Rarely does the gymnasium at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Hanmer echo the sound of silence, however, on Friday, May 9th, 2014 at 12:45 p.m., it did just that. More than 370 students entered in quiet reverence, mesmerized by the flickering light of hundreds of luminaries lined up along the front of the gym, for the first annual “Relay for Life.” This was the perfect ending to the day, which began with a noisy pep rally and survivor victory lap around the schoolyard. Children lined up and cheered the many survivors who attended the event. The students and staff remembered their loved ones who lost their battle with cancer. They also celebrated those who continue to fight with dignity and hope. The St. Anne Angels from Sudbury Catholic Schools raised over $10,700.
“I thought it was amazing to see how many survivors showed up and walked. It was so beautiful and touching! My dad would have been so proud to see the survivors walking because he died from cancer in December,” said Avalon Gilbert, a Grade 5 student at the school.
St. Anne Catholic School truly demonstrated what community spirit is all about by coming together to fundraising for such a great cause.
Category: Character Development
Superstar Cooking at St. Benedict
Staff at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School were treated to the culinary talents of Master Chef Mirida Mohammed recently. After school on Tuesday, May 13th, staff gathered in the school’s food’s room to meet Mirida and watch as she prepared a tasty dish using Adoro cooking oils. The event was organized with the help of Jodie Gibson, owner of Adoro Oils and Vinegars. Staff were encouraged to ask questions and learned what her experiences were like as she competed in the recent TV series “Master Chef Canada”. They also learned how simple it is to prepare tasty, quick and nutritious food which can be enjoyed by the whole family. The visit with the staff was followed by two more sessions with invited guests from the community. It can be said that the staff at St. Benedict is now on their way to culinary greatness, thanks to this visit from an inspiring Master Chef!
Empathy for Elephants at St. Bernadette
The Grade 4 French Immersion students from St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School have completed a Knowledge Building Inquiry-based project in which they investigated and asked and answered questions about endangered African elephants. The students built on their knowledge base by visiting Science North, watching a National Geographic documentary and exploring various foundations established to help save the elephants. This inquiry inspired the students to work as a group to help save the African elephants. Some students created a pledge which their classmates and family members took to not use anything made from ivory, others created a petition asking their peers to join in the fight againstt poaching, while others decided to create poems and posters to help spread awareness. One group of students initiated a campaign to raise money to donate in order to adopt an elephant. Soon, this idea spread and the entire class became involved. They created a collection form and went about asking for donations from family and friends. The students were able to raise a total of $301.15! “Watching first hand how the students demonstrated such an intense compassion for these far away animals and how they came up with their own ideas to do their part to help them was amazing! I am very proud of the empathy and determination of the students.” said teacher, Jenny Aubin.
Writing Our Chalice Children
Students in St. Charles College teacher Elizabeth Szilva’s Grade 11 English class have been writing letters to children in far off places. The students have been contacting the Chalice children that are sponsored by the school community during the Lenten collection.
Chalice is a Catholic sponsorship program that helps impoverished children with educational support, nutrition, medical care and other needs. Many of the children sponsored by St. Charles College live in places like India, Guatemala and the Philippines.
Students in the Grade 11 English class also learned about the Chalice organization and the success it has in helping students who are living in deplorable conditions.
St. John Runs for Diabetes
On May 11th, 11 dedicated St. John Catholic Elementary School students participated in the Sudbury Rocks 5K run for diabetes. The cross-country running team has been participating in races throughout the school year in order to train for this event. Top runners from St. John were Ethan Lavallee, Chris Benoit, and Eran Lamarche. Coach Mrs. Vaillancourt is extremely proud of all the runners.
Spring Volunteer Work Day at KSOEEC
On Saturday, May 3rd the Killarney Outdoor Education Centre hosted a volunteer work day. The trail that is frequently used by the outdoor centre’s visitors was desperately in need of some work. Through funding received from the TD Friends of the Environment for a project titled ‘Boots and Bridges’, the outdoor centre was able to partner with volunteers from the Friends of Killarney Park and locals of Killarney. These volunteers worked hard all day to haul out old pallet boards, carry in material, build bridges and cut trees so visiting students to the outdoor centre would have a safe and dry trail to enjoy.
A special thank you goes out to the Friends of Killarney Park for their support.
Young Poets Read at Chapters
On Tuesday, May 6th, the Grades 3 to 6 French Immersion classes from Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School brought their poetic flair out into the community. Gathering along with friends and family at Chapters, the young poets took to the microphone and read excerpts from their poetry anthologies. They also spent time in small groups, sharing their poems and talking about their writing, and explored the many wonderful books available to read in the store. Parents, grandparents, friends and families all enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate these young poets. Teachers Mme Sarmatiuk, Mme Toivonen and Mme Blais-Callaway were humbled by the energy and enthusiasm that the students brought to this writing experience, and look forward to reading more wonderful work from their students in the future.
Gold Comes To St. Charles!
On Friday May 2, 2014 Para Olympic Gold Medal Cyclist, Robbi Weldon spoke to St. Charles Catholic Elementary School students. Robbi’s message was that of perseverance and with hard work and determination dreams can come true. We wish Robbi all the best of luck in Rio! Pictured here (left to right), Gage Robson, Kira Gouchie and Robbi Weldon.
St. Charles Elementary School Volunteers Recognized as Champions for Children
On Wednesday, April 24, a special group of people from St. Charles Catholic Elementary were recognized for their dedication to the school. The 2014 Volunteer awards for the Champions for Children were handed out by Our Children Our Future at an awards celebration and the volunteers for the school’s snack program won the group award for this event.
Vice Principal, Laura Stirrett explained that several days a week, the group of volunteers come in to wash, prepare the snacks, serve them to the students and wash up afterwards. They know that having a nutritious start to the day will help the students succeed. While most students do come to school with some form of snack, their eyes light up when the volunteers arrive with trays of fruit, vegetables and crackers arranged with the loving touch of a mom. Thanks to their unwavering support students are moved from a potential disadvantage to an advantage. “At St. Charles School, we are very lucky to have a core group of volunteers who run our Healthy Snack Program! Running a program like this takes a real dedication to the well-being of our students” says David Soehner, Principal. “We are very fortunate to have this group of ladies volunteer at our school, which is why we nominated them for this award”.
One of the award recipients, Kristine Belanger explained,” It is all about the children, and making sure they are happy and fed. Not everyone is as fortunate to have enough to eat every day so it is wonderful to see how excited the kids get when they get to experience different foods and are happy because they have had something nutritious to eat!”