June 18, 2010 - Thornlea - SharpSchool

http://thornlea.sharpschool.comPrincipal: S. EpsteinVice- Principals: H. Henricks, D. Smi th JUNE 18, 2010Inside this issue…….Last Thursday, June 3, I had thepleasure of attending the Allianceof Educators for Black Students(AEBS) award banquet at RichmondGreen S.S. Thornlea’saward winner for 2009/2010 isNicole Wiafe. It was our pleasureto nominate Nicole for a medallionin academics. As an honourrole student, Nicole works hard inclass, is self-motivated, and disciplined.She is a reliable and responsibleyoung woman. Nicole’sdelightful and enthusiastic personalityis infectious. She hasmany friends at Thornlea and weare very proud of her accomplishments.Ms. MirrleesAlliance of Educators for Black StudentsVICE-PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE 2GIRLS SLO-PITCH TEAM 31ST PLACE FOR TRASH TALK CONTEST 4ATHLETIC BANQUET 5THORNLEA RUGBY 6-11ONTARIO SECONDRY SCHOOL LITERACY TEST (OSSLT) 11ART STUDENTS AT THORNLEA SHINE 12-13ARTS BANQUET 14-15LOOKING AHEAD—SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR 2010-2011 162009-2010 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 17JUNE 2010 EXAM SCHEDULE 18

2Well, we’ve almost made it! This is the second last issue of the Thornlea E-bulletin for the 2009 – 2010 school year. We hope you have enjoyed being kept upto date on the happenings at your son/daughter’s school.Next week is the formal examination period. We would ask for your assistance inensuring that students arrive on time for their scheduled exams. All exams arewritten between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm. This allows students a better chance fora good night’s sleep as well as time for breakfast before heading to school. Thesestrategies will help to promote success. Students who are unsuccessful in theirfinal evaluations will be notified by June 28 th , at which time Summer School maybe a consideration.We look forward to celebrating Graduation with the families of our graduatingstudents on June 28 th at Le Parc. It’s always exciting to see the culmination offour years of hard work!For those students returning to Thornlea next year, the school timetable has nowbeen set and Guidance counsellors are working hard to sort out any conflicts thatexist. Some you may be receiving a call to meet with your counsellor to makesome tough choices.I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year as a Vice Principal here at Thornlea andlook forward to next year for even more new and exciting experiences. Enjoyyour summer holiday and stay safe.Warmest regards,Diana SmithVice Principal

Ms. Kapeluch and Ms. Kwok would like to thank the girlsSlo-Pitch team for a terrific season. Special thanks also goesout to the parents of a few of the students who came to help outat practices and cheer on the team at games.3

4On June 16 th , Ellen Moorehouse from theToronto Star, Peter Cantley from Loblaws,Rick from Cathy’s Crawly Compost andCatherine Mahler from Ontario Eco Schools cameto Thornlea to present thefirst place prize to ChristineLee, Amber Li, Ying Li andGrace Lim for the Toronto Star Newspaper’s Trash Talkcontest.These four students fromDevorah Salsberg’s Gr. 12World Issues class did a research project and proposalfor organic composting in the school.The attached photos depict the winners examining the worms that will occupy the WormChalet provided by Cathy’s Crawly Compost and receiving the $500 gift certificates fromLoblaws.The school has great plans to incorporate the vermin composter in the Food and Nutritionclass and perhaps grow herbs for the program using the worm castings.

Thornlea RugbyWritten By Carrie Poteck (Co-captain of the Varsity Women’s team and agraduating grade 12 student)6Thornlea Varsity Rugby is a school wide obsession! Starting at 7:30 a.m., four laps,100 push-ups, kick high, scrum down, tackle low, ruck over, maul forward, pass back,and play hard. Repeat four days a week for over twenty weeks.Training began at the beginning of January, the dead of winter. Sixty students wouldwake-up while it was still dark out, and get to school to begin training sessions.“Getting up early and in the cold is hard but most of the time I didn’t mind because Iwanted to go practice with the teams”, Jodi Bergman remarks enthusiastically. “Nowthat the season’s over I actually miss our practices a lot”, the 16 year old fly half, sayswith a hint of sadness.Every practice would include the Varsity Women, Junior Varsity Men, and Varsity Men.Practices mainly focused on core strength, and cardiovascular endurance. As the seasoncontinued, the central rugby skills needed to be successful in games, began tocome into play. “During the rugby season I get in such great shape I could run for almostan hour without stopping!” a senior, Pearl Lee, remarks as she flexes her armmuscles. “In the off season I always look forward to getting back and practicing withthe team which makes me feel very fit.”Thornlea Rugby Coach, Mr. Dave “J-Rock” Jirik, made sure it wasn’t all work and noplay at these early morn practices. “My favourite practices were the ones where weplayed dodge ball and octopus,” 16 year old Hannah Peach, the team’s 8-man remarks.“It was good exercise and a good activity to become closer with my teammates,”Peach says looking back on her second season as part of the team.

7All of the hard work paid off and this was proven when they placed 4 th at the GoldenBoot Tournament in Brantford, 4 th at the York University invitational, and 6 th at theMiller Cup Tournament in Stratford.The rugby team didn’t just achieve victories in the game, but managed to raise over$600 for the school’s “Cure for Cancer.” Coach J-Rock promised that every team memberwho brought in more than $20 would be eligible to shave a lock of hair off his head.Mr. Jirik also allowed his eyebrows to be shaved. Students bid on this honour.

Not only was the season an unforgettable experience for the players, but it was also anoverall success! Thornlea was considered the underdog for the Varsity Women’s team,and the two male teams.8

The dedication for the 2010 season increased from all players which allowed for theteams to be successful. Those who were on the team put in huge amounts of time andenergy.9“The weather was perfect on the day we played in the championships at FletchersField. Our plays weren’t thrown off by a strong wind, and the sun wasn’t too strong toblind anyone or burn us up. It was the perfect temperature to play rugby in!” the team’sCaptain, and scrum half Erin Takagi admits with a smile.The team’s reputation was made clear when the Varsity Women made it to the PlateChampionship . It was the spirit and skill that brought them to the final stage.

10The Head Coach from an opposing team even made a point of saying that Thornleawas “highly skilled in rucking and tackling, and praised the team’s good sportsmanship”.This compliment from the opposition motivated Thornlea to play even harder in the ultimategame against Bill Crothers Secondary School.Before the game against Bill Crothers, the pep talk made by the captains Erin Takagi,Carrie Poteck, Aisan Fazeli and Bailey Mauchan, was uplifting and motivational to allteam members for the team’s final game of the season, and the captains final game ofhigh school rugby.“I was so happy we won 5-0! It was such a great way to end off the season,” BaileyMauchan says like a proud mother. “It was literally a picturesque ending to the season.”Thornlea was so proud that their hard work from January had paid off. “Even if we didn’twin it still would’ve been an incredible season, but that was just the icing on thecake,” Takagi says referring to her victory day, which occurred on Wednesday, June 2.Congratulations to Thornlea Varsity Women on their victory, and always rememberCoach Jirik’s words “it’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get backup!”

11Thornlea staff members are very proud of all of the studentswho wrote the OSSLT on April 8, 2010. 92% of our Fully ParticipatingFirst Time Eligible were successful this year. Thanks tothe efforts of various staff members, the Administration, and theconscientious nature of Thornlea’s students, we had our highestscore in five years!Congratulations and keep up the great work Thornlea studentsand staff!

17June 21-25June 28June 28June 29-30ExamsExam Review DayGraduationPA Days(No school today forstudents)