Scholarships (see links inside)...
HEARTBEAT
ST. PAUL SECONDARY SCHOOL’S
Knitty Gritty
Community Outreach
OSSLT
Literacy Test Info
Winter Sports
Athletic Updates and Scores
Course Selection
2016/2017 Registration
Extraordinary Jubilee
Holy Year of Mercy
Looking Ahead
Dates to Remember
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St. Paul Secondary School
WINTER ISSUE, 2016
815 Atwater Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario L5E 1L8
Phone: 905-278-3994
Web: dpcdsb.org/PAULS
Fax: 905-278-1163
Trustees
B. Iannicca, Mississauga Ward 7 - 905-270-0536, bruno.iannicca@dpcdsb.org
M. Pascucci,Mississauga Wards 1 & 3, Chair of the Board - (P) 905-302-3096, (F) 905-890-0888,
mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
Superintendent
Mr. T. Lariviere
Principal
Ms. C. Murphy
Vice-Principal
Mr. A. Iarossi
Chaplain
Mrs. F. Pianta
Head of Student Services/ARD
Guidance Counsellor O - Z
Mr. B. Bonnah
Guidance Counsellor A - N
Ms. C. Lehecka
Youth Care Worker
Ms. V. Williams
St. Dominic Parish Pastor
Fr. Philip Jones
Heartbeat Editor/Layout & Design
T. Brugmans
Cover Photo
S. Ostos
Principal’sMessage
I have always found it quite comforting that our Church begins each
new year with the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother
of God, on January 1. There is something about being reminded on
the first day of the new year about the courage, and faith and hope
that Mary embodies as the Mother of God, that helps me put into
perspective what has happened in my life in the past year, and what
to think about as I entertain the idea of resolutions for the new year.
Knowing that Mary’s pure love for Jesus, her courage and grace as
his mother, is extended to each of us tenderly, somehow helps me
to make that transition of letting go of what has been, and using that
to move on to what could be. Mary was there from the beginning of
Jesus’ life, watching over him lovingly, and there is great wisdom in
the Church reminding us that at the beginning of each year, Mary is
there watching over each of us just as lovingly as her Son does.
As I think about the beginning of a
new year, it occurs to me that we
are very fortunate in high school
that it is marked by a number of
beginnings. The start of a new
year, a new grade, a new semester, or even a new course, hopefully represents the opportunity
for possibility for each of us, and
within each of us. It is an opportunity to be re-energized. It is an
opportunity for renewal and growth
and change. It is an opportunity
to hope. As we finish up exams
and the courses of first semester,
we begin to look to the change of
second semester as a chance to
reflect on what we have accomplished and to continue to do what
has worked, and to try and to put
into place changes that will help
us to do better. I encourage each
of our students to hope for possibilities as they start their second
semester. Celebrate what you did
well - what you accomplished with
grace in the first semester, and
focus on one thing you can change
to make a difference for second semester. Be courageous and work
hard. Be courageous and embrace
change. Be courageous and get
involved in your school and make a
difference. And remember that we
began this year celebrating what
Mary accomplished - a life of courage and grace and faith - with the
Mother of God as one of your role
models, you will not simply realize
what is possible but what is meant
for you to be.
›››Chaplaincy
Our
Year Of
Mercy Opening
Celebration:
Happy Birthday
Pope Francis!
The Holy Father, Pope Francis,
declared this year as the Jubilee of
Mercy in our church. In December, he
proclaimed:
‘I have decided to announce an
Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its
centre the mercy of God. It will be a
Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live
in the light of the word of the Lord:
“Be merciful, even as your Father is
merciful” (cf. Lk 6:36). And this especially applies to confessors! So much
mercy! This Holy Year will commence
on the next Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and will conclude
on Sunday, 20 November 2016, the
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
King of the Universe and living face of
the Father’s mercy.’
To kick-off the Year of Mercy at St.
Paul, students gathered to celebrate
this great message from the Holy
Father on his birthday, December 17.
Classes assembled in the cafeteria to
be reminded of the Corporal Works
of Mercy they were invited to live out
Living
as they shared some birthday cake
and took advantage of “selfie” photo
opportunities with a life-size cut-out of
the Holy Father.
This event was a
meaningful experience for students
to start discerning
ways in which they
can minister in
feeding the hungry,
giving drink to the
thirsty, clothing
the naked, giving shelter to the
homeless, and
visiting the sick and
imprisoned. Some
second semester
events intended to
allow students to
participate in living
out the Corporal
Works of Mercy
include a street patrol, Lenten Service
drives, assemblies,
and in-school ministries, such as the
milk bag mattress
weaving project
and the KnittyGritty knitting and
crocheting club.
As our Saviour,
Faith
Jesus Christ, guides us, please keep
your students and staff in prayer that
we may live out the works of mercy
every day.
