“Is cancer contagious?” This was the simple question that Gr. 8 student Corey Demers asked Sudbury Catholic Board teacher, Dawn Restoule. Corey had been exposed to dealing with cancer with a younger cousin and was aware that one of St. Anne’s Intermediate teachers was presently undergoing cancer treatment. It was a question near and dear to his heart so both Corey and Ms. Restoule researched the topic of cancer to discover some of the facts and myths. Corey’s unit in religion encouraged him to give back to those in need. Corey came up with a proposal to raise funds for cancer research which he presented to his principal, Mr. Guy Mathieu. The proposal was passed and Corey and his teacher began their fundraiser. In association with the Canadian Cancer Society, Corey has dedicated his lunch hours to the selling of rubber wristbands engraved with the school’s name. Each bracelet sells for $3.00 and during the first week, Corey has raised approximately $400.00. The fundraiser will continue until all wristbands are sold. Congratulations Corey and Ms. Restoule on your efforts to fighting such a worthy cause!
Category: Schools
ST. JOHN SCHOOL 5/6 COED BASKETBALL TEAM BOARD AND CITY CHAMPS!
Congratulations goes out to the St. John School 5/6 Co-Ed Basketball Team who powered their way through the St. Raphael Royals 3rd annual 3 vs 3 Tournament and the Greater Sudbury Board of Basketball Officials Wrap Up Tournament with a combined total of 11 wins and 0 loses to take first place in both tournaments! The St. John School community along with Coaches Ms. Hluchaniuk and Mr. Whalen wish to thank and commend the efforts of team players: (front row l-r) Shane Poitras, Logan Daniel, (second row l-r) Sara Gardner, Allison McLean, Hope Joly, Nick Chokan, Brandon Labre and Tommy Vlahos.
Kiwanis Festival Awards Gold to St. Anne Music Student
It has been a year filled with long hours of practice, but the efforts have paid off for Haley Blinn, a Gr.8 French Immersion student at St. Anne School. Haley recently competed in the Kiwanis Music Festival where she took home the Gold Award for her baritone sax solo.
Haley actually participated in 2 festival competitions during the day. One was with her Sudbury Catholic School Band comprised of members from 4 Catholic elementary schools under the direction of Ms. Joanne Comisso, vice-principal of St. Anne School, and Mrs. Leann Urso, instrumental band teacher at St Francis, St. Raphael and Pius XII Elementary schools. Haley won silver with the band, which was a great honour, but when asked about her gold Award win, Haley was ecstatic. She said, “I was very nervous but like everything else, practice helps. I think it is the practicing that helped me win the gold.” Ms. Comisso congratulated Haley on all of her hard work and outstanding contribution to the band. All the staff and students at St. Anne School are very proud of you Haley and we wish you continued success with music in your future! Way to go Angel!
Sharing the Love of a Good Book at St. Benedict
A school-wide celebration of books was held at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School during Reading Week April 11th -15th. To further develop the love of reading, students were encouraged to use integrated technology to share with a friend their favourite story on Facebook, Twitter or You Tube. Students were given time to Drop Everything And Read, using their e-readers such as Kindle or just old- fashioned books. The activities continued all week with Book Club meetings,book swaps, and a graffiti wall to journal about their love of a good book.
Words to Inspire at Marymount Academy
Marymount students in Grades 8, 10 and 12 English classes were given a unique opportunity the week of April 11. Tanya Neumeyer, a Toronto based poet, worked with the students for five days on performance poetry. Neumeyer, a published poet and workshop facilitator, was asked to work with the various classes by teacher Kimberly Fahner, who is herself a renowned published poet. The visit was funded through the Ontario Arts Council and the League of Canadian Poets, and allowed the students to learn how, through a creative process, to write and perform a poem within five days. At the end of the week, the students performed their finished pieces of poetry for Neumeyer as well as their classmates. “It has really been an extremely great week,” Neumeyer stated. “All of the students have been keen and curious about the spoken word.” Fauhner, who organized the workshops with the various classes was thrilled that the students were exposed to such an experienced poet and was extremely pleased with all of the positive feedback from students and staff. Tammy Jutila, one of Marymount’s Grade 8 English teachers whole-heartedly agreed with Fauhner. “It was such a unique experience – one that had a huge impact on the students and encouraged their own creative potential,” Jutila said. “Tanya Neumeyer was so patient throughout the whole process and really encouraged the students to find their own personal voice.”
