Regina Catholic School Division Director’s Communiqué 2018.pdf · support of the Regina Food Bank and in conjunction with Farm Credit Canada’s Drive Away Hunger program. The

A Message from Our Director of Education, Domenic Scuglia

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” Jeremiah 33:14-16Another busy month has come and gone, and we now stand at the beginning of Advent.Throughout November, our schools really focused on Remembrance Day. Many schools went beyond our beautiful liturgies, and engaged students in projects to highlight the sacrifices of our armed forces. At École St. Elizabeth, for example, the Club de Souvenir decorated cookies to be shared with veterans in assisted living facilities. Another example was when one of our substitute teachers arranged an expansion of the No Stone Left Alone project which saw hundreds of gravestones belonging to fallen soldiers visited by our students. I hope each of you had a chance to, in some way, honour those who have fought and continue to so to protect our freedom. We are blessed by those women and men in uniform everyday. Thank you for teaching our students about the poppy, the armed forces, and the importance of respecting our armed forces.

Something I know many Marauder athletes are remembering fondly is the football season which ended with a congratulatory visit to the Legislative Building.

Winning the City Finals, and then the Provincial Championships is a wonderful accomplishment. To the team and coaching staff at Miller Comprehensive Catholic

High School, our congratulations on a winning season. To all those in our high schools involved in athletics, thank you. Each athlete, coach, team manager and statistician

play an important role in building the school culture. Seeing a culture of good sportsmanship and success on and off the fields of play shows us all that Christ-like behaviour does not stop and start with a whistle.From the reflection of November, we move into another time of reflection: Advent. I pray for December’s chill to bring warmth into our schools. May each of you approach the weeks of waiting with the love of the Christ child in your hearts. God Bless, Dom

ContentsTwitter Chat 2Riffel Food Drive 2Ed Week Dance 2Terry Fox Fundraiser 3Service & Hospitality Safety 3Legislative Visit 3

Improv for Autism 4Distinguished Alumni 5Remembering Holomodor 5Career Day 5Cooking Competition 6Wonky Donkey 7

Tweets from Pope Francis 7Santa’s Anonymous 7We Remember 8Month at a Glance 8

Regina Catholic School Division Director’s Communiqué

[email protected] | www.rcsd.ca | Issue 86 | December 2018

“Let Your Light Shine”

Twitter ChatGrade 7/8 classrooms from St. Bernadette School, St. Kateri Tekakwitha School, St. Josaphat School, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School, and Deshaye Catholic School participated in a Middle Years Twitter chat about the importance of understanding and participating in Remembrance Day activities. The chat focused on symbolism, living out actions of respect in our community and prayers to send to our troops through questions guided by Miles Meyers using the hashtag #mystudentchat.

Ed Week DanceThe final celebration for Education Week at St. Gregory School was a special performance to celebrate culture and heritage. The Men’s Chicken Dance and Female’s Jingle Dance were performed by St. Gregory’s own Friday family. They performed five dances and taught students about their regalia. The school staff is so grateful to have everyone from Mooshum to the youngest twins dance for them. Special thanks to Nazlund, Lylah, and Catlin for their courage in sharing their talent, and for their mother Amelia who prepared everyone for the performance, shared her knowledge, and also danced.

Riffel Food DriveMichael A. Riffel Catholic High School held its annual food drive in support of the Regina Food Bank and in conjunction with Farm Credit Canada’s Drive Away Hunger program. The drive ran from Monday, October 3rd to Friday, October 12th. Students and staff at Riffel collected the equivalent of 50,555 pounds of food, topping the 2017 total by about 400 pounds. A special thanks to Capital Ford for their continued support and to the Mystery Mansion for donating passes. At the end of November, the top six student donors were treated to a limo ride and a supper at the Keg sponsored by an anonymous donor. This is the 8th consecutive year that Riffel has brought in the most for any school across Canada in the FCC Drive Away Hunger campaign. Congratulations to the students and staff for being Hunger Heroes.

www.rcsd.ca

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Terry Fox FundraiserStudents at St. Peter School were challenged to reach a goal of $700.00 for Terry Fox. Students were told If they reached their goal, principal Bill Weir would let them turn him into an ice cream sundae. Not only did they reach their goal, but they also raised $759.50. The students had a great time taking part in this, and afterwards they enjoyed their own ice cream sundaes.

