Every year at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, nominations are sought for the Chairperson’s award. This award is given to a person or persons who makes outstanding contributions to the Catholic school system. The Board believes in the importance of recognizing employees who embrace Catholic values, demonstrates initiative and ingenuity, and contributes positively to the lives of students and staff. At the board’s annual retirement dinner, on June 11, 2014, Sudbury Catholic staff Eileen Kennedy was presented with this year’s award. Kennedy has been a deaf/blind intervenor for the board for the past 27 years working in both the elementary and secondary school level. Currently, Kennedy works with students at St. Charles College and was nominated by several of her school co-workers as well as board office staff. Jody Cameron, Chair of the Board, presented Kennedy with her award and spoke about Eileen’s contributions to the Sudbury Catholic community. “In her role as an intervenor, she constantly strives to find unique and fun ways to encourage these most challenged students to communicate. She researches best practices and activities that will help these students find success in the classroom,” Cameron stated. “She is dedicated to preserving and ensuring the dignity of her students, and her disposition and open-hearted kindness is admired by all who have had the pleasure of working with her.” Cameron cited many examples of how outstanding an educator Kennedy is, and thanked her for her selflessness, and dedication to the Sudbury Catholic students. A very humble person, upon receipt of the award, Kennedy was quick to explain that educating this group of students takes a real team effort. “Over the years, I have worked with some amazing Board administration and teachers,” Kennedy explained. “I would also like the trustees and administration of our board to know that our Intervenors and EAs have been envied all across the country. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking at conferences in Winnipeg and Vancouver and have come to know that we are valued here more than anywhere. You respect our knowledge and experience and we truly appreciate that.” Kennedy described many of her experiences where she was able to positively connect with and engage the students as “this helps their world seem a little less overwhelming and more meaningful.” Kennedy closed her speech by expressing that she was honoured to be the first educational assistant to be chosen by the board for this award, and that she is happy to have the privilege of having a career all these years doing what she really loves, and that the award is “icing on the cake!”
Category: Staff Achievement
SCDSB Winners at the Sudbury Regional Science Fair
Students from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board did extremely well this year at the Regional Science Fair, including two out of the four projects selected to go to Canada Wide Science Fair.
SRSF REGULAR (DIVISIONAL) AWARDS
JUNIOR DIVISION – COMPUTER SCIENCES DIVISIONAL
Placing and Prize: First/Première Medal, Cash, Certificate,
Motor Mayhem
Emelia Kucyk
Marymount Academy
JUNIOR DIVISION – LIFE SCIENCES (SCIENCES DE LA VIE JUNIOR) DIVISIONAL
Placing and Prize: Honourable Mention/ Mention honourable Certificate
Dark Side of screens
Julia Burns
Marymount Academy
Placing and Prize: First/Première Medal, Cash, Certificate, & Plaque
Aquaponics
Hailey MacKenzie
Dayna Rachkowski
Marymount Academy
SENIOR DIVISION – LIFE SCIENCES (SCIENCES DE LA VIE SENIOR) DIVISIONAL
Placing and Prize: First/Première Medal, Cash, Certificate, & Plaque
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
JUNIOR DIVISION – PHYSICAL SCIENCES (SCIENCES PHYSIQUES JUNIOR) DIVISIONAL
Placing and Prize: Honourable Mention/ Mention honourable Certificate
Gauging Gauss And Fluctuating Ferrofluid
Enoch Kim
Maxwell Rizzardi
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School
Placing and Prize: Third/Troisième Place Medal & Certificate
Viscosity. Can it Save You From a Bullet?
Brittany Thornton
Marymount Academy
Placing and Prize: Second/Deuxième Place Medal & Certificate
Les Pieds Froids
Marina Leblanc
St. James Elementary School
SRSF SPECIAL AWARDS
BIOTECHNOLOGY AWARD SPECIAL
Aquaponics
Hailey MacKenzie
Dayna Rachkowski
Marymount Academy
CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE IN MINING INNOVATION (CEMI) AWARD SPECIAL
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
COLLÈGE BORÉAL AWARD SPECIAL
Les Pieds Froids
Marina Leblanc
St. James Elementary School
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD SPECIAL
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
FOUNDING MEMBERS’ AWARD SPECIAL
Motor Mayhem
Emelia Kucyk
Marymount Academy
LIFELABS AWARDS SPECIAL
How Do Video Games Affect Your Health?
