April 22, 2015 is Earth Day and the students in teacher Christina Bedoya’s Gr.1/2 class at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School have been learning about how we all have an impact on our environment. Students learned and shared ways to help our environment through everyday tasks such as turning off the lights or taking a quick shower instead of a long one. They also learned the power of reducing, re-using and recycling because we truly have “the whole world in our hands”. If we all work together to respect God’s creations and planet Earth, we really can make a difference.
Category: Topic
Holy Trinity Families Unite through Exercise
It was all in the name of building new friendships for the future students of Holy Trinity Catholic School in an active and healthy way!
Families of children who currently attend St. Andrew, St. Bernadette and St. Raphael Catholic Elementary Schools came together in the gymnasium at St. Charles College on April 16th, 2015 to participate in a fun-filled evening of Zumba and Yoga. Many parents and teachers enthusiastically took to the gymnasium floor and the gym mats to participate in the exercises!
The night was made possible through the funding of a Ministry of Education Parents Reaching Out grant focused on increasing parental engagement in education.
As gracious hosts, the St. Bernadette School families collected items to create gift baskets with themes like “cooking with family”, “a family indoor movie night” and “outdoor family activities”. Sudbury & District Health Unit Public Health Nurses, Stacey Gilbeau and KC Rautiainen, also joined in the amusements and helped out by drawing the winners of the three baskets at the end of the evening.
Celebrating Administrative Assistants’ Day at St. Raphael
The Early Learning Kindergarten class at St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School surprised Laura Owens, the school administrative assistant, with a message from the class to honour her today. Mrs. Owens is the first person people meet as they enter the school. She is always smiling and helpful. The students of St. Raphael School are grateful for all she does to help students.
Experiencing Performance Art and the Written Word at MMA
“If you were an animal, what animal would you be?” This was the question that Tanya Neumeyer, a Toronto based poet posed to one of the English classes at Marymount Academy on April 17, 2015. Neumeyer, a published poet and workshop facilitator, was in town to perform at the (W)rites of Poetry event that night, but visited several of the English classes on April 16 and 17 to work with the students to help encourage their development of poetry and their creative process. The students had to immediately react to the question by acting out which animal best reflected their own personalities. Through these types of activities – performance art and written word, Neumyer encouraged the students to break down their own barriers and feel confident to perform in front of others. “It is always such a great experience for our students when Tanya comes to visit and work with them in small groups and classes,” Lucie Cullen, principal of Marymount Academy explained. “It is such a unique, positive experience that is hugely impactful on the students. It really helps give them a voice and expresses their own creativity.”
Spelling Like a Champ
Marymount Academy student Julia Burns is a spelling bee champ. The grade 8 student recently won the regional spelling bee for the Regional completion for the intermediate division which was held at Tom Davies Square on April 12, 2015. On May 3, Burns will be traveling to Toronto to take part in the provincial spelling bee sponsored by the Spelling Bee of Canada. Burns has always enjoyed spelling and has taken part in previous competitions, but had never come out on top. Encouraged by her teacher Debra Michaud, the Marymount Academy student decided to give it a go and studied the 2015 Study List to prepare for the competition. When asked about the upcoming event, Burns was quick to say she was very nervous but excited to take part. “We are extremely proud of Julia and her efforts,” Lucie Cullen, Marymount Academy principal stated. “She is a delightful girl and we know she will represent Marymount strong in the next stage of the competition, like a true Regal!”
BACCSS Students Tops at OTSC
The Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) is Canada’s largest skilled trades competition, hosting over 65 contests, 1,900 competitors and 20,000 spectators at RIM Park in Waterloo. One of those 65 contests is TV Video Production, and in order to compete at the OTSC, participants must first make it through a qualifying round. On Saturday, April 18th, 2015, Christine Harte and Autumn Millar, two Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Information & Communications Technology (ICT) students at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, travelled to Canadore College in North Bay to compete againstt other teams from various secondary schools around Northern Ontario. Only the top three competitors who received at least a 60% score in the qualifying round were permitted into the OTSC. The task was to produce a thirty-second public service announcement video on the theme of cyberbullying. Competitors had to complete their filming and editing within a specific amount of time, after which their work would be critiqued, reviewed and evaluated by a number of judges. When the results came in, Christine and Autumn were awarded first place, and will now be competing in Waterloo on May 5th for the provincial title. “Christine and Autumn are excellent students,” says Steven Facchini, the teacher of the SHSM ICT program at Bishop Carter. “Aside from video production, they’ve demonstrated excellence in 2D graphic design, 3D modelling, web development, game programming and various other media production skills I teach in my program. We are all extremely proud of them. They are undoubtedly looking forward to the OTSC in May.”
St. Andrew Open House Celebrates Memories
St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School hosted a Come and Go Open House on Sunday April 19th from noon to 2pm. The principal and the classroom teachers welcomed many former students, teachers and parents to the school to walk the halls and share memories. They learned that at one time St. Andrew School was St. Conrad school and subjects were taught in both of our national languages. There were many memories shared about former teachers and principals and activities that happened in this little community school. Many of the visitors were interested in viewing the architect’s rendering of the new Holy Trinity School. Pictured is Mrs. Henry, the present principal, with Brittany and Brandon Schroeder two former students. Mrs. Henry remembers when she was taller than both of these students!
St. James Supports the Canadian Cancer Society
St. James Catholic Elementary School students recently wore yellow to show their support for “Daffodil Week” and the Canadian Cancer Society. Thank you to staff and students for your donations that help fund life-saving cancer research. Go Bears Go!!
“The Blue Dot Movement” at St. Charles Elementary
St Charles Catholic Elementary School participated in the National Day of Action with “The Blue Dot Movement” from the David Suzuki Foundation on April 17, 2015 All 344 students wrote their wishes for the planet Earth on their own blue dot and watched a video about Canadians wishing to make a difference for our country and our Earth as part of the monthly virtue of Stewardship. The students are excited about celebrating Earth Day as they will also be signing a letter addressed to the mayor and Sudbury council asking for their support in adding the following 3 items to the Charter of Rights and Freedom:
1) The right to clean air
2) The right to clean drinking water
3) The right to pesticide free food
“We want our students to understand just how important it is to be stewards of the earth,” Dave Soehner, principal of St. Charles. “Through this Blue Dot Movement, our students have really come to understand how important these basic necessities are to the entire planet and that it is everyone’s job to help make it happen. They understand that they have a voice and can help be a part of the change.”
Anyone can join from coast to coast to protect the people and places we love. Find out more at bluedot.nationbuilder.com