Primary students at St. James Catholic School in Lively were enthralled when parent Mrs. Joanne Leblanc shared her storytelling talents. With expression and actions she visited classrooms with two Hallowe’een Read-a-Louds.
Month: October 2010
Turning Points at Sudbury Catholic
Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on October 28, 2010 to take part in the SCDSB’s first annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative which stems from the Learning Partnership which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. The Board was approach last year about piloting the program and SCDSB administration felt that it was a good fit for Sudbury Catholic students as it ties in well with faith-based curriculum and the monthly virtues that each school celebrates.
Students from Marymount Academy and St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Grades 9 to 12 took part in this contest and their essays were then submitted to students at York University for the first tier of judging. Second tier judging occurred back at board level and then all names and winning essays were submitted back to Turning Points for publication. Students who wrote winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at Thursday night’s celebration.
At the awards ceremony, the students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several of the teachers involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. Jody Cameron, SCDSB Board Chair congratulated the students for their outstanding efforts and encouraged them to continue on their journey of self-discovery and emotional and spiritual growth.
English Teachers from all four Sudbury Catholic Secondary Schools participated in the Turning Points inservice on October 29 to prepare for their second semester’s English classes and Catherine McCullough, Director of Education expressed her delight that the program is now expanding. “I am thrilled that the pilot program met with such success at two of our secondary schools and know that expanding to all four will only mean that even more of our students will be able to participate in such a unique and rewarding writing initiative.”
Winning Essays included:
Grade 9/10 Awards
3rd place: Corissa VandeWeghe, Four Kisses
2nd place: Kalya Richardson, Another Person’s Mistakes
1st place: Jorden Barberio, Stripping the Blue Chair
Grade 11/12 Awards
3rd place: Alexandria Tsimiklis, A Final Goodbye
2nd place: Shelby Eyre, A Subtle Charisma
1st place: Jennifer Roy, An Unforgettable Encounter
The Power of Pet Therapy
The students in the English classroom at the Children’s Treatment Centre enjoy their monthly visit from their Pet Therapy friends. Studies have proven that many physical and emotional benefits arise out of pet therapy. Anxiety, stress, heart pressure and lung pressure decline for those visited by a dog and their volunteer.
Marymount Attends “Guts and Glory”
On Friday, October 22nd, members of the Marymount Academy Girls’ Athletic Association and various athletes from different grade levels attended the 4th Annual “Guts & Glory” fundraiser luncheon put on by SportLink Sudbury. This year’s event featured two local athletes – Alannah Maclean, an OFSAA gold medallist in Nordic skiing and Mike Coughlin, a triathlete who now calls Sudbury home. The keynote speaker was Ken Derrett who is the current VP of Marketing for the San Diego Chargers from the National Football League. At the luncheon, the girls listened to courageous stories about all of the hard work and dedication it takes to become an elite athlete. Mr. Derrett focused his energy on outlying an important “toolkit” to persevere in athletics. He spoke about the importance of education and staying current with what is going on in the world. Furthermore, he added that “having respect for all of the people who surround you on a consistent basis, will help greatly in guiding your athletic journey, whatever it may be.” The Marymount Athletic Association and the students & staff who attended would like to extend a sincere thanks to Faiella Financial for generously donating the tickets to once again attend this great event.
MMA Hosts Second Annual Parent Breakfast
The gym was filled to capacity as Marymount Academy hosted its second annual Parent Breakfast on October 27, 2010. From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. students and parents/guardians had the opportunity to enjoy breakfast, meet staff and learn a bit more about different MMA initiatives. The breakfast was put on by the school’s parent council and staff and allowed parents to meet some of their daughters’ teachers as well as talk to some of the students who are involved in school programs such as Student Council, Girls Athletic Association and Marymount Catholic Charities Council. Also on hand were members of the Parent Council who had several support books on hand for interested parents looking to read more about school and family related issues. School mascot A-Roar-a made an appearance and the morning proved to be “a-roar-ing” success!
Award Winning Author Creates Hope
St. Benedict students were treated to interactive presentations by award winning author Eric Walters, thanks to the Writer’s Union of Canada and St. Benedict staff. Students were entertained, but also came away inspired with several important messages. For example, when his first manuscript had been rejected, he stated that this only motivated him to keep writing. Walters now has more than 70 books published, which often contain the recurring theme of overcoming obstacles. The characters in his novels also encourage young people to make positive changes in the world. Walters too, is a role model for making a difference. While doing research in Africa, he encountered one of 500 orphaned children, which resulted in the Creation of Hope in Kenya. As a result of his visit, students and staff at St. Ben’s are now proud sponsors of this project.
Greater Sudbury Municipal Elections – Trustee Results
The following are the results from the Greater City of Sudbury Municipal Elections for Sudbury Catholic District School Board Trustees:
Zone 1 – Estelle Scappatura
Zone 2 – Raymond Desjardins
Zone 3 – Michael Bellmore
Zone 4 – Barry MacDonald
Zone 5 – Paula Peroni
Zone 6 – Jody Cameron (acclaimed)
Congratulations to all new and returning trustees!!
Gators Give Back
Every year at Thanksgiving, the community of Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S. gives thanks by giving back to the community with our canned food drive. These students believe it is important, as John the Baptist said, that “the one who has food should share with him who has none.” (Luke 3:11). This year, the staff and students definitely outdid themselves! They blew their goal of 2000 cans out of the water, with a final total of 5517 items of food! There was a tight competition between four homerooms, with Ms. Kozak’s class finally winning a free dress-down day with 1335 cans. Mr. McKee’s homeroom will also be sharing in the prize, as their small class of just 5 students managed to gather 1018 cans! Great fun was had by all, but more importantly, a great amount of food was donated to both the Hanmer food bank and the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Val Caron! Your generosity never ceases, Gators!
St. Raphael Students Hold Canned Food Drive
Students at St. Raphael Catholic Elementary were given a challenge. For a two week period, the students were asked to collect cans and other non-perishable food items for donation to the Sudbury Foodbank. At the end of the collection period, the grand total of cans was over 3600 and Vice Principal Anastasia Rioux was very proud. “Although the students were given a pizza party incentive, they all recognized that they were doing this for the greater good.” Rioux said. The students collected from family, friends and neighbours and the food drive was a St. Raphael student council initiative. The class that collected the most cans was Ms. Moretta’s Grade 4 class which brought in a total of 603 cans.