a newsletter for the families of st michael’s choir school · p r a i s e o f g o d i n j e s u s...

The Easter season marks the high point of our liturgical year and, once

again, our students contributed to the various celebrations in the Cathe-

dral with sublime music. We remind one another that Easter is a season,

not just one day. May everyone in our school community be blessed with

the healing, peace, hope and joy that flow from the Resurrection!

The end of April saw our senior students on the road in Nova Scotia.

The annual tour is an opportunity to share sacred music with the wider

community while showcasing the impressive talents of our students. It’s

also an opportunity for the boys to learn about other people and places,

to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood among themselves and to have a great time.

Everywhere we went, audiences were moved by the music they heard and didn’t hesitate to stand

and clap to show their appreciation. The sale of CDs was so brisk that more had to be shipped

before the tour was over. In their host homes, the boys experienced the generous and warm hos-

pitality for which people in the Maritimes are known. We are very proud of our students, not only

for how well they sang, but for how well-mannered and considerate they were. This was noted and

commented on in every place we visited. We know that our Junior choristers will have a similar

experience on their trip to Ottawa later this month.

We’ll all have an opportunity to enjoy the music performed on the tours, along with selections by

our Elementary Choir, at our Spring Concert on Friday May 25th. We look forward to seeing you

then!

Principal’s Greeting

TCDSB

SMCS Newsletter A Newsletter for the Families of St Michael’s Choir School

Our Mission:

S t . M i c h a e l ’ s

C h o i r S c h o o l i s a

C a t h o l i c

C o m m u n i t y

w h o s e p r i m a r y

m i s s i o n i s t h e

e d u c a t i o n o f

y o u n g C h r i s t i a n

g e n t l e m e n . A t

t h e c e n t r e o f t h e

c o m m u n i t y ’ s

a c a d e m i c e f f o r t

t o m a k e t h e

u n i v e r s e

i n t e l l i g i b l e t o

g r o w i n g m i n d s i s

a n e x p e r i e n c e o f

m u s i c f o r t h e

p r a i s e o f G o d i n

J e s u s C h r i s t

———————————

St. Michael’s Choir School

67 Bond Street

Toronto, On M5B 1X2

Telephone: (416) 393-5518

Fax: (416) 393-5880

[email protected]

TCDSB

TCDSB

CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS MAY, 2012

SENIOR BOYS ON THE TOUR BUS IN NOVA SCOTIA

SMCS NEWSLETTER PAGE 2

I wish a blessed Easter Season to everyone in the Choir School community. The glory of the

risen Lord gives hope to the world and a promise of life everlasting. The majesty of music in

this joyous season reinforces our motto that he who sings, prays twice.

The month of April was certainly filled with singing. Beginning with Palm Sunday and through-

out Holy Week, Easter Sunday and beyond, our boys filled the Cathedral with beauty. Thank

you to everyone who worked with the boys during this season. I would also like to offer a

word of thanks to the mothers from the Junior Choir who provide tremendous assistance every Sunday

morning. Additionally, I give thanks for the fathers from the Senior Choir who provide an extra measure of

safety with their presence at the Saturday evening and Sunday masses where there are large numbers of sing-

ers.

With spring in the air, it must mean we are into tour season. As I write this column, the Senior Choir boys

are just leaving from their last choral before the pre-tour concert at St. Leo’s in Brooklin, Ontario. Mr. Wil-

liam Targett, a former vice-principal of St. Michael’s Choir School is our host. The 25th of April is our depar-

ture date for Nova Scotia. Concerts are scheduled for Sydney, Reserve Mines, Halifax, Wolfville, Antigonish,

and Truro. A full report on all of the wonderful touring memories is promised next month.

Our grade 4, 5 and 6 boys are also preparing for tour. Thursday May 17th is the departure date for Operation

Podium, a 3 day trip to Arnprior and Ottawa. Their performance at PODIUM, a national conference of cho-

ral musicians is the centrepiece of this tour. We are certainly proud to have been selected as one of only a

handful of choirs from across the country to appear at such a prestigious event.

Looking ahead, I invite you to attend two of the widely anticipated recitals in May. Our vocal students per-

form on stage on Tuesday the 29th, while the organ students perform two nights later on the 31st. Both recit-

als are free and begin at 7:00pm.

As the light at the end of this academic year’s tunnel begins to shine brighter, now is a good time for a re-

newed commitment to instrumental and theory preparation and study. RCM exams as well as house exams

loom in the near future. Parental and teacher encouragement for regular practice, daily theory study will help

the boys achieve success later this spring.

Finally, I would like to offer prayers for our grade 8 boys as they continue to prepare for the sacrament of

Confirmation. We will rejoice together on Pentecost Sunday, May 27th as they enter into a closer bond with

Christ.

