“Ever Ancient,
Falcon Flyer
“Ever Ancient,
St. Augustine Catholic Secondary School
27 Drinkwater Road Brampton, ON, L6Y 4T6
Phone: (905) 450-9993, Fax: (905) 450-0955
www.dpcdsb.org/AUGST
“Ever Ancient, Ever New”
Volume 24, Issue 2
Winter 2012
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
EV
E
CIENT EVE
R
AN
W
NE
R
Principal
Tom Iwasiw
Vice Principal
Brian Bieth
Debbie Duke-Kelly
Chaplaincy Leader
Kathleen Ware
Head Secretary
Margaret Gormley
School Council Chair
Cheryl Brohart
Superintendent
Mississauga
Brampton Central
Liz Kazimowicz
Family of Schools
Mississauga Brampton Central
Trustees
Anna da Silva
Brampton Wards 1,3,4
(416) 706-5679
Linda Zanella
Brampton Wards 2,5,6
(416) 579-0126
Parish
Fr. Jan Kolodynski
(905) 455-4260
Elementary
Feeder Schools
Our Lady Of Peace
Pauline Vanier St.Brigid
St.Joseph St.Kevin
St. Monica
Director of Education
John Kostoff
Board Chairperson
Mario Pascucci
Peel Police School Liaison
Const. Iqbal Lehal
Const. Lily Roy
D.P.C.D.S.B Website
www.dpcdsb.org
This newsletter, and its accompanying
report card represents the half-way mark of
the 2011-2012 school year. It is my hope
that your student achieved success, worked
to the best of his or her ability, met all
expectations, and earned all credits. That
is one of our goals here at St. Augustine,
that all of our students move forward
towards graduation and their chosen postsecondary destinations.
As we start semester 2, there is the
opportunity for reflection by parents,
guardians, and students. What habits
worked well and which require some finetuning? Did the student access the extra
help that is available after school from
teachers? Was their clear understanding
about the expectations for major
assignments? Was the student involved in
an extra-curricular activity that serves to
help develop skills that will be valuable
in life after St. Augustine? The start of
the new semester gives the opportunity
to have a fresh start, a new beginning.
I encourage all of our students to seize
this opportunity and move down the path
towards graduation.
Students and parents/guardians will soon
see some changes within our walls. New
outer doors have been installed, replacing
the original doors that came when the school
was first opened. Honour Roll, Graduation
Awards, and Awards of Distinction plaques
will soon be installed in the front hall. A
statue of St. Augustine will be unveiled
at an official blessing ceremony for the
statue. A new audiovisual system has been
installed in our cafetorium.
Other changes have also occurred that
affect our school. The Board of Trustees
approved a change in the boundaries for
the school in that we now will be the home
school for students living in the area west
of Chinguacousy Road, south of the train
tracks that is not part of the boundary
area for St. Roch S.S. This is in addition
to our current boundary area east of
Chinguacousy and Mavis Roads.
There has also been changed in our
staff. Ms. Lyn Laforet has resigned from
teaching to take care of her young family.
Ms. Laforet has been a valuable contributor
to our school in her work in our Music
and Special Education departments. Our
students will miss her contributions to our
school and her enthusiasm towards music.
Ms. Whittaker is off on leave this semester,
and Ms. Bobyk is taking her place as our
teacher-librarian.
The extra-curricular program again
continued to be a major force at our school.
Clubs and teams continue to run well and
run often. I offer my thanks to all of staff
who volunteer their time and efforts to offer
the students to develop skill sets outside of
the classroom, on the fields, in the arenas,
gyms, swimming pools, and classroom
locations. Our Nicaragua social outreach
excursion will take place this semester, and
the students and staff involved in that are
ramping up their fund raising
efforts in support of the community that
they will be visiting and working in.
Extra -curricular and athletics went ahead
full speed at St. Augustine in semester 1. I
congratulate and thank those students who
represented our school on the fields, gyms,
and meeting rooms. By becoming involved
in extra-curricular, these students have
had the opportunity to practice skills that
they will find very useful once they leave
St. Augustine for their post-secondary
destinations. As well, I would like to thank
our staff for their contributions as coaches
and staff advisors in semester 1.
