St. Daniel Comboni
Newsletter for March & April 2021
Principal : A. Scigliano
Vice-Principal : S. Salameh
Superintendent: T. Peel
Trustee: Brampton Wards 2, 5 and 6: Darryl D’Souza
Head Secretary: D. Whiteman
Asst. Secretary: J. Harvey
120 Veterans Drive, Brampton, ON, L7A 3Z7
P: (905) 495-4621 F: (905) 495-8620
dpcdsb.org/COMBO
School Council Chair: A. Marchao
SCHOOL HOURS
The school hours for students are as follows:
9:15 a.m Class Begins
12:16-1:16 p.m Lunch
3:45 p.m. Class Dismissal
Follow us on Twitter:
StDanielComboniDP@StDanielComboni
WELCOME TO THE LION'S PRIDE
lenten prayer for transformation
Loving Father,
I invite you into my life today
and make myself available to you.
Help me to become the-best-version-of-myself
by seeking your will and becoming a living example
of your love in the world.
Open my heart to the areas of my life that need to change
in order for me to carry out the mission
and experience the joy you have imagined for my life.
Inspire me to live the Catholic faith
in ways that are dynamic and engaging.
Show me how to best get involved in the life of my parish.
Make our community hungry for best practices
and continuous learning.
Give me courage when I am afraid,
hope when I am discouraged,
and clarity in times of decision.
Teach me to enjoy uncertainty and lead your Church
to become all you imagined it would be
for the people of our times.
Amen.
Administrator’s Message
On February 17th we began our journey through Lent. Although challenging, let our school community of believers keep true to our promises made to be: more faithful in prayer; more generous with our almsgiving; more forgiving to others; and remain strong in our fast. Let us prepare for the death and resurrection of Jesus and keep in our minds and hearts how we can continue to grow following the teachings of Jesus.
Easter Sunday, is the day of rejoicing that follows the sorrow of Good Friday and Holy Saturday. For us, Easter is the celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. It bears witness to God's enduring promise of eternal life. As the climax of Holy Week, Easter is a time of hope and assurance. It is a new season of grace, joy and thanksgiving.
On behalf of the entire St. Daniel Comboni Staff, we would like to wish all the families a holy and blessed Lenten and Easter season.
Thank you and God Bless,
A. Scigliano
Principal
S. Salameh
Vice Principal
School In Hybrid Mode (Face to Face)
For those who are in-person learning, you can support your child by reviewing regularly with them:
- a positive outlook: be with your friends, see your teachers, learn new things together, etc.
- how they are feeling about school: talk about and acknowledge all their feelings but offer hope by teaching them how to stay safe & that there are caring adults at school to help them
- wearing a mask (on school property and on the bus): mandatory for FDK to Grade 8, as well as for any adults coming onto school property
- ALL students will have outdoor time daily, only with their class, and while physically distancing, please ensure they are dressed appropriately to be outside daily (FDK to Grade 8)
- keep physical distance of 2 meters at all times
- practice good hand hygiene – wash hands often and/or use hand sanitizer (can bring their own unscented sanitizer)
- greet teachers and friends by waving
- stay in your assigned seat/desk
- not to share any food or personal belongings
the virtue for the month of march (kindness)
the virtue for the month of april (love)
SAFE SCHOOLS INITIATIVES
COVID-19 UPDATES
Also, The Ontario Government has launched a new online and interactive COVID-19 screening tool for parents before their children go to school. https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
***Please see the latest updates from Peel Health in the attachments at the end of the newsletter.***
KISS & RIDE
We will continue to support students' safe arrival and dismissal from school and we continue to ask you to park your car in the parking lot not in the Kiss n Ride lane. This will allow for continued easy flow of the Kiss n Ride lanes.
As we continue to navigate our wonderful growth at Comboni, please be mindful of Kiss n Ride etiquette and continue to be kind to one another, especially as the winter months approach. Our first goal is the safety of your children.
Thank you again for your support!
"Safe Arrivals" Program - Attendance Verification
The Safe Arrival Program is designed to ensure that your children arrive safely at school each day. We appreciate your cooperation in calling the school to let us know that your child will not be attending. To help facilitate this process, we ask that parents call the school at 905-495-4621 between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. These times are for your convenience, but they also help to alleviate a heavy influx of calls on the main telephone line each morning.
When reporting an absence please state:
· the child’s name
· the child’s grade
· the child’s teacher, and
· the reason for absence.
Student Safety and Allergies
We have several students who have life threatening allergies to food such as nuts, sesame seeds, oats and/or peanuts. We are asking that you help us make our school an allergy aware school by refraining from sending your children with peanut butter or other products containing nuts or nut oils (i.e. Nutella). If these students come into contact with anything containing peanuts, nuts, nut oils or derivatives, it could be life threatening. Some students have such a severe allergy that only the smell of the allergen may cause a reaction. Your child’s teacher will inform you of any class-specific allergy concerns.
