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Volume 23, Issue 1
Fall 2011
Newsletter
27 Drinkwater Road Brampton, ON, L6Y 4T6 Phone: 905-450-9993, Fax: 905-450-0955
Principal
Tom Iwasiw
Vice Principal
Brian Bieth
Debbie Duke-Kelly
Maria van der Vegt
Chaplaincy Leader
Kathleen Ware
Head Secretary
Margaret Gormley
School Council Chair
Superintendant
Liz Kazimowicz
Family of Schools
Mississauga Brampton
Central
Trustees
Anne da Silva
Brampton Wards 1,3,4
(905) 890-0708 (ext. 20141)
tony.dasilva@dpcdsb.org
Linda Zanella
Brampton Wards 2,5,6
(905) 579-0216
linda.zanella@dpcdsb.org
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
Anna Abbruscato
Peel Police School Liaison
Const. Luke Perreauti
Const. Lily Roy
D.P.C.D.S.B Website
www.dpcdsb.org
“Ever Ancient, Ever New”
This newsletter is the first of four this school year, and marks the half-way point of the first
semester. I would like to start by welcoming all new members of our community to the
St. Augustine community. Our community is now your community. I look forward to seeing your
accomplishments and watching you grow academically and spiritually during your time at the
school. The school has undergone some changes from last year, but not in the physical way. Our
student enrollment continues to decrease, as was expected to happen when St. Roch S. S was
opened. We have about 40 fewer students this year. We have also undergone several staffing
changes since last spring. Mr. John Sarapricknas, Department Head of Social Sciences, retired and
Ms. Debbie Duke-Kelly, a teacher in our Social Sciences department, was appointed Vice-Principal
at our school. Vice-Principal Ms. Tousignant is off on leave. Two teachers, Ms. Laforet and Ms.
Kolobaric are currenly off on leave as well. Their replacements are Ms. Iaboni and Mr. Nanan respectively. I am also
pleased to announce that we were allowed to add one more teacher to the school’s staffing compliment. Ms. Simon
returns to our staff, and she will be teaching English and Math. In my view, we have had a successful start to the school
year. Our new initiative, Link Crew, had a huge influence in making our new grade 9 students immediately feel at home
in our community. There is an article in this newsletter that offers more information about this activity. As well, our Get
Ready program, led by Mrs. Dornford-Small and Ms. Iaboni, helped two classes of grade 9 students become even further
prepared for entry into our community.
Accompanying this newsletter is your student’s semester 1 mid-semester report card. I hope it shows success. It is also
my hope that strategies for improvement, if required, that were discussed by you and your student’s teachers at the
Parent- Teacher Interview night in October, have had a positive impact. In late September, we held an Assessment and
Evaluation night for parents of grade 9 students, so that parents could understand the changing language, strategies, and
procedures that are used to assess and evaluate students in secondary schools. A key message stated at that meeting was
our encouragement for parents to contact teachers if they have any questions regarding
how their student is progressing. The classroom teacher is your first contact in these
matters.
Our faith journey and outreach into our community has started up very strongly this year.
I had the opportunity and great pleasure to congratulate our students for their tremendous
fundraising in our annual Terry Fox event. Our community raised over $8,000 which
will help with research in finding a cure for cancer. In our first school Mass, Father Rudy
Volk celebrated with us and left us with the message of the need to maintain balance
within our busy lives.
The themes for this school year are Respect and Celebrate the Spirit. I have asked our
student to celebrate the Catholic Spirit in all that we do, whether that be on a playing
field, in an academic activity, or at any of our extra-curricular events. Our community
certainly celebrated the Spirit at our Awards night last month, in which we acknowledged
the hard work and success of our academic award winners for the 2009-2010 school year.
Respect is the cornerstone of all interactions and conversations that take place in our
community. Students know that the expectation in our community is that all people are
valued and treated with respect, as Jesus modeled for us during his life.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Trustee Tony da Silva for his work in
supporting our school during his term in office. I wish him well as he moves on to
another opportunity in which he will serve our community.
God Bless.
Dear Parents, Staff and Students of St. Augustine School,
On behalf of the St. Augustine Catholic School Council, I would like to extend my best wishes to our families for a wonderful year. We look
forward to working with you and the school as partners in your child’s education. Please remember, council is a fun and informal way to be a part
of your child’s school experience. We urge all parents to participate in our council meetings to become informed about news, events,
policies, programs and plans, and have the opportunity to provide input on those items.
Our meetings are on the last Thursday of every month, starting at 7:30 pm. Our next meeting is Thursday, October 28th, 2010 in the library.
