IT STARTS in the Schools January 2015 UPCOMING EVENTS January 6 - 28 Board-wide TDCAA Girls Volleyball January 6-22 Board-wide TDCAA Girls/Boys Hockey January 6-27 Board-wide TDCAA Boys Basketball January 12-16 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School 3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough 416.393.5544 Our Kids Our Future week January 13 Father Serra Catholic School 111 Sun Row Drive, Weston 416.393.5391 Lunchtime Yoga for students begins January 14 St. Bonaventure Catholic School 1340 Leslie Street, Don Mills 416.393.5263 Extended French information evening 6:30 p.m. January 14 St. John Catholic School 780 Kingston Road, Toronto 416.393.5220 Extended French information evening 6:30 p.m. January 15 Msgr Fraser College All Campuses Open House 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. January 15 St. Agatha Catholic School 49 Cathedral Bluffs Drive, Scarborough 416.393.5302 French Immersion information evening 6:30 p.m. January 15 James Culnan Catholic School 605 Willard Avenue, Toronto 416.393.5325 French Immersion information evening 7 p.m.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Climate Change Conference Madonna students gather to attend a web
conference with several other schools across
Canada to discuss climate change. Students
contributed to “A National Virtual Town Hall
COP20: Canadian Youth Whitepaper on
Climate Change,” which was presented at the
recent United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP20) in Lima, Peru.
St. Andrew Catholic School 50th Anniversary Celebrations on December 1st
TCDSB Students Make a Splash at the 6th Annual Cardboard Boat Race Students from elementary schools across the Toronto Catholic District School Board competed at the
annual cardboard boat races on December 2nd. Congratulations to the winning teams:
Inaugural Meeting of the Board The new Board of Trustees was sworn in at
the Inaugural meeting held on December 1st.
On hand for the celebration were Bishop
Boissonneau, representatives from employee
federations, TDSB, the Angel Foundation for
Learning and other education partners.
The Board ratified the recommendations of
Caucus, electing Michael Del Grande as Chair
and Nancy Crawford as Vice-Chair.
St. Timothy Celebrates
Donation to Breakfast Program Students in Grades 2 and 3 were treated
to breakfast at Symposium restaurant on
Yonge north of Sheppard on December
2nd. They presented a cheque to
breakfast Club of Canada to support
school breakfast programs.
Face to Faith Video Conference at St. Anselm On Tuesday December 2nd students from St. Anselm School of the
TCDSB participated in an online videoconference through the Face to
Faith Program with Our Lady of Mercy School, A Roman Catholic
School in Potomac Maryland, United States.
St. Anselm discussed their participation in Me to We, and giving to the
less fortunate in a number of different ways. “By raising money in the
Year of Charity the students of St. Anselm feel the need to do so and
would want others to help us”. Our Lady of Mercy School, referred to
scripture as the Prodigal Son influenced them to show towards
compassion to others.
The students from both schools concluded their videoconference
with sharing similarities and differences between Canada and
the United States, Our Lady of Mercy and St. Anselm, and a
short reflection as to what was learned through the online
discussion.
WENTT Conference - Women Entering Non-Traditional Trades Over 500 young women from the Toronto Catholic District School Board took a look at a career in the
trades at the 2nd Annual Women Entering Non-Traditional Trades (WENTT) Conference on December
3rd held at Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School.
Grand Opening of New Track St. Luigi Catholic School and Perth Public School celebrated the opening of the new track and
renovated playground.
Gingerbread Night at St. Charles Garnier Families of St. Charles Garnier School gathered for a fun evening of building Gingerbread houses. The
evening included hot chocolate and cookies and Christmas movies for the little ones.
Christmas Charity at St. Mary's Catholic Secondary At St. Mary's C.S.S., as part of their Christmas drive, the staff and students participated in an 'Adopt a
Family' initiative.
Concert for Seniors The choir and band from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School brought the sounds of the Christmas
season to the seniors at St. Hilda's Place.
Cavalcade of Lights St Francis of Assisi choir, led by Mr. Sean. Kelly kicked off the Little Italy Cavalcade of Lights. The
choir sang Mary's Boy Child and Momma Mary.
Dante Alighieri Staff Put Faith Into Action On Friday December 5th the staff members of Dante Alighieri Catholic Academy volunteered their time
and helped out at various food banks, parishes, senior centers, street patrol services, shelters of all kinds,
Religious radio and television stations, and the list goes on. It was a grounding and fulfilling experience
for everyone involved!
