Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Major Julia Atherley-Blight Visits Marymount Academy

Major Julia Atherley-Blight spoke to the Marymount Academy student body on “Challenges for Women in the Military,” today at the Marymount Academy Campus. Major Atherley-Blight was invited by the college to speak to the students in celebration of International Women’s Week, with a focus on alternate careers for women.

Major Julia Blight-Atherley was born in Toronto. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1984 and joined the Canadian Armed Forces that same year. She was later posted to the Canadian Forces Base Trenton where she served as the Construction Engineering Planning Officer and subsequently the Requirements Officer. After serving as Training Systems Staff Officer, she completed her masters degree at Queen’s University and was posted to National Defence Headquarters as an Infrastructure Development Planner.

In 2001 Major Atherlry-Blight was deployed to the Arabian Gulf Region as the Site Activation Engineer leading the construction of Camp MIRAGE, (Operation APOLLO). Later, in 2003 she was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as the Theatre Activation Team Engineer for the activation of the Canadian contribution to the International Security Assistance Force mission. She is currently the Deputy Commanding Officer of the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team based in Kingston, Ontario.

Joining Major Atherley-Blight at the presentation were Lieutenant Commander Wong from the Canadian Navy, Captain Cheryl Swarbreak from the Canadian Air force and Major General Herb Petras from the Canadian Army.

St. Francis Student Take Top Prizes in 2005 ‘Art for Heart’

Christel Pilon and Max Gainer, Grade 6 students at St. Francis Catholic School won first and second place in the Sudbury Catholic and Rainbow Districts’ 2005 Art For Heart Billboard contest recently. In recognition of her first place finish, Christel
received a brand-new bicycle, and a $500 cheque for her class. In
addition, her poster entitled, “Pump It Up,” will be made into a
billboard to be erected on the Kingsway.

Max Gainer also picked up a handsome prize for his poster, “Work It Real Good” claiming a bag of sports balls for his efforts, courtesy of Coca Cola Bottling. Cardiologist Dr. Ron Baigrie and Peter Williams, Honorary Chair of the Art For Heart contest presented the prizes to the winners at Tom Davies Square.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to
congratulate both Christel and Max on their superb results in this
year’s billboard contest. Approximately 400 Grade 6 students from both boards entered the annual contest which helps encourage a healthy
lifestyle for Heart Health.

St. Benedict Students to Attend P.A.R.T.Y. Program at Sudbury Regional Hospital

Students from the Grade 12 Society class at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School will be attending the P.A.R.T.Y. Program (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth) at Hôpital Régional de Sudbury Regional Hospital on March 1, 2005 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The P.A.R.T.Y. Program is a nationally established one-day in hospital injury awareness and prevention program for youth. The program targets teens to educate them about the consequences of poor decision making in relation to risk-taking behaviours such as drinking and driving, lack of seatbelt use, not wearing a bike helmet, etc.

Students follow the course of injury from occurrence, through transport, treatment and community reintegration. During this day they interact with a team of health professionals directly involved in the care of trauma patients including paramedics, nurses, physicians and therapists.

For more information on the P.A.R.T.Y Program, please contact Lisa Veronese’s at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School ph. 523-9235.

PVEP Focus of Discussion at Regional Catholic School Council Meeting

Representatives from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Regional Catholic School Council met recently to review a number of important items relating to Catholic schools in Sudbury and all school boards across the province. One of the key areas of discussion revolved around the Parent Voice in Education Project (PVEP) which is a discussion paper prepared by 20 parent leaders who have been appointed by the Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy, to consult parents on ways to strengthen the parent voice at the local and provincial level. Regional Catholic School Council members, principals, board staff and trustees engaged in a lively debate on a number of questions posed by the PVEP discussion paper in preparation for the Ministry’s Regional Forum being held this Saturday afternoon at College Boreal.

SCDSB Teams Take Gold and Silver in 4th Annual Boys Basketball Tournament

The 4th Annual Bears-Flames Elementary Boys Basketball Tournament was held recently at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. Eight teams, from both the Sudbury Catholic and Rainbow District School Boards were involved in the double elimination tournament. Wembley Public School edged out St. Francis B for the Consolation side while Notre Dame (Hanmer) defeated Jessie Hamilton (Lively) to capture the Bronze. The championship game was a nail biter; St. David had a 19-12 half-time lead but fell to a determined St. Francis A squad by a final score of 43-39. Top scorers for St. David’s were Kevin McCoshew with 14, Zack Szycliak and David Nanez with 8 while St. Francis was led by Chad MacNeil with 12, Micheal Fabris with 9 and Kersey Kalubs with 8.

