Features/Features

{mosimage}TORONTO - As several Catholic school boards across Canada prepare to offer the vaccine targeting cervical cancer this year, recent reports suggest a need for more studies.

In a Sept. 1 editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Neal A. Halsley said cases of severe adverse reactions among Australian children to Gardasil — the vaccine targeting the human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, which can cause cervical cancer — was five to 20 times higher than for other school-based vaccines. Of the 12 suspected cases, eight were confirmed as anaphylactoid reactions. There were 269,680 vaccine doses administered in Australian schools starting in April 2007.

Police presence stepped up for eight Catholic schools

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Eight police officers will be stationed at Catholic high schools across Toronto starting this October.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board said police officers would be placed at Archbishop Romero, Bishop Marroco/Thomas Merton, Cardinal Newman, Don Bosco, James Cardinal McGuigan, Mary Ward, Michael Power/St. Joseph and St. Patrick Catholic High Schools.

Police presence stepped up for eight Catholic schools

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Eight police officers will be stationed at Catholic high schools across Toronto starting this October.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board said police officers would be placed at Archbishop Romero, Bishop Marroco/Thomas Merton, Cardinal Newman, Don Bosco, James Cardinal McGuigan, Mary Ward, Michael Power/St. Joseph and St. Patrick Catholic High Schools.

Toronto school supervisor chops board deficit

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{mosimage}TORONTO - In an effort to regain the public’s trust and confidence, the Toronto Catholic District School Board will be making large cuts to trustee expenses and reducing the board’s overall budget deficit by $8 million, according to a new report by provincial government-appointed supervisor Norbert Hartmann.

In an Aug. 26 report, Hartmann said the board’s accumulated deficit will be less than $10.2 million next year compared to $18.8 million last August.

Catholic schools top public counterparts 

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{mosimage}TORONTO - In separate research, two economists with ties to the C.D. Howe Institute have found Catholic schools are outperforming public schools in Ontario on standardized tests.

The economists believe competition between the two publicly funded systems may, in part, explain higher success rates for Grade 3 and 6 pupils in Catholic schools when compared with their public school counterparts.

Touring France is a spiritual journey

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{mosimage}Our family spent 25 days in France this summer kayaking down the Rhone, climbing the Eiffel Tower, lying on the beach and feasting on French food and drink.

As fun as all this sounds, some of the most satisfying moments of our trip were watching our two girls (ages 12 and 10) form a deeper appreciation of their Catholic heritage.

African AIDS orphans to get a new school

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{mosimage}A Catholic high school in which every student has lost at least one parent to AIDS has turned the sod on a new permanent home on the edge of Africa’s second largest slum.

Catholic student helps Canada's Olympic soccer hopefuls

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{mosimage}AJAX, Ont. - Candace Chapman's Olympic journey to Beijing began on a soccer field in Ajax when she was just eight years old. She is one of 57 athletes from the Greater Toronto Area at this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.

Her parents Gerard and Margaret say they're proud of their daughter's accomplishments. Aside from being part of the first Canadian women's soccer team to qualify for the Olympics, Chapman played on the Canadian team at last year's FIFA Women's World Cup in China and helped Notre Dame University win an NCAA title while attending the university on a scholarship. The 25-year-old defender and mid-fielder has earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and computer applications at Notre Dame.

Human faces of poverty tell the story of Jesus

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{mosimage}TORONTO - When Jesus told His disciples they would have the poor with them always the operative word was "with." Jesus knew He would leave, but the poor would take His place — always with His disciples.

Most of us fail to live up to Jesus' vision. The poor are not with us at all. They live separate lives, apart from the mainstream — out of sight and out of mind. Because that's the way we like it. The poor make us uncomfortable.

Top scholar nets 99.33-per-cent average

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Peter Cmorej, just three years removed from his Slovakian homeland, achieved the highest marks of any student graduating from a Toronto Catholic high school this year. 

Education integral to church

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{mosimage}Editor’s note: The following is the complete text of Pope Benedict XVI’s speech to American Catholic educators in Washington, DC, on April 17.

“How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news” (Rom 10:15-17). With these words of Isaiah quoted by St. Paul, I warmly greet each of you — bearers of wisdom — and through you the staff, students and families of the many and varied institutions of learning that you represent. It is my great pleasure to meet you and to share with you some thoughts regarding the nature and identity of Catholic education today.