June Newsletter 2015 - Holy Cross Catholic Academy

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Volume 3, Issue 2 June 2015
SCHOOL WEBSITE
HTTP://HOCR.YCDSB.CA
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:
School Administration
I. Faraone, Principal
Another school year is over; where has the time gone? This last year has been filled
with a flurry of activity, inside and outside of the classroom. Our students pushed
beyond comfortable limits to develop their skills and abilities, and for that reason,
they were able to reach new heights and exceed personal bests! We are all very
proud of their accomplishments.
The end of a school year is bitter sweet, as we bid farewell to our graduates!
Congratulations class of 2015! We are proud of the exceptional young men and
women you have become. Our school is an even better place through your
contributions to the classroom and beyond. Know that you are never alone. Have
faith that your teachers at Holy Cross have prepared you well. And, please know
that Holy Cross will always be your home. Continue to share with us your dreams,
successes and challenges.
E. Lavor, Vice-Principal
Gr. 9 & Gr. 11
P. Parente, Vice-Principal
Gr. 10 & Gr. 12
School Board
P. Preston, Director
R. Crocco, Superintendent ,
Secondary Schools
D. Giuliani, Trustee
Chaplaincy Team
I. Battilana, S. Bruno, M. Mignella
Guidance
M. A. Bonfigli - Gr. 9 & Gr. 12 (D - F)
To the Holy Cross staff; thank you for your commitment to excellence. Thank you
for giving the best of yourselves in service to our students. Your dedication, support
and concerted efforts have provided our students with the ability to face all obstacles
in life with the skills, confidence and strength of character to be successful. It is a
blessing to work with such dedicated individuals every day!
A. Carvalho - Gr. 11 & Grade 12 (A - B)
G. D’Ambrogio - Gr. 12 (G - Z)
B. Zen - Gr. 10 & Grade 12 (C)
J. Fraser - Student Support Counsellor
Student Services
M.T. Dotto - 9
To Father Michael Corcione; we are ever so fortunate to have such a spiritual
Shepherd in our midst. You continually promote, through word and deed, the highest
standards of ethics and integrity. You are an inspiration to our youth and to all with
whom you come into contact. Thank you for your dedication to our school
community and for nourishing us spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally.
We would like to wish all our Holy Cross family a safe and restful summer.
We look forward to meeting our incoming grade 9’s and working with all of you in
September!
Iolanda Faraone
Ed Lavor
Peter Parente
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M. Marzario - 10
L. Lausic - 11
N. Greco - 12
A. Rossi - FLS
Special Points of Interest
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Principal’s Message
YCDSB Message
Art
@ Your Library
Business
Canadian & World Studies
Co-operative Education
English
Guidance & Career Education
Modern Languages
Religion & Chaplaincy
Science Department
Student Services
Technological Studies
Year-End Message from the
Director of Education, Patricia Preston
What a fantastic year it’s been! As we prepare for the summer holidays, I look back at the 2014-2015 school year
with pride and gratitude for all of the success our students and staff have achieved. York Catholic is consistently
one of the top-performing school boards in the province, and I am certain that we will continue to shine as a leader
in Catholic Education thanks to the cooperation and collaboration of our many stakeholders. I thank our teachers,
administrators, support staff, trustees, parents, parishes and community partners for all of their hard work, support
and the many contributions they have made this year.
This spring, the Ministry of Education published graduation rates for each Ontario school board. The York Catholic
District School Board achieved the highest four and five-year graduation rate of all English language school
boards in the province! Thank you to our teachers and support staff who helped our students discover and
develop their unique skills and talents, and inspired them to complete their education.
This month, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority named YCDSB the Top Energy Performing School
Board in Ontario. We achieved this special distinction thanks to our daily energy conservation practices, including
our innovative energy systems, environmental stewardship, and overall motivation to be environmentally
conscious in all that we do. Our EcoSchools’ student teams and those who support them, are to be commended
for their leadership, enthusiasm and efforts to make our schools and communities environmentally sustainable.
Our communities continue to be inspired by the Catholic teachings of social justice and charity. Our schools and
CEC staff fundraised for ShareLife and Nepal Humanitarian Relief, among other great causes. I am pleased to
report that we have collected $66,588.57 for ShareLife and $69,829.94 for Nepal Humanitarian Relief efforts.
Thank you for supporting this work, and making this an exceptional year of giving.
