The Sudbury Catholic District School Board together with its family of schools celebrated Catholic Education Week this year from May 1 to May 6, 2005. During this week, the Catholic community took the opportunity to reaffirm the distinctive contribution that Catholic schools make to our students, our community and our society.

This year’s theme, “Being the Body of Christ”, was particularly appropriate in this “Year of the Eucharist.” The theme reminds us of the ultimate reality of an education rooted in Christ; namely, through the body of believers and the communion of the Eucharist, the divine is made “just as real and as radically physical as when Jesus of Nazareth, in the flesh, walked the dirt roads of Palestine.” Through our intimate participation in the life of Christ as Christ’s body, we “keep God present to humanity and to the world.”

Catholic Education Week 2005 begins on a Sunday to highlight the partnership that remains the foundation of Catholic Education. We particularly want to underline the relationship of Catholic schools with the broader Church community, especially with the parishes that remain the center of the worshipping faith community.

Throughout Catholic Education Week, we hope that everyone in our school community reflected on the significance of Catholic Education’s presence in and contribution to our Church and our society. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all students, parents, teachers and staff for their excellent participation in the special activities and prayer celebrations that marked this year’s Catholic Education Week!

View highlights of SCDSB’s celebration of Catholic Education Week 2005. (pdf)

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board helped celebrate the 9th Annual Sudbury Regional Heritage Fair at a media conference held at the Anderson Farm in Lively recently. Immersed in an antique hunter’s dreamlike setting, officials from the Sudbury Regional Histor!ca Heritage Fair, the Rainbow and Sudbury Catholic District School Boards together with students, kicked off the countdown to this year’s fair. Every year, thousands of students in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin take part in the HISTOR!CA Heritage Fair, a celebration of our community’s and our country’s rich heritage. To date, more than 2,400 students have registered for the 2005 Fair that will take place at Laurentian University on May 5 and 6. Students whose history projects are selected at the regional level will participate in the Provincial Fair in Hamilton this spring.

“Since the first local Heritage Fair nine years ago, area School Boards have consistently maintained the greatest number of student and school participants in the province,” said Heritage Fair Chair Shirley O’Neil. “In fact, our regional fair has become the largest in Canada, proof that this important event has made its mark in history.”

Gerry Lougheed, Honorary Chair of the Sudbury Regional Histor!ca Heritage Fair, kick’s off the media conference at Anderson’s Farm in Lively. The HISTOR!CA Heritage Fairs program is designed to create an innovative and captivating learning environment for students, strengthening young people’s knowledge of the diversity and uniqueness of Canadian heritage and giving them an opportunity to develop strong roots in their community and culture. In addition, the fair allows students to develop research and communication skills through interaction with different community sources such as politicians, local historians, multicultural organizations and representatives from the business community. Once students research their chosen topics, they decide which format to use to present their findings. Each year, projects feature dramatic and musical presentations, videos, posters, maps, essays and three-dimensional displays, often including props and costumes.

Students whose projects are selected at the regional level will participate in the provincial fair in Hamilton.The Sudbury Regional HISTOR!CA Heritage Fair is an event that is about the community, for the community. The Organizing Committee is made up of representatives from participating school boards, area businesses, service clubs and organizations. Sponsors include the City of Greater Sudbury, Laurentian University, Rainbow District School Board, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, The Sudbury Star, and The Sudbury Multicultural Folk Arts Association.

St. Benedict CSS is hosting their 2nd Annual Spring Thaw Dinner and Silent Auction Thursday April 21st at the Caruso Club Upper Hall. There will be a preview at 5:30 pm followed by dinner at 6:00 pm and silent auction at 7:00 pm.

Tickets are $40 each, with a $20 charitable donation receipt provided with each ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the school or by calling 523-9235. Auction items include Group of Seven limited edition prints, autographed hockey memorabilia, professional Italian cookware set, BBQ, wine making kit, golf equipment, jewellery, guitar, theatre tickets, a dog sled trip and much more. Come out for a great evening and a great cause!