St. Michael’s Choir School November Newsletter · piano class (Michael Truong, Konrad Samsel and...

MSGR. JOHN RONAN

St. Michael’s Choir School November Newsletter

CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS NOVEMBER, 2014

Founder’s Day - Remembering our Past

October was a time for taking stock of our many blessings, including the rich heritage

of our school, hence, the cover photo of this month’s newsletter. Our Founder’s Day

Concert was a wonderful event bringing the school community together to celebrate

with music the founding of our school.

It was moving to hear the sound of the entire student body singing together at the

conclusion of the concert. For those families new to our school, it powerfully con-veyed a sense of community achieved through music. With students from Grade 3 to

Grade 12, the school’s mission, “the formation of Catholic men through the service of sa-

cred music and the pursuit of knowledge”, was evident for all to see and hear. An added touch this year was

the inclusion of all alumni present, as they joined the students at the front of St. Paul’s Basilica for the finale,

“Thou Royal Knight from Courts on High.”

In the pages that follow, one can see how busy students and staff have been over the past month, both in

and beyond the classroom. We head into November looking forward to progress reports, parent inter-

views, Remembrance Day, in addition to all of the various extra-curricular activities, as we gear up for Mas-

sey Hall with rehearsals, ticket sales and a run-out concert to Kitchener.

Sincerely

__________________________________________________________________

Welcome!

We are pleased to welcome Ms. A. Ferreira who joins us as the teacher for the

Grade 5 and 6 English classes for the remainder of Mr. Rodrigues’ leave. In October, Mr. O’Callaghan was appointed permanent teacher at Our Lady of

Lourdes School. Ms. Ferreira has been in communication with Mr. O’Calla-ghan in order to provide continuity for our junior students. We are pleased to

have Ms. Ferreira on our team and I know that you will welcome her into our school community when you have the opportunity to meet.


SMCS NEWSLETTER PAGE 2

Can November be upon us already? As I reflect back on the month of October I am truly in awe of

the progress of the choirs and their

excellent performances at our Found-

er’s Day Concert at St. Paul’s Basilica on

October 17th. I was particularly im-

pressed by the Elementary Choirs’ Per-

formance –these boys sang with such

confidence and beauty. Thank you to

Dr. Cichocki, Ms. Dunn and Ms. Allan

for preparing the choirs and to Mr.

O’Meara and the student accompanists.

I would also like to offer a special thank

you to Mr. Peter Daly for providing the insert in the programme

which gave us a rare personal glimpse of Msgr. Ronan. I also heard

from many in the audience who loved seeing our alumni join the

boys for the singing of our school song.

This past Sunday evening, our Senior Select Choir, under the direc-

tion of Dr. Cichocki sang at the Festival of Preaching which took

place at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Cardinal Collins was the homilist and our boys sang to a capacity congregation. Thank

you boys for doing “double-duty’” last weekend – your beautiful singing was very much appreciated by everyone – congratulations!

This past Monday morning Stephen Hegedus, one of our voice teach-

ers, gave a vocal workshop in the auditorium for all of the boys who

take voice lessons here at SMCS. With accompaniment provided by Dr.

Christopher Bagan, our boys had the opportunity to work with Mr.

Hegedus on vocal production. This was the first of several vocal work-

shops planned for this year. Thank you to Mr. Hegedus for organizing

this event and to all of the boys who participated.

Registration for our Newfoundland Tour is now closed. We have 155 boys going on tour this year – “a fine crowd” as they would

say in Newfoundland. I will be in St. John’s during the first week of November putting the final touches on our itinerary. As soon

as the itinerary is finalized it will be posted on our website.

The momentum is building fast for our upcoming Christmas Concerts at Massey Hall. Our Family and Friends ticket sales are going

very well. Don’t be disappointed – get your tickets now - great seats are still available!

Thank you all for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Stephen Handrigan



On Saturday, October 18, 2014 three students of Ms. Krechkovsky’s piano class (Michael Truong, Konrad Samsel and Vincent Bonus) partici-

pated in the Fourth Canadian Chopin Festival held at the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga. This event is held every four

years. I would like to thank Mr. Dusatko for giving us the opportunity to

perform at this event.