We would like to see you there.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Brohart, St. Augustine Catholic School Council Chair
Grade 9 Orientation
On September 2nd, after months of preparation, the Link Crew and A
Team greeted the “Class of 2014”, or the students who would be starting Grade 9 the following week. After receiving t-shirts and name
tags, the students took their seats on the gym bleachers. They played
‘Simon Says’ before forming lines and playing more icebreaker
games to get to know their future classmates and Link Crew leaders. Once acquainted, each Link Crew leader and five students went
to a classroom to play team building games, receive their schedules
and learn more about the school and being successful. The last thing
on the agenda was a big barbeque outside. Everyone received a barbeque lunch, gathered with their existing and new friends, socialized
and had a good time. Overall, Grade 9 orientation was a complete
success. Enthusiastic Link Crew and A Team members, as well as the
organizers worked very hard to plan this day, and it was clear that the
new students were excited for the upcoming year.
Written by: Raven Wilkinson
News from Student Council
The Crusading Councilor – Fighting For You
As a proud member of the St. Augustine Student Council, I have been
granted the opportunity to play a part in the numerous school
activities that have taken place over the last few months. My journey
began towards the end of the last school year, when I initiated my
efforts to fight for change. Through our annual Wake-A-Thon, Denim
Day, and Summer Dress Down Day Student Council raised $1500 for
Sharelife, $2000 for Breast Cancer Research, and $2000 for Haitian
Relief. Way to go St. Augustine!
In addition to last year’s accomplishments, St. Augustine’s annual
Terry Fox Walk raised a grand total of $8000 on September 30th.
Whether students walked, ran, or jogged, the Falcon Pride of red,
white, and blue was visible through school spirit and enthusiasm.
Although my first battle served as a victory, my journey is far from
over. Throughout the rest of 2010-2011, the St. Augustine Student
Council will be holding The Inside Ride for Children’s Cancer
awareness and support. Clearly, my journey is long and treacherous,
but it is worth the fight. In the words of a fellow Falcon, St. Augustine
shall always remain Ever Ancient Ever New.
Sincerely,
The Crusading Councilor
Link Crew in St. Augustine
“A Positive New Link”
By: Abier El Kassis
The Link Crew program teaches all members that “every link can make a stronger chain”. In this current school year, St. Augustine has joined the
chain of many schools in creating the Link Crew program. This inspiring program has traveled throughout the United States, into Canada and has
made its way to St. Augustine. This was able to happen because of the Link Crew teacher coordinators, Ms. Kane, Ms. Covent, Ms. Bobb, Ms.
Erwin, Mrs. Pavic and Ms. Nadir.
St. Augustine runs this program in hopes of creating a positive and welcoming transition for every grade 9 entering high school. The Link
Program’s ultimate goal is to achieve excellence within the school community. St. Augustine’s Link Crew Program consists of approximately 62
of your fellow grade 11 and grade 12 leaders. These Link Crew Leaders have been specifically chosen; meaning they have met specific
expectations by the St. Augustine’s Link coordinators. They have been thoroughly trained prior to and throughout this school year.
These leaders are positive role models who are passionate about making this program excel in our school.
The Link Crew Program made its first appearance on September 2, 2010 – grade 9 orientation day. On this day the Link Leaders, in partners, were
grouped with grade 9 students. Each group was together for the majority of the day; taking part in fun and educational activities led by the Link
Crew Leaders. Grade 9, Mario El Kassis said, “They are very helpful. Not only are they our leaders, but I made friends with them too.”
On September 29, 2010, the Academic Follow up Team – about 20 Link Leaders with coordinators Ms. Kane and Ms. Covent – attended
an academic conference at the Versailles Convention Centre. This convention included fellow secondary schools part of the Link Program. This
convention was led by Micha Jacobson from the Boomerang Project. He was full of charisma and showed our students an amazing example of
a great leader. This was a fun filled day which included leadership training and educational activities. This conference trained and prepared the
Academic Follow up Team for future activities to be conducted with the grade 9s. Grade 12 Link Leader, Christine Travassos, was asked about
her thoughts on the program and the conference, she stated, “Being part of this program is self rewarding. This conference was full of life and
motivated me to be a better role model”.
Following this conference, the Academic Follow up Team meets once every two weeks to train and then teach grade 9s a new lesson on
life. So far there have been two lessons taught; the first one focused on teamwork and critical thinking, and the second lesson focused on
communication and the true meaning of excellence.
Link Crew in St. Augustine also conducts weekly activities called “Fun Friday” which is run by the student leaders. On every Friday,
until the end of the school year, Link Leaders will conduct fun activities for the grade 9s to participate in during their lunch. These activities are
created simply to increase grade nine involvement, and happiness within the school and their fellow peers.
Link Leaders also take an active part in non Link related school activities. Link Leaders have been present on the Terry Fox Day and will
be present in future events such as Girls Night In and the school dance.
The Link Crew strives to create unity in the
St. Augustine community from grade 9
through the senior grades.
