On Tuesday October 27th between 4:30pm-7:30Pm students across Ontario participated in the #SkillsAtHome Live Series. At each session, students are led virtually by Skills Ontario staff to develop their talents and explore various potential career paths.
Last night Owen Carpenter, grade 6 student at St. Francis participated in the 3D printing session. Students were taught how to use Tinkercad a free, online 3D modeling program that runs in a web browser and is known for its simplicity and ease of use.
At the end of the 3 hour session, Owen created his very own unique 3D model which will be shipped to him at no cost all thanks to Skills Ontario!
Students are encouraged to join the next sessions:
November 2. 6:00-7:30 pm Let’s Make Cupcakes
November 5 12:30 pm-TBA Ice Cream Making
November 12. 4:00 pm-5:30 PM Indigenous Dreamcatcher
Skills Ontario is encouraging students to participate in various competitions throughout the school year. Sudbury Catholic students learning both in-class and remotely have been eagerly participating in the various challenges with remarkable results.
International Day of the Girl Virtual Activity Series The International Day of the Girl (October 11th) was established by the United Nations in 2012 and is recognized as a day to acknowledge girls and their rights, education and opportunities. This year’s theme was “My voice, our equal future”.
Students at Marymount Academy were fortunate to have participated in the Skills Ontario’s International Day of the Girl Virtual Activity Series.
Construction Sector- Iron Worker- Marshmallow Towers
In 2009, the 859 ft tall, Aqua skyscraper was designed by Jeanne Gang and built in Chicago becoming the tallest building in the world. In this challenge, students were asked to design and build the tallest free-standing tower using toothpicks and marshmallows. Grade 7 students, Maili Jutila and Lylah Jebreen placed first with their design!
“Girls can be great leaders in the Iron Work & Construction sector. We kept building until we got it right! Girls can do anything they set their mind to,” they said.
Paper Dresses 1920’s Style
Coco Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry in the 1920’s by designing and marketing casual outfits that were both elegant and comfortable to wear, a sharp contrast to the bulky corsets and petticoats that were popular at the time. Her designs helped give the 1920’s their iconic and distinct style and her fashion house is still producing stylish and unique clothes to this day. Skills Ontario challenged students to follow in the footsteps of Coco and design and create a dress in the 1920’s style! Students were asked to use specific items as ‘fabric’ and only glue, staples, hole punch & yarn/string to ‘sew’. Milena Raso placed third in the Service Sector’s Paper Dress 1920’s Style challenge.
“Doing the fashion design contest has helped me expand my knowledge of sewing and working with different materials! I am used to working with fabrics and durable materials. While I was working on my paper dress, I had to remind myself to be careful as my material was very delicate. I followed a 1920s flapper dress theme and it helped me learn about a different time era and focus on specific details from that era,” she explained.
“We are always excited to promote experiential learning initiatives as a fun way of engaging and encouraging our youth to consider the pathways in the skilled trades and technologies,” said Peter Prochilo, Superintendent of School Effectiveness.
“It’s exciting to witness our students continuing to excel in these challenges. It’s amazing to see the level of enthusiasm they put into their submissions,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “We value our partnership with Skills Ontario which provides our students with hands-on learning opportunities and look forward to continuing to work with them throughout the school year to promote our students with engaging and meaningful learning opportunities.”
Skills Ontario offers a series of free online live session for youths in grades 7-9 to develop their skills and explore their potential career paths.
On October 15th, students were guided through the preparation of a pizza, making the dough and preparing the toppings while learning about kitchen safety.
Pictured is Sudbury Catholic student, Owen Carpenter, and his younger brother Logan following the Skills Ontario staff on Microsoft Teams to create their tasty supper!
Mother, Giulia Carpenter, shares her thoughts about the program.
“Great program as it opened my eldest son’s eyes that his passion in cooking could become a career. He started asking questions with the instructor. My youngest loves helping in the kitchen and he loved having the instructors along the way. He felt like a big boy. Excited to try other programs that are being offered!”
