IT STARTS

in the Schools

December 2014

UPCOMING EVENTS

December 1 Catholic Education Centre

80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

416.222.8282

Inaugural Meeting of the Board

7:00 p.m.

December 1 St. Andrew Catholic School

2533 Kipling Avenue, Rexdale

416.393.5295

50th Anniversary Celebration

10:30 a.m. Mass

11:45 a.m. Archive and photo presentation,

Light refreshments

December 1 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary

School

3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough

416.393.5544

Stone Soup cooking club A joint venture with Toronto Police, Public

Health Department and L’Amoreaux

Community Centre

December 1-17

Board-wide

TDCAA Girls Volleyball

December 1-18 Board-wide TDCAA Girls/Boys Hockey

December 2

Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton

Catholic Secondary School

1515 Bloor St. W, Toronto

416.393.5545

6th Annual TCDSB Elementary

Cardboard Boat Competition 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

December 2-18 Board-wide TDCAA Boys Basketball

December 3 Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton

Catholic Secondary School

1515 Bloor St. W, Toronto

416.393.5545

WENTT Conference - Women Entering

Non-Traditional Trades

9 a.m.

December 3 Board-wide International Day of Persons with

Disabilities

December 3 St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic

School

70 Margaret Avenue, North York

416.393.5393

Anti-bullying Presentation

By motivational speaker/rapper Duane

D.O. Gibson

1:30 p.m. for students

6:30 p.m. for parents

December 3 St. Cecilia Catholic School

355 Annette Street, Toronto

416.393.5218

French Immersion information evening

6:30 p.m.

December 4 St. Charles Garnier Catholic School

20 Stong Court, North York

416.393.5363

2nd Annual Family Gingerbread Night

5:30 – 7 p.m.

School Gym

December 5 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary

School

3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough

416.393.5544

Memorial for Montreal Massacre

December 5

TCDSB Staff Arts

416.222.8282 TCDSB Staff Arts Christmas Concert

8 p.m.

At St. Anselm Church

1 McNaughton Rd, Toronto

December 6 St. Raymond Catholic School

270 Barton Avenue, Toronto

416.393.5293

Annual Breakfast with Santa

Food, carols, home crafts and Silent

Auction.

10 a.m.

December 6, 7

Massey Hall

178 Victoria St, Toronto

416.872.4255

St. Michael's Choir School Christmas

Concert

7:30 p.m.

December 8 Catholic Education Centre

80 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

416.222.8282

OAPCE Toronto Meeting

7 p.m.

December 9 St. Fidelis Catholic School

9 Bannerman Street, Toronto

416.393.5358

Kindergarten Christmas Concert

7 p.m.

In the school gym

December 9

St. Timothy Church

21 Leith Hill Road, North York

416-393-5298

St. Timothy Catholic School 50th

Anniversary Mass

10 a.m.

December 9 Our Lady of Peace Catholic School

70 Mattice Avenue, Etobicoke

416.393.5353

French Immersion information evening

7 p.m.

December 10

Board-wide Human Rights Day

December 10 St. Joseph Catholic School

176 Leslie Street, Toronto

416.393.5209

School Christmas Mass

December 10, 11 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary

School

3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough

416.393.5544

Annual Christmas Concert

Hosted by Mary Ward Music Department

December 11 St. Fidelis Catholic School

9 Bannerman Street, Toronto

416.393.5358

Primary/Junior Christmas Concert

At Don Bosco SS auditorium

7 p.m.

December 11 Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton

Catholic Secondary School

1515 Bloor St. W, Toronto

416.393.5545

Christmas Music Night

7 p.m.

December 11 St. Michael’s College

University of Toronto

81 St. Mary Street, Toronto

416.926.1300

11th annual Social Justice Symposium

Hosted by Brebeuf College for Catholic

high school students

December 12 St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic

School

70 Margaret Avenue, North York

416.393.5393

‘Family Movie Night’

Grade 8 sponsored event

School gym

December 12 St. Clare Catholic School

124 Northcliffe Boulevard Toronto

416.393.5214

Family Advent Mass and Gathering

For Ward 6 Schools

6:30 p.m. at St. Clare’s Church

1118 St. Claire Avenue West, Toronto

Lighting of the neighbourhood Christmas

tree after Mass

December 12 St. Fidelis Catholic School

9 Bannerman Street, Toronto

416.393.5358

Advent Mass

9:15a.m.

At St. Fidelis Church, weather permitted

December 12, 13 Cardinal Carter Academy for the

Arts

36 Greenfield Avenue, Willowdale

416.393.5556

Cardinal Carter Presents: The

Nutcracker

7:30 p.m., 2 p.m.