The Reality of Bullying
On October 1, 2010, St. Augustine Secondary School held a presentation for the grade 9s, re-introducing them to the problem of bullying – a
problem that most teenagers continue to face. The presenter, Mr. Neuts, revealed the impact that bullying could have on individuals. In order
to construct that initial connection with the grade 9s, Mr. Neuts spoke about an incident that occurred in 1998, in which his son was a victim of
bullying. He explained that his son was found hanging off a coat hook in the school’s washroom, dead at the hands of bullying. This devastating
event pushed him towards his current objective, which is, to teach about the affects bullying can have on people. He now travels across North
America, expressing to people who typically naive of what bullying can really do, the
magnitude of bullying and its profane effect. His words were uplifting, and touching, as well as, brutal and demanding, as they expressed his
intense passion on the topic and his desire to reduce bullying, if not
completely, eradicate it.
Written by: David Adade
Technological Skills Competition
Comes to St. Augustine.
St. Augustine is proud to host the Dufferin-Peel Catholic
Students Technological Skills Competition. The competition
date is March 22nd and medal ceremony on March 23rd.
Student from across Dufferin-Peel, from both Elementary and
Secondary schools will compete a wide range of event
such as:
2D Character Animation Team, 3D Character Animation
Team Architectural Technology & Design, Auto Collision
Repair Auto Service Technology, Baking Brick
Masonry, Cabinetmaking, Carpentry Individual
Carpentry- Team, Computer Aided Manufacturing
Culinary Arts, Desktop Publishing, Electrical Wiring
Electronics, Fashion Design, Floristry, Graphic Design
Hairstyling, Home & Team Building, Industrial Wiring
IT and Network Support, IT Office Software Application
Job Interview, Job Skill Demonstration, Landscape
Gardening Team, Mechanical CADD,
Photography,Plumbing, Precision Machining
Prepared Speech, Restaurant Service, Robotics Team,
Small Powered Equipment, TV & Video Production
Virtual Robotics Team, Web Site Development ,Welding
Workplace Safety
Winners will compete at Skills Ontario and Skills Canada.
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
Awareness, Prevention, and Evaluation Survive Another Day
On Thursday, October 7, 2010, our school held a presentation to depict the reality of catastrophic road collisions. Mr. Bob Anan, a former police
officer and now formally known as a Collision Re-constructionist, was the presenter. He had a great method in revealing the reality of death
through horrific vehicle collisions. Mr. Anan described that ever since his first day on the job in 1967, he has witnessed tragedies on the open roads
ranging from Calgary to Toronto. By exposing students to these real collisions, he helped teach us to be aware of that an accident can take place
at any time and can happen to anyone. He also gave an example of a collision, involving 70 cars, which happened outside Ottawa four years ago.
Mr. Anan’s main objective was to give us reason to live. Through the explanation of his experiences, he gave us reason to being more aware of our
surroundings. He taught us how to prevent these events by being more knowledgeable and focused when we drive. He explained that pedestrians
should be aware that drivers don’t always see them on the road way. His motto reflects his initial goal for all Canadian citizens, which is, ‘Survive
the Day’.
Written by: David Adade
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month takes place around the world during the month of September. The Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario
(POGO) is trying to raise awareness about childhood cancer, which is the leading disease-related cause of death among our children.
St. Augustine assisted this organization by helping to raise awareness within our school community.
On September 23rd, grade 12 students were invited to a presentation about childhood cancer. Maggie, a four year old little girl, took the stage
and described what her appointments at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto look like. Maggie is blind and is undergoing chemotherapy on a weekly
basis. Once Maggie finished, grade twelve students were invited to decorate ‘hopscotch courts’ with sidewalk chalk. They were asked to write
messages of hope, remember loved ones, and to simply encourage this special group of children in their time of need. Unfortunately, due to the
weather forecast, we had to improvise and students created their messages on bristol board courts. These displays now decorate our forum and
look absolutely incredible!
From the reaction of our senior level students, this may become a yearly tradition at St. Augustine!
Zonta Club in Action
The St. Augustine Z-Club is a service organization within our school community. We work actively through service projects to raise funds to
support charitable organizations both locally and internationally. Members are given opportunities to develop leadership skills and to improve a
global awareness through service.
Our president Jenny Li and Vice-president Chitman Josan outlined their plans for the year 2010-2011 which
included:
•
“Henna For Terry” during “Terry Fox Run” week
•
Attend Mini Spring conference at Chinguacousy Secondary School on March 10th, 2011
•
Partnership with “Girls Night In” Club and “Recycle Club”
•
Set up display at “Parent Night” to increase awareness
•
Community Involvement with Zonta Club of Brampton Caledon- “Birthing Kit”
•
•
Provide bookmarks as donation to the library
Sale of books to promote literacy
The club had a recent visit from our Golden Z-club and Z-club Chair Mrs. Shirley Ellison. She encouraged the
new Z-club members to continue on the path of volunteerism and continue to make a difference in the
community and the world.
