Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Faith

SCDSB New Director Joanne Bénard Receives National Award

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In the very first week of her new job, Sudbury Catholic Director Joanne Bénard attended the Canadian Association of School System Administrators (CASSA) national conference in Calgary from July 5-10 to receive an award. Bénard was selected as this year’s Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officer’ Association’s (OCSOA) recipient of the CASSA EXL Award. This award was launched in 2002 to recognize excellence among Superintendents and is sponsored by Xerox Canada Ltd. as well as CASSA. According to the CASSA website, “the EXL Award Program is based on three premises:

• It is important that the dedication and enthusiasm of administrators who guide children’s educational experiences be acknowledged. Recognition is a powerful instrument for building pride in accomplishment and continued determination to pursue excellence.

• The scope and quality of children’s educational experiences are determined primarily by the system’s leaders, who establish, through the important work of teachers and the support of school boards and caring parents, the character of a particular school system’s programs.

• Children’s attitudes toward learning and their perceptions of themselves as lifelong learners are established in their school years. Effective leadership, mentoring and modelling determine whether the school jurisdiction effectively creates this environment”

According to the Sudbury Catholic Board Chair, Jody Cameron, Bénard really fits the bill with this award, and the board is quite fortunate to have her join the Sudbury Catholic community as its next Director. “ Joanne truly exemplifies excellence, as we have seen through her past experience,” Cameron explained. “Having her recognized nationally for her dedication and service to students really speaks to the exemplary quality of service that Joanne delivers, and we are quite excited to have her join our team!”

Bénard was pleased to receive the award, as she was joined by her husband and daughter for the presentation. “It is a blessing and an honour to be recognized by my peers for doing what I love to do and that is working with others to improve outcomes for our youth. This award is certainly a highlight in my career and a great way to begin my new role with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.”

St. David Celebrates Their Hubby Award with a Video

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St. David School is the proud recipient of the 2014 Edgar Burton Youth “Hubby” Award in
Education. This award is awarded to deserving individuals or organizations as a public
acknowledgment of their compassion, dedication, integrity and hard work for the people of
Greater Sudbury. The “Hubby” is a uniquely Sudbury Award. Award receivers are decided on criteria’s of giving, commitment, and belief in the people and City of Greater Sudbury.
The award is in memory of Hub Bray who was 60 when he died of cancer, leaving behind family and a city to mourn him. Hub Bray was a popular community leader and local lawyer who tended to avoid the limelight, but worked hard behind the scenes to improve
life in the city. He was president of the Sudbury Food Bank, which has organized the Annual Hubby Awards in his memory. The school created this video to celebrate their award and each other! Enjoy!

Celebrating First Communion at St. Andrew

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On Friday June 6th, the twenty St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School students who celebrated receiving their First Communion this spring enjoyed some cake and juice in the St. Andrew school library. Mrs. Henry, the principal, told all the students how proud she was of them as they become more active members in the Catholic church. The children all received a First Communion prayer card to keep in their prayer books or to use as a bookmark. Pictured is the group with their special cake.

Smudging Ceremony For New School Site

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On Tuesday, June 10, the entire St. David Catholic Elementary School joined their community partners at the location for the new school’s site. Just off of Frood Road, between the Spectrum and CTV buildings, approximately 250 students and staff joined Sudbury Catholic board staff as well as other community organizations to smudge the new site with elder Vince Pawis. Dawn Wemigwans, principal of the school welcomed all the students, staff and guests, and after a prayer by student Czesh Malik, the group listened to student singers/drummers while Pawis smudged the site to bring good feelings to the space. Wemigwans explained to the group that, “today we are smudging the space for our new school. We are doing this to clear any negative energy and bring only good thoughts and prayers into the building of our new school.”
Michael Bellmore, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees also addressed the crowd during the ceremony. “It is very exciting for us to be part of such a unique building opportunity that embraces the natural space around it, and incorporates nature as a focus in its design,” Bellmore stated. “We are so pleased that the architects’ design for the school is so forward thinking – having both nature and culture taking centre stage, and allowing for a distinct and remarkable space for our students.”
The new school is scheduled to be open in September, 2015, and will be a Full Day Kindergarten to Grade 6 elementary school.