Students are encouraged to register and join the upcoming sessions:
October 21 3:30-5:00 pm. Tie Dye Workshop Add a touch of colour to your life with our tie-dye workshop. Here, students will be guided through the process of tie-dying clothing or other fabric of their choice. Related skill: fashion/design
October 27 4:30-7:30 pm. 3D Printing Students will be walked through 3D Printing software basics while making their own set of dice while learning about the importance of 3D Printing. Related skill: 3D modeling
November 2 6:00-7:30 pm Let’s Make Cupcakes In this yummy workshop, students will learn about kitchen safety through making their own vanilla cupcakes and buttercream frosting from scratch. Related skill: baking
November 5 12:30 pm-TBA Ice Cream Making (TBA)
November 12 4:00 pm-5:30 PM Indigenous Dreamcatcher In this workshop geared towards First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, we will be learning how to make our own dreamcatchers and the significance behind them. Related skill: dexterity
In 2009 the Aqua skyscraper was built in Chicago, becoming the tallest building in the world designed by a woman at 859 ft tall. Students at Sudbury Catholic Schools had the chance to follow in architect Jeanne Gang’s footsteps and design their own tower, using only toothpicks and marshmallows!
Coco Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry in the 1920’s by designing and marketing casual outfits that were both elegant and comfortable to wear, a sharp contrast to bulky corsets and petticoats that were popular prior. Her designs helped give the 1920’s their iconic and distinct style and her fashion house is still producing stylish and unique clothes to this day.
Skills Ontario challenged students to follow in the footsteps of Coco and design and create a dress in the 1920’s style! Students were asked to use specific items such as “fabric” and only glue, staples, hole punch & yarn/string to “sew”.
Pictured is Milena a Marymount Academy student planning/ working on her design, and Emma a St. Charles Elementary student modelling her creation.
Milena Raso, a Grade 11 student at Marymount Academy, came up with a creative solution when her Co-op placement was cancelled due to Covid-19. During the school closure period, Milena has spent hundreds of hours making masks for the Sudbury community. Each mask costs just $5.00 and is made with love. Milena is donating all of the money raised to NOFCC (Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer). Congratulations Milena for finding a creative way to complete your Co-op. We are very proud of your dedication to your schooling and your community.
Throughout June, we challenged our students to complete the Daily Trivia Challenge! There were two different categories: a scavenger hunt themed challenge for Kindergarten to Grade 6 students and a trades trivia challenge for Grade 7 – Grade 12 students. 32 elementary students participated from six different schools and 50 secondary students participated from all of our secondary schools. Our two winners are:
• Addisyn Doherty from Pius XII School • Esther Oseni-K. from St. Benedict School
The two winners were happy to complete the challenges and eager to get the correct answers for each day.
“The contest was a great opportunity for all students. I am glad to have participated in the contest because I had learned a lot from the experience. I would like to say thank you for organizing such a great trivia challenge contest,” said Esther.
“I really enjoyed completing the scavenger hunt, it was so fun to find the answer to the clue around my house each day!,” said Addisyn.
Thanks to all for participating in this fun and educational challenge!
St. John Catholic Elementary School student Sofia Brine has placed third in the Skills Ontario Wacky Hair Challenge. Sudbury Catholic students have been participating in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge Series presented by Skills Ontario.
Sofia was excited to enter the contest and get creative with her hair! “I wanted to enter the contest because I love playing with my dolls hair and I love ice cream! What’s better than ice cream hair!?” she exclaimed.
The #SkillsAtHome challenge allows students to explore the skilled trades and tech through a series of challenges without ever leaving home. Challenges have included: Rollercoaster Challenge, Cookie Challenge, Wacky Hair Challenge, Marshmallow Bridge Challenge and Tinfoil Boat Challenge. The next #SkillsAtHome challenge is underway and is a paper tower challenge. Submissions will be due on June 22, 2020.
“We congratulate Sofia and her efforts in the Wacky Hair Challenge! We are so proud of her and all of the Sudbury Catholic students who have participated in the challenges so far,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We value our partnership with Skills Ontario which provides our students with hands-on learning opportunities such as these and look forward to continue to work with them in the future. “
Challenges will continue to take place throughout the summer months and we encourage students to continue to participate. For more information about the #SkillsAtHome challenge, go to the following website: https://www.skillsontario.com/skillsathome.
Students in Ms. Reale’s Grade 1 class at Holy Cross School and Mrs. Dupuis Grade 5/6 at St. Francis School joined the fun by entering the #SkillsAtHome Challenge #5. Challengers were to create a boat out of ordinary household Tin Foil that could hold as many coins as possible!
The Challenger’s submission posts were to include: • Picture of blueprint design • Picture of total weight held • Video of boat in water with coins being placed in.
The skills reinforcement in this activity were; design & planning, communication, creativity and attention to detail while showcasing the skilled trades of a Marine Engine Technician and an Ironworker Generalist.
