St. Paul Secondary School’s
Principal’s Message
It is always with bittersweet memories that I put my year end thoughts
to print and probably more so this
year than ever before. In addition
to saying farewell to our colleagues
who are departing to retirements
and other career opportunities, I
am also regretting the departure of
many valued, concerned parents
(Mrs. Simpson, Cormier, Catani,
Giovenco, Di Vito) and wish to thank
Mrs. Dobson, Bissola, OToole, and
Krajewski who gave so generously
of their time to make St. Paul a better
school. The third party to a successful school culture is the exemplary
parish relationship that has evolved
through the commitment and dedication of Fr. Noel Whelan and Fr. Rudy
Volk at St. Dominics. This relationship between staff, parents and parish
was nowhere more evident than
on our June 11th dedication of our
Marian Peace Garden at the front of
our building. Without the perseverance of Mrs. Hastings and the Jubilee
Year Committee, the generosity of
our Parent Council, especially Mr.
Boyd and Shamrock Construction,
it’s doubtful that we could witness a
modern miracle like our peace garden
come to fruition.
Since our last newsletter we can confirm the appointment of Ms. George,
our Science Department Head to
the position of Vice Principal at Fr.
Michael Goetz SS and the appointment of Mr. John Tsilfidis as Acting Science Department Head. Ms.
George joined our community fifteen
years ago and her commitment to
many of our ongoing projets, particularly the Marian Peace Garden will
stand as a legacy to her vision and
perseverance. We can also report the
appointment of Ms. Shane Pereira to
Summer 2009
Students carry the Statue of St. Paul as we celebrate the Year of St. Paul at our final
Mass at St. Domenic Parish.
our ARD department. Ms. Pereira comes to
us after serving in an LTO position this year.
Mr. Will Schuster returns to us as well next
year as an Educational Resource Worker.
Academic 2009-2010 will continue to be a
year of change and transformation of our
program offerings. New courses in Web
Design and Leadership and Mentoring will
add to our current selection of offerings. Our
SHSM in the Environment will be actively
recruiting grade nine and ten students to the
program. Most notably is the addition of the
Alternative Education Program, with twenty
students in credit deficit who have chosen
to commit to a limited school day (10:00 to
2:00) and community service work at Dr.
Simone’s. Managing the program will be
Ms. Sturino and Mr. Isabella who will share
the Student Success position as well. We
are confident that those students who don’t
adapt well to an all day school environment
can find success through adaptions such as
these.
We will move into the second year of our
new uniform and have decided not to pursue
a summer uniform at this time due the
fragmented nature of our current transition
and the desire of staff to make uniform an
area for improvement in 2009-2010. While
on this topic, I wanted to thank most of our
parents for a usually sober and supportive
attitude towards building a culture of student
success. I have made a list of the five most
important ways that parents can contribute
to their teenagers success at St. Paul Secondary. They are :
1. Take school start times seriously for
your daughter/son. They aren’t guidelines or
suggested times. Students are expected to be
in class at 8:20 and they normally have several indicators of how much time they have.
Conversely, let us know if there is a teacher
who is persistently late.
2. Take school uniform seriously because
they aren’t optional and they signify that
your son or daughter have accepted the St.
Paul advantage which doesn’t make adolescents think about their style preferences in
the morning.
continued on page 6
Chaplain’s Corner
Drama Showcase
On Thursday, June 11, 2009, the St. Paul School Community celebrated its annual year end
Mass.
Drama students from the Grade Ten
and Senior classes were pleased to
present their Drama Showcase of six
plays to a very appreciative audience
on June 12th. In what has become
a St. Paul tradition, we crowded an
audience of about 60 parents and
friends into an intimate performance
area.This practical exam allows our
students to crystallize the year’s
study in a one act play performance.
This allows them to amalgamate
skills in collaboration, staging (set,
costumes, lighting, sound), acting,
direction, technical support; they
can more importantly celebrate their
work by showing it to an appreciative
audience of their peers.This year’s
drama presentations included:
The final Mass is a very emotional time. We thank God for the times shared and we say
goodbye to teachers and students who will not be returning to the school in the Fall. Since
this has been a year unlike any other; for the past twelve months we have been celebrating
the Year of St. Paul with the Universal
Catholic Church. As well, we had a few
added surprises to our day. After the Mass,
we had an old fashioned Catholic Procession from St. Dominic Church back to
the school. The procession was led by
Piper Brice and featured flags and crosses
carried by students from the school. A
statute of St. Paul was also proudly carried
back to the school. The parade was quite
a spectacle, especially for the students at
Cawthra Park!
