Sudbury Catholic District School Board

St. David Students Learn About the Lenten Season

To mark the start of Lent, St. David Catholic Elementary School Grade 1 students, Zach Munoz and Isabelle Fraser, took part in an Ash Wednesday service by being marked with the symbolic sign of the cross. Teacher Jennifer Gran’s grade 4/5 class organized and helped prepare the celebration. According to Grade 6 student, Katie MacLean, “Today’s Ash Wednesday celebration helped me better understand how important it is remember the sacrifices Jesus made for us. I think it is important that we learn how to treat one another with kindness and respect and appreciate how much we have.”

During the Lenten season, students at St. David Catholic Elementary School will be participating in reflective activities and lessons about who they really are as growing Catholic citizens. The ashes serve as a reminder of actions they are sorry for and of the importance of making good choices. Father Brendan Doherty, from Christ the King Parish, conducted the celebration for the school and local community members. Father Brendan spoke about how Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent and that it is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Jeans for Teens at MMA

Through the organization dosomething.org, the Aeropostale clothing company has initiated a competition for Canadian secondary schools. Trying to make a difference for homeless teens, Aeropostale is challenging schools to collect the most number of jeans to support the teen clientele at homeless shelters across the nation. According to the website dosomething.org, the number one requested item at homeless shelters by teens is jeans. Marymount student Brooke Debassige who works at the Sudbury Aeropostale store was inspired by this contest and knew that her school would step up and take part in this initiative. After talking to both her principal Lucie Cullen and vice principal Lori Holden, the school launched its own Jeans for Teens collection. “It is the least we can do for others who are less fortunate in our local and surrounding communities,” Debassige stated. “At Marymount we are always encouraged to support each other and give back to the community, and I knew this was something that we should definitely be a part of – plus, it just feels good to do something good for others.”
Principal Lucie Cullen was inspired by Debassige’s idea. “Brooke came to us right away with this idea and we knew immediately that it was something that we would support as a school,” Cullen stated. “Marymount strives to support social justice initiatives and we are very proud of Brooke for bringing this forward so that we could participate as a school.”
After counting the jeans already collected on Friday, February 8th, Marymount Academy had over 600 pairs of jeans for donation. The Jeans for Teens collection will be ongoing until February 25, 2013 and the school is asking the community to help them with their collection and to drop off any new or gently used jeans to Marymount Academy located at 165 D’Youville St. before February 25, 2013.
The winning school will receive a $10,000 prize, Aeropostale hoodies with the school logo, and a party for the students.

Every Penny Makes a Difference at St. Anne Catholic School

Over the past two weeks, students from JK to grade 8 at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Hanmer participated in a fundraising activity as they celebrated “Responsibility”, the Catholic Virtue of the month. Students raised $531.21 for “Pennies for Pediatrics” and are very proud of their accomplishment. “Bringing in coins made me feel good to help the kids who need this pool,” said Samantha Boyd, a grade 5 student at the school.
“Pennies for Pediatrics” is a fundraising campaign that raises funds for a therapeutic Snoezelen Pool, a pool with specialty lighting and other sensory stimulation equipment. This pool is used for the treatment of children with autism and other developmental conditions. The St. Anne Catholic School community volunteered to do its part and work with Perkin’s Restaurant and Bakery to donate change to “Pennies for Pediatrics.” The students hope that St. Anne Catholic School is making a difference in the lives of other young children in our community.

Bringing in Small Change to Make BIG Change

Since October, the Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School grade 3 students from teacher Eva Scola’s class, and the grade 3/4 students from teacher Shanna Whalen’s class have been learning about the water crisis in Ghana, Africa. The students were involved in the 2012/2013 School Challenge through the Ryan’s Well Foundation, that involved raising awareness, and money, to build a well and laterines in Ghana. The students came together to engage in discussions, and to create a plan that would make others in the school aware of Ryan’s Well, and the lack of clean water in Africa. These students had a goal to raise $750. Through pledges from families, the collection of coins in our class piggy banks, and a truly amazing participation in our Wacky Hair for Water Day- Bringing in small change to make BIG Change in Africa-, the students of Holy Cross were able to more than double their goal. They raised $1689! “We are extremely proud of our students,” said Shanna. Whalen. “They demonstrated a genuine concern for people they don’t even know. They were able to get their message across to their peers, through their great Christian leadership. They wanted to make a difference, and they definitely did.”

