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Xavier Student Stories
TigerTales
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WINTER 2007
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Principal’s
Message
N. Mant, Principal
50 Bristol Road west,
Mississauga, Ontario
L5R 3K3
Tel: (905) 507-6666
Fax: (905) 568-1026
www.stfxss.org
Principal
N. Mant
Vice Principals
F. Furgiuele
G. Scanlon
D Mariani
K. McQuire
Chaplain
A. Minardi
School Council Chair
R. Shields
Superintendent
L. Kazimowicz
Trustees
Luz del Rosario
Anna Abbruscato
Thomas Thomas
Originally Printed in the Toronto Star, Wednesday October 18, 2006
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
TigerTales
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
Page 10 - Winter 2007
Another new calendar year and a new semester, as we celebrate the past and look
forward with renewed optimism by embracing change that will transform and renew
our school community, giving us all a new hope and purpose for life. The spiritual life
of our school community has been enhanced by our new chaplain and the chaplaincy
team. Mr. Minardi our chaplain has infused many new ideas from his wealth of past
experience at the chancery office in Toronto and his chaplaincy work with the
Durham Board of Education.
During the past semester we walked for Share Life and raised $5567. Our
annual café night raised $2000 for needy families in our own school community. As a
school, we made a difference during the Christmas season for 47 families by providing
each family with a Christmas hamper. For the second semester we have a number of
charitable events planned and our focus charity will be Share Life.
In the area of Academics;
• The new credit recovery program in Alternative Education has been a tremendous
success, giving many of our at-risk students a second chance.
• The new health care pathway program has also been a tremendous success and we
hope to add on a co-op component in the near future.
• The grade 8 parent information night and our IB information night were well
attended and we had over 200 applications for our IB program.
• The grade 10 teachers are in the process of preparing over 500 students for the
EQAO Literacy Test, as we have one of the largest cohorts in the province writing
the test. Xavier was one of 12 schools in the province highlighted on the EQAO
web-site for excellence.
In the area of Athletics;
• The senior football team had an outstanding season, as they were the only team in
the GTA to have a perfect season. They were also crowned the ROPSSAA Tier II
Champions.
• The junior football team made it into the ROPSSAA finals in their inaugural
year as a team. This is a remarkable achievement to have two teams from the same
school making it into the championships.
• Xavier was the host school for three invitational “Rim Rocker” basketball tourna
ments (Sr./Jr. Boys & Sr. Girls). We had over 80 schools from all over the province
participating in the three events.
(... continued on Page 2)
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Principal’s
Message
Chaplain’s
Corner
(...continued)
Catholic School Council has organized
several presentations featuring Keith
Hawkins and Michael Reist on a
variety of topics that are of special
interest for our parent community. In
the spring, school council will be
organizing a pasta night and all profits
will be given to a Granada Relief
organization.
The music department showcased
their talent at the annual Christmas
concert and the students are already
preparing for the annual spring
concert at the Living Arts Centre in
Mississauga. The art department had
an excellent display of art work in the
school library and the cafeteria. The
Semi-Formal was a tremendous
success with well over 400 students in
attendence and the event was
organized by our student council. Our
ESL students gave us a taste of
homemade desserts from all over the
world. In February and March we will
be celebrating our multi-cultural
heritage as a school community. Our
focus for the events planned will be on
“inclusion” and “anti-racism”. One of
our Vice-Principals, Ms. Martine Lewis
will be off this semester as she will be
taking the time off to complete her
doctoral thesis in Education at OISE.
We would like to welcome Mrs. Gwen
Scanlo, from St. Martins SS, who will
be replacing Ms. Lewis.
Finally, we are in the process of
planning a cultural visit to mainland
China in October 2007. The trip to
China will be limited to eight students,
and if your son or daughter is interested in being part of this overseas
educational experience, he/she must
attend a series of information meetings scheduled at the school.
Beginning on Wednesday February 21, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the
most sacred and significant season of the Church’s liturgical calendar. It is on this
day that are foreheads are marked 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. It is during this season that we prepare for the greatest and
joyful day in the Catholic Church- Resurrection Sunday.
Traditionally, we have thought of Lent as a time of fasting and abstinence, alms
giving, in the form of giving to the poor, and finally, service to others. Let us not
forget how important all of these practices are, but at the same time Lent speaks
greater of a season of personal spiritual growth and conversion of our hearts. This
means that God is urging us today to enter into a more meaningful relationship with
him and to also strengthen our existing understanding of him.
