St. Mary School, in conjunction with Our Lady of Peace Parish in Capreol, will be holding its annual Christmas carolling for non-perishable food items, hats and mitts, and monetary donations for the needy on Wednesday December 12th. Carollers are invited to meet at the school for 6 pm and will then set out between 6 and 6:15 pm. They will be going on a float provided by the parish to sing carols and then return to the school around 7:30 pm for hot chocolate.
Category: Programs
SCDSB Celebrates Technology
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be hosting a Technology Celebration on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) at St. Charles College. The Technology presentation will allow the Board’s students to showcase some of the Laptop projects that they have been working on during term one. Students will also have the opportunity to talk about their work and share their learning experience with the audience.
In its continued commitment to student success, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has developed strong expertise in the use of technology as a resource for improving student achievement. Over the last several years the Board has committed itself to the expansion of the wireless laptop program into the Grade 7 and 8 curriculum which has had a dramatic impact on improved student learning and student achievement.
This evening is dedicated to showcasing the creative talents of the Board’s students as they embrace the technology they will be using in their upcoming careers.
Advent: Let the Play Begin
Everyone likes a good play. A good play draws you in. It keeps you perched on the edge of your seat wondering how things will turn out. A good play has characters that you cheer or jeer. A good play fills you with a sense of excitement and wonder and resolves itself in a way that leaves you feeling satisfied. I am sure everyone reading this article can or has by now filled in the blank with their own good play and recalls all of the feelings it evoked.
Advent is the beginning of a good play. It is the beginning of the story of Jesus. Like a good beginning, Advent draws us into the mystery of the story through all of our senses. Music, candles, gestures and symbols create an atmosphere that tells us something different is happening. Stories about surprising events of births unexpected tell us that we are about to enter into a time that is very different. Voices from the past fill us with hope as we struggle with challenges of poverty, violence and exclusion. The beginning of the play seems to hold out a promise of better times to come.
Advent is only the beginning. The drama unfolds as we move from the birth of Jesus to his young adulthood, baptism and ministry of preaching and healing and ends with his passion, death and resurrection. The drama of Jesus is retold during the year and in different ways we are drawn into this drama and encouraged to see the drama as our own story. Participants are uplifted, saddened, inspired, challenged and comforted as we sing, pray, listen to stories and reach out to others in service.
There are high points in the drama such as Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, the Triduum, Pentecost and Ascension Sunday but each Sunday is an opportunity to relive the whole drama and here once again the gestures, symbols, music and stories are a means of pointing to a deeper reality as a good play should.
What makes drama engaging is that in some way we recognize our own story in
The Story. The more we recognize our story in the Jesus Story, the more engaged we will become in the drama. Each of us has experienced times of insecurity, exclusion, doubt and fear. Jesus experienced all of these but his essential message which he called the good news of the kingdom confronted all these feelings and provided a radical alternative to a way of live which drags us down.
So, let the play begin. Become engaged in the drama making the Story your story. Take time to see how the events in the life of Jesus parallel your own life events. Take heart knowing that there is a resolution which will leave you satisfied much more than you could ever have expected.
Grade 9 Students at St. Charles College to Participate in Antioch Weekend
St. Charles College is hosting a Grade 9 Retreat Antioch Weekend from Friday, November 30th at 7:00 p.m to Sunday, December 2nd at 8:00 p.m. Students will have the opportunity to experience a dynamic weekend full of sharing, discussions, music, food, fun projects and more. The weekend is entirely given by experienced youth with the help of teachers and spiritual director Father Pat Woods.
The purpose of the weekend is to build a Christian community of young people within the school where they can experience Jesus Christ in a personal way alongside their peers. All Semester 1 Grade 9 Religion students will be participating.
SCDSB Launches Year Two of “Dearness Conservation Program and Challenge”
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board recently launched the 2007-2008 Dearness Conservation Program and Challenge. The School Conservation Challenge was created by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to increase the participation in the Dearness Conservation (DC) initiative that was introduced into all of the Board’s schools in 2001. Since the inception of the DC program, the Board has been able to achieve substantial utility savings by educating teachers, students and staff and providing them with the necessary resources through this program.
The Dearness Conservation Program is geared toward both secondary school and elementary schools. The program consists of an in-school presentation/workshop and seeks to incorporate all students in the school in its conservation efforts.
The DC in-school program launch consisted of two components:
Part 1: A viewing of the widely acclaimed environmental movie trailer, An Inconvenient Truth followed by a “Changes” and a “Choices” presentation which focused on the choices that students have to make with respect to the environment. Discussion also centred around the key aspects of the Board’s Conservation Challenge.
Part 2: A conservation trade show was held on energy efficient technologies. Students learned about energy and water saving technologies, how to perform technical audits, and how to run campaigns to involve all students and staff in energy, water and waste reduction.
