ST. DAVID OF WALES
October 2013
Principal
B. Gillis
Acting Secretary
A. Bragalone
Trustee
Peter Ferreira
(416) 805-7110
Peter Ferreira@dpcdsb.org
Superintendent
D. Amaral
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
We Thank Thee, Lord
We thank thee, Lord, for fields
of grain
Gold and ripe from summers
rain,
For hillsides bright with scarlet trees
That rustle in the autumn
breeze,
For friends so dear,
For those we love,
For all things sent from heaven above…
We thank thee, Lord.
AMEN
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 or absent 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 or absent
at any time, please provide them with a written note to assist us in appropriate follow-up. Frequent late
arrivals or absences without appropriate reason from parents/guidance 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: 90% Writing: 95% Math: 80%
Grade 6:
Reading: 67% Writing: 81% Math: 71%
Once again 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 Saturday, November 23 at
10:30 am
Grade 2 First Communion
First Communion will be held on various dates through
out the month of April and May at St. Martin of Tours
Parish.
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 on Thursday, May
8th, 2014.
SCHOOL MASSES
We are very fortunate to have Father Joyson and Father
GiJo join us at St. David of Wales School during the
school year to celebrate Mass . Students
participate actively in these masses and
parents/guardians are always welcome.
Our first mass will be held on Wednesday,
October 9th at 9.00 a.m.. in the school
gymnasium. Families welcome to attend.
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
Grade 8 Confirmation
The Grade 8 Confirmation this year will be held on Friday April 25 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 from October 7th-9th. 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.
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.
Recycling/ECO School
This year St. David of Wales continues to be an ECO school
we encourage you to reduce the amount of garbage going to
landfill sites. We collect recycling materials from classrooms
each week. We want to encourage students to bring litter less
or boomerang lunches and reusable water bottles. It is very
OPEN HOUSE AND CURRICULUM EVENING
Thank you to the St. David of Wales community for attending our Curriculum/Meet the teacher Evening
on Thursday, September 19, 2013. 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/guardians that evening. Please spend
some time reviewing the Curriculum expectations 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 and Intermediate 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
throughout the year. We would like to
welcome Ms. M. Riverso as our SAT 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
Oct.1 @1:00 p.m.
Nov. 4 @ 10.30 a.m.
Dec. 3 @ 10.30 a.m.
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
T.B.A.
MISSED WORK DUE TO ABSENCES
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.
REPORTING HEAD INJURIES
TERRY FOX Walk for a Cure 2013
On Friday, September 27, 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 coordinatorwould like to thank the whole community for their support.
Terry Fox Coordinator:
M. Mete
AFTER SCHOOL SECURITY
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.
Even when it may appear to be insignificant, we
inform parents/guardians 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.
Lockdown/Fire Drill Procedures
For your information, during this past month
we have rehearsed with students, a number of
emergency response situations including lockdown and fire drills. All schools are required
by Board policy to practice these pro-cedures
throughout the year. Participation is essential
for precautionary purposes only, so that in the
event of an ac-tual emergency, students will be prepared to
respond in a safe and responsible manner. If you would like
additional information, please feel free to contact the school.
CATHOLIC SCHOOL
COUNCIL NEWS
Catholic School Council Meeting
Thank you to all those who submitted
their nominations for positions on our Catholic
School Council for this year! The first School Advisory Council meeting for the year was on Wednesday, October 2.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, November 6
@ 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 2013/2014 school year.
C. Baron
K. Eres
S. Alvaro
L. Meloche
M. Howard
Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Parish Rep
OAPCE
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 call to set a date and time to
meet with Mrs. Gillis to get the necessary forms to take
to the Peel Police station. 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.
Book Fair
Thank you to everyone who supported our school Book
Fair. Our Book Fair was a very successful event. We surpassed our goal of $l,500 in sales. This provided our
school library a profit of over $400 in books.
Teacher-Librarian: C. Zoffranieri
P. Mancini, C. Darmody and E. Lefebvre are the
members at large.
Teacher Rep:
Non Teacher Rep:
Principal:
K. Roach/J. Sato
N. Wassef
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 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.
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 responsibility 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.
Around the School
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.
Indoor Shoes/Change of Clothes
Please ensure that your child comes to school prepared to go
outside for recess and lunch hour breaks. It is the expectation
that each child comes dressed appropriately to go outside to
enjoy the weather and get some fresh air and exercise. If your
child is prone to getting wet during recess, please send a change
of clothes, especially socks and sweat pants. Please ensure that
your child brings a pair of indoor shoes to school. Please label the
shoes for our Primary students. Running shoes are preferred
because they are safe and can also be used for gym. Please ensure
that the shoes have non-marking soles. We appreciate your continued support.
WORLD TEACHER’S DAY
Saturday, October 5, is Wor ld
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.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Leaving At Lunchtime
Parents/Guardians please be advised that
ALL students must have written permission
from a parent/guardian to leave the school
at lunch. Verbal permission (over the
phone) will not be accepted. A signed and
dated note with a parent/guardian signature
is required for each occurrence. The note
must come to the office and students are
required to sign out and to sign back in when they return for
afternoon classes.
