NEWSLETTER
January 2010
Principal
T. Cruz
Vice Principal
M. MacDonald
Secretaries
D. Nolan
J. Harvey
Superintendent
Mississauga North
D. Oude-Reimerink
Parish
Merciful Redeemer Parish
Phone: 905-812-0030
Pastor
Fr. Vid Vlasic
Associate Pastor
Fr. Peter Jae Choi
School Council Chair
Gail Bellissimo
School Council Co-Chair
Megan Scott
Trustee
Esther O’Toole
Ward 9
Phone: 905-812-5163
Attendance Verification
Phone: 905-814-9216
Web Site www.dpcdsb.org/OLMCY
5820 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 5J9
Telephone: (905) 814-9216 Fax: (905) 814-9217
God of this New Year,
We are walking into mystery.
We face the future not knowing
What the days and months will bring or how we will respond.
Be with us as we journey.
Deepen our faith to see all of life through your eyes.
Fill us with hope and an abiding trust that you dwell in us amongst all our joys and sorrows.
Thank you for the treasure of our faith life.
Thank you for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance of your walking through the day with us.
God of this New Year,
We praise You.
Amen
Early Release Day
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
Students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m.

Registration for the 2010-11 school year will be held at all
Dufferin-Peel Catholic elementary schools on the following dates:
Monday, February 8, 2010 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, February 10, 11 & 12, 2010
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Junior Kindergarten - Children must be
4 years old by Dec. 31, 2010
Senior Kindergarten - Children must be
5 years old by Dec. 31, 2010
Parents/Guardians should bring the following documents when registering their child:
!" proof of age
!" original Catholic Baptismal Certificate of the Roman,
Greek or Ukrainian Rite, for parent (one) and child (if the child has not been baptized, a letter of counselling with the parish priest, to complete the process will be accepted)
!" updated immunization records
!" proof of Canadian citizenship or of Landed Immigrant status
!" proof of address (utility bill, bank or credit card statement)
For more information, contact your local Catholic school or call the Admissions Department at 905-890-0708 ext.
24500.
Please allow extra time if you are dropping off your children by car. With the colder months, there are more parents choosing this option. Students should be arriving between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m. Unfortunately, many students are arriving after 8:45 a.m., receiving late slips, and disrupting classroom procedures and morning exercises.
If buses are announced as cancelled, schools are still open unless otherwise indicated. You can check the stations listed on the right side of this page or check Dufferin-Peel’s website at www.dpcdsb.org.
Please do not call the school to verify as secretaries are extremely busy on days with poor weather conditions.
SchoolBusMonitor.com provides up to date bus cancellation and school closure information on the web for a number of jurisdictions across Ontario.
During the winter months inclement weather may cause disruption of bus transportation and regular school operations.
A decision to cancel school transportation and/or to close schools is usually made by 6:00 a.m. and will be announced on the following radio stations:
VIRGIN RADIO 99.9 CHUM 1050 CFTR 680
CFNY 102.1 CJCL 590 CHFI 98.1
EZ ROCK 97.3 CFRB 1010 Z103.5
CJBC (FR) 860 AM 93.1 FM
GLOBAL NEWS CITYPULSE CBC
CHIN 100.7 FM/1540 AM
We will be communicating one of four standard messages to the radio stations. The four announcements and their effect on the transportation system are as follows:
(Please note that the highlighted text only will be communicated by the radio stations).
1. “DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT
SCHOOL BOARD BUSES SERVING ST. ANDREW,
ST. BENEDICT AND ST. PETER ELEMENTARY
SCHOOLS AND R.F. HALL SECONDARY SCHOOL
ARE CANCELLED FOR TODAY.”
2. “THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD BUSES AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
BUSES IN THE TOWN OF CALEDON AND THE COUNTY OF
DUFFERIN ARE CANCELLED”.
This means that all runs listed under announcement #l PLUS the following are cancelled.
!" All schools in the Town of Caledon and all school runs that begin in the Town of Caledon.
!" Individual schools will be notified if this cancellation affects their school.
3. “THE DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD BUSES
ARE CANCELLED.” This means that:
ALL Transportation services provided by the Dufferin-Peel
Catholic District School Board and The Peel District
School Board, including buses, vans and taxis have been cancelled for the entire day.
4. “THE SCHOOLS AND OFFICES OF BOTH THE
DUFFERIN-PEEL CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD AND THE PEEL DISTRICT SCHOOL
BOARD ARE CLOSED.” This means that:
ALL Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and Peel
District School Board schools and offices are closed to all students and staff.

