Volume 5, Issue 3
Spring 2014
Cardinal Ambrozic
Catholic Secondary
School
10 Castle Oaks
Crossing
Brampton, ON.
L6P 3A2
Tel: 905-913-2989
Fax: 905-913-2797
Principal:
Mr. Lariviere
Vice-Principals:
Ms. Burazin
Ms. Tousignant
Head Secretary:
Mrs. D’Agostino
Chaplain:
Mr. Minardi
Lead Hand:
Mr. Mazzatelli
Trustee Wards 7-10:
Mr. McLauchlan
Superintendent:
Mr. Vecchiarino
Pastor St. Patrick’s
Parish:
Rev. V. Papais
Publisher:
Chelsea Lecce
The Fast and The Servious
On April 11, our Cardinal Ambrozic students participated in, The Fast
and the Servious. The day began with outreach activities followed by an
overnight stay highlighted by meaningful prayer and fun-filled activities.
Students were given the opportunity to share their faith through action.
Greetings from Our Principal
By Mr. Lariviere, Principal
Dear River Hawk Community,
The sun, the sun!
As we enter into the final two months of our
2013-2014 school year journey together, I want
to wish our Class of 2014 all the best in their
quest to graduate on June 24, 2014. We are
very proud of the accomplishments and effort
that you have put forward this year. We would
also like to congratulate Father Papais who is celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination on June
1st. Father Papais has had an enormous spiritual influence on so many of our students, staff and
parents during his tenure at St. Patrick’s Parish.
One of our goals at Cardinal Ambrozic is to provide opportunities and experiences which nurture
our students and those we encounter in discovering that we are all a gift from God, and our gift in
return, is how we live our life and respond to God’s calling. This semester the staff and students, as
you will witness in this newsletter, have been involved in a number of outreach and charity experiences in supporting that goal. We continue to be a special place for students and parents whereby
we continually discover ways to engage, educate and support the whole child in body, mind and
spirit. This allows our community and those we encounter to contribute to the transformation of
the world in the image of God. We challenge all to find time to reflect on our inspiration in attending or supporting our school.
We are very excited about the work that is about to begin in the transformation of our Peace Garden. This area will provide a space for students to mingle, share appropriate stories and just sit back
and relax. This eco-school initiative will provide space after hours for our community members
to do the same. We ask that during the summer we treat this space as a type of village square and
ensure it is being used appropriately.
Chaplaincy News
By A. Minardi, Chaplaincy Leader
Interschool Board-wide Mass- St. Anne’s parish in Brampton
What a great day! A walking pilgrimage from each school to St. Anne’s parish was certainly the
highlight with hundreds of teenagers professing their faith through the streets of Peel Region. The
exchange of gifts, relationships formed and prayers made was a true testament to the strength and
vitality of Catholic Education in Peel and Ontario. Our strength as a Catholic system lies in our students!!! Let us not forget that our students give testament to our essential system. Let us chaplains,
teachers, educators, senior staff, etc. be the example provided and the reminder of the face of Jesus
for these students everyday in order for them to continue on with this amazing gift we call Catholic
Education!
Season of Lent
Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the most sacred season of the Church’s liturgical calendar. It is during this time that we prepare for the greatest and joyful day in the Catholic ChurchResurrection Sunday. On this day, we mark our foreheads with ashes to remind us of our love for
God and our desire to turn away from all evil and sin, and to remain trustworthy of God’s mercy
and healing. Also, we especially focus on prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. We are challenged to
choose life over death, meaning that we always value and respect each human life no matter what
the circumstance or struggle. We are challenged to live with joy and thanksgiving everyday, praising God for his everlasting love and presence, and that we choose to love those who have hurt us or
perhaps even trampled upon our very own dignity. Therefore, in order to stay true to our personal
spiritual growth during this time of Lent, we must first learn to recognize God’s love for us and to
manifest that love through our choice to say yes to God and in doing so, always choosing good over
evil and love over hate, and hope over despair. However we prepare, what is important is that we
know that God loves us and that he desires to be in relationship with him.
Our spring athletic teams have hit the fields and we welcome our first baseball team. The girls’ softball team has set the direction over the past three years for this baseball team to thrive. We have our
Music, Dance and Drama evenings coming up which always highlight the immense talent that our
River Hawk students have. We would like to wish Jacob Samson all the best in his quest for gold at
the Ontario Skills Canada competition this month.
