St. Maria Goretti Catholic Elementary School
121 Royal Orchard Drive Brampton, Ontario L6X 4K9
TEL (905) 454 - 4458 FAX (905) 454 – 0360
CHILDREN ARE OUR FOCUS. THEIR GOOD IS AT THE CENTRE OF ALL THAT WE DO
Principal S. Mifsu d Parish St. Anne Chu rch
Superint endent
Trust ee
S. Steer
D. D’Sou za
Past or
Associat e Past or
Fr. J. Cherickal
Fr. F. Morrone
Secret ary N . Eisan
PAREN T N EWSLETTER JAN UARY 2015
New Year’s Prayer
Through the years, O God,
You have guided your people.
Guide us this year as we strive
to act as Jesus
Guide us to do Your
At the beginning of this 2014 teaches. work and to be in Your service. year, we pray that this will be a year
in which we seek to do Your will.
As we discover it, through prayer and listening to Your Word,
we will offer forgiveness rather than wait for it to come to us.
Amen
Principal’s Message
On behalf of the staff, I would like to extend warm wishes to you all, for a New Year filled with peace and good health. The staff would like to welcome back all of our returning and new students. We hope that all of you had a very happy and Blessed
Christmas. We are all eager to resume our learning journey together and look forward to our continued partnership with you in the spiritual and academic development of your children.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude and best wishes to Ms.
Nowak for teaching our grade 2 class while Mrs. Raju was on Maternity leave and we would like to welcome back Mrs. Raju.
Sincerely,
S. Mifsud
Principal

Virtue of the month:
SELF-CONTROL
This month, we will celebrate and recognize the virtue of self-control . God has given us the ability to choose. We are able to control how we react to what happens around us.
We may feel pressure from inside or from outside ourselves to react violently to a situation. We’ve all “lost it “at one time or another. We are never proud of those moments. As soon as they happen we make a promise that they will not happen again. Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at controlling our reactions. We can get better at showing selfcontrol .
Extended French Gr. 4 —Parents
In November, a letter outlining the process for application to the extended French program was sent home. Grade 4 parents/guardians, who wish to enroll their child in a grade 5 Extended French class for September 2015, are invited to attend an information meeting at St. Anne School, on Thursday, January 15, @ 7:00 pm. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, February 17, 2015 @ 3:00 pm .
Catholic School Council
Next Meeting: Jan 14 th @ 6:30 pm.
All Meetings are open to community members. Please join us if you can.
St. Maria Goretti Families Give Back
Thank you to the families that supported our Giving Tree and food drive during the Advent
Season. Your generosity assisted less fortunate families during the Christmas Season.
Professional Activity Days and Reporting to Parents Update
There will be no school for students on
Monday, January 19th
Teachers will be involved with the writing of first term report cards. Reports will be sent home on February 3rd with interviews taking place on the evening of
Thursday, February 5 th and during the day on Friday, February 6 th .
Dressing for Winter Weather
Winter is here! Please encourage your child to dress appropriately for the cold weather. Outdoor play is a healthy and invigorating activity when students are wearing suitable clothing and warm mittens.
Please write your child’s name on boots, mitts, hats, jackets and snow pants. Children must change into their indoor shoes for warmth, comfort and cleanliness in their classrooms. Please keep an extra pair of mittens, socks and even track pants in your child’s school bag in case they need a dry change of clothes.

Kindergarten Registration 2015-2016
January 26, 2015 – 7:00 – 9:00 pm.
* January 27, 2015 – 7:00 – 9:00 pm. (* snow date)
* If registration is cancelled on Jan. 26 th , due to inclement weather
January 28, 2015 – 9:00 – 11:00 am. and 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
January 29, 2015 – 9:00 – 11:00 am. and 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
January 30, 2015 – 9:00 – 11:00 am. and 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
The following documentation must be provided:
1.
Proof of age (original birth certificate)
2.
Original Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate (for child and/or parent/guardian) or
Baptismal Certificate from an Eastern Church of other rites in full communion with the
Holy See of Rome, the parent must bring their own baptismal certificate
3.
Updated immunization records
4.
Proof of Canadian citizenship or Landed Immigrant status
5.
2 documents to provide Proof of address (property tax bill, current utility bill, real estate document or government of Canada issued forms)
Note: Students currently attending Junior Kindergarten at St. Maria Goretti will automatically be registered for Senior Kindergarten.
Important Dates to Remember
January 14: Catholic School Council meeting @ 6:30 pm.
January 19: P.A. Day – No classes
January 26: Kindergarten Registration evening for 2015/2016 – (7:00pm – 9:00pm)
Jan 28, 29, & 30: Kindergarten Registration during the day (see newsletter for details)
January 30: Virtue Assembly @ 1:30 pm
February 3: Reports Cards are distributed to students.
February 5:
February 6:
Interview evening – Reporting to Parents on Evaluation and Student Progress.
P.A. Day- No classes
February 16: Family Day (school closed)
February 18: Ash Wednesday
February 23: Lenten Mass @ 11:00 am
March 16-20: March Break

