Graduation 2011

Below is an excerpt of my address to our 2011 Graduating Class.  There are three themes that have been implicitly and explicitly woven into it.  My explanation alluded to DeSantis' "3 Ds" of Discipline, Discernment and Discipleship.

"How will the value of our days be measured?
What will matter is not what we have, but what we give.
What will matter is not what we have achieved, but your significance.
What will matter is how long we will be remembered, by whom, and for what."
A life of meaning, discipleship, happiness and purpose.

After four or more years of walking with our Catholic Learning Community,
we are comforted by the fact that it has espoused discipleship,
added meaning, purpose, and happiness to all of our lives.

Jesus stated "follow me" 15 times in the Gospels.
We are all followers, learners or Disciples of Christ.
The question is how will we continue to live our faith
as a disciple of Christ in the 21st Century?

It may mean that we will have to look for Christ being present in our world.

It may mean visiting, noticing and listening
to the kinds of people with which Jesus spent time.

Jesus became friends with the nameless,
disenfranchised, poor and the downtrodden.
Jesus stopped to listen to people
and asked questions like
"What can I do for you?"
"What do you want from me?"

Who gets our attention
and who is easily overlooked
in your everyday life?

How often do we recognize Christ in the flesh?
Disciples in the 21st Century
have their eyes wide open.

They notice the Christ standing
in front of them at the bus stop,
in their workplace,
college or university classroom.

And so to the class of 2011,
disciples of the 21st Century,
in the presence of Ms. MacDonald
& Ms. Doyle our Chaplaincy Leader,
our teaching and support staff,
Father Dave,  Father Bob,
Mrs. Alice Anne Lemay – Chair of the Board,
Mr. Mark Rowe - Halton Hills Trustee,
Mrs. Jacqueline Herman, Superintendent of Education,
Mrs. Val Slater, Our Chair of Catholic School Council,
& Award Donors.

I urge you to continue to follow Jesus
by experiencing life in many destinations.

I urge you to practice being a disciple
by noticing Christ in the people you encounter.

I urge you to become a friend by listening,
asking how you can help
and reaching out to those who need you.

May God bless you on your journey in providing hope for tomorrow.

Thank you.


This will be my last blog for the school year.  Thank you for reading and for the occasional comments.  I hope my blog has provided some insight, information and perspective into our Catholic Learning Community.

Baptism

My family attended the baptism of a relative today.

The priest was invitational, calm and very open to the families baptizing their children.

He did not mind the noise made by the children nor by the families in attendance while he was anointing the beautiful children.

As a Catholic educator, it was a refreshing sight to behold. 

The most poignant part of the liturgy was his homily.  The priest related the watering of the plants that were before him on the alter to what we should do as Catholics in nurturing our children's faith. 

He pointed out that we should be careful not to water the plants too much that they become saturated.  In the same vein, he cautioned the audience not to bring their children to every mass on the church schedule as they would become saturated and stray.  Conversely, not watering the plants enough would result in wilting or a disinterest in our faith.

An excellent point that life is a careful medley of checks and balances and the pursuit of our faith should be part of this process for it to grow in a healthy manner.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to your comments.

Clarence Clemons - January 11, 1942 - June 18, 2011

You either love Bruce Springsteen or are indifferent towards him and his music.  I have loved Bruce for over 25 years.  I have all of his music and a bevy of magazines and books dedicated to him and his talented band mates.  I am the fan that would have collected outtakes of his music going back 40 years.  I have a thorough knowledge of all of Springsteen's band mates.....most notably Clarence Clemons.

Why Clarence?  I have seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live in concert on several occasions. His concerts are simply second to none in my opinion. Bruce's interplay with Clarence in concert has been legendary.

Despite Clarence's tremendous talent and his seminal contributions to Bruce's music throughout the years, I have always been most touched by the trust, loyalty, compassion, care and camaraderie between Clarence and Bruce: A friendship that exceeded 40 years.

I am unable to think of a better example of a true kinship between two human beings.

You can imagine how I felt when I noticed this message on CNN this past Saturday evening.

Legendary rock saxophonist Clarence Clemons died Saturday of complications from a stroke, band mate Bruce Springsteen said. He was 69.

Clemons had played sax in Springsteen's E Street Band off and on since 1972.

"Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage," Springsteen said in a statement.

"His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly 40 years. He was my great friend, my partner and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

So....on this day...Father's Day.....Clarence has  left behind four children.  I have been examining my own mortality, my friendships and the love for my wife and children. 

While I never met Clarence, I felt that I really knew him through Bruce's music, his part in it, and the love he and Bruce had for one another.

