Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Month: September 2009

Sudbury Catholic District School Board to Celebrate “First Nation Day” Friday, September 25, 2009

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Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be celebrating First Nation Day on Friday, September 25, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the St. Joseph Catholic School, 8 St. Paul Street in the township of Killarney, and the startup of the Board’s Outdoor Education Program for the 2009-2010 school year at the Killarney Shebanoning Outdoor Environmental Education Centre (KSOEEC) at the same location from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the day is to actively promote an increased awareness, understanding and appreciation of the rich histories, cultures and perspectives of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples to all staff, students and families in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. Students will also learn about the Board’s Outdoor Environmental program.

Schedule of events:

9:00 a.m. – Students / teacher /community participants meet in circle (around fire pit)

9:15 a.m. – Students and participants help build a small tepee

10:00 a.m. – St. James Catholic School Classes arrive at KSOEEC for Outdoor Education Program

11:00 a.m. – Student dance demonstration (inside school)

11:30 a.m. – Lunch served – Indian Tacos

12:00 p.m. – Students will have their regularly scheduled lunch hour

12:40 p.m. – St. James students split into two groups, (Group A to erect tepees, Group B to participate in outdoor activity)

2:30 p.m – St. James students depart from KSOEEC

Thank you! Miigwetch!

Sudbury Catholic Schools Continue on their Journey of Success, EQAO

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On–The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) has released the school-and board-level results for three of its assessments, as well as Ontario Student Achievement: EQAO’s Provincial Report on the Results of the 2008-2009 Assessments of Reading, Writing and Mathematics, Primary Division, (Grades 1-3) and Junior Division (Grades 4 -6), and the Grade 9 Assessment of Mathematics.

Officials at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board are pleased with the results of their Grade 3 and 6 students with both grades demonstrating gains across the grid or maintaining close to the previous year’s scores. With respect to Grade 3, student scores improved in reading (from 57 percent to 58 percent), writing (from 58 percent to 69 percent) and in mathematics (from 61 percent to 63 percent). The Board’s Grade 6 students performed almost on par to the previous year scoring 69 percent in writing , 74 percent in reading and 59 percent in mathematics.

A close examination of the Board’s secondary school scores, (Grade 9 math component) reveals slight gains in the academic component (from 74 to 75 percent) with huge gains in the applied program (moving from 29 to 44 percent).

As part of the public reporting, the Education, Quality Accountability Office is profiling schools that are using EQAO data to improve teaching and learning. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that St. James Catholic School in Lively is one of 18 schools from across the province selected and profiled as an example from the English-language school boards. “These profiled schools are at various stages in their journey of learning and are notable for their demonstration of leadership, proactive initiatives, data-driven strategies and the whole-school approach to helping every child succeed,” says Robin Dafoe, EQAO’s Director of Corporate and Public Affairs.

St. James staff implemented many ideas that have contributed to the ongoing success of the school and its students. Examining their EQAO results in conjunction with classroom and board-level assessments, the St. James teachers led by Principal, Lucie Cullen developed their School Improvement Plan and pinpointed areas that required more work and specific student learning needs. “The key to ongoing school success has been the consistency of staff and the development of common anchor charts, assessments and teaching strategies, and a consistent language throughout all the grades,” said Principal Cullen. In addition the St. James staff visited two “schools on the move” which allowed teachers to share strategies, skills and expertise. Teachers also participated in a weekly Literacy Lunch where discussions centred on teaching strategies, student progress and literacy resources and webcasts. For the complete story visit the EQAO website.

Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is encouraged with the recent test results. “Our board continues to trend upward with respect to the number of our Grade 3, 6 and 9 students who have met or surpassed the provincial standards in reading, writing and math thanks to the hard work and commitment of our teachers and staff,” states Cameron.

Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is equally optimistic with the latest data. “The recent EQAO results truly portray our Board and our students in a positive manner,” says McCullough. “We are especially pleased that the results of the 2008-2009 provincial assessment reflect the inclusion of our multi-grade, communication and life-skills students.”

Donation is music to our ears, says Sudbury Catholic Board

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The Sudbury Catholic District School Board enthusiastically welcomed a cheque presentation from Newcap Radio’s Director of Programming, Rick Tompkins, at its first regular board meeting of the 2009-2010 school year. The cheque in the amount of $4,665 was donated to the Board to purchase and/or repair musical equipment in the Board’s family of schools.

The presentation also honours Newcap’s part of the agreement wherein if the Sudbury Catholic District School Board wrote a letter to the CRTC supporting Newcap Radio’s application to launch a new FM Radio Station in Sudbury; if Newcap was successful in that bid it would in return donate monies to the Board’s music program. The CRTC did in fact sanction Newcap’s request for a new radio station which led to the subsequent launch of the company’s new “Top Forty” radio station “the new Hot 93.5” a couple of weeks ago.
Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is very pleased with the donation. “We truly appreciate Newcap Radio’s support for our music program,” stated Cameron. “This money will allow us to enhance the compliment of instruments and the music program in our schools. Newcap Radio has established itself as community-based radio station that will go to great lengths to support many of the City of Greater Sudbury’s and our Board’s local initiatives and charitable events, such as our annual Big Daddy Food Drive with St. Charles College.”

According to Rick Tompkins, Director of Programming for Newcap Radio, there is a definite need for a TOP FORTY format focusing on new music here in Sudbury. The new music will also attract many new radio listeners including students of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board in both the elementary and secondary schools. Tompkins believes, “Before the launch of the new Hot 93.5 there really was no radio station in the City of Greater Sudbury that played a format that catered to an audience that wants new music. Sudbury deserves a radio station like the new Hot 93.5, we welcome our listeners to reach out to us by inviting us into their homes, cars and events.”

