Principal - M. Thompson

Vice-Principal - J. Dimaapi

Head Secretary - D. Whiteman

Assistant Secretary - B. Cameron

Superintendent - V. Varano

Trustee - D. D'Souza

Pastor - Father Ravi Babu

Happy 2024/2025 school year!!!

We want to extend a warm welcome back to all our students, parents/guardians, grandparents, families and staff. It is with great joy and anticipation that we begin this new school year together, guided by our shared faith and commitment to educational excellence.

A warm welcome to the St. Daniel Comboni family, our first year Kindergarten students and their parents, any new students joining us and all new staff. A heartfelt welcome to our new Superintendent Viviana Varano and her amazing executive assistant, Dianne Cassar.

At St. Daniel Comboni, we believe that education is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about nurturing the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. This year, we are once again blessed with the opportunity to grow in faith, wisdom, and community with our Catholic Education Theme “Pilgrims of Hope”. We are on a journey of faith and discovery, grounded in the love of Christ and supported by the strength of our families. Hope will be our guiding star, leading us forward with courage and optimism, even when the that may seem uncertain.

This year, St. Daniel Comboni has many wonderful events, activities, and learning experiences planned. Our dedicated teachers and staff are eager to engage students in a curriculum that challenges the intellect while deepening their understanding of our Catholic values, with a focus on student wellness. Whether in the classroom, on the sports field, during Mass, or at an assembly, every moment is an opportunity for growth and discovery.

Let us embark on this journey with enthusiasm and a spirit of cooperation, always keeping our faith at the center of our lives and our school. Together, we will make this year another memorable one, filled with faith, learning, and fun.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. We look forward to seeing the wonderful achievements that this year will bring, and all the smiling faces!

May God bless you all as we begin this new school year of 2024/2025.

With gratitude, excitement, peace and love,

M. Thompson

Principal

J. Dimaapi

Vice-Principal

To begin the new school year, we’ll focus our attention on the first of our virtues – faith. Faith is the great virtue of believing in God and trusting that God is with us.

A faithful person believes that we are created, guided by and destined to be reunited with God. A faithful person believes that God’s plan for us includes the right to be safe, especially at school.

A Faithful Person...

• Prays regularly and reverently
• Learns from Scripture stories
• Honours people’s God‐given names
• Assumes that there is good in everyone

Effective September 3, 2024, St. Daniel Comboni will no longer have a soft entry time.

ALL STUDENTS will wait outside (NO earlier than 9am) on the pavement and line up in their designated lines when the bell rings at 9:15am.

Supervision begins at the school at 9:00am. For your child/children's safety, please do not send your child earlier as there is no supervision. Students are asked to stay on the pavement area ONLY. Field will be closed and no equipment is permitted during this time to ensure everyone's safety.

Parents are asked to drop off their children and not enter onto the school yard area to also ensure safety. Red lines are indicated on both sides of our pavement area which we ask parents and guardians not to cross over.

We appreciate all your support and understanding as we continue to keep all our students safe.

The schedule is as follows:

9:15am – School begins - Students will line up outside in their designated lines

10:51am – 11:31am First Nutrition Break (20 minutes of eating/20 minutes of recess)

1:10pm – 2:00pm – Second Nutrition Break (25 minutes of eating/25 minutes of recess)

3:45pm Dismissal (FDK – 3:30pm, Grades 1-3 – 3:40pm, Grades 4-8- 3:45pm)

• Parents/Guardians will receive an email indicating their classroom teacher beginning Saturday August 31st and throughout the weekend. If you do not receive an email or if they are new to the school, or their teacher indicates TBD, they can arrive at the school at 9:00am on Tuesday September 3rd and go to the back of the school for grades 1-8 or in the Kindergarten yard for any SKs to find out their class placement. Teachers will have signs indicating which class they have and every staff member will have class lists to assist you with finding your child's teacher.

• On the first day of school, Tuesday September 3rd, all classroom teachers will be in the primary/junior/intermediate yard at 9:00am with signs indicating the teacher name and grade. All teachers will have a class list.
• SK parents are asked to drop off their child at the Kindergarten gate.
• All support staff will also be available to assist students who were not able to access their child's placement information.
• When the bell rings at 9:15am, classes will enter the school building via their designated doors.
• All JK students first day will be on Wednesday September 4th or Thursday September 5th, all first year students will be at school on Friday September 6th.
• All JK parents/guardians will receive an email with a start date (Students with Surnames A-L first day is on Wed., September 4th; Students with Surnames M-Z first day is on Thurs., September 5th)
  .