The Zonta club wishes to thank all the members and our dedicated advisor Dr. Doreen Thompson. We are
looking forward for an amazing school year!
NEW YORK TRIP
MOCK BAIL TEAM
There is still space available for the New York Trip which is scheduled
for April 2011. The trip is open to all senior Business, Social Science
and Religion students. Trip highlights will include the Financial District in downtown Manhattan, Empire State Building, United Nations,
Museum of Art and Design, NBC Studios, Trump Tower, St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, a guided panoramic sightseeing tour and much much more!
Don’t miss out--make sure you sign up right away! This will be a trip
to remember! For more information contact Ms. Stecko, Ms. Hohendorf or Mr. Krpan.
On November 19th, a team of Grade 11 legal eagles…err…falcons
will be heading to the Brampton Court House to participate in the
Mock Bail Competition. They will argue a case in front of a judge
and will have to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Youth
Criminal Justice Act, all while thinking on their feet to deal with the
cases presented by other teams. With help from a grade 12 advisor or
two, they will be ready with all their ducks…errr…falcons in a row.
Mr. Orlando is pleased to be joining the team, and special thanks goes
out to Ms. McDowell and Mrs. Duke-Kelley for their guidance and
support. Good luck team!
2012 Graduation Ceremony
St. Augustine Catholic School Council
2010-2011
It is becoming increasingly difficult to book an appropriate venue for
graduation ceremonies. We are already looking at the 2012 Graduation ceremonies, for this year’s grade 11 students will be graduation.
A number of schools in the Board have moved to an afternoon grad
as a way to be able to book a good venue. I have set up a survey to
determine our community’s thoughts about having an afternoon grad.
I ask that the parents and guardians of this year’s grade 11 students
go to the Survey Monkey website to answer a brief survey on this
topic. The following is the website from where you can access the
survey and provide your input:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/staugustinegrad2012
Traffic Flow Exiting Our Parking Lot Mr. Iwasiw
Most mornings, parents and guardians find themselves having to wait
to exit our parking lot after dropping off students in the morning.
This wait to exit the parking lot lengthens as the clock moves closer
to 8:12 AM each morning, especially for people trying to turn left
onto Drinkwater Road. Higher traffic volume seems to cause that
wait time to become even longer. I have contacted the City about
putting in some sort of traffic flow control on Drinkwater Road, but
that request was not accepted. My suggestion for those affected by
this situation is based on the observation that parents and guardians
trying to exit the parking lot between 7:45 & 7:55 AM never seem to
have to wait very long. I therefore suggest that dropping students off
before 8 AM will save time exiting the property.
I also ask that when parents and guardians drop their students off,
that they do so next to the sidewalk in the parking lot. This will assist
in keeping the students safe.
We are pleased to announce the following names as members of our
school’s Catholic School Council for this school year.
Chair
Cheryl Brohart
Vice-Chair
Angy Sayegh
Secretary
Berta Fraser
OPACE/ Parish Rep
Peter Mazzuchin
Treasurer/ Parish Rep
Domenic Rutigliano
Parent Rep
Milena Francia
Parent Rep
Connie Tavares
Parent Rep
Vanda Zufich
Teacher Rep
Edna Kabelin
Non-teaching Rep
Marissa Brasil
Report on Activities Fees for 2009-2010
Activities Fees collected: $68,320.00
Expenses
Retreats
Student Agenda Books
Yearbook
Total expenses
$31,589.82
$11,377.80
$36,981.12
$79,949.12
Balance
-$11,629.12
Theology Department News
‘Ever Ancient Ever New’
Knights of Columbus Writing Contest
The department is holding a Writing Contest under the auspices
of the Knights of Columbus that is open to all grades. The contest
requires students to write a 500-750 word essay covering the theme
of what is ‘The Responsibility of the Catholic Citizen in a Free
Society’. All information for the contest can be attained through any
teacher in the department. Semester 1 essays are to be submitted to
your Religion teacher by November 14th from which grade winners
will be determined by the Theology department. All essays will
be submitted to the Knights of Columbus for further judging from
which they are offering a $500 bursary for the best essay. GOOD
LUCK. It costs nothing to participate!
Trips
The department is also busy organizing excursions to the Royal Ontario Museum as well as visiting local Buddhist and Islamic temples
to augment the grade 11 World Religion program. Also, the Philosophy classes will be participating in an excursion to the University
of Toronto, OISE Teachers College. In addition, the mandatory
retreat program is under full swing as every student in every grade
receives the opportunity to reflect, develop, and nurture their faith
development. Thus far, we have been blessed with retreats to the
Knights Table, St. Judes Retreat Center, University of Toronto and
St. Jeromes Catholic church.
