St. Benedict grade 9 students Fraser MacLeod and Dennis Leblanc listen to the rules of poetry competition as given by professional performance poet Tanya Neumeyer. One parameter is that the performance is timed, so students run the risk of being penalized if their poetry is too short or runs too long. During this poetry battle their classmates enjoyed actively participating as judges giving points for delivery, while other students got to cheer, clap or snap their fingers if they liked the score given or ‘boo’ if they disagreed with a low score. Poetry slams are now a widespread form of popular poetry.
Category: Schools
“Think fast” at Thinkfest
Grade 7 and 8 students from New Sudbury Catholic elementary schools recently had the opportunity to “think fast”. On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, these students took part in St. Charles College’s annual Thinkfest. For the seventh year in a row, teachers at S.C.C. organize a day of academic challenges for students from the feeder elementary schools. Teams are made up of six students – two grade 7, two grade 8 and two grade 9. Each team takes part in a series of academic events covering subjects including mathematics, science, English, pop culture, etc. S.C.C. teacher Mina Thornton has organized this event for the last several years and sets up the day with the help of her grade 10 enriched math class. “It is a great day for some of our elementary students to come over to St. Charles and get taste of what secondary school is all about,” Thornton stated. “ It provides students with an opportunity not only to represent their school with the academic competition, but also provides an opportunity to meet students from other Sudbury Catholic elementary schools who will be attending St. Charles College with them in a year. This way, they will recognize some familiar faces when they are here in grade 9, making their transition to secondary even easier.”
The day’s events end with awards for top teams and top marks.
Free Writing at St. Benedict
St. Benedict grade 9 students, including their English teacher Mr. Closs celebrate April as Poetry month by work on a ‘free writing’ exercise. Free-writing involves self-expression by keeping your pen moving continuously for a short period of time without concern for spelling, grammar or neatness. This technique helped students to collect ideas on paper which later lead to more formal pieces of poetry writing. Both students and teacher were inspired by a spoken-word workshops given by visiting Toronto-based poet Tanya Neumeyer.
Sudbury Catholic Students to Take Part in Walk for a Second Chance- April 28
Student from all four Sudbury Catholic Secondary Schools will be taking part in the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury’s Walk for a Second Chance on April 28th, 2012. This walk is organized to support organ donation awareness and the Gift of Life which is an initiative that is fully supported by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and its students. On December 13, 2010, the Board launched its own challenge to the Greater City of Sudbury to be the first city in the province of Ontario to have 50% or more of its residents be registered organ and tissue donors, and have continued to spread the word to schools and the community about the importance of organ donation. Catherine McCullough, SCDSB Director of Education is very proud of Sudbury for embracing this initiative. “I am very proud of our Board for partnering with the Trillium Gift of Life Network for this very important initiative, and I encourage the entire community to join us in this challenge – to not only have Sudbury reach or even surpass the 50% registration for city-wide donation in Ontario, but more importantly, to recognize that there is no greater gift than the gift of life.”
David Dibrina, Sudbury Catholic Student Trustee, has been working with the Irish Heritage Club of Sudbury to continue to keep organ donation awareness a priority with students. “Organ donation is so important in saving the lives of others,” Dibrina stated. “It truly is one of the most selfless acts that we can do that can positively impact so many people. Students need to make sure they are registered (beadonor.ca) and talk to their families so that they know what their wishes are.”
The walk will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. at the Bell Park Amphitheatre, Sudbury.
This is a walk for organ donation awareness and there are no monetary pledges.
For more information, please call (705)566-1328, or contact David Dibrina at St. Charles College at (705)566-9605.
Dog-Bite Prevention at St. David Catholic Elementary School
Sudbury District Kennel Club’s Bite Prevention Program and St. David Catholic School worked in partnership to teach students about fear biting and aggressive biting dogs. The grade 2/3 and 4/5 classes learned how to approach a dog, what to do if they are being chased by a dog, and how to protect themselves if they are ever attacked by a dog. This presentation is highly recommended to all teachers and students.
Eco-Chic Clothing Swap at Pius XII
Pius XII got ready to celebrate Earth Day recently by hosting its 5th Eco-Chic Clothing Swap.
This year, a new element was introduced, books!! There was an amazing amount of student involvement. Participants were excited to recommend their previously loved items to classmates. The swap was a great success and reinforced the importance of all of the environmental R’s, Reduce, Re-use and Recycle!
Understanding Our Carbon Footprint at St. Charles Elementary
As part of Earth Day activities, students in Eileen Harris’s Grade 2/3 class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School in Chelmsford, learned about their carbon footprint. After reading a variety of books and researching ways to help reduce their use of resources, students came up with a number of activities that help lessen human impact upon the environment. Activities as simple as using clothes lines, using reusable shopping bags and riding their bicycles more often to more innovative and ambitious activities such as installing solar panels and roof top gardening were included. “Understanding our carbon footprint helps deepen our sensitivity to the Christian virtue of stewardship celebrated this month throughout Sudbury Catholic District School Board schools” said teacher Eileen Harris.
Earth Day 2012 at St. Charles Elementary
In April, we especially look forward to our role as stewards of the environment to protect our planet. Students and staff at St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford wish to thank VALE for their generous donation of seedlings.
The campaign was kicked off with the story “THE TREE” by author Dana Lyons. Each student was given a seedling to bring home to plant in honour of Earth day.
Family Pasta Night at St. Paul
The St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School Council hosted a Family Pasta Night on Thursday April 19. The council members Angela Paris, Jennifer Whynott, Anastasia Rioux, Rikki Larcher, Lisa Wrights and Natasha Folino have provided families opportunities throughout this school year to come together with families from our school to play and socialize. There was a Pizza Night Open House in September, a Family Movie Night in December and now this Spaghetti Supper in April. Families enjoyed the opportunity to visit, enjoy good food and let their children play together in an after school setting. The co-chairs of the Council hope that this relaxed atmosphere will encourage parents to become comfortable and ultimately more involved in their children’s school and the Catholic School Council.