For the first 2 weeks, teachers will focus on topics such as:

• Entry and dismissal routines
• Movement in and around the school
• Transition times
• Using the school washroom
  
• Eating lunch/snacks, etc.
• Mental health and well-being check-ins and support
• Diagnostic assessment to plan for intervention

Therefore, as we start the year, staffing is still tentative and until actual numbers are realized and assessed, reorganization of classes is a possibility. If we need to reorganize the school, it will take place on Monday September 16th, 2024 which is our PA Day. There is no school for students on this day. You will be notified ahead of time if changes need to be made that effect your child.

Thank you for understanding.

We are very excited to be back in school! St. Daniel Comboni currently has 4 large buses running routes for our school and students.

***Please note you must register and login into StopR to obtain your child's bussing information***

Eligibility:

In terms of eligibility, please log onto www.stopr.ca and select Transportation Eligibility and type in your address. This will determine if you are eligible for busing.

Students are eligible for transportation services if their primary address is within the school’s attendance boundary, and at a distance greater than:

JK - Grade 1: 1.0 km

Grades 2 - 4: 1.6 km

Grades 5 – 8: 2.0 km

You may also call STOPR at 905-890-6000 or 1 (800) 668-1140 and Press 1 for regular busing or Press 2 for Special Needs busing. Please note that only STOPR can assign transportation – not the school.

Create a STOPR account:

If your child is eligible for busing and/or already taking the bus, we strongly encourage you to register with STOPR by creating a Parent/Student Login with a BPWeb account, which will provide detailed busing information for all students. You can also subscribe to receive notifications of delayed buses via email or text message. There are detailed instructions for creating an account on Stopr.ca “Accessing your Busing Information” page under the “Student Transportation” heading. “Delayed Buses” will give daily notifications of delays and will also give you information regarding weather zone cancellations.

Opting Out of the Bus:

If students are eligible and do not need the bus, we ask that you notify your child’s teacher. This way, it will allow the school to open up seats for students who need busing.

Possible reasons why some students do not use the bus:

• A student is enrolled in a before/after school program such as PLASP or YMCA
• A student has a babysitter in the walk zone
• A student is driven or walks to school with a parent, older sibling or relative
• Any other reason that parents/guardians decide is best for them

If you are opting out of the bus transportation for your child(ren), we ask that you kindly complete the Opt Out form and return it to your child’s teacher. Further information will be sent home soon.

Courtesy Seats:

St. Daniel Comboni will not be offering any Courtesy seats for the 2024-2025 School Year.

Please note:

• Bus companies are experiencing shortages in terms of the number of drivers. Please note that buses are often not running on time and there may be significant delays. Please ensure that you continue to check your email or text for bus notifications once you register with STOPR. We apologize for any inconvenience.
• We will be sending home “School Bus Safety Expectations” with your child. Kindly review the expectations with your child(ren) and sign the form. Kindly return the signed form to your child’s teacher.

Please contact Stopr if you have any further questions about busing.

1. NEVER LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE. Kiss and Ride lanes are to be “moving lane ways”, not parking spots. This ensures that emergency vehicles can get in if they have to and for the flow of traffic. Please do not leave your vehicle at any time. If you need to directly drop off your child, please park your car. For safety reasons, have the children exit the car from the passenger side of the vehicle only. If they are unable to do this without your help, you must park your car and walk your child in.
2. PLEASE CONTROL YOUR SPEED. Kiss and Ride is the type of environment where students behave unpredictably and could quickly ‘pop out’ in front of you. Please give yourself the greatest chance of avoiding an accident. We are all working together to minimize risks to our children.
   
3. DO NOT PARK IN AN ACCESSIBLE SPOT without a pass. This limits our families who require these spots for their children with physical needs. Please be respectful of this.

Remember that the driveway is a one way only. Please follow the signs to ensure the safety of all students and family.

Our ask as parents/guardians, please remind your child(ren) not to put any scented perfumes, lotions on and please do not send anything scented with your child(ren) to apply at school.

Thank you for your co-operation in keeping everyone safe at school.

