Pius XII Catholic Elementary School Grade 3 students, Caterina Pastre and Braedon Albuoy read the book, “The Golden Rule” as part of teacher Ashlee Michelutti’s lesson which discussed the importance of respecting one another and working together to promote a peaceful environment. The class linked literacy, respect and peace to International Literacy Day which was on September 8th. For over 40 years, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has been celebrating International Literacy Day by reminding the international community that literacy is a human right and the foundation of all learning. “It is important for all of our students to understand the importance of literacy,” Principal Laurie Zahra stated. “It is our job as educators to ensure that every student is given all the tools they need to be successful readers.”
Author: admin
Doors Now Open at Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School
There were a lot smiles on students’ faces this past week at Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School. The brand new school for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has had a great first week opening its doors on September 4th, for over 410 south end students.
The JK to Grade 6 school is an outstanding new facility and incorporates a multitude of energy saving measures marking it as an extremely “green” school. As well, Holy Cross has implemented brand new technology features that will allow all the students to “be connected” on a variety of levels with computers, smartboards, ipads, amplification systems, etc. It is a dual track school with both regular English as well as French Immersion programming available starting off with four full day early learning classrooms (two regular English and two French Immersion).
Louise Franklin, Principal of Holy Cross was delighted with the first week and is excited to see both the students and staff settling into their classrooms. “It is wonderful how in only a few days, we have forged extremely positive relationships between staff, students and families in this new Catholic school community.” Franklin said. “We are so fortunate to be able to offer this outstanding facility, and exceptional educational opportunities to our south end families.”
Barry MacDonald, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board echoed Franklin’s comments. “Holy Cross is an amazing school with myriad of cutting edge attributes including its green features, as well as its technology infrastructure. We are very proud of the hard work done by the staff and the board to ensure a smooth opening, and are excited to experience this brand new environment during this upcoming school year. What makes it exceptionally unique is the campus approach in the south end – servicing the needs of families for pre-school (daycare), elementary (Holy Cross) and secondary (St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School) students all on the same property – making it a truly full-service campus.”
Back to School at Pius XII
Pius XII Full Day KIndergarten student, Ella Murray, was excited to return to school on Tuesday and had the opportunity to paint a giraffe. Classroom teacher Jon Tourville, states that “students in full day kindergarten will have different kinds of activities to help young learners explore, discover and grow. Students will be engaged as they participate in a play-based educational program”. Ella was happy to “come to school with friends and have fun”.
Important information regarding changes to student busing arrangements
The Student Services Consortium has asked us to share the coming deadline of Friday, August 24 for changes to student busing arrangements. Any changes after this date will not be processed until the third week of September.
See the press release for further details.
First Day of School – Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The first day of school for all students will be Tuesday, September 4, 2012. This will be a full day of school with regular hours (no early dismissal). Secondary schools are open on Monday, August 20 and elementary schools are open on Monday, August 27 for registration and information purposes. Staff will be on hand to assist with registrations and answer any questions.
Transportation inquiries should call the busing consortium at (705) 521-1234.
For more information, please contact the board office at (705) 673-5620.
St. Charles Kindergarten Students Prepare for a Safe and Enjoyable Summer!
Kindergarten students at St. Charles Elementary School have been “attending” Camp Wanna-Learn-A-Lot (at school) recently where they have been pitching tents, roasting marshmallows, fishing, and paddling across imaginary lakes. The students are getting a head start to the summer with literacy and numeracy activities centred on camping and learning about the outdoors. Teacher Joseph Snofl says that “creating learning activities that are relevant to the students’ interests and experiences can help parents keep their children engaged in their learning during summer vacation. Such activities can, among other things, greatly help them in their overall growth as they continue to explore the world and enhance their imaginations.”
Last Day of School -Classes and Buses Running on Regular Schedule
Please advise the public that today, Thursday, June 28th is the last day of school for students in the Greater Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin regions AND classes WILL NOT be dismissed half an hour early. School is dismissed at the regular time today, as usual. Parents are therefore required to be at bus stops at the regular time.
Ensuring Bike Safety for Students in Killarney
One of the major signs of summer is the visible presence of bikes on the roads. This is the same in Killarney. To ensure the safety of all of her students, St. Joseph Catholic Elementary teacher Irene Dembek invited O.P.P. officer Rodney Petroski and Sudbury and District Health Unit Health Promotion Worker Daniel Prévost into the school to talk about bike safety. All of the school’s students were encouraged to bring their bikes in and each bike was inspected to ensure a safe ride for the student. “With all of my students, I want to ensure that their safety is first and foremost,” Dembek stated. “With our community partnerships with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sudbury and District Health Unit, we work together to make sure our students understand the importance of bike and road safety – it is something I do every year.”
Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Inspires Students to Make a Difference
Students in Cheryl MacRury’s Early Learning class and Kathy Belanger’s Grade 7 class at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School have been inspired. For the past year, these two classes have worked together to support the Wild at Heart Animal Refuge. What started out at as a proposal from the two teachers, resulted in a successful grant application from the Canadian Federation of Teachers to support the students learning about, and helping animals in the wild.
The students decided to call themselves the ABC’S – All Because of Caring Students, and decided that this project was about making a difference in the world, despite being a small group of young students. The project involved contacting and visiting community businesses to begin a fundraiser for the animal refuge. Knowing that ever cent makes a difference, they began a penny drive to help out the animals. Throughout the year, the classes had contact with Wild at Heart Animal Refuge veterinarian Dr. Jouppi and learned about what the centre does to support, protect and care for wild animals.
On June 20th, 2012, the students got on a bus, and visited each of the community business that helped them collect for one last collection, and the last stop on the road trip was at the Wild at Heart Animal Refuge where they got to see the facility and meet with Dr. Jouppi. Dr. Jouppi explained to the students that the centre should be ready within a year to be an educational facility – set up to educate groups about the animals – with an average of about 700 animals visiting the site each year, usually with 150 at the centre at any given time. Dr. Jouppi thanked the students for their donations and support and encouraged them to continue in their efforts to support the care of wild animals. “Living in Northern Ontario, it is our duty to treat animals with respect and to learn to live in harmony along side the animals as they were here first.” Jouppi said. The veterinarian also encouraged the students to tell others about the centre as they are in constant need for volunteers, not only to support the animals, but to help with the construction of the renovations to expand the centre, as well as with fundraising and education.
Both teachers have thoroughly enjoyed working on this year-long project with their students as it has positively affected the classes in numerous ways. “Not only did our students learn about protecting our environment and all the creatures that God has given us,” MacRury stated. “They have learned numeracy from counting the money, they have learned to be stewards of the earth, they have learned communication skills, technology skills in creating multi-media projects, and they have learned empathy in being more aware of what is happening in the world around them.” Kathy Belanger echoed MacRury’s comments and added that they two different classes working together has been a great experience for all the students as well. “Have students in different grades partner up and work together has given them both a different perspective and allowed for a really enriching mentoring opportunity. The younger students really look up to the older students and have been encouraged to be role-models. All of our students rose to the occasion and the whole experience was outstanding. I think this project will impact them for the rest of their lives as it was more than just a fundraiser, it allowed them to have more of a global perspective as it reinforced the importance of thinking of others before themselves.”
At the end of the penny drive, the students had raised over $200 for the centre as well as donated a newly built crate for the animals, a basket of fruit and other food items for the animals.