›››English
Grammar
OSSLT Information
The literacy committee, co-chaired
by Mrs. Bentivoglio and Mrs. Vono,
continues to prepare our Grade 10’s
for the upcoming Literacy Test.
There will be eight in-school sessions
scheduled for all students and there
will be after-school sessions available
for students who require extra support.
A letter will go out to parents in February announcing these free school
literacy classes for Grade 10 students.
This is an excellent opportunity for
parents and students to prepare for
the OSSLT.
Literature
with a test similar in length and format
to the one provided during the actual
administration of the OSSLT and it
illustrates the types of reading and
writing items (questions and prompts)
that students will encounter.
Stratford Trip
to see Macbeth
The students in Mrs. Bentivoglio and
Ms. DiCarlo grade 10 classes will see
a production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in Stratford on May 5.
Speaking
The action on stage was self-lit by
the actors and that production choice
combined with poor seats led to a disappointing result for our students.
Although CTP’s production of Romeo
& Juliet has been seen in many cities
across North America, St. Paul students had challenging sight lines and
are hoping to give live theatre
another chance in
Semester 2.
As always, the Stratford Festival Theatre will be a professional and engaging spectacle. If you are in Grade 10
English, plan on attending this must
see event.
Macbeth in
November
In November, the students of Mrs.
Vono’s Grade 10, 11 and 12 English
classes, accompanied by Ms.Williams,
attended a performance of Macbeth
presented by the Classical Theatre
Project.
Further Information
on OSSLT (Literacy
Test)
The OSSLT will be taking place on
Thursday, March 31, 2016. Parents
and students are also strongly encouraged to visit the EQAO website (www.
eqao.com); it is an excellent website
with Teacher, Parent and Student sections containing helpful information.
There is a sample test available online; it is a complete test in the same
order and with the same instructions
as an actual test.The use of the sample test provides parents and students
The students enjoyed the experience
of watching Shakespeare’s great tragedy on stage and many are excited to
attend their next show.
Romeo and Juliet
presented by the
Classical Theatre
Project
Also in November, the students of
Ms. Tobin, Ms. DiCarlo and Mr. Kay
classes, accompanied by Mrs. Bentivoglio, attended a performance of
Romeo and Juliet, presented by the
Classical Theatre Project.
Websites and
Information
Students and parents are reminded
that St. Paul has a great website with
information on school and community
events as well as connecting websites
having to do with Board-wide functions
and policies and Ministry websites.
There is also information on each
Department. If you have found this
newsletter, there is a good chance you
are at the St. Paul website
[http://www.dpcdsb.org/PAULS]. As
well, there are many teachers with a
personal website at TeacherWeb.com.
You are encouraged to visit the TeacherWeb site and to search for your
teacher [http://teacherweb.com/ON/
StPaulSSDPCDSB].
›››Athletics
Happy
New Year
from the Phys Ed staff
at St. Paul.
Discipline, Dedication, Determination
Girls’ Volleyball
This years’ Varsity Girls Volleyball
team has made great improvements
as the season has unfolded. Comprised mostly of junior aged players,
they have learned a great deal and
have shown great teamwork and
dedication.
The girls final two home games were
on February 8 versus Gordon Graydon
and February 10 versus John Cabot.
Thank you to all the players for their
hard work and commitment this year.
This year’s graduating players are
Raquel Marques, Alicia Arruda and
Monica Russell. We wish you all the
best in your future endeavors.
head to head with the most dominate
team in their division and narrowly
missed pulling off the upset losing by
3 points in the dying seconds of the
game.
Sport truly reveals character, and good
character leads to a life of success.
Our players are being geared up for a
lifetime of success and that is a testament of a winning tradition.
Boys’ Hockey
As usual, the gym is
The Varsity Boys Hockey program will
buzzing with activbe traveling to Ottawa to represent
ROPSSAA at the 2016 OFSAA A/AA
ity. It’s exciting to see
Championships March 7-10.
how many students
Varsity Boys Roster
are dropping in on
Forwards
their lunch hour or be- Boys’ Basketball 3. Kyle Legenza - Grade 12
5. Sheldon DeSousa – Grade 11
fore school to spend
7. Luke Cabral – Grade 11
Wolverine Basketball – Developing a
8. Michael Molinaro – Grade 11
winning tradition. Over the years our
half an hour playing
9. Jason Di Benedetto – Grade 11
basketball program has been focusing
10. Jordan Humber– Grade 11
some pick up sports.
on developing character players and
13. Paolo Larosa – Grade 11
It looks like the message is getting out…
Healthy Active Lifestyle is the only way to
go!
Thanks to all of the
Varsity athletes and
coaches for their continued dedication to
living our motto Everything with Heart.
promoting a true team atmosphere –
and so far so good!
