Our objective is to let you know about great activities, free stuff, amazing new areas of interest and some plain old fun and enjoyment too. We value intelligence and will endeavor to find exceptional, high-powered enrichment to enhance your life and learning.

I’m going to send this to you early and take time off over the Christmas break.

Cedarena- looks like skating season is upon us. Try and go there. It is quite the place.

Deep River Science Academy –anyone interested in this science & tech summer course might want to have a look. I just got the application forms.

Encounters With Canada- 1 week courses are still available. Interest is growing. Cost is $390 after the bursary. They have some very interesting courses.

Festival of New Choreography – at York University, Toronto, Canada. Contact them now for tickets. It is usually held in March.

Summer Learning Programs – there are a number that are now advertising for students to study in various parts of the world for credit courses.

Check out: Georgia Hardy Tours –"Cours d"ete a Nice", Istituto Espanol, Oxbridge Academic Programs, Oxford U. Summer Enrichment Programs, and others.

Queen’s University Mini-Enrichment Program – Apply in January. Discuss it with your parents and get yourself ready. Cost is approx. $450 for one week in early May. Kingston is a great place. You will enjoy the campus.

DO NOT APPLY ON YOUR OWN!!! THIS MUST GO THROUGH THE SCHOOL AND A SCHOOL FACILITATOR!!!!

Toronto Festival of Storytelling – for the collector of folk tales and lovers of storytelling.

Summer Camp Fair – If you ever considered getting a job at a summer camp, this fair will have many camps represented and you can easily scout around for a job.

Jennifer H., OAC, got a University of Toronto Mentorship only to have it withdrawn because there was not enough money to run the study/experiment. Andrea N., OAC, got one and is still involved as of this date.

Carolyn M. just finished a weekend conference by the Ontario Catholic Student Council Federation. She is the president this year.

The Gifted Program at Loretto Abbey C.S.S. in Toronto is well represented in the Debate Club. Cristina C., Gr.12, Urszula and Joanna Z., OAC, Sarah L. Gr. 10, Emma W., Gr. 9, have all helped round off the team.

Alexis C. will be our HOBY rep (Hugh O’Brian Leadership Foundation – in the activities) this year. She gets a weekend of leadership training in May. She is also one of the very few in this school who has signed up and will hopefully complete the Duke of Edinburgh Awards program. She also got accepted to go for a week at the Encounters with Canada program in Ottawa.

Amelia M., Gr. 9, is the new driving force behind the Loretto Abbey C.S.S. website. Should it ever start up again, thank her because she put it together with a little help, of course.

Many of your mates in the Gifted Program are in leadership positions in Loretto Abbey: Aoife O’C., OAC, is an editor of the paper, Jermaine P., Gr. 12, is a newspaper photographer, Valerie P.,OAC, is the school council president, Alicia E.,Gr. 12, and Michelle H., OAC, are also on the yearbook staff. APOLOGIES TO ANYBODY ELSE I MIGHT HAVE ACCIDENTALLY MISSED. YOU ARE ALL TERRIFIC AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED.

Jermaine P. went to a Royal Canadian Institute free lecture on "the Global Village is a myth". Try them. Find out what researching is all about. The price is right too.

And now for something quite different. Chiharu H. takes Kendo (Japanese bamboo swords) lessons and has been taking several art courses at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Sarah H..OAC, is an internet site co-ordinator and facilitator for a youth-online support and positive living group.

Stephanie T. has an amazing website on anime.

Kate M., OAC, just returned from a few days in New York City at the U.N. - Ontario Student Conference on Human Rights. She met a lot of new students from all over North America and had a great time. See what they did and some photos at:

Emma W. will be taking some leadership training at a place called Camp Ekon way up north.

Cristina C., as you all know by now, wrote a paper on "Give Like Santa and Save Like Scrooge". It will be published in the Canadian Catholic Register soon. This is not her first article to be published. Congrats.

Logic Puzzles (I have had a lot of requests for this kind of thing this year. Here are some of the best I found:)

(learn everything about financing, health care, taxes, sources of loans and scholarships, visas, organizations that can help you if you want to study out of country)

(read poetry from around the world, compose poems and enter their daily contests, lots of fun)

Best References Site (hang on to this one. It has everything: encyclopedias, newspapers, quick facts, biographies. Everything you want at one site)

Nelson Science Texts (a real school science text, all kinds of research material on topics, now only for Gr. 7-10)