This past fall, our Board launched its new Multi-Year Strategic Plan (MYSP), which included new mission and
vision statements for our Board. It also highlighted our core values and outlined our commitments for the next
three years. Since its launch, the MYSP has guided our Board in all that we do, and it will continue to inform our
Board Improvement Plan for Student Achievement, School Improvement Plans, and all of our departmental
operational plans.
Catholic Education is truly a gift that remains with our students throughout their lives. I would like to extend my
sincere congratulations to our high school graduates who are leaving us. May God bless you and guide you
always.
To those staff members who are retiring at the end of this month, your dedication and service to York Catholic will
not be forgotten. May you have a healthy and happy retirement with continued success during the next stage of
your lives.
To our staff, parents, guardians and students, best wishes to you and your loved ones for a safe and blessed
summer filled with rest, relaxation and the opportunity to make many happy memories!
Yours in Catholic Education,
Patricia Preston
Director of Education
For the latest YCDSB news, visit us online at www.ycdsb.ca or follow us on Twitter @YCDSB and @YCDSB_PPreston.
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ARTS
D. Farro
Enrico Colantoni visits
Holy Cross
The Grade 11 and 12
Holy Cross drama
students were treated
to a very inspiring and
educational workshop
with television/movie
star Enrico Colantoni.
The workshop included Enrico giving incredible
advice about acting, work ethic and life. Holy
Cross would like to thank Enrico for taking time out of his busy schedule
to share his wisdom and experience with our senior drama students.
STUDENT SERVICES
A GRADUATION CELEBRATION!
On Friday, June 5th, a very special
graduation celebration was held at
the Sarah Elizabeth Centre in
Woodbridge. Together with our
Best Buddies and friends at the
SEC, we honoured three of our Holy Cross students
who are graduating from the Functional Life Skills Program with a
Certificate of Accomplishment: Monica Armanious,
Angela DeLuca, and Jessica Pereira.
We will miss them and wish them much success
and happiness in the future.
Congratulations graduates!
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CANADIAN AND WORLD STUDIES DEPARTMENT
NEWSLETTER INSERT
In addition to the great lessons delivered in each of our classes, many
opportunities were planned throughout the semester to give students a
unique learning experience outside and in the classroom. There were
many activities in each of the Law classes, Civics classes, History classes
and Geography classes here at Holy Cross.
The grade 11 & 12 Law classes were exposed to real live action court
proceedings when they visited the Ontario Courts on University Avenue in
Toronto. The grade 10 Civics classes were able to witness how their local
government functions when they visited and toured Vaughan Civic Centre
in Maple, Ontario. They were able to meet their local councillor, listen to
members discuss local issues and witness their mayor in action as they
sat in Council Chambers. In April, Mr. Panetta, Mr. D’Sylva, Mrs.
D’Ippolito and Mrs. Nasso had the pleasure of bringing a group of grade 12
students on a 4 day trip to Boston. Some highlights were attending a Red
Sox game at Fenway Park, walking the Freedom Trail and taking a Salem
Witch tour. Our grade 9 Academic Geography students participated in
their culminating project and took part in the Annual Holy Cross Geo Fair.
The grade 9 geography students were able to showcase their projects in
hope of becoming the winner.
Geofair Winners
Canadian and World Studies is proud to announce the Grade
9 Academic
Geofair winners.
So much work
went into the CPT
by all students
involved.
December 2014: Lisa Di Sevo
Zena Suppa
Brandon Lucchese
May 2015: Domenico Tullo
Nicholas Malta
Congratulations for your hard work and dedication to
your studies.
Pasquale Argiro
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Guidance and Career Education
It is hard to believe that another school year has come to an end. We are proud of all the
accomplishments that our students have achieved this school year and wish success to all our
graduating students who will be attending post-secondary destinations in the fall! The Guidance
and Career Education Department has been busy finalizing the school schedule and student
timetables so that everyone is ready to start in September.
Please note the Guidance and Career Education Department is providing grade 11 and 12
students an opportunity to pick up their timetables only on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 between
9:00 am until 1:30 pm.
Course change request forms, completed in full, can be dropped off on September 2nd and
September 3rd only. Forms are found on the Holy Cross Academy website http://hocr.ycdsb.ca.
