ST. DAVID OF WALES
November 2013
Principal
B. Gillis
Secretary
J. Galloway
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
Website
http://
www.dpcdsb.org/
DWALE
A Prayer of Peace
On this Memorial Day
Grant peace to the souls
of all those soldiers who died in war.
We remember the tears and grief of their families,
The pain of mothers, wives, husbands and
Children who lost precious loved ones.
To build a meaningful memorial to them,
We ask God to give us all the will
To work for peace around the world
So no more sons, daughters, husbands, wives,
fathers, nor mothers
Are slaughtered by the guns and bombs of war.
We ask Mary, who held the lifeless body of her son
And was pierced by the sorrow of his suffering
and death,
To grant us the compassion and wisdom to affirm
life
And honor the dead through forgiveness and
peace making.
May God have mercy on the souls of the departed.
Grant them peace, O Lord.
May we have mercy on the living.
Grant us peace, O Lord.
In Your name we pray.
Amen.
PEEL REGIONAL POLICE COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIP
Please join me in welcoming Constable R.
Breston and B. Lorette, our neighbourhood
community officers through the Region of
Peel. They will be stopping by the school on
a regular basis and may visit classrooms to
speak with students about his role as a Police Officer. This is an important community
partnership that gives students the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue to
foster a safe, caring, healthy and inclusive
school community.
OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL
Becoming a member of our Catholic School Council is an
excellent opportunity for parents/guardians and guardians to become more involved in our school life. A sampling of past work includes:
 Organization of school fundraisers and special
events
 Purchase of resources and equipment for students,
the school and classrooms
 The ongoing dialogue with the Principal about our
school initiatives
PIZZA LUNCH WEDNESDAYS
Pizza lunch is currently underway with the remaining
Wednesdays:
Nov. 6, 13, 20 and 27
Dec. 4, 11 and 18
Thank you to all of the parents/guardians who are
supporting the ongoing efforts of School Council by
participating in our pizza days.
We will be sending out the pizza order forms for January to March pizza dates in December. In order to resume pizza
lunches first week back in January
2014, we ask that parents/
guardians return the orders by the
due date.
Thank you to the volunteers who are assisting with
the co-ordination of our pizza lunch program, and
special thanks to our council members for purchasing
enough water bottles for pizza lunches to last until
end of December!
The membership of council includes:
 Parents/guardians – who form the majority of council members
 Teaching and support staff representatives
 School Principal
BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
Our Book of Remembrance has been placed on the
altar. We will remember in prayer each day the
names of those who are in our book of Remembrance.
SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING
Our next School Council meeting will take place on
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 6:30 pm in the
school Library. All are welcome to attend! We are inviting you to come out and join us, to dialogue with other
parents/guardians and St. David of Wales Staff, to become informed about important academic information,
events occurring at your child’s school, and to help
council with our ongoing outreach efforts to connect
with families whose children attend St. David of Wales
School. Let’s build our community together!
YOUTH AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST
Youth Ambassadors for Christ at St. David of Wales
will continue to increase their role in the life of our
school. Our Youth Faith Ambassadors’ group will continue in theirs to promote participation in our school
social justice initiatives. Our Youth Ambassadors will
join together with the Student Council in social justice initiatives. The Youth Ambassadors were commissioned at the School Opening Mass on October
9th.
Future dates for the 2013/2014 year are as follows:
December 4, 2013
February 5, 2014
April 2, 2014
May 7, 2014
Our Youth Faith Ambassadors:
Alessana C.
Kathryn Mc.
Joanna S.
Samantha D.
Julita G.
Adriana S.
Cayda F.
Catherine V.
Precious H.
Alexandra M.
Daniel M.
CANADIAN FOOD FOR
CHILDREN—Candy for Kids
The purpose of Canadian Food for Children is twofold. The
first is to alleviate hunger in children around the world regardless
of race religion or nationality. The
second is to fit CFC into the global village. Dr. Simone oversees
the warehouse located at 1258
Lakeshore Road East in Mississauga. Containers of food are
shipped overseas to countries
such as: Angelia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador,
etc. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this
outreach program.
