October 16th is ECE/EA Appreciation Day! We are very fortunate to have many wonderful, caring and supportive Early Childhood Educators and Educational Assistants in each of our schools. The support you provide our students each and every day helps make a difference in their lives and we are forever grateful for your efforts. Your expertise, commitment to our students and amazing work help our students grow and reach their potential. Thank you for making a difference!
Author: Carlee Vendramin
St. David School pays tribute to student with memorial garden
St. David School paid special tribute to a former student. Dylan Fay sadly died of cancer last year when he was just 16 years old. Dylan was a graduate of St.David school. His family, friends and the school community came together for a special ceremony to honour Dylan’s memory and open the brand-new memorial garden at the school. The ceremony also included traditional First Nation singing and drumming and wise words from his family. As his mother always says, “Once a dragon, always a dragon!”
Happy World Teacher Day!
Today is World Teacher Day, a day to recognize and thank our dedicated and inspiring educators who work tirelessly each day to support our students in reaching their individual goals. We thank them for their ongoing commitment and service to Catholic education and for the work that is accomplished throughout the year. Thank you for being difference makers!
Students attend Pathways to Bilingual Success Conference!
Students from grades 7-9 attended the Pathways to Bilingual Success conference presented by Canadian Parents for French on October 3 and 4. The students completed workshops geared toward working on their French skills in an interactive and engaging session. Students networked with each other, as well as community partners and learned about the the benefits of bilingualism.
Happy National Custodian Appreciation Day!
Today, we honour those hard workers who help keep our schools clean, safe and well looked after. Today, is National Custodial Day – a day to appreciate our wonderful custodial and maintenance staff for all the hard work that they do. Be sure to thank them today. Here are some thoughts from staff and students:
“Every morning, we walk in and our schools are clean and ready to go. There’s a huge team that makes sure our school is a warm and inviting place to be!” Aaron Barry, Principal at Marymount Academy
“Our custodian always makes sure to greet each and every student with a warm smile every day” Tracy, teacher at St. Francis School
“They’re not just custodial staff, they are part of our family within our school community.” Kira, student at Bishop Alexander Carter
“They help keep our school yard clean and safe!” student at Immaculate Conception school.
On behalf of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we thank them or all that they do – Our schools and offices would not be the same without them.
Every Child Matters: Sudbury Catholic Schools Honours Orange Shirt Day
Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Orange Shirt Day recognizes the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, and is an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board participated in Orange Shirt Day on October 1, 2018. Special shirts were made to commemorate this important day. The shirts were designed by Erika Poirier and Marja Frederiksen, grade 11 students from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. The logo designed was used for t-shirts, banners and other promotional materials. Staff and students throughout the system participated by wearing these shirts or their favourite orange shirt as a reminder of the importance of this day.
St. Benedict STEM club gets busy with marshmallows and spaghetti
The STEM Club at St. Benedict Catholic School has been busy creating free standing structures this month using marshmallows and spaghetti.
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics club students must hold up marshmallows using only raw spaghetti, tape and ribbon in a timeframe of 15 minutes.
The club is in its second year and already has some awesome accolades.
Last year the team participated in the PEO Bridge Building Competition and won the Clean Air Sudbury/Science North Living Wall competition.
The living wall was chosen and built and has been on display all summer long and will be moving to the school’s Learning Commons later this month.
The club members are currently looking for business partnerships for this year to assist with the finances associated with the club.
SCC Staff and Students Welcome International Students with Open Arms!
Today was about welcoming and celebrating our international students in taking a big leap forward and stepping out of their comfort zone to meet new friends and build on their English speaking skills. Every Tuesday and Thursday during lunch, the English Café run by Mrs. Blackwell and Mrs. Sanowar is open not only for international and ELL Learners, but for our domestic students to have the opportunity to introduce themselves and make new friends.
Some of our 9 and 10 English students extended their warm wishes in writing the international students a personal message to welcome them to our SCC community and describe what it means to be a true “Cardinal”.
Mckenna Annett, a grade 9 student writes, “Hi! Welcome to St. Charles. We hope you have a good high school experience here. Remember once a card, always a card! We hope you enjoy sports teams and clubs to meet new people”.
The English Café is a social club that runs interactive cultural activities, games, and dance offs and plans upcoming educational trips to Toronto, Niagara Falls and Killarney throughout the year. This is an interactive space for students to feel comfortable, supported and accepted in sharing their cultural differences.
Our international students can give international experience to our own SCC students, expand our worldview, and learn the value of linguistic and cultural diversity. Our current student population demographics are changing and we are proud – this is significant and life changing for all, as we become a much more welcoming and inclusive society.
St. Charles College student Dana Lewis was crowned Miss Wikwemkoong
St. Charles College Student Dana Lewis was crowned Miss Wiikwemkoong during the Wiikwemkoong Cultural Festival in August. Dana, who is the goalie for the St. Charles College Girls Hockey team used her hockey skills in the talent portion of the pageant. She also won first place in the biography portion helping her to earn her Crown. Dana stated that she is very excited and honoured to represent her community at various events, celebrations and pow wows as Miss Wiikwemkoong. She was invited to speak about the missing and murdered Indigenous Women at the Sisters in Spirit Conference in October.
In Dana’s biography she wrote: “Giving back to the community is a big part of who I am. At a young age I was provided with the teachings and knowledge for sewing and over the past years I started teaching young girls ages 7-12 how to sew. I facilitate many workshops showing the youth how to make their own regalia, hand drum bags, ribbon skirts. By teaching these youth, I’m passing down my knowledge of our culture for the next generation. I believe that we should be encouraging our next generations to continue with these teachings so they can teach the next ones. This is who I am, a daughter, sister, auntie, teammate, role model, teacher. I believe that becoming a leader takes time, and that Miss Wiikwemikoong will provide me with the experience to one day be a strong leader for my community, my people, my nation.”
St. Charles College is proud and honoured to celebrate Dana’s triumph with her, her family and community.