Sports Corner - Feb 2012

Ice Hockey

The school Ice Hockey team has had an excellent season thus far. The team participated in the UCC under-12 tournament in early January and made it all the way to the Silver Cup Final. Even though the team came up just short in the end, they certainly showed signs of significant improvement over the two day tournament.

The regular season started off with a bit of a shaky start with 2 losses but the team has turned things around and won 3 straight games. The quarter finals are scheduled for February 14th at Forest Hill Arena against Northlea PS. Good luck Brown! A special thank you to all the parents for your support at each and every game.

Mr.Ellis, Mr. Weslak and Mr. Profiti

Boys' Basketball 2011-2012  

Not since the original team coached by James Naismith has the world of basketball seen such a building year.  Not since the post Jordan-Pippen-Jackson Chicago Bulls has a team had such great expectations to meet.  This year’s Boys’ Basketball Team had big shoes to fill, literally.  After last year’s City Championship the newest boys had questions to answer.  How would they deal with the entire starting line graduating?  How would they deal with one coach changing schools and the other coach stepping down?  Would the new team and new coach measure up? 

Our new coach, Darrin, deliberated and came up with 13 athletes who he thought could step up to the challenge:   Connor, Denis, Ethan, Heri, Jack, Jackson, James, Keenin, Luca, Marko, Mateo, Matthew, Sacha, Samir, and Zion. 

The boys practised hard three times a week; early mornings and late afternoons.  These athletes endeavoured to master the lay up, various passes and complicated plays.  The words Flex, Princeton, Delilah, Kim, and Motion will never be the same for members of this team again. 

The lucky 13 faced their first test on Friday the 13th in the gyms of UCC.  The team fought hard and learned some hard lessons on the coldest day of the year.  They came back early the next morning and taught some lessons of their own. 

Their next tournament was the 2nd of February.  The team battled a very tall Regent Park and hard-hitting Forest Hill to end their season.

Congratulations to all of the boys for a hardworking season. 

We extend many thanks to the parents who supported us throughout the season with rides, uniforms, Gatorade and cheering at the UCC Tournament.  We couldn’t have done it without you.

Special thanks to Mr. Profiti for all of his help with organizing the tournaments, booking the refs, sorting out the uniforms, providing us with fans and his general basketball knowledge.

The team would like to give extra special thanks to Coach Darrin for his hours of work at practices and at games, giving up his weekend, his patience, his expertise and his drive. 

Look out 2012-2013 – We’re older and wiser and coming back for more!

Darrin Chin and Mme B'Dacy

Grade 6 Girls' Volleyball

The Grade 6 girls have had a fabulous season this year! It was a full season full of emotions and close games.

Congratulations, girls, on a great season!

Mr. Macdonald, Ms Baptist and Mme Sulymko

Grade 4/5 Girls' Volleyball

The Grade 4/5 Girls’ Volleyball team traveled to Palmerston for a 3-game tournament on Thursday, February 9th.

A 25-1 loss in our first match of the day made for a very inauspicious beginning but we rallied after that, both literally and figuratively. Strong serves all afternoon from Sydney and Paola helped to build our confidence as we moved towards our end-of-the-day encounter with McMurrich.

Our final game produced what might be the greatest comeback in Brown volleyball history. With all eleven team-members contributing, and the invocation of all powers Bieber during a timeout, the girls bumped and served their way to a fantastic 26-24 victory. Special mention goes to Kianna for her back-to-the-wall clutch serving and to the Biebs for helping us in our time of need.

Thanks to all the girls for a great season!

Mr. Macdonald, Ms Baptist and Mme Sulymko

Upcoming Teams at Brown

Co-Ed Badminton (Try-outs for Grade 4 to 6 coming soon)

Grade 4/5 Co-Ed Volleyball Team

Grade 6 Co-Ed Volleyball Team

Sports Corner - Nov 2011

Girls' Football - SOUTH CONFERENCE FINALISTS!!

The 2011 Girls' Football Team advanced to the South Conference Championship game against Blythwood, the same team that defeated Brown in the regular season tournament by 30 points.

