Volume 3 - APRIL 2010ADMINISTRATIVE NEWSP

HOENIX

FLASH

St. Francis Catholic Secondary School

Niagara Catholic District School Board

Mr. K. Griepsma, PrincipalMr. M. Diamond and Mr. A. Soares, Vice Principals

541 Lake Street, St. Catharines, ON L2N 4H7(905)646-2002 Phone (905)646-1452 Fax

April is a time of renewal, in many senses of the word. The rains renew our fields and wash away the evidence of winter. Jesus’ resurrection is another sign of renewal in our Catholic faith.

As we continue in the Easter season, we thank God for our many blessings and ask that we continue to have the strength, stamina and focus to continue our mission of living the Gospel values as a Catholic Secondary School community.

Mid-term reports have been sent home with students and we ask parents to review the status of their child’s progress in their various courses. Please contact your child’s teacher or teachers if you have any questions or concerns pertaining to your child’s progress in his or her courses.

Please note that a number of relevant activities will be taking place at St. Francis in the coming months, including:- a return visit from Fr. Tony Ricard who addressed all Niagara Catholic District School Board graduates at last year’s board-wide celebration. Fr. Ricard will be at St. Francis on Tuesday, May 4th as part of Catholic Education Week.- St. Francis will be holding a “Relay for Life” on the evening of Friday, May 28th and into the morning hours of Saturday, May 29th. This event is designed to raise awareness and funds for cancer and cancer research.- There will a board “Faith Day” on Friday, May 21st. This is a Professional Activity day for staff and there will be no classes for students on this day. Additionally, Monday, May 24th will be Victoria Day. Thus classes will resume on Tuesday, May 25th.- The Grade 9 EQAO Math Assessment will be conducted on Tuesday, June 15th and

Wednesday, June 16th.- Final Exams will run from Tuesday, June 22nd to Monday, June 28th.- Graduation Exercises will take place at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus of Niagara College (Glendale) on Tuesday, June 29th and the prom will take place at Jon Michaels’ Banquet Hall in Thorold on Wednesday, June 30th.

May God continue to bless the St. Francis community as we progress toward our year-end activities.

Recognition: Congratulations to Kristin Daoust, this year’s recipient of the Catch the Spirit Award.

This recognition goes to a student who has demonstrated qualities in the following areas:

Catholic LeadershipCatholic Faith and Catholic School PhilosophyFamily CommitmentSchool Community RelationsInvolvement in School Affairs and ActivitiesInvolvement in Community ActivitiesCommitment to a Difficult Task or SituationHigh Degree of Academic Excellence

Kristin will be recognized by the Niagara Catholic District School Board at a special gathering on Monday, May 3rd at Denis Morris Catholic High School.

Kristin Daoust

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Eco-Schools By Mrs. A. Lucchetta

The St. Francis P.E.A.T (Phoenix Eco Action Team) is continuing their efforts to help reduce the school’s ecological footprint while bringing awareness to current environmental issues. The team has successfully completed a school waste audit with the help of students from Niagara College. We are now currently promoting a new “Go Green” campaign to reduce the use of plastic water bottles by selling stainless steel bottles.

Upcoming spring initiatives for P.E.A.T will include an energy conservation day to celebrate Earth Hour and creating engaging activities to increase environmental awareness for Earth Day on April

22nd. Also in the works is a highly anticipated and long awaited greening project for the front of the school, with the help of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. P.E.A.T is dedicated to improving St. Francis' spirit one “green” initiative at a time!

School CouncilBy Mrs. P. Rempel, Chair

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and I would like to thank all individuals who participated on School Council and actively volunteered their time and talents. Hope to see most of you back next year along with some new faces!

St. Francis will be hosting an evening with guest speaker Dick O’Brien, M.A. Sc., on Tuesday, April 27th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The presentation, “The Resilient Journey”, focuses on wellness, stress management and communication for families with an emphasis on parenting through the teen years. Please mark your calendars to attend this timely presentation. For further information check out his website www.theresilientjourney.com.

Our next Nearly New Uniform Sale will be held on Thursday, June 24th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Students who have out-grown their uniforms and graduates are reminded that we would appreciate the donation of your “used uniforms” at the end of the school year. Many thanks to Roxanne Daoust, Sue Hendriks and our Special Education Department for mending and cleaning uniforms and for organizing the sale.

