St. Monica Catholic School Council Newsletter
Issue 11
March 25, 2009
Connecting Parents and Guardians with our School Community…
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
But, did you know that today Catholic education
systems exist only in Ontario and Alberta? Over
the years provinces have eliminated separate
school boards in an effort to consolidate funding.
Since the last election there has been a growing
public debate about the funding of Catholic
schools to the exclusion of other faith-based
schools. Will our education system cease to
exist?
In August 2007, the Institute for Catholic
Education provided an overview of dialogues
across the province entitled: Our Catholic Schools
- A Discussion on Ontario’s Catholic Schools and
Their Future: Summary Report. Members of the
Catholic community and school boards across
Ontario participated.
When asked about what makes Catholic
schools distinctive, the top five responses were:
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a place where we can exercise our freedom to
practice the Catholic faith tradition
reinforces the teaching of our Catholic values
a place where students learn about social
justice and service to the community
promotes respect and the dignity of all people
promotes the strong home-school-parish
relationship.
When asked what they value about Catholic
schools, the top five reasons were:
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the distinct culture and the Catholic tradition
the teaching of values, morals and discipline
the traditions
the connection between home, school and
parish
social justice activities and the belief that we
are responding to a “call to service”.
What can we do? There are ways we can help
keep Catholic education alive:
1. BECOME INFORMED – There are many
books and papers available on the
importance of Catholic education. Authors
such as Father James T. Mulligan have
written papers and books such as
Distinctly Catholic (1999), Catholic
Education: The Future is Now (1999) and
Catholic Education: Ensuring a Future
(2005) and others. Reading these
wonderful works can help us to gain more
appreciation for our unique education
system. Catholic Education Week (May
3 - 8, 2009) is also a time to reflect and
celebrate the unique and distinctive
contribution that Catholic schools make to
our students, our community and our
province.
2. BECOME A ROLE MODEL – As parents,
we are the primary educators of our
children. By showing children that our own
faith development is important, they will
learn by example. We can also seek ways
to help bridge the gap between parish,
home and school. Developing positive
relationships and becoming involved in
school activities shows your child that you
value their education.
3. BECOME AN ADVOCATE – Develop your
own ideas and thoughts on Catholic
schools, so you can share this viewpoint
during discussions about publicly-funded
education. During election time, become
aware of the candidates’ platforms on
education – it may be a deciding factor.
Lastly, remember that we are blessed with a
unique balance of faith, discipline, values and
academic excellence that makes Catholic
education a gift…
More Thoughts on
Catholic Education…
Written by: Domenic Rutigliano, Co-Chair, Deputy
Grand Knight & Youth Director, Knights Of Columbus
Council 4973
As a parent and a member of the Knights Of
Columbus, I have always believed in the
importance of creating a proactive spiritual
environment for all children in our faith
community. Our Catholic schools are in jeopardy
of becoming non-existent by those in secular
society who do not see a difference between us
and the public system. The time has come for us
to become more vocal and active in our desire to
preserve our Catholic schools. I believe that our
children are fortunate to have the opportunity to
learn in an environment which is, first and
foremost, based on thanking and praising God.
I encourage all parents to send the message that
our Catholic schools not only produce academic
scholars but also moral and Christ-like human
beings. Our children will become the leaders of a
society which needs to be reminded that all good
things truly come from God. Esto Dignus! (be
worthy).
New OAPCE Rep.
The Council would like to welcome Dolly
Khokhar as our new Ontario Association of
Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE)
Representative. We are pleased that Dolly has
joined us and we look forward to improving our
link with OAPCE.
If you are interested in joining Council this year or
next year, please feel free to contact us. We
usually meet once a month in the school library.
Essay / Poster Contests
The Knights Of Columbus Essay Contest and
Substance Abuse Awareness Poster Contest
deadlines are April 15, 2009. Winning entries will
receive monetary prizes.
For more information about the contest
specifications and themes, please contact
Domenic Rutigliano at (905) 459-0488 or
by email - dmrdistributing@aol.com.
Boys Adrift Presentation
Boys Adrift: An Emerging Epidemic of Apathy
Leonard Sax, MD, PhD
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
We Are Volunteers in
Education Workshop
The Central Committee for Catholic School
Councils is hosting its Annual In-service and
Vendor Marketplace on Saturday, April 4, 2009.
Please see the attached flyer for more details
about the interesting session topics and
registration information (Deadline: March 27th).
Living Arts Centre, Mississauga
Presented by the Peel District School Board
E-mail: psychconference@hotmail.com
Please see the attached flyer for more details.
Our next meeting is:
Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone:
Website:
E-mail:
(905) 454-6346
www.dpcdsb.org/MONIC/School+Council/
council4parents@yahoo.ca
The Link newsletter is written by parents for parents…
Author/Editor:
Reviewers:
Luana Felato (Community Rep.)
Lori McNicol and Domenic Rutigliano
(Council Co-Chairs)
Maura Smith (Principal)