TThh ee mm oo nn tthh llyy nn ee ww ss bb uu ll llee tt iinn oo ff tthh ee EEMMSSBB

Vol. 12. No. 7 March 26, 2010

EDITOR: MICHAEL J. COHEN PRINTING SERVICES: L. SHAW, D. D’ORNELLAS PROOFREADING/TRANSLATION: ALINE ZEROUNIAN

∆ Bill 104 petition

∆ Impact game

∆ Volunteer Night

∆ Facebook page

∆ Royal West Show

∆ Whistler’s Mayor

∆ Career Days

∆ Chorale Concert

∆ Skill Olympics

∆ Pius in Mourning

∆ Adult Learners

Students at Honoré-Mercier Elementary School in St.

Léonard take part in some Junglesport activities. See inside

for more details.

Spring Edition of The EMSB Express

The spring edition of the EMSB Express Newspaper

is being sent out to schools and centres. It can also be

accessed online at www.emsb.qc.ca (Press Room).

There are messages from Chairman Angela Mancini

and Director General Mario Tirelli, a calendar of

events, a summary of Public School Education

Month, two quizzes aimed at building student

leadership and sponsored by Super Aqua Club,

Cineplex Theatres and Evangelista Sports and a four

page EMSB Scholarship Golf Tournament

supplement.

Administrative Assistant’s Day

is Wed. April 21

BILL 104 PETITION: The Central Parents

Committee of the EMSB is urging parents,

students, staff and the community at large to

support their online petition related to Bill

104, which the Supreme Court of Canada

declared unconstitutional last fall. This

petition calls upon the Quebec government to

respect the ruling.

Marcus Tabachnick and Angela Mancini

Bill 104 came into force in 2002 and closed

a section in Bill 101, the charter of the

French language in Quebec, that made a

child eligible to attend English public school

after as little as a year in a non-subsidized

private English school. This applied to

siblings and, eventually, offspring as well.

The EMSB had more than 27,000 students in

its youth sector at the time. That number has

since dropped to 22,000, due mainly to Bill

104.

“It is our fear that the Quebec government

will draft new legislation in the very near

future that may very well mirror Bill 104,

once again infringing upon our freedom of

choice,” states EMSB parent commissioner

Angie Bertone, who moved the resolution

initiating the petition. “Enough is enough!

The time has come to stand up for our rights:

the right and freedom to choose. Let us

protect our freedom of choice and that of

generations to come!”

EMSB Chairman Angela Mancini

emphasizes that the petition represents a

joint effort with the Lester B. Pearson School

Board, which also has an online petition.

For the petition and the full press release, go

to www.emsb.qc.ca.

Ms. Mancini and Lester B. Pearson School

Board Chairman Marcus Tabachnick were

guests on the CJAD Tommy Schnurmacher

Show.

Commissioners Sylvia Lo Bianco and

Marvin Helfenbaum will co-chair a new

sub-committee aimed at moving the Bill 104

dossier forward.

EMSB IMPACT NIGHT: The English

Montreal School Board (EMSB) will hold its

annual Impact Soccer Night on Wednesday,

May 12 (8 p.m.) at Saputo Stadium. On

this evening, the Impact will host Toronto

FC in a Nutrilite CONCACAF

(Confederation of North, Central America

and Caribbean Association Football)

Canadian quarter-final matchup.

CONCACAF is one of the six continental

confederations of the Fédération

Internationale de Football Association

(FIFA).

For the last five years, the EMSB has

enjoyed a successful partnership with the

Montreal soccer team through its “All the

Way with the Impact” program. Over the

last few months, members of the Impact have

been visiting elementary and high schools to

remind young students of the importance of

studying, persevering and building self-

confidence in order to succeed.

Tickets for the May 12 game are $6 per

person. One dollar from each ticket sold will

go towards projects of the EMSB

Foundation. Students and staff who wish to

attend have until April 14 to hand in their

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completed coupons which were sent out last

week. Because of the expected high demand

for tickets that night, the EMSB is

guaranteed only a few thousand seats. With

that in mind, orders are being accepted on a

first-come, first-serve basis.

During half-time, the EMSB‟s presence will

be recognized and two students who have

shown a love for soccer will be presented

with $500 Tony Licursi Bursaries. Mr.

Licursi was the team‟s statistician and a

devoted member of the James Lyng High

School Alumni Association. He passed away

four years ago. Schools are asked to

nominate students for scholarships by

emailing a short bio to

mariobentrovato@sympatico.ca by April 21.

SURPLUS: The EMSB has allocated

$2,501,000 derived from its overall 2008-

2009 corporate operating surplus towards its

schools and centres.

“In light of our better than expected financial

performance following results from our

audited financial statements, we have

developed a number of spending initiatives

to reinvest a substantial sum of money for

the benefit of the entire system,” says EMSB

Chairman Angela Mancini.

Allocations will be broken down as follows:

-$500,000 towards year two of a planned

three year literacy initiative for early

intervention.

-$1 million towards school and centre

projects to improve facilities and equipment.

-$500,000 for washroom improvements at 10

facilities.

-$400,000 for information technology

initiatives in classrooms.

-$101,000 for the replacement of

administrative computer (including libraries)

at schools and centres.

“Recognizing that the improvement of

literacy is a critical objective of the EMSB,

we feel it is imperative that we make a

commitment to support the development of

literacy and literacy teachers,” says Ms.

Mancini. “This can best be accomplished by

providing ongoing, collaborative support to

teachers based on sound research and best

practices, excellent classroom materials, and

the assessment tools needed to track student

progress.”

Ms. Mancini noted that the EMSB is always

trying to find funds to make improvements at

its many buildings. “The washroom

renovation project has been in place for the

last number of years, focusing on a limited

number of facilities at a time,” Ms. Mancini

said. “As for information technology, the

EMSB must keep up with the times and

provide students and staff with the most up to

date equipment possible.”

CALENDAR ERRATUMS: On the EMSB

Wall Calendar the date for Administrative

Assistant‟s Day is listed as Friday, April 30. It

is in fact on Wednesday, April 21. Also,

Victoria Day is erroneously listed as Tuesday,

May 18. It is on Monday, May 24. We

apologize for the errors.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE: The EMSB

Council of Commissioners have approved the

the decision to hire Angelo Marino as

director of finance. He

will succeed Robert

Stocker, now the

deputy director general.

Mr. Marino spent more

than a decade as the

assistant director of

finance for the EMSB

and the former PSBGM.

He went on to become

the director of finance for the Eastern

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Townships School Board and most recently

was treasurer for the city of Côte Saint-Luc.

HAITI RELIEF: EMSB schools, centres and

central head office have so far raised more

than $108,000 for Haiti relief. See the EMSB

press release section (press room/press

releases).

VOLUNTEER NIGHT: The EMSB will

hold its annual Volunteer Appreciation

Evening on Wed. April 21 at the Baron Royal

(6020 Jean Talon Street East) in St. Léonard.

This year‟s event is being held during

National Volunteer Week, which runs from

April 18-24, under the theme of “It‟s Your

Day.”

Time and space do not allow the EMSB to

honour all of its nearly 1,500 volunteers in

person. Therefore, only those individuals

who have volunteered for more than five

years will attend the reception, representing

some 500 people. However, several thousand

copies of a commemorative program book

will be distributed to each school. The

emcees for the evening will be Michael J.

Cohen from the EMSB, along with Michael

Menard and Joseph Arciresi. Secondary V

students in the International Baccalaureate

(IB) program and members of the Laurier

Macdonald High School Improv Team. La

Capitale Financial Services is the title

sponsor for this event. Leonardo Da Vinci

Elementary School student David Marino, a

singing sensation, will sing.

This year‟s Volunteers of Distinction are the

husband and wife team of Scott and Cindy

Day. Scott currently serves as the chairman

of the Central Parents‟ Committee (CPC) as

well as the chairman of the Parents‟

Committee for Region 3. Cindy is the chair

of the Westmount High School Governing

Board. You can read their profiles at

www.emsb.qc.ca (Parent Info/Volunteer

Appreciation Night). When they‟re not

dedicating a great deal of time to the EMSB,

Scott and Cindy are the proud parents of four

daughters. The couple also work at the same

place, St. Mary‟s Hospital, where Scott has

been an orderly for the past 19 years, and

Cindy works as a part-time nurse and teaches

nursing assistants.

