Pastoral Service Updates
HC Grad Retreat - 2012
 |
|---|
| Over 40 grads and staff reflected on their years at Holy Cross and what the future may hold at the annual Grad Retreat at Rideau Acres. |
The annual Holy Cross Grad Retreat took place on Friday, March 23rd at Rideau Acres. Over 40 graduating students and staff from our school spent a day together reflecting on our years at Holy Cross and looking at how we make choices as to what to do after graduation. The day was facilitated by seven members of Catholic Campus Outreach(CCO) from Queen's University. These Catholic missionaries organized icebreakers, prayers, and various activities to help us to look at our hopes and dreams for the future. In addition, this year for the first time we were joined by graduating students from Regiopolis-Notre Dame C.H.S. and their Chaplaincy Leader. As a group we would like to express our appreciation to Christian and to the other CCO team members who put together such an excellent day for us.
Pastoral Update for February, 2012
Members of the 2012 Jamaica Mission Team are excitedly preparing for their departure on Saturday, February 11th . While in Jamaica, the eleven Holy Cross and seven Regiopolis-Notre Dame students and their four staff supervisors, will be volunteering at St. Margaret’s and Riverton City Remedial Schools, at St. Monica’s (a home for abandoned seniors), a youth Marching band, all through St. Patrick’s Foundation, as well as participate in a 1-day house build through Food for the Poor. They have been busy fund-raising for their trip over the past few months. Our school, as well as many church groups, including C.W.L. and Knights of Columbus Councils, have made generous donations. The group also organized a very successful Fish Fry here at Holy Cross in October. Thanks to all who have donated to our trip. We look forward to sharing about our experiences when we return from Jamaica.
Students’ Council, CICS and one of our local sarishes, St. Paul the Apostle, will be organizing a Pancake Supper here at Holy Cross on Tuesday, February 21st between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. A big plate of ham and pancakes will cost only $5.00 with all proceeds going to our ShareLent Collection as well as the local St. Vincent de Paul Society.
It may seem a long way off, but our Graduates’ Retreat takes place on Friday, March 23rd . Another major fundraiser during our ShareLent Campaign will be the Thinkfast on Friday, March 30th .
Let us begin this new semester with renewed faith in God. And let us ask God to continue to bless all our students, staff and families.
Pastoral Update for January, 2012
December was certainly a busy month here at our school. We celebrated our monthly School Mass in the second week of Advent and each Monday morning gathered our students and staff for an Advent Wreath Liturgy in the Main Lobby of the school. During Advent, our school fundraised for several different charities. Our Advent Campaign saw our homeroom classes raise $5,404.10 for our “Brick by Brick” Campaign to build a school in Kenya, Africa. This is one of the largest Advent Collections ever at Holy Cross, especially when it is combined with the food and money that we collected for Christmas Hampers; these were delivered to our adopted families during the last few days of school. . Many thanks to all those who helped with this and with all our fundraising efforts this month.
‘LIFETEEN’ continues in the New Year at St. Paul the Apostle Church. If you haven’t been to it yet, come check it out – Sunday afternoons starting with dinner at 5:15 p.m. followed by talks, discussions, games and a LifeTeen Mass at 7:30 p.m. in the Church. Our Jamaica Mission Team students are now busy with final preparations for their February 11th – 19th trip to Kingston, Jamaica. Everyone is looking forward to working with the people at St. Margaret’s Remedial School, the St. Patrick’s All-Stars Marching Band, and at St. Monica’s Home for the Elderly. Many thanks to all those who supported our fundraising efforts, especially our Fish Fry back in November. We are looking forward to our final school Mass for this semester which will take place on Friday, January 13th. At this Mass ,we will continue to pray for those who have experienced illness or who have lost a loved one over the holidays. We will also ask God to bless students who will be writing final assignments and preparing for final exams and any students or staff who will be leaving us after this semester. As we begin a New Year, and as we return to our work and studies after the Christmas break, I would like to extend to each member of our Holy Cross community, Christmas greetings and prayers for a blessed New Year.
Pastoral Update for December, 2011
We have begun another Advent Season here at Holy Cross with many special liturgies and events planned for the coming weeks. All are invited to our Archdiocesan celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Thursday, December 8th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Our students and staff will have an opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist together at our Advent School Mass on Thursday, December 15th. Life Teen Nights continue on Sundays at St. Paul the Apostle Church. The evenings begin with supper at 5:15 p.m. followed by talks, skits, and group discussions; it concludes with a Life Teen Mass upstairs in the Church at 7:30 p.m.
