Message from the Principal

It’s hard to believe that we are in November and heading into winter and the Advent Sea-

son. We are off to a great 2017-18 school year and are blessed with a wonderful student body and a

supportive parent community, including our Catholic School Council. We continue to strive to pro-

mote a strong partnership between school, parish, and home to encourage success for our students.

We are proud of the commitment to a safe and accepting school environment and have embraced the

school-wide theme of Empathy this year.

School culture is always a focus as we see Holy Cross as a home away from home for our students.

During our inclusivity week we presented students with a number of activities, prayers, and positive

messages — including "All are welcome", "Empathy builds connections", "HC is a Safe Space for

All", and "We are Committed to Inclusion". Each reinforces the idea that we all belong. Our grade 11

students were educated on making good social choices and we will have a schoolwide assembly in

December to reinforce the theme of Empathy.

Earlier in the year, Students participated in our annual Pilgrimage with 200 students walking and rais-

ing $10,000.00 to support our sister school in Haiti. Dances, Music, Drama, Athletics, Community

Involvement, Faith events, and Championships are very much alive at Holy Cross and we encourage

students to participate and become involved in their school. This newsletter highlights the abundance

of talent and heart that exists at Holy Cross and I encourage parents to take a look inside for the full

story on what’s going on here at Holy Cross.

On behalf of our entire school community I would like to thank our parents and guardians for your

continued support. Thank you for entrusting your children to us as we work towards every student

reaching their full potential academically and spiritually. I welcome your input and comments as we

continue this journey together.

God Bless!

Denice Robertson

Principal

D. Robertson

Principal

J. Belcastro

Vice Principal

The Niagara Catholic District School Board through the charisms of faith, social justice, support and

leadership, nurtures an enriching Catholic learning community for all to reach their full potential and

become living witness of Christ.

RAIDERS

WALK GRAPE

AND WINE

PARADE!

HOLY CROSS PILGRIMAGE

RAIDERS HALLOWEEN FUN

RAIDER ROUND UP

BROCK MENTORSHIP

Holy Cross has been participating in a partnership with Brock University for over 20 years in an outstanding program called Brock Mentorship. Senior students who excel in Science can apply to spend afternoons par-ticipating in a research project in the lab of professors in a variety of disci-plines. This year, Kirztyn de Torres is working on protein markers in a Bio-chemistry lab with Dr. Atkinson, Jane Oleksiw is working on a study in-volving cortisol levels in athletes with Dr. Gammage in Kinesiology, and Emily Warren is studying historic fires and relating them to climate change with Dr. Pisaric in Geography. They will be presenting their re-search in February at a Symposium at Brock University. Students interest-ed in participating next year can see Mrs. Farrell in Student Services.

BOXING SUCCESS

Dylan Maisonneuve, a 16 year old grade 11 Holy Cross Catholic Secondary

student, participated in the Murphy’s Glove Fight for Kids on Friday, Nov

3rd. Murphy’s kids was founded as a tribute to Keith Murphy, a well-

known coach at the St. Catharines boxing club who is battling MS. The

money raised is donated to local schools to support children in need. Dyl-

an’s fight was in the 140lb category and was a scheduled home show

match, that he easily won. Dylan has been boxing for three years and said

that the reason he started boxing was because he was a hyper kid. His

father was looking for an activity that would tire him out and boxing was

a good outlet. Dylan’s record is 7-1 and he is excited about the prospects

of representing Canada at the 2020 Pan Am games and even possibly as a

member of the Canadian Olympic Boxing Team.

HOLY CROSS’ KIRZTYN DE TORRES GIVES GIFTS FOR HER BIRTHDAY

For her 17th birthday Kirztyn De Torres, grade 12 student at Holy Cross Catholic Second-ary School, decided to forego the usual birthday gifts and cake. Instead she asked her family and friends to donate winter clothing, bedding, and toys that she could provide to the Women’s Place of South Niagara. Kirtzyn was assisted by Amanda Braet and Jennifer McQuestion, who are part of the Women's Place of South Niagara - a shelter against domestic violence against women and children. Kirztyn has had a long standing interest in social justice and last year conducted the “No Hair Selfie Campaign” for Cancer awareness. When asked why she decided to donate to Women’s place she said she was inspired by her Godfather who collected and donated food to a local food bank for his 50th birthday. Kirztyn said that it is better to give than to receive and this was something that was important for her to do before she graduates and leaves Holy Cross. The photo shows Kirztyn donating the items she collected to Jennifer McQuestion from Women’s place of South Niagara.

