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IT STARTS in the Schools

MAY 2009

UPCOMING EVENTS May 1 Our Lady of Grace Catholic School

416-393-5372 121 Brimwood Boulevard, Scarborough

Pep Rally for “Relay for Life” event, to be held in June

May 2 James Culnan Catholic School

416-397-6800 ext. 6219 605 Willard Avenue, Toronto

Parent Information Session for Vietnamese Community—an Asian Heritage Month event, 1-4:30 p.m.

May 3 Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School

416-393-5525 2 St. Andrews Boulevard, Etobicoke

30th Anniversary Celebrations Mass 2 p.m., followed by open house and refreshments coordinated by hospitality and tourism students

May 3 Angel Foundation For Learning

416-222-8282 ext. 6022 80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

Fun Walk 9 a.m.

May 3-8 TCDSB Schools Catholic Education Week May 4 Catholic Education Centre

416-222-8282 ext. 5314 80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

Awards Night Presentation of Student Achievement Awards, Award of Merit, Alumni Award, 7 p.m.

May 4 Holy Name Catholic School

416-393-5215 690 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto

Celebration of First Nations, Metis and Inuit Culture and Aboriginal Poster Contest Event, 7 p.m.

May 4-8 TCDSB Schools Catholic Education Week: Good News for

All May 4-8 Woodbine Centre, 500 Rexdale Boulevard,

Etobicoke and Bridlewood Centre, 2900 Warden Avenue, Scarborough Linda Alonzi 416-393-5363

TCDSB Festival of the Arts Instrumental and vocal music performances daily 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. at Woodbine Centre, 11:45 a.m. at Bridlewood Centre. Also visual arts exhibits for viewing.

May 5 St. Luke Catholic School 416-393-5347 319 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Open House 1:00-3:00 p.m.

May 5 TCDSB Secondary Students “Asian Heritage…Soaring Through

Technology, Culture and the Arts”—a symposium, 9:30 a.m. at OISE, 252 Bloor Street West

May 5 St. James Catholic School

416-393-5275 230 Humbercrest Boulevard, Toronto

Bicycle Rodeo Grades 4-6, in the morning

May 5 St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic School

416-393-5394 101 Dean Park Road, Scarborough


May 6 St. Raymond Catholic School

416-393-5293 270 Barton Avenue, Toronto

Family Math Night 6:30-8 p.m. Math games and activities for students in JK to Grade 6, and their families.

May 6 St. James Catholic School

416-393-5275 230 Humbercrest Boulevard, Toronto

Welcome to Kindergarten Night 6:30-8:00 p.m.

May 6 St. Dorothy Catholic School

416-393-5341 155 John Garland Boulevard, Etobicoke


May 6 TCDSB Elementary Schools City Wide Cross-Country Meet

Earl Bales Park, 10 a.m. May 7 St. Luke Catholic School

416-393-5347 319 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

Welcome to Kindergarten Open House 1:00 p.m.

May 7 St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School

416-393-5381 75 Alexmuir Boulevard, Scarborough

Welcome to Kindergarten Open House 7:00 p.m.

May 7 Our Lady of Grace Catholic School

416-393-5372 121 Brimwood Boulevard, Scarborough

Mother’s Day Tea grade 2 class

May 7 St. Martha Catholic School

416-393-5344 1865 Sheppard Avenue West, North York

Grandparents Open House 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

May 7 St. Bonaventure Catholic School

416-393-5263 1340 Leslie Street, North York

Catholic Education Week Open House 6:30-8:30 p.m.

May 7 St. Louis Catholic School

416-393-5331 11 Morgan Avenue, Etobicoke


May 8 St. Bruno Catholic School 416-393-5376 402 Melita Crescent, Toronto

School Murals Dedication and Installation--2:00 p.m. in the school gym—theme for the murals—Splendour of the Earth—completed murals will be installed on school fence

May 8 St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School

416-393-5381 75 Alexmuir Boulevard, Scarborough

Jim Chapel Presentation On bugs and insects

May 9 St. Raphael Catholic School

416-393-5285 3 Gade Drive, North York

Meagan’s Mini-Walk 8:30 a.m.—students join in hug around the school

May 9 Blessed John XXIII Catholic School

416-397-6800 ext. 6219 175 Grenboble Drive, North York

Parent Information Session for Filipino Community—an Asian Heritage Month event, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon



Mother’s Day Tea Kindergarten Classroom, 10 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.

May 11 Catholic Education Centre

416-393-5516 (Mike Doyle) 80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

“Nobody’s a Nobody” Featuring Dr. Andrew Simone, Canadian Food for Children, followed by Mass celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Collins, 10 a.m.

May 11-15 TCDSB Schools Respect for Life Week May 13&14 St. Dominic Savio Catholic School

416-393-5467 50 Tideswell Boulevard, Scarborough

School Production of Guys and Dolls, 7:00 p.m.

May 14 TCSAA Recognition Dinner

888 Don Mills Road, North York

Victor Angelosante Award Presentation to Phil Petrucelli, St. Raphael; Gino Ruffo, Sacred Heart and Josie Vinci, St. Helen, 6 p.m., Spirale Banquet Hall



Welcome to Kindergarten Event 7-9 p.m.

