Family Literacy Day had an Olympic Theme at St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol. Students were able to use computers to search for answers to a scavenger hunt, decorate and then eat “medal” cookies, learn about the Olympic Rings and then create their own symbols to represent peace through sports, and also learn about the four Olympic mascots by utilizing the Smartboard and viewing video clips. But the best part of the day was seeing the Olympic Torch from the Torch Relay and one of the 12,000 torch bearers! James Callaghan, son of Steve Callaghan Chaplain at St. Charles College, visited with the students and staff in his Torch Relay regalia. James was a torch bearer in Collingwood on December 29, 2009. He showed video clips of his run and shared pictures of his brother, Nick, who was a torch bearer in Sault Ste. Marie. The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is presented by Coca-Cola and RBC, and James was honoured to have been selected a torch bearer through the Coca-Cola contest he entered. James was chosen based on his extensive community involvement and an essay he wrote. James brought the torch so that students and staff could see and hear about the sacred history of the Olympic Flame, symbolizing the principles of peace, brotherhood and friendship. Every student had the opportunity to carry the Torch – what a thrill! Each student is now eagerly looking forward to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games; they feel as if they have a personal connection to the games.
Category: Community
Valley East Schools Compete at Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition
Students from the Valley East area participated in the second level of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition on January 28, 2010. Students from Immaculate Conception, St. Anne, St. Mary as well as from other boards came together at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School bringing all of their best “free throw skills” to win a chance to move on to the District Free Throw Championship. Students who came in first at their school level competition were invited to participate againstt the best of the best in the Valley area. Richard Rivais,a member of the Knights of Columbus, has been involved with this competition for the past ten years. Rivais was joined by other Knights including Yvan Gunville, Michael Frawley and Bernie Shank who helped run the event. The Knights also had Rivais’ daughter Tracy Rivais and son-in-law Sean Preseau on hand to help with the running of the competition. The winners who placed first at this competition will participate at the District Championship. In the event that the first place winners are unable to compete, the second place winners are given the chance to participate at the final competition. Congratulations to all of our students who participated!
First place winners:
Sydney Hall – Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School
Riley Merrimen – Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School
Tessa Scoville – St. Anne Catholic Elementary School
Second place winners:
Britney Chevrier – St. Mary Catholic Elementary School
Nicholas Whissell – Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary
Jordan Connors – St. Anne Catholic Elementary School
Anthony Campioni – St. Anne Catholic Elementary School
St. James Recycles for Haiti
Along with all of the money raising efforts going on at our Sudbury Catholic Schools, Grade 5 Eco-Squad leaders at St. James Catholic School in Lively are collecting milk bags which are used to make sleeping mats. The bags are then crocheted by a neighbour Cindy Kavanaugh into comfortable, waterproof mats which will be forwarded to Haiti. The mats can be used for eating or sleeping and also due to their bright colours these mats do not attract bugs. It takes 250 milk bags to make one large mat and 150 bags to make a smaller mat. To date the students have collected over one thousand milk bags. The St. James students will continue their campaign until the end of March.
Singing for Literacy at St. James Catholic Elementary School
Musician Chuck Roberts led a sing-along at St. James Catholic School in celebration of Family Literacy Day. Grade 7 and 8 students proved that literacy can come in many forms, including in song, as was the case as they wrote and performed songs about the importance of literacy in their lives. Joining the “Sing for Literacy” celebration were all St. James students and staff, parents and grandparents as well as Trustee Estelle Scappatura.
“Chewing Gum” for Haiti at Immaculate Conception
In an effort to raise money for our friends in Haiti, many schools from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have been doing some fundraising. On Wednesday, January 27th, Mrs. Rychlo, a teacher from Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School coordinated a “Chewing for Charity” fundraiser at which students had the opportunity to purchase a bubblegum from an old fashioned bubble gum machine. A minimum of 25 cents per bubble gum was the cost requested. Children were encouraged to contribute any loose change towards the fundraising effort as every little act of kindness goes a long way to ensure that our brothers and sisters in Haiti can get through the devastation of the earthquake. The students managed to raise $400 to donate and enjoyed chewing the gum in the process!
St. Paul Catholic Elementary School Takes a Different “Step” to Support Haitian Relief
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Haitian relief support is continually ongoing. To that effect, on top of the $1000 that the school raised in one day, St. Paul Catholic Elementary School decided to donate gently used shoes to the people of Haiti in partnership with the Soft Moc Shoe store in the New Sudbury Mall.
Students were asked to bring in shoes that were still in good shape to send overseas so that the children of Haiti could protect their feet as the walking has become treacherous because of all the debris on the ground. The students were encouraged to write a short message to put in the shoes to let them know that our students are praying for them.
St. Andrew Catholic Elementary Celebrates Hockey Sweater Spirit Day
Staff and students of St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School celebrated Hockey Sweater Spirit Day and invited special guests to the school to join them in reading. Dan Maggio, John Kurtz, Steven Reese, Marcus Foligno and Ben Chiarot of the Sudbury Wolves took the time to come to the school and share the joy of reading with the students and staff. Each Sudbury Wolf player read to three groups of students and had time to answer questions, sign autographs and take some photos. The staff believes that students need to see and hear a variety of people reading to and with them and these gentlemen certainly fit the bill. As the saying goes…”variety adds spice to life.”!
SCDSB Update of Monies raised for Haitian Relief
As of Friday, January 22, 2010 our elementary and secondary schools have raised over $7000 in donations to support Haitian relief. Many of the monies raised came from school bake sales, PJ dress-down days, “Hats for Haiti” days, and staff luncheons. One student in particular, Rayden Recollect who is a Grade 1 student from St. David Catholic Elementary School, brought his piggy bank to school and decided to donate every single cent that he owned!! It is students like this that really reflect the Catholic family spirit we have at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and are very, very proud of all of our students and staff for collecting so much in such a short amount of time!!! It really is a huge accomplishment !
St. Francis on Board With Supporting Haitian Relief
St. Francis students raised $356 for Haitian relief on January 19, 2010. This was made possible through the partnership with St. Patrick’s Church Youth Group who baked ginger snap cookies to sell. All of the money will be forwarded to the Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. The Knights of Columbus of St. Patrick’s parish will be matching donations up to $2000. Many thanks to the bakers and the students who participated by buying cookies and/or donating money to a worthwhile cause.