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
Superint endent
Trust ee
Secret ary
S. Mifsud
S. Steer
D. D’Souza
N . Eisan
Parish
Past or
Associat e Past or
PARENT NEWSLETTER
St. Anne Church
Fr. J. Cherickal
Fr. F. Morrone
MARCH 2015
Our Virtue in March: Kindness
God wants us to be kind to everyone we meet. Being kind is about more than just pretending
to be nice. It is about helping and playing with others, because we want to do what is right and
good. God helps us to be kind to our family and friends because by being kind we are able to
see God in every one we know. The challenge is to be kind to people beyond family and
friends. This is the way of our Lord – our leader. The face of Jesus Christ can be found in
every person you meet.
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless”. Mother Teresa
Lenten Prayer
Almighty and Everlasting God, You have given the human race Jesus Christ our Saviour as a model of
humility. He fulfilled Your will by becoming man and giving His life on the Cross. Help us to bear
witness to You by following His example of suffering and make us worthy to share in His
Resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen
Technology in the Classroom
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board champions the
development of all students through a safe, caring and inclusive
environment by providing a variety of diverse programs, supports
and providing opportunities for life-long learning. As a part of this
commitment, St. Maria Goretti has the opportunity to develop a
technology enhanced teaching and learning plan. This plan will
provide a framework to develop a shared vision related to the
further integration of technology in the learning environment.
The St. Maria Goretti technology plan team is asking for your input
in helping us develop this plan. This plan will outline the
technology direction of our school over the next three years within
the perimeters established by the board. All use of technology in
the classroom will be to enhance student learning.
Please go to our school website to http://www.dpcdsb.org/GORET
to find the survey. We look forward to receiving your feedback.
Thank you!
Catholic School Council
Our next meeting will be on:
Wednesday, March 11th
At 6:30 p.m.
All parents are invited to join us.
EQAO: Education Quality and Accountability Office
Administration of the Primary (Grade 3) and Junior (Grade 6) Assessments of reading, writing and mathematics, 2015
will be held May 25 to June 8, 2015. The specific dates will be forthcoming.
We ask that parents/guardians do not book doctor, dentist or vacations during this time to ensure that your child is
present during test taking times.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL
CHILDREN!
TRAFFIC SAFETY
The KISS and RIDE LANE is designed to be a quick and convenient method to drop off children at
school, without the need to park or leave your vehicle.
Parking in the Kiss and Ride Lane is prohibited.
Illegally parked vehicles pose a danger to students and pedestrians.
Parking in the school drive through lane is prohibited.
After dropping children at Kiss and Ride, parents are to use the front driveway as a drive through.
There is no parking.
If you wish to walk your child to school, please park in a designated parking spot or park on Royal
Orchard Drive.
Please be advised, that the City of Brampton, Parking Enforcement will be present to heighten safety
awareness during peak drop off and pick up times.
Do not park in spots designated, with signage in Handicapped and Reserved Parking.
Follow us on Twitter @StMariaGorett - for the latest news and information about
the great things happening at our school.
All are welcome to attend.
Visitors to the School
When you enter the school, you are a relative, and care giver to the children that you are responsible
for. You are a stranger to all other children. In our effort to ensure the safety of all our students,
we ask that you follow protocol. When you enter the school, you must come to the office to check in
and sign in if needed. You will be given a Visitor’s Pass if necessary. We must know who is in the
school at all times.
The St. Maria Goretti School Recommends Bake it Up! recipe book which has all sorts of recipes
that fit the governments nutritional guideline. If you would like to take a look at the entire book go
to www.nutritionrc.ca.
Best-Ever Chocolate Cookies
Your family and friends will never know that bran cereal is one of the ingredients in these
delicious cookies. Make a couple of batches of these – they are sure to be a best-seller!
1 cup all-purpose flour 250 mL
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 125 mL
1 tsp baking soda 5 mL
¼ tsp salt 1 mL
2 large eggs 2
½ cup soft, non-hydrogenated margarine 125 mL ¾ cup packed brown sugar 175 mL 1½ cups
quick-cooking rolled oats 375 mL
1 cup bran cereal (not flakes) 250 mL
¾ cup white chocolate chips 175 mL
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Use ungreased baking sheets or line baking sheets with
parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, margarine and brown sugar. Fold in flour mixture. Stir in oats, bran
cereal and chocolate chips.
4. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls (15 mL), about 2 inches (5 cm) apart, onto baking sheets.
5. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until just crisp. Let cool on baking sheets on a wire rack for 5 minutes,
then remove to rack to cool completely.
Adapted and reprinted from Simply Great Food © 2007 Dietitians of Canada. Published by Robert Rose Inc.
