On Thursday, February 18, 2010 the Sudbury Catholic District School Board had an Aboriginal Celebration and Feast for the 12 educators from the United Kingdom as well as all of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board staff involved with the planning and implementation of their visit. The U.K. educators spent the week visiting several schools to observe different educational strategies implemented in our elementary school system. On Thursday night, the entire group gathered in the gym of Marymount Academy to learn about Aboriginal Culture and Heritage. The guests were treated to beautiful Aboriginal dancing and drumming – including the St. Charles College Drumming group the Red Bird Singers. Also attending the event were community partners, Traditional Elders, SCDSB Trustees Barry MacDonald, Paula Peroni, Estelle Scappatura and Jack MacDonald. The night began with a welcoming prayer, smudge and dancing,and then the visitors from the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the group were provided a traditional Aboriginal Feast including corn soup, wild rice casserole and bannock. After spending the week observing different classrooms and teaching strategies, the U.K. educators were thrilled to end their visit with such an outstanding cultural celebration!
Category: Programs
St. Anne Catholic Elementary Students Celebrate the 2010 Olympics
The English and French Immersion Junior and Senior Kindergarten children of St. Anne’s Catholic Elementary School celebrated the opening of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics holding their own torch ceremony within the school. Ava DeVos and Owen Moxam led their classmates with the relay through the St. Anne hallways.
Sudbury Catholic Schools Partners with Laurentian University to Support Aboriginal Student Success
The Dual Credit program offered through Sudbury Catholic Schools, Rainbow District School Board and Laurentian University provides opportunities for Aboriginal secondary school students to participate in postsecondary courses, earning dual credits that count towards both their secondary school diploma and their post secondary degree.
While dual credits are increasingly common between high schools and colleges, this is the only dual credit between Ontario high schools and universities approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education. This particular dual credit pilot program is designed to: increase the number of Aboriginal students graduating from secondary school and to assist with the transition between secondary and post secondary education.
The unique advantage of dual credit programs is their ability to provide new and varied learning opportunities to students by providing real world applications to help them achieve their potential. Dual credit courses also engage students through exposure to the university setting and culture, provide more student choice and ensure a smooth transition pathway from secondary to post secondary education. Evidence has shown that dual credit programs increase the likelihood of graduation success.
Sudbury Catholic Schools, Rainbow District School Board and Laurentian University have partnered to provide this opportunity for their students to better support and engage the Aboriginal youth in our community.
Bishop Simard Shares His Message of the Importance of Catholic Education
The Principals and Senior Administration met at the Sudbury Diocesan Centre on Thursday, February 11, 2010 to celebrate their faith and share best practice. The group was very honoured to start their day with a Mass led by His Excellence Bishop Noel Simard. During the mass, the principals listened to the Bishop’s message of the importance of Catholic education. “ We have to be proactive in proclaiming and showing the importance of Catholic Education.” said the Bishop. “Catholic education will allow our students to become people full of compassion and this is our challenge – to be strong and unite in the celebration of our faith.” When speaking of the sacrifices the principals as leaders face, the Bishop asked the question is it all worth it? He answered his own question very simply but emphatically – “you bet!” The group was asked to act as pillars of strength in their own school communities and were given the task of taking their inspiration back to their staff and students to engage them in their renewal of their faith.
SCDSB Students Celebrate Dearness Conservation at Energy Fair
Approximately 600 students from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board visited Science North on February 11, 2010 to join together for the Dearness Conservation Energy Fair. All of the schools that participate in the Dearness Conservation program were invited to share best practice with each other and learn new ways to go green in their school communities. Each school was invited to speak to the different ways that they were taking care of the environment. Some of the different ways the schools shared their information was through displays, skits, scrapbooks and signs. Once they were done with their presentations, the students listened to Science North Staff Scientist Frank Mariotti speak about Sudbury and is development and environmental changes. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board applauds all of the efforts of our schools for their dedication to the preservation of our environment.
