On behalf of the students,

let me say that our school

proudly cares about our

principals as you saw from

our farewell to Ms. Cifelli.

Beginning the year off

rather quickly, you have

seen some of the events

that we have here at Liber-

mann, our Semi-Formal

and the sale of student and

staff spirit wear.

We are looking forward to

the years with you, know-

ing that under your guid-

ance we will continue to be

friendly, happy, energetic

and enthusiastic students.

Welcome to our school.

Joseph Dos Santos

SAC President

The Libermann family is

proud to welcome Brian

Hunt as our new Principal.

Mr. Hunt comes to us via

Neil McNeil C.H.S., he

brings a wealth of experi-

ence in Secondary schools

across Scarborough and we

welcome his leadership and

experience. Libermann has

always had a rich history of

strong leaders and we are

very happy to usher in the

next phase of that leader-

ship. Welcome Mr. Hunt,

may you be “Inter Mutanda

Constantia” (Steadfastness

in the Midst of Change)

and lead us with great cour-

age and fortitude.

WELCOME MR. HUNT

TCDSB

AWAITING SPRING at Francis LibermannAWAITING SPRING at Francis LibermannAWAITING SPRING at Francis LibermannAWAITING SPRING at Francis Libermann

Special Points of Interest

♦ March Break—Mar 14—18,

2011

♦ OSSLT Literacy Test March

31st

♦ Easter Holidays –Good Friday

Apr. 22 Easter Monday—

Apr. 25

♦ Grade 10 & 12 Report

Cards—Apr. 26

MARCH 2011MARCH 2011MARCH 2011MARCH 2011

Libermann says Goodbye to Ms. Cifelli As we as a community

welcome our new principal

Mr. Brian Hunt we also say

farewell to Ms. Flora

Cifelli. She has taken on

the role of Principal at

Dante Alighieri Academy .

During her time at Liber-

mann she worked tirelessly

for the betterment of all

students, be through addi-

tions to the physical plant

or allocating funds to the

accumulation of technol-

ogy, Ms. Cifelli made sure

that each and every deci-

sion was made with and for

the best interest of the

students. A farewell as-

sembly with staff and stu-

dents was held for her and

it was truly a tribute to the

difference that she has

made to the Francis Liber-

mann community.

We wish Ms. Cifelli the

very best in her role at

Dante Alighieri Academy,

Francis Libermann C.H.S.

will always remember you

as a strong leader who led

with her head and her

heart.

Thank you Ms. Cifelli

If you want children to

keep their feet on the

ground, put some

responsibility on their

shoulders.

Abigail Van Buren

year here at Francis Libermann.

This is our seventh year partner-

ing with The Hospital for Sick

Children in this collaborative

research endeavour. We are

pleased to celebrate the aca-

demic successes of our program

participants including Ingrid

Siguenza who has placed second

in our school History Fair and is

Participating in the Leaside-

Libermann joint History Fair on

PHAST PACES is a reading

intervention program developed

by the Learning Disabilities Re-

search Program (LDRP) at The

Hospital for Sick Children. The

program explicitly teaches stu-

dents decoding and comprehen-

sion skills and strategies so they

can become competent inde-

pendent readers. The PHAST

PACES program is well under-

way for the 2010-2011 school

Monday March 7th !

CHAPLAINCY

Continued Success for our PHAST PACES Students!

reading, you may encourage

them to join our cyberspace

group by dropping by the library

to speak to Mrs. Kucharczyk

about becoming a blogging

member.

The good news is that “students

are reading”!!!

LIBRARY—Libermann Biblioholic Society

If some parents are wondering

what their children are doing late

at night sitting at the computer,

you might be pleasantly sur-

prised to learn that they are blog-

ging about books they have read

and sharing their experiences

with the Libermann Biblioholic

Society on the schools website:

http://libermann.tlypepad.com

If your son/daughter enjoys

The Chaplaincy team wishes to

thank all the teachers and staff

of our community. We are very

grateful for your assistance and

support of our various programs

and initiatives.

Developing and working with

our Catholic faith and values in

our school community takes on

many shapes. Something seems

to happen every day at Liber-

mann. Every student in every

grade has their own unique op-

portunity to spend a day on re-

treat. There are many student

conferences including We Day in

September, the Voices That

Challenge Student Leadership

Conference in March and the

Camp Olympia Student Leader-

ship Conference in May. Each

Thursday morning we have Mass

in our chapel and on the last

Friday of every month we have

a staff Mass. This year we’ve

also had workshops about study

skills.

