All-day Kindergarten program set to launch

AjaTORONTO - With the dawn of the era of all-day Kindergarten for children three-and-a-half to six years old, Ontario will begin to see how much difference an early introduction to formal learning can make in the life of a child.

The program will begin in fewer than 600 schools province-wide when the school year dawns following Labour Day, but should be available in all elementary schools by 2015-2016. By September 2011 up to 50,000 pupils will be enrolled in upwards of 800 schools.

Rising enrolment a good problem for Catholic universities

studentThe latest enrolment numbers indicate good times for university level Catholic education, but that doesn’t mean Catholic colleges don’t face long-established challenges, said David Sylvester.

There are no separate statistics for the Catholic institutions, but the liberal arts and humanities numbers are a good indication of where Catholic colleges stand, said Sylvester, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada.

University enrolment grew 3.7 per cent last year to 1.1-million university students across the country.

School doors shut on immigrant children, report says

TCDSB LogoTORONTO - Toronto’s Catholic schools are keeping some children of non-status immigrant families out of the education system, according to a new report.

The July 14 report  by Social Planning Toronto said the Toronto Catholic District School Board was not implementing or enforcing policies that ensure non-status children can go to school.

“Results of this study demonstrate that TCDSB school staff are largely unaware of the rights of non-status students to public education under the Ontario Education Act,” said “Policy Without Practice,” a report by Social Planning Toronto, an advocacy and research group of 150 community organizations including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Prairie school leads student on path to holiness

St. Therese School of Faith and MissionBruno, Sask. - Nestled in the prairie community of Bruno, the St. Therese School of Faith and Mission, which offers a nine-month Catholic formation program for adults, is proving to be one of the first fruits of the new evangelization as it brings its students into a deep relationship with God.

Sylvie Quiring, a recent alumnus of St. Therese, said the school’s unique programming, with a strong emphasis on both personal sanctity and the duties of the apostolate as an outflow of this, has been an experience of total love and acceptance.

University of Victoria pro-life group wins partial victory in battle with student union

baby handYouth Protecting Youth, the student pro-life organization at the University of Victoria, has regained its status as an official school club after being denied funding and recognition for the past two years.

The club filed a petition to the British Columbia Supreme Court against the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS), which had withheld the club’s grants, on May 3. In the petition, it requested its club status and funding be reinstated and that the Students’ Society declare the previous actions of denying it the same rights as other clubs illegal. The UVSS had been retaining grants to Youth Protecting Youth that all university clubs are entitled to on the grounds that the club violated the school’s regulations against harassment.

TCDSB passes 'sustainable' budget

TCDSB LogoTORONTO - The Toronto Catholic District School Board unveiled its new plan to get the board’s books in the black for the next three years, and for trustees to regain control of the board from the province.

Provincially appointed board supervisor Richard Alway told The Catholic Register that the budget is financially and educationally “sustainable.”

Course engages students in charity work

tcdsb logoA Catholic high school leadership and peer support course is being offered this August and will earn participating students a high school credit.

The course, which will be taught by Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Secondary School teacher Steve DeQuintal, will take place at St. Sebastian’s Church, 20 Pauline Ave.

Toronto St. Patrick School embraces art and media

St. Patrick SchoolAnother Toronto Catholic school is now slated to become an arts, media and technological school through new programming to begin in fall of 2011.

St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School in Toronto’s east end was selected for a Grades 9-12 arts, media and technologies centre after a review of five city schools including Cardinal Newman, Jean Vanier, Neil McNeil, Notre Dame and St. Patrick’s.

Putting a Catholic voice in schools

john kostoffTORONTO - When he was in Grade 8, John Kostoff had a choice to make: attend a prestigious high school with a longstanding tradition in academics and sports or an up-and-coming, smaller Toronto school run by the Holy Ghost Fathers.

Kostoff had seen a newspaper photo of a child from Nigeria holding a sign reading “Thank you, Neil McNeil.” That sealed the deal for Kostoff, who chose Neil McNeil High School because of the school’s active involvement in helping survivors of the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War.

Prom Night a rite of passage for all teens

Prom NightAJAX, Ont. - There was nothing special about Jenny Lawlor’s prom night. It’s Lawlor who is special.

Lawlor has Down syndrome and is one of about 25 special needs students at Archbishop Denis O’Connor High School in Ajax. Every year a few of the special needs kids attend the prom along with the graduating students.

The special needs students are no less a part of 900-strong student body than any one else, said principal Mary Curran. That’s simple and obvious.

Court ruling affirms freedom of religion for Quebec Catholic school

JusticeA Quebec parents’ group is hailing a court ruling that allows a private Montreal Catholic high school to be exempt from a provincially mandated ethics course as a victory for freedom of religion and parental rights.

On June 21, Quebec’s Superior Court slammed the “totalitarian” approach of the Quebec government and ruled that Loyola High School can not be forced to teach the controversial Ethics and Religious Culture course because it infringes upon their charter rights of free expression and religion.