Month: June 2007
Sudbury Catholic District School Board Celebrates Technology
Families are cordially invited to attend the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Celebrating Technology presentation on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 (7:00 p.m.) at St. Charles College, 1940 Hawthorne Drive, Sudbury. The evening will feature the authentic works of the Board’s Grade 7 and 8 students and will demonstrate how student engagement contributes to the creation of a wide variety of wireless laptop projects; I-Movies, podcasts, interpretations of creative poetry, and historical events.
In its continued commitment to student success, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has developed strong expertise in the use of technology as a resource for improving student achievement. “Laptops have become a tool to learn with and not solely a tool to learn from,” states Paula Peroni, Sudbury Catholic District School Board Chair. “Over the last several years the Board has committed itself to the expansion of the wireless laptop program into our Grade 7 and 8 curriculum. Toward that end, in June 2006, our Board purchased eleven hundred wireless laptop computers or Macbooks as they are commonly referred to for every grade 7 and 8 student in our system. We have seen first hand the significant benefits of using grade-wide one on one laptop programming and we are thrilled that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board in partnership with Apple Canada was the first board in Ontario to champion a new innovative and successful way of delivering education to its grade 7 and 8 students.”
According to Peroni, the wireless laptop program has had a dramatic impact on student learning and student achievement. The reason for this improvement can be directly attributed to the fact that students are actively engaged by technology which translates into fewer behavioural problems, better attendance, punctuality, and more time for individualized learning. This evening is dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of the Board’s students as they embrace the technology they will be using in their upcoming careers.
SCDSB Balances Budget for 2007-08 School Year
Trustees with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board proved successful in passing a balanced budget for the 2007-2008 school year at the last board meeting before the summer break. The approved budget of $72,230,115 will sustain the positive momentum that has been achieved in the Board’s new initiatives and programs such as the “Learning with Laptops” program and complies with the objectives set by the Ministry of Education with respect to the reduction of class sizes in the primary classes.
With respect to curriculum, the 2006-2007 level of support for curriculum services including special education, professional development, special assignment teachers and secondary school co-ordinators, as well as the level of teacher support in curriculum in-service has been maintained. The budget allows for the retention of the Faith Animator position and provides for a chaplain in each of the board’s four secondary schools. There will be no reduction in the amount of the support from technology and school-administrative lines.
Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased with the budget. “I am very happy with the fact that the Board was able to bring in a balanced budget,” stated Bagnato. “The new budget will allow us to meet Ministry of Education regulation and obligations and we will continue to deliver quality services and programs to our students in order that they may achieve their maximum potential.”
Board Chair, Paula Peroni is also pleased with the budget. “Over the past few months, Trustees and Senior Administration have worked extremely hard to bring in a balanced budget that addresses some of the key priorities of the Board and its stake holders. This new budget will allow us to move forward on present initiatives such maintaining our Special Education Program, the reduction of class sizes in our primary grades and the upgrading of our wireless laptop program in Grade 9 from I-books to Macbooks which are state of the art and more efficient.”
PIUS XII Deemed SCDSB School Conservation Challenge Champions
Pius XII Catholic School was proclaimed as the winner of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s 2006-2007 Conservation Challenge. Board Chair, Paula Peroni presented the Pius XII Catholic School students with a $500 cheque and a specially designed banner which will be displayed at the school for one year as part of the Grand Prize. The presentation was made during the last Board meeting before the summer break.
The School Conservation Challenge was created by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to increase the participation in the Dearness Conservation Initiative that was introduced into all of the Board’s schools in 2001. Since the inception of the DC program, the Board has been able to achieve substantial utility savings by educating teachers, students and staff and providing them with the necessary resources through this program.
To help revitalize the program in 2006-2007, senior administration decided that a “Conservation Challenge” would be an excellent way to enhance the effectiveness of the program in addition to acknowledging the “Environmental Champions.”
The selection of the 2006-2007 School Conservation Champion involved a point system based on three categories; (i) an unannounced site visit by the SCDSB’s Facility Services Department, during the visit specific items were identified and reported with each school receiving a certain number of points (ii) an interview was conducted with the principal from each participating school. Based on the answers from the school principal, each school received points from the questionnaire (iii) In late May, schools were requested to submit reports dealing with Lifestyle Conservation Campaigns and other relevant materials such as videos/newsletters/announcements and presentations. Schools were awarded points based on their submitted materials. Pius XII Catholic School was chosen as the Grand Prize Winner based on the school that had accumulated highest total points in the three evaluations.
SCDSB Hosts Character Development Symposium
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board was the host of a special forum designed to review the Ministry of Education’s new initiative “Finding Common Ground, Character Development in Ontario’s Schools, K-12.” Representatives from the Ministry of Education’s Student Achievement Office, Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat guided Directors of Education, principals, teachers, students and the Board’s Partners in Catholic Education on an overview of the “key beliefs and principles” outlined in the Ministry’s discussion paper during the full day session.
