Principal's Introduction
 

I hope that the arrival of this letter finds you doing well and enjoying the beginning of spring. It is nice to see our students heading outside at lunch, using the basketball nets and picnic tables provided by our school council, kicking around a soccer ball or tossing a lacrosse ball. I wanted to let you know about a couple of aspects in the life of our school.

We welcome Mrs. Monique Thuesen as head of our front office. She replaces Arlene Blanchfield who retired at the end of March after 15 years at St. Pius X. Good luck to Arlene in her retirement and welcome to Monique.

A lot of great acts of kindness go on every day at the school but I do want to highlight two special events. The first was our canned food drive organized by our student council. All together just over 11,000 food items were donated to Shepherds of Good Hope. Great job by the student council members and their staff advisors, Mrs.Humphries and Mr. Bourguignon. Secondly we hosted a very successful blood donor clinic last week. Forty five litres of blood were collected, exceeding our goal of 30. Congrats to the Rec Leadership class under the direction of Mr. Lamarche who organized this activity. This was the first time for many of the donors and their donation may help to save the life of someone that they don't even know.

Finally, on Thursday of this week we ran a lockdown drill. We are expected to do two drills a year which help us to ensure that we can get all of our community into a secure and supervised area as quickly as possible in the event of danger in the neighbourhood or on school grounds. This drill was a little different in that we tried it during the lunch hour not during scheduled class time. We wanted to see how our community handled it. Overall they did very well. Within a minute the halls were cleared and as we walked the campus with members of the Ottawa Police the vast majority of our students were in a locked room with a staff supervisor. A few students had to improvise, hiding out in washrooms because they were too late to get into a class room. I appreciated the work of staff who took time to talk through lockdown preparations with our students and the students themselves who reacted well, taking it seriously but not panicking. Please feel free to contact me at the school if you have any questions about the drill or any of our safe school procedures.

 

 From the Chaplain
 

This month the School Board distributed prayer cards to each school. Each grade level had its own prayer; the 9s were given the 'Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola'; the 10s were given 'St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer'; the 11s were given the 'Prayer of St. Francis'; and the 12s were given 'The Jesus Prayer'. We have heard lots of positive feedback about them. Some classes have used them for Wednesday morning homeroom prayer and some students have kept them for their own personal use. Coming up, on May 7 we will join every Catholic high school in Ontario and hold a Mass during Catholic Education Week. St. Pius X Catholic High School will be bussing grade 9, 10 & 11 students to St. Maurice Church for a 1:00 pm Mass celebrated by the newly ordained Bishop Christian Riesbeck, who is a Pius grad, class of '89!!. Parents are most welcome to attend. God bless you all, Richmond

 

 School Council
 

Stay connected!. The School Council meets monthly at 7:00 p.m and discusses topics of relevance to your student and the St Pius X community. Find out more at https://pih.ocsb.ca Your input and contributions make a difference. If you have any questions contact the council chair, Johanna Nicoletta at: stpiusxschoolcouncil@gmail.com. Our next meeting is Tues May 13 @ 7:00 in the library. Hope to see you there!

 

 Student Services
 

The second semester is just two months old and we are already in the midst of planning for both the grade 12 graduation in June and the start of classes in September. Option sheet requests are presently being used to schedule classes for the 2014-2015 school year. This is a very lengthy and involved process that will continue in varying stages until mid-June. The semester 2 midterm report cards were distributed on April 17 along with an "Option Sheet Verification Letter". Students and parents will have a chance to verify and/or make any required changes to their 2014-2015 course selections at that time. Should an April midterm mark, change of academic direction or a desired summer school course require a change to a student's 2014-2015 course selection, please indicate the change(s) on the "verification letter" and return it to the Student Services office before April 30. Please note that once the school's timetable and student schedules are completed, it is very difficult or impossible to make changes to a student's course schedule. When it comes to making schedule changes, we will make every effort to do so, but because of the nature of scheduling, courses fill up, or conflict with other courses, and thus changes are usually not possible.

