IT STARTS

in the Schools

March 2017

UPCOMING EVENTS

March Celtic Heritage Month

TCDSB Board-Wide

March 1 Ash Wednesday

March 1 - 2 TDCAA Competitive Curling Toronto Cricket Club 141 Wilson Ave, North York

March 2 St. Dorothy’s Festival of African

Heritage

St. Dorothy Catholic School 155 John Garland Blvd, North York

416-393-5341

March 2 Family Financial Literacy Night

6:30 – 8:30 p.m. St. Ambrose Catholic School 20 Coules Court, Etobicoke

416-393-5259

March 2 Kids, Cops And Computers Holy Family Catholic School 141 Close Avenue, Toronto

416-393-5212

March 3 World Day of Prayer TCDSB Board-Wide

March 6 Education Support Staff

Appreciation Day TCDSB Board-Wide

March 7 Parent Series: Social Networking

Safety

St. Charles Catholic School 50 Claver Avenue, Toronto

416-393-5250

March 7 Junior W5H City Championships TCDSB Catholic Education Centre 80 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto

416-222-8282

March 7 Girls Only Chess Competition

West

Individual grade 1-8

Monsignor John Corrigan

Catholic School 100 Royalcrest Road, Toronto

416-393-5399

March 9 Great Big Crunch Event

Bite into an apple to celebrate

healthy snacking and locally

grown produce.

Various TCDSB Schools

March 12 39th Annual Concelebrated

Mass in Honour of Saint Patrick

3:30 - 6:00 p.m.

St. Cecilia's Church 161 Annette Street, Toronto

March 20 Voices that Challenge Catholic Student Leadership

Conference

St. Michael’s College 1515 Bathurst St., Toronto

March 21 International Day for Elimination

of Racial Discrimination TCDSB Board-Wide

March 21 World Down Syndrome Day TCDSB Board-Wide

March 22 World Water Day TCDSB Board-Wide

March 23 Girls Only Chess Competition

South

Individual grade 1-8

St. Anthony Catholic School 130 Shanly Street, Toronto

416-393-5210

March 24 Earth Hour TCDSB Board-Wide

March 24 Girls Only Chess Competition

East

Individual grade 1-8

St Maria Goretti Catholic School 21 Kenmark Blvd, Scarborough

416-393-5260

March 29 Girls Only Chess Competition

North

Individual grade 1-8

St. Francis de Sales Catholic

School 333 Firgrove Crescent, Toronto

416-393-5366

March 29 Open Chess Competition

North

Individual grade 1-8

St. Conrad Catholic School 5 Exbury Road, North York

416- 393-5396

March 30 Cardboard Car Races St. Raymond Catholic School 270 Barton Avenue, Toronto

416-393-5293

March 30 Open Chess Competition

South

Individual grade 1-8

St. Edward Catholic School 1 Botham Road, North York

416-393-5255

March 31 Hooping It Up: Fundraiser for

Best Buddies

Father Serra Catholic School 111 Sun Row Drive, Toronto

416-393-5391

March 31 Autism Awareness Day TCDSB Board-Wide

March 31 Open Chess Competition

East

Individual grade 1-8

St. Bede Catholic School 521 Sewells Road, Scarborough

416-393-5425

March 31 Open Chess Competition

West

Individual grade 1-8

Monsignor John Corrigan

Catholic School 100 Royalcrest Road, Toronto

416-393-5399

April 1 Special Education Conference TCDSB Catholic Education Centre 80 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto

416-222-8282

April 6 Chess City Finals: Girls Only

Competition

Individual grade 1-8

St. Timothy Catholic School 25 Rochelle Crescent, Toronto

416-393-5298

April 7 Chess City Finals: Open

Competition

Individual grade 1-8

St. Timothy Catholic School 25 Rochelle Crescent, Toronto

416-393-5298

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

Redmond Redhawks Cheerleaders Win Gold at Worlds! While it is still dark outside, the cheers of "We are Redmond! Red! White! Blue!" fill the

Atrium at Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Centre.

This is the sound of determination and success of FJR's Cheerleading Team.

