A Note from our Principal

It is with some sadness that I inform you of administrative changes for next year.  I have been re-assigned as Principal of St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School effective July 12, 2010.  As well, Dan Ingoldsby will be moving into a Principal position at St. Ambrose Catholic Elementary School in Cambridge.  Please join me in congratulating Mr. Ingoldsby on this well deserved promotion.  I have valued Mr. Ingoldsby’s leadership these past few years and know he will continue to be a great leader for the community of St. Ambrose.

As much as I look forward to new experiences at St. Benedict’s and learning about the many great things that community has to offer, I will most definitely miss this community.  It has been a tremendous experience for me to serve this community as Vice-Principal and Principal and I thank you, the parents, staff and students for all that you have contributed to making this the great community that it is.  There are so many great leaders in this community committed to making it a better place each and every day.  I am sorry I will not be around to continue this great work next year.  Know I will always be watching to see the new heights you achieve together.

Joining Resurrection next year as Principal is Paul Lacalamita and as Vice-Principal is Kevin Hinsperger.  Mr. Lacalamita is returning from a year as president of Catholic Principals Council of Ontario and served for 3 years previously as Principal at St. David Catholic Secondary School.  Mr. Hinsperger is moving into the Vice-Principal role after most recently serving in the role of Program Head of History and Geography at St. David Catholic Secondary School.  Please join me in welcoming Mr. Lacalamita and Mr. Hinsperger.  I am confident both will continue to support and build on the great work of this community. 

Mr. Dan Witt, Principal

Important Year-End Information

• Final Evaluation Schedule ~ click here for the final evaluation/credit recovery schedule
  
  
• Report Cards ~ final report cards for semester 2 will be mailed during the week of July 15th.   Registration Packages will be contained in this envelope.  Please ensure that you keep this package in a safe place for our August 30th & 31st, 2010 registration days!
  
  
• Fall Registration ~ Please make every attempt to come on your assigned day:
  • Last names A-L: Monday, August 30th
  • Last names M-Z: Tuesday, August 31st

  Registration runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. both days. Please make sure all forms are completed and signed (by parent/guardian & student) where applicable.  If the forms are not completed and signed, you will be asked to come back and only then will the process of registering the student continue!!!

• Attention Graduates ~ Grad packages containing your invitation to the October 12th, 2010 Grad ceremony and guest tickets will be included in the July mailing of your final report card. 
  
  Please ensure that you keep the tickets in a safe place.  Information regarding extra tickets is also included in the package. 
  
  Please check the Resurrection website mid-September, 2010 for important information regarding the Agenda for the October 12th Graduation Ceremony day and appropriate attire!

Record Top Students of the Year!

This year two students were nominated for Record top student, Nicole B. and Richard H.

Nicole is currently in grade 11 and was elected last year as one of two student trustees for our entire Board.  Her role has included attending weekly committee meetings and monthly board meetings, several conferences, chairing committees on Catholic Education, and formally representing the entire WCDSB student body on board matters and functions were a student voice was needed.  She is also an active member in the community, holding an executive position on student council, participated as a leader with Phoenix Friends and currently volunteers with Out of the Cold, St. John’s Soup Kitchen, Union Gas Helping Hands, and Kidspark.  She maintains a high academic average and continues to impress all those she works with as being a student that is easy to work with and somebody that knows how to get the job done. 

Richard is a 5th year student who has taken on the role as volleyball co-coach here at Rez.  When there was a vacancy with the coaching staff, Richard took it upon himself to step up and help our teaching staff co-coach a phenomenal senior girls volleyball team.  He also showed his leadership skills while taking on the task of organizing and running the Future Phoenix All-Stars Volleyball camp, a two day skills camp for our feeder schools.  Richard was actively involved in the schools Phoenix Friends program, track and field, and athletic council.  He is a student that is very inspiring to work with, and is somebody that always has a positive outlook with the roles and responsibilities he takes on.

We are extremely proud of all of our students!  Congratulations Nicole and Richard, you represent the Phoenix spirit well!

Our New Uniform Has Arrived!

