St. Paul Secondary School’s
Principal’s Message
As mid term reports become a memory and the spring season is taking
bloom outside, I’m grateful for many
things at St. Paul’s that truly make
this a grace filled community. As a
school community we have much to
be thankful for and I would like to
return to that theme of gratitude in a
moment.
Parents and guardians have received
letters from the Peel Public Health
Department asking you to take
responsibility for making sure that
your son/daughters immunization
records are up to date. Not every
family would have received a letter
but to those parents who followed
the instructions included in the letter,
a heartfelt thanks from the St. Paul
administration. The ultimate penalty
for those who don’t comply will be
a suspension from school after a
particular point.
As our parents and guardians know,
we have made application for a
third Specialist High Skills Major in
Environmental Studies for next year.
If approved by the Ministry we will
begin accepting students into the
program next year. Like the other two
SHSM’s, this program is a specific
bundle of courses with a defined set
of certifications for students to take.
This is a natural outgrowth of our
partnership with Ecosource this year.
Two more new offerings next year
for students include a Web design
course and a senior Leadership/Mentoring course , for students who are
looking to take their instructional
skills to a new level.
At the Skills Canada competition
held at Gonzaga SS, St. Paul students
walked away with six gold medals
and one bronze medal. While we
Students participating in this years’ ThinkFast pause for a group photo between a night of activities. Read more about this event on page 2.
fielded a smaller group of contestants this
year we were as successful as in the past few
years fielding more events. Award winners
were
Jemuel Datiles: Graphic Design, Gold
Taylor Brugmans: Fashion Design, Gold
Renato Trindade: Plumbing, Gold
Andrij Sulypka/Adam Barbe: Landscape
Gardening, Gold (regionals), Bronze
(provincial). Skills Canada would not have
achieved its stature in our Board without
a champion like our own Tech department
head Mr. John Mondelli, who was recognized by Humber College as their Greatest
High school teacher of the year.
On Friday March 27th, over 70 students
participated in our annual Thinkfast sleep
over at the school in aid of Development
and Peace projects. Students from several
elementary schools heard first hand accounts
from two teachers who had done service
work in Ecuador. Fine leadership from Ms.
Hastings and Ms. Vono and many of the Act
Now alumni who returned to help out.
Parents and friends of St. Paul will want to
purchase tickets for our school play on May
13 and 14. This Must Be The Place promises
to be a side splitting night of laughter and
comedy. When I reflected upon the nature
of gratitude at the beginning of this message, I wanted to draw everyones attention
to the nature of leadership at St. Paul and
particularly to our Department Heads. May
14 will draw the curtain on one of the final
directorial performances by our esteemed
English department head and Dramatist extraordinaire, Ms. Christine McMahon. After
more than thirty years at St. Paul, we will be
honouring Ms. McMahon on Thursday June
4th at the Versailles Banquet Hall on the
occasion of her retirement. Please contact
the school if you wish to purchase tickets for
this fantastic tribute to Ms. McMahon.
Leadership manifests itself in different
styles, all equally as effective and bringing
talents to life in staff that may have lain dormant or never invited to expression. These
subtle but intentional talents have guided
the career of Mr. Gary Alp, our Social Science department head since his arrival at
St. Paul’s over 20 years ago. Playing all the
positions on the field is the hallmark of an
...continued on page 6
Chaplains Corner
The M&M’s Return
I received a telephone call from my friend Dave back in February. I must admit I was a little
apprehensive when he asked if I would do him a favour. I agreed before he even made his
request known. Dave asked if I would be his sponsor for the RCIA Program. I was honoured
to help Dave out. Although Dave had married a Catholic girl twenty years ago he had never
converted. I was surprised to hear that he wasn’t Catholic. He went to Church every Sunday
and was active in the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The RCIA is an acronym for the Right of
Christian Initiation for Adults. It is the catechetical program that welcomes adults into the
Catholic Church with Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist all celebrated at the Easter
Vigil. The program really prepares all of the participants for Lent and Easter. Little did I
realize when I agreed to help Dave out with his RCIA experience that I would be one of the
principal beneficiaries of the experience.