Should you wish to send in a treat for the class in honour of a birthday or special occasion, we ask that treats such as stickers, pencils, book/game board donations be considered. Please note that food related snacks are not accepted.
WE SHARE THE AIR
We would like to inform you that St. Daniel Comboni School continues to participate in ‘We Share the Air", a Scent Sensitivity Awareness Campaign. There are staff and students in attendance who suffer from life-threatening asthmatic conditions to air pollutants. Exposure even to minimal odours may cause potential life-threatening reactions. Very common severe chemical triggers are: perfume, cologne, scented products and personal care products (such as hairspray). These products may cause severe reactions for staff and students. The safety and well-being of all of our staff and students is a priority.
In order to ensure the safety and well-being of all staff and students, we request that our school community refrain from wearing scented personal products complying with our Scent Free Zone Campaign at school and all school events. We appreciate your cooperation in supporting a safe learning environment for all staff and students.
IMPORTANT MEDICAL INFORMATION
School staff cannot dispense medication of any kind without the proper authorization and a properly labeled container, (i.e. prescription bottle or original over-the-counter container). Medication brought to school in baggies, film canisters, etc. pose a risk to other students and will be secured in the office and returned to the parent. Staff cannot modify or adjust any medication under any circumstances. Additionally, staff cannot medicate a child. Therefore the child must be able to take the medicine as prescribed on their own with staff supervision. Please ask the office for an Authorization Form before your child brings medication to school.
Attendance and Punctuality
We ask that parents continue to support their children in their morning routines so that they can arrive to school on time. This ensures that your child learns an essential life skill, participates in the entire school day, and that disruptions to the learning environment are minimal. A reminder that school begins at 9:15am and supervision begins at 9:00am.
CUSTODY OF CHILDREN
On rare occasions, we are faced with situations in which non-custodial parents/guardians arrive at school asking to visit a student or sign them out. We are best able to serve and protect our students when we are made aware of legal custody arrangements. Please inform the main office of these issues as soon as possible and we will ensure your child’s teacher is aware of the arrangements.
PHONE CALLS DURING SCHOOL TIME
The office often gets requests from students to make phone calls home to ask parents to bring forgotten items such as running shoes, agendas or textbooks/homework. We are reinforcing with students that phone calls should be minimized and that it is their responsibility to bring all necessary items to school and to arrange in advance their out of school activities. Also, please make after-school arrangements with your children prior to the start of the school day. We make every attempt to minimize interruptions to classes.
COLD WEATHER
During the winter season the school receives calls from concerned parents as to how we determine when children will or will not be allowed outside for recess. It is generally accepted that when the wind chill factor drops below –25 C, students should not go outside for recess. Dufferin-Peel CDSB policy uses a wind chill factor of –25 C as the determining temperature. With the arrival of colder weather, students are reminded to dress appropriately (hats, mitts, etc.) and to wear all clothing that they came to school in. For health reasons, we ask that students have indoor shoes that are kept at school. Another reason for indoor shoes is that in the event of an emergency evacuation, students will not have the opportunity to put boots on. Please make sure clothing is labeled—this will help in the return of lost items.
CONCUSSIONS
Concussions are brain injuries caused by excessive, rapid movement of the brain inside the skull. This movement causes damage that changes how brain cells function, leading to symptoms that can be physical (headaches, dizziness), cognitive (problems remembering or concentrating), or emotional (feeling depressed).
A concussion can result from a blow to the head or body in any number of activities including receiving a check in hockey, falling from a jungle gym, or slipping on an icy sidewalk. All head injuries can be difficult to diagnose, however, a concussion is the most difficult head injury to diagnose. Brain scans do not always determine if a concussion exists.
The school calls parents whenever a child has hit their head. It is important that parents also keep the school informed if their child has had a head injury during an extra curricular activity. The school will work with the family to set up a plan (in line with the Board’s protocol) to assist the student through the 8 phases of Return to Learn and Return to Play.
You can also access this link to review the brochure.
Emergency Drills
SCHOOL PICTURES
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION
At this time, only eligible students may ride the bus. Bus students in FDK and Grade 1 must be met at the stop. Your child should arrive at the bus stop 10 minutes before the assigned arrival time. Due to inclement weather or construction, delays may happen. We appreciate your understanding and patience. Due to COVID-19 precautions, students have been assigned seats on a seating plan that the bus drivers have copies of.
A reminder that if school buses are cancelled in a region of the board, ALL schools located in that region will be closed to staff and students.
Bus cancellation notices are posted as follows:
- On the DPCDSB website and all school websites by 6:00 am. Check the yellow ALERT Banner at the top of the website at dpcdsb.org.
