Students in St. Charles College teacher Rick Emond’s Grade 12 French Immersion Canadian and World Politics class got very frustrated when the class’ discussion focused on Malāla Yūsafzay, the young Pakistani student who was recently shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. Malālah is known for her education and women’s rights activism in the Swat Valley and most especially her outspoken views on promoting education for girls. When they began discussing this outrageous act of violence againstt a girl who was simply standing up for what she believed in for herself and others experiencing similar discrimination, the class felt compelled to do something. Cassandra Schlosser, a student in the class described her frustration. “What good would it do to just sit around in class and complain? We all felt that we needed to do more than just talk about it.” The rest of her classmates agreed. After discussing several ideas, the class landed on a letter. The decided to write a letter to the Pakistani High Commissioner expressing their concern and voicing their beliefs.
An excerpt from the letter reads:
“As proud Canadians, we understand the importance of a good education and we value equal rights. We decided to reach out to you because we want to express our concern for the young girl who took a stand for what she believed in.
Malala Yousafzai was simply defending her rights and the rights of females everywhere to an education. We admire her bravery and commitment, and commend her actions. Without education, we would not be able to move forward as a civilization. Equal access to that education should be easily accessible to anyone who desires it. Furthermore, one should not feel threatened or harmed, be it physically or emotionally while attending school.
We commend the Pakistani government for their efforts so far in dealing with the matter, and encourage them to continue their search in bringing those responsible to justice. We believe the message should be sent to those who try to curtail human rights, that their deed will not go unpunished and will not be tolerated by governments that value their children.”
The students then urge the High Commisioner to share this letter with all those who may be encouraged by it, most especially Malāla. It is their hope that this letter will reach her so that she knows she is not alone. The last line in their letter reads “Please pass on our message to Malala, her family and friends and relay that our thoughts and well wishes are with them during this difficult time. She is not alone in this battle.”
Knowing that the situation in their own community is very different, the students feel blessed to live in a country that believes in human rights and equality for all. “As a class, I am proud that my students have decided to use their voice,” teacher Rick Emond stated. “They have realized that they too can make a difference in their own way as well, and this letter voices their beliefs and shows support from across the globe for a girl who is very courageous and brave. They want her to know that they believe in her and are proud of her strength.” Emond hopes that they receive a response from the High Commissioner, and ultimately that their letter reaches Malāla.
Category: Pathways to Success
University Information Night – October 15, 2012
There will be a University Information Night on Monday, October 16, 2012 for all students interested in finding out more information about Ontario universities. Representatives from all 21 of the provinces universities will be on hand to answer any questions from prospective students including admission requirements, residence, scholarships, application processes and much more. Students and their parents or guardians will be able to attend three different presentations from universities that will be thirty minutes in length. After each presentation, a question and answer period will follow. This university information night was created to help students in their decision making process before they apply to universities beginning January 2013. This event will be taking place at Lockerby Composite School from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
S.C.C. Student Braces for Event of a Lifetime – WE Day 2012
WE Day is an annual event that encourages student leadership, and it brings empowered youth together to show them they are not alone in their journey to impact local and global change. A student from St. Charles College is lucky enough to be attending one of the WE Days held in Toronto, at the Air Canada Centre. David DiBrina, president of the St. Charles College student council, as well as student trustee for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, has been selected to be one of the 20,000 students from across Ontario to have the privilege to be a part of the monumentous event. Speakers will include the likes Al Gore, Nelly Furtado, Hedley, and many more celebrities. This televised event is taking place on Friday, September 29th, 2012, and will be streamed live online. As a representative of the Sudbury Catholic Board, DiBrina will be tweeting live throughout the event on the Sudbury Catholic Twitter account and can be followed @ SCDSB throughout the day. When asked about his expectations of the event prior to his departure, DiBrina stated, “ I am sure that I will leave Toronto with a wealth of knowledge that I can bring back and share with my peers, as well as a renewed passion and increased confidence to make positive changes locally, as well as globally!”
Marymount Academy Student Experiences a Summer of Science
This past summer, one Marymount Academy Student had the opportunity of a lifetime. Sandy Qiu, a grade 12 student, spent six weeks taking part in the elite Summer Immersion Program at the Deep River Science Academy in Deep River, Ontario. What started off as a suggestion from one of her friends, resulted in her participation an intensive co-op program focusing on hands on science. At this academy, exceptional high school students actively participate in research, perform experiments, as well as listen to guest lecturers on various science topics. The students also had the opportunity to participate in numerous recreational activities and meet like-minded students from across Canada. All of the successful participants in the program are awarded two high school co-op credits in acknowledgment of their hard work and dedication. Qiu’s project, titled, “Antimony Adsorption on Zirconium Hydroxide in Aqueous Solutions” was completed alongside a University tutor and Scientific Supervisor.
Deep River Science Academy Program Director, Danielle Martin was pleased to have Qiu as part of the science program. “Sandy Qiu was a wonderful addition to our program this summer,” Martin stated. “ She was an excellent ambassador of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and we hope that her attendance instils a sense of pride within your Board. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful student with us this summer.”
Qiu felt that it was an exceptional experience and was glad to have been chosen to take part in it. “It was great to be able to be a part of such a unique program,” Qiu stated. “I was so fortunate to be selected to be one of the participants and it was really an outstanding experience. It is definitely something I would like to continue with in the future.”