May 21 St. Bonaventure Parish Centre

1340 Leslie Street, North York, Ontario Info: [email protected]

Parenting Presentation on “The 4 Crucial C’s Every Child Must Have to Succeed” with guest speaker Alyson Schafer



Welcome to Kindergarten Program in the gym for parents and students preparing for kindergarten

May 21-22 St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School

416-393-5528 66 Dufferin Park Avenue, Toronto

Little Orphan Annie 9:15 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

May 22 St. Bruno Catholic School

416-393-5376 402 Melita Crescent, Toronto

Multicultural Night 7 p.m.

Count

May 23 Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic School, 416-397-6800 ext. 6219 3150 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough

Parent Information Session for Tamil Community—an Asian Heritage Month event, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon



Rummage Sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

May 25-29 Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic School

416-393-5273 10 Japonica Road, Scarborough

Café Français School library, daily 9:30 a.m.-12 noon. French culture comes to life as part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebrations

May 27 St. Raymond Catholic School

416-393-5293 270 Barton Avenue, Toronto

Welcome to Kindergarten Event 6:30-7:30 p.m. Parents can enjoy hands-on activities with their children.



Family Barbecue 6-9 p.m.

May 30 St. Barnabas Catholic School

416-397-6800 ext. 6219 30 Washburn Way, Scarborough

Asian Canadian Sports Festival: Learning and Playing—an Asian Heritage Month event, with participants from Filipino, Tamil and Malayalam communities, 9:30 a.m.-12 noon

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS St. Joseph's elementary school junior boys volleyball team wins the 2008-09 Championship The boys were undefeated in all of the 12 games they played. Thanks to the coaches Mdme. Turner, Mr. Stamcoff, coaches helper Ms. O'Leary, student coaches Curtis and Zen and all the players Peter, Jaime, Jonathan, Joey, Liam, Elijas, Liam L., Mason, Jesse, Natty, Jadyn and Desmond for all their hard work and dedication.

Junior W5H Champs Congratulations to the team from St. Wilfrid Catholic School, city champions in this year’s Junior W5H tournament. City finalist was St. Benedict Catholic School. The two finalists were St. Maria Goretti and St. Michael’s Choir. Holy Name Catholic School Welcomes Former Student and Professional Hockey Player Back to School Holy Name Catholic School was pleased to welcome former student Jamal Mayers, now a player with the Toronto Maple Leafs, back to school in March. Mr. Mayers was joined by teammate Mike Van Ryn to promote the importance of education through the Leafs@School program. This popular web-based education program geared to students in grades 4 to 6 aims to put fun into learning by using hockey in relation to core subjects.

Students from the school had an opportunity to ask questions of the two players during the afternoon assembly, and to meet Carleton the Bear.

Left: Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Captain Jamal Mayers, a former student of Holy Name Catholic School with students and Leafs fans Jacob and Zoe. Mayers, along with teammate Mike Van Ryn spoke to students during blue and white day at the school on March 11th.

St. Basil-the-Great makes it to provincial semi-finals St. Basil-the-Great College School’s girls’ ice hockey team has made it into the provincial sem-finals. The Barons defeated top-ranked Waterdown Warriors 4-3 in late March to advance. Musicians play down under Students from Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School travelled to Australia in late March as part of a musical tour. In the following photos, the band played for Australian students.

Community Helper Day at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School On Thursday, March 12, 2009 approximately 100 Junior and Senior Kindergarten students participated in a Community Helper Day Celebration. Mr. Melchiorre, Mrs. Andreacchi and Mrs. Grober successfully organised the involvement of nine community professionals: a dental hygienist, police officer, fire fighter, mechanic, librarian, pizza maker, podiatrist, doctor and a construction worker who shared their respective job responsibilities with the

students. Students learned about the various careers and essential tools needed within their profession. Everyone enjoyed the fun-filled and learning experience. Talk of the day’s event is still buzzing amongst the students and the community. We look forward to next year’s spectacular celebration.

Award winning student Congratulations to Matthew Porco, a grade 10 student at Neil McNeil High School, who won three awards at the March 15th Performance World Competition for the car that he built with his father. He won "Up and Coming Award for A Street Machine" for entrants under 25 years of age, the "Mike Holmes Award" and first place in his class. His entry was a red Pontiac.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination On Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 11:00 a.m., the Toronto Police Service Community Mobilization hosted their 8th Annual International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination event in the main lobby of Police Head Quarters. The 8th Annual International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination focused on the youth and their perspective of what this day means to them - working towards one common goal to end racism and embrace Human Rights. Loretto College was one of the six schools invited from Toronto that gave their perspective of what this day means. Loretto College School’s Student Council and moderator were invited to deliver a speech that celebrated the efforts aimed at ending racism. Sara Marques delivered the speech on behalf of Student Council and Loretto College. Various dignitaries and community members, such as city Councillors, joined Toronto Police Chief William Blair and the Toronto Police Chaplain to celebrate this day. The event also featured cultural entertainment, R&B Canadian recording artist Kim Davis, followed by an informal reception. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the 21st of March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination."