Drama Newsletter
Already this drama season has proven to be a busy one. Improv has
been up and running practices since the early weeks of school. Fully
equipped with twenty members, this team is ready to build with team
retreats at Cedar Glen. This full day event had success written all over
it. Be sure to cheer our team on during the Improv Competition in
Ottawa this February.
Our dance program has certainly grown this year. With newly added
sections, the inclusion of the Unity program and Hip Hop Dance
Competition have rounded Ms. Lima’s day. The Unity Program is
a school wide initiative which caters to those students interested in
spoken word, rap, beat boxing and b boying. Perhaps some student
overlap will occur as the dance competition auditions will start in
November for May’s competition. Definitely many options for our
dancers this year.
This year’s Sears Drama Festival is already in our thoughts. As
somewhat of a challenge, this year’s script is completely nondialogue entitled Emotional Baggage. Quite the change from last
year’s competition piece. Auditions will begin within the next couple
of weeks for the February competition.
Prior to Christmas, an Arts Night has been proposed comprised of
visual arts, music, dramatic arts, media and dance. Keep your ears out
for more information on this entertaining evening!
And let’s not forget the Spring Production, both shows are in the
works for this May evening.
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT NEWS
The Theology department is once again offering table tennis to
students after school, free of charge. Mr. Ziemnicki and Mr. Brocke
are overseeing the program Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.
Entrepreneurship students will be going to Vaughan Mills this month.
They will be visiting various retailers in order to obtain information
which they will require for their culminating activity. These young entrepreneurs will be setting up their own businesses this semester. Look
for some interesting and fun activities from this group. Information
Technology students will also be going to Heartland in Mississauga
to observe the latest IT equipment. They will learn how to use power
point, the basics of creating a web page plus many other interesting
topics.
Bye/Hi
Mary’s Children will be starting up again this month. We will continue
to attend St. Monica’s once a month to teach the grade 2’s the Rosary.
We will also be collecting items for those in need in our community.
For more information contact Ms. Bettencourt.
Table Tennis
It is with sadness that we say good bye to Mr. Bilof who has accepted a teaching position at Notre Dame in their Religion department. His friendly and faith-filled approach to his students will be
sadly missed at St. Augustine. We wish him nothing but the best at
Notre Dame. At the same time we would also like to welcome Mr.
Francis to the department on secondment for the grade 11 World
Religion program.
God bless.
BUSINESS CLUB
We are still looking for members with strong leadership skills who
want to make a difference in the St. Augustine community. There are
various projects and events, both inside and outside of school, that you
can get involved in. We need you! Join the Business Club and make
it happen! Students from grades 9 to 12 are welcome. For more information contact Ms. Stecko or Ms. Mifsud.
St. Augustine Sports Update
Written by: Justin Maharaj
Hey sports fans! The fall sports season has begun and the St. Augustine Falcons are pushing their minds and bodies to the limit to make our
school proud. Sports, such as volleyball, football, basketball, cross country and even bocce are all underway and you can be sure that our
St. Augustine athletes are amped up and ready to show opposing teams what they’re made of. Adrian Thow, member of the cross country team,
stated, “The team is just really focused this year. We run, run and run some more. It’s hard work, but at the end of the day the practice will pay
off”. Adrian’s view on the importance of practice is not isolated as coaches and athletes alike have been preaching the same prayer, “Some
theorists have stated you have to do something for 10,000 hours before you become an expert”, Mr. Zekulin, coach of the senior football team
said “This is true for students, musicians and most certainly athletes”.
So far, the St. Augustine athletes have given a valiant effort in their respective sports. The senior boys’ football team has been solid
despite their current 0-3 record, including a heartbreaking loss against the St. Marcellinus Spirit at Friday Night Lights. The junior boys
currently own a 1-3 record and are looking to make the playoffs. The senior boys’ volleyball team ended their season with an unfortunate 0-6
record despite strong play and are looking forward to next season. The junior boys have faired a bit better and currently have a winning record of
8-7, although the bantam boys’ volleyball team have been the most impressive, staying undefeated and posting a 3-0 record. The St. Augustine
females have certainly been doing our school justice as well. The senior girls’ basketball team has posted a respectable 1-3 record, while the
junior basketball team has gotten off to a fantastic 3-0 start. The varsity flag football team has looked really solid and currently has a 2-1 record,
with their only loss coming in a heart breaking one point game. The cross country team has also been successful, thus far, with many
individuals placing high in the final standings. Also the bocce team, which consists of both PIP and regular students, played a friendly
tournament at St. Marcellinus and represented the Falcons extremely well.
Well Falcons, that is your sports update until the next newsletter. Please remember, that even if you’re not on a sports team, you can still
participate by representing your Falcon’s Pride to the fullest. Things such as attending the games, wearing our school colours or even a simple
“good luck” can go a long way in helping our teams succeed.
