As part of their Catholic Education Week activities, students at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School have been working tirelessly for the past few months to prepare for their Journey Through Time event on May 4, 2011. The school’s gym was filled to capacity with students, staff, parents and a variety of family members who wanted to experience a “journey through time” and visit various different eras in our history. The grade 3/4 class focused on pioneer times and First Nation culture, the grade 4 class focused on medieval times and the grade 5 class concentrated on ancient times. Each of the students had on display intricate models representing their time period. Along with the models, the students created other crafts and researched various games and activities that were representative of their era. Almost all of the students were dressed from head to toe in costumes from their time period, and they enthusiastically showcased for inquiring visitors the games and activities that were typical to the time they studied. “It is a real highlight of our year,” stated Tammy Rychlo, Grade 3/4 teacher at the school. “ We have done it for several years now and our Journey Through Time really embodies the spirit of Catholic Education week in showing our appreciation for our historical roots.”
Category: Schools
Sudbury Catholic Second Annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards
Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on May 4, 2011 to take part in the SCDSB’s second annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative which stems from the Learning Partnership which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. Many of the Board’s secondary
students took part in this contest and the authors of the winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at Thursday night’s celebration.
At the awards ceremony, the students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several of the teachers involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. Barry MacDonald, SCDSB Board Chair congratulated the students for their outstanding efforts and encouraged them to continue on their journey of self-discovery and emotional and spiritual growth.
Allison Simpson, a Marymount English teacher whose class participated in the contest, spoke to the group about her own involvement and connection to the project. “No one can truly train or prepare us for what emerges as these essays take shape and the results are often very personal,” Simpson stated. “Some talk about great tragedies, some revelations. They are vessels into which our students pour their emotions, their questions, their dreams.” Simpson went on to explain the depth of the impact on these students. “More importantly than the writing itself, is the impact that the process has upon relationships in the lives of the authors. Parents have expressed that it has been a true “turning point” in their lives as it opened the doors to sharing with each other the effects of a very difficult time in both of their lives.”
Catherine McCullough, Director of Education expressed her delight at the expansion of the program in its second year. “I am thrilled that the this program once again met with such success, and am so proud and inspired by our students for having the courage to write and speak about their most personal and meaningful life experiences.”
Winning Essays included:
Grade 9/10 Awards:
Honourable Mentions:
• McKenna Urso, Breaking Promises
• Santeria Mulcahey, Unforeseeable
• Kaylee LeBreton, Kristin Rose
• Vanessa Bulfon, My Home Away From Home
• Keitlin Okell, The Trip that Saved My Life
• 4th place: Kayla McDonald, My One Birthday Wish
• 3rd place: Cassandra Durand, When I Became Me
• 2nd place: Jenny Daoust, My Flesh Eating Monster
• 1st place: Melissa Circelli, The One and Only
Grade 11/12 Awards:
Honourable Mentions:
• Bailey Zeman, Truth of Dreams
• Sarah Hunt, Hold Onto Your Heart
• Madison Burton, It’s Just the Way I Am
• Emily Cortolezzis, Calm After the Storm
• Sarah Tkachuk, The Key is Independence
• Taylor Hanson, Family Day
• 4th place: Deanna Falvo, Growing Old Gracefully
• 3rd place: Celine Charbonneau, The Open Armed Angel
• 2nd place: Alyssa Jylha, Thin Red Lines
• 1st place: Crystal Sahadat, A Second Chance in Life
“Eggs-travagant” Breakfast At St. Anne School
Want a great way to start your day? How about a hot and nutritious breakfast? That’s what the Gr. 5/6 French Immersion students at St. Anne School recently provided for the entire student body of their school.
St. Anne School is already part of the Breakfast Clubs of Canada group, a group that provides nutritious foods to students at school. Usually, teachers and parent volunteers within the school arrange food baskets and breakfasts. Miss Shonwise’s junior class had to come up with a culminating task to their health unit that would encourage the eating of a healthy meal. They chose to prepare and cook a school breakfast. Under their teacher’s watchful eye, the students planned, prepared, and served fruit, cooked eggs, toasted bread, yogurt and milk.
Pupils from every division took the opportunity to come in and eat. From the lack of leftovers, we’d say that the meal was a huge success! The entire student body would like to thank their “chefs” of the day and say, “C’etait magnifique!”
Award Winning Author Visits St. Bernadette
Students at St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School had an exceptional opportunity on Monday, May 2, 2011. As part of their Catholic Education Week events, award-winning author Colleen Syndor visited the school and sat and read with the students and staff. In two separate sessions, one for the primary and one for the junior students, Syndor talked about being an author, answered questions from the students and read some of her books aloud with the kids. Last year, principal Diana Salvador applied for a grant through the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week (April 30 – May 7) and was informed that she was successful in her application. Colleen Sydor was the selected author for the visit and the school began making preparations for her visit. As Catholic Education Week fell on the same week, Salvador felt it was the perfect fit for Sydor’s visit. “One of the sub-themes for Catholic Education Week – Celebrating the Spirit, is the spirit of hospitality,” Salvador stated. “ What better way to celebrate this as a school than to have a wonderful, inspirational visitor come and speak to the students, where we can show her the true spirit of St. Bernadette’s.”