Affirmation:
I have self-control.
I know how to get things done on my own.
I have control over my feelings.
I make good decisions in the way I act and speak.
What is Self-Control / Decision Making?
Self-Control / Decision Making is a set of behaviours that help you:
!" understand that the only thing in life which you can change and control is yourself
!" keep in check all self-destructive, addictive, obsessive, compulsive, irrational, and unacceptable behaviours
!" keep your life in balance and focused by helping you cope with new challenges that come your way
!" keep your emotional responses in check or moderation
!" accept personal responsibilities in life
!" reflect on your inner desire to grow up into a responsible adult
Self-Control is restraint practiced over one’s own emotions, impulses, or desires.
Why practice Self-Control/ Decision Making?
You need to practice Self-Control/Decision Making so that you can have control over your life. It is important to develop strategies to help you gain self-control so that you can motivate yourself to get things done. This virtue also helps you practice something until you know how to do it well or make it a part of the way you do things. Every choice you make has consequences and you are responsible for those choices, therefore you need to ensure that you are making the correct decisions. Any decision that is made should be a reflection of your
Catholic values.
How do you practice Self-Control/Decision Making?
Self-Control/ Decision Making can be learned. You practice it by pausing and thinking of the consequences that may result from your behaviour or decision. When you feel that you are losing control, you may want to take a deep breath and calmly state how you are feeling or what is upsetting you. Strategies like self-talk are great to use.
When you get hit; you need to stop, think and evaluate before you hit back. You may say to yourself:
!"
If I hit him, he’ll hit me back and we’ll get into a fight.
!"
I might get hurt or I might hurt him..
!"
I might be sent to the office or be suspended.
!"
I’m not going to let him get me in trouble.
!"
I don’t know what his problem is, but I’m going to avoid him.
!"
I’ll choose to do the smart thing and walk away.
Other coping strategies can be counting slowly, drawing a picture, writing down feelings or talking about it.
For our Virtues Program in the upcoming months, and to raise money for a worthy cause, the Intermediate students will be performing for the school.
We are so lucky to have such great talent at Mercy that we thought we should show it off in our first ever
Mercy’s Got Talent show!
Tickets will be $3.00 each with all proceeds going to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation .
The performance will be on Friday February, 5 at 9:15 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Order forms for parents will be going home shortly. Students and parents who pay will be able to go to the performances. It is our way of helping others in the community while we have fun building community and school spirit.
We hope you will support this worthy cause and come out to see the show!
Sincerely,
The Mercy’s Got Talent Team
SK parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child in a
Grade 1 French Immersion class for September, 2010 are invited to attend an information meeting at:
School: St. Margaret of Scotland
Address: 2266 Council Ring Road, Mississauga
Date: January 27 th , 2010 Time: 6:30 p.m.
Grade 4 parents/guardians who wish to enroll their child in a Grade 5 Extended French class for September,
2010 are invited to attend an information meeting at:
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
6930 Forest Park Drive
Wednesday, February 3, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

Any food can cause anaphylaxis but in North America, nine foods account for more than 90% of all reactions.
These are: peanut, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, milk, egg, soy, sesame seed, and wheat.
Anaphylaxis can have one or all of the following symptoms: hives, a rash, swelling, wheezing, vomiting, loss of consciousness and even death. There is no cure for anaphylaxis. The only way to prevent an anaphylactic reaction is by avoiding the allergy causing substance. We once again remind you not to send any food to school that may contain allergens. Please avoid sending food for birthdays. There are many alternatives such as stickers or pencils that children can share with their classmates.
If you have any questions please talk to your child’s teacher or to school staff. Your co-operation in helping to keep all of our pupils safe is greatly appreciated.
Children will go outside for recesses and for 40 minutes during the lunch hour.
Research indicates that fifteen minutes of fresh air allows students to refocus on their studies. On extremely cold days, we may limit the amount of time that students spend outside. We obtain our information from Environment Canada Weather Information and follow Board
Guidelines which are:
-25C or colder with wind chill, students are kept inside
-20C to -24C, amount of outdoor time will be reduced.
If it is warmer than -20 with the wind chill, students will be expected to be outside during the entire recess period.
Please ensure your children are dressed appropriately for the weather conditions.
As a result of the winter months, we continue to remind all students that snow stays on the ground. As well, we continually remind them that there is to be no pushing of others on the snow hills that are created when the pavement is plowed. Every student is made aware of the importance of these rules in preventing injuries. Students are continually reminded with daily announcements and by classroom teachers and staff on yard duty. We continue to stress our “hands off’ rule to ensure the safety of every student. Students who continually break these rules will be tracked at the office and parents will be notified. Please take this opportunity to discuss the dangers of rough play with your child. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.
January
4 Classes Resume
12 School Council Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
14 Early Release Day—no school in the p.m.
23 Presentation of Cards for Confirmation - 7 p.m.
February
3 Extended French Information Meeting - 7 p.m.
8 JK/SK Registration Evening—7:00-9:00p.m.
11 Dick O’Brien Presentation
15 Family Day—No school
17 Ash Wednesday
If you are a Catholic ratepayer, we urge you to check your property tax bill to ensure that your support is directed to your local Catholic school board, in our case, the Dufferin-
Peel Catholic District School Board. If you are a tenant, you can verify your support by contacting our Admissions
Department at (905) 890-0708, ext. 24511, 24512, or
24519, or your local municipal office. By ensuring that you are accurately recorded as a Catholic school supporter, you can help deliver a powerful message to the government about the level of support for publically-funded
Catholic education in Ontario. In order to be eligible to vote for your local Catholic school board trustee, you must be registered as a separate school supporter.
The Snow and Cold Weather has Arrived!
It is important that your children come to school dressed with sufficient clothing to be worn outside during recesses.
Warm clothes, snow pants, gloves, mitts, hats and boots are needed for outdoor play. Having an extra pair of mitts and socks is always appreciated for children that play in the snow. Place items in a bag with your child’s name on it. We recommend labeling all clothing items. This will prevent the overflow of items in the “Lost & Found” box. All students must bring a pair of indoor shoes . During a fire alarm students cannot stop to put on boots so it is critical for students to wear shoes at all times.