P.E.D. POLICY
It is Board policy that all personal
electronic devices (PEDS) must be
kept out of sight, turned off and not
used within the school premises or
during school sanctioned activities
such as retreats, field trips, sports events etc.
To prevent the loss or damage of PED’s we encourage
students to leave their PED’s at home.
REFERENCE CHECKS
In compliance with the recent Ministry directives and
Board Policy regarding Criminal Reference Checks, all
volunteers are required to provide an original copy of
their Criminal Reference Check dated within 90 days of
the activity date. If you are planning to volunteer
on school trips, in the school or to drive students
to events you must have a Criminal Reference
Check. Please call to arrange a meeting with the
Principal, Mrs. Gillis, to pick up the necessary
forms.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR SHOES
As we move into the fall season and a
change in weather, we ask that students bring a pair of indoor shoes that
can be worn inside the school and left
in their classroom. Due to safety reasons, students cannot participate in
gym classes without running shoes.
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 be-come 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 of 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.
ST. JOSEPH SECONDARY SCHOOL
St. Joseph Secondary School will be holding the
Grade Nine Information Night on Tuesday, November
26, 2013 from 7:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m.
Evening Speakers & Events:
 Principal
 Chaplaincy Leader
 Student Council
 Athletic Council
 Building Tour
 Club/Team Displays & Demonstrations
Events begin promptly at 7:00 pm in the cafeteria.
Please arrive on time in order to participate in all the
events of the evening. Students accompanied by
parents/guardians are also welcome.
EXTENDED FRENCH INFORMATION MEETING
Grade 4 parent(s)/guardian(s), who wish to enroll their
child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for September,
2014 are invited to attend an information meeting at:
St. Philip School
345 Fairview Rd W.
Mississauga Ontario
January 15, 2014 @ 7:00 p.m.
TEXTBOOK AND LIBRARY BOOKS POLICY
Textbooks/Library books are the property of the
school and are loaned out to students with the expectation that they will be re-turned in good condition. The teachers keep records of each textbook
that students are given. Cost will be incurred by
students if books are lost or not returned in
good condition.
At the present time, the above mentioned school is the
designated centre for our area. Applications will be accepted at that centre until 3:00 p.m. Wednesday,
February 12th, 2014.
COLD WEATHER
In colder weather we often receive requests to allow
children to remain indoors when students have a
cold or the flu. Please note that we cannot comply,
as we have neither the facilities nor the staff to supervise these students. Please use
discretion in keeping your child at
home to recover if they are ill. If your
child is well enough to attend school,
they should be well enough to go
outside for a recess break.
FRENCH IMMERSION INFORMATION
Senior Kindergarten parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child in a Grade 1 French Immersion class for
September 2014 are invited to attend an information
meeting at:
French
Immersion
Centers
St. Gertrude
St. Pio of
Pietrelcina
Session
Location
Date and Time
St. Pio of
Pietrelcina
Tues. Nov 19th
7:00 pm
Our Lady of
St. Angela Merici
Providence
St. Angela Merici
St. Joachim
Wed. Nov 20th
7:00 pm
Divine Mercy
St. Elizabeth
Seton
St. Margaret of
Scotland
Thurs. Nov 21st
7:00 pm
St. Elizabeth
Seton
FAITH LIFE
Grade 2 First Communion/
First Reconciliation: First Reconciliation will be held at St. Martin of Tours Parish on Saturday,
November 23 at 10:30 a.m. The
celebration of the Sacrament of
First Holy Communion will be during masses between April 26 @
10:30 a.m., May 3 @ 10:30 a.m.,
or May 4th @ 2:00 p.m.
Grade 8 Confirmation: The Grade 8 Confirmation
this year will be held at St. Martin of Tours Parish on
Friday, April 25 @ 7:00 p.m.
The school program is comprised of
both physical and academic activities. Part of the
physical activities includes fifteen minutes recess,
morning and afternoon and forty minutes at lunch.
