ST. DAVID OF WALES
APRIL 2014
Principal
B. Gillis
Acting
Head Secretary
D. Sandiland
Trustee
Peter Ferreira
(416) 805-7110
Peter.Ferreira@
dpcdsb.org
Superintendent
D. Amaral
905.890.1221
PARISH
Pastor
Fr. Joyson
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 in Spring
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
Robert Frost
SCHOOL COUNCIL

Our next Catholic School Council
meeting is on Wednesday, April 2,
2014 at 6:30 p.m. in the Library. All
are welcome to attend. We thank
our very committed Council Members 
for their on-going work and support
for our students and staff.
talk to your parents/guardians
about a plan on where to get help,
if necessary when going to and
from school/bus stop
when approached by a stranger,
walk or run to a place of safety
such as home or back to school
EQAO Grade 3 and Grade 6 Testing
The following time span has been designated for the Provincial EQAO testing. We
ask that parents of Grade 3 and 6 students
make sure that they mark these dates on
their calendar, and we ask that parents do
not book appointments at all during this time span. Students’
attendance during this time period is absolutely essential!
The test period has been scheduled from May 26—June
5, 2014.

play a “what if” game with your
parents/guardians to come up with
ideas of what you would do if for some reason, you are
afraid on the way to and from the school/the bus stop

cross the street at a stop sign or with a crossing guard

look both ways before crossing the street

do not cross between parked cars.
GRADE 2 FIRST COMMUNION
The celebration of the Sacrament of
First Holy Communion will be during
masses between Saturday, April 26 at
10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 3 at 10:30
a.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m.
You must be registered with the church
to receive First Communion this year.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK: MAY 4 – 9, 2014
GRADE 8 CONFIRMATION
The Grade 8 Confirmation this year will
be held at St. Martin of Tours Parish on
Friday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. You must be
registered with the church to receive Confirmation this year. All are welcome to
attend.
WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN
Welcome to Kindergarten Night will be held on Thursday,
May 8 at 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. All new Junior Kindergarten students and parents/guardians are invited to attend. This
is for new JK students only, please do not bring siblings.
Please note the time change.
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIPS
Parents and guardians are encouraged to regularly review the
following important safety tips with your child(ren).

the importance of not talking to strangers, go directly
home from school/the bus stop or directly to the babysitter’s after school

walk to and from school/the bus stop with a buddy.
avoid being alone, if you can

let your parents/guardians/babysitter know the route you
take to and from school/bus stop
The chosen theme for Catholic Education Week 2014 is
“Serving in the Love of Christ ”.
A schedule of events to follow.
MOVING
If you are planning a move or have
already moved, please let us know.
You are required to complete a new
assessment form even if you move
within our school boundaries. If you
are moving to a new school we will
give you a Transfer Form to take with
you to the new school. If you are
moving but would like your child to remain at St. David of
Wales, please submit your request in writing. We will be
preparing classes for September, 2013 and this information
will be helpful in determining class sizes. In the past, we
have had to reorganize our classes in September due to unexpected transfers. Please remember we must adhere to the
ministry cap of 20 students in our primary grades.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL COLLECTION
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of St. Martin of Tours will
be having a Bundle Up collection on the weekend of May 3rd
and May 4th, 2014. A truck will be parked in the church
parking lot. If any families are interested in donating gently
used clothing and household items, please bring them in bags
that are tied and put them in the truck. The truck will be left
open on Saturday and Sunday. Acceptable items are: clothing, coats, boots, bedding, drapes, books, toys, shoes, and
accessories. No mattresses or appliances please.
DRESS CODE
With the approach of the warmer weather,
we ask you to review our dress code with
your children. At all times, clothing
should be comfortable, tasteful and appropriate to our Catholic school environment.