GO FALCONS GO!
Sr. Girls Basketball
The senior girls’ basketball team consists of Grade 11 and 12
students, some of which are playing together for the first time. After 5
games, the team is beginning to work well together as a unit. We are
currently working on our ability to maneuver quickly on the court and
locate gaps in the defense. Presently, Abby Elkassis retains the highest
number of points scored in a game. Kamile Webster, Alicia Maynard,
Tenisha Grant, Chamaine Abiog, and Adebisi Ibitoye are all an asset to
our defense. While Jamie Villaraivo, Chelsea Estero, Eseosa Imasuen,
Stephanie Baptista, Anna Kania, and Danielle Green continue to demonstrate resilience on the court. We are confident that our hard work will
shine through during the October 22nd and 23rd St. Edmund Campion
tournament.
Jr. Boys Volley Ball
Heads up St. Augustine! Your Junior Boys Volleyball team has been
working together to develop their outstanding potential! Excellent
court coverage is displayed by Jesse DeGannes, Brandon Balliram,
and Nicholas Winger. Outstanding blocking is displayed by Dillon
Gabor and Jahvon Ridley. Great hitting by Ryan Anton and Tristan
Edwards. Awesome setting and serving by Arpan Bhullar, Keegan
Murphy, and Josh Wood. Lastly, fantastic passing by our back court
specialist, Stephen Mora. Congratulations to all for their great team
spirit, especially Jacobe Rutigliano. Great job Falcons! See you
during the playoffs!
Mr. Falcone, Ms. Furtado, and Ms. Trapani (COACHES)
St. Augustine Athletic Council (SAAC)
By: Abier El Kassis
For all you students who want better equipment, more tournaments for your sports teams and more athletic spirit within our school, you’ll be
happy to hear that St. Augustine now has an Athletic Council (SAAC). This council has been brought back after several years thanks to Ms. Kane
and Ms. Reither from the Physical Education Department. There are over 20 of your fellow peers from grades nine to twelve involved in this
council. These figures include Co-Presidents; Matthew Muzzatti (grade 12) and Abier El Kassis (grade 12), Secretary; Natasha Raffa (grade 10)
and Treasurer; Wesley Montgomery (grade 10).
SAAC conducts weekly meetings with focus on enhancing school spirit, increasing student and teacher involvement in athletics and raising
money for Falcons athletics.
In the near future SAAC plans to run sporting events and sports related events for all of St. Augustine’s students and teachers. On October
19th-21st, SAAC has put together a ball hockey tournament to be held in the cafeteria. This tournament will include prizes for the tournament
winners.
Following the ball hockey tournament, SAAC plans to hold several other sports related events. These events will include Jersey Day on
November 10th and a dodgeball tournament shortly after. Jersey Day is a day when students and teachers can wear a jersey of their choice to
school. The purpose of Jersey Day is to create unity and athletic spirit within St. Augustine.
As of now, we plan to hold the dodgeball tournament in the gym. This event, like every other, is open for the whole St. Augustine population to
participate in.
SAAC has been running and, will continue to run, a snack bar at every sporting event held at the school. This snack bar includes a variety of
munchies and helps to raise funds.
SAAC’s purpose is to attend to St. Augustine’s athletic needs and wants. All profits SAAC earns from events and sales of all sorts will go to
Falcons Athletics to improve equipment, sports funding and more.
SAAC continues to look for new members who wish to be involved in contributing to the athletics program at St. Augustine.
Be sure to keep your eyes out for current and future events; these events are sure to be a great success.
Awards Ceremony
The 22nd annual Awards Ceremony was held on October 5, 2010. This is a very special evening where we take time to honour the academic
achievement of students in grades 9, 10 and 11 for the 2009-2010 school year.
The first award presented was subject achievement certificate. This award was presented to 118 students. The Honour Roll pin which is awarded
to students with an average of 80% or higher with no mark lower than 65% was awarded to 177 students. The Club Award Pin which is awarded
to students achieving an average of 90% or higher with no mark lower than a 65% was presented to 32 students.
The Club Award recipients are:
Vinayak Bhandari, Tonya Bongolan, Simrat Brar, Justin Brunet, Ariel Carlos, Larissa, Crawley, Erin Fennell, Shanilka Fernando, Jennifer Ferreira,
Jashan Gill, Neetu (Shivneet) Gill, Ajitpal Grewal, Angela Guingcangco, Rochelle Jorge, Chitman Josan, Emily Keates, Saabia Khokhar, Sharnpreet Kooner, and Daniel Leal.
