APRIL 2016
Pr Principal
B. Gillis
Secretary
B. Meo
Trustee
L. del Rosario
416- 805-7110
L. delrosario@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 FDK-8
8:45 -3:15
St. David of Wales
4200 Beacon Lane
Mississauga, ON
L5M 2N6
905-848-4200
WebSite http:// www.dpcdsb.org/
DWALE
WebSite http://
Follow us on
Twitter
@St_DavidofWale
Good and gracious God,
Our most glorious Creator,
As we greet the signs in nature around us of Spring once again regaling us in bloom,
In the songs of returning birds and fields soon to be planted,
We give you praise for an even greater sign of new life: the resurrection of your Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ, that we especially celebrate at this time.
The sadness and despair of his death has given way to the bright promise of immortality,
For the Resurrection is our guarantee that justice will triumph over treason, Light will overcome darkness, and love will conquer death.
As we celebrate we also dare to ask for your grace that we may live the promise given to us,
By imitating the life of Jesus in reaching out to the poor, the marginalized, the least among us,
As we strive to be neighbor to all those we meet.
Working with him may we strive to make this great country of ours a beacon of hope And justice in a world hungry for peace and so in need of your love.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord forever.
Amen.
Prayer offered by Fr. Larry Snyder

SCHOOL COUNCIL
Our next Catholic School Council meeting will be held on Wednesday,
April 6, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. (this is a change of date from our cancelation in
February). Our next meeting after that is Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
We thank our ver y har d wor king Council Members for their on-going work and support for our students!
Save the date: Thursday May 26th
St. David of Wales is having a family Pasta Dinner Night.
This is a chance for us to come together as a school community and have dinner together. Forms will be going home in the next week or two, so you can reserve your spot!
GRADE 2 FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
The celebration of the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will be held during masses between April 10 at 2:00 p.m.,
April 16 at 10:30 a.m., or April 17 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Martin of Tours Parish. You must be registered with the church to receive First Holy Communion this year.
GRADE 8 CONFIRMATION
The Grade 8 Confession and Confirmation Rehearsal will be held on Thursday
April 7, at 10:00 a.m. at St Martin of
Tours Parish. The Confirmation Will take place Thursday
April 14, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
Welcome to Kindergarten Night will be held on Thursday,
May 5, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 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.
VACCINATIONS
Peel Public Health will be offering Hepatitis B to Grade 7 students and HPV for Grade 8 female students on Tuesday,
May 11, 2016.
BIKES
As the warmer weather approaches, many students are choosing to ride their bikes school. We do have a bike rack located the back of the school. Please keep in to at mind that students are not to ride their bikes on school property , including pathways, and they do r ide their bikes at their own risk. The school cannot be responsible for any lost or damaged bikes . Students ar e str ongly encour aged to lock their bikes and bring their helmets inside the school.
Please remember that skateboards, rollerblades and wheelie shoes , ar e not per mitted.
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
 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
 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.
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, 2016 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.
MESSAGE FROM THE
ROSARY APOSTOLATES
The Rosary Apostolates in the schools are seeking volunteers
(male or female), who have devotion to the Mother of God and who are willing to visit our Elementary Schools to pray the Rosary with the children once a month for a total of 8 mornings October to May. There are also 5 morning preparation meetings at St. Martin of Tours Parish to attend throughout the year. Training will be provided. If you are interested, please Contact the school and we can pass your name and phone number on to the Rosary Apostolates.
“Volunteers are not paid – not because they are
worthless, but because they are priceless”

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.
TENTATIVE PLACEMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2016
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 put their request in a letter and send it to the office Attention Mrs. Gillis please list
The reason for the request along with, 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.
This request must be received no later than Thursday, April
14, 2016 to be taken into consideration. Please note: All staffing and class placements are 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.
LENTEN FOOD DRIVE
Thank you to all members of the community that donated non-perishable food items for our school's Lenten Food
Drive. Your donations are much appreciated and bring hope to those in need.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
On Thursday, March 31 at 1:00 p.m. we gathered in our school gym for Holy
Thursday Liturgy and the Stations of the Cross. Students be read, performed and dramatized the way of the cross. We invite all members of our St. David of
Wales community to join us for this liturgical celebration.
Thank you Coordinators
J. Jones, M. Mete and A. Colautti
ECO NEWS
On March 23rd St. David of Wales participated in the Great
Gulp to help bring awareness to the importance of tap water in the region of Peel. This initiative took place during the lunch hour and was a great success. We would like to thank the St. David of Wales community for their continued support with all our Eco-Team campaigns. During the month of
April, we will be working on preparing our portfolio for certification. The portfolio covers areas such as Teamwork and
Leadership; Energy Conservation;
Waste Management; School Ground
Greening; Curriculum; and Environmental Stewardship .
We continue to encourage students and community members to be more aware of how your daily habits affect the environment around you!
Eco Team Coordinators: A. Colautti and L. Horbatiuk
On Thursday, March 10 th , St. David of Wales School and other schools across Canada joined in a synchronized crunch of locally grown apples! All students and staff took a big bite towards healthy living through healthy eating. Thank you to our Catholic School Council for the providing the apples for our students and staff.
Coordinators: M. Mete and S. Borges and S. Grayson

