Our 3rd iLITE conference was held on Thursday, Jan. 31st in the beautiful auditorium of St. Patrick’s Catholic Secondary School.
We had 22 schools, 411 students, 32 teachers, 18 workshops, 576 juice boxes, and 1104 slices of pizza!
Everything we do is rooted in the FAITHEach school was asked to bring penny bags worth $25. Each bag provides clean water for one person in Africa for a lifetime!FTC warms up the crowd by teaching over 400 elementary student leaders the We Day danceStudent leaders from St. Vincent de Paul lead us in prayer with their teacher Johanna Skoreyko SprulesOur fabulous emcees, April from Our Lady of Fatima and Twixx from Francis LibermannOur visual scribe Disa from http://www.dscribe.ca starts her masterpiece capturing the day in beautiful picturesOur keynote speaker, Joel Hilchey picks a brave soul from the crowd to disarm a mousetrap with her bare hands!Joel states that he was part of the boy band Hanson (he definitely had the same hairstyle)Student volunteer can’t resist playing with “rat” trapsJoel Hilchey demonstrating his juggling skills with 3 loaded rat traps!Joel explains why “real life” is more fun rather than impersonal texting or social media interactionStudent leaders practice a secret zookeeper handshakeNow that’s a fancy handshake“Let’s practice one more time”Disa’s masterpiece is taking shapeChris and Courtney from Free the Children speak about the value and importance or waterSarah Hildebrand from Millennium Kids talks about the Millennium Development GoalsAlmost time for lunch……on the count of 3 make some noise!!!Mikey Mike from Positive Gear see’s which section of the crowd has the best dancerThe crowd goes crazy watching these crazy dance movesOver 400 elementary leaders enjoy lunch in the cafeteria…….it feels like what high school will feel likeMmmmm……..pizzaNourishing the body and mind for afternoon informative workshopsLance Bucknor from R.I.S.E. Poetry starts off the talent showMC Insight aka Tanika Riley lights up the mic with her hip hop flowThe talented Linda Luztono graces the mic with her beautiful vocal skillsMC Testament blows up the stop with his lyrical vibesMuch Music’s official dance crew, the Geek Freaks make the crowd go wildFollow @geekfreakstvMikey amazes the crowd with his “double-jointedness”Mikey Mike and Justin Bacchus get the crowd involved“Hands on your knees, hands on your kness” (Cha Cha Slide)
All schools were asked to create a presentation board to highlight all the amazing Catholic Student Leadership initiatives happening at their school.
St. AnthonySt. AlbertOur Lady of FatimaSt. Thomas AquinasHoly NameWhat school are you? Write a comment below and tell usSt. AlbertStella MarisSt. NicholasBlessed SacramentSt. AnthonyWhat school are you? Write a comment below and let us know.
In the afternoon, student leaders had the opportunity attended 18 different informative workshops.
Toronto Public Health – Substance Misuse Prevention – Ayobami Fatola & Sandra DaviesFree the Children – World Map – Taylor Selig & Liliana BeggColour of Poverty, Colour of Change – Why does different mean bad – when diversity is good!? – Michael KerrToronto Public HealthMillennium Kids – Who’s got the stuff? – Sarah HildebrandAcademic AICT (TCDSB) – Power 2.0 Web Tools: Maximize Your Learning for Maximum Results – Mario Addesa & Liane PaixaoTCDSB – Catholic Leadership and Social Justice – Kevin LoboTCDSB Art Department – Boo to Bullies!!! – Leda MilesTCDSB Religion & Family Life – Michelle Peres1Focus – The Glass Elevator – Isabel Ng-Lai & Miranda Dela CruzJohn Maxwell Team – Hold Your Image – Kevin D’SouzaR.I.S.E. Poetry – Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere: Spoken Word Motivation 101 – Randell Adjei & Lance BucknorThe Student’s Commission of Canada – Blueprint: Addressing Violence in Women’s Lives – Sharif Mahdy & Angie BradleyPor Amor / PEACE – Using the arts for the spirit, body and mind – Matthew Jones & Tanika RileyMoney Smarts 4 Kids – Give yourself credit – Richard RainfordThe Angel Foundation for Learning – The Leadership Toolbox – Jessica ColucciTEACHER WORKSHOP by EGALE Canada – Safe and Inclusive Communities for LGBT StudentsWe close the day in prayerStudent leader Patrick Parro (St. Michael’s Choir) and Matthew Ennis (OISE) lead us in a powerful and interactive prayer servicePrayer service was a cool mix of modern songs within a religious contextVocalist Justin Bacchus blessed the mic with his powerful voice – “When we sing, we pray twice.”
Here’s a summary of some of the stuff we learned @ iLITE captured by Disa from www.dscribe.ca
Check out this awesome Geek Freaks Video capturing iLITE from Day 1, 2, and 3
See you at iLITE – Blessed Mother Teresa tomorrow!!! (Our biggest one yet)
As always, God Bless all of your incredible work, take care and have a great Family Day Weekend, all the best to you and your loved ones! Peace and Hope, Steve De Quintal
This is an activity that should be shared by as many as can be accomodated; and is every year. The opportunity to attend in a documentary capacity has always an eye opening filled event with plenty of energy spread about for everyone. At the end, is there a feeling of Information overload? Yes. Tired? Good.
Catholic Student Leadership 
As always, God Bless all of your incredible work, take care and have a great Family Day Weekend, all the best to you and your loved ones! Peace and Hope, Steve De Quintal
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Thanks Steve! Enjoy family day.
This is an activity that should be shared by as many as can be accomodated; and is every year. The opportunity to attend in a documentary capacity has always an eye opening filled event with plenty of energy spread about for everyone. At the end, is there a feeling of Information overload? Yes. Tired? Good.
Thanks Geoff for sharing your skills with us!