Front row: Sara Marques, Perrune Longange, Amanda Garcia, Stephanie Stefaniuk, and Faith Arkorful, Middle row: Gina Parete, Brianna Franco, Nicole Carreira, Isabella Sousa, Debora Rexho, Back row: Angelica Dourado and Student Council moderator J. Patrick Cleary, and the Police Chief is William Blair. TEAM Math Olympics Six TCDSB students who were successful in this year's TEAMS Math Olympics: Gold winners Claudinne Naidas from Our Lady of Grace and Andrew Tran from St. Stephen; Silver winner Stephen Wen from St.

Bonaventure, Bronze winner Sara Maltese from Sts. Cosmas and Damian and first runners-up Lindsay Tabeena from Holy Spirit and Cedrik Ruiz from Our Lady of Fatima. The gold, silver and bronze winners advance to the Ontario Mathematics Olympiad in Peterborough's Trent University on May 29th and 30th. Blessed Mother Teresa a double winner Congratulations to the senior boys’ basketball team from Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School for walking away with a silver medal at the AAAA Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) tournament in March. The Titans had also won the Toronto District College Athletic Association (TDCAA) finals earlier this year. Students Promote Multiculturalism in Essay Competition Students from the Toronto Catholic District School Board are winners in an essay competition organized by the Human Rights and Race Relations Centre. The award winners attended a presentation in late March 26 at the Catholic Education Centre. The Honourable Jean Augustine, Ontario Fairness Commissioner, was the Keynote Speaker. The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education, joined Commissioner Augustine to present certificates to the essay winners. Students across the City were invited to submit essays on the topic “What positive role students can play in promoting multiculturalism?” Hosted by the TCDSB and the Human Rights & Race Relations Centre and in partnership with both the TCDSB and the Toronto District School Board, the contest awards a first prize of $500 and two second prizes of $100. Both cash prizes are equally divided among the recipients. The First Prize winners from the TCDSB were Aanjalie Collure (St. Joseph Morrow Park High School), Sierra Webster (Cardinal Newman Catholic High School) and Nancy Nguyen (James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School). TCDSB Second prize winners included Clara Nguyen Tran (Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts) and Anamaria Gaina (Holy Spirit Catholic School). In addition, Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts was presented with the Director’s Trophy for the most essay submissions this year. Other special guests included: Ms. Ann Perron, TCDSB Interim Director of Education, Mrs. Fayeza Dawood, President of the Human Rights and Race Relations Centre; Mr. Lal Khan Malik, President of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Canada; Mr. Naseem Mahdi, Missionary in Charge of the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity; Mr. Hasanat Ahmad Syed, CEO of the Human Rights and Race Relations Centre and Chief Armand La Barge, O.O.M., Chief of Police for York Regional Police.

Student Award Winners. Angelo Bolotta, Principal of Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, accepts the award on behalf of his students. Student places second in Earth Hour contest Beach Metro News invited the community to share their ideas for Earth Hour with the newspaper. Judges, Sheila Blinoff, general manager of Beach Metro News and Mary Margaret McMahon from the East Toronto

Climate Action Group, were impressed with a number of entries, but there were two from local students that seemed to sum up both the spirit and the objectives of the event. The second prize winner was Myles Matundan,a Grade 4 student at St. Brigid Catholic School, who was awarded $75. His entry reads: “On March 28, 2009, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., we will be observing Earth Hour. We are planning to use candle lights instead of electric lights. We are preparing our candles and flashlights. We will also prepare some snacks before Earth Hour because we won’t use the stove, oven or microwave. My family and I will be playing board games instead of video games. We are also going to play old-fashioned games like hide-and-seek and tag. My mom won’t be talking on the phone or the cellphone that hour. I am really excited because it is just like camping inside my own house and at the same time helping the earth. I hope the world will do their share of helping the earth because the earth is so beautiful and I want it to stay that way. That is the purpose of Earth Hour." Father John Redmond Student Dancers Shine at Kiwanis Dance Festival Congratulations to the following students from Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre for their success at this year’s festival. Name(s) Category/Class Award Francesca Chudnoff Modern Solo Gold Kimberley Caldwell Lyrical- jazz solo Silver Sarah VanStavern Tap- solo Gold Angela Beauchesne, Krystal Glazier-Roscoe, Joseph DiCicco

Jazz Lyrical-duet/trio Gold

Emma Rose Bonanno, Giancarlo Hicban Other- Lyrical & hip-hop Duet Gold “Grade 9 RAP Dancers”--Kimberly Caldwell, Daniella DeBartolo, Joseph DiCicco, Giancarlo Hicban, Jessica Koper, Mariolya Maksymiw, Halle Manangan, Alexis Manderson-Moran, Sarah O’Campo, Katrina Peios, Stefanie Stefanov

Large Group 16-under Stage Gold

Angela Beauchesne, Krystal Glazier-Roscoe, Shontell Iannizi, Margaret Kawa, Elizabeth Maiato, Karen West, Kristianne Angeles, Shanna Audian, Stephanie Bolotta, Melissa Mendonca, Amanda Mottillo, Daniella DeBartolo, Halle Manangan, Sarah O’Campo

