Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Month: January 2009

SWAT Teams Descend on Sudbury Catholic Schools

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SWAT Teams are alive and well at Sudbury Catholic Schools…SWAT (Students Who Assist Technology) launched this new and exciting initiative at the Board’s Catholic Education Centre.
Forty students from eleven of the Board’s schools participated in a one-day session with the TIM Teachers (Technology Integration Mentors) and Tech Coordinators.

The SWAT teams have a very important mission: Helping to bring technology into their 21st. century classrooms.

One student from each of the Grade 7 and 8 classes was nominated by their teacher to join the inaugural team of Students Who Assist Technology. Grade 7 and 8 students at SCDSB are part of the “One to One Laptop Program” in which each student has a Macbook laptop to use for the school year.

As any classroom teacher will tell you, it is not only difficult to keep up with the ever changing world of technology, but it is especially difficult to keep up with the technological aptitudes of the students – or said simply “the kids know more than the adults.” That is why the SWAT team was formed.

These students will be recognized as the experts they are. The goal is to have them help with the little problems that arise when using technology in the classroom. The students will also be asked for feedback on various aspects of the laptop program and are asked to share their knowledge with others. From time to time, the group will gather in person but for the most part it will be done through the use of technology. In fact, they had the opportunity to reflect on their day and give feedback through a wiki. A wiki is an interactive webspace where students are able to post their comments and respond to the comments of others.

This group is not expected to tackle this mission alone. Along with Lisa Samuels, Technology Coordinator, three teachers have been assigned the task of helping teachers to integrate technology into the 7 and 8 classrooms this year. These teachers are called Technology Integration Mentors (TIM teachers). Each TIM teacher supports fifteen different classrooms and has taken on the role of organizing and guiding the SWAT team.

The first day with the SWAT team included team building games and exercises, a video chat with the Superintendent of Education Jean McHarg, an overview of their roles, a tour of the Information Management Services Department, an interactive whiteboard activity, words of encouragement and thanks from the Director of Education Catherine McCullough, followed by a pizza lunch. After lunch students had the choice of creating podcasts, promotional videos, logos, instructional videos, posters, brochures or songs, all within the overall theme of the Laptop Program. SWAT Team students used the Macbooks to produce projects of considerable quality in a short period of time.

These new ambassadors for the laptop program have returned to their schools where they will take on a leadership role in their classrooms and will be called upon to assist students and staff with basic troubleshooting, software questions, setting up and using projectors, interactive whiteboards and many other technologies.

The Sudbury Catholic Board Brings the World of the Classroom to the Vistas of Killarney

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The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is embarking upon a new initiative that will seek to support and expand the educational, cultural, and historical aspects of Killarney Village and St. Joseph Catholic School by establishing an outdoor education centre in the heart of the small community. The school board owns 7.24 acres of property associated with St. Joseph Catholic School and would serve as the host site for the centre.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be partnering with Killarney Provincial Park to offer programming that will be based on the Ontario Ministry of Education school curriculum and will add the bonus component of a unique Killarney experience. The centre will focus on outdoor education but will also offer students the opportunity to learn about healthy living, child and youth stewardship, values of faith, community studies, aboriginal teachings, ecological and environmental studies (focussing on how current practices influence the world around us and the sustain ability of resources in an ever resource hungry world). The ecology focus will extend across elementary through to secondary and even post-secondary opportunities.

The secondary opportunities would permit biology and geology students the opportunity to undertake actual field course experience that would better prepare them for making career and post-secondary choices. From the post-secondary perspective, courses could be developed that would support university courses (or be a direct part of these courses) in a broad range of disciplines, most notably ecology and geology.

Groups that have been consulted include Science North, the City of Greater Sudbury, FedNor, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Laurentian University, Cambrian College, College Boreal, the Municipality of Killarney, several community businesses in Killarney, and many, many more. Some funding has already been committed to this project from outside sources.

The Sudbury Catholic Board has passed a motion at the January 20, 2009 board meeting supporting the position of Start Up Coordinator for the project and who will be starting this week. The start up coordinator will develop and implement a project plan which will allow schools to begin booking trips for this spring. Initially, the programming will involve Grade 6 Science, Grade 10 Science – (Grade 9 next year) and the development of an orienteering course that would be accessible for all grades.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is fully committed to the successful launch of the Outdoor Centre in May 2009. More information will be provided in the upcoming weeks.

Bartolucci Announces $6.2 Million for School Facilities in Sudbury

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The Ontario government is ensuring that students in the Greater Sudbury area will have safe and supportive learning environments by providing $6.2 million in new funding to local school boards through the Good Places to Learn program, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced.

