Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Topic

Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week 2021

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

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
Explore Themes

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

Website
Tip Sheets

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

Website
World Kindness Day

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.

Storwell Foster Children Bursary Program

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to introduce students to Storwell, in support of their Foster Children Bursary Program.

Storewell offers an annual bursary of $2,000 in support of foster children to help them attend post-secondary schools and to offer a hand up as they make their way forward in life.

For details about the program and to complete an application, please visit the StorWell Bursary Application Webpage.

*Please Note: Applications for the 2021 program year are due on or before December 31, 2021.

StorWell Foster Children Bursary Program

Poster download

Students Send Postcards to Space!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Ms. Reale’s Grade 1 & 2 students at Holy Cross School had fun learning about the solar system! Students listened to the story, “There’s No Place Like Space” during story time.  Following, as a class, the students imagined living in space and created rules that they would need to follow to keep safe.  

Here are some of their rules for living in space:

  1. Stay together as a group.
  2. Always be kind.
  3. Always put your space gear away when not being used.
  4. Don’t talk to aliens!
  5. Always wear your space safety belt.
  6. Be helpful.

Students then picked the rule they felt was the most important and designed their very own postcard that will be sent into space.  These postcards will be returned and upon return, each postcard will get stamped with an official “Flown to Space” stamp. 

Club for the Future will send the postcards into low Earth orbit on the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket.  Watch the New Shepard Rocket  launch and land with thousands of postcards.  

Thanks to a partnership between Let’s Talk Science and Club for the Future, Canadian students are invited to design a postcard that will be sent into orbit. Now is the chance for students to own something that has been to space and back. There is no deadline for this project, the earlier you submit your postcards, the earlier they will return.There are many ways you can use this activity with your students. It can be a fun craft or mindfulness activity that also sparks reflection and creativity.  If you would like to have a grade appropriate lesson presented to your class can contact christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca

Students Create their own Cryptography Wheel!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Students in Ms. Holly Swain’s Grade 4 class at St. Charles Elementary School created their own cryptography wheel and became cryptographers solving mystery messages all afternoon! 

Nicholas Butt, Outreach Coordinator for Let’s Talk Science and special guest Morgan, first year Master’s Student in Neuroscience at University of British Columbia led the students in this week’s STEM activity.  Students gained an understanding about the history of cryptography and how ancient Greeks were known to have ciphers over 2000 years ago. Students also learned that  computer science uses cryptography  to secure information and communication techniques using algorithms to transform messages in ways that are hard to decipher.

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 inspiring 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 third cohort starts 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.

Thank You For An Amazing PA Day!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all our community partners, staff, and keynote speakers who helped make our Nov. 19th PA Day a tremendous success.

The abundance of knowledge accumulated throughout the day has been enormous. Today’s resources show a strong future for efforts to grow our schools and help students and staff in our community by enhancing the educational experiences that strengthen the ways we can help all our learners understand and grow into responsible leaders.

We sincerely appreciate all the hard work of our community partners, who took time out of their busy schedules to talk with our board and be extraordinary virtual visitors by introducing new concepts and programs to teachers and staff.

Pictured is Sam Demma – one of the inspiring guests who helped make this PA Day amazing.

Special thanks to…

  • Pearson
  • Let’s Talk Science
  • Compass
  • Monsieur Steve
  • Sam Demma
  • Children’s Treatment Centre
  • Canadian Mental Health Association
  • Empower Reading Program – SickKids
  • Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF)
  • Ontario Ministry of Education
  • Cooperation Council of Ontario
  • Unlearn – Unlearning Streaming
  • Edge Factor
  • Mersive Solstice Software
  • Skills Ontario
  • Mind UP
  • Investors Group
  • Jane Goodall Foundation
  • Pear Deck

Thank you for supporting our school community and bestowing your tools and experience to support Sudbury Catholic Schools.