Stage-OPEN Silver

Angela Beauchesne, Margaret Kawa, Elizabeth Maiato, Karen West, Shanna Audian, Amanda Mottillo, Halle Manangan, Alexis Manderson-Moran, Sarah O’Campo, Jessica Koper

Modern Large Group Gold

Congratulations to Athletes from Father John Redmond On Friday , April 3, 2009 the Track Team from Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School in Etobicoke travelled to York University to compete in the NIKE INDOOR GAMES. Going into the Final Meet of the Indoor Track Season, Grade 9 student Vanessa McLeod had medalled in every race she has competed in. Previously on Friday February 20th she set the fastest 600m time in 91 years at Copps Coliseum. On Friday April 3rd, Vanessa ran the fastest 1000m since the inception of the NIKE INDOOR GAMES, breaking the old record by 5 seconds setting a new mark of 3:06. The Medal Results are as follows:

2nd Place for the Grade 9 Girls 4 by 400m Relay Team of: Mercedes McLeod, Anthia Airall, Laura Kosiba and Vanessa McLeod

1st Place for the Grade 9 Boys 4 by 400m Relay Team of: Isiah Weathers, Nerquaye Nettey, Raymond Brown and Dylan Dimock

1st Place in the 1000m for Raymond Brown 1st Place in the 1000m for Vanessa McLeod

Winners of the TCDSB French Public Speaking Contest 2009 Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Concours d’Arts Oratoire. Winners from the annual competitions for elementary and secondary school students are: Grade 9 and 10 winners Name SCHOOL Title of Speech CORE FRENCH 1 Alfred Chen Mary Ward Le système d’endoctrinement : l’école 2 Madeline Della Mora Cardinal Carter Les bêtes noires 3 Alexandra Barany MP/SJ Le déguisement des adolescents EXTENDED FRENCH 1 Pavel Rakov MP/SJ Le remède, c’est pire que la maladie 2 Abel Barbosa Marshall McLuhan La récession 3 Elisabeth Davidson Msgr Percy Johnson Ma vie avec le diabète FRENCH IMMERSION 1 Sally Zhang MP/SJ Les secrets de la magie 2 Leigh McGrade Bishop Allen Mariage italien 3 Erin Gallagher Cardinal Carter Le roi Henri VIII FSL PLUS 1 Stefania Lista Cardinal Carter Les cheveux, mon pouvoir 2 Kaela Malozewsky Bishop Allen Le Touquet 3 Anna-Julia David MP/SJ La magie bleue Grade 11 and 12e Winners CORE FRENCH 1 Angela Sinilaite Bishop Allen Où vont tous les grands orateurs? 2 Rita Nicastri MP/SJ L’adoption : une belle histoire d’amour 3 Ceara Copps-Edwards Cardinal Carter Les caprices de l’amour EXTENDED FRENCH 1 Annet Antanrajakumar Senator O’Connor La lutte pour la liberté 2 Karolina Kosciolek Cardinal Carter Les trous noirs...l’ultime piège 3 Elaine Choi Mary Ward Le français : un atout surtout! FRENCH IMMERSION 1 Joe McGrade Bishop Allen L’expansion fatale du tabac dans les

marchés 2 Luiza(Iz) Jaroszek MP/SJ Une réflexion sur l’histoire des miroirs 3 Iain Davis Father John Redmond La politique canadienne FSL PLUS 1 Kristin Vidi Senator O’Connor Les trésors de l’enfance 2 Olivia Pacini Bishop Allen Envers et contre tout : la vraie amitié 3 Lise Ngo Blessed Mother Teresa La culture africaine Grade 4 to 6 winners Core French Name School Title of Speech 1 Vitor Carvalho St. Matthew Héros au quotidien

2 Melanie Gonçalves Stella Maris Ma passion pour le français

3 Alicia Estabrooks St. Theresa Shrine Bienvenue à rêve-télé CRIBS

Extended French 1 Caroline Giuricich St. Margaret Les pingouins

2 Niamh Gyulay St. Vincent de Paul Claude Monet

3 Luis Kabigting OL Grace Energie nucléaire

French Immersion

1 Sanjay Pavone St. Agatha Les femmes oubliées

2 Julian Drudi St. Cyril Les étapes de la vie

3 Julia Antoniw OL Peace Les marques des vêtements

FSL Plus 1 Jeffrey Barnard St. Agatha Dubai

2 Rebecca Raouda-Saviolli OL Peace La forêt équatoriale

3 Jeanelle Bertheau St. Cyril Les Pays-Bas

Grade 7 and 8e Winners Core French Name School Speech Title 1 Nara Bello St. Cyril Le cancer 2 Steven DeMichino St. Gregory L’art 3 Leilani Samocino St. Ignatius of Loyola Les apparences Extended French 1 Lianne Santiago OL Grace Les salles de causerie 2 Rayna James St. Timothy La paranoïa 3 Robert Rasciauskas St. Michael’s Choir La famine French Immersion 1 Jemark Earle OL Peace Le travail idéal 2 James Davis St. Agatha La récession 3 Adam Cybart St. Bonaventure Pauvreté dans le monde FSL Plus 1 Christine Gonzalves St. Cyril La charité 2 Foustina Nithiyanantham Precious Blood Le chocolat 3 Alexandre Boucher St. Vincent de Paul Chef du TTC

OCY Palm Sunday event at St. Paul's Basilica On Saturday April 4th, 2009 Neil McNeil students and staff participated in an OCY event at St. Paul's Basilica for Palm Sunday. They provided the praise and worship music for the event. Congratulations to everyone for a job well done!