Musical Production Holy Cross is putting a new spin on their musical pro-duction this WINTER. HC actors, musicians, singers and dancers will have the chance to create their own musical using the legendary songs of David Bowie. Students who have been attending weekly rehearsals after school have helped develop the storyline of a stu-dent named Ziggy and two others who are searching for their self identity. More messages from ground con-trol will be coming soon!

Resource News The Special Education Department is enjoying a busy start to the year. Individual Education Plans were sent home on October 17th and we welcome parent feed-back and collaboration as we work together to support the needs of all students. The IEP is in draft form and changes are made as new information becomes availa-ble. We look forward to another wonderful year!

Games Club

On Wednesdays, during lunch time at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary

School, Mr. Potalivo has been opening up his classroom to students to

participate in a games club. Students have been coming in to indulge in

some board games, card games, and sometimes some video games.

Whether students are throwing down an ace of spades, knocking down

a Jenga tower, or racing in Mario Kart, the design of this club has been

to promote inclusiveness and has been successful so far. Students have

been making new friends while sharing lots of laughs. This program will

continue to run and will always make Wednesdays a fantastic day to be

at Holy Cross.

EMPOWERMENT AT HC On October 26 & 27, 30 girls from Holy Cross participated in Jumpstart’s Women and Girls in Sport Initiative, a program that encourages girls to get and stay active, and helps foster a new generation of female sport leaders. On Thursday October 26, the girls participated in a Youth Leadership Workshop led by CAAWS (Canadian Associa-tion for the Advancement of Women in Sport). The workshop is designed to teach and empower girls to become leaders in their own communities and to serve as an initial step in pursuing the Coaching Association of Canada’s NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program). The following day, the girls attended the Jumpstart Games for Girls as a leadership opportunity. Jumpstart Games for Girls hosted 300 local girls, aged 12-14, and facilitated a fun day of play where girls were active, and inspired to get, and stay, in the game, while simultaneously providing a leadership opportunity for the Youth Leadership Workshop participants. On November 18, the Youth Leadership Workshop participants will be given the opportunity to enrol in a local, Jumpstart-funded Fundamental Movement Skills workshop, which teaches the core components of physical literacy. Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is a national charity dedicated to helping kids overcome financial and accessibility barriers to sport and recreation in order to provide inclusive play for kids of all abilities, and since 2005, has helped more than 1.4 million kids. Last year, Jumpstart funded 220,000 kids, nearly half of whom were girls.

The HC Mind over Matter Team The HC Wellness team has renamed themselves, the HC Mind over Matter team. Since HC is a Jack.org Chapter school, our team liaises with a Jack.org representative and organizes events that promote and educate students on healthy wellness practices. Our team, led by Grade 12 student Katie Walters, in-cludes students from grades 9-12, staff advisor, Mrs. Gandola, Chaplain, Ms. Lepine, CYW, Mrs. Franks-Peters, school nurse, Sue Grantis, and parents. The team has been off to a busy start this year by running a jenga/mental health awareness activity at lunch, and monthly “Pay it Forward” days. The team also plans to make and distribute hand-made sock monkeys to children at Pathstone Mental Health and the hospital. They are requesting donations of “work socks” of any colour and size for this initia-tive. Work sock donations can be brought to Ms. Lepine in the Chaplain’s office.

HC Photography Congratulations goes out to Katie Walters and Megan Vahrmeyer, whose photographs were selected to be exhibited at the Legislative Building at Queen’s Park through the Young Arts Program. This program was started in 2012 to celebrate talented young artists in Ontario. The Opening Re-ception for the exhibition is on Wednesday, November 29th at 6pm. The young artists’ work will be exhibited in various areas of the Legislative Building from the end of November to mid-March.

