St. Theresa Catholic School recently took part in an initiative brought forward by the Sudbury & District Health Unit called “Families in Motion.” Over a two week period students were encouraged to take part in any type of physical activity with at least one family member. For every 15 minutes of activity, one point was recorded toward the class total.
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Sudbury Catholic Schools Share Best Practices with Kenora Catholic District School Board
Sudbury Catholic District School Board members Catherine McCullough, Laura Kuzenko and Dawn Wemigwans met with their Kenora Catholic District School Board counterparts in Kenora, Ontario to share best practices in Aboriginal Education and Student Success Initiatives.
Through collaborative dialogue, both boards were able to deepen their understanding of curriculum in relation to Aboriginal learners and student success. Both teams were able to participate in purposeful team building experiences that will translate into increased success for Sudbury Catholic School students.
St. Andrew Catholic School Teacher Wins “Teacher of the Year” Award
Representatives from Scholar’s Choice visited St. Andrew Catholic School recently to present Junior Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Chantal Morin with the Teacher of the Year Award. Jeramy Sawyer, a student in her class, nominated her with a delightful picture and story that was scribed by his Mother.
Chantal and Jeremy were both awarded $200 gift certificates, while St. Andrew School was awarded a $100 gift certificate. As a bonus prize, the entire JK class will enjoy the celebration with a complimentary pizza party at lunch break on Monday, June 2, 2008.
St. Andrew Catholic School, JK student Jeramy Sawyer poses with his teacher, Chantal Morin who he nominated for Teacher of the year with the help of his mom.The Sudbury Catholic District School Board congratulates Chantal Morin on winning the Teacher of The Year Award!
Longtime Teacher, Vice-Principal and Principal Recipient of Sudbury Catholic Schools 2008 Chairperson’s Award
Each year the Sudbury Catholic District School Board presents its Chairperson’s Award to the individual that embraces Catholic values, demonstrates initiative and ingenuity and contributes positively to the lives of its students and staff. “Sharon Oliver, Principal of St. Paul The Apostle Catholic School is all of those things and more,” stated Sudbury Catholic Schools, Board Chair, George Middleton before presenting Mrs. Oliver with the Chair’s Award for 2008. The award was presented at the Board’s 25 Year Employee Recognition and Retirement Party held at Bryston’s on the Park during the last week of May.
Mrs. Oliver is well deserving of this award having been an exemplary teacher, vice-principal and principal for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for more than thirty years. Her Catholicity is evident to all students, parents and staff that have had the good fortune and opportunity to meet or work with her. Her truly caring and compassionate nature is apparent daily, beginning with prayers during morning announcements to the spiritual way in which she leads liturgical celebrations of all kinds through her gift of song and words of praise.
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School is a recipient of the Childhood Enfance- Better Beginnings Better Futures Snack Program due to her efforts. The community is well informed of school events and frequently invited to join students and staff in the school gym for sit down Harvest Teas and Shrove Tuesday Pancake meals.
Mrs. Oliver has been involved in numerous committees and initiatives that champion the cause of Catholic Education over her many years as teacher, vice-principal and principal. As the chairperson of the NOCCC, (Northern Ontario Catholic Curriculum Cooperative) she continues to promote and encourage Catholic curriculum across Northern Ontario. She is a member of the CPCO (Catholic Principals Council of Ontario) Professional Development Committee and is also involved as the chairperson of the Liturgy Committee of her church.
Sudbury Catholic Board Balances Budget for 2008-09 School Year
Trustees with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board proved successful in passing a balanced budget for the 2008-2009 school year at Tuesday night’s board meeting. The approved budget of $67,306,178 will sustain the positive momentum that has been achieved in the Board’s new initiatives and programs such as the “Learning with Laptops” program and complies with the objectives set by the Ministry of Education with respect to the reduction of class sizes in the primary classes.
The new budget allows the Board to move forward with a number of initiatives which will continue to re-enforce our Catholic identity and system priorities at all levels of the organization. Technological and academic support has also been maintained at the board and classroom level to ensure exemplary instruction and assessment for student success.
In order to arrive at a balanced budget for 2008-2009 the Sudbury Catholic District School Board projects a draw from the Reserve for Working Funds of $504,737. This draw would represent an amount equal to .8% of the Board’s Grant Revenue Allocation and falls within the Ministry of Education’s threshold criteria. The impact of the proposed draw from the Working Funds would be offset by the $608,409 that the Board identified in its 2007-2008 budget.
Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for Sudbury Catholic Schools is pleased with the budget. “I am very happy with the fact that the Board was able to bring in a balanced budget,” stated McCullough. “The new budget will allow us to meet Ministry of Education regulation and obligations and we will continue to deliver quality services and programs to our students in order that they may achieve their maximum potential.”
Board Chair, George Middleton is also pleased with the budget. “Over the past few months, Trustees and Senior Administration have worked extremely hard to bring in a balanced budget that addresses some of the key priorities of the Board and its stake holders. This new budget will allow us to move forward on present initiatives such maintaining our Special Education Program, our One to One Laptop Program and compliancy with Ministry objectives in our primary class sizes.”
