A big thank you goes out to everyone who’s hard work and effort has made it possible for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to continue our educational efforts in helping students and community members grow through learning and faith.
We are grateful to serve our community and are excited for the year ahead! Thank you!
Skills Ontario and Edge Factor initiated 17 challenges for students in Ontario to explore the skilled trades and technology through a series of contests on Twitter. The challenges began in March 2020 and wrapped up in January 2021. Sudbury Catholic students, Kindergarten to Grade 12, eagerly participated throughout the series with incredible results. Overall, the Board is proud to have five students place provincially:
• Sofia Brine, Grade 1 student at St. John Catholic Elementary School, placed third in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge: Wacky Hair Challenge.
• Maili Jutila and Lylah Jebreen, Grade 7 students at Marymount Academy, placed first in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge: Construction Sector- Iron Worker- Tallest Marshmallow Towers.
• Milena Raso, Grade 12 student at Marymount Academy, placed third in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge: Service Sector’s Paper Dress 1920’s Style challenge.
• Owen Carpenter, Grade 6 student at St. Francis School, placed third in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge – Build a Fort.
• Brady Howard, Grade 12 student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, placed first in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge: Cake Decorating.
“It is with great pride that the Board congratulates our five provincially recognized winners who participated in the Skills Ontario Challenges that took place between March 2020 and this January,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “Their innovation and creativity is inspiring! We thank our dedicated educators as well as our families for guiding and continually supporting opportunities to challenge and engage our students .”
“The efforts and accomplishments made by our participating students are a testament to the enthusiasm and collaboration that our staff and students display year-round,” said Superintendent of School Effectiveness, Peter Prochilo. “Skills Ontario has been a great partner in supporting the exploration of the trades pathways and it is these opportunities that broaden horizons for our youth.”
Once again, a Sudbury Catholic Student places first in a Skills Ontario Challenge. Challenge #17 required students to bake and a decorate a cake. Participants were challenged to follow a decoration theme and use any materials they would like to present and decorate their cake.
Grade 12, St. Benedict, Specialist High Skills Major student & Sneaker Head Brady, created the Jordan 1 “UNC” that combined his passion for food & his business B-Hyped Kicks & Clothing!
“Not only is Brady a skilled player on the basketball court, he is just as talented in the kitchen. Way to go Brady!,” said Laura Kuzenko, Principal of St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
Skills Ontario is introducing the first-ever Paper Glider Plane Virtual Competition! This competition is open to students from grades 7 – 12 within Ontario. Teams of up to four (4) students will work together to design and build a glider plane made out of paper products and toothpicks or wood skewer sticks. Once the Paper Glider Planes are built, the teams will test their capabilities by launching the planes by hand from a stationary (sitting or standing) position to determine which Glider Plane can stay in the air the longest. Teams are required to video record their Longest Flight test attempts.
Students Olivia Burke, Maya Herst and Emma Hinschburger will be the grade 7 team representing Marymount Academy.
“We had fun learning about the construction of gliders and figuring out what design plan would actually work,” they said.
“We are extremely proud of Olivia , Maya and Emma and for their collaboration and submission in this latest Ontario Skills competition,” said Superintendent of School Effectiveness Peter Prochilo. “These competitions are great opportunities for our students to demonstrate their applied skills and knowledge on a number of curriculum areas. We also applaud our teaching staff for their continued encouragement and support.”
We wish the girls the best of luck! Winners will be announced on January 21st, 2021.
Owen Carpenter, Grade 6 student at St. Francis School, placed third in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge – Build a Fort.
Challenge #14 required students to build a blanket-covered structure in their home using household items such as blankets, broomsticks, pillows and couch cushions. Students were to collect and take inventory of the fort materials around their home. Using the materials they collected, the students created a design on paper and then built it. Challengers were marked on their ability to use creative items for their structures, the details within their blueprint designs as well as their overall structure. This challenge involved the following skills: planning, design, creativity, organization and fine motor and promoted the skilled trades of architectural design, ironworker, welder, and home renovations.
