On March 4, teams from several Sudbury Catholic Elementary Schools took part in the Board’s Junior Girls Handball Tournament at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
The results were as follows:
1st place – St. Francis
2nd place – St. David
3rd place – St. Paul
4th place – St. Raphael
Congratulations to all the participants and thank you to all of the coaches, teachers, parents and volunteers involved!
Month: April 2012
St. Paul Captures Gold at Kiwanis
The St. Paul the Apostle primay choir under the direction of Ms. Kristine Shewchuk and accompanied by Ms. Christina Begin was awarded a Gold Award and a mark of 89 at the Kiwanis Music Festival on Tuesday April 3, 2012. This young group of children sang “A Song of Peace” by Teresa Jennings. The adjudicator wrote “I am thankful to have heard you today! Keep singing!” The staff, students and parents are very proud of their commitment and dedication to their school choir.
Stewardship @ St. James School
During the month of April, Sudbury Catholic Schools celebrate the virtue of Stewardship. At St. James Catholic School students are promoting a variety of environmental friendly initiatives in hopes of reminding everyone that the Earth is a gift to us from God who has entrusted the planet to us.
The grade 8 students are promoting a unique opportunity for all students to become a steward of the Earth by launching a school version of EARTH HOUR. During EARTH HOUR all classrooms are encouraged to turn off their lights during the lunch hour. Students hope that this one initiative is mindful of our ongoing responsibility to take care of our planet. EARTH HOUR is just one of many environmental projects taking place at St. James.
Partners Sign Community Threat Assessment Protocol
Representatives of the Greater Sudbury Police Service, area school boards and local agencies signed a Community Threat Assessment Protocol on March 27, 2012, pledging to work together to ensure schools remain safe for students and staff.
The Community Threat Assessment Protocol is a collaborative response to student behaviour that may pose a risk to other students, staff and members of the community. Under the initiative, school boards, police and community partners will share information, advice and support. Plans will be developed to minimize risk.
“Safe schools is a shared responsibility that requires collaboration, cooperation and effective communication,” said Greater Sudbury Police Chief Frank Elsner. “This protocol will enable us to work together to assess threats and implement early interventions. Our goal is to prevent incidents or avert further escalation.” He added: “The strength of the partnership lies in the multi-disciplinary composition of the response team. The members will review relevant information and draw on a broad range of expertise. This united approach will respect the individual’s rights to privacy and the safety of all.”
The protocol is based on the work of Kevin Cameron, Director of the Alberta-based Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response. Kevin Cameron is a Diplomat with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress. He has years of clinical experience, including working in the Child Welfare and Young Offender systems in Canada, providing high-risk assessment and intervention with children, youth and families.
The protocol outlines roles and responsibilities and defines policies and procedures. Partners will build working relationships based on mutual respect and trust. Together, they will help children and youth become happy, healthy, active, involved, and caring members of the community.
Greater Sudbury Police Service is the lead partner in the Community Threat Assessment Protocol with the four local school boards – Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l’Ontario, Rainbow District School Board and Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
Additional community partners include Cambrian College, Child and Family Centre/Centre de l’enfant et de la famille/Ngodweaangizwin Aaskaagewin, Sudbury-Manitoulin Children’s Aid Society/La Société d’aide à l’enfance des district de Sudbury et du Manitoulin, Collège Boréal, Health Sciences North/Horizon Santé-Nord, and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services – Probation/Ministère des Services à l’enfance et à la jeunesse, Services de justice pour la jeunesse – Probation.
Poetry is Cool at St. Ben’s School
St. Benedict grades 7 and 9 students were treated to the living culture of performance poetry by published poet Tanya Neumeyer recently. At first the students were shy, but after Neumeyer’s spoken-word poetry workshops, she had the students writing and presenting their own polished poems on the stage for her and their classmates. At the end, clearly Neumeyer’s passion for poetry was infectious since the students described their week-long poetry experiences as “amazing,” “fantastic,” and “awesome.” When asked what was their favourite part, many responded with a self-confident “writing” and even “performing”. One student requested, “Can you come back?” Neumeyer said it was “a precious gift to see the students transition from contemplative stillness to fun expressive movements. I was inspired by their courage to take steps forward and stretch their comfort zone.”
Tanya Neumeyer is a Toronto-based poet whose visit to St. Ben’s was organized by Teacher-Librarian Ms Marinilli, and funded by the Ontario Arts Council.
Learning Water Perspective at Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary School
Students in teacher Jean Gallien’s grade 5 class are thinking about water. These Corpus Christi students are thinking that, here in Sudbury, the average person takes water for granted. As part of the Sudbury Catholic grade 5 essential question – How do we live in community? – the class began discussions about the Global Community and the importance of water awareness. As a response to this question, and their desire to make a difference, the Corpus Christi students have launched their own campaign to raise funds for the Ryan’s Well Foundation which is a foundation committed to delivering access to safe water in an essential way to improve peoples’ lives in developing countries. Having already started a coin collection in the school, the class has begun discussions about upcoming events and initiatives that will support their fundraiser including a possible walkathon. “Most of us take for granted the water we have,” teacher Jean Gallien stated. “It is a necessity and right now we are in our own little cocoon – this initiative will help teach the global perspective. It also ties into the Sudbury Catholic Board’s Destination Conservation initiative so it is also teaching water preservation in our own communities which is also important.” The Grade 5 class will work on their fundraiser until the end of May.