Students are always welcome to

drop by and share with us their

triumphs and concerns. We are

an open and loving community

and all of these activities can

encourage and develop the con-

fidence in our maturing students

to have an encouraging and opti-

mistic outlook on life.

As we move into spring our

prayer is that all members of our

school community experience

the peace, hope and love of the

deep presence of God in our

lives. If you wish to know more

about our Chaplaincy programs I

invite you to contact me

fraser.gartside@tcdsb.org.

Page 2 AWAITING SPRING AT FRANCIS LIBERMANN

People are like stained-

glass windows. They

sparkle and shine when

the sun is out, but when

the darkness sets in

their true beauty is

revealed only if there is

light from within.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

A TRADITION OF WALK-

ING IN CHRIST’S PATH.

Francis Libermann has a 26 year

strong relationship with the

Good Shepherd Centre. Chal-

lenged by our faith in the Gospel

of Jesus Christ and committed to

the ideals of hospitality, availabil-

ity and respect for life, student

volunteers of Good Shepherd

Ministries in Toronto, join to-

gether to provide services to

homeless, disadvantaged and

marginalized people. The Good

Shepherd Refuge strive to pro-

vide the basic necessities of

food, shelter and a host of ancil-

lary services, ensuring each client

justice, equality, dignity and ac-

ceptance. Ms. Choma, and a

dedicated group of Libermann

students including the student

program leaders Aysha Campbell

and Christina Mikhael, serves the

2:00 p.m. meal to approximately

800 Centre clients on the third

Tuesday of every month.

Throughout the course of our

long-standing relationship Liber-

mann students have served thou-

sands of meals to this city’s most

needy.

This year, two grade eleven stu-

dents won prizes in the Annual

Literacy Contest sponsored by

the Royal Canadian Legion.

One of the primary goals of the

contest is fostering the tradition

of Remembrance amongst Cana-

dians. Fathima Usama won first

place in the Senior Essay cate-

gory (zone and district levels)

and Jasmine Kwok won second

place in the Senior Poem cate-

gory (zone and district levels).

Jeffrey Ekeanyananwu (Grade

ONTARIO SECONDARY

SCHOOL LITERACYTEST

THURSDAY MARCH 31, 2011

Last year, 88% of first time eligi-

ble (grade ten) students were

successful on the test. Grade ten

students are participating in a

cross-curricular literacy initiative

in all their classes during the

month of March. We are also

offering after school literacy

preparation classes twice a week.

Students in grades 11 or 12 who

are new to the province must

also pass the test.

11)won a book called 101 Things

Canadians Should Know About

Canada in the first Canadian

Citizenship Challenge, spon-

sored by the Historica–

Dominion Institute. More than

18,000 students across Canada

were asked questions found on

the citizenship exam new Cana-

dians have to pass in order to

become Canadian citizens.

Congratulations to all partici-

pants!

Community Service at the Good Shepherd Centre

OSSLT CONTEST WINNERS

ary classic To Kill a Mockingbird

and their verbal visual essays

based on Kathryn Stockett’s The

Help. With the coming of

Spring, many exciting things are

happening in Gr. 10 Enriched

English including; blogging per-

sonal reading picks on the Liber-

mann Biblioholics site; compet-

ing in the Stratford Shakespeare

Festival’s Stratford Shakespeare

Challenge, in both the video and

opinion piece categories; and

participating in a writing work-

shop with author Jamie Zeppa,

known for her novel Beyond the

Sky and the Earth.

Gr. 10 Enriched English Students Helping to Bring Our School

Library to Life As part of our new library initia-

tive to transform the Francis

Libermann library into a

LEARNING COMMONS,

where student work is show-

cased for our own community,

Ms. Choma’s Gr. 10 Enriched

English class is displaying their

conflict cubes based on the liter-

Page 3

What the world needs is

a new kind of army—the

army of the kind.

Cleveland Amory

What skills do I need to succeed

in the marketplace? How do I

determine what career is right

for me?

This exciting business career

conference will assist students in

their search for the right career

choice. The day-long event will

enable them to discover the

importance of: Leadership,

Teamwork, Networking, Profes-

sionalism, Business Etiquette,

Rule the world without limits.