Along with La Capitale, the 2010 EMSB

Volunteer Appreciation Night is proud to

have the following companies as its major

sponsors: Steve‟s Music Store

(www.stevesmusic.com), which has evolved

into a world renowned music store and a

major force in the Canadian music industry

since 1965. Steve's caters to all kinds of

musical needs: acoustic, electric and bass

guitarists, drummers and percussionists,

keyboard players, pianists, brass and wind

players, composers, public address systems,

rentals and sheet music; Symphony Charter

Bus Inc. (www.symphonybus.com) which

offers motor coach services (ranging from

modern motor coaches to mini and school

buses) for educational field trips, company

outings or family excursions; 21st Century

Food Services (www.21stcenturyfood.com),

a gourmet food and catering service that

prepares and delivers nutritional meals to

both home and office; Loft Uniforms

(www.loftuniforms.com), which sells a large

selection of school uniforms for public and

private schools, at both elementary and

secondary levels. They outfit students in

complete uniform or dress code in schools

throughout Quebec and Ontario; TCBY

(www.tcby.com), also known as “The

Country‟s Best Yogurt,” offers soft serve

frozen yogurt in a variety of flavours, as well

as yogurt smoothies, cakes and pies; and The

Kid Scoop (www.thekidscoop.com), an

online reference site where parents could

access information on kids‟ activities,

classes, events and programs in their

community.

EMSB IS NOW ON FACEBOOK: The

EMSB has a new Facebook fan page where

we will be making regular updates with our

latest news, photos and events. We will also

be holding special contests exclusively for our

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Facebook fans. Check us out at

www.facebook.com/EMSB1 and click on the

“Become a Fan” button.

TWITTER MEMBERS: More and more

people are signing up as followers to the

EMSB Twitter site. The EMSB

www.twitter.com/emsb109 site is being used

for snowstorm alerts, other important bulletins

and basic updates. The “tweets” can also be

seen on the right hand corner of the EMSB

website.

SCIENCE FAIR WINNER: Marymount

Academy‟s Abicumaran Uthamacumaran

and his project “Kicking Cancer with KAI-1”

captured first place in the 28th

edition of the

Bell Montreal Regional Science and

Technology Fair presented by the Educational

Alliance for Science and Technology (EAST).

Abicumaran Uthamacumaran displays his project.

In addition to winning the Bell Canada Best

Overall Project Award, Uthamacumaran also

won the Gold Medal for the intermediate

level, Bishop‟s University‟s Arts & Science

Award, Concordia University Faculty of Arts

& Science Expo-sciences Tuition Entrance

Award, Laval University‟s Participant Prize, a

one-year subscription to Quebec Science as

well as the Super expo-sciences Bell (SESB)

Experimentation & Design Award.

The EMSB‟s long run of success in this

competition continued this year as at least one

student from each participating school

captured an award. About 318 students

represented 42 CEGEPS, private and public

schools across the island of Montreal, Laval,

the Monteregie, the Laurentides region and the

Laurentians, and displayed 207 science-related

projects, dealing in such scientific disciplines

as biotechnology, Earth and environmental

sciences, engineering and computer sciences,

health sciences, human and social sciences,

life sciences, physical science and

mathematics.

Other EMSB schools represented at the Bell

Montreal Regional Science and Technology

Fair were: John Paul I Junior High School

and Laurier Macdonald High School in St.

Leonard, LaurenHill Academy Junior Campus

in St. Laurent, Lester B. Pearson High School

in Montreal North, Royal Vale High School in

N.D.G., Royal West Academy in Montreal

West, Vincent Massey Collegiate in

Rosemount and Westmount High School. For

a complete list of all of the winning projects

go to www.emsb.qc.ca (Press Room/Press

Releases). See the photo spread at

www.facebook.com/emsb1.

TEAM 990 RADIO STAR CONTEST:

Dominic Insogna from Laurier Macdonald

High School in St. Léonard and Casandra

DeMasi of John F. Kennedy High School in

St. Michel are the two English Montreal

School Board finalists in THE TEAM 990‟s

Next Sports Radio star contest. They will each

be spending part of a week working out of

THE TEAM 990‟s Greene Avenue studios in

Westmount, learning how to prepare a

sportscast, using the radio station equipment

and carrying out their first on air assignment.

The Lester B. Pearson School Board has

candidates as well. In May, a panel of judges

will identify the winner. He or she will be

invited back to do live sportscasts, cover a

practice and possibly a game of one of

Montreal‟s professional sports franchises,

receive courses at the Montreal Radio & TV

School, tour the CTV Montreal studios with

sportscaster Randy Tieman and have THE

TEAM 990 do a live broadcast from their

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school, with the winner sitting in as co-host of

one of the station‟s shows.

OFFICIAL SPONSOR: The EMSB is

pleased to announce that Evangelista Sports

(www.evangelistasports.com) is the official

sponsor for all activities, contests and

promotions related to soccer at the Board this

year. This will include a special quiz about the

World Cup of Soccer in the spring edition of

the EMSB Express Newspaper.

NUTRITION MONTH: March was

Nutrition Month all across Canada and in

celebrating this, the EMSB‟s Cafeteria and

Nutrition Education Division of Community

Services prepared an array of nutrition

activities. The campaign entitled “Flavour

Fiesta…Taste the Rainbow” came back by

popular demand. This is a series of subsidized

activities aimed at sensitizing students,

kindergarten through Cycle 3, about good

nutrition through the discovery and the

tastings of healthy foods. In keeping with the

nutrition theme and in support to the “Healthy

School” approach, subsidized cooking

workshops are being offered through the end

of May. These workshops were animated by

two outside groups that have been selected by

the board. This exposed students to the world

of cooking and food preparation to encourage

healthy eating habits and provide a whole new

and exciting realm for nutrition education.

Sylvie Beaudry, Marie-Luce Ouimet and Claude

Lemieux.

LEMIEUX VISITS: Former NHL star

Claude Lemieux, now the CEO of North

America for MOOV Frozen Foods Inc. that

packages, markets and distributes frozen

fruit under the MOOV(TM) label., was at the

EMSB Administration Building March 22 to

meet with dietician Sylvie Beaudry and food

technician Marie-Luce Ouimet. Lemieux

was seeking their input of how best his

products might fit into school cafeteria

menus. Last month he visited John F.

Kennedy High School and the John F.

Kennedy Business Centre. Students from

the latter locale are already conducting some

market research for MOOV.

GO PUBLIQUE: The Quebec English

School Boards Association (QESBA) has

launched a “Go publique” English public

school promotion campaign. There is a

province-wide billboard campaign, with

multiple sites within each of the nine board

territories, a promotional video featuring

students, some regional newspaper

advertising, along with website and media

relations support.

Each board received a small financial

allotment from the QESBA to utilize for their

own local marketing purposes. The EMSB

used its allocation to run a second series of

similar ads focusing on the excellence in

French programs. These appeared mainly in

local community weeklies, with the double

theme of “À la commission scolaire English-

Montréal Le Français fait toute la differénce!”

and “Go publique.”

FRENCH PROGRAMS: The EMSB will

begin carrying out an extensive consultation

process on French Second Language

Instruction at the elementary level. Cluster

meetings have already taken place with

different parent groups. A survey will now be

sent out to all parents to determine which

extended French program best meets the needs

of students in becoming bilingual and

biliterate. Stay tuned to the EMSB website for

more details.

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JUNGLESPORT: The students of Honoré-

Mercier Elementary School in St. Léonard

had an exceptional experience participating

in their traditional post March Break

Junglesport activity. Junglesport transforms

gymnasiums into an adventure playground.

Students develop teamwork, problem solving

and communication skills, while learning how

to interact with others in many challenging

physical activity settings. “The excitement,

the thrill, the challenge and the giggles seen

and heard from the students is irreplaceable,”

says Vice-Principal Demetra Kriarakis.

These students love to cook.

COOKING LESSON: The Grade 4 students

of Honoré Mercier had the opportunity to

participate in a culinary activity offered by the

EMSB and given by a professional chef from

Chef en Vous. Within one hour, the students

discovered new food, flavours and ultimately

prepared a vegetarian burrito which they later

enjoyed or brought home.

HOLOCAUST SCHOLARSHIPS: Two

EMSB teachers have been awarded all

expenses paid scholarships to study about the

Holocaust at Yad Vashem in Israel from the

Riva and Thomas O. Hecht Scholarship

Program for Educators.

Donna Friedman-Perlin of St. Monica

Elementary School in N.D.G. and Gail

Jebson Robinson of Elizabeth Balantyne

Elementary School in Montreal West will be

joined in Israel by Deborah Dixon of the

Lester B. Pearson School Board‟s Beurling

Academy in Verdun.

