TLC’s show “Ace of Cakes” has nothing on the students enroled in the Exploring Baking and Pastry Arts Dual Credit program at Cambrian College. Sudbury Catholic students Amber Walker (Marymount Academy, Grade 12) and Carlie Vautier (Marymount Academy, Grade 12) were able to show off their extreme baking skills recently as their class was commissioned to create a cake for retiring Cambrian Professor Rick Cooper. Cooper is the Coordinator of Art and Design Fundamentals program and is known for his passion for sailing and his love of bowties. The Dean’s office asked the bakers-in-training if they could produce a cake that paid tribute to Cooper. The end result was a cake entitled “The H.M.S. Bowtie” which was a stunning three tiered cake – each tier a different mouth-watering flavour.
Gaston Theriault, College Link Consultant for the Catholic School Board was amazed with the students’ final product. “What is astounding is that they do everything from scratch in this program,” Theriault said. “Nothing comes out of a box and everything is done on site.”
Kelleen Schonfeldt, Student Success Coordinator for the college spoke glowlngly about the program. “It is all about finding their passion,” Schonfeldt said. “It is so important that they take this great opportunity to find their own place in this program and by exploring the dual credit initiative, the students are able to do things outside of what they might not have considered otherwise.”
As people gathered around the cake to admire it from up close, student Carlie Vautier couldn’t help but smile proudly. “I have always been into cooking and baking,” Vautier said. “I looked into summer programs and found out about this program, applied and was accepted. Being in this program allowed me to see that my strengths are in baking and I do now think I have a future in this industry.” Vautier also spoke very highly of the staff at Cambrian and how supportive they have been throughout the term. “They really treat us like mature adults and give us a real college experience, especially Dual Credit Chef and Professor Lynne Van Beek. She is an amazing teacher and has really made it possible for us to be so successful.”
Many of the students have already found summer jobs in the industry. As well, many are considering registering for the second semester of the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Cambrian as their current program counts as semester one.
Month: May 2010
St. Charles College Student Wins OECTA Young Authors Award
St. Charles College student Jillian Campagnola didn’t have any clue that her passion for writing would win her any awards. In her grade 12 Writer’s Craft class, the assignment was to write a ghost short story or myth. Campagnola chose the ghost story. Entitled “White Rage”, her story revolves around a house haunted by an enraged rabid Great Dane dog (ghost) that lives in the walls. Owner of her own big dog, a rottweiler, Campagnola knew that she wanted to include a big dog in her story. Campagnola submitted her story to teacher Nancy Daoust and the end result was top honours in the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association Young Authors Award.
When asked about how she felt when she found out she won, Campagnola replied, “I was really, really surprised and very excited because writing is one of my passions and I just love to write.” Campagnola plans to continue her writing craft and hopes to sign up for more of these classes at University in the fall.
De-ba-jeh-mu-jig (Storytellers) Theatre Hits Home
The drizzly weather did not dampen the spirits of our Native Studies and Native Language students from St. Charles College and Marymount Academy, on their outing to Manitoulin Island. The students saw the play “The Indian Affairs” by Debajemujig Theatre, which has central themes of understanding Aboriginal People’s worldview and place in the social fabric of Canada. The students toured a few of the historical sites of Wikwemikong and had a lunch celebration at Zaawmiknaang Outdoor Eatery- owned and operated by Martina Osawamick, the grandmother and auntie of a few of our Native Studies & Language students. It was a wonderful learning experience and the students are hoping to return next year.
St. Francis Hosts Fun Fair
St. Francis held a Spring Fair on Thursday, May 6th in the evening. A great time was had by all who attended. All the feeder schools to St. Francis were invited as well. Estelle Scappatura allowed herself to be placed in our “St. Francis Jail” for a few minutes as part of the fun!! There were various games and activities to participate in.
SCDSB Junior Girls’ Handball Tournament Results
Saturday, May 8th St. Francis hosted the Sudbury Catholic District School Board Girls’ Handball Tournament and was an excellent way to celebrate community during Catholic Education Week.
The following at the results to the tournament
First Place – St. Christopher
Second Place – St. John
Third Place – St. Theresa
Fourth Place – Corpus Christi
Many thanks to the parents, students, coaches and teachers who made this day possible.
St. James Hosts Family Barbecue for Catholic Education Week
Students, family members and staff gathered at St. James Catholic Elementary School in Lively on the evening of May 7 as the school hosted a family barbecue and celebration. In honour of Catholic Education Week, the night kicked off with a performance by the school choir (under the direction of teacher Tammy Lanci), and was followed by a short service that included a student presentation of the Virtues that are celebrated by all SCDSB schools. After grace, the crowd feasted on food that was donated by Perkins, and prepared by the Knights of Columbus. As well, the Catholic Women’s League supplied desserts for the gathering. “It is a great way to come together as a community,” Cara Soehner, Principal of the school said. “It also gives our students and their families the opportunity to meet each other socially and spend some time getting to know one another.”
St. Michael Students Release DVD
Ms. Smith’s Grade 2/3 class at St. Michael’s School invited parents into the classroom to view their newly released DVD entitled “Grade 2/3 Fractured Fairy Tales”. Each student wrote and illustrated their own Fractured Fairy Tale. Ms. Tina Timpano, the technology integration mentor, recorded the students reading their stories, as well as their illustrations. Students and parents spent the morning enjoying popcorn and the entertaining stories. Each parent left the popcorn party with their very own DVD to enjoy for years to come.
Munsch at St. Michael
The Grade 2/3 class at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School performed Robert Munsch plays for their parents during Catholic Education Week. The room was filled with laughter as the students performed five stage adaptions by Robert Munsch.
The students created their own props and dressed up as the characters. The art of narrative and timing enriched each of the five plays!!
St. Mary Students are Winners at “Raising the Flag”
Students from both the Sudbury Catholic and Rainbow Valley East schools had the opportunity to enter a contest entitled “Raise the Flag Day”. The Kin club of Valley East once again supported this nationally celebrated event and hosted the contest for elementary students from the Valley schools. There was a picture/colouring contest for students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4 and a Literary Contest (essay or poem) for students in Grades 5 to 8. Criteria for the contest was similar as the entry had to reflect what being Canadian means to the student and each student received a certificate of participation from Claude Gravelle, MP. A total of seven Valley schools participated and three of the top winners were students from St. Mary Catholic Elementary School. Connor Foucault (Grade 2 – St. Mary) took first place and Jacqueline Brown (Grade 4 – St. Mary) took third place in the picture/colouring contest. As well, Alyssa Menard (Grade 6 – St. Mary) took second place in the essay contest. Mayor John Rodriguez was also on hand to present the winners with their awards. Congratulations to all of our students who participated in this contest!.