Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on May 7, 2014 to take part in the SCDSB’s fifth annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative that stems from the Learning Partnership, which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. As it is the fifth year, student participation has continued to grow as teachers have continued to encourage their involvement with this rewarding program. The Turning Points Essay Contest is a powerful character development and literacy program that all 4 of our secondary schools, as well as the intermediate students at St. Anne participate in this year. There are 3 divisions, Grade 7/8, Grade 9/10 and Grade 11/12. The top three essays for grade 7/8 and 9/10 and the top 4 essays for Grade 11/12 were selected. There were also several honourable mentions for the 9/10 and 11/12 categories. Cash prizes were awarded for secondary essays. All essays will also be published in an annual anthology that will be sent to students and participating schools next year. The students that took part in this contest and authored the winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at the celebration. The students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several staff involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. Top prize went to Rilie Phillips of Marymount Academy.
Category: Community
Welcome to Kindergarten at St. Bernadette
Marco Curic and his parents left the St. Bernadette Catholic French Immersion School Welcome to Kindergarten event with a bag full of supplies to use throughout the summer in preparation for Full Day Kindergarten. St. Bernadette, which will be implementing Full Day Kindergarten in September 2014, partnered with Cedar Park Daycare, the New Sudbury Best Start Hub and the Greater Sudbury Public Library to offer newly registered students a hands-on opportunity to experience “a day in the life of a kindergarten student”. Children and parents circulated through stations where they were able to create and explore with Play Dough, use scissors, crayons and glue to cut out and decorate the first initial of their name and ask questions during storytime on the carpet.
Sudbury Catholic Elementary Band to Perform at Bell Park
Grade 7 and 8 students from four local Catholic Schools have been busy preparing for a hectic spring concert series. The 56 member Sudbury Catholic Elementary Band will perform Sunday night at the Grace Hartman amphitheatre to kick off the City of Sudbury’s 17th Annual Bell Park Concert Series.
In the coming weeks, the group will also travel to each of their home schools (St. Anne, St. Benedict, St. Raphael and Piux XII) to put on concerts for elementary school students and teachers. The last leg of their tour will take them to Mother St. Bride School in North Bay for a joint concert with the host school’s band. Afterwards, the band members will tour lake Nipissing aboard the Chief Commanda II.
The Sudbury Catholic Band had a very successful school year, taking home Gold and Silver awards at local festivals, and performing numerous concerts, including a surprise performance for the board’s retiring director, Catherine McCullough.
Sunday night’s concert begins at 7 pm and everyone is welcome. In the event of rain, the concert will be re-located to the CNIB building at 303 York Street.
Outdoor Learning at St. Bernadette
With the wonderful, warm weather arriving, why not teach outside? On Tuesday May 27th, the 5/6 French Immersion class from St Bernadette Catholic Elementary School took their learning to the pavement. After learning about variables in equations, the students solved algebra problems and communicated their thinking using sidewalk chalk. Teacher Chantal Therrien exclaimed that “The students thoroughly enjoyed working with their math partners to solve the missing variable under the sunshine!”
St. Charles College Receives Special Privileges to Visit the SNO Lab
On Thursday May 15, the St. Charles college senior physics class was given the opportunity to head underground and visit the SNOlab, which is the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.
This unique and world class facility specializes in high end particle physics, chemistry, and astronomy. The students were given a one-time opportunity to experience several experiments including the search for dark matter.
Normally this tour is reserved for University students, but Physics teacher Tim Kingshott received special permission for a one time tour for St. Charles College.
Spring Chicks are Back at St. David School
The St. David Catholic Elementary School junior kindergarten classroom has been filled with anticipation and excitement over the last couple of weeks. Lindsay Michel, the school’s junior kindergarten teacher organized the hatching of chickens in her classroom.
Mrs. Michel’s aim was to provide a thrilling educational experience for her young inner city students. St. David School is located in the Donovan area of the city. Mrs. Michel wanted her students to experience the joy of life while learning to build empathy for other forms of life. The students watched patiently as their eggs hatched and new born chicks emerged from their shells.
The St. David junior kindergarten program meets the needs of young inquisitive learners by providing them with the opportunity to participate in hands on, child centred, inquiry based learning. It is through a relationship building focus that the school creates an environment that supports student engagement and real world learning experiences.
Zumba at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School
During the month of May students from St. Andrew School have been enjoying Zumba classes every Friday afternoon. Staff and students enjoy the good music and learning all the dance/exercise moves. Pictured are Rachel, Generose, Serena and Chloe from the grade 4/5 classroom as they show off their moves.
SCDSB Students Soar at Canada Wide Science Fair
SCDSB regional science fair winners spent 8 days in Windsor competing at the Canada Wide Science Fair, accompanied by teachers Loretta Cuda and Melissa Talevi recently. They competed againstt 463 students from across Canada.
Marymount students Hailey Mackenzie and Dayna Rachkowski won the Resource Award for developing a better way to use natural resources that provide sustainable sources of food, products or prosperity for their project titled “Aquaponics”
Marymount students Alex Millar and Marika Moskalyk won an Excellence Award – Silver Medal for their project titled “Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine”.
St. James student Marina Leblanc won an Excellence Award – Bronze Medal for her project titled “Cold Feet”.
Picture: l-r
Marika Moskalyk, Alex Millar, Marina Leblanc, (teacher)Loretta Cuda, (teacher) Melissa Talevi, Dayna Rachkowski, Hailey Mackenzie
“Welcome to Kindergarten” at St. David School
The Welcome to Kindergarten Program at St. David Catholic School was held on Wednesday May 21 in the school’s gymnasium. The program was designed for families and their children who will be entering kindergarten in September 2014. Families and children attended mini literacy and numeracy workshops with their new teachers. All families received early literacy resources as part of the “Welcome to Kindergarten Program” and learned strategies for using these resources at home with their children.
St. David School kindergarten teachers and the school principal were very excited to meet their new students. The teachers explained the school’s new full day kindergarten program. In September 2014, kindergarten students will participate in structured play-based learning. As students play, they learn about the world and how it works. They will learn social skills as well as academic skills. All children will have nutrition breaks and opportunities for small group and independent learning. The new kindergarten program capitalizes on student’s natural curiosity and their desire to make sense of their environment. Mrs. Michel, one of the school’s kindergarten teachers said, “through exploration, imagination and inquiry our hope is that our new students will be excited about their learning”.
The Aboriginal Best Start HUB, Better Beginnings, Better Futures After School Program and the Sudbury Health Unit all ran stations during the afternoon session. The Aboriginal Best Start HUB will be running a “School Readiness Program“ starting on June 9, 2014. All students interested in participating in this program are asked to call 705-688-1941and ask for Eileen or Tiffany. Space is limited in this program, so any interested participants are encouraged to call as soon as possible.
“St. David School is proud to host such a welcoming, diverse afternoon for families and new kindergarten students. We hope the hope the community enjoyed it as much as we did” stated school principal, Dawn Wemigwans.