Earth Rangers (Kids’ Conservation Organization) visited St. James Catholic Elementary School recently and delivered a dynamic, fun and interactive presentation featuring live Animal Ambassadors. The program uses science-based information to educate students about the importance of protecting biodiversity while highlighting different conservation initiatives across Canada. St. James students have been inspired to adopt sustainable behaviours and have been empowered to become directly involved in protecting animals and their habitats.
Category: Promoted Event
Deputy Mayor Proclaims October as Learning Disabilities Month at Holy Trinity!
The Right to Learn, The Power to Achieve! October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month. On Friday, October 16, 2015, Special Education Resource Teacher Martina Reynolds organized two workshops for students to highlight that everyone learns differently and that all students should use their unique abilities. Students in grades 2 to 6 were active participants in two presentations entitled “Be Cool in School” and “LD 101” delivered by Jarah Preston of LDAS. Deputy Mayor Joyce Landry-Altman was on hand to make the Official Proclamation, along with LDAS Board Chair Liz Brett-Dickie. Students also heard from Matthew Turcotte, a grade 11 St. Charles College student and Honorary Chair of LDAS. Matthew is an encouraging example of someone who has overcome a recognized learning disability.
Holy Trinity Officially Opens its Doors October 15, 2015
The sun poured in the gymnasium’s windows on Thursday, October 15 for the official opening of Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School. Students, staff, parents, invited guests and community partners gathered for the official ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s newest elementary school. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board conducted an accommodation review process in 2009-2010, concluding that St. Andrew, St. Bernadette and St. Raphael Schools would be consolidated into a new dual track JK to Grade 6 school. The Ministry of Education approved the construction of the new facility on July 7, 2011. After this approval was received, a request for proposal for Architectural Services was issued, with Yallowega Belanger Architecture being awarded the contract. Construction documents were prepared and tendered with Build North Construction being awarded the construction contract. Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School open its doors for students on September 8, 2015.
The official opening started off with songs from the school choir and also had Bishop Plouffe celebrate the event with a blessing. Invited guests including M.P.P. Glenn Thibeault, Mayor Brian Bigger, Ministry of Education Regional Representative Irene Charette, and Amber Salach from Yallowega Belanger Architecture Sudbury. As well, SCDSB Aboriginal Youth Worker Carla Petahtegoose brought greetings from the traditional territory of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation. School Principal Diana Salvador, Superintendent Nicole Bédard, Board Chair Jody Cameron and Director of Education Joanne Bénard also addressed the crowd. All speakers expressed their joy in seeing the vision of the new school come together so beautifully.
“Today we celebrate together what started off as a vision – a new school for our New Sudbury area that would pull together three individual schools as one – with a brand new identity. I can say with confidence that Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School certainly fits that bill, and is a facility that is a positive asset to the collaborative nature of teaching and learning,” Stated Jody Cameron. “While we know that a building does not determine the quality of a student’s education, it can however be a facilitative factor in making the educational process a more effective one and a more pleasant experience for all. This beautiful school is a result of the collaboration of many different people, organizations and departments.”
Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School is a dual track English and French Immersion programming school from Kindergarten to grade six and has over 520 students currently enroled.
Raise the Flag – St. Francis School Recognizes Autism Awareness Day on Thursday, April 2, 2015
April is Autism Awareness month and April 2nd was dedicated World Autism Day.
Autism Ontario’s Raise the Flag campaign, through the simple act of raising a flag, unites families, schools, communities, government and professionals in recognizing World Autism Awareness Day, and brings to light to struggles and triumphs of people on the autism spectrum.
Staff and students at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School took part in this event to support World Autism day.
Staff En Pointe for BACCSSs Rooney and Dechaine Memorial Walk
As a result of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School’s successful Memorial Walk fundraiser in memory of former student Mackenzie Rooney (a student who died tragically in an ATV accident) and Dennis Dechaine, (a former teacher who lost his battle with cancer), both the principal and vice principal of the school had to honour their part of the challenge. Cassandra MacGregor and James Michaud, the school’s admin team showed up in their best ballerina wear as a result of the students fundraising exceeding their goal of $8000. To date, the school has raised over $9000 so far to go towards several different scholarship funds in both Rooney’s and Dechaine’s names, as well as to support several activities within the school that both Mackenzie’s parents and Dennis’s wife are involved with. To raise the money, the students canvassed the valley area over the past few weeks and the day of the walk involved a live broadcast from KICX radio, a prayer service, a Zumba warm up for the whole school, and an 8 km walk to celebrate the togetherness of the entire Bishop Carter school community. Joining them on the walk were members of both Mackenzie’s and Dennis’s families, as well as members of the Greater Sudbury Police Services. Principal Cassandra MacGregor was thrilled with the efforts of her students and staff. “We are a small school community with an enormous heart,” explained MacGregor. “We set our expectations really high when it comes to our students and staff, and they continually exceed these expectations! We are extremely proud of our students for surpassing our fundraising goal and it is wonderful that we can honour Mackenzie and Dennis, and their families with our outstanding efforts!”
