On March 18th, 25th and 26th, students at all four of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s secondary schools had the opportunity to listen to world-renowned speaker Dr. Karyn Gordon. A familiar face at the Board, Dr. Gordon was asked to come back once again to talk to the students about the every growing problem of anxiety and self-esteem. Dr. Gordon is a relationship expert for organizations and families, and has over 14 years of professional national media experience in TV, print and radio including CityLine, Chatelaine Magazine and “The Mom Show”.
A decision was made by the Sudbury Catholic Safe Schools Team to invite back Dr. Gordon, as the board was given funding from the Ministry of Education to provide students with resources that would support mental health initiatives. Dr. Gordon’s presentation entitled, “Spill Your Guts”, talks to students about healthy self-esteem with the main message for the students being that “your self-esteem can, and will dictate how you make decisions in your life, therefore positive self-esteem will result in good decisions.” Dr. Gordon went on to explain the three most important ideas to remember for a healthy attitude in life.
1. Stop blaming and focus on what you can control in your life.
2. Set realistic and achievable goals
3. Seek out people and resources to help you achieve these goals and support your healthy choices.
Dr. Gordon admitted that although this sounds easy, it isn’t necessarily so. She advised the students “ I know that it isn’t an easy process to have a healthy self-esteem, but it is definitely possible!” The students had the opportunity to ask questions after the presentations and were able to meet with her for a short time to talk about their own experiences.
Category: Community
Regals “Finding Kind” at Marymount Academy
Last spring, several teachers at Marymount Academy received word that they were successful in their grant application to the Ministry of Education. Their application focused on the problem of adolescent girls, and the growing levels of anxiety and depression in today’s society. Recognizing that this is a universal problem, these teachers felt that being in an all-girl school environment, it was a great opportunity to bring forward some solutions in their own school community. Teachers Lisa Levecque, Kim Fahner, Tammy Jutila, Anna White and Chaplain Jen Geddes began looking for ways in which they could change the focus for students – looking to the positive in themselves, and in others. One of the main ideas they landed on, is a campaign called “Finding Kind” (www.kindcampaign.com) which is a campaign driven by two American students – Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson, who created a documentary as well as a non-profit organization. According to their website, their mission statement is that “the Kind Campaign is an internationally recognized movement and school program based upon the powerful belief in KINDness that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-againstt-girl “crime”.
All the students gathered in the gym on Wednesday, March 27 to screen the documentary – “Finding Kind”. Teacher Tammy Jutila introduced the film to the students with a very important message. “It is a simple message really,” Jutila said. “You are not alone. Every single girl has encountered an experience at some point in their lives in which they become aggressors or victims of jealousy, rumours, name-calling etc. Finding Kind is about recognizing this in all of us, and encouraging change – it starts with you!”
As a follow up to the film, the students and staff took a pledge of their own promising to be kind to others creating a more positive environment.
The students were also informed that, later in the spring, the school will be creating a Finding Kind Club, open to all students so that anyone needing some support/advice etc. can talk to peer mentors and staff to help them with issues, as well as celebrate acts of kindness.
According to teacher Lisa Levecque, another facet to this initiative is an exciting project that links back to the campaign – which will be a school film festival gala that will take place during Catholic Education Week (May 5-10). Students will be encouraged to create their own videos that showcase documentaries, stories and reflections on kindness. “We thought this was a great tie-in project for the students,” Levecque said. “Right now as we approach the end of the Lenten season, we thought what a great opportunity to focus on our Catholic values, and the simple idea of being kind. With the use of technology, students will be creating very powerful and compelling movies that will positively impact each other, as well as create a healtheir school environment.”
Second Annual “Dragon’s Den” a Hit at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School
Recently, students in grade 8 at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in Hanmer participated in their annual “Dragon’s Den” science fair and became inventors for the day. Grade 8 students displayed their inventions for the entire school community to view and ten groups were selected to present their inventions to the panel of Dragons in the afternoon. The dragons consisted of Mr. Mathieu, Principal of St. Anne Catholic School, Mrs. Connelly, Curriculum Coordinator at Sudbury Catholic Schools, Mr. McKee, teacher at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, and Ms. McNicoll, registered nurse and community member.
Students worked extremely hard over the past 3 weeks planning, constructing, interviewing, testing, and marketing their new inventions. Their final products demonstrated the development and evaluation of innovative devices, models, techniques and approaches in technology and engineering. With the help of their teachers Julie Caissie, Jody O’Daiskey, and Jules Guenette, students integrated several technologies, inventions, or designs and constructed technological systems that could have human and commercial benefits.
St. Anne Angels created highly original products that demonstrated resourcefulness and creativity in design. Some of the top products were the “Purf”, created by Robyn Gagne and Coral Brabant, which transforms a scarf to a purse, as well as the “Kibble Katcher”, created by Alexander Gardner, which helps keep pet food from being scattered across the floor. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board held a board wide science fair on March 6th, and seven projects from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer were among those featured.
St. David School Green Team Prepare for Upcoming Earth Day
In preparation for Earth Day 2013, the grade 3 Dearness Conservation “Green Team” at St. David Catholic School spent the morning creating environmentally themed buttons with the help of Lesley Comyn Lippold of Lellyrella. Lesley Comyn Lippold is a local entrepreneur and environmental mentor to the St. David “Green Team”.
For over a decade, Sudbury Catholic Schools has been aggressively working on numerous Energy Conservation projects and initiatives to maximize efficiencies, including the Dearness Conservation program. The aim of the DC program is to involve students and staff in efforts to reduce the ecological footprint of their schools. The St. David School “Green Team” is a large group of students that work as a leadership team throughout the year to promote DC green initiatives and help build a healtheir and greener St. David School community.
The students, under the leadership of Ms. Comyn Lippold and their classroom teacher, Terri Lynn Lepage, created buttons with messages about saving electricity by shutting the lights off, the importance of daily composting & recycling, and eating foods that come in their own natural packaging such as fruits and vegetables.
Some student favourite themed messages included “Lettuce be Green”, “May the Forest be with You” and “Don’t drop the Ball”.
These buttons will be distributed to students at St. David School in grades JK to 8 who are “Caught Being Green” during the month of April in celebration of Earth Day and in promotion of the school’s Dearness Conservation initiatives.
Sharing an Easter Message
St. James Catholic Elementary students Maria Bozic-Iotzov, Lucas Mullaly and Bella Lanci recently went to the radio station HOT 93.5 to create an Easter ad. They want to wish everyone a safe and Happy Easter. During this time of Easter remember the Lord and May this year’s Easter bring you hope and joy – from the students at St. James School.
Rocks and Rings at St. James Catholic Elementary School
“The Capital One Rocks & Rings program is designed to introduce the Olympic sport of curling to elementary school children. By bringing the curling rink to the school gym we reach children that would otherwise not have access to the roaring game.
The best part? We bring everything to the kids – no field trip or school buses required! Curling is a highly social sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. It is a fantastic physical activity that can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities. It also promotes sportsmanship and camaraderie and is an inexpensive and less dangerous alternative to many other sports.” www.rocksandrings.com
This was a very engaging and inclusive activity which St. James Catholic Elementary students thoroughly enjoyed. St. James would like to thank Capital One Rocks and Rings for introducing this sport to the students.
St. David Roaring Runners Prepare for Spring Running Season
The St. David Catholic Elementary School Roaring Runners cooking club is anxiously awaiting the beginning of the spring running season. While they wait for the snow to melt they are learning more about fuelling their bodies with healthy foods. As they wait for the seasons to change, the students participate in an after school cooking club. The students learn how to prepare a variety of healthy meals, learn about nutrition and enjoy the meals that they make together. This week students were hard at work making oatmeal muffin cups and banana French toast kabobs.
According to Ontario Ministry of Education “schools play an important role in teaching students healthy eating habits and reinforcing those lessons through school practices. Research shows that good health is a prerequisite for good learning. The government passed the Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act in April 2008.”
As a staff, St. David School works in partnership with Better Beginnings Better Futures, Breakfast Clubs of Canada and Holy Trinity Men’s Club to create an “environment where the healthiest choices are the easiest choices for students to make”. The school provides opportunities that reinforces the knowledge and attitudes regarding healthy eating developed through the Ontario curriculum.
St. James Celebrates Franco-Fun Day
March 20th was International Francophone Day and to celebrate the occasion, St. James Catholic Elementary School students dressed in green and white. This day is a celebration of French language in all countries. Some students participated in an activity called “New Age Kurling”, others sang French songs and participated in French DPA (daily physical activity). Teachers organized various classroom activities including colouring the fancophone flag and making crowns.
“Le 20 mars * marque comme chaque année la Journée internationale de la Francophonie. L’occasion pour les francophones de fêter leur bien commun, la langue française, mais aussi d’exprimer leur solidarité et leur désir de vivre ensemble au travers de centaines d’événements organisés dans le monde entier.” www.francophonie.org
ABC’s in the Classroom at Sudbury Catholic Schools
Since May of 2012, Joel Agowissa, the Aboriginal Support Worker for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has been sharing his knowledge of First Nation, Metis, and Inuit cultures with students and staff throughout the board. His programs have been developed to support both the primary learners – Kindergarten to grade 1, and the junior students – grade 2 to grade 5. Agowissa’s ABC program, delivered to primary students, is based on the Aboriginal Biinoojig Centre (ABC) programming. ABC gives the primary students the opportunity to begin their Catholic education with a clear understanding of the foundation of aboriginal cultures.
Since September 2012, Agowissa has visited 12 of the Sudbury Catholic Elementary Schools, with the remainder of the board’s schools scheduled for visits until the end of June 2013. The programming is delivered to all students in the classroom setting and allows for hands-on, visual and interactive learning opportunities. According to Agowissa, “Connecting with students at this age sets the foundation for accurate cultural appreciation, building self-confidence and awareness, and replacing stereotypes with knowledge.”
Nicole Snow, SCDSB Superintendent and Aboriginal Lead states “We are proud to introduce aboriginal culture during the formative years, and recognize the importance of enhancing our programs and implementing and developing new initiatives to support aboriginal student achievement.”
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board has recently re-launched the “Who Are You” voluntary self-identification campaign for aboriginal students. According to Snow, ”This is part of a larger, long-term initiative to improve the understanding of aboriginal histories, cultures, and perspectives, by all members of our school communities.”