The staff and students of St. Andrew School celebrated National Flay Day on February 15. On this date in 1965 the Canadian flag was first raised over Parliament Hill. Everyone at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School showed their pride in their flag and country by wearing read and white. At 1pm all viewed a beautiful slide show of Canadian scenes and sang a rousing rendition of O’ Canada.
Category: Community
Marymount/St. Ben’s Alpine Teams Make it Back-to-Back-to-Back
On Wednesday, February 13th the SDSSAA/NOSSA Alpine Championships took place showcasing just shy of 100 of the best high school racers who competed in slalom and giant slalom. Conditions were perfect for racing and all of the skiers took advantage of the favourable racing conditions. In the Level 1 division (no club racing affiliation or experience past Nancy Greene) Marymount Academy and St. Benedict’s were looking to make it three consecutive championships in three consecutive years. In the morning slalom runs, Marymount set the mark and reaffirmed that they are still a strong force in the city. Katherine Boyce earned her first gold medal in alpine competition in only her second year of ski racing and she wasn’t finished there. She finished the afternoon giant slalom run in second and was the silver medallist. This resulted in Katherine being crowned the overall Level 1 Girls’ combined champion and double-gold medallist. The success didn’t stop with Katherine. Veteran high school racer Danielle Burla captured the gold medal in the girls’ giant slalom after having a difficult morning in the slalom. Overall, the Regals finished with Katherine as the gold medallist, first-year racer Carissa Roy as the silver medallist, second-year racer Kelsey Roy in third place, and veteran Brittany Major in fifth place. This was more than enough to earn Marymount their third NOSSA championship in three consecutive years. Team members include: Danielle Burla, Katherine Boyce, Carissa Roy, Kelsey Roy, Brittany Major, McKenna Urso, Toni Teale, Kelsey Bell, Brier Cook, and Marika Moskalyk.
For St. Benedict’s, it was very much of the same. Ryan Bell was the overall Level 1 boys’ combined silver medallist. Adam Kirkwood and Arthur Cavallin finished fourth and fifth respectively overall. These outstanding finishes also earned the St. Benedict’s Level 1 boys’ team their third NOSSA championship in three consecutive years. Team members include: Ryan Bell, Adam Kirkwood, Arthur Cavallin, Jarvis Hill, Alex Andlar, Justin Fabian, and Dana Petrone.
Both teams will be representing Northern Ontario at the Provincial OFSAA Championships to be held at Blue Mountain in Collingwood from February 24th – 26th.
St. Charles Elementary Students Explore Their Senses Through Goalball
JK/SK students in teacher Amy Malafarina’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School learned more about their senses of hearing, touch and sight as they experienced the skills of the game Goalball. Thank you to teacher Adriano Simonato, a vision resource teacher with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, for sharing his expertise and love for the sport with us!
St. James Sings to a Hometown Crowd
On Friday, February 8, 2013, students at St. James Catholic Elementary School took part in an exciting opportunity. These students were asked to sing the national anthem at the Friday night Wolves game in front of a full crowd at the Sudbury Arena. Despite some nerves and anxiety, the students did an outstanding job led by St. James teacher Tammy Lanci.”It was such an exciting event for the students,” Lanci stated. ” The students sang their hearts out for the entire Sudbury Arena crowd and we are very, very proud of their efforts!”
St. David Students Learn About the Lenten Season
To mark the start of Lent, St. David Catholic Elementary School Grade 1 students, Zach Munoz and Isabelle Fraser, took part in an Ash Wednesday service by being marked with the symbolic sign of the cross. Teacher Jennifer Gran’s grade 4/5 class organized and helped prepare the celebration. According to Grade 6 student, Katie MacLean, “Today’s Ash Wednesday celebration helped me better understand how important it is remember the sacrifices Jesus made for us. I think it is important that we learn how to treat one another with kindness and respect and appreciate how much we have.”
During the Lenten season, students at St. David Catholic Elementary School will be participating in reflective activities and lessons about who they really are as growing Catholic citizens. The ashes serve as a reminder of actions they are sorry for and of the importance of making good choices. Father Brendan Doherty, from Christ the King Parish, conducted the celebration for the school and local community members. Father Brendan spoke about how Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent and that it is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Celebrating Mardi Gras at St. Bernadette
The Grades 4 and 5/6 classes at St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School celebrated Mardi Gras on Tuesday, February 12th. These French Immersion students discussed the history of the celebration, and its importance to their French Catholic culture. Students took part in the celebration by creating their very own Mardi Gras masks and partaking in a feast of homemade pancakes before beginning a fast for Lent.
98…99…100 Days of School Celebrated at St. Raphael
On Friday, February 8, 2013, many students at St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of school. Students took part in a variety of activities that demonstrated the importance of the day. Some of these activities included counting to 100, writing 100 words from around the classroom, crafting with 100 items, investigating collections of 100 items, eating 100 food choices and many others. Both students and staff felt that it was truly a great day!
100 Days of School Celebration at St. Paul Catholic Elementary
Students in teacher Lisa Wright’s French Immersion Senior Kindergarten class at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School celebrated the 100th day of school in a BIG way on Thursday, February 7th! Several children and Mme Wright came to school dressed as centenarians. The afternoon was spent with special guests , moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas. A lot of fun was had at each of the 100th day centres which included:
1) Working as a team to stack 100 plastic cups
2) Roll the dice to 100 game
3) Making a portrait of what they will look like at 100 years old.
4) Making a 100th Day party hat
5) Snack bag of 100 “goodies”.
Students were disappointed to learn that the school year ends before the 200th day. They were looking forward to another big celebration.
Jeans for Teens at MMA
Through the organization dosomething.org, the Aeropostale clothing company has initiated a competition for Canadian secondary schools. Trying to make a difference for homeless teens, Aeropostale is challenging schools to collect the most number of jeans to support the teen clientele at homeless shelters across the nation. According to the website dosomething.org, the number one requested item at homeless shelters by teens is jeans. Marymount student Brooke Debassige who works at the Sudbury Aeropostale store was inspired by this contest and knew that her school would step up and take part in this initiative. After talking to both her principal Lucie Cullen and vice principal Lori Holden, the school launched its own Jeans for Teens collection. “It is the least we can do for others who are less fortunate in our local and surrounding communities,” Debassige stated. “At Marymount we are always encouraged to support each other and give back to the community, and I knew this was something that we should definitely be a part of – plus, it just feels good to do something good for others.”
Principal Lucie Cullen was inspired by Debassige’s idea. “Brooke came to us right away with this idea and we knew immediately that it was something that we would support as a school,” Cullen stated. “Marymount strives to support social justice initiatives and we are very proud of Brooke for bringing this forward so that we could participate as a school.”
After counting the jeans already collected on Friday, February 8th, Marymount Academy had over 600 pairs of jeans for donation. The Jeans for Teens collection will be ongoing until February 25, 2013 and the school is asking the community to help them with their collection and to drop off any new or gently used jeans to Marymount Academy located at 165 D’Youville St. before February 25, 2013.
The winning school will receive a $10,000 prize, Aeropostale hoodies with the school logo, and a party for the students.