Catholic Education Week and Youth Day

May 6 – 11, 2018

Easter blessings to our Catholic school boards across the province!  Catholic Education Week is approaching and we know Catholic school communities are busy preparing for this wonderful celebration of publicly funded Catholic education in Ontario.

We would like to remind everyone that the resources developed by the Catholic Education Week Committee and Director of Catholic Education, Brian O’Sullivan, are available for download on the Catholic Education Week Page.

Catholic Youth Day Event – May 8

OCSTA is pleased to announce that over 100 students from various boards across the province been already confirmed as attendees for the upcoming Catholic Youth Day planned for May 8th.  Our capacity limit is 200 for this event.

A focal point of the Catholic Youth Day event will be the sharing and acknowledgement of the Christian Service Activities coordinated by boards and students across Ontario.  We would like to thank the WE Movement organization and the Canadian Catholic Orgnization for Development and Peace for their support in providing resources to assist boards in the coordination of these activities.

We would also like to thank His Excellency Bishop G. Bergie who graciously consented to be the celebrant for the Catholic Youth Day Mass and Fr. Ed Smith, Pastor for St. Paul’s Basilica. St. Paul’s Basilica will be the location of the opening Mass on May 8th.

The Program

For your reference, following is an overview of the Catholic Youth Day Program

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. – St. Paul’s Basilica

Mass at St. Paul’s Basilica, 83 Power St., Toronto. After Mass students and staff will walk together to the WE Global Learning Centre at 339 Queen St. East (5-minute walk).

11:00 a.m. – WE Global Learning Centre

Welcome and Opening Prayer:
–Patrick J. Daly, OCSTA President
–Student Trustees: Ben Smith (York CDSB), CBC President; Christina Atrach (Halton CDSB), CBC Vice President

11:20 a.m. 

Fr. Renatus Karumuna, C.S.Sp. (Spiritan Fathers), Tanzania

12:15 p.m.

LUNCH, sponsored by Freshii

12:45 p.m.

Spencer West, Social Activist and World Change Warrior, WE

1:15 p.m.

Luke Stocking, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace

1:25 p.m.

Christian Service Activities – CDSB Highlights (all are invited to participate!)

2:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks

For more information about Catholic Youth Day, please contact Sharon McMillan at OCSTA – 416-932-9460, ext. 232.

2018 OCSTA AGM and Conference

OCSTA’s 88th Annual General Meeting and Conference will this year be co-hosted by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, April 26 – 28, 2018 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kitchener. The theme of this year’s conference is “Stewards of the Promise” — a theme that focuses upon the role of publicly elected Catholic trustees in leading, protecting and promoting the gift and promise of Catholic education in Ontario.

Program Highlights:

• Keynote Address –  “Stewards of the Promise”
  • presented by Rev. John Comiskey, Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of London and author of My Heart’s Best Wishes for You, a profile on the 19th century Archbishop of Toronto, John Walsh.
• The Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister of Education
• Closing address by Craig Kielburger, WE Organization
• “Demographic Trends in Ontario’s Education System”
  • presented by Jack Ammendolia, Watson & Associates, Economists
• “Maximizing the Board Agenda for Strong Stewardship”
  • presented by the Waterloo CDSB
• “Trustee Resources Developed by the Ontario Education Services Corporation”
  • presented by Ted Doherty, Executive Director, OESC
• His Grace, Cardinal Thomas Collins, Celebrant and Homilist for Mass
• “Students and Global Citizens”, Student Trustee Workshop
  • presented by Kate Jamieson and Meghan Nemeth, Waterloo CDSB Student Trustees
• “An Interactive Exploration of the Religious Education Program: Growing in Faith, Growing in Christ”
  • presetned by Carol Bryden, Catholic Trustee, St. Clair CDSB
• “Connecting Child Welfare and Education: A System Transformation”
  • presented by Christina Campbell, Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies

To view the full program click here.

To register online click here.

2018 Business Seminar

This year’s OCSTA/OCSBOA Business Seminar will be held April 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Kitchener (immediately prior to the launch of the OCSTA AGM and Conference later that evening).

To view the program and register online please click here.

For more information contact Dr. Andrzej Rozbicki – andrzej.rozbicki@tcdsb.org.