Spreading Christmas Cheer St. Anselm Catholic School students
visited Nine Twenty-One Millwood to
chat with residents and to perform some
traditional holiday music. A wonderful
afternoon was had by all.
Budding
Filmmakers
Attend Movie
Premier Students from the
Gifted Program at
Transfiguration of Our
Lord Catholic School
attended the Premier
of the Hobbit on
December 5th. They
were delighted to have
an opportunity to meet
the Director, Peter
Jackson.
O’Connor Student Recognized by Toronto
Police Senator O’Connor College School student
Dominique Rumball was recognized by the Toronto
Police Service for assisting a youth who was in
distress.
Advent Celebration and Tree Lighting St. Clare Catholic School hosted an advent celebration and tree lighting for area schools on December
12th. After a Family Advent Mass in St. Clare church, the community gathered in the adjacent parkette
to light a Christmas tree and enjoyed performances by Parafoné, popular musicians from Calabria, as
well as the school’s Choir and All Star Band. Adding to the festivities were the traditional treats such as
roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate and panettone.
5th Annual Santa's Workshop at St. Thomas More Families at St. Thomas More Catholic School donated new and gently used items and sold them to
interested students on Friday, December 12th for Santa’s Workshop Day. All proceeds go to purchase
goats through Free the Children.
International Students Christmas Party TCDSB's international students gathered at the Catholic
Education Centre on December 12th to celebrate
Christmas together with some music, entertainment, food
and friends.
Chum FM and St. Vincent
de Paul Toy Drive Congratulations to you all for a
job well done for our toy drive
and food drive! The St. Cyril
students and families
demonstrated tremendous charity
and donated over 260 toys and
several boxes of food during our
drive. As a result we delivered
gifts for 19 children from the St.
Vincent de Paul Society and the
remainder of the toys were picked
up by the CP24 Chum Christmas
Wish.
Cardinal Carter Hosts 1st Elementary Model UN Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts hosted its first-ever Model United Nations Conference for 8
students on December 10th. 140 students representing 118 countries debated the broad range of critical
world issues during the all-day event being held at the TCDSB Catholic Education Centre.
MLSE Shares Christmas With
Students Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors Player,
visited Our Lady of Victory on Tuesday
morning where he and his wife surprised
35 of Our Lady of Victory's students with
a breakfast and Raptors merchandise. The
Raptors mascot and the Raptors Dance
Pack were also in attendance. Following
the breakfast, the students boarded a bus
called "Kyle's Toy Express" where they
were taken to Toys R Us at Sherway
Gardens and received a cart to fill with toys within 7 minutes. In the spirit of paying it forward, the
students were thrilled with the chance to buy gifts for their family and friends.
Giving Trees—Supporting Out of the Cold Programs Canadian Martyrs Catholic School Father Serra Catholic School
St. Francis of Assisi Welcomes Minister
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School was pleased to
welcome Minister of Education Liz Sandals, TCDSB
Vice-Chair Nancy Crawford, Linda MacKay, Senior
Vice President of Retail, Savings and Investment, TD
Banking Group and Chris Markham, CEO of the
education non-profit OPHEA for the launch of Wallet
Wellness, a financial literacy resource produced by
OPHEA in partnership with TD.
BMTM World Cup This year marked the 10th edition of the Bishop
Marrocco/Thomas Merton World Cup. Former
students who were part of the soccer program
joined current students and were divided into
teams representing Portugal, Canada, Africa, The
Caribbean, South America, Central & North
America, Italy, etc.
This year, former principals were invited to share
some memories, and to join in the entertainment
with professional comedian and former BMTM
student Mike Rita.
Helping the Needy On Monday, December 14th the grade 1/2 class at Senhor Santo Cristo Catholic School demonstrated
charity by visiting and donating food to the St. Francis Table, a local shelter in Parkdale.
Student Featured on Global’s
Making a Difference Joseph Spahn-Vieira is a new grade 2
student at St. Brendan. Susan Hay
anchor/producer of Making a Difference on
Global News Hour filmed a story on Joey
with the Music Without Barriers Program. It
was selected to air as part of the Making a
Difference special airing on Global over the
holidays. Each year they choose 8 of the best
stories Susan features on her Making a
Difference segment throughout the year. It
ran on New Year’s Day.
Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary
School Advent Charitable Campaign:
“TAKE HEART!” McLuhan staff and students continued to extend
their generosity to those less fortunate. In the
Advent season, they centered their giving to
support an incredible organization that works
tirelessly to improve the lives of children in
developing countries: Sleeping Children Around
The Word (SCAW). SCAW provides bed kits
containing basic necessities, including a mattress,
school uniform and supplies. Every $35 purchases
a bed kit and this in turn saves a child’s life. Via
our Peer Ministry Team, the McLuhan community
worked together to raise over $15, 000 for this beautiful initiative.