CO-OP DEPARTMENT NEWS
Students registered for Co-operative Education for next semester for February 2011 need to make the following arrangements. They MUST fill
out a co-op application form and submit this with a current resume to their Guidance counselor as soon as possible. Students will be contacted by
the Co-op Department for an interview before being admitted into the program. The following placements are centralized and therefore require
students to apply in the next two weeks, if they are choosing one of these for co-op. Students must meet with Ms. Romaniuk or Mr. Vital to ensure
the application forms are filled out correctly. If you have not yet applied for coop and are interested in the following placements please be advised
you must act quickly. Many of the following placements have complex and/or lengthy application forms. These are highly competitive placements, be prepared.
December 15th – for Semester 2 only placement
Carpentry: attending Local 27 plus doing a coop placement Local 27 open house on Thursday November 11th at 6:30pm
Cook /Chef: attending Humber College (earning college credits) and coop
November 5th - Peel Police
November 30th –Hospital placements and others listed below
Administrative positions: Hospitals (Administrative, Nursing)
Medical Positions: Hospitals (Nursing, Lab work); Dental Offices; Nursing Homes (Nursing, Recreational Therapy); Physiotherapy Clinics; Animal Care/Pet Grooming/Veterinary Services
Media Positions: Rogers Television; Salt and Light Television
Journalism: Brampton Guardian; Mississauga News
Computer Related Positions: Brampton Guardian (Graphic Design); Brampton Public Library (IT position); Computer Engineering (Software
Company); Graphic Design positions
Please apply for the following positions as soon as possible:
Engineering Positions: CAD Technician; Xerox (Chemical Engineering); Mechanical Engineering
Trade Areas: Electrical, Plumbing, Carpentry, General Construction, Tool and Dye, Heating and Air Conditioning Technician, Automotive
Service Technician, Auto Body Repair, Baker, Pastry Chef, Early Childhood Educator, Event Planner, Hairstylist, Horticulture Technician,
Motorcycle Technician, Truck and Coach Technician, Welder, Child and Youth Worker,
Small Appliance Repair and Information Technical Support Analyst.
Non Trade Areas: Teaching, Accounting, Office Administration, Human Resources, Chaplaincy, Legal careers and many more.
Students need to listen for further announcements regarding Co-op. Students considering Co-op for February of next year, should register as soon
as possible because each student must be interviewed before entry into the program is permitted. Interviews for all students registered for the February 2011 Co-op program will take place in November, December and January. Students applying for the November 30th application deadlines
will be interviewed first. All students will receive notification of their appointment date from the Co-op Department. Ms. Romaniuk and Mr. Vital
look forward to meeting with all of you in the near future to discuss your career plans.
Students who are interested in pursuing any of the apprenticeable trades are encouraged to meet with the Co-op teacher to discuss these
opportunities and what it can mean to you to be registered as an OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprentice) student. We are currently offering
Co-op opportunities in the trade areas mentioned above.
NEW TO COOP
For the semester we will, once again, be offering a new initiative which will allow students interested in the General Construction trades,
Plumbing, Welding, Electrical and Precision Machining and Tooling trades, to be part of a new dual credit program. Under the COTT and TTOP
programs, co-op students may attend Sheridan College in Oakville (transportation to be provided) for either 1 or 2 days per week. Here they
will earn either 1 to 3 college credits and at the same time 1 to 3 high school credits. At the Sheridan Davis campus, students may register for
dual credits in Engineering, IT, and Architectural Drafting. This is an exciting new initiative to help students bridge the gap from high school to
college. Look for more of these initiatives in the future. Applications for the COTT and TTOP program are completed in December 2010 for the
February Semester. Humber College may be offering dual credits in Spa Management and Criminal Justice in February.
We look forward to meeting with you in the near future.
Please see your Guidance counselor or the Co-op Department for application forms
Anna da Silva, Trustee Elect, Wards 1,3,& 4
Dear Parents,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. My name is Anna da Silva and I am the
Trustee Elect for Wards, 1, 3 & 4. I am very thankful that I have been selected to represent the parents and students
of this community. It is an honour to serve you as trustee and I promise that I will work tirelessly to help our
families obtain the service that they expect and deserve.
I would like to tell you a bit about my background and what I feel are important issues that we are facing and that
I hope I can address during my term in office.
Background
I am a devoted Catholic and a strong advocate of Catholic education. I am a child of Italian Catholic immigrant parents who attended
Catholic school in Toronto. I am the mother of two boys who recently graduated from St. Augustine. I have served as chair and co-chair at
St. Augustine for the last six years and represented the Secondary Schools of Brampton West at the Central Committee of Catholic School
Councils (CCCSC) for the last three years. I also represented the parents of our board on the “Growing Success” initiative at the Ministry of
Education and provided input into the design of the new report cards that are being implemented this year. With the help our council members,
I have put together several events which increased parent involvement in our school by 98%.
