St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 16th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 16th, 2013

In recognition of the third Sunday in Advent, we lit the rose coloured candle this weekend.  The rose candle is a stark contrast to the deep purple of the other three candles around the wreath.  Advent is a time of expectant waiting and the three purple candles represent the symbols of peace, hope and love.  During the third week of Advent, also known as Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday, we light a different coloured candle to remind us of the impending joy associated with the birth of Jesus.  With the commercial hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, we are challenged to find the true meaning of this time of year.  

Our students were reminded of the true meaning of Christmas through their participation in the readying of our Christmas Hampers for our community.  As a school, we were able to prepare dozens of baskets of food and household items to help compliment the special season for those who might be experiencing a difficult time.  We appreciate the work of our students and staff, and especially our Chaplaincy Leader Paul Kozak who did all of the arranging and organizing.

We had a number of activities taking place at the school this past week.  As indicated in my previous blog message, Thursday December 12th was National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples.  This past Thursday, we had a very unique presentation by some of our own students including a traditional aboriginal dance and cultural throat singing performance.  We also had the mother of one of our students come in to demonstrate to students how to make traditional aboriginal jewelry.  It was great watching our students participate.  

The St. Patrick’s Intermediate Band, Jam Session and Glee Club provided a fantastic opening to our Christmas pageant Thursday night at the high school.  The students sounded great, and it was a fitting warm-up to the school’s production of Christmas Scene Investigators.  The play was a very entertaining and funny take on a fictional school’s Christmas production.  It was very evident that the students involved both in front and behind the scenes have been rehearsing for a long time.  A special thank you to Ms. Reilly, Mr. Leury, Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Rupert and Ms. Walker for helping to prepare the students.  

We say goodbye to Mr. Lutfy at the end of this coming week.  He has been taking over for Ms. McKenna while she has been on leave since September.  Mr. Lutfy is now taking a position at Mother Teresa High School while we will welcome Ms. Beernick following the break.  Best wishes in your new position Mr. Lutfy!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of those in our school community a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday.  We are looking forward to starting up again on January 6th, 2014!  Until then, have a happy new year!

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples

A reflection from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on the occasion of the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples:

The National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on December 12 every year, on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, who appeared to a humble Aztec peasant, Saint Juan Diego, in Mexico in 1531. The Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council celebrates this day of prayer, solidarity and reconciliation by issuing an annual message honouring Indigenous people who have been inspired by their Catholic faith.

?ehtseo Ereya – A Dene prophet who preached the good news of Jesus

Ereya was the original Dene name of the prophet now lovingly known as ?ehtseo (Grandpa) Louis Ayha. Born in 1857, he became known throughout the Northwest Territories as a great spiritual leader. People used to travel many miles to visit with him, and today they still come to visit his grave. All the elders that knew ?ehtseo Ereya talk about how special he was in the eyes of God.

The local priests also appreciated the holiness of ?ehtseo Ereya. Father Jean Denis, O.M.I., a long-time pastor at Deline parish, was impressed with the holiness of ?ehtseo Ereya’s life, his healthy melding of Dene and Catholic spirituality, and the positive effect his teaching had on the people he visited with.

?ehtseo Ereya was raised in Tlicho territory, in the Behchoko area of the Northwest Territories. Together with his family, ?ehtseo Ereya traveled around the Sahtu area. He built his first log home in what today is called Deline, a community on the shores of beautiful Great Bear Lake (the largest fresh water lake solely in Canada and the seventh largest lake in the world). He chose this place for its good fishing, hunting and trapping.

Later in his life, ?ehtseo Ereya said that when he was young he was visited by two angels to share the teachings of the Holy Book. These visits continued for years. Once he had grey hair he was told to share his knowledge and to speak to Dene people everywhere. Even though he had no knowledge of written words, he had a rich knowledge of the Bible. Throughout the day, he would go from home to home, talking to the people. The Dene people have a tradition of prophets: good people who have some sense of the future and good words of guidance for the people. ?ehtseo Ereya is seen as one of the most gifted prophets. Some people would doubt his wisdom, but he was able to read their hearts and often predict their actions. He predicted the future for the people and the land. He would also do anything to help people in need. ?ehtseo Ereya would often say, “Remember to always share and to love one another.” He also said, “Remember to always keep the words that I taught you. Use them and teach them to each other.”

?ehtseo Ereya’s nephew remembers how he would say that you must not be stingy with your food. He would say, “If on your table cloth you have served tea many times and have said prayers over the food many times, what is placed on that table cloth will not disappear.” This was in one of the harshest climates in Canada where hunger and starvation were common.

