Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Hour of Code Family Night Tuesday December 7 at 7pm – Getting Loopy

Next week (Dec. 6-12) is Computer Science Education Week!

Join Sudbury Catholic District School Board in our Hour of Code Family Night happening on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

Every family that signs up will get an entry for a draw to win AirPods!

Families, you will require a device (laptop, tablet or cell phone) to watch the presentation and an area of space to dance. So don’t forget your dancing feet!

Visit the Student Hub to register or click here.

What is Hour of Code?

We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works.

But only a fraction of us are learning how technology works.

That’s why during Computer Science Education Week (December 6-12) our K-12 schools are participating in the Hour of Code. More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code. Our Hour of Code is making a statement that Sudbury Catholic District School Board is ready to teach these foundational 21st-century skills. To continue bringing programming activities to our students, we invite you to participate in our event on Dec. 7th and change the future of education in Sudbury.

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week 2021

Bullying in all forms is considered a serious issue that affects student learning, sense of safety and overall well-being. Having respect and kindness towards one another is extremely important for our school board because a school should be a place where everyone feels included and everyone is welcome. By providing a safe learning environment, SCDSB can ensure student success and create responsible and compassionate leaders in learning and faith to help change the world for the better.

November 21 – 27, 2021 is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. This week is designed to promote safe schools and positive learning environments and will encourage everyone to play their part in preventing bullying at school, online and in the community.

Yet one of the most important things to understand during these conversations of bullying, is that it’s not just something that happens at school or online – it also happens in your home and in your neighborhood as well as other places where children spend time. This week we ask everyone in our community (students, educators, staff, parents and guardians) to consider how they can play their part to prevent bullying wherever it might happen so that all children and people can learn and grow in safe, positive environments.

To help understand how you can play your part to stop bullying, please review the following resources provided by the Ministry of Education.

Resource Downloads

Information for Parents/Guardians
School Board Guide

Why Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week Matters

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week is significant to note because it enables schools and community members to promote positive change in student learning, achievement, and well-being for a safer learning environment, which is essential to student success.

Everyone has a responsibility to stop bullying. This week is an opportunity to increase awareness of the available tools and resources that will encourage everyone to get involved with bullying prevention.

To assist in this effort, the Ministry of Education has provided themes that can be focused on each day during this week:

  • Bullying and Cyberbullying: Raising Awareness
  • Engaging the Whole School
  • Engaging Students
  • Engaging Parents, Guardians or Caregivers
  • Educator/School Staff Resources

What is the Take Away?

Providing a safe environment ensures student success. Bullying Awareness and Prevention week is about spreading kindness and gratitude and being aware of what’s happening around you. Are you being accepting and inclusive? Can you do something to help someone who is being bullied or could be a bully? The leaders of tomorrow will be impacted by the leaders of today. By acknowledging bullying’s impact and finding ways to stop it, you will help keep our community rooted in respect for all.

Bullying in all forms hinders children, teens, and all individuals from fully reaching their potential and discovering the path they want to take. Sudbury Catholic Schools continues to foster acceptance, unity, and kindness in projects and organizations that aim to fight bullying and invite everyone to do their part.

Resources to Support

PREVNet

Canada’s Healthy Relationships Hub

PREVNet is a national research and knowledge mobilization hub that brings together researchers and national organizations to build research capacity, assess youth relationship problems including bullying and dating violence, and promote evidence-based programs and effective policies across Canada to address and reduce youth interpersonal violence and promote healthy relationships.

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a small nonprofit that invests resources into making kindness the norm.

Their evidence-based Kindness in the Classroom® curriculum gives students the social and emotional skills needed to live more successful lives. Their workplace kindness calendar shows companies how easy it is to change workplace culture through simple kind gestures.

Treaties Recognition Week 2021

November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. 

The best way for students to discover Indigenous peoples and treaties is to meet with community leaders and listen to their first-hand perspectives. Students must be exposed to Indigenous history and perspectives, and we must take advantage of local resources whenever possible. This week, several resources and events are available for SCDSB students, staff, and the community to take advantage of.  