The M&M’s (Music Ministry for St.
Paul) has reconvened with a vengeance. After a two month break,
rehearsals began again in mid March
as we prepared for the Spring.
On Sunday, March 1, 2009, after one of the sessions I went to Guelph, Ontario to take my
Mother out for Brunch. My Mother, Jean, who was 73 years old, lived in Guelph. When I
arrived in Guelph ready to take her out as was our weekly custom, I was shocked to find her
dead. She had died suddenly in her sleep the night before. Those of us who have suffered
the loss of a parent, spouse, family member or close friend know how painful and sorrowful the reality of death can be. In the weeks that followed, my emotions were in a state of
flux. When Holy Week arrived everything changed. I found my self totally absorbed in the
events of the Tridium. I felt that I was walking with Jesus but better still I found that Jesus
was walking with me! The celebration of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, the Passion and
Death of Jesus on Good Friday - these events spoke to me in my pain in
a way that they have never before. When I went to Church to celebrate
the Easter Vigil I had great joy for my friend Dave who was graduating so to speak as a Catholic but I had even greater joy for my Mother
who I knew had graduated into her eternal home, Heaven. Words cannot
express how wonderful it was as we entered the darkened Church following the Paschal Candle freshly lit with the Easter fire. The mysterious reality of our Faith was made tangibly real. The scripture readings
proclaimed at the Vigil, recounted all of the great things that God has
done for us from the beginning of time. Who can deny the faithfulness
and the Glory of God!
I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Marie Tobin for her hard
work organizing the St. Paul Staff Share Life Campaign. Ms. Tobin has
been our Staff Share Life Representative for many years. This year the
St. Paul staff donated $1,345.00 to ShareLife.
Thinkfast 2009
On March 27th, 71 students participated in this year’s Thinkfast.
Thinkfast is a 24 hour fast that allows students the chance to stand in solidarity with the millions in the world who suffer from the pain of hunger everyday. This evening also gave them
the opportunity to learn more about social justice and listen to the calling we as Catholics
have been given by Jesus himself when he asked us to: “Feed the hungry and clothe the
naked”.
The students who participated in this event were outstanding and were able to raise over
$2000 for Development and Peace, which is the social justice arm of Sharelife.
On behalf of Ms. Hastings, Ms. Vono and Mr. Finamore, we would like to thank the teachers that volunteered their time to make this event possible. We congratulate the students who
participated and who dare to Be the Change that we so desperately need in our world today.
The Holy Thursday Assembly provided a perfect opportunity for us to
get our voices back. We sang songs
about journeys – The L’Arche Hymn,
Stay With Me (featuring David
Patchon verses), The Road is Long
and I Can Only Imagine (featuring
our soloist Laura). At Easter Mass
we swung back into our spiritual side
– with songs like The Storm is Passing Over, and You are My All in All.
When you sing, you pray twice. And
so it is with the M&M’s. If you wish
to be part of our on-going song, join
us. We practice Wednesdays for one
hour in the Music Room. Students
earn community service hours for
rehearsal time. We also look forward
to celebrating the end of year at Wonderland in June.
So, if you like to sing, play an instrument, make friends, or just make
a beautiful noise, be a part of the
M&M’s!
The Value of
Catholic Education
Congratulations to
Larissa Rodo and
Nicole Dalli who each
received a gold medal
in the Mississauga
East Family of Schools
speech competition on
The Value of Catholic
Education. The girls
went on to represent St.
Paul at the Board level competition.
We are extremely proud of these two
young women who represented their
school well and who live and cherish
their Faith.
From La Joie de
Vivre to la Dolce
Vita.
This year’s euro-trip for the March
Break took 24 students along with 4
teachers to beautiful France and Italy.
Students and teachers packed their
suitcases with some great clothes,
comfortable shoes and, hopes of
sunny weather.With smiley faces,
cameras, packed bags, and many
blessings, students and teachers
headed to the airport to begin their
journey.
