The students and staff of St. Mary Catholic Elementary School waited patiently eating pizza knowing that someone special was on his way. Every year, the Capreol Knights of Columbus put on a pizza lunch for the students of the school and because of a special connection they have, were able to persuade Santa to take a break from his Christmas preparations and visit all of the kids of St. Mary. Representing the Knights of Columbus, Ken Gustafson – Treasurer, Fred Lowes – Secretary and Don Degagne – Grand Knight pulled some strings and were able to get Santa to show up at the school giving each student a chance to sit on his lap and receive a bag full of candy. Originally, the Knights gathered the children after Sunday mass at the local church but the Sunday mass was eliminated so they approached the schools a few years back to see if they could have the celebration there. The school was thrilled and have hosted the party ever since. All of the students from J.K. to Grade 6 waited anxiously in line for their chance to talk to Santa and tell him their wishes. “It is a really nice day.” said Degagne. “We feel it is important to support Catholic education in the community of Capreol and this is one way that we do this.” The students and staff of St. Mary would like to thank the Knights of Columbus for supporting their school and ask that they pass on their thanks to Santa as well!
Category: Staff
St. Mary Catholic Elementary School Student Wins Coveted Cover of Local Business Calendar
Tyler, McVey, a Grade student from St. Mary Catholic Elementary School was shocked when he received a phone call that let him know that the picture he had drawn had won the coveted spot on the Northern Credit Union’s annual calendar. “I just couldn’t believe it!” stated Tyler. “I don’t usually win stuff and I won. Everybody was really happy and I was really happy.” A few months back Gen Waszczylo, principal of St. Mary noticed that the local branch of the Northern Credit Union had posters up advertising a drawing contest for kids. Mrs. Waszczylo brought some of these posters back and encouraged students to participate and told Tyler personally about the contest. “Mrs. Waszczylo knew that I liked to draw so she thought that this would be something I would want to try” said Tyler. All of the submissions were then put online on the Northern Credit Union’s website and could be voted on. The one to receive the most votes was put on the front cover of the calendar. Tyler’s drawing of the Northern Credit Union in Capreol received the most votes. Bev Winn, local Branch Manager was on hand on Thursday to present to Tyler the first copy of the calendar. Tyler’s mom was also present to be a part of the presentation. Both she and Mrs. Waszczylo had tears in their eyes when they watched Tyler receive his calendar as well as some prizes. Winn showed the calendar already has an extra page at the end for January 2011 that is blank. “This is so the kids can do their drawing right on the calendar, cut it off and submit it for next year’s contest.” Tyler was very excited that because of his talents, the Northern Credit Union will also be having a pizza lunch for his whole class. “I have always loved to draw.” said Tyler. “ Now I am going to enter more contests like this because I know that I can win!”
Sudbury Catholic Board Names New High-Tech, Green Elementary School
There was a celebratory as Trustees with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board voted to name Sudbury’s new elementary school. In the end, trustees selected the name “Holy Cross Catholic School.”
“The name ‘Holy Cross’ has significant meaning,” says Board Chair, Jody Cameron, “The four points of the cross represents the coming-together of four existing school communities into one new, learning community where our children will learn and make lifelong friends. This is a very exciting time for the Board and the expansion of Catholic Education in Sudbury’s south end.”
The decision comes after extensive consultation with students, teachers and parents from Corpus Christi, St. Christopher, St. Michael and St. Theresa schools — as well as St. Francis. The Board also got input from the local Parishes and community partners.
The new school will serve elementary students in the city’s south end and will be located on the St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School site. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is equally pleased with the decision of the new school’s name.
McCullough emphasized, “Holy Cross Catholic School will have lower energy and utility costs than traditionally built schools, and the money saved can go back into the classrooms. That means more money to expand on programs such as our already-established, nationally-recognized Learning with Laptops program as well as full-day junior kindergarten which the Board announced just last month.”
“The naming of this new state-of-the-art school is only the beginning of the many new steps that our Board will be taking in creating this educational village in the city’s south end,” stated Board Chair Cameron, “The next step is to complete the architectural final plans for the design of the new school and get shovels in the ground.”
The Board will decide on the site plan for Holy Cross at next Tuesday’s regular Board meeting. The school will open in September 2011.
