IN THIS SSUE - Toronto Catholic District School Board · al. Romero’s junior team ... peacefully...

3rd capturing the bronze med-al. Romero’s junior team rallied hard to win 1st place gold in their division. Con-gratulations to all the partici-pants and coaches; thank you Mr. Rumazza, Mr. Sgrignoli and Mr. Fedele for a well-played tournament. A special thank you goes to Mr. Longa for making the TSSCL event possible.

By Mr. Fedele

Archbishop Romero hosted

the Toronto Secondary School Chess League Invita-tional 2013. This year’s tour-nament welcomed a total of 30 students from three schools for a total of six teams. The teams consisted of both junior and senior division students. The

schools entering the full-day competition were Father Hen-ry Carr, St. Basil-the-Great, and our very own Archbishop Romero’s junior and senior teams.

The tournament saw all teams demonstrate concen-tration and tenacity. By the end of the competition the results were favourable. Romero’s senior team placed

Principal’s Breakfast

By Ana Villegas

On Friday, May 24 students

who achieved an overall aver-age of 80% or higher gath-ered in the library for break-fast in honour of their aca-demic success. Parents and guardians were also invited to join in the celebration.

The ceremony com-menced with speeches from the vice principals, Ms. Ma-selli-Jackman and Mr.

Sanborn, and the principal, Mr. Russiello. They discussed the importance of a good work ethic to achieve academic ex-cellence and congratulated the students for their success. The students were then awarded with their academic honour-roll certificates as the guests ap-plauded.

As well, an ex-graduate from Romero, Ervin Bempong, spoke about his past experienc-es as a student and his success after he graduated. He credited

much of his success on the learning and experiences he had had during his time at Romero.

This event was facili-tated by Ms. Mandarello. We thank the staff who helped organize and prepare the breakfast for this memo-rable event. Finally, con-gratulations to all the stu-dents who received an award, and keep up the good work!

The Romero Reader

THE ROMERO READER

IN THIS ISSUE : Chess Team, 1

Principal’s Breakfast, 1

Arts Alive, 2

Music Program, 3

Semi-Formal, 3

Student Advisory Council, 3

New York City Trip, 4

Voices That Challenge, 4

CP24 at Romero, 5

Geography Challenge, 5

THINKfast, 5

Religious Retreats, 6

Interfaith Dinner, 6

Perspectives, 6

OYAP, 6

Mini Olympics, 7

Autism Awareness, 7

Work Experience Program, 7

U of T Philosophy Credit Course, 8

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, 8

Photo Exhibit , 8

Camp Olympia, 9

Wonderland , 9

Black History, 9

Marlies, 10

Donating Blood, 10

Mother-Daughter Tea, 10

HATS, 10

Mindfulness, 11

Stone Soup Cooking, 11

Anime, 11

Clean-Up, 11

Northern Spirit Games, 11

Romero Raiders, 12-15

SHSM, 16

Romero Art, 17-18

Documentary Review, 18

Book Commentary, 19

Editorial, 19

June 2013 Issue No. 3

Team Shines in the TSSCL Chess Invitational 2013 Principal:

Mr. Russiello

Vice-Principals:

Ms. Maselli-Jackman

Mr. Sanborn

the performance. Wearing a pretty yellow sari, Nisha Mariyanayagam brought a piece of Sri Lankan culture to Arts Alive. She moved across the stage gracefully and peacefully as she danced.

Romero’s dance team ended the first act of the show, but left the audience eager for more. Priscilla Avanzado, Charlene Guevar-ra, Donique Osborne-Braham, Sofia De Melo, Ma-ria Zambrano and Deanna Mataro showed unique and swift moves that sure looked like a lot of fun.

Intermissions gave everyone an opportunity to view the beautiful art work created by Romero students. Thank you to Ms. Pimentel for inspiring such great art work. As well, Mr. Raterman showcased a compilation of his students’ animation as-signments. Well done every-one!

Some of the final performances consisted of Romero student leaders who showed off their Hercules inspired dance skills that they performed at Camp Olympia. We were also happy to wel-come back Romero graduates who formed a group called A Tribe Called Justice. They per-formed a dance for the Romero audience. L7 came in black and white, and filled the audience with excitement once again before ending the show; it was the last act of the night.

Arts Alive Feeling “Alive”

THE ROMERO READER PAGE 2

By Daryl James

Fonacier

The 5th annual Arts Alive

Talent Show took place on May 9. It was the largest show Romero has ever hosted. Over 200 guests, students and staff came to see the show; many laughed and cheered on the performances which demonstrated the various tal-ents of Romero students. There were many wonderful performances that evening, including the masters of cere-monies, Marie Jane Lomba Sa Pessoa and Sofia De Melo, who entertained the crowd with their wit and commen-taries.

The show com-menced with the Canadian anthem performed by none other than the Romero band. Our first act was the junior band directed by Ms. Farley. Ms. Farley’s senior band also took the stage and shone. They performed many songs and gave new meaning to “music to our ears.” Thank you to all the members.

The musical talent did not end there; Ruqiyah Romero played the theme song of the movie Titanic on the piano. It was a soft and moving piece. We moved on with Liat Hall-Chippy and Daniel Sa Pessoa who harmo-niously performed The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” accompanied by Liam Robinson on the key-board. For the first time, Sa-mantha Oliveira sang in front of an audience. With heart and

Romero would like to thank the Arts Alive committee for creating an incredible show. A special thank you to Ms. Araujo, Ms. Cwihun, Ms. Farley, Ms. Maciocia-Sette, Ms. McKetton, Ms. Pimental and Mr. Raterman. Thank you as well to our artists: Jacquel-ine Osias and Nancy Martins for the cover and program de-sign. We would also like to thank those who worked be-hind the scenes as stage crew and lights: Jason Ali, Jasmine DesRoches, Andrew Medeiros, Christina Nguyen, Temiloluwa Sotire and Nathaniel Gordon.

spirit, despite her nervous-ness, she sang “Stay” by Ri-hanna. Isabella Melo also per-formed “Trouble” by Amy Winehouse. What powerful voices! And to all those who love rap, Desmond Kerr-Gordon rapped and danced confidently showing his flare for the genre. Lastly, two groups took the stage demon-strating both instrumental and vocal talents. Broken Point performed with Brandon Borg on the percussions, Francisco Flores on guitar, and Andy Sanchez as lead singer and guitarist. Another band took the stage with Dexter Dancil playing the guitar and Liam playing the keyboard this time.

Many wonderful performances followed. Ramses Pena amazed the au-dience with his magic perfor-mance. His tricks and illu-sions impressed the crowd. Humour was also infused with Andrew Araujo and Kayla Rodrigues who per-formed a hilarious and enter-taining skit that they had written called “Nursing Home Nusiance”. Their char-acters were an elderly couple dancing to 80’s hits. Their performance brought tears of laughter!

