Thank you to students from St. Theresa Catholic School for sharing a recording of O Canada for the Regular Board Meeting on May 26, 2025.

Beacons of Hope

Director Winn and Superintendent Outram introduced the Beacons of Hope recognition program, which is connected to the 2024-2025 Spiritual Theme, Living in Hope, and recognizes two elementary students, two secondary students, and two staff members each month. Throughout the year, themes have been assigned based on the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations and Catholic virtues. At the May 26 Board Meeting we celebrated "Pilgrims of Hope". To be a "Pilgrim of Hope" is to be a Responsible Citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice, and the sacredness of human life.

Families, students and staff nominated many wonderful people within our DCDSB community, and we were proud to recognize the following six individuals that embody this month's theme:

• Pierce C., Grade 6 student at St. Hedwig Catholic School
• Elana G., Grade 8 student at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School
• Jarrell D., Grade 12 student at Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School
• Nicole F., Grade 12 student at Father Leo J. Austin Catholic School
• Ms. Bunting, Vice-Principal at St. Monica Catholic School
• Mr. Lynch, Teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School (Uxbridge)

To learn more about this month's recipients, visit dcdsb.ca.

Celebrating Excellence: Award Presentations

Board Award of Merit

Gerard Winn, Director of Education, announced the 2024-2025 Durham Catholic District School Board Award of Merit Recipient. Congratulations to David Opiola, Curriculum Chair at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School.

Director Winn shared highlights from David's nomination form at the Regular Board Meeting, which read: "Compassionate, kind, and always recognizing the potential of others, David has been a role model and a mentor for many of us. He approaches situations with a teamwork mentality and truly sees the value of forming strong partnerships amongst colleagues, community members, and families to nurture and support the growth and well-being of our students and the children in our communities. David finds ways of ensuring students feel supported and accepted – whether he is organizing hat day with his class to support a classmate, providing students a space to work together during lunch, or sharing funny stories around a campfire – David makes everyone feel valued by creating a sense of harmony and togetherness.

In addition to his valuable work as a classroom teacher, David has dedicated the past 30 years to supporting children facing serious illness or loss - touching the lives of families both within and outside our school community. As a volunteer with Campfire Circle, a camp for children facing childhood cancer or other serious illness and bereaved siblings, David leads a life of helping and serving others. With a pure heart and a humble attitude, he brings hope to those around him, inspiring them to be the best version of themselves. Becky Conlon, the Volunteer Program Manager at Campfire Circle, captured a recent example of this. She said, “David’s profound devotion to supporting children facing serious illness is deeply rooted; understanding firsthand the importance of celebrating life’s milestones or first experiences, no matter how big or small. Each year, David spends part of his summers at Campfire Circle as a camp counsellor, a photographer, a mentor, an advocate, and a leader in fundraising initiatives. Though thirty years have passed since his first day as a volunteer lifeguard, David can still be found at Campfire Circle, bringing laughter and joy to the children - helping to make their days brighter.”

Committed to creating change for the good of others, David brings strength and courage to the lives he touches, and is indeed a person of merit, leaving a legacy by living it day to day."

Trustee Youth Awards

Elementary: Chair Forster, Trustee Damianopoulos, Trustee Ste. Marie and Director Winn present the award to George E.-S., from St. Bernard Catholic School

Secondary: Chair Forster, Trustee Damianopoulos, Trustee Ste. Marie and Director Winn present the award to Krystian M., from 

Archbishop Denis O'Connor Catholic High School

Reverend John Markle Award for Outstanding School to Home Communications

Elementary: St. Bernadette Catholic School. Chair Forster, Trustee Ste. Marie, Student Trustee Aje, Student Trustee Walsh and Director Winn present the trophy to John Linhares, Principal, Selvia Gad, Vice-Principal, Ashley Rutherford, Administrative Assistant, and Julie Murtagh, Administrative Assistant.

Secondary: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School. Chair Forster, Trustee Ste. Marie, Student Trustee Aje, Student Trustee Walsh and Director Winn present the trophy to John Di Vizio, Principal.

