St. Josephine Bakhita Ajax School Council
51 Williamson Road East L1T 0B4 Ajax, ON, Canada

Today is the The Feast Day of St Josephine Bakhita Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering. Historians believe that sometime in February 1877, Josephine was kidnapped by Arab slave traders. Although she was just a c...hild, she was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles to a slave market in El Obeid. She was bought and sold at least twice during the grueling journey. For the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She spent so much time in captivity that she forgot her original name. As a slave, her experiences varied from fair treatment to cruel. Her first owner, a wealthy Arab, gave her to his daughters as a maid. The assignment was easy until she offended her owner's son, possibly for the crime of breaking a vase. As punishment, she was beaten so severely she was incapacitated for a month. After that, she was sold. One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her daily. Josephine wrote that as soon as one wound would heal, they would inflict another. She told about how the general's wife ordered her to be scarred. As her mistress watched, ready with a whip, another woman drew patterns on her skin with flour, then cut into her flesh with a blade. She rubbed the wounds with salt to make the scars permanent. She would suffer a total of 114 scars from this abuse. In 1883, the Turkish general sold her to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legani. He was a much kinder master and he did not beat her. When it was time for him to return to Italy, she begged to be taken with him, and he agreed. After a long and dangerous journey across Sudan, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean, they arrived in Italy. She was given away to another family as a gift and she served them as a nanny. Her new family also had dealings in Sudan had when her mistress decided to travel to Sudan without Josephine, she placed her in the custody of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. While she was in the custody of the sisters, she came to learn about God. According to Josephine, she had always known about God, who created all things, but she did not know who He was. The sisters answered her questions. She was deeply moved by her time with the sisters and discerned a call to follow Christ. We hope that you were able to join todays liturgy to celebrate.

Effective Monday, February 8, 2021, students enrolled in in-class learning will return to the classroom with enhanced protocols and routines in place that will support the health, safety and well-being of all members of our Catholic learning community. Students enrolled in our elementary or secondary virtual learning schools are not impacted by this announcement. *** Please remember the schools request that parents do not drop off lunches at the school due to Covid protocols.... In accordance with the Ministry of Education and public health officials, the following enhanced health and safety measures will be in place when schools re-open, in addition to the layers of protection that were already in place since September 2020. Masking Masking is now mandatory for all students in Grades 1-3, subject to reasonable exceptions. This masking requirement is in addition to the existing requirement for students in Grades 4-12. Where physical distancing is not possible during outdoor activities, masking will be required for students in Grades 1-12. Students in Kindergarten are strongly encouraged to wear a mask. Families are encouraged to send two masks to school each day for each child (one for indoor and one for outdoor use). Starting Monday, February 8, 2021, masks must be worn on the school bus, as well as outdoors at bus stops, by students in Kindergarten-Grade 12. Screening All students and staff are required to conduct daily screening for symptoms of COVID-19 before attending school using the COVID-19 school screening tool. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL IF THEY HAVE SYMPTOMS OR HAVE NOT PASSED THE SELF ASSESSMENT. For ease of access for students, a direct link to the Covid-19 school self-screening tool is now available on the DCDSB app. Parents/guardians, students and staff with mobile devices are encouraged to download the DCDSB app from Apple App Store or Google Play. The app can be located by searching Durham Catholic District School Board.

A reminder that reports cards are coming out tomorrow electronically. Please refer to the email that was sent out yesterday for the steps to access your child's report card.

Our schools will re-open for in-class instruction on Monday, February 8, 2021. A notice was shared with families today outlining enhanced safety protocols in place as students and staff return to school: https://www.dcdsb.ca/Modules/News/index.aspx

The Hon. Jean Augustine, is a champion of inclusion as an activist, champion for social justice, community leader, first black MP, Minister, educator and fundraiser for good causes. Her leadership is the reason that we have Black History Month in Canada, achieved through an unanimous vote in the House of Commons in 1995. Read a glimpse into her amazing story here ... https://www.cbc.ca/.../bhm-honourable-jean-augustine-1...

Please make sure to check Edsby to access our virtual Remembrance Day Litrugy this Wednesday at 10:30 am.Please make sure to check Edsby to access our virtual Remembrance Day Litrugy this Wednesday at 10:30 am.

St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic School Evaluating roundabout: Middlecote & Williamson Roundabout.jpg Dear SJB Families,... This morning, we received the message below from the Active Transportation Coordinator from the Town of Ajax: On Thursday November 5, staff from Ajax and Whitby will be conducting a site visit at the roundabout by Middlecote Drive and Williamson Drive to evaluate pedestrian crossings. Please inform your school community that town staff may be photographing or videotaping students and drivers at the roundabouts. Staff will have identification if asked to produce it. Photographs are to be used in evaluating roundabout performance and will not be made available to the public. For more information on this initiative, feel free to contact Armi de Francia ([email protected]) or Chris Potvin ([email protected]) from the Town of Whitby who will be present. Sincerely, Mrs. Remiz, Principal Mrs. Alexander, Vice Principal

#DressPurpleDay is an opportunity to remind Ontarians that Children's Aid Societies and Indigenous child well-being agencies are there to help. By wearing purple on Oct.27, we demonstrate that child safety is a priority. Watch video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VFS3f5ll5k4&feature=youtu.be #IDressPurpleBecause https://twitter.com/DurhamCat//1320511722948644864/photo/1

Short week this week everyone! Just a reminder that tomorrow we receive our What's Up Wednesday newsletter and Friday is a PA Day! https://twitter.com/DurhamCat//1318224173576167425/photo/1

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We are thankful for all that you do and all that you are! We hope that you are spending the day with those that you love the most! Stay Safe! https://www.almanac.com//pub/image_nodes/thanksgiving.jpg

Tomorrow is picture day!!!!Tomorrow is picture day!!!!