Finally, during this season of Lent we are called to forgiveness. God invites us to
experience true healing and conversion through the act of forgiveness. During the
next 40 days forgive someone who has hurt you in the past. Speak to or visit friends
and family that you may not have had a good relationship with over the last few days,
weeks, or years. Ask for forgiveness to those you have hurt. Let God enter into
your life so that you can experience his true healing. It is only through the healing
of God’s true love and compassion that we can achieve forgiveness.
Upcoming Chaplaincy Events:
1.
February 21- Ash Wednesday Prayer Service Assemblies
2.
March 23-24- 1st Annual Sacrifice for ShareLife 24 Hour Fast
3.
April 4- Mississauga Family of Schools Lenten Prayer Service
4.
April 5- Holy Thursday Assemblies
5.
May 11- 1st Annual Day of Service
N. Mant
Principal
Celebrating Youth in Christ,
Angelo Minardi
Chaplain
“Catholic Education; gives our students a hope
and purpose for life.”
...Chaplain’s Corner continued on page 9
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STFX
JUNIOR FOOTBALL
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL
SEASON OF LENT
FEBRUARY 21- APRIL 4, 2007
Despite not fielding a team for four
years, the STFX junior football team
managed to achieve a very impressive
result by advancing to the final. In the
quarterfinals against St. Thomas
Aquinas, the Tigers traveled to Brampton and destroyed the host team 31 to
8. In the first quarter, both teams’
defenses forced turnovers with very
hard hits. But in the second quarter,
the ‘new look’ Tiger offence featuring
Ryan Northfield at fullback took over.
An early touchdown run was called
back due to a penalty but we settled for
a Harvey Azra field goal to take a 3-0
lead. Later in the 2nd quarter, Greg
Katayama threw a deep pass to
K.D.Warner who made a great catch at
the one yard line to set up a short
Northfield touchdown run. Before the
half ended, Ryan Francis ran a slot
reverse play for a 60 yard touchdown
run. On the last play of the half,
Katayama added a punt single to put
us up 17 to 0. The 2nd half belonged
to Ryan Francis. Led by the blocking
of Northfield and an offensive line
who had their best game of the year,
Francis had a 50 yard touchdown run
in the 3rd quarter and a 20 yard
touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The defense was awesome all day.
Julian Fletcher had a devastating sack
in the 3rd quarter to end a long
Aquinas drive and the Cardinals didn’t
even manage to score a single point
until the very last play of the game.
In the semifinals, the Tigers had a
rematch against undefeated Mount
Carmel. Once again, the Tigers played
Mount Carmel on a lousy, muddy,
slippery field, and once again, things
didn’t start well for Xavier. Just like
the first time we played them, we fell
behind early 7 to 0 and our offense
kept turning the ball over in the 1st
half. However, in the 2nd half, our
defense totally shut down their running
game and our running game started to
click. Ryan Northfield bulled his way
to numerous yards and Ryan Francis
had some good runs too, including a
key 30 yarder to get us close to their
goalline. From there, Northfield took
it in for the score. Azra kicked the
convert to make it 7 to 7. With about
7 minutes left in the game, STFX took
over the ball on our 30 yard line. What
followed was an amazing drive. After
running inside all day due to the sloppy
conditions, we finally used our outside
speed. Greg Katayama had two key
QB bootleg runs, Darren Boca had a
couple of sweeps and a slot reverse to
get us good yards too. Moving
methodically down the field, the Tigers
used up all but the final ten seconds on
the clock to set up a short field goal
attempt. The pressure was on, but
Harvey Azra drilled the kick to win the
game and send us to the finals with a
10 to 7 victory. Sadly, the team could
not follow up this effort in the finals
versus Lorne Park. Despite a 20-3 loss
to the Spartans, coaches Chylinski,
Morrissey, Forgione, Simmons, and
MacAnally are all very proud of their
efforts and greatly look forward to
continued success next year.
IB ECONOMICS STUDENTS SHINE
Have a wonderful New Year!
God Bless!
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
TigerTales
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Katherine Gimon-Valencia and Andrew Chun attended an "Economics for Leaders" week long program at the University of
British Columbia in August. Hosted by professors from many American universities, Katherine and Andrew took part in
numerous mental and physical activities which helped them to develop economic insights concerning numerous issues. Tasks
also included the development of leadership skills. At the end of the conference, student participants had to complete an
economics examination. Katherine and Andrew placed in the top 20% of all participants. Congratulations to both of them for
accepting the challenge to participate in the conference and for their amazing results.