Upon returning to the school, the community gathered around the newly constructed Marian
Grotto at the front of the property. The Grotto was blessed and dedicated by Fr. Noel Whalen
and Fr. Rudy Volk with water taken from the Jordan River in Israel. There were speeches,
music and a Liturgical dramatization performed by the M&M’s and Drama students. The Parent Council sponsored a delicious barbecue after the blessing for all staff and students. It was
a beautiful day.
Special thanks to the Boyd Family, Mrs. Di Vito, Mrs.
Dobson and Mrs. Nora and the parent council for their
hard work on this day. Thanks also to the many staff who
were members of the Friends of St. Paul Committee, who
planned many memorable events throughout this past year.
Please feel free to visit this beautiful Marian Shrine the
next time you are in the area and have a few minutes to
spare.
I would like to remind the St. Paul School Community that
Dr. Simone’s CFFC Warehouse is in need of volunteers
throughout the summer holidays. The warehouse is located
at 1258 Lakeshore Rd (Dixie & Lakeshore). It is open
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. Mr. Finamore will
be at the warehouse on Friday Mornings. CFFC is the feel
good experience of the summer! It is a great way to get
those community service hours completed!
May God continue to Bless us all and keep us safe during the summer holidays!
Looking Ahead
Grade 9 Orientation Morning (10 am – 12 noon)......................Wednesday September 2, 2009
First Day of Classes.......................................................................Tuesday September 8, 2009
Thanksgiving Day Holiday.............................................................. Monday October 12, 2009
Take Our Kids to Work Day...................................................... Wednesday November 4, 2009
Christmas Break.................................. Monday December 21, 2009 – Friday January 1, 2010
Final Exams for Semester 1......................January 25 through to January 29, 2010 (inclusive)
Family Day Holiday........................................................................Monday February 15, 2010
Mid-Winter Break......................................Monday March 15, 2010 – Friday March 19, 2010
Football Romeo (Nelson Converso,
Samantha De Melo, Christopher
Medhurst, Teresa Nguyen)
My Proud Beauty (Amanda Barre,
Chantel Carreiro, Cassandra Cassey,
Amanda Dobson, Kristen McGowan,
Richyll Mendonza)
Robin Hood (Jennifer Bras, Nicole
Dalli, Jonathon Faria, Alex Rogowski, Charlene Wolf)
Murder Well Rehearsed (Amanda
Raposo, Skylar Brugmans, Taylor
Brugmans, Paulo Santos, Jibar Mahoummed, Erin Valenzuela, Ashley
Rocha)
The Actor’s Nightmare (Michael
Fusillo, Alanna Humphreys, Patty
Oliveira, Stephen Covic, Kasia
Okragly)
Heroes (Sarah Forma, Venicio Ferreira, Dylan Prior, Danielle Nocera).
As a closing admonition – in relation
to her pending retirement- Ms. McMahon urged her students to continue
to seek joy from future dramatic endeavors; to go to see live theatre and
to pursue it as a hobby; to remember
the creative potential that is within
us all. She thanks Mr. Guiherme for
his dedication to Drama and knows
that she leaves the program in good
hands. Omnia Cum Corde to all!
A
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Congratulations...
to the St. Paul Athletic Council for organizing another successful Athletic Banquet
which was held on June 12th, in the transformed St. Paul cafetorium. The evening
was a fitting tribute to the nearly 200
athletes and coaches that helped make this a
successful year in athletics. The little school
with heart continues to be a force to reckon
with both in the gym and on the fields. Congratulations to SPAC president Kim Naval
and SPAC members: Michelle Raposo, Alex
Zubilewich, Susana Sousa, Megan Curran,
Jessica Oblak, Sarah De Sousa, Adrienne
Naval, Phillip De Sousa, David Arruda,
Leslie Skakun and Dorota Charubin for their
amazing commitment this year. It has been
a real pleasure working with such motivated
and self-directed students.
Our senior boys soccer team had another
successful season which ended up in a fifth
trip to OFSAA in six years. Congratulations to Mr. O’Reilly and Mr. Tsilfidis for
their successful season and to Max Kowal
and Lucas Cavallini, co-MVP’s for sr. boys
soccer. A very special thank you to all of the
coaches for volunteering much of their time
to coaching and mentoring our students.
Lastly, a special thank you to Mr. Schmidt
and Mr. Dmytrasz for their continued support and encouragement.
