Directly 2 U

Congratulations to the Catholic School Council, parent volunteers and the faculty & staff at St John who were featured on Canada AM last week. They were one of ten national winners of the AVIVA contest to enhance the campus at the school. This $45,000 grant is well deserved as many people were involved in stating the case, in securing major community support and in promoting this application within the school community. The work of these few volunteers was simply outstanding. Marketing, concept design, mobilization of support and persistence paid huge dividends for this vital school in Guelph’s north east corner.

I had the opportunity to participate in one over the top enthusiastic assembly at the school and can attest to the spirit that was generated by so many. It was this enthusiasm that was partially responsible for the very good news as announced by National CTV. Kudos to everyone for a fantastic accomplishment.

This past week I had the opportunity to visit with distinguished Canadian columnist and author, Richard Gwyn. He was at Lourdes High School to receive the National Leadership Award. It was very timely as his most recent book, the Biography of Sir John A Macdonald is currently on the best seller list in this country. Richard was also on hand to celebrate Macdonald’s 197th birthday – a tradition at Lourdes. I was pleased that MP Frank Valeriote & MPP Liz Sandals were also on hand to contribute to the celebration.

These Leadership Awards at the school have become a long standing tradition and have been the brainchild of Joe Tersigni, Social Sciences Dept Head at the school. Joe has the ability to empower his students to organize and effectively run these critical meetings. We were again grateful to staff at the Guelph Civic Museum for providing the period costuming for the occasion.

The next event in this series is National Flag day in mid February. Look for another distinguished Canadian to be honoured.

This morning I received word that Pope Benedict has named Archbishop Thomas Collins as a Cardinal within the Catholic Church. Archbishop Collins was a graduate of the Wellington Catholic District School Board and has served with distinction & humility as a teacher, priest, seminary leader, bishop and archbishop since his ordination.

Cardinal Collins often remarks of his roots in Guelph. His family lived here and his two sisters remain residents of the City of Guelph. This is somewhat of a personal story for me as Tom ( known in the day ) was a classmate of mine and many others who were educated here at Notre Dame/ Loretto and later Bishop Macdonell High School. He was a quiet, articulate and well read student who was very serious about his faith.

During the past few years the Archbishop has attended our annual Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Education and I have had the opportunity to be associated with him professionally in our collaborative work in education, especially in my current provincial responsibilities. The Pope has selected an outstanding servant leader as the new Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Congratulations Cardinal Thomas Collins!

It would be inappropriate of me to disclose any confidential communications with my office. However, it is important for me to share the fact that I am privy to many congratulatory letters and email messages. These highlight the responses from parents and community leaders who take the time to share their appreciation for the exemplary work in our classrooms and the many community events in which many of our schools take a lead role.

On occasion, I do receive correspondence that may be critical of specific issues. We can always improve and I welcome them. However, in reality they are quite rare. Far more people take the time to offer congratulations for work that is well done.

As we begin the post Christmas term of studies I welcome any suggestions for improvement as we continue in our mission to offer a quality faith based education for all of our students. It is not by chance that we take pride in offering an ” education for life” for each of our students.

I am appproaching the end of my school visits for this year. As always, it is prime time for me to discuss our work with many of our colleagues from all roles within each school. On some occasions I have the honour to visit with students. One such occasion was at Sacred Heart in Guelph where I witnessed a yoga class being instructed by one of our Child Care Specialists in partnership with the teacher of this Full Day Early Learning class. It was awesome to see these very young children focused on the exercises and be fully engaged. This is but one example of the work in our classrooms.

Ironically. myself and our Superintendents were invited back to read Christmas stories to a number of classes at the same school. The hospitality of senior students who welcomed us was first class and we certainly enjoyed being with these young people. The buzz back at our Central Office was evident as each of us conveyed our positive impressions of being present in this school during the Advent Season – in preparation for the birth of Christ. Thanks Sacred Heart!

The information evenings for students and parents interested in this outstanding annual program in Italy will be on November 29th at St James High School and November 30th at Bishop Macdonell High School . Both sessions are in the respective libraries and begin at 7.00pm

This is a program offered in July and is available to any high school student in the City of Guelph or the County of Wellington. Students are in Italy for about three weeks and achieve a full credit at the conclusion of this outstanding experience.

On Wednesday November 16th the Board of Trustee honoured its quarter century members and those who have recently retired. This year’s event at the Delta Hotel & Conference Centre was again a success. Recipients and their families had the opportunity to view the latest film on the Catholic Graduate Expectations and then learned of the many contributions of so many in Wellington Catholic.

It is always gratifying to hear the many stories that add to the tapestry of our success with our students. This success is often impacted by those who work with our students – faculty, educational assistants, early childhood educators, and support staff.

On behalf of thousands of our past and current students we thank you for your service.

This past week we sent about 450 students, faculty, and staff to the second We Day in Waterloo Wellington. With over 6000 students participating in this year’s event at the KW Auditorium, it was an energetic and meaningful program. Speakers included Senator Romeo D’Allaire, Mia Farrow, Magic Johnson, Dr James Orbinski and many other profoundly important young people who have made a difference for so many.

Many of our schools are participants in Free The Children initiatives and are also making a difference. It was encouraging to read a newspaper that was created for the day. One of our students who had been in Kenya this past summer was featured in the lead story. He is from Bishop Macdonell High School.

This past weekend Superintendent Larry Clifford, and Principals Joanne Basso & Allan Asselin left for a week long mission to Korea. They are visiting the Korean Ministry of Education in Seoul, the School District in Busan and a Catholic Girls Middle School.

The visits and meetings are concluded by our participation in an International Education Fair in Seoul. We continue to be committed to the value of international education as our students are literally students of the world and not simply this province or country. We hope to have Korean students in our elementary & secondary schools in the future .This reality follows our welcome to Korean teachers who have been visiting for four month terms and assisting many of our own faculty.

Our Board of Trustees heard a report from three of our elementary teachers who we sponsored for a summer program of teaching in Korea this past July. They worked in summer camps for English and learned a great deal. Conversely the Korean hosts expressed their appreciation as they also learned a great deal from our instructors.

Over 500 guests attended the 9th annual Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Education on September 28th. This was the first such event for our new bishop, Bishop Crosby. He was joined by many others to raise funds for the St Brigid Student Retreat Centre that has been built on the Ignatius Jesuit Centre campus just north of Guelph. Funds were also allocated to the Guelph Civic Museum in recognition of the Loretto Sisters whose contributions to education in this jurisdiction are very significant.

Look for the 10t annual Dinner in October of 2012