December 15 St. Cyril Catholic School

18 Kempford Boulevard, North York

416.393.5270

French Immersion information evening

December 16 Cardinal Carter Academy for the

Arts

36 Greenfield Avenue, Willowdale

416.393.5556

A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Presented by Cardinal Carter Academy for

the Arts

7:30 p.m.

At St. Gabriel's Parish Church

670 Sheppard Ave. East, North York

December 16 St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic

School

70 Margaret Avenue, North York

416.393.5393

FAMILY Advent Mass

7 p.m.

At Epiphany of Our Lord Parish

3200 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough

December 16 St. Jude Catholic School

3251 Weston Road, North York

416.393.5279

Primary Christmas Concert

School Gym

6:30 – 8 p.m.

December 16 St. Charles Garnier Catholic School

20 Stong Court, North York

416.393.5363

Advent Christmas Concert

1 – 3 p.m.

Students gather to perform Advent and

Christmas favourite songs, skits, dances

and sing-alongs.

December 18 St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School

116 Fermanagh Avenue, Toronto

416.393.5227

Primary students visit Copernicus Senior's

home

2 p.m.

December 18 Mary Ward Catholic Secondary

School

3200 Kennedy Road, Scarborough

416.393.5544

Advent Liturgy

December 19 St. Gabriel Lalemant Catholic School

160 Crow Trail Scarborough

416.393.5377

Spaghetti Christmas Lunch

Teachers and students work together to

create a generous school wide Spaghetti

Lunch for over 200 students and staff in

the gymnasium.

December 19 St. Gabriel Lalemant Catholic School

160 Crow Trail Scarborough

416.393.5377

"The Magic of Christmas”

Christmas Concert

December 19 Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton

Catholic Secondary School

1515 Bloor St. W, Toronto

416.393.5545

BMTM World Cup

10th annual competition where over 100

soccer program alumni join current

students to represent their heritage in the

playroom. They are divided into teams

representing Portugal, Canada, Africa &

the Caribbean, South America, Central &

North America, Italy, etc.

Also joining this year is professional

comedian and former BMTM student Mike

Rita.

January 1 Board-wide International Day of Peace

Declared by Pope Francis

"Slaves no more but brothers and sisters"

January 8 Board-wide

Kindergarten Registration begins

10 a.m. EST

TCDSB invites families with children born

in 2011 to register for Kindergarten

beginning Thursday, January 8th.

Online: complete an application at

SOAR.tcdsb.org

In-Person: Contact your local school for

hours.

Schools will offer one evening during the

month of January for extended registration

hours.

January 16 Board-wide Nominations due for TCDSB Alumni

and Merit Awards

Do you know a member of our community

who is a witness to the gospel values

of our Catholic faith and who is

transforming the world through faith,

innovation and action? Nominate them for

an award.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

TCDSB Students Help Launch Active

At School Students from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic

School and St. Joseph’s College School

attended an announcement by Premier Kathleen

Wynne regarding a partnership with ACTIVE

AT SCHOOL and the Ontario Physical and

Health Education Association (Ophea) to get

children more active every day. Canadian Tire

Corporation, a leading member of the ACTIVE

AT SCHOOL initiative, made a multi-year

investment of more than $1 million to support

the initiative. The event took place at the

Mattamy Athletic Centre. Alexandra Santos,

Gr. 11 student at St. Joseph’s C.S., acted as co-

M.C. with paralympian Josh Cassidy

Secondary Cardboard Boat Race

Stop the Stigma Student Mental Health Symposium The Symposium took place on November 25th. In addition to keynote addresses from Seamus O'Regan

and Kendra Fisher, students attended workshops and shared information on different topics.

Farewell to Trustees The Board said farewell to Ward 1 Trustee Peter Jakovcic and Ward 7 Trustee John Del Grande at their

last Board meeting of the term. TCDSB thanked them for their years of service to the Board and to

Catholic school supporters in the City of Toronto.

Twin Day at St. Demetrius As the cold weather starts up and the clouds

start to get a little greyer, St. Demetrius

decided to liven things up with Twin Day. On

Friday November 21st, many students decided

to partner up and dress in the same motif.

From funky hairdos to various uniforms, it

was a fun day shared by all.

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week Across Ontario, Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week was recognized during November 16th -22nd.

During this week many schools engaged in events to promote bullying awareness for staff, students and

parents. Check out some of the highlights from the launch of Bullying Awareness Week at St. Robert

Catholic School.

Safe Schools Elementary Symposium Elementary students participated in a Safe Schools Symposium on November 19th.

