Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Learn About Cyber Safety At SCDSB’s Parent & Educator Virtual Series!

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board Parent Involvement Committee is excited to announce the return of our Virtual Engagement Series for Parents & Educators. Please see the attached poster to learn more about our upcoming sessions. 

Next Session: Cyber Safety

Join us Wednesday, March 23rd at 6-7 pm on Zoom for our first session, “Cyber Safety,” led by one of the industry’s foremost experts, Danny Pehar. 

As the architect for the Cybercrime Equation, Danny works closely with the Toronto Police Cyber task force and the FBI cyber task force to help control cybersecurity. His extensive cybersecurity knowledge, combined with his extensive background as a best-selling author, comedian, and motivational speaker will garner an experience you do not want to miss. Registration is required to attend this event. Sign up now and get ready to laugh, learn, and make a difference for yourself and others. By attending this session, you will learn how to safely protect yourself, your colleagues and your family from digital threats.

Event Poster

Sudbury Catholic School Students Raise $3350 for Habitat For Humanity!

Last month, over 300 Sudbury Catholic School students in Grades 4-6 used their critical thinking and innovation to submit entries in the forms of essays, stories, and poems on the topic of what HOME means to them as part of the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream.

For every entry a student submitted, Chapman’s pledged to make a $10 donation on behalf of that student to Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity organization to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Greater Sudbury community. 

With this contest, our students helped to build safe homes, but they also gained greater awareness surrounding the national issue of Canada’s housing crisis that so many families struggle with all over Canada. By working together to make a local difference, our students were able to see how they can contribute to building a just society for others and grow as leaders in learning and faith.

As a result of the hard work and efforts completed by staff, educators, and elementary students, Sudbury Catholic Schools collectively raised $3350 to be donated to the Local Habitat for Humanity Chapter by Chapman’s Ice Cream.

“It was exciting to provide our learners with a meaningful activity that supported them into becoming more advanced writers. These writing tasks not only challenged our students to make a difference in the world around them by thinking creatively about the topic —the meaning of home— it showed that by working together, a simple action can produce extraordinary results.” – Peter Prochilo, SCDSB Superintendent of School Effectiveness 

In addition to helping families in Greater Sudbury, the contest was an opportunity that helped students live out and apply the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations – important principles that support Catholic students in becoming more responsible citizens and collaborative contributors in the community. The success of the contest clearly demonstrated how Sudbury Catholic School students understand these expectations and how to apply them in their life and in their education.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all of our teachers and students for participating in this initiative. Collectively, our actions at Sudbury Catholic Schools resulted in a $3350 donation, but as a country we raised over $130,000 in corporate donations! Please refer to the Meaning of Home Thank You Letter! 

We invite you to check out some of the wonderful entries submitted by our students!

Sudbury Catholic School Entries

Grade 4 Christians Remote Learning School

Grade 6 Max V St. Paul Catholic Elementary School

When someone asks what HOME means to me one word comes to mind. LOVE. Home is where my mother and brother live with me.  What makes our home special is that my mother has worked so hard to design a new home that meets our needs.  From the day we hammered the SOLD sign in the ground till the day we moved in we visited it each and everyday to see its progress. When I am older, I want to be an architect, so I helped my mom design the house and worked with the blueprints. I even got to design my very own secret room downstairs. It was a ton of fun! 

My home is not a place. Home has feelings. Feeling like relaxation, comfort, happiness and love. Home is where my family comes to visit, eat and spend time together. A home is where I can build memories and since our home is new the possibilities are endless. I am excited.  

My home smells of fresh baking, homemade pasta sauce, a special candle or a fresh load of laundry.  When I enter the doors of my home I take a deep breath and smile.  

My home is a place where we can all wind down sit on the couch in front of our fireplace and talk about how our day was. My home is where I can be myself. If I want to listen to my Genesis vinyl full blast I can.

I am so lucky to have a caring home filled with LOVE.

