St. Therese Tribune
January 2025 Edition
St. Therese of the Child Jesus Catholic Elementary School
Administrative Assistant: J. Lusk
Catholic School Council Co-Chairs: Mrs. D'Souza & Mrs. Piasecki
Superintendent of Mississauga West: L. Odo
Trustee Wards 9 & 10 Brea Corbet (905) 301-9373
St. John of the Cross Parish Information Website: http://www.saintjohnofthecross.com/
Email: St.ThereseoftheCJinfo@dpcdsb.org
Website: www.dpcdsb.org/TCHLD
Location: 6930 Forest Park Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Phone: 905-785-0066
Twitter: @StThereseDPCDSB
A New Year's Prayer
Dear God, In this New Year I pray:
To live deeply, with purpose,
To live freely, with detachment,
To live wisely, with humility,
To live justly, with compassion,
To live lovingly, with fidelity, To live mindfully, with awareness.
To live gratefully, with generosity,
To live fully, with enthusiasm.
Help us to hold this vision and to daily renew it in our hearts,
becoming ever more one with You, our truest selves.
Amen.
VIRTUE OF THE MONTH: SELF-CONTROL
God has given us the ability to choose.
We are able to control how we react to what happens around us.
We may feel pressure from inside or from outside ourselves to react violently to a situation. We’ve all “lost it” at one time or another. We are never proud of those moments. As soon as they happen we make a promise that they will not happen again.
Through prayer and concentration, we can get better at controlling our reactions. We can get better at showing self-control.
Self-control helps us to resist the temptation to do something that we will regret. Self-control helps us to resist the temptation to do something that will harm ourselves or others. Self-control is one of the marks of a spiritually mature person.
When we all use self-control, we can be sure that our school will be a safe, caring and inclusive place to live and to learn.
A person with self-control…
• is patient
• knows how to wait his/her turn
• can calm him/herself down and think before reacting to situations
• knows how to avoid physical aggression (hitting, kicking, pushing)
• can think things through
The Feast of the Epiphany
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will gov-ern my people Israel.'" Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2: 1- 12
Inclement Weather Reminders
Our winter season is here! At this time we would like to remind all students to dress appropriately for the season by wearing the proper winter attire which should include hats, gloves/mitts, winter coats and boots. When students are dressed properly for the winter conditions, they can go outside and enjoy some fresh air and activity in comfort. There will be a few times during the course of the year where a recess may be shortened or held indoors due to extreme cold temperatures. Our school board policy states that although consideration should be given for keeping students indoors during recesses when the wind chill reaches -20C, students are to be kept indoors during recesses when the wind chill reaches -22C.
In the colder weather, we receive numerous requests to allow children to remain indoors when students have a cold, the flu, etc. Please note that we cannot comply as we neither have the facilities nor the staff to supervise these students. Moreover, the health officials indicate that the fresh air is good for children, not harmful as long as they are dressed appropriately.
SNOW Safety Expectations
Now that the snow is here it is important to remind students that St. Therese of the Child Jesus has a strict rule of forbidding the throwing of snowballs and kicking of snow. Every student has been made aware of the importance of this rule in the preventing of injury to others.
S Snow stays on the ground
NO No standing, sitting, sliding down hills
W Winter wonder: building snow angels, snowpeople, snow forts!
Please review our Snow Safety Expectations with your children. Thank you for your support.
Important Reminder
Please note that to ensure the continued safety of all students, the Dufferin -Peel Catholic District School Board with the support of the Anaphylactic Society and the Peel Health Department has recommended that students not bring peanut butter alternatives (soy butter, sunflower butter) to school. We thank you for your cooperation in supporting student safety.
The Dufferin -Peel Catholic District School Board acknowledges the value of the use of technology for learning. Students are permitted to register and use personal electronic devices (PEDs) on board premises and/ or board sanctioned events for educational purposes, under the direction of staff and only with parent/ guardian permission. Students may register their PED for the purpose of connecting to the board wireless network. Students are required to adhere to the student “Personal Electronic Device Used with WI - FI Network Student Agreement” (GF 337) and the “Network User Application and Agreement” (GF066). Please be advised that the Dufferin -Peel Catholic District School Board will not be responsible for any cost incurred through the use of personal data plans.
PEDs are to be used responsibly and should not interfere with learning; their use must comply with the Catholic Code of Conduct, board policies and procedures. Any personal communications (i.e. phone calls, text messages, etc.) will continue to be directed through the main office. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in a loss of PED privileges and/ or any other consequences deemed necessary by school administration.
The school principal may authorize limited acceptable uses of personal electronic devices during school -sanctioned activities for a specific designated purpose outside of instructional spaces and/ or in common areas. Students are responsible for the safety and security of PEDs at all times and the Board assumes no responsibility for lost, damaged or stolen devices.
The safety of our students, staff and visitors remains our number one priority. The following policies will be implemented to ensure the safety of all students, staff and visitors
Please review the following Kiss and Ride Safety Expectations:
- Keep traffic flowing. Proceed as far to the stop sign as possible before stopping your vehicle.
- Have your child exit from the right side (passenger doors) of your vehicle.
- NO PARKING in Kiss and Ride.
- If you wish to wait and see your child enter the school, park in the designated areas and wait in the designated pick-up/drop off locations.
- DO NOT stop or park in Bus Lane (side of the school).
- The same expectations apply during rain/snow. Do not stop or drop your children off at the side of the school. This is a Bus Lane only.
Whether it’s a medical appointment, an illness or other important event, there are times when students may need to be away from school. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District school board is introducing a new method for parents to report their child(ren)’s absences. Using the SafeArrival system, parents will be able to report daily or future absences in one of three ways:
Web:
- Go to the SafeArrival website at go.schoolmessenger.ca
- Select Sign Up to create your account. (Only needed for the initial setup, after that you will click on login).
- Select Attendance.
- Select Report an Absence.
App:
- Download and install the SchoolMessenger app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Please note that SafeArrival uses the SchoolMessenger app.
- Select Sign-Up. (Only needed for the initial setup, after that you will click on login).
- You will be prompted to enter your email (same email address your school has on file) and create a password.
- The system will send a link to the same email address the school has on file, please click on the link you have received in your email to activate your account.
Phone:
- Call the toll-free number 1-844-435-3440
- Listen to and follow the instructions to report an absence.
- If the system doesn’t recognize your caller ID, you will be asked to enter the student’s home phone number or any phone number for the guardian that is on file with the school.
You can now reset your password remotely by registering for the Password Reset Tool. You must know your old password to create a new one.
To reset your password remotely you must first register with the “Password Reset Tool”, which you can do by following one of these two steps:
Students: students.dpcdsb.org and select Password Reset
Staff: https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com/PasswordReset/Register.aspx
**Access to personal email/cell phone is required for registration.
Once you are registered, please follow the Password Reset Instruction
January 6, 2025 - First day back to school from Christmas Break
January 15, 2025 - Hope Stone Retreat Gr. 5 & 6
January 20, 2025 - PA Day NO SCHOOL for STUDENTS
January 22, 2025 - Catholic School Council Meeting, 6:00 pm
January 30, 2025 - Virtue Assembly, 1:00 pm
January 31, 2025 - Term 2 Begins
February 11 Term 1 Reports Cards sent home
February 13 Parent - Teacher Interview Evening
February 14 PA Day -Parent - Teacher Interviews/Valentine's Day
February 17 Family Day Holiday