NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2010
5820 Glen Erin Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 5J9
Telephone: (905) 814-9216
Fax: (905) 814-9217
Principal’s Message
Principal
T. Cruz
Vice Principal
M. MacDonald
Secretaries
S. Droy
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
Penny Valentini
Trustee
Esther O’Toole
Ward 9
Phone: 905-812-5163
Attendance Verification
Phone: 905-814-9216
Web Site
www.dpcdsb.org/OLMCY
A Rite for the Beginning of Advent
As our nights grow longer
and our days grow short,
we look on these earthly signs
-- light and green branches
-- and remember God's promise
to our world:
Christ, our Light and our Hope,
will come.
Listen to the words of
Isaiah the prophet:
The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those who lived in a land
as dark as night,
a light has dawned.
You have increased their joy
and given them gladness;
They rejoice in your presence
as those who rejoice at harvest,
as warriors exult when dividing spoil.
Is. 9:1-2
O God, rejoicing,
we remember the promise of your Son.
As the light from this candle,
may the blessing of Christ come upon us,
brightening our way
and guiding us by his truth.
May Christ our Saviour bring life
into the darkness of our world,
and to us, as we wait for his coming.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
During Advent we are called to prepare ourselves for the coming of our Saviour. Let us
prepare the inner core of ourselves, so that we
will be transformed in our lives, in our behaviour and in our hearts. We are waiting for His
birth and prepare for that arrival with a great
deal of excitement and energy. Christmas
trees are decorated, presents are bought or
made, cookies are baked and cards are sent
out to all of our friends, families and colleagues. At Our Lady of Mercy, we have set
up our Christmas tree in the foyer, decorated
by student representatives from all classes,
and we once again have our mitt and scarf
tree that will provide donations to some families in the community. Our food drive will
also help support the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
We are looking forward to our Advent mass
which will be held at the school on December
8th. This will allow us to celebrate with all of
our children this wonderful time of anticipation.
I sincerely hope that you take the opportunity
to relax, pray and celebrate the birth of Christ,
the Son of God, during this very holy season.
Wishing you and your families the best of
Christmas.
A blessing to carry you through the season:
May God grant you the light in Christmas,
which is faith;
The warmth of Christmas, which is love;
The belief of Christmas, which is truth;
The all of Christmas, which is Christ.
Amen
School Operations
Communication Updates
Junior & Senior Kindergarten
Registration for 2011-12
Inclement Weather and School Closure
Registration for the 2011-12 school year will be held
at all Dufferin-Peel Catholic elementary schools on
the following dates:
Monday, February 7, 2011 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.*
*Snow Date: Tuesday, February 8 - 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday,
February 9, 10 & 11, 2011
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, 2011
Senior Kindergarten - Children must be 5 years old
by Dec. 31, 2011
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 905-8900708 ext. 24500.
Dressing Warmly
Winter is Here!
Please ensure that your children are
dressed appropriately for the weather. 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.
Extended French Information Meeting
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, Mississauga
Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
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 FM 99.9
CHUM AM 1050
CFTR AM 680
CFNY FM 102.1
CJCL AM 590
CHFI FM 98.1
CFRB AM 1010
EZ ROCK FM 97.3
CJBC (FR) AM 860
FM Z103.5
FM 93.1
AM 1540
AM 640
FM Q 107
CHIN FM 100.7
CITYPULSE
GLOBAL NEWS
CBC
CFTO
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.
Virtue of the Month
December’s Virtue of the Month is:
Affirmation:
I am hopeful.
I trust in God because He is merciful and faithful to His
promises.
My Hope is my steadfast anchor.
I ask the Holy Spirit to help and guide me.
What is Hope?
Hope is a theological virtue. It informs our Christian moral life
along with the virtues of Faith and Charity. Hope is manifested
in our desire to attain the kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as
our happiness. We place our trust in Christ’s promises and rely
on the grace of the Holy Spirit to guide us.
Why practice Hope?
You need Hope to trust in the promises of Jesus Christ. This
hope is always achieved with the grace and help of the Holy
Spirit. Hope answers our strong burning desires for happiness
and it informs our actions, making them pure of heart. It gives
us strength so that we do not become discouraged and hold on
steadily to our beliefs.
You are practicing the Virtue of HOPE when you…
!"
Trust in God that there is some good in everything that
happens
!"
Always do your best
!"
Do not let doubts blow you off course
!"
Stand by your friends and loved ones
!"
Ask God to help you keep steadfast
You need more practice when you…
!"Give into your doubts
!"Just do what is easiest at the moment
!"Avoid prayer
!"Don’t feel joy in life and hope for the future
Family Advent Mass
Everyone is invited to attend the
Family Advent Mass on Wednesday, December 8th at 9:30a.m. at
Our Lady of Mercy School.
Come and join in our Advent
liturgical celebration!
Integrated Ridership
The school board’s bus transportation services are operated by
Student Transportation of Peel Region (STOPR). This is a consortium, or partnership, between the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board and the Peel District School Board. The Ministry of
Education requires school board bus transportation consortiums
to improve efficiency.