Grade 4 Fiona Remote Learning School

St. Benedict Diversity Club Helped All Students Learn More About Black Culture During Black History Month!

African American history, contributions, and achievements are recognized annually across the United States and Canada during Black History Month. Sudbury Catholic Schools recognize it as an important opportunity to craft meaningful experiences to allow both the school and Sudbury community to honour the tradition of black culture and understand its importance in our education every day.

Throughout February, students, educators, faculty, social workers, and more have participated in various events, initiatives, and activities centred on bringing awareness towards the impact and infinite legacy of Black History both in and outside the classroom.

We are pleased to share the many outstanding efforts that have been exercised on behalf of St. Benedict’s Diversity Club. The club, which the school organizes, is comprised of students, administration, and St. Benedict Indigenous Support Worker (ISW), Shannon Agowissa.

This vital group has gone above and beyond, planning several events throughout February to help proudly share information on cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation. These diverse and informative events were completed in an effort to teach the student body and the community what is considered acceptable and help them learn more about black-culture.

One of the events they celebrated was “embrace your family heritage and dress in your cultural attire day”. Followed by this event was “celebrating and affirming your identity with your favourite hairstyle.” The goal of these events was ultimately to educate students and staff on the history of hair in African culture and the cultural attire and its significance.

In photo: (From left to right) Hillary Duong, Oseirudute Okojie, Tiara Esan, Olamide Fadahunsi (in the front row) Helen Bao Nguyen and Nifemi Boamah with their artwork representations of what hair and attire mean to them and their cultures.

Nifemi Boamah is a student and member of the club and has expressed the impact on what the days mean to her and what it could mean to others. “If I wear my curls out, I feel courageous.” – Nifemi Boamah

Pictured: Nifemi Boamah

As she displays her breathtaking artwork and showing off the gorgeous curls, we can truly feel the strength of her powerful statement. In the past, curls were deemed untamed and shameful. Though we know this is untrue, we recognize that the past is a part of human history, and it remains influential in our lives today. Having representation, visibility, and understanding of culture is essential for education. By providing these events, schools can cultivate a period of reflection that transforms thinking and grows a school community into being more present, respectful, and culturally and socially aware.

Overall, we are incredibly proud to see the amazing way St. Benedict’s Diversity Club has made an integrative effort to teach and accentuate the history of black culture, by creating events that help other races express other cultures as well. These type of activities show what wonderful global leaders we have at St. Benedict and at all Sudbury Catholic Schools.

Get the latest on what’s happening!

To see how other Sudbury Catholic Schools celebrated Black History Month, we encourage you to check out social media. School social media accounts are available on each school website. To navigate to a school website, please see our List of Schools.

IMG_0706
IMG_0714
IMG_0704
IMG_0710
IMG_0718
IMG_0716
IMG_0719
IMG_0715
IMG_0709
IMG_0708
IMG_0721
IMG_0720
IMG_0712
IMG_0703
previous arrow
next arrow

Sudbury Catholic Schools Gather Together For A Virtual Ash Wednesday Service

Our Lenten journey began on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022, with Ash Wednesday! Sudbury Catholic District School Board honoured the start of this season with a morning prayer service. Our church tradition shares that on Ash Wednesday, we are invited to be marked with the sign of the cross on our foreheads. This symbolizes our understanding that we make mistakes and that we will take this time of Lent to grow in holiness, so we are prepared to celebrate Easter with great joy. Bishop Thomas Dowd also joined us and reinforced this message, reminding us that Lent is a time to make our hearts a worthy place for the Holy Spirit to live.

The day was also one where we joined in prayer for the situation in Ukraine. Pope Francis sent out an invitation for the world to join together for a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace. He asked that we especially pray for those suffering, be aware that we are all brothers and sisters, and implore God for an end to the war.

