Alumni 2005 - 2009

As a composer, he has a knack for writing catchy, joyful melodies that capture the spirit of any given project. Some of his more notable works include the video game soundtrack to 2019 Webby Award Honoree Super Sloth, the music for the Turbo Pug  video game series and the soundtrack to the short film documentary, Black Experience Project.

He is also noteworthy as a flexible and cordial collaborative pianist, having accompanied for the MacMillan Singers at the University of Toronto, the Mississauga Children's Chorus, and the Ault Singers, among others. Currently he is accompanying church services at St. Pius X Parish.

Felix Arifin is currently based in Toronto, Ontario.

                  Victoria Altomare 2005 - 2009

Victoria Altomare was a student at Blessed Cardinal Newman from 2005 to 2009.  She was the valedictorian at her graduation ceremony. During the past two years, Toronto native Victoria Altomare has emerged as one of the bright new lights on the beach volleyball scene, with a cluster of glowing achievements. These include gold medals in two National Championships, a first ever gold for a Canadian in the 18-under American National Championships, and an unprecedented silver medal with her partner Melissa Humana-Paredes at the 2011 FIVB Under 21 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia (the first Canadian women ever to stand on the podium at a FIVB event), as well as a curio’s store of sportsmanship and outstanding athlete awards.
 
This past April, Victoria and Melissa Humana-Paredes mounted the podium again at the 2012 Ontario Sports Awards (Ontario Place), where they picked up the prestigious “Team of The Year” honours.

Although Victoria did not at this summer’s London Olympic Games, she hopes to represent Canada on the sand courts at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. And while it maybe premature to earmark her as a Canadian medal hopeful for a future Olympics, judging from her meteoric rise in the world volleyball ranks, and her ongoing passion and commitment to the sport, one gets the feeling that if all goes as planned she’ll be in the medal mix.
 
Victoria, who trains full-time at the national training center in Toronto, is refreshingly humble and clear-eyed about her achievements and her future. She admits that without the emotional and financial support of her parents, she couldn’t have pursued the sport. It follows that when asked to name her role models she quickly mentions her father, contractor Luigi Altomare, whose family hails from Cosenza, and her mother Cheridan, an Australian native. “They’ve worked so hard to give me this opportunity _and it’s slowly paying off. But let’s face it _ beach volleyball is kind of an elitist sport. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if they weren’t there every step of the way.”

 A late bloomer as an athlete, Victoria describes a radical growth spurt in grade seven that gave her a distinct advantage over her peers in volleyball. After mastering the indoor game, she turned to the beach variation during summer holidays to keep her skills sharp, and liked the game’s freedom from politics and combustible team tensions. “It’s just you and your partner,” she concludes. “You can’t run, can’t hide. So you have to be motivated.”
 
Of course, she relishes performing for ardent crowds and traveling the world. At her first world championship in Turkey, she recalls “receiving not so much a culture shock as feeling awed by the pure spectacle.” But even with all her medals and a strong debut on the pro circuit, she’s realistic about a career in beach volleyball. “Except for the top 10 players, most volleyball pros live paycheck to paycheck. It’s not an easy life.”

                                       Update

                                                             [2 January 2021]

Victoria obtained her M.A. in Child Studies and Education from the University of Toronto. She is now teaching English at Upper Canada College where she coaches volleyball, basketball and track and field.   She did her teaching internship at Branksome Hall IB World School and is a program developer and coordinator for Pakmen Volleyball Club.

Mary Anne was a student at Cardinal Newman from 2000 to 2004. She was in the Extended French program and also played several sports as a Newman Knight. Mary Anne was named athlete of the year four times for her participation with the cross-country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, track and field, field hockey, and boys soft ball teams. 

Mary Anne attended the University of Toronto and completed her undergraduate degree in English while competing with the Varsity Women's Soccer Team. She then ventured to Brisbane, Australia where she completed her Master's in Speech Pathology Studies at the University of Queensland.

 

Mary Anne has since returned from down under and has been working at Sunnybrook Health Science's Centre on the acute care stroke unit for the past three years. There she specializes in the identification, assessment, and treatment of swallowing and communication disorders after stroke. Mary Anne has also expanded her practice within the University Health Network as a speech language pathologist working in the acute care setting. 

Abigail Bernardez was a student at Cardinal Newman from 2003 to 2007, where she was an integral part of the cheerleading team and involved in the Athletic Assocation and Student Council.  She was a member of the Extended French programm, as well.

She is currently an Occupational Therapist at the William Osler Health System, where she has worked since September 2014.  As an occupational therapist, Abigail assesses acute care clients in order to create appropriate treatments plans and prepare patients for safe discharge home or in their new facility.  She educates clients on the activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing and safe transfers to promote independence.  Her job involves liaison with her interprofessional team to provide continuity of care and an advanced level of communication. 