Summer Camp Helps Students Understand Aboriginal Culture

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The Sudbury Catholic District School Board offered students from across the Sudbury Region the opportunity to learn about Aboriginal culture over the summer months. For a two-week period students attended the St. David “Summer Camp” which offered them the opportunity to establish new friendships and to learn more about Aboriginal foods, language and culture.

The students also enjoyed the mentorship of Will Morin, a respected member of the Sudbury Aboriginal Community who engaged the students with his stories and his keen understanding of Aboriginal culture.

St. Albert’s Partners with Sudbury Action Centre for Youth

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St. Albert Adult Learning Centre has entered into a new partnership with the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY). “This partnership will open doors for youth in Sudbury by providing them with numerous learning opportunities,” says Cassandra MacGregor, Vice-Principal of St. Albert Adult Learning Centre. “Through this partnership St. Albert will help fulfill the dreams of the youth in the Sudbury area and create a passion for lifelong learning.”

St. Albert’s offers youth the ability to achieve a high school diploma in one year and grade nine and ten credits in just one month through prior learning assessment and recognition. The centre also provides non-traditional, flexible adult classes through which students can upgrade their literacy, numeracy and computer skills. E-learning, correspondence and day classes are but of a few examples as to how the Adult Learning Centre can tailor the learning environment to suit individual needs. Students can also obtain specialized computer training in Word, WordPerfect and Excel in order to better prepare themselves for the workplace and future careers.

“If I Don’t Finish, We Need to Continue”

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Terry Fox’s words “If I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me,” have inspired St. James Catholic School to participate in the annual Terry Fox Marathon of Hope. More than 350 students will participate in the walk at St. James Catholic School in Lively with voluntary donations going to the Terry Fox Foundation. Whereas Terry Fox made a monumental impact on the world, St. James Catholic School students hope that they can, in their own small way, help with cancer research.

St. David School Celebrates Safe Neighbourhoods

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Verna Hardwick, Native Language Teacher and her Grade 5 to 8 Native Language students joined local Aboriginal Artist, Will Morin, Ward 5 Councillor, Jocelyne Landry-Altman and local community members for the grand unveiling of a 15-foot sculpture made of recycled playground rockets. The sculpture was entitled “Strong Woman” and is located at the top of the green stairs near Marymount Academy and the downtown area.

The students and their teacher proudly drummed for the celebration singing the song “Strong Woman”, a song that celebrates the beauty and life giving nature of all women. In Aboriginal culture, women are to be honoured and respected for their role in keeping our world healthy and strong. The students of St. David Catholic Elementary School are proud to have been invited to be a part of this celebration for safe neighbourhoods.

Marymount Students Advance to Provincial Business Challenge

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Marymount Academy students will be competing at the Provincial Business Challenge this November in Thunder Bay. Carley Cummings and Jennifer Roy, both in Grade 12, will be representing the City of Greater Sudbury. This past June, the girls won first place and were awarded $9,000 in bursaries, cash and advertising credits at the Sudbury Regional Business Challenge.

Their business plan, “Rally Yer’ Spirits” rally towels, promote excitement and enhance school spirit at sporting events. In addition to winning first place, Marymount Academy students placed 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th at the Regional Business Challenge.

Sudbury Catholic Schools Continues to Champion Technology for Students

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In a move to further support student success, Sudbury Catholic Schools are creating greater opportunities for students and teachers to learn through technology in the classroom. The school board recently strengthened its commitment to help students learn in ways meaningful to them with the addition of Technology Integration Mentors (TIMs). The TIM teachers will support classroom teachers and students to use technology in ways that enhance lesson planning, delivery and ultimately student learning and achievement.

Already, each student in Grades seven and eight receives a MacBook laptop as part of Sudbury Catholic Schools lead in promoting effective use of technology in student learning. In addition to the expansion of the TIM staff who will support teachers and students use of laptops, the Board has also purchased iPods, digital cameras and other tools to explore and create learning that responds to individual students’ ways of learning and expressing themselves.

Sarah Falvo, a Grade 8 student at Marymount Academy, says the laptop technology has provided her with greater ways of understanding and demonstrating her learning to her teacher and classmates. “I have been using the laptops since Grade 7 and really enjoy working with them,” states Falvo. “The laptops allow us to be creative and to try new things which makes the lessons fun… we can edit our journals and essays easily in English, produce lab reports and take tests in Science and work with mathematical formulas and quizzes which are directly related to our Grade 8 Math curriculum.”

Greg Huneault, a TIM teacher, says that with effective planning and use, “the technology ultimately responds to each student’s needs and interests, and engages the student where he or she is. “When we talk of classroom technology, it helps to understand its role in providing support to each student and teacher. With our MacBook program, for instance, every student in grades 7 and 8 uses software that allows them to create podcasts, multimedia presentations such as movies with voice-overs, music, and other products. The range of technology grabs the interest and natural talent of each student, and he or she typically becomes more engaged and interested in finding ways to learn and share the learning.” Students in grades 4 and 5 use iBook laptops for similar purposes to create projects in all subjects. SMARTBoards are another tool Sudbury Catholic Schools have recently purchased for all classrooms in grades 5/6 to 8. The interactive boards allow teachers to design and deliver lessons to further engage students. Images from a laptop are projected onto the white board, which responds to a teacher’s or student’s touch that allows everyone to manipulate words and shapes on the large white screens, so students can better see and understand concepts. For example, students can observe and experiment instantly with how an object changes shape as its measurements change, or move parts of a sentence around quickly to see how meaning is changed. In Science class, concepts using video and virtual exploration of body parts can help students better understand in real life how systems work together in ways textbooks and chalk cannot.

Some secondary classrooms also use the interactive white boards, which are placing 21st Century learning technology ahead of traditional blackboards.

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