SCDSB applauds Marlene Lee, Wal-Mart’s 2004 “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Lee received the award in recognition of her outstanding devotion to the students and her tireless dedication to school activities such as “Have Ark Will Travel,” a play that she wrote and produced specifically for the students at St. Paul Catholic school.

Several students read letters they had submitted to Wal-Mart outlining the reasons why “Mrs. Lee should be selected as teacher of the year,” during a special presentation in the school’s gymnasium. This is the second year in a row that a teacher from the school has won this prestigious award. Last year, Janet Carscallen was honoured for her outstanding work. In addition to the “Teacher of the Year Award,” St. Paul Catholic school also received a cheque for $1,000 and $500 for being selected as the winning school for “Earth Day” and “Adopt A School Program” from Wal-Mart Canada.

Laurel Broten, Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Parliamentary Assistant
addressed Marymount Academy’s student body on “Women in Politics” at a
special presentation at the school recently. Mrs. Broten’s presentation centred on the “lack of female participation and presence” in today’s political arena and apathy among voters, ages 18 to 24. The key message of her 30-minute presentation focused on encouraging Marymount’s young voters to become involved in politics at the local level and get to know their political leaders if they want to change their world for the better. In her closing remarks, the Parliamentary assistant stated that, “You have to believe that anything you want to achieve is possible, involve yourselves in the political process today, as you may very well be the leaders of tomorrow.”

On Wednesday, May 26th, St. Charles College senior boys soccer team captured their 6th city championship in seven years by defeating Lockerby 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out. The game was tied 2-2 after regular time and 20 minutes of overtime. The Cards scored on all 5 of their shots to claim top prize.

On Saturday , May 29th , both the Junior and Senior teams travelled to North Bay to compete for the NOSSA championships. The junior team, who defeated Lockerby last fall to win Sudbury, played first againstt North Bay’s West Ferris Trojans. The Cards defeated West Ferris 3-1 to capture their second consecutive NOSSA AAA crown, a feat that no other school has ever accomplished in Junior soccer. The senior team then went up againstt Scollard Hall-St.Josephs. In overtime the Cards lost on a Golden Goal with five minutes left on the clock.

St. Charles coaches John Sikora, Lloyd Rebeiro, Ed Sacchetto and Robert Dagotino were very proud of both teams’ accomplishments. Coaches and players had dedicated both seasons to the memory of former student and player, Sam Pisani, who was tragically killed on Lake Ramsey last year.

The nationally acclaimed “Student Success” presentation is designed to help students think about their next steps upon graduation and what they need to accomplish throughout the upcoming years. The program also addresses critical issues such as time management, choosing the right career paths, gaining experience through internships and meaningful work experience.

“Graduation from secondary school is a key transition period in a student’s life,” states Making It Count founder, Patrick O’Brien. “Our goal is to provide and reinforce the positive messages that educators are giving to their students during this critical time and to help students understand that anyone can be successful if they choose to be.” The Making Post Secondary Education Count presentation program has reached over 35,000 students in Canada over the last 2 years.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the Ottawa Bluesfest organization scheduled a number of presentations in the board’s family of schools during the last week of May. The Blues in the Schools program offers a unique and inspirational opportunity for students of all ages to draw on the energy and experience of award-winning blues artists such as T J Wheeler through workshops and hands on instructional techniques.

The Blues in the Schools program also teaches blues history, and through this history students learn about the injustice of racial intolerance. One of the goals of the program is to promote the use of blues music in other areas of education including art, history and creative writing. T J Wheeler believes that, ”You can wipe out racism and bullying through education and activism. He sees blues as a music of hope and as a means of developing positive social change.”

More than 1,700 students from across the City of Greater Sudbury jammed themselves into the Cambrian College gymnasium this past Friday to hear one of the most dynamic speakers in recent memory. George Chuvalo, former heavy weight boxing champion and the “greatest Canadian fighter of all time” spoke to a captivated audience of Grade 9 students on the perils of substance abuse and the “Fight Against Drugs.” Mr. Chuvalo is well versed on the subject, having lost three sons and his first wife
to drug abuse and suicide. He now tours the country sharing stories of his sons’ struggles with drugs in the determined hope that what happened to his family won’t happen to anybody else’s family. “The Champ” also spoke quite passionately about peer pressure, the entertainment industry and the importance of family and education. “My sons dropped out of high school and couldn’t see a future, couldn’t see how they could make a respectable living for themselves or their families. I think this loss of hope made them more vulnerable to drugs,” stated a deeply saddened Chuvalo.

Sergeant Rob Thirkill, Youth Liaison Officer for the City of Greater Sudbury Police Service, noted that having Mr. Chuvalo speak to the young people of Sudbury so close to the end of the school year was very timely. “Soon the students will have to make choices about what they will do on their summer vacation. We want them to see first hand the tragic outcomes that can come from choices that involve drugs, alcohol and crime,” stated Thirkill.

The “Fight Against Drugs” presentation was sponsored by the Ontario Crime Control Commission in association with the Greater Sudbury Police Service’s in-school Empowered Students Partnership program (ESP). Co-hosting the event were the Honourable Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and MPP for Sudbury, Mayor David Courtemanche and Chief of Police Ian Davison.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the Ottawa Bluesfest organization will be presenting “Blues in the Schools”, May 25 to 28 at a number of locations. The “Blues in the Schools” program offers a unique and inspirational opportunity for students of all ages to draw on the energy and experience of award-winning blues artists through workshops and hands on instructional techniques. The “Blues in the Schools” program also teaches blues history, and through this history students learn about the injustice of racial intolerance. One of the goals of the program is to promote the use of blues music in other areas of education including art, history and creative writing.

Musician T. J. Wheeler will be performing in some of the SCDSB schools next week. He believes that you can wipe out racism and bullying through education and activism. He sees blues as a music of hope and as a means of developing positive social change.
Please note that one of the classes at Corpus Christ Catholic school will have the opportunity to be a core class. They will develop a performance that will be showcased in their school at the end of the week.

The following is the itinerary for the schools participating in Blues in the School, May 25 to 28, 2004: