Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Staff

Catholic School Trustees Welcome Funding Announcement

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We congratulate the Minister of Education for the timely announcement of the Grants for Student Needs. Receiving this information in mid-March will greatly assist school boards in the 2007-08 budget planning process,” said Paula Peroni, Vice President of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA).

“Today’s announcement contained news regarding a number of initiatives that are good for Ontario students including funding to support improved Aboriginal student outcomes and more flexible implementation guidelines to assist boards in meeting Primary Class Size standards,” explained Peroni.

OCSTA is pleased that the Ministry of Education maintained its commitment to funding the fourth year of the provincial framework for education and we are encouraged by the continued priority focus on education. This announcement does not, however, address the need for updated funding benchmarks. Funding shortfalls in such areas as employee benefits, special education and student transportation will create financial challenges for some school boards across the province as they plan their budgets for 2007-08.

OCSTA will monitor and analyze the impact of these announcements on schools boards and will continue to work closely with the Minister of Education to ensure that boards have the necessary resources to meet the needs for student success.

The Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association is the provincial voice for Catholic education. Founded in 1930, OCSTA represents Catholic school boards that collectively educate more than 600,000 students in Ontario, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12.

Power of Young Minds Unleashed at SCDSB’s Annual Science Fair

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Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board visited St. Francis Catholic School on Thursday to view a number of interesting and unique projects at the Board’s annual Science Fair.

Mrs. Bagnato reviewed Cortnie Pinard’s and Maddie Dempster’s Science Fair Project, In A Cat’s Eye. The purpose of the project was to determine “why cats pupils change and what effect, if any, does this change have on their vision.” The girls’ hypothesis was that “the beams of light are directed into the cat’s eyes and change the size of the pupils.” The young scientists also informed Mrs. Bagnato that cats can see 90 percent better than humans can in the dark and they can also see in colour, except red.

Zachary Sarmatiuk, a Grade 7 student at St. Francis Catholic School made a presentation to Vice Principal Cassandra MacGregor and Rossella Bagnato regarding the effect of “winglets on airplanes.” The purpose of Zachary’s experiment was to determine if the “winglets” placed on tips of the wings of three different paper airplanes (at various angles) would increase the length of their flight. Zachary’s results indicated that with a wider-winged plane, “winglets” impacted the distance of flight. It is important to note as Zachary was quit to point out that “this experiment was only performed on paper air planes and it really depends on how good a thrower you are.”

Zachary gave special thanks to his little brother Owen who let him use his airplane book for the Science Fair project.

Twenty one of the 150 Science Fair projects were selected to advance to the Regional Science Fair that will take place at Laurentian University on March 31 and April 1, 2007.

Congratulations to all our winners, and good luck at the Regional Science Fair on March 31 and April 1, 2007 at Laurentian University!

School Student
Name(s)		 Project
Title
Marymount
Academy		 Katherine
Gedey
Lindsay Henderson		 The
Beat Must Flow On
St.
Francis		 Jeff
Lafantaisie		 Boat
Hulls and Hydrodynamics
Marymount
Academy		 Alysha
Mills		 Processed
vs. Non-Processed
St.
Francis		 Jennifer
Trevisiol		 What’s
In a Name?
St.
James		 Nicole
Denomme
Mikaela Iturregui		 The
Amazing Race
St.
Mary		 Alex
Bottigoni
Justin Konrad		 Does
Music Affect Heartbeat?
St.
Francis		 Scott
Fleury		 Bouteille
d’eau recyclable…
Bon ou mauvais
St.
Francis		 Mark
Verrilli
Mike Fabiili		 Bending
Under Pressure
Marymount
Academy		 Brittany
Caines		 Le
memoire
Marymount
Academy		 Emily
Cortolezzis
Cecilia MacDonald		 La
vitame C
St.
Francis		 Alex
Trottier		 Resistance
a la rupture des formes
St.
Raphael		 Matt
Spina
Steven Dinnes		 Stitching
Span
St.
Charles		 Alex
Predon
Tyerone McCoshen		 Catching
the Wavelength
St.
Raphael		 Marie
Longo		 Water
Quality
St.
Francis		 Conner
Boyce		 La
terre serre
St.
John		 Kaiana
Freskiw
Rachael Guerin		 Does
Colour Affect People’s Perception?
Marymount
Academy		 Angelica
Fievoli		 What
a Headache!
Marymount
Academy		 Cara
Loney		 What
Are You Eating?
Marymount
Academy		 Vanessa
DiFeo		 Separation
101
St.
Francis		 Loren
Ellero Dionne		 H3PO4
& Teeth
St.
Raphael		 Desiree
Tomassini
Sara Schroeder
Will Flouride Make Teeth Stronger?