In addition, many of our incredible staff attended these comprehensive presentations throughout this Friday and even provided wisdom by preparing engaging presentations that tackled many topics that opened the door for continued growth and learning at SCDSB. We thank all our fantastic staff for their diligent preparation and planning that provided a triumphant PA Day for everyone at Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

Beards Bakery Brings Holy Cross Student’s Donut Design to Life!

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Meet Nate, the Donut Designer!

When he is not inventing a new donut called “The Magnolia” at Beards Bakery, he is a busy Grade 3 student in Mrs. Whalen’s Grade 3/4 class at Holy Cross School.

Pictured: Holy Cross Student and Donut Designer, Nate proudly shows off his “Magnolia” donuts outside Beards Bakery

Why did Nate create a donut, and what does this have to do with school? Well, it all started with an idea and a little persuasion.

This past school year, Mrs. Whalen taught Nate and his classmates about the author’s purpose, which involves concentrating on convincing others and practicing persuasion through persuasive writing.

To help students understand persuasion, Mrs. Whalen had an idea to get each student to design a donut with the goal that once their creation was complete, they had to convince their other classmates why their donut design was the best. This would put their writing skills to the test and make them ponder how they could best convince and persuade their classmates using the skills they had learned from their lessons.

To make this persuasive writing activity a reality, Mrs. Whalen reached out to Beards Bakery, located on Kathleen Street, at the end of August to see if the owner would be interested in helping out.

Pictured: Beards Bakery’s Magnolia Donuts

Jess, Beards Bakery owner, quickly and enthusiastically agreed, and the plan was set in motion!

Under Mrs. Whalen’s instruction, students illustrated and labelled their donuts and then wrote a paragraph to persuade their audience (classmates) to believe that their donut design was the best. Following this, students presented their donut designs, and each student voted for their favourite. The activity was extra exciting because Beards agreed to serve the winning donut at their storefront on Nov. 6th.

Fast forward to this November. Students then worked on designing a donut using nothing but their imagination and a toppings list provided by Beards.

The students all did a fabulous job using their words and illustrations to persuade the class. Nate was crowned the ultimate donut designer and was excited to have Beards Bakery bring his winning donut, “The Magnolia,” to life. What made the occasion more fun was his brother’s 10th Birthday fell on Nov. 6th and was celebrated with a specially designed Beards donut.

Nate’s family ordered many donuts to share with their friends and family. The rest of the class also had the option to visit Beards to purchase a donut on the day. A HUGE thanks to Beards Bakery for embracing this idea and helping us out. ‘Donut’ forget that you’re fantastic!

St. Benedict Student Becomes Newest Addition to the Provincial EQAO Student Engagement Committee

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Meet Myra Mead! 

Your newest member of our provincial EQAO Student Engagement committee. WOW! 

We want to congratulate Myra who was selected out of 250+ students to be on this very important committee to promote student voice and find ideas/ strategies that will help our school community become more inclusive. Myra and the 34 other students that were selected in Ontario, carry on a role of leadership in their schools by attending regular zoom meetings and have wholesome discussions around equity and student needs. Well done Myra, we are extremely thrilled to celebrate your accomplishment, while starting our grade 11’s off in the OSSLT testing this week.

Pictured St. Benedict C.S.S Student Myra Mead

St. Charles Kindergarteners Send Letters To Canadian Soldiers and Learn About the Royal Canadian Air Force

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

Sudbury, ON – On November 9th, 2021, St. Charles Catholic Elementary School students in Mme Lamond and Mme Jorstad’s class participated in a Zoom lesson highlighting Remembrance Day which allowed them to send letters to Canadian soldiers.

With help from special guest Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force Station in Nova Scotia, the class was also led in an exercise that helped our kindergarten students learn about the Royal Canadian Air Force and become more educated about the meaning of Remembrance Day.

Pictured: Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force

During the visit, the class was able to ask questions about helicopters and Captain Amirault showed his uniform.

Upon completing this exercise, students then wrote their letters that will be distributed to Canadian soldiers. Students were happy to showcase their letters in a picture taken with Captain Amirault. 