Page 2 - Winter 2007
Page 3 - Winter 2007
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
3/5/07 12:31:55 AM
TigerTales
The Road to
University…
As a 2004 graduate from STFX, I can
without a doubt say that high school
provided me with some of my best
memories as a teen. Moving from an
FX Tiger to a proud Golden Hawk at
Wilfrid Laurier University I can
honestly say that having only one year
left at university is astounding! If you
take nothing else from this article, take
this: Cherish EVERY moment of your
university experience.
For me, first year university was a year
full of change, but one that I felt
prepared for. Thanks to Mrs. Hutchison, I knew how to write a well
structured essay, and trust me, essays
will be very prevalent in your life as a
university student. Thanks to Mr.
Kozak, I was able to finish first year
calc with an A! A word of advice: take
advantage of your teachers while
you’re still in high school. You’re
probably
going to be
stressed about
applying to
OUAC, or
getting in
those top
marks in to
ensure that
admission
letter (and
understandably so!).
Nevertheless,
be sure to take
the time to
appreciate the
people that are
helping you
reach your post secondary goal.
Here are some of my personal tips that
you may find helpful when approaching your first year as a university
student:
4. Academics: You’re going to be
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
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paying a hefty fee for that degree, so
make the most of it. You will find
yourself in classes larger than those in
high school. You may even find that
you have a day(s) off! The transition
of having to write an essay worth 35%
of you final mark, or an exam worth
40% will be a change, but with time
you will adjust. In addition, you’re able
to choose a lot of your courses, so take
classes that you will enjoy!
3. Use the resources available to you!
Whether it be the various learning
services, and most importantly your
Profs’ and TA’s (Teaching Assistants’)
office hours, USE THEM! You will be
amazed at how well you can do when
you take the initiative to tap into those
resources.
2. Have fun! University life is exciting
as it represents a new chapter in your
life. Regardless of your age, there will
be a plethora of events and activities
applicable to you. Whether it means
going to the local bar or out to see a
live band, be open to new experiences.
Don’t be afraid to step out of your
comfort zone to try new things, but
always remember to be
responsible,
and never
sacrifice any of
the beliefs you
deem significant.
1. Get
involved!! If
time management is something you have
trouble with, I
would recommend limiting
your extracurriculars until
you get a sense of what schedule
works best for you. Once you do, get
involved! There are so many campus
clubs and events within athletics that
you can become a part of. During my
last three years, I’ve volunteered for
WLU’s Foot Patrol, Emergency
Response Team, as an Icebreaker for
Orientation week, I’ve travelled to the
Dominican with a group of WLU
students for a house build, and played
intramural dodgeball and innertube
waterpolo (much harder than it looks!)
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite
quotes by Mark Twain, which sums up
nicely these key pointers.
Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade
winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover.
* This bio is only a small insight into
life at university! If you have any
questions, feel free to email me at
laix3100@wlu.ca
YOUTHCONNECT.CA
TigerTales
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A Very
Important
Message
from EI
issue. Truth be told the environment
the ozone layer is broken down, more
plays the first and major role in prevenradiation is let in and without proper
tion of skin cancer. Ozone a very thin
protection for the skin; the first line of
layer of O3 molecules, which undergo a defense for the body is damaged.
cycle, that
involves
EI is an environabsorbing UV
mental club that
radiation.
attempts to raise
This process
awareness to the
reduces the
St. FX community
amount of
about issues of
Every hour a person dies from skin
UV radiation
the environment
cancer. Over a million people are
that reaches
that affect us all.
diagnosed each year and this number will the surface.
Ignoring these
keep increasing until there is a cure. In
However,
issues won’t make
the month of November Environmental chlorofluorothem go away.
From left to right:
Intelligence (EI) held a raffle to support carbons
Lets work
Jagroop Singh (iPod Winner), Susan Selva (EI),
Renuka
Rajole
(EI)
skin cancer research with a grand prize
(CFCs) are
together to
of a 2GB-ipod nano. All of the money
compounds
change the health
raised was given to the Canadian Cancer that consumers have been releasing into of our planet. Thanks to all who support
Society in hopes of protecting the skin
the atmosphere since refrigerants and
our efforts.
of future generations.
aerosol products became available. These
chemicals break down the O3 molecules
EI Representative
Some may wonder if this is really a green and cause holes in the ozone layer. As
T.S. Selva
Student Success Program
The Student Success Program here at St. Francis Xavier is twofold. Students can earn credits through Credit Recovery and/or
Alternative Education. As of September 2006, the students in our Student Success Program have earned 31 credits through
Credit Recovery and 10 credits through Alternative Education. Congratulations to all of the students who continue to work hard
and to their teachers Mr.Cvetan and Ms.Muren, who are there to help them meet with success!
Question: How do you spell "success"?
The Ministry of Children and Youth
Services would like us to inform our
students about their newly created
website that keeps youth informed so
they apparently can get ahead.
Youthconnect.ca was developed with
input and feedback from youth. It
provides important information and
resources on topics relevant to youth
such as education, work, health and
coming of age. Youth are encouraged
to visit the website.
E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N
Dear Valued McCarthy’s
Customer,
We are excited to announce the
opening of our NEW Brampton
Distribution Outlet to better
serve your uniform needs!
Our Grand Opening is Friday
January 12th, 2007 at 10:00 am.
The NEW STORE
will be located at:
44 West Drive
Brampton, ON. L6T 3T6
Any questions can be forwarded to
them by email which you can access on
the home page.
Page 4 - Winter 2007
Answer:
Page 5 - Winter 2007
Please visit us online at
www.rjmccarthy.com for store
hours and directions, or contact
our Call Centre at 416-593-6900.
We hope you have a Happy
Holiday, and we look forward to
seeing you in the New Year!
Sincerely,
Karen Henderson
Director of Sales and Marketing
RJMcCarthy Ltd-School
Uniforms Division
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
3/5/07 12:32:15 AM
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University Student
Scholarship Awards
University of Toronto
& York University
Scholarships 2006
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
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ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
3/5/07 12:32:50 AM
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Education in Action
... ShareLife apprentices raise $1,200
www.sharelife.org
(February 26, 2007)
The students in teacher Mr.
Gregg Lee’s Business Leadership
class at St. Francis Xavier secondary
school in Mississauga recently
donated $1,200 to ShareLife as a
result of an innovative class project.
During the first semester, Mr. Lee
challenged his class with a project
called "The Apprentice," fashioned
after the popular television series.
The goal for the students was to
create a Christmas product to sell
during the
month of
December. The
students took
up the challenge
and created
such wares as:
custom T-shirts,
gift mugs,
Christmas
pictures,
stuffed stockings, Crest toothpaste
gift baskets and a soccer clinic for
St. Matthew's Elementary School.
All of the projects were successfully
completed and the resulting
proceeds donated to ShareLife.
In the end, no one was fired!
Walk. Talk.
ShareLife!
www.sharelife.org
Chaplain’s Corner continued...
(November 23, 2006)
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
CATHOLIC SECONDARY
SCHOOL
STAFF PRAYER GROUP
More than 1000 students and teachers at St. Francis Xavier Secondary
School in Mississauga participated in a school walk on October 26. In
total, the school raised over $5500 for ShareLife through the event.
Congratulations to all who were involved and thank you!
Neville Mant, Principal of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School
in Mississauga (left) presents a cheque for $5,500 to ShareLife Executive
Director, Arthur Peters, and ShareLife Schools Campaign Coordinator,
Tim Lee Loy. St. Francix Xavier students, Leah D'Souza and Connie
Kuang, were also present along with Parent Council Representative,
Rosemary Shields (far right).
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
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Continuing to support and develop upon our Pastoral
Plan, the chaplaincy office has organized a Staff Prayer
Group which takes place in the chapel on the 2nd
Thursday of every month. We have started gathering
since January 11 and will continue to gather monthly
from 2:45p.m. - 3:45p.m. Immediately following our
gatherings some refreshments are served to all staff. The
remaining dates for this year are: March 8, April 12, and
May 10, 2007.
We use as a prayer guide the Christian Life Community
model. This is a model inspired from the Exercises of
St. Ignatius of Loyola (founding member of the Society
Page 9 - Winter 2007
of Jesuits along with St. Francis Xavier) and will include
an informal method of prayer that will include Lectio
Divina (scriptural component) along with faith sharing.
The following should be considered when looking to
participate:
• An openness to share your faith
• An openness to deepen your relationship with others
and God
• A willingness to share your gifts and talents with
others
• A commitment to a life of community in service to
others
To date, the response from staff members has been
positive and I look forward to continue praying with the
staff at St. Francis Xavier.
Angelo Minardi
Chaplain
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER SECONDARY SCHOOL
3/5/07 12:33:00 AM