On Tuesday, February 23, Grade 8 students from St. Raphael, St. John, St. Paul, St. David and Pius XII were bussed to St. Charles College to take part in their annual Winter Carnival. Upon arrival, all of the students were brought into the gym and are divided up into mixed teams and, in a tribute to the Olympics, were assigned a country. The first challenge for each group was to come up with a cheer for their country and then had to perform it in front of the entire crowd. The leadership class was the official host of the 5 feeder school students and set up many different activities for all of the groups to participate in including ball hockey, dodgeball, relay races and bocker (a combination of basketball and soccer). Patty Mardero, Principal of St. Charles College explained that it was a really great day of winter fun challenges for the students. “It is such a positive day on two different levels.” stated Mardero. “First, it is a great way for the Grade 8 students from the feeder schools to get to know each other before they start here in grade nine, and secondly, it is also an opportunity for S.C.C. staff to meet with Grade 8 staff for transitional activities.” Twenty teams in total participated in the day’s events.
Category: Schools
Pilot Apple Technology Project Huge Success for St. David’s Grade Fives
The Grade 5 students were so excited they could hardly sit still as their St. David teacher Jennifer Gran asked them to open their macbooks and turn on their ipods. Gran along with Leann Laframboise, one of the Sudbury Catholic Technology Integration Mentor Teachers had put together a proposal and submitted it to Apple Canada with the hopes that the Grade 5 class would be selected to pilot a technology project. Luckily, the two teachers’ proposal was selected out of the hundreds of proposals submitted from across Canada. Apple selected Gran’s class which allowed the students the use of ten MacBook computers with wireless connectivity, digital still and video cameras, and iLife ’09, Apple’s award-winning digital media software as well as ten ipods. For the last four weeks, the class has created podcasts, comics, digital stories, movies and posters. As well, the students used ipods for different activities such as reading, navigating apps and browsers and literacy and numeracy games. Gran was thrilled that her class had the opportunity to have some really hands on learning time with the provided technology. “If you have a high number of identified students, the technology really levels the playing field in regards to learning. “said Gran. “The technology gives the students many different options for learning. They don’t all learn the same way and with the macbooks and ipods, they can choose the way they learn most effectively, which makes teaching easier for the teacher.” For each different activity, the students were divided into groups and sat down with either Gran or Laframboise to consult on their projects. All of the students got the opportunity to use both pieces of technology daily. After St. David’s, the next school to receive the kit will be St. Francis Catholic Elementary School which was also one of the schools to be selected from across Canada.
Local Author and Educator Visits St. Christopher School
On Friday February 19th/10, students of St. Christopher School were afforded the opportunity to take part in presentations by award-winning local author and educator, Rosanna Battigelli. Through dynamic story-telling Ms. Battigelli engaged and amused the students by reading from her collection of stories and poems. Ms. Battigelli’s presentations were truly enriching and rewarding for the staff and students of St. Christopher.
A special thank you to Mrs. DiGioseffo for organizing and co-ordinating this very successful event.
Aboriginal Celebration and Feast to Send Off U.K. Visitors
On Thursday, February 18, 2010 the Sudbury Catholic District School Board had an Aboriginal Celebration and Feast for the 12 educators from the United Kingdom as well as all of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board staff involved with the planning and implementation of their visit. The U.K. educators spent the week visiting several schools to observe different educational strategies implemented in our elementary school system. On Thursday night, the entire group gathered in the gym of Marymount Academy to learn about Aboriginal Culture and Heritage. The guests were treated to beautiful Aboriginal dancing and drumming – including the St. Charles College Drumming group the Red Bird Singers. Also attending the event were community partners, Traditional Elders, SCDSB Trustees Barry MacDonald, Paula Peroni, Estelle Scappatura and Jack MacDonald. The night began with a welcoming prayer, smudge and dancing,and then the visitors from the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the group were provided a traditional Aboriginal Feast including corn soup, wild rice casserole and bannock. After spending the week observing different classrooms and teaching strategies, the U.K. educators were thrilled to end their visit with such an outstanding cultural celebration!