Unless the weather is extremely cold (-25°C) or wet,
recess will be outside. Students should come to school
dressed accordingly. Research indicates that fresh
air allows students to refocus
on their studies. On extremely cold days, we limit
the amount of time that students spend out of doors.
We obtain our information
from Environment Canada Weather Information and
follow board guidelines. As the weather gets colder,
please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately
for the colder weather, it is always a good idea to be
prepared.
Free OnLine Math Tutoring
Have a child in Grade 7 or 8 who doesn’t understand
how to add fractions? Or maybe your teenager is struggling with a geometry assignment? Extra help is now
available. Check out Homework Help, where certified
Ontario teachers are online 20 hours a week to provide
free math tutoring for the Grade 7 to 10 math students
in Dufferin-Peel. Students can log in Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for one-on-one confidential
help. There are interactive discussion rooms for each
grade where they can view to the current lesson, watch
tutors draw on the whiteboard — and then type their
own question for on-the-spot help. To access http://
HomeworkHelp.ilc.org, your child will receive a Board
access code, as well as help setting up an account from
their teacher at school. Other math resources on the
website include videos of teachers leading students
through the top 20 most commonly asked math problems, interactive math tutorials and highlights of best
sessions. And all students have a virtual locker, where
their work is saved in video format for viewing anytime.
Dufferin-Peel is one of 15 English-language school
boards offering Homework Help this school year funded
by the Ministry of Education. Studies show that students
who like math and have solid math skills are more likely
to succeed in school and later in life. Homework Help
began in 2007-08 at schools in the Hamilton- Wentworth Catholic District School Board and HamiltonWentworth District School Board. Across Ontario, about
150,000 students will now have access to the online
site. This website is another addition to the online resources available for Ontario’s teenagers. Sign in as a
guest and see for yourself.
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 areas:
All Star Reading
Providing assistance with reading to students (1/2 hour
per stu-dent/session). Students are seen approximately
three times per week and “coaches” focus on specific
strategies that are identified by the co-ordinator. Each
coach receives training prior to the program. We will
contact you with schedule details, including a training
time if you are volunteering as an All Star Reading
Coach.
Library
Providing assistance in the library to maintain the collection of books. If you can spare 1/2 hour or more per
week, please contact Mrs. Zoffranieri.
Thank you for your consideration!
Leaving At Lunchtime
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.
Advent Mass
Please join us as we celebrate our
Advent mass together on December
12th at 6.30 p.m. The mass will be at
St. Martin of Tours Church. It is a
wonderful opportunity to give praise
and glory to God as the community of St. David of
Wales. A special thank you to Father Joyson and
the parish team at St. Martin of Tours for their spiritual guidance and support!
Student Immunization from Peel Region of
Health
Monday, December 9th, 2013
 HPV Clinic for Gr. 8 Girls
 Hep B & Meningitis for all Gr. 7
students
Forms have been sent home. Please fill
in the forms and return them to the
school as soon as possible.
Ministry Parent Resource:
Supporting your Child’s Learning through Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting
This document, available in 22 languages, supports
parents in better understanding assessment and
evaluation practices as outlined in the Growing Success document. The following link can take you directly to the PDF version:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/
reportCard.html
STUDENT SAFETY
Thank you to all who support our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for our students by cooperating with school policies related
to safety and security. All visitors
MUST report to the office, sign in and
receive a visitor or volunteer badge. We thank the
parents , guardians and visitors who are following
this policy. Also, we continue to remind the students
that safety is our top priority. We encourage students to be extra careful in the school yard and to
always use appropriate entrances and exits.
POPPIES
We will be selling poppies as a remembrance of all those who have fought
for our country and for those that are
still fighting for our country. Please
bring in loose change for the Canadian
Legion.
Cross Country
All the coaches would like to thank the runners for their
participation in this year’s cross-country club. After numerous practices over the past several weeks 35 brave
and hearty students headed to Centennial Park to race
in the Mississauga South Family of Schools meet. All
the runners gave it their best and were able to complete
the grueling course. Special mention goes out to
Franka S. (gr. 8) and Anthony W. (gr. 8), Jabez M. (gr.
