Over the last several weeks, the participants of the brand new Business Program at St. Albert Adult Learning Centre have been working hard to identify and refine both their verbal and non-verbal communication skills. In order to demonstrate their new understanding of the subtle differences in non-verbal communication, each group created and videotaped two different mock interview scenarios. The scenarios were intended to demonstrate the subtleties between effective and ineffective body language and tone of voice during job interviews and were premiered on March 2, 2010 for several students and school staff. Tina Timpano, one of the Sudbury Catholic Teacher Integration Mentor teachers had visited the classroom over the past few months to assist the students with their video editing on imovie on the macbooks. The students were very enthusiastic about diving into the task of editing their movies in order to create polished, professional looking presentations for their projects. Jill Ospina, the Business teacher at the school felt that the integration of technology as well as the learning of practical hands-on real life skills will allow her students to be successful when it comes times for them to enter the workforce. “For many of the students, this project forced them to come out of their shell and experience real life situations that will benefit them for real job interview opportunities.” said Ospina. “ They have come a long way in a really short amount of time with this project and I am really proud of them.” Cassandra MacGregor, Vice-Principal of the school was thrilled that the students were pleased with the new program at the school. “ The students are earning credits towards their high school diploma as well as receiving specialized training to assist them when they enter the business world – it is a win-win situation for them.” Two of the students that presented their project, Francine Dubreuil and Peghan Verkuil were nervous but enthusiastic about their project being showcased to the other students. “We were really overwhelmed at first with this project,” said Dubreuil “but it has been a lot of fun and we have definitely learned a lot about business and technology. “ Peghan Verkuil also shared similar sentiments. “It definitely has been a lot of work, but in the end it paid off as it was a great experience to prepare us for the future.”
Author: admin
St. Bernadette Olympic Day Celebration
On February 26, 2010, the students and staff of St Bernadette showed Sudbury how much they “believe” as the Olympic Spirit was alive and well at St Bernadette School. Their Olympic themed play day was planned by Chantal Therrien, the Grade 5/6 teacher who felt that that having this event was important to “promote team spirit within the school.” Teams were created to represent 10 different countries and the kids made flags and cheers with a parade of nations. Some of the games the students participated in included curling, bobsled, hockey, luge and biathlon. As a special treat, the students had the opportunity to listen to Mr. McGibbon who was an Olympic torchbearer talk about his experience. At the end of the day, there was an awards presentation and, best of all, hot chocolate to warm up all of the students. Nicole Snow, Principal of the school felt the day was a great one for all of her students. “The Olympics brings with it a spirit of peace.” said Snow. “It teaches kids fair play, as well as pride and friendship – really great lessons for them to learn.”
St. John Catholic Elementary School Salute to the Olympics
Despite the frigid temperatures, the students at St. John Catholic Elementary had smiles from ear to ear as they took part in the school’s Olympic Day on Thursday, February 25, 2010. The school had many different events planned for the students including a wagon ride pulled by two horses from Wagon Wheel Ranch and the ever popular potato and spoon races. The smell of maple syrup filled the hallways as the staff and volunteers provided pancakes and hot chocolate for the students to keep them warm and fuelled their energy to keep the spirit level high throughout the day.
St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School Celebrates Ash Wednesday
The grade six students and their teacher led the students and some parents from St. Andrew School in an Ash Wednesday prayer service. The students were reminded that lent is a time to do something that makes a difference in the lives of themselves or others. Some people give up things and others do things to improve themselves. Father Al from the school parish of St. Andrew the Apostle sent over blessed ashes for Mrs. Henry to distribute to everyone present.
Pius XII Catholic Elementary Celebrates Heritage and Science
Parents, family members, and students from other grades had the opportunity to view all of the Grade 5 and 8 Heritage Fair and Grade 7 Science Fair projects at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School on February 26, 2010. The gym was filled with bright and colourful displays showing off the students’ hard work. Pauline Therian, a retired teacher as well as Glenn Thibeault were brought in to help judge the projects to determine which would be moving on to the regional competition. Todd Horn, the Grade 6/7 was pleased with the outcome of his students’ projects. “These projects allow students to deepen their research skills and utilize technology to find out their information.” said Horn. “With respect to Heritage Fair, it is important for them to find out all about different aspects of the past and link it to the future.”. Megan Murphy, Vice Principal of the school was also one of the judges on hand to evaluate the different projects. “The students are quite proud of their work today.” said Murphy. “It is wonderful to see their pride in their work and their community on display.”. Winners from the school’s Science Fair will move on to the regional competition on March 9 and the winners from the school’s Heritage Fair will move on to the regional competition on May 7, 2010.
