On October 14th, 2016 students at Immaculate Conception school celebrated World Math Day in true Cougar style. Families joined students to play cards, dice games and engage in engineering challenges to see who could build the tallest free standing towers. Grade 5 Math Ambassadors coached their younger schoolmates and took pictures of the amazing structures. Thank you Mme Larivière and Mrs Duguay for organizing this mathastic event.
Month: October 2016
Best of boys’ high school volleyball at St. Charles College this weekend
Today marks the start of the Cardinal Classic in the St. Charles College gymnasium.
More than fifteen school teams are registered for the yearly fall tournament.
Junior and senior teams are in action all Friday and Saturday.
Cards Athletic Director Darren Michelutti is overseeing the tournament.
Holy Cross Students Energized by Class Visit from Energy Minister
The grade 5/6 class at Holy Cross had many questions for MPP and Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault when he visited their class on October 11 to talk to them. Keen students emailed Thibeault two weeks ago with questions they had after studying electricity and energy conservation in science class. They were hoping that they would get an email response but were surprised when he offered to answer in person.
The students wanted to know about how we get electricity in Sudbury and Mr. Thibeault showed them an app called Grid Watch that shows energy consumption across the province in real time. He further elaborated that we get our electricity from a variety of sources but largely from the hydro-electric dams here in the north.
He addressed the students concerns about the safety of nuclear energy by explaining the many safety features he had seen in person at the power plants in southern Ontario. Many of the students are Simpsons fans and were relieved to hear that the plants we have do not resemble where Homer Simpson works at all.
There were further questions about what Members of Provincial Parliament do and what the responsibilities of and Energy Minister entail, prompting graded 5 student Woodrow Crowder to ask Thibeault how he manages such a large workload. Thibeault explained that he has many hard-working employees on his staff and that it takes a team to accomplish great things.
Lake Laurentian Excursion
Cloudy skies cleared quickly and the sun appeared for the Grade 1 and 2 students at Holy Cross School so that they could spend a wonderful day at the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area. The children went out hiking, carried out a pond study and played various games outdoors to gain a better understanding of the needs and adaptations of animals in Northern Ontario, and how we can do our part to protect them.
Harvest Time at Immaculate Conception School
Students in Mrs. Lotter’s Grade 2/3 Class used vegetables harvested from the school garden to make a hearty vegetable soup to share with friends in Mrs. Hayden’s Grade 1/2 class. Students in both classes also made fresh applesauce after collaborating in apple-themed literacy activities.
World Teacher Day
Please join us in thanking our amazing teachers on World Teacher Day!
St. Charles College joins Sisters in Spirit Day of commemoration
The grade 11 Current Aboriginal Issues class participated in the 5th annual Sisters in Spirit day of commemoration in Sudbury. The day began at Tom Davies Square with mayor Brian Bigger proclaiming October 4th as Sisters in Spirit Day in Greater Sudbury, where we honour women and girls who were victims of violence and who are no longer with us.
The speeches were followed by an awareness march to N’Swakamok Native Friendship Center. While at the Friendship Center, the students heard some powerful stories and songs, they viewed the “Red Dress” campaign and enjoyed a traditional feast.
Teacher, Jennifer Petahtegoose says “Our students felt honoured to participate in this day, singing, drumming and carrying our school board’s eagle staff in the walk.”
Miigwetch to Lisa Osawamick, Aboriginal women’s violence prevention co-ordinator with the Greater Sudbury Police Service, for allowing us to attend this day of commemoration and feeling part of the solution in raising awareness to this important issue.
Bears Teach Cubs About Electricity
On Tuesday, October 4, the grade 5/6 class at Holy Cross had the chance to visit Michael Sipos’ science lab at St. Benedict to learn more about circuits and energy. Mr. Sipos arranged stations with different types of circuits for the students to build to help them to better understand the Electricity unit for the grade 6’s and the Conservation of Energy unit for the grade 5’s. They enjoyed putting the theories they had been studying in class into action and they were all thrilled when they managed to to get their buzzers to sound or their lights to turn on to show that they had completed their work correctly.
The most hair-raising part of the lab was when Mr. Sipos brought out the static energy generator to show the students how electrons could be created through friction to run through their bodies.
Students enjoyed walking across the campus to learn in a different environment and to experience what daily life is like at St. Benedict in this engaging transition activity.
St. David students learn about the gifts of indigenous plants
Local artist and educator, Will Morin and parent of St. David School grade 1 student, M’Komii-Nodin Morin, facilitated the transplanting of traditional First Nation medicines, sweetgrass and sage, at the new St. David School in the Donovan.
Mrs. Cimino’s grade 1 students received traditional teachings on the importance of water and our relationship with the plant world. These same students one year ago, participated in traditional teachings by Morin where they planted sweetgrass seeds and nurtured the seedlings while waiting for the new school to be built. These traditional plants, sweetgrass and sage, are sacred medicines to the Anishinabek, Ojibwe people.
“Planting the seeds of inclusively in the world of education calls upon educators, parents and community members to literally plant seeds. Schools must work together and invite community into the school to share the their gifts and knowledge”.
“To Indigenous peoples, all plants are medicine, but so is education. With St. David School having such a large Indigenous student population and the school incorporating traditional knowledge throughout the curriculum all students, both Indigenous and non Indigenous, get to learn in an environment that is culturally inclusive and rich for positive learning experiences.” stated Morin.