We are many, we are one! This is the theme for Catholic Education Week. We are truly grateful for to have the opportunity to celebrate our faith in our schools. God created everyone, loves everyone and forgives everyone. We know that we live in relationship with God and with each other. We realize that we rise by lifting others. We will celebrate Education Week with a Liturgy of the Word (not mass) on Tuesday, May 2 at 10:45 a.m. Parents and Guardians are welcome to attend. His Grace, Bishop Francis Leo, will be celebrating a virtual mass for Catholic Education Week at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3. See below for a link.

In May we also celebrate our Blessed Mother Mary. We will have a Crowning of Mary celebration on Thursday, May 4 at 9:30 for Kindergarten to grade 2/3 and at 10:45 for grade 3/4 to grade 7/8. Parents and guardians are welcome to attend. We thank our Rosary Apostolate volunteers for leading this celebration.

May God continue to bless our students who will be receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on May 6th and those who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation on May 9th.

A warm St. Edith Stein welcome to Mme. DeMola who will be replacing Mlle. Sajatovic until she returns.

Thank you to Mr. Cordeiro and Ms. Slade for coaching intermediate basketball. Both teams participated in their pod tournaments and the girls made it to the semi-finals at the Mississauga North Family of Schools Tournament.

Thank you to Ms. Slade for coaching the co-ed intermediate softball team. Thank you to Mrs. Sostaric, Mrs. Nunez, Mr. Ivano, Mrs. Ribeiro and Mme. Habashy for coaching Track and Field.

On behalf of staff and myself, we wish all Mothers, Stepmothers, Grandmothers, and Godmothers a very happy Mother's day for May 14th.

God bless,

K. Ferrao

Principal

If you are new to the school or have not set up School Messenger, please click on the following link: https://www3.dpcdsb.org/parents/absence-reporting

This will take you to the school board website to find the information and videos you may need to set up the absence reporting system. Note please report absences by 9:00 a.m. After 9:00 am., please call the school at 905-824-5777.

EQAO dates for our students will be as follows:

Grade 3: May 31, June 1, 2 and 5.

Grade 6: June 5, 6, and 7.

Please ensure that students have a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast and arrive on time for school on these days. Please send reusable water bottles to help them stay hydrated. Students who miss any part of the assessment will make it up with Mrs. Thrasher upon their return.

It is important that you take time to talk to your child and help them reduce anxiety related to any type of assessment situation. On the EQAO website there are sample questions (they will be participating in a sample test with their teacher). Ensure that your child gets enough sleep, eats a nutritious breakfast and is well hydrated. It is important that your grade 3 or 6 child attend daily and on time for the testing period (May 31- June 7).

Parents should know that we are witnessing students riding their bikes in an unsafe manner as they come to school or leave from school. At times, riders are crossing intersections without stopping at stop signs and have been lucky that they were not hit by cars. Please review bicycle safety procedures with your children.

Make sure your child’s bike and helmet are the right size. He or she should be able to straddle the bike with both feet on the ground; a bike that is too big or too small is a safety hazard. As a minimum, your child’s first bike should be equipped with a bell and reflectors.

For young children, set the following hard and fast rules:

• No playing on the road.
• No riding on busy streets.
• No riding at night.
• Stop for all stop signs.
• Ride on the right with traffic.

Common dangers

The majority of bicycle injuries do not involve motor vehicles. Most are falls, collisions with stationary objects, and collisions with other bikes or pedestrians, which result from the bicyclist losing control, and most occur less than five blocks from home, in familiar surroundings.

But the most serious incidents involve motor vehicles.

Following are some of the most common causes of bicycle injuries:

Driveway rideout

A youngster rides out of the driveway and gets hit by a car. Very often these incidents involve younger children: the median age is less than 10.

Does your driveway present obstructions to the view of passing motorists, such as bushes or trees? If so, trim them back. Most importantly, teach your child about driveway safety. Go outside to the driveway and have him or her practice the following steps:

• Stop before entering the street.
• Scan left, then right for traffic.
• If there’s no traffic, proceed into the roadway.

Running the stop sign

Take your child to a stop sign and explain what it means, emphasizing the following:

• Stop at all stop signs regardless of what is happening.
• Scan both directions for traffic.
• Wait for any cross traffic to clear.
• Proceed when safe.

Above all, practice what you preach!

Turning without warning

Teach your children to walk their bikes across busy streets, at least until they have some advanced training and are old enough to understand traffic. In the meantime, for residential street riding, you can teach them to always scan and signal before turning left. Go to a playground to practice riding along a straight paint line while scanning behind. Stand alongside and hold up two fingers on your hand after the child rides by. Call their name. After 10 or 15 minutes of practice a 10 year old should be able to look behind and identify how many fingers you are holding up, all without swerving.

After dark

Most crashes in which a car coming up from the rear hits a bike while overtaking happen at night. These overtaking accidents can be serious. Most, however, involve older cyclists; the median age is about 20.

Rule out night riding for your youngster. It requires special skills and equipment. Few kids have either. Make your child understand that, if he or she gets caught out after dark on a bike, the only thing to do is to call you for a ride home.

Following the leader

Many car/bike collisions take place when children are following each other. The first one may run a stop sign and get through. The second one may get hit. This Group Think behavior is hard to counter.

Teach your child always to assess the traffic situation for him or herself. When a group is riding around, each cyclist should stop for stop signs. Each one should scan to the rear before making left turns.