Despite the long and tiring overnight
flight to la belle France everybody
arrived safe and sound. We went
straight to the hotel to drop off our
luggage and were soon taking the
metro to the world’s biggest museum,
the Louvre. Some say if you were
to spend 3 seconds in front of every
single piece of art you would have
to stay 3 months at least, without doing anything else. After our visit we
jumped over the river to visit another
famous museum: Le musée d’Orsay...
and what an adventure that was. We had
dinner near the famous Cathedral Notre
Dame. After we ascended to the top of the
Eiffel Tower to take in the most magical
view of the Paris lights. Finally we were
ready for a good night’s sleep.... and that
was just day one!!!
The next day was our first full day in
the City of Lights. The day started with
a guided tour of the Champs Elysees,
Place de la Condorde, the Opera Garnier,
followed by a quick lunch near the palace
of the Sun King: Versailles. Later on we
shopped ‘till we dropped in the famous
Champs Elysées. Dinner in Montmartre was
followed by a cruise on a bateau-mouche on
the Seine River. The perfect end to
yet another perfect day.
Sunday morning we left Paris for
Nice, the capital of the French
Riviera. We took the TGV (train
à grande vitesse) high speed train
and soon arrived in Nice under
sunny skies. After a fast check-in
at the hotel we had a long walking tour
around
the old town, with
plenty of free time
to stroll by the Mediterranean Sea. Our
explorations of Nice
started with a visit
to a perfume factory
called Fragonnard,
situated in a little
village called Eze.
There, we climbed
to this eagle nest fortified city and back on
the bus to drive to Monaco along
the beautiful Baie des Anges.
In Monaco, we witnessed the
changing of the guard and had
lunch in the area called le Rocher
(the Rock). Then it was back on the
bus and to the famous Principality
of Monte Carlo, famous for their
Casino and all the luxurious shops.
The next day, souvenir shopping
in Nice rounded off our last day in
France.
Our first stop in Italy brought us to a lunch
stop in one of Florence’s most famous
towns; Pisa - at the Field of the Miracle.
Later we had time to visit the Academia in
Florence, and Michelangelo’s David.
Yet another early morning start brought us
to Assisi, in the middle of the Region of
Umbria, in the shade of the famous Tuscany. During the visit of the Basilica of San
Francesco, we saw the Tomb and the relics
of the Saint. After lunch we left for the
Eternal City: Roma. Since all the roads lead
to Roma, it was easy to find. In Rome, we
visited the Pantheon and the tombs of the
King of Italy, and Rafaelo. Later we spent
some time on the Piazza near the famous
Bernini Fountain.
Our last day in
Europe found us
touring the Colosseo and walking
under grey skys
through the Roman ruins. After
lunch we visited a
different country:
the Vatican. We
toured the Museum
of the Vatican,
the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of San
Pietro. Later, a walking tour to the Spanish
Steps, the very famous Fontana di Trevi, as
well as more free time for our shopaholics,
brought our trip to an end.Some were sad to
leave, some were happy to get back home.
Mr. Guilherme, along with the other teachers, Ms. Bontempo, Ms. McMahon and Mr.
Finamore, hope everyone will treasure those
special moments for the rest of their lives.
Euro Trip 2010 will takes us on new adventures to France and Spain. Stay tuned - more
details to follow.
Ciao et a Bientot!
A
t
h
l
e
News from
the gym…
Spring is definitely
in the air, as the gym
and fields
bustle with
activity!
Spring sports are
well underway. Thanks to the
many students that came out and
tried out for junior and senior boys
soccer, girls soccer, boys baseball,
girls slo-pitch and track and field.
It is apparent that St. Paul is definitely attracting a high caliber of
athletes, especially when it comes
to our spring sports. The coaches
are optimistic about their upcoming seasons.
Our annual ski trip in February was a smashing success, as were the Grade 11 PHE
winter Silvercreek outdoor school trips.
The basketball coaches, L. Minott, Galli and
DeMarco are excited about their purchase
of a new “shooting machine” called Shootaway, which will improve the players shooting accuracy.
Special thanks to Mr. O’Reilly and Mr.
Derry for starting up rugby at St. Paul.
