St. Maria Goretti Catholic Elementary School
121 Royal Orchard Drive Brampton, Ontario L6X 4K9
TEL (905) 454 - 4458
FAX (905) 454 – 0360
Principal
Superintendent
Trustee
Secretary
S. Mifsud
S. Steer
D. D’Souza
N. Eisan
Parish
Pastor
Associate Pastor
St. Anne Church
Fr. J. Cherickal
Fr. F. Morrone
“CHILDREN ARE OUR FOCUS. THEIR GOOD IS AT THE CENTRE OF ALL THAT WE DO”
PARENT NEWSLETTER
October 2015
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.
Virtue for the Month of October:
EMPATHY
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.
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.
Catholic School Council
Please consider joining our School Council!
The meetings will be from 6:30 p.m. –
8:00 p.m. Our hope is to bring some new
and fresh ideas to our Catholic School
Council. We promise you will not be
disappointed! Our first meeting date will
be: October 6, 2015
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.
EQAO
Assessment of Reading, Writing and
Mathematics
Administered in Grade 3 and 6
EQAO results for the 2014/2015 year
will not be released until November.
Terry Fox Run
Thank you so much to all the families of
St. Maria Goretti who once again
supported our school effort. To date our
children have raised approximately $250
Kiss and Ride
Staff are on duty to supervise arrival
of students at 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.
Please remember that if you have to
get out of your vehicle in the Kiss N
Ride lane, then you should park your
car in a designated parking space or
along Royal Orchard Blvd.
Please drive slowly in the school
parking lot, we want everyone to be
safe.
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 12th, 2015. 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.
Pupil Accommodation Review Policy
Public Consultation
The Ministry of Education released the new Pupil Accommodation Review Guideline (PARG) in March 2015. This guideline sets expectations for all school boards on managing and reviewing underutilized school space, including potential school closures, and for the greater coordination and sharing of planning related information between school boards and other community partners. The guideline requires all school boards in the province to develop or revise Pupil Accommodation Review Policies and to invite public input into the policy before it is finalized. A survey to collect feedback on the Dufferin‐Peel Catholic District School Board’s draft amended Policy 6.51 Pupil Accommodation Review will be available for review and comment on the Board’s website at www.dpcdsb.org until 4:30 pm on Friday, October 16, 2015. Supporting documents will also be available for reference and review. Please consider reviewing and providing input on this policy. International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
Grade 8 Information Evening
Thursday, October 29/15 – 6:30 p.m.
Personal Electronic Devices on Board
Premises and/or Board Sanctioned
Events for Educational Purposes:
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School
Board acknowledges the value of the use of
technology for learning.
Students are
permitted to register and use personal
electronic devices (PEDs) on board premises
and/or board sanctioned events for
educational purposes, under the direction of
staff and only with parent/guardian
permission. Students may register their
PED for the purpose of connecting to the
board wireless network.
Students are
required to adhere to the student “Personal
Electronic Device Used with WI-FI
Network Student Agreement” (GF 337) and
the “Network User Application and
Agreement.” (GF066) Please be advised
that the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board will not be responsible for
any cost incurred through the use of
personal data plans.
PEDs are to be used responsibly and should not interfere with learning; their use must comply with the Catholic Code of Conduct, board policies and procedures. Any personal communications (i.e., phone calls, text messages, etc.) will continue to be directed through the main office. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a loss of PED privileges and/or any other consequences deemed necessary by school administration. The school principal may authorize limited
acceptable uses of personal electronic
devices during school-sanctioned activities
for a specific designated purpose outside of
instructional spaces and/or in common areas.
Students are responsible for the safety
and security of PEDs at all times and the
Board assumes no responsibility for lost,
damaged or stolen devices.
St. Maria Goretti Staff 2015/2016
Important Dates:
October 5 – World Teacher’s Day
October 6 – School Mass 11:00 a.m.
October 6 – School Council 6:30 p.m.
October 12 – Thanksgiving – No Classes
October 15 – Gr. 7& 8 Immunization
Clinic
October 20 – Picture Day
October 22 – Virtue Assembly -2:00 p.m.
November 11 – Assembly 11:00 a.m.
November 17 – Progress Reports Go Home
November 19 – Interview Evening
November 19 – Chocolate Fundraiser
Begins
November 26 – Virtue Assembly–2:00
p.m.
November 29 – First Sunday of Advent
December 1 – Advent Mass – 11:00 a.m.
J. Biffis
L. Batarseh
L. Hancock
C. Quarry
K. Franjic
M. Corrigan
N. LaFontaine
N. Raju
C. Monteiro
C. DePasquale
M. Marchand
J. Dunec
V. Villanueva
M. Oliveira
D. McCabe
M. Samai
L. Martin
N. LaPorte
J. Page
S. Mandaric
J. Catenacci
A. Conflitti
P. Gagnon
D. Egan
M. Lewis
C. Patterson
E. Rukin
J. Buckton
K. Bradbury
E. Donald
M. Decasa
S. Kaidas
P. Gonzalves
B. DeMedeiros
N. Eisan
S. Mifsud
FDK
DECE
FDK
DECE
Gr. 1
Gr. 1/2
Gr. 2
Gr. 2/3
Gr. 2/3
Gr. 4
Gr. 4/5
Gr. 5/6
Gr. 6/7
Gr. 7
Gr. 7/8
Gr. 8
Planning
Special Education
Spec. Ed/ELL
Library/Planning/
FSL
FSL
Planning
CYW
ERW
ERW
Psychologist
Social Worker
SLP
Head Custodian
Custodian
Custodian
Student Monitor
Student Monitor
Student Monitor
Secretary
Principal