“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!

Imagine the comfort of getting to wear your pyjamas to school as well as having fun with your friends while doing so. Mrs. Lafrance’s Gr.3/4 class and Mme Pickard’s Gr. 4FI class recently did so while celebrating spirit day at St. Anne School.

While in their pyjamas, the students participated in a special Zumba dance class led by a parent, and qualified Zumba instructor from Zumba Vibe, Mrs. Stacey Kydd. Mrs. Kydd donated her services for this special event. For 40 minutes, the children and their teachers shimmied and danced to the upbeat music. The students would like to extend a big St. Anne thank you to Mrs. Kydd for her efforts and enthusiasm. It was a fantastic Zumba/school spirit experience and all St. Anne classes are looking forward to seeing what excitement the next spirit day brings!

On March 1, 2011, the grade seven students at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School participated in World Math Day. The event involved students from all over the world playing againstt each other in real-time battles of mental arithmetic using the newly updated Live Mathletics game engine, their laptop computers, and accessing the internet in the classroom. Students were also able to access the site at home to practice. Students learned more about world time zones and discovered that at a certain times during the day they are more likely to play students from particular countries. This was a truly unique world event and a fantastic way to promote numeracy within the school and the students learned that Math is fun!

Learning about the past can be amazing, especially when you can relate to the people and events. That’s what the St. Anne Grade 5 students did by participating in the 2011 Historica Fair. The primary focus of the Fair was to encourage students to research their past and present the results of their efforts to the community at large.

There were 4 winning entries that will move on to the city wide judging taking place at Laurentian University. This year’s local historica theme winners dealt with heroic grandparents who were veterans of the Korean and Second World Wars, an uncle and local hockey hero, Andrew Brunette, and the history of Sudbury Secondary Highschool. Winners were judged on their research and presentation skills, as well as their oral and written reports. Congratulations to all Gr.5 students for their great efforts and participation in such a worthwhile fair. You have truly uncovered your history!

Have you ever wondered about the splatter patterns of blood, how dimples can affect a plane when it is flying, which gum produces the biggest bubble, or how colour affects living things? If so, St. Anne School was the place to be for the first segment of this year’s Sudbury Catholic Board’s Science Fair.
Over the past 2 months, the intermediate students at St. Anne School have been investigating and researching many different science topics. A wide range of projects in both English and French were presented to teachers and students within the school. Out of school judges scored the projects on scientific knowledge, presentation results, application, and written reports. Winners were selected to advance to the next stage of presentations taking place at St. Francis School in early March. Congratulations to all students for their hard work, dedication, and overall great efforts!

Students at St. Raphael Catholic Elementary were given a challenge. For a two week period, the students were asked to collect cans and other non-perishable food items for donation to the Sudbury Foodbank. At the end of the collection period, the grand total of cans was over 3600 and Vice Principal Anastasia Rioux was very proud. “Although the students were given a pizza party incentive, they all recognized that they were doing this for the greater good.” Rioux said. The students collected from family, friends and neighbours and the food drive was a St. Raphael student council initiative. The class that collected the most cans was Ms. Moretta’s Grade 4 class which brought in a total of 603 cans.

The staff and students at St. Anne school pride themselves on being an integral part of their school community. Recently, the school celebrated the first of its monthly School Spirit Days. The theme was to wear the school colours of blue and gold or any shirts where the school mascot appeared. Mrs. Lafrance’s Grade 3/4 class really got into the swing of things in what they wore, as well as participating in face painting to highlight school spirit from head to toe. Way to go St. Anne Angels!