Like many other Sudbury Catholic School classes, the Early Learning classroom at St. Raphael held a “100th day of school” celebration on February 13th. The students were asked to decorate hats with 100 different items – some chose dinosaurs, some chose pompoms, etc. As well, they took part in a variety of different activities that acknowledged the significance of the day. Rosemary Tripodi, the Early Learning Teacher and Domenic Vicedomini, the Early Childhood Educator decided that they wanted to tie their celebration to the virtue of the month which is compassion. They came up with an idea that they felt would teach their students about the importance of caring for others in their community while still focusing on the theme of “100”. Each student was asked to bring in 100 coins. They discussed with the class this idea and decided that any money that was brought in could be donated to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer Foundation (NOFCC). The class talked about kids who were sick with cancer and that their collections of 100 coins could help support this worthwhile cause. Much to the surprise of Tripodi and Vicedomini, the students collected $135 dollars to donate. Expecting only pennies, the teachers were quite proud that their students made a connection – not only to their 100 coins, but that they understood the significance of supporting other kids who were ill in their community. “ What a wonderful show of support from our students in helping out such a wonderful cause as NOFCC,” Tripodi stated. “We knew the 100 day celebration would be fun but connecting to the virtue of compassion made it a much more powerful lesson for all of the students.” David Langlois, President of NOFCC was invited into the class so that the students could present him with a cheque for the foundation.
Month: February 2012
Bridging the Gap between Elementary and Secondary School
On February 7th and 8th, teachers and students from St. Anne Catholic School and Bishop
Alexander Catholic Secondary School (BAC) in Hanmer participated in co-teaching sessions to help bridge the gap between elementary school and secondary school. These sessions were sponsored by Sudbury Catholic District School Board in hopes that grades 7, 8, and 9 teachers would create a collaborative inquiry into the questioning strategies used across the three grade levels. Teachers were brought together in a collaboration session and encouraged to use open ended questions to facilitate the teaching and learning process. “This is a great learning opportunity for both students and teachers. The use of open ended questions allows students to use more meaningful answers that support their
previous knowledge,” said Jody O’Daiskey, grade 8 teacher at St. Anne School.
Over the course of two days, teachers from both schools engaged in co-teaching math lessons using similar styles and the same final assessment . Throughout the lesson, various assessments as, for and of learning took place. Students worked together to solve the final open ended assessment question, while teachers circulated to provide guidance when needed. Students from Mrs. O’Daiskey’s classroom at St. Anne Catholic School enjoyed this experience. “I thought it was a great opportunity, and we learned that there were several possible outcomes. This showed us that there isn’t always one right answer when you have an open ended question. I also thought it was fun working with teachers
from BAC so they could see what some of us were capable of,” said Taylor Lawless, student in grade 8 at St. Anne School.
Bridging the gap between elementary school and secondary school is an important focus of the collaborative inquiry. All teachers involved agree that activities such as these lead to greater student success when they reach secondary school. “I think that bringing these knowledgeable teachers together in a co-teaching session, can only lead to better success for all students involved,” said Guy Mathieu, current principal at St. Anne School and founding principal at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. “I believe that given the opportunity to meet with teachers from the elementary panel allows us
to better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This in turn can only benefit the students coming to us in the secondary panel,” said Robert Boucher, a secondary teacher from Bishop Alexander Carter CSS.
Upon completion of the entire inquiry process, the teachers involved will bring all of their findings, including; student artifacts, pictures and video, to a final collaboration meeting with teachers from all elementary and secondary schools in the Sudbury Catholic District school board. These results will be presented and discussed to further bridge the gap and allow for greater student success for all.
St. David Catholic School Parent Involvement Leads to Greater Student Success and Well Being
St. David Catholic School works diligently to involve parents and the community in the education of our youth. The school recognizes that student achievement increases when parents play an active role in their children’s education, and that “good schools become even better schools when parents and community members become involved”.