RESOURCES & EVENTS: 

TREATIES RECOGNITION WEEK 2021

Treaty Week 2021, Presented by the Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin

When: Nov. 1-5th (Recorded Sessions Available)  

Description: The Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin is hosting a series of online streaming events to bring awareness this week. Attached is a schedule of the events. To view the full schedule and preview recordings, please visit Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin’s Treaty Week Website

Indigenous STEM: From Canoes to NASA

When: Friday, Nov. 5th at 11am 

Description: Alongside Dominic Beaudry, an Anishinaabe Language & Cultural Facilitator, Science North is hosting an online session that will look at the innovations that Indigenous people have adapted throughout history and are continuing to do so daily. Students will have a chance to explore how the Ojibwe used STEM to construct canoes, Wampum Belts as hypertext (HTML) and how Ojibwe students are taking the robotics world by storm. 

Tree of Hope: Tree Lighting Ceremony

When: Sunday, Nov. 14th starting at 6pm

Description: Police services across the province light trees in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This year’s event will occur at 190 Brady St. (Greater Sudbury Police Service) and include drumming, smudging, guest speakers, and more. For more details, refer to the attached poster. 

Tree of Hope: Tree Lighting Ceremony – Event Poster

ABOUT TREATIES RECOGNITION WEEK

Treaties Recognition Week was introduced in 2016 to honour the importance of treaties and help students and residents of Ontario learn more about treaty rights, treaty relationships, and their relevance today. 

The Ministry of Education works with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs every year to support and amplify its annual public awareness campaign to increase knowledge and understanding of treaties and treaty relationships. This campaign includes resources that teachers in the classroom can use to plan activities about treaties.

These resources can be found online on Ontario’s website under Treaties Recognition Week.

Walking With Purpose – St. Benedict CSS Holds Walk for Wenjack

On September 30th, St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School students and staff came together to recognize the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation by putting together and completing a Walk for Wenjack. 

What is Walk for Wenjack? 

Walk for Wenjack is a grassroots event that started in 2016. The first walk retraced the steps of Chanie Wenjack, beginning at the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, ON, and continued to Redditt, ON for a ceremony representing Chanie’s final resting spot near Farlane.  

Since it’s been established, the Walk for Wenjack has provided Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada with the opportunity to participate in Secret Path Week in a meaningful way. The purpose of this walk not only empowers personal reflection, but further helps to acknowledge that everybody has their reason to Walk for Wenjack. No matter what that is, the walk is set up to help people honour their reason. 

“Depending on the person, everyone has different connections to this day,” Says a St. Ben’s Grade 8 student who participated in the walk. “It doesn’t have one true meaning, but it is an opportunity for us to think about it together and what it might mean to yourself, and also to different people.” 

According to the Walk for Wenjack website, for some individuals, this day could be a moment to honour Chanie. While for others, it may be an opportunity to raise awareness of the true history of residential schools. Nevertheless, both the school and Walk for Wenjack organization expresses that each walk is genuinely unique and has helped community’s understand how this day can impact and mean different things to different people. 

Details of the Walk

The walk took place outside, on the St. Benedict’s school track. It was done over the course of the day by one class at a time to maintain safety and social distancing. At the end of the walk, each class tied an orange ribbon around St. Benedict’s “Every Child Matters” flag pole to help create awareness and promote togetherness. 

In addition to the walk, signs were posted around the field to help remind people of the purpose of why they were walking. Each class also had a student representative that carried an “Every Child Matters” Indigenous flag, which was proudly displayed in the school’s front hall after the event. 

“Though we could not walk altogether, our flag pole was a strong visible display that has helped unite our staff, students and community members together by showing our support is something we all participated in.” Says Merrill Sanowar, Vice Principal of St. Benedict’s. 

Future Action

The event is just one of many that their school will hope to participate in the future. As of this year, St. Benedict has signed up to be a Legacy School. 

To be a Legacy School, entails that the Downey Wenjack organization will provide educational resources and program development to help ensure that Indigenous peoples’ unique interests, rights, and perspectives are recognized and implemented in St. Benedicts education and community. The Legacy Schools program is a free national initiative put on by the Downey Wenjack organization to engage, empower and connect students and educators to further reconciliation through awareness, education and action (#reconciliACTION) and will help create a close knit environment people can be comfortable and express themselves in. 

