Category: Topic
October 17th to 21st is School Bus Safety Week in Sudbury
The Mayor, along with Jo-Anne Harrison, CEO/Manager of the Sudbury Student Services Consortium and Sgr Gary Lavoie, Traffic Branch from the City of Greater Sudbury Police were present yesterday at the signing of the proclamation stating that October 17th to the 21st is School Bus Safety Week in Sudbury.
The Regional Police will be designating officers to ticket vehicles who go through bus lights.
Schools have been invited to organize Poster Contests in their own schools. Thursday, October 20th has also been designated as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. This is a great day for students to write a “thank you” note or maybe draw a special picture of the bus and its driver.
The proclamation reads:
WHEREAS October 17-21 is School Bus Safety Week in Ontario; and
WHEREAS this is a time to recognize the area’s 440 school bus drivers and other transportation staff who safely transport students to and from school every day; and
WHEREAS the Transportation Services of the Sudbury Student Services Consortium, on behalf of its member school boards and with the assistance of its school bus operators, daily transports more than 23,000 students – that’s 23,000 good reasons to drive safely and remain alert when you see a school bus on the road; and
WHEREAS the theme for this year’s celebration is “Flashing Red Means Stop Ahead”, a reminder to motorists that it is unsafe – and againstt the law – to pass a stopped school bus that is picking up or dropping off students. The flashing red stop sign extending from the bus is a visual reminder to stop and be on alert for children.
NOW THEREFORE, I, David Courtemanche, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury, do hereby proclaim October 17 – 21, 2005 as SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK in the City of Greater Sudbury and urge all citizens to support the efforts of bus drivers in reducing preventable injuries to our children.
St. Benedict Students Contribute to Earthquake Relief
Bears and Regals Support Sudbury Food Banks
As part of an annual coordinated food drive at Marymount Academy and St. Benedict, members of the St. Benedict Bears football team recently assisted Marymount Catholic Charities Council and students from Marymount Academy in helping to load 6,000 food items into U-Hauls and vans to be transported to the Inner City Home on Elm Street. With the 5,000 items collected at St. Benedict, this left other students with the task of unloading more than 11,000 food items at Inner City Home.
“This food drive is an annual event involving the St. Benedict Bears and the Marymount Regals,” stated Dennis Kennelly, Chaplain for both schools. “Students from each school keenly look forward to the good-natured competition to see which school can collect the most food items in the two-week period. This year the girls win the bragging rights but the Bears students claim they will regain the title next year.” The St. Benedict Bears and Marymount Regal high schools would like to thank Spencer Furniture and U-Haul on Highway 69 South for donating the vans and trucks for transporting the food items to the Inner City Home.
SCDSB Takes Lead in Region with Student Safety Initiative
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be presenting a Lifesavers course to train Lunchroom Supervisors in the various aspects of first aid on Friday, October 21, 2005 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the St. John Ambulance Training Centre, 2935 Bancroft Drive.
The three-hour Lifesaver course has been set up specifically for the lunchroom supervisors in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. The initial concept to provide a training course for lunchroom supervisors came from Immaculate Catholic School parents and Catholic School Council. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the Regional Catholic School Council is presenting this training course as a follow up to the Lifesavers course provided to the Board’s secretaries in August 2005.
“The board takes the safety of our students very seriously,” stated Zandra Zubac, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “Our Board is one of the first boards in the province to train lunchroom supervisors and the very first in the region.”
To compliment the Lifesavers course, the Board has also agreed to purchase portable first aid kits to be used by lunch room supervisors (inside or outside), First Aid posters to be posted in all classrooms, reference manuals displayed at the office and mobile First Aid kits with a manual for all field trips and outside activities.
For more information on the Lifesavers course, please contact Clara Steele,Regional Catholic School Council Chair at ph: (w) 855-4955 or (h) 983-1966.
National Custodian Day
In recognition of National Custodian Day, October 2, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and the Trustees would like to express to all members of the Custodial Staff, (Custodians, Assistants, Cleaners, and Casuals) its sincerest gratitude for all the hard work that was exhibited during the past year.
Your dedication to the Board and the pride you take in your work has contributed to the health and safety of our schools. The Board recognizes and appreciates your efforts in achieving and maintaining a high standard.
Zandra Zubac
Director of Education, SCDSB
Hugh Lee
Superintendent of Business and Finance, SCDSB
Home of the Bears?
Students and staff at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and adjacent Marymount Academy had an unexpected visitor for lunch on Monday afternoon as a bear cub made its way into the school grounds and up a tree. A curious crowd of well wishers quickly gathered around the tree as the Ministry of Natural Resources personnel were called in to dart and sedate the bear.
The little cub, (weighing less than 20 pounds) was placed in a metal carrying cage and transported to an animal shelter in Wahnapitae where it will be cared for over the winter and released into a remote area in the spring. Marymount students who witnessed the event came to the conclusion that the cub had probably wandered into the wrong high school and was in fact looking for their sister secondary school, St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School which as everyone knows is the “HOME OF THE BEARS.”
(On a more serious note, the SCDSB would like to remind all students and staff that bears are now foraging for food in all areas of the city before hibernation and therefore please be cautious on the way to school and on school property).
“Just a Little Off the Top Please”
Lucy Gautheir, a Grade 7/8 teacher at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School had her hair shaved in support of cancer research on Friday. Cheered on by the school’s entire student body, Linda Lamothe (owner of RAY-ZOR Cuts) went about the delicate task of cutting Mrs. Gautheir’s hair while students shouted for a “Mohawk cut.” In the end they settled for a “close shave.”
Mrs. Gautheir challenged the students that if they raised $2,000 during the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope held at their school the previous week, she would shave her hair. Through hard work and determination and an incredible fundraising effort, the students at
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School raised an amazing $9,188.32 and as result Mrs. Gautheir’s hair is now history.
Bishop Carter Students Recognized by Canadian Blood Services
The results of Canadian Blood Services’ Bloodstock 2005 campaign are in and the lives of more than 600 Canadians have been improved by the kindness of the region’s everyday heroes.
As a result of the recruiting efforts of 19 local students (from Grades 11 and 12) registered with the Canadian Blood Services’ Bloodstock 2005 campaign, 452 individuals signed up to donate blood. Of these, 273 made appointments from July 4 to September 2, 2005. Considering one unit of blood can save up to three lives, these donations suggest that the lives of over 600 Canadians have been enhanced by this generous contribution.
Forty-nine per cent of the donors associated with Bloodstock 2005 are new. This is a significant success story, as a recent Ipsos-Reid survey reported that 52 per cent of Canadians indicate that they or a family members were in need of blood or blood products for surgery or medical treatment. In spite of this fact, less than 4 per cent of the eligible population donated blood last year. Given that the demand for blood is constant, an important objective of Canadian Blood Services is to continually build its volunteer donor base to ensure the necessary quantities are available.
“Engaging young people to assist in recruitment efforts has provided Canadian Blood Services with champions from an important demographic,” says Liz Spooner-Young, Senior Clinic Coordinator for Canadian Blood Services North/East Ontario & Nunavut. “Even though you can become a blood donor at the age of 17, approximately 80 per cent of our donors are over the age of 25. We need to reach out to youth so that they see the value in becoming an everyday hero in our community.”
For their efforts, students participating in Bloodstock 2005 who successfully met various recruitment goals had their names entered in a draw for educational bursaries provided by local business sponsors. Students who did not reach a milestone goal but contributed to the Bloodstock 2005 campaign through increased public awareness were recognized with a Canadian Blood Services watch.