The seminar convenes six full days a week –

Sunday to Thursday. A typical day‟s activities

include lectures, pedagogic workshops, group

discussions, survivor testimonies and film. To

enrich the program of approximately 140

hours, field trips have been included – in

Jerusalem, Christian and Jewish Holy sites, a

visit to the Ghetto Fighters‟ Museum in the

North of Israel, a trip to the Palmach Museum

and Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, and a trip

to Massada and the Dead Sea in the Judean

Desert. Evening sessions will give

participants the opportunity to absorb and

discuss topics that appear in the program.

This seminar is accredited by the Hebrew

University in Jerusalem and a participant can

receive up to four MA credits. For more

information, log on to www.t-h-e-

program.org.

PASSOVER PROGRAM: In light of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover (Pesach), Spiritual Animator Veronica D’Agata helped organize an outing for the Cycle 2 students at Coronation Elementary School in Côte des Neiges to the “Exodus Experience. This is a live show where the children learn about the story of the exodus from Egypt as told in the Torah. Not only was it very educational, but entertaining as well for children and adults alike. At the end of the play, the children got to make and eat their own Matzah bread. Everyone had a great time! Students at Carlyle School also took part.

IN HOUSE PLAYWRIGHT: How many

schools can boast an "in house" playwright?

Royal West Academy is so lucky to have

Douglas Floen, a master teacher and creative

genius. He has written an original full-scale

musical entitled Pandora. The premiere

showing will be at Royal West ( 189 Easton

Avenue) in Montreal West the week of April

22 to 26. The original music score has been

composed by a Royal West graduate, Chris

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Barillaro, currently in his last year of music

studies at McGill. To add to this proud

announcement, a volunteer parent, Cathy

Burns, has designed the choreography and a

good friend of the school, Taylor Baruchel

has written the lyrics! Sidney Westlake, a

science and technology teacher, is the

producer. The drama program is one of her

extracurricular activity commitment.

Performance organizers promise guests that

they will walk away humming new tunes that

some day may hit the bigger stage. Here are

the performance details: Tuesday, April 23 (7

p.m.), tickets $10; Wednesday, April 24 (7

p.m.), tickets $10; Thursday, April 25 (6

p.m.), gala evening, wine and cheese and

entertainment pre-show. tickets $15; Friday,

April 26 (6 p.m.), dinner theatre presentation,

tickets $25 (must be reserved in advance by

calling 514-489-8454-attention, Ms. Sidney

Westlake).

SCHOOL NEEDS EVENT: CBC

Television‟s CBC News: Montreal, CBC

Radio One's Homerun (88.5 FM), the

Foundation of Greater Montreal (FGM), the

Alexander and Ruth Dworkin Foundation

(ADF), the EMSB, the Lester B. Pearson

School Board (LBPSB), the Riverside School

Board, the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board,

the New Frontier School Board (NFSB) and

Equitas are proud partners in the CBC School

Needs Project, which was created in 2007 to

help meet a need at an elementary school that

could not be met through its normal operating

budget. Each year, the project follows up on

the previous year‟s Montreal Matters topic.

This means that for this year, students are

developing projects related to Integration and

Diversity. One school (class or group) is

selected to participate by each school board.

Subsequently, each school has received a visit

from a community organization , as well as the

CBC to help educate and motivate the student

in the possibilities of developing a project

about Diversity and Integration in their school

and community.

The projects for participating schools are

determined by the students themselves with

the support of a teacher. Students benefit from

this project on many levels, from the

educational, community and growth

experience, to the concrete results of receiving

services or equipment that help them as well as

leaving a legacy for future students. The total

cost of each proposed project is limited to

between $1,000 and $2,500.

In terms of the proposal judging process,

students are selected from secondary schools

of each school board to join the FGM's Youth

in Philanthropy program and serve as judges

for School Needs The FGM and ADF have

each committed $5,000 for this project. This

will fund school visits, provide $500 in up-

front funding for project development to each

school and grant funds for the most

compelling projects, as identified by the

project judges. The EMSB is represented by

Nesbitt Elementary School in Rosemount.

On Thursday afternoon, March 25, CBC will

host a celebration event for students, teachers,

principals and partners to announce the final

grants as determined by the judges. CBC

Radio One's Homerun will be broadcasting

live from the event, and CBC News: Montreal

will air highlights from the event. For more

details log on to

http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/features/schoolnee

ds.

Mayor Melamed with Westmount High sign.

WESTMOUNT AND WHISTLER: On the

morning of the Vancouver Olympic Games

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Opening Ceremonies, the Mayor of Whistler,

Ken Melamed, received the award-winning

Olympic banner produced by his alma mater,

Westmount High School.

The banner was presented by Virginia Elliot,

a city of Westmount employee who

volunteered in Vancouver. Mr. Melamed said,

“I was very touched by the thoughtful gift

from the students. Great artwork! We hung the

banner at municipal hall along one of the

entries to Whistler Village. Thanks to

Westmount High School for the enthusiastic

support of Canada's Games in Whistler.”

The students at Westmount High are very

excited that the Mayor of one of the host cities

for the Winter Games is a graduate of their

high school. They look up to Mr. Melamed as

a role model, and hope that he will be able to

visit next time he is in town and share some of

his experiences first-hand.

Westmount High staff and students are

congratulated by Immigration Minister Yolande

James.

YOLANDE JAMES: In November of 2009,

students at Westmount High School again

participated in an altruistic international art

project with the goal to raise funds for art

supplies sent to Africa. This project was called

Free The Children and Westmount was the

only high school to participate in this pilot

project. They were invited to participate by

School Commissioner Ginette Sauve

Frankel. Under the direction of their art

teacher, Silvana Anania, 18 gifted students

researched and collaborated to create their

interpretation of human rights as experienced

by children around the world. They worked

collaboratively to create a mural that

expressed their belief that every child should

have the freedom to dream, live, grow, and to

express this through art. It was a labour of

love for these art students and they worked

many evenings well past 8 p.m. on this

beautiful mural. This inspiring work of art

was displayed at the Olympic Stadium on

February 25 at a multicultural event entitled

Painting a New World, with guest of honour,

Yolande James. She is Quebec‟s Minister of

Immigration and Cultural Communities. The

canvas will be auctioned off and the proceeds

will go towards the opening of an Art Centre

in Kenya. Ms. Anania was recognized at the

last EMSB Council meeting.

SEC IV CAREER DAYS: As a follow up to

the highly successful EMSB Secondary V

Career Fair held every October, the Adult

Education and Vocational Services (AEVS)

and Student Services departments of the

EMSB will introduce a complementary

program this spring.

Kelly Alexander

On two separate days, Monday, April 12 and

Friday, May 7, Secondary IV students will

visit the St. Pius X Adult Centre (9955

Papineau) in Ahunstic and take part in

workshops focusing on a wide range of career

opportunities such as

Accounting/Administrative Assistant,

Paralegal, Bailiffs, Medical Services

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Technology, Nursing and Pre-hospital Care,

Animal Health Technology, Police

Technology, Social Services, Journalism and

Broadcasting, the Hotel and Travel industry,

Professional Sales, Industrial Drafting,

Furniture Finishing, Computer Graphics,

Hairdressing, Aesthetics and Automobile

Mechanics.

A number of media personalities will give

workshops. They include CBC TV News co-

anchor Jennifer Hall, CBC Radio‟s Monique

Lacombe, Virgin Radio 96 traffic report,

weekend host and podcaster Kelly Alexander

and Global TV‟s Domenic Fazioli and Tim

Sargeant.

This is different from the fall Career Fair,

which involves an elaborate auditorium

presentation and an extensive kiosk section.

For the Secondary IV level, there will be

smaller workshop sessions and a less busy

kiosk area. Workshops will take place in the

following timeslots: 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.; 9:45

a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; 10:30 a.m to 11:15 a.m.;

Noon to 12:45 pm.; 12:45 p.m to 1:30 p.m.

and 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. A lunch break will

occur from 11:15 a.m. to Noon. Each student

will take part in two 45 minute workshops,

followed by an additional 45 minutes to visit

the booths in the kiosk area. Bentley Luggage

is a sponsor of the event. Corporate

promotional representative Joel Barbarush

will be on hand to talk to students and staff.

JFK students share a dance with residents.

VISTA’S JFK DANCE: The residents of

VISTA, a modern residence for active seniors

in N.D.G., were treated to a little song and a

lot of dance, thanks to 46 students from John

F. Kennedy High School in St. Michel. The

program, entitled “Come Dance with Me,” had

the students from Secondary I, II and V

perform demonstrations of different types of

dancing, from folk dances originating from

Israel, Italy, Greece and Sri Lanka; to modern

pop dance; to Hip Hop; to performance dance

(which included a tribute to Michael Jackson);

to swing dancing and the Viennese waltz.

