Spotlight on the London District Catholic School Board November 5th

April 13th, 2006

Holy Week in the LDCSB!

My Dear Colleagues and Friends:

I want to wish you and your families a joyous and holy Easter. Easter is a time to renew and rededicate ourselves to Jesus Christ and to the joyous mission of Catholic education.
In his Lenten message, Bishop Ronald Fabbro said this is a time to renew our relationship with Jesus Christ, a special opportunity to grow in holiness and living the call to discipleship. "Our Lenten reflection and prayer during this anniversary year will help us to open our hearts to the grace that God offers us, and give us fresh enthusiasm for our mission as Church in announcing the Good News of Jesus in the world," he said.
The good news of Easter morning revives us. We see the fulfillment of Christ's promise in the empty cross and the empty tomb. We know joy and discover renewed hope. We reclaim our call to tell the good news to the poor, strive for justice and peace, show compassion, and be God's people.
From the ashes of Good Friday, a fire ignites and we are renewed.

May God Bless,

Joseph Rapai,
Director of Education

An Easter Prayer
The joy of Easter wells up inside of us ready to erupt into a world in need of new life.
God of life, the signs of Easter are real: water flowing freely, fire burning brightly, water, light, and life.
May we dance and sing for joy, rising out of the rubble of all that keeps us in darkness.
Transform us, O God of mercy! Pierce the darkness in our souls with Your light.
Turn our sorrow into joy and our grieving into dancing. God of all that is new, form and re-form our lives this Easter.
Open our hearts to all that is new, so that we can experience fully Your power to renew our lives.
Pour Your Easter energy into us. Energize us with Your light and free us with Your love.
O God of eternal life, move in us and well up inside of us, course through us, breathing joy into our souls.
Let Your Easter joy surround us, enfold us, make us new. Amen.

From Together We Pray: Prayers and Services for Gatherings and Groups, Carmen, L Caltagirone, Ave Maria Press, 2005.

On Wednesday at Monsignor O'Neil Catholic School in Tillsonburg, Father Matt George blessed twenty beautiful wooden crosses that will reverence the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us. The crosses were included in a special Holy Thursday Stations of the Cross paraliturgy that helped students 'walk' the path that Jesus trod to his crucifixion and ultimate resurrection over 2000 years ago. Pictured are Father Matt and the Students' Council Representatives from each classroom. A big thank you to Mrs. Wheeler and her Grade 5 class for the wonderful paraliturgy. Special thanks to Mrs. Dee Cunning, Principal at Holy Cross, who helped Monsignor O'Neil acquire the crosses for $10 apiece.

As part of Holy Week celebrations, the Grade 7 and 8 students of St. Jude's Catholic School in Ingersoll presented a dramatic presentation of the Stations of the Cross. It was presented at Sacred Heart Church, Ingersoll to the staff and students of St. Jude's, Ingersoll and St. Joseph's, Thamesford. The presentation involved singing, choral reading, acting and tableau. Father Mitch has asked for a repeat presentation again for the Children's Good Friday celebration at Sacred Heart Church.

St. Anne's School reflected on the Passion of Christ with a presentation of "Passion of Christ" with Brian May and the Circle of Friends.

CEC staff joined for a prayer service today and for Stations of the Cross at the education centre.

To mark the Lenten tradition of almsgiving, students in Mr. Tom Hart's Grade 12 Religion class at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School recently held a series of multi-cultural meals, with the purpose of raising finds for a family in Kerala, South India. (Above) The family is sponsored through Save-a-Family Plan. The finds raised will assist in the education costs of the family's three children, as well as important an goat-rearing project, to help in supplementing the family's income.

At Holy Thursday liturgical celebration, Regina Mundi students created a series of tableau's to present the Stations of the Cross to the student body. (Above)

Payroll Deduction for
Fantasy Lottery 2006
is Here!

LAST DAY TO GET YOUR AUTHORIZATION IN!

All forms must be faxed by Good Friday April 14th. Thank you for your support!

By now, all eligible salaried employees should have received their authorization for payroll deduction for this year's ALL CASH Fantasy Lottery. We have listened to the feedback from our vast supporters and are offering what you asked for Cash and Reduced Ticket Prices! This year a single ticket only costs $40 or you can buy in bulk at 3 for $100. There will be 40 weekly cash draws for a chance at a piece of $10, 000/week, plus 2 bonus draws of $25,000 and a final grand prize draw of a quarter of a million dollars! That's a Buck a Week for a chance to get your hands on a piece of the $700,000 prize board. In fact you have more then one chance with each ticket, because your ticket goes back in the drum for every draw every week! More people winning more money more often! Your funds will continue to support the scholarship program and the many breakfast programs in our schools, plus with a successful campaign we can continue expanding our funding to other high needs areas within our system.

