebrate our Opening mass on October 4, 2012. Please join us in the gym at 1:30 p.m. 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. Attendance and Punctuality We ask that parents continue to support their children in their morning routines so that they can arrive to school on time. This ensures that your child learns an essential life skill, participates in the entire school day, and that disruptions to the learning environment are minimal. Kiss and Ride Staff is on duty to supervise arrival of students to school from 8:15 – 8:30. If you intend to wait and see that your child enters the yard or building, we respectfully ask that you park in a designated parking spot, or on Royal Orchard Blvd. Terry Fox Run Thank you so much to all the families of St. Maria Goretti who once again supported our school effort to raise Catholic School Council We would like to try something new this year!! We will be having 4 Council Meetings this year. The meetings will be from 3:10 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. A teacher will be available to supervise your children while we have the meeting. Our hope is to bring some new and fresh ideas to our Catholic School Council. Please join us, we promise you will not be disappointed! The meeting dates will be as follows: October 17, 2012 December 4, 2012 February 6, 2013 May 7, 2013 EQAO Assessment of Reading, Writing and Mathematics Administered in Grade 3 and 6 Last week individual assessment results, for the year 2011/2012 were sent home with students currently in grade 4 and 7. The detailed school results will be posted on our school website. Please visit our website at: www.dpcdsb.org/GORET Pizza Lunches St. Maria Goretti will once again have weekly Pizza Days. Every Tuesday, students will have the opportunity to order a slice or slices of pizza. The cost is $2.00 per slice. Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is celebrated on Monday, October 8th, 2012. Students do not attend school. We wish all students and families a very blessed and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. Safe Schools – Bill 157 The DPCDSB requires that every school practice fire evacuation procedures six times per school year. We are also expected to practice Lock Down procedures once per term. A Lock Down of the school would be initiated if it were determined that there was a high risk of a weapons incident about to unfold, or an intruder in the school. When a Lock Down is initiated, all students and staff are required to remain quietly in their locked rooms, seated on the floor with the lights out. When a Lock Down is initiated, the police respond and take control of the situation. Although the need for a Lock Down is rare, practice for such an event is essential, for the safety of all students and staff. Please discuss this important safety issue with your child. Student Monitors We are always looking for Student Monitors to work from 12:30 pm. to 1:20 pm. each day. The responsibilities include indoor and outdoor supervision of students. If you are interested in this paid, occasional position, please contact the office. A Criminal Reference Check is mandatory for all applicants. Allergy Alert—Sabrina’s Law We have a number of students at St. Maria Goretti with life-threatening allergies. Anaphylaxis is a severe reaction, which can be caused by even very small quantities of the allergen. The most common allergens are food (for example peanuts, nut products and byproducts, sesame and shellfish) insect stings, medications and latex. We ask for the cooperation of the entire school community by NOT sending any lunches, snacks or treats that contain peanuts, peanut products or shellfish. At St. Maria Goretti, we continue our ‘no outside food’ policy in order to protect these students. Our students are not allowed to share lunches or snacks. Please do not send food products to be shared in your child’s classroom (including doughnuts and/or timbits, which are not nut-free). If you would truly like your child to share their special day with their classmates we suggest that you consider non-food items such as pencils or stickers. PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES St. Maria Goretti Staff 2012/2013 A reminder that Dufferin-Peel CDSB has a PED policy. Students are asked to leave all electronic games, cell phones, iPods, walkmans, etc, at home. The school will not be responsible for lost, damaged or stolen items. The PED policy (outlined in your child’s agenda) clearly states that consequences, as per our Catholic Code of Conduct, will be levied for students who do not adhere to the policy. J. Tautkus L. Hancock P. D’Paiva J. Skikavich M. Corrigan C. DePasquale N. Raju B. Fazzari J. Biffis K. Franjic M. Oliveira V. Villanueva N. LaFontaine A. Conflitti D. McCabe L. Martin N. LaPorte F. Miceli D. Dudycz J. Catenacci S. Mandaric N. Williams M. Lewis C. Pergotski S. Bernier A. Neglia K. Bradbury E. Donald M. Decasa S. Kaidas P. Gonzalves A. LeDonne N. Eisan S. Mifsud Important Dates: October 3 – Picture Day October 8 – Thanksgiving – no classes October 9 – Brampton Battalion Presentation October 17 – CSC meeting-3:10 p.m. October 25 – Picture Retake Day October 26 – Virtue Assembly -9:30 a.m. October 29 – Board Cross Country Meet November 6 – Progress Reports go home November 8 – Interview Evening JK JK/SK & SK Gr. 1 Gr. 1 Gr. 2/3 Gr. 2/3 Gr. 3 Gr. 4 Gr. 4/5 Gr. 4/ 5 Gr. 5/6 Gr. 6 Gr. 7 Gr. 7/8 Gr. 7/8 Primary Special Education Special Education Librarian FSL FSL CYW ERW Psychologist Social Worker SLP Head Custodian Custodian Custodian Student Monitor Student Monitor Student Monitor Secretary Principal