Congratulations to members of C.I.C.S. who were part of this year’s Toronto Street Retreat from November 14 – 15th. The students did a Street Walk with Patrick Sullivan of Sanctuary Ministries, took food, socks and love to the homeless through an evening Street Patrol, and then finished up by helping prepare and serve lunch to the less fortunate at St. Francis Table. Our main Advent Fundraiser this year is the “Brick-by-Brick“ Campaign to build a school for disadvantaged children in Kenya, East Africa through Craig Kielburger’s “Free the Children” organization. We will also be accepting donations of non-perishable food for Christmas Hampers this year. Deliveries of our Hampers will take place on Wednesday, December 21st . If you’d like to be involved in providing a Christmas Hamper for a local family in need please call me in the Chaplaincy Office at Holy Cross (ext. 3436). May God bless our students, staff and families with a holy Christmas and much peace in the New Year. Chris Forster, Pastoral Services
Pastoral Update for November, 2011
November provides us with a wonderful opportunity to remember loved ones who have died as we celebrate All Saints and All Souls Day at the beginning of the month. We will again have a special Book of Remembrance in the Chapel; and we invite students, staff and visitors to our school to remember their loved ones by writing their names in this book; these people will be remembered in our daily prayers and at all our School Masses during November. On November 11th we will be remembering those who gave their lives in the Great Wars of the past century or while serving in Afghanistan or on peacekeep¬ing missions through a special Prayer Reflection. Let us all take time to remember, to pray and to buy a poppy in support of our veterans.
JAMAICA MISSION TRIP UPDATE: Close to 400 people attended our Jamaica Fish Fry on Friday, October 28th at Holy Cross. And close to $3000.00 was raised for the Mission Trip. A big thank you to all our students, parents, teacher candidates and staff who helped out and to all all those who attended and who made this such a great evening.
RETREATS: Our Grade 10 home form classes attended the Personal Growth: Mind, Body & Spirit Retreats during the week of October 18-21st . These full-day retreats focused on ways all of us can develop a healthier respect for our sexuality. Thank you to our students for attending and to our Grade 10 teachers and other staff whose hard work and sacrifice made these retreats possible. We especially enjoyed our speakers this year: Terrie Hoey, Lisa Lollar, Daniel Schultheis and Fabian Brown.
CICS’ CORNER: Congratulations to all our students and staff for their wonderful contributions to our Thanksgiving Food Drive which earned us second place in the K-ROCK High School Competition, but even more importantly helped fill the Food Bank shelves for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to our annual Toronto Street Retreat which will take place from November 14- 16th . Permission forms are available in my office.
PRAYER INTENTIONS: Please pray for the sick and for their families and caregivers. Many of our students and staff have experienced serious illness or even a death in their families recently and we offer our prayers and support to them.
Chris Forster, Pastoral Services
Pastoral Update for October, 2011
We are now well into this year's Thanksgiving Food Drive which runs until Thursday, October 13th. Once again, we are in a friendly competition with other local high schools to see who can collect the most food for the Partners In Mission Food Bank and win the coveted K-ROCK High School Challenge. This annual campaign provides our school community with a wonderful opportunity to share our blessings with those less fortunate than ourselves. Our Crusaders In Community Service (CICS) are now meeting regularly during lunch hours on Mondays and new students are welcome to get involved in our Social Action Projects, including the Food Drive, seniors outreach, Leadership Training Workshops and volunteer work at Martha's Table.
"Calling All Teens": Keep in mind that Sunday nights at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Taylor-Kidd Blvd are now Life Teen Evenings. All teenagers in our area are invited to the dinner which begins at 5:00 p.m. followed by a talk, games, group discussions and an upbeat Youth Mass in the Church at 7:30 p.m. We are also planning for our Grade 10 "Personal Growth: Body, Mind, Spirit" Retreats which will take place from October 18th to 21st. All of our Grade 10 students will participate in these retreat days which will be focusing on some very important aspects of our lives: our sexuality, dating, and relationships. The format for the day format has been developed in consultation with our Religion Department, Pastoral Services, Youth Worker Services, School Board, School Administration and the local Health Unit. We look at our sexuality from the perspective of a healthy and well-balanced Catholic moral framework. We are especially fortunate that Fabian Brown, Coordinator of Youth Programs for the Archdiocese of Kingston, Jamaica will be part of our retreats this year, along with Dan Schultheis from Ajax and Lisa Lollar, our Health Unit Nurse. And, members of the 2012 Jamaica Mission Team invite you to their "All You Can Eat" Fish Fry on Friday, October 28th at Holy Cross. Mike Mundell will be serving up the fish and chips, and members of the Jamaica Team will be providing the salads, buns, desserts and refreshments. It runs from 3:30 - 7:00 p.m. and Take-Out is available. Cost: $15.00 with all proceeds going to the 2012 Jamaica Mission Trip. Blessings to all this Thanksgiving and throughout the month ahead.