Sudbury Catholic Schools Partners with Laurentian University to Support Aboriginal Student Success
The Dual Credit program offered through Sudbury Catholic Schools, Rainbow District School Board and Laurentian University provides opportunities for Aboriginal secondary school students to participate in postsecondary courses, earning dual credits that count towards both their secondary school diploma and their post secondary degree.
While dual credits are increasingly common between high schools and colleges, this is the only dual credit between Ontario high schools and universities approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education. This particular dual credit pilot program is designed to: increase the number of Aboriginal students graduating from secondary school and to assist with the transition between secondary and post secondary education.
The unique advantage of dual credit programs is their ability to provide new and varied learning opportunities to students by providing real world applications to help them achieve their potential. Dual credit courses also engage students through exposure to the university setting and culture, provide more student choice and ensure a smooth transition pathway from secondary to post secondary education. Evidence has shown that dual credit programs increase the likelihood of graduation success.
Sudbury Catholic Schools, Rainbow District School Board and Laurentian University have partnered to provide this opportunity for their students to better support and engage the Aboriginal youth in our community.
Visitors from the United Kingdom Visit SCDSB to Observe Educational Best Practice
Twelve people from the United Kingdom including teachers, principals and administrators began their visit at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board on February 16, 2010 to observe best practice in the field of education. The group, who will be in Sudbury for seven days, came over from across the pond to learn about Ontario’s approach to change and how it embraces continual transition. The initial welcome included greetings from representatives from both the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, the Rainbow Board, as well as a warm welcome from Mayor John Rodriguez. Adam Higgins, a School Improvement Officer which is similar to our Supervisory Officer, spoke on behalf of the group as he thanked the two boards for welcoming them to Sudbury. “We look forward to walking a mile in your shoes as we share similar obstacles and we want to ensure that all of our youngsters are getting the best possible start that they can.” Higgins went on to say that their first three days in Sudbury were excellent as they were constantly greeted by very friendly citizens. From bus drivers to school staff, their encounters so far have been all positive despite the initial loss of luggage of eight of the twelve in the group!
The guests will be visiting several schools over the next few days from both the Sudbury Catholic District School Board as well as the Rainbow Board to observe many different educational initiatives including boys literacy, aboriginal education, technology and French Immersion. All of the people involved in the visit will end off the week on Thursday with a presentation of Aboriginal Culture and Dance as well as an Aboriginal feast at Marymount Academy. The group will also be getting the chance to visit a Sudbury Wolves practice, Science North, Adanac Ski Hill and a Sudbury Wolves game.
St. Anne Catholic Elementary Students Celebrate the 2010 Olympics
The English and French Immersion Junior and Senior Kindergarten children of St. Anne’s Catholic Elementary School celebrated the opening of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics holding their own torch ceremony within the school. Ava DeVos and Owen Moxam led their classmates with the relay through the St. Anne hallways.
Celebrating 100 Days of School at Immaculate Conception
What does 100 look like?
February 8th marked the 100th day of school and staff and students at Immaculate Conception had fun celebrating this day.
St. Mary School Celebrates Valentine’s Day
Even though it was a little early to celebrate Valentine’s Day, students in the Kindergarten classes along with grade 1 and 2 students decorated and then enjoyed special Valentine cookies. Students at the school were encouraged to wear red, pink and white in honour of Valentine’s Day. The day began with the prayer for Valentine’s Day, taken from the Virtues of the Month daily prayers. February’s virtue is Compassion. Students will enjoy pancakes on Shrove Tuesday with their friends from Capreol Child Care, along with their parents and members of the community. The school will attend Ash Wednesday services at Our Lady of Peace Church with Father Pat Woods on Wednesday. During Lent students will be encouraged to donate loose change to the Holy Childhood Association, whose motto is “Children Helping Children”.