To bring Romero and the audience a little clos-er to the Portuguese culture, Portuguese folk dancers, Ar-senal do Minho, came and performed their traditional dances wearing folk dress. There was so much enthusi-asm and energy throughout

Romero’s Student Advisory Council

Co-Presidents: * Cassandra Arthur * Sofia de Melo Gr. 12 Representatives *Sofia De Melo *Neil Franklyn *Maria Zambrano *Daniela Acosta

Gr. 11 Representatives *Ruben Borba *Ramses Pena *Martha De Oliveira Gr. 10 Representatives *Leanne Gazzellone *Sarah Gomes *Grace Makiese *Stephanie Dantas

By Ms. Ferreira-Sosic

We would like to say thank

you to the 2012-2013 SAC members for all their hard work and dedication through-out the year. SAC members meet once a week to discuss various events and school initi-atives.

Romero’s Music Program

PAGE 3 THE ROMERO READER

Assistants *Kaitlin Delima *Valerie Munian *Jimmy Tran *John Paul Valdez

Teachers Ms. Ferreira-Sosic Ms. Cicconi

Prior to this event, the Senior Music Ensemble had per-formed at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Cam-pus as part of the Regional Music Fest run by the Ontar-io Band Association. As a result of achieving a gold rat-ing in that competition, they

By Ms. Farley

The Music Program at

Romero has been going strong all year. The Junior Band and the Senior Band both performed at the Wood-bine Festival of the Arts at Woodbine Mall on May 8.

received an invitation to per-form at the National Competi-tion. The students had a great day and were thrilled with the opportunity to perform in buildings with such amazing acoustics. They had the chance to interact with other student musicians from different grades and institutions, begin-ning from elementary school to university, and from all over the country.

Romero students performed beautifully, and after the performance, stu-dents had a very informative session with one of the adjudi-cators, Sharon Fitzsimmins.

Romero students re-ceived a silver rating in the National competition and Liam Robinson (trombone player) received the Honour Award for the ensemble. Next year the students are hoping that they can do as well and qualify for the Nationals again, which will take place in Richmond, British Columbia May 2014.

They have had more performances since, and will also be performing at the grad-uation ceremony on June 26. We will be sad to see our grade 12’s leave us, but we wish them all the best in their future endeavours and hope they continue to make music!

By Ms. Cicconi

Romero’s semi-formal theme

was James Bond and it was a spy-tacularly good time! Held at the Ambiance Banquet Hall on Alliance Avenue, 00Semi brought the iconic James Bond movies to life with the décor,

games, and of course, Bond-worthy delicious food. The Best Bond of the night was awarded to David Lazo-Pineda, while the Best Bond Girl was awarded to Juliana Marinho. 00Semi attendees also put their mission serious-ness aside throughout the night as they took photos in a

007 inspired photo area.

Student Council Secret Agents would like to thank all those who attended, especially Staff Secret Agents. Mission Complete!

The Name’s 00Semi – Skyfall at Nightfall

By Carly Vella

From April 25 to April 30, a

group of Romero students and staff ventured off to New York City for their annual trip; and from what the stu-dents have said, it was a trip to be remembered. “We’d do it again if we could,” said Meagan Pereira and William Furtado, two of the many grade twelve students who participated in the trip. With one of the biggest groups (40 students, 5 teachers and 1 tour guide) the five-day trip was filled with non-stop ex-citement and fun-filled events.

The students and staff started their days very early, hitting the streets of Manhattan by 9:00 a.m. and did not return to the hotel until quite late at night. Alt-hough everyone was exhaust-ed from walking and touring the incredible city, their eyes were constantly lit up with excitement and awe at the many sites visited. Some of the places included: Top of the Rock, Times Square, SO-

making this trip the best it

could possibly be. Shortly

after, everyone went to

look at the city skyline from

the New Jersey Shore. The

miraculous view of New

York City was certainly a

sight that will be remem-

bered. After the lengthy bus

ride home, everyone parted

Romero in New York City


ways wishing the trip could

have lasted a little longer. The

trip to the Big Apple will for-

ever be remembered! Thanks

for the wonderful memories!

Voices That Challenge

By Patricia Eve Elizan

On March 22, students from

Archbishop Romero went to St. Michael’s College and took part in the annual ‘Voices that Challenge’ stu-dent conference. Students participated in morning and

afternoon workshops. They were moved by the speeches given by some of the inspira-tional individuals, such as Marc Kielburger from ‘Me to We’. He spoke to students about his experiences working with students in developing countries wherein they built schools and water wells, as

well as provided medical sup-port. He demonstrated how we can make a difference, and encouraged us to first start small — at the local level. This was a wonderful and inspiring learning experience.

HO, 5 Pointz, Central Park, a number of fantastic museums, Broadway, Harlem, Yankee’s Stadium, and much more! Stu-dents had a hard time agreeing on what was the best part of the trip. They can agree, how-ever, that the New York City trip will be one of the best and most enduring memories of Romero.

Furthermore, students had the opportunity to form closer relationships with each other and the teachers, and even made new friendships flourish, just like the cherry blossoms that were seen in Central Park! “Spring comes two weeks early here,” said Ms. Araujo while strolling though the park. To add to the experi-ence, the group was fortunate to have wonderful weather; with clear sunny skies, and a little rain on the last day.

The trip concluded

with a group dinner at Virgil’s

Barbeque where everyone sin-

cerely thanked the fantastic

tour guide and new friend Ari,

as well as the teachers, for

By Daryl James Fonacier

On March 1, Arlene Dickin-

son, mother of four and reali-ty show Dragons’ Den, came to Romero to show her sup-port and appreciation for the breakfast club. The event was

broadcast live on CP24 Break-fast Program. Ms. Dickinson donates money to the break-fast program because she be-lieves children should have access to a healthy morning meal. Cassandra Arthur, a senior student at Romero, commented, “Regardless of what happens in the morning,

CP24 and Arlene Dickinson Visit Romero


THINKfast For Aboriginal Education

By Daryl James Fonacier

On March 1, thirty-four

Romero students and staff participated in Romero’s fifth annual THINKfast. This is a fundraising event in which students fast for 24 hours in support of a cause. This year, the students decided to sup-port Aboriginal Education in Attawapiskat.

On that day you may have seen some students wearing feathers to show their participation in the event. The (eagle) feathers symbolize strength and cour-age. The feathers also demonstrated solidarity amongst the participants.

Students and staff volunteered to fast for 24 hours, only consuming liq-uids such as water and broth. When asked why they were fasting, students responded in much the same way. Cassan-dra Arthur, who has partici-pated in this event every year since she came to Romero, said it helped her realize how lucky she was to have easy access to food. She com-ments, “I’m thankful to wake up in the morning knowing I can eat cereal.”