6) whom all finished in the top 15 and went to the
board-wide meet on Thursday, November 8, 2012 at
Centennial Park. Coaching the team were: Ms. Horbatiuk and Madame Gloutnez.
SANTA CLAUS
On Friday, December 6 students from
St. David of Wales will have the opportunity to take their picture with Santa
Claus. More information and order
forms will be sent home shortly.
DOGS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
For the safety of our students, parents guardians and
staff, please do not bring dogs on school property
when you are picking up or dropping off
students. Several students have severe
allergies and animals may be unpredictable when confronted by a group of children. Thank you for helping to keep the
school environment safe for all!!!
Ontario EcoSchools
St. David of Wales is officially an
ECO certified school with a silver
standing!! With an enthusiastic team of students
Grade 1-8 and staff we implemented “Trash Free
Tuesdays” and GOOS bins throughout our school.
We look forward to continuing these initiatives and
implementing new ones ie. “Steps to School”. Our
school nurse, Mrs. Grayson, will be working with our
team this year. Our team is expanding and we are
excited to involve more students and invite community members and volunteers. More information will
follow about “Steps to School”.
Ontario EcoSchools is an environmental education
and certification program for grades K-12 that helps
school communities develop both ecological literacy
and environmental practices to become environmentally responsible citizens and reduce our ecological
footprint. The key areas of achievement are: Teamwork & Leadership, Energy Conservation, Waste Minimization, School Ground Greening, Curriculum and
Environmental Stewardship. This year St David of
Wales School will participate in becoming a certified
EcoSchool through an annual certification process
which assesses and recognizes accomplishments
awarding points in each of the six key areas. The
program will:
make a difference while developing active citizenship
skills and ecological literacy by responding to the
increasingly urgent issue of climate change
environmental learning and actions
through EcoSchools certification
STUDENTS WATCHING SPORTING EVENTS
Reminder that spectators are not allowed
at after school games or practices. Staff
are present to coach or referee the
games. No supervision is provided for
other spectators. Only students who are
accompanied by their parent/guardian
may stay. All other students will be
asked to leave.
VALUABLES
Please help us to protect your child’s valuables by keeping
them at home. Staff cannot be responsible for any valuables
that your child brings to school. In order to avoid valuables
being lost or misplaced please keep them at home.
work for environmental education in Ontario as well
as other Ministry policies
Ms. Horbatiuk, Ms. Roach and student representatives under the direction of Mrs. Gallant, will be taking on this huge task as they lead the community
through our ecological journey! We look forward to
our new adventures! More information will be forthcoming...
DATES TO REMEMBER
November 1
November 2
November 2
November 3
November 4
November 5
November 6
November 7
November 9
November 10
November 11
November 14
November 23
December 4
December 6
December 9
December 12
December 20
December 23
January 6
January 20
January 21
January 27
February 4
February 5
February 6
February 17
All Saint’s Day
All Soul’s Day
Rite of Enrollment
(Confirmation) 5pm
Rite of Enrollment
(Confirmation) 8 am,
10 am, 12 pm
Virtue Assembly—10:30 am
Progress reports sent home
School Council Meeting @ 6:30 pm
All Parents/Guardians welcome to attend
Interview Evening as needed
Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation) 5 pm
Rite of Enrollment (Confirmation) 8 am,
10 am, 12 pm
Remembrance Day Liturgy - 10:45am
All are welcome to attend.
Dance-a-thon
Reconciliation—Gr. 2 at St. Martin of
Tours @ 10:30 am
Catholic School Council
Santa Photos
Peel Health Immunization
Advent Mass at St. Martin of Tours—6:30
pm
PA Day—No School
Christmas Vacation
Classes resume for students.
PA Day
Grad Photos—SK & Gr. 8
Kindergarten Registration Night
Term 1 reports go home.
Catholic School Council
Interview Evening
Family Day—No School