Opening Mass at St. Charles College
More than 900 students as well as staff members gathered on September 17, 2014 in the school gymnasium with Celebrant Father Sam D’Angelo from St. Andrew’s Church to ring in a new year. The theme of the mass was for students and staff members to love one another this year and throughout their years of high school and beyond.
The choir was composed of Ms. Coyle’s music classes and her choir ensemble.
Bishop Carter Catholic Secondary School is the only school in the Sudbury area that participates in the North American Link Crew Program, a program whose purpose is to help grade nines feel more comfortable as well as help them achieve success in their high school years.
The Link Crew grade nine orientation and transition program is designed to both welcome and support grade nines by assigning them a senior Link Leader as a mentor. The Link Crew leaders attended mandatory training days in August where the students were trained by teacher coordinators. This preparation was put to use on orientation day, Thursday, September 4 as the now-trained leaders were confident in facilitating their small group instruction with the energetic grade nine students.
The Link Crew leaders and teacher coordinators are now focussed on planning some exciting events and academic activities for the grade nines to keep this momentum moving throughout the 2014-2015 academic school year.
On Tuesday September 8, 2014 the staff, students and some parents from St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School joined Father Sam D’Angelo in the gym for a celebration of the Eucharist. In the introduction the children were reminded that God has given us special gifts and talents. Each one of us is unique and we celebrate the different gifts we have been given. Each classroom teacher brought a candle to the altar to represent each class. These candles are a reminder that we are called to light up the world with our talents.
Pictured are Ben and Isaiah with Father Sam.
On September 11, despite the day’s cold temperature, the rain held off for the students and staff from Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary, and they were able to get their new plants, trees and shrubs in the ground thanks to VETAC, Greater Sudbury’s Regreening Advisory Panel. As winners of this year’s “Ugliest School Yard Contest, the school received a cash donation form Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations as well as supplies from several local businesses, and expert advice to help transform their schoolyard into a greener space for the students. Several members of the Sudbury Horticultural society were on hand, as well as parent and grandparent volunteers, and community partners. All students came out to take part in the planting of the smaller plants and shrubs and were shown the proper methods of planting. Grade 3/4 teacher Tammy Rychlo was thrilled with the event as she had been working with her class for the last year creating the “Immaculate Conception Green Squad”. By applying for and receiving a speak up grant – Rychlo was able to create with her class and some volunteers raised garden beds and planted vegetables from seeds cultivated at first in their classroom. The students even took turns meeting once a week during the summer for “Watering Wednesdays” so that they could ensure that the veggies were growing well. The payoff was that many were able to bring home fresh healthy vegetables during the summer months.
With the school winning this contest – her students were able to tie in all that they had learned about being stewards of the earth and the positive impact of creating greener spaces all around.
School principal, Louisa Bianchin was thrilled with the event. “ We are very thankful to all the organizations involved in helping us beautify our schoolyard,” Bianchin stated. “Our students are so excited to see the transformation, and to be able to be a part of it is a wonderful learning opportunity for them!”
Staff and students at St Charles Catholic Elementary School began the school year by reflecting on who they each are as individuals and what gifts and talents they bring to the school community. Everyone completed an “I am…” statement to share with the school.
Pictured are Jodie-Lee Clance and Emma Carpenter. Emma Carpenter, a grade 5 student explained, “doing this activity tells everyone about yourself and helps people get to know you. You can see that everyone is unique in their own way and this makes our school a special place!”
On September 9th, St. Francis Catholic Elementary school students and staff were unable to attend Tom Davies Square where Mayor Matichuk proclaimed September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in The City of Greater Sudbury and raised the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC) flag. However, in support of this day, the students and staff wore yellow/gold on this special day and also in honour of Karissa Kruk who is a cancer survivor and a student at the school. This was a great opportunity for students to be aware of childhood cancer and to show school spirit at the same time.
Forty-five Grades 1 and 2 Sudbury Catholic Students had the opportunity to take part in some summer learning programs from July 2-18. Working out of St. David Catholic Elementary School, students were enroled in literacy, numeracy and aboriginal education programming. The literacy and numeracy components included games and activities with an emphasis on the fun of learning. The aboriginal component included learning about the Seven Grandfather Teachings, Metis history and culture, as well as traditional cooking lessons and culturally based activities. Also included in the programming, were Tae Kwon Do lessons each morning to start the day, with the Sudbury Catholic mental health nurse and black belt – Roland Dutrisac.
Program co-ordinator and the Board’s Special Education consultant, Christina Raso was pleased with the student engagement at this year’s summer school programming. “We have been running these programs for a number of years now,” Raso explained. “and every year, the students are eager to get here and start as they really enjoy the play based activities and fun learning environments. The Tae Kwon Do component also really excites the students as they get to work off some energy first thing in the morning, and have a lot of fun learning the different moves involved.”
In the very first week of her new job, Sudbury Catholic Director Joanne Bénard attended the Canadian Association of School System Administrators (CASSA) national conference in Calgary from July 5-10 to receive an award. Bénard was selected as this year’s Ontario Catholic Supervisory Officer’ Association’s (OCSOA) recipient of the CASSA EXL Award. This award was launched in 2002 to recognize excellence among Superintendents and is sponsored by Xerox Canada Ltd. as well as CASSA. According to the CASSA website, “the EXL Award Program is based on three premises:
• It is important that the dedication and enthusiasm of administrators who guide children’s educational experiences be acknowledged. Recognition is a powerful instrument for building pride in accomplishment and continued determination to pursue excellence.
• The scope and quality of children’s educational experiences are determined primarily by the system’s leaders, who establish, through the important work of teachers and the support of school boards and caring parents, the character of a particular school system’s programs.
• Children’s attitudes toward learning and their perceptions of themselves as lifelong learners are established in their school years. Effective leadership, mentoring and modelling determine whether the school jurisdiction effectively creates this environment”
According to the Sudbury Catholic Board Chair, Jody Cameron, Bénard really fits the bill with this award, and the board is quite fortunate to have her join the Sudbury Catholic community as its next Director. “ Joanne truly exemplifies excellence, as we have seen through her past experience,” Cameron explained. “Having her recognized nationally for her dedication and service to students really speaks to the exemplary quality of service that Joanne delivers, and we are quite excited to have her join our team!”
Bénard was pleased to receive the award, as she was joined by her husband and daughter for the presentation. “It is a blessing and an honour to be recognized by my peers for doing what I love to do and that is working with others to improve outcomes for our youth. This award is certainly a highlight in my career and a great way to begin my new role with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.”
St. John Catholic Elementary School students gathered on June 20 to celebrate a day in which we are called to learn more about First Nation, Metis and Inuit peoples. Student participated in a Prayer Service and had the opportunity to hear from local First Nation people about what National Aboriginal Day means to them. Will Morin guest speaker addresses the group about gaining understanding and respecting the contributions of the First people of Canada.
