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economist suntribune at the schools saturday sept 21 2002 23 new st brigid home to scrabble robots and hip hop j by hannelore volpe staff writer even though st brigid catholic school spent its first two months last year as two schools in one it was ready to roll with its clubs sports activities and programs right from the word go now stouffvilles second catholic elementary school is looking ahead to its official opening and blessing on wednesday oct 16 at 7 pm by the most rev bishop richard grecco auxiliary bishop of toronto construction ofthe school was prompted by severe over crowding at st mark catholic school on glad park avenue but when that first day of school rolled around last year the work wasnt complete at st brigid students destined for the new school had to remain at st mark for another couple of months the two student populations were led by two principals and taught by two sets of teachers all under one roof nonetheless the transition went really smoothly said st brigid principal jane dillonleitch ofthe schools nov 9 movein st brigid currently has 15 st brigid cathouc school 223 millard st stouffville ont l4a 1a5 phone 9056425100 fax 9056425583 principal jane dillonleitch school council chair janet montesano secretary susan teixeira treasurer pamela osborne teachers for the schools 340 students special needs stu dents are mainstreamed mrs dillonleitch said the kids are in their classrooms as much as they can be a chess club is being start ed this year by retired teacher wolf von kalben theres a crosscountry running club primary and intermediate choirs volleyball and basket ball teams as well as teacher jennifer orsettos popular scrabble club all of which started last year scrabble becomes especially popular in the winter observed mrs dillonleitch a number of the older students will be building robots and develop ing computer programs in teacher eric longbothams robotics club students from grade 1 to 3 can learn to play the clar inet or flute or learn hip hop and other styles of dance from teachers who come to instruct the students during lunch times with its emphasis on early literacy the school has a reading recovery program run by jackie von kalben fr leslie tamas holds monthly masses for students he also drops in to the school to informally meet with teach ers and students the student council will hold its elections soon to see who will take over from last years president nick jago under his leadership stu dents became involved in school spiritboosting events such as sports jersey and crazy hat and hair days the council also encouraged students to participate in food drives and support charities such as sharelife the school with its impressive entrance is situ ated on large grounds in the residential area on millard staff photosjoerd witteveen st brigid catholic school in stoufrville will be officially opened at a ceremony next month street east of ninth line since the twostorey school was built with an eye to the future many of its class rooms are still empty the school was designed as a walking school right from the start said janet montesano chair of the school council the majority of the junior kindergarten to grade 8 students live close enough to walk to school so only two buses are needed this year when the school council gave parents the option of what they wanted to do for the years major fundraiser most opted for a onetime donation the school council will again sell pointsettias near the end of fall and operates the schools milk program and pizza lunches profits from these programs buy books for the library and maps and globes for classrooms the mayors youth fund donated 1000 towards library books for the school we have gotten a lot done noted mrs montesano ofthe school council all the parents are there for all the children of st brigids the schools meetthe teacher barbecue and cur riculum night will be on wednesday with the curricu lum presentations running from 7 to 8 pm cheap fun activities include cooking at home from page 22 for those who do choose to drink erin says while she isnt interested in drinking she feels underage drinking could be reduced if there was more for teens to do while some students say it doesnt matter what they do on the weekend it is usually a very different story for cou ples who are romantically involved if you are not with people you can hang out with and have a good time you wont have fun regardless of what you do its sometimes impossible to find things to do on a date says erin adding some of her favourite dates have been short trips to downtown toronto to see the sights justin prefers to keep dates closer to home you have to be pretty inventive sometimes he admits coffee shops are a good place to date its not expen sive so you wont have to spend too much and you actually get the chance to talk to the person youre with justin suggests staying at home and renting a movie rather than feeling obli gated to go out to impress the person you are with finding inexpensive activities for couples in york region is becoming increasingly difficult especially for cou ples not old enough to get in to dance clubs or other such facilities the activities available to younger twosomes have become pricier as demand grows so what can teenagers in the region do for fun without breaking the bank just do whatever but do it with a large group of people that you can talk with erin says be with good people that is all you need justin concurs if you are not with people you can hang out with and have a good time you wont have fun regardless of what you do for activities that will not require too much hardearned money try cooking a meal at home for friends or going for a long drive out of town just be sure to do it with the right group of people and you are bound to have a good time patrick mcaipine is a student at brother andre catholic high school in markham parents deserve credit for devotion to children from page 22 student with a language and speech disorder said mrs hubbard opened her grand sons eyes to the world of aca demics she found out his interests and pushed him forward mrs warke said to see him singing in front of a gymnasium full of people that is what makes it worthwhile thats what it is all about connor now studies science social science and math in regu lar classes rather than in his special needs class she made that possible by giving him the groundwork and getting him going mrs warke said seeing connor perform in last years play despite his lan guage and speech difficulties was one of mrs hubbards most rewarding moments he had cried during some of the practices but on the night of the play stood in front of an auditorium full of people and sang he couldnt have done that when he first came to us mrs hubbard said to see him singing in front of a gymnasium full of people that is what makes it worth while thats what it is all about mrs hubbards calm nature makes her a successful teacher mrs warke said she looks at them and smiles instead of scowling she uses humour to diffuse situa tions mrs hubbard said one ofthe secrets to her success is she gets to know her students parents ive always made it a point to get to know their parents because the parents know the kids the best and they can tell me how to best meet the needs of their child parents deserve credit for their devotion to their children she added she made that possible by giving him the groundwork and getting him going i have the greatest regard and respect for them the tremendous support they pro vide is inspiring to me their job never ends as septembers teacher of the month mrs hubbard will receive a free car wash and vacuum from auroras warlock auto detailing a sixfoot parly subway sand wich for the class compliments of subway owner brian johns at aurora centre in aurora a gift basket from apple creek gift baskets in newmarket and a 150 wonshop to improve communica tion skills by inside out with karen armstrong u i 1 71- n si if dont pay 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