Bob Wilson Arts Camp

2014 Theme: Making a Place for

Everyone

Another successful week at the

Bob Wilson Arts Camp. This year

we had approx. 60 nominations

and we are pleased that we had a

full house of 40 grade seven

students and three grade 11

student leaders. Thank you to the

Angel Foundation for Learning for

their support under the Bob

Wilson bequest.

Catholic Student United Nations Assembly (CSUNA) 2014 Over 500 Toronto Catholic District School Bard high school students gathered at the Board’s head

office for the Catholic Schools United Nations Assembly (CSUNA) November 11th - 13th, 2014. Joining

TCDSB students were delegates from York Catholic and Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Boards.

TCDSB Students Receive CEFO Awards The Fr. Patrick Fogarty Awards Dinner took place

on Wednesday, October 29th, 2014. These are

sponsored by the Catholic Education Foundation of

Ontario. TCDSB student winners include:

Stephanie Kotiadis (Notre Dame), Clresta Adityani

(Senator O'Connor), Berenice Alvarez (St. Patrick)

and Marilyn RaMachandran (St. John Paul II).

New Playscape at St. Edward Students, staff and parents were excited to see the official opening of the new playscape at the school.

Students had a hand in selecting the preferred design of the structure which will enhance outdoor

playing and learning experiences for the children.

TCDSB Remembers St. Robert Catholic School

Remembrance Day services took place across

the TCDSB on November 11th. Here are photos

from some of our schools.

St. Joseph’s College School sang O Canada at

the Queen’s Park Remembrance Day Service

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School

St. Anselm Catholic School

Catholic Education Centre

St. Fidelis Catholic School

Blessed Margherita Catholic School

St. Cecilia Choir Sings at the Legislative Assembly On Tuesday, November 25th the St. Cecilia Junior Choir had the opportunity to sing on the grand

staircase at Queen's Park Legislative Assembly. The choir sang Christmas carols beautifully for a half

hour to parents, MPPs and staff members. The choir took a tour of the building after their performance.

100th Anniversary of St. Cecilia

Catholic School Members of St. Cecilia Parish and School

Community gathered on Saturday,

November 22nd for a Mass to celebrate the

100th Anniversary of St. Cecilia Catholic

School. The date chosen coincided with

the Feast of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of

the parish and school. His Eminence,

Cardinal Collins, was the Celebrant of the

Mass.

Father Serra Catholic School Terry Fox Challenge The Father Serra staff promised to dress in uniform if the community raised over $5000.00 for the Terry

Fox Run. We made good on the promise!

MPSJ at Sacré-Coeur On Tuesday November 18th the communities of

Michael Power/St. Joseph and the francophone parish

of Sacré-Coeur forged a new relationship as

they united in communion to celebrate our faith.

Students from Ms. Cordeiro's and Mr. Di

Paola's Extended French & International

Baccalaureate Religion classes travelled downtown

to participate in mass en français. MPSJ students

were welcomed with open arms by the parish's

Dominican father, le Père Thong who celebrated

mass in French specifically for our language

students.

O’Connor Student Presented with Gold

Medal by HRH Princess Anne Brian Hanratty, a student at Senator O’Connor College

School, was presented with a Gold Medal for the Duke

of Edinburgh Awards by HRH Princess Anne at the

chateau Laurier in Ottawa.

At seventeen years old Brian Hanratty is amongst the

youngest in Canada to achieve Duke of Edinburgh

Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.

Jean Vanier CSS 25th Anniversary

Dinner On October 24th, 2014, over 100 alumni

gathered with past and present staff at the

Brighton Event Centre for an evening of

laughter, reminiscing and re-connecting. The

evening, hosted by current principal John

Brady, included cash bar, dinner, and dancing,

interspersed with remarks from the founding

principal Mike Leroux, Azniv Harmandayan,

Ms. Wendy C, Peter Aguiar, Joe Clarkson,

Ann Gotfryd, and Kathleen Wong.

Loretto Abbey’s Successful 9th Annual Pasta Night On the evening of Thursday, November 13th, students on

Loretto Abbey’s Build 2 Learn team hosted yet another fantastic

fundraising event, developing leadership skills while working to

benefit their community. Several thousand dollars were

collected through the kind contributions of students and their

families, staff and local businesses. Enthusiastic teachers led

the kitchen crew and wait staff who delivered a fabulous pasta

dinner, followed by delicious desserts, a large raffle of donated

prizes, and live music which inspired some dancing. The

Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, another dynamic

student group at Loretto Abbey, also provided spectacular

support, helping to make the night such a triumph.