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 impor tant in life, par ticularly 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 STU-
DENTS
We are reminding parents/guardians to please
DO NOT send in edible snacks and treats to the classrooms.
Sever al students in our school suffer from a severe food allergy to all nuts, peanuts and all nut products. Please note: Food sent into the classroom to be shared will be returned with your child. Again, we thank you for your cooperation.
PETS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY
For the safety of our students, parents, guardians and staff, please do not bring pets on school property . 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!
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Each year, the Catholic community of Ontario engages in a week-long celebration of the unique identity and distinctive contributions of
Catholic education during Catholic
Education Week. This year’s celebration entitled, “Opening Doors of
Mercy” is scheduled for the week of
May 1 – May 6, 2016. Catholic schools are Catholic faith communities. We – parents, students, teachers, administrative and support staff – walk and grow together in the faith which we received at our Baptism.
Our growth is primarily a relationship with God, who at our
Baptism, called us by name. But the response of each of us to that growth is both personal and communal. We grow in our faith in the nurturing atmosphere of our Catholic community be that of our local parish, our home, or our Catholic school community. The scriptural passage that guides our theme is: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” – Matthew 5:7
Further information regarding Catholic Education Week will be forthcoming.
Follow us @St_DavidofWales
SCHOOL WEBSITE Be sur e to visit our school website.
All newsletters, calendars and other pertinent information is always updated. Our School website address is: http://www.dpcdsb.org/DWALE
STRANGERS IN OUR SCHOOL
Parents/guardians, please remember that at no time should you be on the playground or near the doors at the back of the school during school hours. Parents/guardians are not permitted in the hallways without first signing in at the office and receiving a “visitor” badge. Kindergarten parents/ guardians must greet their children at the outside gate of the
Kindergarten fenced area. Please remember that if you do not have a “visitor” badge on, you are a stranger to our school.
ATTENDANCE
Late and absent students MUST be reported to the office . Please call our attendance line (this line is available
24 hours a day) at 905-848-4200, Select “1” and leave a message. It is often very difficult to reach parents/guardians in a timely fashion and as always, the safety of your child is of our utmost concern. Please remember to always inform the office if any of your contact numbers change. It is vital that our contact records are accurate at all times. We must always have the most current information in case your child needs you during the school day. We thank you for your continued support in this matter.
VACCINATIONS
Peel Public Health will be offering Hepatitis B to Grade 7 students and HPV for Grade 8 female students on Tuesday,
May 11, 2016.
In April
The snow is melting away and leaving behind some treasures. Enjoy a walk with your family or friends and do a spring clean-up in your neighbourhood.
How did you #MAKEkindnessgoviral? Share your stories with us
#MAKEkindnessgoviral

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 dates have been scheduled:
June 3, June 6 and June 7, 2016.
Stay Positive
· Always celebrate your child’s successes and hard work each day.
· Remind your child that the assessment will have questions asking them things that they have already learned in class.
· Please avoid scheduling appointments during EQAO.
· Be sure your child receives enough sleep every night so that they are rested.
· Continue to ensure that your child eats a healthy full break-fast and remembers to keep a positive and relaxed attitude in the home environment.
· Do not force your child to study for these tests. They are already working hard at school.
· For additional information on grades 3 and 6 testing visit the EQAO website at www.eqao.com and click on “Parent Resources”.
Something to Remember:
Although EQAO offers important information about your child’s learning, it is only one part of the puzzle. The levels achieved on EQAO will not be a part of your child’s report card. The results of your child’s EQAO scores will be provided to each family in the fall.