Five students from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer had an opportunity to see their future, and wear a Bishop Alexander Carter Secondary School Gator jersey at a recent feeder school event. BAC invited grade 8 students from St. Anne School to watch a spirit building hockey game at Centennial Arena, where their boys and girls hockey teams played againstt one another. It was an exciting and close game,finishing with a score of 3 – 2 for the boys hockey team.
Category: Community
St. David School and Better “B” Kids After School Program Make Composting a Regular Part of Their Day
St. David Catholic School students not only compost during their school day, but also continue the green initiative at the Better Beginnings After School Program. Originally, this composting initiative started in September 2010 by a small group of students and their teacher at St. David. Today, the students, staff and community members all work together to make composting a daily part of the school day.
The children learn about the value of composting in their classrooms and through Destination Conservation and Green initiative presentations. Food waste that is thrown out is trucked to the dump, and then incinerated, releasing toxic gasses into the atmosphere. By composting your waste you not only prevent this pollution, but create rich soil, which will be used at in the school’s community garden project.
“Composting is a topic that addresses a real-world issue and helps to instill a sense of environmental stewardship in our youth. It can be used for a wide range of scientific projects or experiments and can help students to see the interconnections between science and healthy lifestyle choices”, explains Terri Lynn Lepage, Destination Conservation lead teacher at St. David School.
St. David School Successfully Collaborates as a Interdisciplinary Team
St. David School staff collaboratively works as a team with support from school board personal, Jennifer Connelly, assistive technology teacher, on using assistive technology to support student achievement. The school teachers, principal, educational assistants, secretary and child and youth worker all attended an in-service on a new exciting computer program called Word Q. Word Q helps students develop confidence, improve productivity, increase self-esteem and foster a spirit of inclusion. The program assists by predicting words and providing speech feedback that allows students to hear their mistakes. “I appreciate its simplicity”, said Nancy Costanzi, resource teacher at St. David Catholic School and new WordQ expert.
St. Anne Angels Beginning Their Transition
Transitioning into high school can sometimes be a difficult process for young teens, but St. Anne Catholic School and Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School make that transition easier on their students. On Thursday, January 12th, 2012, grade 8 students from St. Anne School in Hanmer, visited Bishop Alexander Secondary School (BAC) to continue with their transition from elementary school into high school. This day was an exciting one for all students as they participated in different workshops featuring the arts and sciences that BAC has to offer. Students had the opportunity to explore the music program and listen to the BAC Band, drama and compete with the BAC Improv Team, and make button pins in the visual arts classroom. They were also fascinated with the various stations in the biology lab, and the explosive experiments in the chemistry lab during their visit. St.Anne Angels are always enthusiastic to visit BAC because it is always a fascinating and welcoming environment.
A Place to Play, Learn, Laugh and Grow Together!
Immaculate Conception School has been chosen as a new site for the Valley East Outreach – Carrefour meilleur départ Hanmer Best Start program. On Monday, January 16th, Valley East Outreach hosted its kick-off event “Free Family Zumba” at Immaculate Conception School. Many families, toddlers to grandparents, came dressed and ready to “zumba-cise” with Zumba instructor, Chantale. All the parents, grandparents and children went home smiling and fully eneregized by the experience.
Carrefour Meilleur départ Hanmer hopes to get the word out to everyone that Immaculate Conception School will be offering new Valley East Outreach programs. The program will be delivered in English, however some French language activities will be offered during the outreach session.
Beginning on Thursday, February 2nd from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. the Valley East Outreach site at Immaculate Conception School will open its doors to families and offer Play Group activities. A variety of early learning activities will be offered to children and their parents/care givers. Parents/care givers will appreciate the opportunity to network with other parents and learn simple literacy and numeracy activities to play with their children at home. In addition, a wide variety of free workshops, programs and services will also be offered to parents/caregivers at this site. The Valley East Outreach site will offer families a place to meet, learn, grow and have fun together. If you are interested in learning more about the Valley East Outreach program, please contact Kim MacDonald, Carrefour practitioner, at 705-969-8888 and Louisa Bianchin, Principal, at 705-897-4483.
St. Anne English ABC’S Students Donation Cans Start “Paying Off”!
Earlier this fall, Olivia Dunbabin, an English Early Learning student at St. Anne School in Hanmer, and her classmates decided “you don’t have to be that old” to be able to make a difference in the world. She along with her four and five year old classmates think they are just the right age to stand up and be noticed. They have been making a difference to the animal world and as such, they don’t want people to call them the Kindergarten class anymore. They now want to be recognized as the “ABC’S”, All Because of Caring Students!
These young students within the Sudbury Catholic School Board have been on a mission. They have been raising money to help out Sudbury’s animal population. After discussing animals in the fall and enjoying a presentation from the Wild At Heart Animal Refuge, the young students told their teacher, Cheryl MacRury, that they wanted to do their part to help animals in the wild. With technological help from Mrs. Belanger’s Gr. 7 class in transferring the Kindergarten generated logo entitled the “ABC’S” onto the computer, the students have placed donation cans asking for one penny within Valley businesses. The donation cans, the Kindergarten logo, and brief explanation placards have been placed at Hanson’s Family Dentistry, Paula’s Canine Country Club, Evolve Active Therapy, and Nor-Ont Veterinary Hospital.
Thanks to the caring staffs at these businesses as well as family members from the students themselves, the “ABC’S” are on a mission that seems to be paying off. With the help of Mrs. Belanger’s Gr.7 class in counting out the donations, the young students have collected $40.00 and were able to present the Wild At Heart Refuge with some food and household items necessary for the animals from the Refuge’s wish list over the Christmas holidays. The “ABC’S” plan to keep giving to The Wild At Heart Refuge Center, but who knows? If their campaign is a successful one, they would like to even be able to donate to the local S.P.C.A. When asked if they are too little to make a difference in the world, these little people have only one thing to say. “We believe we can do it!” The staff and students at St. Anne School believe in you too. Way to go Angels!
Fruity Fridays and Tasty Tuesdays at St. Bernadette
Students at St. Bernadette Catholic School always eagerly eat up all the nutritious offerings prepared and delivered by volunteers Gerda Weiss, Wendy Visneski and Henriette Waschuk.
Thanks to sponsorship through the Childhood Enfance program, St. Bernadette and many other Sudbury Catholic Schools regularly enjoy healthy snacks such as fresh fruit and tasty vegetables. Mrs Gerda Weiss, who has been actively involved with St. Bernadette for over 25 years as a parent, lunch supervisor and volunteer, stated that, “No matter what type of nutritious snack we prepare, it could be broccoli and cauliflower, the students always finish their serving and often ask for more!”
St. Albert’s Personal Support Worker Program Receives Official Accreditation
A full class of twenty-four students was on hand for the announcement on Wednesday, January 10, that the St. Albert Adult Learning Centre Personal Support Worker (PSW) program has officially received accreditation in their program. The PSW program began accepting students in September 2010 and is currently hosting its fourth PSW class. Approximately 100 students will have graduated from this accredited program by June 2012 with over 90% of students finding work in their field. What makes the PSW program at St. Albert unique, is that students can obtain their PSW certificate as well as credits towards their high school diploma. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board commented to the group about this wonderful accomplishment. “The staff of St. Albert has worked so hard to make this opportunity available for its students,” McCullough stated. “Receiving official accreditation for the program is evidence of this hard work. The students who have, and are taking part in this program, continue to show success in their new careers. On behalf of St. Albert, I would like to thank all community partners, long term care facilities and community care agencies who have helped the St. Albert PSW program grow through accepting students for their experiential placements. Together we are making the greater City of Sudbury a healtheir place to live.”
Gada Gawek’seg- Quay Ska Tiss See- Be the Change At St. Charles College
An emergency meeting was called by St. Charles College Native Studies Student President Natasha Cooper Lewis when she heard about the housing crisis in Attawapiskat. “I really wanted to help the Cree people in their time of need and I turned to the students for help,” said Natasha. The students decided to have wristband bracelets made that say “Gada Gawek’seg” and “Quay Ska Tiss See” which is Ojibway and Cree for “Be the Change”. The wristbands are being sold for $2 each at the school and by students in the community with all proceeds going to the Red Cross, earmarked for Attawapiskat. Grade 9 student, Beth Baxter from Moose Factory, ON, was grateful her classmates were willing to help be the change in a community her family is connected to on the James Bay coast. “I’m happy that my school wants to help out the people of Attawapiskat and that they liked our Cree translation so much that they put it on a bracelet. It’s a very powerful statement to make,” believes Beth.