“This is a commitment towards action. As an entire school community, this will be successful by all sharing and participating in this together. Every Child Matters isn’t exclusively talking about our Children. Every person was a child at one time. We want to show that we are doing this together and wish to let the community know.” Says Laura Kuzenko, Principal of St. Benedicts. 

Photo Gallery

Thank You Everyone!

A big thank you goes out to everyone who’s hard work and effort has made it possible for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to continue our educational efforts in helping students and community members grow through learning and faith.

We are grateful to serve our community and are excited for the year ahead! Thank you!

Sudbury Catholic District School Board Lowers Flags in Honour of BC Residential School Victims

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board joins communities across Canada in honouring and praying for the 215 Indigenous children whose bodies were discovered on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Tk-emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation territory. 

To honour their lives, flags at all SCDSB schools and board buildings will be lowered for nine days (May 31-June 8) – a total of 215 hours to represent each of the 215 children. As a sign of our collective mourning, the Board will also be participating in the National moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. today as we honour and acknowledge the children who never returned home.

“Today, we honour the lives of the 215 Indigenous children who will not be coming home. It is a heartbreaking tragedy and while there are no words to truly express the deep mourning those impacted are experiencing, we humbly offer our prayers that they and their families will find healing. We also acknowledge the pain and trauma this brings to all Indigenous peoples across the country, and we recognize the need for ongoing truth and reconciliation. May God continue to watch over the 215 souls and their families,” said Michael Bellmore, Chair of the Board of the Trustees for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

“All Sudbury Catholic District School Boards schools and facilities are standing in solidarity with communities across Canada in honouring the 215 Indigenous children. While it is indeed an unspeakable tragedy, we send continued prayers and healing to all those affected and to the Indigenous communities in the Sudbury area and across the country. We have lowered all flags for 215 hours and will join the National moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. As a system, we are also wearing orange shirts on Wednesday, June 2 and will unite in a collective prayer service as a reminder that every child matters,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

Join Us and Learn How to Identify and Prevent Human Trafficking!

The Parent Involvement Committee is very pleased to once again to support virtual learning sessions throughout the winter and spring.

Our next session is on March 31: Nicole St. Jean, Sudbury and Area Victims Services, will talk about increased internet use, signs to look for, grooming techniques and resources. This is important information for every parent to know. We hope to see you there and also encourage you to share this invitation with others.

This session will take place on March 31 from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Zoom.

Don’t miss out, register HERE!

Stay tuned for more information about these upcoming sessions:

  • April 21 – Financial Literacy
  • May 12 – Vaping and cannabis use
  • Cyber safety (TBD)
  • 5 Steps for High School Success : Broadening student horizons through the exploration of Xello and specialized secondary programs in the SCDSB (TBD)

St. Charles College students send messages of positivity to the residents of Amberwood Suites in Sudbury

When news this week worsened for the staff and residents at Amberwood Suites in Sudbury, Mrs. Sauve in grade 7 at St. Charles College acted swiftly.

She wanted to use her students to help raise the spirits of residents who continue to be quarantined to their rooms at the retirement residence due to a Covid-19 outbreak.

To date, four of its residents have died in the last two weeks of the deadly virus.The students created pen pal letters for the residents and uplifting and inspirational messages, quotes and pictures.

Mrs. Sauve says “Right now our community and these residents need light and love and it comes authentically and genuinely from the students.”

The letters will be delivered this week.

Principal Aaron Barry is proud of the students and their empathy and kindness. “It’s these small gestures that make our students grow up into wonderful people.”

Catholic Education Centre Raises $1300 for the Sudbury Food Bank

The Catholic Education Centre at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board has raised a total of $1300 in canned goods and monetary donations through the Edgar Burton Food Drive. The donations was given to the Sudbury Food Bank to help replenish their stock and support those who will utilize their services this Christmas.

The Catholic Education Centre consists of approximately 70 employees made up of educators, support staff and administrators. The group originally had a goal of $600 but this was quickly surpassed during the two-week campaign!

“We are very proud of all central Board office staff for the dedication they had to the Edgar Burton Food Drive this year,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We know how important it is to help provide food and monetary support in these difficult times and are very pleased to play a part in helping! We look forward to continuing to support the Sudbury Food Bank in the new year.”

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