Our final School Council Meeting of the year will be held on Thursday, May 24th, at 6:00 p.m. in the staff room. We are always happy to welcome newcomers.

Clubs & Activities

Student CouncilBy Mrs. Wall

Student Council has been busy since the start of second semester working behind the scenes of the school. Our “Under the Sea” dance was very successful! It was great to see so many students getting into the spirit by dressing as lobsters, fish, and other sea urchins. On Valentines Day, students arrived at school to see the front foyer decorated with hearts with the names of every student and staff member – that’s over 800 hearts! Additionally, we began the Lenten season by cooking up a delicious pancake breakfast for the whole school. Other Lenten events included a prayer service in the Chapel to honor the anniversary of Oscar Romero. We also put together eighteen Easter baskets full of chocolates and toys for the children of Gillian’s Place.

After Easter, we began a Jeans for Teens campaign. We collected gently used jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts and shirts which we then donated to RAFT, a local teen shelter. A big thank you is extended to the St. Francis student body for donating so generously.

Student Council looks forward to elections at the end of the month. If you are interested in serving on council in 2010-2011, please see a student council member or advisor.

COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH GILLIAN’S PLACE DONATIONS

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VOLUME 3, April 2010

Life is a GiftBy Mrs. K. Phelan-Savage

On Tuesday, April 6th, at 8:00 pm, the students of St. Francis Catholic Secondary School performed Life is a Gift at Ridley’s Mandeville Theatre. The production was inspired by the Trillium Gift of Life Education Program introduced to our school by Mrs. Serwatiak, a teacher at St. Francis who has returned to work after receiving a liver transplant just over a year ago. The performance was well attended with representatives of the Trillium Gift of Life Foundation from Niagara, Hamilton and Toronto, Emergency Services Personnel, and Senior Administration and Trustees from the Niagara Catholic District School Board.

Mrs. Serwatiak has addressed several of our classes here at St. Francis and at Holy Cross and has been instrumental in raising awareness in our schools about organ donation. This production was the result of her discussions with Mr. Chalmers’ Senior Writer’s Craft class at St. Francis, who wrote scenes for the play, and the cast and crew who then “workshopped” those scenes to create the script, supervised by Mrs. Phelan-Savage and Mr. Chalmers. With the help of Mr. Mancuso and Mr. De Angelis; Rebekah Carlsson, Amanda Parker, and Brian Rankin, composed and performed original songs for the show. A talented group of student dancers choreographed original pieces based on the theme of organ donation awareness.

Life is a Gift included a cast and crew of approximately 40 students from grades 9 to 12 and could not have happened without the support of our administration and the many staff members and students who worked behind the scenes and attended the performances. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Payne and his technical crew, Ms Lambert and the Art Club for their set decoration, and Mrs. Drago who created an informative display about organ donation.

It is with great pride that we congratulate all those who were a part of this production and shared in our efforts to create awareness about this important issue.

Senior Boys BasketballBy Mr. P. Sullivan The Senior boy's basketball team completed another outstanding season. The boys worked extremely hard throughout the season and demonstrated the determination and sacrifice needed to be champions. Few knew what to expect from this talented, very young group, but the team exceeded expectations. The Phoenix captured the Zone 4 league title with a 9-1 record before cruising to the Zone 4 AA title. At SOSSA, the team played outstanding basketball, defeating eventual OFSAA Champion, Parkside, in the final to capture the title. The team also played with tremendous heart at OFSAA, winning the first two games before falling to a very skilled and experienced Timmins team in the quarter finals. In another highlight of the year, the team travelled to Disneyworld to participate in the KSA Orlando Classic Basketball Tournament in December. The boys enjoyed an outstanding week and captured two of their three games. The team would like to thank Jack Wittig, Mike Kessler, Jon DeLuca, Nathan Co, and Raoul Rugamba for their years of dedication to Phoenix basketball, as they will be leaving us this year.