We hope you can join us for our 4th Parent Night Out, on May 30th, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the
school. This year’s topics will include teenagers and mental health, concussions awareness, NCAA
preparation, and the 21st Century Learner.
Enjoy the newsletter and have a great spring!
God Bless
Mr. T. Lariviere
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Young Reels Film Festival
FUTURE ACES Celebrates Pink Day
On February 27th, 2014, Cardinal Ambrozic was proudly represented in the Caledon Public Library’s Young Reels Film Festival.
In our inaugural year, we had three short films screened. Honourable mentions go out to participants Andrea Moran, Marna
Nanno, Cheyenne Mensah and Gita Kumari for “Stereotypes”
and Gustavo Cardozo for “Videogames Takeover”.
A very proud congratulations also goes out to Simoon Moshi, Enitan Oyesile, Mikayla Stefani and
Sydney Savedra’s “Fool’s Paradise” for winning the Director’s Choice Award. All three short films will
be screened at school during our third annual Cardinal Ambrozic Hot Docs Festival.
Our first ever Pink It Up Day Against Bullying was a great
success thanks to all of the staff and students participating in
the event. Students participated by dressing up in solidarity
with the colour pink and donating a toonie to our BRAVE
and Future Aces initiatives.
By Ms. Grossi-Sperandio, Media Teacher
If you are interested in directing or
producing your own films, please feel
free to join the Director’s Club, every
Monday, in room 229.
By Ms. Jones and Mrs. Zoffranieri
Lunch time activities included henna, face painting, hair
threading, drama, pinky nail painting and most importantly
students took the opportunity to sign a ribbon against bullying. Check out the great pictures.
Future Aces students will be attending a Returning Faces
Leadership conference on Thursday, May 15 at the Montecassino Hotel and Event Venue. This will be followed up by
an overnight leadership trip to Deerhurst Resort in the fall.
Media and Communication Technology
Students Meet George Stroumboulopoulos
By Mrs. Grossi-Sperandio, MediaTeacher
On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014, Mrs. Grossi-Sperandio’s English Media and Mr. Dovigo’s Communication Technologies classes had the opportunity to experience popular culture in downtown
Toronto. With a map and instructions for a scavenger hunt or photo essay in hand, students experienced the city through excited and critical eyes. From capturing photos of the CN Tower to
taking photos with local celebrities, the day culminated at the CBC with a studio taping of the
George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight show with guest Jermain Defoe. Next, these classes will turn
their attention to the Hot Docs Festival and the screening of several documentaries both in-theatre
and in-school.
Effective Presentation and Speaking Skills: EPS 301
Communication Technologies: TGJ 3M1
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Art at Ambrozic
CA English
Second semester at Cardinal Ambrozic has been an
exciting one in the Visual Arts Department.
In April, our students visited The Great Upheaval –
Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection at
the Art Gallery of Ontario on February 26th. They
experienced abstract artworks by Vassily Kandinsky,
the famous Yellow Cow by Franz Marc, and the cubist
works of Pablo Picasso
Grade 10 students Vinyak Bhatia, Nalene Hibbert and Aquina Athayde participated in a community project whereby they painted one of twenty six tiles representing Cardinal Ambrozic Secondary School, on the
theme of Diversity and Togetherness.
Upcoming events this April include: a monotype workshop in Ms Raso’s
class and Dufferin-Peel Secondary Schools Images art show, at the Living
Arts Center in May/June.
Visual art student Liane Werdina has worked on a design for a future
mural at Cardinal Ambrozic, and it promises to be outstanding.
Many of our grade 12 visual arts students have been accepted to prestigious post secondary institutions for example, Ontario College of Art
and Design, Ryerson and York University Fine Arts.
Another great semester has begun and the English teachers at Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic Secondary
School have continued their tireless efforts in bringing their love for literature and drama to their classrooms.
Science Central
Rock Climbing: Bringing Literature to Life!
By Mrs. Iarusci, Art Teacher
By Ms. Tardella, Science Department
Second semester is well underway and our Riverhawk Scientists have been busy with labs, projects and
preparations. Some of our senior scientists in Physics and Chemistry are preparing to write the University
of Waterloo exams. The grade 12 Physics students will be completing the CAP Prize Exam, the grade 11
Chemistry students will be completing the Avogadro Chemistry exam and the grade 12 Chemistry students
will be completing the Chem 13 News Exam.