There were also two student song

performances, including a powerful

presentation of the 2010 Vancouver Winter

Olympic song “I Believe.” One highlight

during the hour-long presentation was when

the students invited the seniors to dance along

with them during the waltz and swing

segments. This event was part of the VISTA

Intergenerational Program (VIP), in which its

objective is to explore issues of interest to

seniors and youth with a view to increasing

respect and understanding between the two

age groups. A partnership between VISTA,

the EMSB and the Commission scolaire de

Montreal (CSDM), the VISTA

Intergenerational Program accomplishes these

objectives through educational and social

events that brings students and seniors

together on a monthly basis.

Heleine Lefebvre is greeted by Virgin Radio’s

Nicholas Giroux and “Sir” Patrick Charles.

1 1

LADY DUTCH MAKEOVER: Heleine

Lefebrve, an administrative technician

(pensions) at in Human Resources at the

EMSB Administration building on Fielding

Ave., received a big surprise on Monday

when reception told her there was a visitor to

see her. When she came down the elevator

she was greeted by Patrick Charles, a.k.a.

Sir Patrick, of the Virgin Radio 96 FM

Morning Show. He informed her that she

was a winner of the Lady Dutch Makeover

Contest. Heleine booked the rest of the day

off work and was whisked off by Nicholas

Giroux of Virgin Radio to have her hair

done, along with pedicure and manicure.

Then it was time for a $500 spending spree

on new clothes. Congratulations Heleine!

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS

DISORDER: Natalie Zlodre, head of the

Trauma and Resiliency Program at the Hinks

– Dellcrest Institute in Toronto was a special

guest speaker at a workshop for all EMSB

Student Services staff on post traumatic stress

disorder. The primary focus of the session was

to examine how early attachment patterns and

early childhood trauma can predispose some

individuals to develop debilitating adult

coping mechanisms. A framework for

understanding and guiding this work with

complex individuals was outlined. As well,

the discussion focused on treatment

strategies to build and enhance the students‟

strengths such as affect tolerance,

interpersonal communication, real-life

experiences, and self-care, as well as

discovering and liberating frozen unmet needs.

Strategies were also be outlined for enhancing

and maintaining our capacity to be resilient

professionals.

STUDENT WRITERS: Hampstead

Elementary School daycare students are

producing The Hampstead News. While

working very hard to put this newspaper

together, students are learning about getting

story ideas, doing interviews, writing articles,

taking pictures and laying out pages. As a first

assignment to start acquiring journalism skills,

some of the students wrote a short story about

what they liked most about winter for The

Gazette's Kids Corner. Congratulations to

Rushat Sen and James Davis who were

published in the March 15 Gazette.

CHORALE CONCERT: On Sat. May 1

(7:30 p.m.) the EMSB Chorale (formerly the

PSBGM Chorale) will be celebrating 30 years

of music-making. The choir invites former

members of the PSBGM Children‟s Chorus,

the PSBGM and the EMSB Chorales to take

part in the gala concert at Oscar Peterson Hall

(7141 Sherbrooke Street West) in N.D.G.

Please contact conductor Patricia Abbott for

details at pabbott@emsb.qc.ca or at (514) 483-

7200, ext. 7234.

POET TO VISIT LBPHS: Montreal's

Vallum Society for Arts and Letters Education

in collaboration with Lester B. Pearson High

School's Learning for a Cause student press

are pleased to announce that award-winning

Vermont Poet Sandra Erickson will visit

several EMSB schools in April for poetry

month.

Sandra Erickson

Erickson, a poet, artist, potter and pre-school

educator, won the Shadow Poetry third

biannual chapbook award for her book

“Epiphany 47”. She is also the 2009-2010

artist-in-residence for KidsShare Workshops

of Vermont. With decades of experience in the

arts and working with children, Sandra's visit

will surely be a rewarding one. To see

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Sandra's art, visit her site at

www.BianchiStStudio.com.

Sandra Erickson will visit Lester B. Pearson,

John F. Kennedy High School, Westmount

High School and Gerald McShane Elementary

on April 21 and 22 to conduct poetry writing

workshops with the students. Her visits are

being presented free of charge thanks to the

generous support of The Vallum Society.

Volunteers work on the school gym.

HELPING HANDS AT PET: On a Saturday

last month a team of 16 volunteer workers

from Lora Construction arrived bright and

early at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary

School in Rosemount to do a “make over” of

the ceiling in the gymnasium. The foam tiles

covering the ceiling had been falling regularly

for a long time. Though not dangerous to the

children, these falling tiles left behind

unsightly brown patches.

The new gym lights.

The school Governing Board chair, Marie

Josée Sara, was responsible for organizing

this “corvée,” and night caretaker Kosta

Maniatis gave his time to supervise the work.

After the tiles were scraped off, the workers

applied 30 gallons of paint donated by Micca

Paint. In transforming the ugly ceiling into a

welcoming one, these workers created a

convivial environment for our students. Such

a generous act shows a social consciousness

that is rare. “Our whole school community is

grateful for Lora Construction‟s and Mica

Paint‟s good deed,” said Principal Michelle

Stein.

CARLYLE ON THE MOVE: Carlyle

Elementary School in T.M.R. is pleased and

excited to announce that they have now

formally applied to become an International

Baccalaureate, Primary Years Program (IB

PYP) Carlyle staff has been working hard to

develop units of inquiry for students to

become citizens of the world and promoting

world peace. Personal and human values are

being established daily by encouraging

diversity and flexibility, appreciation,

commitment, cooperation, curiosity, respect,

integrity, tolerance along with other attitudes

and learning profiles. Teachers have been

stimulating student‟s curiosity through inquiry

and fostering a spirit of discovery and

enjoyment of learning. Teachers work

collaboratively and equip students with skills

to become life-long learners. “It is a very

exciting time at Carlyle and we are very proud

of our accomplishments,” says Principal Joan

MacMillan.

Principal Joan MacMillan and members of the

Carlyle Playground Leadership Program.

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Carlyle also reports that it now has a

Playground Leadership Program. Last fall the

Carlyle team adopted a Playground

Leadership Program for students. Its purpose

is to encourage, develop and foster a sense of

pride, respect, responsibility and leadership

for students in Grades 5 and 6. These leaders

will be working with younger students in

various school situations. Integrating the

themes LEAD, SOLVE and PLAY, and with

the assistance of Bartimaeus, the Carlyle team

initiated an interest survey, an application-

interview process and several training sessions

for selected leaders to prepare them to become

leaders, problem solvers, games wizards,

dependable and trustworthy. On March 23, a

school assembly was held to introduce the

program and the 20 selected leaders to the

students and staff.

“It was like winning a gold medal in the

Olympics” said the leaders.

DYNAMIX: Have you ever imagined that a

whole carnival of games could fit into a school

gym? Well it did at Carlyle last month as

Dynamix set up games and provided students

with the opportunity to win prizes and

participate in team building activities with

classmates. The Carlyle students had a chance

to play exceptional and enlarged games such

as Connect 4 Golf, Soccer, Box Hockey,

Bigfoot and they participated in other exciting

activities such as Toss Ball.

NOBEL PRIZE SPEAKER: Nobel Peace

Prize nominee Greg Mortenson will be in

Montreal in June and thanks to the efforts of

Spiritual Community Animator Catherine

Cherry he will be making a visit to the EMSB.

Mortenson, Nobel Peace Prize nominee,

author of “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s

Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a

Time” and “Stones into Schools: Promoting

Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan

and Pakistan,” is a nurse, mountaineer, and

executive director of the Central Asia

Institute. On June 22, the second to last day of

classes, he will address students from five

West End schools.

Mr. Mortenson, or Dr. Greg as he is called,

will be in Montreal as the keynote speaker at

the International Convention of Rotary

International. Ms. Cherry invited him to

come and share the exciting story of how he

began and continues to build schools

(especially for girls) in the far reaches of

Afghanistan and Pakistan, and talk about the

value of education, as well as the

transformation experienced by a community

once their children start to go to school.

Peace, he claims, is fostered through education

and based in relationships. The Haij Ali, the

wise man of the small village of Korphe where

Dr. Greg built his first school, encouraged him

to go among the people and have tea: “with

the first cup of tea, you are a welcomed

stranger, with the second, a friend, but with

the third, you become family, and for family,

they will do anything, even give up their life

for you”. His “family” has saved his life

many a time.

“Our students have been empowered, not just

by hearing his story, but by taking part in the

„Pennies for Peace‟ program, which supports

Dr. Greg‟s Central Asia Institute to continue

promoting peace by building schools in

Afghanistan and Pakistan,” says Ms. Cherry.

“Students from several schools will present

him with checks representing the sum of the

pennies they collected for the „Pennies for

Peace‟ program.”

Students from Edinburgh and Elizabeth

Ballantyne elementary schools in Montreal

West will have a presentation at 9:15 a.m.

Afterwards, at 10:30 a.m, he will meet

students from Merton Elementary in Cote

Saint-Luc, joined by a few students from

Willingdon in N.D.G. and St. John Bosco in

Ville Émard.

DENIM DAY: DENIM DAY: In May 1997,

the CURE Foundation inaugurated

NATIONAL DENIM DAY, its main

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fundraiser. This event is held on the Tuesday

following Mother's Day, May 18 this year.

Company employees across Canada join

together in wearing denim and/or a "pink

flower ribbon" for a suggested donation of $5

to the CURE Foundation. CURE will provide

a Dress for CURE Kit, which will include

posters and enrollment materials to ensure

easy implementation of this program at no

charge. According to statistics from the

Canadian Cancer Society, 22,300 new cases of

breast cancer in women and 170 new cases in

men were diagnosed in 2007. Of these, 5,345

proved to be fatal. Over the past decade, the

EMSB Administration Office and its schools

and centres have raised over $200,000 for this

cause. Forms will soon be circulated.

WEAR PURPLE DAY: Edward Murphy

Elementary School in Hochelaga-

Maisonneuve will participate in the

International Wear Purple Day for Epilepsy

Awareness March 26. The children will be

invited to donate toonies for research into the

disease. There are children with epilepsy in

the school as well as a teacher is who has been

seizure free for 13 years now after brain

surgery.

NEWSPAPER: The Edward Murphy School

Newspaper for March is now online at

www.edwardmurphyschool.com. Teacher

Marie-Lyne Lebel oversees the project.

Ann Marie Burnett accepts flowers at the official

inauguration.

THE ANN MARIE BURNETT LIBRARY: The students and staff of Edward Murphy

were thrilled to welcome back former teacher,

Ann Marie Burnett. Ms. Burnett taught at

the school for over 40 years. She began many

literacy initiatives during her time there,

including helping to build the school library

which recently underwent a makeover. On

March 8 a special ceremony was held to

honour Ms. Burnett and announce that the

library would be dedicated in her honour. It is

now known as The Ann Marie Burnett

Library. Ms. Burnett’s family, former

colleagues and students attended the

ceremony. It was a very touching event.

QUEBEC CULTURE: Edward Murphy

School learned more about Quebec culture on

March 15, 2010, when they went to Cabane à

sucre La Goudrelle Sugar Shack in Mont St-

Grégoire. The students took a walk in the

woods to see how the sap is extracted from the

maple trees. The animators at the sugar shack

then explained how the sap turns into syrup.

The children were treated to a traditional

Cabane à sucre lunch. They also enjoyed a

ride on a horse-drawn wagon, visited a farm,

sampled some delicious taffy and enjoyed

playing on inflatable games. A good time was

had by all!

QUEBC ROOTS: Perspectives II Alternative

High School in St. Michel recently

participated in “The Quebec Roots: Where

I’m From” project. The students captured the

spirit of their outreach school within 12 pages

of poetry, photography, and expository

writing, titled “Our Perspective.” The staff

are very proud of this work, says teacher

Heather Morrison. The compendium also

includes work from students throughout

Quebec and will be published by the Blue

Metropolis Foundation. A book launch will be

held at the Delta Hotel on April 22.

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TIP CORNER

Editor’s Note: The Communications

Department of the EMSB is contacted

regularly by organizers of different

conferences, facilitators of interesting

workshops and developers of innovative

fundraising opportunities. We screen these

requests and make the information available to

schools and centres. From this point on, we

will group these in our Tip Corner and give in-

school administrators, teachers, other staff,

parent groups and even students of making

contact directly.

BANK OF ORGANS: St Mary's Hospital

Centre in Côte-des-Neiges is organizing a visit

to its bank of organs for interested students

and teachers. This visit will be part of the

provincial scientific event "Les 24 heures de

science" (http://www.science24heures.com)

and will take place on May 7 (2 p.m.). Only

15 students can be accommodated at that

time. Two other visits will take place at 3 p.m.

and 4 p.m. for the general public, but some

students may also be part of that, depending

on the attendance. This will be a unique

opportunity for students to observe first-hand

the difference between healthy and diseased

organs and also the real consequences of

living habits on our organs. The visit will be

animated by Dr. Indrojit Roy, the hospital‟s

chief of pathology, who is a very experienced

and captivating speaker. Info: (514) 345 3511

ext.5501 isabelle.kling@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

SUPER AQUA CLUB: EMSB schools

planning June outings to Super Aqua Club in

St. Calumet, near St. Eustache, can look

forward to the complex‟s newest attraction:

the Storm Based on an Adirondack storm

theme, it offers non-stop family entertainment

in a delightfully playful setting. As a giant

tipping water bucket overlooks the folks

below who can't wait for it to spill into a

heavy rainstorm, kids and parents can enjoy

hours of action, waterplay, and fun. There are

eight slides, a sunken ship, a downed

airplane and many other interactive features

which are sure to make the Storm this

summer's main attraction! Go to

www.superaquaclub.com.

TEEN VOICES NEEDED: Dynamic

singers, aged 13 to 18, are needed to perform

as lead vocalists for a unique musical group

playing jazz, R&B and pop standards. They

must be able to sing before crowds as large as

those at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Experience is an asset, but training can also be

arranged. This is a tremendous opportunity to

gain invaluable performing experience, and

possible fame, for the right young people. Call

band publicist Bram Eisenthal for more

information, at 514-975-7745, or by email at

superscribe@sympatico.ca

HOUDINI MAGIC CLUB: Houdini Magic

Club is excited to begin its twenty-third year

of entertaining and educating children of all

ages! Our extra-curricular activities

include: Wizards 1 for elementary school

students & Mission Magic for the

kindergartener. We also offer intensive,

hands-on 1/2 and full day Wizardry

Workshops for PED days. Magic shows with

Alan Greenberg are as well available for

special events, Halloween, Carnival, Xmas,

Easter, etc. The delight comes from seeing

reality questioned and probability

demolished! Magic is universally appealing,

increases self-esteem, inspires creative

thought, sharpens perception and stimulates

the imagination. Founded in mathematics,

physics, chemistry, psychology and history -

the principles of magic directly compliment

the academic curriculum. For more

information, call (514)-341-9472, email

houdinimagicclub@hotmail.com or log on to

http://houdinimagicclub.com.

HUNTSMAN COURSES: The Huntsman

Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, N.B.,

is running some new, fun hands-on marine

biology courses alongside its traditional ones.

For students aged 15 to 18, there are two

summer courses (July 11-16 and August 3-7).

There will also be a teachers‟ institute (July

1 6

26-3) designed to assist teachers deliver

science in the classroom in a fun, hands-on

way, and new this year are three ocean

exploration ecotourism courses. For more

information on the courses, please visit

www.huntsmanmarine.ca, call (506) 529-1200

or email huntsman@huntsmanmarine.ca

SUPPORTING OUR SCHOOLS: LEARN

Quebec is an educational foundation

supported by funding from the Quebec-

Canada Entente for Minority Language

Education that: offers e-learning services and

support to all English school boards, private

schools, community organizations and the

private sector in rural and urban settings;

supports and promotes pedagogical

collaboration and innovation using

information technology, and works to model

best practices; and publishes quality learning

materials to support educators who are

implementing competency-based practices in

the classroom. LEARN offers online support

for teachers, students and schools in a variety

of ways. LEARN has established a

technological infrastructure which provides

educational experiences through online

models of delivery. The model allows for real-

time instruction, collaboration and training of

educators and students, anytime, anywhere. It

also allows virtual access to resources. Go to

www.learnquebec.ca for more details about

the services they offer.

HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS: B‟nai Brith

Canada would like to invite teachers to

encourage students to participate in the

League for Human Rights‟ 2010 Student

Human Rights Awards, an annual event that

recognizes youth creativity in addressing

pressing Canadian human rights issues. As a

national competition, with entries accepted in

both English and French, it draws together a

diversity of student voices against bigotry and

discrimination, providing a public forum for

the concerns of young Canadians from coast

to coast.

With the International Day for the Elimination

of Racial Discrimination having just occurred,

it is timely for teachers to initiate a discussion

of human rights issues in the coming days, and

to ensure that all students are aware of this

thought-provoking opportunity.

Students can express their skills - whether

artistic, literary, musical or technical - in such

projects as paintings, collages, poems, essays,

lyrics and soundtrack, videos, websites or

interactive computer games, all of which must

tell a story about a Canadian human rights

problems that affects them personally or

touches them deeply at a community level.

B‟nai Brith is offering cash awards and other

exciting prizes in four categories: Grades 1-3,

Grades 4-6, Grades 7-9, and Grades 10-12.

The entry deadline is Tuesday, April 30, 2010.

Entries will be judged by a distinguished

adjudication panel, and announced both

nationally and regionally.

Info: www.bnaibrith.ca.

ADULT AND VOC ED SERVICES

SKILLS OLYMPICS: Thirteen students

from the English Montreal School Board

(EMSB) won medals March 10, including

five gold, at the 11th

annual Regional Skills

Olympic Gala for Vocational Training.

The ceremony was hosted by the EMSB‟s St.

Pius X Culinary Institute in Ahuntsic. A

total of 142 students competed in 23

categories from vocational training centres

at the EMSB, the Lester B. Pearson School

Board, the Commission scolaire Marguerite-

Bourgeoys, the Commission scolaire de

Montréal, the Commission scolaire de la

Pointe-de-l‟Île and the Institut de tourisme

et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ). During

the month of February students showcased

their talents before jury members composed

of experts in their specific fields. John F.

Kennedy Business Centre in St. Michel

captured the three medals in the professional

1 7

sales event: Erica Stabile (gold), Bianca

Volpicella (silver) and Alexandra Benfatti

(bronze).

EMSB staff and commissioners congratulate some of

the winners.

Rosemount Technology Centre won medals in

four categories: numerical control machine

tool operation, Jian Qing Lin (gold) and

Ali Ali-Hasan (silver); industrial drafting,

Jian Tao He (gold) and Jin Hui Chen

(silver); cabinet making, Jamie Zerebecki

(bronze); and desktop publishing, Asami

Takermoto (bronze).

Laurier Macdonald Vocational Centre in St.

Léonard won three medals: hairdressing,

Kerry-Ann Thompson (gold) and Cassandra

Vinhal (silver); and automobile mechanics,

Steven Yuskowski (gold).

St. Pius X Culinary Institute won one medal

in professional cooking, Telmo Goncalves

(bronze). EMSB Educational Consultant

Mario Marrazza, a member of the Montreal

Island Skills Competitions Regional

Committee, coordinated the Olympic

activities. The gold medal winners will

represent the island of Montreal at the

Provincial Skills Competition in Quebec City

in May. Winners from there will go on to

represent the province at the Canadian Skills

Competition in Kitchener, Ontario. A

selection team of winners from that

competition will represent Canada at the 41st

World Skills Competitions in London,

England in 2011.

The ceremony began with a parade of

competitors. Rosemount High School‟s

Symphonic Winds Orchestra, conducted by

Andrew Mangal, provided music throughout

the evening. EMSB Chairman Angela

Mancini, Director General Mario Tirelli and

St. Pius X Culinary Institute Principal Marysa

Barassi addressed the audience of more than

300 people.

PIUS IN MOURNING: St. Pius X Culinary

Institute in Ahuntsic and the EMSB are in

mourning following the tragic death March 15

of Alexandre Hamelin. He was a student at

the school, having just enrolled in January.

Alexandre became fatally trapped under a

float during the parade. He attended the parade

with a friend who

is also part of the

Culinary Institute.

“Our staff and

students were all

in shock,” stated

Principal Marysa

Barassi. “We

spent some time

with them, and

encouraged

students to share their memories of Alexandre.

Some were in tears. It was visibly painful for

everyone. We will do our best to forge on. In

the back of everyone‟s mind is the agonizing

lesson that we are not invincible, even at 20

years of age.”

ADULT LEARNERS WEEK: In

recognition of Adult Learners Week, the

Adult Education and Vocational Services

Department of the EMSB organized a

presentation to adult students featuring

Anwar Stewart of the Montreal Alouettes as

the guest speaker. This event took place on

March 19 at the Giovanni Palatucci

Facility/Marymount Adult Centre in Côte

Saint-Luc.

1 8

Stewart is a six foot four, 255 pound defensive

end who has played nine seasons in the

Canadian Football League, eight of them with

the Alouettes. He played college football at

the University of Kentucky. Stewart‟s

presentation was followed by a brief

Recognition of Adult Learners ceremony.

Anwar Stewart addresses the audience.

The recipients of the certificates are current

adult students at EMSB centres who have

displayed qualities such as dedication,

motivation, and commitment to their program

of study. They are: Dean Makarenko,

Ashleigh Guerriero, Stephanie Johnson,

Dalila Medeiros and Anthony Menale, High

School of Montreal Adult Centre Distance

Education Program; Alicia Audain, Vanessa

Andrade and Ntung Ajang Yannick

Geovanni, St. Laurent Adult Centre; Silvestre

Anthony Battista, John F. Kennedy Business

Centre; Kevin Boisclair and Melissa Berbari,

Laurier MacDonald Vocational Centre in St.

Léonard; Manal Shamram, Therese

Tardieau, Rozyev Goxel and Ciro

Bendezu, Marymount Adult Centre; Terrisa

Maloney and Sabrina Alberga; Shadd

Business Centre; Colin Russell and David

Chau, Rosemount Technology Centre;

Dionne Wiles and Natasha Nickerson,

James Lyng Adult Centre, St Henri; Jaegoo

Park and Moghen Sahba, Galileo Adult

Centre, Montreal North. Terrissa Maloney

also received a $150 bursary.

CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY: Marymount

Adult Centre will host a Canadian Citizenship

ceremony on March 30.

CHAPEAU LES FILLES: The annual

Chapeau Les Filles Regional ceremony,

which recognizes women in non-traditional

roles, will be held at the Pearson

Electrotechnology Centre in Lachine on

April 14 (10:30 a.m.).

RTC A WINNER: Students from 20 schools

and CEGEPS met recently at École Sainte

Maxime in Laval for this year‟s CRC

Robotics Competition. RTC students excelled

during three days of activities and captured

six major awards: Champion Robot Award,

First Prize Engineering, Second Prize

Overall, Second Prize Sportsmanship, Third

Prize Journal and Outstanding Participation

Award. Congratulations to the RTC Robotics

Team and teacher mentors for their

accomplishment and success.

Harry Michalopoulos, Assistant Nursing Manager

Diane Lammare and Rosario Ortona at the

Montreal General Hospital.

GENEROUS DONATION: RTC donated

three armoires to the Montreal General

Hospital. Two were given to the Hematology-

Oncology Department and one to the Aids

Research Clinic. These units will be used by

family members to store their belongings

when they are staying overnight to be with

their loved ones.

1 9

DATES OF NOTE

March 25, 2010

CBC School Needs Gala

Featuring Nesbitt School

Listen to CBC Radio 1 88.5 FM

3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

March 26, 2010

Wear Purple Day for Epilepsy

April 11, 2010

Chapeau Les Filles Ceremony

April 12, 2010

Secondary IV Career Day I

St. Pius X Adult Centre

April 21, 2010

EMSB Volunteer Appreciation Evening

Il Baron St. Lèonard

May 7, 2010

Secondary IV Career Day II

St. Pius X Adult Centre

PLEINS FEUX SUR FIELDING

ÉDITION DU PRINTEMPS DE L’EMSB

EXPRESS : L‟édition du printemps de l‟EMSB

Express est en voie d‟expédition aux écoles et

centres. Elle est aussi disponible en ligne à

www.emsb.qc.ca (Nouvelles). Cette édition offre

des messages de la présidente Angela Mancini,

du directeur général Mario Tirelli, un calendrier

d‟évènements, un résumé du Mois de l‟éducation

publique, deux casse-têtes visant à renforcer le

leadership étudiant et commandités par Super

Aqua Club, les cinémas Cinéplex et Evangelista

Sports et un supplément de quatre pages sur le

tournoi de golf des bourses d‟études de la CSEM

et de quelques réalisations de ses écoles et

centres.

PÉTITION LOI 104 : Le Comité central de

parents de la CSEM prie instamment les parents,

les élèves, le personnel et la communauté

d‟appuyer la pétition en ligne relative à la Loi

104, que la Cour Suprême du Canada a déclaré

inconstitutionnelle l‟automne dernier. Cette

pétition demande au gouvernement du Québec de

respecter cette décision.

La Loi 104 est entrée en vigueur en 2002 et a

annulé un article de la Loi 101, la Charte de la

langue française du Québec, qui permettait à un

enfant de fréquenter une école publique

anglophone après avoir fréquenté pendant un an

une école privée anglaise non subventionnée.

Cette disposition s‟appliquait aussi aux frères et

sœurs et, éventuellement, aux enfants de ces

élèves. La CSEM avait plus de 27 000 élèves

inscrits au secteur jeunesse à l‟époque et ce

chiffre a diminué depuis à 22 000,

principalement à cause de la Loi 104.

« Nous craignons que le gouvernement du

Québec proposera une nouvelle loi dans un

proche avenir qui pourrait refléter la Loi 104,

portant atteinte encore une fois à notre liberté de

choix » déclare la commissaire représentante de

parents, Angie Bertone, qui a initié la pétition. «

Il est temps de réclamer nos droits : le droit et la

liberté de choix. Protégeons-les et celles des

générations à venir! ».

La présidente de la CSEM, Angela Mancini,

souligne que la pétition représente une

initiative conjointe avec la Commission

scolaire Lester-B.-Pearson qui a aussi une

pétition en ligne. Pour la pétition et le

communiqué de presse, allez à

www.emsb.qc.ca.

SOIRÉE IMPACT DE LA CSEM : La

Commission scolaire English-Montréal

(CSEM) tiendra sa soirée annuelle Impact au

Stade Saputo, le mercredi 12 mai (20 h).

L‟impact de Montréal recevra Toronto FC

pour une partie de quart de finale

CONCACAF (Confederation of North,

Central America and Caribbean Association

Football) qui est l‟une des six fédérations

continentales de la Fédération internationale

de Football association (FIFA).

2 0

Au cours des cinq dernières années, la CSEM

a entretenu un partenariat avec l‟équipe de

soccer de Montréal par le biais de son

programme « Jusqu’au bout avec l’Impact ».

Au cours des mois écoulés, les membres de

l‟Impact ont visité des écoles primaires et

secondaires pour rappeler aux jeunes élèves

l‟importance d‟étudier, de persévérer et de la

confiance en soi pour réussir.

Le coût des billets pour la partie du 12 mai est

de 6 $. Un dollar du produit de la vente de

chaque billet sera versé à la Fondation de la

CSEM. Les élèves et le personnel qui désirent

assister à la partie ont jusqu‟au 14 avril pour

remettre leurs coupons qui ont été envoyés la

semaine dernière. À cause de la forte demande

de billets pour cette partie, la CSEM n‟a que

quelques milliers de sièges garantis et les

demandes de billets seront acceptées sur la

base du premier arrivé, premier servi.

À la mi-temps, la présence de la CSEM sera

reconnue et deux élèves qui ont démontré

l‟amour du soccer recevront une bourse Tony

Licursi de 500 $. M. Licursi qui a été le

statisticien de l‟équipe et un membre dévoué

de l‟Association des anciens élèves de l‟école

secondaire James Lyng est décédé, il y a de

cela quatre ans. Il est demandé aux écoles de

poser la candidature d‟élèves aux bourses, en

envoyant une courte biographie par courriel à

mariobentrovato@sympatico.ca au plus tard le

21 avril.

SOIRÉE DES BÉNÉVOLES : La CSEM

tiendra sa Soirée annuelle d‟appréciation des

bénévoles, le mercredi 21 avril, au Baron

Royal (6020 Jean Talon est) à Saint-Léonard.

L‟évènement de cette année a lieu durant la

Semaine nationale de l‟action bénévole qui a

pour thème « C‟est votre journée » et qui a

lieu du 18 au 24 avril.

Les bénévoles émérites de cette année sont

l‟équipe mari et femme Scott et Cindy Day.

Scott est actuellement président du Comité

central de parents ainsi que président du

comité de parents de la Région 3. Cindy est

présidente du conseil d‟établissement de

l‟école secondaire Westmount. Lorsqu‟ils ne

consacrent pas beaucoup de temps à la CSEM,

Scott et Cindy sont les fiers parents de quatre

filles. Le couple travaille aussi au même

établissement, l‟hôpital St. Mary, où Scott est

infirmier depuis 19 ans et Cindy travaille

comme infirmière à temps partiel et forme des

aides infirmières.

LA CSEM EST SUR FACEBOOK : La

CSEM a une nouvelle page Facebook où nous

publierons nos dernières nouvelles, photos et

évènements. Nous organiserons aussi des

concours spéciaux exclusivement pour nos

partisans Facebook et Twitter. Visitez nous à

www.facebook.com/EMSB1 et cliquez sur

« Become a Fan » et suivez-nous sur twitter à

www.twitter.com/emsb109.

MOIS DE LA NUTRITION : Le mois de

mars est le mois de la Nutrition à travers le

Canada et pour souligner cet évènement, la

Division des cafétérias et de l‟éducation en

nutrition du Service aux communautés a

préparé une variété d‟activités de nutrition. La

campagne intitulée « Fiesta de

saveurs…Goûtez à l‟arc-en-ciel » est de retour

à la demande générale. C‟est une série

d‟activités subventionnées, visant à

sensibiliser les élèves de la maternelle au

Cycle 3 à une bonne alimentation par le biais

de la découverte et la dégustation de mets

savoureux. Dans le cadre du thème de la

campagne et en appui à l‟approche « École en

santé », des ateliers subventionnés de cuisine

seront offerts de mars à la fin du mois de mai.

Ces ateliers seront animés par deux groupes

externes qui ont été choisis par la

Commission. Ils exposeront les élèves au

monde de la cuisine et de la préparation

d‟aliments en vue d‟encourager de saines

habitudes alimentaires et d‟offrir un nouveau

champ stimulant pour l‟éducation en nutrition.

GO PUBLIQUE : L‟Association des

commissions scolaires anglophones du Québec

(ACSAQ) a lancé une campagne « Go

publique » faisant la promotion de l‟école

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publique anglaise. Des panneaux publicitaires à

travers la province, de multiples sites au sein des

territoires de chaque commission scolaire, une

vidéo mettant en vedette des élèves, quelques

annonces dans les quotidiens régionaux sont au

cœur de cette campagne.

JOURNÉES DE CARRIÈRES DU

SECONDAIRE IV : À titre de suivi de la

Foire de carrières du secondaire V tenue à

chaque mois d‟octobre, le Service de

l‟éducation des adultes et de la formation

professionnelle de la CSEM introduiront un

programme complémentaire au printemps.

Le 12 avril et le 7 mai, les élèves du secondaire

IV visiteront le Centre d‟adultes St. Pius X (9955

Papineau) et prendront part à des ateliers visant

un vaste éventail d‟occasions de carrières dont

Comptabilité/Attaché d‟administration, Adjoint

juridique, Huissier, Technologie des services

médicaux, Technologie vétérinaire, Services de

police, Services sociaux, Journalisme et

radiodiffusion, Industrie hôtelière et tourisme,

Ventes professionnelles, Dessin industriel,

Finition de meubles, Graphiques informatisés,

Coiffure, Esthétique et Mécanique automobile.

Ces journées sont différentes de la Foire de

carrières qui se déroule dans un grand

auditorium avec de nombreuses sections de

kiosques. Pour le Secondaire IV, des sessions

d‟ateliers plus courtes et moins de kiosques

seront disponibles. Les ateliers auront lieu aux

horaires suivants : 9 h à 9 h 45; 9 h 45 à10 h

30; 10 h 30 à 11 h 15; midi à 12 h 45; 12 h 45

à 13 h 30; 13 h 30 à 14 h 15. Une pause pour

le déjeuner est prévue de 11 h 15 à midi.

Chaque élève prendra part à deux ateliers de

45 minutes, suivies par 45 minutes

additionnelles pour visiter les kiosques. Le

représentant de promotion corporative Joel

Barbarush sera présent pour s‟entretenir

avec les élèves et le personnel.

POST OLYMPIQUES : Le 12 février, avant

de se rendre aux cérémonies d‟ouverture des

Jeux Olympiques de Vancouver, le maire de

Whistler a reçu la bannière olympique

lauréate, produite par son ancienne école

secondaire Westmount. La bannière à été

présentée par Virginia Elliot, employée de la

ville de Westmount qui faisait du bénévolat à

Vancouver. Le maire Ken Melamed a été

heureux de recevoir la bannière et flatté que

l‟école secondaire Westmount se souvienne de

lui. Les élèves de l‟école étaient emballés

à l‟idée que le maire d‟une des villes hôtesses

des Jeux est un diplômé de leur école

secondaire.

RECHERCHE SUR LA TUMEUR DU

CERVEAU : La septième année de levée de

fonds de la Fondation Franco Di Giovanni en

faveur du Centre de recherches sur la tumeur

du cerveau de l‟Institut Neurologique de

Montréal est en voie de réalisation. Cette

année, deux évènements majeurs sont prévus.

