Students at Holy Cross and St. Benedict Secondary School in the southend of Greater Sudbury teamed up to make seniors smile this Valentine’s Day.
How? With a simple act of using creativity, imagination, and love, students handcrafted beautiful, heartfelt greeting cards to lift the spirits of residents at Finlandia Village, in the Hoivakoti Nursing Home located in Minnow Lake.
After being created, the cards were hand delivered and distributed to residents at Finlandia on Monday, February 14th, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Upon receiving the messages, Finlandia extended their appreciation for the generous act and shared a huge thank you to students, staff, and volunteers for the coordination of the project.
“Thank you so much for all the awesome Valentine’s day cards. The students did a really great job, and the residents were smiling from ear to ear. They sure made Valentine’s day extra special for our folks!” – Jeanna de la Morandiere, Finlandia
Ben and Bradley from Madame Riutta’s French Immersion class at Holy cross display their Valentine cards.
Staff and students at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School were delighted and blessed to have the Most Rev. Thomas Dowd, Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, spend the day at their school.
During his tour, Bishop Dowd took the time to visit classrooms where students ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 6 excitedly had the opportunity to speak with him and ask many questions. Not only did Bishop Dowd answer their questions, but by sharing his knowledge and faith, the experience also served as a wonderful learning opportunity that strengthened their Catholic identity in the process.
These discussions included conversations on various topics students are currently studying in their religion classes. For example, discussions focused on Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, Catholic prayers, the ministry of the Holy Father, and also the Diocese’s activities.
Students were especially interested in Bishop Dowd’s role as Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Saint Marie, asking many questions regarding his vestments. They learned that his crozier, also called pastoral staff, is his staff with a curved top that symbolizes the Good Shepherd. They also learned about his episcopal ring and how it represented the Bishop’s faithfulness to God and the Church.
The teachers and students at St. Paul School were super excited when Bishop Thomas Dowd visited them! One student proclaimed, “Wow! I can’t believe we just met the Bishop!”.
One teacher said: “It was very nice to have Bishop Dowd take time out of his busy schedule to come and spend time with our staff and students. They were so invested in his presentation and learned so much!”
With the constraints of the pandemic, schools have had limited visitors, making this visit even more special. “We were grateful and blessed to have had Bishop Dowd visit us and share his support, and we hope we can continue to create more opportunities like this in the future to help strengthen our faith and Catholic learning within the classroom.” Say’s Cara Soehner, Principal of St. Paul
Sudbury Catholic School Students in grades 4,5 & 6 can make a difference by getting involved in the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream!
The VP of Chapman’s, Ashley Chapman along with the store manager of Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity Restore, Prince Borutski, have created a special virtual joint presentation to launch the “Meaning of Home” Contest for Sudbury Catholic students next Tuesday, Feb. 8th at 10am. The 45-minute presentation will introduce the organizations to students and indicate how their efforts in this contest can result in building affordable housing for families in need.
The Meaning of Home Contest is a unique and meaningful way to get children involved in creative writing and giving back to their community. By participating in this contest, Sudbury Catholic students will use their creative abilities and submit either an essay, story or poem on the topic of what HOME means to them.
Each contest entry will result in a $10 donation from Chapman’s to Habitat for Humanity to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Sudbury community. In addition, this contest will also challenge students to think creatively about an important topic (i.e. the meaning of home) that directly impacts their lives and ultimately improves their writing skills!
Teachers have access to a Teacher Resource designed to help incorporate the contest straight into lesson plans. These can serve as standalone lessons or be used to augment existing lesson plans in areas such as language, creative writing, and community service!
Help us track!
Sudbury Catholic Schools would like to track the total number of entries submitted by Sudbury Catholic students to see how a single action makes a collective difference, so please let us know if your class is participating by clicking the button below. Once the contest has ended, we’ll share the total donated amount so that students and families can celebrate with SCDSB!
Our hope is that the contest will be an activity that students will help them reflect on how they can live our Catholic Graduate Expectations. Together, their simple actions will provide funds to support our local community, as they contribute to building a just society. With over 1300 students enrolled at Sudbury Catholic Schools in grade 4, 5, and 6 our collective contributions could result in as much as $13,000 being donated to our local Habitat for Humanity organization.
In addition, the winner for each grade will be awarded a $30,000 grant for their local Habitat organization, with three runners-up per grade directing $10,000 to their local Habitat chapter. The contest has raised $1.7 million to date and, in 2021, it helped 46 local Habitats build more homes. Let’s work together to make a local difference!
If you would like more information about this initiative or have any questions, please reach out to christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca or joan.yawneymatz@sudburycatholicschools.ca
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Chairperson’s Award. All three individuals have demonstrated a strong commitment to Catholic education and to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment focused on ensuring the success of all students.
Nancy Bellemare-Perron is a teacher at Holy Trinity School who has made a true impact on her students. Through her teaching, she has provided students with opportunities to learn and engage in several community initiatives and understand the importance of supporting others in our community. Nancy provides a safe and caring environment for all who enter the classroom and goes out of her way to make students and parents/guardians feel included, engaged and motivated. She embraces innovation in her teaching, and tailors lessons and activities to match learning needs, providing support wherever it is needed for both students and parents/guardians alike.
