Sudbury Catholic District School Board

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St. Raphael Royals Send Not One, Not Two but THREE students to the SCDSB Speech Finals

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There were three students sent to the board public speaking semi-finals at St. Anne School last week to represent St. Raphael School. Believe it or not, the three students are all moving onto the finals.

Ashlynn Philion took first place in the junior division for her speech on bubblegum – the history, the chemical make-up and the trend that never pops.

Hailey Moskal took first place in the intermediate division for her speech on the history of newly acquired camp, and how the recent purchase has bonded her family together.

Brittany Thornton took second place in the primary division for her speech on saving polar bears.

The SCDSB finals are scheduled for Wednesday, April 20th at St. Francis School at 6:30 p.m.

Lifting The Hopes For Cancer Research At St. Anne School

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“Is cancer contagious?” This was the simple question that Gr. 8 student Corey Demers asked Sudbury Catholic Board teacher, Dawn Restoule. Corey had been exposed to dealing with cancer with a younger cousin and was aware that one of St. Anne’s Intermediate teachers was presently undergoing cancer treatment. It was a question near and dear to his heart so both Corey and Ms. Restoule researched the topic of cancer to discover some of the facts and myths. Corey’s unit in religion encouraged him to give back to those in need. Corey came up with a proposal to raise funds for cancer research which he presented to his principal, Mr. Guy Mathieu. The proposal was passed and Corey and his teacher began their fundraiser. In association with the Canadian Cancer Society, Corey has dedicated his lunch hours to the selling of rubber wristbands engraved with the school’s name. Each bracelet sells for $3.00 and during the first week, Corey has raised approximately $400.00. The fundraiser will continue until all wristbands are sold. Congratulations Corey and Ms. Restoule on your efforts to fighting such a worthy cause!

Continuing to Message the Importance of the Gift of Life

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The entire student body at St. Charles College had the opportunity on Tuesday, April 18 to listen to a very simple, but powerful message – give the gift of life. Back in December, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board launched their Trillium Gift of Life Challenge and the school’s presentation was a continuation of this message. The Board challenged the Greater City of Sudbury to have over 50% of its residence register as organ donors and have since had several different events at their schools supporting this message. The student senate students organized assemblies at all four of the Board’s secondary schools to reiterate this most important initiative. On hand were several members of the Irish Heritage Club who spoke about their own involvement both personally and as a club with organ donation. As well, the students watched videos which reinforced the importance of donor registration. Jessie St. Amour, a former student of St. Charles College was also in attendance to support the cause and as both he and his mother Anne are organ recipients. Jessie’s father, Richard, also addressed group and spoke of his own connection and to reinforce the day’s theme of giving the gift of life. Student Senate member David DiBrina (grade 10) explained to the student body how this one simple act of donor registration can positively affect many, many lives. “It is so important for students to know much hope the gift of life gives to others and that we all need to be educated about how imperative registering and then talking to your family about your decision really is.” Teacher and Student Senate moderator Paola Gutcher reiterated DiBrina’s message. “It is key that students are the ones speaking to students about this most important cause as it is an issue that can happen to anyone as age is not a factor,” Gutcher stated. “It really is a simple act that can literally change the lives of many and I am so proud of our students both at St. Charles College and board-wide for taking up this cause with such passion and determination.” Board Chair Barry MacDonald echoed Gutcher’s comment. “I speak on behalf of the Board of Trustees when I say that we are most proud of our students and staff for embracing this mementous initiative and I encourage them to continue to dialogue with their friends and family to spread the word of the importance of organ donation.”
The students were informed that t-shirts are now available for sale at all four secondary schools to help raise awareness and funds for the Gift of Life challenge.
As well, students were encouraged to fill out registration forms for organ donation as they were being passed out in homeroom.

The student senate has several other events planned around this initiative in the upcoming months.

A link has been added to the main page on the Board’s website for those who wish to register right on line – visit www.sudburycatholicschools.ca to find the link.

One Student’s Trash is Another Student’s Treasure!