In addition to fast-ing, the students were re-quired to sleep in the school for one night. The partici-pants learned about the issues affecting Aboriginal Educa-tion in Canada through theme-related games and a docu-

mentary on issues surrounding politics and economics in Aboriginal communi-ties in Canada. Moreover, two speakers, Nicole Penak and Michael White, from the Aboriginal community took the time to join the group that evening in order to share information about their cul-ture. They were wonderful presenters, engaging the group through story-telling, dialogue and music.

We would like to thank the staff members who organized, helped with, and participated in THINKfast. Overall, it was a genuine and fun learning experience for everyone. Be sure to partici-pate next year!

you can always expect some-thing nice and warm from the breakfast club.”

The morning was filled with excitement as stu-dents and staff joined in the discussions. Finally, to make the breakfast club event more exciting, the students danced the Harlem Shake live!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the students and staff members who run the break-fast club all year round.

Geography Challenge

Patricia Elizan

Can you name the capital of

Norway? Do you know where Timbuktu is located? Can you

identify which Canadian terri-tory is least populated? If so, you might enjoy participating in the Great Canadian Geog-raphy Challenge. It is Cana-da’s largest annual student

geography trivia competition. On January 24, approximately seventy-five Grade 9 students from Mr. Fedele and Mr. Colle’s classes took part in this year’s competi-

tion. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Dan Mai. Rounding out the top five were Robert Helseth, Jacob Freire, Vy Nguyen, and Joshua Da Silva.

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program at Romero


By Mr.

Zambri

This semester, two OYAP

programs were offered at Romero: Floor Installation and Carpentry. In the first three weeks the students at-

tended classes at Romero, which focused on orientation and safety training. Subse-quently, the students attended eight weeks of skill-based training at the Carpenters’ Local 27 Training Centre. For the remainder of the semes-ter, the students were placed at related job sites. At the end of this semester, the students

will receive their first level of apprenticeship certification and are automatically signed up with the union. This is only the beginning! In order to be fully licensed, the Floor Installation students still have to complete an additional 6000 hours of work experi-ence and write the Red Seal exam successfully. Similarly,

By David Ho

The interfaith dinner took

place in the library at Arch-bishop Romero on March 21. This event was organized by the dedicated students of the University of Toronto’s Multi

-Faith Centre. The dinner provided students with the opportunity to communicate with individuals from various religious backgrounds. Essen-tially, the goal was to learn more about others’ faith in an attempt to dispel stereotypes and build relationships.

Interfaith Dinner

Grade Nine Religious Education Retreat

By Ms. Perkins-Ball

This semester our grade nine

Religious Education classes spent a half day participating in Romero’s Retreat Pro-gram. By engaging in fun games, active listening, group activities and social interac-tion, each student came away with a positive message and

shred their experience. I Learned … More about trust in

God, that God’s love for us is unconditional. Lucia

It is really important to let God be the pilot of our life. Teanna

Meditation is a great thing to do in order to build

tells us what brands we “have to” wear. Monica

Even at a young age, you can make a big differ-ence. Joseph

Group activities were the most enjoyable because they gave me the oppor-tunity to talk and socialize with other people. Carlos

a stronger relationship with God. Erald

People can turn their life around no matter what their past is. Chris

Trust is a really pow-erful word. Oliver

Being able to work together with others is significant. Rebekah

Media affects us and

Perspectives

2013 showcased different workshops that intend to help students, particularly grade 12 students, in choosing and becoming more familiar with a program they may want to pursue.

attended classes, and spoke to professors. The students at-tended morning and afternoon workshops that they had se-lected according to their own academic interests. Perspectives: Chal-lenges, Ideas & Responses

teenth Annual TCDSB High School Gifted Program Con-ference at the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto. Students were given the opportunity to learn and experience life at university; students toured the campus,

By Patricia Eve Elizan

On February 20, six-

hundred and fifty students from across the Greater To-ronto Area, including stu-dents from Archbishop Romero, took part in the Six-

the students in Carpentry must still accumulate 8000 hours of work experience and then write the Red Seal exam. We wish them all the best!

THE ROMERO READER

By Ms. Wiszkniewski

On May 15, our students

participated in the TCDSB 16th Annual Special Mini Olympics at The Hangar. The theme was One World, One Hope, One Dream. We were cheerfully greeted at the entrance. The energy level was exceptionally high and this set the stage for the entire day. We sang ‘O Canada’ and were officially welcomed by 97.3 DJ Stu

Jeffries and the former TCDSB Director of Education, Bruce Rodrigues. Then it was GAME ON!

The students moved from station to station. Activi-ties included running through mazes, sliding down slides, and the most popular activity, danc-ing to the hits with the Bishop Allen cheerleaders!

After our pizza lunch, students were able to enjoy many snacks including snow cones, popcorn, soft-serve ice

cream, cupcakes and Tiny Tom doughnuts – yummy! Then we watched the BA cheerleaders perform a high-flying routine, the Redmond dancers groove to modern day tunes, and a Michael Power teacher who had us all dancing to his drum beats!

Once the festivities were over, each student re-ceived a grab bag filled with munchies, books, and of course, the highly coveted Mini Olympics medal! Over-all, our Romero students and staff had a fantastic day and we’re looking forward to next year’s games!

Mini Olympics

By Ms. Wiszkniewski

On April 2, the TCDSB

celebrated World Autism Awareness Day. The goal of this event was to bring awareness to autism. Our Romero staff and students were each given a blue rib-bon to wear throughout the day.

We started the day off with a special prayer

related to autism. The weath-er was chilly, but some of our staff and students bravely ven-tured outdoors to participate in the raising of an Autism Awareness flag that is now proudly displayed alongside our Canadian flag.

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life: it is the result of a neurological disor-der that affects the functioning of the brain. Autism impacts

the typical development of the brain in the areas of social in-teraction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism typically have difficul-ties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interac-tions, and leisure or play activ-ities.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of the most common developmental disa-bilities. Based on recent studies by Canadian researchers, the prevalence rate of the Autism

Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is 1 in 94. In Ontario, there is an estimated 100,000 individuals with ASD. www.autismontario.com

Our staff continues to work together to ensure that our students with autism are supported in every way possible. We embrace their unique qualities and will con-tinue to do so in the years to come.

Work Experience Program at Romero

By Ms. Frackowiak

Students of the DD/ME

program stay in high school until they are 21 years old. The reason is, once students reach their eighteenth birth-day, they are involved in work experience. Every day (except Fridays), accompa-nied by their Educational

Assistants, students travel to work places to learn and prac-tice employability skills. This year Lan Ta, Daniel Toste, Michael Salgado and Franco Garcia enjoyed their placement at Corbrook, a sheltered work facility, where they were in-volved with small jobs in pack-aging and assembling. The other two students headed to

two different locations. Oscar Iglesias was working and travel-ling independently to Future Shop. Victor Pereira, on the other hand, was a helper in the day program for adults with multiple exceptionalities at LUSO. Romero’s program teaches life and work-skills to help students gain independ-ence.

