ST. DAVID OF WALES
October 2011
Principal
B. Gillis
Secretary
D. Gibson
Trustee
Peter Ferreira
(416) 805-7110
Peter Ferreira@dpcdsb.org
Superintendent
C. Saytar
905.890.1221
PARISH
St. Martin of Tours
1290 McBride Lane
Mississauga, ON
L5C 1M8
905.279-5742
SCHOOL HOURS
Grades 1-8
8:45 -11:45
12:45-3:15
Grades JK-SK
8:45-11:15 or
12:45-3:15
St. David of Wales
4200 Beacon Lane
Mississauga, ON
L5M 2N6
905.848-4200
THANKSGIVING DAY PRAYER
God of all Creation,
You have cared for the earth, and have filled it with your
riches. Abundance flows through the pastures and wilderness. You provide for our land, softening it with showers,
bathing it in light and blessing it with growth.
The hills sing with joy; the meadows are covered with
flocks; the fields deck themselves with wheat; and together
they glorify your name!
On this occasion of our Thanksgiving, we take rest from our
labours to consider your many blessings.
We thank you for our freedoms, and for the opportunity to
contribute our skills, our attributes and our values toward
the good of society.
We thank you for the mixture of our cultures. Help us to
become beacons of freedom and justice for others.
We remember those who are less fortunate than we. We lift
up in prayer the victims of poverty and racism, and all
those who suffer from forms of political and economic oppression. Let the word that goes forth from our mouths
speak of your peace, and let us proclaim our hope in Christ
as Saviour of of all humankind.
We pray that you will continue to bless us.
Give us your guidance, O God, and empower us for your work.
For we claim nothing for ourselves, but return all honour
and glory to you, and offer our thanks and praise.
Attendance and Punctuality
The Ministry of Education states that it is the responsibility of each parent to ensure that his/her child be in attendance
and at scheduled activities on time and with the proper materials required for full participation. At St. David of Wales
School, we teach children to be on time for their scheduled classes. Regular and punctual attendance on the part of the
student is vital to the process of learning. Students who are habitually late for class will miss essential parts
of the program. Also, when a child is late, the entire class is disrupted and program is affected for all. It is
essential that your child be punctual in order to achieve maximum success. Please reinforce the importance
of promptness with your child. Should your child have a legitimate reason to be late at any time, please provide them with a written note to assist us in appropriate follow-up. Frequent late arrivals without appropriate reason from parents will result in letters home, and if necessary an attendance conference.
EQAO
At St. David of Wales staff and students continue to work diligently at implementing high yield strategies to support student
learning. We are proud of our students and applaud them on
their 2010-2011 EQAO results!
Grade 3:
Reading: 75% Writing:: 94% Math: 88%
Grade 6:
Reading: 76% Writing: 79% Math: 68%
This year St. David of Wales staff and students will place specific focus on Mathematics. High-yield strategies and balanced
literacy across the curriculum will also continue to be a focus
from JK to Grade 8.
FAITH LIFE
Grade 2 First Reconciliation
First Reconciliation will be held at St.
Martin of Tours Church on Monday, November 21 at
7:00 p.m.
Grade 2 First Communion
First communion will be held on various dated through
out the month of April at St. Martin of Tours Parish.
Grade 8 Confirmation
The Grade 8 Confirmation this year will be held on
Monday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Martin of Tours
Church.
St. Vincent De Paul Society Food Drive
To meet the growing needs of our local community, we
are having our St. David of Wales food drive. Please
send any dry goods or non-perishable
food items to school with your child.
Thank you for your ongoing compassion
and generosity and for encouraging your
children to understand the meaning
of giving.
ROSARY APOSTOLATES
Once again this year the Rosary Apostolates from St.
Martin of Tours will be teaching the children the prayers
of the Rosary and the hymns of Mary. We will have a
school wide celebration for the
Crowning of Mary in the spring.
SCHOOL MASSES
We are very fortunate to have Father Joyson and Father
Philip join us at St. David of Wales School during the
school year to celebrate Mass . Students participate actively in these masses and parents are always welcome. Our first mass was held on
Thursday, October 6 at St. Martin of Tours
Church.
SHARELIFE
“ShareLife Fridays” - Staff have contributed funds to
ShareLife in order to “Dress down” on Fridays! Thank
you staff for your generous contribution.
SCHOOL OPERATIONS
Reorganization:
Thank you to our school community for their patience
as we followed the process mandated to us from the
Ministry of Education. The plans provided to us were
finalized on the Board’s reorganization P.A. Day on Friday, September16th. Much time and effort was spent
ensuring that the transition into the student’s new placements were as smooth as possible.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
School Yard Safety:
Just a reminder that student supervision begins at 8:30 a.m. Students
must not be dropped off at the
school before this time.
