Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Difference Makers: The Sudbury Catholic District School Board Recognizes This Year’s Winners for the Chairperson’s Award

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.

Students Create Peace Plants!

“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!

Sudbury Catholic Schools Gather Together Virtually to Honour Ash Wednesday

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.

Catholic Education Centre Raises $1300 for the Sudbury Food Bank

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.”

St. Francis takes part in the Mistle “Toes” Campaign for the Elgin Street Mission

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.”

Father Larry Shares a Message of Connection and Hope during the Christmas Season

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.

Marymount Students Send 3500 Christmas Cards to the Canadian Armed Forces

Students and teachers at Marymount Academy all came together to truly share what Christmas is about; spreading joy and love to everyone.

While this holiday season will be different with COVID-19, our Canadian Forces are always putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure we can spend the holidays with our families. Creating Christmas cards for the Canadian Armed Forces is something we did as a school to share the holiday spirit with them. We are forever grateful for their sacrifices and service.

Christmas is a time when you want to be surrounded by love and family. For the Canadian troops overseas, this must be a very difficult time and although we can’t all understand, we can empathize and help support in any way possible. This year we have decided to create Christmas cards for the Canadian Troops and send joy to them during the holidays. Students have been busy making cards this week and last in hopes of spreading love and cheer this holiday season. The cards will be mailed out this Friday, December 4 to the military headquarters in Belleville, where they will be then deployed to different locations around the world where our troops are stationed. We have come together as a community of students to share in the Christmas spirit as we will be sending 3500 Christmas cards out to the troops.

Ms. Gattoni, the teacher who spearheaded this thoughtful gesture at Marymount shared that “we were truly overwhelmed by the amount of cards students were making. The beautiful and thoughtful messages and warm wishes they included for the Canadian Forces truly demonstrates what wonderful and caring students we have at Marymount.”

Michael Bellmore and Ray Desjardins Elected During Annual Inaugural Meeting

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board held its annual Inaugural meeting on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

At the meeting, Michael Bellmore was elected Board Chair and Ray Desjardins was elected Vice-Chair of the Board. Both Michael Bellmore and Ray Desjardins have served in their roles for five years. They were first acclaimed during the 2015 Inaugural Board meeting. 

“I am proud to be re-elected as Board Chair,” said Michael Bellmore, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “I thank my fellow Trustees for entrusting me with this role and look forward to working alongside them and our Senior Administration team as we navigate this unique school year and work collaboratively in the best interest of all of our students.”

“I thank my fellow Trustees for re-electing me as Vice Chair,” said Ray Desjardins, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. “I take great pride in serving alongside each of them and look forward to our continued work.” 

Board meetings take place on the third Tuesday of each month during the school year at 6 p.m. and are open to the public.

The St. Francis School Community Comes Together Virtually in Prayer each Month

Students, staff and families continue to come together in prayer each month via Zoom and to celebrate those students who do an exceptional job of exhibiting our value of the month.  “We are truly blessed to have Father Larry who continues to build positive relationships with our school community by visiting our school each week to meet with our students and to lead us in prayer each month at our monthly prayer service,” said Meghan Dopson, Acting Vice Principal. 

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