World Autism Awareness Day

http://www.autismontario.com/


By Ms. Lopes

In May the Portuguese com-

munity celebrated the 60th anniversary of Portuguese immigration to Canada. To celebrate this anniversary, the Portuguese Consulate in To-ronto invited the Portuguese

Canadian History Project to prepare a photo exhibit reflec-tive of the 60 years of the Por-tuguese community in Toron-to. The goal of the Project is to find historical sources in the hands of private individuals and organizations in the Por-tuguese-Canadian community and place them in the Clara

Photo Exhibit: 60th Anniversary of Portuguese Immigration to Canada

First Time In Board History!

By Ms. Perkins-Ball

For the first time in the To-

ronto Catholic District School Board’s history, students at Archbishop Romero Second-ary School in the grade 12 academic philosophy course partnered with the University of Toronto Transitional Year Program to earn dual credits in their final year of high school; one credit met the Ontario Secondary School Diploma requirements, and the other was issued by the

University of Toronto’s Philos-ophy Department.

For two days each week Romero students had the privilege of learning from U of T Instructor, Mr. Cameron Woloshyn, in our own com-munity here at Romero. Stu-dents worked hard to meet the demands of the increased workload and expectations, and as Celia Le, one of the graduates, mentioned so elo-quently at the recent credit completion ceremony at U of T, “All the hard work was

worth it when I see how far we have come and how much we have accomplished!” Con-gratulations to all of the grade 12 students who persevered and who earned both these credits this semester! You have made us very proud!

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

The Duke of Edin-burgh’s Award has allowed us a unique opportunity to expe-rience nature, overcome new challenges, make new friend-ships and learn about our-selves.

We would like to thank Ms. Lopes and our Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Field Officer, Jeff Needham.

ceived their bronze award: Richard Baay, Miguel Francis Elizan, Patricia Eve Elizan, Ross Jiang, Deanna Mae Mata-ro, John Selmar and Abraham Tekabo. We would also like to congratulate our silver win-ners: Filipe Da Ponte, Dalena Dong, Daryl Fonacier, Kim Hoang, Celia Le and Christelle Matiling. The gold award re-cipient was given to Cassandra Arthur.

By Daryl James

Fonacier

On June 10, thirteen

Romero students were pre-sented with their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards on the 54th floor of the TD Centre. The following students re-

Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University Libraries. The purpose is to preserve these sources and improve the access the greater public, particularly of Portu-guese descent, has to the histo-ry of immigrants in Canada.

This exhibit was on

display at City Hall between May 13 and 19. In order to facilitate students’ access to the exhibit, the members of the project kindly offered to bring the display to Romero. On June 12, the photos were on display in the main foyer of the school.

THE ROMERO READER

By Ana Villegas

On May 3-5, 28 student

leaders participated in a weekend filled with fun activities at Camp Olympia. The students mingled with

other leaders from different TCDSB schools. They partici-pated in activities such as leader-ship training, cooperative games and team-building exercises. As well, students listened to inspi-rational speakers.

In order to prepare, the student leaders made warm fuzzies, which are camp versions of mailboxes used to exchange notes and contact information. Students are now able to keep in touch with the new

friends they made at Camp Olympia.

The students also created a video showcasing Romero, and prepared a lip sync, which they performed. Most importantly, the stu-dents participated in a liturgy, which helped them to under-stand the importance of pray-ing together as a community to further build community.

Blessed Cardinal Newman Catholic High School hosted this fun-filled event.

Camp Olympia gave these student leaders a chance to meet new people and devel-op team-building skills in order to be better leaders. Many thanks to Ms. Araujo, Ms. Maciocia-Sette, Ms. Ferreira, Ms. Lopes and Ms. Maselli-Jackman.

Camp Olympia

By David Ho

On May 10, Mr. Rumaz-

za’s Calculus and Physics classes joined forces and ventured to Wonderland as they had entered their hand-crafted rollercoaster in a competition that would be

judged by its theme and per-formance. Pursuing this fur-ther, Mr. Rumazza’s team entered three rollercoasters; the unique theme of one of the coasters was Pixar’s Monster inc. The four students who worked on the roller coaster were Jonathan Ramirez, Sylvia

Balette-Aguilar, Albert Manantan and Alejandra Ca-jamarca. There were over fifty rollercoasters from around the province that participated. Overall, the students of Archbishop Romero came in third place, an impressive ef-fort. With all their hard work

and dedication they were able to triumph against the other team, and made it to third place. Congratulations!

Black History — Celebration and Education

By Ana Villegas

During Black History

Month, Romero students had access to a diversity of enrich-ing learning opportunities. ‘The Taste of the Caribbean’ gave Romero a chance to sample some great food from the Caribbean culture. In celebrating Black History Month, we recognize the various traditions in the

Caribbean-Canadian and Afri-can-Canadian heritage. The food was made by an authentic Jamaican restaurant called Al-bert's located on St. Clair.

Romero students also had the opportunity to meet Royson James, columnist for The Toronto Star. He shared his path to becoming a journalist and his approach to journalism: a pursuit of truth. He encour-aged students to claim their voice, and to question and

challenge their surroundings constructively, namely through their school newsletter. Many students performed and shared their talents singing and recit-ing poetry: Liat Hall-Chippy, Temiloluwa Sotire, Neil Franklin, Christina Araujo, Tan-ice Dixon,

Off to Wonderland to Compete

and Mabinty Dumbuya. We would like to thank Ms. Per-kins-Ball for her leadership in organizing these events!

HATS


By Ms. Lopes’

Portuguese Class

On June 4, the Healthy Ac-

tion Theatre by Seniors group visited Ms. Lopes’ Portuguese class. HATS, based at St. Christopher House, uses a form of educational theatre based on the “Theatre of the Oppressed” methodology de-

veloped by Augusto Boal in Brazil in the 1950s/60s to raise awareness about difficult issues facing seniors.

The HATS actors (volunteer seniors) performed two skits; one skit focused on elderly abuse, mostly physical and financial, and the second discussed gender inequality in the family setting. The inspira-

tion for these skits comes from real stories the seniors have shared. After the performances, the students had the chance to ask the actors questions and problem-solve possible re-sponses to the issues present-ed in the skits. The students

By Officer Michaud

For the past three years,

Romero students have partici-pated in blood donor clinics held exclusively for high

school students. The mobile clinic, which is a tractor trail-er converted for blood dona-tion purposes, is set up in the parking lot of 12 Divi-sion. Approximately 50 Romero students have attend-

Banner Year for Romero

Romero with the Marlies

By Ms. Ricci

On March 6, eleven Romero

students had the chance to watch the Marlies game. As soon as the students arrived, our Trustee, Mr. Frank D’Amico, was there to greet the group and prepare every-one for the game. He even

gave all the students and staff Marlies’ jerseys, flags and clap-pers. During the game, a free pizza lunch was also provided. The students also got to inter-act with students from other schools who also attended the event. They had the time of their lives!

