Staff and students at St. Michael Catholic School celebrated St. Patrick’s in advance before the March Break by inviting the Irish Dancers to the school. Staff and students from St. Michael School ‘lucked out’ as Mrs. O’Neil arranged to have a performance from the Irish Heritage Youth Dancers. These young girls, age 4 to 17 dance under the direction of their teacher Peggy Usitalo. A fun afternoon was had by all as they watched hard shoe and soft shoe jigs and reels. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!
Month: March 2007
CUPE Local 1369 Ratifies Tentative Agreement with Sudbury Catholic Board
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 1369 and the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have ratified a new
three year collective agreement with its custodial, maintenance and warehouse staff (retroactive) from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2009. The new agreement includes the following wage increases; 2.5 percent in the first year, 3 percent in the second year and 2 percent in year three. The agreement ensures that the stable and co-operative work environment will continue at the Board’s 24 Catholic elementary and secondary schools.
On Sunday, March 18, 2007 the union membership voted in favour of the tentative settlement and on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Trustees for the Sudbury District School Board approved the new contract.
David Chezzi, National Representative and Associate Coordinator for the OSBCC stated that, “when both parties began negotiations there was a willingness on both sides to come to an agreement without having to resort to work interruptions, a strike or lockout and/or arbitration.”
Paula Peroni, Chair of the Board’s negotiating committee and Board Chair is pleased with the fact that the contract has been ratified by the membership. “The fact that the majority of the CUPE membership voted in favour of the agreement is extremely encouraging,” stated Peroni. “It reflects the outcome of the goodwill demonstrated by both parties throughout the negotiation process.”
Catholic School Trustees Welcome Funding Announcement
We congratulate the Minister of Education for the timely announcement of the Grants for Student Needs. Receiving this information in mid-March will greatly assist school boards in the 2007-08 budget planning process,” said Paula Peroni, Vice President of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA).
“Today’s announcement contained news regarding a number of initiatives that are good for Ontario students including funding to support improved Aboriginal student outcomes and more flexible implementation guidelines to assist boards in meeting Primary Class Size standards,” explained Peroni.
OCSTA is pleased that the Ministry of Education maintained its commitment to funding the fourth year of the provincial framework for education and we are encouraged by the continued priority focus on education. This announcement does not, however, address the need for updated funding benchmarks. Funding shortfalls in such areas as employee benefits, special education and student transportation will create financial challenges for some school boards across the province as they plan their budgets for 2007-08.
OCSTA will monitor and analyze the impact of these announcements on schools boards and will continue to work closely with the Minister of Education to ensure that boards have the necessary resources to meet the needs for student success.
The Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association is the provincial voice for Catholic education. Founded in 1930, OCSTA represents Catholic school boards that collectively educate more than 600,000 students in Ontario, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Power of Young Minds Unleashed at SCDSB’s Annual Science Fair
Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board visited St. Francis Catholic School on Thursday to view a number of interesting and unique projects at the Board’s annual Science Fair.
Mrs. Bagnato reviewed Cortnie Pinard’s and Maddie Dempster’s Science Fair Project, In A Cat’s Eye. The purpose of the project was to determine “why cats pupils change and what effect, if any, does this change have on their vision.” The girls’ hypothesis was that “the beams of light are directed into the cat’s eyes and change the size of the pupils.” The young scientists also informed Mrs. Bagnato that cats can see 90 percent better than humans can in the dark and they can also see in colour, except red.
Zachary Sarmatiuk, a Grade 7 student at St. Francis Catholic School made a presentation to Vice Principal Cassandra MacGregor and Rossella Bagnato regarding the effect of “winglets on airplanes.” The purpose of Zachary’s experiment was to determine if the “winglets” placed on tips of the wings of three different paper airplanes (at various angles) would increase the length of their flight. Zachary’s results indicated that with a wider-winged plane, “winglets” impacted the distance of flight. It is important to note as Zachary was quit to point out that “this experiment was only performed on paper air planes and it really depends on how good a thrower you are.”
Zachary gave special thanks to his little brother Owen who let him use his airplane book for the Science Fair project.
Twenty one of the 150 Science Fair projects were selected to advance to the Regional Science Fair that will take place at Laurentian University on March 31 and April 1, 2007.
Congratulations to all our winners, and good luck at the Regional Science Fair on March 31 and April 1, 2007 at Laurentian University!
|
Sudbury Catholic District School Board Hosts CBC National News!
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board was the host site for the CBC-TV’s nightly news program, The National with Peter Mansbridge recently. Mansbridge (surrounded by a group of techies) recorded the news live from the back of a 5-ton truck in the board’s parking lot as part of the CBC’s mandate to take the National on the road to various cities in Canada.
Featured in this particular “Road Story” was the City of Greater Sudbury’s impressive environmental recovery and regreening record from the 1970’s to the present. “Sudbury is a logical fit for a series of shows revolving around the environmental restoration,” Mansbridge stated to the media before arriving in Sudbury to do the show. “The massive efforts made to put green back in the city’s landscape will serve as an example to the rest of the country.”
