Josie Angelini,
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District
School Board Trustee, Ward 3 & 4

Wishing a Happy New Year to everyone.  Hope this year will bring good health and wellness to all.

It gives me great pleasure to share with you some of the events I attended during the 2023 school year.  On Friday September 1st, 2023, at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School, His Excellency, Bishop Douglas Crosby blessed the new kitchen for the De Mazenod Door Outreach Program.  Also, a ribbon cutting ceremony took place.  The new state-of-the-art kitchen will now better serve the ever-growing demand of the surrounding community.  Thanks to staff and volunteers, a variety of hearty home-cooked meals are provided daily.

On Saturday October 21st, 2023, at the Hamilton Sheraton Hotel, a sold-out event took place.  A celebration of 16 Hamilton Secondary School students for their academic excellence and community service.  The African Caribbean Cultural Potpourri Inc. (ACCPI), a non-profit organization provides scholarship awards ranging from $1250 to $3000 each.  This organization was founded in 1986 by the late Eleanor Wilthshire Rodney, a devoted teacher in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.  Her mission was to ensure youth of African and Caribbean heritage could access opportunities, acquire knowledge, and achieve excellence in every space they occupy.  Of the 16 recipients, 9 are from the HWCDSB.  Of these 9 recipients, 3 are from Cathedral High School.  These recipients are:  Atteyla Barichello-Herrera, Nokutenda Nyamande, and Brianna Slowley.  Well done to all recipients and thank you for keeping Eleanor’s legacy of empowerment alive.

Congratulations to Cathedral High School students for surpassing their goal of collecting 10 000 pounds of food for Cathedral’s Annex Food Bank on October 31st.  Thanks to the support of the amazing Cathedral community and neighborhoods, their Halloween for Hunger campaign collected over 13 000 pounds of food.  A special thanks goes out to St. Ann’s Catholic Elementary School for hosting the sorting and distribution in their gymnasium.  Teachers, staff, students, and parents/guardians worked together to make this school-based initiative a success.

The Annex, a place where students at Cathedral High School and their families have the opportunity of accessing basic necessities in order to live life with dignity and peace.  However, to operate such a place, volunteers are crucial.  Thanks to dedicated Educational Assistants and teachers, The Cathedral Annex program continues to operate.  On Thursday November 23rd, 2023, these dedicated individuals received recognition.  A special event took place at the Hamilton Convention Center, where The Annex received the Peace Medal awarded by the YMCA.  I was thrilled to witness the honoring of these wonderful individuals.  CONGRATULATIONS.

CONTACT INFO:Email Address:  angelinij@hwcdsb.ca