Miss Schlarp is off on a sabbatical from September to January and we wish her a much
deserved break to travel and further her yoga
training. She looks forward to being back
next February!
St. Paul Athletic Awards
Girls Athlete of the Year: Stefania Viscardi
Boys Athlete of the Year: Mark Mlakar
Girls Heart Award: Kristy Mlakar
Boys Heart Award: Shawn Buric
Jr. Boys Volleyball
MVP, Shawn Buric
Sportsmanship, Kristian Velkoski
Sr. Boys Volleyball
MVP, Patrick Andula
MIP, Dillon Ljubicic
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Jr. Girls Basketball
MVP, Jenna Veglia
Sportsmanship, Kelsey Forestell
Tennis
MIP, Leslie Skakun
Sportsmanship, Kevin Sanabria
Flag Football
Off. MVP, Kristy Mlakar
Def.MVP, Amanda Forest
Cross Country
MVP, Marc Williams
Sportsmanship, Lauren Jansa
Varsity boys Basketball
MIP, Adam Dekundy
Sportsmanship, Karlo Cantor
Varsity Girls Volleyball
MVP, Tanya Piitz
MIP, Luba Sulypka
Boys Hockey
Def MVP, Nicholas Gutt
Off. MVP, Brandyn Vessio
Girls Hockey
MVP, Katelyn Turk
MIP, Ashley Cormier
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Sportsmanship, Cristian Cavallini
Sr. Boys Soccer
Co-MVP’s Maksym Kowal &
Lucas Cavallini
Boys Baseball Team
This year’s varsity boys baseball
team had another successful season
playing in Tier 1. After going 3 - 2
in the regular season and making it
to the quarter-finals in the Gonzaga
Tier 1 tournament the boys made it
into the Tier 1 playoffs for the second
consecutive year. Despite a great
pitching performance by Thomas
Litvinskas and Johnathan Solazzo the
team lost the quarter-finals to St. Edmund Campion 2 - 1 who went on to
be the ROPSSAA champions. Thank
you to all players graduating or not
returning. Special mention goes
out to Johnathan Solazzo who was
honoured by the Toronto Blue Jays
and the Toronto Star for his selection
to the Toronto Star/Toronto Blue Jays
high school baseball All-Star team.
He is one of 9 players chosen from
the GTA to represent the best in high
school baseball.
Sr. Badminton
Co-MVP’s Patrick Andula & Kevin
Sanabria
Jr. Badminton
Brian Kaiser
Track and Field
MVP, Mark Mlakar
Sportsmanship, Lauren Jansa
Girls Slo-Pitch
Co-MVP’s Keri Merrimen &
Elizabeth Talmassons
Baseball
Co-MVP’s Johnathan Solazzo &
Thomas Litvinskas
Girls Soccer
MVP, Katherine Curitti
Sportsmanship,Amanda Forest
Jr. Boys Soccer
MVP-Bohdan Sulypka
Track and Field
This years Track and Field team
once again proved that they cannot
be silenced. With only a team of 12
athletes, 6 were successful at the
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ROPSSAA championships earning
a place at the South Regional finals.
This season, the athletes had the opportunity to compete in a high level
meet in Brockville. This meet has
been known to draw top competitors
from all over the province. For most
of our athletes, it was a valuable experience in which they succeeded at
improving their own personal bests.
Mr. Galli and Ms. De Marco want to
thank the team for their hard work
and dedication, and look forward to a
strong year in 2010.
Flag Football June Jamboree
On Friday June 5th, St. Paul held
their first “ June Jamboree” girls flag
football tournament. The wolverines hosted St. Aloysius Gonzaga,
Markham SS, Agincourt Collegiate
and St. Augustine. All players involved demonstrated a high degree
of competitiveness while maintaining
excellent sportsmanship. Our own
Wolverines competed fiercely and
proudly and finished with a respectable 2-2 record. Way to go girls!
Congratulations go out to Gonzaga
players and coaches for their victory.
Special thanks to all staff and students who helped make this a huge
success!
Junior Boys Soccer
The Junior Boys Soccer team completed another campaign at the end of
May 2009. Although our record was
not impressive, we played against the
toughest teams in the entire league,
in the competitive South Division of
Tier 1 ROPSSAA Soccer. A preseason tournament at St. Marcellinus, gave the coaches a good idea
of player positioning. Our first half
of the season started off well, even
though we lost in four very close
games. As the season progressed,
stalwarts emerged on the team and
the coaches were very pleased to see
this. We say goodbye to the Grade 10
players who will, next year, play on
the Senior team. To the current Grade
9 players, we hope to see them back
in September, for weekly pre-season mini-camps. On a sad note, we
Male athlete of the Year- Mark Mlakar, Female athlete of the Year- Stefania Viscardi
Male heart award- Shawn Buric, Female heart award- Kristy Mlakar
say goodbye to head coach Mr. Attanasio,
who leaves St. Paul at the end of June. Mr.