Guidance appointments will not be made at this time; it is only an opportunity for students
to pick up their timetables and drop off change forms. Please refer to the letter sent home
with your son or daughter.
Students and parents/guardians can follow us on Twitter @HC_Guidance for up to date
information.
The Guidance and Career Education Department would like to wish you a safe and enjoyable
summer and look forward to welcoming all our students back in September. We also look forward
to our first event in the fall: College/University Fair on October 8, 2015.
On-line Career Information
Career Cruising is an interactive career reference guide providing in-depth profiles of hundreds of
different careers, multimedia interviews with real people in over 800 careers, career search tools,
and databases of colleges and universities. In order to search and find career information online,
please visit Career Cruising at www.careercruising.com.
User Name:
yorkcatholic
Password:
49630
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Mrs. A. Basile:
Co-operative Education Department Head
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Co-operative Education
The Co-op program at Holy Cross has had another successful school year. Students have gained
valuable work experience in a career or trade they are interested in pursuing. Many of our students
have been hired by their employers for summer, part-time and even full-time positions. Congratulations
to those students – a job well done!. This would not have been possible without the commitment and
trust that these employers placed in our school community.
The Co-op department would like to congratulate Gabriel Leal for successfully earning his Level One
Apprenticeship in Electrical. Gabriel attended the Accelerated Program at Humber College.
Let’s not forget some of the other Accelerated programs that we have available for students: Electrician
Apprenticeship, Plumbing Apprenticeship and Chef Apprenticeship (Humber College), Auto Service
Technician Apprenticeship (Centennial College), Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems Mechanic
Apprenticeship and Electrician Apprenticeship (George Brown – Casa Loma) Child Development
Practitioner (Seneca – King), General Carpenter and Floor Covering Installer (Local Union 27). Also,
students have the opportunity to participate in Central Placements at various hospitals, York Region
Police, Y.R.D.S.B. IT and Sheraton Parkway hotel.
Michaels Arts and Crafts has given a number of our F.L.S. students the opportunity to gain social and
work experiences through their participation in the Co-op program this semester. We really appreciate
your open arms in welcoming our students.
A Ticket to Ride Travel
Hotwire Electric
Ready, Set, Print Inc.
Active Fitness
In-Form Physiotherapy
Studio M Salon
Amica Mature Lifestyles
International Film and Video
Studio M Salon
Andrew Ruzza Law Office
It’s a Furry Life
Super 8 Hotel
Anytime Fitness
Leon’s Furniture Ltd.
Toronto Auto Brokers
Best Buy
Kingsway Paving and
Interlocking
Tron Electric
Bruno Plumbing
Canadian Tire
Code Electrical
Compass Creative Media
Darlington Veterinary Hospital
Dasa Mechanical
E-Lumen International
Flo-Rite Plumbing
Ford Summit
Home Depot – Woodbridge
Mackenzie Health Hospital
Market Lane Early Learning
Centre
Michaels Arts and Crafts
O’Neil Electric Supply
Ohmax Electric Inc.
Panacea Pharmacy
Pfaff Audi – Vaughan
Pine Valley Walk-In Clinic
Prima Mazda
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Vaughan Chrysler
Well Medica Walk-In Medical
Clinic
Woodbine Fantasy Fair Security
Woodbridge Autorite Repair Inc.
Woodbridge Kid’s Dentistry
Woodbridge Public School
Woodbridge Toyota
Versai Salon and Spa
Library Activities in Semester 2. Thanks for participating!
Stamping out stigma
during Mental Health
Promoting equity and inclusivity within our school
FNMI Awareness Week:
Raising awareness of First
Nations, Metis and Inuit perspectives,
Freedom 4 Tomorrow
Club raised over $1600 to
“Brick by Brick”
Inclusion Contest: Students were encouraged to
submit original work on
“We Are Love”
White Pine™ Reading and
Freedom 4 Tomorrow
Clubs
“Vow of Silence”
YCDSB Online
Don’t judge a book by its
cover! “Blind Date with a
Book”
Have a great summer!
Surveys Completed:
Mrs. M. Regina
Gr. 9-11 School
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Climate: 678
HONOURING ATHLETES WHO KNOW SPORTS
This year the annual Athletic Banquet was held on Tuesday June 9, 2015 at Da Vinci Banquet Hall. Ms. Savo and
Ms. Noble would like to thank all the student/athletes for participating in our athletic program. A huge thank
you to all of our teacher/coaches for volunteering their time and for all the extensive hours they have put into
athletics.