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Students in teacher Todd Rayne’s Grade 5/6 class are working on a conservation project, but this one is pretty unique. These Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School students have decided to collect garbage. Rayne is the school’s Dearness Conservation Lead, and has had several conversations with the school’s staff about how the students could reduce their energy and water usage, as well as increase their recycling efforts. One of the things that Rayne noticed in his own classroom was how many school supplies were being swept up at the end of the day and thrown in the garbage. This is when the D.C. team decided to make some changes. Over the past fifty days, the grade 5/6 students have visited all the junior classrooms and collected all of the discarded and forgotten school supplies that would have otherwise been thrown in the garbage. The results after their collection were astounding. After the first weigh-in, he students recorded that they had collected over 10 pounds of school supplies. Instead of being thrown out, the collected supplies are now returned back to their classes to be reused. As well, the students have tracked all of their findings for each class on a spreadsheet so that each week and month they can take their data to help support their cause and show each class where they need improvement. The next step for the class is making the school aware of their findings. Through the use of student created podcasts played over morning announcements, the class teaches the student body about the importance of recycling and taking care of their belongings. “We started this because I was noticing a lot of discarded supplies in my own classroom,” Rayne said. “As the D.C. lead, I knew it was our responsibility to make others aware of the waste and by getting the students so involved, there is much more buy-in on their part. Now they have become the teachers for the rest of the school and it is a win-win situation as we have all become conservation champions!” The students will be continuing this project until the end of the school year along with several other conservation initiatives, and it is their hope that they can reduce the waste significantly, possibly even to a “zero pound” collection.

Sharing the Love of a Good Book at St. Benedict

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A school-wide celebration of books was held at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School during Reading Week April 11th -15th. To further develop the love of reading, students were encouraged to use integrated technology to share with a friend their favourite story on Facebook, Twitter or You Tube. Students were given time to Drop Everything And Read, using their e-readers such as Kindle or just old- fashioned books. The activities continued all week with Book Club meetings,book swaps, and a graffiti wall to journal about their love of a good book.

Kiwanis Festival Awards Gold to St. Anne Music Student

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It has been a year filled with long hours of practice, but the efforts have paid off for Haley Blinn, a Gr.8 French Immersion student at St. Anne School. Haley recently competed in the Kiwanis Music Festival where she took home the Gold Award for her baritone sax solo.
Haley actually participated in 2 festival competitions during the day. One was with her Sudbury Catholic School Band comprised of members from 4 Catholic elementary schools under the direction of Ms. Joanne Comisso, vice-principal of St. Anne School, and Mrs. Leann Urso, instrumental band teacher at St Francis, St. Raphael and Pius XII Elementary schools. Haley won silver with the band, which was a great honour, but when asked about her gold Award win, Haley was ecstatic. She said, “I was very nervous but like everything else, practice helps. I think it is the practicing that helped me win the gold.” Ms. Comisso congratulated Haley on all of her hard work and outstanding contribution to the band. All the staff and students at St. Anne School are very proud of you Haley and we wish you continued success with music in your future! Way to go Angel!

Words to Inspire at Marymount Academy

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Marymount students in Grades 8, 10 and 12 English classes were given a unique opportunity the week of April 11. Tanya Neumeyer, a Toronto based poet, worked with the students for five days on performance poetry. Neumeyer, a published poet and workshop facilitator, was asked to work with the various classes by teacher Kimberly Fahner, who is herself a renowned published poet. The visit was funded through the Ontario Arts Council and the League of Canadian Poets, and allowed the students to learn how, through a creative process, to write and perform a poem within five days. At the end of the week, the students performed their finished pieces of poetry for Neumeyer as well as their classmates. “It has really been an extremely great week,” Neumeyer stated. “All of the students have been keen and curious about the spoken word.” Fauhner, who organized the workshops with the various classes was thrilled that the students were exposed to such an experienced poet and was extremely pleased with all of the positive feedback from students and staff. Tammy Jutila, one of Marymount’s Grade 8 English teachers whole-heartedly agreed with Fauhner. “It was such a unique experience – one that had a huge impact on the students and encouraged their own creative potential,” Jutila said. “Tanya Neumeyer was so patient throughout the whole process and really encouraged the students to find their own personal voice.”

Food Drive at St. Theresa

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The St. Theresa Student Council (overseen by teacher Mrs. Heaphy) organized a food drive recently over a nine day period. Students gathered 320 items in that time and have given it to the Sudbury Food Bank. The students were very happy to share the bounty they have with those who are in need at this time of year and to continue the tradition started by Edgar Burton – founder of the Sudbury Food Bank. SK student Noah Jabreen and his mother (far left) Jennifer, as well as his grandmother Mrs. Edgar Burton were on hand to help with the collection of donated food items.

Bustin’ a Move and Finding Their Groove

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Regardless of ability and age, every student at St. Raphael School is getting into the Zumba craze this month.  All the students are participating in five Latin dance classes with two certified instructors. 
 
Zumba will be part of the student daily physical activity at the school.  The Ministry of Education states:  “The goal of daily physical activity is to instill the habit of activity and enable all elementary students to be active on a daily basis in order to maintain or enhance their physical fitness, their overall health and wellness, and their ability and readiness to learn.”
 
It’s all a part of becoming a healthy school on the move.  The school is being recognized by the Healthy Schools Recognition Program.  It is a Ministry of Education initiative that awards schools going above the call of duty when it comes to the promotion of healthy living and eating.  
 

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