St. Thomas More Students
Bring Cheer to
Providence Centre Students at St. Thomas More
visited Providence Centre on
December 17th to sing carols for
the patients and spread some
Christmas cheer. This is
an annual trip by the school’s
students at the long term
facility. Students strolled the
halls in the morning, singing
carols and, in the afternoon,
performed a concert in the
solarium.
Advent/Christmas Liturgy at
the Catholic Education Centre TCDSB welcomed the Heart of
Charity, created by students and staff
from Bishop Marrocco/Thomas
Merton Catholic Secondary School, to
the annual Advent/Christmas Liturgy
at the Catholic Education Centre. The
heart was unveiled and blessed during
the Mass.
St. Jerome Catholic School Toy Drive The student leaders collected toys to contribute to the Toy
Mountain Drive hosted by CTV studios. Over 120 toys
were collected to help make this year’s Christmas a special
one for other needy children in our city.
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School Senior's Home Visit The primary students brought the sounds of Christmas to the residents of Copernicus Lodge on
December 18th.
ESL Students Visit Allan Gardens TCDSB ESL students visited Allan Gardens to enjoy the holiday display of poinsettias and take in the
snow covered scenery.
Skating at the ACC Students from St. Rose of Lima went skating at the ACC
during the intermission of the World Junior Hockey
Game (Canada-Russia) on Friday, and then watched the
game afterwards from the gondola hosted by Royal Bank
of Canada.
St. Stephen School’s Special Invite The Grade 1 and 2 students at St. Stephen
Catholic School were fortunate to get a very
special invitation to a Christmas party at Target
Canada. Target, along with First Book Canada
invited two schools from across Ontario to their
corporate head office to celebrate Christmas.
St. Basil the Great Senior Band Entertains Villa Colombo
Vaughn With Holiday Classics On Monday December 15th the senior band of the St. Basils Music
Department entertained the senior residences of Villa Colombo Vaughn.
The band showcased its versatility by entertaining the residence with
classic holiday songs and delighted them with well-known Italian
Medley’s and other popular music from their era. The senior home sang
and danced along to lively tunes
Premier Kathleen Wynne Visits
St. John XXIII The Hon. Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario, dropped
in to the Christmas concert at St. John XXIII Catholic
School.
Spirit of Christmas On Tuesday December the 9th St. Joseph
Morrow Park had a special event for the
international students that was called
Spirit of Christmas. Approximately 58
students attended, along with the
settlement workers who support the
program, the Superintendent John Shain,
and the Principal, Guidance staff and
staff from SJMP.
A Professional Dance Lesson Under the guidance of professional dance instructor,
Alexandra Smith, the students of St. Jerome School
danced brilliantly for parents, caregivers and friends
on December 16th. The evening was capped off with
the children having special dance with their parents.
St. Bernard Visits Seniors On December 11th, the Italian Choir from St. Bernard
Catholic School visited the senior residents of Casa del
Zotto and Villa Colombo. The students were well
aware of being messengers of joy and love as their
Christmas caroling brought smiles and tears among the
senior residents.
Hour of Code On December 8th Mr. D’Aloisio’s Grade 5 class
participated in the HOUR OF CODE event that ran
from December 8th -12th. Students across the world
participated in a global event that advertised the
importance of teaching Computer Science. Many of the
students in Mr. D’Aloisio’s class completed their
classroom activities at school and continued with other
courses in computer science at home through
www.code.org. Each course is designed to teach logical
reasoning and problem solving through puzzles. These
courses provide a great introduction to a growing need:
Immaculate Conception Students can Ballroom Dance On the evening of Thursday, December the 18th the Grades 4 to 8 students of Immaculate Conception
School had a Ballroom Dance Performance! With the assistance and dedication of professional dance
instructor, Ms. Alexandra Smith, the students were eager and energetic in the creative expressions of
merengue, salsa, rumba, fox trot, cha cha, tango and waltz.
Sr. Basketball Captains Head to Keyano
College Pearce Buckley and Erwin Zapanza, captains of the
Sr. Boys Basketball team at Blessed Cardinal
Newman were offered athletic scholarships to
Keyano College in Fort McMurray, Alberta, for next
semester.
Family Christmas Party The St. Margaret School Community had yet another
successful festive Annual Family Christmas Party.