Pastoral Update for September, 2011
Our Pastoral Team, Fr. Labelle, Ms. Melo Jordan and Chris Forster looks forward to meeting both returning and new students as another academic year begins. Through our monthly School Masses, daily prayer and liturgies in the Chapel, retreats and CICS' outreach programs, we hope to challenge all our students to answer God's call in their daily lives. We are especially mindful of the people of East Africa, whose countries have been affected by a severe drought and famine. We will be assisting them through our fundraising efforts in the coming weeks. Our school theme this year "To LIVE in Christ, to LOVE as Christ" reminds us that we do need to reach out to others in need with the love of Christ.
Our school chaplain, Fr. Labelle will preside at our Opening School Mass on Thursday, September 15th as we celebrate together our school feast day, The Triumph of the Cross. We are also looking forward to having many of our students and staff involved in the "LifeTeen" evenings which begin on Sunday, September 18th at St. Paul the Apostle Church and which will continue throughout the coming year. Come and celebrate your faith with other young people.
Throughout the coming year, let us take time to reflect on the importance of our Catholic faith and to thank God for all our blessings, especially for the gift of our families, our friends and for our faith community here at Holy Cross.
Pastoral Update for June, 2011
On behalf of our Crusaders in Community Service (C.I.C.S.) group, a big thank you to all those who helped out with the Food Blitz on Wednesday, May 18th. We especially thank the students, staff and parents from Our Lady of Lourdes, Mount Carmel and Holy Cross who came out in such large numbers to help us canvass door-to-door and to load the food donations onto the trailer at Holy Cross. Congratulations to all for their donations and their help in making this year's Food Blitz such a great success and for supporting the Partners In Mission Food Bank.
Our Grade 9 NET Retreat took place on Friday, May 20th at Rideau Acres. The ten NET team members led a wonderful retreat day based on the theme of 'Who Am I?'. The previous week we attended the annual March for Life in Ottawa. Our Holy Cross team joined up with Regiopolis-Notre Dame and 15,000 other pro-lifers to make a strong statement for 'Life' and against abortion through the Rally on Parliament Hill and the March that followed through the streets of Ottawa.
We will be celebrating our last School Mass of the year on Wednesday, June 1st. And on June 28th at 12:00 noon at St. Paul the Apostle Church we will gather with our graduating students, family members and staff for this year's Graduation Mass.
May God bless our students as they prepare for final exams, and our graduates as they look forward to beginning a new chapter in their lives.
Pastoral Update for May, 2011
Congratulations to our Students’ Council and CICS Club for their wonderful leadership during this year’s Share Lent Campaign which enabled us to reach our fundraising goal of $5700.00. This money will enable us to build a house in Kingston, Jamaica on our next Mission Trip. The monies were raised through our Pancake Breakfast, a Staff Soup and Bread Lunch, Bake Sales and through donations from home room classes, individual students and staff. One person raised $67.00 by giving up coffee for Lent and donating all the money saved. We also congratulate all those who participated in this year’s Thinkfast which raised $3000.00 for Development & Peace. Special thanks to those staff who came to help out, especially Mr. Curtis Stanzel, Mr. Jeff Brady, Mr. Shawn McDonald, Ms. June Hanna and Ms. Deb Myers. The month of May will be a busy one. It begins with the celebration of Catholic Education Week from May 1st – May 7th. This year’s theme is “Catholic Education: Celebrating the Spirit”. We will be taking a busload of our students and staff to St. Michael’s Church in Belleville on Thursday, May 5th for the Board-wide Mass with Archbishop Brendan O’Brien.