Mother-Daughter Wellness Tea

committee who organized and hosted the event, and all the present and former staff members who assisted with the set up and preparation for the evening.

Other activities and health booths, including pub-lic health, were also available such as, MARCA and Humber College who provided spa treatments, and everyone left with a goodie bag filled with health products. We would like to thank the

with a focus on body and mind wellness. The cafeteria was transformed into an elegant tea room wherein guests drank tea, ate sweets, chatted with one another, and listened to presenters. A guest speaker from the Mood Disorder As-sociation spoke about the top-ic of anxiety.

By Ms. Araujo

On the evening of May 14,

female staff and students brought in their mother or daughter for Romero’s Moth-er-Daughter Wellness Tea event. This event was yet another attempt to bring to light mental health issues,

mostly enjoyed the inter-generational contact and laughter.

ed these clinics to donate blood for this worthy cause. Students who have attended the clinic receive three volunteer hours, a pizza lunch, a chance of winning a gift card to Yorkdale mall, and

of course, the satisfaction of knowing they helped someone in need. This year was a ban-ner year for students donating blood. We had 30 students attend the blood donor clinic.

Romero Clean-Up


By Noel McArthur

On May16, Mr. Anthony’s

GEMS’ class, with the assis-tance of other students and staff, cleaned the school’s

property, as well as the imme-diate perimeter. The classes collected over 200 bags of garbage. The students discard-ed a number of different ma-terials during the clean-up

from plastic bottles to shoes. After the clean-up, there was a draw for iTunes and Indigo gift cards. Overall, the clean-up was very successful and benefi-cial for the school community,

By Robert Helseth

Four Romero student chefs

participated in this year’s 6th Annual Stone Soup Cook Off at Humber Collegiate. Ruben Borba, Nadi Dhaki, Robert

Helseth and Noel McArthur took part in Romero’s Stone Soup Cooking program, where weekly guest chefs came in and taught the stu-dents how to make healthy and delicious meals on budget. Four selected ‘Top chefs’

Stone Soup Cooking

The Anime Club suit-ed up for one of the biggest anime conventions in Ontario. It took place at the Toronto Congress Centre May 24 – 26. After four months of selling

Mindfulness

By Ms. Coscarelli

Recently the TCDSB has

partnered with Mindfulness Without Borders to introduce

into our schools a program called the Mindfulness Ambas-sador Council. The aim of the program is to help students develop stronger social-emotional life skills in the fol-

with other staff members to initiate and tailor the pro-gram to meet the needs of our students in the coming year.

lowing areas: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision mak-ing. Mr. Anthony and Ms. Perkins-Ball will be working

Anime North

buttons, the Anime Club mem-bers were able to raise enough money to pay for their entry fee. It celebrated anime, man-ga, music, games and all other forms of Japanese culture.

it is buying paraphernalia of their favourite show or char-acter, or dressing up as their favourite anime character, individuals meet new people and have a fun experience.

By David Ho

Anime North is a convention

people attend go to embrace their love for anime; whether

as well as the neighbour-hood.

made it to the next round—the cook off competition. The challenge was to create a com-plete meal, made up of an appetizer, a main and a des-sert, using specific ingredients. Students proved to be worthy adversaries, creating palette-

pleasing meals with creativity and flair. In the end, Romero came in 2nd place, and walked away with a state of the art knife set and a cook book of their choice. Thank you to Ms. McKetton for facilitating Stone Soup Cooking..

Northern Spirit Games

By Habteab Amare and Ms. Aucoin

On February 28, Romero

hosted the Northern Spirit Games for the fifth time. Three hundred grade 4, 5 and 6 students were taught ten

spear throw and blanket toss. The opening ceremonies were based on the teachings of the Medicine Wheel and honour the gifts of Mother Earth. The Metis guest pre-senter engaged the students in storytelling, music, drum-ming and dance.

Ms. Aucoin, Ms. Araujo and Mr. Russiello.

The games empha-size team work and introduce students to sports and activi-ties that are still played in northern communities such as snow shoeing, rope skipping,

indoor and outdoor activities based on traditional First Na-tions, Metis and Inuit games, which focus on physical strength, agility and endurance. The activities were run by the PLF 4C Physical Education class and our leadership stu-dents under the supervision of

By David Ho

The Senior Girls’ Volleyball

team was on fire this year! When I first spoke with Mr. Silva, he said that it would be a dream if the Senior Girls’ Volleyball team achieved the requirements to be eligible for OFSAA. With dedication and hard work the team’s morale

was high and they were ready to best any team who served as a roadblock to OFSAA. All their hard work paid off.

The Volleyball team went to Ottawa as champions of the TDCAA, a provincial tournament. The Raiders faced the best teams in Ontar-io. The competition was fierce, but the girls worked

ROMERO RAIDERS

Girls’ Volleyball

Mr. Spinelli

Entering this season, the

team had to prepare itself for a gruelling 12 game cam-paign. We also faced the chal-lenge of having only three members return from last


By Daryl James Fonacier and Patricia Eve Elizan

The Badminton team,

coached by Mr. Rumazza

and Ms. Kim, worked hard and played hard. With practices every Friday after school, the team improved in terms of speed, reflex and skill. The tournament was held at Hum-ber College on April 9, 10 and

the eventual winners Etienne Brule in a very competitive four game set. The coaches are very proud of the team as they continued to exhibit sportsmanship, enthusiasm, and a pas-sion to wear the black and white Raiders col-

Junior Boys’ Volleyball

Badminton

hard and played a good game. The girls and the coaches walked away with the knowledge that the experience was all worthwhile. The coaches, Mr. Silva and Ms. Tramonte, along with the Romero body, are proud of the Senior Girls’ Volley-

ball team and their accomplish-ments.

year's team, making the 2013 Raiders well represented by our grade 9's. The team improved as they progressed in the sea-son, and new roles were estab-lished based on a high commit-ment level by many players. As the boys entered the TDCAA B division playoffs, they lost to

ours, despite the adversity and challenges the team had to face. Well done everyone!

Track and Field

15. Students competed in different rounds: women’s singles, men’s singles, wom-en’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Of course, Romero did not go down without a fight! Our

women’s doubles claimed silver in the final round, and a few of our team members got into the semi-finals. The team is looking forward to next year’s competition.

By Mr. Vescio

Ross Jiang, who came to

Romero from China as an exchange student this school year, was the lone representa-tive for our school at the TDCAA 2013 Track and Field

Championships. Ross was a late entry to the competition, and therefore competed in three events over two days.

In the 800m Ross finished 7th, but was disquali-fied for crossing into a lane too early. In the 1500 metre race,

Ross finished 4th, 12th overall out of 20. In the 3000 metre race, Ross finished in 12th out of 16. This was Ross’ first track meet in North America and he competed against ath-letes who have competed year round for several years. Myself and Ms. Massarella are very

proud of Ross’ achievement and perseverance.

