The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is excited to announce that we’re looking for submissions for our annual Christmas card artwork contest that celebrates and honours our catholic faith created with art that’s created from the hands of our wonderful students.
Year after year, we have the pleasure of seeing the creativity and imagination of our students flourish through this annual tradition. As the weather becomes cooler and we turn our attention towards the season of Advent, we excitedly await with anticipation of the beautiful artwork 2021 will bring forward.
Please help spread the word to interested SCDSB students by sharing this contest. The deadline for submissions this year is November 22nd, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. Details of the contest can be found in the attached document!
This year for Remembrance Day, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) paid respects to the extraordinary men and women whose services and sacrifices will never be forgotten through preparing a virtual Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 11th. The service, which used various forms of prayer, readings, music, and video, worked with parish partners to help acknowledge the day’s importance and was a powerful social connection that included various schools participating in its production.
Following today’s events, the SCDSB has provided a clip of our opening video that was viewed at our virtual ceremony.
The following presentation highlights historic clippings and images of war veterans as well as beautiful artwork and visual displays that our school’s students and staff brought forward this year.
In addition to the video, please see the gallery of photos below. The gallery demonstrates wonderful examples of various artistic and faith-based learning activities and lessons school’s had participated in leading up to and on this important day of reflection.
Special thanksis given to the staff and students whose provided contributions enabled us to put together an amazing virtual service for our entire board. Thank you everyone!
Sudbury, ON – On November 9th, 2021, St. Charles Catholic Elementary School students in Mme Lamond and Mme Jorstad’s class participated in a Zoom lesson highlighting Remembrance Day which allowed them to send letters to Canadian soldiers.
With help from special guest Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force Station in Nova Scotia, the class was also led in an exercise that helped our kindergarten students learn about the Royal Canadian Air Force and become more educated about the meaning of Remembrance Day.
Pictured: Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force
During the visit, the class was able to ask questions about helicopters and Captain Amirault showed his uniform.
Upon completing this exercise, students then wrote their letters that will be distributed to Canadian soldiers. Students were happy to showcase their letters in a picture taken with Captain Amirault.
“We love creating engaging opportunities that foster strength in student understanding of Remembrance Day. We’re grateful to Captain Amirault for providing these students with a fantastic experience that will help empower their learning on themes like compassion and respect that are important to address every day.” – Angela Polischuk, Principal.
“Recognizing Remembrance Day in schools and remembering those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom is extremely important at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. Learning stems from the experiences we provide to help our children understand the world. We are very pleased to nurture partnerships with the community and beyond to enhance our student experience.” – Joanne Bénard, Director of Education.
Over 75 girls from Marymount Academy and St. Charles College participated in the Jill of All Trades event hosted by Cambrian College with the help of many community sponsors, to encourage girls from Grades 7-12 to consider a career in the skilled trades.
This day-long event was packed with activities and hands-on learning, designed to foster in young women a better understanding and appreciation for skilled trades, and inspire them to consider a rewarding career in skilled trades.
The virtual event included:
3-45-minute interactive workshops showcasing a number of skilled trades offered at Cambrian (Build Your Own Motor, Hydraulic Robot Arm & Wiring an Extension Cord)
Keynote address from an amazing guest speaker in the field
A tour of Cambrian College labs
A Jill of All Trades shirt and a backpack filled with tools and PPE for participants
“This event was two years in the making, and after having to reschedule and retool the scope and delivery of activities, we are beyond thrilled to finally have some of our young women take part in such a great experience”, said Dan Levecque, OYAP and SHSM Co-ordinator for Sudbury Catholic Schools.“We were very impressed with the level of participation and engagement with our students throughout the day, and we have received so much positive feedback from both students and teachers. It certainly exceeded our expectations”
These young ladies were so excited to be able to build and complete their projects successfully.
November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) is celebrating its participation in Treaties Recognition Week. This year, we honour Indigenous histories, perspectives, and contributions through meaningful lessons, presentations, readings, events and celebrations for students and staff at all our schools.
School Highlights
St. John
At St. John Catholic Elementary School, students in Mrs. Galipeau’s class learned about wampum belts in an activity where they could make their own belts out of Lego. Students in Grade 5 and 6 created the 1764 Treaty of Niagara wampum belt. Pictured are Nathan and Olivia, Jaguar students proudly showcasing their class’s completed belt. Wampum belts represent agreements and promises that last “as long as the sun shines and rivers flow”.
On Nov. 2nd, Grade 2 students in Mrs. Child’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School read “Dakota Talks About Treaties.” Afterwards, they created a word web to describe what the word “treaty” means. Also, reading a story was Ms. Trudeau and Ms. D’Angelo’s class! “A Family Cookout” was read to help students explore measuring objects. Afterwards, Ms. Trudeau led an engaging lesson on making bannock where students used their knowledge in a real-life context. However, reading wasn’t the only popular activity. Mrs. Blakely’s grade 1 class learned all about the medicine wheel, smudged, made wampum belts and created their very own classroom treaty.
At St. David, a school-wide activity was implemented in preparation for the week. The Grade 5 class mapped the forested area in an educational exercise that touched on Indigenous identity, history, and ways of being. In an abundance of activities, students learned about treaties, promises, wampum belts and what it means to be indigenous. The school listened to “The Drum Calls Softly” and students created versions of the artwork in the video.
Over at Pius, Treaty Recognition Week was in full force. The school’s Grade 6 students took part in a lesson that included constructing their own Wampum commitment string. Wampum commitment string symbolizes an agreement of respect and peace. Collectively, all the strings will attach and form a family circle to honour Treaty Week.
To commemorate Treaty Week, the students in Grade 2/3 FI at St. James explored the significance of wampum belts as representations of promises that were made to last. They recreated the Treaty of Niagara wampum belt with Legos and other materials and mapped out some of our province’s treaties.