Junior Boys Basketball The Junior Boys basketball season has just kicked off and both the coach-es and players are excited for what the season has in store. Having just completed the Sullivan Tournament, and with the St. Andrew’s College In-vitational Tournament just around the corner, the team is ready for an out-standing 2017-18 season.

Senior Girl’s Basketball The Senior Girls Basketball Team had another successful season. The girls had a great showing at the St. Bessette Tournament in London, as they competed in the championship game against Brantford. They also participated in the Standard and the St. Francis Tournaments, playing some of the top teams in the re-gion. The Lady Raiders competed in each of the 7 regular sea-son games. The learning that took place last year definitely showed when we stepped onto the court. We will continue to learn the game and improve for next year’s season. Congratulations Ladies, for a season well played!

HC Tennis Team

Mr. Cavasin would like to thank all members of the HC Tennis Team for an exciting year of tennis. Alejandro De Leon (left) took first place in junior men’s singles at the Zone tournament. He then went on to reach the championship finals in SOSSA. Alex Kedzierski (right) took second place in senior men’s singles at the Zone tournament and also advanced to SOSSA. We look forward to another exciting year of tennis next year.

Grade 8 Orientation Day – HC Business Several students from Mr. Cavasin’s business class led visiting grade 8 stu-

dents through a financial literacy lesson using the board game Monopoly.

Fun was had by all! We look forward to seeing our next generation of

Raiders next year.

Breakfast Club

Holy Cross offers a “grab and go” Breakfast for Learning Club every morning

outside the main office. Come by between 7:30 and 8:00 and enjoy a healthy

start to the day. It is nut-free and well-balanced with whole grain cereals, toast,

yogurt, cheese, and a variety of seasonal fruits. See you there!

Table Tennis Comes to HC!

During Wednesday and Fridays at Lunch at HC in the small gym students can now enjoy the thrill of competition, the joy of victory, and the agony of defeat. Holy Cross now has two tables for students to test their meddle against one another. Students of all abilities are welcome!

Holy Cross ECO CLUB The Holy Cross ECO Club is devoted to helping protect our natural resources and promoting sustain-able development within our school and surrounding community. The Holy Cross ECO club is always looking for efficient ways to use energy, minimize waste, and green the school and our community. Last year the club and school participated in the Ontario EcoSchools Certification Process. It is with great pride that Holy Cross earned its second Platinum EcoSchools Certification from the province. The school continues to show great leadership as it demonstrates our commitment to be an environ-mentally conscious place to learn and work. The ECO Club is also beginning preparation for the Local Niagara Envirothon in the hopes of attend-

ing the Ontario Envirothon Challenge later this spring. The Raiders will be sending two teams to com-

pete; with Mr. Brgan moderating our teams as they learn new and better ways of protecting our natu-

ral resources. As always, if you are interested in joining ECO Club do not hesitate to ask Mr. Brgan

how you can help too.

Science The Science students have been active this semester in their study of chemistry, and more recently, the study of cells and the microscope. Students conducted investigations in chemistry to enhance their understanding of the six types of chemical reactions. After observing the reactions, students wrote word and chemical equations that described the chemical reactions. They also tested the pH of various household products, in order to determine which ones were acidic or basic. Recently, as part of their biology unit, they have investigated cell structure, the use of the micro-scope as a scientific tool, and the cell cycle and mitosis. This semester, students will be conducting investigations using the micro viewer, microscope, and the dissection of a frog – as they study cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems. The Grade 11 Biology students completed a circulatory system heart rate lab activity. Students have been actively exploring the organ systems of living things and making connections between their structure and function. They have been asked to include several characteristics, like how dif-ferent organ systems work independently, but are also connected and interdependent with other systems. This engaging activity gave the students an opportunity to learn how their circulatory sys-tems deliver blood to their bodies, and how regular aerobic activity can influence cardiac efficiency. The Grade 12 Biology students completed an egg cell osmosis lab activity, in which they tested vari-

ous concentrations of corn syrup solution on the movement of water molecules across natural mem-

branes. The students discovered that a delicate balance is required to maintain cell structure and

function. In addition, they discovered many different technologies utilize artificial membranes to

make our everyday lives easier, from water purification systems, to medical devices used to combat

kidney disease.