On June 10, St. James School in Port Credit will hold a Closing Ceremony and Mass to mark the closing of the school after 50 years.

St. James School opened in 1959 and was named in honour of Monsignor James Sheridan. Culminating a year-long review and public consultation process, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board approved the closure of St. James School at the end of June 2009 due to low enrolment. Students will be redirected to St. Dominic School for the 2009-10 school year.

The closing ceremony will include a reception, Mass and open house from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Current and former staff and students, as well as community residents are welcome to attend the event. For more information, call 905-278-3521.

• Meet & Greet - 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Mass - 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Open House - 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

WHERE:  St. James School, 98 Wanita Road, Mississauga (South of Lakeshore Road East, West of Cawthra Road)

Students from 24 schools across the province will have an opportunity to showcase their animation talents on the big screen, win awards and mingle with animation experts at the High School Animation Festival at Cawthra Park Secondary School on June 3.

Students will display their creativity in categories such as 2-D digital, claymation, stop-motion, 2-D classical, 3-D animation exercises, instructional/interactive and music videos. Before the 9 p.m. awards ceremony, guest speaker, former Pixar animator, Stephen Barnes will discuss his work on movies like Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life.

"The festival is an opportunity for students, teachers and animators to come together to celebrate their interest in animation," says Jane Michalak, principal of Cawthra Park Secondary School. "Students get a chance to show off their talents to their families, peers and industry experts."

Awards will go to the top two submissions in each category. An elementary division featuring the work of students in grades 5 to 8 has been added this year, with awards going to the top two entries and top elementary schools.

The Mississauga News is reporting that "An independent facilitator appointed by the Ministry of Education says the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board did not violate its own rules in closing St. James Elementary School in Port Credit."

The school is to close permanently at the end of this school year.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will hold a town hall-style public consultation meeting as part of its deliberations for the board’s 2009-10 budget.

The meeting will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Room 301 at the Catholic Education Centre, 40 Matheson Blvd. West, Mississauga on May 19.

Parents/guardians and community members are welcome to attend to make a presentation at the meeting or provide written input.

Those interested in making a presentation or providing comments must register in advance, either online through the board website at www.dpcdsb.org, or by calling the board’s Communications & Community Relations Department at 905-890-0708 ext. 24278 or by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for registering to make a presentation is May 15.

Each presenter will have a maximum of five minutes to make their presentation.