Our junior scientists in grade 10 will be attending the Ontario Science Centre in May to explore the global
impact of climate change and the amazing properties of light and optics. Our senior Biology students will
be attending the Anatomy labs at the University of Guelph to study different human organ systems. They
will first handily be able to discover muscles, tendons and organs that comprise the human muscular-skeletal system, the excretory system and the digestive system just to name a few. Ms. Skrela’s chemistry classes
gave Hallmark a run for their money with their Chemistry Valentines. Students were creative, innovative
and full of love when creating their Valentines. Mr. Selvam and Mr. Burchill had their Grade 12 chemistry
classes made bars of soap using the process of saponification (using lard and a strong base to create the
soap). The soap was then infused with scents such as lavender to create a beautiful end product. The Grade
11 physics students will be building roller coasters using common household products to study the transformations of energy. It will prove to be a Joule-good time.
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By Ms. Andreopoulos, English Teacher
In April students will have the opportunity to take their learning outside the classroom walls. Grade 11
students will see the theatrical performance of Macbeth while grade 9 students will enjoy a production of
Romeo and Juliet at the Yonge Centre for the Arts in Toronto. Both trips are expected to be a huge success
and many students will have their first experience with live theatre. Also this month, Mrs. Grossi-Sperandio’s grade 11 Media Studies class had the opportunity to experience a pop culture trip that began at the
Eaton Centre and ended at the CBC.
Also in the library, and under the expert direction of our Teacher-Librarian, Ms. Crescenzi, the English Department is fostering regular reading by incorporating it into their daily lives as well as in their Culminating Performance Tasks. We thank Ms. Crescenzi and Ms. Tang for their continued guidance and concern
for our students.
Throughout first semester and the beginning of second semester, English teachers worked diligently with
their Grade 9 and 10 classes in preparation for the Literacy Test that took place on March 27th. Parents
are encouraged to keep their son or daughter reading every day to help cultivate their reading and writing
skills and encourage them to become lovers of learning for life.
By Ms. Rizzo, English Teacher
It wasn’t Mount Everest, but Joe Rockhead’s Indoor Climbing Gym is
a close second! The Grade 10/11 English class ventured to Joe Rockhead’s to experience the challenges the characters we were reading
about were facing. After a brief safety lesson and harnessing up, we
scaled the walls of the gym. We encouraged each other and surprised
even ourselves as we found the courage and physical strength to reach
new heights. A FUNtastic day, bringing classroom literature to life!
A Note From Music
By Mr. Frasson, Music Teacher
The coming weeks and months are going be busy and exciting for our Music Students here at Ambrozic.
On Tuesday April 29th we will be participating in the K-W Kiwanis Music Festival.
On Thursday May 15th the Music Department is Presenting “Music Goes to The
Movies.” Come and listen to our Musical
Ensembles perform Music from such movies as “Les Miserable”, “Alladin”, and “Harry
Potter”.Towards the end of May we will be
presenting a “Celebration of Music” featuring the many talents of our Gr. 12 Music
Students.
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CaraCardinal 2014
Teaming Up For Fitness
By Ms. Paguandas, French Teacher
By Ms. Ramalho, Dance Teacher
This semester has brought fun and excitement through fitness to Cardinal Ambrozic students who have
been participating in Zumba classes across the curriculum.
In March and April students from Drama, Physical Education, Dance and Cardinal Ambrozic’s PIP program teamed up for these Zumba classes. Zumba is a Latin inspired, dance based fitness program that has
exploded in popularity worldwide. Zumba’s easy to follow cues makes it an inclusive way to learn new
moves and have fun while improving one’s fitness level.
Our school’s Zumba classes are taught by guest instructor and member of our community, Soraya.
Students from Grade 11 Physical Education, Grade 11/12
Dance and Cardinal Ambrozic’s PIP Program
Students and staff from Drama, Grade 11/12 Dance
and PIP Program participating in a Zumba class.
Our annual multicultural evening was held on March 3, 2014.
Due to the organizational efforts of our committed Pavilions,
the celebration of our diverse Cardinal Ambrozic community
was a resounding success! Our guests enjoyed both an outstanding musical and dance performance AND a delicious
array of treats and munchies from each of our pavilions! A
sincere thank-you to YOU, our Caracardinal family, for supporting our initiative … see you in 2015!
Skills Canada: Carpentry
By Mr. Kalwa, Construction Teacher
Grade 11 student Jacob Samson took 1st place in the INDIVIDUAL CARPENTRY CATEGORY at the DPCDSB
SKILLS COMPETITION on March 19, 2014, which was
held at Phillip Pocock SS. Jacob built a folding bench Seat
with the plans provided by Lee Valley. He competed against
grade 11 and 12 students and completed the bench in the 5
hour competition. Jacob was the only competitor who actually finished on time! Congratulations Jacob!!
