St. Dunstan School October 2015 Principal L. O’Neill Secretary J. Kalynowsky Trustee Luz del Rosario 416.528.6447 Superintendent David Amaral 905.890.1221 Parish St. Joseph Church 5440 Durie Road Mississauga, ON L5M 2J6 905.826.2766 School Hours Grades FDK-8 8:30-11:25 & 12:25 -3:00 St. Dunstan School 1525 Cuthbert Ave. Mississauga, ON L5M 3R6 905.567.5050 http://www.dpcdsb.org/ DUNST Twitter @dunstandolphins Thanksgiving Prayer O Gracious God, we give You thanks for Your overflowing generosity to us. Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick and suffering from war and violence. Open our hearts to Your love. We ask Your blessing through Christ Your son. Amen. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let us give thanks to… The students of St. Dunstan Catholic School and the community support for our Terry Fox Walk. We raised close to $400 for this worthy cause. All families who attended our Open House and BBQ. Our volunteers, staff, coaches, leaders and all other persons who give unselfishly of their time to children and are sometimes taken for granted. Those responsible for and those who continue to support the right for our children to experience a Catholic education. Our friends and families without whom there would be no true celebration. The entire staff of St. Dunstan extends our best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. School Council We are pleased to introduce the members of our 2015-2016 St. Dunstan School Council. Co - Chairs - Susanna Oh, Marni Lebarron Vice Chairs - Sonja McCready, Julia Belmonte Treasurer - Trish Power Secretary - Katherine Wieczorek Parish Rep - Melissa Scaffidi Parent Reps - Julia Turcato, Donna Bozzo, Carmen Prades, Lisa Nucci, Anakaryna Palacious-Salame and Maria Cristina Castro Teacher Reps - Joanne Percuklijevic, Lidia Fifield, Melanie Monardo, Carolyn Risavy Non Teacher Rep - Julia Kalynowsky Future Meeting Dates - Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 12th at 6:30 pm in the library. All parents are invited to attend. Dunstan Athletics The athletic season is in full swing at St. Dunstan. The cross country team, led by Mrs. Swanek, Mrs. Mangaroff and Mme. Graham continue to practice for their upcoming meet on Tuesday, October 20 at Erindale Park. The Junior boys and girls volleyball teams have begun their seasons as well. The Junior boys’ team is coached by Mr. Ward and the girls’ team is coached by Miss Monardo and Miss Risavy. EQAO Results Our school results on the Primary and Junior EQAO reading, writing and mathematics will be released at the end of the month. You can access a detailed report online at: www.eqao.com showing the percentage of St. Dunstan students in grades 3 and 6 who scored at and above the provincial standard once they are released. Parents of these students will receive their child‘s individual results. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact the school. Kiss N’ Ride A reminder to parents to please slow down when you are entering the St. Dunstan parking lot off Creditview. We have 4 school buses that are loading and unloading in the bus lane as well as a large number of parents who park and walk their children to the yard. If you are dropping your child off please drive in the middle drop off lane to the front of the school where there is a teacher on duty. We can work together to make our parking lot a safe place for all of our students. PEDICULOSIS Although it may seem early in the school year, we would like to bring to your attention a problem which occurs from time to time in each school. The problem is infestation by head lice (Pediculosis). Unfortunately, in recent years, head lice have become increasingly common throughout North America. They are parasites which have been common among human beings for centuries. They are not connected in any way to dirt or neglect. Anyone can be infested. In order to control these pests, we shall follow these procedures and request your full co-operation. If cases are found in the classroom, we shall inform parents. We would request that you check your own children and if you find them to be infested, we would ask that you inform the school, and you contact the Peel Public Health Department for treatment information. If your children do become infested by head lice, we will ask you to keep them out of the school until after they have been treated with the correct shampoo and their hair is entirely clear of both lice and nits (eggs). Students will not be permitted to return to class until they have been checked by the office. If we all co-operate in these procedures, we may not entirely escape outbreaks, but we will be able to bring them under control quickly. For additional information, guidance and any questions please contact Peel Public Health Department at 905.799.7700. As well you may find the following website useful www.headlice.org. Important Items St. Dunstan School promotes responsibility, respect, civility and academic excellence in a safe learning