Wearing your Resurrection uniform properly and with respect demonstrates“pride and dignity for all.” Students attending Resurrection Catholic Secondary School are expected to wear the school uniform during the school day and are expected to abide by the established uniform regulations. The student’s uniform is a sign of belonging
to this school community and sets a standard of “pride and dignity for all.”

 

Uniform items are to be purchased from R.J. McCarthy.

Uniform Dress Code Items for all Students at Resurrection

• McCarthy’s white/red short or long sleeve golf shirt with the Resurrection emblem
• McCarthy’s black knit, 5 button sweater
• McCathy’s black pants, capris or shorts with logo
• McCarthy’s black zippered polar fleece with Resurrection logo, worn over a uniform shirt
• McCarthy’s black v-neck pullover sweater worn over a uniform shirt
• McCarthy’s black zippered sweatshirt worn over a uniform shirt
• Only plain, white, grey and black T-shirts may be worn under the uniform shirts

Old uniform items (listed below) are no long available for purchase and may only be worn by Gr. 10 – 12 students.

• McCarthy’s white, tapered, female oxford blouse with the Resurrection emblem
• McCarthy’s white mock turtleneck with Resurrection logo
• McCarthy’s charcoal grey pants
• McCarthy’s navy walking shorts
• McCarthy’s Mackenzie plaid kilt or skort

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

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Full Day Retreats at Laurel Creek - The Tradition Continues

The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.
(Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America)

It is my pleasure to inform you, on behalf of myself and Stephen Kenney, Science Program Head, that we will resume full day Grade 9 retreats at Laurel Creek Nature Centre in September, 2010.

We have chosen eco-spirituality as the focus of our Grade 9 Retreat Program...this has been taking place at Laurel Creek for as long as we can remember, dating back over the course of years and years; with previous Chaplains having maintained the same eco-spirituality program at Laurel Creek. We believe that the science curriculum is inextricably linked to this branch of theological education and faith experience. The understanding of environmentalism and creation spirituality is necessary for the survival of future generations. Indeed, creation/nature is our source of God's first revelation which gives us insight into our true Creator and the meaning of all life.

Using the Laurel Creek Nature Centre fulfills two aspects of our mandate as a Catholic Secondary School:

1. To fulfill the requirements of the science curriculum which fosters a holistic understanding and spirituality where there is no dualism between religion and science.
2. To provide a faith experience for students rooted in both communal bonding/sharing and eco-spirituality.

We really find Mary-Anne Cain, Nature Interpreter at Laurel Creek, indispensable in terms of her expertise in facilitating the cooperative games, teamwork and nature-based learning. I contribute to the more spiritual/emotional aspects of the day. It is the perfect location for us at Rez because of proximity. In collaboration with the Science Department, we seek to provide both an educational and faith experience for our Grade 9 students grounded in eco-spirituality. We are so fortunate that we will be able to resume our tradition of full day retreats at Laurel Creek with this multi-faceted approach. We believe that Grade 9 is such a pivotal year in the life of each student who crosses the threshold from elementary to secondary school; indeed, from childhood into adolescence.

Thank you for your continued support. Should you have any questions regarding our Grade 9 Retreat Program, please do not hesitate to ask.

Peace,
Brian Millette, Chaplain

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Missions & Charitable Activities for 2009-2010

During the 2009-2010 school year, we have raised over $34,000 in funds plus food, supplies and gifts for the various causes, near and far. This includes well over $15,000 for Haiti, plus supplies of hygeine products and personal items.

Our final campaign of the school year, in support of SHOW (Supportive Housing of Waterloo) project concluded this week. We have raised nearly $1,200 for SHOW and furnished two washrooms for their new facility for those individuals in our local community who are without a place to live.

Congratulations Rez and thank you for your immense generosity. Our gratitude humbles us. Our gratitude runs deep. Thank for all that you are and all that you do. Well done good and faithful servants! (Matthew 25:21)

Click here for a full list of the charities we supported...

