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THE VISION
Religion & Family Life Department Newsletter Easter Season 2013
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Living our Values:
Nurturing Our Catholic
Community
Habemus Papam! We Have a Pope!
Welcome Pope Francis
Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the son of a railway worker, was born on December 17th, 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He trained as a chemist before entering the Jesuit order and he was ordained in 1969. Pope Francis was named a cardinal by Blessed Pope John Paul II on February 21, 2001. He is the first Jesuit to be elected pope and the 266th pope and leader of 1.2 billion Catholics around the world.
Pope Francis’ Coat of Arms and Motto The Vatican indicated that Pope Francis chose to keep the same coat of arms he had as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and he picked the simplest ring out of several models offered him. The papal symbols have been added to his coat of arms: a gilded miter, and crossed gold and silver keys. The monogram is the symbol of Francis' Jesuit order.
For his motto, Pope Francis chose “Miserando atque eligendo," Latin for "Having had mercy, he called him."
TCDSB—Three Year
Pastoral Plan
FAITH 2012-2013
HOPE 2013-2014
CHARITY 2014-2015
http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholic-Community/FaithHopeAndCharity/Pages/Faith-Hope-and-Charity-Prayer.aspx
April 8th, 2013
“...And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and the people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of broth-erhood in love, of mutual trust…” Pope Francis (March 13, 2013)
“The one who is highest up must be at the service of others...” Pope Francis (Holy Thursday, 2013)
The Easter Season
Pope Francis - Servant Leadership
Explore the Development and
Peace webpage to see how you
can participate in the Canadian
Catholic Church’s work in peace
and justice.
http://www.devp.org/en
https://educationforjustice.org/
Login: Toronto Catholic
Password: summer2012
We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ this year on
Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2013. Because Easter is the most
important feast in the Christian calendar, the Easter season continues
on for 50 days, through the Ascension of Our Lord to Pentecost
Sunday.
The Ascension of Our Lord, which occurred 40 days after Jesus Christ
rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, is the final act of our
redemption that Christ began on Good Friday. On this day, the risen
Christ, in the sight of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven (Luke
24:51; Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9-11).
Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter and it is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church (Acts 20:16; 1 Cor 16:8). Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and marks the end of the Easter Season in the Liturgical calendar. This year, Pentecost falls on Sunday, May 19th, 2013.
Remember to change your prayer table cloth to white during the
Easter Season.
Blessed John Paul
II Day for TCDSB
April 8th, 2013.
Religion Education/Family Life Website: http://www.tcdsb.org/ProgramsServices/
BoardServices/ReligionFamilyLife/Pages/
Default.aspx
Archdiocese of Toronto
Easter Season
http://www.archtoronto.org/
events_news/pdf/
celebrating_easter.pdf
Loyola Press Sacramental Preparation
Resources for Special Needs Students
http://www.loyolapress.com/special-needs-confirmation-products.htm
Northern Spirit Games
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth... God saw all that he had made, and it was very
good." (Genesis 1:1, 31)
Despite sub-zero temperatures, the 8th annual Northern Spirit Games held in February this year, were a big success. Several TCDSB students from grades 4, 5, and 6, trekked across the city to participate in this year’s activities.
The games began with a beautiful opening ceremony that was based on the teachings of the Medicine wheel. As a drummer and the instrumentalists called the assembly of students to prayer, vocalists singing a cappella and liturgical dancers soon followed suite. Several readers then led the prayers which reminded students about the sacredness of Mother Earth and our connection to nature.
Students from Annunciation, St. Agatha, St. Charles Garnier, St. Richard, and St. Vincent de Paul, that were involved in leading the opening and closing ceremonies of the Northern Spirit Games this year, are all to be congratulated for their hard work and preparations that made this year’s games a great success.
Michelle Peres - Religion & Family Life Dept. 3
One Elementary Religion Rep from each elementary school is invited to
attend a Year of Hope in-service during the month of May 2013. The In-
services will be posted on PAL.
