Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Schools

St. Mark Catholic Elementary School Student Advances in Lions International Peace Poster Contest

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Alyssa Kotanko. a grade 6 student at St- Mark Catholic Elementary School has taken the first step to becoming an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Warren & District Lions Club.

Alyssa’s poster was among more than 375,000 entries submitted worldwide in the 23rd annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions Clubs International is sponsoring the contest to emphasize the importance of world Peace to young people everywhere.

“Peace on earth and goodwill toward human kind”, the 11 years old from Markstay said. The posters were selected by the school’s administration for its originality, artistic merit and portrayal of the contest theme “Vision of Peace”. The judging was held at the end of October at the school.

Markstay & District Lions Club President, Lion Steven Olsen, said he was impressed by the expression and creativity of the students at St- Mark School. “It is obvious that these young people have strong ideas about what peace means to them. I’m so proud that we were able to provide them the opportunity to share their visions”

Kotanko’ s poster will advance to face stiff competition through the district, multiple and international rounds of competition if they are declared the international grand prize winner,” Lion Steven Olsen said.

One grand prize winner and 23 merit award winners will be selected. The grand prize includes a cash award of US$5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to the awards ceremony at Lions Day with the United Nations. The 23 merit award winners will each receive a certificate and a cash award of US$500.

“Our club is cheering for Alyssa as her poster advance in the competition, and we hope that her vision will ultimately be shared with others around the world,” Lion Steven Oslen said.

Locally, Alyssa will be honoured for her participation by the Warren & District Lions Club on November 25th at their award recognition ceremony.

View international grand prize and merit award winners at www.lionsclubs.org.

“Cell-ebrating Cells” at St. James

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The Let’s Talk Science team from Cambrian College visited St. James Catholic School in Lively to “Cell-ebrate Cells” with the grades 7 & 8 students.

St. James and Cambrian College have formed a partnership giving the students the opportunity to participate in exciting, hands-on activities that meet expectations of the science curriculum.

St. Joseph welcomes sister school St. David in Non-Fiction Literacy

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The students of St. David (in Sudbury’s Donovan Area) and St. Joseph (Killarney) gathered together this October to develop a sense of community. Both schools share a Principal, Dawn Wemigwans, but much of their daily school lives are worlds apart.

Some of the students from St. David boarded a bus and made the trip into the small rural community to participate in a variety of activities with the K-6 students from St. Joseph. The day began with introductions and a walk-a-thon to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. The 12 students of St. Joseph’s gladly paraded their guests around the town, and shared local heritage and historical sites, including a stop at St. Bonaventure Church. The children were accompanied by teachers, parents, and a few Elders who shared their knowledge with the students. Much of the days events were captured with digital cameras, and will be used at a later date to develop brochures about the town of Killarney.

St. Joseph school not only welcomed St. David students but also the community at large, as everyone shared in a homemade soup and sandwich lunch. Children and adults alike enjoyed conversing over a warm bowl of soup, and developed new friendships. These connections will be continued over the course of the year, through email and skype.

The day ended with all the children gathering in the one classroom to create giant maps of Killarney. Even the youngest children were happy to participate, as they were the “‘experts” on their town. This activity fit nicely into the curriculum for both schools, as they work together to develop reading skills in a variety of non-fiction forms. Before the students of St. David returned home they extended the invitation for the children of St. Joseph to visit them for a day, and further develop their learning and friendships.

DID YOU KNOW?
80% of our reading in our adult life is non-fiction based (internet, phone book, menus, maps etc), yet many students do not realize that this is reading.

St. David and St. Joseph School goal is to make the students aware that reading non-fiction is just as valuable of reading fiction.

Turning Points at Sudbury Catholic

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Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on October 28, 2010 to take part in the SCDSB’s first 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. The Board was approach last year about piloting the program and SCDSB administration felt that it was a good fit for Sudbury Catholic students as it ties in well with faith-based curriculum and the monthly virtues that each school celebrates.
Students from Marymount Academy and St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Grades 9 to 12 took part in this contest and their essays were then submitted to students at York University for the first tier of judging. Second tier judging occurred back at board level and then all names and winning essays were submitted back to Turning Points for publication. Students who wrote 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. Jody Cameron, 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.
English Teachers from all four Sudbury Catholic Secondary Schools participated in the Turning Points inservice on October 29 to prepare for their second semester’s English classes and Catherine McCullough, Director of Education expressed her delight that the program is now expanding. “I am thrilled that the pilot program met with such success at two of our secondary schools and know that expanding to all four will only mean that even more of our students will be able to participate in such a unique and rewarding writing initiative.”

Winning Essays included:

Grade 9/10 Awards

3rd place: Corissa VandeWeghe, Four Kisses
2nd place: Kalya Richardson, Another Person’s Mistakes
1st place: Jorden Barberio, Stripping the Blue Chair

Grade 11/12 Awards

3rd place: Alexandria Tsimiklis, A Final Goodbye
2nd place: Shelby Eyre, A Subtle Charisma
1st place: Jennifer Roy, An Unforgettable Encounter

Marymount Attends “Guts and Glory”

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On Friday, October 22nd, members of the Marymount Academy Girls’ Athletic Association and various athletes from different grade levels attended the 4th Annual “Guts & Glory” fundraiser luncheon put on by SportLink Sudbury. This year’s event featured two local athletes – Alannah Maclean, an OFSAA gold medallist in Nordic skiing and Mike Coughlin, a triathlete who now calls Sudbury home. The keynote speaker was Ken Derrett who is the current VP of Marketing for the San Diego Chargers from the National Football League. At the luncheon, the girls listened to courageous stories about all of the hard work and dedication it takes to become an elite athlete. Mr. Derrett focused his energy on outlying an important “toolkit” to persevere in athletics. He spoke about the importance of education and staying current with what is going on in the world. Furthermore, he added that “having respect for all of the people who surround you on a consistent basis, will help greatly in guiding your athletic journey, whatever it may be.” The Marymount Athletic Association and the students & staff who attended would like to extend a sincere thanks to Faiella Financial for generously donating the tickets to once again attend this great event.

MMA Hosts Second Annual Parent Breakfast

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The gym was filled to capacity as Marymount Academy hosted its second annual Parent Breakfast on October 27, 2010. From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. students and parents/guardians had the opportunity to enjoy breakfast, meet staff and learn a bit more about different MMA initiatives. The breakfast was put on by the school’s parent council and staff and allowed parents to meet some of their daughters’ teachers as well as talk to some of the students who are involved in school programs such as Student Council, Girls Athletic Association and Marymount Catholic Charities Council. Also on hand were members of the Parent Council who had several support books on hand for interested parents looking to read more about school and family related issues. School mascot A-Roar-a made an appearance and the morning proved to be “a-roar-ing” success!

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