Communications Co-op Student “On the Job”!
Dubinia Nieforth is a grade 12 student at Marymount Academy and is contemplating a future in marketing, advertising and public relations. When she approached her guidance teacher Brenda Thompson, the two discussed the possibility of a co-op placement that would allow her the opportunity to try out these types of jobs to see if it would be a good fit. After talking it over with her co-op teacher, Allison Simspon, Dubinia was offered the opportunity to work with the Communications Team at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. When asked why she chose co-op, Dubinia replied that she “felt that she was ready to try some work in a real career field and preferred out-going, social situations rather than sitting in a class. By getting out and experiencing what (she) was interested in sounded like an amazing opportunity.” Dubinia has been documenting her experiences and the stories she has been covering in her own newsletter. She has also had the opportunity to learn new software on the macbook including Pages and GarageBand which will be great experience for her when looking at advertising and graphic design. Already Dubina has helped with the celebration for the United Kingdom visitors as well as visiting schools with the communications team to learn about covering events and media relations. For the remainder of the year, Nieforth will be th “eyes and ears” for Marymount keeping on top of all of the stories as well as continuing to assist the team with future marketing and Sudbury Catholic promotions and events. Dubinia is looking forward to her future assignments and exploring all of the possibilities that her new co-op placement will offer her as she wants her career to involve “ideas, writing, working with people and getting to be creative – this is just the perfect fit!”
Marymount Academy Announces Advanced Placement Program for September, 2010
Marymount students, teachers, trustees and guests gathered at a press conference held at the school to launch a very exciting and progressive program known as the Advanced Placement Program or AP as it is more commonly referred to.
Beginning in September 2010, Marymount students in Grades 9 and 10 can enrol in the pre AP courses while students in Grade 11 and 12 will be able to register in the AP courses. “Advanced Placement courses offer university level content to our students at the high school level allowing them to delve deeper into the course material and ultimately making them feel more comfortable and gain more confidence when entering university,” says Lucie Cullen, Principal of Marymount Academy. Another benefit of the Advanced Placement Program is that it allows students to accelerate through university as students may achieve advanced academic standing or equivalent credits at universities in Canada and the United States and overseas. According to Dan Bartolucci, Program Leader at Marymount Academy, the Advanced Placement Program is recognized worldwide. “Admission offices regard AP students as high achievers,” states Bartolucci. “Post secondary institutions in more than 30 countries recognize AP in their admission process, including 90 percent of North American colleges and universities.”
Marymount Academy will roll out the Advanced Placement Program in September of 2010 by offering three courses: English, Math and French at the AP level with Geography and Science courses being added the following year. The AP courses will be taught concurrently with the curriculum, and students will write the university exams at Marymount in May. The exams are sent to a central location in the United States for marking and the results are mailed to the students in July. Each AP exam is given a grade point a 5-point scale: Students that score 4 and 5 out of 5 on their exams will receive AP or university credits. Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District Program is also very impressed with the school’s Advanced Placement Program. “The AP Program is a perfect fit for Marymount Academy,” Cameron told the student body and the media. “Its innovative, progressive and meets the needs of our students by providing them with opportunities and challenges beyond their grade level. As a result of this program they will walk into colleges and universities with much greater confidence and knowledge as well as credits. It is with great pride that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board support Marymount and its dedicated staff in launching the AP Program.”
Sudbury Catholic Schools Pilot Turning Points Project
“After doing my research, I realized that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is a board where the Turning Points project is really going to work well!” These were the words that Judi Symes from the Learning Partnership declared to the teachers invited to be a part of the pilot “Turning Points” project. On December 8, 2009 English teachers from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary High School and Marymount Academy joined Symes as well as Marni Angus from the organization The Learning Partnership. The Learning Partnership is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to championing a strong public education system in Canada with its partners through innovative programs, credible research and executive leadership. This group approached Sudbury Catholic last year to see if there was any interest in piloting their innovative “Turning Points” project. This project links essay writing with personal experiences and it helps students get to know more about their own values as it is a combination of character education and literacy which is aligned with Ministry of Education expectations. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education realized that this was an amazing opportunity as the Sudbury Catholic District School board was the only board in Northeastern Ontario approached to be a part of this initiative and gave the project the green light. The teachers met with the team of Symes and Angus to delve a little deeper into the process involved and learned that the students will be asked to write an essay relating to a turning point in their life through different class exercises that will lead up to the final piece of writing. Those students that are willing to share their work will then submit them for two different tiers of judging. By the end of the year, there will be an awards ceremony that celebrates the students and their winning essays. The Turning Points trainer, Judy Symes – a former Head of English for the Toronto District School Board, says that the students are asked to really scrutinize turning points in their lives as their own emotion can be a critical part of their learning. She believes that risk taking needs to happen for meaningful learning to occur. This is what is asked of the students involved in this assignment. “The essay writing involved will not change everybody’s life, but for a lot of these students and teachers it is really, really special. It is very often transformational!” The teachers that attended this inservice walked away inspired to engage their students in this project in the upcoming months.
Students Recognized by SCDSB
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 Appoints New Superintendent of Education
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.