As of Friday, January 22, 2010 our elementary and secondary schools have raised over $7000 in donations to support Haitian relief. Many of the monies raised came from school bake sales, PJ dress-down days, “Hats for Haiti” days, and staff luncheons. One student in particular, Rayden Recollect who is a Grade 1 student from St. David Catholic Elementary School, brought his piggy bank to school and decided to donate every single cent that he owned!! It is students like this that really reflect the Catholic family spirit we have at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and are very, very proud of all of our students and staff for collecting so much in such a short amount of time!!! It really is a huge accomplishment !
Category: Programs
St. Andrew Catholic Elementary Celebrates Hockey Sweater Spirit Day
Staff and students of St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School celebrated Hockey Sweater Spirit Day and invited special guests to the school to join them in reading. Dan Maggio, John Kurtz, Steven Reese, Marcus Foligno and Ben Chiarot of the Sudbury Wolves took the time to come to the school and share the joy of reading with the students and staff. Each Sudbury Wolf player read to three groups of students and had time to answer questions, sign autographs and take some photos. The staff believes that students need to see and hear a variety of people reading to and with them and these gentlemen certainly fit the bill. As the saying goes…”variety adds spice to life.”!
Marymount Academy Announces Advanced Placement Program for September, 2010
Marymount students, teachers, trustees and guests gathered at a press conference held at the school to launch a very exciting and progressive program known as the Advanced Placement Program or AP as it is more commonly referred to.
Beginning in September 2010, Marymount students in Grades 9 and 10 can enrol in the pre AP courses while students in Grade 11 and 12 will be able to register in the AP courses. “Advanced Placement courses offer university level content to our students at the high school level allowing them to delve deeper into the course material and ultimately making them feel more comfortable and gain more confidence when entering university,” says Lucie Cullen, Principal of Marymount Academy. Another benefit of the Advanced Placement Program is that it allows students to accelerate through university as students may achieve advanced academic standing or equivalent credits at universities in Canada and the United States and overseas. According to Dan Bartolucci, Program Leader at Marymount Academy, the Advanced Placement Program is recognized worldwide. “Admission offices regard AP students as high achievers,” states Bartolucci. “Post secondary institutions in more than 30 countries recognize AP in their admission process, including 90 percent of North American colleges and universities.”
Marymount Academy will roll out the Advanced Placement Program in September of 2010 by offering three courses: English, Math and French at the AP level with Geography and Science courses being added the following year. The AP courses will be taught concurrently with the curriculum, and students will write the university exams at Marymount in May. The exams are sent to a central location in the United States for marking and the results are mailed to the students in July. Each AP exam is given a grade point a 5-point scale: Students that score 4 and 5 out of 5 on their exams will receive AP or university credits. Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District Program is also very impressed with the school’s Advanced Placement Program. “The AP Program is a perfect fit for Marymount Academy,” Cameron told the student body and the media. “Its innovative, progressive and meets the needs of our students by providing them with opportunities and challenges beyond their grade level. As a result of this program they will walk into colleges and universities with much greater confidence and knowledge as well as credits. It is with great pride that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board support Marymount and its dedicated staff in launching the AP Program.”
Pius XII Catholic Elementary School’s Early Learners Celebrate Family Literacy Day
Students from Pius XII Elementary Catholic School’s J.K. and S.K. classes, as well as children from the Maple Tree Preschool and the Minnow Lake Best Start Hub were invited to celebrate Family Literacy Day in the school’s library on January 19, 2010. Aboriginal Artist and Storyteller William Morin engaged the children in animated stories and had them participate using actions and costumes. Parents were also invited to be a part of the celebration. After the story, the students went back to the classroom and made their own masks inspired by the day.
