September 25th, 2018 – The CEC’s boardroom is packed with student leaders from almost every high school in the TCDSB, all dancing to Waving Flag by K’naan. CSLIT’s first general assembly of the year is underway.
During the beginning of the assembly, CSLIT’s Faith Ambassador Gabriella Davies, along with Susan Hookong Taylor, introduced the new three year Pastoral Plan, “Rooted in Christ: We Belong, We Believe, We Become,” a plan that focuses on strenthening our belonging with God and with each other. The assembly was then introduced to the pastoral prayer, and the pastoral song, taught by Susan Hookong Taylor.
General Assembly members were also addressed by Associate Director Dan Koenig, who shared the 4Cs of the leadership framework: Competency, Commitment, Character, and Compassion, all important traits for a strong leader to have.
Juan Bendana, the guest speaker for the night, then brought the energy with his DJ skills, quick jokes, lively personality, and an entertaining story that focused on how small acts, like paying for a strangers coffee tab, can make a huge difference. Juan equipped the “student influencers” with the knowledge that they can impact their communities, one act at a time, and become leaders of “today.”
Up next we get to meet this year’s CSLIT Executive Council who are lead by our Student Trustees Joel Ndongmi and Taylor Dallin. Each Exec member has a specific duty and many of them lead their own subcommittees, open for anyone from the general assembly to join.
As Student Trustees, Joel and Taylor need to find out what the greatest needs are within our schools and communities. In addition, Joel and Taylor need to figure out what issues TCDSB students are most passionate about. Based on last year’s Voices that Challenge conference (as discussed in seminar groups), the 7 most common topics that are relevant to TCDSB students are listed below.
The general assembly was then asked to rank these topics from 1 to 7, 1 being the most important. The results of this survey will steer the efforts and define the goals of our CSLIT Exec and their committees.
Results of the survey will be published before our next monthly meeting. If you were absent at our first general assembly, watch the video below and see the energy you missed.
Our next general assembly meeting is on Tuesday, Oct. 30th. 4:30-6:30 at the CEC. If it will be your first time attending, please register at www.catholicstudentleadership.com/cslit
Hope to see you all at the next meeting.
Catholic Student Leadership 
As always, I am in awe of the wonderful work you do, all the best, take care and have a great Friday!
As a newcomer, I am proud to say that I had a great time meeting new people and joining in with the event. I was uplifted by everyone’s energy. For my first time, I had a great experience at CSLIT’s First General Assembly. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting!
CSLIT’s First General Assembly was AMAZING! The guest speaker was extremely funny and I had a great time meeting new people.
What an amazing experience I loved it. At first, I was nervous of going since I’ve never been before and I am in grade 11. The first GA change my thought compelety and I wanna do more with csLIT. Juan the guest speaker was an angel and would love him come to O’Connor. I will definitely try my best to bring the Cslit vibes to my school. Now I know cslit is not just a club or a council it is a beautiful Catholic Family full of leaders. I wish there was two meetings a month because I miss it already. I really want to thank Michael Consul for making cslit the best it can be. I also wanna thank Taylor and Joel for all their hard work and commitment with Mike to make it all happen.
Love you guys.
A great way to kick off the year! I can truly say that this has (yet) to be one of the best CSLIT GAs so far. So excited for the school year 🙂
I had so much fun, can’t wait for next months GA!!!!
I had such a blast at the GA! Can’t wait for the many more in store for the school year!
The upcoming year is going to be great! Everyone’s energy is amazing and CSLIT is such a wonderful community!
First GA went so well! I’m excited for the GAs to come in the future! Here’s to more catholic leadership!
Watching the videos from CSLIT always have me smilin’ and I know the next meeting will be just as great! THIS. IS. WHY. YOU. JOIN. CSLIT
Everything at CSLIT is inspiring and amazing. The people, the activities and Chris Di Matteo. GOAT=CSLIT and Chris Di Matteo
i fell in love with catholic student leadership back in grade 5. cslit is an amazing way to keep
my catholic student leadership skills alive. i can’t wait for the year ahead
CSLIT has had such a big impact on me as a person. It has turned me into a better leader, given me so many opportunities, and through CSLIT I have made some amazing friends. I cannot wait for our next assembly!
The energy, the vibe, was ridiculous! It blew me away. Meeting new people from many other schools helped me know many others than I expected I would, than ever before. I’m proud to be apart of CSLIT, and representing my school: Francis Libermann, with pride and respect as I continue my leadership journey through out my grade 11 year. I’m really excited for next months meeting (which I hope I can make)! “CAN I GET A AHH EEE?!!”
This General Assembly was a great way to kick off the year in leadership! Having been involved in CSLIT for so long, I can undoubtedly say that it gets better each time. I cannot wait for the upcoming school year with this amazing group of leaders!
The energy was amazing, very glad to be apart of it with my friends. It feels so great to be involved!
Loved the energy and the vibe, really brings back memories of Camp O back in April and CSLIT Weekend. The GA really set the tone for the year, looking forward to the upcoming events and leadership opportunities! b/c CATHOLIC STUDENT LEADERSHIP? GET INVOLVED;)
Cheers!
What way to start off the year! The energy and positivity radiating off everyone was unbelievable. As a newcomer I felt like this GA really set the tone and I can’t wait for more to come.
Since this was my first GA, it was really surprising to see all this energy from all these different schools. It was nice to see familiar faces from camp O.
Great way to start off leadership for the year! Truly #WeBelong let’s get it Catholic Student Leadership!
Great way to start Catholic Student Leadership! This was my first time being in the general assembly and the energy from my fellow students were contagious!