A P R I L 2 0 1 6

D A T E S T O R E M E M B E R

Mark it

02 April Auditions, Academic Testing only, 9:00am

04-11 April Senior Choir Tour, Montreal-Ottawa

07-11 April Junior Choir Tour, Ottawa

15 April P.A. Day, Elementary & High School

16-17, 23-24, 30 April-1 May Confirmation Classes

26 April Piano Recital, Mrs. Krechkovsky, 5:30pm, Auditorium

28 April Piano Recital, Mr. Krechkovsky, 5:30pm, Auditorium

Parent Council

01, 14, 22, 29 April Lunch Program

27 April CPSC Meeting, 7:00pm, Auditorium

Let me begin by wishing everyone a joyful Easter! Our students worked hard to prepare for the various services during Holy Week and sang beautifully at each one. It was certainly good to be back home in the Cathedral. As we know, Easter is not just one day but rather a season, one in which we live out our everyday lives in light of the Resurrection.

As well as preparing for Holy Week, conductors and students have been busy preparing the repertoire for our spring tour to Montreal and Ottawa. We wish our choristers all the best as they hit the road early in April to share the gift of music.

Although it was a short month, March saw much activity with Holy Week, academic work, extra choral rehearsals, instrumental recitals, Career Night, Reach competitions, the ultimate frisbee tournament, intramural basketball and ballroom dancing. We hope that our students were able to recharge their batteries over the March break in order to prepare for all that lies ahead for the rest of the school year. Even though the temperatures were milder this winter, we are all anxious to start feeling more spring-like weather!

Barry White, Principal

When I sat down to write my Director’s Message for the March newsletter, I thought that surely my next one would be full of warm sun and the first blooms of spring. Little did I know that one last polar vortex would be bearing down on us as we prepare for our 2016 tour to Montreal and Ottawa.

I want to sincerely thank all SMCS students for their hard work in preparing for the services of Holy Week. Returning to the Cathedral and hearing the voices of our choristers raised in praise of God gave me a great sense of homecoming and rightness. Our time at St. Paul’s and the hospitality we received there will not be forgotten, but it was good to be home again in time for the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection.

I also wish to extend my thanks to all those alumni who participated in a Tenebrae service, whether here at the Cathedral or at one of the many other parishes that hosted. Our alumni work hard to organize these events, from singing to conducting, from communications to hosting receptions, and their efforts are an excellent example of the work of men for others. Their work in organizing the St. Patrick’s Day services are also much appreciated. The service here at the Cathedral was excellent and I am grateful to Dr. Jerzy Cichocki for conducting the combined student and alumni choir.

I wish all of you a happy April. Christ is risen!

Stephen Handrigan,

Director

01 April Junior Volleyball, Monsignor Johnson

02-03 April Swim Team Elementary Meet

27 April Junior Volleyball, Michael Power

Yearbook Tuesdays 12-12:30pm, Computer Lab

Tournaments

Newsletter

Cooking Club 01, 03, 19 April, 3:30pm

Eco-Club Tuesdays 12-12:30pm, Rm 411

Robotics Tuesdays 3:30pm, Rm 304

Yearbook Tuesdays 12-12:30pm, Computer Lab

Meetings & Practices

A Blessed

Easter Season

to the

SMCS

Community

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

P A G E 3 C H O R A L N E W S

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Jaemin Jeon

Grade 5

Silver Medal

Kiwanis Festival

Piano Recitals Piano Recitals are held in the auditorium at 5:30 p.m. Please arrive in full dress uniform.

April 26, 2016 - Mrs. Krechkovsky

April 28, 2016 - Mr. Krechkovsky

Need to Update Your

Information?

If you’ve moved, changed your email address or gotten a new phone number, you can now let us know online through the Parent Info Update Form, which is available at your convenience.

In order to ensure good records management, we ask that you do not phone us or email the secretary with updates. This form sends a notification to both the Main Office and the Music Office, letting them know you’ve updated your contact details.