We are also proud to announce that Jacob Samson took 2nd place in the “Ontario Regionals” Individual
Carpentry competition held at Niagara College! Jacob now advances to the “Ontario Finals” competition
that will be held at RIM Park in Waterloo in May!
We wish success in his next endeavor!
Good luck
Jacob!!
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Prom & Graduation News 2014
Library News
As the end of the year approaches, the excitement in the school building continues to grow. While many of
us await warm weather and summer vacation, our grade 12 students are counting down to an earlier date.
In a little over six weeks, the Graduating Class of 2014 will have the opportunity to participate in their
graduation activities.
So far, semester two is a lively one! The Ambrozic library continues to be
busy with students before school and during all three lunches. Students visit the library to check out books, use the computers, research, read quietly
and to use our seminar rooms.
Our book collection is continuing to grow! We have added may new fiction
and non-fiction titles specifically in the areas of math, aboriginal studies
and Catholicity. All new titles are put on display at the front of the library
for students to check out.
April has been a busy month with CPT book talks! All English classes have
come to the library so students can select a CPT novel. Students use Shelfari
which is a database available through the library’s website that displays all of the CPT novel titles for each
grade and theme.
By Ms. Pallotta, French Teacher and Head of Prom Committee
PROM
This year’s prom entitled “A Ritzy Affair” will take place on Friday, June 6, 2014 at Château Le Jardin in
Woodbridge. Students must complete the Prom Attendee Form found on the school website and submit it
when purchasing their prom ticket. Students wishing to invite a guest who is not a member of the Graduating class must print off the Guest Form for their guest and return it completed to the school no later
than Wednesday, April 30. Tickets are $90 and will be on sale starting Thursday, May 1st during all lunches
in the Tuck Shop. The last day to purchase prom tickets is Wednesday, May 7th. Buy your tickets early to
avoid disappointment!
GRADUATION
Graduation festivities will take place on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. Graduation at Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic
S. S. is a full day event. The festivities begin with our Graduation Mass at 9:00 a.m. at the school followed
by the Awards Ceremony and Graduation Brunch. Students must be in attendance in the Graduation Mass
to partake in the Brunch that follows. Both students and their parents are invited to attend the mass and
awards presentation.
The Graduation Ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Powerade Centre in Brampton. All are welcome to
attend, tickets will not be required and seating is available on a first come first served basis. More details to
follow.
Want to know more? Please check the school website for more details as it will be updated regularly with
more information.
News from Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board
Safety First when dropping students off at school
The safety of all children and staff must be considered as paramount at all times when dropping students
off at school.
By Ms. Crescenzi, Teacher Librarian
The Ambrozic Booksters have been busy…reading! Our April book club read was Divergent by Veronica
Roth and our May read is The Fault on Our Stars by John Green. All staff and students are welcome to join
the conservation!
Ontario Eco-Schools
By Ms. Crescenzi, Teacher Librarian
Go Green Ambrozic!
The Eco Squad has been hard at work promoting green initiatives at Ambrozic! During the month of April
we celebrated Earth Month. The Eco Squad organized a Green Day and Spring Clean Up where all students
participated in collecting garbage from around the school community and pond. Students who wore green
donated two dollars to our Share Life Charity. We also hosted our own Earth Hour where all period 4 classes were encouraged to work without the use of energy. Mrs. Lindsay’s Grade 9 geography class took part
in a Visual Waste Audit where they analyzed the previous day’s garbage to see what percentage of it could
have been recycled. Also, Mr. Costello’s Planning for Independence has been collecting the recycling every
Wednesday!
Way to go Ambrozic!!!!
The number of serious incidents related to traffic circulation at the front of the school and in the Kiss and
Ride area during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal has risen. These incidents include vehicles entering the site in the wrong direction, parking and pulling out of no parking zones, parking in bus lanes, to
name a few.
It is imperative that all parents and guardians who drive their children to school adhere to the traffic circulation plan and comply with the traffic and parking signage on the site. It is equally imperative that all
drivers follow the direction of staff managing the traffic circulation on the school site.
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Thank you for your consideration and co-operation with this important matter.
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Jeans for Teens Campaign
Students at Work
Riverhawks at Lunch
Student-Teachers Gift to Ambrozic
Brave Teams Organizes “Pink Day”
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