The PHE Dept is also looking forward to our
annual athletic banquet being held on June
11th, 2009. Make sure you mark it on
your calendar.
Congratulations go out to Coach Gillis,
for becoming a proud new dad and to
Coach O’Reilly, who got married on
April 25th.
Ski Trip
This year’s ski trip was a huge success!
t
i
c
s
Over fifty skiers and snowboarders boarded
the bus at 6:15am and left for Mt. St. Louis
Moonstone. The snow enthusiasts arrived to
find freshly fallen powder conditions. Even
though it was a very cold day, the bright
sun and camaraderie made up for the wind
chill. Thanks to Ms. Schlarp, Mr. Derry, Mr.
Vicars and Ms. De Marco for supervising
this successful event.
Outdoor Education
The St. Paul Outdoor Club will be up and
running their Saturday hiking trips again, beginning in early May. We encourage students
to come and enjoy God’s wondrous creation
as they hike the Bruce Trail.
The Grade 11 PHE classes experienced
Silvercreek Outdoor Centre in the winter. It
is apparent that our students definitely need
W
o
l
v
more exposure to the outdoors. They
loved the team building and cooperative activities, as well as hiking
along the Snowy Bruce Trail. Many
students had opportunities to develop
their leadership skills, by helping out
their classmates that were challenged
by the outdoor activities.
Thanks go out to the Silvercreek
staff for providing
our students with
such a valuable
experience.
All of the
students loved
their outdoor
experience.
They realized
how important
it is to reconnect
with nature and to
take more time out of
their busy schedules to
slow down.
Mississauga
Monarch Basketball
Workshop
On April 29th, the Mississauga Monarch Basketball Club held a free skill
development workshop at St. Paul.
The after school workshop was open
to all students who wanted to develop
their basketball skills.
The Mississauga Monarch’s
are encouraging students to get
involved in their house league
program. If you would like
your child to be involved in
staying fit and improving their
basketball skills, please call the
Mississauga Monarch’s at 905607-9803.
e
r
i
n
e
Track and Field
This year’s track and field season
looks promising. Over 40 students
tried out and congratulations go out
to the 16 members of the St. Paul
track team, who successful in meeting the ROPSSA standards.
Thanks to Mr. Galli and Ms. De
Marco for arranging
special practices at
the York University Track
and Field Center. Besides
these specialized practices,
the team will
be participating in three extra
meets to help further
develop their track and
field skills.
Health News
Mental Health…
Mental Health is generally having a
positive outlook, being comfortable
with yourself and others, and being
able to meet life’s challenges and
demands. It is apparent that more and
more students are struggling with
their mental health. Many students
are having a hard time juggling their
school, home, sports and work commitments and are finding themselves
overwhelmed.
According to teenagedepression.org,
teenage depression affects 20% of
teenagers before they reach adulthood. It is a serious condition that, in
some cases, could lead to substance
s
A
t
h
l
e
t
i
c
s
abuse, addiction, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. According to an article in the
Toronto Star, “Mental Illness is still a family
secret”, some parents are too embarrassed to
seek help for their children struggling with
mental health issues. It is important that
we all work together to remove the damaging stigma that our society places on mental
health disorders.
This leads us to another good reason for
PHE to be mandatory in high school for all
four years. Grades 11 and 12 Healthy Active
Living Education covers mental health in
detail and helps to
normalize mental
health issues by
openly discussing
and raising the critical importance of
early intervention.
Ten Tips for Mental
Health
1. Build a healthy
self-esteem
2. Eat well and keep
fit
3. Create positive family relationships
4. Make friends who count
5. Create a meaningful budget
6. Get involved/volunteer
7. Manage stress effectively
8. Learn to cope with changes that affect
you
9. Identify and deal with your moods
10.Develop your spirituality
If you are struggling with mental health
issues in your family, check out the CAMH
website www.camh.net.
2009 Athletic Banquet
The St. Paul Athletic Council is busily
planning their annual Athletic Banquet being held on June 11th, 2009 in the St. Paul
Cafetorium.