God Bless
Tom Iwasiw
CHAPLAINCY TEAM REPORT
The Chaplaincy Team and indeed
all of the students and staff at St.
Augustine have been hard at work
creating the Kingdom of God through
their generosity and selfless acts. They
have participated in a Thanksgiving
and Christmas food drives, collected
school supplies for children in the
developing world, supplied gift cards
to families in need this Christmas,
helped sponsor our foster children
from Haiti and the Philippines,
contributed to the Haitian Dancers and
dressed down to support our social
justice project in Nicaragua. And I’m
sure I have missed something.
As well, all of the grade 9’s and the
first semester grade 10, 11, and 12
religion classes have all completed
their religion retreats. The Grade 9’s
went to St. Jerome’s Church where
Heather and Joe Jacob’s talked to
them about the importance of building
relationships in all areas of their life,
with family, friends and their God.
The grade 10’s visited the Knight’s
Table Soup Kitchen and Food Bank.
The 11’s were thrilled to spend the day
involved in drama, dance and music
with a group of Special needs adults
at St. Jude’s Academy of the Arts.
The grade 12’s went to the Canadian
Food For Children Warehouse to pack
containers to go to the developing
world.
I am particularly thankful to the grade
12’s this year for their generosity to
the warehouse run by Dr. Andrew
Simone and his family. They have
brought many used household items
and clothing to donate. The Operation
Christmas Child Project co-ordinated
by Bianca Caramento, Jessica
Messina and Sharissa Woon-Sam was
also well supported by the grade 12’s.
This year we will again be travelling
to Nicaragua on our Social Justice
Awareness trip from February 10 to
20. We will spend our time in Leon
helping to refurbish a community
centre and park as well as help set up
an after school recreation and crafts
program for children forced to work
with their parents at the market during
school hours. We have 12 students and
4 staff going. Stay tuned for pictures
and information when we return.
The stained glass club is hard at work
once again with a whole new group
of students and a brand new project.
We will be creating 5 of the 10 virtues
windows this year for installation in
the forum above the chapel. Another
new addition to our forum is a statue
of St. Augustine. As we go to print he
is still wrapped and awaiting a date
for the unveiling and blessing. We are
excited to have such a beautiful sign
of our patron saint in our school as
we work hard at creating a presence
and an atmosphere that reflects our
catholic culture.
K. Ware
Chaplaincy Team Leader
TEST DRIVE A CAREER
St. Augustine co-op
students are excelling in
Dual Credit Opportunities.
Humber College selected
two of our students for
the face of their college
brochure.
TECHNOLOGICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
The Technological Education program at St. Augustine is continually developing into a very positive and
exciting area of study for our students.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic Students Technological Skills Competition is once again returning to St.
Augustine. The competition date is March 27. Elementary and Secondary students from across Dufferin-Peel
schools will compete in a wide range of events such as:
2D Character Animation
Floristry
Photography
3D Character Animation
Graphic Design
Plumbing
Architectural Technology &
Design
Hairstyling
Precision Machining
Cabinetmaking
Prepared Speech
Carpentry Individual
Restaurant Service
Network Support
Robotics Team
Office Software Application
Small Powered Equipment
Job Interview
TV & Video Production
Job Skill Demonstration
Robotics
Electrical Wiring
Landscape Gardening
Web Site Development
Electronics
Mechanical CADD
Workplace Safety
Auto Service Technology
Baking
Brick Masonry
Culinary Arts
Desktop Publishing
Fashion Design
Winners will compete at Skills Ontario.
Skills Canada is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the skilled trades and technologies as
viable, first-choice career options for Ontario youth.
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
The computer Technology and Programming classes are busy preparing for upcoming programming contests
and robotics challenges.
The photography class is very busy snapping photos of all the amazing events taking place at St. Augustine.
This year Cosmetology and Transportation Technology are both offering Pathways programs. Destination
Pathways are designed to help students select the courses necessary to reach their post-secondary destinations.
