Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School grade two teacher Tania Fay has a personal connection to Paris. On of her friends -Glenn Gervot, lives just minutes away from where the recent Paris shootings took place. Wanting to do something, Fay led the entire Holy Cross staff and students to create a piece of art that she would send to her friend in France. The school took up the challenge and sent the finished product off to Paris as well as a flag with messages of peace to be shared with the people of France and all the visitors from around the world. Gervot was thankful to receive the artwork and brought to the location of the attacks.
“Today was the day to bring to one of the November 13th shootings in Paris (that is 10mn walk from our place and saw 19 persons die) a collection a hearts and warm thoughts from a school from Canada! Thank you Tania for sending us this beautiful collection, made by ALL students from your school. It is now in a good place and should fill the scene with warm feelings from Canada.”
Category: Programs
St. James Students Participate in Celebration of La Ste-Catherine
On Wednesday, November 25th, St. James Catholic Elementary School students participated in a celebration of La Ste-Catherine. They learned about Marguerite Bourgeoys and how this nun established a school in Ville-Marie (Montreal) by making pull taffy (la tire) to attract the native students to her class. The French immersion teachers prepared the taffy the night before so that their students can taste this sweet confection. Stations in the gym were set up with different activities including dancing to french canadian music, a history lesson from Soeur Marguerite Bourgeoys (Mme Gaudette) and taffy tasting.
F/I Students at St.Charles College Celebrate la Ste-Catherine by Making “tire”
On November 25th teacher Sabrina Rocca’s grade 7/8 French Immersion class at St. Charles College celebrated a cultural event known as “La Sainte-Catherine. Saint Catherine is the patron saint of young, unmarried women. She lived in the 4th century, and was executed for refusing to marry the emperor. Making tire became a French-Canadian tradition when Sister Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame made sweet candy to attract young students to her school. The “candy” became so popular that young maidens started making them on the feast of Ste. Catherine.
Students learned about mixing various ingredients and boiling at exact temperatures to get the perfect tire. They also discovered how pulling this dark taffy-like mixture transformed it into a golden yellow colour, making it a wonderful treat. The class made 2 different traditional recipes, which both turned out to be a wonderful treat.
The students shared their tire while taking about where it came from and saying a special prayer to both Ste. Catherine and Ste. Marguerite Marguerite Bourgeoys.
St. Anne Students Are Stewards of the Earth
Students in Mlle. Prosser and Mme. Barriault’s (ECE) FDK FI outdoor discovery class at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School braved the cold winds and went outside and picked up the garbage around the school yard. The students were concerned about the environment, and wanted to make their school yard look nice and clean!
St. David “Rocs Their Mocs”
The staff and students at St. David Catholic School participated in the “Roc your Mocs” campaign, a fun way to celebrate their diversity and heritage. The “Roc you Mocs’ day started as a social movement in the United States, but has moved into Canada as a way to celebrate individual diversity and raise awareness for Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Cultural pride, comfortable footwear and a lot of fun were the themes of the day!
Immaculate Students Sign a Contract with Greater Sudbury Police
Immaculate students sign a contract with Greater Sudbury Police recently to always be kind to others and not to get involved with any bullying actions. Cordelia and Riley Brosha, along with Constable Freeman hold the Greater Sudbury Police shirt that was signed by the students.
St. Francis Rocs Their Mocs
St. Francis Catholic Elementary School staff and community partners participated in ‘Roc your Mocs’ campaign. The campaign is helping a resurgence of pride in North American Tribes. In support of this campaign, even ‘Baby Riley’, Roots of Empathy baby in the FDK class wore her mocassins during her monthly visit to the classroom.
Don’t Be A Bully…Be a Good Sport at St. James
Staff and Students at St. James Catholic Elementary School wore their favorite sports jersey and pink to support good sportsmanship and anti-bullying. Daily announcements and prayers during Bully Awareness Week are centred around the message of being kind, patient, fair and just with one another.
SCDSB Embraces Equity and Inclusivity with D’Souza Presentations
“I want you to be nice to me…because I’m UNIQUE, I’m different from the rest…because I’m UNIQUE, and I deserve respect!” Simple yet powerful words are being sung by both students and staff at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board as all four secondary schools, several elementary schools, as well as all staff at the November 16th Professional Activity Day had the opportunity to listen to Equity and Inclusivity Activist Chris D’Souza perform his song “Unique” and listen to his impactful presentation.
D’Souza has taught at both elementary and secondary levels, and was the Equity and Diversity Officer for 5 years with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Currently teaching part time with this board, D’Souza has conducted over 5000 Equity and Anti-Oppression workshops to educations, Law Enforcement, Community Services, Corrections Officers, Corporate Institutions, as well as thousands of students. He is also the founder of the Equity Summit Group, a collaborative of over 26 school board equity representatives in Ontario. D’Sousa is also the author of three books, which address common stereotypes and are being used in over 6000 schools, in over 7 countries.
With it being Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (November 15-20), the timing was perfect with D’Sousa kicking off the week for all SCDSB staff at St. Charles College with his very powerful and engaging presentation. With guitar in hand, D’Souza read aloud his stories, and the songs got the groups out of their seats. The message was clear, equity and inclusivity is the only option, anything else is not tolerated. This same message was shared with Sudbury Catholic students at over 10 schools during his three-day visit. Jennifer Connelly, Assistive Technology teacher with the board, accompanied D’Souza to each of the venues, and was absolutely moved by the impact he had on his multiple audiences. “From our staff P.A. day, to the younger elementary students, to the older secondary students, Chris’s message of equity resonated with every single group.” Connelly stated. “ We are very fortunate as a board that we have a senior administration team that recognizes the importance of equity and inclusivity in our schools, and provide such tremendous opportunities like having Chris D’Souza present to students and staff. We know from a parent perspective and staff perspective, we are supporting safe and inclusive learning environments for their children, as well as for all staff.”