The Athletic Banquet is open to all students
that have participated on a school team in
the 2008-2009 school year. The evening will
celebrate excellence by awarding MVP, MIP
or Sportsmanship awards to each team, as
well as choosing athletes of the year.
If you have played on a school team and you
have not paid your athletic team fee, please
make sure you come to the PHE office before the end of May.
This is also an opportunity to thank all of the
coaches for their hard work and time commitment in mentoring our student athletes.
This Must Be The Place – The School Play Gets Set
for Opening Night...
Excitement is building at St. Paul as crews build sets,
painters paint flats, sewers hem costumes, teams gather
props, technicians focus lights, graphic artists design posters, videographers focus lenses, make-up artists create
looks, front of house prints tickets, chefs practice dishes,
actors learn lines, stage managers call cues, and directors
go crazy. Yes – it’s time for the School Play. While the
behind the scenes work is only just beginning, rehearsals
on stage have reached a fever pitch. Our cast of eighteen
actors have risen to this extraordinary demand of their time and talent as they prepare to
amaze you – our audience – on opening night.
What is the play about? When Bob Zachary, world famous artist, decides it’s time to pop the
question to his beloved April, fate gets in the way. Chaos erupts: a bus load of tourists are
dumped on his door; the Desmond Diamonds go missing; both Gloria and Candy think Bob
intends to propose to them; Detective Wendel is determined to “get his man”; the foreboding
Julian lumbers onto the stage; and Roger just wants his girl to “cut that out”. Sisters Pomona
and Minerva seek to uncover the hanky-panky as doors slam, identities are lost and found,
and secrets are revealed. Our cast features both new comers and veterans. They include:
Mike Fusillo, Joanna Lewandowska, Desmond Curtis, Sarah Forma, Victoria Bettencourt,
Monique Morgan, Jeremy Kozelj, Joseph T, Tati Stolf, Alanna Humphreys, Patricia Oliveira,
Andreia Henriques, Catherine Zajac, Sherryne dos Santos, Nicole Dalli, Amanda Forest,
Amanda Dobson and Emily De Luca.
Our first of three performances is a special Feeder School screening set for Tuesday, May
12th at 9 a.m. Be sure to come to our Dinner Theatre on Wednesday May 13 –It’s a deal for
only $25 - advanced tickets only, for a delicious four course meal and a cash bar. Seating
is at 6:15 p.m. Or come to our French Cafe on closing night – Thursday May14th at 7:30
– Advance tickets $10 / $12 at the door. Thanks to all for your support of Drama at St. Paul
Drama... a school with a huge heart, cause “This Must Be The Place”.
If you have questions about the play or would like to purchase tickets, contact the school, or
Ms. McMahon.
Looking Ahead
Mid-term reports distributed...........................................................................................April 24
Parent-Teacher Interview Night......................................................................................April 30
Catholic Education Week............................................................................................. May 4 - 8
School Play & Dinner Theatre................................................................................May 13 & 14
Civvies Day......................................................................................................................May 22
Carnival & Wellness Day.................................................................................................May 22
Victoria Day (school closed)............................................................................................May 18
Spirit Week......................................................................................................... week of May 19
Late warning letters sent home.......................................................................... week of May 25
EQAO Math Assessment for Grade 9 students...........................................................June 8 & 9
Closing School Mass & St. Paul Jubilee.......................................................................... June 11
Athletic Banquet (evening).............................................................................................. June 11
Final Exam Period...................................................................................................... June 16-19
Prom Night.......................................................................................................................June 19
Grad Mass........................................................................................................................June 23
Graduation/Commencement................................................................................ June 24 (5 pm)
Principal Cont’d
extremely versatile athlete and educator. Mr. Alp has decided to retire
from the profession at the height of
his game without losing a step.
If those were the only changes that
were on the horizon at St. Paul , our
challenges would be massive, but this
is no ordinary year. In the fall, our
Mathematics and Computer Studies
department head, Mr. Claudio Attanasio was successfully hired to the
new Aloysius Ambrozic SS, near his
home. W e will be saying bon voyage
to a fine department head and team
player at the department head’s table.