Legislative VisitThe Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School Football Team was invited to visit the Legislature after winning the 2018 Provincial Championship! They were acknowledged by Premier Moe, Miller Coach and MLA Gene Makowsky and other MLA’s for their football accomplishments this season. Congratulations to the team for representing their school, and the whole Regina Catholic School Division, very well both on and off the football field.

Service & Hospitality SafetyThe Service & Hospitality Safety Association is a wonderful partner with RCSD. They are giving safety presentations for Career Education in all our Grade 6 classrooms, mental health presentations for our Grade 8s in Health, and are looking at supporting our high schools with safety presentations in the future. Shown here is Danielle Bachart on the left, preparing her presentation to Paula Ramdez’s students at St. Catherine. In December, Danielle is travelling to St. Jerome, St. Josaphat, St. Kateri and St. Marguerite. Only a few schools remain and she will have presented to all our Grade 6 students!

www.rcsd.ca

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Improv for Autism by Cameron ChomynImprov for Autism programming was founded in 2014. I coached a young individual who is on the Autism Spectrum and he said improv and drama had positively changed his life. He went from not having great social skills and trouble with regulating his emotions that his teachers labeled him as “trouble”. As soon as he started improv and drama in high school he started to see a difference in his everyday life. In 2014, this individual’s family reached out to Globe Theatre to just looking into programming for individuals on the Autism Spectrum.

The Globe Theatre reached out to myself to lead the program as well as create the pilot course. Over the

past four years, we have seen our programing grow as we run improv programming for both young adults and teens on the autism spectrum. The class runs every week. Our programming helps our participants grow in social skills such as communication, listening, teamwork, etc.

Over the past four years, we have seen many individuals change and grow in ways we could not imagine. The program is truly magical and those who have been a part of it will agree. This program has grown to produce summer programming for Teenagers on the Autism Spectrum with a focus on building social skills.

Click here for media coverage of Improv for Autism.

Cameron Chomyn is a teacher at Dr. Martin LeBoldus Catholic High School. He has been recognized on a National level within the Improv Community for his work with Improv for Autism. Cameron will also be the MC for the 2019 RCMP Charity Ball (which Improv for Autism is a recipient for funding).

www.rcsd.ca

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Remembering HolodomorUkrainian School students attended the 85th Anniversary of Holodomor at the Legislative Building on November 20th. They opened the Commemoration with O Canada (one verse in Ukrainian and the other in English), and also sang the Ukrainian National Anthem (Ше Не Вмерла Україна). The students sang beautifully. After the formal program, the students, Reverend Fathers and dignitaries went to the Holodomor Statue for a blessing and to lay their wreaths. They were then treated to a pizza lunch with the Reverend Fathers, Mr. Meyers and their teachers.

Career DayFrom Nov 13-16, career exploration took place at each of our four high schools. Representatives from Sask Polytechnic, the city police, the army, Regina Trades and Skills, the Duke of Edinburgh awards, the Apprenticeship Commission, Scotiabank, and the Service and Hospitality Safety Association set up displays in the main hallways over the noon hours. Students visit ed each booth, asked questions and made contacts that might help them in their future endeavours. Pictured here are students at O’Neill Catholic High School.

Distinguished AlumniMark your calendars! The Distinguished Alumni Gala is booked to kick off Catholic Education Week on May 4, 2019 at Resurrection Parish. Tickets will go on sale in the new year. Please plan to join us to celebrate the achievements of our own graduates!