SCDSB Elementary Schools Host Successful J.K. Open Houses
Staff at St. James Catholic Elementary School had music playing outside as the parents and potential new students approached the school. They were greeted at the door by the Principal Cara Soehner, Vice Principal Dan Stargratt and Superintendent Jean McHarg. St. James teachers had different stations set up for the children throughout the school as the parents sat down to begin filling out the registration forms. It was evident that quite a lot of hard work went into the planning of the J.K. open house evening and the parents who visited were quite excited to see the school in action. As well as visiting the J.K. classrooms and meeting their teachers, the children had their picture taken with the St. James’ mascot and even got the chance to hang out with the St. Ben’s mascot after receiving a school T-shirt from the fish pond. The new students were very busy visiting each station and it was evident by the laughter and squeals of delight that they were having a ball. Carter, one of the new J.K. registrants said it best when asked if he was having fun at the event. “Of course.” said Tyler, ” ’cause I’m fun!!!” Parents and potential students visited each of the SCDSB elementary schools on January 18, 2010. Many of the schools had different activities planned and worked very hard in preparation for the evening. As well, several of the board office academic services staff were also on hand at each school to help out where needed. Congratulations to all of our elementary schools and staff for a very successful J.K. open house night!
SCDSB High Schools Raising Funds for Haitian Relief
SCDSB high school students have been working very hard the last couple of days to raise much needed funds to support Haitian relief. At Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, the students raised a total of $420 to donate to the relief efforts. The Social Justice Action Council at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School held a bake sale over two days to assist the earthquake victims raising over $845. The students and staff of both schools were overwhelmed with the success of their money raising efforts and were thrilled to be able to make such substantial donations. It is evident that the students of SCDSB are showing a great example of the importance of helping those in need.
Early Learning Kindergarten Program Open House at Pius XII
Louisa Bianchin, Principal of Pius XII Catholic School welcomed parents and families to the school’s “Open House and Kindergarten Registration Night.” Mrs. Bianchin was especially pleased to announce that Pius XII was one of three schools selected by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to offer the “Early Learning Kindergarten Program” or ELKP as it is more commonly referred to. “I am very excited about the new full day Early Learning Kindergarten Program at Pius XII Catholic School,” stated Bianchin. “The Early Learning program offers the teacher and the early childhood educator the opportunity to team plan and teach. Together, they will provide a play-based program which will focus on the development of the “whole” child. Recent studies have shown that all children learn best through active involvement and play. I look forward to working with the kindergarten team and parents as we begin the development and implementation of a stimulating full day Early Learning Kindergarten program.”
St. Benedict Hosts Annual Bear’s Classic
St. Benedict Catholic High School hosted it’s annual Bears Classic Boys Elementary Basketball tournament this past weekend. Twelve teams entered and battled for top spot over two days of play. In the end, the Algonquin Tigers were the tournament champions. The SCDSB top team was the St. Francis “A” Team who placed third with a bronze medal finish and had two of its team members making the all-star team – Kordell Simmonds and Tate Kosmerly. Congratulations to all participants and to St. Benedict for another successful tournament!
Sudbury Catholic School Students Honoured to Participate in Traditional Eagle Ceremony
Students from the Native Studies and Native Language Programs at the Sudbury Catholic District School board were invited to participate in an Eagle Ceremony at the board’s Outdoor Education Centre in Killarney on January 13, 2010. Vince Pawis, a traditional elder who works with the Catholic Board was given an eagle that had been hit on the highway so he invited the students as well as other community Elders and traditional teachers to help him feast the eagle so that the feathers could be used for traditional purposes. In aboriginal culture, it is believed that the Eagle flies closest to the Creator and, therefore, can see the past, present and future at a glance. The Eagle is considered the great illuminator and sits in the east on the Medicine Wheel with the Elders and the direction of wisdom and guidance. It is a powerful symbol of courage and this is why the feathers are such powerful tools for healing, and why there are special ceremonies for the Eagle feathers. The students learned from the celebration that it is okay to combine wisdom and courage and to be wise enough to know when a change needs to be made in one’s life. Through the strength of the Eagle’s spirit, they learned that they can find the courage to execute the change. The Elders expressed their happiness that there were so many students there to witness and participate in the celebration as it is so important for their culture to passed on. Each student that took part in the ceremony was given an Eagle feather by the elders to take home and cherish.