Students at Marymount Academy were given the opportunity of a lifetime on Friday, October 3, 2014. Dan Bartolucci, teacher and program leader for the school was contacted by Captain Blake Desjardins from the Greater Sudbury Firefighter Services to see if there was any interest in the students to take part in female firefighter training. Seeing it as a perfect fit for the students, Bartolucci readily agreed- and 12 students were selected to take part in the day’s events. Students met with Bartolucci, as well as the school’s vice principal, Lori Holden at the Emergency Services training facilities located at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre in Azilda early Friday morning, and spent the entire day going through different firefighting scenarios including forcible entry, live fire simulator, reduced profile and tight spaces, etc. The group spent an exhausting day working through all of the different training sessions and getting a first hand glimpse of real fire fighting work. “When I say exhausting, that is an understatement,” Bartolucci explained. “This day was a real glimpse into the life of a fire-fighter on the job. It was an outstanding opportunity for these students and has absolutely inspired some of the girls to pursue their dreams in this field. Wearing 100 lbs of gear and walking into smoke and fire – absolutely incredible! At Marymount, we always try to give our students a variety of opportunities to ensure we are supporting their long term goals and successes!”
Author: admin
Staff “En Pointe” for BACCSS’s Rooney and Dechaine Memorial Walk
As a result of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School’s successful Memorial Walk fundraiser in memory of former student Mackenzie Rooney (a student who died tragically in an ATV accident) and Dennis Dechaine, (a former teacher who lost his battle with cancer), both the principal and vice principal of the school had to honour their part of the challenge. Cassandra MacGregor and James Michaud, the school’s admin team showed up in their best ballerina wear as a result of the students fundraising exceeding their goal of $8000. To date, the school has raised over $9000 so far to go towards several different scholarship funds in both Rooney’s and Dechaine’s names, as well as to support several activities within the school that both Mackenzie’s parents and Dennis’s wife are involved with. To raise the money, the students canvassed the valley area over the past few weeks and the day of the walk involved a live broadcast from KICX radio, a prayer service, a Zumba warm up for the whole school, and an 8 km walk to celebrate the togetherness of the entire Bishop Carter school community. Joining them on the walk were members of both Mackenzie’s and Dennis’s families, as well as members of the Greater Sudbury Police Services. Principal Cassandra MacGregor was thrilled with the efforts of her students and staff. “We are a small school community with an enormous heart,” explained MacGregor. “We set our expectations really high when it comes to our students and staff, and they continually exceed these expectations! We are extremely proud of our students for surpassing our fundraising goal and it is wonderful that we can honour Mackenzie and Dennis, and their families with our outstanding efforts!”
Thank you to all of our Sudbury Catholic Teachers!
On World Teacher Day – October 5, 2014, we would like to thank you for your dedication and service to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. Your efforts in supporting our students to be the best they can be are very much appreciated!
Help Support the DJ Hancock Memorial Splash Pad
DJ Hancock was an aspiring young hockey player. Unfortunately, on the night of August 21, 2014, he was killed in a car crash while returning from a hockey tryout in Walden. He was only 18, and had just graduated in June from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. From this devastating loss, DJs family have decided to build a splash pad in the city to help remember DJ. Known as the “DJ Hancock Memorial Splash Pad”, the idea is being sponsored by Aviva Community Fund. We are looking to gain as many votes as possible in order to help make this dream a reality. Please register to vote at: https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19607 and vote as often as you can. Thank you for your support!
Memorial Walk Held at Bishop Alexander Catholic Secondary School
Prayer, celebration and remembrance was the theme of the day on September 25th at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. The school held their Memorial Walk in memory of Mackenzie Rooney, a student who died tragically in a ATV accident and Dennis Dechaine, a former teacher who lost his battle with cancer last year. The day started off with a live broadcast from KICX radio, a prayer service and zumba warm up by Zumbavibe. The 8 km memorial walk was an opportunity for students to celebrate the “togetherness” of the Bishop Carter community. The family members of both Mackenzie and Dennis participated in the event. The afternoon students enjoyed karaoke and a flag football team with the girls team competing againstt the teachers. It was an amazing day! Thank you to all the sponsor who helped in this event including the Sudbury Police, Tim Hortons (Val Caron and Hanmer), Neil Independent Grocer and Kings Sportswear. Proceeds from the walk go towards scholarships in Mackenzie and Dennis’ honour, KICX for kids campaign and other activities that support the interests of Mackenie and Dennis.
Terry Fox Run at St. Andrew
At 1pm on Wednesday September 24th, the staff and students of St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School walked, jogged and ran for half an hour to support the school “Toonies for Terry” fundraiser. Every school year in September the school participates in the Terry Fox Run to support cancer research. Pictured are Owen, Jack, Drake, Luca and Mason.
Franco-Ontarian Flag Celebration at St. John’s
On September 25, Francophones from all over Ontario celebrate the unveiling of their flag! Students in the grade 1FI program at St. John Catholic Elementary School learned a little more about the flag, coloured their own little flag then created a banner to show how proud they were to be able to speak French as a second language. What a wonderful afternoon!
Terry Fox Run at St. John
At St. John’s Catholic Elementary School, students and staff have been participating in the Terry Fox Run for several years now! On Thursday, September 25, all students from FDK to grade 8 ran and collected funds for Cancer research with the HOPE that some day, scientists will find a cure for this dreadful disease. The beautiful sunshine and the warm weather were an excellent motivation for all. Towards the end of the day, Vice Principal Kim Coluzzi made the much anticipated announcement that they had collected 281.21! Let’s keep the HOPE alive! Together, we can make a difference!
Grade 9’s Go “Full Steam Ahead” with Community Service Hours
This year’s group of grade 9 students at St. Charles College were offered some added incentive – do community service hours over the summer and be eligible for a $100 gift certificate for the mall. The winner is Reggie Bonhomme. Reggie worked at the Canadian Legion over the summer months and while he has garnered over 30 hours, he doesn’t plan to stop there.
Students must obtain 40 hours of community service during their high school career in order to graduate. Principal Patty Mardero says “the message has always been to start early and use the community service as a means of exploring career options.”
Principal Patty Mardero along with Guidance Department Head Silvia Faggioni presented Reggie with his prize this week.