Michael Truong performed in the Performance Showcase led by Janet Lopinski and Kent McWilliams. Konrad Samsel and I participated in the master class with James Anagnoson, the Dean of the Royal Con-

servatory’s Glenn Gould School. It was truly quite a fulfilling experience since I was able to work person-ally with Mr. Anagnoson, giving me invaluable pointers and suggestions on how to improve my interpreta-

tion of the piece I played – Waltz in G Flat Major. I believe my piano playing will take a turn for the better after this experience.

By: Vincent Bonus

Senior vocal instructor and alumnus Mr. Stephen Hegedus recently presented the first of

several projected Master Classes for all our vocal students.

The topic was "The Art of Preparedness" focusing on the process of preparing repertoire

for performance.

Dr. Adam Zukiewicz delivered a lecture-recital on Chopin's 3rd Piano Sonata as part of a recent Chopin Festival sponsored by the Canadian Chopin Society at the Polish Cultural Centre in Missis-

sauga. Dr.Zukiewicz is scheduled to perform in Munich in an opera production of Berg's "Lulu" in the spring of 2015.

Mr.Christopher Ku, FRCCO (SMCS 2003) has joined the POST staff to take on several young organ stu-dents. Mr. Ku recently completed his dissertation for a Dr of Phililosophy degree in musicology from the

University of Oxford.

Tom Dusatko

Dept. Head of POST



Michael Truong Konrad Samsel Vincent Bonus

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAQQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pov.bc.ca%2Fbios%2Fhegedus.html&ei=m9dYVLiVM_D8sAS-mYDIAQ&bvm=bv.78677474,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNGxcmNYNwItNTIqXCKbMLbUUM9r4A&ust=14151949078

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and that means it’s time to get ready for run –out!

This year, there will be two run-out concerts. Senior Choir (Grades 7-12) will be going to Kitchener ON, on Friday, November 28th, 2014 where they will sing at St. Mary’s Church along with the Kitchener Police Men’s Chorus at a

concert at 7:00 pm. The Junior Choir (Grades 5-6) will head to Whitby on Saturday, November 29th, to participate in a

concert at St. John the Evangelist starting at 7:00 pm.

SENIOR RUN-OUT

Grades 7-12 will be boarding buses at 10:00 am on Friday, November 29th, to head to Kitchener. Boys should arrive at

school in their full dress uniform, which will be checked before they board the bus. They are welcome to carry their dress shoes in their schoolbags, but will have to show them to their teacher if they’re wearing street shoes in the morn-

ing. It’s about a 90 minute drive to Kitchener, so boys should bring a book or quiet activity for the bus ride.

We’ll arrive in Kitchener just in time for lunch, which will be provided by St. Mary’s, and the afternoon will give us a

chance to rehearse and get to know our way around the Church. Dinner will also be provided by the parish.

If you’d like to go to the run-out concert in Kitchener, please visit http://goo.gl/sQwV0r to buy tickets online. Those of you who have come to run-out concerts before know that they can sell out fast, so be sure to secure your tickets ear-

ly. Last year in Lindsay, over 900 people came to hear the boys sing for Christmas!

The concert will end around 9:00 pm, and we should arrive back at the Choir School by 10:45. Please ensure that you DO NOT park on Bond Street! Cars parked on Bond Street obstruct bus access, which means it takes longer to

unload your boys and get them home. There is ample parking at the corner lot and in Eaton Centre. If you are going to

Kitchener for the concert and wish to pick up your son there, please email Ms. Rosser-Davies at [email protected] and let her know by November 20th.

Permission forms are available on the website at www.smcs.on.ca/forms

JUNIOR RUN-OUT

Grades 5-6 will do a Junior run-out concert on their own this year, travelling to St. John the Evangelist Parish in Whit-

by to be guest musicians in a parish concert on Saturday, November 29th at 7:00 pm. Boys should arrive at the Choir School by 4:30 pm in dress uniform with black socks and shoes and their binders ready, for the bus trip to Whitby. If

your son would like to pack a snack for the bus, please make sure it is nut-free. The Junior Choir is first on the concert

schedule, so they will be finished by about 7:30, after which they will have a pizza dinner before boarding the buses back to the Choir School.

