On December 13, 2010, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board issued the Greater City of Sudbury a challenge – give the gift of life. In partnership with the Trillium Gift of Life Network, Sudbury Catholic launched a Board-wide initiative to have Sudbury be the first city in the province of Ontario to have 50% or more of its residents be registered organ and tissue donors. Currently sitting at 40%, Dr. Frank Markel, President and CEO of the Trillium Gift of Life Network felt that Sudbury was the perfect place to issue this challenge. “I am proud to be working with Sudbury Catholic District School Board and the residents of Sudbury on this historical initiative. Tonight, we are challenging the Greater Sudbury Region to do something that hasn’t been done in Ontario before, register over 50 per cent of their community to consent to organ and tissue donation,” Markel said. “Sudbury is an inspiring community. My hope is that other Ontario communities follow their example and get their communities registered. Together, no one has to die waiting for an organ transplant.”
Catherine McCullough SCDSB Director of Education echoed Dr. Markel’s comments and expressed to the crowd her pride in the Board for embracing this initiative. “I am very proud of our Board for partnering with the Trillium Gift of Life Network for this very important initiative and I encourage the entire community to join us in this challenge to not only have Sudbury reach or even surpass the 50% registration for city-wide donation in Ontario, but more importantly, to recognize that there is no greater gift than the gift of life.”
The evening was dedicated to St. Benedict (and formerly St. James) student Ian Smyth who passed away in November and was the recipient of double lung transplants. Both of Ian’s parents, Susan and Phillip were on hand at the event and spoke about their belief in organ donation as well as their gift of more years with Ian as a result of his transplants.
Also on hand for the event were speakers Bishop Noel Simard, M.P.P. Rick Bartolucci, Mayor Marianne Matichuk, Community Advocate and Businessman Gerry Lougheed Jr, as well as several people who spoke of their life experiences as donors and recipients. SCDSB Trustee Paula Peroni shared with the crowd the anguish of losing her son in an accident as well as the joy of finding out a year later that he lives on in both a 23 year old female and 79 year old man who were given the gift of vision through the donation of her son’s corneas.
Other community partners on hand included the Irish Heritage Society, Sudbury Regional Hospital staff, several city councillors, any many more key city players who were asked to help spread the gift of life message.
An important part of this initiative included the next day in-servicing of several Civics and Religious Education teachers at all four of the Board’s secondary schools as organ and tissue donation will now be a part of the curriculum at Sudbury Catholic -making it one of the first Boards in Ontario to do so.
Month: December 2010
SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION CANCELLED, SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN – SUDBURY DISTRICT, ESPANOLA AND MANITOULIN
Due to weather conditions, poor visibility and in the interest of safety, all school related transportation services for English catholic and English public schools and French catholic and French public schools, operating in the Districts of SUDBURY, ESPANOLA AND MANITOULIN are cancelled today. All schools will remain open, however, NO transportation will be provided. Parents who transport their children to school are reminded that they must pick their children up at the end of the school day.
All staff is expected to report to work.
SCDSB Trustees Elect New Chair and Vice Chair
On December 7, 2010 trustees from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board gathered for their Inaugural Board meeting at which time Barry MacDonald and Paula Peroni were acclaimed as Chair and Vice-Chair (respectively). Both Chair MacDonald and Vice-Chair Peroni will serve in their newly elected positions for the 2010-2011 school year.
Barry MacDonald represents Zone 6 and is beginning his eighth term as a trustee with with Sudbury Catholic previously sitting as Vice Chair. In his address to the Board, MacDonald expressed his gratitude to the other trustees for having faith in him and “looks forward to working together with fellow trustees, community partners and all stakeholders to ensure that the Board is delivering exceptional Catholic Learning for all SCDSB students.” As well, MacDonald told the group that “previous Chairs have set the bar and is really looking forward to the challenges ahead,and working on them together as a team.”
Paula Peroni, representing Zone 5, brings to her role 13 years of trustee experience having served 2 years as Ontario Catholic Trustee Association (OCSTA) President, 2 years as OCSTA Vice President, 2 years as Canadian Catholic Trustee Association (CCSTA) Vice President and is currently sitting as CCSTA President. As well, Peroni has served several terms as Sudbury Catholic Chair and Vice Chair. Peroni also expressed her thanks to her fellow trustees for their confidence in her abilities and felt privileged once again “to be an integral part of such a dynamic, faith-filled system that influences so positively the community of which it serves.” Peroni also added that she happily accepts the position of Vice Chair. ”It feels good to be back in a leadership role at Sudbury Catholic and I am excited to be part of such a talented team. I am very optimistic that it is going to be a great year.”
Also in attendance were newly elected trustees Michael Bellmore (Zone 3), Ray Desjardins (Zone 2), and returning trustees Jody Cameron (Zone 4) and Estelle Scappatura (Zone 1). As part of the Inaugural meeting, all trustees, Senior Administration and invited family and guests celebrated with a mass with Auxiliary Bishop Noel Simard at which time they took their oaths and were officially sworn in as Sudbury Catholic trustees.
