Starvathon 2021
Join us for Starvathon 2021. A great way to celebrate Catholic Education Week and help our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Guatemala.
Join us for Starvathon 2021. A great way to celebrate Catholic Education Week and help our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Guatemala.
By Bernie Puchalski - April 20, 2021
Soccer and hockey competed for Christian Giancola’s loyalties until a soccer milestone occurred in 2018.
“Around that time, Canada got to be one of the host countries for the (2026) World Cup and that started the dream,” the Grade 11 student at Denis Morris said.
The 16-year-old Thorold resident played hockey and soccer on a Thorold Cobras travel team coached by his father, Tino, up until that point and then decided to take his soccer training to the next level.
“It’s where my passion is. I have always enjoyed watching it and playing it and I was better at it so there were better opportunities.”
The six foot, 150-pound centre back had stops with Niagara Elite, the One Touch Soccer Academy in Hamilton and the Hamilton United Ontario Player Development League squad before recently signing with the U21 Prostars FC League 1 Reserves. That move, reunites Giancola with Reserves head coach Murad Sukru, the former head coach and technical director at One Touch.
As we reach the end of the Spring Break, please read a letter to Niagara Catholic families from Director of Education Camillo Cipriano.
Dear Niagara Catholic families:
As you have likely heard by now, this afternoon, Premier Doug Ford, Education Minister Stephen Lecce, and Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams announced that schools would not reopen on Monday, April 19, following the spring break. This is an open-ended school closure, with the reopening date directly tied to the community's transmission rates.
We understand that this information conflicts with messaging sent out by the Minister of Education over the weekend. However, in response to the escalating number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, which have now grown to levels beyond what was seen in January during the month-long school closure and have exceeded the projections for a worst-case scenario for the third wave, we believe that this is a safe, responsible decision for everyone.
We understand that this is challenging for families and are grateful that the announcement came early in the week to allow parents time to plan for the pivot to virtual for what we hope is the last time this year.
Our Senior Staff and the Board's COVID leads will meet early Tuesday to finalize plans for the coming weeks of learning at home. As you already know, schools will be open for students with complex special education needs who do not learn well online. We also understand that there are families that will require technology for your child(ren) to learn successfully from home. We will provide more information to these families, and all families, about how the return to school will look on April 19 in the coming days.
In the meantime, we hope that you and your family enjoy the change of the break's pace and are safe and well.
Are you a Grade 12 student graduating in June from one of NCDSBs 8 Secondary Schools? Want to earn some cash to finance your post-secondary education? Check out Niagara Catholic’s Student Senate Scholarship! The application deadline is May 3/2021!