On Thursday, May 12th, we will be busing up to Ottawa with Regi to take part in the annual March for Life on Parliament Hill. Don’t forget the Partners in Mission Food Blitz which is fast approaching. This annual event in support of the local food bank will take place here at Holy Cross on Wednesday, May 18th. Volunteers are greatly needed to help canvass our local area; any parents, students, or staff who would like to join the Crusader team, are asked to call Chris Forster in the Pastoral Office (ext. 3436) to sign up. We are also excited to have the National Evangelization Team come to our school on May 20th to lead a Grade 9 Retreat at Rideau Acres. May the joy and peace of Easter and Pentecost continue to fill all our lives.
Pastoral Update for April, 2011
Sharelent Activities: A big thank you to Mrs. Janet Van Niedek and all the hard-working Brown's Cafeteria Staff who prepared over 1000 pancakes for our Pancake Breakfast on March 8th. With their generous help, Students' Council and CICS were able to raise over $1000.00 for our ShareLent Campaign. Our next activity is the overnight Thinkfast on Friday, April 15th for which over 70 people have signed up so far. This year we are hoping to raise $5,700.00 through ShareLent in order to build a house in Kingston, Jamaica at one of the St. Patrick Foundation projects that we volunteer at during our school Mission Trips. Home form classes will be collecting money up to the Thursday of Holy Week.
We will be taking 10 students to this year's Youth Poverty Conference at McArthur College on Wednesday, April 6th where they will experience poverty first hand. Our Grade 12 Retreat will take place at Rideau Acres on Friday, April 29th and we are excited to have members of the Catholic Christian Outreach Team (CCO) take part again this year. Please see Mr. Forster or Fr. Labelle for permission forms. And, don't forget the Catholic Youth Rally which we will be hosting once again at Holy Cross on Saturday, April 9th. We are expecting hundreds of young people from across our Archdiocese to come together for this annual conference. Call the Pastoral Office to register.
Please mark Wednesday, May 18th on your calendars as we will be looking for volunteers to help again with this year's Partners in Mission Food Blitz. Holy Cross is a major participant in this annual effort to restock the Food Bank shelves with non-perishable food items in this time of great need in our local community. And we will need lots of volunteers to make this possible.
As we continue our Lenten journey may each of us open our hearts to God's love through almsgiving, prayer and fasting. And, may each member of our Holy Cross community enter deeply into Christ's Passion and Death during Holy Week so that we can fully experience the joy of His Resurrection this Easter.
HC Community Celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation
 |
|---|
| Father Rod McNeil, pastor of St. Partrick's Parish in Napanee, celebrates the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a student. |
Twice a year, during the seasons of Advent and Lent, the Pastoral Services team at Holy Cross organizes times of prayer and reflection for the different grade levels throughout the school day. While slides are shown depicting various scripture passages, reflections and prayers on the theme of reconciliation, students and staff are encouraged to visit one of the priests in order to ask for a prayer, a blessing or to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This year, the Sacrament of Reconciliation for Lent was celebrated on Thursday, March 24th, 2011.
At a time in the history of the Church when many people have dismissed this Sacrament as being irrelevant and ineffective it is inspiring to see so many young people visiting a priests and obviously receiving a very special grace and blessing for their lives. As we prepare our hearts for the feast of Easter, may each of us find time to admit our need for repentance and reconciliation in our lives. And may each of us find that peace and joy that God is so eager to share with us in return.
Pastoral Update for March, 2011
We are now preparing for our annual Blood Donor Clinic which takes place on Wednesday, March 2nd from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Holy Cross Library. Please call Chris Forster (ext. 3436) to book an appointment. And shortly after we'll be serving up lots of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, March 8th followed by our Ash Wednesday Liturgies on March 9th which will mark the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. Staff and students will be invited to receive ashes on their foreheads at the end of Mass as a sign of our collective need for repentance and healing.
Six Holy Cross students and myself had the privilege of being part of the 2011 K2K Jamaica Mission Trip from February 12th-20th. We joined up with eleven Regiopolis-Notre Dame students and four staff to travel to Kingston, Jamaica where we volunteered at various projects sponsored by St. Patrick's Foundation. What an amazing experience this was for all of us. And, what a wonderful opportunity to experience God's presence in the poor of Jamaica.
Our CICS' Students and Student Council are busy with our ShareLent Campaign which will see classes fundraise over the coming weeks in support of various charities both here in Kingston and overseas. We will also be having our annual 25-hour Thinkfast on Friday, April 15th.