Cardinal Leger makes top 50 list once again Congratulations to the students, staff and parents of Cardinal Leger Catholic School for once again being on the Top 50 of 2008 List put out by the Ontario Office of the Terry Fox Foundation. The school raised $28,948 during its most recent run, earning them a 6th place in all of Ontario. TCDSB Asks “Are You Ready for Tomorrow’s Classroom?” Toronto Catholic District School Board’s Board-wide Academic Information and Communication Technology Conference took place last night, with more than 250 educators and guests in attendance at the Catholic Education Centre. The conference “Tomorrow’s Classroom Today: Are You Ready?” lasted well into the evening. The keynote speaker, internationally known leader in educational technology, Alan November entertained, captivated and electrified an enthusiastic and motivated audience. Breakout sessions included exciting topics such as Podcasting, Social Networking, Robotics, Smart Board Presentations, and Online Learning, which were presented by innovative TCDSB educators. Participants had extremely positive comments about the evening and suggested that a bigger and more extensive conference be planned for next year. As one guest commented, “It’s encouraging and refreshing to see great teacher participation in after-school hours to professional development events on a voluntary basis”. The overall success of this event highlights the growing interest among educators to integrate leading-edge technologies in the learning environment. Chess Championship Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic Secondary School hosted the second annual Toronto West Team Chess Championship. On Friday, April 3, 2009, over 150 students took part in this tournament for regional elementary schools. Champions were determined for each of the Primary, Junior and Intermediate divisions. Top two finishers now proceed to the city wide championship to be held later on this spring. Official results are: Primary Junior Intermediate 1st St.Gregory St. Gregory Msgr. Corrigan 2nd St. Clement Card. Slipyj St. Demetrius 3rd Father Serra Msgr. Corrigan St. Clement

Loretto College hosts SAC Women’s Conference The Student Council of Loretto College hosted "Loretto College's First Annual SAC Women's Conference" on Friday April 3rd. The main focus of the conference was women empowerment and leadership. The Keynote speakers were 2-time Olympic gold, 1-time Olympic silver, and 7-time World Champion Women's Hockey

Medalist Vicky Sunohara and our second keynote was motivational speaker Mena Gagne ("Dare to Be Real"). There were 15 workshop speakers from different professions – including speakers from "Buffalo for Africa", "Salt and Light Television", and life coach Elisa Palombi from Big Life Group. Along side Loretto's grade 11's and 12's Loretto Abbey, Mary Ward, Notre Dame, and Madonna also participated.

The conference’s purpose can be summed up in the following paragraph. "Loretto College's Annual Women's Conference aims to empower young females of today to become successful women of tomorrow through educational workshops and the resonating voice of female keynote speakers - allowing them to spend the day with women from their community who have achieved remarkable success. This conference will empower students to be ‘women of tomorrow’ and to better be able to face any discrimination or obstacles they may face in the world as women. This conference will also be a motivational factor in the lives of the young women. This is an event that will include the majority of the school population and guests from the other five all-girl schools in Toronto to unite for a common purpose. The fruits of this project will be seen through a spirit of increased self esteem and empowerment in the students. We also hope that students will return to their respective schools and start up a project or club that is related to the theme of the conference. This is an event that we plan to host every year at Loretto College School."

Front: Amanda Garcia, Perrune Longange, Faith Arkorful, Sara Marques Back : Mr. Cleary, Debora Rexho, Isabella Sousa, Angelica Dourado, Vicky Sunohara, Brianna Franco, Raffaela, Rullo, Nicole Carreira, Erica Raquepo, Gina Parete

TCDSB’s 8th Annual International Languages Symposium More than 900 students from TCDSB Saturday language classes participated in the 8th Annual Languages Symposium on April the 4th at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School. The Symposium is a joint venture between the Continuing Education Department and the Advisory Committee on Race and Ethnic Relations Multiculturalism. The goals are to create cultural harmony, break down any barriers that are present within our board and to come together to celebrate community. It is also an opportunity to showcase the various cultures represented by the Board’s Saturday International Language Credit Program that is offered through the Continuing Education Department. Among the special guests who attended were: Our keynote speaker Chris D’souza, Faculty of Education, Lecturer, York University; Loretta Notten, Superintendent of Education; Josie Di Giovanni, Superintendent of Education; Alex Mazzucco, Coordinator, Continuing Education; Carla Marchetti, Coordinator, International Languages, Elementary; and various Principals and Vice-Principals from across the Board. The Symposium opened with the “Liturgy of the Word” performed by grade 9 students from Dante Alighieri Academy, which was choreographed by Jessica De Angelis. There was also a dance performance by the group Illz Skillz from Dante. The keynote speaker, Chris D’souza, spoke about his life experiences growing up in Toronto and challenged youth to dare to dream, believe in themselves and to never give up. He truly captivated the young audience with personal stories about his family, school, work, and hobbies. The Student Ambassador Awards were given to a senior student from each of the 32 school sites. The award went to the student who best represented his/her community with excellent marks and who reflected leadership in their respective schools. Congratulations to all the winners. Students and guests were entertained with dance performances by the Italians, Hungarians, Armenians, Vietnamese, Tamils, and Egyptians. After the performances, everyone was welcomed to view booths from 18 countries, and mingle in the “Global Village”. This was quite an opportunity for all delegates to see the numerous displays of artefacts from the various countries. Students were dressed in their national colours and samples of foods from the many countries were savoured by everyone. The music and dancing from various groups made this an experience that students and parents will never forget.