Family Literacy Program: Talk, Read, Play, Sing!
Free workshops for families offered by the Region of Peel at St. Maria Goretti Elementary School
The Family Literacy Program is for families with children aged 0 – 6 years. Families come together for stories, snack, and activities. Research from the University of Toronto has shown this program makes an impact to a child’s Early Literacy skills along with their family’s support.
The program will be held in the library on Tuesday nights, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. for nine weeks, starting February 17 th -
April 21 st . We welcome all families with children under 6 years, as well as older children in your family. Please register by calling 905 791 1585 x 7222 or visit our website at www.peelregion.ca
and click on Child Care. We hope to see you there  .
BUS CANCELLATIONS/SCHOOL CLOSING DUE TO BAD WEATHER
During the winter months inclement weather may cause disruption of bus transportation and regular school operations. A decision to cancel school transportation and/or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be announced on the following radio stations:
VIRGIN RADIO 99.9,
CFTR 680
CFNY 102.1,
EZ ROCK 97.3
CJCL 590,
CHFI 98.1,
CFRB 101
CHIN 100.7
FM/1540 AM,
CJBC,
Z103.5,
93.1 FM,
CITYPULSE,
GLOBAL NEWS,
CBC
You will hear one of four standard messages:
1.
“DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BUSES SERVING ST. ANDREW,
ST. BENEDICT AND ST. PETER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND R.F. HALL SECONDARY
SCHOOL ARE CANCELLED FOR TODAY.” This message does not affect St. Maria Goretti
School.
2. “THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BUSES AND THE PEEL
DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BUSES IN THE TOWN OF CALEDON AND THE COUNTY OF
DUFFERIN ARE CANCELLED”.
This message does not affect St. Maria Goretti School

3.
“THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES ARE CANCELLED.” ALL Transportation services provided by the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board have been cancelled for the entire day.
4.
“THE SCHOOLS AND OFFICES OF BOTH THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD ARE CLOSED.” ALL schools are closed to students and staff.
Each month our school newsletter will contain some information regarding the Historical
Understanding of Key Issues Related to Catholic Education ……
Our Catholic School Heritage
1. How long have 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
(1 867): St. James in Malton in the 1830s, St. John’s Agricultural 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 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?
Yes, as now, there were advocates of one school system. Protestant spokepersons 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.
5. Why did Catholics find the non-denominational religious education of the common school unsatisfactory?
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 of Christianity.
6. What sacrifices did Catholics have to make to send their children to separate schools?
Because the United Legislature of Canada East and Canada West roughly had consisted

of members advocating non-denominational common schools and half were in favour of them, separate school legislation, for about fifteen years, contained three obstacles to their existence:
(a) Catholics could establish and support a separate school, but had to continue paying common school taxes. Thus, they paid tuition for their children in the separate school;
(b) The separate school had no permanence of existence. If the local common school board hired a Catholic as one of its teachers, then the separate school ceased to exist. Separate schools kept opening and closing in the early years;
(c) In the cities the separate school board required the permission of the common school board to open a new or an additional separate school. Sometimes the permission was not forthcoming.
(d) The legislation required twelve Catholic heads of family resident within a city, town or township common school section. The townships’ common school sections were so small that often there were not twelve resident Catholic families.
115 Vodden Street East
BRAMPTON, Ontario L6V 1M4
(905) 453-1303 FAX (905) 459-4829 e-mail – stanneschurch@on.aibn.com
December 16, 2014
Dear Children, Parents and Teachers:
Thank you so much for the love you have given to those in need this Christmas. The gifts, the food and the gift certificates you gave on behalf of Baby Jesus are going to make so many children and their families happy.
Jesus is smiling over you from heaven. God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
St. Anne’s Food Assistance Committee