From the mixed blessings department
is the good news that Ms. Theresa
George, our Science Department
head has successfully completed
the LQP (Leadership Qualification
Program) and has been placed in
the pool of candidates for promotion to the position of Vice Principal.
Ms. George has served the St. Paul
community for over fifteen years in
a myriad of ways and we have been
informed that the Board meeting in
May will assign new secondary VPs;
so we wait with bated breath.
A learning organization that loses
over seventy years of experience in
one academic year faces challenges
that the memory of younger teachers simply cant bring to discussion;
though they ccertainly bring other
relevant, valuable perspectives. The
realities of second class citizenship as
a catholic system before completed
funding, teaching seven sections out
of eight to keep our system solvent,
initiating the gains of Bill 82, when
special education had to justify its
existence in an elitist system all belong to our senior teachers. Without
a Vision, the people perish., said the
Prophets. All of my esteemed colleagues above, whom I wish to thank
with radical gratitude, have a Vision.
Bonne chance!!
Visit our Web Site for the most
up-to-date information.
www.stpaulss.org
The Guidance Files
Welcome to Spring!
Student Services counselors completed the winter routines with the
organizing, presenting and collecting of course selection sheets for the
2009-2010 school year.
This year St. Paul Secondary introduced an alternative method of
payment for school fees. Parents
may now use the debit or credit card
payment options when submitting the
annual $60.00 student fee. Cash and
cheques are still accepted.
Verifications sheets were distributed
in homeroom classes and any changes were required by Tuesday, April
14. Thank you to all the students
who returned these important forms
and fees on time. A special Heartfelt thanks to our Student Services
secretary, Mrs. Pozniak, for her patience, diligence and friendly smiles,
throughout this entire process!
Night School Students
Private School Courses
You are responsible for submitting
a copy of your report card to your
counselor in order for all marks to be
recorded in your academic profile.
This must be done as soon as you
have received mid-term and final
marks.
Graduation/Commencement/Prom
Information
Potential Graduates received invitations during the week of March 16.
Due Dates:
April 17, 2009 $80.00 fee to Student
Services
May 29 2009 - 40 hrs of Community
Service must be completed
June 16-22, Final Exam/Evaluation
week
June 19, Graduation Prom
June 23
Graduation/
Commencement Mass
&Breakfast
June 24
Graduation/Commencement
Ceremony
Remember!
Students planning to graduate and attend a
post-secondary program are responsible for
reviewing and managing their accumulated
credits required for the OSS Diploma and
college/university admissions. Students are
given a Credit Summary several times during each school year to support this information.
Future Career Goals
The students taking the Designing Your
Future course had the opportunity to learn
about various career opportunities from the
following guest speakers:
M. Monticciolo-Hair & Esthetics
R. Peters- Social Work
V. Lothian -C.Y.W.
R. Silva-Teaching
M. Chaloupka -Police
H. Navas-Insurance and Sheridan College
Future guests will include the Skilled
Trades, Music Industry and Engineering
careers.
Summer School Information
Deadlines for Dufferin-Peel Schools Friday,
May 28, 4:00p.m., Walk in Registration for
all Sites Tuesday, June 30 9:00-12:00 noon
(Only courses with openings), First day of
Summer School Thursday July 2, 8:15 a.m.
Don’t Give Up!
Many students will be receiving admission
information from perspective colleges or
university programs. Keep working hard to
achieve those impressive final grades. Good
luck to all our students in these final months
of Semester Two. Submit all assignments on
time, attend all classes, participate!
The English and Drama
Departments Go to the
Theatre
Once again, the English Department has
coordinated a round of trips to see theatre at
its finest.
Ms. Bentivoglio, Ms. Romao, Ms. McMahon, Ms. Di Carlo and Mr. Guilherme have
arranged trips to Stratford and Toronto to see
such plays as: Romeo and Juliet, The Sound
of Music, Macbeth, West Side Story and
Cyrano de Berger.
Students have learned to value these outings
that promote community, culture, Drama
and Art. We look forward to a jam-packed
spring-‘cause it’s all about teaching the love
of theatre as a life skill.
