Poster Winners Colin
Martin and Lindy Vander Heyden, St. Mary’s
Catholic Secondary School
Honourable Mentions:
Mariola Michalik, Holy Family London Marisa
Iavazzi, Regina Mundi Catholic College Ceri
Bathgate, St. David Maddie DeDecker, St. David
Sarah Faber and Caroline Nowak, St. Mary’s
Catholic Secondary School
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 was entitled "We are
Called" and what a celebration it
was!
A highlight was the
Spirit Awards Night. Students from each of our
secondary and elementary schools were honoured,
with the recognition based on their
demonstration of the Ontario Catholic School
Graduate Expectations. The evening also saw the
awarding of the system's highest award, the
Stewards in Catholic Education Award, to
Principal Peter Cassidy. And the winners of this
year's Catholic Education week Poster Contest
were honoured as well (the winning entry is
left).
Below are some of the
many highlights of the week, stories
that were played out in every school and in
every classroom this week.
Jesus is . . .
Jesus is someone
that I can rely on for comfort and courage
He is someone who will forgive me no matter what
I do
Jesus gave his life for all of us because he
loves us so much
Jesus is someone I can talk to in prayer when
I'm scared or sad
Jesus is someone who can make things possible
that don't seem possible!
By
Evan, Gr. 4, Our Lady of Lourdes, Delaware
North
Affiliates
Catholic Central High
School Margaret Conlon Holy Cross Joanna Norejko
St. Jude, London William Assis St. Martin Tricia
Dunn St. Mary Choir Sarah Pol St. Michael,
London Ciara Condon
Mother Teresa Catholic
Secondary Eamon Duffy Blessed Kateri Natalie
Plommer St. Catherine of Sienna Jaclyn White St.
John, French Immersion Ruby Ross St. Marguerite
d’Youville David Crisante St. Mark Raluca
Bratu St. Patrick, Lucan Katelyn Crowley St.
Thomas More Brent Keogh
South
Affiliates
Regina Mundi Catholic
College Dalia Matijevic Sir Arthur Carty Saif
Matti St. David Michelle McGinnes St. Francis,
London Matt Kieffer St. Sebastian Elizabeth
Harris Holy Rosary Alexis Farhat
St. Joseph’s High
School Traci Hicknell Assumption Danae
Berkelmans Monsignor Morrison Jamie Geisler St.
Mary’s, West Lorne Anita Rastapkevicius St.
Raphael Callie Hill
West
Affiliates
St. Thomas Aquinas
Catholic Secondary Alex deMelo Jean Vanier Mary
Borg Notre Dame Marcela Correa St. George Sarah
Hart St. Theresa Joshua Cardillo St. Paul Kate
Terpstra
Holy Cross Catholic
Secondary Elizabeth deGouw St. Charles Trevor
Vink Our Lady Immaculate Madison Verhoeven Our
Lady Of Lourdes Ainsley Bink Sacred Heart,
Parkhill Meghan Bezzina St. Vincent de Paul
Ciara Collingbourne
East
Affiliates
John Paul II Catholic
Secondary Nadine Hiemstra Blessed Sacrament
Michelle Castrillon Holy Family French
Immersion, London Kelly Lyons St. Anne MacKenzie
Anderson St. Bernadette Sarah Dos Santos St.
Robert Gabrielle Coleman St. Pius X Makeba Noel
St. Mary’s Catholic
Secondary Jonathon Evely Holy Family, Woodstock
Jessie Leduc Monsignor J. H. O’Neil Hillary
Fardella St. Francis, Princeton Eleish Miller
St. Joseph’s, Thamesford Thomas Johnston St.
Jude’s, Ingersoll Stephanie Kirwin St. Michael’s,
Woodstock Mariah DeMelo St. Patrick’s,
Woodstock Andrew Divinszki St. Rita’s Mary Vu
The Principal of St.
Joseph’s Catholic High School in St. Thomas is
the 2008 winner of the Stewards in Catholic
Education Award. Peter Cassidy received the
award Tuesday night from Board Chair John
Ferris. (Right).
The award is given to a
secondary school graduate of our system or its
predecessor boards to someone who demonstrates
an impact in professional or personal life in
spiritual. Academic, social or physical areas;
demonstrates fulfillment of the Ontario Catholic
Graduate Expectations and demonstrates
stewardship in Catholic Education. Principal
Cassidy has been in education for twenty-three
years.
In his acceptance
speech, Mr. Cassidy thanked the many teachers
and colleagues who helped him to realize his
potential through Catholic education and said he
hopes he has been able to do the same for
others. “In the adult part of my Catholic
education I have been very fortunate to work
with a great many people who are very dedicated
to the service of Catholic Education, he said.
“ I would like to think that I share this
honour with them in recognition of their
collective contribution to the lives of our
students and to my professional growth.”
(The speech can be seen
in its entirety at this
link)
Five
sub-themes, one for each of the five days of
Catholic Education Week 2008, helped students to
understand the rich meaning of this year's
theme:
Day 1…to Act Justly
Day 2…to Love Tenderly
Day 3…to Walk Humbly
Day 4…to Serve Generously
Day 5…to Live Peacefully
Throughout Catholic Education Week, we are asked
to reflect on the significance of
Catholic
Education's presence and contribution
in our Church, and in our society.
Wilma de Rond, Director of Education, spent much
of the week visiting schools and meeting students. Above, a visit to St.
Vincent de Paul Catholic School
Community Readers visited Our Lady Immaculate,
including Director de Rond and Superintendent Clarke. Primary classes
were read to by some of Strathroy's finest; including fire fighters,
police officers and even a heart surgeon. Students enjoyed listening to
stories and asking many questions about the professions of the
guests.
"Alternative Education Students Getting Ready
for Catholic Education Week. Students at the Alternative Learning Centre
have been hard at work for weeks, making 300 bookmarks to be used
throughout the system ... in preparation for Catholic Education Week.
Above, the poster winners and honourable mentions
from the Spirit Awards Night. More than a hundred students from across
the system prepared posters based on the theme of Catholic Education
Week.
About 250 students from five of our Catholic High
schools took part in the annual Walk Against Male Violence this week - a
regular feature of Catholic Education Week. Pledges raised will
support awareness of male violence, The Sexual Assault centre of
London(SACL), Atlohsa, native peoples' centre, and the Nazoo Anna
Education Centre for girls in Afghanistan.
Our
Mission
To serve the Catholic
student in a community that nurtures a living faith
and provides a quality Catholic education that enables the individual to
become a contributing member of the Church and Society.
or contact: John
Boles,
Manager of Communications,
519-663-2088, ext 40015
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