Sudbury Wolves Assistant Captain Mike Lomas and defenceman Frank Schumacher surprised the students of Corpus Christi School on January 27th for Family Literacy Day. Each read a book to the student body. “Don’t laugh at me” to reinforce “Peaceful Schools” and “Mother Earth to promote Dearness Conservation. Students were enthusiastic and excited to receive individual autographs from both Sudbury Wolves players. GO WOLVES GO!!!
Category: School Councils/PIC
Family Literacy Day Brings Families into Schools
Family Literacy Day centres around having fun while learning. To celebrate, the Junior Kindergarten students at St. David Catholic School read books and drew pictures of their favorite characters with their families. All families read, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company while talking about literacy and better developing oral language skills.
Pictured is four year old Kadin Demers reading his favorite story with his dad Matt. When asked about the best part of Family Literacy Day, Kadin excitedly responded, “reading the melting story with Daddy, having hot chocolate and wearing my pajama’s to school”!
After the children read with their parents, they had the opportunity to show their family members their performance portfolios which contain all their “best work”. The students were able to explain why they chose those pieces for their portfolios.
Lindsay Michel, junior kindergarten teacher states, “It was beautiful to see families reading their favorite books and hearing the students using terms like ‘author’ and ‘illustrator’. The students were very excited to share their hard work in their performance portfolios and speak with their families about what they have been learning. Today, it was a wonderful to see the students and their families share in the joy and appreciation of learning literacy. You could feel that real sense of community that we have at St. David – I was very proud of our students and truly enjoyed the positive relationship building opportunity Family Literacy Day offers schools”.
St. Bernadette Host Family Open House Gathering
The gym at St. Bernadette Catholic School was full to capacity for the Family Open House Gathering. What better way to start off a new and exciting school year than gathering together as a school community to enjoy a delicious a pasta dinner? Megan Abate in Grade 6 was thrilled when her table was called as it was an extra special treat to have her teachers serve her a delicious, hot meal.
“Gangs and Youth. A Community Action Plan.”
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is proud to be a partner in the “Gangs and Youth. A Community Action Plan” initiative in conjunction with our fellow school boards and community agencies in Sudbury.
Representatives from the Board staff and Trustees participated in a “Gangs and Youth” Media Conference held at the Greater Sudbury Police Service to promote awareness around gang activity. The Board took this opportunity to reinforce the fact the Sudbury Catholic District School Board works hard to engage our students in our educational programs and extra-curricular activities. We believe that our school communities offer the best opportunities for our youth, thus enabling them to become positive members of society. Our Board supports and maintains positive school climates that enhance safety and focus on prevention and early intervention with opportunities for reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration of the community.
Sudbury Catholic Board Decides to Build Holy Cross Catholic School, JK to Grade 6
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board unanimously voted to make its newest high-tech green school a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 elementary school. The Board’s Trustees made the decision at the December 15, 2009 Board meeting.
The trustees decided the new Holy Cross Catholic School in Sudbury’s south end would be a separate Dual Track JK to Grade 6 School, located near St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. The new school will also include an early-learning daycare facility and a 4,000 square foot gymnasium.
“Holy Cross is going to be a fantastic new school,” says Board Chair Jody Cameron, “It will be high-tech, offering the latest in educational technology – while being an intimate, safe and personable environment for children ranging from our new full-day junior kindergarten program to Grade 6. It’s an exciting time.”
Meantime, the Catholic Board also decided it will offer Grade 7 to 12 programming next door at the existing St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School. This will include the construction of new classrooms and a third gymnasium. The renovations will also include a new “cafetorium” (which is a combination of a cafeteria and auditorium) to serve both the elementary and secondary students. It could seat as many as 500 people for concerts, plays, presentations, guest speakers, and other special events.
“These two projects are exciting for students, parents, and teachers in our Catholic schools,” says Board Director, Catherine McCullough, “It’s a great decision which will continue to enhance our community partnerships. These students who already benefit from programs like our nationally-recognized laptop learning program will now have even more educational tools at their fingertips to help them have a balanced educational experience and go on to succeed in life.”
The Board Trustees made the decision after extensive consultation with the school communities impacted. The new Holy Cross Catholic School will open in September 2011. The new and improved St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School will also be ready for the fall of 2011. Both projects combined are projected to cost $16.2-million with $11.7-million coming from the provincial government – while the Board has agreed to contribute $4.5-million.
Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School Breakfast Club Feels Like Family
On December 4, 2009 parents and community members were invited to join the staff and students to celebrate the success of their school’s breakfast club. It has been up and running since May of last year and has grown in leaps and bounds. Dave Soehner, principal of the school says a lot of the program’s success is because of the staff involvement, most especially Dennis Dechaine, Cathy Boyer and Jen Geddes. All during the breakfast preparation, the serving of the food and the clean up afterwards, these three kid, joke and smile with the students that attend. It is more of a family environment that exists at their breakfast club. “The students from day one were told – wash your hands, sign in, eat your breakfast, and put your plates in the dishwasher” says Mr. Dechaine. And the students do just that – very reminiscent of a family setting around the table. Many of the students volunteer to clean up afterwords as well. Geddes says that they are very grateful to the Breakfast Clubs of Canada as well as the Human League for all of their financial support and donations. Other local companies have also started to donate to this program. Mr. Soehner says that the breakfast club has improved their school culture. “It has provided our students with a greater sense of community and this message is reinforced by the commitment of our teachers who facilitate the program.” Cathy Boyer feels it is a great way for the kids to have some social time before class. “It really provides the students with many opportunities including a chance for them to spend quality time with their teachers as well as their friends.”
St. Michael Catholic Elementary School Choir On Their Way to Becoming Stars
The students from Grade 2 to 6 at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School have been hard at work practicing for their performance on the annual CTV telethon. The school council parents have raised $200 for the school to donate and they will be continuing these fundraising efforts in the upcoming weeks. St. Michael’s would like to thank the parent council for all of their help with their money-raising efforts as well as their work with the choir – especially Mrs. Vintinner, Mrs. Udeschini and Mrs. Herold. The staff and students of St. Michael would like to wish HOPE, JOY, LOVE and PEACE to all of the families in our community!
Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School on our Radar
As the holidays are approaching quickly, many of our schools are experiencing a flurry of events. This is true for Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. The school has had several outstanding events occur and many more happening in the upcoming weeks. Just a few of the great things that have happened recently at Bishop include hosting their fifth Annual Spaghetti Dinner for students, parents, community (feeder schools) and staff which was a huge success. Over three hundred people attended and it was a super fundraiser for the school. As well, the Bishop A.C.C.S.S. Junior Girls basketball team were the city champions for the second year in a row. For the month of December, the students and staff have been gathering items to make up a Christmas Hamper as well as collecting gently used winter clothing items for the St. Kevin’s Parish initiative called “Socks for the Sole”. On December 4th, the school will be hosting a Parent Breakfast at the Breakfast Club and parents and the community have been invited to attend. This breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. and runs until 8:10 a.m. To add to all of this, the school is also in the process of raising money to donate to the annual CTV telethon. Through mission donations and neighbourhood caroling, the school has raised $665 to date. The students are continuing with this fundraising effort until Friday with the hopes of bringing that total even higher. The staff and students of Bishop A.C.C.S.s. have been extremely busy and we look forward to hearing more about their school community in the upcoming weeks!
Sudbury Catholic Board Implements Full Day Junior Kindergarten Programs in All Schools
It was a historic moment last evening as Trustees voted in favour of bringing full-day Kindergarten Programs to all of its elementary schools. The full day JK classes will begin next Fall. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is the first English school system in Greater Sudbury to offer full-day junior kindergarten.
The decision comes less than a month after Dr. Charles Pascal released his report on early childhood learning commissioned by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. The report called on the government to introduce full-day JK for four and five-year-olds. The Provincial Government responded by agreeing to phase it in over the next five years.
“Dr. Pascal’s report talked about the economic and social benefits of spending public money on quality early childhood programs,” says Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, “We agree with those findings completely and following the lead of the province, thought it was best for our students and our parents to implement full day junior kindergarten right away. Why wait for something that so clearly will help our children succeed?”
The programming will cost the Board $950,000 from its reserve fund. That cost also includes implementing nineteen Early Learning Program (ELP) classes in seven designated schools beginning September 2010.
“At the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we believe you can’t put a price on the education and futures of our young people,” adds Director Catherine McCullough, “As Dr. Pascal said in his report — this is about more than traditional education — this is about turning schools into places that provide families with opportunities for children’s learning, care, health, culture, arts, and recreation. We agree completely and look forward to welcoming our new students and families into our full-day junior kindergarten programs in September 2010.”
Parents who are interested in registering their children for full-day JK in the Fall can do it now by calling the Board offices at: 673-5620.
For more information on the Early Learning Program please visit http://www.ontario.ca/en/initiatives/early_learning/ONT06_018876.