“We continue to improve students’ learning environments in order to help them reach their full potential,” said Bartolucci. “By investing in education today we are paving the way for a stronger Ontario tomorrow. We see extremely high returns when we invest in our kids and when that happens, we all benefit.”

Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board thanked Mr. Bartolucci and the government of Ontario for the funding announcement under the Good Places to Learn program. “As we can all attest to, as our schools age and the costs of repairing and updating our buildings continues to rise it places a tremendous strain on school board budgets in order to ensure that our students have a safe, clean and healthy working environment,” stated McCullough. “Today’s funding will definitely help our board with the repairs to our older schools with respect to the purchase of new boilers, the repairing of roofs, replacements of windows and upgrades to our facilities especially our science labs and gyms.”

The funding announcement was presented at a news conference held at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Catholic Education Centre on January 19, 2009.

According to Bartolucci the investments in school infrastructure will strengthen the economy and create jobs and position students for success:

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will receive $1,140,962 in funding under the fourth stage of the Good Places to Learn program.

Since 2005, the Good Places to Learn program has been improving the condition of schools in Greater Sudbury and across the province. To date, local boards have received over $57 million to undertake necessary projects:

• The Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, $14,670,031
• The Rainbow District School Board, $22,111,600
• The Sudbury Catholic District School Board, $14,698,966
• The Conseil scolaire de district du Grand Nord de l’Ontario, $5,819,670

The total provincial investment to date in the Good Places to Learn program has been $4.8 billion.

“The McGuinty government recognizes that building and improving school facilities creates safe and engaging places for our students to learn and grow,” said Bartolucci. “Every single project helps to strengthen our communities and supports the future of Greater Sudbury.”

Quick Facts

• Since 2003, more than 200 new schools across Ontario have been opened or are under construction, with plans for an additional 100 schools underway.

• To date, almost 12,000 renewal projects are underway or completed in schools across the province.

Accommodation Review Process Continues to Move Forward at Sudbury Catholic Board

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The Sudbury Catholic District School is currently undertaking the Accommodation Review Process in its North/West and South Central Planning areas. It is considered a best practise among school boards to hire a demographer that has the expertise in long term capital planning and enrolment projections. The board hired the reputable firm of Watson and Associates to assist with the Accommodation Review process under the following directives;

• to identify pupil enrolment projections and sustainable enrolment levels
• to Determine Capital Expenditures Needs and Costing Analysis
• to propose recommendations of Overall Accommodation Strategies

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Accommodation Review Process has been ongoing since September 2008. This process has been and continues to be an open and transparent process where information is shared with the public and their input is sought.

This Accommodation Review Process is outlined in legislation and is currently taking place in the majority of boards across the province. The final outcome of the Accommodation Review Process is such that the Accommodation Review Committee will make recommendations to the Director of Education. The Director will then in turn make recommendations to the Board.

It must be made very clear that no decisions can be reached until the integrity of the process has been carried out. The final decisions will be made by the Board’s Trustees by the end of May 2009.

St. Mary Catholic School to Celebrate Aboriginal Literacy Day

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St. Mary Catholic School will be celebrating Aboriginal Literacy Day on Tuesday, January 27.

The celebration of the day’s agenda is included below;

9:00 a.m.

– students and staffs meet in gym
– welcome by Principal, Gen Waszczylo
– O’Canada / morning prayer in Ojibwe

Will Morin – guest speaker (hands on “Gifts of the Seven Grandfathers” presentation)

10:00 a.m.

– break (bannock and jam for whole school)

10:15 a.m.

– 4 workshops – each workshop will be facilitated by a teacher leader and an Aboriginal community member (teacher will conduct a read aloud, then assist community member in providing students with an authentic Aboriginal learning experience)
-#1 Dream Catchers (Will Morin)
-#2 Drumming (Verna Hardwick)
-#3 Dancing
-#4 Bannock (local community member)

Students will rotate through the workshops.

Sudbury Catholic District School Board Secondary Schools “Open House and Information Nights”

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Sudbury Catholic District School Board Secondary Schools are hosting “Open Houses and Information Nights” in January and February 2009 at the following dates and times.

St. Charles College, Tuesday January 13, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Marymount Academy, Thursday February 5, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
St. Benedict CSS, Tuesday February 17, 2009 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Bishop Carter CSS, Tuesday February 17, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Staff and student representatives from each of the secondary schools will be on hand to answer any questions during the “Open House” sessions.

All Grade 8 students and their parents or guardians are welcome to attend.

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