One initiative promoted by the Ministry of Education, that is designed to improve efficiency is known as integrated ridership. In
integrated ridership, students from both Dufferin-Peel and Peel
schools will ride on the same buses, where feasible. A number of
school boards across the province have successfully implemented
integrated ridership. All eligible students continue to be transported on runs where integrated ridership is implemented.
Integrated ridership is designed to create a more effective and
efficient operation of service, is more environmentally friendly and
reduces traffic in our communities. Integrated ridership may also
result in higher transportation funding levels for school boards.
Integrated ridership works best in situations where schools are
located close to one another and the number of students involved
helps achieve better organized bus runs.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board has approved the
implementation of integrated ridership, where feasible, starting
September, 2011. During the next few months, STOPR staff will
be looking at areas where integrated ridership would work best. It
should be noted that integrated ridership does not work well in all
areas and, as a result, there may be only a few areas that will
have this program.
STOPR will provide additional information regarding the selection
of schools where integrated ridership will be implemented. Once
a school is selected, a possibility exists that school start and dismissal times may be altered from the current times. STOPR will
keep you informed through regular updates in school newsletters
over the upcoming months.
Our Catholic School Heritage
3. Why did the United Legislature of Canada East and
Canada West keep improving separate school legislation? It responded to Catholic parents, trustees, bishops
and priests, editors of the four Catholic newspapers, members of the business and professional world, all of whom
argued for legal and financial rights for separate schools.
4. Was there opposition to separate schools before
Confederation? Yes, as now, there were advocates of
one school system. Protestant spokespersons believed in
the adequacy of the common (now public) school’s basic
non-denominational Christianity, which constituted an important element of the common school’s religion lessons
and their readers. They held that beliefs specific to certain
religions should be taught in the churches and homes.
Anaphylaxis
Food!Allergies!and!Anaphylaxis!
Our!Lady!of!Mercy!is!an!allergen!aware!school.!!
There!are!pupils!in!attendance!who!suffer!from!se"
vere!and!life!threatening!allergies!to!certain!foods.!!
Exposure!to!the!smallest!quantities!can!cause!severe!
life!threatening!reactions.!!Anaphylaxis!is!a!severe!
and!life!threatening!allergic!reaction.!!The!most!
common!allergen!triggers!are!food,!insect!stings,!
medications,!exercise!and!latex.!!An!anaphylactic!
reaction!involves!symptoms!from!two!or!more!body!
systems.!!Safety!of!all!our!students!is!paramount.!
We!at!Our!Lady!of!Mercy,!would!appreciate!the!co"
operation!of!the!entire!school!community!by!NOT!
sending!any!lunches!or!snacks!that!contain!any!in"
gredients!identified!as!food!allergens!for!students!in!
your!child’s!class.!
Please!make!sure!that!all!of!your!children’s!caregiv"
ers!are!aware!of!the!food!restrictions.!!We!also!ask!
that!you!review!the!letters!that!were!sent!home!at!
the!beginning!of!the!school!year!that!spoke!to!spe"
cific!allergens!in!your!child’s!classroom.!
For!celebrations,!we!are!once!again!asking!that!food!
NOT!be!brought!into!the!school!since!we!cannot!
control!the!ingredients!in!many!baked!items.!!!!
If!you!have!any!questions!please!talk!to!your!child’s!
teacher! or! to! school! staff.! ! Your! co"operation! in!
helping!to!keep!all!our!pupils!safe!is!greatly!appre"
ciated.!
Merciful Redeemer Parish
Christmas Schedule
CHRISTMAS EVE - Friday, December 24
4:00, 6:00. 8:00, 10:00 p.m & Midnight
CHRISTMAS DAY - Saturday, December 25
8:30, 10:00 & 11:30 a.m.
New Year’s Schedule
NEW YEAR’S EVE - Friday, December 31
5:00 p.m.
NEW YEAR’S DAY - Saturday, January 1
10:00 & 11:30 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Dates to Remember
December
2
Junior Volleyball – Family Tournament
3
Santa Claus Pictures - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
6
Junior students to see “The Nutcracker”
8
Advent Mass - 9:30 a.m. @ school
9
Christmas Bazaar in School Gym
15
Mrs. Fitzgerald’s class to Silvercreek
17
Last day of school before Christmas Break
January
3
Classes resume
10
School Council Meeting - 6:30 p.m.
14
P.A. Day—no school for students
KISS N’ RIDE & PARKING LOT
When entering the Kiss N’ Ride lane from Glen Erin,
Please make sure to drive all the way to the front of the
lane (closest to the Kindergarten fenced area). Please do
not stop immediately after entering the lane. There
are many cars behind waiting to enter and this is causing
congestion on Glen Erin and the danger of other drivers
having to go around you to drop off their children in the
appropriate spot. Supervisors are also
there to assist your children exiting
your vehicle.
Please allow extra time in the morning
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. Those arriving later
are disrupting classroom procedures and morning prayers
and announcements.
Your cooperation and assistance are appreciated!
P.S. Please do not make U-Turns on Glen Erin Drive.
Order Magazines Online
Go online at www.QSP.ca to order your new or renewal
magazine subscriptions. Use our school’s name and a
portion of your subscription goes to support our school.
If you buy a magazine online, you will also be entered
in a contest for a chance to win a Dell Laptop!