Ann Perron, Senior Executive Officer, for the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat noted that many school boards already have character development programs in place and that this component is inherent in Catholic Boards through their “faith-based” learning and it’s Catholic Graduate Expectations.
Over the last three years, the government of Ontario through the Ministry of Education has introduced a series of initiatives designed to enhance academic achievement for all students in Ontario’s publicly funded elementary and secondary schools. Through the Character Development Initiative the government addresses a complementary and equally critical aspect of student success, focused on developing the whole student as a learner, an individual, and an active member of the school and broader community. The concept of character development is rooted in the belief that parents, schools and communities share in the responsibility for, and the benefits of the development of young people as caring, empathetic and involved citizens.
The Ministry of Education realizes that “developing character” in students is a shared responsibility. There is a need for families and schools to engage cooperatively to encourage students’ learning and maturing as social beings. Family and school alliances are necessary to create a web of support for continuous improvement in schools. Character development, at its best permeates the entire life of the school as it is woven into policies, programs, practices, procedures and interactions. It is a way of life as it recognizes that a respectful, safe and orderly school climate enhances learning.
Sudbury Catholic District School Board Encouraged by Students’ Scores on Recent Provincial OSSLT’s
Grade 10 students from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board continue to score well on Ontario Secondary School Literacy Tests (OSSLT) written in March 2007. The Board’s overall success rate of 89 percent for “Fully Participating Students” was consistent with previous scores surpassing the Provincial average of 84 percent. Marymount Academy lead the charge with a 100 percent success rate for “Fully Participating Students” followed closely by St. Benedict CSS with 91 percent, St. Charles College with 88 percent and Bishop Carter CSS with an 83 percent pass rate.
The OSSLT, introduced in 2002, measures whether students are meeting the minimum standard for literacy across all subjects to the end of Grade 9, according to the expectations set out in The Ontario Curriculum. Meeting this standard is a requirement for obtaining an Ontario Secondary School Diploma and positions students for success in their life beyond high school.
Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic Board is thrilled with the efforts of her students. “We are extremely pleased with the test results of our
Grade 10 students,” stated Bagnato. “The results from the Province of Ontario’s EQAO Assessment testing indicate that our OSSLT plan is working and reflects admirably on our students, teachers, principals and parents.”
Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic Board is also encouraged by the Literacy Test results stating that, “Our mandate as trustees in conjunction with senior administration at the Board has always been and will continue to be, to provide our students with the tools ands resources that they require to receive the best education possible. The very fact that our secondary schools show an 89 percent pass rate which is 5 percent higher than the Provincial average is proof that we are on the right track and will continue to improve on these results.”
Full details of these results are available at www.eqao.com.
St. Charles Catholic School “Johnathan Hetu Walk For Cancer” Raises Two Year Total of $12,000
The students and staff from St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford participated in the “Johnathan Hetu Walk For Cancer” on Friday, June 22, 2007 in and around the school yard. The students walked to remember Johnathan, a former student at the school who passed away from cancer and all other students who have cancer.
The school raised $5300 from the walk and $1800 from a previous “Hat Day” also decidated to Johnathan. That brings the two year fundraising total to more than $12,000 for the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC).
Callaghan Boys Bring Home the Hardware
St. Charles College students’ James and Nick Callaghan returned from the ‘E-Spirit National Aboriginal Youth Business Plan Competition’ finals in Halifax, Nova Scotia boasting a number of well-deserved awards. Seventy-eight teams and more than 200 students from across Canada participated in the set of competitions from May 14 to 16. Of the ten categories that were judged, the boys won awards in six; one fourth place finish, two second place finishes, and three first place finishes.
James and Nick also received a great deal of attention from BDC (Business Development Corporation) executives for their innovative idea re “the Ground Hook: Safety and Anchoring System” and were the only team introduced to the Mayor of Halifax. The Mayor invited the students to send their project design to the new Aluminum manufacturing plant in Halifax.
The students spent 16 weeks developing business plans which were presented to panels of judges consisting of Business Development Bank of Canada Employees and aboriginal business owners. The purpose of the “Ground Hook” is to create the job of felling a tree safer and more accurate.
St. Andrew Catholic School Welcomes New JKs
On Thursday, June 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Mrs. Chatal Morin (teacher) and Mrs. Melody Henry (principal) of St. Andrew Catholic School will welcome all the new Junior Kindergarten children registered for September 2007 at school.
The children and their parents will meet their teacher, listen to a story, create a small craft and share a snack. Junior Kindergarten students and parents are naturally apprehensive about new beginnings in September and the school staff hope to alleviate most, if not all of these worries.
The St. Andrew School motto reads:
“St. Andrew School Where Children Learn to Live, Laugh, Love.”