SafeArrival is an application within SchoolMessenger that will allow parents/guardians to report their children’s absences in one of the following three ways:

• SchoolMessenger App
• SchoolMessenger website https://go.schoolmessenger.ca
• Toll Free number 1-844-435-3440

What is SafeArrival:

• SafeArrival is an absence management system that improves student safety.
• It supports school staff to follow up on unexcused absences.
• It allows parents and/or guardians to notify the school in advance about an upcoming absence.

Benefits:

• Better Attendance Management for Enhanced Student Safety
• Faster and Easier Attendance Management
• Simplified Parent Reporting Tools
• Accessible, Convenient and Secure
• Automated Key Tasks With SafeArrival Administrative Tools

The first council meeting, will take place in person on Wednesday October 2th, 2024 at 6:30pm in the school library. During this meeting, we will vote on the new council. More information on the submission of nominations, positions on council and the election process will be coming via email in the next couple of weeks. We look forward to meeting you and coming together to make this year an exciting one for our students and community!

Students will eat lunch in their classes and are encouraged to bring water bottles to school. These water bottles can be refilled at our water bottle refill stations. Drinking fountains will not be available at this time. Students should bring to school a packed lunch each day to limit the amount of visitors in the building. In the event that a student forgets a lunch, a parent/guardian will be contacted. Students will be allowed to go home for lunch. If you choose to have your child go home for lunch on a daily basis, please notify the school or let your child's teacher know.

For school safety delivery food orders ie. Skip the Dishes/ Uber Eats will not be permitted

at the school.

We are happy to announce we will still be working with Lunch Box to provide our students opportunities to purchase hot lunches during the week.

Wednesday - Subway

Thursday - Osmow's

Friday - A & W

Please click on the link below to register for Lunch Box and instructions on how to register for School Cash Online

DPCDSB dress codes will be consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Students shall wear clothing that promotes a safe, respectful, and inclusive place to learn. Students are dressed in a manner which ensures that their torso and upper legs, to the mid-thigh, are not exposed.

Students cannot wear clothing that promotes or can be seen as representing:

 Hate

 Sexually explicit content

 Stereotypes

 Discrimination

 Illegal Activity

 Profanity

 Violence

By working together, we can promote safe, inclusive, and healthy schools.

Thank you for your attention to this important information.

Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) on School and DPCDSB Premises

DPCDSB regulates the use of PEDs on school or other DPCDSB premises by prohibiting the following uses:

• School community members are to refrain from using their PEDs unless directed to do so by an educator, or for health, medical, and/or special education needs.

• PEDs are to be kept out of site and either powered off or on silent mode.

• If an educator sees a PED that is not stored out of view, the PED must be placed by the student, in a storage area in a location designated by the principal.

• The use of a PED that compromises the academic integrity of the school or individuals within the school.

• The use of a PED that interferes with or disrupts the academic day or the teaching and learning environment.

• The use of a PED that violates a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

• The use of a PED that compromises personal and/or school/workplace safety.

• The use of a PED that facilitates the commission of a crime.

• Any other use of a PED which the school principal or DPCDSB deems compromises or interferes with school/site security, personal safety, individual privacy, or academic integrity.

We greatly appreciate volunteers in our schools and often encourage parents to volunteer their time. To volunteer at the school and join your child on field trips, a criminal reference check needs to be completed and a copy needs to be in the school office. If you have already completed a criminal reference check last year or completed a declaration, then you do not need to do anything else as we have your records on file.

If you are looking to volunteer your time at the school, please visit the police station or complete the Volunteer Form online so that we can best place you in the school and you can attend field trips.

You can visit the parish website at https://guardianangelsbr.archtoronto.org/en/ for more information. As information is communicated to us about sacraments we will share with the community.

September 16 PA Day (no school for students)

September 25th: Open House Evening

September 30: Truth and Reconciliation Day (Orange Shirt Day)

October 2 : Catholic School Council Meeting 6:30pm - Library

October 14: Thanksgiving (No School)

October 31: Halloween

November 1: All Saints Day

Email: St.DanielComboniCatholicElementaryInfo@dpcdsb.org
Website: https://www3.dpcdsb.org/COMBO
Location: 120 Veterans Drive, Brampton, ON, Canada
Phone: 905-495-4621