After a great start to the season (winning their first 3 games) the team
learned a very valuable lesson about
dedication and hard work despite apparent successes.The players were at
a loss for words as they lost their next
two games to schools whom the players felt could easily be handled, and
that is where the character development took place.
Their very next game the team went
15. Michael Cascioli – Grade 12
17. Jacob DiCresce –Grade 9
26. Ethan Mederios – Grade 10
27. Andrew Piscitelli – Grade 11
41. Ryan Smaila – Grade 10
42. Ryan Bungay – Grade 10
Defencemen
4. Alex Andrews –Grade 9
11. Kyle Dias– Grade 11
16. Mackenzie McGuire – Grade 11
24. Lukasz Perchal – Grade 11
28. Matthew Cioffi – Grade 10
39. Zak Blomme - Grade 12
Goalies
1. Thomas Sznitko – Grade 11
29. Evan Crljen – Grade 11
33. Kevin Scarselletta – Grade 10
Coaches
Mr. Multari, Mr. Tsilfidis, Mr.
Costigan
Manager: Ms. DiCarlo
Student Managers: Angelo Coluccio, Daniela Montone, Kennedy
Reynolds
›››Guidance Files
Student Services • ARD • Counseling
Happy new year and welcome to
semester two!
International
Baccalaureate
sellors, Mr. Bonnah and Ms. Lehecka
for organizing the event and thank all
the recruiters who participated.
We are thrilled by the response in our
community to the start of the International Baccalaureate Program coming
to St. Paul in 2016-17.
Changes to selections may be made
when students receive their course selection verification sheets in early April.
We thank all for their expressions of
interest. The turn-out for our parent
information night was excellent.
University and College
Applications and
Scholarships
The entire St. Paul team looks forward
to welcoming this exciting new opportunity for our students.
St. Paul Hosts
Post-Secondary
Information Night
On October 29, recruiters from more
than 30 colleges and universities from
across canada were in the St. Paul
cafeteria to answer questions from
prospective students and parents. This
was the third year we have hosted this
popular event.
The evening provided students and
their families an opportunity to ask
questions about applications, program
requirements, admissions and life in
college or university.
We extend our sincere thanks to the
guidance and career education coun-
Students currently in grade 12, who
are considering a possible return to
St. Paul for academic upgrading, must
make an appointment with their guidance counselor to review their academic plan.
e-Learning Courses
The Dufferin-Peel CDSB offers a
wide range of senior courses (grade
11 and 12) on-line. Students who are
interested in taking a course on-line
are encouraged to come to student
services to discuss available options
with their counselor. Second semester
e-Learning orientation sessions are
scheduled for February 9 and 10. All
students who are scheduled to take eLearning must attend their orientation.
Please come to student services for
more information.
Night School for
Semester Two
Applications for semester two night
school are available in Student Services. Semester two night school courses
run from February 10 – May 25, 2016.
Registration and Course
Selection for 2016-17
Registration and course selection
for 2016-17 is now complete. As in
previous years, the students used
the individual pathway planning tool
MyBlueprint.
College applications for equal consideration were due February 1. Students
may still apply after this date but may
not be able to get into popular programs.
University applications were due
January 13. The first mark submission
to OUAC (Ontario University Application Centre) will occur in the middle of
February. Applicants are reminded to
check the status of their on-line applications through OUAC (university)
or OCAS (college).
Scholarships are available for many
post-secondary programs. More information is available at www.studentawards.com and www.scholarshipscanada.com.
On behalf of the entire student services team, we wish all a healthy, happy,
and successful, semester two!
›››Planning For
Independence
Festive Activities
Winter activities were in full swing for Ms. Zanon’s and Ms. Sudac’s Planning for Independence class this November and December. With the help of Ms. Bentivoglio and Ms. Kelly and her leadership class the students were able
to enjoy several weekly festive activities including arts and crafts, making holiday treats and reading stories with their peers.
The Planning for Independence students also had the opportunity to
work with Ms. Multari’s grade ten Food and Nutrition class this semester where they were able to make their own homemade pizzas.
The students are looking forward to the start of 2016 and the new semester.
OFSAA Medaller
Our own Lauren Marquis also won 3rd place at OFSAA in the
3.8km cross country run in November.
We are all very proud of her.
›››Bits & Bites
Omnia Cum Corde
Knitty Gritty
St. Paul Catholic Secondary School’s Knitting Club (Knitty Gritty) and grade 12
religion students, have been working tirelessly to learn the art of crochet and
knitting in order to create scarves, hats and head bands to donate to various
charities within the city. Under the leadership of Ms. Bueno-Marcial, Ms. Ostos,
and Ms. Tsiobanos, the students continue to model the Catholic Graduate Expectations of being a responsible citizen and a caring family member in fulfilling
the needs of our local community. Many of the students had never crocheted or
knit before, but were eager to learn for such a great cause.