A reminder that in order to graduate, all students must complete and submit signed forms indicating that they have completed a minimum of 40 hours of community service. Forms are available in the Guidance office. Grade 12 students who plan on attending college or university, should bring their forms to the Student Services office before April 17. For grade 12 students who are planning on graduating in June, the deadline to submit their forms is Friday, May 2.

All potential grade 12 graduates are reminded of the following: 1) ensure they have handed in at least 40 hours of community service hours before the deadline, 2) ordered and paid for their graduation gown, 3) responded to any offers of admission from universities or colleges before the deadline, 4) handed in copies of any scholarship or financial bursaries to their guidance Counsellor, 5) see their Guidance Counsellor if they have any questions about graduation or post-secondary destinations.

We have a number of students taking "Dual Credits" at Algonquin College this semester. This is a wonderful opportunity for students in grade 11 or 12 to take a course at Algonquin College. Students may select courses from a wide selection of subject areas. Students attend college for one three-hour class per week. Students complete assignments, essays, quizzes, tests and exams and then earn both a college credit AND a ("Dual") high school credit. Transportation and tuition are free for students. This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn a free college course, an additional high school credit and discover what college has to offer. Students who are interested in participating in the Dual Credit program next year should see their guidance counsellor.

Summer is nearly here and there are many opportunities available for our students including summer school, part-time jobs and volunteer opportunities. Many students (approximately 300 from St. Pius) take summer school courses every July. Summer school runs for three weeks in July and information is posted on our school board web site. This is an excellent opportunity for students going into grades 9 to 12 to take a "reach ahead" or "make up" course. Registration forms will be available in May and must be signed by a parent and a Guidance Counsellor. There are also several summer job opportunities available for students. There is a binder in the Student Services office containing requests from various local businesses and community organizations who are seeking students to fill part-time summer jobs. Summer is also a good time to complete community service hour requirements. We have a binder in the office filled with requests for student volunteers. Please drop by and check out all the activities available for students this summer.

 

 Grad events
 

Planning for this year's prom continues. It will take place on: Friday, June 6, 2014 Chateau Laurier Ballroom Reception: 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m. Theme "Twilight in Paris" More details to follow. A reminder to parents that the only "official, school sanctioned" grad events are: a grad retreat, grad mass , the prom and our end of year grad ceremony. Anything else you may hear about from your son or daughter is a student organized event not supervised by the school. We would encourage you to talk to them about making good choices as they celebrate the end of their high school years.

 

 Destination Employability News
 

DEP Destination Employability Pathway events in April focus on Workplace Safety Week, April 22 to April 28th. Students from St Pius X representing the DEP program will be cast in a leadership role presenting to students at Frank Ryan on workplace safety preparing them to join the workforce as they begin completing their 40 hours of volunteer service. Other DEP program students will be attending the National Day of Mourning at the Worker's Memorial site located near the Heron Road Bridge. DEP students will be participating in an Education Week community clean up in our neighbourhood and attending Algonquin Connections, May 1st , a special program offered to students who are investigating careers and education. The Destination Employability Pathway known as DEP is offered to students as an activity based career and community minded student driven program that builds confidence and student involvement in school activities It is open to all students . If you wish to learn more about DEP opportunities please call Mr. Murphy at 613-225-4634 or ask your student to drop into the Co-op Office.

 

 Student Council Runs Successful Food Drive
 

On April 4th, St. Pius X and Frank Ryan Senior Elementary school completed our 3rd Annual Royals X-Men Canned Food Challenge. The Challenge is a partnership between St. Pius X and Frank Ryan in support of the Shepherds of Good Hope. This year the challenge ran from March 19th to April 4th. St. Pius X students and staff brought in 9136 non-perishable items. In total, St. Pius X and Frank Ryan donated 11 086 non-perishable items to the Shepherds of Good Hope. It is works like these that truly show our faith!

 

 French Department on Fire at St. Pius!
 