The team prepared very diligently for the re-match on October 27th. At half time, the score was 0 - 0, the Girls at Brown were full of confidence and the opponents were left scratching their head wondering why they weren't leading in the game.

After some wonderful catches and runs along with some amazing defensive stops by Brown, the Girls from Blythwood squeaked out a 6 - 0 victory over our Girls. Our team walked off the field feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride and they certainly deserved to feel that way.

Way to go Girls, 2011 South Conference Finalists. Special thank to all the parents and staff for all your support!

Mr. P and Mr. D.

Boys' Football

The Boys' Football Team made it to the South Conference semi-finals and faced a very strong team from John Ross Robertson. A good effort was put forth but they came up just short. Congratulations to all the boys for a good, solid season!! Thanks to the parents and staff for all their support.

Mr. P and Mr. D

Girls' Slo-Pitch - CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!!

It’s rare that one can say where they were when history was made.  I know that I’ll never forget where I was on October 19th where, for the first time in 102 years, our Ligers brought home a red banner: Conference Champions.  It was truly history in the making! That day at Christie Pitts, our Ligers battled the elements, sickness, nerves, errors and administrative problems and beat a tough Allenby team 4-3.  It was truly miraculous.  It was a Hollywood ending and I felt just as proud as Walther Matthau as I watched my Bad News Ligers play the toughest game of their season.

The next week, again for the first time in 102 years, Brown played in the City Finals way over at Centennial Park.  We had our curses: rogue GPS, sickness, nerves and too many oops to count. “Dos mas!” was our cheer. “Two more.”  Just two more wins were all we needed.  We ran out of time, but not out of steam as we accepted our first and only defeat of the season, with a 4-5 loss to Runnymede, which ended our season and our dreams of a black or green city banner. I felt like Tom Hanks as I told my girls: There are no tears in baseball.  We’d truly created A League of Our Own, but the better team did not win the day.

I couldn’t be prouder of our girls.  There were only cheers and no tears.  A handful of very loyal and lucky fans got to see that final game, but we all agree that something special happened.  After the loss, the girls were still smiling, still dancing, still cheering as they ate their championship hot dogs. 

I am grateful and proud to have worked with such a high-spirited group of athletes.  No one will forget our crisp uniforms: everyone in hats, everyone in jerseys.  The city will remember us for our intense bilingual warm ups and our Spanish cheers.  We will go down in the books for our fierce unique nicknames: Astro, Breaker, Cannon, Cinqo, Ice, Jagger, Legend, Primo, Prof, Proof, Rock,  and Vicious: true Ligers – the strongest animals in the animal kingdom. No one does the slow motion swagger like you ladies.

I know that we couldn’t have done it without the best parent supporters having our back. They drove, clothed, fed and encouraged us.  A great big thank you again to: Brian, Claire “My Land”, Connie “The Explorer”, Davinder, Lindy, Mona “Hot”, Nathan “Latin”, Raquel and Sarah “The Peacekeeper” for your support at the games.   An special thank you to David “The Weather Man” and Doran “Have Fun Out There” for coaching support.  My eternal admiration and gratitude go out to Colette “Coach” and Darrin “Sensei” for being the best coaches ever.  I am the figure head, with zero baseball skills.  Those two are the real deal and the wind beneath my wings. 

If we build it they will come… See you next year Ligers!  Cheers not tears!

Mme. B'Dacy and Darrin Chin

Girls' Basketball

The team had a try-out for Grade 6's on Nov 3rd, a try-out for the Grade 4's and 5's on Nov 4th and then a list was posted. The students on the list were invited back for one more try-out on Monday Nov 7th at 7:30 in the Gym. Once the team has been selected, the team will practice on the following dates; Nov 10, 11, 14, 17, 21 and 24 all at 7:30a.m. in the Gym.

The team will participate in a one day tournament at Forest Hill Jr. P.S. on Friday Nov 25th. More info about the tournament will follow.

Mr. D, Ms Pietrobon and Darrin Chin

Ice Hockey

Try -out # 1 - Wed Nov 23 @ Forest Hill Arena from 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Try-out # 2 - Wed Nov 30 @ Forest Hill Arena from 8:00-9:00 a.m.

The team will be selected after the two try-outs are over.