Colton Gobbo
St. Raphael Elementary School
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY BIOLOGY AWARD SPECIAL
Aquaponics
Hailey MacKenzie
Dayna Rachkowski
Marymount Academy
LAURENTIAN EARTH SCIENCES AWARD SPECIAL
Cotton Cruelty
Mackenzie Bruce
Marymount Academy
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY COMPUTER SCIENCE OR MATHEMATICS AWARD SPECIAL
Motor Mayhem
Emelia Kucyk
Marymount Academy
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY PHYSICAL SCIENCE AWARD SPECIAL
Gauging Gauss And Fluctuating Ferrofluid
Enoch Kim
Maxwell Rizzardi
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY NEUROSCIENCE AWARD SPECIAL
Does music affect your ability to memorize?
Emma Dionne
St. Raphael Elementary School
Dark Side of screens
Julia Burns
Marymount Academy
MINING INNOVATION, REHABILITATION AND APPLIED RESEARCH CORPORATION (MIRARCO) MINING AWARD SPECIAL
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA ADMISSION SCHOLARSHIP SPECIAL
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
GRAND PRIZES
CANADA WIDE SCIENCE FAIR PARTICIPANT (PARTICIPANT(E) À L’EXPO-SCIENCES PAN-CANADIENNE) GRAND
Prize Type: Trip to Canada Wide Science Fair in Windsor, Ontario, May 10th to 17th.
3101
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
Aquaponics
Hailey MacKenzie
Dayna Rachkowski
Marymount Academy
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD SPECIAL
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
BEST IN FAIR GRAND
Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine
Marika Moskalyk
Alexandra Millar
Marymount Academy
BAC Students Take First at OTSC
On Saturday, April 12th, Christine Harte and Autumn Millar, grade 11 students from Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School’s Specialist High Skills Major program in Information and Communications Technology, participated in the Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) Qualifying Round for TV/Video Production at Canadore College. The girls placed first out of all of the Northern Ontario teams. They will now be heading to RIM Park in Waterloo on May 6th to participate in the OTSC Provincial finals. “I am obviously extremely proud of Christine and Autumn”, says SHSM teacher, Steven Facchini. “Making videos is not just about setting up a camera and hitting the record button. It’s an involved process. I offer my sincerest congratulations to the girls for their exceptional work.”
St. James Students Shine At Provincial Goalball Championships
Students from St. James Catholic Elementary School were exemplary representatives of their school and the City of Sudbury at the Provincial Goalball Championships held in Brantford Ontario May 28th-30th.
Team #1 reached the finals and earned a silver medal. Members of the team include, from left to right, coach: Chantal Simard, goalball players: Jordan Primeau, Nathan Markic and Mackenzie White.
St. Raphael Presented with $5000 Cheque and One Surprise to Support Lifeskills Students
International members from the United Commercial Travellers (UCT) were on hand at St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School on April 9 to present the Lifeskills class with a cheque for $5000. Several months earlier, teacher Elissa Zuliani decided to enter her Lifeskills class in a contest she had read about in one of the UCT catalogues. The contest was open to all North American schools who support students with intellectual disabilities. Zuliani put together a two minute video that showcased the exceptional qualities and values that her students possess. The final winner was to be decided by votes so, after a heated battle for first place with Eldon High School in Eldon, Missouri, the students at St. Raphael placed second.
Visibly moved during the presentation, Zuliani thanked the representatives from UCT International including the CEO of UCT –Joe Hoffman from Ohio as well as the International President of UCT – Bob Kellog from Michigan. Also on hand for the presentation were several members of the local UCT branch. Zuliani also thanked her fellow teachers, parent council members and all of the parents of her students. “We are so proud of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and the Greater City of Sudbury for their votes of support,” Zuliani stated. “This was truly Sudbury at its best! I thank UCT for this incredible funding which will enhance their learning. I am overwhelmed both professionally and personally – it is not about the money, it is about the message –that people with disabilities are valuable members of society and it is our obligation to support them and to nurture them – mind, body and spirit”. The members of the local UCT decided to surprise the staff and students with an additional cheque for $2500 as they felt the students should have won first place. As well, the students were promised a pizza lunch in the upcoming days as part of the celebration. The money will go towards the purchase of technology to support the Lifeskills students in their ongoing learning.