Plans are well underway for a Catholic Youth Event to be hosted here at Holy Cross on Saturday, April 9th - the annual Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Rally. Last year this event brought over 300 young people and adults to Holy Cross for a full day of workshops, contemporary music, and Mass. Mark it in your calendars now. It's going to be another fantastic gathering for teenagers from all over our Archdiocese.
Some other upcoming events include: Graduates' Retreat on March 25th, Lenten Reconciliations on March 31st, the Hotel Dieu Hospital Food Blitz on May 18th, the March for Life bus trip to Ottawa on May 12th, and the Grade 9 Retreat on May 20th. Certainly lots to get involved in here at Holy Cross in the coming months.
God's blessings on all our students and staff as we begin the month of March and our Lenten journey on March 9th.
Pastoral Update for February, 2011
Let us continue to pray for the people of Egypt and other countries in Africa and the Middle East who are undergoing a time of social and political unrest at this time. Members of the 2011 Jamaica Mission Team are excitedly preparing for their departure on Saturday, February 12th. While in Jamaica, the six Holy Cross and eleven Regiopolis-Notre Dame students and their five staff supervisors, will be volunteering at St. Margaret's and Riverton City Remedial schools, at St. Monica's (a home for abandoned seniors) and with a Youth Marching Band, all under the sponsorship of St. Patrick's Foundation. They have been busy fund-raising for their trip over the past few months. Our school, as well as many church groups, including C.W.L. and Knights of Columbus Councils, have made generous donations. The group also organized a very successful Fish Fry at RND in October. Thanks to all who have donated to our trip. We look forward to sharing about our experiences when we return to school the week of Tuesday, February 22nd. We will also be bringing Mr. Fabian Brown back with us from Jamaica. Mr. Brown is representing St. Patrick's Foundation and will be giving presentations both at Holy Cross and at RND to help strengthen our partnerships with them.
It may seem a long way off, but our Graduates' Retreat takes place on Friday, March 25th. Holy Cross will also be hosting the 2nd Annual Catholic Youth Rally on Saturday, April 9th, 2011. This exciting event was held last May at Holy Cross and was a tremendous success as over 300 youth and adults from across the Kingston Archdiocese gathered to celebrate their faith through contemporary Christian music, inspiring talks, workshops and much more. Mark this date in your calendar right now.
On March 2nd our CICS' Club and other students will be organizing a Blood Donor Clinic in the Holy Cross Library from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. Call the school to book an appointment. CICS along with Students' Council will also be organizing our annual Pancake Breakfast on Tuesday, March 8th. Students will pay $3.00 to enjoy a plate of delicious pancakes with all proceeds going to our ShareLent Collection. And, of course, the next day we celebrate Ash Wednesday with Mass and begin the Holy Season of Lent. Another major fundraiser during our ShareLent campaign will be the Thinkfast on Friday, April 15th. Let us begin this new semester with renewed faith in God. And let us ask God to bless all our students, staff and families with peace and joy in Christ.
Pastoral Update for January, 2011
As we begin a New Year, and as we get back to our work and studies after the Christmas break, I would like to extend to each member of our Holy Cross community, Christmas greetings and prayers for a happy and blessed New Year. December was certainly a busy month here at our school. We celebrated Reconciliation during the first week of Advent. And many of our students and staff availed themselves of this opportunity to be healed and reconciled with God and with others. Then we celebrated our monthly School Mass during the second week of Advent during which Ms. O'Brien's Drama students put on a beautiful and moving Nativity Tableau. Throughout the month our school fundraised for several different charities. Our Advent Campaign saw our homeroom classes raise thousands of dollars for both a local charity, 'The Space', which benefits homeless youth here in Kingston, as well as an international Catholic organization called 'Chalice' which provides school and medical supplies, animals and household goods for families in developing countries. Many thanks to all those who helped with this and with all our fundraising efforts this month.
'LIFETEEN' continues in the New Year at St. Paul the Apostle Church. If you haven't been to it yet, come check it out - Sunday afternoons starting with dinner at 5:15 p.m. followed by talks, discussions, games and a LifeTeen Mass at 7:30 p.m. in the Church.
Our Jamaica Mission Team students are now busy with final preparations for their February 12th - 20th trip to Kingston, Jamaica. Everyone is looking forward to working with the people at St. Margaret's Remedial School, the St. Patrick's All-Stars Marching Band, and at St. Monica's Home for the Elderly. Many thanks to all those who supported our fundraising efforts, especially our Fish Fry back in November.
