It is with great pleasure that we share with you the final edition of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board newsletter for the 2008/2009 school year, Partners in Spirit. The newsletter celebrates the many exciting events, initiatives and programs taking place at SCDSB.
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St. Christopher Catholic School Bestowed with the Honour of ‘School on the Move’
St. Christopher Catholic School joins an elite group of schools across Ontario that have been recognized by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat as a School on the Move. Only 35 schools (30 English, 5 French) throughout the province of Ontario were selected as Phase 4 Schools on the Move. During the four years of this initiative, of the 4,000 elementary schools in the province, 142 have been awarded this distinction.
The Schools on the Move initiative highlights schools that are making substantial progress in raising student achievement and have sustained this progress over several years.
In order to become a School on the Move St. Christopher School had to meet several criteria, which included:
– EQAO scores in reading, writing and mathematics have improved in both Grades 3 and 6 over a three year period
– Staff being able to articulate what they did and how they implemented changes
– Staff being able to provide evidence of growth in student achievement
– Strategies the school identified are supported by research evidence
– Collaborative culture, with teachers working together, constantly learning, challenging and supporting each other
– Doors being open and parents being partners
St. Christopher is the first school in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to be nominated and to be selected as a School on the Move. Effective teaching and learning practises at St. Christopher are making a difference
Committeed to educating all children to the highest possible level, St. Christopher and all Schools on the Move have overcome challenges and are now achieving success. These schools are invigorating education in Ontario, increasing student achievement, narrowing gaps and gaining the confidence of their communities.
The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat states, “With a sense of collective pride, we present this year’s Schools on the Move. For us, these schools are ambassadors for energizing Ontario education.”
Sudbury Catholic Board Receives Ministry Funding to Build New Green School
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be better positioned to address the accommodation needs of its students with an investment of $13.8 million from the McGuinty government for the construction of a new green school, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced yesterday.
“Building and improving school facilities creates safe and engaging places for our students to learn and grow,” said Bartolucci. “This kind of significant education investment will go a long way to support students in Sudbury for generations to come.”
As part of a $500 million province-wide investment, the government is giving kids better places to learn by improving publicly funded schools.
Ontario is investing in a variety of ways to improve schools and make schools better places to learn. Projects include building new schools, expanding existing school facilities and reconfiguring school space to reduce energy costs. This also creates economic benefits, such as work for local companies and helps to support a stronger, greener economy.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be creating a new 550 pupil place, “dual track,” quality teaching and learning environment in the City’s South End, which will include a Multi-Media Technology Plaza, based on an education village model, one-site, JK to Grade 12 campus. Students from St. Christopher and all of the Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Francis and St. David Elementary Catholic Schools will be consolidated into the “new green school” on the St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School site. Students from St. Michael Catholic School will be consolidated into the St. Francis Catholic School (JK to Grade 6). St. Theresa and Corpus Christi Catholic School students will have the option of attending either St. Francis Catholic School or the new school (flexible boundaries). However, once the transition of the current students of Corpus Christi and St. Theresa is completed to either the new school or St. Francis, new boundaries will apply to new families.
Catherine McCullough Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is very pleased with the latest funding announcement from the McGuinty government. Joined by Trustees, Senior Administration, students, parents and staff, McCullough announced that teaching and learning through newly built 21st century schools will now have a whole new meaning. “With the support of the Provincial government we will have the ability to change the way a child learns,” said McCullough. “Our new green school will have lower energy and utility costs than traditionally built schools, and the money saved can go back into classrooms to our students.”
St. Charles College students hit the 13 hundred milk bag mark
The Life Skills class at St. Charles College has been on a milk bag kick since March. They have been collecting and cutting the opaque, outer bags to create sleeping mats for adults and children in Third World countries. The mats create a buffer from dirt and bugs. It also diverts waste from the landfill.
The students cut the bags into strips and loop them to form balls of yarn. They are then crocheted into sleeping mats by a group of retired teachers in the Sudbury area.
It takes 250 bags to create one adult size mat. A child size mat requires 150 bags. With 1300 bags, the students have helped 5 adults or 9 children in other parts of the world.
Marymount Academy Student Selected by Minister of Education to Join Advisory Council
Congratulations to Samantha Shewring, a Grade 11 student at Marymount Academy who was chosen as a member of the Minister’s Student Advisory Council. Samantha was one of sixty students chosen across Ontario. The council is about empowering the students to be more engaged in learning, to think big, speak up and take action to help other students across the Province.
Relay for Life to be hosted by St. John Catholic School
On Friday, June 12, 2009 from 9:15-11:45, over 400 students, teachers and parents from the St. John Catholic School community will rally together to help raise funds by holding a Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life at our school.
The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life involves participants who take turns walking, running or strolling around a track. Proceeds are used to fund cancer research and community services for people living with cancer and their families.
Marymount Academy student Elizabeth Urso elected President of ECBC
Elizabeth Urso, a grade 11 student at Marymount Academy and student trustee for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, attended the Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA). She was one of approximately sixty student trustees representing 1.9 million public and Catholic students in the province of Ontario. Several guest speakers spoke at this conference, including the Minister of Education, Kathleen Wynne.