The school was particularly appreciative of the
donated baked goods for their bake sale from their
very own dedicated parent community bakers, and
there were a lot of happy raffle winners who went
home with their winnings.
Shakespeariance
On Monday, December 15th, the Gr. 7/8 students in Ms.
Snihur’s class at St. Bernard Catholic School were the
lucky recipients of a Shakespeariance workshop. This
interactive workshop presented Shakespeare in a way
that was accessible, interesting and fun for all who took
part.
Learn to Kick The Toronto FC’s community department and
coaching staff, visited Our Lady of Guadalupe for a
series of lessons. This was all part of Toronto FC’s
Learn to Kick program! The students at Our Lady of
Guadalupe learned some new soccer skills, were able
to get active, and of course had some fun. They had
leaders who were Student Ambassadors who did an
amazing job assisting their peers. Overall it was a
great experience for our school.
Donation to Angel Foundation Congratulations to the staff at St. Matthias Catholic
School. They raised money for the Angel Foundation
through their Survivor Pool, as part of their charity
plan for the year.
Christmas Around the World St. Francis Xavier Catholic School celebrated
Christmas Around the World on December
11th. The event was scheduled for the evening
of the dreaded snow storm, but the bad
weather did not deter parents from attending
and sharing in the Christmas spirit.
Our Lady of Guadalupe turned into
Santa’s Workshop On December 15th both kindergarten rooms at Our Lady of
Guadalupe Catholic School turned into Santa’s Workshop
and students and their families got together to celebrate ‘The
Spirit of Christmas’. Music and sing-along, Christmas stories,
Christmas movies, and much more contributed to a fun-filled
event.
Michael Power-St. Joseph High School Docudrama The Free The Children Club performed its 17th docudrama this year, which is a performance written and
performed by the students in which they raise awareness of social justice issues. From the donations
they were able to collect over $4000 which will go to funding the construction of our 19th classroom and
a clean water project in the school’s Adopt a Village program in India.
Math is Fun at Sacred Heart There are 36 elves riding in Santa’s sleigh. There are 8
more boy elves than girl elves. How many boy elves
were in Santa’s sleigh? How many girl elves were in
Santa’s sleigh? That was the question posed to the
entire school JK-8. Each class was divided into groups
and each was challenged to use their math knowledge to
figure out the math problem. Student groups took time
to collaborate on figuring out how to approach the
question. Fascinating and well thought out responses to the question were displayed in the gym for all
classes to experience. Math is fun at Sacred Heart!
Sharing and Learning with and through
Video-Based Technology in the TLLP This year, five teachers at Notre Dame, Gabriel
Roman Ayyavoo, Rosemary Paniccia, Lisette
Santos-DeSousa, Stephanie Dobbin, and Marco
Summaria are collaborating on a unique project
called Teaching and Learning with Hand-Held
Technology in the 21st Century Classroom that is
funded by the Teacher Learning Leadership
Program (TLLP) of the Ministry of Education.
In this cross-curricular project, involving Science,
Core French, Religion, and Communications and Technology disciplines, teacher are using iPads to
support students in developing 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and
critical thinking.
Catholic Student Leadership Service Trip to Philippines 21 students and 2 teachers from the TCDSB gave up a good portion of their Christmas vacation to serve
the poor in Manila, Philippines. They visited some of the poorest areas, brought gifts, and worked with
the people in that region. To see photos and more information about their visit, check out their blog.
St. Basil Students Bounce into Action at Home and Away This year, the students at St. Basil college have raised the money to purchase and ship basketballs to
Rwanda. Graduate, Lisanne Comeau, working with Shooting Touch, a group that uses sport to teach
community and discipline, reached out to the SBC Phys. Ed department, asking for help. And our
students responded. In conjunction with the police from 31 Division, the community has raised over
$1,000.00, enough to send 40 basketballs to the youth in Kigali, Rwanda.
An afterschool club, BasAct, has also been busy making a difference. They have been candied from a
lolly log to raise money for Covenant House. Our teens have been showing the true meaning of charity
with their action.
““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 92,000 students from diverse
cultures and language backgrounds in 201 Catholic elementary and secondary schools,
serving close to half-a-million Catholic school supporters across the City of Toronto. As the
world’s largest publicly funded Catholic school system, we educate students in an inclusive
learning community rooted in the love of Christ, where they are challenged to grow in grace
and knowledge and to lead lives of faith, hope and charity.
At Toronto Catholic we transform the world through witness, faith, innovation and action.
Toronto Catholic Schools
January 2015
Toronto Catholic District School Board, 80 Sheppard Ave. E., North York, ON M2N 6E8