The students listened to Syndor speak and enthusiastically answered her questions as she asked them about different parts of her book. They had been familiarizing themselves as a school with her books for the last several weeks and had several favourites of which she read to the two groups.
St. David JK Students Experience Unique Learning Opportunity
As part of the Math, Science, Language and Religious Education curriculum, the Junior Kindergarten students at St. David Catholic School got the unique experience of hatching their own chickens. Students learned about egg development and growth, watched videos, read stories, sang songs and made crafts all related to the chicks. When asked about the process, Junior Kindergarten teacher Lindsay Michel stated “The students were amazed and engaged in the whole experience. It was really a school wide event. My students have been teaching the older classes about the process; how the chicks grow and how to take care of them using words like ‘incubator’ and ‘humidity.’
The kindergarten class had been making daily announcements counting down the days and relating it to all areas of the curriculum. Michel credits the generosity of local farmers Tom and Leila Zazulak and Matt Peredery who donated everything to make the experience successful. When asked what she learned about the chicks, four year old Mya Giroux-Bryant responded, ‘We turn them and pray for them everyday. They live in the incubator for 21 days and they are called peeps until they hatch then they can play with us. After a while they go back to their farm with their mommy and daddy.’
Sudbury Catholic Supports the Gift of Life
During National Organ Donation Week, staff at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board showed their support by purchasing t-shirts with the logo – Life Life then Give Life. The t-shirts are available for $10 at all of the Board’s four secondary schools and are being sold to raise awareness about the importance of the Gift of Life.
Music Monday at St. Paul
At one pm on, May 2nd, the students and staff of St. Paul the Apostle School celebrated Music Monday by singing with hundreds of Canadian schools across the country. The school choir sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and the Catholic Education Week Theme song entitled “Celebrating the Spirit”. It was noted by several of the community entering the school to vote for the federal election “How wonderful to see and hear children singing at school.”
St. John Students Get Hooked On Voting
Grade 4-6 students at St. John School in Garson recently participated in a “Student Vote” program sponsored by Elections Canada which gave them the opportunity to experience the democratic process firsthand as well as practice the habits of informed and engaged citizenship. April 28th, 2011 was our designated “Student Vote” day and students took on the roles of Deputy Returning Officers, Poll Clerks and voters parallelling the adult electoral process. The exercise of a mock election proved to be a very empowering process and students are eagerly awaiting the election results both at the school and federal level.
Unique Intramural Sport at St. James Schools
The grade 4 to 8 students at St. James Catholic School in Lively play organized goalball at lunch recess. A total of 27 teams participate in this game for the blind that is gaining in popularity around the world. The game was introduced to St. James school by Mr. Adriano Simonato, Specialist Teacher of the Blind and Partially Sighted.
The object of the game is to roll a rubber ball with bells inside past the opposing team. Each goalball team is made up of three players with each protecting their goal line. There is one center and two wings per team. The offensive team rolls the ball in an attempt to get the ball past the opposing three players. The defensive team listens for the approaching of the ball and attempts to prevent or block the ball from crossing the goal line. When a defending player gains possession, it is then his or her team’s turn to throw at the opposing team’s goal. The only time there is a stoppage of play is after a goal has been scored, or if the ball crosses a sideline. The ball is rolled back and forth with the offensive and defensive team alternating until time expires for the half. The game is played in two periods of 5 to 10 minutes each and the team with the most points wins. The game is played on a rectangular court, which is divided into two halves by a centre line. The goals, which are the same width as the court, are placed at each end.
There are three main rules associated with throwing the ball. First, a thrown ball must touch the floor of the court before passing over the highball (or centre) line. Secondly, a throw must take place within eight to ten seconds of coming under the control of the defending team. Passing can take place within that time. Thirdly, no player may take more than two consecutive throws for his team. A number of personal and team penalties maybe awarded for rule infractions. During the game, spectators must remain absolutely silent so that players can follow the direction of the ball. Spectators can applaud or cheer after a goal is scored and at the end of each half. Each player has to wear a blindfold regardless of the degree of visual impairment. Each player has the option to wear elbow pads, kneepads, hip pads and face protection. There are women’s and men’s teams with no variations in equipment or rules.
Too many people who are visually impaired or blind usually do not have many opportunities to be involved in team sports and physical activity. According to Simonato, “one of the great benefits of goalball is that it promotes teamwork and cooperation among participants. Also, because goalball can be played by individuals who are sighted and visually impaired together, it acts as a medium for breaking down barriers. As a result it helps promote awareness within the school community regarding what individuals who are visually impaired can do”.