Student ambassador award winners with special guests. TCDSB Congratulates “Team of the Year” From Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School The Toronto Catholic District School Board congratulates the leadership team from Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School for being recognized with this year’s Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence in the “Team of the Year” category. The team includes Alan Baigent, Susanna Bellisario, Paul Edwards, Michael Fellin, Nicholas Kovacs and Tony Morale. “We are very proud of this wonderful and deserving group of educators for this outstanding accomplishment,” says Ann Perron, Director of Education. “It is just another reminder of the level of commitment that our staff have to the students who are entrusted to us.” The team developed a peer support program at the all-boys’ school to empower students as leaders in helping others. The focus starts with the transition to secondary school, each incoming student paired with a “big brother” during a three-day camp experience. The orientation forms the basis of a lasting relationship that is maintained through peer mentoring.

"Winning the Premier's Award is an affirmation for us of the importance of community, relationship and collaboration in creating programs that help our students to thrive,” says John Shanahan, Principal of Neil McNeil. “By valuing everyone's talents and by sharing our gifts, we have created a dynamic nurturing environment where all our members grow and flourish.”

Francis Libermann Receives Generous Donation of School Cross Francis Libermann Catholic Secondary School’s prayers have been answered. The school was pleased and blessed to be the recipient of a very generous donation of a beautiful stainless steel 6-foot cross recently. This was facilitated by the school’s Service Quality Supervisor, Dante Iafrate and donated by Nick Galati from Galati Contracting Limited. The Facilities Department lovingly restored the cross and installed it in our foyer last week. Staff, students and parents have nothing but thanks and praise for all who were involved.

TCDSB Celebrates Exemplary Practices On April 28th, the Toronto Catholic District School Board handed out the 10th annual Exemplary Practice Awards to schools in recognition of innovative projects and initiatives that improve student learning and achievement, and foster a strong sense of Catholic community within TCDSB schools. TCDSB is pleased to announce the following winners of the 2008-2009 Exemplary Practice Awards:

Blessed Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School (Scarborough)— “The Promotion of Literacy Among Malvern Youth using Star and Accelerated Reading”--A concerted effort to increase overall literacy levels and improve student achievement on standardized testing, the teacher-librarians have used their role in the school library to implement the adaptive web based literacy programs, Star Reading and Accelerated Reading. The programs have been very successful with many “at risk” students who are encouraged to increase the amount they read.

Chaminade College School (North York)-- “A Community based approach to increase awareness of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)”--Chaminade College began a campaign to increase awareness and sensitivity about students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Grade 9 students took time out of their weekly math classes to read the novel, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon (Doubleday, 2003). The story is written in the first-person perspective of Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old autistic boy. Jake’s House is a local registered charitable organization founded in 2002 by David and Irene Bodanis, whose son, Jake, was diagnosed with Autism in 1995. Chaminade students volunteer as ambassadors every Christmas as part of their school’s annual Advent activities.

Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School (North York)--“FHC Student Mentorship Program”--The Father Henry Carr Mentorship Program was created to provide each grade 9 student with a caring adult whose mission is to develop a positive relationship and offer ongoing monthly support

to each of the five students who has been assigned to his/her care. On Mentorship Wednesday mornings, the entire staff, along with 45 student mentors, congregates at tables for one hour to help grade 9 students cope with their transition into high school. Attendance records, report-card reviews, exam preparation, and personal concerns/questions are shared among the caring adult, senior student mentor, and grade nine students at each table.

Holy Spirit Catholic School (Scarborough)--“PSL Primary Soccer League”-- PSL is a house league with a difference. This league is designed to inculcate the independence and self reliance of students while at the same time developing “collaborative contributors” to the common good. The house league for students in grade 1 to 3 is run by students in grade 4. The only adult role is that of supervision in the gym during the actual games. The league has developed over the last 14 years. Through staff efforts, the PSL prepared junior students to coach teams, officiate games and do daily announcements about schedules and team standings.

Madonna Catholic Secondary School (North York)--“Break the Bread—This breakfast program is a way to incorporate greater student involvement while also integrating many of the expectations from the Health Care curriculum. Students were assigned a one week block, where they determine meals, prepare meals and served the community while incorporating many of the course expectations.

Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School (Scarborough)--“Science Discovery Days--This program brings together Mary Ward grade 11 Science students who share their enthusiasm and knowledge of science with elementary students. The Mary Ward students develop organization, management and presentation skills. The elementary students benefit from “hands on learning” provided by secondary students. Elementary students make connections between classroom and real life. Elementary/secondary teachers and students review curriculum and teachers provide ongoing support and collaboration with secondary students. Elementary teachers provide in class support on the day of the workshop.