St. James welcomes Elder Vince Pawis
As part of the “Elders in the School Program”, Elder Vince Pawis (middle) shares his wise counsel and guidance with the students of St. James School. Vince uses the Medicine Wheel to express the meaning of the Four Sacred Directions which encompass all the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers. The students and school Deacon Pat Raymond and principal Cara Soehner participated in a smudging ceremony followed by a hands-on-approach to the Aboriginal Teachings.
The Little Students That Could Tackle “The Little Engine That Could”
Early Learning Kindergarten students at St. Raphael have been getting hands-on while learning to retell stories in their own words.
This month, the class read “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper. Afterwards, they recreated the story on a bulletin board using elaborate pop-out pictures and words.
Classroom teacher Mrs. Tripodi says “This activity helped them to solidify their understanding of retelling stories.”
Early Childhood Educator Mr. Vicedomini says the lesson had a two-fold purpose because the students also learned the values of optimism and hard work.
Poisson d’Avril are swimming at St. Mary in Capreol
Core French students and Mme Aubin at St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol were walking around with paper fish stuck to their backs – on purpose – on April Fool’s Day. Mme Aubin ensured that students were familiar with the French tradition of Poisson d’Avril. In France, it’s called April FISH Day. French children make paper fish and try to tape them to the backs of unsuspecting friends.
Although the origins of April Fool’s Day vary, it is widely accepted that the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century (in 1564 King Charles XIV of France moved the start of the year from the end of March to January 1) played an important role. However, news didn’t travel very quickly at that time and the uneducated lower class in rural areas were the last to hear of the reform. Those who failed to keep up with the change had jokes played on them – paper fish were taped to their backs.
St. David Catholic School works with the Community to Celebrate David Suzuki’s Birthday
The staff and students at St. David Catholic School have been working all year to enhance and support the School Board’s Dearness Conservation Environmental Challenge. The school’s “green” initiatives started as a project led by grade 3/4 teacher Terri Lynn Lepage. Lepage stated that, “I started the school conservation project because I live my life within the principles that we all have a responsibility to care for the earth and care for the next generation who will inherit the earth. Once I started to speak with the students about the importance of conservation and how simple things can make a huge difference, for example turning off the lights at lunch each day, our students, staff and community partners jumped on board and have been doing things differently – to make a difference”.
The school now makes environmental responsibility a part of the daily curriculum. Students have banded together to create a “green team”. The school’s “green team” leads the project. According to grade 1 teacher, Maria Cimino, “students teaching students is an excellent way to foster leadership and responsibility at St. David. Kids listen to their peers. Our students teach their parents and families about conservation and environmental issues – they actually teach us. It is a wonderful paradigm shift to be a part of.”
The student “green team” researches interesting environmental facts and strategies for taking care of the planet and then reads it as part of the school’s daily announcements. They promote litter-less lunches and reward~ students who bring reusable containers with pencils and the opportunity to win water bottles, reusable lunch bags other prizes that are good for the earth.
The junior kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 3/4 classes have started vermi-composting in the classrooms. Vermicomposting, or worm composting, is an excellent way to convert student's biodegradable lunch garbage into nutrient rich fertilizer. Composting with specialty worms known as Red Wigglers is a clean and environmentally friendly way to save tones of waste from going into landfill.
Local counsellor, Evelyn Dutrisac graciously donated 2 outdoor composting bins and kitchen catchers to St. David School so that the entire school community can take turns composting food scraps.
The school turns lights out everyday at lunch time whenever possible and teachers and students use natural light whenever possible. According to Lepage, “conservation can be as simple as, we used reusable cups for the winter carnival instead of paper or styrofoam”. Even the school parent council has taken an active role in this project by hosting a monthly ” community closet”. Parent council chair, Clara O’Campo stated, “we feel great supporting our community by offering people slightly used clothing and household items, and feel even better knowing it helps conserve waste in the world”.
Over the past week the school had been preparing for David Suzuki's virtual birthday party. During the party, students wore green to represent and remind them that everyone shares one planet. Several students submitted questions that David Suzuki answered on line during the virtual birthday party. During the party, some students participated in the video component while others planted marigold seeds that will eventually be planted outside the school – and everyone eat birthday cake!
St. David School future plans include working towards starting a community garden in the school yard this spring and harvesting the crops in the fall with a harvest festival. Lepage ended the birthday party by challenging the students to continue to spread their message in the community. She stated that “David Suzuki received a great birthday gift from St. David School – he would be proud their efforts to create a world that cares about the earth and works to keep it healthy.”