Improving Student Learning in Literacy and Numeracy

Mike O’Neill, Superintendent of Education, was joined by Dan Allen, Board Math Lead, Melissa Bentley, Literacy Consultant, and Jessica Ambra, Literacy Intervention Teacher, to provide information to the Board of Trustees regarding actions to improve student learning in Math and Literacy.

Ms. Bentley shared updates on the Early Reading Screener Results from mid-year (Acadience screening), where there was an improvement in the number of students at or above the benchmark. Ms. Bentley also shared that at almost all designated priority schools that have a Literacy Intervention Teacher, there has been an improvement from the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year to the mid-year screening update.

Mr. Allen shared that all staff have had access to various professional development and learning opportunities throughout the year, and the Academic Services Math Team has facilitated over 73 sessions for staff in 2024-2025. Priority Schools, identified by the Ministry of Education through EQAO data, received additional support from Numeracy Intervention Teachers. These Numeracy Intervention Teachers have worked in Gr. 3 and 6 classrooms at these priority schools, co-planning and co-teaching lessons with classroom educators, since September 2024. This work has allowed them to identify and fill student learning gaps, while building educator content knowledge for teaching mathematics. The impact of this work is evidenced by improved student performance on diagnostic assessments where there has been an improvement in all areas between the beginning of the year assessment and February 2025 mid-year assessment.

Mr. Allen also shared an update on MathUP Classroom, which is the board resource for numeracy provided to all educators in Kindergarten through Grade 9. The usage data from September 2024 – May 2025 showed 189,207 page visits by Durham Catholic Educators, compared to 97,020 during the same period in the 2023-24 school year.

Mr. Allen, Ms. Bentley and Superintendent O'Neill also spoke about future plans that will strengthen literacy and numeracy programming, resources and professional development across the board.



To view the full presentation and report, visit dcdsb.ca.

Gerard Winn, Director of Education, began by saying: "St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta reminds us that we can all do small things with great love. For my verbal remarks I’d like to highlight how I have witnessed this firsthand when popping into schools across Durham Catholic during the month of May:

• During Catholic Education week, Trustee Hall and I had the pleasure of attending a special Mass at St. Monica for the blessing of their new re-imaged artwork of St. Monica; this beautiful re-imaging was created by a talented Gr. 12 student from St. Mary in Pickering. The new re-imaging now graces the front entrance wall and prints will be displayed in every classroom.
• On the Friday of Catholic Education week, I also had the honour of meeting several volunteers from Holy Family Parish who give generously of their time to teach the rosary to the students of St. Matthew throughout the year; on that particular Friday, they gifted each student with a Miraculous medal and the Gr 7 & 8 students led a living rosary for the entire school body.
• Earlier in the month, I was also fortunate to meet three dedicated staff from St. Bridget who started auditions for SpongeBob the Musical the first week of September. Because of their dedication, approximately 70 students from St. Bridget dazzled the community with 12 shows and 4,000 community members attending the performances
• Last Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a vocal concert at St. Mary in Pickering; after the show, I met Janet (a retired vocal teacher from St. Mary) who came back to cheer on some former students including current vocal teacher at St. Mary Pickering whom she taught many years ago at that same school, graduated in 2012 and returned to take over Janet’s position two years ago when she retired. 
• And finally last Friday afternoon, I dropped into St. Joseph’s Uxbridge and met a teacher who hosts a well-attended Rosary Club every Friday in her classroom at recess; not just during the month of May, but throughout the school year.

My sincere thanks to all staff who give generously of their time; it’s a reminder of the ripple effect we can see from the actions of individuals!"

To view the written report Director Winn submitted for the May 26, 2025, Regular Board Meeting, visit dcdsb.ca

Monique Forster, Chair of the Board, said: "Good evening. I want to begin by congratulating all the award recipients and individuals recognized this evening. It is wonderful to celebrate the dedication, commitment and achievements of our employees and students."

