A Note from our Principal

April was a busy month, highlighted by our full-school Easter Mass on April 13th. Mass was celebrated with Bishop Gerard Bergie who delivered a powerful message of hope.  Later in the month, Chris Vollum delivered a presentation to our grade 10, 11 and 12 students to promote awareness of the privacy and safety issues when using Facebook.  Many students found this to be a very informative session and went home that evening to change the security setting on their Facebook pages.  A similar session will be held next year, on September 20, 2010 with our grade 9 and grade 10 students.  To cap off the month, we held our first ever Challenge Day on April 28th.  This was an incredible community-building experience for the approximately 90 students and 25 teachers and staff that participated and promises to lay the foundation for many positive initiatives in the coming year.

Mr. Dan Witt, Principal

Uniform Expectations

With the arrival of warmer weather, we will be reviewing uniform expectations with students on a daily basis for the balance of this week.  Our added attention to uniform at this time is one more attempt to help students stay focused on following school policy.  It is important over the remainder of the school year that we stay committed to excellent attendance, being punctual for class and following the basic routines of the school to help us maintain a classroom environment that is focused on learning.

Meet the Teacher Night/Facebook Presentation - September 10, 2010

Mark your calendars now for our Meet the Teacher Night/Facebook presentation on Monday September 20, 2010.  The focus for our evening will be improving communication between school and home.  The evening will begin with a quick look at our School web site, where we will highlight the sections that contain key information for parents and students.  We will then have a structured opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teachers and discuss how to effectively communicate with those teachers throughout the semester.  The final part of our evening will be a presentation on Facebook by Chris Vollum that all parents will want to attend.

Tentative Agenda:

• 6:30  Introduction & overview of school web site
• 6:55  Meet the Teachers – establish communication channels
• 8:00  Facebook presentation by Chris Vollum
• 9:00 Q&A
• 9:30  Adjourn

Merit Awards

MERIT AWARD APPLICATIONS ARE DUE THIS FRIDAY MAY 14th.  Students in grades 9-12 who submit a merit award application and are approved, based on their involvement at Resurrection through a wide variety of activities and academic achievement committment, will receive a plaque at the June Award ceremony.

Student Awards

Students in all grades may now begin to apply for this year's Student Awards.  Awards are offered to students for a number of criteria including academics, community involvement and others.  Nominations can be made on behalf of a student or by self-nomination. The deadline for these is May 25th.  Award recipients will receive their awards at the School's June Awards Ceremony (during the school day).  Available awards and application forms are available here.

Graduate Awards

It is time to begin applying for Community Awards.  There are a number of awards available to students which require applications.  Follow the link for more details.  The deadline for these is June 2nd.  Award recipients will receive their awards at the Fall Graduation Ceremony at the Centre in the Square. Click here for more information...

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Message from our Chaplain

May has traditionally been referred to as "Marian Month" within the Church's liturgical calendar.

There have been many theological developments in recent years which have helped create more realistic images of Mary. Indeed, "she is no longer all white and blue and gold, and did not walk to Pentecost in a May procession" (Mary Lou Sleevi).

Through prayer and reflection we can better understand Mary and her significance for today's Church. As Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester, N.Y. writes in his pastoral letter, "The Fire in the Thornbush",

When Mary's place in the life and continued ministry of the Church is recognized and understood, the place of all women in the Church is assured - not as onlookers or maidservants, but as integral coworkers, as necessary for the incarnation of Christ in our world as Mary was to the first Incarnation.

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Student Activities Update

April was an exciting and busy month here at Rez with many incredible student achievements and successful community building activities.

The month started off with our Holy Week Liturgy. Resurrection welcomed Bishop Bergie and the Rez community celebrated this time together solemnly and faithfully.  Student Trustee Elections followed closely.  Rez had two highly motivated and dedicated student leaders apply for this position.  Congratulations go out to Claire Matlock in being successfully elected as Student Trustee.  We are confident Claire will be a great representation of the Resurrection community!

The students at Rez also enjoyed an awareness presentation on Facebook and Twitter.  Students found the presentation interesting and eye opening!  The month closed with a bang! Students and teachers selected from all aspects of the school community were chosen to participate in Resurrection’s first ever Challenge Day.  The day was filled with emotion and students and teachers were challenged to look past each other’s exterior and truly get to know one another.  It was a day of growth, sharing and acceptance the participants are sure to never forget!