BE A PART OF THE YEARBOOK
Students of St. Augustine, have you ever wanted to have any of your very own pictures in the annual
school year book? With such a great program like “eShare” you can now upload pictures that you may have
taken from any school event to be shared with the St. Augustine Community, to help make our yearbook
memorable. Pictures uploaded may be used to help make the yearbook a great success! Simply just go to
the HJ eShare website and log in with the school code.
www.hjeshare.com
School code: 9073979
This semester Science and
Transportation classes were
fortunate enough to have a
presenter from Nissan Canada
talk to them about their new
green car the Nissan Leaf,
a 100% electric powered
car. Students were given the
opportunity to take a close
look at this current production
model vehicle.
Nissan Leaf
100% Electric
FOOD AND NUTRITION
December 7th, 2011 was a special day for the grade
10 Food and Nutrition students. Chef Jonathon
Hinde, St. Augustine graduate, came for the day
to demonstrate his culinary talents and taught
our food classes. His menu included: greens with
fresh balsamic dressing, Lemon Thyme Chicken,
Fresh Vegetable Risotto, and homemade sorbet.
He delighted the classes by demonstrating expert
chopping techniques, organizational skills in the
kitchen, and culinary career advice. Students
were excited to taste all of the food he so expertly
prepared for them. Jonathon’s sister, Victoria Hinde,
was his assistant and proud supporter. Jonathon
attended Humber College in the 3 year Culinary
Arts Program, and is now a sous chef at Abby Road
Grill and Pub in Mississauga. It was such a treat to have him as our guest and taste his spectacular food that day.
CO-OP NEWS
We would like to congratulate
this semester’s Co-op students
on a job well done and would
like to wish them all the best
in their future endeavors. Our
Career Showcase, held on January
13, was very successful and
highlighted the diversity of career
interests by our students. We
would like to thank the following
guests for taking the time out of
their busy schedules to share their
thoughts and experiences with our
students, parents and employers;
Josie Lorenzon – Experiential
Learning Consultant; Annette
Ryan - OYAP and Technological
Education Consultant; Chris
Pearson – Student Success/Dual
Credit Teacher (Archbishop
Romero CSS); Tom Iwasiw Principal St. Augustine; Kathleen
Ware – Chaplain; and Paul
Donovan – Head of Guidance and
Cooperative Education. We would
like to thank our student speakers
for sharing their experiences with
us. They are Melissa Balatbat,
Salina
Mutembei,
Keyona
Gardner and Oshien Burrell.
All of our employers, parents and
students commented positively
on this event. We thank them for
their contributions. We appreciate
the time and effort our employers
dedicate to training and mentoring
each student placed with them.
Without their continued support
and expertise our program would
not be the success that it is. We
would also like to compliment
our students on their outstanding
achievements,
efforts
and
dedication to the co-op program
and to the strides they have made
in their own personal growth.
Our students are successful in
the workplace to a large degree
because of the combined efforts
of our Administration, Guidance
and Faculty, who all play a role
in preparing them for their future
endeavors.
This semester we were very
pleased to enroll 10 of our
students into the OYAP Program
in the skilled trades. We would
like to congratulate these students
and those who choose to pursue
an apprenticeship signing. We
also had 10 students enrolled in
various Dual Credit coursed at
Sheridan College and Humber
College. Co-operative Education
is experiential learning. The end
of each semester brings with it a
final reflective moment from our
students. Without exception, each
student comments on the amount
of hard work they had to dedicate
to their placements. At the same
time, each student recognizes
and values how much they have
gained both personally and
professionally. They all firmly
believe that co-op is a tremendous
opportunity and recommend this
experience for all high school
students.
We would like to encourage all
students interested in a co-op
experience to see their Guidance
counselor and fill out a co-op
application form as soon as
possible. Please include a current
resume with your application form
and return this to your counselor.
Many types of placements have
early application deadlines for
Semester 1, 2012, some as soon as
April 1/12. Students interested in
careers in: Police, Media and Film,
Fire Department, Journalism,
Hospitals, and in the trades such
as Electrician, Plumber, Tool
and Die, Construction Craft,
and Millwright need to apply
by April 15/12. Upon receipt of
your application form, the Co-op
Department will contact you for
your co-op interview. Students
are reminded that they must be
in either Grade 11 or 12, and can
choose either a 4, 3, or 2 credit
program. We look forward to
meeting and interviewing all new
co-op candidates.
