The Sudbury Catholic District School Board sponsored a workshop recently for teachers, educational support staff, and parents on the educational implications for children who have received cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that functions as a sensory aid, converting mechanical sound energy into a coded electric stimulus that directly stimulates the remaining auditory nerves. Part of the cochlear implant is surgically implanted into the cochlea which is in the inner ear, and the remaining part is worn externally.

The cochlear implant provides partial hearing: it does not return the hearing to normal or “cure” deafness. It is important for health care professionals to determine if the person would benefit from a properly fitted hearing aid or from a cochlear implant. There are criteria that must be met prior to considering this kind of surgery for a deaf person.

The workshop which was held on May 16th at the Education Centre was well attended by educational staff and community partners. The presenters included: Mary Lynn Fenesse, Audiologist with the Cochlear Implant Program at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Sharon McLaughlin, Educational Resource Teacher with the E.C. Drury Provincial School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Joanne Vincent and Darlene Laferriere, Speech Language Pathologists who have developed expertise in auditory-verbal therapy, and Linda Cecutti, Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with the Rainbow District School Board.

The Sudbury Elementary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) and the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have reached a tentative agreement with its Catholic elementary school teachers. On Monday, June 2nd the union membership will vote on the tentative settlement and on Tuesday, June 3rd the Board’s salary negotiation committee will bring the tentative proposal forward to the Trustees with a recommendation for approval. George Middelton, Board Trustee and Chair of the Board’s negotiation committee and Gary Kingerski, OECTA Elementary Unit President, stated that both parties were pleased with the outcome of negotiations.

Ray Vincent, Chair of the Board, thanked teachers and both negotiating committees for achieving a tentative agreement, stating that, “good partnerships ensure improved quality Catholic education for our students and families.”

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board and the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario (CPCO) would like to congratulate Don Hopkins, Principal of St. David School for being selected Principal Of The Year. Don Hopkins was born and raised in Sudbury. A graduate of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in Sudbury, North Bay “Normal” School and Laurentian University in Sudbury, Don considers himself a true Northerner.

Don was a founding member of the local Catholic Principals Council of Ontario, Sudbury unit and has been its chairperson for the last 15 years. Don was nominated for the Principal of the Year Award by his colleagues in Sudbury for his past and continued presence as a gift in the lives of his peers. He takes time to listen, to share his wealth of wisdom, to support decisions and to re-affirm and encourage his colleagues and school community.

For the past four years Don represented his local principals and vice-principals provincially on CPCO’s Council of District Representatives. His colleagues describe Don as a witness to his faith. “He embodies the World Youth Day Theme; he is the “salt of the earth” and is certainly the “light in the world.” The Principal Of The Year Award is presented each year to an individual that demonstrates outstanding school and community leadership. Only five awards are handed out each year across Ontario; one each in the Greater Toronto Area, Western Ontario, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario.

The Sudbury unit of Catholic principals and vice-principals congratulates Don on this prestigious honour and thanks CPCO for helping to celebrate this “special man.”

The Northern Ontario Catholic Curriculum Cooperative (NOCCC) will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on May 23, 2003 at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Education Centre. The NOCCC was established in 1993 to serve English Catholic School Boards in Northern Ontario. Through the development of classroom curriculum resources and in-service sessions, NOCCC continues to provide support and professional development to 11 Catholic school boards from Moosonee to the Manitoba border. The main focus of the Northern Ontario Catholic Curriculum Cooperative continues to be that of the integration of Catholic faith and tradition. Over 150 teachers and writers from member boards have produced resource packages for use in Catholic schools dealing with the unique vision of Catholic education in faith-based communities.

Through the continued support of each of the Catholic School Boards, the NOCCC strives to address both the Provincial and local needs in support of Catholic Education. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is proud to be a NOCCC partner board and welcomes the opportunity to host this year’s 10-year anniversary celebration. Zandra Zubac, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and member of the Board of Directors of the NOCCC states that, “The Catholic School system is strengthened by increased learning opportunities for students who are taught curriculum units developed by Catholic teachers.”

For further information on the Northern Ontario Catholic Curriculum Cooperative please contact the Executive Director, Carollynn Desjardins at ph: 1-800-461-9355 or

(705) 840-2000 or via e-mail at noccc@on.aibn.com or by visiting the NOCCC website at www.noccc.on.ca

Ontario School Literacy Test results released by the Education Quality Assessment Office (EQAO) for Secondary Schools indicate that students at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board continue to perform above the provincial average. For the first time, results have been released by level of study, (Academic, Applied and Locally Developed). With respect to the students taking courses at the Academic level, only 3% were unsuccessful in passing both the reading and writing components. The Board welcomes the recent announcement by the Ministry of Education in introducing the new Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course to the curriculum. This credit course will be particularly appropriate for students that have difficulty expressing their literacy skills on a test. The course will combine remediation in reading and writing with an alternative assessment method to meet students’ needs.

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