It’s Going to Be a GRAND DAY! This year, St. Michael’s Choir School will host its first ever Grands Day on Monday, April 18 at 10:00 a.m., when students from Grades 3-6 can invite a grandparent, great aunt or uncle or “grand-friend” for a morning of music at SMCS. Watch your email for more information, and RSVP online for your Grand!

Congratulations

P A G E 4

Chaplaincy and

Student

Leadership

by Andrew Hume

Easter is upon us! It is the resurrection of Jesus that is the core component of our faith. Without the resurrection—without Easter—our faith falls apart. Easter reminds us that all suffering in this world, such as wars, terrorism, refugee crises, depression, and even death, are finite and have an end. The Christian religion is one that should put a smile on every believer’s face because it proclaims that no misery, no matter how extreme, will last. Humanity was created to know happiness, and we will ultimately experience limitless and unceasing fulfillment on the day we stand face-to-face with our loving God.

Although we have yet to experience absolute and eternal joy, may this Easter season of 2016 give us all a small taste of the joy that God plans for us.

Junior W5H City Champions

S C H O O L N E W S

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Our Junior W5H season came to a close on March 22nd at the CEC, where we competed in the City Finals. Despite our many victories, the pressure was on since all three of our competitors were Regional Champions as well!

After a close game with St. Richard, we moved past the Elimination Round and into the Finals against Transfiguration. Audience members were at the edge of their seats and it seemed that every time SMCS scored a point, Transfiguration scored one as well. That’s when it happened: The Provincial Flags Miracle of 2016. After we correctly identified several flags, it became clear that victory was ours!

Here are your City Champions:

Logan Liut - Team Captain & Human Atlas

Nicholas Mochocki - Assistant Captain & Buzzer Security Guard

Justin Medeiros - Pop Culture Aficionado

Tommy Gillespie - Planes, Trains & Automobiles Expert

Jon Bo Cahutay - Possible Psychic

Tomas Igreja - Most Likely To Be Prime Minister & Pantene Spokesperson

Jadyn Tauro - Future Scientist

A special thank you to the parents and grandparents who came out to support our team! And let’s not forget Coach Ferreira, a trivia legend in her own mind. Where would we be without her tips, strategies, reminders, and breathing exercises? Confused and lightheaded, that’s where!

C on g r at u l at i on s ! G o S PA RTA N S SMARTANS!

By Donald , Official Jr. W5H Mascot (Scribed by Ms. Ferreira)

The French department would like to thank everyone at SMCS for the tremendous support that you have shown throughout our journey along the path of the Concours d’art oratoire.

Vous avez écris, vous avez révisé, vous avez mémorisé et vous avez présenté vos discours devant les juges.

You have passionately written, revised, memorized and presented your speeches for adjudication and

all that hard work has resulted in many tense and healthy stressful moments.

Congratulations to Liam Gallagher for placing second in the City Finals and congratulations to Eugenio Ciarlandini for placing FIRST in the City Finals. We continue our support for Gigi as he moves on to the Provincials at Glendon College in May.

Félicitations!

Concours d'art oratoire City Finals

COURTESY OF TCDSB

par Mme. LoCurto et M. Tarascio

S C H O O L N E W S P A G E 5

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Career Night By Robert Longo

On Monday, March 7th, grades 7-12 got to enjoy a well organized and extremely informative event: Career Night. Students and parents alike looked forward to this event, especially those researching about their possible careers. The goal of this event is to provide external information that would otherwise not be available at school, about possible careers. Every year, Choir School alumni from various professions come to talk about their occupations. Career Night gives students a

chance to hear what it’s really like to be in certain professions.

The night started off with a quick presentation from each alumnus giving a brief rundown of how they got to their profession. During those introductions, an important point was revealed: oftentimes the search for a career isn’t very direct; there may be many bumps along the road. The night continued with all six alumni splitting up and talking more specifically about their profession, then taking questions. Overall, it was a great night.

On behalf of the attendees and St. Michael’s Choir School, I would like to express our thanks to the following alumni: Gary Chui (’99), Law; Roland Battistini (‘91), Music; Brent Lessard (’02), Engineering; Carl Mihalek (’80), Photography; Michaelangelo Masangkay (’98), Fashion/Film; and Dr. Joseph Gasser (’79), Medicine.