Student Activities Update

The month of May at Rez was filled with spirited activities and many exciting opportunities for Student involvement.  The month started off with Catholic Education Week which was recognized board wide and was a week for students, teachers and staff to acknowledge the important role of Catholic Education in their daily lives.

The senior students at Rez were exposed to an extremely powerful presentation put on by MADD Canada.  The slide show presented was filled with emotion that impacted the students in a positive way.  The students were made aware of the consequences of drinking and driving and the safe alternatives available to them in a presentation that was both informative and emotionally touching.

Students also had an opportunity to pick up Student Council Applications for Rez’ 2010-2011 school year.  Interviews were held between May 13th and 21st.  Special recognition goes out to all students who applied for Student Council, demonstrating incredible initiative and willingness to display their skills, talents and abilities through their interviews.   Furthermore Rez would like to congratulate all students chosen to represent the Resurrection Community on Student Council next year; your hard work and valuable skills and leadership qualities will make a great contribution to Council next year!

The month of May closed with Rez’ first ever MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.  Rez’ spirit week was jammed packed with fun activities and of course tons of spirited students.  The Rez BBQ was a huge success and students enjoyed the undercover reinforcements as lines could be seen stretching throughout the forum!  Bring Your own Banana was another undercover mission that students loved!  From sprinkles to strawberry sauce and chocolate chips, students were able to cool off with this delicious treat.   Closing the week was Rez Day.  With the sun shining, students were able to participate in a variety of themed activities with their friends and classmates while building school spirit and proving that no mission is impossible for Rez to complete!

Finally, Rez has a few highlights to stay on the look out for in June as the school year comes to a close.  Rez’ Extra-curricular Awards Assembly was held on June 8th. Students that participated in extra-curricular activities were acknowledged for their outstanding contributions and commitments throughout the school year.  Rez had another great success on June 11th for Grad day and Prom.  The graduating senior students danced the night away at Fed Hall to this year’s formal theme, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.   The month closes with Final Evaluation days staring on June 21st.  

The current student council would like to thank all of the staff for their support with our activities and initiatives this past year, especially Ms. Best, our finance secretary (who always jumps in to help), the administrative assistants team in the main office for always being so supportive, the wonderful custodial staff who were always so patient, and to our fabulous administrators who were incredibly open to new ideas, and wanted to ensure our students to fully enjoyed their high school experience. The new co-presidents and student council are looking forward to an exciting fall line-up, especially working on events with Phoenix Friends to welcome our grade 9 students.    Enjoy a blessed and restful summer!

It's in us to give, and we gave!

On May 8th 2010, Resurrection held it's annual Blood Donor Clinic. To say thank-you seems slight for the outstanding number of staff and students who supported our day. The hope was to collect 40 pints and our Rez community once again went above and beyond, collecting 60 pints.  Bravo to all - especially to our 53, 1st time donors.

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Rez Reads...during the Summer!

Get a head start on Rez Reads 2010! Check out the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominations - this will be the first Rez Reads list for 2010-2011. And don't forget, you can review the books you read for a chance to win some cool prizes - just fill out at Rez Recommends book form and email it to Ms. Martin.

No Library @ Rez for the summer...whatever will you do?!

• get a public library card - they're free and you can request books from any branch. You can also renew your books online, or ask for an extended summer loan, to avoid those pesky library fines!
• check out a used book store - they might not have the most recent books, but you'll save yourself some cash!
• visit a local bookstore, such as Words Worth Books (an independent bookstore with lots of great suggestions for YA reads) or Chapters.

During the summer, the 2009-2010 Rez Recommends list (the list of Rez student favourites for this school year) will be posted on the library's web site and the Rez Reads blog.

Scholastic Book Sales

Thanks to everyone who ordered books from the Scholastic Teen Read Club this year. With your support, we received over $150 in free books for the library! Check back in September when we'll have new order forms!

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That's a Wrap !

The Arts department is always sizzling at Resurrection and this year was no exception.  The madness all started in November with the first big event of the arts season, REZonance.  It was a successful night of drama, music, and dance and for a splash of colour a fabulous art display. 