May the promise of the Risen Lord remain with you and your family throughout this season, and may we con-

tinue to rejoice in the special gift that is St. Michael’s Choir School.

Most sincerely, Edward McCall, SMCS ‘79

Choral News

Executive Director’s Message



PRE-TOUR CONCERT AT ST. LEO’S CHURCH BROOKLIN, ONTARIO

Thursday, April 19, 2012


SENIOR TOUR - OPERATION MIGHTY FORTESS - NOVA SCOTIA

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 to Friday, May 4, 2012

Adrian Autencio and Enrico Valenzuela


STUDENT VOICE


PATRICK PARRO - PRESIDENT STUDENT COUNCIL 2011-2012

Student Council Report – April 2012

April was yet another productive month for the Student Council in preparation for many various events in the works for this month, and for the remaining months of this school year.

On April 20th, the Student Council organized another house event for the High School House System! The afternoon’s events kicked off with a house-led 20 Minute Makeover within the vicinity of the Choir School to clean up our community and help make Toronto greener. Kudos to Mme. LoCurto and the EcoClub for helping organize the materials for the houses! Following the 20 Minute Makeover, students from each house dispersed to one of three events: Dodgeball, Soccer, and a Walk/Run-A-Thon. There was fierce competition between houses for participants of the Dodgeball & Soccer events, while over at Moss Park, the Walk/Run-a-thon tested participant’s endurance. Pledges were collected for the Walk/Run-a-thon in support of a charitable organization called ACF (Action Contre la Faim). To end off the day, the point standings were announced and students were treated to freezies courtesy of the Student Council! In summary, the afternoon’s events were enjoyable for all who attended Congratulations to everyone, especially the Armstrong House who dominated to take the lead in point standings! Our Student Council Elections for the 2012-2013 Student Council are coming up at the end of May, along with one more house event to end off the year, perhaps even a school-wide carni-val! And once again, mark your calendars and be sure to join us for our highly anticipated an-nual event, Jam Night 2012: Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 7PM in the auditorium! Auditions are the week of May 14th, and tickets go on sale soon!

ATHLETICS


MAY, 2012 CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS

SMCS NEWSLETTER PAGE 8 SMCS NEWSLETTER PAGE 5

The Athletics Corner

CROSS COUNTRY

Our cross country meet was held yesterday at Kew Beach. Our SMCS runners

gave 100% effort and ran their best race! All their hard work and early morn-

ing training has paid off. Congratulations to

everyone. Their behaviour was exemplar and

parents, Ms. DiMonte and Mme LoCurto were

truly impressed at how the team supported

each other and cheered for each other. That is

the true sign of talent and sportsmanship. Re-

gardless of how each runner placed, what is

most important is that they were challenged and they accepted the challenge. Our

school placed third in grade 4 and in grade 6. The following boys will be moving

on to the regional meet on Monday, April 23. Special mention for 3 of our runners who made the top 10.

MacKenzie Okumura placed 7th, Stefan Vercillo placed 8th and Luc Randmaa placed 4th

We placed 6th overall out of 15 schools. Amazing!

Michael Avila Lucas Ben

John Baszak Viktor Lipinski

Joshua Francis MacKenzie Okumara

Emilio Ortelli Paolo Caradang

Stefan Vercillo Timothy Stocker

Luc Randmaa Lucas Urban

Taras Rawlinson

Mmme. F. LoCurto

Cross Country Coach

Junior High School Volleyball

Our Junior high school team has had a terrific season to date. With one game left in the regular sea-

son they are a perfect 5-0 with one game left and sitting comfortably in first place of the Southern

Division of the league. The team has also competed in three tournaments, finishing second in the Fr.

Redmond tournament and third in the Monsignor Percy Johnson tournament.

League playoffs begin on May 7th with the quarter finals, May 9th the semi-finals and then on May 11th it is the Seeding tournament that will determine the rankings for the championship tour-

nament. We are the defending league champions so the team has plenty to live up to and

we wish the boys best of luck as they try to bring the banner home again this year.



The Junior Basketball Team

By Mr. Tarascio

The Junior Elementary Basketball team had an excellent showing at the Junior Classic Basketball Tournament. The

tournament was held on Thursday, May 3rd at St. John’s Catholic School. Despite being in one of the toughest pools

with Blessed John XXIII, St. John and St. Paul, they managed to secure third place. As always the boys showed great

sportsmanship and were commended for their efforts and tenacity. It was another exciting tournament for every-

one involved.

