SCDSB high school students have been working very hard the last couple of days to raise much needed funds to support Haitian relief. At Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, the students raised a total of $420 to donate to the relief efforts. The Social Justice Action Council at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School held a bake sale over two days to assist the earthquake victims raising over $845. The students and staff of both schools were overwhelmed with the success of their money raising efforts and were thrilled to be able to make such substantial donations. It is evident that the students of SCDSB are showing a great example of the importance of helping those in need.
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Early Learning Kindergarten Program Open House at Pius XII
Louisa Bianchin, Principal of Pius XII Catholic School welcomed parents and families to the school’s “Open House and Kindergarten Registration Night.” Mrs. Bianchin was especially pleased to announce that Pius XII was one of three schools selected by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to offer the “Early Learning Kindergarten Program” or ELKP as it is more commonly referred to. “I am very excited about the new full day Early Learning Kindergarten Program at Pius XII Catholic School,” stated Bianchin. “The Early Learning program offers the teacher and the early childhood educator the opportunity to team plan and teach. Together, they will provide a play-based program which will focus on the development of the “whole” child. Recent studies have shown that all children learn best through active involvement and play. I look forward to working with the kindergarten team and parents as we begin the development and implementation of a stimulating full day Early Learning Kindergarten program.”
St. Benedict Hosts Annual Bear’s Classic
St. Benedict Catholic High School hosted it’s annual Bears Classic Boys Elementary Basketball tournament this past weekend. Twelve teams entered and battled for top spot over two days of play. In the end, the Algonquin Tigers were the tournament champions. The SCDSB top team was the St. Francis “A” Team who placed third with a bronze medal finish and had two of its team members making the all-star team – Kordell Simmonds and Tate Kosmerly. Congratulations to all participants and to St. Benedict for another successful tournament!
Sudbury Catholic School Students Honoured to Participate in Traditional Eagle Ceremony
Students from the Native Studies and Native Language Programs at the Sudbury Catholic District School board were invited to participate in an Eagle Ceremony at the board’s Outdoor Education Centre in Killarney on January 13, 2010. Vince Pawis, a traditional elder who works with the Catholic Board was given an eagle that had been hit on the highway so he invited the students as well as other community Elders and traditional teachers to help him feast the eagle so that the feathers could be used for traditional purposes. In aboriginal culture, it is believed that the Eagle flies closest to the Creator and, therefore, can see the past, present and future at a glance. The Eagle is considered the great illuminator and sits in the east on the Medicine Wheel with the Elders and the direction of wisdom and guidance. It is a powerful symbol of courage and this is why the feathers are such powerful tools for healing, and why there are special ceremonies for the Eagle feathers. The students learned from the celebration that it is okay to combine wisdom and courage and to be wise enough to know when a change needs to be made in one’s life. Through the strength of the Eagle’s spirit, they learned that they can find the courage to execute the change. The Elders expressed their happiness that there were so many students there to witness and participate in the celebration as it is so important for their culture to passed on. Each student that took part in the ceremony was given an Eagle feather by the elders to take home and cherish.
St. Benedict Students Inspired by Words from an Olympic Torch Bearer
Edith Vigna, a teacher at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School invited a special guest to visit her class on January 13, 2010. Karen Luczak, an Olympic torch carrier in Sudbury spoke to the students about her adventure. The students were in awe as they listened to Luczak as she credited her being chosen as a torch bearer to her many years of volunteering that she continues to do to this day. Luczak spoke of the importance of volunteering in your community and Vigna felt that her words had a really, positive impact on the students as they are now very excited to begin volunteering at the new breakfast program that will be starting at St. Ben’s in the upcoming weeks.
SCDSB on Board with Provincial Government’s Full Day Learning Plan for September 2010
Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci held a press conference on January 12, 2010 to announce the provincial government’s funding of full day early learning in Ontario’s elementary schools beginning in September, 2010. “Creating an integrated day of learning and play will give children more opportunities for success,” said Bartolucci. “It’s a key part of the government’s plan to build a stronger school system and a well-educated workforce.” Bartolucci explained how it is a transformational moment in education as it gives four- and five-year-olds a stronger start in school and therefore a stronger start in life. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education also spoke at the press conference and announced the locations for the Sudbury Catholic Early Learning Schools which are St. Raphael Catholic Elementary, St. Anne Catholic Elementary and Pius XII Catholic Elementary. As well, McCullough reiterated the board’s previous announcement from December 2009, where the Sudbury Catholic Board, with full support from its trustees, will be funding full day Junior Kindergarten in all of its remaining elementary schools. “ Sudbury Catholic has led the province in its plan for full day J.K. implementation in the fall of 2010.” says McCullough. “Making this decision was simply the right thing to do for the children’s future, and that’s always our main consideration at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.” The Director has said that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the board has already received many calls from parents who are also excited by the new full-day JK program and want to enrol their children. All of the Sudbury Catholic elementary schools are holding open houses on Monday, January 18th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The open houses will give parents the opportunity to get a jump start on registration for their child.
St. Benedict High School Hosts Sacred Heart Students
Grade 8 students from Sacred Heart in Espanola spent a full day at St. Benedict Catholic High School January 7, 2009 to learn more about the school and the opportunities that would be available to them if they choose to attend the school for Grade nine. The students who belong to the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board don’t have a Catholic High School in Espanola to attend so they have the option of being bussed to St. Benedict for their secondary education. The day started off with all twenty-one students dissecting frogs in the biology lab with the assistance of St. Ben’s students. After that, they went down to the Foods room where they took part in the preparation of a pasta lunch for themselves to enjoy. The group then split in two and visited the two tech rooms – autoshop and woodshop. The students took turns learning how to change a tire and created a wooden bookshelf to take home. It was apparent that the kids from Sacred Heart were very excited to take part in the day and expressed interest and excitement when asked about their possibility of attending the school in September. Judy Way, Vice Principal of the school said that for a lot of these students’ parents, it is an option they really like because they are able to have their kids continue on with their catholic education at a top notch high school. Currently there are fifteen students from Espanola that attend St. Benedict Secondary School.
SCDSB Catches the Olympic Spirit!
As the Olympics draw closer, Canadians can’t help but catch the spirit. Some of our SCDSB staff and students were lucky enough to be a part of this historic event this past weekend. One of our teachers from St. Charles College, Jennifer Petahtegoose, and her daughter Hannah, a student at St. James Catholic Elementary danced at the torch lighting ceremony in Sudbury with Kim Nootchtai and her daughter Brianna who is also a student at St. James. As well, Steve Callaghan, our Chaplain at St. Charles College has two sons who are graduates of St. Charles who were both Olympic torch runners for the ceremony.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS “FREE THROW” COMPETITION
What a way to kick off the new year! Students at Immaculate Conception Catholic School enjoyed participating in the yearly “Knights of Columbus FREE THROW Competition” on January 5th, 2010. Fun was had by all. The Knights of Columbus Council 7368 are dedicated to our community. Each year, they conduct the “Free Throw” competition in 7 local schools in Valley East. The winners will participate in the Regional Competition to be held at Immaculate Conception School on January 28th.