?ehtseo Ereya also warned the people about the “yellow poison” that would be mined at Port Radium, also on the shores of Great Bear Lake. This first Uranium mine was open from 1942 to 1960. The uranium was used for the bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Early mining practices were very primitive, and many of the miners suffered from exposure to uranium.

?ehtseo Ereya died on September 23, 1940, at the age of 83. He is remembered as a great prophet who worked hard and preached to many Dene people the Good News. He was loved and respected by young and old alike because of his strong belief in God. ?ehtseo Ereya was a great teacher, and so the local school has been named after him. His stories continue to be a gift for the people. ?ehtse Ayha in his own life tried to live out the best of two traditions. He prayed with the drum, participated in drum dances, feeding the fire ceremonies, and in many ways was fully active in his Dene traditional culture. At the same time he was a faithful Catholic. He had great respect and love for Jesus, for the stories of the Bible, and for the sacraments. He encouraged his people to practise both their traditional culture and their Catholic faith.

In the 1980s, ?ehtseo Ereya’s log cabin was rebuilt and made a place of prayer. In 1991, a spiritual gathering was organized to celebrate his life and teachings. This gathering occurs annually in mid-August in Deline, and is attended by many Dene from near and far. In many homes throughout the Northwest Territories there is a picture of ?ehtseo Ereya on their wall. His continuing positive influence on his people supports that he truly was a holy man.

?Ehtseo Ereya reminds us that the particular spiritual legacy and gifts of our aboriginal brothers and sisters have much to offer our present-day society. He also calls us to respect both Catholic and Indigenous spiritualties, and to celebrate what is common between them. As ever, our Church needs good prophets.

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 9th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 9th, 2013

This week we discussed the passing of Nelson Mandela.  He was celebrated as a great leader and principled individual whose accomplishments included the uniting of a country in South Africa.  Mandela’s approach focused on the forgiveness of past wrongs, as opposed to any sentiment of vengeance, despite his lengthy imprisonment at the hands of apartheid supporters.  Mandela can be a model for us all as we build relationships among our friends and community despite challenges.  This is a quote I shared with our students and staff this week:

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”

- Nelson Mandela

A common theme during the second week of Advent is that of Hope.  The Hebrew word tiqvah from the Bible reflects a feeling of eager anticipation or waiting.  We are waiting for the birth of Jesus at the end of the advent season, but also eager for the second coming in the future.  We are asked to continually review our own place and ask ourselves if “we are ready”.

We had a number of visitors at St. Patrick’s over the last week.  Our student services department organized a career fair for our grade 7 students.  We had representation from public health, Ottawa Fire department, numerous banks and financial institutions, a real estate agent and author among others.  Students came up with some great questions for our community representatives as they completed “career passports” at the displays.  Thank you again to our community representatives who gave of their time to assist with our students.

We also had a visit from the residents of Billings Lodge who are working on a project with Ms. Sweeney and Ms. Kilbride’s class.  Our English class students have been visiting the lodge to complete an assignment on generational stories with their senior friends.  This week the lodge residents came to the school to see the culmination of the work.  

An additional reminder that we are encouraging our students to “speak out” to provide some information to the Ministry of Education.  As part of the Ministry of Education's "Great to Excellent" initiative, they are collecting feedback from students about the education system.  Students have an opportunity to share their opinion at either of the following links:

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/speakuphere  or on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/speakupontario/

We are continuing to raise money for our Christmas Hampers as students are able to purchase raffle tickets in the cafeteria for a chance to win some great Christmas gifts for family members.  Winners will be able to choose from a number of presents on display in our “Christmas Corner” that Miss Sue has set up in the caf!

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of December 2nd, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of December 2nd, 2013

This weekend marked the first Sunday of Advent.  We will spend the next few weeks in homeroom taking time to gather around the advent wreath to prepare for Christmas.  It is a significant opportunity during the hectic days of December to take time out in prayer to reflect on our level of readiness as we approach this very important Catholic celebration.  We link our continued support for the Philippines and our Christmas Hamper drive to our Advent preparation.

Our St. Patrick’s Family congratulations Paul Kozak (our Chaplaincy Leader) and his wife Aleksandra on the birth of their daughter Cecilia Magdalena who arrived a little early this past week. Both mom and baby are fine. Not a bad Christmas gift!

Our students raised several hundred dollars on Friday during our dress down day to support our Christmas Hamper initiative.  The students had a great time attending the dance, or the movie afternoon in our learning commons.  It was a great spirit raiser with the proceeds going to a good cause.  