Co-curricular News

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Varsity Boys Hockey By Mr. D. Macroetta and Mr. C. Van Bakel

The Varsity boy’s hockey team had a successful season this year with a very impressive record of 7 wins and 1 loss, finishing in first place overall. The team also successfully played in the Blessed Trinity and Darryl Mahler Classic Tournaments, defeating some very competitive teams. The Phoenix demonstrated hard work and commitment all season and all players should be proud of their efforts. The coaching staff would like to wish the graduating players good luck with their future endeavors as we eagerly await the start of next season to watch the Phoenix soar again.

Junior Boys BasketballBy Mr. M. Lucas

Congratulations to the Junior boy's basketball team on a very good season. During League competition, the boys finished with a record of 4-4. The team had a successful tournament season going 8-4 in round robin play highlighted with a consolation championship at the A.N. Myer Tournament in Niagara Falls. Good luck to all the boys who will be trying out for the Senior team next year. Team members were:

Corey AntongiovanniMichael BeamMuse BilleJordan BulmerEric CombaRoland Dela CruzJeremy EspinoAllan FlorezEdward HollingworthThomas LalandeAntonio ValvanoJustin VoelknerNick Wittig

Girls HockeyBy Mr. D. McArthur, Ms S. Weigert and Mr. N. Preiner

The St. Francis girl's hockey team had a good season, despite having a very young team. The girls placed third in the regular season with a record of 3 wins and 4 loses. In the Zone semi-finals the girls lost two close games to the eventual SOSSA champions, Eden.

The Lady Phoenix entered three tournaments this year. The season kicked off with the St. Michael’s, McDonalds tournament. The girls advanced to the semi-finals only to lose to Notre Dame. Prior to the playoffs St. Francis travelled to York University for the Cardinal Carter Classic. They faced difficult competition and narrowly missed advancing to the finals, due to a plus/minus tie breaker, by one point. The final tournament of the year was the Holy Cross 3 on 3 Tournament. The Phoenix played their best hockey of the year! The girls won in convincing fashion going undefeated. Hopefully this sets the stage for next year's team! The team will be losing two players, Melanie Hildebrandt (Captain) and Tayler Delisio (Assistant Captain). Melanie played defense and Tayler played forward.

Our three solid forward lines consisted of Tayler Delisio, Emily Cornelius (Assistant Captain), Jessica Walsh, Trish Jolicoeur, Erin Brown, Kiersten Craig, Cailee MacDougall, Sydnie Fiocca and Kelsey Fish.

The defense, Melanie Hildebrandt, Taylor Morris, Marissa Steinburgs, and Taylor Newhouse, were consistently strong all season.

Selena Aita was our only goaltender. She performed exceptionally strong this year and demonstrated a great deal of growth throughout the season.

The Lady Phoenix have been a wonderful team to work with this year. Our team consisted mostly of strong grade 9's and 10’s this year and we hope to see all of them out next year to continue the development of St. Francis towards a SOSSA Championship.

We want to thank the girls and their parents for the effort and time commitment during the season, and as mentioned, we look forward to a great season next year!

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VOLUME 3, April 2010

Varsity Girls SoccerBy. Mrs. A. Lucchetta

The Varsity girl’s soccer team has begun their training and have their sights set on recapturing the Zone Championship for a second consecutive season. With many returning players along with talented new additions to the squad, coaches Mrs. Lucchetta, Ms Markovich and Mrs. O’Leary look forward to another competitive and successful season ahead.

FSF/International LanguagesBy Mme. Mauro-Marshall

Second semester has proven to be very busy for our Language students. St. Francis had six students participate in the IDC 3U course, which is offered through Continuing Education. Not only did the students receive a credit, but they also experienced two fantastic weeks in Italy. Vanessa Meginnis, Alex Mancini, Sarah and Lori Chan, Deirdre Hughes and Hannah Mete, along with 11 other students from the NCDSB, had the opportunity to visit Rome, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Pisa, Vinci, Venice and Padova.

Interested students should listen to the announcements in the coming weeks, advertising the parent information meeting in June for next years course--- be part of this fantastic opportunity!

The 14th Annual French/Italian/Spanish Public speaking contest was held on March 25th, 2010 at Club Roma. All eight of our high schools participated in this event. The following students were representatives for St. Francis Catholic High School: Elli Kubarakos, Zack Schipper, Katie Fedchun, Emily Purcha, Sean Hughes, Mark Dano, Andre Riel, Julia Smith, Jessica Hungerford-Hemming, Leah MacDonald, Hayley Gaudet, Vanessa Zeoli, Bipasha Sen and Kiara Mongrut. Congratulations to all of these students for writing, practicing and presenting their speeches to the judges in a second language!