For those members of our community who were unable to attend our service yesterday, you can still participate by watching a virtual recording of our Ash Wednesday service. We’ll also continue joining together for prayer on Monday mornings. We invite you to view the following poster to see a schedule of our future virtual prayer services taking place throughout Lent.

Lent Poster

Schedule of SCDSB Prayer Services For Lent

Picture Gallery

Sudbury Catholic Schools Celebrate Family Literacy Day 2022

On January 27th, 2022, Sudbury Catholic Schools celebrated Family Literacy Day. 

Family Literacy Day takes place annually to raise awareness about the importance of reading and participating in literacy-related activities as a family. 

Since 1999, thousands of schools, libraries, literacy organizations and other community groups have taken part in Family Literacy Day and for a good reason. Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to developing and improving a child’s literacy skills. Utilizing these essential skills helps a child reach their full potential, at school, at home, and in life. 

Learning in the Great Outdoors

This year for Family Literacy Day, the theme focused on the blessings of spending time in nature and was titled – Learning in the Great Outdoors. This subject supplied a way for families to exercise their bodies and minds by participating in various outdoor literacy activities. 

For instance, during the week, Grade 5 students from Pius XII celebrated Family Literacy Day by embarking on the natural beauty of Northern Ontario and completing a Nature Scavenger Hunt with their families. Together they discovered some amazing and unique parts of nature.

At St. Joseph, students took their time learning all about outdoor winter sports such as skating, skiing, hockey, and more. Following their learning, they then had the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with snowshoes. What a fun day! 

In addition to spending time outside and learning about nature, other classes celebrated the day by participating in a range of activities. Some examples include: 

  • Holy Cross students in Ms. Jewell and Ms. Abbott’s class settled down for storytime, nestling in and enjoying a good book. 
  • Grades 1 and 2 students at Pius XII had the opportunity to read by the firelight during a cozy reading session with flashlights and a virtual fireplace.
  • St. Anne students and educators took time to dress up as each of their favourite book characters. Later students also spent time in the library reading some new books they received thanks to the community’s donations. 

At the start of the day, Grades K-3 classes were invited to a virtual story-time with Howard Binkow, the author of the Howard B. Wigglebottom series. Ten classes and over 100 students joined virtually to read “Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns About Mud and Rainbows.” Later in the day, families and classes were invited to join ABC Life Literacy’s national celebration. Author and illustrator Barbara Reid demonstrated how to use clay to create a picture.

Overall, it truly was a fantastic day for our students, educators and families. Please scroll through our picture gallery to see a visual sample of the many activities enjoyed by our Sudbury Catholic family.

Picture Gallery

272308745_3064479617109445_733567518010639469_n
272804995_2403697576427858_8641282319182967289_n
272878132_3064256620465078_7818304349718332646_n
272678825_955773585060155_2444618923489921423_n
272686993_955773108393536_17772552928836867_n
272687805_955773488393498_1282064158832803799_n
272888176_955773468393500_2232772798893861536_n
272664275_3064488093775264_3000136644596989497_n-1
272836915_3064488083775265_8473221094673788248_n
272440232_3064479640442776_3224411762274473578_n
272751259_3064479627109444_2729031258734353326_n
272646640_955772891726891_6875500307954114263_n
272316092_955773518393495_195233361784071739_n
272681345_955773408393506_5207848268320530919_n
272864686_955773471726833_5329171477036080356_n
272824590_955773565060157_8878397231769675612_n
272839359_2403697739761175_9199834439695908552_n
272668620_3064479623776111_8280456240671613703_n
272326647_3064479633776110_5682596443063140513_n
272762682_1330845167328218_5886116727555080055_n
previous arrowprevious arrow
next arrownext arrow

Holy Cross Students Brainstorm How to Lift Their Spirits for Bell Let’s Talk Day!

For Bell Let’s Talk day, Holy Cross students from Madame Riutta’s class hold up their class mind map of ideas for staying positive and hopeful!