LIBRARY
Britannica Encyclopedia online, accessed through our school website received 1451 searches within the past year.
Britannica provides basic background information on topics, and it links to reliable websites. Our thanks go to the School
Council for funding this resource. Have you saved St. Augustine library as a favourite?
Ms. Laverty, Ms. Cabral and myself were truly blessed this semester to have co-op student Melissa Balatbat work with
us this semester. Melissa was an incredible help in many library tasks, an enthusiastic ‘driver’ in special events, and an
all-round positive presence in the library. We wish Melissa every blessing in the next chapter of her life.
Two hundred eighty two grade 9 and 10 students this semester independently read and passed tests for more than twice
as many novels of their choice. One third of these students read three or more novels. The Economic Council of Canada
advocates for autonomy – independence in learning. These statistics clearly suggest a measure of independence in student
responsibility for their learning. Special congratulations go to Ms. Vingada’s classes who read on average 3.2 books per
student and 2.7 books per student, and Ms. Vynyarchuk’s class who read on average 3.4 books per student!
Please extend your warmest welcome to Ms. K. Bobyk as she transfers her passion for reading to the role of TeacherLibrarian for this semester during Ms. Whittaker’s leave of absence.
GIRLS’ NIGHT IN!
Neetu Gill and Harkanwal Kooner, spearheaded
this year’s event 5th annual in November, with
a crew of 70 committee members who hosted
over 200 participants engaged in more than
a dozen different activities between 4 and 10
pm.
The library was converted into a communal rec
room of crafts, henna, karaoke, and dancing.
The gym held yoga class with Ms. Dalcourt,
followed by zumba with Ms. DaSilva,
followed by hip hop with Courtney Stolarski
of the Dance Factory, then ultimately the
student-teacher dodgeball tournament. It was
a whirlwind of activities with a full house of
participation. One girl confessed to consuming
three smores in the foods room, and countless
girls got dolled up in Cosmetology … just for
themselves!
Our keynote speaker Allison Edwards (grad
2006) rejoined us to talk with our young
women about being open to the unexpected
in their lives. Many thanks to Superstore at
Bovaird and McLaughlin for their monetary
donation which helped us to purchase food,
and to Brampton Transit for their donation
of loot bags filled with information and desk
tools. Thanks also to Monique at Dr.Nails in
Shopper’s World for donating a manicure, and
to Scholastic for donating books as prizes for
our committee and guests.
Dear Parents, Staff and Students,
SCHOOL COUNCIL
By the time you read this, we will already be well into the New Year, however, on behalf of the St Augustine
School Council, I would still like to wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year. All the best to everyone
in 2012!
Once again, council has found a very interesting speaker for our parent community . Monique Howat a
motivational speaker will be doing a workshop for our parents. Date and time to be announced. The topic for
the night is “How To Raise Confident and Motivated Teens”. Admission is a non- perishable food item.
We urge you to come to our monthly School Council meetings held the last Thursday, of the month. The dates
are posted on the billboard in front of the school. Meetings start at 7pm in the library.
Sincerely.
Cheryl Brohart
School Council Chair
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.
Notification
Parents/guardians, students and school staff are asked to monitor the following radio/television stations after
6:00 a.m. to receive bus cancellation/school closure information.
Radio:
CKFM 99.9
CHUM 1050
CJCL 590
CJBC (FR) 860 AM
CHFI 98.1
CJEZ EZ ROCK 97.3 CFTR 680
CFRB 1010
FOXY 88.5 FM
Z103.5
CFNY 102.1
CHIN 100.7 FM / 1540 AM
93.1 FM
CJMR/CHOW 1250
102.7 FM (Caledon)
Television:
CFTO
Global
CP 24
CBC
The Weather Network
A bus cancellation and/or school closure message will also be available online at www.dpcdsb.org or
by calling 905-890-1221.
Thank you for your support as we focus on providing safe transportation for all our students.
Gr. 10 ONTARIO SECONDARY SCHOOL
LITERACY TEST (OSSLT)
Thursday March 29th , 2012
WHAT IS THE OSSLT?