Upcoming Event – Johnathan Hetu Memorial Walk/Fundraiser
Upcoming Event – Friday, June 6, 2014
1:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m.
Johnathan Hetu Memorial Walk/Fundraiser
Contact: David Nicholls – teacher at St. Charles Elementary
Phone: 705-855-4955
This Friday, June 6th, St. Charles Elementary will be hosting its 10th annual Johathan Hetu Walk. The walk will take place from 1:30 – 2:30 at St. Charles Elementary School in Chelmsford. The walk is in remembrance of Johnathan Hetu. Johnathan lost his life to cancer and the walk is held in his memory with all proceeds of the walk going to the NOFCC. St. Charles has been able to raise over $51,000 since the beginning of the walk. On the day of the walk Johnathan’s parents will award the Johnathan Hetu memorial award. This goes to a student who shows that they are happy to be at school, show a positive attitude and are active participants. These were characteristics that Johanthan showed while he was able to go to school during his cancer treatments.
Award Winning Creativity at Bishop ACCSS
Bradford Bourque and Scott Istvandi, two grade 11 students in teacher Steve Facchini’s Specialist High Skills Major ICT program at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, were announced the winners of the “Belanger Ford’s Filming for Funds!” contest at the Belanger Lincoln Ford Centre LTD Grand Opening on Friday, May 2nd, 2014 in Chelmsford. As entries for the contest, schools from around Greater Sudbury submitted 30-second videos intended to promote Belanger Ford in a unique an creative way. Bradford and Scott’s winning video featured a Ford truck that could bark, growl, and wag its antenna. As the prize, Bishop Carter received a cheque for $3000 towards promoting and improving creativity within the school, as well as a $500 celebratory lunch party. Much of the winnings will go towards enhancing the new 3D Game Development section of the SHSM program.
“Creativity does not have limits in my class.” says Facchini. “I teach my students everything: video, sound, special effects, 2D graphics, photography, 3D graphics and animation, web development, 3D game programming. If my students want to make a truck behave like a dog, then there would be nothing stopping them. Brad and Scott’s video is definitely proof of that. I’m extremely proud of their awesome work. And I definitely thank Belanger Ford for providing us with this amazing opportunity.”
BACCSS R/C Club Bishop Cup: Gators vs. Patriotes September 23, 2013
They say good things are worth the wait, and Monday’s R/C car race at Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S. proved it true! After having to postpone the race due to adverse weather conditions, the 1/10th scale racing machines hit the track at the Bishop Carter R/C Speedway. As an added twist to this year’s Bishop Cup event, the Gators invited the R/C club from Franco Cite, located in Sturgeon Falls, to take part in the festivities.
It was an afternoon of high speed and high flying action as over 20 cars raced in 4 exciting classes. At stake were trophies and school pride. To keep track of the action, Bishop Carter set up a state-of-the-art electronic timing system. The system not only tells drivers when to go and stop, but it also keeps track of the number of laps, lap times, and fastest lap all while giving verbal cues to the drivers about their performance during the race.
Not only were students and teachers racing, but a special group of “All Stars” came out to try their hand at R/C racing. This group of star racers included, Bishop Carter’s Principal Mrs. Cassandra MacGregor, Constable Joanne Russell from the Greater Sudbury Police, and Mr. Dan Turnbull from the Greater Sudbury Fire Service. Not only did the All Stars have fun, but they also gained a whole new respect for how difficult these little racers are to control.
R/C racing is an inexpensive hobby. Many students have joined the club. Some students are racers. Some students are part of a tech crew, while others are part of the track crew. Some students serve as race marshals. Evidently, there is a role for any student interested in joining the club. Proceeds from the R/C buyout will go towards purchasing a set of school racers for students who are interested in trying out this activity before buying their own R/C racer.
After the dust settled, it was a fun and exciting day for everyone involved, including not only the students and teachers who were racing, but also for the students, parents, and special guests watching from the grandstands. With this fall’s R/C buyout being such a huge success, they are excited about planning for the up-coming spring’s R/C buyout.
St. Raphael Catholic School Celebrates the Anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian Flag
St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School Core French teachers Lise McElree and Sabrina Rocca feel that it is important for students to learn the French language and culture. Students from the University of Sudbury created the Franco-Ontarian flag and it was unveiled for the first time on September 25, 1975. It has since become the emblem for the Ontario French-speaking community. It is important for students to understand the importance and symbolism of the flag and what it represents.
“On the emblem, green represents summer and white represents winter. Together the two colours represent the diversity of Ontario’s climate. The lily evokes the French-speaking community worldwide, whereas the trillium is the floral emblem of Ontario.” http://www.ofa.gov.on.ca
Students were encouraged to celebrate by wearing green and white.