Dear MDJH Families:

Just a friendly reminder that energy drinks are not permitted in our school.

If your youth comes in from lunch with one in hand, they will be requested to throw it in the garbage.

Thank you.

We are thrilled to launch our 4th run of the Pope Youth Film Festival (PYFF)! Our festival was founded by late filmmaker Paul L Pope as an initiative to encourage the province’s youth to take an interest in and develop creative skills in making films, and to highlight those efforts with a festival. We have been thrilled with the projects we have seen!

PYFF once again extends an invitation to all youth between the ages of 12 – 19 to create and submit an original short film. All the films submitted will be showcased on our YouTube channel and the winners of each category will be screened at the Majestic Theatre in St. John’s on March 12th . We invite anyone who submitted a film to join us!

And now for prizes! We will have CA$H prizes of $250 for each category winner, plus an overall winner taking home the grand prize of $1000.00. We also have honorable craft awards and certificates in other categories awarded that evening.

So, get your friends together, grab your smart-phones, and make a film! And if you’re looking for more info on how to submit, or tips on how to shoot a film, check out our website and socials! We can’t wait to see your projects come to life!

The Gonzaga High School administration team will be holding an in-person session for parents on Tuesday, February 11th at 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM. During this meeting, they will go through the Level 1 course selection presentation/process for 2025-2026 and allow time at the end for anyone who would like to ask questions.

The Gonzaga administration will also speak with the current Grade 9 students at MacDonald Drive Junior High School on Tuesday, February 11th, 2025.

We ask that you discuss these options with your child and complete the online course registration through your child’s PowerSchool account. It is extremely important that all Grade 9 students have their login credentials for PowerSchool to complete this process. With regards to PowerSchool, it is extremely important for parents to also have their parent account enabled so permission forms can also be completed. If you do not know your login credentials, please contact an administrator at MacDonald Drive Junior High.

Below you will find all necessary documentation links for you to make an informed decision when discussing your child’s options for next year. All Level 1 course selections for the 2025-2026 school year will need to be submitted no later than Thursday, February 20th, 2025. Students will not be able to access their course selections on their PowerSchool account until 3:00 pm on Friday, February 14th, 2025.

• Grade 9 Course Selection Presentation
• Benefits of French Immersion at Gonzaga Presentation
• Level 1 Course Selection Sheet
• 3 Year Planner
• PowerSchool Link
• PowerSchool Course Registration Instructions

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact a member of the of the Gonzaga
administrative team:

Mr. Andrew Cluney

• Principal
• andrewcluney@nlschools.ca

Ms. Gillian Browne

• Assistant Principal
• gillianbrowne@nlschool.ca

Mr. Peter Keough

• Assistant Principal
• peterkeough@nlschools.ca

The February Newsletter is ready for you, a little early!

Click here to read it!

There will be Grade 8/9 Boys Indoor Open Soccer Tryouts

• Wednesday, January 29th, 2:30 – 4:00pm
• Monday February 3rd, 2:30 – 4:00pm.

Hi from Strong Harbour Strings:

I’m reaching out to let you know about an exciting series of musical workshops for youth, presented by Strong Harbour Strings! These workshops take place on the last Sunday of each month, and are free to attend! Registration forms for all the workshops can be found here: https://linktr.ee/shs.events

The first workshop is taking place this Sunday, January 26th at 2pm! Led by local percussionist/drummer Chuck Bucket, participants will learn about percussion instruments, and take part in interactive activities that focus on rhythm and groove! Register here!

Please feel free to pass this information along to the families of your students, or any young people in your life (ages 8-16) who might be interested in taking part!

If you have any questions, you can contact me here at shs.concerts@gmail.com.

January 27th is scheduled as a PD Day. There will be no classes that day – we will resume classes on January 28th, 2025.

Exams – they are underway and will not be finalized until after February 5th, 2025.

Teachers are not permitted to send out marks to students or parents nor enlist on PowerSchool until the examination block has ended.

We appreciate your support while we navigate through the examination process.

There were a lot of teachers, students, and staff wearing their jerseys today in memory of J. D. Trainor. Here are some of the teachers and staff displaying theirs.

Invitation for Boys & Girls ages 9-14 to participate in the Knights of Columbus Basketball Free Throw 2025 Championship.

The students’ age for this competition is determined by age as of January 1.

Event Details
Date: Sunday, January 26, 2025
Time: Registration will take place from 11:30am – 12:00pm and the competition will begin at 12:00pm.
Location: Macdonald Drive Junior High Gymnasium (Enter off Toronto Street)
All participants will complete a registration form upon arrival. A parent/guardian will have to sign the registration form.

This event is sponsored by the St. Paul’s Knights of Columbus Council #11776.

Donald Mackey (MDJH teacher) is the coordinator for the event. Any questions please contact donaldmackey@nlschools.ca.

The winners of this event will advance to the District level competition on Sunday Feb. 2, 2025. Same time & location.

You may have heard that we have lost one of our NL Schools students to cancer over the past week.

Tomorrow, January 22, is his Celebration of Life.

While many of us are unable to be in attendance, we are asking all students and staff to wear a Jersey in memory of JD Trainor.