Rez also elected the Student Council Co-presidents for the 2010-2011 school year.  After a fierce week of campaigning, the candidates took to the stage delivering thoughtful and inspiring speeches outlining their plans for the next school year.  All demonstrating incredible dedication and qualification for this leadership role, Rez was faced with a difficult decision to make on Election Day.  Rez would like to congratulate Alex Preiss and Lauren Sproule on being elected and wish them luck as they represent the student body in the year to come!

Finally, Rez has a few highlights to stay on the look out for in May.  MADD Canada will be in to give an informative awareness presentation to our Senior Students in mid May.  Also Rez Spirit Week starts May 25th and is sure to be filled with fun and exciting activities.  This year’s theme is Mission Impossible and the events planned are sure to be filled with school spirit.

WCDSB Dominican Encounter With Faith and Hospitality 2010

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board would like to invite students to consider participating in the The Dominican Encounter With Faith and Hospitality program. Participants will travel to the Dominican Republic from November 13th to November 20th, 2010. The experience will provide students with an opportunity to live with host families and to see the world through the eyes of the poor.If you are open to experiencing a different culture and are interested in issues of faith and social justice then this is a great opportunity for you.

Information and applications for the experience are available on Classnet.  Completed applications can be e-mailed to Mike Morris by Tuesday May 25th, 2010.

“Dig In” Food Drive

The Resurrection and St.David’s Alternate Education Program has been working hard to support the Food Bank this month in their “Dig In” Food Drive.  The "Dig In" Food Drive is a one-day event on May 15th and the Alt Ed class has been working on creating awareness for this important cause.  The students have put up posters at over 200 stores/businesses in the region and have gone door-to-door to hand out reminders of the local drop-off locations.  A great big congrats to all the students involved for their effort in helping people in our region to access the very basic needs we often take for granted.

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Food for Fines

This Friday, May 14th is your last opportunity to bring in non-perishable food items to pay off any library fines. 1 food item will pay off $1.00 in library fines. (So, if you've got a $5 library fine, bring in 5 cans of tuna and we'll call it even!) All items collected will be donated to Our Lady of Loudes, St. Vincent de Paul.

Scholastic Book Sale - last chance!

This is the last Scholastic book order of the year! There are some amazing deals this month - including the new Twilight graphic novel for only $14.99 (retail $22.99!) or the Big Brilliant Book of Bart Simpson for only $9.99 (retail $16.25). All book order forms are due on Friday May 28th. Click here for May's flyer...

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Raising a Racquet

The City of Kitchener is offering tennis lessons for teen women (14-18 yrs), starting Saturday May 15th. Click here for more information...

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Rez teacher Mr. Sloos discusses editing options with Specialist High Skills Major student Anthony Beiler.

Ontario’s Next Top Media Stars Training at Kitchener High School

Planning film festivals. Filming and editing news broadcasts. Green screening for video games. The students in Mr. Sloos’ Information and Communications Technology Classes at Resurrection already have impressive portfolios and are studying from college-level textbooks in television and broadcasting. The students are part of a provincial program that allows them to take specialized majors in their local high schools to prepare them for careers in a number of exciting fields. Click here to read more...

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Nancy Jonas

Nancy Jonas is a positive behind-the-scenes staff member. In her twenty years at Resurrection, Nancy has worked in a variety of roles, and is now the SAS secretary. When she is not in her office you can find her volunteering for Resurrection’s Nutrition for Learning program. Nancy really enjoys being a part of this school community she says it is “a great place to work because of the people”. Resurrection has many former students who are now staff and Nancy finds this very rewarding to see them return as adults. While Nancy continues to make Resurrection such a great place to learn and grow, she also finds time to golf with her husband Bryan, spend time with her two daughters and three grandchildren, and volunteer with the Parkinson’s Society and Kids Ability. We at Resurrection know that Nancy and her work is invaluable.

Chris Aldworth

Christopher David Aldworth, one of our RCSS Geography teachers, has been contributing to the school community for thirteen years. Chris’ classroom is full of energy and passion for our world, which generates school-wide interest in the discipline. Chris’ enthusiasm is displayed not only for rocks and dirt but also on the court. He coaches the Junior Boys Basketball Team – CWOSSA champions again this year! His favourite part about Resurrection is “the school spirit, the athletics, the academics and the good nature of our students”. Chris’ family continues to grow; his daughters attend Our Lady of Lourdes and he looks forward to the day when they will be students at Resurrection.

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Resurrection C.S.S.
455 University Ave. West
Kitchener, ON
N2N 3B9

Main Office: (519) 741-1990