October 2012 - Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Canadian Youth Golf Alliance

Posted on October 30, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

Despite the snow falling on the ground, several Marymount Academy students were eager to hear about golf at Sudbury’s Idylwylde Golf and Country Club on Monday, October 29, 2012. The day’s events, however, were about so much more than golf. Ryan Cooney, Executive Director of the Canadian Youth Golf Alliance invited the group of students to learn all about the organization he founded just over a year ago – the Canadian Youth Golf Alliance. The mission of the Canadian Youth Golf Alliance is “to lessen the risk factors for Canada’s ‘At-Risk Youth’ communities by facilitating efficient and effective programs in the areas of Golf Participation, Youth Employment, and Education. Through these programs, the youth of the Canadian Youth Golf Alliance learn character building principles such as integrity, responsibility, dignity, honesty, gratitude, and leadership.”

Cooney, who attended St-Charles briefly and Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School for the majority of high school, is a graduate of St-Albert’s Adult Education School. Being a former at-risk student himself, he now works towards helping those who are in a similar position he once was. The former golf pro at Lively Golf & Country Club and the Timberwolf Golf Club, (who now holds a Master’s degree in Humanities), works with different community partners and various organizations to give students opportunities to better themselves through sport, business, and education. On days like the one organized at the Idylwylde Golf & Country Club, Cooney works closely with Brandon Beeson (the Northern Ontario Regional Director) and the Greater Sudbury Police Services to provide learning seminars, mentorship programs, and employability training for the students selected to be a part of the Day Event. The educational courses delivered by the CYGA and taught by Cooney are designed to allow the students to learn about themselves, others, their community, the larger community, and humanity as a whole. In addition to the programs, post-secondary scholarships and bursaries will be available to deserving members of the CYGA. In order to ensure all the programs and initiatives can be delivered, there is a dedicated fundraising team who believes in the CYGA’s vision and mission to support youth.

Dan Bartolucci, a teacher at Marymount Academy and the newly appointed Education Director for the C.Y.G.A. feels it is really a dynamic and very meaningful program. “I am inspired by how Ryan has turned his own life around and has committed to educating and assisting ‘at-risk’ youth. I truly believe that the C.Y.G.A. is going to be around for a long time to come and it is very exciting to be a small part of it – helping out the youth in our own community.”
For more information about the Canadian Youth Golf Alliance, please visit www.canadianyouthgolfalliance.com.

Career Day at St. Andrew

Posted on October 30, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

The Safe Schools Team and staff of St. Andrew School have planned monthly career presentations for their students to be held during this school year. The first presentation was by Mr. Steve Bailey and his apprentice Jason who are involved in the trades. Mr. Bailey spoke about all the different trades students can be part of once they complete highschool. Jason is a coop student who is very interested in the trades. Mr. Bailey and Jason answered student questions at the end of the presentation.

Pumpkin Decorating at St. Bernadette

Posted on October 30, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

St. Bernadette Catholic School Grade 5 French Immersion student, Parker Farstad, and his mother proudly show off their scary creation. The parents of grade 3, 4, 5 and 6 students joined their children in class to decorate pumpkins for use this Halloween. Parker created a spooky spider pumpkin and his classmates were just as imaginative: there were haunted houses, mummies, ghosts and skeleton pumpkins. Happy Halloween!

St. David School Participates in “Take Me Outside Day”

Posted on October 30, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

‘Take Me Outside Day’ is a day to raise awareness about the importance of unplugging from daily technology and getting outside in nature. The “Take Me Outside” campaign was created by Colin Harris in 2011, after he spent nine months running from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia. Along the way, Colin Harris visited over 80 schools and spoke with students about the importance of spending more time outside rather than in front of a screen.

Colin’s final day of his cross Canada run was October 25th. To mark the day, more than 150 schools across Canada pledged to spend 45 minutes outside during class time. St. David Catholic School accepted this challenge and the students and staff spent time outdoors at their “new school” environment.

“At St. David, we believe in the importance of outdoor experiential learning for our students. We consider nature is an important element in our teaching practice. Our students learn to respect nature and take care of the environment they live in. Taking care of the natural environment is something that we embed in our daily lessons. Today we visited our new school location to witness the beauty that God has planted all around us,” stated Christina Vrbanic Kilby, St. David School grade 8 teacher.

Physical activity outside promotes good motor development and good mental health. Sunlight can boost vitamin D levels, which help form strong bones. Going outside in nature can give students a mental boost.

“Nature is fuel for the soul,” said Richard Ryan, author and professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. “Nature is something within which we flourish, so having it be more a part of our lives is critical, especially when we live and work in built environments.”

The students and staff of St. David School plan to visit the site of their new school during the year and will continue to explore and reap the benefits of outdoor education in their “backyard”.

St. Anne Students Explore Design Techniques through Winter Landscapes

Posted on October 26, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

Teacher Serena Troscinski’s Grade 6 class has some very talented artists who have been working on principles of design (balance). In this particular Art project, students created a winter landscape using some paint and straws to portray a cold and wintery scene. “I liked this assignment because I like Art, especially painting. Using the straws to create the trees was fun because it was something I’ve never tried before. I also felt really proud to be recognized with other students in the class for doing a good job,” said Kelly Mazerolle, a grade 6 student at St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer.

Hats for Karissa at St. Andrew

Posted on October 26, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

The staff and students of St. Andrew School participated in a “Hats for Karissa ” day on Friday October 26th. Students and staff wore all kinds of hats at school to show their support for Karissa and her family. Karissa is remembered in our prayers as she undergoes treatment at Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins at St. Charles

Posted on October 25, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

JK/SKR students from St. Charles Catholic Elementary School have started an inquiry all about pumpkins. It all started when their teacher, Amy Malafarina, brought in some mini pumpkins as a decoration in the class. Students began to ask questions, so they decided to do an inquiry. They prepared questions along with the daycare children in the school, and set out to get the answers.

Students wondered such things as: if the seeds were the same size in different pumpkins; if the inside was the same colour as the outside of a squash; if a spaghetti squash really has spaghetti inside; if the bumpy ones were bumpy inside too, and many more. On Wednesday, October 24th, parent volunteers came and helped cut up the various sized pumpkins and squash to get to the answers. Most of the questions were answered and students made many more discoveries than they thought and new questions were created.

Pumpkin Palooza at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School

Posted on October 25, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

Dozens of pumpkins have made their way to the St. Anne Catholic Elementary School’s French Immersion Full Day Kindergarten class! Children were so thrilled to learn about pumpkins that waves of the orange gourd made their way to the classroom to help students inquire into things such as how pumpkins grow and how they smell. Students discovered that the seeds inside the pumpkin can be used to plant and make new pumpkins grow. The students were sent to actively search for a place in the schoolyard where they could plant their seeds in the spring. Katelin Brouse was overheard saying, ”The best part of pumpkins is taking the stuff out of them.” Cameron O’Daiskey thought that, “Eating the seeds is pretty great!” The next part of the inquiry is a video a student found on YouTube about using pumpkins as a boat. Theories on floating techniques are sure to follow!

St. Andrew Students Visit Wagon Wheel Ranch

Posted on October 24, 2012August 23, 2018 by admin

The children in the grade JK/SK and SK/1 class at St. Andrew School visited Wagon Wheel Ranch on Friday October 19th. While there they all enjoyed a horse drawn wagon ride, the petting zoo and every child was given a pumpkin to bring home. This trip was made possible by a generous parent group at St. Andrew who volunteer their time at Boardwalk Gaming Centre to support extracurricular events at the school. Pictured is Lucas Chenier and his pumpkin.