The four areas of Arts all came together again at the end of February with the superb production of Beauty and the Beast.  Resurrection’s finest singers, dancers, actors, and musicians made the sweet story come to life on stage.  The tremendous backstage support from talented student, staff and parent make-up artists, sound and lighting technicians, producers, as well as those who helped and headed the set construction, design and decoration crews and costumes crews made the show a smashing success.

Our Arts students showed off their talent at several events that took place throughout the school year.  Christmas and Spring Concerts, Expressions, dance showcase, Talent Night/Rez Stock/Coffee House to name just a few.  Oh, and did I mention that in their free time, 80 of our music students took a trip to NYC! Yes we loved New York and many of them have the t-shirts to prove it.

The Arts season is always topped off with the Arts Banquet.  This year there were 300 parents/friends and young artists in attendance at the “Twisted Tea Party”.  43 subject and extracurricular awards were presented at the Alice and Wonderland themed celebration.  All nominees and awards winners should be very proud of their accomplishments this year and we look forward to see what you bring to the stage next year.  Click here for a full list of nominees and winners...

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Celebrating our Athletes

Rez held our Athletic Banquet on Thursday June 10th to recognize the tremendous efforts of all our athletes. Through the hard work and dedication of both coaches and athletes, this school year we have obtained some tremendous success in various sports.  Thursday night was a chance to celebrate all of them, but also recognized those with exceptional talent (MVP awards) and great sportsmanship (Phoenix awards). In addition, some sports were able to give out scholarships.

Click here for a full list of awards and winners...

RCSS students win OFSAA medal in Tennis!

Last year, Kent H. and Tyler K. qualified for OFSAA Tennis but unfortunately completed the tournament with a 0 win 2 loss record. This year they qualified again in the High School Boys Doubles Division and had a feeling that things would be different. They started the tournament on the first day with 8-2 and 8-1 victories. On the second day in their quarter final, the boys won a gritty match 8-5. The boys were now off to the semi-finals taking on the tournament favourites. Although they gave them everything they could handle, the boys lost a tough match 5-8 and therefore needed to win their next two matches to win the bronze medal. Returning for the third day the boys opened the morning with a dominating 8-4 win. With the bronze medal in their sights they were relentless and overwhelmed their opponents 8-6 to capture Resurrection's first ever OFSAA Tennis Medal. Congrats Kent and Tyler!

Congratulations Scholarship Winner Melissa B!

On June 16, 2010 Melissa B. received the Mike Moser Scholarship Award, which has been given out by the KW Basketball Officials since 1976 on an annual basis to one female and one male Basketball player in the KW region who has played at a high level of basketball, shown academic excellence and contributes positively to the community.

Melissa has been the team captain for her 2nd and 3rd years on the Senior Girls basketball team at Resurrection, showing great dedication, a positive attitude and excellent sportsmanship in that time. She has been a member of the Athletic Council, a leader on Phoenix Friends and was awarded the Kitchener Youth Action Council award from the city and a YMCA Peace Medallion for her work with our school WAYVE team, a group that is dedicated to resolving conflict and injustices in our community. Melissa will be attending Wilfred Laurier University in the September to study Kinesiology. Congratulations on this achievement Melissa!

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Ian M. and Robert C. at the DECA provincial competition at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto held
Feb. 7th – 9th .

Resurrection’s business students: Haley J.,
Chris J., Andrea M., Silvana P., and Victoria S.  pose with the other 145 business students
from across the province for a group picture
during WLU’s The Link business conference
held from May 14th-17th.

Biz Beyond the Classroom

Resurrection’s Business department not only aims to provide our students with the business knowledge and skills they need to move forward in life, but also to provide business opportunities beyond the classroom. Two such opportunities occurred this semester. The first in February where 38 Rez business students competed at the DECA provincials in Toronto; the second in May at WLU’s The Link Business Conference where five of our students participated in a four day event.

Co-op @ Rez

On the Co-op side of the department over 50 of our students are nearing the end of their placements.  From auto and plumbing to accounting and nursing our students have been working hard throughout the region with the support of our community partners. In this newsletter we share a couple brief profiles of two co-op students.