Monday, October 14
Thanksgiving (no school for students)
Volunteers
We are looking for volunteers who have some time to share
during the week to assist the students of St. David of Wales in
the following area:
All Star Reading
What is All Star Reading?
All Star reading provides assistance with reading to students
(1/2 hour per student/session). Students are seen approximately three times per week and “coaches” focus on specific
strategies that are identified by the co-coordinator. Each coach
receives training prior to the program. If you are available
please contact Mrs. Mete at the school.
PALS
PALS is a peer led program in which children are trained to
plan and lead fun and safe activities on the playground at recess. The objectives of the program are to: in-crease physical
activity, decrease conflicts, reduce the incidence of playground
bullying, and provide a leadership opportunity for students.
Please encourage your children in grades 1-3 to take advantage
of these activities once the students have been trained. Thank
you to Mrs. Mete and Mrs. Siconolfi for organizing the program. We look forward to promoting a safe playground environment at school.
School Website - http://dpcdsb.org/
DWALE
Be sure to visit our school website. All newsletter, calendars and other pertinent information is
always updated.
We congratulate and welcome our
new Associate Director Sheila
McWatters who was appointed to
her new position in June 2013. We wish Mrs.
McWatters all the best as we continue to be blessed
with her guidance and wisdom!
Saturday, October 5
World’s Teacher Day
Wednesday, October 9 @ 9:00 a.m.
Opening/Thanksgiving Mass
Blessing of backpacks
Friday, October 11
P.A. DAY (no school for students)
Wednesday, October 23
1:00 p.m. D. Amaral , Mississauga South
Superintendent of Schools
Wednesday, October 30
Picture Retake Day
Thursday, October 31
Happy Halloween!!
Friday, November 1
All Saint’s Day
Saturday, November 2
All Soul’s Day
Saturday, November 2
5:00pm Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation)
Sunday, November 3
8:00—10:00—12:00—Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation)
Monday, November 4
Virtue Assembly @ 10:30 a.m.
All are welcome to attend
Tuesday, November 5
Progress reports sent home
Wednesday, November 6
School Council Meeting @ 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 7
Interview Evening as needed
Saturday, November 9
5:00pm Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation)
Sunday, November 10
8:00—10:00—12:00—Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation)
Monday, November 11
Remembrance Day Liturgy
All are welcome to attend
Saturday, November 23
Reconciliation
Smoking is not permitted on school property.
Pets are not permitted on school property.
Daily Physical Activity
The Ministry of Education has mandated that
every school in Ontario
conduct 20 minutes of
daily physical activity.
Each teacher has been
asked that is convenient in their curriculum. Staff will also be participating in
the activities therefore you may find that
casual attire is frequently worn.
to establish a time on their schedule
that is convenient in their curriculum. Staff will also be participating
in the activities therefore you may
find that casual attire is frequently
worn.
Anaphylaxis Alert
There are several students in our school
with a severe life-threatening food allergies. This is a medical condition that can
result in death within minutes of exposure. Although this may
or may not affect your
child’s class directly,
please send foods with
your child’s lunch that
are free from nuts /nut
products. Further to this,
as part of “Sabrina’s
Law”, we are no longer permitted to
allow treats for sharing with other students. All of these treats will now be
sent back home. On special occasions
(Halloween, Christmas) teachers will
advise students what foods they can
bring for their own consumption. Thank
you for your consideration and cooperation in making our classrooms safer for students.
Dogs on School Property
For the safety of
our students,
parents, guardians and staff,
please do not
bring dogs on
school property
during the
school day
(8:30-3:30),
most especially
when you are
picking up or dropping off studentsdents. Several students have severe
allergies and animals may be unpredictable when confronted by a group of
children. Please note that no pets are
allowed in the school building at any
time. Also note that no pets are allowed
on school property during school sanctioned events. Thank you for helping to
keep the school environment safe for
all!
Students Watching Sporting
Events
Reminder that spectators are not allowed at after school
games. Staff are present to coach or referee the games. No
supervision is provided for other spectators. Only students who are accompanied by their
parent(s) may stay. All other students will be asked to leave.
Student Lunches
We have had numerous students
attending school without a lunch.
A proper nutritious lunch is essential in enhancing your child’s
performance for the afternoon.
You will be contacted if your
child does not have a lunch and
will be asked to assist in rectifying
the situation immediately. Thank
you for your co-operation.
HALLOWEEN SAFETY
It is that time of year already
when our “little ones” will
want to visit their neighbors
for trick or treating. In school
we will remind them about the
safety rules so that they can
both enjoy the evening and
stay safe and well.
Choose brightly-colored
costumes
Use face paint instead of
masks
Plan a safe route with your
child
Remind your child of road
safety rules
Accompany your children
Remind children not to enter
homes
Check the treats before allowing your children to eat
them
In addition, we will also be
stressing the fact that the most
important aspect of our activities at this time of year is the
celebration of two great Feast
Days. November 1st we honor
All Saints Day in our church,
and we are encouraged to pray
that we might emulate their
example in our daily lives. On
the following day, November
2nd, we will remember all those
who have gone before us in
faith by celebrating the Feast
of All Souls. Again, we are
reminded that while those who
have died are out of sight, they
are not out of mind or beyond
our prayers.