“We love creating engaging opportunities that foster strength in student understanding of Remembrance Day. We’re grateful to Captain Amirault for providing these students with a fantastic experience that will help empower their learning on themes like compassion and respect that are important to address every day.” – Angela Polischuk, Principal.

“Recognizing Remembrance Day in schools and remembering those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom is extremely important at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. Learning stems from the experiences we provide to help our children understand the world. We are very pleased to nurture partnerships with the community and beyond to enhance our student experience.” – Joanne Bénard, Director of Education.

Picture Gallery

The SCDSB Takes Part in Treaties Recognition Week

Posted on by Carlee Vendramin

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 Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) is celebrating its participation in Treaties Recognition Week. This year, we honour Indigenous histories, perspectives, and contributions through meaningful lessons, presentations, readings, events and celebrations for students and staff at all our schools.

School Highlights

St. John


At St. John Catholic Elementary School, students in Mrs. Galipeau’s class learned about wampum belts in an activity where they could make their own belts out of Lego. Students in Grade 5 and 6 created the 1764 Treaty of Niagara wampum belt. Pictured are Nathan and Olivia, Jaguar students proudly showcasing their class’s completed belt. Wampum belts represent agreements and promises that last “as long as the sun shines and rivers flow”.

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St. Charles


On Nov. 2nd, Grade 2 students in Mrs. Child’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School read “Dakota Talks About Treaties.” Afterwards, they created a word web to describe what the word “treaty” means. Also, reading a story was Ms. Trudeau and Ms. D’Angelo’s class! “A Family Cookout” was read to help students explore measuring objects. Afterwards, Ms. Trudeau led an engaging lesson on making bannock where students used their knowledge in a real-life context. However, reading wasn’t the only popular activity. Mrs. Blakely’s grade 1 class learned all about the medicine wheel, smudged, made wampum belts and created their very own classroom treaty.

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St. David


At St. David, a school-wide activity was implemented in preparation for the week. The Grade 5 class mapped the forested area in an educational exercise that touched on Indigenous identity, history, and ways of being. In an abundance of activities, students learned about treaties, promises, wampum belts and what it means to be indigenous. The school listened to “The Drum Calls Softly” and students created versions of the artwork in the video.

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Pius XII


Over at Pius, Treaty Recognition Week was in full force. The school’s Grade 6 students took part in a lesson that included constructing their own Wampum commitment string. Wampum commitment string symbolizes an agreement of respect and peace. Collectively, all the strings will attach and form a family circle to honour Treaty Week.

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St. James


To commemorate Treaty Week, the students in Grade 2/3 FI at St. James explored the significance of wampum belts as representations of promises that were made to last. They recreated the Treaty of Niagara wampum belt with Legos and other materials and mapped out some of our province’s treaties.

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St. Bens

St. Benedict’s kicked off Treaty Recognition Week with Smudging available to students and staff. Classes participated in the Treaty Awareness dialogue. For example, Treaty is ‘Legally Binding’ and that there is also a ‘Sacred Element’ to the agreements. In addition, the school’s Life Skills Class learned and designed a Wampum Treaty Belt of their choosing. Tobacco was offered to our Indigenous Support Worker, Ms. Agowissa, for knowledge sharing. “We Are All Treaty People and are in the Robinson Huron Treaty region.”

Other highlights included secondary students participating in the Robinson Huron Treaty “Treaty Talks with Tomorrow’s Leaders”. Students were able to listen to different Ogimaak/Chiefs from RHT communities share treaty knowledge past, present and future about ‘Gweksijigewin’ (making things right). This knowledge was applied on Friday, Nov. 5th, with presentations from the students.

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Treaties Recognition Week

It truly is very exciting to see what beautiful things our schools are doing to honour this essential part of the learning experience. Thank you to all our staff and community leaders, who took the time to capture and share some of the many wonderful things they were able to participate in this week. For more school activity updates, check out Indigenous Education SCDSB.

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