Professionally, I run a Management Consulting Company which provides Organizational Development, Change Management and
Training services to both business and government. I am also a part time professor at York University in the School of Human Resources. I
believe that my professional background and experience will enable me to contribute in a meaningful way over the next four years. Issues
There are several issues facing our Board which I feel need to be addressed. The first issue that we need to address is our ongoing
problems with transportation. Our Board is chronically underfunded in the area of transportation and the new Ministry-appointed consortium
does not allow us to address issues affecting parents at the community level. I feel that it is important that we work with the Ministry to obtain
more funding for transportation and to change the policies that are hindering our ability to address bussing issues on a neighbourhood by
neighbourhood basis. I intend to work on this issue so that we can reduce our transportation challenges for next September.
The next issue that must be addressed as soon as possible is the lack of availability of text books. It is imperative that we provide our
students with the resources that they need to be successful. While there have been many changes to the curriculum which has affected text
book availability, I feel that we cannot allow our students to go without the required resources to be successful. I intend to address this issue as
soon as possible.
Another issue that I feel needs to be addressed is the use of technology in our schools. I believe that we need to develop a technology
strategy that will incorporate the use of new technologies such as learning management systems, social networking, websites and email to build
a stronger learning community. I will work to have this strategy developed and lobby the Ministry for adequate funding for technology in our
schools.
Finally, there is a need to be proactive in addressing the ongoing threat to publicly-funded Catholic education. I believe that we will
face a very serious threat to our education system in the next provincial election and it is imperative that we prepare for this threat. We must
protect our right to Catholic education and I believe that the best way to accomplish this is to educate our parents, students, and teachers on the
importance of Catholic education and on how to address the misguided arguments that are levelled against our system. I will work to ensure
that everyone in our system has the information that they need to deal with these misguided threats.
I know that our community faces many more challenges than what I have noted. In Wards 1, 3 & 4 in particular, there is a need to
address student academic achievement. Our tests scores are lower than scores in other regions and it is important that we identify the reasons
for this and address them. This region also has a high proportion of students with financial and social needs that require additional supports.
We must do more about providing these supports so that students can succeed. Additionally, the schools in our wards are some of the oldest
in Brampton. They require repair and upgrading. Resources need to be allocated to address these issues if we are to improve the standard of
education in our community. I will do my best to improve the Catholic education that is provided to our community.
I hope to be able to meet many of you at upcoming events and council meetings. In the meantime, if you wish to contact me you may
do so via email at destacom@rogers.com.
Sincerely,
Anna da Silva
Trustee Elect, Wards 1, 3 & 4
Tony da Silva
Trustee, Brampton, Wards 1, 3 & 4
tony.dasilva@dpcdsb.org
FAREWELL MESSAGE
As you may have read in a recent article in the Brampton Guardian I have been appointed to the Immigration & Refugee Board
of Canada and will no longer be able to serve as school board trustee.
It has been my privilege to serve the Catholic school communities of Wards 1, 3 & 4 and although I will no longer be serving
those communities in my formal role as trustee, I will continue to support and work for Catholic education in whatever
capacity I am able.
Thank you all for your support over the past four years.
God Bless.
Tony da Silva
Parents -Who Can You Contact
St. Augustine Secondary School
Tel: (905) 450- 9993 Fax:(905) 450-0955
www.dpcdsb.org/augst
Principal ..................... T. Iwasiw
Vice Principals............ B. Bieth
A-F
M. van der Vegt G - N
D. Duke-Kelly
O-Z
Head Secretary............ M. Gormley
Attendance Secretary.. M. Giannone
Guidnce Department:
Counsellors ...................B. Heffernan
A- Den
M. Robinson
Deo - Laf
M. Cockburn
Lag - Piz
P. Donovan
Ple - Z
Guidance Secretary......A. McPherson-Ortega
Child & Youth Worker. ......... P. Alexander
School Psychologist............... K. Page
Social Worker............... ......... Z. Diamond
The Homework Help Pilot Project:
Independent Learning Centre’s (ILC)
Homework Site
The 2010-11 academic year represents Dufferin-Peel’s second year of
participating with the Homework Help pilot project. This project has
now expanded to 32 English-Language Boards across the Province of
Ontario, and the project’s goal remains to provide students in grades 7 to
10 with an after-hours online support in math.
The ILC operates Homework Help – a website that provides students
with access to a variety of math resources, and access to free online
tutoring from Ontario Teachers, Sunday to Thursday evenings from 5:30
p.m. to 9:30 p.m. To utilize this resource, students must register for the
site (http://homeworkhelp.ilc.org) by completing the registration process.
This requires:
1.
Creation of an anonymous username
2.
Creation of a unique password
3.
Providing a valid email address
4.
Selecting ‘students’ as user type
5.
Entering student’s date of birth
6.
Entering student’s Ontario Education Number (OEN)
7.
Confirming agreement with the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy