Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Enrichment

Students Create Their Own Space Probe Lander!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Stem Class #3 

Students create their Own Space Probe Lander!

Nicholas Butt, Outreach Coordinator for Let’s Talk Science, lead a group of grades 4-6 students at St. Anne, St. Charles, St. John, Holy Trinity, and Immaculate Conception in both a minds on and hands-on activity about Space Probes. Students learned about the three types of Space Probes: orbiter, interplanetary and the lander. Then, from recycled materials students created their very own Space Probe Lander.

Mrs. Bradley, Grade 5 & 6 Teacher at Immaculate Conception School stated “Students enjoyed exploring ways to stabilize their space probes to be sure they didn’t fall over when hitting the ground.  The engagement and sharing of ideas with each other was amazing!”

To watch the recording of this lesson in either French and English Click Here. 

STEM Club is ideal for busy educators, whether teaching face to face or remotely! There is still time to Register Your Class for fun and interactive STEM activities intended for Grade 4-6 students! Each week, Let’s Talk Science, features a different hands-on activity using minimal, easy-to-find materials. Students will also have the chance to learn from and ask questions to inspire STEM role models. 

An English activity is offered two times per week (Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. ET & Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET), and a French activity is offered once a week (Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET).

The second cohort starts November 2nd, and the third on January 27th, 2022.

For more information, visit: Join the Let’s Talk Science STEM club or contact christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca if you would like more details about participating in this activity.

St. James Students Participate in Live Inspirational Talk with Dr. Jane Goodall

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Students in Mr. MacNeill’s grade 7 & 8 class signed up for the annual Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge. The challenge is a commitment to ongoing outdoor learning throughout the school year.  Mr. MacNeill, his students and 700 000 other students across Canada made the commitment to learning outside at least one day per week.

This year marked the 11th annual Take Me Outside to Learn Day and in partnership with Canada’s Non-profit Outdoor Learning Store and MEC, they hosted a full week of speakers, activities and events that not only engaged students but deepened their connections with Indigenous perspectives, strengthened their health and well-being with outdoor learning, and increased their knowledge on climate change and the environment. 

On Thursday October 21st, Mr. MacNeill’s class along with seven hundred classes across the country were excited to participate in a live inspirational talk and Q&A with Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada. Dr. Goodall spoke about growing up without television and social media and how she spent most of her time outdoors. She stressed the importance of living in harmony with nature as it improves our mental well-being.

The Jane Goodall Institute explained the opportunity for students to participate in their Roots & Shoots funding program. Roots & Shoots focuses on Jane Goodall’s inspirational message of hope, reminding participants that every individual is important and every individual can make a difference. Through a unique 4-step program, educators lead youth from inspiration; to mapping their community for sustainability issues for people, animals and the environment; to taking action to solve those issues; and then celebrating the impact they have made. Through this journey, youth are engaged to take action on sustainability issues and become compassionate leaders.

We can’t wait to hear about the action project ideas that Mr. MacNeill’s class will discuss next week!


For more information about this initiative please visit Roots and Shoots or for additional support in filling out an application contact: christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca

Students in Mr. MacNeill’s grade 7 & 8 class listen to Jane Goodall speak as part of the 2021 Take Me Outside for Learning Challenge!

Students Learn about the DNA of Fingerprints!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Weekly STEM Club Grades 4-6

Session #2

Mrs. Bradley’s grade 5 & 6 class at Immaculate Conception School participated in this week’s STEM club activity. Students were excited to learn the science of fingerprints by Let’s Talk Science’s Outreach Coordinator Nick and special guest Hannah (a master’s student in biochemistry).

The students took part in a hands-on activity where they learned how to collect fingerprints. They also gained an understanding of the patterns in fingerprints and why fingerprinting is so valuable!

For specific details about this hands-on activity, refer to: How Can I Take Fingerprints? To watch the recording of this lesson in either French and English Click Here. 

STEM Club is ideal for busy educators, whether teaching face to face or remotely! There is still time to Register Your Class for fun and interactive STEM activities intended for Grade 4-6 students! Each week, Let’s Talk Science, features a different hands-on activity using minimal, easy-to-find materials. Students will also have the chance to learn from and ask questions to inspire STEM role models. 

An English activity is offered two times per week (Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. ET & Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET), and a French activity is offered once a week (Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m. ET).

The second cohort starts November 2nd, and the third on January 27th, 2022.

For more information, visit: Join the Let’s Talk Science STEM club or contact christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca if you would like more details about participating in this activity.

Pictured are students from Immaculate Conception School having fun in this hands-on activity!

SCDSB Celebrates International Day of the Girl with a Series of Online Events by Skills Ontario

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

The International Day of the Girl was established by the United Nations in 2012 and is recognized as a day to acknowledge girls and their rights, education, and opportunities.

Skills Ontario offered a series of online events and challenges to celebrate this special occasion from October 4th-11th.

Students at Marymount Academy seized the opportunity to learn about women in the trades and participated in the following challenges put on by Skills Ontario:

  • Industrial Sector Welding (i.e. Popsicle Stick Playgrounds)
  • Service Sector (i.e. Paper Dresses)
  • Construction Sector (i.e. Marshmallow Towers)

The week ended with a virtual conference, For Girls, By Girls! dedicated to empowering girls through relatable and engaging content. For Girls, By Girls provided viewers with the opportunity to hear from girls in elementary and senior elementary to discuss their perspectives of how they perceive the skilled trades and technologies. Keynote speaker Kyara Cabrera Fong, Auto Body Technician Apprentice and Panel Leader Courtney Chard, Pipe Welder led the conference. 

Pictured are the creations from Mrs. Rinaldi’s grade 7 class.

COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream – Education Related Projects

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to acknowledge that schools in SCDSB have received COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream – Education Related Projects (CVRIS-EDU) as part of Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP).

The CVRIS-EDU funding is a federal and provincial program designed to help school boards promote occupant health and safety, improve facility conditions (e.g. optimize air quality), enhance physical distancing and facilitate distance learning.

In total, the CVRIS-EDU projects will support up to $656M in projects in school boards across Ontario. We are grateful for the support of both our federal and provincial partners in supporting our ongoing efforts to ensure safe and supportive learning environments for our students, staff and community.

Eligible expenditures under the program are those that will be incurred by school boards between February 2021 and December 31, 2021, and have been approved by the federal government.  

The funds we received are being used to facilitate Ventilation Upgrades at the following schools: 

  • St. Francis
  • St. John
  • St. Anne
  • St. Albert
  • St. Charles (elementary)
  • Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S

To learn more about the Fund, please visit

Learn more about this initiative

This project is funded in part by the Government of Ontario
This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada

SCDSB Students Soar at Canada Wide Science Fair

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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

Dr. Jeffrey Wood, Guest Speaker at MISA NEOEN Carousel Event

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Dr. Jeffrey Wood was a keynote speaker at a recent MISA-research carousel organized by Jean McHarg, Superintendent of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board on behalf of the eight school boards and one school authority.

Dr. Wood emphasized the importance of the collaboration of all stakeholders to share the research being done in our region by the eight school boards and one school authourity and the two universities. Future plans would include having doctoral and masters students conduct research in the school boards on major initiatives presently being implemented.

Marymount Academy Announces Advanced Placement Program for September, 2010

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Marymount students, teachers, trustees and guests gathered at a press conference held at the school to launch a very exciting and progressive program known as the Advanced Placement Program or AP as it is more commonly referred to.
Beginning in September 2010, Marymount students in Grades 9 and 10 can enrol in the pre AP courses while students in Grade 11 and 12 will be able to register in the AP courses. “Advanced Placement courses offer university level content to our students at the high school level allowing them to delve deeper into the course material and ultimately making them feel more comfortable and gain more confidence when entering university,” says Lucie Cullen, Principal of Marymount Academy. Another benefit of the Advanced Placement Program is that it allows students to accelerate through university as students may achieve advanced academic standing or equivalent credits at universities in Canada and the United States and overseas. According to Dan Bartolucci, Program Leader at Marymount Academy, the Advanced Placement Program is recognized worldwide. “Admission offices regard AP students as high achievers,” states Bartolucci. “Post secondary institutions in more than 30 countries recognize AP in their admission process, including 90 percent of North American colleges and universities.”
Marymount Academy will roll out the Advanced Placement Program in September of 2010 by offering three courses: English, Math and French at the AP level with Geography and Science courses being added the following year. The AP courses will be taught concurrently with the curriculum, and students will write the university exams at Marymount in May. The exams are sent to a central location in the United States for marking and the results are mailed to the students in July. Each AP exam is given a grade point a 5-point scale: Students that score 4 and 5 out of 5 on their exams will receive AP or university credits. Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District Program is also very impressed with the school’s Advanced Placement Program. “The AP Program is a perfect fit for Marymount Academy,” Cameron told the student body and the media. “Its innovative, progressive and meets the needs of our students by providing them with opportunities and challenges beyond their grade level. As a result of this program they will walk into colleges and universities with much greater confidence and knowledge as well as credits. It is with great pride that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board support Marymount and its dedicated staff in launching the AP Program.”

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