THE ROMERO READER

By Ms. Massarella

The Boys’ Varsity Baseball

team had an exciting 2012-2013 season, which includes a strong win against Dante Alighieri. The team demonstrated admirable dedication and positive sports-

ROMERO RAIDERS

Girls’ Soccer

Jurczynski and Ms. Sette, were beginning to brainstorm the first five players that would be participating in the penalty kick shootout, they let a goal in with 3 minutes remaining. The girls put their best effort forth during this challeng-ing yet exciting playoff game. The varsity girls’ soccer team did a wonderful job representing Romero.

manship towards each other and opposing teams through-out their training. Not even the polarizing weather condi-tions of the spring season could keep their spirits down! They even made it to the play-offs. Great job boys!

Boys’ Baseball

By Ms. Tramonte

The coaches of Romero’s

Varsity Girls’ Softball, Ms. Aucoin, Ms. Colle and

Ms.Tramonte, would like to notably mention five dedicat-ed students that formed the core of this year’s girls’ soft-ball team: Ashley Garcia, Pa-tricia Amarante, Catia Ama-

rante, Melissa Neves, Temi-loluwa Sotire. Thank you for your commitment and effort.

Girls’ Softball

By Robert Helseth

This year the Senior Boys’

Soccer team performed admi-rably in the season’s games. They players make up a small group of dedicated athletes. Although they did not qualify

for the play-offs, the team worked really hard and fought on the field; they played so well that one of the players, Luis Santos, was ap-proached by York University and University of Toronto and asked to play soccer for them. Also, their goalkeeper,

Alex Stohr, was the MVP of the team and played exceptionally well throughout the season. Congratula-tions and we look forward to next year!

Boys’ Soccer

the season. They began their season on April 24 with their first game against Father Henry Carr, and from there they were fantastic. They faced their opponents at Weston Lions Park. The girls had a great season: 3 wins, 1 tie and 2 losses. They made the playoffs, however the team got eliminated in dou-ble-overtime against McGui-gan. As the coaches, Ms.

By Habteab Amare and Ms. Maciocia-Sette

The team participated in a

tournament on May 9, at the Hangar before the season be-gan. This tournament was a way for the girls to get to know one another and to ex-periment with positioning and game plays before the start of

By: Erald Osmani

In May, Romero’s Varsity

Ball Hockey team participated in a two day tournament. It was a great time to bond with friends of all grades. Mr. Speed and his unique sense of humour made it even better. Of course, Mr. Connolly had

to stop at Tim Horton’s to get a coffee, so he missed some of the laughter! When we ar-rived at the rink, we created game plans and examined oth-er teams.

Throughout the tour-nament, the team had to cope with injuries and other unfor-tunate events. Still, the

ROMERO RAIDERS

Ball Hockey

By Mr. Kelly

On May 22, the Ultimate

team donned their cleats and took to the field at Eglinton Flats to compete in the 3rd annual TDCAA Ultimate Fes-tival. Nine teams were en-tered and the Romero crew started the day in grand style


defeating St. Basil-the-Great, St. Michael's Choir School and Dante Alighieri Acade-my. Topping Pool “A” quali-fied them for the semi-final where they were taken down by a talented squad from St. Mary’s C.S.S.— the same team who had stopped them in an invitational tournament the week before. Top four in the

Ultimate

By Anaiz Mora and Ms. Aucoin

On April 5, Romero students

participated in the Four Cor-ner Soccer Tournament orga-nized by Special Olympics Ontario and held at Soccer-world Polson Pier.

Our Recreation and Fitness Leadership Class (PLF 4C1) helped train and prepare our students for this day. The Four Corners initiative strives to be a welcoming and fun sport environment where youth have the opportunity to

participate in high level compe-tition. This was our students’ first time entering this tourna-ment, which allowed our team to play against other students from around the province.

Congratulations to the students for their school team spirit, and thanks to the PLF 4C class for their volunteer role at this event as ambassadors, score keepers, timers and coaches. This was a valuable opportunity for athletic growth and provid-ed a meaningful high school experience.

Toronto Four Corners’ Soccer Tournament

city, however, is quite an ac-complishment. Congratula-tions to the team on a fantastic season!

Romero team did not let that stop them from playing with pride and having fun.

http://4cornerssoccer.specialolympicsontario.ca/home/4 CORNERS SOCCER new logo 2 line.jpg?attredirects=0

THE ROMERO READER

ROMERO RAIDERS

Athletic Banquet – Celebrating Our Athletes

On June 11, Romero

celebrated its Student Ath-letes! As is our custom, Romero’s annual Athletic Banquet took place at the Mandarin Buffet Restau-rant. After a year of hard work, perseverance, team spirit, highs and lows, 120 students and coaches gath-ered to congratulate ex-ceptional student athletes. Trustee Frank D’Amico also attended the event. Congratulations student athletes!

Kwnica Pompey

Girls’ Soccer

MVP

Tonia Graham

Girls’ Soccer

MIP

Sabrina Medeiros

Girls’ Soccer

The George

Brandon Hastings

Ball Hockey

MVP

Sean Barber

Ball Hockey

MIP

Shawn Do Couto

Ball Hockey

The George

Jonathan Ramirez

Boys’ Badminton

MVP

Osasu Albert

Boys’ Badminton

MIP

Justin Noriel Tumbokon

Boys’ Badminton

The George

Jhoanna Ramirez

Girls’ Badminton

MVP

Danica Aloyon

Girls’ Badminton

MIP

Kai Braveboy

Girls’ Badminton

The George

Kyle Albines

Jr. Boys’ Basketball

MVP

Dennis Dei Banning


MIP

Willon Buckmyre


The George

Deshawn Montaque

Sr. Boys’ Basketball

MVP

Jahvonte Wilmot


MIP

Rowell Ramos


The George

Meurisa Peterkin

Jr. Girls’ Basketball

MVP

Shevone James


MIP

Melissa Leal


The George

Michael Johnson-Roach

Jr. Boys’ Soccer

MVP

Christopher Ferreira

Jr. Boys’ Soccer

MIP

Jose Cortez

Jr. Boys’ Soccer

The George

Alex Stohr

Sr. Boys’ Soccer

MVP

Bradley Oliveira

Sr. Boys’ Soccer

MIP

Luis Santos

Sr. Boys’ Soccer

The George

Jaleel Phillips

Jr. Boys’ Volleyball

MVP

Joshua Da Silva


MIP

Gerald Pasqua


The George

Juma Armando

Sr. Girls’ Volleyball

MVP

Monica Quintal


MIP

Margarida Moreira


The George

Temiloluwa Sotire

Girls’ Softball

MVP

Catia Amarante

Girls’ Softball

MIP

Melissa Neves

Girls’ Softball

The George

Alex Estrella

Baseball

MVP

Liam Robinson

Baseball

MIP

Steven Gonzalez Pena

Baseball

The George

Alex Gomes

Tennis

MVP

Pedro Neves

Tennis

The George

Daniel Meireis

Male Fitness Centre

Member Of The Year

Dalena Dong

Female Fitness Centre

Member Of The Year

Celia Le

Female Fitness Centre

Member Of The Year

Adrian Baisa

Sr. Boys’ Volleyball

MVP

Chris Agcaoili


MIP

Christopher Rodrigues


The George

Gabriela Evangelista

Girls’ Flag Football

MVP

Monica Quintal


MIP

Catarino Cruzeiro


The George

Ross Jiang

MVP

Track and Field

Dalena Dong

Ultimate

MIP

Monica Nedved

Ultimate

The George

Brandon Hastings

Sr. Boys’