Le Concours d`art oratoire is an annual French public -speaking event which celebrates the outstanding French language arts achievements of students from across the school board. On Tuesday March 19, 35 students representing ten of our secondary schools, presented speeches, highlighting their growth of French speaking and comprehension skills. There are four categories - Core, Extended, Immersion and FSL Plus. First place winners from each category will have the opportunity to compete for cash prizes, at the provincial level on Saturday May 10, York University Glendon Campus, Toronto. Winners from grades 11-12 will also have the opportunity to compete at the Canadian Parents for French National Concours d`art oratoire held annually in Ottawa. On March 19, four of our students competed in the French Public Speaking Competition at the Board level. These students were: Marlena Scaffidi, Lethicia Foadjo, Nahomy Milembamane and Claudia Manconi. A special mention goes out to Nahomy and Lethicia: Nahomy won second place in the FSL Français Plus and Lethicia won first place in her category and she is now going to compete at the province level in May. Ladies, you made us so proud. Félicitations!!!

We also celebrated the French culture week (March 24-28). Different activities were planned throughout the week, prayers were said in French and lessons about French culture were prepared for classes. And for the first time ever, we had our first Café Français for all the students who are taking French this semester during period 1 in the school cafetorium and we had a pancake breakfast generously subsidized by our principal Mr. Barrett and served by the teachers in the French department while enjoying a French movie. The students had a wonderful time and until next year, Le Français, J'aime ça!

 

 March Break Trip 2015
 

For the seventh year in a row, St. Pius teachers are organizing a student trip to Europe during the March break. Next year's school trip will be to London, Paris and Barcelona for 11 days during the 2015 March break. This is the only March break trip that the school is endorsing. It will be organized and supervised by St. Pius teachers and would make an excellent "Grad Trip" for grade 12 students, however students in all grades are invited and welcome to participate. Information forms are available in the Student Services office and interested students are encouraged to register now. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. See Mr. Warren for information and registration forms.

 

 Soccer Success in Kingston
 

On April 5 and 6 the St.Pius X Boys Soccer team went to Kingston to compete in the Queens Adidas Indoor Invitational tournament. The team consisted of players from grade 9 to 12, playing against schools fielding their senior teams. Although the competition was bigger in size and age, the X-Men won the tournament, winning all of their games and conceding only one goal. The captains were exemplary: Mico Oliviero (grade 11) provided outstanding goalkeeping and Roberto DiNuzzo (grade 12) was awarded MVP of both the semi-final and final games. All of the players had big roles to play and contributed to the collective success of the team. The support from travelling fans (family and friends) was greatly appreciated and everyone had fun. The organizer of the tournament, Dave McDowell of Queens Soccer, called the St.Pius X boys the "class of the tournament."

 

 Coop News
 

At this time sixty-six St Pius X students are completing their Cooperative Education credits working in a wide variety of workplaces in the community ranging in interest from architecture, medicine, computers, retail and construction. Many of these students are building personal networks and translating their personal connections into part-time and summer jobs. St Pius X Cooperative Education students provide assistance to many community service oriented business and as such are demonstrating Catholic values in the workplace. The St. Pius X community is proud of their efforts.

 

 Pius Cares
 

On Wednesday, April 9th, twenty-one students and two staff members loaded a bus for Free the Children's We Day. Pride was beaming on everyone's faces as we all knew that the only way in to We Day was to 'earn a ticket', and that we certainly had done with anti-bully, mental health, and kindness week activities under our belt. We were excited to join the 16,000 strong students to celebrate social justice action! The day was filled with inspirational speakers including Martin Luther King III, Queen Noor of Jordan, Spencer West to name only a few. We were captivated by the musical guests and speakers whose message was clear - today's youth was making a difference! We came home inspired and brimming with ideas for what's next. What is next for Pius Cares? On Thursday, April 17th, students volunteered to join in the Free the Children's Day of Silence Campaign. During the day, students take a vow to be silent. Their silence being a voice and raising awareness for all those in the world who cannot speak up for themselves against bullying, inequity, and injustice. Stay tuned for our next initiative!

 

 Upcoming Events In April and May
 

May 5 - 9: Education week; May 5: P1, Grad assembly; May 7: School mass Gr. 9 - 11, 1:00 @ St. Maurice; May 7 - 10: School play; May 9: ATC dance; May 13: Grad retreat

Find out more....