The spirit of altruism is alive and well at St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford. The yearly food drive for the needy was a huge success for the entire community. Students and staff collected 5 092 food items for La Maison d’Amitié/Friendship House. Mme Bouzane’s Gr. 5/6 French Immersion class co-ordinated this yearly endeavour from start to finish. Although they encouraged everyone to bring in canned goods, their class contributed over 1 000 cans to the food drive, making them the winners of this school-wide friendly competition. These champions are the recipients of the “Golden Can” Award. Way to go RAMS!
Category: Community
A Very Timely and Meaningful Holiday Message from St. Raphael Students
The students at St. Raphael School have been busy decorating brown bags to warn adults about the dangers of drinking and driving. The one thousand bags will then be distributed to LCBO customers in New Sudbury during the month of December.
Students in grades four to eight are involved in the project which ties into the substance abuse curriculum, as well as art and media literacy. The goal is to remind adults that drinking and driving don’t mix while teaching the adults of tomorrow this important life long lesson.
St. Bernadette Stands Up for Peace
Students at St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School took part in several creative activities in honour of Bullying Awareness week. Each class discussed how every single student has an important role to play in fostering a safe and caring school environment. Some of the week’s activities included a mass, taking the anti-bullying pledge and taking part in a live demonstration of peace by creating a student-body peace sign on the school’s front lawn.
Sudbury Hosts Bolivian Students
Ten students from Bolivia are in Sudbury until the end of January on an exchange program through an organization called Canada World Youth. Ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-six, the students arrived in Canada on November 1 and Sudbury on November 3 and are taking part in St. Albert’s Adult Learning Centre’s English as a Second Language Program to better adapt their communication skills while in the city. The school was contacted by the organization to see if they would be willing to accept the students into their E.S.L. class and the staff at St. Albert readily agreed.
The students are living with host families and, as well as school, also do volunteer work in the community three times a week. Their volunteer work allows them to learn about themselves and their new community, increases their involvement in local and global issues and give them tools to contribute to the well-being of the city as well as taking them back with them when they return home. Some of the volunteer locations for these students include Habitat for Humanity, Eat Local, the Friendship Centre and the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY).
Mai Hellak, the ESL teacher at St. Albert was thrilled to learn of the students’ arrival in her class. “I have been teaching ESL with the Catholic Board since 1996 and it is always so much fun,” Hellak said. “When you have students learning English as a second language, you are teaching at multiple levels and it makes for a lot of hard work but it is very rewarding. I also have another teacher named Claire Kamber who volunteers in the classroom and helps with the workload tremendously.”
Cassandra MacGregor, Principal of St. Albert was also excited to learn about the Bolivian students taking part in classes at their school. “We are delighted to have these students here as it allows us to learn about their culture while we are supporting their learning – and it also promotes diversity in our community.”
Exchange student, Cecilia Montalvan is the Bolivian co-ordinator and said that the group is really happy with the weather here so far as it is very hot in Bolivia and they can’t wait for snow. As well, even though they have been in Sudbury only a short time, they are thoroughly enjoying themselves, their host families, and are looking forward to exploring the city. “We have planned group activities every Wednesday afternoon,” Montalvan said. “ This is the time that we get together and take part in a more organized events and we are really looking forward to all of the different opportunities open to us.”
MMA Bringing Music to the Community
Recently, the Senior Brass Ensemble performed a short set at the Knights of Columbus fundraiser for struggling families in Sudbury. Cindy Coleman, Emma Kyle, Jessica Pugliese and Cassie Apolloni did a great job with their performance. It was a great evening with dinner and beautiful music. Hooray for music in the community!
Facility Services Hold Open House
Staff at the new Facility Services building located on Traverse street invited board office staff to an open house barbeque on Friday, November 12, 2010. CEC staff were given a tour of the new building as Facility Services have settled in and wanted to show off their new “digs”. The entire group enjoyed a fantastic meal and all were made to feel very welcome in the new location. Denis Faucher, manager of the department thanked everybody for coming and let everyone know that they were all more than welcome to visit again. CEC staff were grateful for the invitation and wonderful meal and plan to take Denis up on his offer often.
St. Mary Students Take Part in Health Awareness Workshop
Students at St. Mary Catholic Elementary School had the opportunity to attend a Health Awareness Workshop on Friday, November 12, 2010. With flu season here, Gen Waszczylo, Principal of the school felt that it was important for her students to be reminded of healthy hygiene practices. “We want to instill in the students proper hygiene habits and are very fortunate to have established community partnerships with experts in this field, willing to share with us their knowledge.” Waszczylo said. Ashley Laperriere, a Public Health Inspector with the Sudbury and District Health Unit spoke to the students about avoiding germs as well as the importance of proper handwashing. As well, Sheryl Sasseville, owner of Sudbury Dental Hygiene demonstrated the technique for correct tooth brushing. At the end of the presentation, all of the students receive a “goodie bag” of personal hygiene products promoting all that they had learned from the two demonstrations.
St. Raphael Students “Making Change” for Kids with Physical Disabilities
For three weeks, the students at St. Raphael have been graciously donating their pocket change to help kids in their community who have physical disabilities. The final total has yet to be tabulated by Easter Seals but the results are expected to be tremendous.
Each class was given a bucket to fill as part of the Nickels for the North challenge.
It’s the perfect fundraiser for the students because they see students with physical disabilities in their building everyday. There are three Life Skills classrooms at St. Raphael School.
The campaign also heightened awareness of those who must rely on costly devices such as walkers, ramps and wheelchairs everyday.
Stay tuned for their results!
World War II Veteran visits St. Mary
St. Mary was very fortunate to have Mr. Tom Clark, an 85 year old War Veteran who currently lives in Capreol, and who is a member of the Capreol Legion, come speak to the students in grades 3 to 6, to give a personal perspective to the meaning of Remembrance Day. Mr. Clark joined the Navy in 1943 and sailed on the HMCS Kirkland Lake during the second World War. He spoke of his experiences and also gave a bit of the history of the Battle of the St. Lawrence. He explained the meaning of the medals he wore, spoke of the different friendships he had during the War, shared personal photos and talked about the differences in the Military now and at that time. Mr. Clark will be part of the St. Mary Remembrance Day Services as he and other members of the Capreol Legion will join the staff and students on November 11th.