Owen and his brother had a fun time designing and creating their own unique forts. Owen created an army base equipped with sleeping quarters, kitchen, war zone and command base. Owen has been participating in several of Skills Ontario’s challenges.
“We congratulate Owen on his third-place finish in this #SkillsAtHome challenge. Sudbury Catholic students continue to achieve success through the series of challenges,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “We continue to invest in providing innovative and hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students Kindergarten to Grade 12 and we thank Skills Ontario for their continued partnership. The skills being developed support our focus on equipping all of our students with the skills they need for the future.”
We encourage our teachers and students to enter the excitement by joining in the last 2 competitions:
– Challenge #16 Build a Robot: November 30, 2020- December 14, 2020
– Challenge #17 Cake Decorating December 14, 2020 – January 4, 2021
Virtual field trips are a form of experiential learning. With the internet and technology, the barriers of time, cost and location have been removed making a wide variety of learning activities and experiences possible to students. Virtual field trips allow learners to engage with and to learn about authentic artifacts and to explore places important to their curriculum.
For instance, Ms. Reale’s science class at Holy Cross School is learning about the characteristics of living things and the growth and changes in animals. What better way to learn and engage students then a trip to the zoo? Dr. Zoolittle and Roberta the Zebra, shared interesting facts about some animal architects such as the black-headed weaver bird, the burrowing owl, the dung beetle, the meerkat and the beaver. Students traveled safely to the San Diego Zoo and even had time to meet and pet both Shiloh and Justeen, the zoo’s friendly beavers. Students also learned about leaf art and how to make no bake beaver dams for dessert!
If you would like assistance or more information about bringing virtual field trips to your class, contact Christina Raso, Experiential Learning consultant at: christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca.
Mr. McKee and the students in the Open Doors program created a wooden plaque to represent the Board – displaying our mission, vision, values and our logo. The students, in particular Elliot Hamilton, Shelby Dupuis and Isaac Chandler crafted the plaque and presented it to Superintendent of School Effectiveness Peter Prochilo and Director of Education Joanne Bénard.
The wooden plaque is proudly displayed at the Catholic Education Centre in the main foyer. Thanks to our students for their hard work and creativity – we wish them continued success in the program!
Since March 2020, Skills Ontario has been encouraging students to participate in various competitions throughout the school year that promote the skilled trades. Sudbury Catholic students learning both in-class and remotely have been eagerly participating in the various challenges with remarkable results.
Challenge #14: Build a Fort:
Students were challenged to build a blanket-covered structure in their home using household items such as blankets, broomsticks, pillows and couch cushions! Students were to collect and take inventory of the fort materials around their home. Then, using the materials they collected, create a building design on paper and then build it! Challengers will be marked on their ability to use creative items for their structures, the details within their blueprint designs as well as on their overall structure. This challenge involves the following skills: planning, design, creativity, organization and fine-motor.
Pictured is St. Francis grade 4 student, Nolan Carpenter. Nolan’s fort is designed to include a skylight for natural lightning, a “chill zone” to read books and a sleep area for not only himself but for his two brothers! We encourage students to participate in these fun challenges at home. The next challenge starts November 16th and the deadline to enter is noon on November 30th! For more information, please click HERE!
The Peace Program participated in a Veterans Affairs Canada initiative called Postcards for Peace. The goal of this initiative is to link today’s youth with veterans in a personal way and to help youth understand the significance of the sacrifices and achievements of Canada’s Veterans or Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. The students at St. Albert Learning Centre created their own unique postcards, complete with an art piece as well as a personalized letter to a veteran in an Ontario long-term care facility. The class especially wanted to pay tribute to veterans who would normally be honoured in Remembrance Day Ceremonies, but who will have to stay isolated from such gatherings due the global pandemic. It is a simple gesture and a significant reminder that, although the world is changing, we can still recognize the selfless courage that brought us PEACE.