The team consists of seventeen hardworking and determined ladies and one enthusiastic

gentleman who have endured many early mornings, and weekend practices, all while

maintaining their studies, to cheer with pride for their school. The Redmond Redhawks

Cheerleading Team has been hard at work since October preparing for their yearly

Provincial and National Competitions. This year, the team was invited to participate in

the World High School Cheerleading Competition in Walt Disney World Florida. This is the

first time in Redhawk history that FJR participated in this very prestigious event.

What started as an honour to represent their school, TCDSB, Ontario, and Canada

became a dream come true for the Redhawks. On Sunday February 12th, the team won

First Place in their division at the World High School Cheerleading Competition.

Congratulations Redhawks!

SJC Leads Strawberry Ceremony Procession

Three classes from St. Joseph’s College School attended the Strawberry Ceremony on

February 14th, an event to recognize and build awareness of the Missing and Murdered

Aboriginal Women of Canada. They brought their red dress banner which listed all the

names of the women in Ontario, victims of this tragedy. The organizers were so

impressed with the school that they asked them to lead the procession/march up

Yonge street. Click here for more pictures.

Jean Augustine visits St. Basil-the-Great College School Ms. Jean Augustine visited St. Basil-the-Great College

School to speak to the staff and students during their

annual Black History Month assembly held Thursday

February 16th.

Ms. Augustine, a graduate of the University of Toronto

and a former elementary school principal with this

Board, was the first Black woman to be elected to the

House of Commons as a member for Etobicoke-

Lakeshore in 1993.

From 1994-1996, Ms. Augustine was the Parliamentary

Secretary to Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Eight years

later she was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of State

for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women, a post

she retained for two years.

It was during her first term as a parliamentarian that Ms.

Augustine proposed legislation that February be

officially recognized as Black History Month in Canada.

February had seen a Black History week in the past and in 1976, that was expanded into

Black History Month, but it was not until 1995 through Ms. Augustine's initiative, that the

federal government formally recognized February as Black History Month.

The community is grateful to Ms. Augustine for taking time out of her busy schedule to

spend an hour with the students at St. Basil's. Click here for more photos from the event.

African Canadian

Heritage Month at

Our Lady of Peace In honour of Canadian

African Heritage Month,

Our Lady of Peace

hosted a special HOZA

presentation entitled:

Mandela; Gifts of a

Leader. Students

learned about the

struggles of Nelson

Mandela in Apartheid

South Africa. Nelson

Mandela gifted us with a model of leadership, character, courage, and action when

faced with abuse of power by a racist establishment. The show’s message encouraged

students to keep building on Mandela’s legacy of truth and reconciliation, peace and

justice.

Olympian Sarah Wells visits Chaminade College Canadian Olympian Sarah Wells

visited the students and staff at

Chaminade College to promote her

“Believe” initiative. She spoke about

the importance of believing in yourself

and shared a personal story about the

adversity she faced to qualify as an

Olympian. The community is grateful

to Sarah for inspiring them to believe.

Special thanks to PC De Quintal for

organizing the visit.

Our Lady of Fatima Imagines a Better Day On February 2nd, the staff and students at Our Lady of Fatima participated in a day

focusing on positive strategies to deal with anxiety, stress and sadness. Titled ‘Imagine a

Better Day’, students were excited to participate in a day that was out of the ordinary.

School wide activities included outdoor play, Zumba instruction, colouring, preparing

food together and providing positive feedback on each other’s talents and gifts. It was

a fantastic day for all the Our Lady of Fatima community to raise mental health

awareness and learn strategies to address it.

Fifth Block Class Celebrates Reading Success at St. Andrew Parish The grade 2 students in the 5th Block program

celebrated their reading success by sharing

their final shared reading text, "I'm a Reading

Star" with Father Joseph. Father welcomed

the students with open arms and took the

time to get to know the children and answer

many of their questions. Afterwards he spoke

to the children in detail about the Church

and St. Andrew Parish. The school is grateful

for his time and enthusiasm. A special thank

you to Mr. Monjes who arranged the 5th Block

groups to participate together in this

wonderful experience!

Our Lady of Peace Grade 8 Faith Day Retreat In celebration of the Year of the Parish,

Our Lady of Peace held its first annual

retreat day at Our Lady of Peace

Church. The day began with a warm

welcome and talk from Parish priest Fr.