St. Francis Students Win Top Honours in Remembrance Day Contest
Students from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School participated in the Canadian Legion Branch 564 Lockerby Remembrance Day contest and walked away with several of the top spots. Mrs. Rinaldi – the Grade 5/6 teacher encouraged her students to enter the competition.
Justin Pappano – Third Place Story
Livingston Boyd – Third Place Poetry and Second Place Poster contest
Logan Dube – Second Place Poem
Perer Boylan – First Place Story
Perer’s story will be going on further in the competition with other branch participant winners. Congratulations to all of the participants!
Sudbury Catholic Schools Pilot Turning Points Project
“After doing my research, I realized that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is a board where the Turning Points project is really going to work well!” These were the words that Judi Symes from the Learning Partnership declared to the teachers invited to be a part of the pilot “Turning Points” project. On December 8, 2009 English teachers from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary High School and Marymount Academy joined Symes as well as Marni Angus from the organization The Learning Partnership. The Learning Partnership is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to championing a strong public education system in Canada with its partners through innovative programs, credible research and executive leadership. This group approached Sudbury Catholic last year to see if there was any interest in piloting their innovative “Turning Points” project. This project links essay writing with personal experiences and it helps students get to know more about their own values as it is a combination of character education and literacy which is aligned with Ministry of Education expectations. Catherine McCullough, Director of Education realized that this was an amazing opportunity as the Sudbury Catholic District School board was the only board in Northeastern Ontario approached to be a part of this initiative and gave the project the green light. The teachers met with the team of Symes and Angus to delve a little deeper into the process involved and learned that the students will be asked to write an essay relating to a turning point in their life through different class exercises that will lead up to the final piece of writing. Those students that are willing to share their work will then submit them for two different tiers of judging. By the end of the year, there will be an awards ceremony that celebrates the students and their winning essays. The Turning Points trainer, Judy Symes – a former Head of English for the Toronto District School Board, says that the students are asked to really scrutinize turning points in their lives as their own emotion can be a critical part of their learning. She believes that risk taking needs to happen for meaningful learning to occur. This is what is asked of the students involved in this assignment. “The essay writing involved will not change everybody’s life, but for a lot of these students and teachers it is really, really special. It is very often transformational!” The teachers that attended this inservice walked away inspired to engage their students in this project in the upcoming months.
Sudbury Catholic District School Board Chair and Vice-Chair Acclaimed
Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board from 2008-2009 and 2001 to 2002, and also Vice-Chair from 2002 to 2003 has been acclaimed to the position of Chair of the Board for a second term. “These are both exciting and challenging times to be Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board,” stated Cameron.
“I would like to thank my fellow trustees for placing their confidence in me for a second term. This new mandate allows us to move forward toward completing many of the new initiatives that are underway such as the implementation of full day kindergarten beginning September 2010 and the creation of the new state-of-the art Catholic elementary school on the St. Benedict site by 2011.”
Barry MacDonald has also been acclaimed as Vice-Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for another term. MacDonald served as Vice-Chair of the Board from 2008 to 2009. He was first elected as Trustee for the Board in December 2003 and has also served as Vice-Chair on a previous occasion for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board from 2004 to 2006.
Mr. MacDonald is looking forward to renewing his position. “I am very grateful to be working with this Board in the capacity of Vice-Chair for another term,” stated MacDonald. “Having been a Trustee for the Board since 2003 and also having served previously as Vice-Chair, I appreciate the fact that this Board never ceases in its attempt to create a better learning environment to improve student achievement,” noted MacDonald. “I look forward to working closely with our Chair, Jody Cameron, my fellow Trustees and Senior Administration to accomplish this goal.”
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.”
Students’ Letters to Santa Are On the Way!
On December 4, 2009, Mme Raymond’s Grade 3/4 French Immersion class and Mr. Martin’s Grade 2 class from St. John Catholic Elementary School set out on the sunny winter day to visit the local post office. The students went on this field trip in order to deliver their letters to Santa. At the post office, the children had the opportunity to ask questions of the postmaster and have a tour. The students and staff had a great time and now their letters are one step closer to the North Pole!
St. Albert Makes the Grade
St. Albert Adult Learning Centre was featured in a story this week in the Northern Life. Staff writer Heidi Ulrichsen contacted St. Albert after writing a previous story that talked about a student who was struggling to finish school and couldn’t find a place that suited his needs. St. Albert fits the bill.
Read this story at Northern Life to learn more about St. Albert.