Ryan S. (left), a grade 12 student, finishes up his co-op placement at Electronically Speaking this month. Ryan’s on-site supervisor is Jay Gasselle. Jay was a Resurrection Co-op student with Electronically Speaking six years ago and now continues to work for the company as a licensed electrician.

 

Natalie B., grade 12, assists in preparing a cat for surgery at Wilmot Veterinary Clinic where she had her co-op placement this semester.

 

 

 

 

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Karina V. and Emily D. show off absorbant
booms that are used to soak up oil spills
in the Thrills & Spills activity
at the Groundwater Festival.

Resurrection Physical Geography Students Take Part In Waterloo Wellington Groundwater Festival

On Tuesday June 1st, the Resurrection grade 11 Physical Geography students participated in the Waterloo Wellington Groundwater Festival at Doon Herritage Crossroads.  This was full day excursion with the twenty-four senior students running the various booths, displays, hands on activities and games for the visiting grade 3 to 5 classes from across Waterloo Region.

Julie S. helps students at the No Water off a Duck's Back station.

 

 

 

 

The RCSS students were in charge of such pro-environment games as Eagle Survivor, the Water Cycle, Incredible Journey and Thrills & Spills.  Others ran hands-on conservation-oriented stations such as No Water Off A Duck's Back, Eggs to Adults, Oil Slick and the X-Stream Puzzle.   Still others worked in conjuction with Doon Heritage staff introducing the students to turn of the century technology and water conservation practices with activities like Doing The Laundry and Down on The Farm.  Over the course of the day students improved upon their knowlege and understanding of the Region of Waterloo Groundwater supply and took great leaps in their organization and presentation & speaking skills.

Mike P. and Tyler G. hang out Down on the Farm, and teach children how much water is used to produce beef, pork, and eggs.

 

 

 

 

For their efforts the geography students were rewarded with free transportation to the event, snappy red Groundwater Festival T-shirts, stainless steel Region of Waterloo water bottles and a free lunch & snacks.  Thankfully the weather co-operated to allow for maximum enjoyment of this incredibly well run yearly event.  As in previous years this was a great way for these senior students to translate what they have learned in the classroom to work in real life teaching the next generation about our precious groundwater supply.

 

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Awards

The Math and Science departments are happy to announce the final results of this year's competitions.  Congratulations to all competitors:

• Click here for the Math results.
• Click here for the Science results.

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Cathy Godkin ~ Staff Member of the Year

Catherine Godkin has been an RCSS active living department teacher for twenty of her twenty-six teaching years and is one of the initial staff hired to open Resurrection! Cathy’s phenomenal leadership made her a natural choice for this year’s Staff Member of the Year award. The endless hours she contributes to Phoenix Friends, academic awards committee, the merit awards committee and coaching senior girls volleyball benefit hundreds of Rez studentsand staff . Cathy is so happy to be a member of the school community that her children have also attended Rez. Cathy can often be found adding to the spirit and excitement of welcoming new grade nines to our community. Some of her favourite memories are of watching senior students run welcoming events for our school community. As a teacher, Cathy believes it’s important to “set the bar high for our students and watch them soar!”

Mike Morris

Michael Morris is an award-winning RCSS religion teacher (he was honoured with the Dwyer and Sheila Sullivan Social Justice Award this year) and has been a part of Rez for three years. When Mike isn't teaching his religion classes, you'll likely find him on the ice, coaching the boys’ varsity hockey team, or in the gym, coaching badminton and the ultimate Frisbee club. Mike is a member of Educators for Justice and is part of the team that leads the Dominican Encounter with Faith and Hospitality Program. As if this wasn’t enough, Mike facilitates the leader training orientation and debriefing for the Global Youth Network (sending volunteer teams of University students overseas in May). It is clear that Mike is a very big part of our school community. He believes the “staff is fantastic and that the students bring great energy into the building”. Mike’s leadership and school spirit touches all of the students. His love of life is taking him and his new wife to Ireland this summer to trace his family roots.

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

Main Office: (519) 741-1990