Ten Year Anniversary for Johhathan Hetu Walk at St. Charles Elementary

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For the past nine years, students and staff of St. Charles Catholic Elementary have taken part in the Johnathan Hetu walk. Johnathan Hetu was an exceptional student at the school and passed away in 2004 after a two-year battle with leukemia. Teacher David Nicholls, who was to have Johnathan in his class that next year, felt compelled to do something to honour Johnathan’s memory – thus the creation of the Johnathan Hetu walk. Students were asked to raise funds, and all the monies were donated to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (N.O.F.C.C.). This year, students and staff once again participated in the walk and raised an outstanding amount of $7112. 77 bringing their grand total to close to $60,000 for their ten year anniversary of the walk. Once again, Johnathan’s family joined the school for the walk and the entire school community celebrated Johnathan’s spirit and inspiration.
School principal, Dave Soehner, was overwhelmed with the school’s spirit once again. “I am extremely proud of my students and staff for continuing to honour our former student and his family through this walk and their donations,” Soehner stated. “The Johnathan Hetu walk brings us closer as a school community, allows us the opportunity to celebrate one of our own, as well as give back to our own city in a very positive and direct way through N.O.F.C.C.”

SCDSB Hosts Fifth Annual Turning Points Essay Contest

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Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on May 7, 2014 to take part in the SCDSB’s fifth annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative that stems from the Learning Partnership, which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. As it is the fifth year, student participation has continued to grow as teachers have continued to encourage their involvement with this rewarding program. The Turning Points Essay Contest is a powerful character development and literacy program that all 4 of our secondary schools, as well as the intermediate students at St. Anne participate in this year. There are 3 divisions, Grade 7/8, Grade 9/10 and Grade 11/12. The top three essays for grade 7/8 and 9/10 and the top 4 essays for Grade 11/12 were selected. There were also several honourable mentions for the 9/10 and 11/12 categories. Cash prizes were awarded for secondary essays. All essays will also be published in an annual anthology that will be sent to students and participating schools next year. The 
students that took part in this contest and authored the winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at the celebration.
 The students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several staff involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. Top prize went to Rilie Phillips of Marymount Academy.

Yellowfish Road at Bishop ACCSS

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Bishop Alexander Carter is participating in Trout Unlimited Canada’s Yellowfish Road Program to educate and remind our community about their responsibility to reduce storm-water pollution.

Bishop students are taking a stand and becoming leaders in the community by informing people in the Valley about the pollution that enters our local bodies of water through the storm drains.

The students have painted yellow fish beside the storm drains near their school with the message “rainwater Only”. This is to remind community members of their responsibility to reduce storm water pollution which is one of the largest sources of freshwater pollution. People often forget that water from their drive-ways, yards and sidewalks, are washed into storm drains and re-enter our rivers, streams and creeks. This means that any chemicals used or spilled make their way to local fishing holes, beaches, well systems, etc. Students also hung yellow fish-shaped brochures on doors in the neighbourhood to better inform the public of these issues.

The City of Greater Sudbury also warns that an influx of water drainage from our residential homes may lead to flooding due to the fact that the storm drain system was never meant to filter out any hazardous chemicals/materials that homes may be washing down their drains. For the protection of all, household waste must be properly drained into the City’s Sewage system.

Relay for Life at St. Anne Catholic School

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Rarely does the gymnasium at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Hanmer echo the sound of silence, however, on Friday, May 9th, 2014 at 12:45 p.m., it did just that. More than 370 students entered in quiet reverence, mesmerized by the flickering light of hundreds of luminaries lined up along the front of the gym, for the first annual “Relay for Life.” This was the perfect ending to the day, which began with a noisy pep rally and survivor victory lap around the schoolyard. Children lined up and cheered the many survivors who attended the event. The students and staff remembered their loved ones who lost their battle with cancer. They also celebrated those who continue to fight with dignity and hope. The St. Anne Angels from Sudbury Catholic Schools raised over $10,700.
“I thought it was amazing to see how many survivors showed up and walked. It was so beautiful and touching! My dad would have been so proud to see the survivors walking because he died from cancer in December,” said Avalon Gilbert, a Grade 5 student at the school.
St. Anne Catholic School truly demonstrated what community spirit is all about by coming together to fundraising for such a great cause.

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