Recently, students in Grade 8 at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Hanmer had their first real life experience with cells. While exploring the science curriculum, they completed an experiment to determine the differences between plant and animals cells.
Looking at two different types of cells helped them identify the similarities and differences. Students were excited to notice that a plant cell has a cell wall and the animal cell does not. It then became more obvious why these cells function so differently.
“This really helped me see the differences between the plant and animal cell. It was so much easier to see instead of just looking at a textbook,” said Ryan Paquette, a Grade 8 student in teacher Jody O’Daiskey’s class. “I thought it was so interesting that I was able to use my phone to take a picture of the cells. This picture will now help me remember the difference between the plant and animals cells,” said Crystal Nadeau, a Grade 8 student at St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer.
The school has an open guest network that allows students to bring their own technological device to school, which directly aids in preparing them for the future. Student engagement is one of the highest priorities at the school. If students are interested, they will develop a love for life-long learning.
Author: admin
BACCSS R/C Club Bishop Cup: Gators vs. Patriotes September 23, 2013
They say good things are worth the wait, and Monday’s R/C car race at Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S. proved it true! After having to postpone the race due to adverse weather conditions, the 1/10th scale racing machines hit the track at the Bishop Carter R/C Speedway. As an added twist to this year’s Bishop Cup event, the Gators invited the R/C club from Franco Cite, located in Sturgeon Falls, to take part in the festivities.
It was an afternoon of high speed and high flying action as over 20 cars raced in 4 exciting classes. At stake were trophies and school pride. To keep track of the action, Bishop Carter set up a state-of-the-art electronic timing system. The system not only tells drivers when to go and stop, but it also keeps track of the number of laps, lap times, and fastest lap all while giving verbal cues to the drivers about their performance during the race.
Not only were students and teachers racing, but a special group of “All Stars” came out to try their hand at R/C racing. This group of star racers included, Bishop Carter’s Principal Mrs. Cassandra MacGregor, Constable Joanne Russell from the Greater Sudbury Police, and Mr. Dan Turnbull from the Greater Sudbury Fire Service. Not only did the All Stars have fun, but they also gained a whole new respect for how difficult these little racers are to control.
R/C racing is an inexpensive hobby. Many students have joined the club. Some students are racers. Some students are part of a tech crew, while others are part of the track crew. Some students serve as race marshals. Evidently, there is a role for any student interested in joining the club. Proceeds from the R/C buyout will go towards purchasing a set of school racers for students who are interested in trying out this activity before buying their own R/C racer.
After the dust settled, it was a fun and exciting day for everyone involved, including not only the students and teachers who were racing, but also for the students, parents, and special guests watching from the grandstands. With this fall’s R/C buyout being such a huge success, they are excited about planning for the up-coming spring’s R/C buyout.
Visiting St. Joseph in Killarney
Students at St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School had a special visitor on Wednesday, September 25. Sudbury Catholic Superintendent Rossella Bagnato visited the school to welcome the new and returning students back for another year. Mrs. Bagnato visited with the students in their classroom, as well as joining them outside for a part of their recess.
St. John Students Shine at Laurentian X-C Running Challenge
On September 26th, 2013, over 800 students from across Greater Sudbury elementary schools participated in the Laurentian X-C Running Challenge at Laurentian University. St.John’s student, Shane Poitras, brought home the gold in the Senior Elementary Boys Division with a record time of 12:07, placing him 1st among 223 grade 7 & 8 boys. Shane has proven to be an exceptional athlete and we are overwhelmingly proud of his admirable victory! As well, Hannah Whyte placed 4th in the Junior Elementary Girls Division and Colin Burrell placed 3rd in the Junior Elementary Boys Division. Overall, St. John’s team ranked 2nd for Junior Girls, 3rd for Junior Boys, and 6th for Senior Boys of over 20 schools! Coaches Cori Walker and Tania Vaillancourt are tremendously proud of all of their athletes for their dedication, positive attitudes, and perseverance!
St. Raphael And St. Charles Kick Off Their Annual Food Drive
St. Charles Student Council visited St. Raphael School on Tuesday, September 24 to kick off their annual food drive. The goal this year is to raise over 60,000 cans to help the Sudbury Food Bank feed our community. The council thanked local radio stations KISS FM and Q-92 as well as Mr. Jim Silva who started the food drive many years ago and continues to support it year after year. St. Charles is offering a complimentary pizza lunch to the class that brings in the most cans. St. Raphael Royals are eager to help and are up for the challenge.
Sudbury Catholic Receives Newcap Funding to Support Music Programs
Students at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board were visited once again by Rick Tompkins, Director of Programming for Newcap Radio with a cheque in hand. For the fifth year in a row, Tompkins has presented the Sudbury Catholic community with a cheque for over $7500 to put towards music programming for the board. The cheque is a result Newcap’s commitment to supporting music programs and education in Sudbury as part of an agreement between Newcap Radio and the CRTC. Through this agreement, the radio station promised to help foster musicianship among area youth, particularly through providing support of local school board music programming – including the purchase of instruments. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Board was on hand to receive the cheque from Tompkins. “What a great relationship we have with Newcap radio,” McCullough stated. “We are always overwhelmed by their generosity year after year, and are so grateful for this additional funding that positively impact our students. This funding allows us to enhance our music programming throughout the board, and we are very thankful to Newcap for their ongoing support and generous commitment to Sudbury Catholic.” Over the past five years, the radio station has donated close to $38,00 to the Sudbury Catholic Board’s music programs.
“Egg-citing” Learning Happening at Holy Cross
Grade 2/3 Holy Cross Catholic Elementary students in teacher Shanna Whalen’s class were given an “egg-citing” experiment. As the class has been discussing gravity and how it affects solids, liquids and gases, the students were given the challenge of protecting eggs from the strong force of gravity. On Wednesday, September 18th, as part of their study on Forces and Movement and Properties of Liquids and Solids, the students were given a variety of materials, as well as bringing in some from home, and their mission was to protect their eggs from breaking when dropped from a high level. According to Whalen, the students were quite creative with their projects as some used grocery bags as parachutes and covered their eggs with sponge. Nine out of the eleven launched eggs survived their fall, but the best part is that none of the class ended up with “egg on their face” and all had a great time learning about gravity!
St. David Catholic Elementary School Welcomes a Tremendous Fall Harvest
Staff and students at St. David Catholic Elementary School continue to embrace the outdoor classroom concept. Last June, the primary grade teachers and their students planted a crop of tomatoes in large planters around the school yard as well as in the gardens at Victory Park. During the warm summer months, the Better Beginnings Better Futures summer program took care of the garden boxes by weeding and watering the vegetables. This September, St. David School students were able to harvest their tomatoes.
“The students were so excited to be able to hand pick tomatoes they had grown themselves. We are very grateful for the support Mike from DEWCAN gave the students. It is wonderful when community helpers actively participate in school activities. I am very proud of their initiative and their excitement. The positive energy was contagious”, stated Terri Lynn Lepage, St. David School grade 3 teacher. The next step for these little grade 3 farmers will be preparing a home cooked healthy pasta meal using their own tomatoes in the sauce.”
Stop and T.H.I.N.K. (True, Hurtful, Illegal, Necessary & Kind)
The Greater Sudbury Police Service wants to remind people to stop and think before they pick up the phone while they are at the wheel of a car. The police are promoting this message with stretchy, blue bands that can be positioned over the top of cell phones to serve as a reminder when people get the urge to text or talk.
On Thursday, September 19, School Liaison Constable Victor Leroux dropped by St. Charles College with bands for students to place on their own personal electronic devices.