Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Programs

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Mesmerizes Students with Northern Lights Tour 2005

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Students with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board were absolutely thrilled to take in the live concert performance of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Northern Lights Tour 2005 at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium recently. Over 600 students witnessed the dazzling specter of the Northern Lights inspired by the beauty of the north and brought to life by the skill and virtuosity of truly remarkable musicians.

The opening work on the programme, Firework and Procession, was written especially for the Northern Lights Tour by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Composer Advisor, Gary Kulesha. It is a festive and ceremonial work, which begins with a depiction of sky rockets. A procession interrupts the fireworks, once the procession passes, the fireworks resume and the work closes with ceremonial grandeur. Throughout the performance the Northern Lights theme is interspersed with other well-known orchestral classics.

This season, orchestras around the world are celebrating the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth. In this historic year, no concert would be complete without a little Mozart, so in honour of this remarkable musician the Toronto Symphony Orchestra completed their performance with the Figaro Overture.

“Super Intendent” Tries Out New Hi-tech Fitness Centre for Kids

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Rossella Bagnato, Superintendent of Academic Programs for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board dropped by KidsFIT, the City of Greater Sudbury’s newest high-tech fitness centre for kids recently and was put through the paces by Fitness Instructor, Joelle Martel. KidsFIT is an innovative, exciting and educational fitness facility that focuses on improving the lives of children by encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

This state-of-the-art fitness facility combines the latest technology such as Interactive Fitness Bikes, Hydraulic Circuits and DDR Dance Pads with physical fitness programs to improve muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. “At KidsFit we offer children the opportunity to improve their quality of life while building self confidence and esteem through exercise and play,” states Karen Hastie, President of KidsFit, Sudbury. “Our unique programs are designed to ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience all the components of physical fitness.”

Bagnato in turn identifies a unique opportunity to involve students
from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board in the KidsFit program. “KidsFIT is an innovative, safe and fun method of introducing children to the world of fitness,” stated Bagnato. “It also coincides very nicely with our Board’s mandate to nurture the body, mind and soul”.

Visit the KidsFIT website at http://www.kidsfit.ca for more information.

Students Recognized by SCDSB

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Trustees for the Sudbury Catholic District School presented students with Awards of Recognition at its first Board meeting marking the start of a new school year.

Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board presented Steve Masse, a Grade 12 student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School with a token of appreciation for his role as the Board’s Student Representative for the 2005-06 school year.

In addition, Alex Gagnon and Christopher Masson were presented with Awards of Recognition for their excellent achievements in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s OYAP/COOP Program. Alex designed and developed the Experiential Learning poster and logo which depicts the tree of lifelong learning.

His co-op placement at the advertising agency of Thompson, Tremblay and Cooper under the supervision of Mr. Dave Cooper was a tremendous learning experience for him. This experience will be a great asset as he pursues his post-secondary studies in Graphic Arts at Cambrian College this fall.

Christopher Masson, under the mentorship of Mr. Lynden Baxter, competed at the Ontario Skills Competition in Kitchener last May and earned a bronze medal in the mechanical CADD competition. Christopher is also a co-op student at Hatch Engineering, he will be studying Civil Engineering at Cambrian College this year.

SCDSB Staff, Students and School Communities Step Up for Hurricane Katrina Relief

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A number of SCDSB schools have organized relief efforts for the victims of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Students, staff and entire school communities have drawn on their living faith to make a difference in the lives of others.

  • St. Joseph School in Killarney has raised $900.00 for the Katrina relief
    fund. The school held a spaghetti lunch in order to support the victims of
    the hurricane. All members of the community were invited. Fun was had by all!
    Thank you to the staff and parents of St. Joseph School, The Killarney Bay
    Inn, The Killarney Mountain Lodge and Gateway Marina for their hard work and
    commitment to this cause. St. Bonaventure Church will collect the money and
    forward all funds to the Red Cross.

  • St. Charles College will be doing mission collections during the month
    of September to help with the Katrina disaster. Early totals have already
    hit the $450.00 mark.

  • St. Francis student council will be organizing a basket raffle in October.
  • Pius XII School recently hosted ‘Cool to be Kind’ dynamo Errol Lee, and
    will donate some of the proceeds to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

  • Bishop Alexander Carter CSS will be collecting a loonie or twonie from
    students, and teachers have promised to match the amount.

  • Immaculate Conception will be holding a loonie collection over 2 weeks
    and donating the profits from the next pizza day.

  • Marymount Academy will donate proceeds from a concert featuring one of
    the school’s bands.

  • St. Theresa has solicited monetary donations from school families.
  • The Provincial government has stepped up as well. Children whose families
    have come to Ontario will immediately be welcomed into the province’s publicly
    funded schools at no cost, Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy recently announced.
    “We are opening up our school doors to help meet the immediate needs
    of these children and their families,” said Kennedy. “By welcoming
    these students and ensuring that they can attend school at no cost, Ontario’s
    publicly funded schools are doing their small part to help children whose
    lives have been completely disrupted just as the school year was beginning.”