Athlete of the Year

Kwnica Pompey

Sr. Girls’

Athlete of the Year

Jaleel Phillips

Jr. Boys’

Athlete of the Year

Gabriela Evangelista

Jr. Girls’

Athlete of the Year

Team Of The Year


Intramural Athlete Of The Year

Jaleel Phillips

Excellence In Academics

Adrian Baisa

Maria Jose Gaitan Ruiz


Who Can Participate? Any student who has an interest in the Sports Sector, which includes the sports, fitness, medical, and health fields can become a member of the SPORTS SHSM. SHMS is for all levels of study including: University, College, Apprenticeship, and Workplace bound students. How and Where Do I Join? Please come speak to any teacher in the Physical Education Department about joining this exciting new program. Why Participate? Students in the SHSM get to focus their high school education around their in-terests and their career goals. Students who graduate from SHSM get a red embossed seal on their diploma and SHSM recognition on their transcript, which makes them stand out from other students. Universities, Colleg-es, and workplaces are now recognizing the SHSM program and the red em-bossed seal when selecting applicants into their institution or organization. Potential Career Opportunities after the SPORTS SHSM: Physiotherapy, Nursing, Kinesiologist, Health and Physical Education Teacher, Nutritionist, Athletic Therapy, Sports Journalist, Sports Photographer/Videographer, Sports Public Relations and Communications, Athlete, Coach, Fitness/Sports Instructor, Lifeguard, Personal Trainer, Sports Officials and Referees, Recreation Facility Manager, Special Events Coordinator, Business and Marketing, Advertising, Fitness and Health Promotion and much MORE!

Pictures (below) from Experiential Learning and Reach Ahead Experiences.

Correction

Issue 2 – February 2013, Page 9, article “Intramurals” Paragraph 3: “Special shout-out to Andrew from Ms. Kolpakow’s class…” should have read “Special shout-out to Timothy from Ms. Kolpakow’s class…”

By Ms. Jurczynski

The Ministry of Education has ap-

proved a second Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program for Archbishop Romero Catholic Second-ary School! The SHSM will be in the “SPORTS” Sector. What is the “Sports” sector? The Sports sector in-volves any career or area of study with-in the sports, health, medical, and fit-ness fields. The Canadian sports sector generates around $8 billion dollars a year and there are many careers in-volved in the sport, fitness, medical and health fields that contribute to this annual revenue. These careers also cross over into the Business, Market-ing, Public Relations, Tourism, Media and Broadcasting and Technology fields. Simply stated a “Sports” focus can be incorporated into any career of your choice. What is SHSM? SHSM allows students to focus and explore a career path that matches your skills and interests all while meeting the requirements of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students will need to complete:

Four major credits in the Sports Sector

Three other required credits

Two-credit Co-op placement tied to the sector

Seven certifications/training courses (i.e. First Aid, CPR, AED, etc.)

Experiential Learning Activities (Interactive and Hands on learning ac-tivities)

Reach Ahead Experiences (i.e. visiting Colleges and Universities) Development of Essential Skills and Work Habits

Exciting New Program at Romero September 2013 – Sports SHSM

THE ROMERO READER

Jacqueline Osias

Maria Cortez

Chyanne Rego

ROMERO ART

Chris Agcaoili


played on the TCDSB web

site. The final show of the

Doors of Hope was also part of

Toronto’s Nuit Blanche.

These Doors of Hope aim to

bring public awareness to

communities in hopes of en-

couraging others to help those

in need. Good work ladies!

By Ms. Pimentel

Nancy Martins and Marie

Jane Lomba Sa Pessoa partici-

pated in the painting of Doors of

Hope exhibit, which was part of

the Catholic Charities 100th

Anniversary Gala dinner in

May. The painting is also dis-

Nuit Blanche

Virtue Poster

By Ana Villegas

One of our very own stu-

dents at Archbishop Romero C.S.S. won a contest held by the TCDSB. The students were to create a drawing that represented May’s virtue of

By Ana Villegas

Inocente is a short

documentary film that de-picts a 15 year-old homeless girl's journey to become an artist. Born to illegal immi-grants from Mexico, Inocen-te Izucar's past is nothing like her vibrant paintings. After her abusive father was de-ported to Mexico, Inocente's mother was forced to sup-port her four children all by herself. According to Inocen-te, "Not having a home is like not having somewhere

safe to go." Her family has not been able to stay at one place for over three months in the past nine years.

The film was directed by Sean Fine and his wife, An-drea Nix Fine. It received the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). What set this film apart from the other documentaries that I watched is that Inocente truly touched my heart. I admired her strength and resilience for not giving up after all the struggles that she experienced. In order to escape from reality, Inocente turns to painting to

Documentary Review

get through the day. Among the paintings that she drew was one called "The Lost Planet". In Inocente's art's website, it's described as "a planet where forgotten dreams go to be found again". This painting was my personal favourite because it showed her desire for a bet-ter life. She stated, "I'm still waiting for that one day that will change my life." In my opinion, that day came when the documentary was released for the public to see.

Inocente has touched the lives of many through her words of wisdom and heart-

wrenching life experiences. I highly recommend this film as it shows the power of ambi-tion and the importance of art in our daily lives.

the month: Compassion. Nancy Martins’ drawing was selected out of several en-tries submitted by TCDSB students. We would like to congratulate her for this achievement.

MS. CONNORS’

COMIC CORNER

THANK YOU

to the staff and students who contributed to this edition of

The Romero Reader.

By Ashley Correia

The book The Curious Incident

of the Dog in the Night-Time begins with Christopher Fran-cis Boone spotting a dead dog on the lawn of a neighbour’s house. As Christopher gets

closer to the dog, he tries to figure out how the dog was killed, and so begins his inves-tigation into this mystery. Soon after, he is picked up by police for two reasons; one may be that he is a suspect for the dog’s death, and the other is that he may be lost. What is interesting about this protag-onist is his unique way of in-teracting and communicating. Christopher has autism and therefore, experiences daily events on a different level. For example, he does not like his parents hugging him be-cause he does not like the

sensation of being hugged. Instead of physically hugging, Christopher prefers his par-ents to fan out their hand and match fingers. Christopher is also highly intelligent; he is able to work out mathemati-cal formulas in his head with-out using a calculator. As readers we get to closely experience Christopher’s world. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has moments of sadness, but even more moments that are funny and endearing. It is a highly recommended read.

anticipation will still be there, but so will family, friends, teachers, administrators, and parents who want to cele-brate the achievements of Romero’s graduates. The class of 2013 will be repre-sented by Daniel Saldanha —elected valedictorian.