If you plan to go to Whitby to listen to the boys, please stay tuned for ticket information! If you’re a Grade 5 or 6 par-

ent and you’d like to pick up your son from the church instead of here on Bond Street, please email Ms. Allan Roark

and let her know by November 20th. The buses will arrive back on Bond around 8:45. Please DO NOT park on Bond

Street to pick up your son!

NOTE: Permission forms for the Kitchener Run-out concert are now available online at

www.smcs.on.ca/forms. They are due in the Music Office by Friday, November 14th.



http://goo.gl/sQwV0r

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.smcs.on.ca/forms




October was another very busy month for CSAC at the Choir School.

Lunch Program

Lunch Program continues to be a fantastic volunteer opportunity for our parents. Every Friday (and some Thursdays) 6-8 Parent Volunteers come out between the hours of 10 to 1pm to help feed our boys. Without this dedicated group of parents, this program would not be able to run as successfully as it does. We would also like to thank Mr. Hume and his grade 9 and 11 classes who are always willing to lend a hand with carting supplies, milk, and lunch. With a broken elevator, lunch would not be possible without the assistance of these boys. Multicultural Night On Friday October 24th we held our 4th Annual Multicultural Potluck what a fantastic night of wonderful food, great company, and beautiful music. The feast was plentiful with all of the nationalities that make up the Choir School being represented. Lechon, porchetta, samosas, spring rolls, Korean noodles, pasta, perogies, just to name a few of the tantalizing dishes that were brought and shared. It takes a small army to put on an event like this. We would like to take a moment to thank the numerous volunteers and staff members that made this event so wonderful. Thank you to our Parent leads for this event: Enza Fernandes, Rose Pitino, and Angela Sforza for organizing this event, along with all the Class Captains who assisted with spreading the word about this event. Thank you to Ms. Rosser-Davies for her assistance with taking us into the digital age and setting up the online RSVP system. Thank you to Ms. Dunn, Mr. Handrigan, Ms. Thorne, and Mr. Heywood for starting the evening with a beautifully sung grace. Thank you to the Elementary and Junior Choirs and to Mr. Ciccone for providing music throughout the evening. Thank you all the donors of prizes for our raffles. Thank you Mr. Hume and his grade 10 and 11 classes for their assistance with the set up and tear down of the event. Thank you to the students who volunteered that afternoon and throughout the evening: Brian Cheong, Sebastien Duckett, David Fernandes, William Gatchalian, Adam Ierullo-Woloszczak, Jonathan Pitino, Gianpaolo Povolo, Chrsitian Sforza, Isaiah Yankech. And lastly, thank you to all the parents and students who assisted throughout the evening and to those who stayed to help make clean up a breeze!

CSAC Family Fee Thank you again for your ongoing support of the CSAC Family Fee. The CSAC Family Fee is a contribution in lieu of traditional fundraising from each family from the Choir School makes in order to enhance the experience for St. Michael’s Choir School Students. This fee benefits 100% of the students at the school. Items supported through previous year’s fees include support for the library resources, Parent Speaker Series, classroom activities, athletics programs, Multicultural Night and graduation activities, just to name a few. If you have not had a chance to send your contribution in, don’t worry, it is not too late. Please see the attached form.

CSAC LEGACY DONATION Any amounts given in addition to the CSAC Family Fee will be put into the CSAC Family Legacy Fund. Items supported through this fund include funding for the Imagery of St. Michael for the main entrance to the School. Additional Legacy Items for 2014/2015 will be confirmed at upcoming CSAC meetings. Your donations above can help ensure current and future students have a great experience at the Choir School. While there is no obligation to give, we will gladly accept any donations, and make sure the money is used to benefit the students of St. Michael’s Choir School Volunteering at SMCS This is also an open invitation to put up your hand and get involved. In addition to helping out, volunteering provides an opportunity to con-nect with other parents and to begin life-long friendships. There are many opportunities to get involved such as the lunch program, multicultur-al night, attending CSAC meetings and joining the discussion. If you are interested in volunteering, please come by the academic office and fill out a volunteer form or drop us a line at [email protected]. To close, stay tuned for more information about future events – the lunch program, fund-raising, and many other initiatives. We look forward to seeing you all at these events!