AREA DATE LOCATION OF IN-SERVICE
Areas 7 & 8 May 14th Blessed Mother Teresa
Areas 5 & 6 May 15th St. Patrick’s School
Areas 3 & 4 May 22 Msgr. Fraser, Norfinch Campus
Areas 1 & 2 May 29th Don Bosco
All Areas May 29th Chaplaincy Leaders - St. Gabriel’s Church
Loyola Press 3 Minute Daily Retreats
http://www.loyolapress.com/3-Minute-Retreat-shared-meals.htm
May 2013 - Year of Hope Elementary & Secondary In-services
Catholic Curriculum
Corporation
Elementary & Secondary
Resources
http://
www.catholiccurriculumcorp.o
rg/resources.asp
Adapted Elementary
Wording for the
OCSGE
I AM A BELIEVER!
I HAVE A VOICE!
I HAVE IDEAS!
I AM A LEARNER FOR LIFE!
I AM A TEAM PLAYER!
I CARE!
I HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES!
STUDENTS SING PRAYER FOR FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ONTARIO CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM POLICY DOCUMENT
Grades 1 - 8
A new Ontario Catholic Elementary Curriculum Policy Document , Grades 1 - 8 for Religious Education has been developed, and endorsed by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario. The new Policy Document is a move to a more rigorous curriculum where the basic tenets of the Christian story and Christian living are well understood.
The six strands of the Religious Education Policy will form the framework for developing programs.
(Believing; Celebrating; Living a Moral Life; Praying; Living in Community; Living in Solidarity)
The type and nature of resources are currently being assessed. Please review the Ontario Catholic Elementary Curriculum Policy Document for Religious Education at the following link:
http://www.iceont.ca/ice-publications.aspx
4
On March 21, 2013, the kindergarten students in Mr. Nangini's class, at St. Antoine Daniel School, sang live for the TCDSB a beautiful rendition, and their version, of the Prayer for Faith, Hope, and Charity. This year marks the first of the three year plan, known as The Year of Faith. The students of St. Antoine Daniel School were asked to include this prayer during opening exercises. These JK/SK students took it one step further, and tested the lyrics with nearly every possible children's tune. Finally, they struck a chord with The Farmer in the Dell, and they never looked back! Here's Mr. Nangini and Ms. Gargaro's kindergarten class singing the prayer for Faith, Hope, and Charity to the tune of this children's classic. Enjoy!
Sally Rivers, Principal
http://stream02.tcdsb.org/communications/Prayer_St_Antoine_Daniel.wmv
Catholic Education Week
on line resources from
OCSTA
http://www.ocsta.on.ca/catholicEducationWeek.aspx
5
YEAR OF FAITH Catholic Social Teaching Resource link: http://www.tcdsb.org/Board/NurturingOurCatholicCom-munity/FaithHopeAndCharity/Documents/Social%20Teaching%20Connections%20to%20Religion%20and%20Fully%20Alive%20Programs.pdf
Jesus on Trial- Presented by St. Fidelis Parish
On March 25th, “Jesus on Trial", was presented to students in TCDSB. This play, directed by St. Fidelis’ own Claudio Grossi, as well as Vince Tarantino, is an adaptation (by the young people of St. Fidelis Parish) of a play written by the late Father Evasio Polo. The original version was first performed in Maple, Ontario in 1991. It is the Passion of our Lord which is put into a modern context filled with controversial issues of the day.
Twenty-two years later, those same controversies permeate the social fabric of our society and the Good News of the Gospel is used to respond to those issues which we still face today. Poetic license is used to highlight the confrontation between Jesus and Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane where the Prince of Darkness tempts Christ with visions of the future. A battered wife and a victim of bullying are presented to Christ by Satan in an effort to stop Jesus' mission. Later on in the play, representatives of the 21st century are called upon to defend Christ as He stands before the Sanhedrin facing his accusers.
Are we, the people of the 21st century, any more enlightened than the mob that demanded of Pilate that Jesus be crucified, or are we just as blinded by the illusions and temptations that existed in the time of Christ? This wonderful adaptation left the audience thinking about how they can respond to the Saving Story today.
Cathy Profiti - Religion & Family Life Dept.
Upcoming Events:
Catholic Education Week—May 5th-10th, 2013 The theme is, “Growing Together in Faith”
Respect for Life Week—May 13th-17th, 2013
http://www.tcdsb.org/News/othernews/Documents/Board%20Respect%20for%20Life%20Resource%202013.pdf
Final Journey of the Witness to Faith Cross —May 30th, 2013
Bereavement in Our Catholic Schools
Resource document:
bereavement_resources.pdf
RELIGION DEPARTMENT
Program Coordinator
Anne Marum
Religion Resource Teachers
Elementary Panel
Glynnis-Hope Dawson
Areas: 1, 2, 3
Cathy Profiti
Areas: 3, 4, 5, 6.