Head injuries

Less than 20 per cent of reported bicycle injuries involve collisions with cars. Most occur in falls, or as a result of riders losing control. A bad fall can result from a skid, catching a wheel in a crack or even getting a shoelace caught in the chain.

In a spill, the forehead usually hits the ground first. Head injuries cause most bicycle-related deaths and can result in serious injury such as brain damage. Up to 88 per cent of serious head injuries could be prevented by wearing a helmet. It is critical for your child to wear a bike helmet that fits properly and is certified by CSA International.

When choosing a helmet, your child should try on several helmets carefully. Level the helmet over your child’s forehead and adjust the chin strap to fit snugly and comfortably. It should protect the forehead without slipping forward or backward; and it should not move unless the scalp moves. A trained salesperson will help you ensure the fit is right.

Insist your child always wears a helmet when riding. (It goes without saying that parents must set an example by always wearing theirs when cycling.) Remember, a helmet only works when you wear it!

Never forget that example is the best teacher.

• Get into the helmet habit.
• Always stop at stop signs.
• Practice what you teach.

Red Shirt Day of Action for AccessAbility and Inclusion is a day when people across Canada come together and wear red to create a visible display of solidarity: to show their support for disabled people and their families, celebrate the achievements of disabled Canadians, and to pledge their commitment to help create a fully accessible and inclusive society.

Red Shirt Day is an Easter Seals initiative and was first celebrated in 2019. It takes place on the Wednesday of National AccessAbility Week each year. Red shirt day falls on Wednesday, May 31st this year.

We are in the process of planning, staffing and organizing classes for the 2023-2024 school year. If you are planning to move and leaving St. Edith Stein in September, please email Mrs. van Putten. She can prepare a student transfer form which will serve as an introduction to your new school and will enable the receiving school to request student records from us.

New this summer!
We will be offering current Grade 8 students the opportunity to obtain one secondary credit (GLD2O4) in Secondary Summer School. This program is fast paced and runs through the full month of July. Information has been forwarded to all Elementary and Secondary Schools.

Registration is now open and closes on June 9, 2023.

Classes start on July 4, 2023.

Classes finish on July 31, 2023.

Classes are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Course option: GLD2O4

Credit: 1
Secondary Summer School offers credit courses at eight locations – Father Michael Goetz, John Cabot, St. Marcellinus, St. Joan of Arc, Loyola, St. Roch, Holy Name of Mary and St. Marguerite d’Youville.

DPCDSB students must register through this link.

Kids Help Phone

• For children and youth between the ages of 5 and 20

• Provides professional counselling and information and referrals for mental health, addictions and well-being

• Phone and online via web post or live chat

• Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

• Free, anonymous and confidential

Call: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868

Good2Talk

• For people between the ages of 17-25

• For post-secondary students in Ontario

• Provides professional counselling and information and referrals for mental health, addictions and well-being

• Free, confidential and anonymous helpline

• Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Call: 1-866-925-5454

Mental Health Helpline

• All ages

• Provides information about counselling services and supports in your community

• Listens, offers support and provide strategies to help you meet your goals

• Provides basic education about mental illness

Call: 1-866-531-2600

School Mental Health Ontario also has resources available for students, parents and families on their website at https://smho-smso.ca/

May:

1-5 - Catholic Education Week (CEW)

1-5 - Mental Health Week

1- Ms. B's class @ Provincial Skills workshops; 4/5 @ Country Heritage Park

2- International Worker's Day; School Liturgy of the Word for CEW @ 11:00 a.m. in the gym

3- Wellness Wednesday; a.m. practice for Celebration of Mary of the Cape; p.m. livestreamed mass with the bishop for Catholic Education Week

4 - Celebration of Mary of the Cape, Queen of Canada

6 - Sacrament of First Communion @ 12 noon @ St. Josephine Bakhita Church

9 - Sacrament of Confirmation @ 6 p.m. @ St. Josephine Bakhita Church; gr 3/4 @ Riverwood a.m.

11- Gr. 1 & 1/2 @ Riverwood

17- Journey into Learning 6-6:45 p.m.

18- 5/6 & 6/7 @Silvercreek

22 - Victoria Day

26- Intermediate Mississauga North Family of Schools soccer tournament

26- Virtues Assembly

31- Gr 3 EQAO testing

June

1 - Intermediate trip; Gr. 3 EQAO testing

2 - Gr. 3 EQAO testing

5 - Gr. 3 & 6 EQAO testing

6 - Gr. 6 EQAO testing

7 - Gr. 6 EQAO testing

8 - Year End Mass

12 - PA Day

15 - Mississauga North Family of Schools Track & Field

19-21 - X-Movement

22 - virtues assembly (p.m.)

27 - Playday; reports go home

28 - Playday rain date

30 - last day of classes

Don't Forget to Get yourself set up on School CashOnline as we are no longer able accept cash payment.

https://dpcdsb.schoolcashonline.com

You will need your child’s name and date of birth. Use of student number is optional.

Should you encounter any difficulties, you can use the parent help desk at 1 (866) 961-1803 or the support link on the school cash online website.

PAY WITH: Credit Card or Debit Card

1. Create Your Profile:

Go to https://dpcdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ and click on "Get Started Today".

2. Confirm Your Email:

Check your inbox for the email confirmation and click on the link inside. Sign in with your new login details.

3. Add a Student

Click "Add Student" and fill in the required fields with your child’s details:

1. School Board name

2. Select a school

3. Legal First Name

4. Legal Last Name

5. Birth Date (Month/Day/Year)