Congratulations to the following award recipients:
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:
JUNIOR BOYS GOLF: GABRIEL POTKIDIS
SENIOR BOYS GOLF : GIUSEPPE FILIPPO
FEMALE CO-ED TENNIS: SABRINA ARIELLO
MALE CO-ED TENNIS: MARCO CARACCIOLO
JUNIOR BOYS SOCCER: MICHAEL ULONA
SENIOR BOYS SOCCER: ROCCO STRAZZELLA
BOYS OFSAA SOCCER: 1. ANTONIO DAMIANO
2. SANTINO DAMIANO
JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL: 1. MARCO RICCIUTI
2. RICARDO JAMES
JUNIOR GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: FRANCISCA CANO
SENIOR GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: IVONNE CANO
JUNIOR CO-ED BADMINTON: 1. CHRISTIAN CO 2. BRANDON LUCCHESI
SENIOR CO-ED BADMINTON: 1. CHRISTIAN ALVES 2. NATALIE COMELLA
VARSITY GIRLS SOCCER: 1. JESSICA ELIA
2. VICTORIA FORGIONE
WEIGHT TRAINING AND FITNESS CLUB: 1. MICHAEL PAGLIAROLI
BOYS BASEBALL: CRISTIAN PAMIERI 2. GIANLUCA CONICELLA
GIRLS SLO PITCH : NICOLE FINELLI
VARSITY BOYS ICE HOCKEY: GIANCARLO LA VIOLA
JUNIOR MALE SWIMMING: ADAM EDGECOMBE
SENIOR MALE SWIMMING: ROMAN DI RUSCIO
JUNIOR FEMALE SWIMMING: KATHERINE DI IORIO
SENIOR FEMALE SWIMMING: EMILY TANEL
FEMALE TRACK AND FIELD: DAVINA POTKIDIS
MALE TRACK AND FIELD: GABRIEL POTKIDIS
STUDENT/ATHLETE
FEMALE: Davina Potkidis
MALE: Gabriel Potkidis
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT
FEMALE: Cristina Iaboni
MALE: Adam Abdallah
ATHLETIC SPIRIT AWARD
JUNIOR FEMALE: Nicole Dimt
JUNIOR. MALE: Christian Co
SENIOR FEMALE: Selena
Veronich
SENIOR MALE: Marco Caracciolo
SPORTSPERSON AWARD
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
FEMALE: Nicole Finelli
MALE: Giancarlo La Viola
JUNIOR FEMALE: Francisca Cano
JUNIOR MALE: Michael Ulona
SENIOR FEMALE: Tania Bendici
SENIOR MALE: Antonio Damiano
SENIOR MALE: Santino Damiano
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Holy Cross Intra-Mural Ball Hockey
Mitch Potter, Toronto Star columnist wrote, “Street Hockey is the recessive game that makes us
Canadian… the precise point on the genetic double helix spiral that equates road hockey with
spontaneous, innocent fun…a truly cultural phenomenon that harkens to Canadians on the street
and their memories of childhood.:
The intra-mural ball hockey league at Holy Cross has brought Canada’s beloved game of street
hockey inside the gyms of our school and is played and enjoyed by boys, both at the junior and
senior level.
This year was no exception, we had four junior teams and four senior teams participate in the
league. Mr. Lessio believes the adjective “intra-murals” doesn’t do the league any justice as the
competition and skill level was exceptional and at times fierce. Some teams even took it to the
next level having coaches wearing suit and tie. Even Don Cherry would applaud that.
All teams after a six game regular season made the play-offs and all the play-off series were a
best of three.
In the junior division “Team 120” consisting of all grade nines proved to be too strong for the
competition as they defeated “The Goon Squad” a rosters of
all grade tens, two straight in the finals, and capturing their
first championship and” THE CROSS CUP.” Mr. Lessio
believes this team has the potential of winning the
championship four years in a row. There that Good.
Congratulations to “Team 120” for their championship season
and to the following team members;
Gregory Capo, Antonio Ortolano, Austin Curley, Domenic
Perruccio, Jacob Isaac, Gabriel Potkidis, Alessandro La Viola, Lucas Sorrenti, Brandon
Lucchesi, Christian Vanderhorst, Matthew Napoli and coach David Ashermall.