We are looking forward to our final school Mass for this semester which will take place on Thursday, January 13th. At this Mass we will continue to pray for those who have experienced illness or who have lost a loved one over the holidays. We will also ask God to bless students who will be writing final assignments and preparing for final exams and any students or staff who will be leaving us after this semester. May God bless our school community with a healthy and happy New Year.
Pastoral Update for December, 2010
We have begun another Advent Season here at Holy Cross with decorations quickly going up and lots of special liturgies and events planned for the coming weeks. Students and staff will have an opportunity to celebrate Reconciliation on Thursday, December 2nd and to celebrate as a community at our Advent School Mass on Thursday, December 9th. On Saturday, December 4th, Anne Heemskerk from the Archdiocesan Youth Office is organizing an Advent Retreat for all high school youth at St. Paul the Apostle Church. The day runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. See Mr. Forster for details or to sign up. And, our Life Teen Nights continue on Sunday nights at St. Paul the Apostle Church. The evening starts with supper at 5:15 p.m. followed by talks, skits, games, and group discussions. The evening concludes with Mass upstairs in the Church at 7:30 p.m.
Congratulations to members of C.I.C.S. who were part of this year's Toronto Street Retreat from November 16th - 17th. The students did a Street Walk with Patrick Sullivan of Sanctuary Ministries, made lunches and took them out to the homeless on the streets as part of Street Patrol, and volunteered at St. Felix Centre and the Good Shepherd Refuge. One of the participants, writes of her experience: "The most memorable part of the Street Retreat was when we did the Street Patrol and a homeless man said, 'I'm grateful, not greedy', when offered a second lunch." All agreed this was an "eye-opening" experience of what it is like to be homeless and poor on the streets of our largest city.
This year's Advent Campaign will involve our homeform classes in collecting money to help provide helpful supplies for youth on the streets of Kingston. We will also be adopting families in developing countries through a Catholic Aid organization called "The Chalice". The campaign ends on Friday, December 17th. In this time of economic crisis, even more people are facing financial hardships. So, I encourage everyone to give generously this year to this and other local charities which are struggling to help the many people who are coming to them seeking food, clothing and adequate shelter. This is a time to recognize God's presence in the poor and marginalized of our society - and to accept our responsibility to help them in any way that we can. It was after all among these very people that Jesus was born. I pray that God may bless each member of our Holy Cross community with a Blessed Advent Season and a Holy and Merry Christmas.
 |
| Holy Cross student Grace Hill serves Mr. Courneya and Ms. Heemskerk. |
Fish-Fry Dinner
On Friday, November 5th over 225 people enjoyed a delicious Fish Fry Dinner at Regiopolis-Notre Dame C.H.S. in support of the 2011 Jamaica Mission Trip. Students, staff and parents who are involved in the Mission Trip combined with Mike Mundell’s Surf & Turf to put on a great evening of entertainment, socializing and good food that seemed to appeal to people of all ages. Special thanks to Mr. Hill and to the students and staff of RND for hosting this meal, and to the many parishioners, school staff, and family members who came out to support this wonderful event. Over $2000.00 was raised for the trip; but, even more importantly, a good meal and a great evening was had by all.
Pastoral Update for November, 2010
On November 11th, we will be remembering all those who gave their lives in the Great Wars of the past century or while serving in Afghanistan or on peacekeeping missions through our Remembrance Day Liturgies. We will again have a special Book of Remembrance in the Chapel; and we invite students, staff and visitors to our school to remember their loved ones by writing their names in this book.
Also, the 2011 Holy Cross/RND Jamaica Mission Trip is holding an “All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry” on Friday, November 5th at RND. Mike Mundell’s Surf & Turf will be providing the main course between 3:30 – 7:00 p.m. in the RND Cafeteria. Tickets are $15.00 and are available from any of the Mission Trip participants or from both school chaplaincy offices. Take-out is also available and tickets can be purchased at the door.
The Toronto Street Retreat will be taking place November 16-17th. Anyone interested in attending should contact Mr. Forster for a permission form. As well CICS will be participating in the White Ribbon Campaign against Child Pornography. All students are encouraged to come out and sign the petition to stop child pornography, which will be delivered to our Government urging them to enact stronger measures against child pornography.
