Greetings to all St Timothy families. As we make the transition from the Advent and Christmas season toward Lent, I trust that all of us are now well back from holiday mode and are fully immersed in the work, school, church, social, and recreational activities that are part of our mid-winter Canadian experience.

As per my visit to your School Council meetings, as well as the information that I shared with you that evening,  I want to briefly touch on a few items that are both timely and, I believe, of interest to you.

Full-Day Early Learning for 4 and 5 year olds – Dufferin-Peel was given funding by the province to provide 48 classrooms across the board for this new program in September. Sixteen schools were selected to be the first to implement the program  and St Catherine of Siena was one that was identified and choosen. Additional funding will be provided by the province on a yearly basis to provide additional classrooms until full implementation at all elementary schools across the province in 2015.

Math Homework Help Website - Grade 7 to 10 math students at Dufferin-Peel now have access to 20 hours a week of free, online math tutoring to help them improve and succeed in math. Visit the Board website at www.dpcdsb.org and the Homework Help link, where certified Ontario teachers are available Sunday to Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for one-on-one confidential help. Dufferin-Peel is one of 15 English-language boards taking part in this pilot project funded by the Ministry of Education.

Integrated Transportation – Recently, trustees decided against the concept of integrated ridership on school buses, whereby students from Dufferin-Peel schools would ride with students from the public board. Trustees felt that student safety was an overriding concern, especially at the secondary school level.

Haitian Earthquake Relief – We have all been moved by the disturbing images of devastation and suffering caused by the earthquake in Haiti. Our board has been connected to Haiti on a number of fronts over the past several years, including a number of schools that have hosted performances by the spectacular dance group, the Resurrection Dancers.

Dufferin-Peel staff and students from all schools have engaged in numerous fundraising efforts to help with the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Please continue to pray for the citizens of Haiti and those who have volunteered to assist with relief efforts.

eCommunity – I appreciate the number of parents/guardians and ratepayers who express an interest in receiving ongoing information about the board and encourage you, if you have not already done so, to sign up to receive board information such as news releases, notification of upcoming events, explanation of issues, and other general information about the board, through our electronic information service, eCommunity.  It’s easy to sign up. Simply visit the board website at www.dpcdsb.org and look for the eCommunity - Stay Connected graphic link on the left side of the page. You will be asked to enter your email address and will receive a confirmation notice.

I always look forward to meeting as many parents/guardians and families as I possibly can during school council meetings, my school visits and during other school and community events. As you already know, I am always available to speak to you, and I welcome your feedback on school and school board initiatives and issues, as well as education issues in general.

Thank you for your ongoing support for your neighbourhood school and for Catholic education.

God Bless.

Bruno Iannicca                                                                                                                               

Trustee Ward 7 Mississauga                                                                                                          Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board