Practice # 1 - Wed Dec 7 @ Forest Hill Arena from 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Practice # 2 - Wed Dec 14 @ Forest Hill Arena from 8:00-9:00 a.m.
Practice # 3 - Wed Dec 21 @ Forest Hill Arena from 8:00-9:00 a.m.

Mr. Ellis, Jonah Weslak and Mr. P.

Sports Corner - Oct 2011

Terry Fox Walk

On Monday, September 26th the staff and students at Brown Jr. P.S. took part in the annual Toonie for Terry Walk. Students made signs and posters and carried them proudly in memory of Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. As a school, we raised $650.00 and will be sending it to the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research. Thank you to all of the staff and students for participating a special thank you to the parents for your generous support.

Boys' Football

The Boys' Football Team will participate in a one-day tournament on Friday, October 14th @ Lawrence Hts. M.S (50 Highland Hill - Lawrence and Allen Rd). Parents are asked to bring their son to Lawrence Hts at 8:30 to meet the coaches. The team will play at 9:30, 11:30 and 1:30p.m. Please pick up your child at 2:30 from Lawrence Hts at the end of the tournament. If you can't pick up your son at the conclusion of the tournament he will be dropped off at school with a parent driver. If you have any questions or concerns please e-mail paul.profiti@tdsb.on.ca

Coaches: Mr. P and Mr. D.

Girls' Football

The Girls' Football Team will participate in a one-day tournament on Tuesday, October 18th @ Lawrence Hts. M.S (50 Highland Hill - Lawrence and Allen Rd). Parents are asked to bring their daughter to Lawrence Hts at 8:30 to meet the coaches. The team will play at 9:30, 11:30 and 1:30p.m. Please pick up your child at 2:30 from Lawrence Hts at the end of the tournament. If you can't pick up your daughter she will be dropped off at school with a parent driver. if you have any questions or concerns please e-mail paul.profiti@tdsb.on.ca

Coaches: Mr. P and Mr. D.

Girls’ Slo-Pitch

It seemed that school had scarcely started and already we were asking girls to try out for this year's slo-pitch team.  As usual, it was very hard for Master Chin "Sensei" to choose among the great athletes and narrow it down to our team of 12.  We would like to thank all of the ladies who came out.  Thank you for braving the rain and the cold.  You are winners just for trying. 

Our season started with an exhibition game against John Wanless.  We are happy to announce that we won a close game: 7 to 6.  We were ready for the real thing: Tuesday's tournament.  We are again happy to report that we won all three of our games against Huron, Westwood and Northlea and were crowned the tournament winners!

We are excited to face our next challenge: our quarter final game against John Ross Robertson, tentatively scheduled for Thursday after school.  Please wish us luck!  

Congratulations to this year's Ligers, a great group of young ladies with spirit, heart, sense of humour and some baseball skills thrown in to boot.  Three cheers for: Audrey "Breaker", Cordelia "Ice", Jacqueline "Jagger", Katya "Cannon", Lauren "Proof", Leah "Cinqo", Michelle "Primo" (NOT Promo!), Natalie "Legend", Paola "Professor", Roxy "Astro", Samantha "The Rock", Sydney "Vicious" .  

Many thanks to our parents for their encouragement and support and for cheering so loudly.  Special thanks to Colette, Dorin and David for their coaching help and to Claire, Connie, and, Sara for the rides.  Merci to Mona and Colette for the refreshments.  We really couldn't do it without you.

LIGERS ON THREE: 1-2-3: LIGERS!

Coaches: Mme. B'Dacy and Darrin Chin

Cross Country

The next meet will be held: Thursday, October 13 at Ashbridges Bay, 10 a.m. start (with Grade 1 girls)

TRANSPORTATION: Parents must arrange for transportation of children to the meet and back to the school.  There are no buses for this meet.  Check the list of participants (posted on the bulletin board by the gym) if you wish to make arrangements with other parents.

T-SHIRTS AND LABELS: All children should wear their Brown School t-shirts from the last meet.  Labels will be distributed at the meet.

PRACTICE: There will be one final practice: Tuesday, October 18th but that one is for students who qualify for the City Finals (the last meet) and very keen students.