Also, special thanks to Helena Suite, Michaelangelo Masangkay and Andrew Peacock for organizing this event.

The Grade 11 Computer Science class had the opportunity to visit Ryerson University's Computer Science and Engineering department. The boys learned how to program a robot to move and follow specific tasks. They did this by applying programming conventions such as looping structures and if/then statements. It was a fun experience that allowed the class to see the direct output of their coding!

Text and Photos by A. Merocchi

Computer Science Class

Tries Coding

Plenty of famous people can be great role

models for young people and even adults.

Using their fame and popularity in a good

way could change someone's life for the

better. The impersonating world is a hall of

mirrors. Last March, we wrote monologues

from the perspective of a famous person in

Ms. Armstrong’s Grade 5 Language Arts

class. Imitation in all its manifestations was

extremely important as each of us

delivered our own speech confidently.

Famous people, living or dead, were

represented: William Shakespeare, Elvis

Presley, Michael Jackson, Terry Fox,

Sidney Crosby, Barack Obama, Donald

Trump, and Bruno Mars were some

examples. A peculiar voice or accent, an

oddity of facial expression, and a distinctive

walk or mannerism were imitated by the

Delivering Monologues By Jon Bo Cahutay

Grade 5 boys and we brought life to their

characters. We were even inspired to dress

up too! We took our time to achieve an

appearance that was suitable for our

character. At the heart of this was a question

that many of us asked ourselves: “What

would I say if I were...?” It was such a great

challenge for us and lastly, we had a lot of

fun. It was a wonderful experience getting to

imagine what our idols would say and deliver

a speech from their point of view!

PHOTO BY J. ARMSTRONG

Book Drive for Kenora

P A G E 6 S T U D E N T C O U N C I L & A T H L E T I C S N E W S

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

By Robert Longo, Social Justice Team

From the Secretary’s Desk

Between the numerous Holy week services and the additional after-school rehearsals preparing for tour, March was a busy

month at the Choir School. I would like to extend my greatest thanks to all students for their hard work and commitment. With tour on the horizon, we look forward to the adventures we will have in Montreal and Ottawa.

I would also like to thank all those who planned or participated in the house event on Friday, March 11th. We look forward to the next house event in May, which will include the whole school in an event of unprecedented style.

Sebastien Duckett

Student Council Secretary

Recently, there were two high schools in the Kenora District of Northern Ontario that burnt to the ground. These schools of Aboriginal communities have begun to rebuild, but perhaps due to the underfunding such communities often face, they do not have sufficient resources. Although the schools are being rebuilt, there’s not nearly enough funding to replace their classrooms and libraries with all the books they lost.

After the initiative was brought to us, the Social Justice Team decided to help and so we implemented the drive in our school. In a span of a few weeks, we collected over 500 books for these schools. I would personally like to extend my thanks to everybody who donated. They should know their contributions are going to a great cause. They will be put to very, very good use, and will perhaps even make these schools more hopeful than they once were.

We want to hear from you!

We welcome suggestions from students and parents on any and all council initiatives. Your student council looks forward to working in collaboration with all SMCS community partners this year. Please feel free to contact us at StudentCouncilSMCS@gmail.com.

Intramural Basketball Highlights Text and Photos by Vince Tameta

Similar to the past three years, SMCS held its annual High School Intramural Basketball season. As always, this is proves a great opportunity for students to interact with their peers in a friendly yet competitive manner. Students were split into four teams as they competed to become champions. In this year’s finals, the two contenders were The Snipers and The Show. Both teams competed in a close game, but the team that triumphed was The Snipers.