This week, lots of students have been brainstorming new and creative ways to lift themselves up when stuck in a negative rut. In addition to these wonderful mind maps, students have also made posters, videos and morning announcements on the topic! The idea is based on the book “How to Get Unstuck from the Negative Muck” by Lake Sullivan.


Stay tuned to CTV Northern News tonight as the teacher Mr. Clapperton and student Lia Gallo will be featured in story about Bell Let’s Talk day!

Come Celebrate Family Literacy Day with SCDSB!

Sudbury Catholic Schools is pleased to celebrate Family Literacy Day with ABC Life Literacy Canada’s National Family!

What Is Family Literacy Day?

Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. Since 1999, thousands of schools, libraries, literacy organizations and other community groups have taken part in the initiative. ABC creates free learning and promotional resources for anyone that wants to get involved. Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development, improving a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well.

Event Schedule

EVENT SCHEDULE PDF

Virtual Story Time with Howard Binkow 

GRADE: K-Grades 3

Howard Binkow, from Sarasota Florida, is the author of the Howard B. Wigglebottom series. Mr. Binkow will launch our celebration with a read aloud and give Sudbury Catholic students a question and answer period.

WHEN: JAN. 27TH, 2022 AT 10:00 AM-10:45 AM

REGISTER: Story Time with Howard Binkow

Learn to Make Play Dough  

Grade: K-Grades 6 

WHEN: JAN. 27TH AT 1:00 PM-1:30 PM

Teachers are encouraged to have students join this live session where together they will learn how to make Play Dough with flour, salt, water and food colouring. Teachers can extend the activity into another art lesson and/or invite families to join Barbara Reid’s live demonstration later in the day.

REGISTER: Learn How to Make Play Dough

Celebrate Family Literacy Day 2022 with Honorary Chair Barbara Reid 

GRADES: K-Grades 6

WHEN: JAN. 27TH AT 4:30PM

Barbara Reid will be doing a demonstration on how to use clay/play dough to create a picture. She will share unique techniques that students can use to make different things. The event will end with a Q&A.

REGISTER: To register, please click here. Spaces are limited, so be sure to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.

2022 OPEN HOUSES

Join Sudbury Catholic Schools at our upcoming Elementary/Secondary Open Houses!


Sudbury Catholic Schools are excited to be hosting Virtual Open Houses, starting January 12th! We encourage students to come experience our education, ask questions, and learn about the exciting opportunities available at Sudbury Catholic Schools!

*Please Note: You may be required to register beforehand to attend a live event. Go to the individual school website to learn more and sign up!

UPCOMING EVENTS

St. Charles College

Open House Date: Wednesday, Jan. 12th

Marymount Academy

Open House Date: Thursday, Jan. 13th, 6:30PM

St. Benedict C.S.S

Open House Date: Wednesday, Jan. 19th, 6:30PM

Bishop Alexander Carter

Open House Date: Thursday, Jan. 20, 6PM

St. David Families Learn to Make Hot Chocolate Balls Together!

Students and their families from St. David Catholic Elementary School were invited to join Skills Ontario’s Winterfest Celebration. Last night, families had a fun evening of learning how to make Hot Chocolate Balls led by Skills Ontario expert and Summer Camp Program Manager Kayla Bezarie. 

Families learned the technique of tempering chocolate while trying out the skills of a Patisserie or Pastry Chef.

Students also learned the virtue of patience and the rule that if at first you don’t succeed, try again! 

A parent, Amanda Tyson said, “We enjoyed making the hot chocolate bombs! Although we need some more practice, we still had fun!

“Oh what fun we had tonight with this project. Thanks to Skills Ontario Winterfest for a new challenge. We had some failures but managed to complete 6. Look forward to trying more during the holidays.”stated Taryn Gorrie, another parent.

Check out our Patisseries from St. David School!

Jessica, Grade 2
Mac, Grade 6

Register Now! E-mail Copied to Clipboard