The Nativity Story Comes to Life at St. Anne Catholic School

On Wednesday, December 19th, the St. Anne Catholic Elementary School community came together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Students from the Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) to Grade 8 participated in the celebration of Jesus’ birthday through prayer and dramatization. Students from teacher Jody O’Daiskey’s combined 7/8 class used their voices to tell the story while students from teacher Alice Desormeaux’s FDK class provided the dramatization. “I think the FDK students did a terrific job playing out the scenes and they deserve a big thank you,” said Isaac Oliveira, a Grade 8 student at the school.
The FDK students were very pleased with their accomplishments and were happy to display the biggest gift at Christmas: Jesus. “I felt like I was floating up in the sky. I think everybody did well in the play, especially all of my friends,” said FDK student Cameron, the star of Bethlehem. “I felt good about being Joseph. I was glad to play the part, and I wasn’t nervous,” said Anthony Bertrand, a student in FDK.
The St. Anne Catholic School junior choir, let by Ms. Bruneau and Ms. Nickelchuk filled the gymnasium with their gift of music, as did Madame Hayes’ FDK class who sang Happy Birthday Jesus. The true meaning of Christmas came to life for all the students and staff at the school.

Students at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School Collect Pine Cones for Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Centre in Lively

The students at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School have collected thousands of pine cones this year to support the Wild at Heart Animal Refuge Centre in Lively. The centre needs the pine cones to feed some of the smaller animals in the winter. These caring students collected these cones in the fall as a part of their Dearness Conservation “Direction” challenge (East Eagles, South Turtles, West Buffalos and North Bears). Students were asked to try to each bring in 1 closed pine cone, which would be 330 pine cones for the Centre. The response was overwhelming as some students brought in hundreds of cones each! “What a great response by our students,” stated Laura Stirrett, vice principal of the school. “The virtue of the month for January is responsibility – and we are so proud of our students for recognizing that is all of our responsibility to take care of the earth and all of its inhabitants!”

St. Anne Angelic Voices Reach Out

The St. Anne Catholic School Junior Choir had an opportunity to experience firsthand the true meaning of Christmas. On Wednesday, December 12th, 2012, the choir performed a selection of Christmas carols for the residents of the Elizabeth Centre in Val Caron. Choir member Bailey Gervais said, “I was happy to help out, and it was a lot of fun too!”
Afterward the children were able to distribute candy canes and warm wishes to all in attendance. The smiles throughout the room spoke volumes. Choir member Zoe Duhaime said, “I liked bringing joy to people who don’t have a chance to go out too much at Christmas.”
The choir members demonstrated the Catholic virtue of patience that is currently being celebrated at the school.

The Gift of Giving at St. David

This year, in the true spirit of Christmas, teacher Caroline Mansourian’s Grade 7 students at St. David Catholic School dedicated themselves to purchasing gifts for young, needy children to be donated to “Salvation Army” in Sudbury. The students devoted their time and gifts to their class philanthropic project to compassionately serve their fellow Sudburians and learned much in the practice of generosity. “The students have come to value the importance of community service, and through this project of giving to those less fortunate than themselves, they have gained an understanding about providing positive support for one another and an elevated sense of human compassion,” explained Miss Mansourian.

Gifts of Hope are Real Gifts for Real Projects that Change Real Lives

Mrs. Roque’s Gr.2/3 class, at St. John Catholic Elementary School, have been discussing how fortunate they are to live iin a country like Canada, where they have a home, warm clothes, clean water and healthy food, while others in the world suffer. They have decided to set a goal for themselves for Christmas. They collected enough money to purchase a goat and 2 pigs for $165.00, for a family in a developing country.

A goat provides milk for a family: protein, nourishment and health. This gift also provides the possibility of a livelihood, which means an income and the ability to make choices about the future for parents and their children.

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