In 2015/16, a new feature was introduced to the SMCS Intramural Basketball season. In honour of Toronto hosting its very first NBA All-Star Weekend, SMCS held its own version. The first event was the Skills Challenge, where players showcased their passing, shooting, and dribbling skills. In the end, the winner was Gabriel Mikina (Gr. 9), who represented The Show and finished the obstacle in a whopping 15.6 seconds! In the second event, the league’s best shooters displayed their great shooting skills in the Three-Point Contest. The eventual winner

was William Gatchalian (Gr. 12), who represented Dunk’n Donuts and completed 4 out of 5 shots in his last rack! The final event was the All-Star Game, which showcased the best players throughout the season. Participants put on a show for spectators as they displayed their amazing skills. Overall, this year’s SMCS Intramural Basketball season is one to be remembered.

Congratulations to Gabriel, William and The Snipers for winning their respective events.

Special thanks goes out to Ms. Abou-Merhi, Mrs. Dakin, Mrs. Dovigo, Mr. Hume, Ms. Merocchi, Mr. Morra, Mr. Peacock, Ms. Suite and Mrs. Thorne for supervising the games; Jurgen Bueno, James Bui, Aaron Hernandez, Dylan Madrigal, Christopher Nguyen, Alex Virdo and Aloysius Wong for organizing the league; and finally, to Joseph Chirayilkalam, William Gatchalian, Matthew Lam, Derek Li for being the referees of the games.

Here are our team members who swam at the TCDSB 2016 Swim Invitational:

Oliver Aleksandrowicz, Daniel Chen, Isaac Cheung, Christopher Chong, Joshua Chua-Acayan, Pascal Cleland-Zarb, Sebastian Coia, Taevin Copeland, Sebastian DeRe, Elliott Duffey, Stephen Flannery, Daniel Garcia-Moreno, Gabriel Gysling, Tristan Gysling, Xavier Hollott-Lo, Ethan Kwon, Matthias Law, Mark Li, Viktor Li, Liam McAlpine, Owen McWilliam, Nicholas Mesquita, Sean Murakami, Calum Murray, Benjamin Norton, Jayden Park, Sae Hwan Chris Park, Gianpaolo Povolo, Rossvan Rafinan, Malcolm Rawlinson, Taras Rawlinson, Mateo Rementilla, Alexander Rojik, Alexander Schwab, Michael Schwab, Alex Scodellaro, Aidan Wong, Andrew Wright, Liam Wright, Jordan David Wyke, Aidan Young

This past weekend, the SMCS Spartan Swim Team participated in t h e T C D S B 2 0 1 6 S w i m Invitational. The Invitational is the annual meet where swimmers from across the TCDSB get to showcase all of their hard work from the past 6 months. We got to swim at the Etobicoke Olympium, which is a huge aquatics facility that most recently hosted the 2015 Pan Am Games.

The SMCS team was made up of 41 athletes from grades 3 to 8. Team members competed on both Saturday and Sunday in a variety of races: freestyle, breast stroke, butterfly, back stroke, and individual medleys (which is when a swimmer swims all four strokes in one race). We ended each day with the team relays, which are pretty exciting to watch.

We have been practicing weekly since October thanks to all the support from our amazing coaches:

Swim Team Dominates City Finals M s . C r a m , P i e r r e McAlpine, Chris Rawlinson, Mr. Rubacha, and Mr. Woodger. And we can never forget the ongoing help and support from the parent volunteers: Pamela Chong, Austin Gumbs, Anke and Orest Rojik, and Dave Wright.

Along with individual swimmers and relay teams winning a whole bunch of medals and besting their times from last year, we also ended our great season on a high note by once again taking home the Omni Cup, which is awarded to the medium-sized school with the most points. We were so successful this year thanks to all of the practice, hard work, great coaches and supportive parents.

Congratulations to all the SMCS swimmers!