Four years of hard work and effort culminate in this one evening. Both gradu-ation and prom are mile-stones for any high school student. They both give stu-dents an opportunity to cele-brate their accomplishments and those of their friends. They also get to say goodbye to the school, which has been their home away from home for four years, to teachers and administrators who have taught them and guided them, and to friends who have laughed and cried with them. Finally, this time gives

By Ms. Scarsella

Prom and Graduation – two mile-

stone events that inspire all high school students.

On June 7, Archbishop Romero’s grade 12 students headed to the Riviera Parque Banquet Hall to experience their prom — A Red Carpet Affair. As is always the case, they were well dressed in their finest and exhumed a heightened level of excitement. Prom is a time to let loose and celebrate with friends before heading into the stresses of exams. A special thank you to Ms. Sisto and the prom committee for planning a wonderful evening.

On June 27, Romero’s grade 12 class will come togeth-er once again to celebrate – only this time it will be a more seri-ous affair. The excitement and

parents an opportunity to show pride in their children’s accomplishments.

Furthermore, gradu-ation and prom also give stu-dents the chance to look to the future as they embark on an exciting new journey into higher education, careers, and adulthood. To the 2013 grad-uating class of Archbishop Romero – Cherish all your memories, continue to grow spiritually, apply the wisdom you have gained through your experiences, and continue to pursue knowledge and truth. Congratulations and God Bless.


Book Commentary

EDITORIAL Milestones — Prom and Graduation 2013

The Literacy Committee

would like to thank staff and

students for all their hard

work in preparing for this

year’s OSSLT. Romero in-

creased its scores by nearly

ten percent!

Literacy Matters

NEWSLETTER

TEAM

Contributors: Cassandra Arthur Patricia Eve Elizan Daryl James Fonacier Robert Helseth David Ho Anaiz Mora Ana Villegas Teachers: Ms. Coscarelli Ms. Lopes

Special Thank You

Thank you to our custodial staff who work hard to pro-vide staff and students with a safe and clean environment all year round.

We would also like to thank Ms. Sisto, Ms. Connors, Ms. Morabito, and Ms. Coxon for all their work, patience and support throughout the school year.

END OF YEAR PRAYER

O God of all beginnings and endings, We praise and thank you for the gift of this school year.

It has been a time filled with grace and blessings, With challenges and opportunities, joys and sorrows.

Give us the rest and refreshment we need this summer. Let our efforts of this past year bear fruit.

Bring all of our plans to a joyful conclusion, And bless us, according to your will.

Watch over us in the weeks of rest ahead, And guide each day as you have done this past year.

Help us return to school with new spirit and energy. May we continue to grow in wisdom, knowledge and

grace. Amen.

THANK YOU AND FAREWELL

Officer David Michaud is completing his third and final year at Romero. Officer Michaud has contributed to the Romero community in many ways. For the past two years, he has lead the guitar club. He applied for grants total-ling in excess of $6400 for the purchase of guitars and amplifiers. Officer Michaud has also taken the time to visit different classes. He has visited GLE classes to deliver presentations on various topics such as cyber-safety and bul-lying. He has attended Mr. Speed’s civics class to speak about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and has assisted with the forensics class showing stu-dents how to lift fingerprints and speaking about DNA and its relevance to the criminal justice system.

Officer Michaud has been an excellent resource for students who are interested in the field of policing. He has even taken students to the Toronto Police College for guided tours. The list of accomplishments and contributions do not end there as he is involved with many initiatives in the community out-side of Romero. From creating the 12 Division’s Youth Community Policing Liaison Committee of which several current and former Romero students are part, to organizing a youth community bike ride for the Weston/Mount Den-nis Community, he has demonstrated commitment and leadership. We are grateful for the three years Officer Michaud has spent with us.

Ms. Barbini has been an EA for the DD/ME Program and has assisted in Ms. Coscarelli’s ENG 2P1 class since January.

Mr. Giacalone has been committed to instilling Catholic values in the Reli-gion courses he has taught at Romero since semester one.

Mr. Spinelli has taught in the Business and Resource departments since Sep-tember. Because of his approachable personality and good humour, he has been able to connect with students. He has also coached the Junior Boys’ Vol-leyball team.

Mr. Teixeira has taught in the Social Science and Resource departments since March. He has also coached the Senior Boys’ Soccer team.

Mr. Vescio has worked with our DD/ME students since February. He has also coached the Baseball and Track and Field teams.

Ms. Zammit has been teaching in the Social Science department since Febru-ary 2012. She has supervised the Fitness Room and participated in the Litera-cy and Romero Outreach committees.

We wish you all the best and hope to see you all back at Romero soon!

Ms. Maselli-Jackman

Although Ms. Maselli-Jackman has been the Vice-Principal at Romero for only one year, she has been committed to ensuring that Romero is a safe, healthy, and academic environment. Thank you for all your hard work, dedi-cation and participation in our school endeavours. We wish you luck at your new school.

Mr. Russiello

Mr. Russiello has been the Principal at Romero for the past eight years. Many new teachers are grateful for the opportunity he has given them to work in such a great communi-ty. In addition to his commitment to Romero staff and students over the years, he has also been involved in many Student Success initiatives. We thank Mr. Russiello for his years of dedication to this community, of which he will always be a part. We also wish him luck at his new school.

On May 5th, Ms. D'Angelo’s daughter was born. Welcome Adrianna Sophia D'Angelo! On May 9th, Ms. Campagna's daughter was born. Adriana Calicchia tipped the scales at 8lb 15.5oz! Retirement: Mr. Carino started teaching at Romero in 1989, the very first year the school opened. He began his career in the Elementary panel where he taught for 9 years. Mr. Carino has taught in the TCDSB for a grand total of 33 years. "Time has flown," he says ~ Tempus fugit. Thank you, Mr. Carino, for your dedication and good humour! Both in your classes and through extra-curriculars, you have touched many stu-dents beyond the teaching of Mathematics. Retirement: Ms. Lathrop has been a Social Worker at Romero for 18 years. She has worked a total of 29 years at the Toronto Catholic Dis-trict School Board. Ms. Lathrop, the Romero community has benefited from your wealth of knowledge and sensitive, cheerful approach. Thank you for all you have done. Retirement: Ms. Naudi started working at Romero as an Educational Assistant in 1993. She has worked closely with our special needs stu-dents in terms of Co-op training, job shadowing, and monitoring. She also helps every morning with the Breakfast Program. Thank you, Ms. Naudi, for your positive contributions to the Romero community.

CONGRATULATIONS

IN THIS SSUE - Toronto Catholic District School Board · al. Romero’s junior team ... peacefully...

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