Makes 36 cookies
Important Dates to Remember
March 2:
Grade 8 Retreat – St. Anne Church
March 11:
School Council @ 6:30 p.m.
March 16-20:
March Break.
March 27:
Virtue Assembly @ 1:30 p.m.
April 10:
Grade 8 & SK students have Graduation Photos
April 10 & 13:
Good Friday & Easter Monday– No School
April 16:
School Council @ 6:30 p.m. – Parents welcome
April 24:
Virtue Assembly @ 1:30 p.m. – parents welcome
May 4-8:
Catholic Education Week – details will follow
May 11:
P.A. Day – No classes for students
May 13:
Welcome To Kindergarten Evening @ 6:00 p.m.
May 21:
Family BBQ and activities hosted by Aussie X – Details will follow
May 22:
Virtue Assembly @ 1:30 p.m.
June 25:
Grade 8 luncheon and graduation ceremony
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.
Lates
Our day begins promptly at 8:30 a.m. Students who arrive late for class often miss vital instructional time, interrupt
classroom routines and disrupt the learning of others. Attendance and punctuality are essential components of the
elementary school program. The Education Act dictates that “A pupil shall attend classes punctually and regularly.” The
Ministry of Education indicates that poor attendance and frequent lates are often one indication that a pupil is a ‘Student at
Risk’ for successful completion of a Secondary School diploma.
Student Accident Insurance
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board annually provides parents with information regarding cost-effective student accident
insurance coverage. Although enrolment is voluntary, the Board encourages parents to take advantage of this inexpensive
insurance coverage, especially if your child (ren) participate in sports, excursions/field trips, other extra-curricular activities
and/or if parents do not have dental insurance coverage. Further information regarding this insurance can be obtained by
contacting Reliable Life Insurance at 1-800-463-KIDS (5437) or visiting www.insuremykids.com
Pictures/Video at School Events
Parents are reminded that due to confidentiality and privacy laws, pictures and videos should NOT be taken at school events such as
concerts, sports games, or liturgical celebrations. You will have the opportunity to take pictures of your own child after the event.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.
An Historical Understanding of Key Issues Related to Catholic Education
(continued)
16. How did separate school boards survive without corporation tax revenues?
The separate school trustees controlled the boards’ budgets with more pupils per
classroom than in the public schools, with much lower wages, with bare-bones programs,
with small playgrounds, and with minimum expenditures for the erection of new schools.
These methods still could not balance their budgets. The main contribution for the
survival of separate schools came from the religious teaching Orders. They supplied
principals and teachers and worked for salaries of $300 to $600 a year when public
school teachers were earning $3,000 and up. There is no question that Ontario’s
Catholics owe today’s separate schools to the religious Orders.
17. How was the corporation tax issue finally solved?
In 1962, the Ontario Separate School Trustees’ Association presented Premier John
Robarts a brief which outlined the probable bankruptcy of some urban separate school
boards and the inferior salaries, teacher qualifications, school accommodation, and
programs compared with those of the public schools. The government began providing to
the separate school boards grants which compensated for their lack of corporate
assessment. Separate school boards were able to erect new schools and additions with
gymnasiums, libraries, kindergarten rooms, and special education facilities.
18. How did financial inequity return in the 1970s?
With the economic downturn in Ontario, the government began imposing limits to what
school boards could spend. If any board wished to exceed the expenditure limit, it would
receive no grant to accompany the amount of money spent over the limit. Because the
Metropolitan Toronto Board and the Ottawa Board of Education were so rich from
corporation and public utility assessment, they received no grants. The other urban public
school boards received only a small amount of grants. On the other hand, the separate
school boards existed on government grants for 80% to 99%, depending on their amount
of assessment. Thus, separate school boards were confined to the government’s
expenditure ceilings, while public school boards exercised their freedom to spend
considerably over the ceilings. Financial inequity returned and remained.
19. How did the Ontario government solve separate school financial inequity?
In 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada judged that the Canadian Constitution’s Charter
of Rights and Freedoms entitles Francophones, where numbers warrant, to their own
school boards. French-language district school boards and French-language Catholic
district school boards were created. Consequently, Ontario then had four school systems.
Three of them - the English-language Catholic district school boards, the Frenchlanguage
Catholic district school boards and the French-language district school boards had very little access to corporate assessment. One of them – the English-language
district school boards – possessed most of the province’s corporate assessment and,
therefore, ability to spend much more than their counterparts on education. Faced with
this inequity and a court challenge it was convinced it would lose, the government took
the only logical and fair step. It abolished the power of all school boards to tax and took
over all education funding. Now each pupil, no matter which type of school he or she
attends, receives the same per-pupil funding from the government. After 150 years of
sacrifice and hardship, Catholic school boards have achieved financial equity.