The students of St. John school are extremely proud to announce that they collected over 22,000 cans for the Garson Food Bank during its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. This year, the students set their sights on trying to meet last year’s total (16,000) and ended up surpassing it by an overwhelming 6,000 cans. All students and staff of St. John school should be very proud of their good deed in support of the Garson Food Bank.
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St. Benedict Teacher Honoured with Rotary Club of Sudbury Community Leadership Vocational Award
Libby Marinilli, a teacher librarian from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School was honoured on Monday, October 25 by the Rotary Club of Sudbury with a Communnity Leadership and Vocational Award. Libby exemplifies professionalism in the area of education as well as self-development and reflects her expectations of her students which is having them reach their full potential. Over the years Libby has continued to stay current in her profession by taking numerous additional Ministry of Education courses in Guidance, Mathematics, English, Special Education Specialist, Computer Specialist, Principal Qualifications & most recently Library Science just to name a few.
Her dedication to her students & profession included expanding their horizons in this global village by forming an Educational Travel Club. Over the past 20 years, thanks to Libby’s efforts, students have been exposed to the global classroom with trips to Egypt, Russia, Japan & Western Europe. Here, in our own country, she has organized Youth Exchange with students from Saskatchewan, Newfoundland & Labrador. Libby has given of her personal time over the years by providing athletic training of sports teams after school, organizing the annual winter carnival & working with student council as well as the Literacy Across the Curriculum Committee as the staff representative. In attempting to incorporate relevant experiences as a way of enhancing student learning, Libby’s Gifted Grade 10 English class had their full-sized newspaper published by the Sudbury Star. Her passion for literature & the understanding of the importance of literacy in our world has brought her to her latest position as teacher-librarian. In this position, she has introduced e-books (electronic) to the library & students. She has organized authors from the Writer’s Union to speak to students about the writing process which in turn could motivate them to become future authors.
By organizing Chapters book fairs, she not only brings the community into the school, but as a result, this action has lead to the formation of a school Book Club. Libby has also been involved in ESP- Empowering Student Participation in various anti-bullying activities & campaigns.
In addition, Libby has found time to contribute to her community by volunteering as an executive member for the Joe MacDonald Football League for the past 16 years. The league encourages young boys & girls from ages 8-15 to learn skills, develop self-confidence & move on to high school prepared with the skills of the game.
Remembrance Day Land Art At St. Theresa
Land art means creating something artistic using the land around us. Our schoolyards are not typically a bountiful place for art materials however the junior students at St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School had no difficulty creating beautiful pieces of art depicting symbols of Remembrance Day. Ms. Tyna Raymond inspired students to create using only what we readily find in our schoolyard. Suddenly rocks, branches, berries, and leaves, take on a new beauty and meaning.
World War II Veteran visits St. Mary
St. Mary was very fortunate to have Mr. Tom Clark, an 85 year old War Veteran who currently lives in Capreol, and who is a member of the Capreol Legion, come speak to the students in grades 3 to 6, to give a personal perspective to the meaning of Remembrance Day. Mr. Clark joined the Navy in 1943 and sailed on the HMCS Kirkland Lake during the second World War. He spoke of his experiences and also gave a bit of the history of the Battle of the St. Lawrence. He explained the meaning of the medals he wore, spoke of the different friendships he had during the War, shared personal photos and talked about the differences in the Military now and at that time. Mr. Clark will be part of the St. Mary Remembrance Day Services as he and other members of the Capreol Legion will join the staff and students on November 11th.
St. Mark Catholic Elementary School Student Advances in Lions International Peace Poster Contest
Alyssa Kotanko. a grade 6 student at St- Mark Catholic Elementary School has taken the first step to becoming an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Warren & District Lions Club.
Alyssa’s poster was among more than 375,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 23rd annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International is sponsoring the contest to emphasize the importance of world Peace to young people everywhere.
“Peace on earth and goodwill toward human kind”, the 11 years old from Markstay said. The posters were selected by the school’s administration for its originality, artistic merit and portrayal of the contest theme “Vision of Peace”. The judging was held at the end of October at the school.
Markstay & District Lions Club President, Lion Steven Olsen, said he was impressed by the expression and creativity of the students at St- Mark School. “It is obvious that these young people have strong ideas about what peace means to them. I’m so proud that we were able to provide them the opportunity to share their visions”
Kotanko’ s poster will advance to face stiff competition through the district, multiple and international rounds of competition if they are declared the international grand prize winner,” Lion Steven Olsen said.
One grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners will be selected. The grand prize includes a cash award of US$5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to the awards ceremony at Lions Day with the United Nations. The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of US$500.
“Our club is cheering for Alyssa as her poster advance in the competition, and we hope that her vision will ultimately be shared with others around the world,” Lion Steven Oslen said.
Locally, Alyssa will be honoured for her participation by the Warren & District Lions Club on November 25th at their award recognition ceremony.
View international grand prize and merit award winners at www.lionsclubs.org.
St. Paul Staff Celebrate Hallowe’en
At St. Paul school the staff always find time to have fun and laugh, and if things aren’t going so well, the Queen of Hearts always has the option to say “Off with their heads!”
“Cell-ebrating Cells” at St. James
The Let’s Talk Science team from Cambrian College visited St. James Catholic School in Lively to “Cell-ebrate Cells” with the grades 7 & 8 students.
St. James and Cambrian College have formed a partnership giving the students the opportunity to participate in exciting, hands-on activities that meet expectations of the science curriculum.
St. Joseph welcomes sister school St. David in Non-Fiction Literacy
The students of St. David (in Sudbury’s Donovan Area) and St. Joseph (Killarney) gathered together this October to develop a sense of community. Both schools share a Principal, Dawn Wemigwans, but much of their daily school lives are worlds apart.
Some of the students from St. David boarded a bus and made the trip into the small rural community to participate in a variety of activities with the K-6 students from St. Joseph. The day began with introductions and a walk-a-thon to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. The 12 students of St. Joseph’s gladly paraded their guests around the town, and shared local heritage and historical sites, including a stop at St. Bonaventure Church. The children were accompanied by teachers, parents, and a few Elders who shared their knowledge with the students. Much of the days events were captured with digital cameras, and will be used at a later date to develop brochures about the town of Killarney.
St. Joseph school not only welcomed St. David students but also the community at large, as everyone shared in a homemade soup and sandwich lunch. Children and adults alike enjoyed conversing over a warm bowl of soup, and developed new friendships. These connections will be continued over the course of the year, through email and skype.
The day ended with all the children gathering in the one classroom to create giant maps of Killarney. Even the youngest children were happy to participate, as they were the “‘experts” on their town. This activity fit nicely into the curriculum for both schools, as they work together to develop reading skills in a variety of non-fiction forms. Before the students of St. David returned home they extended the invitation for the children of St. Joseph to visit them for a day, and further develop their learning and friendships.
DID YOU KNOW?
80% of our reading in our adult life is non-fiction based (internet, phone book, menus, maps etc), yet many students do not realize that this is reading.
St. David and St. Joseph School goal is to make the students aware that reading non-fiction is just as valuable of reading fiction.
Turning Points at Sudbury Catholic
Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on October 28, 2010 to take part in the SCDSB’s first annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative which stems from the Learning Partnership which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. The Board was approach last year about piloting the program and SCDSB administration felt that it was a good fit for Sudbury Catholic students as it ties in well with faith-based curriculum and the monthly virtues that each school celebrates.
Students from Marymount Academy and St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Grades 9 to 12 took part in this contest and their essays were then submitted to students at York University for the first tier of judging. Second tier judging occurred back at board level and then all names and winning essays were submitted back to Turning Points for publication. Students who wrote winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at Thursday night’s celebration.
At the awards ceremony, the students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several of the teachers involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. Jody Cameron, SCDSB Board Chair congratulated the students for their outstanding efforts and encouraged them to continue on their journey of self-discovery and emotional and spiritual growth.
English Teachers from all four Sudbury Catholic Secondary Schools participated in the Turning Points inservice on October 29 to prepare for their second semester’s English classes and Catherine McCullough, Director of Education expressed her delight that the program is now expanding. “I am thrilled that the pilot program met with such success at two of our secondary schools and know that expanding to all four will only mean that even more of our students will be able to participate in such a unique and rewarding writing initiative.”
Winning Essays included:
Grade 9/10 Awards
3rd place: Corissa VandeWeghe, Four Kisses
2nd place: Kalya Richardson, Another Person’s Mistakes
1st place: Jorden Barberio, Stripping the Blue Chair
Grade 11/12 Awards
3rd place: Alexandria Tsimiklis, A Final Goodbye
2nd place: Shelby Eyre, A Subtle Charisma
1st place: Jennifer Roy, An Unforgettable Encounter