In the senior division final “The Cicoria Pickers” defeated “Bunch of Dees” in a series that
needed all three games to decide the champion. All three games were decided by one goal and
the first game was decided in overtime. Congratulations to the “Cicoria Pickers” for their victory
and championship season, and to the following team members for winning” THE CROSS CUP
for a second year in a row.
Maurizio Alonzi, Matthew Pedersen, Leo Calvo, Andrew
Pontieri, Jason Di Perna, Nicholas Romano, Andrew Greco,
Rocco Strazzella, Matthew Manza, Luke Talotta, and
Matthew Nahhas
Lastly but most importantly Mr. Lessio would like to thank
all those boys who participated in the league and helped
make it successful yet for another year. He hoped all had
fun, enjoyed themselves, and left with high school
memories. Remember the first goal is having fun…
MR. LESSIO
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Holy Cross Boys Soccer “AAA” OFSAA Recap The Holy Cross Boys Soccer team competed in the annual “AAA” OFSAA tournament held in Windsor, Ontario. The team qualified by winning the YRAA in the fall, defeating Bill Crothers S.S. in the final. This marked the third time the boys have qualified for the tournament in the past four seasons. Preparations for OFSAA began in February 2015 when coaches D'Sylva and Iafrate assembled a team consisting of players from grades 9‐12. From there, the team practiced weekly and entered tournaments throughout Ontario to build vital experience and team chemistry. Heading into OFSAA, expectations were high. The team began the tournament with two wins and ended the group stage undefeated, advancing to the quarter finals. They came up against a strong Silverthorn team from Etobicoke who pushed the Hawks all the way into double extra‐time before a last‐second Andrew Alonzi goal sealed the win for Holy Cross. Goalkeeper Rocco Strazzella made countless saves throughout the game to ensure victory for the Hawks. In the semifinal Holy Cross came up against Bishop Morrocco of Toronto. Morrocco took an early lead and the game became a midfield battle with both teams fighting for possession. The Hawks created several goal scoring chances only to be denied by a motivated Morrocco goalkeeper. The game ended 2‐1 in Bishop Morrocco's favour thus sending the Hawks to the bronze medal game. The bronze medal game saw Holy Cross match up against Mississauga’s St. Martin. The Hawks put on a brave effort and scored first. However, the effects of over 7.5 hours of soccer started to play a factor in the game as the team could not hold onto their lead, losing by a score of 2‐1. The Hawks finished the tournament a respectable 4th place in Ontario. This earned Holy Cross FC a record fourth OFSAA medal. Coaches D'Sylva and Iafrate are extremely proud of the effort, dedication, and sportsmanship of their student‐athletes. The Cosmetology/
Baking event. We raised over $1,500.00 that Father Mike will use to buy food this summer for Haitians living in poverty in the Dominican Republic. 11
T. Chianelli, Science Dept. Head
The Science Department has been quite busy over the last few months, with many
exciting events taking place. Ms. Agostino’s Grade 12 College level Physics class
built a Rube Goldberg Device which is designed so that a single action starts the
machine, and which also incorporates everyday machines in its design. This
proved to be a very interesting and creative project that the students thoroughly
enjoyed.
Over the last month, three contests were held in the areas of
Chemistry and Physics. On April 30th, Grade 12 Biology
students wrote the University of Toronto National Biology
Competition. Peter Ciccocioppo ranked the highest of all
students, scoring in 80th percentile! Physics students wrote
the Sir Isaac Newton Physics Contest on May 7th and Joseph
Filippo scored in the top 20% and Jessica Latocha scored in
the top 26% of all students who wrote worldwide. The Grade
12 Chemistry Contest was written on May 14th, and of the
students that wrote, Peter Ciccocioppo scored the highest at
Holy Cross. Finally, for the Grade 11 Avogadro Contest held
on May 21st, Piero Calcagno ranked the highest of the
students that wrote. We congratulate all winners and
participants on a job well done! Students are advised to
speak with a science teacher for upcoming 2016 contest
dates….stay tuned!
The science department would like to thank Ms. Paschakis and Ms. Grossi on their
hard work and contribution to the Science Department over this last semester. We
wish you all the best in the future and good luck to both you!
To the graduating class, congratulations on all your successes and best of luck in
wherever the future takes you. On behalf of all the teachers in the Science
Department, we wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.
May God bless all of you!
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