Business students will have the

opportunity to mingle with

Chartered Accountants from top

businesses and ask questions,

make contacts and discover end-

less possibilities on May 12, 2011

In today’s dynamic challenging

world, it is often difficult for

students to navigate through the

complexities of career planning.

What career options do I have?

and Career/Life Balance. They

will certainly benefit from the

high-energy, interactive work-

shops and seminars. We all look

forward to an inspiring and re-

warding experience.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

2011 NO LIMITS BUSINESS CONFERENCE

These novels allow students to

delve into the lives of characters

facing the challenges of everyday

life in England in the 1600’s.

The content from these novels

will be the basis for opinion

pieces to be written within the

next few weeks. Although the

year is creeping to a close, there

is still much to learn and experi-

ence in the Enriched grade nine

English class.

GR. 9 ENRICHED ENGLISH STUDENTS HAVE

SHAKESPEARE ON THE BRAIN!

William Shakespeare is on the

minds of all the grade nine en-

riched English students at Fran-

cis Libermann. In preparation

for the play “Twelfth Night”,

two Shakespearean based novels

are being studied through the

forum of literature circles. Cue

for Treason by Geoffery Trease

and My Father Had a Daughter

by Grace Tiffany are both set

during the Elizabethan era.

JOSEPH MCCARVILLE

June 2010 marked the end to an

era as Mr. McCarville the Head

of the English Dept. retired. Mr.

McCarville was one of the

founding members of Francis

Libermann. His commitment to

both his students and his col-

leagues is testament to his status

as one of our most valued teach-

ers. He has left a wonderful

legacy, a true reflection of our

school motto Inter Mutanda

Constantia. Best Wishes.

ROSEY COLAUTTI

June 2010 marked the end of

a 30 year career of teaching

for Ms. Colautti. She joined

Libermann 10 years ago. She

quickly became known as an

expert in grammar and a lover

of literature. She loved work-

ing on the school newspaper

and yearbook. She became a

true inspiration to staff and

students . We wish Ms. Co-

lautti all the best as she begins

a new chapter in her life.

JANICE WALKER

After twelve years as head of

the Student Services Depart-

ment Ms. Walked decided to

start on a new journey in her

life. She made a very positive

impact on the school and on

her department. She was al-

ways welcoming, showed

great empathy and always had

time for a student or staff

member. Her compassion and

professionalism will be

missed.

Good luck

Page 4 AWAITING SPRING AT FRANCIS LIBERMANN

The best years of

your life are the

ones in which you

decide your

problems are your

own. You do not

blame them on your

mother, the

ecology, or the

prime minister. You

realize that you

control your own

destiny.

More than half of Canadian

University students are women.

More and more women are

graduating with business and

finance degrees than men; yet

more than two thirds of Can-

ada’s biggest public companies

do not have women executives

in the top ranks.

Youth-in Motion introduced its

first Women in Business and

Finance career learning day on

March 3, 2011. The conference

was a unique opportunity for our

young women to gain awareness

of diverse career opportunities in

business, finance and other ca-

reers. There was an inspirational

“talk show” format event which

motivated, informed and en-

gaged young women to gain

interest and actively participate

by dialoguing directly with these

exceptional women. An interest-

ing array of exciting careers led

by women such as Patricia

Lovett-Reid, Senior VP of TD

Waterhouse, Leslie Gouldie,

CEO of Student Awards; Ginny

Dybenko, Former Dean of

Laurier University; and Fariba

Anderson, VP of Ontario Lot-

tery and Gaming Corporation

are just a few of the presenters

that attended this event. Stu-

dents who participated this year

were encouraged to becoming

“business smart” and gained

exclusive access to career re-

sources while engaging with

inspiring role models to develop

an insight to the diverse career

options available.

Francis Libermann’s Business

Studies Department looks for-

ward to other events that will

inspire and continue to explore

careers in business, finance and

other related fields for students.

friendly competitions, outdoor

activities, workshops and moti-

vational speakers. The students

will learn to be inspired and

encouraged to believe they can/

should/will make the world a

better place through leadership.

The real impact is felt over time

as the students grow to be confi-

dent, optimistic, and engaged

student leaders with a purpose..

From May 6—May 8, 2011

Francis Libermann CHS is host-

ing the annual TCDSB Camp

Olympia Leadership Conference.

This will be the largest Camp

Olympia conference ever. We

will be hosting 16 schools and

450 students and teachers. Our

conference theme this year will

be “Oh, the places you’ll go! .