By Benjamin Norton

PHOTOS BY PINA POVOLO AND CHRIS & GEOFF RAWLINSON

A T H L E T I C S N E W S P A G E 7

Spears Winter Ultimate Frisbee

P A G E 8 A T H L E T I C S N E W S

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

By H. Dakin

FRONT ROW: ADAM GAURAN, JAMES BUI, AARON HERNANDEZ, BRIAN CHEONG, KATIE SZAJBELY,

KRISTINA MERIEL, DEREK LI, MS. DAKIN

MIDDLE ROW: WILLIAM GATCHALIAN, BRIAN NGUYEN, ALOYSIUS WONG, ANDREW LONGO,

SIERRA COSTA, DECLAN CAMPBELL, ALICE CHEW, HELEN TSE, MR. SABYAN

BACK ROW: AARON GROH, CHRISTIAN UMIPIG, MICHAEL AVILA, MATTHEW LAM

MISSING: MONICA BAPTISTA

Vikings, only to meet their friends and archrivals, the Marshall McLuhan Rebels, in the finals. After a strong display of perseverance and competition, the Spears succumbed to a 15-10 loss to the powerful Rebels.

Being the greatest result in the history of Spears Ultimate, coaches Ms. Dakin and Mr. Sabyan are very proud of each and every player who contributed to the team. Congratulations!

The SMCS & SJCS Spears wrapped up their winter season in impressively fine form at the “Catch the Spirit” High School Indoor Tournament hosted by the Toronto Ultimate Club. The Spears stormed through pool play with wins: 11-3 over the Barrie Panthers, 18-5 over the Trudeau Trailblazers, and 11-4 over the Leaside Lancers. In the semi-finals, they rose to an 8-7 victory in a challenging match versus the Wexford

PHOTO BY MICHEAL KUKUCSKA

To the players of Spears ultimate:

It has been a pleasure coaching you and witnessing your impressive development over the years in my favourite sport. I wish you the very best in the rest of this season and the next, and I encourage you to strive in future ultimate endeavours.

Your biggest fan and coach, Ms. Dakin

Staff Volleyball Team remains undefeated.

Rocky Merocchi showed tremendous fortitude and determination well into the 4th game as she prepared to continue playing right through the dinner dance.

Torrential Tarascio tipped the ball, which tumbled and toppled over the net with grace and ease.

Ricochet Rubacha recovered from ravenous royal bumps and volleys back on to the court and over.

Text and Photo by F. LoCurto

Staff Undefeated in Volleyball

Voomvoom Vanslack calculated every move with mathematical accuracy, which proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that math conquers all!

Soccer Toes Soares was unmatched and undefeated by all who attempted to copy his soccer moves on the volleyball court.

Way Out White was OH SO valuable and inspirational to the sideline cheerleaders and to his on-court team, and it saddened all teams as he was wheeled away after the first game.

Fun Fun Fun Ferreira kept the cheers coming and introduced the Spartan Wave to impress all.

Courtyard Conforti controlled the practice game on the courts and comfortably cradled the role of c h e e r l e a d e r d u r i n g t h e tournament.

Lucky for LoCurto, the players were tucked into bed safe and sound by the end of the night.

We would like to thank the SMCS Spartan Team for accepting the practice round during their lunch hour, undoubtedly leading to our team’s victory!

P A G E 9 P A R E N T C O U N C I L

The SMCS Ballroom Dance Lessons for the High School students began on Friday January 15th. With over 30 Participants from both the Choir School, and St. Joseph’s College, it has been a huge success. The students have already learned the Foxtrot, Merengue, and Salsa. We would like to thank alumnus Chris Downer

A P R I L 2 0 1 6

Spring Bake Sale The CSPC would like to hold a Spring Bake Sale in May, and is looking for parent volunteers to lead this initiative. If you are interested in volunteering for this, please contact us at smcslunch@hotmail.com.

Thank you to all our dedicated volunteers for helping week after week. Without you, the program would cease to exist. If you are able to assist on some of the days, please contact smcslunch@hotmail.com.

Lunch Program

Important Dates: Lunch Program April 1, 14, 22, 29 Ballroom Dance Lessons April 14, 22, 29

The CSPC is pleased to announce the sale of the new SMCS Decal. The cost of the decal is $2.50 each. Thank you to Ms. Margani and Ms. Foreman for all their work on this initiative.

Car/Window Decals

for volunteering his time and leading the classes. Mr. Downer is a certified instructor, and began his dancing career as a student at St. Michael’s Choir. We would also like to thank Mr. Hume for volunteering his time as the teacher supervisor. If your son would like to participate, contact CSPC at smcslunch@hotmail.com.

