The school has experienced a very success-ful completion to Semester One. I do want to thank the stakeholder groups for ensuring that such a result occurred. Parents are to be commended for the continued support that they provide. Academic success results from teacher dedication and student eagerness to learn.

Semester Two is already off to a fast start. Many varied school activities and events guar-antee the continued building of school spirit. Student participation and teacher support allow for a more complete school experience.

Since last summer there has been a large amount of work done in the school to en-hance the overall appearance and functionali-ty of the building. The installation of a new roof has been completed and the result has been very noticeable. The project for new

exterior windows and doors is just about com-pleted. The results are looking good. New floors have been installed in the forum and the auditorium.

The school community awaits a decision on the scope of a new playing field. A result should be known by the end of February.

With Lent on the immediate horizon, the school community gets ready to celebrate in preparation for Easter.

With this mailing you will find your child’s report card indicating his/her success. It is likely an appropriate time to provide praise where warranted and encouragement when needed. Daylight is lasting longer which is a sure sign of the upcoming arrival of spring.

Yours truly,

Joseph Brisbois

Course selection for the 2018/19 school year

has begun. Students have been given registra-

tion materials and instructions for on-line

course selection using MyBlueprint. Students

are encouraged to consult with their parents

about appropriate course selections for next

year. Registration deadlines are:

Grade 11, Tuesday February, 27th,

Grade 10, Wednesday February 28th,

Grade 9, Thursday, March 1st.

Students must bring all 4 of the following

items in order to register: MyBlueprint sign-off

sheet, signed Course Selection Planner, com-

pleted IPP activity sheet and activity fee (cash or

School Cash Online receipt only).

Grade 12 students are encouraged to bring in

confirmation of completion of their 40 hours of

community service. This is a graduation re-

quirement and a requirement for both OUAC

and OCAS applications.

Principal’s Message

Guidance News

MPSJ Update F e b r u a r y , 2 0 1 8

D a t e s f o r t h e C a l e n d a r :

February 26th

Grade 9 Pre-IB Activity Day

February 27th

Option Sheet collection for

Grade 11 students

February 28th

- Professional Learning Session

10:00 am start

- Option Sheet collection for

Grade 10 students Period 1

- Grade 8 Registration

6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

March 1

Option Sheet collection for

Grade 10 students

March 3

Power Rocks Performance

March 5

Early Communication Letters

March 6 & 7

School mass

March 6

Mother Daughter Wellness Tea

6-9 pm

March 7

Parent Council Meeting

March 12 – 16

March Break

March 21

Non-Uniform Day in support of

ShareLife

March 28

Professional Learning Session

10:00 a.m. start

April 10

Ontario Secondary Literacy Test

April 20

Mid-Term Reports sent home

Junior Semi-Formal

April 26

Parent-Teacher Interviews

MPSJ is pleased to

introduce School Cash

Online, an easy to use,

safe and convenient way

for parents and guardians to pay for their chil-

dren’s school fees, including class trips, sports

-related fees and registration fees. Many

parents have already used the system to pay

registration fees for 2018-19 and have found

it easy to use!

DECA Provincials Our DECA team performed exceptionally

well at the provincial competition in Febru-

ary, with four students finishing in the top 15.

Breana Dudamaine placed 4th in Ontario and

will be representing Power at Internationals.

DECA is an international association of

high school and college students and teach-

ers of marketing, management and entrepre-

neurship in business, finance, hospitality, and

marketing sales and service

P a g e 2

MPSJ Leadership

Black History Month

The Black History Month Committee

has been working diligently over the past

few months to ensure that the month of

February is a month filled with celebra-

tion in the MPSJ community.

We kicked off the month with a per-

formance by our very own drum line in

the forum, to showcase student tal-

ent and highlight traditional mu-

sic. We have prepared a student

performance that will include song,

dance, poetry and theatrical perfor-

mances.

We are also pleased to welcome

Henry Agassi later this month, a

youth mentor and educator who will

be speaking to our students about

citizenship, Black History, racism, and

discrimination.

Throughout the month we will be

taking time to reflect on the contri-

butions and accomplishments of

prominent Black figures throughout

history.

known as Red Propeller. The Leadership

Team would like to thank all those students,

parents, teachers and staff who helped to

make our initiatives successful so far this

year!

Semester two will see a new set of future

leaders as the Leadership Team coordinates

the training for over 180 students at Camp

Grizzly later this month. The spring will see a

new round of projects, including Blood Drive

in April.

M P S J U p d a t e

Kinesiology students in Grade 12, and SHSM

students in Grade 11 and 12 , had the oppor-

tunity to attend kinesiology lab day at the Uni-

versity of Waterloo in early December. They

participated in many Experiential learning activ-

ities such as Ergonomics, Max VO2 testing and

Biomechanics. Kinesiology students showed

their excellence in learning and worked on Ca-

davers in the Anatomy Lab.

Specialist High Skills Major Program

It has been another busy semester for the

Leadership program at MPSJ. This year’s semes-

ter one team once again demonstrated the spirit

of Michael Power St. Joseph by helping in all

aspects of the community. This past year’s initia-

tives included everything from feeding the less

fortunate of Toronto at St. Francis Table to do-

nating toys to the rural community of Poplar Hill

First Nation. The group also coordinated the

collection of items that are usually thrown away

so they can be recycled via an organization

The SHSM students will continue their

certifications in First Aid/ CPR, Fitness, Injury

Prevention in March. Our second Anatomy /

Cadaver Lab experience is scheduled for late

April.