and teaching environment. School Council News St. Dunstan has many volunteer positions available. Some ongoing ways that you can contribute include the All Star Reading Program, food days and classroom/library assistance. As well, we have various special events that occur throughout the year such as fundraising, school concerts, religious and seasonal celebrations. Any amount of time you can offer would be greatly appreciated. We are specifically looking for volunteers for our lunch programs. If you are available on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays at 11:25 am and are interested in volunteering, please let the school know and a volunteer coordinator will contact you. Thank you to those who have already signed up to volunteer! School Council is also accepting donations of small prizes for the upcoming Halloween Spooktacular Dance. Parents In The Yard For your child’s safety we request that he/she not be on school property until supervision begins at 8:15 a.m. We would also like to remind you that parents should drop their children off outside the school gates. Parents are not permitted to be in the school yard at any time. Although you may be known to your own child you are a stranger to the other students in the yard. Hot Lunches Our hot lunch programs have begun. Pizza will be every Tuesday and Lunch Moms lunches every Thursday. Subs and pita will also be every Friday. Halloween Candy We are asking for donations of Halloween candy for Dr. Simone. St. Dunstan will be collecting any extra candy to be donated to children in third world countries during the week of November 2nd. Open House Many thanks goes out to all those who attended our Open House and BBQ on Thursday, September 24th. It was great to meet all the families who attended. Parents are encouraged to continue to be involved in their child’s education. Criminal Reference Check In compliance with Ministry directives, a Criminal Reference Check is mandatory if you wish to volunteer your services in the school, transport students and assist on trips. A Criminal Reference Check will be mandatory this year if you plan to volunteer for both in school and out of school activities. Liturgical Celebrations Halloween Students in Grade 2 receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Students in Grade 7 & 8 receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Preparation for these sacraments is a shared responsibility between parents, the Parish and the school. Dates for various liturgical celebrations and activities are as follows: Remembrance Day Liturgy Advent Mass @ St. Joseph Ash Wednesday Liturgy Lenten Mass @ St. Joseph Holy Week Liturgy Closing Mass @St. Joseph St. Dunstan Feast Day Graduation Mass @St. Joseph Nov 11 Dec 8 Feb 10 Feb 19 10:30 am 9:30 am 9:00 am 1:00 pm March 24 9:00 am April 12 9:30 am May 19 9:30 am June 21 10:00am Head Injury Whenever a student receives a bump/injury to the head, it is Board policy that we inform parents. We will make every attempt to notify you, even when it is a very minor head bump/injury. World Teachers’ Day October 5th is the day specifically designated to recognize the contribution of teachers. World Teachers’ Day was inaugurated in 1994 to commemorate the signing of the UNESCO/ILO. More than 100 countries currently celebrate World Teachers’ Day. At St. Dunstan we are very fortunate to have so many dedicated individuals who work to provide for the education of the young people in the community. Thank you to all our teachers! We will be having our annual Halloween Dance-A-Thon on Friday, October 30th. Each grade will be a given a period of time to dance in the gym. This is our major fundraiser for the year and students are encouraged to bring in as many donations as possible. Students are also encouraged to wear costumes to school on this day. For safety reasons they must follow these guidelines: Do not bring weapon replicas such as swords, knives, guns or objects that could injure others. Masks may not be worn in hallways or outside as they pose a safety risk with such a large number of children. Make up is a better option. Costumes may get damaged at school. Please ensure that you are prepared with a back up for the evening. For those who do not wish to wear a costume, we encourage them to wear black and orange. Have a fun and safe Halloween! Peanut Allergies and Halloween Halloween is coming soon. Many children will be receiving treats on October 30th. As we have students in our school who have severe food allergies, we again ask that you please refrain from sending Halloween snacks to school as it is difficult for us to identify their contents. Edible items that children receive at Halloween should be enjoyed at home where they may not pose a risk to others. St. Dunstan is a peanut aware school and we encourage parents to send pencils, erasers and stickers to celebrate your child’s birthday. Your co-operation in helping to keep all our students safe from food allergens is greatly appreciated.