Michelle Peres
Areas: 6, 7, and 8.
Secondary Panel
Deb Gove
- Religion Resource
- Chaplaincy Leadership &
Catholic Teacher’s Centre
STUDENTS SKYPE CARDINAL COLLINS ABOUT CONCLAVE
A Student Perspective
On Tuesday March 20th, fellow students and I, at Father Henry Carr Secondary School, along with students from Saint Eugene’s elementary school, took part in a Skype conversation with our very own Cardinal, Thomas Collins. This event was one of the most exciting events in my life, to meet our highly praised Cardinal. It was an honour for me to start off the conversation with the very first question, asking him “what qualities the Cardinal were looking for in the new Pope”. Cardinal Collins replied that there were many things they were looking for, especially charity work, global leadership, and representation. Cardinal Thomas Collins is not only a religious leader but a humorous, life-loving soul who really inspired us to take initiative on our faith and make the best of life. Overall the experience was an honour and it was an exciting moment to get to talk to our Canadian Cardinal who was one of the 115 cardinals who were in the conclave to choose a new pope. Cardinal Collins described the experience as, “Awesome “
Shereen Niranjan
Grade 11
A Staff Perspective
Can you imagine the faces of the students who had the opportunity to
Skype with Cardinal Collins who was in Vatican City for all of the excitement
and the election of Pope Francis. It was priceless! The students from Father
Henry Carr and St. Eugene had his undivided attention and they were
thrilled to be able to ask so many questions and to have him answer them so
frankly and candidly. One question that I believed stood out was the
question about what it would have been like if he were elected Pope.
Cardinal Collins admitted that even Pope Francis was a bit concerned and
commented that he thought he was getting dangerously close to being elected
so he had better think of a name. Cardinal Collins, when asked about his
experience of being a part of the conclave, said it was an awesome
experience.
Father Henry Carr School was a hub of activity that morning when
Mr. Fernandes, the students from Carr and Mr. Gallo, and the students from
St. Eugene were interviewed by CTV, the Etobicoke Guardian and CP24. It
was an exciting experience for all who took part.
Deb Gove—Catholic Teacher Centre & Religion Dept.
Thank you to all those who contributed ideas, articles and photographs for this Easter edition of the Religion and Family Life Newsletter - The Vision.
Sincerely,
Anne Marum, Editor
FIRST ANNUAL ORDINANDI DAY PROGRAM
On Tuesday March 5th, 2013, schools from across the Diocese, from five different school boards, attended the first annual Ordinandi Youth Lunch organized by the Serra Club, Office of Catholic Youth and Staff from Toronto Catholic District School Board. This day came to fruition after receiving feedback for a more “youth friendlier” event.
Schools started arriving at 9:00am to the sweet sounds of Joe Zambon. As students and staff settled in, they had the opportunity to grab a coffee/tea and meet and greet with other schools. As Hall A/B at Pearson Convention Centre filled up, Joe Zambon took the soft melodic music he was performing up a notch and had staff and students standing, clapping and interacting, singing their praises to God.
With students and staff energized, the opening skit performed by St. Patrick students, from TCDSB, provided focus for the Ordinandi Youth Lunch. The skit entitled ‘Everything’ by Lifehouse, explored the meaning of suffering and struggle, yet God being present at all times. This theme continued to be explored in the next activity, where schools designed a billboard highlighting strengths in their community.
Both the skit and activity were excellent spring boards to the testimonies from the Seminarians (Ordinandi) and Sisters. The Seminarians and the Sisters also did a marvellous job of hashing out the theme with personal testimonies of struggles and suffering before choosing religious life as a vocation. As they spoke, students were encouraged to write their questions to be asked later in the day. Throughout the testimonies, students and staff listened carefully; hopefully a vocation or two will come from those in attendance.
To end the day, lunch was served, questions were answered and closing remarks and prayer from Bishop Kirkpatrick lead to Joe Zambon ending in praise and worship; a successful inaugural Youth Ordinandi Lunch indeed!
Linton Soares - St. Patrick CSS