Mind: This section will focus on the intellectual, catechetical, and curriculum related dimensions of our ministry.
STUDENT RETREAT PROGRAMS
We offer retreats at all the grade levels. They are compulsory. Overall our program is designed to help our students understand more clearly how to live out their growing faith in the real world. The retreats take place during the semester when the student is studying Theology.
GRADE 9 RETREAT
Our new grade 9 retreat rally, which takes place at the St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, will gather all grade nines for an inspirational day of community building and prayer. Our theme is ‘how to be a true rebel in high school’. With the help of our guest speaker, Ken Dryfhout, and our musical guests, BlueVeil, we will explore how Christianity calls us to rebel against the unhealthy temptations pushed upon us by popular youth culture. This retreat will also provide an opportunity for gr9 students to meet with their Link Crew groups in order to ‘debrief’ on events in the first few weeks of school.
GRADE 10 RETREAT
The focus will be the “Electronic Culture” our students have embraced and how this creates another world in which they live so much of the time to the exclusion of everyone else and everything else. Our Theology teachers at grade 10 explained that this made many of their students unable to relate to key concepts in the grade 10 Theology Program. The day begins with Mass at the local parish, and the retreat is led by Heather and Joe Jacobs.
GRADE 11 RETREAT
The focus here is seeking to enrich and deepen students’ knowledge of the grade 11 world religions course through experiences of actually visiting religious sites of the religions they are studying. This involves a school day trip to Hindu Temples, Buddhist Temples, Islamic Mosques and Jewish Synagogues. At these sites students are welcomed by respective religious leaders, given a tour of the sites and a brief talk about the core beliefs of each religion. Before and after the retreat day, students will participate in prayer and discussion sessions with the Chaplain in order to frame their exploration of other religions within the teachings of the Catholic Church.
GRADE 12 RETREAT
This retreat involves a day of service at the Good Shepherd Centre in Toronto. This is a shelter run by the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd. Our typical day is, we arrive about 10:00am and after a brief orientation we split off to work at different sites, the kitchen, the food bank, the laundry room and making over 80 beds in the dorms on 2 floors. At the end of the day, around 12:20pm, Father Ed will lead us in Mass and share his reflections on poverty and homelessness. Our hope is that mature students will experience that on one specific day they can make a difference.
OTHER RETREAT EXPERIENCES
We are committed to setting up a retreat experience for students in alternative education, P.I.P., Communications, Chaplaincy Team, and the Link program.
We plan to offer an optional, extended-day retreat for students. This retreat will be organized by the Chaplaincy Team and will focus on cultivating a deeper relationship with God.
GUEST SPEAKERS
-Mississauga Right to Life
-Young priests / religious
-Covenant House
BIBLE BLITZ
In cooperation with the Theology Department, the Chaplaincy Team will ensure that each Religion class has sufficient Bibles, and that each Bible is in a state of good repair. If we want students to grow up with knowledge of and reverence for the word of God, then we should maintain our collection of Bibles with diligence.
CATHOLICITY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
All teachers are committed to infusing gospel values in their lessons and guiding their students towards meeting the Catholic Graduate Expectations. To assist them in this endeavor, the Chaplain will work closely with department heads to provide guidance, support, and resources. In particular, the Chaplain will partner with a (volunteer) teacher from any interested department in order to create a lesson or small unit incorporating a Catholic focus or dimension.