Broadcasting SHSM
Students Receive Apple
Certified Training
Students enrolled in the Broadcasting High
Skills Major Programme took a five day
hiatus from their regular duties to partake in
Apple’s Certified Pro Application Training.
The workshop provided students with detailed lectures in professional programs such
as Final Cut Pro, Motion and
DVD Studio Pro. Funding for the training was
provided by the Ministry
of Education and Dufferin-Peel Board, through the
Student Success Strategy
initiative.
The Apple Certified Pro program creates
a benchmark for assessing an enduser’s
proficiency in a specific Apple Pro application. By taking and passing the Apple Certified Pro exam, these students will be given
Apple Certified Pro status, which will allow
them to distinguish themselves to colleges,
universities, employers, and future clients as
skilled users of the chosen software application.
This certification gives individuals a competitive edge in today’s ever-changing job
market.
Holy Thursday: The Road Less
Travelled
On April 9th, the St. Paul Community gathered to remember
and retrace the footsteps of many travellers – each with a story
that brought the message of Holy Thursday to the fore. After
all, we are all on a journey – and many of our St. Paul students
have travelled from Peterborough to Ottawa; Quebec to Stratford; Assisi to Siena; Paris to Rome.
The Senior Drama class used the stories of the pilgrimages of
the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, our Patron Saint Paul
and the Cavalry of Christ to make us all aware of the road
less travelled. Their Original Anthology Play was the product
of a three week project – where students helped contribute to
the script, design the set, block the movement, learn the lines,
design the lights and costumes, and then share their work.
The Audience was moved to laughter as the Prodigal Child was
reunited with her parent in a slow motion tribute to Chariots
of Fire. The Traveller rescued by the Good Samaritan was
mobbed by Mission Impossible minions. St. Paul was blinded
by the thunder of God, only to regain his sight through a healing reminiscent of Gospel (Alleluia, Praise the Lord!) magic.
The light tone established by the Godspell-like beginning
changed abruptly as Jesus told us “Behold, we are going up to
Jerusalem and all things that have been written by the prophets
concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will
be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and scourged
and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will
put him to death; and on the third day he will rise again”. His
agony in Gethsemane, trial, scourging, Passion of the Cross
and eventual crucifixion were punctuated by his own words
– Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
We would like to thank Ms. McMahon’s direction of a great
group of senior students who worked very hard to make this final journey so very poignant indeed. Congratulations to: Mike
Fusillo (Christ), Venicio Ferreira (the Traveller), Amanda Raposo (poet and Good Samaritan), Alanna Humphreys (Prodigal
Child), Sarah Forma (Good Child), Dylan Prior (Father), Jbar
Mahamoud (Saul / Paul), Paulo Santos (Ananias), and our
ensemble Skylar Brugmans, Taylor Brugmans, Stephen Covic,
Danielle Nocera, Kasia Okragly, Patricia Oliveira, Ashley
Rocha and Erin Valenzuela (acting as narrators, guards, crowd,
bandits, conga line and even our “road”).
Thanks also to staff who hung banners and bought lamps; to
students who worked our tech sound (Michael Kobelak) and light (Tati Stolf); to the entire St. Paul community – for receiving our
story with such grace... The road is long but when you take the path less travelled, it has made all the difference.
Who
To
Call
Trustees: B. Iannicca - 905-270-0536, bruno.iannicca@dpcdsb.org. M. Pascucci - 905-624-3663, mario.pascucci@dpcdsb.org
L. McGuire - Superintendent
M. McHenry - Student Services/ARD
B. Finamore - Chaplain
P. Schmidt - Principal
E. Wasiuk - Counsellor, A - K, ESL
V. Lothian - Youth Care Worker
J. Dmytrasz - Vice Principal
K. Grenier - Counsellor, L - Z
Fr. N. Roberts - St. Domenic Parish Pastor
M. Piperni - Heartbeat Editor
T. Brugmans - Layout & Design
815 Atwater Avenue, Mississauga, Ontario L5E 1L8
Phone: 905-278-3994
Web: stpaulss.org
Fax: 905-278-1163