The charitable contributions collected will benefit the Angel

Foundation, a TCDSB initiative that provides support for

vulnerable students through nutritional, educational and

spiritual programs. Energized by the achievement of this year’s

event, the students are already gearing up for next year’s 10th

anniversary event.

Artist in the School St. Gabriel Lalemant had the

opportunity to participate in the

Artist in the School Program this

year. Over a period of 5 days a

professional artist, Rob Matejka,

came to the school to work with and

guide students from grades 6-8.

This project provided our students

with the opportunity to show their

imagination and creativity.

St. Matthias Anti-bullying

Week Campaign After reading about the story of how

Travis Price and David Shepherd stood

up to bullies at their Nova Scotia high

school back in 2007, grade seven and

eight students were inspired to take a

stand and run their own campaign to

end bullying during Anti-bullying

week from November 17th to the 21st.

Students organized presentations,

developed a website, created anti-

bullying day stickers and posters to

help get the word out about how

bullying affects us all, and how it is

never acceptable. Through their

collective efforts and leadership, Ms. Iogna's grade seven and eight class was able to help all students at

our school understand the importance of making our school a safe and fun place for everyone!

Drum line at Santa Claus Parade Jean Vanier Catholic School's drum line

participated in this year's Toronto Santa

Claus Parade. This is the second time that

the dance crew and drum line have been

invited to march in the long-running

Toronto Parade. The previous day the

students marched and played in Santa

Parades in Oakville, Acton and Brampton,

all to much applause. In just three short

years the drum line has grown to be an

integral part of school culture.

Congratulations to the group and to their

teacher Mr. Mike Fanning!

Movember at St. Rose of Lima Congratulations to the students, staff and families at St. Rose of Lima Catholic School for a successful

month of fundraising for prostate cancer. A special assembly was held November 28th to celebrate the

success of the Movember campaign.

Donation for Technology

Revitalization St. Leo Catholic School is celebrating the

donation of $25,000 from a local

developer, Icon Homes. The donation

was facilitated by Councillor Mark

Grimes, and the money will be used to

support technology revitalization efforts

at the school.

CIBC Run For the Cure – St. Henry On Sunday, October 5th, members of St. Henry

staff, the Henry Howlers, and members of their

families participated in the 2014 Canadian Breast

Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure.

Some members of the Henry Howlers have been

participating in this fundraising event for 15 years.

It was a beautiful day to run or walk for such a

great cause. As a school team we won the School

Team Challenge Award at the site where we

participated. Some of our group were present

when the award was announced and were able to

go up on the stage to accept the plaque on behalf

of our team. The School Team Challenge Award

is presented at each site to the school group who

raises the most money. The Henry Howlers

raised a total of $2125.00. Across Canada $25 million was raised this year.

Way to go Henry Howlers!

TCDSB Roots of Empathy Program Subject of

Korea Broadcasting System Documentary A documentary production team of the Korea

Broadcasting System (KBS) from South Korea filmed the

Roots of Empathy program at St. Ambrose Catholic

School. They heard about ROE and see it as a solution to

help South Korean students raise social/emotional

awareness and decrease aggression and bullying in schools

in South Korea.

Fr. Henry Carr Girls AA Basketball

Champs

St. Agatha Sharks win 2014 Catholic

Cup

St. Barnabas boys winners of 2014

Catholic Cup

Saint John Paul II Girls Sr. AAAA

Basketball Champs

Senator O'Connor Junior Girls

Basketball Finalists

St. Joseph College School: 2014

TDCAA Jr. AAAA Girls Basketball

Champions

TDCAA Girls Field Hockey Champions Congratulations to Bishop Allen Academy, first place in TDCAA Girls’ Field Hockey. Also to second

place Michael Power St. Joseph and third place Senator O’Connor.

OFSAA Volleyball – Bishop Allen

Wins Bronze

Elementary Boys Volleyball

St. Barnabas City Champions

Blessed Mother Teresa AA Sr. Girls TDCAA Finalists

St. John Paul II Students Sign with NCAA

Basketball Danielle Garven and Eternati Willock, Grade 12 students at

St. John Paul Catholic Secondary School, have signed with

NCAA Division 1 Basketball to Minnesota and North

Carolina Universities respectively.

Eternati and Danielle have both been major members at St.

John Paul II Catholic Secondary School, becoming senior

players in grade 10, helping the team win the city

championships two years in a row, and going to the

Provincial championship with an impressive silver medal

finish in 2013.

St. Wilfrid Intermediate Girls

Divisional Volleyball Champions On Wednesday, November 12th, the

Intermediate Girls Volleyball

Team were able to bring home

the Divisional Volleyball Tournament

Championship banner. Congratulations

girls, and best of luck during next week

at the Regional Divisional Tournament.