Neil McNeil High School (Scarborough)--“Grade 11 Leadership and Peer Mentoring Program--The program was set up to develop the leadership skills of grade 11 senior students, giving them the opportunity to experience leadership opportunities within the Neil McNeil community and out in the local community. The second purpose was to develop a peer mentoring program for grade 9 students designed to assist in the successful completion of all eight credits by those students deemed to be at risk. Grade 11 students who wish to be a part of this program must select the GPP 301 Leadership course as one of their options in grade 11 and be willing to volunteer 50 hours in one semester towards their course completion.

Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School (Scarborough)--“Literacy through Authentic Experiences--Abstract themes in literature (e.g. poverty and homelessness) may be difficult for students to appreciate from the printed page alone. While Tom Finder explores the issue of homeless youth in Canada, students were exposed to the authentic problem of youth homelessness by helping homeless teens in their own community. During the book’s reading in December 2008, classes hosted a toiletry drive for Second Base Youth Shelter in Scarborough. A social worker also visited classes as a guest speaker. The toiletry drive was featured on the High School Rush series on Rogers TV.

St. Antoine Daniel Catholic School (North York)--“Special Education/English Language Learner Inclusion Model--This program includes all intermediate students. The ELL and Special Education teachers teach in the regular classroom, in partnership with the classroom teacher, to facilitate learning for all. All students are taught the Ministry Curriculum and the strengths and weaknesses of the ELL and identified students are addressed. This program eliminates the stigma of identification of the special needs students and it promotes a warm inclusive environment where everyone learns according to their own needs. Progress is carefully monitored by all teachers involved and team work is necessary to address the varying needs of the students.

St. Bonaventure Catholic School (North York)--“TLCP in Extended French – Why Not?”--The extended French teachers at St. Bonaventure have committed to collaborating with each other and their English speaking colleagues in order to implement the teaching learning critical pathway jointly. Students are in effect “making connections”in both languages!

St. Brendan Catholic School (Scarborough)--“Teaching Learning Critical Pathways--The Teaching Learning Critical Pathway is a model for the development and implementation of a unit of study based on student needs as assessed by data. The grade 2 staff at St. Brendan used EQAO, CAT3 and Running Records results to determine their students’ needs. Their unit integrated the subject areas of language, science, social studies and Religion. Their program has been used as a model for successful implementation of the TLCP.

St. Charles Garnier Catholic School (North York)--“Information Evening for Grade 7 & 8 Parents--This project focuses on promoting student success by providing teachers, educational assistants, child and youth workers and parents with a variety of intervention resources to support and build on student learning and address student behavioural needs in proactive ways. Intervention and support strategies are aligned with Ministry of Education expectations to provide stakeholders with a variety of strategies that are personalized, precise and specific to the individual learner. Intervention strategies are in alignment with Catholic beliefs and traditions to educate students to their full potential by providing support and guidance in what students need in order to learn; integrating Catholic, Christian beliefs in the total learning experience.

St. Jerome Catholic School (North York)--“The Cube of Love – Building a Catholic community at St. Jerome and Beyond 2004-2009”--How can we inspire students to put the Gospel into practice in the 21st century? For the past five years, students at St. Jerome have been trying to live Gospel values through the six points of the Cube of Love (Created by Chiara Lubich), an expression of the Gospel-based “art of loving”. On each face of the Cube of Love there is a phrase that focuses the students’ efforts are caring for others, such as, I’m the first to love. The Cube has allowed students, as well as teachers and parents to respond with very real and concrete experiences of love. This program has not only helped to build a more Catholic community by preventing conflict and violence, but has contributed to the development of character traits, a growth in faith and an ever great awareness of the universal family and the needy worldwide.

St. Louis Catholic School (Etobicoke)--“Program to Assist with Social Thinking Team--This award celebrates a research-based, regional special program of excellence at St. Louis Catholic School: The Program to Assist Thinking. The PAST program is an innovative program designed to support the highly individualized needs of students with Asperger’s Syndrome. This award celebrates, in the spirit of the gospel values, the significant spirit of team collaboration that contributes and enhances the success of the children in the program.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School (York/Toronto)--“PHAST/Empower/Corrective Reading Programs.--The Corrective Reading and the PHAST programs were implemented at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in the 2007-2008 school year. The Empower program was introduced in September of 2008. A mentor was assigned and makes monthly visits where she makes observations and give feedback. Although the Fifth Block Programs is not a special education program, it is an early literacy intervention program which gives grade 1 and 2 students extra support in order to develop their reading skills more effectively. Students experiencing difficulty with reading are recommended by their classroom teachers for participation the Special Education/ELL model at St. Thomas Aquinas allows the special education teachers to focus on teaching students how to read so the students literacy skills learned in those classes can be used more effectively in their regular classroom. Senator O’Connor College School (North York)--“The Smarties Reading Club: A Collaborative Project”--The Smarties Reading Club Collaborative Project matches Senator O’Connor students with grade 3 students from Annunciation Catholic School. Tutors and students are matched one-on-one. “Students and tutors read and discuss books together, write stories, play word games, complete homework-anything that will help the younger students improve their reading, writing and thinking skills”, said Sandra Huehn of Frontier College. While one of the goals of the project is to provide EQAO support to grade 3 students, it also serves to engage its high school tutors, who come from a wide range of academic achievement in a “meaningful service opportunity which focuses on the strengths and gifts they can offer to younger students”.