SCDSB Receives Funding For New Library, Text Books

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Thanks to a recent funding announcement by the Ministry of Education, Sudbury Catholic District School Board students will start the new 2005 school year off with new library and text books. Mr. Rick Bartolucci, MPP for the City of Sudbury delivered the good news to representatives of the four Sudbury area school boards at press conference held at St. Francis Catholic School on Thursday morning. “To provide every student with the learning environment they need to succeed, Ontario’s publicly funded schools are taking deliver of new text books, library books and other learning resources in time for the start of a the new school year,” stated Bartolucci. Providing learning and library resources, teaching resources and professional development and professional development opportunities is a key component of the McGuinty government’s commitment to improving literacy and numeracy achievement among students. “The government’s goal is that 75 per cent of 12-year-olds meet the provincial standard in reading, writing and math by 2008. This new allocation of dollars will go along way toward achieving that goal,” concluded Bartolucci.

The McGuinty government is entering its second full year of an $8.3 billion four-year investment in Ontario’s publicly funded schools. Part of this investment, announced in May 2005, includes an additional $61 million for new textbooks, other learning resources (such as magazines, computer software and multi-media resources, including CD-ROMs and DVDs) and library resources. Every school — regardless of its size or geographic location — will benefit from the investment. The total funding for all 4 boards amounted to $1,159,635 with the breakdown as follows;

• Sudbury Catholic District School Board will receive $236,473
• Conseil scolaire du District du Grand Nord de l’Ontario will receive $ 119,739
• Conseil scolaire du District catholique du Nouvel-Ontario will receive $285,712
• Rainbow District School Board will receive $ 517,711

Hugh Lee, Superintendent of Business and Finance for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was on hand for the morning presentation. “It is with great pleasure that we welcome the infusion of new money into our system at this time,” stated Lee. “The expert panel reports indicate that a well-stocked library contributes greatly to the development of students’ literacy skills. New money for textbooks will go a long way to ensure that the quality of Catholic Education will be maintained.”

SCDSB Celebrates Start of New School Year

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Zandra Zubac, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board addresses vice-principals, principals and staff during the Board’s inaugural meeting which marks the start of a new school year. The day’s session began with a prayer service celebrated by Father Brian Dixon from Our Lady of Hope Parish which included the commissioning of the Board’s new principals. The key topic of discussion focused on the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s continued commitment to reducing class size in the primary grades. “Our Senior Administration team is committed during the first days of school to ensuring that class sizes are as low as possible,” stated Zubac.

E-Learning Introduced to Classrooms by SCDSB

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Jody Cameron, Project Manager of mysudbury.ca, recently introduced Sudbury Catholic District School Board teachers to an electronic learning management tool. E-Learning using Microsoft Class S provides teachers with learning-management features to help manage curriculum on-line, assess students’ achievements againstt curriculum standards, and generate reports on the results.

“What is unique about Class S is its ability to create assignments that are aligned with the school’s curriculum standards,” stated Cameron. “Teachers can use this new electronic technology to grade assignments and evaluate a student’s work, even if the work is submitted on paper or as an oral presentation. Many types of questions, such as multiple choice or fill in the blank, can be automatically graded (autograded) in Class S,” concluded Cameron.

After the assignment has been graded, teachers can use the reporting feature to get a high-level view of the whole class or specific students within the class. These reports can also help identify individual student needs. Microsoft Class S will be introduced to Marymount Academy and Pius XII Catholic School this fall.

SCDSB Appoints New Superintendent of Education

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The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs. Jean McHarg as the new Academic Superintendent of Education and Pathways to Success Program for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board effective September 1, 2005.

Mrs. McHarg is a true northerner, born and raised in Nakina, Ontario. She achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, as well as a Bachelor of Education and Masters of Education through Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. She possesses both Principal and Supervisory Officer qualifications. Previous to her appointment with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Mrs. McHarg held the position of Student Success Leader with Superior North Catholic District School Board in Terrace Bay and was the principal of two schools simultaneously, St. Brigid’s in Nakina and St. Joseph’s in Geraldton.

Jean and her husband Bob will be relocating to the Sudbury area in the near future and are looking forward to becoming a member of the Sudbury community and a local parish. Mrs. McHarg’s appointment will also bring them closer to their two grandchildren and extended family living in the Toronto area.

“We are very pleased to have Mrs. McHarg as our new Academic Superintendent of Education and Pathways to Success Program,” stated Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We are confident that Mrs. McHarg has the necessary experience in Catholic Education and will be very successful in the position of Academic Superintendent as she shares our vision, our values and our dedication to the children entrusted to our care, ” concluded Peroni.

Zandra Zubac, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is also looking forward to Mrs. McHarg’s appointment. “Jean is dedicated to continual learning for herself as well as staff and students. We are pleased that she will be part of our Media ReleaseBoard’s Senior Administration team. We share her enthusiasm for the Student Success Initiative and look forward to her continuing to develop our students into valued and responsible citizens who will fulfill the mandate of our Catholic Graduate Expectations,” stated Zubac.