Michael Power/St. Joseph Catholic

Secondary School Wins the 2014 City

Title in Junior Football

Chaminade College's Senior Football

Team winners of the 2014 TDCAA

City Championships

TDCAA Winners Circle 2014-2015 Fall Champions

http://www.tcdsb.org/News/othernews/2014/Pages/TDCAA-Winners-Circle-2014-15.aspx

Blessed Cardinal Newman - Golf Scholarship

Winner Congratulations to Gavin MacIver, of Blessed Cardinal

Newman, who has accepted a golf scholarship to Lake

Superior State University in Michigan. He will enter

their Business Program in September, 2015. Gavin

placed first in the TDCAA Golf Championships in

October, leading his Newman team to their second

consecutive title, and second consecutive appearance at

OFSAA.

Where is she now? A peek into life for Top Scholar,

Brianna Smrke Brianna Smrke, alumna of Michael Power/St. Joseph and St.

Gregory Catholic Elementary School, was the Top Scholar in the

TCDSB in 2010 and first to attain 100% in all of her subjects. She

then went on to win a 3M National Student Fellowship at

McMaster. She was featured in Maclean's magazine (November 10,

2014). It describes the next phase of her educational journey at a

new concept university, Minerva, in San Francisco. Brianna is ever

appreciative of the strong foundation that she received in our

TCDSB schools and is definitely a graduate that those who follow

in our collective footsteps will want to track because she will be

one of the "prominent Canadians under 40" (and things similar) in

future years.

Brianna delivered a fantastic personal reflection and keynote

introduction at the IB Conference of Americas in Washington DC

this past July to an audience of 1800 educators from across the

Americas. She was one of four IB students/graduates to receive the

honour of such an opportunity. It is a terrific celebration of

embracing educational challenges and might be a piece to build

into TCDSB videos/info for our younger students as we look to motivate them to be their best.

Holodomor Memorial Day On the morning of Monday November 24th, St. Demetrius School

paid tribute to those killed in the Ukrainian genocide in front of the

Holodomor memorial.

Author Rita Vilela Visits

St. Mary of the Angels Rita Vilela is an early twenty-

first century Portuguese author.

Rita has a degree in Psychology,

from the University of Lisbon.

She writes in a variety of

literary genres, but

predominantly, her focus is

children’s literature. She

published her first book The 7

Colors Oniris in 2008. We were

honored that she visited our

school and worked with our

students.

Msgr. Percy Johnson Students at Humber

Valley On Saturday, Nov 25th, the Msgr. Johnson Heart Ministry

Students went to Humber Valley to spend a day with the

seniors.

Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse This year St. Fidelis Catholic School prepared 295 shoe boxes filled with items such as school supplies,

hygiene items, toys and other gifts, all for the needy families in our communities. They also submitted a

donation of $7 per box for a total of $2065.00.

St. Mary of the Angels Catholic School students showcased their drive to bring joy and hope to

underprivileged children in their local and global communities with a Grade 8 iMovie: Samaritan's

Purse, Toy Drive for CHUM Christmas Wish, Primary & Junior Student Donations, and 63 'Shoe Box'

Donations from Intermediate Students for Operation Christmas Child. Watch their video.

Sow Much Love Campaign Development and Peace recently launched

its “Sow Much Love Campaign”. In a

world where nearly 1 billion people do not

have enough food, D&P is promoting

support for small scale farmers as the

solution to global hunger. 2014 has been

declared by the UN as the international

year of family farming in recognition of

their importance when it comes to feeding

the human family.

The “Sow Much Love” campaign invites

Catholics in parishes and schools across

the country to take action by supporting

the right of farmers to save and control the

seeds that are so vital to their livelihoods.

TCDSB organized a workshop for

students to learn about this important

issue and take action in our schools.

Students participated in interactive games

and activities to learn how small scale

farmers can help fight global hunger.

““IT STARTS IN THE SCHOOLS” is published monthly throughout the school year. Events, locations and times are

subject to change. For more information, call 416-222-8282 Ext. 5314. This publication can be found on the Internet at

www.tcdsb.org, see “news”.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board educates more than 92,000 students from diverse

cultures and language backgrounds in 201 Catholic elementary and secondary schools,

serving close to half-a-million Catholic school supporters across the City of Toronto. As the

world’s largest publicly funded Catholic school system, we educate students in an inclusive

learning community rooted in the love of Christ, where they are challenged to grow in grace

and knowledge and to lead lives of faith, hope and charity.

At Toronto Catholic we transform the world through witness, faith, innovation and action.

Toronto Catholic Schools

December 2014

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

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