May God bless his soul.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to your comments

Equity and Inclusive Education

Our secondary schools have always been inclusive simply by virtue of open access.  Also, we have always  ensured that staff and students are able to thrive in a safe, equitable and inclusive learning environment.  This has been nurtured with the advent of Safe Schools and Progressive Discipline legislation.  To wit, CtK's implementation of restorative justice practices in the classroom and in the way our administration deals with conflict has added an extra layer of security and equity for students.

Our board has been mired in the news with respect to the Equity and Inclusive Education Policy.  Below are excerpts from our board website speaking to the action  steps in this regard.

On May 3, 2011, the Halton Catholic District School Board passed its new Equity and Inclusive Education Policy (#II-45) . In compliance with the Ministry of Education’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy, this policy provides a comprehensive framework that ensures equity and inclusive practices in all aspects of Board and school operations, including: Board policies, programs, procedures and practices, leadership, school/community relationships, religious accommodation, school climate and prevention of discrimination and harassment, professional learning, accountability and transparency; while remaining entirely consistent with Catholic teaching.
As a Catholic school system that teaches the respect, dignity and love of all people, our Board is committed to providing safe, equitable and inclusive school environments. Our schools encourage acceptance and understanding of all students through initiatives intended to provide supports to any student who may feel marginalized or isolated for any reason. Ultimately, it remains our priority to ensure safe and inclusive environments for everyone in all of our Catholic school communities.

Within the parameters established by this policy, the following action steps will be put in place to ensure that every student is free from harassment, violence, or malice in speech or in action:

•By Your SIDE (Safety, Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity) Secondary School Student Focus Groups
•Student Senate and Student Trustee dialogue
•SIDE Spaces programs
•Establishing Networks with Catholic School Boards and Community Agencies to determine best practices in creating equity, inclusivity and safety in schools

Below is the Ontario's Equity and Inclusivity Education Strategy which precipitated boards across the province to take substantial action.

http://cal2.edu.gov.on.ca/april2009/EquityEducationStrategy.pdf

Parents will receive an email which will include comments from the Ontario Catholic Trustees Association and the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario in the following days.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to your comments.

Summer Blast Carnival 2011

“When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.”

This type of passion was exemplified at our 3rd Annual Summer Blast Carnival last Thursday, June 2 from 11 am to 8 pm at CtK.

Thanks to the support of our student body and our community, we easily eclipsed the funds raised at last year's event for our CtK Cares Foundation.

What was most impressive was the synergy that developed between key staff members and our student leaders in the planning, organizing and implementation of this initiative.

Once again, when given the opportunity, our staff outperformed last year's efforts.

Our student leaders from Student Council, Student Athletic Association and the Prefects in particular proved that they could excel at a level that exceeded our school's high expectations. This came to fruition not just in the evolution of the planning but in the way they deported themselves with the many families that attended Summer Blast between 4 pm and 8 pm. They were respectful, helpful and very interactive with the children which to me was more impactful than any amount of money we raised.

Our students were excellent role models and ambassadors for our Catholic Learning Community. Their efforts undoubtedly left indelible positive memories in the minds of the children of which they engaged.

I can't think of a better way to inspire our future CtK students.

On behalf of CtK, I would like to thank everyone that supported Summer Blast!

See you again next year.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to your comments.

The Purpose of Life is a Life with Purpose

Our Grade 12 students celebrated with their Graduation Dance this past Friday night.

For all intents and purposes, their behaviour was outstanding!  They were respectful, composed, elegant and had a great time! 

I mentioned to our students before the night began that they should be proud of their achievements thus far.  Their upcoming graduation is the culmination of hard work, commitment and continuous improvement.  In addition, they should feel successful that they are celebrating such a fact as they take one more step in their journey towards adulthood.

Our staff is very proud of you and took the time to learn what for many of us (myself included) was a complicated dance routine.  I hope that you enjoyed our flash dance as it was in your honour.

You are the essence of God's spirit and our Catholic Learning Community hopes that you continue to shine his light as you continue to build a life with purpose.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to your comments.

Graduation Dance - May 27, 2011

Last year at around this time I posted a rather controversial blog regarding my thoughts on the unruly behaviour of our students at the Graduation Dance.

I received more comments to that blog than any other post before or since.  I had just as many supporters as detractors for the record.

Time and consideration has had our Graduation planning committee hire a security company in addition to the usual duo of police officers. 

The security company will be checking every student seeking admission to our dance for alcohol, drugs and/or weapons.  They will be making the determination to deny admittance to students that appear to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.  

Please understand that the staff at CtK will not be making this decision.  Students attending the Graduation Dance have already received this important message from our Vice-Principals. 

Our role will be to supervise the students granted admittance to celebrate what for all intents and purposes is the culmination of four years of hard work and dedication to reach the goal of graduation. 

We would kindly ask parents/guardians to ensure that their children refrain from consuming any alcohol prior to this event.  Your partnership in  this regard is appreciated.

Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to your comments.