If you did not receive your form you can still launch and print this generic form and fax back to us at 642-2973 today!

To learn more about the Foundation please visit our website.


Elementary Principal/ Vice-Principal Transfers The following Principal and Vice-Principal transfers were approved by the Board of Trustees at this week's Board Meeting:
· Annette Marentette, Principal St. Gabriel to St. Jude, London as Principal, replacing Geoderoen DeCaluwe, who is retiring effective August 31st. "Working with the St. Gabriel's Catholic school community has been a wonderful learning experience, and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with a community that is so committed to the well-being of children. I will always value and treasure the many relationships that developed during my four years as principal. I am looking forward to joining the very dedicated staff at St. Jude's school and am very excited about this new beginning . I know that Goederoen will be leaving me in good hands, and I wish her all the best as she steps into another "new beginning" of her own."
· Catherine Richard, Principal, St. Rita, transferred to a combined assignment as Principal, St. John French Immersion/St. Anthony French Immersion with Principal Winifred Braunsch. "It has been an honour to serve the students , staff and parents of St. Rita school, Woodstock. It is with gratitude that I will remember the many friendships and happy memories. As I approach the new school year, I look forward to the exciting challenges ahead in partnership with the St. Anthony and St. John French Immersion schools."
· Ginette Marrinan, Principal, Monsignor Morrison to St. Mark as Vice-Principal. "While it is difficult to leave Monsignor Morrison, it is always exciting to welcome new opportunities. I very much look forward to working with the St. Mark Catholic School community!"
· Judith Colwell, Principal, St. Anthony to Monsignor Morrison as Principal, replacing Ginette Marrinan. "Working with the community, staff and students of St. Anthony Catholic School for the past three years has been a tremendous blessing for me. With the closing of the "English Program" we are all transitioning to new places and experiences in our lives. I am very excited about returning 'home' to Elgin County to begin a new journey with the Monsignor Morrison Catholic School community."
· Lisa Gardi, Vice-Principal, St. Paul to St Raphael/St. Gabriel twinned assignment, as Vice-Principal. Rob Scholtes will be Principal of both sites. "I am very pleased to be joining the staff at St. Raphael/St. Gabriel next year. I am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead. I will miss working with the St. Paul community, they have been wonderful."
Suzanne Terpstra, Vice-Principal, Our lady of Lourdes transferred to St. Michael/St. Rita, Woodstock twinned assigned as Vice-Principal. Ken Borris will be Principal of both sites. "I am excited to continue my journey as a Catholic educator at St. Rita Catholic School and I look forward to meeting and working with the staff, students, parents, and parish in Woodstock. I would like to thank the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School for their support and friendship these past two years. It has been a wonderful experience."
Dawn Greco, assigned to Monsignor Morrison as Vice-Principal. "My emotions were very conflicted as I received the news of my new appointment. As my next adventure begins, I have to say goodbye to people with whom I've worked closely for 7 years. The Notre Dame staff has become my support, my courage and part of my family as I have struggled on my path and worked toward my goals. They will continue to hold a special place in my heart and in my life. I look forward with great anticipation to working as Vice Principal with Judith Colwell and the Monsignor Morrison staff members, as we learn and grow together, sharing our love of learning with our students and their families as a faith filled community. "
· Linda Groen assigned to St. George as Principal, replacing Margie Marotta who is on four and one leave.

The Spirit is Alive...

In Our Schools!

Junior Achievement of London & District Inc. is pleased to announce that Sabrina Karim, London, Ontario is one of four winners from across Canada of the Junior Achievement of Canada's Inspiration Award for 2005-2006 sponsored by Deloitte. This award recognizes inspirational essays and outstanding public speaking skills by students in the following JA programs (The Company Program - A Student Venture, JA Titan, JA Business Game, GLOBE). Sabrina has been a participant of JA London's Company Program - A Student Venture for the past two years. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students as it gives them the experience of running their own business. The program is one evening a week for 20 - 22 weeks. The successes of the students are celebrated in May at the Evening of Excellence awards event. This program engages volunteers from the community as mentors to JA students, helping them to design, organize and operate a company. Sabrina, 17 years of age, is a student at Catholic Central High School. Sabrina shares that Company Program has allowed her to grow into a more effective leader in the community. She says that the lessons she learns every week not only help her in her JA role but also extend in her leadership roles in school and the community environment. Sabrina says that the JA Company Program, Stock Market Challenge and CANJAC are some of the ways Junior Achievement has influenced her to consider a career in the world of business, specifically international business.

