On Saturday, September 17th, Tanner Levesque, a student at Immaculate Conception Elementary School decided to make a difference with a bike ride. This Grade 5 student planned a bike ride beginning at Demarais St. in Val Therese, and ending at the Taxation Centre in Sudbury – a distance of approximately 15 kilometres, to support the Sudbury Cancer Society. This bike adventure was inspired by the passing of his grandfather earlier in the year to cancer, and was something that Levesque felt was important. Along with his family and friends, Levesque was also accompanied by a Greater Sudbury Police escort. The journey was completed in about one hour, but many hours previous were spent going door to door for pledges. As a result, a total of almost $1300.00 was raised through Levesque’s fundraising. Louisa Bianchin, principal of Immaculate Conception was truly inspired by this Grade 5 student. “I was so impressed to hear that Tanner took the initiative to plan a fundraising event to honour his grandfather,” Bianchin stated. “I was even more impressed to learn that Tanner plans to cycle for cancer every fall to support and continue the work of the Canadian Cancer Society. It is my hope that as a school, we will all join Tanner next year and Cycle for the Cure as the staff and students at Immaculate Conception School are so proud of Tanner and are truly inspired!”
Category: Schools
Healthy Start to School at St. Charles Elementary
Brianna Lachance, Grade 6 student at St.Charles Elementary School in Chelmsford gets off to a healthy start to the school year by sampling her fresh fruit and yogurt. St.Charles Elementary school works in partnership with the Human League and Better Beginnings Better Futures so that students have fresh snacks during the week. “It is a great energy boost for the students,” stated Sandra Heibert- St. Denis, principal of the school. “The snacks help the students remain focused on learning, and allow them to keep their concentration in class, so we are thrilled that both the Human League and Better Beginnings and Better Futures support us in this way.”
“Welcome Back and Happy Birthday!”
Welcome back to classes! Students and families gathered in the gym at St. Bernadette Catholic school to celebrate the start of another school year with, Father Sam D’Angelo of St. Andrew the Apostle Church. Grace Olive in Grade 1 presented Father Sam with a birthday cake as he was also celebrating his birthday. Principal, Diana Salvador, stated that “Coming together as a school community on a monthly basis to share our faith, is a unique opportunity that we have here at Sudbury Catholic Schools.”
St. Charles College ‘Niners’ Learn to Navigate Secondary School at Annual Barbecue
Grade nine students got a jumpstart on high school life at St. Charles College August 31st. Students were invited to pick-up their timetables, take a tour and sign-up for the various clubs and teams the school offers at the welcome barbecue.
“There are more than two hundred grade nine students entering their first year at St. Charles College this year. Their success and happiness mean a lot to us,” says Patty Mardero, the school principal.
For students, the school year begins Tuesday, September 6th.
St. Anne Students Promote Sun Safety Over Summer Holidays
The Grade 7 and 8 French Immersion students at St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer modelled their sunhats in an effort to promote awareness of the adverse affects of sun exposure. Working with their health teacher, Mrs. Desmarais, the students discussed the very serious issue of sun safety. With the upcoming holidays, students of all ages will be involved in outdoor activities both at home and for leisure. Students agreed that in general, young people aren’t concerned with the health risks of tanning, which includes the most dangerous type of skin cancer, melanoma. The use of sunscreen, hats and protective clothing againstt too much sun are rules everyone needs to concern themselves with. Mrs. Desmarais, a teacher within the Sudbury Catholic Board, stated, “Students are aware of the dangers of the sun and they know how to protect themselves from it. But because they’re young the dangers seem distant to them and it’s difficult to get them to put their knowledge into practise.”
As well as taking precautions while in the sun, the students also discussed the effects of artificial sunlight. In spite of warnings and education the use of tanning beds continues to increase. These St. Anne angels know that an ounce of prevention today is a step in the right direction for the future!