St. Benedict’s kicked off Treaty Recognition Week with Smudging available to students and staff. Classes participated in the Treaty Awareness dialogue. For example, Treaty is ‘Legally Binding’ and that there is also a ‘Sacred Element’ to the agreements. In addition, the school’s Life Skills Class learned and designed a Wampum Treaty Belt of their choosing. Tobacco was offered to our Indigenous Support Worker, Ms. Agowissa, for knowledge sharing. “We Are All Treaty People and are in the Robinson Huron Treaty region.”
Other highlights included secondary students participating in the Robinson Huron Treaty “Treaty Talks with Tomorrow’s Leaders”. Students were able to listen to different Ogimaak/Chiefs from RHT communities share treaty knowledge past, present and future about ‘Gweksijigewin’ (making things right). This knowledge was applied on Friday, Nov. 5th, with presentations from the students.
It truly is very exciting to see what beautiful things our schools are doing to honour this essential part of the learning experience. Thank you to all our staff and community leaders, who took the time to capture and share some of the many wonderful things they were able to participate in this week. For more school activity updates, check out Indigenous Education SCDSB.
We are pleased to announce that the SCDSB’s Monday, Nov. 19th PA day is multi-themed. A variety of professional learning opportunities will be provided including topics such as mathematics, literacy, mental health and wellbeing, etc.
November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
The best way for students to discover Indigenous peoples and treaties is to meet with community leaders and listen to their first-hand perspectives. Students must be exposed to Indigenous history and perspectives, and we must take advantage of local resources whenever possible. This week, several resources and events are available for SCDSB students, staff, and the community to take advantage of.
RESOURCES & EVENTS:
TREATIES RECOGNITION WEEK 2021
Treaty Week 2021, Presented by the Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin
When: Nov. 1-5th (Recorded Sessions Available)
Description: The Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin is hosting a series of online streaming events to bring awareness this week. Attached is a schedule of the events. To view the full schedule and preview recordings, please visit Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin’s Treaty Week Website.
Description: Alongside Dominic Beaudry, an Anishinaabe Language & Cultural Facilitator, Science North is hosting an online session that will look at the innovations that Indigenous people have adapted throughout history and are continuing to do so daily. Students will have a chance to explore how the Ojibwe used STEM to construct canoes, Wampum Belts as hypertext (HTML) and how Ojibwe students are taking the robotics world by storm.
Tree of Hope: Tree Lighting Ceremony
When: Sunday, Nov. 14th starting at 6pm
Description: Police services across the province light trees in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This year’s event will occur at 190 Brady St. (Greater Sudbury Police Service) and include drumming, smudging, guest speakers, and more. For more details, refer to the attached poster.
Treaties Recognition Week was introduced in 2016 to honour the importance of treaties and help students and residents of Ontario learn more about treaty rights, treaty relationships, and their relevance today.
The Ministry of Education works with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs every year to support and amplify its annual public awareness campaign to increase knowledge and understanding of treaties and treaty relationships. This campaign includes resources that teachers in the classroom can use to plan activities about treaties.
Nicholas Butt, Outreach Coordinator for Let’s Talk Science, lead a group of grades 4-6 students at St. Anne, St. Charles, St. John, Holy Trinity, and Immaculate Conception in both a minds on and hands-on activity about Space Probes. Students learned about the three types of Space Probes: orbiter, interplanetary and the lander. Then, from recycled materials students created their very own Space Probe Lander.
Mrs. Bradley, Grade 5 & 6 Teacher at Immaculate Conception School stated “Students enjoyed exploring ways to stabilize their space probes to be sure they didn’t fall over when hitting the ground. The engagement and sharing of ideas with each other was amazing!”
To watch the recording of this lesson in either French and English Click Here.
STEM Club is ideal for busy educators, whether teaching face to face or remotely! There is still time to Register Your Class for fun and interactive STEM activities intended for Grade 4-6 students! Each week, Let’s Talk Science, features a different hands-on activity using minimal, easy-to-find materials. Students will also have the chance to learn from and ask questions to inspire STEM role models.
An English activity is offered two times per week (Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. ET & Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET), and a French activity is offered once a week (Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET).
The second cohort starts November 2nd, and the third on January 27th, 2022.
Students in Mr. MacNeill’s grade 7 & 8 class signed up for the annual Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge. The challengeis a commitment to ongoing outdoor learning throughout the school year. Mr. MacNeill, his students and 700 000 other students across Canada made the commitment to learning outside at least one day per week.
This year marked the 11th annual Take Me Outside to Learn Day and in partnership with Canada’s Non-profit Outdoor Learning Store and MEC, they hosted a full week of speakers, activities and events that not only engaged students but deepened their connections with Indigenous perspectives, strengthened their health and well-being with outdoor learning, and increased their knowledge on climate change and the environment.
On Thursday October 21st, Mr. MacNeill’s class along with seven hundred classes across the country were excited to participate in a live inspirational talk and Q&A with Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. Dr. Goodall spoke about growing up without television and social media and how she spent most of her time outdoors. She stressed the importance of living in harmony with nature as it improves our mental well-being.
The Jane Goodall Institute explained the opportunity for students to participate in their Roots & Shoots funding program. Roots & Shoots focuses on Jane Goodall’s inspirational message of hope, reminding participants that every individual is important and every individual can make a difference. Through a unique 4-step program, educators lead youth from inspiration; to mapping their community for sustainability issues for people, animals and the environment; to taking action to solve those issues; and then celebrating the impact they have made. Through this journey, youth are engaged to take action on sustainability issues and become compassionate leaders.
We can’t wait to hear about the action project ideas that Mr. MacNeill’s class will discuss next week!
