St. Dunstan School
February 2014
Principal
L. O’Neill
Secretary
M. Romer
Trustee
Peter Ferreira
416.805.7110
Superintendent
D. Amaral
905.890.1221
PARISH
St. Joseph Church
5440 Durie Road
Mississauga, ON
L5M 2J6
905.826.2766
SCHOOL HOURS
Grades 1-8
8:30-11:30 & 12:303:00
Grades JK-SK
8:30-11:00 or 12:303:00
St. Dunstan School
1525 Cuthbert Ave.
Mississauga, ON
L5M 3R6
905.567.5050
http://
www.dpcdsb.org/
DUNST
Dear God,
You have done such a marvelous job of creating
us and the world around us. Among your
greatest gifts are our friends and acquaintances.
They are the yeast in the dough of life – they
make life lively and interesting.
We come to You now asking for the grace and
strength to keep a sense of respect. We hope
that by recognizing and honouring the shared Spirit
in everyone we meet, we can contribute to
making our school a safer, more caring, more
inclusive community.
May Your gift of respect help us to live each day
with the confidence that we are in the company of
people who are not strangers but who are our
spiritual brothers and sisters.
We ask this in the name of Jesus our Brother,
who lived to show us your way.
Amen.
February is Black History Month and it is an opportunity to share the historical and
present contributions of African Canadians. Black History Month has been celebrated
in Canada since the 1950’s. Black History Month is an opportunity for Canadians to
recognize the significant contributions individuals of African heritage have made, and
continue to make, in areas such as education, medicine, art, culture, public service,
economic development, politics and human rights.
We also celebrate the Winter Olympics in Sochi. This is a magnificent example of
different cultures coming together to celebrate the sprit of competition and
cooperation. At St. Dunstan every class will be involved in Winter Olympic events
throughout the Olympics.
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION OF PEEL REGION (STOPR)
BUS CANCELLATIONS/SCHOOL CLOSING DUE TO BAD WEATHER
2013 – 2014 SCHOOL YEAR
A reminder that 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 and TV stations:
VIRGIN RADIO FM 99.9
CFNY FM 102.1
CFRB AM 1010
CJBC (FR) AM 860
AM 1540
CITYPULSE
CHUM AM 1050
CJCL AM 590
EZ ROCK FM 97.3
FM Z103.5
AM 640
GLOBAL NEWS CBC
Dolphin Athletics
The Intermediate Co-Ed Hockey Team recently
competed in the All Saints Invitational
Tournament. The Dolphins played 6 games over 2
days highlighted by Martin G’s 7 goal performance in
one game. The team’s hard work and perseverance
paid off as the students won a bronze medal in Tier
2. Congratulations to the following members of the
team: Jimmy M., Nicholas S., Emily P., Maja M.,
Marcus D.,Gianluca R., Julian C., Martin G., Antonio T.,
Christopher A., Anthony P., Monica P., Owen P., Ivan
M., Kevin L., Robert M. and Owen M. Thank you to
Mr. Ward and Mr. Szpunar for coaching the team.
CFTR AM 680
CHFI FM 98.1
CHIN FM 100.7
FM 93.1
FM Q 107
CFTO
The Junior Girl’s Basketball Team completed
their season where they continued to improve
their basketball skills and increase their
basketball knowledge. Congratulations to the
following members of the team: Marianne A.,
Jordan O., Myla R., Hollie N., Tessa B., Breanna M.,
Gabriella H., Stella F., Tori A. and Emily T. Thank
you to Mrs. Percuklijevic and Miss Monardo for
volunteering their time and expertise to coach
the team.
The Junior Boy’s Basketball Team have also
completed their season and they will be tipping
off on Tuesday against St. Catherine of Sienna in
a playoff game. The winner of this game will
advance to the Mississauga South Family
Tournament.
The primary students are currently competing in
a very vigorous intramural soccer season. The
games are very competitive and the students are
extremely enthusiastic.
Full Day Kindergarten Registration for 2014- 2015
We are continuing to accept registrations for the 2014-2015 school year.