The grade 5/6 class at St. David worked with the staff at the Killarney Outdoor Education Center and with school parents and local Aboriginal Elders to allow the students to experience real life learning. Parents, community members, students and staff learned about traditional Aboriginal hunting and fishing practices, scientific states of matter and the food chain and it’s relationship to biodiversity — then they spent a day ice fishing. Although no actual fish were caught, parents were actively engaged in supporting their children’s success at school. Parents and students were motivated to learn as a team, each supporting each other in an active hands on learning experience.
St. Mary finds 100 things to celebrate!
On the 100th day of school St. Mary students, staff and families took part in an evening celebration. The school community sat down to a wonderful pasta dinner and then broke off into stations where numeracy and literacy games were lead by teachers and the principal. “It was really neat because everything was about the number 100. Even the books and writing activities were about the number 100,” said student Matthew Roy.
Parents were also invited to an information session in the library where they took part in group discussions about how to help their children with homework, how to engage their child in reading and the importance of parents in the education of their children. Parents left with 100 practical literacy tips and homework bags to use at home.
Later on this year parents will be participating in St. Mary’s “Families with a Kick Program.” Students will be kickboxing while parents will be invited to read articles and dialogue about how they can help their child improve in literacy and numeracy at home.
“John Hattie has suggested parents are important to the academic success of their children. Therefore, we need to provide our families with opportunities to network and share ideas with each other,” said principal Sherry Bortolotti.
Marymount Academy Open House Tonight – February 23, 2012
Marymount Academy is holding their open house tonight – beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Location: 165 D’Youville St.
Phone: (705) 674-4231
St. James Safe School Council Awarded “Speak Up Grant”
St. James Safe School student council, named C3 – Catholic, Community and Culture– was awarded a Government of Ontario “Speak Up Grant” for their inclusive education campaign. The C3 council gives students a voice in making St. James a place where everyone feels welcome and therefore students are provided with ample opportunities to participate in school decisions that will shape their lives and the lives of their peers. In organizing activities the C3 aims to create a caring and safe school environment and messaging the importance of inclusion and respect for everyone at St. James School.
Some of the C3 endeavours include: designing and playing a school-wide inclusive education P.A bingo, the creation of an exclusive St. James Safe School button and several community outreach projects.
St. David Catholic School Welcomes the Magic of “The Amazing Rene”
St. David Catholic School proudly welcomed the magic of “The Amazing Rene” aka Rene Lacourciere. The Amazing Rene captivated the attention of the students of St. David School with his unique style of slight of hand magic. During his magic show, The Amazing Rene integrated the importance of learning through reading and emphasized the valuable resources available at the Greater City of Sudbury Public Libraries.
The Amazing Rene has been performing magic throughout North America for the past 32 years and has preformed at such venues as Canada’s Wonderland and Santa’s Village in Bracebridge, Ontario. He is also a qualified teacher and is originally from the Sudbury area.
“Slight of hand magic allows me to connect with students and teachers and model the importance of effective oral communication” stated Rene. “They see how effective oral communication skills are important in real life situations and in career choices”.
St. David School students and staff enjoyed the interactive magic show, comedy act and hands on learning experience with The Amazing Rene.
Shrove Tuesday at Pius XII
The students at Pius XII School celebrated Shrove Tuesday with a little help from some special guests, The Holy Redeemer Knights of Columbus Council #10888. Gerry Baronette facilitated the event and brought 9 of his brothers with him to prepare delicious homemade pancakes for the 320 students. The students were all very excited and appreciative that the Knights took the time to volunteer and donate the supplies to make them a fabulous pancake lunch. The students are already eager for the next visit from the Knights!
St. Benedict Wins Basketball Title
St. Benedict defeated Sacre Coeur 49-39 for the Div II Senior Boys Basketball this past weekend.
St. Benedict will host the Jr. and Sr. Boys NOSSA “A” Basketball Championships this upcoming weekend.