Attanasio starts his new teaching position
at Cardinal Ambrozic, a brand new school
opening in September 2009. We wish him
all the best and thank him for reviving the
junior programme here at St. Paul. Thank
you, Mr. Attanasio, for your many years of
dedication and in your effort to produce fine
young men on our soccer teams.
Culminating thoughts from Megan
Curran, Grade 9 HAL student.
Through elementary school, I was never the
active one and I never really liked sports,
any sports. I would never participate in
anything. Going into high school and meeting some of the gym teachers has got me to
think that getting active won’t be so bad after all. After hearing my friends say that gym
class was so fun and awesome, I decided
that getting active wouldn’t kill me after
all. Lo and behold, I now love it! Not only
are you getting the chance to meet some
awesome teachers, you are learning sports,
learning about a fit and healthy lifestyle and
most importantly, how to look in the mirror
and say, “I look good”. I have learned to
love myself for who I am, and not worry
what others think. I’ve gained much self-esteem and come out of class with a much bigger heart. One of the most memorable things
that I learned was about empowerment: the
power of “me”, and how great I feel in everyway. Being in an all girls class was also
really cool; I really learned the meaning of
girl power and what it means to stand up for
yourself and not be afraid to find your voice.
Gym class has been an experience that I will
never forget, as I continue on the path of a
healthy, active lifestyle.
The Guidance Files
M & M’s
The Student Services staff would
like to remind you of some important
information as we conclude the 20082009 school year.
As another year draws to a close, the staff
leaders would like to thank and congratulate the M&Ms on their commitment and
enthusiasm!
Summer School dates are posted.
New and Full Make-up Sessions:
Thursday, July 2-Friday July 31,
Special recognition goes to Sarah Forma, Tatiana Stolf, Kate Goosens, Pauline Priadka,
Dylan Prior and Mitch Fillion who will be
graduating this month. Both your musical
and spiritual presence will be missed!
Make-up Session 1:
Thursday, July 2-Thursday July 16
Make-Up Session 2:
Friday July 17-Friday July 31
Congratulations to all our Class of
2009 Graduates! We wish you every
success as you venture into apprenticeships, post-secondary programs
or the workforce. For those of you
requiring financial aid there are many
opportunities available through the
following websites:
Ontario Student Assistance
Program(OSAP)
https;//osap.gov.on.ca
Visit your college or university Student Assistance Office for information on bursaries, jobs and financial
programs.
Congratulations Johnathan Solazzo.
We wish you continued success as
you join Grayson County College in
Texas, USA on a Baseball Scholarship. Batter Up!
Wednesday,September 2, 2009
Grade 9 Orientation Morning 10:00
A.M.-12:00P.M. St Paul Cafetorium. Grade 9 students will receive
their schedules, meet their teachers,
classmates, tour the school and enjoy
a pizza lunch. They will be ready to
begin their secondary school classes
on Tuesday, September 8. We look
forward to meeting you!
All students in grade 10,11 and 12
will receive their 2009-2010 schedule
on
September
8, the first day of school.
The M&Ms are finishing the year in style,
preparing for the graduation mass and ceremony, and our year-end trip to Wonderland.
Please Note: Students requesting a change to
their schedule must follow these procedures:
(There will be No Schedule Changes made
over the telephone).
It is at this time that all staff and student
members of the St. Paul Music and Ministry
Team would like to offer a heartfelt thanks
to Ms. McMahon for her gifts of music, faith
and leadership as she retires.
1. Complete the Request for Timetable
Change form located in Student Services.
2. Parent signatures must be complete.
3. Submit to Student Services and wait in
their present classes for an appointment.
Grade 12 students please remember: If you
are applying to university you need a MINIMUM of 6 4U/4M courses for university
entrance.
Co-operative education courses are not accepted within these requirements.
September >November
Representatives from college, university
and apprenticeship programs will be meeting with St. Paul students during these first
months of school.
Thank you for putting your heart into your
ministry. Your presence will be greatly
missed next year, but we will keep you in
mind as we continue to witness to the message of Jesus through love, laughter, and
music!