Corpus Christi’s Free The Children Club takes a Vow of Silence
Corpus Christi teacher Daniela Visentin has organized a Corpus Christi Free The Children Club for the school. On Nov. 18th, the students who are part of the club, took a Vow of Silence in order to raise awareness amongst students and staff, that would help give a voice to children around the world who suffer quietly due to poverty, war and oppression. The club hopes to embark on various projects throughout the year to continue to build awareness for this very worthy cause.
Cross-Curriculum Learning at Bishop Alexander CCSS
Students taking the grade 10 Canadian History class at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School got a real hands-on learning experience when they began to study World War II recently. As part of the curriculum, students had to learn about different technology including vehicles and weapons used during the war and were assigned the task of re-creating replicas of some of these technologies. Teacher Catherine MacNamara ask her students to choose a, plane, tank, ship or weapon and create a model based on research as well as write a report on its significance or impact on the war, specifically who used it and why. In order to engage the students, MacNamara teamed up with construction teacher Dennis Duchaine who allowed the students to use his shop to help recreate these models during class time. “What a great way to get students excited about learning,” MacNamara said. “When you allow them to use their creativity and really have a hands-on experience, they are much more engaged in the process and get really excited about the project. Even students who are not the traditional learners enjoy this project because it combines history with practical learning and tools – the end result being students who have created amazing projects and are also quite proud of themselves.”
Duchaine was quick to jump in with the project as he too sees the importance of allowing students to experience learning in different ways. “Cross-curriculum activities are a great way to build positive learning experiences for our students,” Duchaine said. “All of the students involved really enjoyed taking part in this project and we are definitely going to look for more opportunities in the future to do this again with other classes.”
Breaking Bread – B.A.C.C.S.S. Annual Breakfast Club with Parents
For the second year in a row, students and staff of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School invited parents and community partners to join them at the school’s morning breakfast club program on December 9th, 2010 to see how the program is growing in leaps and bounds. The school’s chaplain, Jennifer Geddes helps with the set up, cooking and clean-up for the program and is enthusiastic about its growth. “Compared to last year, the breakfast programs now feeds approximately 1/4 of the school each and every day.” Geddes stated. B.A.C.C.S.S. teacher Dennis Duchaine really feels it is making a different in the performance of many of the students. “I see big changes in a lot of the kids, “Duchaine said. “ They are more alert and are participating so much more because they are no longer tired and hungry – having the breakfast available to them makes it easy to fuel themselves in order for them to learn. Even teacher participation has grown and staff are often found in the breakfast club room, helping out and ‘breaking bread’ with students and fellow co-workers.” The school invited parents and community partners in to show them how positively the program impacts the students and allows them to see the difference it is making for the school.
St. Andrew’s Supports Nickels for the North
The students at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School were thrilled to hear that they placed third for top fundraising school in the City of Greater Sudbury’s Nickels for the North Easter Seals Kids Campaign. With a total of $775.89 raised, Principal Carmela Pitman expressed her pride for their outstanding fundraising efforts. “Working together as a school, we are always dedicated to helping support such a worthy cause and I am very proud of all of our Thunderbirds!” Easter Seals raised a total of $16,008.82 through this year’s campaign to support children with physical disabilities.
Marymount Academy’s Annual Goals for Girls – Another Outstanding Success!
Despite the cold, the snow held off for staff and students of Marymount Academy as they wrapped up another successful Goals for Girls Ball Hockey tournament this past week. The Goals for Girls campaign is held to encourage young women to be physically active and to help them recognize and become involved in the many activities and opportunities available in their school and community. As well, this tournament is also a fundraiser in which monies raised are used to sponsor young women who cannot financially afford to play sports, to purchase fitness equipment and to provide financial support to other community schools and programs whose female programs are severely underfunded. This year, Marymount raised over $4200 to support this campaign which is almost a $1000 more than they collected last year.
Dan Bartolucci, program leader at Marymount Academy and organizer of the event felt very proud of the girls for their participation and show of school spirit. “It is great to see such student engagement and I am proud of their enthusiasm,” he said. “This tournament helps encourage the young women of this community to set their own personal goals and strive to achieve them.”
“God truly gives his gifts to the poor and always does right”
The spirit of altruism is alive and well at St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford. The yearly food drive for the needy was a huge success for the entire community. Students and staff collected 5 092 food items for La Maison d’Amitié/Friendship House. Mme Bouzane’s Gr. 5/6 French Immersion class co-ordinated this yearly endeavour from start to finish. Although they encouraged everyone to bring in canned goods, their class contributed over 1 000 cans to the food drive, making them the winners of this school-wide friendly competition. These champions are the recipients of the “Golden Can” Award. Way to go RAMS!