“Spreading the Net” at St. Benedict
“Every minute a child dies from malaria – a preventable disease transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Malaria kills more children than any other disease in Africa.”
As a Catholic community at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, the students and staff wanted to work together to help find a solution to this problem. The students’ administrative council at St. Benedict CSS implemented a school-wide initiative and the school took on the challenge of “Spread the Net.” they joined Canadian icon Rick Mercer and thousands of other students across Canada to raise money for mosquito nets to fight malaria in Africa. Their goal was to raise $7500 to purchase 750 nets; enough to save as many as 1500 individuals (as each bed net may be used to protect 2 people for up to 3 years). This year, funds raised through the student challenge will help provide bed nets to families in Zimbabwe. The fundraiser was organized through the charity Plan Canada.
Students were involved in various activities, such as asking for pledges at home, canvassing neighbourhoods for community involvement, and holding in-school events to raise money. They were excited to get involved and work together to raise money to help others in need. Students especially enjoyed the in-school activities such as the dress down days and a teacher versus student volley ball game. By the end of the campaign, the school raised $8,844.75 and were ranked highly in the contest nationwide. The 63 participating schools across Canada raised over $170 000.
The students and staff wanted to say a special thanks to the team of students who volunteered countless hours into planning and organizing the campaign: Brendan Sullivan, Sara Lehman, Carlee Christie, Kathryn Kettle, Allie Stankiewicz, Elisa Bacik, and Matt Ierino. Finally, to teacher Meghan MacMillan who organized the students and encouraged them to do their best the students send a very special thank you for her time and effort in helping make this more successful than anyone had imagined. They all look forward to surpassing theirr goal next year!”
Sudbury Catholic Teacher Wins Teacher of the Year from the Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury (LDAS)
It comes as no surprise to those who work with her, to find out that Sudbury Catholic teacher Jennifer Connelly is the recipient of this year’s Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury (LDAS) teacher of the year award. As the Assistive Technology teacher, Connelly works with students from kindergarten to grade 12, along with their teachers and special education team. Connelly has been a teacher for 8 years, in her current role for 3 years and is often in high demand as a technology teacher. As well, as she is also an Apple Distinguished Educator and also sits on the Board of Apple Distinguished Educators and is also an Apple Certified Trainer. As a result of this position, she has travelled to many countries including the US and Ireland to take part in Apple’s international conferences.
As the Sudbury Catholic assistive technology teacher, Connelly sees technology as a tool that helps students be successful in their learning. When asked, Connelly is quick to recognize that “it is through the hard work and dedication of the entire special education team, that Sudbury Catholic has been able to meet the needs of their students.” With leadership from Superintendent Rossella Bagnato, Connelly has seen the positive changes assistive technology has instilled in the students.
Sudbury Catholic Special Education Consultant Christina Raso explains, “Jennifer is such a dedicated and passionate teacher, and her love of technology is quite evident in her constant pursuit of innovative and exciting programs and software/hardware to support the success of our students. We are very fortunate to have her be a part of the special education team at Sudbury Catholic and know that she is making a positive difference in the lives of our students every single day.”
As a result of her constant pursuit of new ways to support student learning, Connelly often is given the opportunity to be a beta-tester for new products and applications to see if they might work for the Sudbury Catholic students.
“I am honoured and humbled to receive this award,” Connelly said” “I see this more as an award for our entire special education team at Sudbury Catholic for all of our hard work and love for teaching.”
St. Charles Elementary Takes Part in 9th Annual Johnathan Hetu Walk
Every single student and staff member of St. Charles Catholic Elementary School walked for an hour under the bright sun on June 19, 2013 in memory of a former student. For the past eight years the school has kept up this tradition and taken part in the Johnathan Hetu walk. Johanthan Hetu was an exceptional student at the school and passed away in 2004 after a two-year battle with leukemia. Teacher David Nicholls, who was to have Johnathan in his class that next year, felt compelled to do something to honour Johnathan’s memory – thus the creation of the Johnathan Hetu walk. Students were asked to raise funds, and all the monies were donated to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (N.O.F.C.C.). Up until this year, the school has raised an astounding amount of money – over $43,000 through this walk and were inspired once again raise a significant amount with this year’s walk.
Joining the students and staff, family members of Johnathan’s, including his mother and father, walk the entire hour wearing Johnathan t-shirts. Nicholls explained that the family walks with them every year and makes the event that much more special for the school. “The students can walk with the family, talk about Johnathan, and for those who didn’t know him, learn more about him.”