TCDSB congratulates all the winning schools, and the talented teams who have collaborated to bring the projects to fruition. St. Paul’s Welcomes Premier St. Paul Catholic School welcomed Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, along with the Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne and Minister of the Environment George Smitherman on April 21st for a special announcement regarding funding for green projects for schools. St. Paul’s is a gold certified EcoSchool in recognition for all their efforts to improve the environment and educate students and families about environmental issues.

The grade 1-2 class at St. Paul’s takes a moment to pose with the Premier (front row centre),

their teacher Ms. Ireland, Ministers Wynne and Smitherman (back row).

Earth Angels Touch Down at TCDSB Schools St. Henry Catholic School in Scarborough has placed second in the Earth Angel’s province-wide Student Energy Challenge. The trophy was presented to the school on April 21st. Students at St. Henry’s also planted trees at that time, courtesy of the Earth Angels Schoolyard Tree Planting Program and Honda Financial. Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School will also be a lot greener this year, thanks to the work of some angels in the community—the Earth Angels, that is. The school welcomed the arrival of five trees to be placed in pre-dug holes on the school grounds. Students at the school prepare for their arrival through the Earth Angels Schoolyard Tree Planting Program, which teaches them how to prepare for, plant and maintain the trees.

Planting a tree takes a great deal of team work. Each tree will be planted by a team of approximately 10 students, who will be responsible for various tasks such as transporting the tree and soil to the hole, mixing the topsoil with dirt and bringing the mulch and pails of water.

St. Henry receives their award. Our Lady of Lourdes students plant a tree.

Holy Child’s Annual Passion Play Holy Child Catholic School honoured Holy Week with two presentations of the Passion Play. It has become a tradition at Holy Child for the grade 8 students to perform The Passion of Christ for both the parent community and the school. It is an event our younger students look forward to seeing and our grade 8’s look forward to presenting. From September to March, the grade 8’s constantly speculate about; “who will be Pontius Pilate, Mary or Jesus?” The play has evolved over the years and has become a special time of reflection for our community during Lent. This year, the school decided to include a contemporary piece, where students could examine and compare today’s world to that of Jesus’ times. The 2008/2009 grade 8 students outdid themselves with two extraordinary performances. Parents, teachers, and children were moved to tears as Mary held her son Jesus in her arms. He was then carried through the audience to his tomb, where he was laid to rest. Special thanks to all the wonderful students for their dedication, hard-work and for putting all their passion into the Passion of Christ! Much appreciation to Mrs. Falcitelli and Mrs. Spieker for directing the play and to all the staff at Holy Child who supported the creation of the play.

News from St. Timothy Catholic School Intermediate W5H team to compete in the City Finals. The intermediate W5H team from St. Timothy won the regional tournament against St. Gabriel Catholic School. This was made possible by the year round coaching from Mme. Ryall. who constantly motivates and inspires students. Congratulations to Jillian Castelltort, Daniel Louis, Ryan Tan, Brian Attley, Matthew Rawlins, Allan Al Dabbagh, and Paul Mclaughlin for an outstanding job. Camp Olympia: A Leadership Honing Camp: The grade 7 students are off to Camp Olympia from April 26th- 28th, and May 3rd-5th. This camp is specifically designed to further define and develop the leadership skills of our grade 7 students and to get them ready to take on the role of leaders in our school next year. The students have worked hard putting together a lipsync dance, a video showcasing the school, and a beautiful banner. These will be displayed at the camp site. 10- 15 other schools will also be at the camp and there wil be competition for the lipsync dance. Professional Development Opportunity at St. Timothy: The school is thrilled to we have the opportunity to hear Dr. Cummins provide professional development to staff in May. He will specifically be addressing the needs of

English Language Learners. Dr. James Cummins is Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cummins teaches graduate courses in the Second Language Education Program. Courses that he recently taught include “Critical Pedagogy, Language and Cultural Diversity,” “Research Seminar on Second Language Literacy Education,” and "Foundations of Bilingual and Multicultural Education." “IT STARTS IN THE SCHOOLS” is published monthly throughout the school year. Events, locations and times are subject to change. For more information, call 416-222-8282 Ext. 5314. This publication can be found on the Internet at www.tcdsb.org, see “news”. The Toronto Catholic District School Board educates more than 90,000 students from diverse cultures and language backgrounds in its 201 Catholic elementary and secondary schools and serves 474,876 Catholic school supporters across the City of Toronto.

Toronto Catholic Schools

Faith in Your Child

MAY 2009

Toronto Catholic District School Board, 80 Sheppard Ave. E., North York, ON M2N 6E8 phone: 416-222-8282 website: www.tcdsb.org email: [email protected]

in the schools - toronto catholic district school board starts... · michael’s choir. ......

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