Sincerely, Pina Povolo Geoff Rawlinson CSAC Co-Chairs

Second CSAC MEETING—WEDNESDAY, November 19th, 2014 7:00 P.M. AUDITORIUM, 66 BOND STREET




St. Michael’s Choir School CSAC

4th Annual Multicultural Potluck

Friday, October 24, 2014




St. Michael’s Choir School at Massey Hall:

“A Toronto Christmas Tradition”



GOD JUL! JOYEUX NOËL! BUON NATALE! MALIGAYANG PASKO! No matter how one expresses Merry Christmas, the sentiment is still the same - wishes of peace and joy. St. Michael’s Choir School will honour many Christmas traditions with repertoire from various cultures at the upcoming annual Christmas concert at Massey Hall. The choristers perform under the direction of conductors Jerzy Cichocki, Teri Dunn and Kathleen Allan, and accompanist William O’Meara.

This year’s concerts will be on Saturday, December 6th at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 pm. Tickets can be pur-chased online at www.masseyhall.com or by calling the Massey Hall box office at 416-872-4255. Until November 9th, use the code RONAN2014 to receive a discount on service charges during the Friends and Family Ticket Event! If you would like to become a Massey Hall Sponsor, please click here to learn more about what your gift can give to the boys: http://www.christmasconcert.ca/files_other/content/pdf/sponsorship.pdf

http://www.masseyhall.com

http://www.christmasconcert.ca/files_other/content/pdf/sponsorship.pdf


CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS NOVEMBER,2014



Joshua Rossetti

Student Council President

Hello all, and happy November! We’ve had a busy first two months of the

year, with the can drive, our October concert, and our first two house

events. I’d like to start off by thanking everyone for their very generous

contributions to our can drive. With your help, we were able to amass 1161

cans for St. Francis Table. We kindly ask you for the same generosity when

we start our annual Christmas toy drive in the next couple of weeks (more details to come).

At the end of October, our grade nine students participated in their grade nine retreat, along

with the house captains and other student leaders. Thank you to our leaders, who made the

retreat both meaningful and enjoyable, and a hearty welcome to the high school for our grade

nines!

As we approach Massey Hall, we thank all students for their enthusiastic dedication to their

choral responsibilities in attending the numerous after school rehearsals, and we thank further

all of our parent and teacher volunteers who make the concerts as great as they are. With all

of your commitment, Massey Hall this year will no doubt prove to be the fantastic “Toronto

Christmas Tradition” it always is.



Student Council—2014-2015

In the last month, the Universal Church has undergone the Extraordinary Synod to look at Family Life is-sues. The results of this Synod are still being understood, and I suspect that as a Church, it will only be

with much hindsight that any clear conclusions can be drawn from this event. Perhaps the Synod serves as a reminder of the need for us—at the local level—to reflect upon what it means to be part of a family. A

family can refer to the biological nuclear family (i.e. Mom, Dad, Children, throw in a pet or two), but it can also speak to the family that is formed in a community setting such as at the Choir School. Jesus extends

this broader definition of family in Mark 3:31-35 when he states “Who are my mother and broth-ers….whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” At the Choir School, our family

is made up of students, parents, teachers, support staff, administration, Cathedral staff and priests, and alumni who all interact and work together towards a Christ-centred vision of promulgating the Gospel

through Sacred Music. Whatever else may come of the Synod, let is serve as a powerful reminder that our family is important, and that the well-being and strength of this family should be a key intention of our

prayer life.

In Christ,

Andrew Hume Chaplain

St. Michael’s Choir School





In October, the grade 9 retreat took place once again at Muskoka Woods. This year, 27 grade 9s accom-panied by a group of staff and student leaders spent a busy three days up north. Day time activities in-

cluded giant swing (which involves swinging from 50 feet in the air), mountain biking, hiking, an aerial

obstacle course, a driving range, and team building activities.

The evening program included man-hunt in the dark on the first night, and liturgy and commissioning

service on the second night in which grade 9s were commissioned into the upper house system. The sec-

ond night concluded with a bon fire. Several rounds of The Knight from Court on High filled the even-ing air, and even drew the interest of other schools up at Muskoka (hopefully this will translate into in-

creased Massey Hall sales).