Clothing must display appropriate and acceptable
words and graphics.
 Girls’ tops must have a minimum of 5 cm.
(approximately the width of 3 adult fingers) at the shoulders.
 Boys’ tops must have sleeves.
 Shorts and skirts must reach the bottom of the students’
fingertips when hands are relaxed to their side.
Specifically not allowed are: Bandanas, str ing tops,
tube tops, halter tops, or anything that exposes bare skin,
midriffs and/or undergarments, skin tight clothing, spandex
shorts and pants, sheer materials (including mesh), cut-offs,
torn or ragged clothing and pants which sag below the
waist. Thank you for your co-operation in helping to instill
the values of common sense, good taste and modesty in our
students.
BIKES
As the warmer weather approaches, many students are
choosing to ride their bikes to school. We do have a bike
rack located at the back of the school. Please keep in mind
that students are not to ride their bikes on school property,
including pathways, and they do ride their bikes at their
own risk. The school cannot be responsible for any lost or
damaged bikes. Students are strongly encouraged to lock their bikes and bring
their helmets inside the school. Please
remember that skateboards, rollerblades
and wheelie shoes, are not permitted.
TENTATIVE PLACEMENTS FOR
SEPTEMBER 2014
We will soon begin our planning for
next September. This will include having staff meet to discuss the appropriate
placement for your child. As you know your child(ren)
best, we appreciate your input considering special placement.
Parents/guardians are asked to complete the St. David of
Wales Parent Input for Class Placement included in the
newsletter. The strengths and needs of your child/ren along
with a description of his/her type of learning environment
in which your child/ren has experienced the most success.
This is not intended to arrange for a certain teacher or to
avoid necessary combined grades. With regret, requests for
a particular teacher will not be considered. When we
meet, we will consider all educational matters and if we can
accommodate your wishes, we will do so. Rest assured that
we will take into account the consideration of student learning styles, teacher instructional style and desirable and undesirable student combinations.
Your request to the attention of Mrs. Gillis will form part of
our deliberation. This request must be received no later than
Thursday, April 17, 2014 to be taken into consider ation.
Please note: All staffing and class placements ar e tentative until the September enrolment is finalized. Once again
we will be experiencing a decrease in enrolment for September. This could result in an increase in combined grades.
YOUTH FAITH AMBASSADORS
Lenten Message: Choose the correct Gate which leads you
closer to God.
A follow-up activity from the October Youth Rally was presented this Lenten Season. This gave students and staff an
opportunity to reflect. The Youth Faith Ambassadors presented their interpretations on how certain things block people from getting closer to Our Lord. The Youth Faith Ambassadors delivered a powerful message which they certainly
received from the Youth Rally.
C.Zoffranieri and S.Metlin
EASTER FOOD DRIVE
Thank you to all members of the community
that donated non-perishable food items for our
school's Easter Food drive. Your donations are
much appreciated and bring hope to those in
need.
C.Zoffranieri and S Metlin
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
On Thursday, April 17 @ 1 p.m. we
will be gathering in our school gym
for Holy Thursday and the Stations
of the Cross. The Grade 7 and 8 students will be dramatizing the way of the cross. We invite all
members of our St. David of Wales community to join us
for this liturgical celebration.
C.Zoffranieri
ECO NEWS
This year at St. David of Wales we are working towards
being ECO friendly school. The students are encouraged to
reduce garbage and recycling by using GOOS (Good on One
Side) bin in all classrooms and participating in Trash Free
Tuesday. On Trash Free Tuesday students are asked to bring
trash free lunches or return their garbage home. Our nest
initiative is for students to bring reusable water bottles. On
Friday, March 22 the school participated in their own Earth
Hour by turning off lights for one hour. We
would like to thank our students and parents for their continued support.
Eco Team Coordinators– L.Horbatiuk
STUDENTS ARRIVING LATE
We continue to be concerned with the
number of students who are arriving at
school late. School starts at 8:45 AM. Students should be in their lines and ready to
enter the building at that time. If they enter
through the front doors, they are considered late.
Being on time is important in life, particularly as students move through school and into the workplace.
If a pattern of lateness or absences become apparent,
parents/guardians will receive a letter from the school to
inform you and ask if there is any way the school can be
of assistance.
SNACKS AND TREATS FOR STUDENTS
We are reminding parents/guardians to
please refrain from bringing in edible
snacks and treats to the classrooms.
Several students in our school suffer from
a severe food allergy to all nuts, peanuts
and all nut products. There is also a Ministry PPM where the purpose of this memorandum is to
set out nutrition standards for food and beverages in
publicly-funded elementary schools in Ontario. For
more information about the PPM please visit, http://
www.edu.gov.on.ca/extraeng./ppm/150.html. Again,
we thank you for your cooperation.
IMMUNIZATION