Congratulations to all Team Members:

Grade 6 Grade 5 Grade 4

Andrew Buzdon Gabriel Mikina Vincent Gatchalian

Lauren Cabral Joseph Pongonthara

Kang Dang Louis Scaramuzza

Marc Anders DeLeon

Joshua Francis

Stefan Vercillo

Thomas Clifford

Francesco Mannella

*Not Pictured: Khang Dang and Mr. White

CHESS CLUB



ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

On Wednesday, April the 4th, the members of the St. Michael’s Choir School Chess Team made their way

to the South Region Tournament at Our Lady of Lourdes School. Our team consisted of 5 students from

Grades 4-8. Vincent Gatchalian represented the Grade 4’s, Nikolas Estok-Lugo represented the Grade 5’s,

Timo Lahteenma-Swerdlyk represented the Grade 6’s, Evan Buzdon represented the Grade 7’s and Paul

Picotte represented the Grade 8’s. Our team played hard and didn’t give up. We didn’t just challenge our

opponents, we also challenged ourselves to do better.

On Saturday, April 21st a group of St. Michael's Choir School boys and their parents

woke up at 4:30 a.m. to arrive at the base of the CN Tower prepared to tackle the climb

to the top of the world`s tallest and Toronto`s most recognized landmark! Liam

Bishop led the race and made it to the top in 12 minutes and the rest of our group all

came in under 36 minutes. Amazing! We raised $1730 for the World Wildlife Federa-

tion and we hope to make a difference. Our support of WWF will protect fragile eco-

systems, will educate for real change, will ensure industry plays its part, will influence

government on behalf of all Canadians and will protect the species and spaces that make

Canada the envy of the world. We hope to build a future in which humans live in har-

mony with nature. Thank you to everyone who climbed and to everyone who spon-

sored a climber. We hope see you again in April 2013!

Mmme. F. LoCurto

W W F

HIGH SCHOOL REACH

This year, our School Reach team visited Danforth Collegiate every

Wednesday for ten weeks to compete in School reach tournaments. We

had teams in both the intermediate and senior divisions, who battled with

other schools to reach the top of their respective divisions. Our intermedi-

ate team, consisting of grade nine and ten students James Profiti, Justin

Cowen, Joshua Rossetti, Dugald Campbell, Manuel Piazza, William White,

Bryan Igreja and Adam Kolodziej came in second in their division, losing in

the finals to the University of Toronto Schools. Our senior team, consisting

of Andrew Walker, Yianni Pantis, Kijana Mitchell, Ryan Nunes, Alexander

Pawluk, and Joseph Gauvreau also made it to the finals and also lost to UTS.

A special thank-you is due to our coaches, Mr. Morra and Ms. McMillan for all of their help and support! We look forward

to doing even better next year

Mr. Morra and Mrs. McMillan



ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

The Toronto Catholic District School Board welcomes Andrew W alker, a student at St. Michael's Choir

School as Student Trustee for the 2012-2013 academic year. Andrew is in the Extended French program and previously attended St. Florence Catholic. He has been an active member of the Catholic Student Leadership Impact Team (CSLIT) for three years, having been Director of its Social Justice Subcommittee and on the Executive Council. He leads a busy life in school as a member of the Choir School's Student Council and conductor of the student choir. He plays intramural basketball and is captain of the Senior School Reach Team. Other than singing every

weekend for almost seven years, he has served as a Pontifical Server and as a regular altar server. Andrew is committed to social justice issues and the health and welfare of those who suffer injustice around the world. He looks forward to supporting the projects that CSLIT takes on next year, especially with respect to ecological justice and the Angel Foun-dation’s Learning Buddy’s program as well as supporting any special interests promoted by the students. Andrew has a particular interest in veterans of the Armed Forces as his grandfather is a veteran of World War II. He hopes to re-mind students to remember our veterans not just for one week in November, but all year long and to open up new volunteering opportunities for students with Veterans' Affairs Canada. Andrew has already started his training for his new position and will be attending Board meetings for the remainder of this school year, before officially taking office on August 1st. After high school, he hopes to study politics and eventually go to law school. “We applaud the students for selecting such an accomplished student who develops and demonstrates his God-given potential and a responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching in his daily life” says Board Chair, Ann Andrachuk. “Our students’ successes continue to bring pride and momentum to the TCDSB,” says Director of Education Bruce Rodrigues. “Our new student trustee is inspired to transform the world through witness, faith, innovation and action.”

TCDSB WELCOMES STUDENT TRUSTEE 2012-2013

CONGRATULATIONS:

On Wednesday April 4, 2012, Angelo Pilla, one of our Grade 11 students was given the Ontario Volunteer

Service Award, by the Lieutenant Governor General. This award is given out to youth and adults of this

province for their dedication to one organization over several years. Angelo volunteered at the Under

the Rainbow Summer Camp for two years and gave 400 hours of his time. That day, Angelo was inspired

by the large number of recipients that gave over 50 years of their time volunteering to help others.

