Catholic Education

TORONTO - Two Toronto Catholic trustees have been removed from the board, another could soon follow and many others have been embroiled in a spending scandal that has engulfed the Toronto board for almost three years. Below is a timeline of the major events.

Dec. 2007: Catherine LeBlanc-Miller is acclaimed board chair and, following several media reports about trustee misspending, she asks the provincial government to examine trustee expenses.

TORONTO - A newly formed group of retired principals and educators is urging Toronto Catholics to vote the current crop of trustees out of office. They want voters to cast ballots for anyone but the incumbents.

At an Oct. 12 press conference following noon Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral, Bob Dixon, chair of Catholics United for a Responsible Ballot, called for a clean sweep of the scandal-plagued board.

MARKHAM, Ont. - Select students and staff at Brother André Catholic High School in Markham, Ont., will be celebrating the canonization of their school’s namesake in a special way — by being in the immediate audience close to the Pope at the ceremony in Rome on Oct. 17.

On Oct. 10, 18 students from the school will be flying to Italy for a week, along with a couple of staff members and family members, said principal Jim Nicoletti.

“Back in February, when the announcement was made, we were honoured to hear it as a school and we were thrilled,” he said. “We did a little research only to find out that we believe we’re the only high school that’s named Brother André in the province.”

TORONTO - The head of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is concerned about the upcoming trustee elections in the Toronto Catholic board because he says misconduct at one board can affect the credibility and reputation of all Ontario trustees.

“From a provincial perspective, Toronto Catholic board is like the flagship of the fleet,” said OECTA president James Ryan. “It’s the largest Catholic board in Canada and having good governance in the Toronto board is prominent in the minds, not just of every Catholic teacher in Toronto, but across Ontario.”  

Ottawa - Five students who attempted to put up a graphic anti-abortion display on the campus of Carleton University Oct. 4 were handcuffed and arrested by Ottawa police.

The students were detained for a short time and issued tickets for “failing to leave the premises when directed” and for “engaging in activity prohibited on the premises,” said Craig Stewart, 24, a fourth-year Carleton student who was among those arrested.

The tickets carry fines totalling $130. “We’re going to contest them,” said Stewart.

TORONTO - Just before going on vacation for two weeks, York Catholic District School Board trustee Micheal Carnovale called one of his colleagues to ask if she could look after some parents' concerns while he was away.

It’s this kind of dedication that characterized Mr. Carnovale’s 16-year career as trustee, says friend and board chair Elizabeth Crowe.

TORONTO - Maureen Curtis has fond memories as a St. Clare Elementary School student and will be celebrating and reminiscing with other alumni on the school’s legacy of faith and formation over its 100-year history.

The school marks its 100th anniversary this year with an Open House and a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Clare Church celebrated by Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins on Sept. 29. There was also a school blessing and the unveiling of a new statue of St. Clare at the school. And an archival display of St. Clare’s history since it opened in September 1910, including school and class photos, was to be featured. An alumni reunion was planned for Oct. 2.

On Oct. 1, St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, Ont., will be honouring Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, for his leadership in Catholic education at its 10th annual Feast of St. Jerome.

“I’m quite honoured and thrilled,” said Kinsella. “I don’t know why they chose me. There’s so many more deserving people.”

But Nadine Collins, university advancement officer at St. Jerome’s, which is federated with the University of Waterloo, found plenty of reasons for Kinsella to be  honoured.

TORONTO - The Toronto Catholic District School Board is looking at opening its first Kindergarten to Grade 12 school.

Angela Gauthier, the board’s associate director of academic affairs, said the proposed school bringing together students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 would feature “an innovative program to help us implement a 21st-century approach to education” and could be in place within three years.

TORONTO - The race for Catholic school trustee in Toronto is shaping up to be a battle between trustee veterans and new challengers, with eight incumbents from the current board, which has been under provincial supervision for the past two years, registering to run in the Oct. 25 election.

Fifty-nine candidates registered to run as the Sept. 10 deadline to register for the election passed. Among the eight incumbents in the race are former chairs Catherine LeBlanc-Miller and Angela Kennedy.