St. Ben’s Students “Make the Cut” in Art
Every year, the Art Gallery of Sudbury has an exhibition showcasing local high school students. This year, three students from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School have been selected to be a part of a juried exhibition which means that not every piece of work submitted “makes the cut”. St. Ben’s students Matt White, Katy Peacock and Cassidy McAuliffe have been chosen to be a part of the group of selected artists making up this showcase of art work. The students art teacher, Bruno Timpano, was thrilled that his students were chosen to be a part of this exhibition and was really proud of them for being selected. The exhibition begins on March 4 and runs through right to the end of the month. The opening gala will be held on Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m.
SCC Antioch Prayer Group Enjoy Retreat In Killarney
Participants from the St. Charles Antioch prayer group took in the beauty of God’s creation and the wonderful weather on February 20 and 21, 2010 in Killarney. The students are part of the team that will put on the next Antioch Weekend (April 16,17,18) at St. Charles College. While in Killarney, the students participated in team building and communication exercises over the course of the two day retreat/seminar. The splendour of the lighthouse scenery, the sacredness of St. Ambrose Church, and the serenity of the Aboriginal classroom provided perfect opportunities for prayer and reflection. St. Charles College would like to thank the people of Killarney for their friendliness, the parishioners of St. Ambrose Parish for welcoming them at Mass, and especially the Outdoor Education Co-ordinator Mike Lavin for taking care of all of their needs throughout their visit.
Sudbury Catholic School Students Take Part in Student Voice Initiative
Students from all four of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s high schools were in attendance at the Student Voice Initiative on Friday, February 26, 2010 held at Locker by Composite School. This initiative includes three main components which are Speak-Up Projects, the Minister’s Student Advisory Council (MAC) and the Regional Student Forums. The students gathered together to give their input into the review of the Civics curriculum as well as looking at explicit leadership development strategies for students. The day involved larger discussions and presentations and then breaking off into smaller groups to have more focused and in-depth discussions. The Student Voice Initiative was also going on in several other cities simultaneously including London, Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Toronto, with all of the cities connecting via videoconferencing at different times throughout the day. The new Minister of Education, Minister Leona Dombrowsky also connected with the Sudbury student group to be a part of the day’s conversation. Elizabeth Urso, one of the Student Trustees for Marymount Academy as well as President of the English Catholic Board Council was in attendance and spoke about the day’s events. “It gives us a better understanding of the importance of the student voice.” said Urso. “It also allows us to network with people that we don’t normally have a chance to meet or talk to.” Samantha Shewring, a grade 12 student from Marymount Academy was the only student from the Greater Sudbury area selected last year to sit on the Minister’s Student Advisory Council. “The experience was fantastic.” said Shewring. “ It was a great opportunity to get students involved with the Ministry of Education and to be able to go right to the source to make things happen. It is a significant opportunity and being a part of today reinforces the importance of students being involved in their own education.” The Minister of Education’s message spoke to the importance of increasing student engagement and that there was tremendous value in having school guidelines and policies be student driven and be representative of students’ educational needs.
St. Charles College Supports Haitian Relief
The staff and students at St. Charles College recognize the importance of continuing to raise funds for the devestated country of Haiti. While the school’s mission collection is ongoing daily, the students decided they wanted to do something extra to add to their mission donations. A group that is new to the school this year – P3 – which stands for People, Peace, Power – is a student run club that works towards social justice and peaceful relationships within the school and community. It incorporates the already established E.S.P. group at St. Charles College which is the Empowering Student Partnerships. These students decided to have t-shirts made to sell to boost their fundraising efforts. The t-shirts are being sold for $10 and there are only a few left as the sales have been a huge success. Including the mission collections, the students and staff have collected over $3000 and their donation will go to Haitian relief through Chalice which is a Catholic Aid organization that is sponsored by the Bishops. Patty Mardero, principal of the school felt that it was a real team effort by the entire school and was very pleased and proud of their accomplishment.