This is a reminder to ensure that your child’s immunization is up to date. The health department will be contacting parents/guardians of children whose immunizations
are not up to date. For more information, please contact
the Region of Peel at 905-799-7700 or visit their website: www.ImmunizePeel.ca.
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 (8:45 to 3:15),
most especially when you are picking
up or dropping off students. Several
students have severe allergies and animals may be unpredictablewhen 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!
VACCINATIONS
Peel Public Health will be offering Hepatits B (Dose #2)
to Grade 7 students and HPV (Dose #3) for Grade 8 female students on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.
DATES TO REMEMBER
April 2
Pizza Days Apr 2, 9, 16,
23 and 30
April 2
Catholic School Council
Meeting
April 3
Chess Tournament at St. Mark Catholic
School
April 4
Gr 4-8 Field Trip Gregg LeRock
April 8
Lenten Mass 9am. All welcome to attend.
April 10
Spring Photo Day, Math ?Games Night at
6:00pm
April 11
Gr 8 Mount Alverno Confirmation Retreat
April 14
Rosary Apostolates Visit
April 17
Holy Thursday Liturgy/Stations of
Cross 1:00 pm
April 18
Good Friday
April 20
Easter Sunday
April 21
Easter Monday
April 22
Immunizations Gr. 7 (Hep B) & Gr. 8
(HPV)
April 23
Gr 8 Confirmation Rehearsal 10am
April 24
Gr 8 Diversity Conference
April 25
Gr 8 Confirmation 7pm at St. Martin of
Tours, MS Heads Up—Junior Students
April 26
First Holy Communion 10:30am
May 2
MS Heads Up—Intermediate Students
May 3
First Holy Communion 10:30am
May 4
First Holy Communion 2pm
May 4-9
Catholic Education Week—
“Serving in the Love of Christ”
May 6
Virtue Assembly 9am. All welcome to
attend.
May 7
Pizza Days May 7, 14, 21 and 28
May 7
French Play in the gym 1:00 pm. All are
invited
May 7
Catholic School Council meeting 6:30 pm
May 8
Crowning of Mary. Coordinated by Rosary Apostolates. Everyone welcome to
attend. Primary at 9am, Gr. 4-8 at
10:30am. More information to follow
May 8
Welcome to Kindergarten Night 6pm 7:30 pm
May 19
Victoria Day—No Classes
May 26-June 5 Gr 3 and Gr 6 EQAO Testing
May 28
JK, SK and Gr 2 Dental Screening
SCHOOL WEBSITE Be sur e to visit our school website.
All newsletters, calendars and other pertinent information is
always updated.
Our website address is:
http://
www.dpcdsb.org/DWALE
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS have been educating students
in mind, body and spirit in Ontario since before the birth of
the province. For nearly 170 years they have provided educational excellence, in a school culture imbued with the
Gospel values of Jesus Christ. Catholic education has been
the foundation for millions of students to develop their full
spiritual, academic, physical and social potential.
SAFETY FIRST WHEN DROPPING STUDENTS OFF AT
SCHOOL
The safety of all children and staff must be considered as paramount
at all times when dropping students off at school
The number of serious incidents related to traffic circulation at the front
of the school and in the Kiss and Ride area during morning arrival and
afternoon dismissal has risen. These incidents include vehicles entering the site in the wrong direction,
parking and pulling out of no parking zones, parking in bus lanes, to name a few.
It is imperative that all parents and guardians who drive their children to school adhere to the traffic
circulation plan and comply with the traffic and parking signage on the site. It is equally imperative that
all drivers follow the direction of staff managing the traffic circulation on the school site.
Thank you for your consideration and co-operation with this important matter.
ARE YOU TICKED?
Make Sure Your School Support Designation is English Separate (Catholic)
It’s a powerful message in support of Catholic education
On October 27, you will cast your vote for Catholic school trustee in the Municipal elections. Make your
vote count, by ensuring you are registered as an English Separate school supporter.
When you designate yourself as an English Separate school supporter, you help foster a strong political
voice, through your elected representative (Trustee), in ensuring your rights to a Catholic education for
the young people in our province.
To verify that you are registered as an English Separate school supporter:
Check the assessment section of your Tax Bill or Property Assessment Notice
Check your Voter Information Card received by mail during the month of May
We can help you register or change your direction of school support. Contact the Admissions Department at 905-890-0708 ext. 24512.
For more information, visit www.dpcdsb.org
A Message from Local Trustee
Peter Ferreria Wards 6 and 11
As we continue on our journey during this Lenten season, we are reminded
of the tremendous sacrifice endured by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For the past several weeks, we have been immersed in the true spirit of Lent
through prayer and fasting and by entering into acts of support for others.
Our students have participated in various Liturgical events, organized by the
school, that give witness to our faith in action. It is by these very acts of
selflessness and by supporting others that we are able to experience the full
story of Jesus’ Passion and death and the ultimate joy of the resurrection.
As we journey on toward that most glorious of feast days within our faith, I
wish you and your family all the spiritual fulfillment and joy the season
brings. Thank you for working with all members of our school community to