St. Charles Elementary Students Perform at St. Gabriel’s Villa
Several St. Gabriel’s Villa residents gathered together on June 28 to take in a performance by the Grade 2/3 students from St. Charles Catholic Elementary School. Under the guidance of teacher Michelle Robinson, the students had been working tirelessly for the past three months on their “Music and Dance from Communities Around the World “ concert. The students took the residents on a virtual airplane journey through a multi-media presentation and through slides, and video, gave a description of each “destination” before each act. The dancing and music was then reflective of the country they had a stopover in. Some of the places that were “visited” included South Africa, Cuba, New Zealand, Greece, China and the Siksika First Nation Reserve in Canada. The final act of the show was a spectacular Hula dance reflecting Hawaiian culture, performed by the students’ teacher. According to Robinson, “the goal of the concert, was not only to create a culminating task that would integrate Social Studies, Music and Dance, but also to create a memorable and authentic experience for the children.” The residents showed their appreciation for the students’ performance with enthusiastic applause and huge smiles for the kids. Sandra St. Denis, Principal of the school, expressed her gratitude for “Miss Robinson’s dedication to student learning and her amazing creativity.” The class was rewarded for a job well done with juice and cookies after the performance, and were invited to visit them again in the new school year.
St. Anne Kindergarten Student Authors Her Way Into Prize Winning Story
How young can you be to write your own story? Just ask St. Anne School student Ashlyn Carrierre. She is the newest recipient of the Ontario Catholic Elementary Teacher’s Young Author Award for 2011. Ashlyn is a student within the English Senior Kindergarten class at the Sudbury Catholic School in Hanmer. In January of this year, she wrote her own fairy tale entitled, “Princess Shalla and Prince Aucoinia Get Kidnapped.” Her story was then submitted to the Young Author’s contest in the fiction category for the Junior and Senior Kindergarten division. In April, the school received notification that Ashlyn’s story had won!
“I am so excited,” said Ashlyn. “I am so happy that I got a plaque. It feels really good to be an author.” In an awards ceremony that took place on June 17th, Ashlyn was presented with a plaque for her wall. The plaque shows not only Ashlyn’s name, but also the title of her fairy tale. The Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Sudbury Unit President, Mr. Kent MacNeill, presented the award to Ashlyn in front on the entire school body as well as her family who were also attending. Her classroom teacher, Cheryl MacRury, told the assembled group that Ashlyn had a wonderful imagination for a little girl of her age and that she was very deserving of this award. Ashlyn knew that fairy tales started with “Once upon a time” and that they ended with everyone “living happily ever after”. She had picked her own characters and setting. She had come up with a problem for the characters and then the solution. And finally, all on her own, Ashlyn had used words like ferocious, sparkly, huge and dungeon, as well as names like Queen Shata, Princess Shalla, and Prince Aucoinia.
Ashlyn may or may not be Ontario’s newest author, but there is a good chance that she may be Ontario’s youngest author. Both staff and students from St. Anne School hope to one day be able to walk into Chapters and read books that Ashlyn has authored. She is certainly a little girl with a wonderful ability to write entertaining stories. Good luck with your talent in the future Ashlyn! St. Anne School is very proud of you!
Immaculate Conception Students Lay Down the Cards
This past month, Immaculate Conception School organized a Family Numeracy Hour. Parents and grandparents were invited to come play cards with their children. Not only was it fun, but parents and grandparents became involved in helping their children learn math while they engaged in “hands-on learning” with playing cards. JK and SK students practiced number recognition, primary students focused on adding card numbers together and junior students practiced their multiplication skills by playing a new version of High Card. All students received a deck of cards to bring home so that they can play exciting “math” card games with their parents. Parents have a very important role in helping their child practice math skills at home, and when it is disguised as a math game, students enjoy it so much more!
Sudbury Catholic’s Third Annual Outdoor Adventure Race a Smashing Success!
Despite the rainy weather, it was a spectacular day for the third annual Sudbury Catholic Outdoor Adventure Race in Killarney on June 8, 2011. Students from all four of the Board’s secondary schools entered teams to take part in a four part outdoor race which included biking, canoeing, orienteering and a mystery challenge which involved a first aid rescue exercise. A total of fifteen teams with three students per team participated and, although rain-soaked for part of the race, managed to keep smiles on their faces throughout the entire challenge. The past two years has seen St. Charles College and then St. Benedict take home the coveted banner, and this year St. Charles managed to win back the first place spot. A team from St. Benedict won in terms of time, however, due to a small mistake in the orienteering section, they were given a 5 minute penalty which put the St. Charles team consisting of Adam McKibbon (Grade 12), Michael Wandziak (Grade 11) and Jonah Lynott (Grade 11) in first place. Awards were also given out for first place for a co-ed team as well as an all-girls team.