We are encouraging our students to “speak out” to provide some information to the Ministry of Education.  As part of the Ministry of Education's "Great to Excellent" initiative, they are collecting feedback from students about the education system.  Students have an opportunity to share their opinion at either of the following links:

http://fluidsurveys.com/s/speakuphere  or on Facebook.https://www.facebook.com/speakupontario/

This coming Friday, December 6th, all of our grade 7 students will be participating in our Career Fair at the school.  This is an opportunity for students to consider a host of different career choices, presented by volunteers in the positions within our community.  We have wide representation for the students to review including Accountants, a Speech Pathologist, Public Health Nurse, Youth Worker at John Howard Society, Ottawa Police, Social Worker Business Consultant, Lawyer, Web Developer, etc.  Students will be bringing a career “passport” which they will fill out during their time with our community representatives.  Be sure to ask your son/daughter what they thought of the experience!

Finally a reminder that we will be having a School Council meeting this Tuesday, December 3rd in the learning commons at 7:00pm.  I will be reviewing the St. Patrick’s School Improvement Plan for Student Success with our attendees.  Please make a point of joining our group for some additional information.

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of November 25th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of November 25th, 2013

Thank you to all of our students and staff who were involved in our Bullying Awareness activities this past week.  Students engaged our community in activities that included sitting with someone new at lunch, identifying positive decisions with our kindness chain, and signing an “anti-bullying” pledge.  We will continue our efforts to provide information and awareness to our students around this important topic.  

I wanted to highlight an important initiative that is happening among a class of English students at St. Patrick’s and a group of seniors at Billings Lodge in our community.  These students have made the trip to the lodge a number of times this term, and they take the opportunity to share stories with an individual senior at the home, while creating a “project” on what was learned.  This is a great way to partner with the community, and a very positive way of engaging individual perspectives from another generation.  Thank you to Mrs. Sweeney and Mrs. Kilbride for organizing this activity.

We are very happy to announce that our current weight room and fitness area near the gym will be undergoing a makeover in the coming weeks.  The board agreed to remove a wall and redo the area with new ventilation and a new floor to make it more accessible for students.  We are looking forward to additional room for physical fitness equipment and an area for aerobics.  We appreciate the board’s planning and efforts around keeping our learning areas up to date.

We will be having a dress down day this Friday for students who wish to donate $2 to our Christmas Hamper program.  Students who donate can dress in appropriate clothing other than their uniform, and will have a choice of either attending a dance or watching a movie Friday afternoon.  Snacks will be available for purchase, and proceeds will again go to support our Christmas Hamper initiative.  

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the people of the Philippines following the tragic events in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.  In addition to the information I shared from the Catholic Diocese of Ottawa, St. Patrick’s will run their fundraiser this week to help support relief efforts.  Students will be selling lollipops with all of the proceeds being given to a charity supporting Filipino need.
Congratulations to our Boy's Volleyball Team who beat out All Saints in straight sets this past week to win the 7&8 City Championship. Good job Coach McKinnon!

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of November 18th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of November 18th, 2013

This is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week across Canada.  St. Patrick’s has a number of activities organized to bring awareness to this issue.  Please see our events below.  

All Week Activities

·    Morning Announcements will include special prayers read by our youth group

·    Kindness Chain will take place each lunch hour

·    Caught You Caring coupons handed out

Monday, November 18th

·    Monday Morning Assembly    

-Define bullying, what it is and what it is not

-Remind the students about OCSB Connect

-Go through the agenda for the week and the Pledge

Tuesday, November 19th

·    Choices Group will have a police constable in to speak to the students about cyber-bullying

·    School-wide 67’s game to promote school unity and friendships

Wednesday, November 20th

·    ELL students speaking with high school students

·    Ambassadors to promote “Sit with someone new” at lunch

Thursday, November 21st

·    Homeroom teachers to complete Bullying Activities and Pledge provided to them

·    Visit to Wabano (Aboriginal Wellness Centre) by students

Friday, November 22nd

·    Add Grade 7 names to Anti-Bullying bulletin board

More info at:

Many of our students will be attending the Ottawa 67’s hockey game on Tuesday.  A reminder that students attending should be in uniform, and there will be no cafeteria service at the school for those not attending (please pack a lunch from home on this day).  

Our thoughts and prayers remain with the people of the Philippines following the tragic events in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.  In addition to the information I shared from the Catholic Diocese of Ottawa, St. Patrick’s will be running a fundraiser to help support relief efforts.  Students will be selling lollipops with all of the proceeds being given to a charity supporting Filipino need.

Have a great week!