Megan Murphy is the Principal of St. Albert Learning Centre and the current Remote Learning School. She provides a welcoming environment to all who enter the school and motivates her staff to continue to help students overcome obstacles to reach success – whatever that means for them. She continually promotes other teachers in their endeavors to obtain grants for experiential learning opportunities and supports and encourages teacher innovation that will enhance student learning. Through her recent role of Principal of the Remote Learning School, Megan has also helped facilitate a virtual learning environment that is engaging and focused on student success.
Jennifer Petahtegoose is an Indigenous Language Teacher at St. Charles College. Jennifer embodies the Board’s vision of being leaders in learning and faith completely and is seen as a leader in her school. Jennifer challenges her students to get involved in peaceful initiatives such as water walks and other social justice activities. Through her role, she facilitated the school’s first Indigenous studies student club and instituted the Red Bird drumming program. She provides rich programing through guest speakers with Elders such as Vince Pawis and Chief John Beaucage and is a founding member of the SCDSB Indigenous Education Advisory Committee. She has participated and assisted with the school’s Antioch Retreats and is a regular Extraordinary Minister of Holy Eucharist. Faithful and kind, Jennifer is well respected by the entire St. Charles College community and is selfless in her vocation.
“We are very proud to announce this year’s winners of the Chairperson’s Award. As in past years, we are privileged to be able to honour and recognize three individuals who truly embody our mission and vision as a Board and are seen as difference makers, innovators and trailblazers,” said Michael Bellmore, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Each year, our committee has the tough, but important job of choosing honourees from the numerous applications received. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are grateful to all who nominated individuals this year, and we thank our recipients for their continued service and commitment to Catholic education.”
This year’s award winners will be recognized alongside last year’s winners in a special virtual recognition event to be held later this Spring.
“PEACE Plants” was developed by teacher Kathyrn Kurt as a response to a call out for experiential learning proposals.
The PEACE Plants Project started after Christmas once the grow lights and the planter box arrived. The students assembled wood pieces, connected cords and planned out the garden.The class purchased casters so they could move the gigantic garden box around the classroom. The dimensions of the garden box are 180 cm long, 80 cm wide and 80 cm high and it can hold a massive 390 litres of soil.
Students were engaged by watering, planting and tending to the veggies that have already surfaced. They’ve had to use their math skills when measuring out the bi-weekly dose of plant food. Students have been closely following the growth of each plant. This spring, they will be connecting virtually with a community gardener who will share their tricks of the trade and their garden inspirations.
The students are anxiously awaiting their order of more seeds like lettuce, beans, radishes, carrots, kale, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, and various herbs. They are also experimenting with different colours of veggies and are excited to taste the difference between them. They will see whose seed grows the fastest and produces the most fruit.
Students are welcomed everyday by a plethora of plants, each with the promise of producing healthy food for their enjoyment. The PEACE classroom has been transformed into a place where students, staff and veggies alike are experiencing growth. Stay tuned for more PEACE Plants updates. They can’t wait to share them with you!
Our Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday! We gathered as a system virtually and explored the theme of Nurturing Hope. Throughout the webinar, students participated by completing various readings and prayers and a reflection on Lent was provided by Father Larry Rymes.
We look forward to coming together through virtual services during each week of Lent.
The virtual Ash Wednesday service was held as an online webinar to the entire system and included participation from various students and Father Larry Rymes.
The Catholic Education Centre at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has raised a total of $1300 in canned goods and monetary donations through the Edgar Burton Food Drive. The donations was given to the Sudbury Food Bank to help replenish their stock and support those who will utilize their services this Christmas.
The Catholic Education Centre consists of approximately 70 employees made up of educators, support staff and administrators. The group originally had a goal of $600 but this was quickly surpassed during the two-week campaign!
“We are very proud of all central Board office staff for the dedication they had to the Edgar Burton Food Drive this year,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We know how important it is to help provide food and monetary support in these difficult times and are very pleased to play a part in helping! We look forward to continuing to support the Sudbury Food Bank in the new year.”
Students and Staff support the Elgin Street Mission this Christmas by filling socks for the Mistle“Toes” Campaign. Grade ¾ French Immersion teacher, Dominica Frometa said, “It just warms my heart and gives me goosebumps, because it’s so nice for them to understand that aspect of giving throughout the Christmas holidays and the season. Every day, I’ve been having students bring Mistle“toes” in, and it’s such a beautiful thing to see and for them to learn. It’s such a big learning opportunity for them.”
St. Francis School Council hosted a parent session with Father Larry Rymes on December 3rd, 2020. Families were invited to join a Zoom session to discuss “Connection at Christmas during Covid Times.” Father Larry led the group in prayer and an interactive discussion about connection at school and with Our Lady of Hope Parish. “We were thrilled to be able to offer our school community an opportunity to connect with other families and our parish to discuss connection during this very unprecedented time. We are always thankful for Father Larry, his insight and comedic relief!” said, Natasha Folino, St. Francis Acting Principal.