Yaw. Facilitated by the classroom and

French Specialty teachers, students

participated in prayer and self-

reflection. They also collaborated with

peers to discuss and consider their

relationship with God, themselves and

each other. Students shared that it was

a successful day that provided valuable

time to reflect on their faith.

Pink Shirt Day at St. Jerome St. Jerome Students proudly wore pink to end bullying on February 22nd, Pink Shirt Day.

Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Students Celebrate Reading with

Veronika Roth

First Book Canada, Rakuten Kobo,

HarperCollins and Veronica Roth—#1 New

York Times bestselling author of the Divergent

series—hosted a reading celebration for more

than 500 students at Bishop Marrocco/Thomas

Merton Catholic Secondary School and

Regional Arts Centre. The event was created

with the goal of sharing the love of reading

and the power that books hold. Veronica led

the celebration with a discussion about books,

including a Q&A and game about favourite

book characters. Each student left with a copy

of Veronica’s new book, Carve the Mark.

Photo credit: Rakuten Kobo.

Sacred Heart Skates, Loves, and

Celebrates

Sacred Heart celebrated Carnaval with a

school community skate on Valentine’s

Day – from JK to grade 8, staff, parents,

Bonhomme and lots of TCDSB CEC staff

enjoyed the morning together. This was

Sacred Heart’s fourth skate this year and

they hope to do it one more time before

winter is over!

Mini Newcomer Orientation Newcomer students participated in an orientation day on February 10th at St. Mary’s

Catholic Academy that included a variety of activities. The event was held in partnership

with CultureLink Settlement Services and welcomed students from St. Mary's Catholic

Academy, Stella Maris Catholic School, Bishop Marroco/Thomas Merton Catholic

Secondary School, Archbishop Romero Catholic Secondary School, Our Lady of Victory

Catholic School, and Carleton Village Public School. Click here for more photos.

St. Mary Catholic Academy Students

Raise Money for Youth Without Shelter Members of the SMCA Youth Group were out in

full effect at Dufferin Station on February 3rd,

raising money for Youth Without Shelter as part of

the Tokens4Change Initiative. The group was

visited by an array of generous donors, including

former and current Huskies, and the creators of

asapSCIENCE!

Cheerleading Returns to Michael Power This year was the return of the

Michael Power St. Joseph’s

Cheerleading team! Since

September tryouts the team of

inexperienced cheerleaders

have worked extremely hard -

starting with the basics of

cheerleading all the way to the

more difficult stunts and tumbling

involved. The team has been

training and practicing three

times a week (starting at 6:45

am!), and with the help from coaches inside and outside of the school community, has

developed a routine that they will perform at upcoming competitions. The team has

come so far, having only one experienced cheerleader amongst them. It took many

early mornings, but with their first competition taking place March 4th, they are ready to

show off a routine that everyone has worked incredibly hard on, and is very proud of!

Brebeuf College’s Steward of the

Month Celebration

On Thursday, February 9th Brebeuf College

gathered to recognize students who have

lived their faith through virtuous action

(Hospitality, Gratitude, Peace, Charity and

Courage.) The school honoured the

contributions these young men have made to

their families, schools, churches and their

brothers in Christ. These young men have

shown, throughout the course of this semester

that God’s grace can be channeled through our youth to do good in our communities.

Click here for photos and to read more.

Our Lady of Sorrows Wins Toronto Marlies Tournament On Friday February 17th Our

Lady of Sorrows Catholic School

took part in the Toronto Marlies

Middle School Meltdown

Hockey Tournament. After a

long day of round robin play,

Our Lady of Sorrows found

themselves in first place. On

Saturday February 18th the

team competed at Ricoh

Coliseum and went undefeated

in their playoff run. As a result,

Our Lady of Sorrows earned a

spot in the Championship game

against St. Gregory the Great,

which was held after the Toronto Marlies game. With parents cheering in the stands, Our

Lady of Sorrows opened up their scoring with Ryan Vial's first goal of the tournament. After

thirty six minutes of hard fought game play, Our Lady of Sorrows defeated St. Gregory the

Great 4-0, allowing them to become back to back champions. Thank you to all the

players, coaches, and parents as well as the Tournament organizer, Stephen Nixon, for a

wonderful family day weekend of hockey.

Winter Walk Day Students and schools from across TCDSB participated in promoting healthy living by

walking to school on February 1st.

St. Victor Winter Carnival and Black

History Celebration On February 10th St. Victor celebrated Winter

Carnival and Black History Month with a variety

of performances and activities for staff,

students, and guests. Director of Education,

Angela Gauthier, and Superintendant,

Shawna Campbell were in attendance, and

everyone enjoyed a visit from Bonhomme, as

well as an exciting and interactive

presentation by HOZA!

125 years Commemorating Josyf Cardinal Slipyj On February 15th, Josyf Cardinal Slipyj staff,

student and parents commemorated their

school patron, Josyf Cardinal Slipyj. It has been

125 years since his birth, which falls on February

17th.

The commemoration began with Father Kachur

performing a Moleben (paraliturgy). The guest

speaker and past principal of the school, Mr.

Zyla, captivated the students with stories and a

personal encounter with Josyf Cardinal Slipyj

when he was in Toronto. Afterwards, the grade

8 students gave a presentation on Josyf Cardinal Slipyj, his life, his faith, and his inspiration

and motto - through hard work we can reach the stars in heaven - for all of us to

remember and live. The commemoration concluded with all students receiving a piece

of cake to commemorate 125 years of Josyf Cardinal Slipyj. All of the students and staff

received a magnet with a picture of Josyf Cardinal Slipyj as a memory keepsake.

St. Martin de Porres Sings at Provincial

Legislature The St. Martin de Porres Sistema Music program

was invited to Queen’s Park on Tuesday

February 21st, to sing the National Anthem. The

students listened attentively to the Premier’s

opening remarks and then sang O Canada, to

about 150 invitees. The students sat and listened

to speeches about the importance of Black

History Month, and even had a few questions

directed at them regarding racism and the

Underground Railroad. Click here for more

photos.

St. John’s Toque Tuesday for

Raising the Roof The students at St. John Catholic School

have once again rallied together to

support solutions for homelessness.

Proudly wearing their Raising the Roof

toques, they celebrated their fundraising

success with an annual assembly on

February 7th to mark Toque Tuesday.

Since starting the annual fundraiser over

10 years ago, St. John’s community has

raised over $30,000.

Under the direction of grade one

teacher Tralee Reford, along with the leadership of the school’s Eco Team, students

promote the campaign by making weekly announcements, selling toques at recess, and

giving presentations to each. Click here for more pictures and information.

St. Stephen receives $10K in Classroom Technology St. Stephen Catholic School was selected to receive a $10,000 POWER UP technology

grant from Softchoice and Lenovo. The school was 1 of 7 schools from across Canada

and the United States that were awarded a total of $70,000 in POWER UP grants. The

Grant supports the integration of a technology initiative that enhances educational

opportunities for students. Click here for more pictures and information.

10th Annual Northern Spirit Games During February the Toronto Catholic

District School Board held its 10th Annual

Northern Spirit Games. Five school sites

hosted the Games for 300 students in

grades 4, 5 and 6 with a grand total of over

1400 students participating in these annual

athletic, cultural and spiritual celebrations.

Students were taught indoor and outdoor

activities based on traditional First Nations,

Métis and Inuit games, which focus on

physical strength, agility and endurance.

The Games emphasize team work and

introduce students to sports and activities still alive in northern communities, such as snow

shoeing, rope skipping, and spear throw.

Flora Cifelli Named Outstanding Principal by The

Learning Partnership TCDSB congratulates Flora Cifelli, Principal at Dante Alighieri

Academy, for being named one of “Canada’s Outstanding

Principals” by the Learning Partnership. She was among 40

school administrators from across the country who are being

recognized, and the sole recipient from the Toronto Catholic

District School Board. Click here to read more.

Reading for the Love of It Award Winner Congratulations to Christine Drotos from St. Lawrence

Catholic School, winner of the Teacher of the Year

Award from Reading for the Love of It. (Pictured right

holding flowers).

““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 91,000

students from diverse cultures and language backgrounds in 201

Catholic elementary and secondary schools, serving over 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

March 2017

Toronto Catholic District School Board, 80 Sheppard Ave. E., North York M2N 6E8

phone: 416-222-8282 website: www.tcdsb.org email: webmaster@tcdsb.org