Junior Kindergarten - Children must be 4 years old by Dec. 31, 2014
Senior Kindergarten - Children must be 5 years old by Dec. 31, 2014
Parents/Guardians should bring the following documents when registering their child:
 proof of age
 original Roman Catholic Baptismal Certificate (for parent and child) or Baptismal
Certificate of other rites in communion with the Holy See of Rome (if the child has
not been baptized, and the parent or guardian is a baptized Roman Catholic or is
baptized in another rite in communion with the Holy See of Rome, the parent/
guardian should bring their own baptismal certificate).
 updated immunization records
 proof of Canadian citizenship or of Landed Immigrant status
 proof of address (utility bill, bank or credit card statement)
St. Dunstan School
For more information, contact St. Dunstan at 905-567-5050 or call the Admissions
Department at 905-890-0708 ext. 24500.
promotes
responsibility,
Important Items
respect, civility
and academic
excellence in a
safe learning and
teaching
environment.
School Council News
Thank you to our parents who
continue to volunteer at
St. Dunstan. Our next School
Council meeting will take
place on February 26th at
6:30 pm in the school library.
March Break
Our break this year takes
place from March 10th to
March 14th. Classes will
resume on Monday, March
17th. Please note that Friday,
March 7th is a PD Day.
Family Day
This is a reminder to parents
that Monday, February 17,
2014 is designated as Family
Day. There will be no classes
for students on that day.
Cold Weather
Children will be kept in at
recess if the wind chill
equivalent temperature is
minus 25 degrees Celsius or
lower. This is in accordance
with the Board Policy. We
will, of course, monitor the
weather situation on a daily
basis. The safety of our
students is always of utmost
concern.
Public Speaking
On February 19th,
St. Dunstan will be holding
our Public Speaking
Competition. The Junior
students will present their
speeches at 8:50 a.m. and
the Intermediate students at
12:45 p.m. All parents are
welcome to attend.
The first and second place
winners will represent
St. Dunstan at the
Mississauga South Public
Speaking competition that
will be held on Wednesday,
February 26th.
168 YEARS OF SUCCESS
ONTARIO’S
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
An integral part of public education
Some contend it is unfair for only one faith to have publicly funded schools. Historically,
Ontario’s Catholic education system was established in fairness to Catholics, a religious minority
in this province. In 1867, the British North America Act guaranteed that all educational rights
held by minorities at the time of Confederation would be constitutionally protected. Without this
protection of denominational schools, Confederation would not have been achieved, and the
Supreme Court of Canada has upheld this pillar of our nation. Whether other faiths should
receive public education funding is a matter of public policy debate. Governments of all political
stripes, for various reasons, have decided against it. At the same time, Ontario governments
throughout the history of the province have recognized not just the legal rights of the publicly
funded Catholic education system to continue, but the merits of keeping it in place. The fact is,
Catholic schools have maintained and enhanced their foundational place in Ontario’s public
education system as it has evolved. It would be unfair to the Catholic community and the people
of Ontario to dismantle a school system that has been an integral part of publicly funded
education since 1841.
Catholic schools are fully or partially funded in six other Canadian provinces. Education is a
provincial jurisdiction, and school governance in each province is unique – including Ontario,
where the history, commitment and support for Catholic education is unlike any other. Two
provinces in particular are often cited as moving away from Catholic schools. Quebec changed its
system to a language-based model in 1997, to reflect that province’s linguistic and cultural reality
(which is far different from Ontario’s). In Newfoundland and Labrador, a 1997 referendum
supported a single education system to replace the historical model of a myriad of
denominational schools. In both instances, the circumstances weredramatically different from
Ontario, and should not be compared.
In opposing Catholic education, some critics say the United Nations has called Ontario’s funding
system “discriminatory.” In fact, the U.N. has not made such a ruling. It was the opinion of
members of one committee, and never moved beyond that committee. Both the Canadian and
Ontario governments responded to the opinion, strongly defending the existing system. Notably,
the matter has not been pursued by the U.N. or any member government.