- On the DPCDSB main phone line through recorded message at 905-890-0708
- Through the DPCDSB’s social media channels:
- Twitter: @DPCDSBSchools
- Facebook: @DPCDSBSchools
- Instagram: @DPCDSB.schools
STOPR will monitor weather and road conditions during the winter months. The decision to cancel transportation due to inclement weather will be made by 06:00 am each morning.
When it is necessary to cancel school transportation and close schools, STOPR will post this information on our website and on our “Twitter” account @STOPRinfo at the following links:
• https://twitter.com/STOPRinfo
Local radio stations and media outlets may also broadcast this information, however we encourage parents to follow us on twitter and check the STOPR website, delays and cancellations page, for the most up to date information.
STOPR will communicate school transportation cancellations and school closings by posting one of the following standard messages on our website and twitter account:
1. DPCDSB transportation in Dufferin County is cancelled today. Including RF Hall SS.
2. DPCDSB and PDSB transportation in Caledon is cancelled today. Buses will continue to operate at: James Grieve, Southfields Village, Tony Pontes, Malala Yousafzai, Pte Buckam Singh, St Aidan and St Rita/St Leonard.
3. DPCDSB and PDSB transportation in Caledon and Dufferin County is cancelled today. Buses will continue to operate at: James Grieve, Southfields Village, Tony Pontes, Malala Yousafzai, Pte Buckam Singh, St Aidan and St Rita/St Leonard.
4. DPCDSB and PDSB transportation in Mississauga is cancelled for today.
5. All DPCDSB and PDSB transportation is cancelled today.
6. All DPCDSB and PDSB transportation is cancelled and all schools are closed today.
When school transportation is cancelled in the morning it will also be cancelled in the afternoon.
For more information regarding delays, cancellations and/or eligibility contact STOPR directly at:
businfo.stopr.ca
(905) 890-0614
Special Education (905) 890-6362
Guardian Angels
When you choose to send your child to a Dufferin-Peel school, we assure you a holistic Catholic education. We do this through…
· Teaching Religious & Family Life education in each grade,
· living our faith daily through prayer, celebration and liturgy,
· building community and “retreat”,
· active involvement in charity and initiatives of social justice from a Catholic context,
· assisting the Guardian Angels Parish team with the preparation of students for the sacraments,
· ensuring everything we do is embedded with Catholic values and content.
Our school is part of the parish of Guardian Angels Parish. We consider our Pastor, Father Jan Gogolewski to be an integral member of our school community. Weekend masses are celebrated on Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. and Sundays at 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:00 a.m.
Information can be found on the parish website - https://guardianangelsbr.archtoronto.org/
Catholic School Council
The purpose of Catholic School Councils is, through the active participation of parents, to improve pupil achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents. A Catholic School Council’s primary means of achieving its purpose is by making recommendations in accordance with this policy and regulation to the principal of the school and to the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
Council members shall maintain a school-wide focus on all issues. Each member shall:
•Attend regularly and participate in council meetings
•Participate in faith development, information and training programs
•Act as a link between the Catholic School Council and the school community
•Encourage the participation of parents from all groups and of other people within the community
St. Daniel Comboni 2020-2021 Council
Chair: A. Marchao Teacher Rep.: T. Carreiro
Treasurer: M. Sousa Secretary: L. Marchao
Parish Rep.: C. Forte Non- Teaching Rep.: L. Marchao
OAPCE Rep.: M. Vicente Community Rep.: R. Maamari
Parent Reps.: M. Di Matteo, D. Glean, D. Samaroo
Future Meeting Dates:
April 2021 (Board Central Meeting TBD)
May 12, 2021
***Please contact the office for the Zoom link if you would like to attend our CSC meeting
Are You Moving?
To help us with our planning for next September, it would be appreciated if you could let us know now if you will be moving out of our school area, or over the summer. If you know of any families moving into the area with children who plan to attend St. Daniel Comboni, it would be helpful if you could alert us.
The more information we have, the better we are able to organize staff and students for September. In the absence of accurate information, schools often have to reorganize classes in September due to unexpected fluctuations in population.
Important Dates
Mar. 17- St. Patrick’s Day
Mar. 21- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Mar. 22-26- Sharelife Week
Mar. 25- Parents/Guardians Equity Workshop with Father Tony Ricard
Mar. 28- Palm Sunday (Holy Week starts)
Apr. 2- Good Friday (No School)
Apr. 4- Easter Sunday
Apr. 5- Easter Monday (No School)
Apr. 8- First Reconciliation and grade 7 reconciliation
Apr. 12-16 - Spring Break
Apr. 17- First Communion @ Guardian Angels, 10:00am
Apr. 22- Easter Mass, Virtual @ 10:00am
Apr. 22- Confirmation, Guardian Angels @ 7:00pm
IMPORTANT ATTACHMENTS
Dear Parents and/or Guardians:
Attached you will find attachments for informational and safety purposes, and need not be returned to your child/children’s teacher. However, it is essential that parents take the time to read each attached form.