A special thanks goes out to the student leaders, Dugald Campbell who represented student council and

the four House Captains: David Snowdon, Michael Avila, Gerard Mannella, and William Gatchalian.

In spite of cold and rain, the spirit of the grade 9 class was high during the week. Fun, brotherhood, and

school spirit were all in abundance over the action-packed trip.

2014-2015 Junior Soccer



Coach: Mr. G. Tarascio

Team Roster:

Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6

Vincenzo Baggetta Jonathan Adams Julian Adessa

Gianluca Coccimiglio Devin Cairney Daniel Avila (C) Liam McAlpine Samuel Krzeczunowicz Xavier Hollott-Lo

Eliandro Pizzonia Benjamin Norton Scott MacDonald Gianluca Scurti Cameron Pardy Justin Ngo

Noah Yokota Aidan Young

Michael Adragna

Konrad Orlowski

Last October 7th our SMCS junior boys’ soccer team played against two talented teams. Our team con-sisted of grades 4, 5, and 6. In terms of preparation, we were all committed to every single practice

from 12:00-12:30. We were all ready and excited to play the beautiful game of football (soccer). Dur-ing the tournament we had great teamwork and we continuously encouraged each other throughout the

whole tournament. In spite of all our effort to win, we ended up in the 3rd place. However, we main-

tained a positive attitude. We had loads of fun and we knew we did our very best.

By: Daniel Avila - Gr. 6

CROSS COUNTRY Few would argue that cross-country running is an individual sport. But 43 students gathered 4 days a week at 7:15 in the morning with refillable water bottles, running shoes and a love of running. We warmed up together, we trained together, we laughed together, we grew strong together and we even sang together on our way back from Moss Park. The boys' commitment made them strong runners and they proved to be stiff competition for our competitors. They proudly sang "O Canada" for the opening ceremonies at the divisional meet and at the regional meet at The Beach. But clearly the boys did not show up simply to use their talent for singing. Their stamina in the races showed fierce willingness and determination to run the best race they could run. We are so proud of all the runners. You are all City Champions! Ms. Merrochi and I are so grateful to our parent volunteers who coached, encouraged, cheered and graced us with their support and their un-conditional willingness to be part of our amazing team. Thank you to Mr. Roti for your early morning enthusiasm and good cheer. Thank you to Ms. Cuenca for your consistent care of the boys and their running records. Thank you to Mrs. Povolo for her humour, expertise and willing-ness to do whatever it takes to make it happen! All the parents who came out to cheer their sons and who helped with duties at the meet, and who cheered at every race, WE THANK YOU! Merci beaucoup! Honourable mentions to Sebastian Cairney who came in second place at the divisional meet out of a total of 79 runners and his brother Devin Cairney in grade 5 who placed 5th out of 65 runners. Kristian Milne (Gr. 6) placed 9th out of 65 runners also at the divisionals. Daniel Primandono (Gr. 4) placed 5th out of 74 runners and Alexander Schwab Gr 7) placed 7th out of 42. Also special thanks to Daniel Avila, who

showed great sportsmanlike behaviour when asked to race with the older grade 7 team.

Three cheers for our runners:

Grade 3 Sebastian Cairney Dylan Campbell, Joshua Chua-Acayan, Daniel Suarez-Gonzalez,

Peter Leong, Malcolm Rawlinson, Michael Roti, Jordan Tauro

Grade 4 Sebastian Coia, Nicholas Mesquita, Daniel Primandono, Mateo Rementilla,

Michael Schwab, Matthew Stocker, Tobias Tirona

Grade 5 Devin Cairney, Tommy Gillespie, Kristian Milne, Nicholas Mochocki,

Cameron Pardy, Noah Yokota

Grade 6 Julian Addesa, Michael Adragna, Daniel Avila, Paolo Carandang, Matthew Cuenca, Xavier Hollott-

Lo, Scott MacDonald, Christian Mejia Racco, Taras Rawlinson, Timothy Stocker

Grade 7 Carlo Fernando , Bobby Gillespie., Michael Mochocki., Mackenzie Okumura., Gianpaolo Povolo, Danver Santos., Alexander Schwab., Liam Wright.