MVP t-shirts were awarded to K. Boisvert of Notre Dame, Kevin McCoshew of St. David and Chad MacNeil of St. Francis for being instrumental to their teams’ success. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the Bears-Flames have played host to this prestigious tournament.. The organizers of the basket ball tournament would like to thank all participants, parents and volunteers for their support and special appreciation to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for supplying the plaques and medals.

SCDSB Launches New Wireless Program “Learning With Laptops – One to One Grade 9 Math”

Students, parents, principals, teachers, trustees and all board staff were cordially invited to attend the official launch of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s new Learning With Laptops-One to One Grade 9 Math program using Apple wireless ibooks for all of its secondary schools recently at the St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School Library.

The introduction of the wireless laptops at the secondary level builds on the success of the Learning With Laptops program that the Board introduced into six of its elementary schools last year. The mathematics-based program allows students to conceptualize the abstracts of mathematics and continues to integrate technology into the classroom setting. In its continued commitment to student success, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has developed strong expertise in the use of technology as a resource for improving student achievement. “Laptops have become a tool to learn with and not solely a tool to learn from,” states Rossella Bagnato, Academic Superintendent of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “The Board is committed to the expansion of the wireless laptop program into each of our secondary schools. Every Grade 9 student will have access to a wireless laptop computer supported by a strong professional development plan that will assist staff in understanding programs and strategies associated with laptops,” concludes Bagnato.

Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, will outline the scope of the new wireless program and its impact on students. Rossella Bagnato, the Board’s Academic Superintendent of Education will provide details on how the “Learning With Laptops-One to One Grade 9 Math” program will be integrated with the math curriculum and discuss the goals for improving student achievement. The morning events will also include demonstrations by students on the laptops with Robert Kennedy, Education Development Manager from Apple Canada.

An agenda is available online. For more information please contact, Rossella Bagnato, Academic Superintendent of Education, Sudbury Catholic District School Board, ph. 673-5620 ext: 300.

Destination Conservation – 2nd Inservice, Year 4

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board presented the 2nd Inservice of Year 4 for Destination Conservation recently at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.

The agenda included an environmental and conservation session, overview of technical audits & lifestyle campaigns, a waste management session and information on the One Tonne Challenge. Destination Conservation is a multi- year program designed for school boards to improve their energy use, water consumption and waste management practices. A co-operative team of students, teachers, principals and custodians work together with Destination Conservation partners to help schools conserve resources and protect the environment.

For more information, please contact Mark Gervais, Energy Coordinator for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, ph. 673-5620 ext. 424.

SCDSB Teams Finish Well in Early Bird Basketball Tournament

Teams from all four of the City of Greater Sudbury’s school boards took part in the girl’s and boy’s Early Bird elementary basket ball tournament hosted by St. Francis Catholic School over two consecutive weekends recently.

In the girl’s division, first place honours went to Carl A. Nesbitt Public School, second place was awarded to MacLeod Public School while Marymount Academy finished third. In the boy’s division, Landsdowne Public School took first place honours while St. Francis Catholic School and St. David Catholic School teams finished second and third respectively.

This marks the seventh consecutive year that St. Francis Catholic School has hosted the tournament involving all four boards and 14 schools. The organizers of the basket ball tournament would like to thank the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, all participants, parents and volunteers for their support in helping to make both tournaments such a huge success.

Smart Kids Learn Safety Tips

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the
Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) played host to a Smart Kids Child Safety presentation recently at Corpus Christi Catholic School. Robin MacDonald, Marketing Manager for OTIP (adjacent photo), illustrated a number of key safety tips that students should be aware of through the use a highly informative video which included a “talking dog.” The presentation was followed by a question and answer period which helped students to learn about such topics as;

• Home Smarts – How to stay safe when students are home alone
• Street Smarts – What to do when they are approached by a stranger
• School Smarts – What children should do if they are being bullied at
school
• Internet Smarts – How to keep safe in a virtual world

“As a result of this video program, thousands of elementary teachers and pupils will have access to this valuable learning resource,” stated Robin MacDonald, OTIP’s Marketing Manager. “In this latest session, students watched different scenarios followed by brief discussions to help them relate to potentially dangerous situations. The ultimate goal of the Smart Kids Child Safety Program is to allow the students to develop the awareness and confidence required to keep them safe, whether it be at home, school, on the street or on the internet.”

In addition to providing each school in Ontario with a free copy of the video, OTIP consulted with several elementary teachers to develop
primary and junior level Smart Kids lesson plans. The free videos have been made available thanks to the Sudbury Unit of the Ontario English Teacher’s Association (OECTA) and OTIP.

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