Sean Kelly

Archbishop's message regarding the disaster in the Philippines

Please review the following message from Archbishop Prendergast regarding the disaster in the Philippines:

ARCHDIOCESE OF OTTAWA

1247 Kilborn Place, Ottawa ON K1H 6K9

Tel 613-738-5025      Fax 613-738-0130

www.CatholicOttawa.ca

                                                                             

           

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                                                                    

Ottawa, November 13, 2013                                                                                                                                                              

ARCHBISHOP PRENDERGAST INVITES CATHOLICS TO GIVE AND TO PRAY FOR THE PHILIPPINES IN THE AFTERMATH OF TYPHOON HAIYAN

The Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, SJ, Archbishop of Ottawa, has asked Catholic parishes to conduct a special collection at all Masses in the Archdiocese of Ottawa this weekend, November 16 and 17 – or the next weekend, November 23 and 24 – to respond to the worst natural disaster to hit the Philippines in its history. Last Friday, Typhoon Haiyan forced 600,000 people from their homes, and approximately 9.5 million people are in need of aid across nine provinces.

“This is a difficult time for Filipinos, including many from our Catholic community in Ottawa who have relatives and friends in the devastated region,” explained Archbishop Prendergast who presided at a special Mass, with the Filipino community, on Monday, November 11 at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Vanier.

“Many have not been able to contact their loved ones in the Philippines to find out if they are alright since the typhoon struck and left more than 10,000 dead and hundreds of thousands badly affected,” he added. “This is why we are taking up a special collection as soon as possible, and we are asking the faithful to give generously.”

The Government of Canada has announced that it will match donations to the Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund made by Canadians to Canadian-registered charities between November 9 and December 9. Contributions made through the Archdiocese of Ottawa for this relief effort will be eligible for the matching programme.

Online donations are being accepted on the diocesan website www.CatholicOttawa.ca.

The Archdiocese of Ottawa is home to more than 394,500 Roman Catholics and serves more than 100 parishes.

St. Patrick’s Blog Week of November 11th, 2013

St. Patrick’s Blog

Week of November 11th, 2013

The St. Patrick’s Intermediate School Council met last week.  We reviewed a number of the great activities happening at the school, and discussed some direction around council funding to support student initiatives at St. Pat’s.  The discussion minutes will be available on the website shortly.  Please check out the “Catholic School Council” tab on our website for more information.

It was very encouraging seeing all of our parents and guardians at our interview evening last week.  A number of good conversations occurred toward some next steps with our students.  A special thank you to Catherine Kilbride (our school’s English as a Second Language Teacher) and Veronica Sanchez (our school’s Multicultural Liaison Officer) for their assistance in inviting translators for the evening to assist with families where English is not the first language at home.  We were able to assist with families in languages such as Arabic, Tagalog, Korean, Spanish, and others.  

A special thank you to our students and staff who assisted with our Mirror of Hope kiosk at our Christian Community Day professional development day on Friday.  We were able to sell several handmade baskets on Friday, with the proceeds going directly to the women of Nairobi who have been affected by HIV and who create these baskets as their livelihood.

St. Patrick’s is hosting a number of student teachers at this school this term.  These individuals will be working with us until the beginning of December.  This remains an important partnership with various universities in the province, and provides young teachers with an opportunity to strengthen their craft in the field.  

Monday November 11th, is Remembrance Day and at St. Patrick’s we mark the occasion with a very moving ceremony that involves a great number of students and staff.  The ceremony at the school begins at 8:30 and all of our parent/guardian community is welcomed to join us.  

Bullying Awareness and Prevention week occurs from November 17th to 23rd this month.  We will discuss some St. Patrick’s initiatives next week, however, I wanted to let you know about a classroom project that is taking place in all of our Catholic schools.  Our students and teachers continue to explore the Ottawa Catholic Board theme: “By our works, we show our faith” by participating in a week-long initiative focused on teaching our students how to be discerning digital citizens while on the Internet.  This project is our response to the recent School Climate Survey where it was reported that our students would benefit from explicit, directed learning focused on ‘Digital Citizenship’.

‘Samaritans on the Digital Road’ is an online resource for teachers of the Ottawa Catholic School Board to inspire and inform our students.  During the week of Nov. 11 -15, all students in our schools will learn how to be caring, responsible online citizens.

Students will learn the meaning of being a ‘citizen’ and transfer those skills to the online world as a ‘digital citizen’. Students will also learn how to contribute to social good and how to navigate through challenges found ‘on the road’ of the Internet. All of the lessons are taught through the lens of Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The teachers who created this resource work directly with children at each grade, ensuring that learning is age-appropriate and relevant.

We encourage you to start conversations at the supper table, in the car or wherever your family meets by asking your child about his/her learning as  ‘Samaritans on the Digital Road’ fills our classrooms with experiential, thought-provoking activities.

You can access more information on Bullying Awareness and Prevention week at the Ministry website: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/safeschools/prevention.html