The one-hour news cast surveyed much of Sudbury’s mining history and its effect on the ecology from the 1960’s when the landscape was considered to be unappealing due to the effects of acid rain to the present day Sudbury that has made major inroads in the environmental restoration. Laurentian University environmentalist, David Peterson who was also a guest on the National News program noted that over the last 30 years the City of Greater Sudbury in conjunction with CVRD INCO has undertaken major efforts to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions and has planted millions of shrubs and grasses to restore the environment and regreen the city. “Impressive efforts have been made to restore the natural environment following decades of industrial damage,” stated Mansbridge. “The (City of Greater Sudbury) is showing that there are solutions for some of these issues and is on the road to recovery.”
Word that the CBC’s National News program was coming to Sudbury created a great deal of excitement in the city as crowds of spectators gathered around the CBC’s remote trucks and mobile units to watch the program live at 9:00 p.m. and to meet Peter Mansbridge. Mr. Mansbridge took the opportunity to explain why it was important for the CBC to take the news program on the road to visit cities such as Sudbury. His interaction with his outdoor audience included answering numerous questions, signing autographs and posing for photo opportunities.
CUPE Local 1369 Reaches Tentative Collective Agreement with Sudbury Catholic District School Board
CBC National News Comes to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that it has been selected by CBC News in Toronto to be the host site for the National News featuring Peter Mansbridge on Monday, March 12, 2007.
The request to air the CBC National News “live” from the grounds of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was granted by Board officials earlier in the week and confirmed by the CBC today. According to producers of the CBC National News, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was selected as the site for newscast because of “its unique and picturesque setting, which affords a great view of the City of Greater Sudbury and the city lights at night”.
Crews and equipment for the CBC National News will arrive at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2007 to begin the setup and preparations for the newscast. The CBC National news will begin broadcasting at 9:00 p.m. to stations in Canada’s eastern time zone with Mr. Mansbridge anchoring the show from a news set positioned on the back of a 5-ton truck located on the grounds of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board welcomes the opportunity to be the host site for one of Canada most prestigious and highly respected national news programs.
SCDSB Proud Partner in Interactive Home Audit Program
Approximately 27,000 students and their families in Greater Sudbury will be asked to take part in the Interactive Home Audit (IHA) over the next few weeks – an innovative and comprehensive education program that will provide a framework for changing habits when it comes to energy conservation.
The Interactive Home Audit involves the City of City of Greater Sudbury’s four school boards and includes all 94 schools. Coordinated by the City of Greater Sudbury and the Dearness Environmental Society, the program features an online tool designed to encourage students, their families, and the general public to reduce electricity, energy and water use in their homes.
Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was on hand for the official launch of the Interactive Home Audit program at Science North. Mrs. Bagnato is proud of the role that her students are playing in the Home Audit Program. “By educating and assisting our families about conservation in our homes and businesses we are taking a positive step to sustainable change,” stated Bagnato. “We are very committed to this community wide strategy and take our role as stewards of the earth seriously.”
The information users will find when completing the Interactive Home Audit includes:
• The amount of energy being consumed in their homes
• How much money energy use is costing per month
• What efficiency measures can be implemented to reduce consumption
• Dollar savings after efficiency measures are implemented
• The impact that personal actions have on the environment
As a component of the Interactive Home Audit Challenge, a number of youth environmental teams, representing each of the four school boards, will be visiting neighbourhoods in Greater Sudbury during the month of March, to promote the IHA and Efficient Sudbury campaign. The youth teams will be sharing information on these two community initiatives and giving residents a free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb.
Tom Tamblyn, President of Dearness Environmental Society, developed the Interactive Home Audit to connect student learning about the environment with actions in our homes and community. As Tom stated recently, “we all have a responsibility to think globally and act locally. The home audit was designed to help students become ‘system thinkers’, so they can better understand sustainability principles and the impacts of their actions on their community and their environment.”
The IHA can be found online at http://sudbury.yourhomeaudit.com.
SCDSB Celebrates 150 Years of Catholic Education
Sudbury Catholic District School Board teachers, parents, clergy and staff celebrated more than 150 years of Catholic Education in Ontario during its Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) Symposium held at Marymount Academy last week. The initiative is part of a campaign undertaken by the Board and its Partners in Education to increase the awareness of what Catholic Schools are really all about.
In his opening remarks, Barry MacDonald, SCDSB Trustee welcomed guests and took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Catholic Education “For more than a century and a half Catholic Schools have enriched communities through the education of students rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” MacDonald told the capacity crowd of Catholic Educators. “Schools belonging to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board incorporate Catholic beliefs throughout all subject areas of the curriculum. Both individually and as members of interdependent teams, students are called to examine and evaluate their own contributions to physical, political, ethical, socioeconomic and ecological systems with an informed moral conscience as they learn to integrate faith with life. The English Catholic School system in Sudbury has proven to be a very successful one that provides a value added, faith-based quality education that meets or exceeds provincial standards for excellence and student achievement. By recognizing the diversity in our community and the Constitutional guarantees established to protect minorities, we will continue to provide the very best for our students now and in the future,” concluded MacDonald.
Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board echoed Mr. MacDonald’s thoughts on the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Catholic Education. “Integral to our Catholic school system is the firm conviction that it encourages and challenges students and teachers alike to become involved in issues and questions of social justice. Our faith permeates every aspect of the curriculum,” noted Mrs. Bagnato. “Catholic schools educate more than 600,000 students representing cultures and nations from around the world. You are the guardians of Catholic Education,” Bagnato told her audience. “Every thing you do promotes, preserves and protects the children we love and that is why we are confident in saying that our schools are truly Schools To Believe In.”