OPEN HOUSE AND CURRICULUM EVENING
Thank you to the St. David of Wales community for attending our Open House/Pizza and Curriculum
Evening on Thursday, September 22, 2011. This was a great evening for you to meet the staff and admire
our beautiful school. I was very fortunate to chat with many parents that evening. Please spend some
time reviewing the Curriculum at a Glance and checking your child’s agenda for important information.
Please refer to the K to 12 Homework Policy and Procedures section which outlines the homework policy
of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
A YEAR OF VIRTUES
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT TEACHER
At. St. David of Wales virtue formation contributes to a
healthy positive learning environment by fostering a climate in which all members feel safe, confident and hopefilled about themselves, their relationships and their futures. Each of the Virtues is clearly outlined in the student
agenda.
Once again, St. David of Wales will have a Special Assignment Teacher visiting to assist/support Teachers with teaching
Primary and Junior numeracy. She will continue in partnership with classroom teachers to implement the 3 part Math
lesson. She will be working with groups of students as well
as individual students alongside the classroom teacher to target the leaning needs of all students. This
teacher may be working in your child’s
classroom from time to time through the
year. We would like to welcome Ms. T.
O’Brien-Tidy as our SAT again this year.
A student centered liturgy and assembly will introduce the
virtue of the month. Parents/Guardians are welcome to
join our virtue assemblies.
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
Faith
Empathy
Conscience
Hope
Self-control
Respect
Kindness
Love
Acceptance
Fairness
MISSED WORK DUE TO ABSENCES
Nov. 1 @9:00 a.m.
Dec. 5 @ 1:00 p.m.
Jan. 11 @9:00 a.m.
Feb. 1 @ 1:00 p.m.
Mar. 5 @ 9:00 a.m.
Apr. 2 @ 1:00 p.m.
May 1 @ 9:00 a.m.
June 4 @ 1:00 p.m.
When Children are absent from school they miss important
lessons and work that extends from these teachings. If a
child is absent due to illness we kindly request that children
get the needed rest they require so they can come back to
school healthy. The Teachers will not be sending daily work
home for your son/daughter to “catch up”. They will spend
time assisting students on their return to school. If your son/
daughter is absent due to extended illness, please contact Mrs.
Gillis to discuss some available options.
TERRY FOX Walk for a Cure 2011
REPORTING HEAD INJURIES
On Wednesday, September 28, the staff and
students of St. David of Wales School were
out in full force walking the fields to show
their support for cancer. The Terry Fox
committee would like to thank the whole
community for their support.
Even when it may appear to be insignificant, we inform parents of all reported head injuries that happen at school. We
do this in recognition of the potential danger of
any injury involving the head area. Our intent is
not to alarm you, but to keep you informed.
Please remind your child to let a staff member
know if they bump their head or they get hurt at
school. Your child’s safety is our number one priority.
Terry Fox Committee:
M. Mete
P. Ladouceur
AFTER SCHOOL SECURITY
FIRE DRILLS / LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES
Students must be diligent in gathering all materials prior to
the end of the school day. Once dismissed, there is no supervision provided to the students. Students/parents should
not be returning to school after
hours to retrieve books/belongings.
In order to ensure the safety of the
workplace, no students or parents
may wander to classrooms after
school.
In accordance with Ministry regulations, three fire drills will
be conducted in the fall and three in the spring per school
year. While we hope that a real fire situation never arises,
this practice helps prepare students in the event of a real
fire. In addition, our School Board has established lockdown procedures should a high risk
incident occur in the school, or on school
property that could endanger the lives and
safety of students and staff. We will practice
the Emergency Lockdown procedure with
students two times during the school year and
review if periodically.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
COUNCIL NEWS
Catholic School Council Meeting
Thank you to all those who have submitted their nominations for positions on our
Catholic School Council for this year! The first
School Advisory Council meeting for the year was
on Tuesday, September 27.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 11, @
6:30 p.m. in the Library.
Congratulations to the following parents who have
been acclaimed as parent members of our School
Council for the 2011/2012 school year.
M. Howard
Chair
K. Baron
Treasurer
E. Blas
Secretary
C. Pinto
Parish Rep
E. Lefebvre
Secretary (alternate)
Teacher Rep:
M. Mete
Non Teacher Rep:
D. Gibson
Principal:
B. Gillis
We look forward to an exciting year as we work in
partnership for the benefit of all the students.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION
In the event that is is necessary to evacuate for emergency reasons we will evacuate to Corpus Christi
School at 4155 Elora Drive, off Rathburn Road east
of Mavis. Your child will remain at Corpus Christi
until we make contact with you or an emergency
contact. Please inform the office of any change to
emergency contacts, phone numbers or address.
STORAGE OF MEDICATION
Students that require medication must
have a form (which is available in the
office) signed by their parents/
guardian and a physician. Students
cannot keep medication in their back
pack or in the classroom. All medication must be stored in the school office.