www.rcsd.ca

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Cooking CompetitionOn November 3, Regina Catholic High Schools participated in their third annual Cooking Competition, sponsored by the Sask Cattlemen’s Association. Students had to a steak recipe, and a ground beef appetizer. They had to cook their recipes in front of two professional chefs, and explain their dishes. Students were evaluated on both their work in the kitchen and the taste of their finished products. Every team received prizes, and the winning teams received cash prizes plus the chance to demonstrate their skills at Agribition. This competition is an amazing connection between skills learned in the classroom with skills needed in real life! Shown in the top right photo is a team from Miller Comprehensive Catholic High School explaining their final products to the chef judges.Pictured to the right is Chef Martin Turcotte, being interviewed by Tom Jordans, communications director for the Sask Cattlemen’s Association. The interview was conducted in the Food Pavilion at Agribition, a very busy place! To Tom’s right is the big TV that broadcast the students’ hands as they prepared their recipes, just like on the big cooking shows on television.Miller’s first place team is pictured below, consisting of (from left) Chantelle Lefevbre, Beth Compton and Emma Compton, with proud coach Turcotte. They are holding their winning entries. Prizes from the Sask Cattlemen’s Association were presented by Chad Ross on the right. Also pictured is Chef Jon Thauberger from Crave, who donated prizes to the winning team.

Miller Teacher Martin Turcotte also joined his second place team: Garrett Schmidt, Cody Schofield, Jenna Carnegie, and Chris Schabel. The team cooked up their winning recipes on Nov 20 at Agribition, and then received their prizes from Ryker Lee, head of the Sask Cattlemen’s Association. While they were working, each student was asked questions. They had an audience that varied from 10 to 100 people while cooking. Despite the pressures, all teams spoke incredibly well! The lower left photo shows Lynsey Baumgartner, Food Studies teacher at Archbishop M. C. O’Neill Catholic High School, with her third place team members Josh Carnagay, Tien Vu and TJ Mejia. Their prizes were presented by Garrett Hill, from the Executive of the Sask Cattlemen’s Association. Also pictured is the head chef from the Canadian Centre for Beef Excellence in Calgary.

www.rcsd.ca

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Santa’s AnonymousSt. Gabriel School’s grade four class went to the Regina Food Bank where the students worked in groups to assemble and paint boxes. We completed forty boxes which were then distributed to various stores and malls within the city. The boxes will hold the toy donations that CJME Santa’s Anonymous wraps and donates to children in Regina. As Advent begins, we’re blessed to see so many classrooms take on similar service projects. Thank you for helping our students let their lights shine.

Wonky DonkeyDirector of Education Dom Scuglia is always given the most interesting books to read. He recently read The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith to a group of students at Holy Rosary Community School. The winky-wonky honky-tonky donkey nevers fails to get a laugh.

www.rcsd.ca

Tweets from Pope Francis @Pontifex“Jesus made it so death does not have the last word: those who believe in Him will be transfigured by the Father’s merciful love for an eternal and blessed life. “

“Sunday Mass is at the heart of the Church’s life. There we encounter the Risen Lord, we listen to His Word, we are nourished at His table, and thus we become Church. #sundaymass “

“Jesus is not pleased with a “percentage of love”: we cannot love him at twenty, fifty or sixty percent. It’s all or nothing.”

“The scientific community today is called to establish a leadership that offers solutions for the sustainable and integral development of all peoples, which is indispensable for building peace. #WorldScienceDay “

“Praying means knocking at the door of a friend. God is our friend.”

“Do not follow Jesus only when you feel like it, rather, seek Him every day. Find in Him the God who loves you always, the meaning of your life and the strength to give of yourself.”

“Nobody can delude themselves by thinking, “I’m fine because I’m not doing anything wrong”. To be a follower of Jesus it is not enough not to do wrong, because there is good that we must do! “

“We cannot truly follow Jesus when we are weighed down by things, because if the heart is crowded with other goods, there will be no room for the Lord, who will become just one thing among others.”

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We Remember

www.rcsd.ca

Month at a Glance - December 2018Sunday, December 2 - First Sunday of Advent

Monday, December 3 - Public Board Meeting 5:00

Thursday, December 6 - High School Choral Christmas Concert

Sunday, December 9 - Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday, December 16 - Third Sunday of Advent

December 22-January 6 - Christmas Break, No School for Students

Sunday, December 23 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

Monday, December 24 - Christmas Eve

Tuesday, December 25 - Christmas Day Stat

Wednesday, December 26 - Boxing Day Stat

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