Le premier est une campagne de levée de

fonds dans toutes les écoles et les centres qui

sont priés de participer en organisant des

ventes de gâteaux, des tirages ou n‟importe

quelle activité de leur choix. Pour faciliter la

levée de fonds, un ruban gris est disponible

pour les écoles participantes. L‟école primaire

Dalkeith, John Paul et d‟autres écoles ont

aussi des tirages de maillots autographiés de

Carey Price, Maurice Richard et d‟autres

joueurs. Les écoles intéressées à organiser un

tirage devraient s‟adresser à Mike Talevi au

poste 2004. Au cours des six dernières années,

plus de 170 000 $ ont été recueillis pour le

Centre de recherche sur la tumeur du cerveau.

Le second évènement est la sixième soirée de

la Fondation Franco Di Giovanni, qui aura lieu

le 20 mars à la salle de réception Prima Luna,

située au 7301 Boulevard Henri Bourassa est.

Le coût du billet est de 100 $ par personne et

couvre un repas à sept services avec vin, bar

ouvert, de nombreux prix de présence, des

enchères de souvenirs sportifs dont des

maillots personnalisés de Carey Price, Sydney

Crosby, Maurice Richard, Wayne Gretzky,

Alexander Ovechkin, Guy Lafleur et plusieurs

autres, des ventes aux enchères de paires de

billets pour les parties du Canadien etc. La

soirée sera agrémentée par la musique de

2 2

Goldstar Entertainment. Pour les billets,

veuillez communiquer avec Lina Di Giovanni

au (514) 494-6831 ou par courriel à :

linadgl@hotmail.com ou Mike Talevi au

poste 2004 ou courriel mtalevi@emsb.qc.ca.

HÔPITAL ST. MARY : Le Centre hospitalier

St. Mary de Côte-des-Neiges organise une visite

à sa banque d‟organes pour les élèves et

enseignants intéressés. Cette visite fait partie de

l‟évènement scientifique provincial « Les 24

heures de science » -

(http://www.science24heures.com) et aura lieu le

7 mai (14 h). Seuls 15 élèves pourront être reçus

à cette heure. Deux autres visites auront lieu à 15

h et 16 h pour le public, mais quelques élèves

pourront y prendre part. Ceci sera une occasion

unique pour les élèves d‟observer

personnellement la différence entre des organes

sains et malades et aussi des conséquences

réelles de modes de vie sur nos organes. La visite

sera animée par le Dr Indrojit Roy, pathologiste

en chef de l‟hôpital, qui est conférencier très

expérimenté et captivant. Informations : (514)

345-3511 poste 5501 ou

isabelle.kling@ssss.gouv.qc.ca.

SERVICE DE L’ÉDUCATION DES

ADULTES ET DE LA FORMATION

PROFESSIONNELLE

COMPÉTENCES OLYMPIADES : Treize

élèves de la Commission scolaire English-

Montréal (CSEM) ont remporté, le 10 mars

dernier, des médailles, y compris 5 médailles

d‟or, au 11e Gala des Olympiades de la

formation professionnelle.

La cérémonie a eu lieu à l‟Institut culinaire St.

Pius X de la CSEM, à Ahuntsic. Un total de

142 élèves se sont affrontés dans 23 catégories

des centres de formation professionnelle de la

CSEM, de la Commission scolaire Lester-B.-

Pearson, de la Commission scolaire

Marguerite-Bourgeoys, de la Commission

scolaire de Montréal, de la Commission

scolaire de la Pointe-de-l‟île ainsi que de

l‟Institut de tourisme et d‟hôtellerie du Québec

(ITHQ). Au cours du mois de février, les

élèves ont démontré leurs talents devant un

jury composé d‟experts dans divers domaines

spécifiques. Le Centre d‟études commerciales

John F. Kennedy de Saint-Michel s‟est mérité 3

médailles dans la catégorie ventes

professionnelles : Erica Stabile (or), Bianca

Volpicella (argent) et Alexandra Benfatti

(bronze).

Le Centre de technologie de Rosemont a

décroché des médailles dans 4 catégories :

opération de machines-outils à contrôle

numérique, Jian Qing Lin (or); dessin industriel,

Jian Tao He (or) et Jin Hui Chen (argent);

ébénisterie, Jamie Zerebecki (bronze); éditique,

Asami Takermoto (bronze).

Le Centre de formation professionnelle Laurier

Macdonald de Saint-Léonard, a remporté trois

médailles : coiffure, Kerry-Ann Thompson (or)

et Cassandra Vinhal (argent); en mécanique

automobile, Steven Yuskowski (or).

L‟Institut culinaire St. Pius X s‟est mérité une

médaille en cuisine professionnelle, Telmo

Goncalves (bronze). Le conseiller pédagogique

Mario Marrazza de la CSEM, membre du

comité régional des concours de formation

professionnelle de l‟île de Montréal a coordonné

les activités olympiques. Les lauréats des

médailles d‟or représenteront l‟île de Montréal

aux concours provinciaux de mai, à Québec. Les

gagnants iront, par la suite, représenter la

province aux Concours compétences Canada à

Kitchener, Ontario. Une équipe choisie de

lauréats de ce concours représentera le Canada

au 41e Concours international de formation

professionnelle, qui aura lieu à Londres,

Angleterre, en 2011.

La cérémonie a débuté par une parade des

concurrents. L‟orchestre symphonique à vents

de l‟école secondaire Rosemont, sous la

direction d‟Andrew Mangal, s‟est produit tout

au long de la soirée. La présidente de la CSEM,

Angela Mancini, le directeur général, Mario

Tirelli et la directrice de l‟Institut culinaire St.

2 3

Pius X, Marysa Barassi, se sont adressés à un

auditoire de plus de 300 personnes

PIUS X EN DEUIL : L‟institut culinaire St.

Pius X et la CSEM déplorent le décès tragique

d’Alexandre Hamelin, élève de l‟Institut

depuis le mois de janvier, survenu le 13 mars.

Alexandre a été fatalement coincé sous un

char allégorique au cours de la parade de la

Saint-Patrick. Il assistait à la parade en

compagnie d‟un ami qui est aussi élève de

l‟Institut.

« Notre personnel et nos élèves sont tous sous

le choc » a déclaré la directrice Maryssa

Barassi. « Nous avons passé du temps avec et

encouragé les élèves à partager leurs souvenirs

d‟Alexandre. Plusieurs d‟entre eux étaient en

larmes et ce moment a été visiblement pénible

pour tout le monde. Nous avons appris, de

façon pénible, que nous ne sommes pas

invincibles même à l‟âge de 20 ans.

SEMAINE DES ADULTES EN

FORMATION : Pour souligner la Semaine

des adultes en formation, le Service des

adultes et de la formation professionnelle de la

CSEM a organisé une présentation à

l‟intention des élèves adultes par Anwar

Stewart, des Alouettes de Montréal. Cet

évènement a eu lieu le 19 mars au Centre des

adultes Marymount (Giovanni Palatucci),

Côte-Saint-Luc.

Stewart est un joueur défensif de 6 pieds, pèse

255 livres et a joué pendant 9 saisons à la

Ligue Canadienne de football, dont 8 avec les

Alouettes. Il a joué au football collégial à

l‟Université du Kentucky. La présentation de

Stewart a été suivie d‟une brève cérémonie de

reconnaissance des élèves adultes. Les

récipiendaires des certificats sont des élèves

adultes des centres de la CSEM qui ont fait

preuve de qualités, telles que le dévouement,

la motivation et l‟engagement à leurs

programmes d‟études.

CHAPEAU LES FILLES : La cérémonie

annuelle régionale de Chapeau, Les Filles, qui

reconnait les femmes qui occupent des rôles

non traditionnels, aura lieu le 14 avril (10 h

30) au Centre d‟électrotechnologie Pearson de

Lachine.

DATES À RETENIR

25 mars 2010

Gala School Needs de la CBC

Mettant en vedette l‟école Nesbitt

Écouter CBC Radio 1 88.5 FM

15 h à 17 h

26 mars 2010

Journée de l‟épilepsie

21 avril 2010

Soirée d‟appréciation des bénévoles de la

CSEM

Le Baron à Saint-Léonard

Service de l’Éducation des adultes et

de la formation professionnelle

CHAPEAU, LES FILLES : La cérémonie

annuelle régionale de Chapeau les Filles, qui

reconnaît les femmes qui tiennent un rôle non

traditionnel, aura lieu le 14 avril (10 h 30) au

Centre d‟électrotechnologie Pearson de

Lachine.

Submissions should be made to Michael J.

Cohen preferably by e-mail

(mcohen@emsb.qc.ca) or fax (514-483-

7213) by the Monday prior to the next

EMSB Council of Commissioners meeting.