CONSTABLE MOORE
Constable Moore of the Peel Regional Police Youth Education Program will be at St. David of Wales
on Tuesday, October 11, and Thursday, October 27, to present to all the
students from Kindergarten to grade
8. The presentations will vary depending on grade
levels and will reflect such topics as Community
Helpers, Internet, Safety and Cyber Bullying. We
look forward to continuing to work together to keep
our students safe.
Criminal Reference Check
A Criminal Reference Check is required if you wish to
volunteer your services in the school, transport students
and assist on trips. Please submit your forms to the police
station listed on the back of the form. Copies of the
Criminal Reference forms are available in the office. The
search results will be mailed to you approximately 4 to 6
weeks later. This only applies to residents of Peel.
School Fundraiser
We have started this year’s school fundraiser. Further
communication will be sent home under separate cover.
Please consider participating. All funds raised are put towards supplementary resources and opportunities for the
students of St. David of Wales.
Book Fair
Thank you to everyone who supported our school book
fair. Our book fair was a very successful event. The profits from our fair provided our school library with over
$700.00 in books. A special thank you to the parents who
dontated books to the classroom libraries
Thank you for to everyone for supporting the Book Fair.
Librarian: C. Zoffranieri
HOMEWORK HELP – 2011-2012
Just a reminder that Homework Help is up
and running since September 25. Homework Help is a Ministry of Education initiative that supports students in grades 7 to
10 with free online math support including
live one on one web-based tutoring Sunday
to Thursday nights from 5:30 pm to 9:30
pm.
PHONE CALLS DURING SCHOOL TIME
The office often gets requests from students to make phone
calls home to ask parents to bring forgotten items such as
running shoes, agendas or textbooks/homework. We are
reinforcing with students that it is their responsiblility to
bring all necessary items to school and to arrange in advance their out of school activities.
Students will not be given permission
to use the phone to make such calls.
Also, please make after school arrangements with your children prior to
school. We make every attempt to
minimize interruptions to classes.
WORLD TEACHER’S DAY
DATES TO REMEMBER
Tuesday, October 5, Was World
Teachers Day! We are very fortunate
at St. David of Wales to have such
dedicated Catholic teachers and staff
members. Staff volunteer so much of their own time to
coach, run clubs and work with our students to provide
them with the best education possible. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank all of the teachers and staff members at St. David of Wales.
Monday, October 10
Thanksgiving (no school for students)
Tuesday, October 11
9:30 a.m. Constable Moore visits—all grades (JK/SK p.m.)
Thursday, October 13
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and
Meningococcal (Meningitis ACYW-135)
Vaccine—grade 7 students
CHOIR
HPV vaccine for grade 8 girls
The St. David of Wales choir has come together once
again for another exciting school year! Our choir consists
of 31 students from grade 3 through grade 6 and is led by
Mrs. Cicak and Ms. Smutnicki. The choir sings at all
school masses and also participates in other functions such
as our School Christmas Concert. The choir will gather for
the first time at our Fall Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday,
October 6, at St. Martin of Tours Church. We would like
to thank all current members of the choir for devoting their
time and we encourage others to join!
Mississauga Youth Rally—Pope John Paul Cultural
Centre
Friday, October 14
9:00
Visit to the Fire Station—Needs Moderate students
Early Bird Dance-A-Thon
Saturday, October 22
5:00
Rite of Enrolment (Confirmation)
Choir Members for 2011/2012:
Amica A.
Denielle B.
Alexandra M.
Olivia P.
Rodolfo F.
Nicole E.
Dathryn M.
Joanna S.
Alessana C.
Andrea G.
Samantha C.
Crystalyn S.
Nayana T.
Leanna E.
Meghan F.
Anna S.
Daniel M.
Isabel D.
Julita G.
Nicole E.
Nicholas A.
Julian S.
Melissa D.
Brandon A.
Lanvy N.
Jill S.
Olivia S.
Gabriella B.
Samantha D.
Alyssa C.
Stacey F.
Alexandra M.
Precious H.
Sunday, October 23
8:00—10:00—12:00—Rite of Enrolment (Confirmation)
Tuesday, October 25
Progress Reports sent home
Wednesday, October 26
Picture Retake Day
Dance-A-Thon—Much Music
Thursday, October 27
9:30 a.m. Constable Moore visits—all grades (JK/SK a.m.)
Interview Evening as needed
Saturday, October 29
5:00
Rite of Enrolment (Confirmation)
Sunday, October 30
8:00—10:00—12:00—Rite of Enrolment (Confirmation
Tuesday, November 1
9:00
Virtue Assembly
Wednesday, November 2
Visit to St. Joe’s Secondary—gr. 8 students
Friday, November 18
P.A. Day (no school for students)