SCDSB Math Challenge and Bridge Teams Recognized

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Students of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board Math Challenge and Bridge Teams were recognized for their excellent efforts throughout the 2005 school year by Board Chair, Paula Peroni at a recent meeting of the Board. Mrs. Peroni congratulated each student individually and presented them with “Certificates of Recognition.” Special plaques were also awarded to the Math and Bridge teams by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. The plaques will be displayed on the “hall of fame” in each of the individual schools.

Alice Cormier, Special Assignment teacher with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board explained that this was the first year that Bridge was introduced into the elementary panel. “In September 2004, The Sudbury Catholic District School Board was approached by Mr. Charles Crispin, General Manager of the Sudbury Bridge Club, with a proposal to provide Bridge lessons to the Grade 5 and 6 students,” stated Cormier. “Mr. Crispin’s generous offer was accepted by Principals Judy Bellmore from St. Andrew Catholic School and Shirley McKnight from St. James Catholic School.” Under the expert guidance of Bridge volunteer Doug Foreman, instruction was provided at St. Andrew School. Grade 5 pupils – Kelsey Aho, Nathan Bartell, Neha Chauhan, Leah Dupuis, Tylor Duval, Brenna Hallock, Cody Hillson, Andrew Johnston, Joseph Lister, Marie Longo, Jordan Miller, Jennifer Paquette, Cortnie Pinard, Brittney Smith, Savannah Whall, and Cody Wisniewski as well as their teacher Waldemar Swiatek soon became proficient Bridge enthusiasts.

At St James Catholic School, Bridge instructor Jennifer O’Hara engaged a group of grade six students in teacher Amanda Douglas’ class in enthusiastically learning the intricate skills associated with Bridge. St. James’ participants were Alyssa Jylha,
Jake Atkinson, Alexander Hunter, Jaysen Osawagosh, Matthew Soini, Ryan McInnes, Sean Dupont, James Johnson, John Lalonde, and Robert Larose.

Over the course of instruction, teachers and students came to recognize and appreciate the benefits of their participation in this unique program. In her presentation to the Board, Mrs. Cormier noted that;

• Bridge improves short – term memory retention in primary school children. According to the “Report of Minibridge Pilot
Research Project, St. Paul’s Church of England Primary School, Manchester, England” significant improvements in short-term
memory retention were found in four of the ten children.

• Teachers (from this same study) reported that the Bridge Program stimulated creativity, critical thinking skills, improved
concentration and attention to detail. They also pointed out that it was good value for the money expended and easy to administer.

• According to the Bridge Federation the “game of Bridge brings together logic, communication, social competence, and decision making in a unique way.”

• Students have commented that playing Bridge “helps them think, takes their mind off other things, gives them confidence and challenges them” (comments are from pupils in after-school bridge programs)

• Values of Bridge as related to the Ontario mathematics curriculum: enhanced communication skills, practice in constructing arguments to justify reasoning, data management skills improved, students were given the opportunity to use concrete objects during the games.

• Most importantly – it is a challenge but FUN!

Math Challenge

Once again this year, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board hosted Junior and Intermediate Math Challenges. The participation throughout many SCDSB schools was overwhelming, and the success of the program is owed directly to the hard work of those staff and students.

The following is a summary of this year’s results:

Intermediate Challenge:
41 teams (9 schools) took part in the challenge for a total of 123 students from Grades 6, 7 & 8. These teams completed five challenges during the year. We thank the coaches who helped make this a success!

Plaques were presented in two categories:

Highest Overall Average
St. Francis Catholic School

Most Improved
St. John Catholic School

Certificates were also are awarded to teams with the highest scores.

ST PLACE – Teams with the highest score of 24/25:

Team # 30 St. Francis Catholic School
Team # 33 St. Francis Catholic School
Team # 34 St. Francis Catholic School
Team # 39 St. Mary Catholic School
Team # 44 Marymount Academy
Team # 62 St. James Catholic School

SECOND PLACE – Teams with a score of 23/25:

Team # 38 St. Mary Catholic School
Team # 41 Marymount Academy
Team # 42 Marymount Academy

THIRD PLACE – Teams with a score of 22/25:

Team # 31 St. Francis Catholic School
Team # 36 St. John Catholic School
Team # 37 St. Mary Catholic School
Team # 61 St. James Catholic School
Team # 63 St. James Catholic School
Team # 64 St. James Catholic School

In the Junior Challenge, 25 teams,(7 schools) took part in the challenge for a total of 100 students. Five challenges were completed. Again, I would like to thank the coaches for their hard work and enthusiasm.

Plaques were awarded in two areas:

Highest Overall Average
St. Andrew Catholic School

Most Improved
St. Anne Catholic School

As with the Intermediate Challenge, certificates were awarded to teams with the highest scores.

FIRST PLACE – Team with the highest score of 24/25:
Team # 4 St. Anne Catholic School

SECOND PLACE – Team with a score of 23/25:
Team # 1 St. Andrew Catholic School

THIRD PLACE – Team with a score of 21/25:
Team # 6 St. Anne Catholic School

A special thank you to everyone who made these challenges so successful!

 

Representing the St. Anne Math Challenge Team (L-R) are: Taylor Hanson, Yvon Doiron, Michael Haney, Madame Pickard,
Chad Williamson, Bradley VanAlphen, Chris Sloan

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