Grade 8 David Avila, Shane Farrella, Jonathan Hsu., David Leong., Luc Randmaa.,

Our City Champions: Grade 7 - Alexander Schwab (17th position out of 88) Grade 6 - Christian Meija-Racco

Grade 5 - Devin Cairney, (16th position out of 88)

Kristian Milne, Cameron Pardy Grade 4 - Daniel Pramindano

Grade 3 - Sebastian Cairney

See you next season,

Ms. Merocchi and Mme LoCurto

Your proud coaches and biggest cheerleaders!

CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS November, 2014






TENNIS

TENNIS

The Tennis team performed very well at their first tournament of the season. Three out of the

four teams advanced to the championship round. A big congratulations to Julius Brier (on ex-

change from Germany) who battled in seniors singles and qualified for OFSSA. Another big

congratulations to the seniors double team Connor Flannery and Alec Ierullo-Woloszczak

who also qualified for OFSSA. Good work boys and best of luck at OFSSA in the spring!

Team members included:

Alec Ierullo-Woloszczak

Derek Li

Konrad Samsel

Andrew Buzdon

Julius Brier

Alec Ierullo-Woloszczak

Connor Flannery

Branden Li

Coaches: P. Mahon and A. Merocchi



Spears Ultimate Frisbee

The Spears Ultimate Frisbee Team experienced great popularity and success in the TDCAA Fall Ultimate League

and Playoff Tournament. They played with increased skill and spirit as they ended the regular season with a 3-2 rec-

ord heading into the playoffs with wins over Francis Libermann, Brebeuf & St. Joseph Morrow Park and Monsei-

gneur de Charbonnel. The tournament included great matches as the Spears won again versus Charbonnel and

Libermann. Unfortunately, with a tough loss against Marshall McLuhan, they did not advance to the semi-finals.

The coaches were very pleased with the many students who tried out for the team. The talented roster included:



Trianna Amaning

Jasmine Andrade

Jenny Aquino

Toni Rose Asuncion Michael Avila

Sophie Bannerman

James Bui

Declan Campbell

Brian Cheong Jonathan Chow

Daniel Codrington

Sierra Costa

Diane Mae Cueto

Marc Anders De Leon

Samantha De Vera

Lily Donald

Aaron Groh

Aaron Hernandez Samantha Jirenes

Matthew Lam

Derek Li

Dylan Madrigal

Kristina Meriel Brian Nguyen

Madeline Quail

David Snowdon

Michael Simone

Many thanks to our ever-dependable managers, Aloysius Wong and Jessica Baradi and our captains Jonathan Chow, Matthew Lam and Toni Rose Asuncion as well as our co-coach, Mr. Sabyan, for

their leadership, hard work and dedication.

Congratulations Spears! Looking forward to the winter and spring seasons for which prac-

tices and tryouts will resume in January.

Mme Dakin



SCIENCE TRIP TO ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL:

A select group of grade 10 science students had the opportunity to visit St. Michael’s Hospi-

tal for a day. They attended a lecture given by Dr. Kolios on photo-acoustic medical imag-

ing. They became familiar with medical technology that uses physics principles to detect

changes at the cellular level. The second part of the day included a visit to the trauma simu-

lation room. The boys practiced administering oxygen in the ER room, assessing vital signs

and working in a timely manner. Furthermore, they played a video game developed for sur-

geons to practice their fine motor skills and detect specific body parts.

Finally during the last part of the day the boys

got to drive cars (in a simulation room of course)

as they gained insight into current studies being

done surrounding driving and brain injuries.

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ROBOTICS HAS ARRIVED AT ST. MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL!

The robotics sets have arrived and we have three new sets of Lego Mindstorms EV3 with extension

kits and mats. The core group of the robotics team has met several times to plan for the club and stu-dents’ interest is high. Nearly forty students have signed up and are eagerly awaiting the first meet-

ing. Due to the limited number of students who can effectively collaborate using one robot, we will be running the club in two eight-week sessions. Students who have signed up in grades 6-8 will

begin on Tuesday, November 4 and we will meet in Room 304 from 3:30 to 5:00. In eight weeks, a second session for Grade 5 students will begin. We hope to also include robotics amongst the many

activities we have planned for the Enrichment program.

