“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.
Continuing to Message the Importance of the Gift of Life
The entire student body at St. Charles College had the opportunity on Tuesday, April 18 to listen to a very simple, but powerful message – give the gift of life. Back in December, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board launched their Trillium Gift of Life Challenge and the school’s presentation was a continuation of this message. The Board challenged the Greater City of Sudbury to have over 50% of its residence register as organ donors and have since had several different events at their schools supporting this message. The student senate students organized assemblies at all four of the Board’s secondary schools to reiterate this most important initiative. On hand were several members of the Irish Heritage Club who spoke about their own involvement both personally and as a club with organ donation. As well, the students watched videos which reinforced the importance of donor registration. Jessie St. Amour, a former student of St. Charles College was also in attendance to support the cause and as both he and his mother Anne are organ recipients. Jessie’s father, Richard, also addressed group and spoke of his own connection and to reinforce the day’s theme of giving the gift of life. Student Senate member David DiBrina (grade 10) explained to the student body how this one simple act of donor registration can positively affect many, many lives. “It is so important for students to know much hope the gift of life gives to others and that we all need to be educated about how imperative registering and then talking to your family about your decision really is.” Teacher and Student Senate moderator Paola Gutcher reiterated DiBrina’s message. “It is key that students are the ones speaking to students about this most important cause as it is an issue that can happen to anyone as age is not a factor,” Gutcher stated. “It really is a simple act that can literally change the lives of many and I am so proud of our students both at St. Charles College and board-wide for taking up this cause with such passion and determination.” Board Chair Barry MacDonald echoed Gutcher’s comment. “I speak on behalf of the Board of Trustees when I say that we are most proud of our students and staff for embracing this mementous initiative and I encourage them to continue to dialogue with their friends and family to spread the word of the importance of organ donation.”
The students were informed that t-shirts are now available for sale at all four secondary schools to help raise awareness and funds for the Gift of Life challenge.
As well, students were encouraged to fill out registration forms for organ donation as they were being passed out in homeroom.
The student senate has several other events planned around this initiative in the upcoming months.
A link has been added to the main page on the Board’s website for those who wish to register right on line – visit www.sudburycatholicschools.ca to find the link.
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.
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!
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.