This year’s fundraising total was revealed to the group at the end of the walk with over $7271 collected putting their nine year total at almost $51,000.
“What an outstanding school we have, “Nicholls stated. “We are truly a community school – there is a special connection in our community between students, staff and our families, and I am so proud of every single person for their support and commitment to honouring Jonathan, as well as raising money for such a great cause.”
As well as presenting the cheque to representatives of the N.O.F.C.C. the parents of Johnathan also present the Johnathan Hetu award to a student who showed characteristics similar to Johnathan; enjoy school, is out-going, and is a person that loves life. This year, the award was presented to two students- Cameron Parsley and Nathan Toeppner.
Every single student and staff member of St. Charles Catholic Elementary School walked for an hour under the bright sun on June 19, 2013 in memory of a former student. For the past eight years the school has kept up this tradition and taken part in the Johnathan Hetu walk. Johanthan Hetu was an exceptional student at the school and passed away in 2004 after a two-year battle with leukemia. Teacher David Nicholls, who was to have Johnathan in his class that next year, felt compelled to do something to honour Johnathan’s memory – thus the creation of the Johnathan Hetu walk. Students were asked to raise funds, and all the monies were donated to the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (N.O.F.C.C.). Up until this year, the school has raised an astounding amount of money – over $43,000 through this walk and were inspired once again raise a significant amount with this year’s walk.
Joining the students and staff, family members of Johnathan’s, including his mother and father, walk the entire hour wearing Johnathan t-shirts. Nicholls explained that the family walks with them every year and makes the event that much more special for the school. “The students can walk with the family, talk about Johnathan, and for those who didn’t know him, learn more about him.”
This year’s fundraising total was revealed to the group at the end of the walk with over $7271 collected putting their nine year total at almost $51,000.
“What an outstanding school we have, “Nicholls stated. “We are truly a community school – there is a special connection in our community between students, staff and our families, and I am so proud of every single person for their support and commitment to honouring Jonathan, as well as raising money for such a great cause.”
As well as presenting the cheque to representatives of the N.O.F.C.C. the parents of Johnathan also present the Johnathan Hetu award to a student who showed characteristics similar to Johnathan; enjoy school, is out-going, and is a person that loves life. This year, the award was presented to two students- Cameron Parsley and Nathan Toeppner.
St. Francis Teacher – Recipient of the 2013 SCDSB Chairperson’s Award
Lise Malette, the French Immersion Senior Kindergarten teacher at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School is this year’s recipient of the Sudbury Catholic 2013 Chairperson’s Award. Selected by trustees, the award recipient is someone who embraces Catholic values, demonstrates initiative and ingenuity and contributes positively to the lives of students and staff. On June 12, Malette was presented this award by Vice Chair of the Board, Michael Bellmore. Bellmore, who is also a parent of a student at St. Francis told the crowd that he was thrilled that Malette was the award winner as he has seen first hand what an outstanding educator Malette is. As well, he has seen just how much more she does for the students on top of teaching in the classroom.
Nominated by the parents of student Karissa Kruk, Malette spent numerous hours helping her family by supporting them with multiple fundraisers. Kruk was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, and the entire family was able to be with her in Toronto where she received treatment, through the financial support of these fundraisers organized by Malette. According to Terra Kruk (Karissa’s mom) “There are no words to put into perspective the generosity and kindness that Lise Malette has given our family. She has unceasingly demonstrated the Love of God by her continued acts of compassion with never a thought of anything in return. From the moment that Lise Malette found out of our tragedy, she began to pull support together from teachers, staff and parents from St. Francis where our children attend school. Lise Malette has gone way beyond the call of duty of being just a teacher but rather has been lead to be one of God’s servants to help others in our time of need. We are so blessed and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received because of this one very special teacher. Without her we would not have been able to stay together as a family all this time.”
A second nomination for Malette was also submitted by the Parent Council Chair –Cathy Kulos– on behalf of the entire school. Kulos explained, “Personally as a parent at St. Francis for the past eight years, I can attest to Lise Malette’s dedication to the students, staff and parents… Lise is a true inspiration to all who meet her – and I have never met someone more giving of themselves.”
Malette was quite overwhelmed upon receiving the award, and thanked her students, co-workers, family and the nominators for being selected as the 2013 Chairperson’s Award winner.