During the executive council elections, Elizabeth was elected President of the English Catholic Board Council (ECBC). She is one of five voting members on OSTA’s executive council, and the first female president elected since the Board Council system was integrated into the OSTA’s constitution. This council works to represent the 1.9 million elementary and secondary students in the province of Ontario. The mission of OSTA is to improve education in consultation with the Ministry of Education, adult trustees, teachers, and stakeholders.
Elizabeth’s term as President of the English Catholic Board Council will commence August 1st, 2009. She will also continue to be the student trustee on the SCDSB for the 2009/2010 school year.
The Ontario Student Trustees Association will be moving into its tenth year in September, and hopes to continue to improve education for the 1.9 million students of Ontario.
Sudbury Catholic Board to Build Green School in South End
Trustees for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board voted in favour of closing four south end schools (St. Christopher, St. Theresa, Corpus Christi, and St. Michael Catholic Schools) at the May 26th Board meeting held at Tom Davies Square.
The motion to close the four schools, three of which are PTR Schools (Prohibitive to Repair),allows the Board to apply for Ministry funding to renovate St. Francis Catholic School and to build a new state of the art 550 pupil “Green” dual track (JK to Grade 8) school with a Multi-Media Technology Plaza in the City’s South End.
Students from Corpus Christi and St. Michael Catholic Schools will be consolidated into St. Francis Catholic School (JK to Grade 6)
while students from St. Christopher, St. Theresa and all of the Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Francis and St. David Elementary Schools will be consolidated into the new “green school” on the St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School site. Trustees also voted in favour of renovating St. David Catholic School with regular JK to Grade 6 programming to include further community partnerships aimed at the expansion of the current programming with a holistic service model.
With respect to the North/West Planning area, Trustees passed a motion to consolidate St. Mary Elementary School Grade 7 and 8 students and programming into St. Anne Elementary School commencing September 2009.
In her presentation to Trustees, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Catherine McCullough stated that after the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC) had completed its work and made its recommendations, it was incumbent upon her to provide a vision for the Board in both programming and capital expenditures. These recommendations recognized that the decision before Trustees revolved around the future of providing quality education and quality facilities for all of Sudbury’s Catholic students.
With respect to the South/Central Planning area, McCullough reiterated the following major points concerning the Director’s recommendations before the motions were considered by Trustees:
• The recommendations maintained the integrity of the accommodation review process. The supporting rationale provided by the Accommodation Review Committee guided the decision making process.
• JK to Grade 12 on the one site at St. Benedict CSS permits increased opportunities for professional development, teacher collaboration and staff specialization
• JK to Grade 12 on the one site at St. Benedict CSS creates more opportunities for cooperative education, peer tutoring, “fast tracking,” interventions for at risk and disengaged students, and seamless transition for French Immersion students wishing
regular programming
• Two large elementary schools (St. Francis and St. Benedict) with dual track programming are beneficial to the Board as it provides parents and students with more options
• A renovated St. David School would enhance partnerships with First Nations communities within the Board’s jurisdiction.
• The recommendations implement the Ministry of Education’s direction that effective programming must be viewed as a continuum that minimizes the number of times a student would transition as he or she progresses from JK to Grade 12. In fact, the JK to Grade 12
single campus concept would be unique to the South/Central community.
• A state of the art Green School will be fuly compliant with the Ontario Disabilities Act(ODA) with enhanced programming such as music, drama, theatre, technology, day care,be fore and after programs, and superior sports facility.
• The larger population of Grade 7 and 8 students and the proximity of the secondary school creates an opportunity for program enhancements
• Access to specialized facilities (technology areas, cafeteria, double-gym, sports programs and fields)
• Expansion of program offerings and flexible spaces to meet changing program needs
• Expansion of resources in classrooms and optimal learning opportunities for all students
• Interaction with a larger community learners
• Larger blocks of uninterrupted teaching time
• Expansion of co-curricular activities for all students
• Potential of enhanced partnerships with the City of Greater Sudbury
The Multi Media Resource Centre would provide equipment for students to have a more hands on style of interaction encouraging new learning opportunities. This Centre would enable the Board to provide both elementary and secondary students with 21st Century skills and learning opportunities directed toward all career pathways.
“The creation of a new “green school” and the renovations to St. Francis and St. David Catholic Schools will enhance educational programs within these facilities which will provide the students under our care with a Catholic education that is of the highest quality possible,” stated McCullough.
Historica Awards announced at Laurentian University
On the evening of May 14, 2009 the Sudbury Regional Historica Awards were announced at Laurentian University. 158 projects were judged with students from Sudbury Catholic taking many top prizes.
The Historica Fairs Program encourages students to explore Canadian heritage in a dynamic, hands-on learning environment. Students use the medium of their choice to tell stories about Canadian heroes, legends, milestones, and achievements – and present the results of their research at a public exhibition.
On June 10th four Sudbury Catholic Schools students will be travelling to the Provincial Fair in Ottawa where they can expect to learn more about Canada’s rich history.
Sudbury Catholic Schools is proud to announce our winners. We’re pleased to share a slideshow of winners announced that evening.