Please pray for the sick and for their families and caregivers. Many of our students and staff have experienced serious illness in their families and we offer our prayers and support to them.
Grade Ten Sexuality Retreats
Our Grade 10 home form classes attended the Sexuality: Mind, Body & Spirit Retreats during the week of October 19-22nd. These full-day retreats focused on ways all of us can develop a healthier respect for our sexuality. Thank you to our students for attending and to our Grade 10 teachers and other staff whose hard work and sacrifice made these retreats possible.
HC Grad Recognized at CEFO Dinner
 |
| Rachel Arnold was honoured at the annual Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario dinner in Toronto on October 23rd, 2010. |
Rachel Arnold (2010 Holy Cross Grad and Valedictorian) attended the annual Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario dinner in Toronto on October 23rd to be honoured as the Holy Cross Catholic Student of the Year for 2010. Rachel was joined by her parents, Angela and Scott Arnold, and by Holy Cross Chaplaincy Leader, Mr. Chris Forster for this special recognition. After dinner, Rachel was called up in front of her peers, clergy, religious, school representatives, parents, dignitaries and the assembled guests of honour from the CEFO, to hear some of her many accomplishments read out including her involvement in the 2010 Jamaica Mission Trip, her many years of participation in school and church choirs, her committed service as an Executive Member of CICS (Crusaders In Community Service), Thinkfasts, and Street Retreats.
Most importantly, to those of us who know Rachel, is the recognition this award brings to her deep faith which shines through all that she does. Holy Cross celebrates the accomplishments of Rachel during her years at Holy Cross and we ask God to continue to bless her in her studies at the University of Ottawa. Congratulations Rachel!
Pastoral Update for October, 2010
We are now well into this year's Thanksgiving Food Drive which runs until October 7th. Once again, we are in a friendly competition with other local high schools to see who can collect the most food for the local Food Bank and win the coveted K-ROCK High School Challenge. This annual campaign provides our school community with a wonderful opportunity to share our blessings with those less fortunate than ourselves.
"CALLING ALL TEENS": One important date to keep in mind is Sunday, October 17th which is the Kick-Off night for the first Life Teen evening. All teenagers in our area are invited to this exciting program which begins with dinner at 5:15 p.m. followed by a talk, games, group discussions and ends with an upbeat Youth Mass in the church at 7:30 p.m. Join us Sunday evenings at St. Paul the Apostle Church for Life Teen.
We are also busy planning for our Grade 10 Sexuality Retreats which will take place right after Thanksgiving from October 19th to 22nd. Once again all of our Grade 10 students will have an opportunity to participate in these important and thought provoking retreats. The theme of the retreat days "Sexuality: Mind, Body & Spirit" addresses an important aspect of our lives, one that is often seriously misunderstood and even distorted in our contemporary culture. The retreat day format has been developed in consultation with our Religion Department, Pastoral Services, Youth Worker Services, School Board, school administration and the local Health Unit as we look at our sexuality from the perspective of a healthy and well-balanced Catholic moral framework. We are especially fortunate that Anne Heemskerk, Youth Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Kingston, will be part of our retreats this year, along with Dan Schultheis from Ajax.
Blessings to all this Thanksgiving and throughout the month ahead.
Pastoral Update for September, 2010
Our Pastoral Team, Fr. Labelle, Ms. Melo Jordan and myself, look forward to meeting both returning and new students as another academic year begins. Through our monthly School Masses, daily prayer and liturgies in the Chapel, retreats and CICS' outreach programs, we hope to challenge all our students to answer God's call in their daily lives. We are especially mindful of the people of Pakistan whose country has been devastated by the recent floods, and whom we will be assisting through our fundraising efforts in the coming weeks. Our school theme this year "Rejoice and give thanks to the Lord" reminds us that we do need to be thankful for all our blessings.
Our school chaplain, Fr. Labelle will preside at our Opening School Mass on Wednesday, September 15th as we celebrate together our school feast day, The Triumph of the Cross. We are also looking forward to having many of our students and staff involved in the "LifeTeen" evenings which begin on Saturday, October 17th at St. Paul the Apostle Church and which will continue throughout the coming year. Come and celebrate your faith with other young people.
Throughout the coming year, let us take time to rejoice in our faith and to thank God for all our blessings, especially for the gift of our families, our friends and for our faith community here at Holy Cross.
Chris Forster, Coordinator of Pastoral Services