Chair Forster then shared the following highlights:

Recognition

• Earlier this month we celebrated Catholic Education Week and Mental Health Week from May 5-9. During this week we held the System-Wide Mass at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Ajax. I want to extend our thanks for Father Chris Lemieux for once again welcoming our staff and families into his parish and for his continued support of Catholic education. Following the Mass, we celebrated the Distinguished Catholic Educators and the Distinguished Catholic Leader of the year, Jennifer Harvey, Principal of Sir Albert Love Catholic School. We also recognized employees with 25 years of service in Catholic education. Congratulations to all recipients - thank you for your dedication and service to Catholic Education.
• On May 15 we had the opportunity to attend a wonderful evening of music at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School that showcased the amazing talents of our students and staff. It was an unforgettable experience.
• On May 6, I was pleased to attend the BWell year-end celebration. The BWell student leadership group is comprised of secondary students from across the board and focuses on student mental health and well-being initiatives. It was a wonderful event that provided an overview of all the work they have implemented throughout the 2024-2025 school year. Thank you to students and staff, including Yulan Fisher-Brown, Senior Manager, Mental Health Initiatives, for their efforts.
• On May 23, Good Shepherd Catholic School celebrated the school’s 25th anniversary. A special thank you to the organizing committee for their efforts in commemorating the history and ongoing presence of this vibrant Catholic learning community in Port Perry, including Principal, Ms. Alexander, school staff, and the amazing planning committee. Special thanks also to the pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish, Father Silva, for presiding over the celebratory Mass.

Chair Forster concluded by saying: "In closing, I would like to extend my best wishes to all fathers for a very happy Father’s Day on June 15. I hope that all fathers enjoy a very special day filled with love and blessings."

• THAT the Durham Catholic District School Board approve the Schedule of Board and Committee Meetings for the 2025-2026 school year.

Kim Beatty, Vice-Chair of the Board, made the following announcements:



Retirements:

• Don Joskow, Elementary panel, effective March 28, 2025

Elementary Principal Appointments, effective July 1, 2025

• Jennifer Brown appointed to Principal of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School from Vice Principal of St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School
• Christine Closs appointed to Principal of St. John Paul II Catholic School from Vice Principal of St. Joseph Catholic School, Oshawa
• Jennifer Liuzzi appointed to Principal of Father Fénelon Catholic School from Vice Principal of St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School

Elementary Vice Principal Appointment, effective August 18, 2025

• Lisa Jeffers appointed to Elementary Vice Principal of St. Anne Catholic School

Elementary Principal Transfers, effective July 1, 2025

• Geraldine Borg transferred to St. Hedwig Catholic School from St. James Catholic School
• Catherine Faria transferred to Sir Albert Love Catholic School from St. John Paul II Catholic School
• Robert Fortin transferred to St. James Catholic School from St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School
• Kathleen Frederick transferred to St. Marguerite d’Youville Catholic School from St. Wilfrid Catholic School
• Manuela Michelin transferred to St. Wilfrid Catholic School from Father Fénelon Catholic School
• Melissa Vickery transferred to St. Matthew the Evangelist Catholic School from St. Marguerite d’Youville Catholic School

Elementary Vice Principal Transfers, effective July 1, 2025

• Mona Belzile-Daley transferred to St. Christopher Catholic School from St. Monica Catholic School
• Tamika Bunting transferred to St. Monica Catholic School
• Jake Frech transferred to St. Joseph Catholic School, Oshawa from St. Anne Catholic School
• Andrew Godin transferred to St. Paul Catholic School from St. John Bosco Catholic School
• Loredana Mazzonna transferred to St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School from St. Paul Catholic School
• Paul MacKinnon transferred to St. Isaac Jogues Catholic School from St. Christopher Catholic School
• Jennifer Reid transferred to St. John Bosco Catholic School from St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School
• Laura Sternad transferred to St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic School from St. Hedwig Catholic School

Secondary Vice Principal Transfers, effective July 1, 2025

• Carla Esposito transferred to Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School from All Saints Catholic Secondary School
• Christopher Gardner transferred to St. Mary Catholic Secondary School
• John Neundorf transferred to All Saints Catholic Secondary School from Father Leo J. Austin Catholic Secondary School
• Lori Paterson transferred to All Saints Catholic Secondary School from Msgr. John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School
• Julie Simon transferred to Msgr. John Pereyma Catholic Secondary School from St. Mary Catholic Secondary School