One of the projects began when a few residents from Chartwell Retirement Residences came to St. Paul in early December, to speak to the students about the
importance of ministering to the wider community through service. The residents
shared that they hold an initiative every year, where they knit winter accessories
to donate to families in need. After hearing this, the students were enthusiastic
to contribute to Chartwell’s initiative and quickly learned the art of crocheting.
On December 10, the students traveled to Chartwell to deliver their crocheted
pieces and meet with all the residents.The trip ended with the students leading
an Advent Liturgy. The project was a great success. The residents were delighted at the care and consideration shown by the St. Paul students, and were
astounded by their commitment.
In addition to the project with Chartwell, the Knitty Gritty Club knits in order to
contribute their pieces to a community outreach program at St. Paul, where the
items created will be donated to those in need.
Additional Professional
Activity Day
Terms of the recent contract settlement between the teacher federations
and the Ministry of Education included
the provision of an additional Professional Activity Day for the 2015-2016
school year for both elementary and
secondary schools. Recently, boards
were directed to schedule this additional Professional Development Day
on or before April 15, 2016.
In the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District
School Board, the designated additional Professional Activity Day has
been scheduled for Monday, April
11, 2016. Therefore, there will be no
classes for either elementary or secondary students on Monday, April 11.
Thank you for your attention to this
addition to the 2015-16 School Year
Calendar.
Looking Ahead
Please take note of the following dates
to help you plan out your calendar.
Semester 2 Begins.............. February 4
Ash Wednesday................ February 10
Family Day......................... February 15
School Council Meeting..... February 18
Spring Break.................... March 14 -18
Good Friday........................... March 25
Easter Monday...................... March 28
Literacy Test.......................... March 31
Parent/Teacher Night.................. April 7
PA DAy......................................April 11
Mid-Term................................... April 15
School Council Meeting............ April 21
Catholic Education Week...... May 1 - 6
School Council Meeting.............May 19
Chemistry Knowledge
›››Bits & Bites
The grade 11 university chemistry classes performed pH testing on numerous fruits. The results of this experiment may be of interest to you. People with
certain medical conditions, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or
stomach ulcers, may be sensitive to acidic foods.
The pH scale measures the acidity of a substance. The pH of a substance usually ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral, whereas a pH below
7 is acidic, and a pH above 7 is considered basic or alkaline. The lower the pH,
the more acidic the food. The pH scale is shown below.
Below are the pH values, using a digital pH meter ±0.02, for the fruits that were
tested.
FruitpH
Lemon.............................................................................................................2.44
Lime.................................................................................................................2.70
Pineapple........................................................................................................3.26
Blueberry.........................................................................................................3.30
Grapefruit........................................................................................................3.31
Kiwi..................................................................................................................3.44
Raspberry........................................................................................................3.54
Strawberry.......................................................................................................3.58
Clementine......................................................................................................3.61
Tangerine.........................................................................................................3.65
Purple Grapes.................................................................................................3.67
Courtland Apple...............................................................................................3.78
Blood Orange..................................................................................................3.84
Gala Apple.......................................................................................................3.94
Navel Orange..................................................................................................4.00
Tomato.............................................................................................................4.14
Mango.............................................................................................................4.23
Mini clementine...............................................................................................4.39
Pear (D’Anjou).................................................................................................4.59
Watermelon.....................................................................................................5.00
Banana............................................................................................................5.10
Cucumber........................................................................................................5.25
Bitter melon.....................................................................................................6.41
Cantaloupe......................................................................................................6.53
Winter Weather
Cancellations
During the winter months,
inclement weather and/
or poor road conditions may cause the
disruption of bus
transportation and
regular school operations. In these
cases, parents/
guardians should
develop alternate
care/transportation arrangements.
A decision to
cancel bus
transportation
and/or to close
schools is made
by 6:00 a.m. Decisions are based on
several factors including precipitation,
air temperature and road conditions. A
decision to cancel bus transportation
may be system wide (where all buses
in Dufferin County and the Region of
Peel are cancelled) or municipality
specific (where buses in one or more
municipalities are cancelled).
If buses are cancelled in the morning,
they will not operate in the afternoon.
Therefore students transported to
school by parents require the same
transportation home.
Parents/guardians, students and
school staff are asked to monitor the
following after 6:00 a.m. to receive bus
cancellation/school closure information.
Website: www.dpcdsb.org
Twitter: @DPCDSBSchools
Board’s phone message system:
905-890-1221
Local radio and television news stations
Thank you for your support as we
focus on providing safe transportation
for all our students.