B.A.C. To B. A.C. Wins
It seems like just yesterday that Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School opened its doors to students of the Valley East Region. However, in five short years, the school’s reputation has quickly grown in the area and it is known by students as the place to be – next year’s projected enrolment boasts a student population of more than 440 students.
There are many factors that can be attributed to the success of Bishop Carter in such a short time period. One of the more prominent reasons being that the school specializes in many areas but it cannot be denied that its athletic programs have certainly grown in depth, breadth and spirit over the last few years. Bishop Carter Catholic Secondary School is particularly proud of its senior hockey team as they won the City Championship againstt Espanola in their division.
Coached by Mr. Dave Fabiilli and managed by Mr. Dan Grandbois, the team had very little time to play and build together, however the Gators proved that winning a championship requires more than just skill. To accomplish this amazing task the boys demonstrated a lot of heart, talent and above all a love for the game.
The boys’ hockey team also competed in the York University Senior Springfest Tournament in Toronto and once again the team was successful in claiming the championship, but this time at the provincial level. The Gators learned that when they become determined and put their minds and souls into their game anything is possible. Not to be outdone, on the hard court, the Bishop Carter Gators Junior Boys Basketball team won the Junior Boys NOSSA Championship division as well. The team was coached by Mr. Sean Gilroy. The boys had less than a year to develop and grow as a team but that was all that was needed to come home with the N.O.S.S.A. medal.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to take this opportunity to congratulate both the Bishop Carter hockey and basketball teams!
SCDSB Holds 25 Year Recognition and Retirement Party
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board held its 25 Year Recognition and Retirement Party at Bryston’s on the Park on Thursday, May 22, 2008. This annual event afforded Trustees, Senior Administration, Principals, Family and Friends the opportunity to congratulate those employees of the board who had attained a remarkable milestone of “25 years of service.” To those employees who are retiring, we wish them “the best of luck” and bonne chance in their new endeavours.
The Board would like to thank all participants, special guests and staff for making the evening such a tremendous success. Enclosed are some of the highlights of the evening.
Renowned Speaker, Author Visits Sudbury
Motivational speaker and author, Betty Boult was in the City of Greater Sudbury to speak to students, parents, families and members of the educational sector regarding her most recent book 176 Ways to Involve Parents. Dr. Boult’s presentation focussed on the practical, doable activities and ideas that enhance student learning by involving parents in a respectful, meaningful, and productive way.
“In schools where teachers reported high levels of outreach to parents, test scores grew at a rate 40 percent higher that in schools where teachers reported low levels of outreach,” Boult told her audience who had gathered in the Science North Inco Cavern to hear her speak. Dr. Boult went on to state that what we know for sure is that adolescents want and need more independence. In fact, it did not matter what the students’ background or prior school achievement was, if the parents became involved there was a positive impact on achievement, attendance, behaviour, and course credits completed.
Students whose parents remained involved through high school were much more likely to complete college. These students were three times more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree than children of parents who were not involved in high school. (Parent involvement was defined by Boult as frequency of talking to teachers, parent interest in planning for post-high school activities, and parent monitoring of school work).
Boult concluded her presentation by quoting from the report of The Parent Voice which re-affirmed that parents do not want to run schools, but they do want to have a voice that they can be assured will be taken into account at the school, board, and provincial levels. When schools, families, and community organizations work together to support learning, children not only achieve better academically but also stay in school longer.
Sudbury Catholic Schools, Key Player in LU’s New Track and Field Complex
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the three other school boards and the City of Greater Sudbury is proud to partner with Laurentian University to support upgrades to the Track and Field Complex on campus.
The City of Greater Sudbury and the four school boards, who operate the track in partnership with the university, will invest $600,000 and $225,000, respectively, in the project.
“Each year our students look forward to taking part in the track and field events that are held here at Laurentian,” stated Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for Sudbury Catholic Schools at a media conference held this morning at Laurentian University. “This new state of the art facility will allow our young athletes to have fun as they take part in regular physical activity and enjoy a healthy lifestyle which translates into a healtheir community.”
The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) also announced today a contribution of $865,000 to support upgrades to the Track and Field Complex, bringing total investments, as of today, to $2,190,000.
“Our community has hosted important provincial and national level sporting events at Laurentian over the years and we will now be able to continue to do so on an improved track,” said Rick Bartolucci, minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services and Sudbury MPP. “Renovations to the Laurentian Track and Field Complex will ensure Sudbury has a premier outdoor athletics event site in northern Ontario.”
Planned improvements to the Complex include rebuilding the tartan track, relocating the running pits and upgrading the sports field, lighting and stands. There is an urgency to renovate the Track and Field Complex to support Sudbury’s bids to host the Ontario Summer Games in 2010 and the National Francophone Games in 2011, as well as future Paralympic activities and regional and provincial secondary school event competitions.