English and Drama
Departments go
tripping to the
theatre...
Classes from several English and Drama
classes had the opportunity to wrap up the
year by seeing some truly excellent theatre.
Displays will be staged in the school’s front
foyer in order for students from all grades to
ask questions and hear valuable information
on requirements for post-secondary programs. Students are strongly encouraged to
participate in these lunch hour presentations.
Colm Feore’s “Macbeth” and “Cyrano de
Bergerac” - both at the Stratford Festival
- were knockouts. Students loved climbing
every mountain as they saw “The Sound of
Music” in the downtown production. Media
classes used the movie “Gran Torino” to
elicit great discussions about aging, gangs
and friendship.
Best Wishes for a safe and relaxing summer
holiday from the staff of Student Services;
Ms. McHenry, Ms. Wasiuk, Mr. Grenier, Ms.
Sturino, Ms. Lothian, Ms. Peters, Dr. Krane,
and Mrs. Pozniak
Our thanks to all the teachers who organized
these opportunities. We hope our students
learn to love the Arts and theatre as much
as their teachers - Ms. Bentivoglio, Mrs.
Romao, Ms. McMahon, Mr. Guilherme.
... Cont’d from page 1
Best Video Prize
3. Honour the school calendar and don’t
plan vacations or trips that take your teenagers out of school. In a semester system there
is little or no time to miss class.
Jeremy Kozelj and Alec Horne won the Best Comedy Award (and $2500.00) for their
3 minute video “So You Think You Know Mining”, an entry they submitted to the
Ontario Mining Association’s High School Video Competition as part of one of their
reach-ahead experiences.
4. Teenagers need Adult influence and
good parental authority. Teenagers have lots
of buddies, they need mature adults to provide guidance. It’s false Christianity to buy
into the whatever philosophy.
The purpose of the competition
was to create a 2-3 minute video
profiling the benefits of mining,
exploring the range of benefits
that it brings to society including
economic growth, employment
opportunities, beneficial end-uses
of mining products, as well as
technological and environmental
innovation.
5. Don’t buy cell phones because everyone
else has one. Buy them a good book to read
so that real literacy can take root instead of
scanning useless information.
I don’t believe there’s been a more difficult
time to raise teenagers but St. Paul parents
are struggling with the challenge and making heroic choices. Now it’s back to you
for a couple of months as we move into the
summer break.
Have a safe and restful holiday. God Bless.
New For Science
The Science Curriculum is changing for all
Grades 9 - 12 effective September 2009.
Teachers have attended in-service at the
Ministry and Board levels and are busy
preparing to implement the new curriculum
when school reopens in September.
Sadly, we say goodbye to two teachers: Ms.
Yeung and Ms. George. Ms. Yeung joined
our staff in March and has done an excellent
job teaching the Grade 10 Academic course.
We wish her all the best in the future.
Ms. George leaves St. Paul to take up her
new appointment as Vice Principal of Fr.
Goetz. She has been Head of Science for
the past 6 years and a teacher at St. Paul for
16 years. We wish Ms. George all the very
best and God’s blessings in her new job.
As we head into summer, we wish all students a happy and safe summer. See you in
September.
Who
To
Call
The winning videos were showcased on Sunday, May 10 during
the Canadian Institute of Mining Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, followed by a gala awards ceremony.
Jeremy and Alec are two of the SHSM Broadcasting students who graduated with a
Red Seal Diploma this June.
Congratulations on your Retirement
St. Paul bids farewell to Gary Alp (Department Head of Social Science) and Christine
McMahon (Department Head of English and Drama). They are retiring after many
years of hard work and dedication to the teaching profession and in particular to the
St. Paul Community. Both teachers were founding members of St. Paul’s
transition from a Junior High School to a Full High School. They have taught thousands of students and have seen up to two generations of some families graduate St.
Paul; having taught several children, nieces and nephews of former students.
Students will always remember the gift of Mrs.
McMahon’s lovely voice and music at every St. Paul
mass and function, as well as her spectacular drama
performances. As well, Mr. Alp’s students will take
with them, many of his gifts; especially the gift of
meticulous research, the love of life-long learning and the love of the game of baseball.
St. Paul would like to say thank you to Gary
Alp and Christine McMahon and wish them all
the very best on their future endeavours. Both
are looking forward to having more time to
enjoy their many other interests.We also wish
you health, happiness and God’s blessings as you
embark on your well-deserved retirements. You
will be greatly missed by your students and colleagues. Congratulations Gary and Christine!
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