Congratulations to Hayley Gaudet, Mark Dano and Jessica Hungerford-Hemming for winning in their respective French categories and good luck to Mark Dano who will advance to the Provincial Concours at Glendon College in Toronto.

The French/Italian classes will once again visit CHIN Radio/TV and the Ferrari/Masserotti showroom in Toronto, as well as visit the many multicultural areas of Toronto. The language students will also be participating in the Annual Italian Day at Brock University as well as the Annual Brock Niagara French Contest in May.

As you can see the languages are alive and thriving at St. Francis Catholic Secondary. The importance of studying and learning another language is always emphasized and encouraged! Remember multi-linguism is alive and well….help stamp out mono-linguism!

Department NewsReach SquadBy Mrs. Van Kralingen

Another exciting season has ended for Reach, coached by Mrs. Van Kralingen, Mr. Lennox, and Mr. Sardella. For those who do not know, Reach members compete in squads of 4 against the other Catholic schools, testing their knowledge of all kinds of trivia. The season consists of 6 tournaments where each team plays 3 games at each tournament. Reach players are divided into two age groups: Intermediates, grade 9 & 10 and Seniors, grade 11 & 12. The following students comprised our teams:

SeniorsSt. Francis 1Joel Phillip (Captain) Gr.12 Aaron Botelho Gr. 12 Nina Butz Gr. 12 Olivia Clement Gr. 12Ben Little Gr 12 Raymond Rojas Gr 12

St. Francis 2Alex Sowrey (Captain) Gr. 11Stephen Balanowski Gr. 11Mark Van Kralingen Gr 11Cody McGregor Gr. 12Michael Dominick Gr. 12Julian Rodriguez Gr. 12

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St. Francis 3Tyler Evans (Captain) Gr. 12Dylan Innamorati Gr. 12Noah MacCallum Gr. 12Dan Szopinski Gr. 12 Andrew Hanna Gr. 12Jake Rigby Gr. 11

IntermediatesSt. Francis 1Phillip Ross (Captain) Gr. 10 Ryan Dominick Gr. 9Christy Rohaly Gr. 9Marcin Szopinski Gr. 10Jason Yang Gr. 10Alex Zimic Gr. 10

The top 4 teams from the league were invited to compete in the final round robin tournament held at St. Francis on Thursday, April 2.

We had a very successful season, with the St. Francis Senior Team #3 moving on to the finals. After three grueling matches, the Senior Team ended up in a respectable third place overall. Congratulations to all the team members for a great season and we hope to see new and returning players next year!

Thank Youto

Ozzie MucciarelliAVONDALE STORES

282 Linwell Road,St. Catharines

for his continued support throughNevadaman ticket sales.

Congratulations Carley Patterson, winner of the $150 Best Buy gift card. Thanks to every student who registered and paid online for the next school year.

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VOLUME 3, April 2010

Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace

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VOLUME 3, April 2010

Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace

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CALENDAR OF EVENTSMAY

Monday, May 3-Friday, May 7Catholic Education week

Wednesday, May 5Buddy DayEaster Mass

Wednesday, May 12Grad Retreat

Friday, May 14"Grad Community Service, School letter, Scholaraships information Due"Spirit Wear Day

Monday, May 17-Friday, May 21Provincial/National Tech Skills Competition

Thursday, May 20Arts in the ParkBoard Grad Celebration

Friday, May 21PD Board Faith Day

Monday, May 24VICTORIA DAY

Friday, May 28Grade 11 World Regligions TripMarkbook Reports Sent HomeOut of Uniform Day

JUNEWednesday, June 2

Closing School MassTuesday, June 8-Wednsday, June 9Grade 9 EQAO Math Prep & Exam Review

Friday, June 11 Casual Dress DayRecognition Day

Tusday, June 15-Friday, June 18EQAO Grade 9 Math Assessments

Monday, June 21Markbook Reports Sent HomeTuesday, June 22-Wednesday, June 30EXAMS

Tuesday, June 29Grad RehearsalGraduation

Wednesday, June 30Grad Prom