Abigail had the wonderful opportunity to do a two-month placement in Singapore in 2014 at the Hand in Hand Occupational Therapy , where she worked with children from age 2 to 12.  There she conducted treatment sessions with children and parents using various equipment in the context of sensory integration practices to educate parents in supporting their child’s sensory needs. 

In 2007, Abigail was chosen Miss Teen Toronto, where she won the Miss Congeniality award and had the chance to meet fellow Canadian Tonya Lee Williams.  She has appeared in the feature film “Charlie Bartlett” as well as the series “The Best Years”.

  

    

        Lequanne Collins-Bacchus  2005 - 2009

Lequanne attended Blessed Cardinal Newman from 2005 to 2009.  She was involved with the Treehuggers, in Concert Band, the Law Team, Day of Service and the National Society of Black Engineers. 

An intellectual peripatetic, Collins-Bacchus has studied at Carleton University philosophically and has worked in various capacities from researching machine learning at OCAD University to copy-editing for online publications to participating in a Google hackathon for equality. Founder of Ryerson-incubated technology consultancy, PAERE, she has developed community-based approaches to technology engagement through makerspace programs, building a Chrome extension, and a public augmented reality gallery to be exhibited in summer 2018.  A digital inclusion advocate, she has spoken and presented her work in Toronto and London, UK at Mars Discovery District, Mozilla Festival, Toronto Offsite Design Festival, Make Change at the Design Exchange, the United Nations, Tineye, Toronto Public Library and upcoming in 2018,  Nuit Blanche Scarborough. A top-4 shortlisted inaugural 2017 Code for Canada Fellow, Lequanne is fascinated by the intersection of community engagement, digital media, and e-service.

 

In 2018, Lequanne will be honing her passion for technology governance and digital transformation in her Masters of the same name at Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia, the only country with a digital government. Just 26, she aims to continue growing in the field of innovation and e-governance while re-imagining how the public engages with technology.

                                    Update

                                                        [2 January 2021]

Lequanne is currently an advisor at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat working on files related to the D9.

Her past work in digital transformation includes being a 2019 Code for Canada fellow at the Canada Energy Regulator, advising on Ontario’s first Data Strategy at the Ontario Digital Service, and researching artificial intelligence at OCAD University.

Ashley Da Silva was a student at Cardinal Newman from 2005 - 2009. She was enrolled in the Extended French Program and was the Cardinal Newman Ice hockey team scorekeeper throughout all four years of high school.

 

Ashley Da Silva is a dancer, performing artist, dance educator and magician based out of Toronto, Ontario. Having trained in classical ballet, jazz and rhythmic gymnastics from a young age, dance and performance art has always been a part of Ashley’s life.

 

In 2011, Ashley teamed up with her partner Neil Croswell. As a magic duo they would go on to complete tours of Asia, Africa, North America and Europe, as well as to appear on television and cruise ships worldwide.

 

Notable Television appearances include “La Grande Magia - the Illusionist” filmed in Rome, Italy, “Penn & Teller - Fool Us” filmed in Las Vegas and “Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde”, the largest variety television show in the world, filmed in Paris, France.

 

While not on an out-of-town assignment, Ashley teaches ballet, jazz, lyrical, hip hop and rhythmic dance to students of all ages.

 

To see some of Ashley’s performances, click on The International Illusionist video or

 

Or copy/paste the url below:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RwTdVQWhdtY

 

Ashley Docking attended Blessed Cardinal Newman from 2001 to 2005. She played basketball and soccer while in high school. After Newman Ashley attended Seneca College from 2005 to 2009 for business and marketing. She then studied at the College of Sports Media from 2012 to 2014. 


Ashley began her career as a community reporter, writer and producer with the Edmonton Oilers before taking on the role of sideline reporter for NBA TV Canada in 2015 and digital correspondent for the NBA Summer League in 2016. From there, she became the sports anchor for CHCH in Hamilton and went on to act as reporter, host and producer with the National Lacrosse League. A former college basketball and soccer athlete, Docking is also a member of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association’s (OCAA) Hall of Fame.

 

 

Caddy Superville    2004 - 2008

 

Caddy Superville attended Cardinal Newman from 2004 to 2008.  At Newman she was a performer for the One Community celebrations as well as dancing on Newman’s stage on numerous other occasions.

 

Caddy is currently a dancer, instructor and choreographer.  Her teaching is primarily at the Underground Dance Centre in Toronto.  Her training consists of hip-hop, whacking and house dance in Toronto and in New York City. At 13 Caddy began training at the Toronto Dance Industry and soon after received a scholarship to attend the O.I.P.  summer programme with professional training from Luther Brown, Neekz and Mariano.  

 

Sinead Zailtach  2005 - 2009