CONGRATULATIONS:

St. Michael’s Choir School is honoured to announce that Matthew Snowdon (Grade 11 student) is being congratulated by the Toronto Catholic District School Board for winning the gold medal in the Senior

Bronze Ice Dance Event at Skate Canada’s Star Skate Championships in February, 2012 . Matthew will be officially recognized for his success by being awarded the TCDSB Student Achievement Award at the CEC on Monday, May 7, 2012. This award honours students who have demonstrated out-standing achievement either academically, physically, spiritually or socially at the provincial, national or inter-

national level.


SUPERINTENDENT: Mr. M. McMorrow

(416) 222-8282 Ex. 5371

TRUSTEE 2011-2012

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

WARDS 1. PETER JAKOVCIC 2. ANN ANDRACHUK - CHAIR 3. SAL PICCININNI - VICE-CHAR 4. PATRIZIA BOTTONI 5. MARIA RIZZO 6. FRANK D’AMICO 7. JOHN DEL GRANDE 8. TOBIAS ENVERGA 9. JO-ANN DAVIS (416) 512-3409 10. BARBARA POPLAWSKI 11. ANGELA KENNEDY 12. NANCY CRAWFORD

STUDENT TRUSTEE -ANDREW WALKER TRUSTEE FOR ST MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL

[email protected] - www.jo-anndavis.ca

Special Up-Coming Choir School Events


May 9 Junior Tour Information Night - 7:00 P.M. May 17 - May 19 Junior Tour - Podium Ottawa May 25 Spring Concert - 7:30 P.M. - Cathedral May 28 - 31 EQAO TESTING May 29 Vocal Recital - 7:00 P.M. - Auditorium May 31 Organ Recital - 7:00 P.M. - Auditorium


mailto:[email protected]

http://www.jo-anndavis.ca

GUIDANCE NEWS SMCS NEWSLETTER PAGE 9




Camp Muskoka

At Camp Muskoka, they believe that the magic of the camp

experience starts with the sharing of a community: helping

campers develop new skills while building self-esteem and de-

veloping leadership abilities, all while exploring the wonders of

nature.

For more information and registration please go to

www.campmuskoka.com or all 1-888-734-2267

Deep Academy Summer 2012

The DEEP Summer Academy provides gifted and highly motivated high

school students from across the world with the opportunity for advanced

study in a variety of engineering, technology, business and science disci-

plines. Organized by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Sci-

ence and Engineering, DEEP offers one of the most diverse ranges of pre-

university engineering and science courses in North America.

For more information and registration, go to

http://www.enrichment.uoftengineering.com/deep2011

Summer School Opportunities

Grade 8 - 12

Forms and applications will be available in the main office for all stu-

dents interested in taking a summer course during mid May. Please

make sure that these forms are signed by Mrs. Zanette so that I can

register students in the appropriate courses.

The Ontario Educational Leadership Centre

The Ontario Educational Leadership Centre as a partner with the

educational community provides students and other participants with

a unique opportunity to develop and enhance their personal and lead-

ership skills. Leadership programs are offered to Grades 9, 10 and 11.

For more information on the programs offered please go to

www.oelccaso.com or call 705-689-5572

Boyd Archaeological Field School

This August a summer archaeology high school credit course

(Grade 12 Interdisciplinary Studies Credit - IDC4U) at Claremont

Field Centre is being offered. Operated collaboratively between

Claremont Field Centre and TRCA's professional archaeologists,

students gain real-world experience in archaeology, anthropology,

Canadian history and many other heritage study areas.

For more information and cost go to www.boydfieldschool.org

www.trca.on.ca/archaeological_field_schools

416-661-6600, ext. 5323 • [email protected]

Music Credits

Many boys have written / performed their RCM exams during the month

of June or will be during the summer months. This is a gentle reminder

of the possible high school credits that all students can attain at St. Mi-

chael’s Choir School.

Grade VII Practical and Grade I Rudiments of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto – AMX 3M (

Grade 11Credit)

Grade VIII Practical and Grade II Rudi

ments of the Royal Conservatory of Music,

Toronto – AMX 4M (Grade 12 Credit)

A request for an official transcript from the Royal Con-

servatory of Music can be obtained online at:

www.rcmexaminations.org. Go to tab “Online Forms” and then to

“Transcript Request”. Official transcripts for both courses must be

handed into Guidance so that the credit can be granted. An official re-

port card will also be accepted from both courses.

http://www.rcmexaminations.org/

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