Above, pictures of the Grade 8 students at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Lucan cleaning up the church yard at St. Patrick Church.

In November, Mrs. Mohr-Allen's class at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Elementary School took part in a citywide grade 4 challenge to create an effective poster relaying the message, "Stay Fit! Eat Right! Feel Good!" as part of the Ne1Can Collage Contest. They won second place and recently celebrated the achievement. The students were thrilled to find out that they did so well considering there were so many students in the London District Catholic School Board and Thames Valley District School Board that participated. From January 23 – February 23rd the winning entries plus a selection of others were on display at the Spriet Family Children’s Library in the Central Branch London Public Library.

As 2nd place winners, the class received:
*Mounting of their collage for display in our school
*A Fun Fit Session for the class, led by GoodLife Fitness instructors
*A Smoothie Party For the Class
*A Certificate of Participation
*All participating classes received Stay Fit – Eat Right – Feel Good wristbands for each student in the class (Above)

Students at St. Bernadette Catholic School are in a toe-tapping mood this week, getting ready for Dancefest 06, which comes up during Catholic Education Week. (Schedule is here)

As part of their Science Unit, students at St David were to design a structure that would be able to withstand a simulated earthquake. Students worked with various materials to create unique, innovative structures that would then be tested with a simulated earthquake.

After creating the human Canadian flag in honour of Jesse's Journey, St. George students and staff joined together in an assembly to view the video related to Jesse's Journey (Above) and then did laps around the school corridors (it was raining) to some up tempo tunes. The school raised $386.00.

Four Saint Thomas Aquinas students have won an essay contest sponsored by the Diocesan Social Justice Office. When they received news that their essays had finished first and second, they decided to donate any accompanying prize money to this year's Share Lent collection. Congratulations to these students for raising awareness through their essays, and then living out their commitment to the poor through their donation. Shown in the photo are award winners Bobby McMullen, Lauren Kavanagh, Ted Cogan, and Courtney Jordan presenting Chaplain Brad Lewis with their cheques totalling $300. (Above)

Grade 2 students at St. Thomas More created ‘art from their hearts’ as they used colour, texture and brushstrokes to show different emotions through their paintings.

More than50 students from St. Mary's High School participated in an In-School Model United Nations Assembly on Tuesday.. The event lasted the entire school day and involved students representing various members of the United Nations. Delegates debated and passed three resolutions concerning Human Trafficking, the Global Trade in Small Arms and Conserving the World's Water Supply. Speeches and questions demonstrated meticulous research and practice. (Above)

Numerous awards were presented and included the following results:

Best Speech: First Place - Greg Snyder, Second Place - Christine Ciszkowski, Honourable Mention - Matthew Stancek Best Jr. Delegate: First Place - Matthew Stancek, Second Place - Sonya Broschinski, Honourable Mention - Suzannah Vanderhoeven Best Sr. Delegate: First Place - Greg Snyder, Second Place - Sylvia Broschinski, Honourable Mention - Chrsitine Ciszkowski Best Delegation: First Place - Greg Snyder and Leanna Walsh (United Kingdom), Second Place - Katherine Stephens and Matthew Stancek (China), Honourable Mentions - Veronica Stratton and Dana Janssen (Iraq) and Christine Ciszkowski and Jonathan Abai (South Africa)

The Values, Influences and Peers (VIP) program is preventative in nature. It involves team teaching by a police officer and a classroom teacher and is taught in Grade Six. The topics involve positive attitudes and skills that can be related to pro-social behaviours. Young people in Grade Six are old enough to grasp the concepts of the VIP topics, but young enough not to have had first-hand involvement in anti-social behaviours. VIP does not use scare tactics; the aim is prevention. This is graduation week for many of the Grade Six students who have taken the program this year. Right, the graduating class from St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in London.

Above, pie-in-the-face fundraiser at John Paul ll Catholic Secondary School for our Lenten Mission supporting London L'Arche and the Starthrower Foundation organized by Chaplain, Ms Pat Materiuk. The pie-in-the-face activity was arranged by Mr. Frank Delle Donne's homeroom class as part of their fundraising to support our Lenten Mission charities. The final results aren't in yet but the entire JPII community has pitched in and raised over two thousand dollars for these charities. Even Principal James Martin got pied.

