St. Andrew School staff and students said good bye to Mrs. Lesia Sawkiw (resource teacher) and Mrs. Melody Henry (principal) on Wednesday June 24th. A beautiful farewell prayer service was led by all the teaching staff. The two retirees were gifted with roses, homemade cards and a beautiful painting that incorporated a thumbprint of each student from the school. Pictured are Rachel Walker, Mrs. Sawkiw, Mrs. Henry and Joe Gouchie.
Month: June 2015
Bears in Action
Mr. Geoffrey Lougheed spoke to the Gr.9 Religion classes at St. Benedict during Catholic Education Week. After his visit the grade 9 Religion students became inspired to do one more thing before the end of the school year; and that was to raise some money for the Sudbury Food Bank. One thing that stood out to us during his presentation was that the Food Bank does not get a lot of donations during the summer months because school is out and families are on vacation. So after 7 weeks of bringing in money along with a pizza day fundraiser, the students in Ms. Skelly, Mrs. Adler and Ms. Dowdall’s classes were extremely proud to present a cheque to Mr. Lougheed on Friday, June 19th for $654.05. We hope that this will bring some comfort to the families in need this summer.
Cards Shine at Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Fair
Students who are part of the Paul Martin Aboriginal Initiative at St. Charles College were given a task first semester – develop a business by finding a niche in the market. Second semester, they massaged the plan by creating a sound business plan.
The teachers of the program, Paola Gutscher and Jason Michelutti mentored the students and provided them with educational outings tailored to their plan.
The outcome was tremendous – fish hatchery business, a T-Comics (Tribal Comics) company, a business that caters to seniors to assist with cooking and lawn care and the list goes on.
The program is geared towards Aboriginal students interested in business and will run again next year.
Two SCDSB Students Named to Minister’s Student Advisory Council
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that two SCDSB secondary students have been selected to be a part of the Minister’s Student Advisory Council- TiCarra Paquet from Marymount Academy and Laura Rinaldi from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
According to the Ministry of Education’s press release, “Students who serve on the Minister’s Advisory Council have many responsibilities. The council meets with (Minister of Education Liz Sandals) twice during the terms and each member is required to participate in at least one regional student forum.
The council also provides:
– ongoing student perspectives, advice, recommendations, and consultations on the Ministry of Education’s policies, programs and practices;
– advice and feedback on the activities more specifically related to the ministry’s student engagement activities; and
– feedback on student-focused communication strategies and products, such as websites, brochures, pamphlets and video clips.
Council members also have many opportunities for leadership and skills development. During their term they learn about strategic planning and the formation of government policy, programs and practices. They also use on-line surveys and other communication strategies to engage their peers and raise awareness about programs and services available for Ontario students.”
Jody Cameron, Chair of the Board states, “On behalf of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we would like to congratulate both TiCarra and Laura for showing initiative and leadership, and we know that they will make us proud representing the voice of our students and our board provincially.”
June 2015 OAPCE Newsletter
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting our Sudbury Catholic parents, the SCDSB would like to provide a link to the latest newsletter from The Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE).
This month’s newsletter comes in three parts:
11 Years and Running for the Johnathan Hetu Walk at St. Charles Elementary
This year’s students and staff at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School may not have had the opportunity to meet Johnathan Hetu, a student who passed away in 2004 after a two year battle with leukemia, however his memory continues to live on each year as the school holds its annual Johnathan Hetu walk. Teacher David Nicholls felt compelled to do something to honour Johnathan’s memory and so he started the Johathan Hetu walk 11 years ago, and has continued it every year. Funds are collected and donated to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer. Principal David Soehner was overwhelmed with the support that his school brings forward. “Johnathan’s spirit is our inspiration each and every year,” explained Soehner. “We are so proud of our students and staff for their outstanding efforts once again in fundraising for such an important group, as well as honouring Johnathan and his family. We are overwhelmed with gratitude as our school community has once again showed its tremendous Ram spirit, and allowed us to give back to an outstanding organization that is the N.O.F.C.C. as well as remember and celebrate Johnathan.” This year’s the school collected over $6200 bringing the grand total to over $65,000 in eleven years.
St. David School Parents “Show Off” their “Love of Reading”
Parents and Grandparents flooded the hallways of St. David Catholic School to share their love of reading with the students in the school. Family members were welcomed into St. David School for breakfast and to read a book with their children. Parents and grandparents learned about the developmental reading assessment program (DRA) the school uses to assess student reading levels and skills they can use at home to support their children improve in reading.
As a parent, reading to your child is one of the most important things you can do to ensure school success. Even after children learn to read by themselves, it’s important for families to read aloud together. By reading stories that are interesting, but alittle beyond a child’s reading level, parents can motivate their children to improve their skills.
“One of our school improvement goals is to motivate our students to read so they will practice reading and become fluent readers. This happens when they enjoy reading and continue to read for pleasure” states St. David Learning Strategies Teacher, Cathy Dore.
Coffee Drive at Pius XII to Support Elgin St. Mission
Kathleen Donnelly, Resource Teacher at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School has initiated an urgently needed “coffee drive” to assist the Elgin Street Mission, who are in short supply of the popular beverage that helps many people get through a rough day and provide some comfort. In the spirit of helping our community, Kathleen has inspired the students and their families to help support the organization by donating such items as coffee, coffeemate creamer, tea bags, disposable cups, coffee filters and sugar.
St. Mark Learns About the Positive Impact of Going Green
Students at St. Mark Catholic Elementary School are learning about the positive impacts of going green. Through funding from the TD Friends of the Environment (TD FEF) grant, (sand table), the Metro Green Apple School Program (the soil/ plants/ seeds) and Freskiw farms (provided discount prices and gardening education and guidance), the students created posters and media presentations informing their audience about human impacts (positive and negative impacts such as littering and the importance of eating local). Students gave back to these three organizations by giving them a planted bean in a recycled bowl or in a decorated Tim Horton tin can with two pictures of them in front of their garden and new school yard apple trees; which read “Thank you! from St. Mark School” on the pictures.