Tag Archives: blog

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself-Friedrich Nietzsche.

Things have been busy as of late for the Social Science Department. January marks the end of the semester and the start of the first round of exams for students. Following this, February brings with it the start of a new semester and a number of important events.

On February 12^th St. Patrick High School will host its annual Open House for Grade 8 students. The event begins at 7:00pm in the school gymnasium. Most of the attendees for the open house are drawn from our feeder school, Pope John Paul II Senior Elementary. For St. Patrick, this is our second and most important opportunity to promote our school and our programs (the Grade 8’s visited in late November).

As usual, Social Science will have a booth set up in the gymnasium along with all of the other departments to showcase our subject areas, especially Grade 9 and 10 geography, history and civics. A heavy emphasis will be on our access to and use of technology, as some of our classes are involved with an iPad pilot project. Be sure to stop and pay us a visit.

By far the most exciting news from the department is the forthcoming March break trip to Europe. 2014 marks several important historical milestones; the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War I, the 75^th anniversary of the start of World War II and the 70^th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.

To mark these events and honour those that fought for Canada, particularly those who made the supreme sacrifice, 22 students from St. Patrick and 3 teacher chaperones will be making a historical pilgrimage to Europe. They will be joining 23 students and teachers from our sister school, St. Ignatius, on EF Educational Tours “Canada’s Battlefields Tour.” Leading this amazing journey will be Mr. Cappello, Ms. Borgo and Mr. Battistel. They will be visiting Amsterdam, the Scheldt, Ypres and Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge, Normandy, Dieppe and Paris on this 10-day trip.

German bunker, Nan White sector-Juno Beach, April 2012.

Canadian National Vimy Memorial, April 2012.

This should prove to be a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved, much like it was on the April 2012 trip to mark the 75^th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. If you are interested, you can follow our adventures overseas on a daily basis starting March 6^th.