The OSSLT is a provincial test of the literacy (reading and
writing) skills students have acquired by Grade 10. It is
based on the literacy expectations defined by The Ontario
Curriculum across all subject areas to the end of Grade 9,
as illustrated in the EQAO document OSSLT Curriculum
Connections (2011). Successful completion of the OSSLT,
or under certain circumstances the Ontario Secondary
School Literacy Course, is one of 32 requirements for
graduating with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma...
Register early for the OSSLT free After School Sessions
St. Augustine will be running 8 after school sessions from February 21st to March 22, 2012 (excluding
March Break week). Sessions will be for approximately one hour after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Each session will focus on one question type as students review expectations for the test and examine
sample responses. Students will also be given test tips and strategies and will be provided with constructive
feedback about their responses. Please consider this opportunity and register early!!!!!!
For more information about the OSSLT Test, visit www.eqao.com , secondary school grade 10 test
REGISTRATION FOR SECONDARY
WINTER NIGHT SCHOOL
Classes run from February 8 to May 23, 2012,
Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m. to
9:30p.m. Night School Locations:
St. Aloysius
Gonzaga S.S. (Mississauga)
Philip Pocock S.S.
(Mississauga)
Notre Dame S.S. (Brampton)
Registration forms are available from your
Guidance Department or online at http://www.
dpcdsb.org/CEC/CNE/Night+School/
Registration closes Wednesday, February 1, 2012.
The Winter 2012 Adult and Continuing Education
Flyer (with program descriptions) will be delivered
to the community by the week of January 2, 2012
and posted online at http://www.dpcdsb.org/CEC/
CNE.
PARENTS - WHO CAN YOU CONTACT ?
St. Augustine Secondary School
Tel: (905) 450- 9993 [Attendance Extext. 71318]
Fax:(905) 450-0955
www.dpcdsb.org/augst
Principal .............................T. Iwasiw
Vice Principals....................B. Bieth
A-M
D. Duke-Kelly O - Z
Head Secretary................... M. Gormley
Attendance Secretary..........M. Giannone
Guidance Department:
Counsellors ........................B. Heffernan
A - Fe
K. Erwin
Fi - Jab
M. Cockburn
Je - Ph
P. Donovan
Pi - Z
Guidance Secretary.............A. McPherson-Ortega
Child & Youth Worker. ......P. Alexander
School Psychologist...........K. Page
Social Worker.....................Sally Wessler
PARENT WORKSHOP
Date TBA
Guest Speaker: Monique Howat
How to Raise Confident and Motivated Teens
In this entertaining, interactive workshop, you learn new
and innovative tools to raise Confident and Motivated
teens. Be a part of this popular workshop of confidence,
motivation and parent empowerment! I have written
a book with the same name and it too is packed with
super simple strategies to raise Confident and Motivated
teens. If you have ever felt overwhelmed and defeated in
parenthood, this workshop is an injection of enthusiasm
and empowerment. You’ll be glad you attended and your
teens will thank you for it...(probably not right away but
eventually)
IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2012
January:
18 - Info for Feeder
Night Schools
19-20 - Math EQAO
25-31- Exams
26- School Council
17- Term 2 begins
19-22- New York Trip
23-27- Spirit Week
26- National Biology
Exam
27- Mid-term reports
February:
2- P.A Day
3- First Day of Sem. II
10- Report Cards
10- Semi Formal
20- Family Day
22- Ash Wednesday
23- School Council
Meeting
May:
3- Sir Isaac Newton
Exam
7-11- Catholic
Education Week
7- Mass for Ed. Week
9-11- March for Life
10- Club Awards
10- Chem. 12 exam,
Drama Production
17- Avogadro Exam
21- Victoria Day
30- School Council
Meeting
March:
12-16- March Break
22- Parent Teacher
Interviews
22- School Council
Meeting
29- EQAO Literacy
Test
April:
2-5- Holy Week
6- Good Friday
9- Easter Monday
June:
1- Co-op Showcase
13-14- Math EQAO
14- Athletic Banquet
22- Prom
28- Graduation
29- Report Cards