IB Program Updates P a g e 3

As usual, many wonderful things are happening on the IB front. All grades are actively engaged in the school community and gearing up for second semester. Our grade 9 Pre-IB stu-dents have just gotten a taste of IB life at MPSJ and to celebrate a successful first semester, students will be participating in a fun-filled day of activities at EZONE in Etobicoke, on February 26th.

This is also a very important time of year for our grade 10 Pre-IB students. By the end of February, students will need to decide on which subject group they will be following for Year I and Year II. Students will be attending a very important information session in the auditorium, headed by Ms. Grilo, which will focus on informing students about the different options available.

Year I students have just started their final semester of French. Students will be completing a number of IB assignments in their French class over the course of the next few weeks. Students will also be preparing to write their first IB exam in May. Bon Chance!

Last, but certainly not least, our Year II students are hard at work com-pleting IB assignments for their individual subjects and the IB Core. In Decem-ber, Year II students participated in an Extended Essay Bootcamp which offered students an opportunity to sit down and tackle their 4000-word essay. Students were fed pizza, doughnuts and encouragement! We wish all of our Year II students the best of luck with their remaining time here at MPSJ and with their IB exams in May.

Our Lenten Masses will be cele-brated on March 6 and 7. The cele-brant is Fr Michael Machacek from Nativity of Our Lord parish

A group of Peer Ministers will be attending the Salesian Leadership Re-treat on Feb 23-25.

Civvies Day will be held on March 21. All money collected will be given to ShareLife on behalf of the MSPJ community

Peer Ministers will be running a workshop for elementary students on the positive uses of social media.

This semester we will be cele-brating liturgy of the word with our Gr 12 homeroom classes

Chaplaincy

MPSJ’ infusion of Christmas delight in the community kicked off with our

Drum Line joining the Santa Claus Parades in Brampton, Markham and Eto-

bicoke Lakeshore. The Drumline have developed into excellent ambassa-

dors of MPSJ to the community, playing to over 70,000 spectators during

the Christmas parade season. Through sponsorships and funding, the pro-

gram continues to expand, with the goal of adding a junior drumline in the

spring.

MPSJ Arts Department Outreach

The choirs and singers also reached

out to the local community, spreading joy

and love to the seniors at Revera Living

Retirement Home and All Saints Elemen-

tary School.

MPSJ’s Arts Department Outreach

continues through its involvement in the

Youth Arts Exhibit at Queens Park, where

students’ work is displayed in the Rotun-

da of the legislative building. Further-

more, 8 best student created digital/

mixed media, photography and visual art

work will be displayed starting end of

February in a professional gallery at Arts

Etobicoke’s EDGE: Youth Art Show. MPSJ’s

Guitar Senior Ensemble will partake

in the ESME’s Music Festival and Power

Rocks featuring musicians and dancers

will hit the stage beginning of

March. Selected Drama students will

soon start rehearsing for their spring play.

The Senior Boys Basket-ball team has had a great deal of suc-cess this sea-son. We are proud to say that we fin-ished the reg-ular season with a 10-3 record. The regular season fea-tured many great moments where all of the players made contributions in the key game situations. Moments of the program’s growth were documented specifically with beating a previously undefeated team in our league and showing poise in an early season, quadruple overtime vic-tory.

In tournament play we battled with a top ranked team in all of Toronto at the University of Toronto Missis-sauga Invitational. Most recently our Senior Trojans cap-tured the silver medal at the Father John Redmond Tour-nament.

Boys’ Basketball

Winter Sports

As the winter season slowly comes to an end, the lovely ladies on the

Varsity Girls Ice Hockey Team continue

to warm the rinks with their exciting play.

Team Captain Meagan Barry will be off to

the University of Toronto on a full athletic

scholarship next season to play for the

Varsity Blues but she and the ladies would

love to finish their season with a few more

wins! Playoffs will begin shortly and the

girls hope to be competing through the

month of March on their way to the medal

round. Good luck to the Ladies as the

playoffs begin!

The Boys Varsity Non-contact

Hockey Team had an exciting

and energetic season. The young team

played with great energy and enthusi-

asm as they went up against older and

more experienced competition. We

are looking forward to building on our

momentum next season.

Swim Team

MPSJ's swim team has been hard at work preparing for the district champi-onships happening February 15th at the Etobicoke Olympium. Since October, our team of 60+ swim-mers has been training and competing at various meets, such as the Bishop Mar-rocco and the University of Toronto invi-tationals. Ranking well in both, the team now has their eye set on bringing home another championship. From there, it'll be off to OFSAA, the provincial swimming championships in Windsor to compete with this province's best swimmers

Girls’ and Boys’ Hockey

Slope Stars Win GOLD! The Power Ski & Snowboard teams have made good use of their 7 a.m. training sessions, achieving great success at the TDCAA Championships held February 13th at Mount St. Louis Moonstone where our Level 1 Girls’ and Boys’ Alpine Ski Teams won GOLD. Jenna Lippa placed first overall for girls and Marco Buttigeg placed second with a silver overall for boys. Lucas Pare took the Bronze.

The Skiiers will advance to the Ontario Provincial Champi-onships at Blue Mountain taking place from Feb 25 to 27.

The Senior boys won their first game of the playoffs, defeating Bishop Allen on February 13th.

The Junior boys basketball team was also successful in their first playoff game against Chaminade.

Best of luck to both teams in the next round!