Students from Andy Loebus' class from St. Mary's High School organized an Easter Egg Hunt for their Reading Buddies from Miss Baker's Grade One / Two class at St. Rita Catholic Elementary School, Woodstock.

Leadership Opportunities for Young Women.
Catholic Central students will be taking part in three excellent leadership conferences in the coming weeks. Tamara Navarette - The Hugh O'Brien Leadership Conference at Ridgetown College, Kim Chinfatt - The Rotary Seminar for Tomorrow's Leaders at UWO, Natalee Blake, Erin Bezzina and Kristen DiLullo - The YMCA Embracing Your Future Young Women's Conference.

It was students versus teachers at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School in a recent basketball game. (Above) The winner? Jesse's Journey, which received $500.00 from the exhibition of skill and science.

The Spirit is Alive...

At the Catholic Education Centre!

Department Heads from each of the LDCSB's eight secondary schools gathered at the Catholic Education Centre for their annual leadership conference this week. (Left). The theme of the conference centered around "The First "R": Relationships". Dr Jean Clinton, a child psychiatrist and Associate Professor for Family Medicine at McMaster University, was the keynote speaker who presented current research regarding brain development and its implications for the education of the adolescent learner. In the afternoon, related break-out sessions included strategies for positive classroom behaviour, working effectively with students with a behavioural exceptionality, the Program Department's "Moving On, Moving Up" message, Breaking Down a Course, and, Welcoming all students into Open Courses.

News and Notes...

Health and Safety

Keep your eye out for an information package which is coming to your Principal over the next week outlining the activities of Health and Safety Week in the Board. It is May 8 -12. There will be a contest with 2 great prizes and 2 workshops on current health and safety issues offered at the CEC. More details to come in the next Spotlight.

Congratulations to Helen Reid, who has been appointed to represent the London District Catholic School Board as a member of the Student Success Commission. The Commission demonstrates the government's commitment to work directly with the educational sector partners. This is a unique opportunity for all of us to contribute together to the implementation of initiatives that will benefit all students. It also provides a forum for advising the government on policy formation that is based on the considerable expertise and knowledge of diverse interests represented on the Commission.

Peter Adams and David Belne, who produced the DVD "St. Peter's Cathedral Basilic- The Journey" will see their work played in its entirety 6 times over the next few days on Rogers Community Cable 13. The dates and times of the Rogers broadcast are: Good Friday: 12 to 1p.m and 6 to 7 p.m. Holy Saturday: 6 to 7p.m. Easter Sunday: 1 to 2 p.m. and 6 to 7p.m. Easter Monday: 7 to 8 p.m.

An evening with Pam Stenzel especially for Parents & Guardians. Pam Stenzel, Founder of ENLIGHTEN COMMUNICATIONS Inc., tackles today’s tough issues of sex with candor, insight, humour, and the challenge for young people to get the Abstinence Advantage.
WHEN: Thursday, April 20, 2006 6 p.m. - Doors open with bookstores & displays 7 p.m. - Welcome and Introduction WHERE: Four Points Sheraton, 1150 Wellington Rd. S., London COST: $10.00 / person in advance (seating is limited)
Sponsored by: London District Catholic School Board, London Area Right to Life Association & Family, Life & Youth Ministry Office, Diocese of London. Ten tickets have been sent to each elementary school. For more tickets, call 519-439-7552 www.flymo.ca

Gala Night Under the Stars
St. Charles Catholic School would like to extend an invitation to St. Charles parents, friends and community for an evening of elegant epicure, and lively competition. Friday, May 5th, 2006. Dinner seating at 7pm. Silent Auction at 8pm. $25 each.
For more details, click HERE.

Thanks to teachers and students who forwarded poster submissions for the inaugural MediaFest Poster Contest. Samples of student work are now on display in the CIRT lab at the Catholic Education Centre.

Congratulations to Jennifer Berkelmans, for her winning design! Jennifer is a Grade 11 student in Mark Lisson's period one class at John Paul II. Her captivating graphic design will be reproduced for distribution to all schools in the coming weeks.

MediaFest is a celebration of cross-curricular achievement by students using various multimedia technologies, highlighted by the MediaFest Showcase which takes place on May 9, 2006 at the Catholic Education Centre.
For details on the event, visit www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/mediafest

Each year the Catholic community of Ontario engages in a week-long celebration of the unique identity and distinctive contributions of Catholic education during Catholic Education Week. This year’s celebration has the inspiring theme of “And God saw that it was good!” It is scheduled for the week of April 30 – May 5.

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