Sudbury Catholic Schools Greener Thanks to Provincial Funding
Five Sudbury Catholic District Schools: Marymount Academy, St. Charles College, St. Benedict, St. Francis, and St. Raphael Catholic Schools are a lot “greener” today thanks to a McGuinty government investment of $272,284. The new funding for “Green School Projects in Sudbury” was announced at a media conference held this morning at College Notre Dame by Rick Bartolucci, M.P.P. Sudbury.
“Our government is committed to ensuring students in Sudbury have the best possible resources for learning,” said Bartolucci. “Today’s investment will save area school boards money while promoting a greener, more efficient approach to learning and living in our community”.
In August 2009, boards across the province were asked to submit applications identifying their interest in the “Green Schools Pilot Initiative.” The Sudbury Catholic District School Board participated in five multi-board project application submissions for five different green projects. In October 2009, the Ministry approved the pilot projects involving five of the Board’s schools and local businesses. The Board is working with green energy companies to pilot a variety of projects involving electric energy conservation, hybrid electric or thermal energy generation, sewage and water treatment, solar and thermal energy generation and conservation, and wind generation.
Barry MacDonald, Vice-Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was on hand for this morning’s announcement and is very pleased with the funding from the province in support of the Green Schools Pilot Initiative. The $272,284 that we gratefully received from the province will allow our Board to pilot nine green installations using five new initiatives. These new and innovative technologies will not only support our plight to reduce our energy consumption and our commitment to reduce carbon emissions but will also provide test sites for renewable and sustainable power generation plants.
The five schools involved in the pilot projects with their respective companies are as follows:
| School | Project | Company |
| Marymount Academy | Electric Energy Conservation | Triacta Power Fifth Light Technology |
| St. Benedict Catholic SS | Electric Energy Conservation | Triacta Power |
| St. Charles College |
Electric Energy Conservation |
Triacta Power Conserval Engineering Inc. Brac Systems |
| St. Francis Catholic School | Ontario Educational Solar | Evergreen Power Solutions |
| St. Raphael Catholic School | Electric Energy Conservation Sewer and Water |
Triacta Power Brac Systems |
Two Thumbs Up for “The Nickel Stops Here”!
“The Nickel Stops Here” is a play written and produced by Marlene Lee, the Grade 6/7 teacher at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School.This musical/comedy is an original script and score that Lee wrote about the Greater Sudbury area. As someone who moved here from southern Ontario, Lee wanted to give her perspective on life in the North. The play includes the Grade 6/7 class playing the parts of the leads, the JK/K class as the black flies and the JK FI class as the blueberries. The story is about King Inco and Queen Nephawin who need their son, Moose, to take over the throne of the Kingdom of Sudbury. Moose only wants to hunt and fish. His sister, the Princess Laurentian, is eager and willing to put Sudbury on the map environmentally and to rule it. According to the kingdom’s constitution, however, she must be married to do so. Laurentian must battle the two princes from Espanola and Wahnapitae in a game of Jeopardy to see who wins the throne. The students have been working for months in preparation for their show and it is very evident that the hard work has paid off. The play deserves two very big thumbs up for the efforts of the students and Marlene Lee for their outstanding production!
Elder Visits St. Benedict Students to Share Culture
On Thursday, January 11, 2010, students at St. Benedicts participated in a traditional smudging ceremony led by Elder Vince Pawis. Afterward, Mr. Pawis shared several traditional teachings such as the medicine wheel and clan names. The students learned how important it is to be respectful of others and of their connection to Mother Earth.
Synthesizing in the Classroom
Grade three teachers met at St. Albert Adult Learning Centre on February 1, 2010 to learn about Synthesizing in the classroom. Lianne Perreault-Raymond, Curriculum Consultant for SCDSB inserviced the teachers looking at different reading strategies and comprehending in action. Synthesizing allows students to make meaning out of what they read so the teachers who attended the workshop learned different ways to use this strategy in their classrooms. This inservice helped the teachers examine the different ways to improve higher order thinking with their students.