Ballroom Dancing Lessons

PHOTOS BY PINA POVOLO

Eco-Club Invites All to CN Tower Climb

Oh yes, it’s that time of year

again! It’s time to prepare for

the 26th annual CN Tower

Climb. Start fundraising,

training, and helping the

endangered species of our

planet. The Eco-Club is

inviting all ages to come out on

April 16th to support the WWF

(World Wildlife Federation)

and our Eco-Club. Please

encourage the whole family to

take part in this wonderful

event. The day starts off early at

the Rogers Centre, where we

gather as an SMCS Cares Team.

Once our climb is done, we

head to Cora’s for a celebration

breakfast! It is truly an amazing

experience, and one that is well

By Christian Sforza

spent with family and friends.

Our youth team is called

“SMCS Cares!”. Please join us.

If you would like to donate and

pledge your support for our

team, kindly visit our

sponsorship page.

Student Name: ____________________________________________ Grade: ________

SMCS Decal Order Form

Student Name: _____________________________________ Grade: _______

Quantity Amount Total Cost

_______ x $2.50 ea = ________

Payable by cash or cheque.

Please make cheques payable to St. Michael’s Choir School.

Decals will be distributed the week of March 7th.

The car/window decal will be 4” round.

ST MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL

Keep in touch

Call: 416 393-5518 Academic Office

416 397-6367 Music Office

Email: info@smcs.on.ca

musicoffice@smcs.on.ca

Visit: www.smcs.on.ca

Get involved

Like us on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/stmichaelschoirschool

CSPC: smcslunch@hotmail.com

Alumni: www.smcsaa.com

A mere seven years ago,

these boys went on their

very first tour as part of the

Junior Choir in 2009 to

Cobourg and Peterborough.

Now, these fine gentlemen

comprise the graduating

class of 2016 and are

currently savouring their last

tour as SMCS choir boys.

COURTESY OF THE GATCHALIAN FAMILY

DIRECTOR: Ms. Angela Gauthier Principal: Mr. Barry White Vice-Principal: Mr. Linton Soares Superintendent of Education: Director: Mr. Stephen Handrigan Mr. J. Shanahan (416) 222-8282 - Ex. 5371

TRUSTEES: 2015-2016

Wards

1. Joseph Martino

2. Ann Andrachuk

3. Sal Piccininni

4. Patrizia Bottoni

5. Maria Rizzo

6. Frank D’Amico—VICE-CHAIR

7. Michael Del Grande

8. Gary Tanuan

9. Jo-Ann Davis Trustee for St. Michael’s Choir School; joann.davis@tcdsb.org; www.jo-anndavis.ca

10. Barbara Poplawski

11. Angela Kennedy—CHAIR

12. Nancy Crawford

STUDENT TRUSTEES: Allison Gagacad and Karina Duprovskaya

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

Jennifer Danahy - Co-Chair Angela Racco - Secretary Pina Povolo - Co-Chair Maxx-Phillippe Hollott - Treasurer

SMCS 2015-2016 CSPC REPRESENTATIVES

ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO

Chancellor: Thomas Cardinal Collins

St. Michael’s Choir School Advisory Board

Ms. Anne Bolger, friend Fr. Michael Busch, Rector, St. Michael's Cathedral Fr. Ivan Camillieri, Chancellor of Spiritual Affairs, Archdiocese of Toronto Fr. Brian Clough, Alumnus William Dunlop, Comptroller, Archdiocese of Toronto Dr. Joseph Gasser, Alumnus, Board Chair Kathryn Lagroix, past parent, Finance Chair Fr. Larry Leger, friend, Nominating Committee Chair James Milway, Chancellor of Temporal Affairs, Archdiocese of Toronto Ms. Patricia Parisi, friend, Governance Committee Chair Dr. Constance Price, Office of Formation for Discipleship Mr. Geoffrey Rawlinson, parent, Advancement Committee Chair Mr. Stephen Handrigan, ex-officio Mr. Barry White, ex-officio