The robotics club and its activities will be organized and run by student leaders who have gained ex-

perience in robotics camps and through personal interest. The student leaders are David Fernandes, Christian Sforza, Daniel Cunic, Matthew Mirvish and Mathew Lane. If there are any other students

in elementary or secondary who are interested in sharing their expertise, please see club supervisors Ms. Dingman or Ms. Bertolo. We are also looking to start a club for secondary students.

Our goal this year is to give all interested students the opportunity to develop basic robotics skills in

programming, design and construction. We hope that by next year we have enough experienced stu-dents to develop a team who will be able to compete in the First Lego League Competition at a city

or provincial level.


MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AS A CHORISTER: Gigi Ciarlandini

As voices of the grade fives

echoed across the church the

whole grade three class and I

prepared our voices to sing to

the guests who were ignorant to

our choir and the sound of it.

Everybody had different feelings.

Some were exceedingly nervous

and some did not know what to

feel but I felt confidence. The time

passed by as quickly as the

church bells could chime on

Christmas Day!

As we started singing the first

words to "I Sing a Song of the

Saints of God" all eyes were

focused on Ms. Dunn conducting the joyful

yet sorrowful ditty.

Moments later we sang our

second melody "The Prayer of St. Patrick".

The short song extended in my well-

concentrated mind, but later on we were going

to sing our school's signature piece "Thou

Royal Knight". All grades sang phenomenally

well!

It was a very vivid and grand experience. It really hit

the 'right note'!




Aloysius Wong’s excellent poem “Immortal” was published in the 2014 issue of Young Voices magazine. The magazine is published yearly by the

Toronto Public Library which released its first issue fifty years ago. On Wednesday, October 22, the Toronto Public Library held a launch party to

honour and celebrate all of the artists, poets and writers whose works were chosen for this year’s edition. The launch party was a wonderful event with

great food and most importantly, the participants had the opportunity to meet other creative teens and to read

their work to a large audience of parents, teachers and published writ-ers who have supported this program in many ways. The Toronto

Public Library has an electronic writer in residence who is available to provide feedback to aspiring teen writers online. Creative writing

workshops are put on across the GTA for those who are interested in spending a day learning about creative writing techniques. Students

who are interested can check the Enrichment Info Board across from the staff room or see Ms Dingman.

Congratulations Aloysius!

If you didn’t read Aloysius’ poem when it was published in the Newsletter last June, be sure to read it now!

Immortal

I am

not.

I, along with you, will

disappear.

pain and sorrow

endure in our stead.

our sacrifices

are forgotten and cast aside.

money, power and fame

outlast the grave.

but kindness, love and truth

won’t matter when we die.

our faults and fears

surely surpassed, no matter how slowly

yet our courage and our strengths cry out.

as they fade simply away.

our sins

live on in the generations that follow us, who forget

the Will and the Way

and what more is true:

you and I

never could defeat

Death





HOSPITALITY VIRTUE AWARD:

Michael Roti, Gianpaolo Povolo Daniel Avila,

Noah Yokota, Daniel Primandono

PRIMARY/JUNIOR FRANCAIS AWARD:

Nathaniel Kulin, Joshua Ding, Zacharie Ludy,

Rafe Murray.

ELEMENTARY CHORAL AWARD:

Mateo Rementilla, Jon Bo Cahutay, Marco

Bordignon, Stephen Flannery

JUNIOR CHORAL AWARD:

Andrew Wright, Colin Fok, Scott MacDonald,

Zacharie Ludy

INTERMEDIATE FRANCAIS AWARD:

Jesus Serrano, Vincent Gatchalian



GRATITUDE VIRTUE AWARD:

Michael Mochocki, Michael Ngo, Gigi Ciarlandini,

Daniel Avila, Jon Bo Cahutay, Jesus Serrano

PRIMARY/JUNIOR FRANCAIS AWARD:

Peter Leong, Colin Fok, Gianluca Scurti, Matthew Lane

INTERMEDIATE FRANCAIS AWARD:

Liam Wright, Rayleigh Becker

ELEMENTARY CHORAL AWARD:

Peter Leong, Chris Park, Matthew Stocker,

Sebastian Coia

JUNIOR CHORAL AWARD:

Paolo Carandang, Augustin Chuachiaco,

Logan Liut, Pedro Briceno Oros


CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS NOVEMBER ,2014






The Eco-Club’s waste-free initiative was a huge success during our multi-cultural night. The Eco-Club placed bins around the gym to make it convenient to sort waste. Some of the recycle

bins were even more full than the garbage bins. Thanks to the posters that the grade 7 and 8 enrichment groups and the Eco

- Club members created, they grabbed people’s attention and

helped make an effort to reduce waste and re-use their mate-rials. Thank you to everyone who participated in the waste-free initiative and a

special thanks to all the parents who helped organize and incorporate this initi-ative into our successful night.

Thanks to all and have an Eco-Friendly Day.

Christian Sforza, gr 7 Eco-Club member



Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - Grade 6 Piano Recital - Auditorium - 5:30 PM Wednesday, November 5, 2014 - High School students Late Start (9:15 AM) - Grade 9’s—“TAKE YOUR KIDS TO WORK” Sunday, November 9, 2014 - Elementary Choir—5:00 PM Mass Monday, November 10, 2014 - Grade 8 Confirmation Retreat at Mount Alverno - Grade 5 Piano Recital—Auditorium—5:30 PM Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - Remembrance Day Service—Cathedral—10:30 AM Thursday, November 13, 2014 - Parent-Teacher Interviews Elementary & Secondary Friday, November 14, 2014 - P.A. DAY—ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY Tuesday, November 18, 2014 - Grade 4 Piano Recital—Auditorium - 5:30 PM Wednesday, November 19, 2014 - CSAC MTG.—Auditorium—7:00 PM Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - Grade 3 Piano Recital—Auditorium—5:30 PM Friday, November 28, 2014 - Run Out Concert—Kitchener, Ontario—Grade 7-12

October, 2014 CHOIR SCHOOL NEWS

DIRECTOR: MS. ANGELA GAUTHIER

SUPERINTENDENT:

Mr. J. Shanahan

(416) 222-8282 Ex. 5371

TRUSTEE 2014-2015

PARTNERS IN EDUCATION

WARDS 1. PETER JAKOVCIC 2. ANN ANDRACHUK 3. SAL PICCININNI 4. PATRIZIA BOTTONI 5. MARIA RIZZO 6. FRANK D’AMICO 7. JOHN DEL GRANDE 8. GARY TANUAN 9. JO-ANN DAVIS– CHAIR (416) 512-3409 10. BARBARA POPLAWSKI 11. ANGELA KENNEDY 12. NANCY CRAWFORD—VICE-CHAIR STUDENT TRUSTEE Christopher MacDonald & Hannah McGroarty

TRUSTEE FOR ST MICHAEL’S CHOIR SCHOOL [email protected] - www.jo-anndavis.ca


St. Michael’s Choir School Advisory Board

Rev. Ivan Camilleri, Chancellor of Spiritual Affairs Mr. Jim Milway, Chancellor of Temporal Affairs Mr. William Dunlop, Comptroller, Archdiocese of Toronto

Rev. Michael Busch, Rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral Rev. Brian Clough, SMCS alumnus, , Judicial Vicar Rev. Larry Leger, Chair Nominating Committee Dr. Constance Price Dr. Joseph Gasser, SMCS alumnus— Chair Mr. John Anderton, SMCS Alumnus, Chair of Finance Ms. Patricia Parisi, Chair Governance committee Ms. Anne Bolger Ms. Andrea Chisholm Mr. Stephen Handrigan—Director Mr. Barry White - Principal

Dr. Paul Gauvreau, Parent Mrs. K. Lagroix

SMCS 2014-2015 CSAC REPRESENTATIVES

Geoff Rawlinson - Co-Chair Pina Povolo - Co-Chair

Angela Racco - Secretary

Weilie Shen - Treasurer

ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO

Chancellor: Cardinal Thomas Collins

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.jo-anndavis.ca

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