Leadership and Dr. Seuss.”

Near Huntsville, Ontario, Camp

Olympia is a 3 day student-lead

and student driven leadership

conference. There are many

Mrs. Martin-Guidance Secretary

We say farewell to Mrs. Martin

with our best wishes. It takes

the efforts of all staff members

to make Libermann operate as

smoothly as it does, and Mrs.

Martin devoted 18 years to that

effort. She has left a legacy in

that three of her children are

educators with the TCDSB. The

Libermann community wishes

her the best in her new venture.

May God Bless you.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS and Finance

CAMP OLYMPIA Good-bye cont’d

ing problem….young people

leaving school unprepared for

the day-to-day realities of paying

the rent, properly using a credit

card or budgeting for the basic

necessities,” he says. His mis-

sion is to take all the confusion

out of the complex world of

finances and empower today’s

youth with the knowledge they

need to make good financial choices before they enter into the

world of higher education, careers and independence.

Financial literacy is the key to everything we do in life. The prov-

ince is also taking the issue seriously and has announced finance

be part of the curriculum in schools. Mr. Cunningham is spon-

sored from the Investor Education Fund of Canada, an unbiased

source of investment information, allowing interested schools to

offer this program. For more information, go to

www.funnymoneyhighschools.com.

FUNNY MONEY The Funny Money Assembly

Program was presented here at

Libermann by James Cunning-

ham. Wow, this had to be the

funniest yet educational show of

all times. Mr. Cunningham is a

professional Canadian comedian

who teaches students about

money management. “Funny

Money addresses what is a grow-

Page 5 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

If you hear a voice

within you say “you

cannot paint”, then by

all means paint, and

that voice will be si-

lenced.

Vincent Van Gogh

ME/DD REVEALED

As we all know Libermann opened its state of the art ME/DD wing four years ago and

since then, the program has grown, but what exactly goes on in there?

ME/DD stands for Multiple Exceptionalities/Developmental Delay. Students with on the

Autism Spectrum or those with Downs Syndrome make up the bulk of the program’s

population, however students with Cerebral Palsy and other exceptionalities fall under the

program’s umbrella as well.

Now that you know who is involved, let’s take a look at what actually happens “ in there”!

With the support of our fabulous team of Educational Assistants, Child and Youth Work-

ers, Nurse and teachers, the students work on a variety of functional academic skills such as

reading, math, science, geography, religion and computer skills. Academics aside, students

are also being prepared for the world of work. Both in the classroom and through in-

school co-op placements they are developing their skills in areas such as cooking, cleaning,

sorting, folding, cake decorating, movie making, social skills, self-advocacy and self-esteem.

You have most likely had some of our students in some of your classes, especially if en-

rolled in gym, art, instrumental music, drama, and science.

Social skills development is a pivotal part of the program for all our students, especially

those on the Autism Spectrum. We are fortunate to be part of the Best Buddies Club. This

gives our students the chance to develop meaningful friendships and interact socially with

the other students who attend Libermann. Our program is also supported by several Peer

Tutors, who regularly help with the academic and social programming in small groups and

on a one-to-one basis.

Of course, we give back to the school community as well. The school’s attendance is col-

lected daily, popcorn is sold during Friday lunches, displays are made, meals are cooked,

contributions are made to school fundraisers, food drives, and Civies Day collections.

Yes, our program runs in the ME/DD wing, but no, we are not confined to it. We pray,

sing, and praise in the chapel daily, we use the weight room, we eat lunch in the cafeteria,

we run in the field in the fall and spring, we attend school masses, assemblies, the semi-

formal and we go bowling at Parkway Bowl every week.

As you can see, a lot goes on in the ME/DD wing. We might not communicate the same

way you do, we might be a little bit slower than you are and we might have different inter-

ests, but we always welcome you to come on in, ask your questions, join our classes, make a

friend or just come in to take a peek. After all, at Libermann we all belong.

ME/DD Staff

We’re on the We’re on the We’re on the We’re on the

WEBWEBWEBWEB www.libermann.tcdsb.orgwww.libermann.tcdsb.orgwww.libermann.tcdsb.orgwww.libermann.tcdsb.org

School Contact Info

416-393-5524 Ext. 0

Fax: 416-393-5891

Student Services

416-393-5708

Fax: 416-393-5708