St. Benedict Junior Boys Volleyball team defeated Chippewa Raiders 2-0 in North Bay for the NOSSA “A” Championship on Friday, November 18, 2011.
Team Members: Nick Filipetto, Rudy Giusti, Curtis Hancock, Jarvis Hill, Bradley Lavoie, Cody Lavoie, Alex Michel, David Portelance, Chase Pressacco, Connor Vande Weghe, Anthony Zanetti, Jonathan Zanini
Team Manager: Harley Hanes
Coaches: Maurizio De Poli, Jeff Mousseau, Sarah Hill
St. Benedict grade 7 student Joshua Kroll looks on as author Allan Stratton personally signs his book Borderline after his presentation. Stratton begins by introducing his work by reading from one of his prize-winning novels. Stratton’s writings are youth-oriented which contain themes of “courage” and “facing your fears”. Stratton’s message was when things are not going well in life, always remember that “this too shall pass” and things will get better.
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School took time to Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) this week. The session served a dual purpose in that, as students were further developing their appreciation for literature, they were also preparing for a visit from internationally-published author Allan Stratton. Students read excerpts from his award-winning novels, and are excited to listen to him when he visits St. Ben’s in person. After reading, Grade 12 student Kyle Taylor said, “I found the point of view he used was interesting. I’m already thinking of the questions I want to ask him”.
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School hosted an author event featuring Canadian award-winning, and internationally-published author Allan Stratton. Grades 9 to 12 students listened to Mr. Stratton do readings from one of his novels, and then had the opportunity to ask questions about his work and the writing process. Stratton writes for teens and books reflect his commitment to humanitarian and social justice issues. His novel Chanda’s Secrets, was later made into a movie which opened the Cannes Film Festival.
On Friday, October 28th, Maclean’s 2011 Universtiy Rankings hit newstands. On that same day, Kelly Nootchtai, St Benedict’s Class of 2009, visited a Native Studies class at St. Charles College to talk about the importance of making good choices and Aboriginal Education. This is significant because Kelly is on the cover of this issue. She is a third year Native Studies and Philosophy student at Laurentian University and understands the value of a good education. She talks fondly of her years in elementary school taking Ojibwe classes at St James. Kelly looked forward to continuing the language program at the secondary level but, it wasn’t until her graduating year that St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School was able to offer any Native Studies programming. Kelly talked about how lucky the students are to have Native Studies as an option and having great teachers like St. Charles College teacher Jennifer Petahtegoose. Both Kelly and Ms. Petahtegoose are members of Atikameksheng Anishinawbek (formerly Whitefish Lake First Nation near Naughton). Students listening to Kelly’s message were inspired and felt a sense of cultural pride. Ms. Petahtegoose stated “As a community member we are very proud of Kelly’s accomplishments and as an Anishinaabe educator I am always looking for positive First Nation, Metis and Inuit role models. Kelly has overcome obstacles to get where she is today and we are proud that she is one of our graduates and can share her story to inspire those coming up behind her.” After the talk, Kelly signed covers of the magazine and Ms Petahtegoose served homemade cookies and cedar tea.
All of the grade 7 and 8 St. Benedict students sat in the school’s new cafetorium to take part in the school’s grand opening for the 7 and 8 wing. On hand for the celebration were the Board’s Director, Catherine McCullough, members of Senior Administration, facility staff, building staff, members from the architectural firm of Yallowega and Belanger, teachers, trustees, parent council members and parents. Also included in the service were parish partners who took part in the ceremony – including Bishop Noel Simard who spoke to the students about living the life of St. Benedict who’s motto was pray and work. Simard asked the students to follow this motto in school and in life, and to recognize that being a part of this new St. Benedict community “is a source of joy.” Simard explained to the students that the board and the community have come together not only to build a physical building, but in a way to help ‘build’ the students, with learning, knowledge, and wisdom to live a fulfilled life and be happy.” Simard along with the school’s other parish partners, blessed the new space as well as individual crosses for each of the new classrooms.
The 22,000 square foot new space boasts a third gym for the school, eight new dedicated teaching classrooms with smartboards, as well as two new discovery rooms. To find out more details about what the new space includes, visit the board’s website at http://www.scdsb.edu.on.ca/schools/construction/info-ben.php.
St. Benedict Book Club got the school year off to a good start by taking a field trip to Chapters Book Store for their first meeting. Each student hunted for a book that interested him or her to read for the next book club meeting. Rather than having every student read the same book, students were encouraged to talk about different titles, as it stimulates interest in the others to read the new novels discussed. Nicholas Ryma is keen about history and said, “I bought a book about WWII scientists”, while Matthew Poloni said, “I’m so happy to have something to read for the weekend”.
Despite the rainy weather, it was a spectacular day for the third annual Sudbury Catholic Outdoor Adventure Race in Killarney on June 8, 2011. Students from all four of the Board’s secondary schools entered teams to take part in a four part outdoor race which included biking, canoeing, orienteering and a mystery challenge which involved a first aid rescue exercise. A total of fifteen teams with three students per team participated and, although rain-soaked for part of the race, managed to keep smiles on their faces throughout the entire challenge. The past two years has seen St. Charles College and then St. Benedict take home the coveted banner, and this year St. Charles managed to win back the first place spot. A team from St. Benedict won in terms of time, however, due to a small mistake in the orienteering section, they were given a 5 minute penalty which put the St. Charles team consisting of Adam McKibbon (Grade 12), Michael Wandziak (Grade 11) and Jonah Lynott (Grade 11) in first place. Awards were also given out for first place for a co-ed team as well as an all-girls team.
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.