Workshops are being presented in all secondary and elementary schools over the next two weeks, and all SCDSB Dearness Schools, Classes and Clubs are invited to participate in the “Conservation Challenge” which will run from October 30, 2007 to May 1, 2008.
The winner of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s 2007-2008 School Conservation Challenge will be awarded a Grand Prize of $500.00 (toward an approved greening/grounds improvement project) and the right to display the “SCDSB School Conservation Challenge Champions” banner for a year.
For more information on the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s DC Program and Challenge please contact, Mark Gervais, Energy Coordinator at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
SCDSB Proud Participant in Sudbury Elementary Volleyball League
St. Raphael, Marymount and St. Francis are proud participants in the Sudbury Elementary Volleyball League. The league includes more than 350 athletes and is in it’s 7th season. Boasting 19 girls’ teams in two divisions and 13 boys’ teams in a single division, the league develops Sudbury athletes throughout the area from all four local school boards.
Teams have competed over 4 Saturdays from the beginning of the school year, and at the end of league play going into playoffs SCDSB teams are ranked as follows:
Boys:
St. Raphael – 3rd
St. Francis – 6th
Girls Division 1:
Marymount A – 1st
St. Francis – 6th
St. Raphael – 10th
Girls Division 2:
Marymount B – 7th
The Sudbury Elementary Volleyball League is organized by Diables Sports Club – a non-profit organization. They take care of all scheduling, stats, hosting and other organizational duties.
SCDSB Launches School Conservation Challenge for 2007-2008
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is hosting year two of its School Conservation Challenge and is inviting all SCDSB Dearness Schools, Classes and Clubs to participate. The “challenge” will run from October 30, 2007 to May 1, 2008.
The School Conservation Challenge was created by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to increase the participation in the Dearness Conservation (DC) initiative that was introduced into all of the Board’s schools in 2001. Since the inception of the DC program, the Board has been able to achieve substantial utility savings by educating teachers, students and staff and providing them with the necessary resources through this program.
To help revitalize the program in 2006-2007, senior administration decided that a “Conservation Challenge” would be an excellent way to enhance the effectiveness of the program in addition to acknowledging the “Environmental Champions.” The selection of the School Conservation Champion involves a point system based on three categories; (i) an unannounced site visit by the SCDSB’s Facility Services Department during the school year (ii) an interview to be conducted with the principal from each participating school (iii) in late May, schools will be asked to submit reports dealing with Lifestyle Conservation Campaigns and other relevant materials such as videos/newsletters/announcements and presentations. Schools will be awarded points based on the above three categories.
The school that attains the most points will be deemed the winner of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s 2007-2008 School Conservation Challenge and will be awarded a Grand Prize of $500.00 (toward an approved greening/grounds improvement project) and the right to display the “SCDSB School Conservation Challenge Champions” banner for a year.
Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board supports the board’s new initiative with respect to the far reaching positive effects and implications this program will have on students and the environment. “The SCDSB School Conservation Challenge provides our students with an opportunity to integrate the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations into their lives in an authentic manner,” states McCullough. “This Conservation Challenge invites all students to become responsible citizens and stewards of creation by respecting the environment and using the earth’s resources wisely.”
For more information on the SCDSB School Conservation Challenge please contact, Mark Gervais, Energy Coordinator at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
CEC Staff to Celebrate All Saints Day with Morning Prayer
The staff at the Catholic Education Centre celebrate All Saints Day with Morning Prayer. Together with students from Marymount Academy, Morning Prayer, following the Liturgy of the Hours, will be recited to honour all people who are not recognized officially in the Calendar of the Saints.
This ancient feast has it roots in the 4th century and it became a celebration for the universal Church in the 9th century. The day before, Oct. 31, the vigil of All Saints, All Hallows Eve, was a time of prayer and fasting in preparation for the major feast of All Saints.
Dr. Janna-Marie Doni Visits St. Mary Catholic School
Dr. Janna-Marie Doni, a Chiropractor at the Capreol Chiropractic Clinic, recently visited St. Mary Catholic School to speak to the students on a variety of health issues. Dr. Doni’s presentation to the class focussed on how the body works and how the brain sends messages down the spinal cord and out through the nerves to all parts of the body.
Students actively participated in the presentation, answering questions and performing exercises to improve body posture. The students learned three ways in which to keep a spine healthy: good posture, carry a backpack properly (pack it light, wear it right), and regular chiropractic care.
Primary students were also provided with a colouring page highlighting the “do’s and don’ts” of carrying backpacks. Older students were given a sheet entitled “Lighten Your Load,” re-enforcing the fact that the weight of a backpack should be a maximum of 10 percent of a person’s body weight for students in Kindergarten to Grade 8.
Dr. Janna’s final thoughts for the students were: “I wish you a lifetime of happiness and great health.” For more information on these and other topics please visit http://www.chiropractic.on.ca.