WEATHER:  On the day of the meet, check the weather and dress accordingly.  The children could be outdoors for a while.  A special Barrier-Free Race is scheduled for approximately 11:15.  All other races will stop during this race and resume afterward.

At the end of the race, your child’s result must be recorded by the coach at the finish line.  Make sure your child checks in with that coach.

REMINDER: Children who have epipens and/or puffers MUST run with them in a pouch or fanny pack.

Those students who are not running at the second meet need to have their t-shirts washed and return them to the school to either Mr. P or any of the cross-country coaches.

Thank you, parents, for supporting cross country at Brown.
Yours in long distance running,

M. Paré, Mme Bondy, Mr. Mac, Ms Fox, Ms Regan, Mme Legge, Mr. Szilagyi, Ms Warden, Mme Cloutier 

UPCOMING TEAM TRY-OUTS

Girls Basketball - end of October try-outs

Boys Volleyball - end of October try-outs

Ice Hockey - Try-out dates: Nov 23, 30 Team Practices: Dec 7, 14 and 21 - all at Forest Hill Arena from 8:00 to 9:00a.m.

Sports Corner - June 2011

Team Uniforms

Parents: the Phys-Ed department would really appreciate your help in collecting the team t-shirts that are still outstanding from several of our sports teams that have now come to a close.

Some of the missing team uniforms are from the Co-Ed Badminton Team, Girls Soccer Team, Grade 4/5

Boys Soccer Team, Grade 4/5 Ultimate Frisbee Team and the Track & Field Team.

If your son or daughter played on one or more of those teams and still has their team t-shirt at home can you please send it to school with him/her and have them give it back to Mr. Profiti. Thank you!

Girls’ Soccer

Congratulations to the members of the girls’ soccer team on a fantastic, albeit short season.  The girls in Grades 4, 5 and 6 practiced (sometimes in the rain!) for several weeks before heading into their one day tournament.  The girls played an outstanding first game (watch out TFC!!), beating Forest Hill 4 - 0.  The second game of the tournament matched Brown up against John Fisher, a soccer powerhouse.  It was an exciting game from start to finish, but the girls came up just short.

Thank you to all of the players, families, teachers and administrators for a great season!

Coaches: Mr. P and Mr. Wittenberg

Grade 4/5 Ultimate Frisbee

A huge congratulations to our Grade 4/5 Ultimate Frisbee Team! Despite our one day tournament falling on such a cold and rainy day, our mud-covered players demonstrated true perseverance, spirit and sportsmanship. Our Ultimate Frisbee Team worked very hard and played some really great games!

Coaches: Ms Fox and Ms Pietrobaun

Grade 6 Ultimate Frisbee

The Grade 6 Frisbee team has had a fantastic season and finished CITY CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Three wins and a tie at our first tournament propelled us into the South Finals.  Neither a bumpy nor wet nor muddy field at Riverdale Park was enough to slow us down as we defeated Palmerston 12 – 2 to win the South Championships for the second year in a row.  Perhaps the most amazing part of the victory over Palmerston was the fact that nine different players combined to score our twelve points.

Monday, June 13th was the final stop on our season’s journey. Winning against John Wanless in a close game and moving on to a nail biting finals match against Lambton-Kingsway. The team ran their hearts out making mad catches, big muddy dives and playing through sickness to finish off the victors winning with an 8 to 5 final score. Brown school grade 6 ultimate frisbee city champions!!!!

Congratulations to all our players on a fine, fine season and special thanks to all the dedicated parents who have shuttled us around the city.

Coaches: Ms Baptist & Mr. Mac

Grade 4/5 and 6 Boys’ Soccer

Those of you long-time readers and loyal fans will remember that Mr. Ellis, Darrin and Mme B'Dacy have been slowly building a soccer dynasty here at Brown.  It was only a few years ago that the Grade Six Boys brought home the first ever banner for Boys Soccer in Brown's 100 year history.  The colours of the banners keep changing and the numbers keep racking up.  Last year, the Grade Fours and Fives broke records and brought home the green banner.  For those of you new to the legacy - a green banner is a city championship.  That's right - last year, the boys were the Toronto Grade Four/Five Boys Soccer Champions. 

This year ushered in a year of promise and of great expectations.  The 2011 season saw the team divided:  the Grade five boys had moved up to take care of business in Grade Six with some new recruits.  The Grade Four players had moved up to Grade Five and welcomed a new crew of Fourth Grade athletes.  Choosing these two teams was not easy.  As always, the coaches, joined this year by the super sporty Mlle Ticoll, were blessed with lots of talents, yet cursed with the terrible task of narrowing it down and choosing only a few out of the great many.  The coaches thank and congratulate all those who tried out and remind everyone: You are a winner just for trying.  We wished that we could have taken you all.

The boys practiced in rain and, let's face it, more rain.  Mondays and Tuesdays after school had to be the rainiest and coldest days on record.  The boys, however, were not fazed; they had their eyes on the prize. 

The Grade Sixes were the first to be tested.  They faced their long-time nemesis: Allenby at Lawrence Heights in a game that will go down in history as: The Curse of the Mud.  You've heard of the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl?  This was definitely the Mud Bowl.  The curse worked and the team, down by two, accepted its first bitter defeat.  Bruised, but not bent, we regrouped and handed our own defeats to each subsequent team at the Puddle Bowl, Muck Bowl and Sun Bowl.  Neither scourge nor inclement weather could dampen the spirits of these brilliant warriors who finished first in their division and moved on to the next test.

Just last week they met their rivals Allenby in the Conference Finals.  This tired coach is pleased to report that the weather and the curse were broken: the Brown Ligers were victorious!  The warriors move on to the City Semifinal and Final games, Wednesday at Eglinton Flats.  We will let you know how it all played out... in September.

Meanwhile... the other half of our championship team met one sunny day for a tournament.  As the knights of yore, they played against many worthy opponents who sought to take the title.  The valiant players won the tournament and moved on to meet their next competitors.  On the hottest day so far that year, the team travelled afar afield to Kew Beach and played in what can only be called the Grass Bowl.  In grass the height of leprechauns the boys played an excellent game, but came up a little short (leprechaun short), sadly ending our season.  The team played like lions with the stealth of tigers and we are extremely proud of the Ligers who in all things, kept their heads and spirits high.  We await with bated breath to see their performances next year.

But lest I forget: There is no "I" in team.  We did not do it alone. Both teams owe a great debt of gratitude to all of the parents and grand-parents who acted as drivers, caterers, water boys and girls, and cheering squad for all of our games.  Thank you for the laundry and the moral support. We quite literally could not have done it without you.

There is certainly a "parent/grandparent" in WINNERS!  Three cheers for all of the helpers this year.  A great big thank you to Mr. Ellis, Mlle Ticoll and Darrin. We'll close out the way we do every game:  Brown on three:  One, two, three: BROWN!

Coaches: Mr. Ellis, Mme B'Dacy and Mme Tocoll

Athletics Wrap-Up

What an amazing season of sports at Brown! Yet again the student athletes have performed with grate skill and sportsmanship. All in all a great year highlighted by the following:

City Champions – Boys’ Football, Boys’ Basketball and the Grade 6 Ultimate Frisbee Team.

City Finalists – Girls’ Football and Grade 6 Boys’ Volleyball.

Conference Champions – Grade 4 Girls’ Swimming and Grade 6 Boys’ Swimming along with the Grade 6 Boys’ Soccer Team playing in the South Conference Finals on June 9th.

Thanks to all the students who contributed to this years' sports season at Brown; you certainly made the coaches, parents and the school very proud of you. A special thanks to the classroom teachers who always accommodate our hectic sports schedule and a big thank you to the office staff and administrators.

Finally a special thanks to the parents who are always present for a try-out, practice, game or even weekend tournament. The Athletics program would not be what it is without your constant support.

On a personal note I wanted to say a special thank you to Mr. Wittenberg who has dedicated countless hours coaching so many of our teams here at Brown over the past 8 years. It goes without saying that we'll feel his absence throughout the school in so many ways including and especially the Sports Teams. We wish you the best of luck always (except if Whitney is competing against Brown in any sporting event). "Tip of the cap to you my friend..."

Mr. Profiti