CBC National News Comes to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board

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The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that it has been selected by CBC News in Toronto to be the host site for the National News featuring Peter Mansbridge on Monday, March 12, 2007.

The request to air the CBC National News “live” from the grounds of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was granted by Board officials earlier in the week and confirmed by the CBC today. According to producers of the CBC National News, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was selected as the site for newscast because of “its unique and picturesque setting, which affords a great view of the City of Greater Sudbury and the city lights at night”.

Crews and equipment for the CBC National News will arrive at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2007 to begin the setup and preparations for the newscast. The CBC National news will begin broadcasting at 9:00 p.m. to stations in Canada’s eastern time zone with Mr. Mansbridge anchoring the show from a news set positioned on the back of a 5-ton truck located on the grounds of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board welcomes the opportunity to be the host site for one of Canada most prestigious and highly respected national news programs.

SCDSB Proud Partner in Interactive Home Audit Program

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Approximately 27,000 students and their families in Greater Sudbury will be asked to take part in the Interactive Home Audit (IHA) over the next few weeks – an innovative and comprehensive education program that will provide a framework for changing habits when it comes to energy conservation.

The Interactive Home Audit involves the City of City of Greater Sudbury’s four school boards and includes all 94 schools. Coordinated by the City of Greater Sudbury and the Dearness Environmental Society, the program features an online tool designed to encourage students, their families, and the general public to reduce electricity, energy and water use in their homes.

Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was on hand for the official launch of the Interactive Home Audit program at Science North. Mrs. Bagnato is proud of the role that her students are playing in the Home Audit Program. “By educating and assisting our families about conservation in our homes and businesses we are taking a positive step to sustainable change,” stated Bagnato. “We are very committed to this community wide strategy and take our role as stewards of the earth seriously.”

The information users will find when completing the Interactive Home Audit includes:

• The amount of energy being consumed in their homes
• How much money energy use is costing per month
• What efficiency measures can be implemented to reduce consumption
• Dollar savings after efficiency measures are implemented
• The impact that personal actions have on the environment

As a component of the Interactive Home Audit Challenge, a number of youth environmental teams, representing each of the four school boards, will be visiting neighbourhoods in Greater Sudbury during the month of March, to promote the IHA and Efficient Sudbury campaign. The youth teams will be sharing information on these two community initiatives and giving residents a free Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb.

Tom Tamblyn, President of Dearness Environmental Society, developed the Interactive Home Audit to connect student learning about the environment with actions in our homes and community. As Tom stated recently, “we all have a responsibility to think globally and act locally. The home audit was designed to help students become ‘system thinkers’, so they can better understand sustainability principles and the impacts of their actions on their community and their environment.”

The IHA can be found online at http://sudbury.yourhomeaudit.com.

SCDSB Celebrates 150 Years of Catholic Education

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Sudbury Catholic District School Board teachers, parents, clergy and staff celebrated more than 150 years of Catholic Education in Ontario during its Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) Symposium held at Marymount Academy last week. The initiative is part of a campaign undertaken by the Board and its Partners in Education to increase the awareness of what Catholic Schools are really all about.

In his opening remarks, Barry MacDonald, SCDSB Trustee welcomed guests and took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Catholic Education “For more than a century and a half Catholic Schools have enriched communities through the education of students rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” MacDonald told the capacity crowd of Catholic Educators. “Schools belonging to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board incorporate Catholic beliefs throughout all subject areas of the curriculum. Both individually and as members of interdependent teams, students are called to examine and evaluate their own contributions to physical, political, ethical, socioeconomic and ecological systems with an informed moral conscience as they learn to integrate faith with life. The English Catholic School system in Sudbury has proven to be a very successful one that provides a value added, faith-based quality education that meets or exceeds provincial standards for excellence and student achievement. By recognizing the diversity in our community and the Constitutional guarantees established to protect minorities, we will continue to provide the very best for our students now and in the future,” concluded MacDonald.

Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board echoed Mr. MacDonald’s thoughts on the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Catholic Education. “Integral to our Catholic school system is the firm conviction that it encourages and challenges students and teachers alike to become involved in issues and questions of social justice. Our faith permeates every aspect of the curriculum,” noted Mrs. Bagnato. “Catholic schools educate more than 600,000 students representing cultures and nations from around the world. You are the guardians of Catholic Education,” Bagnato told her audience. “Every thing you do promotes, preserves and protects the children we love and that is why we are confident in saying that our schools are truly Schools To Believe In.”

SCDSB Trustee Joins St. Mary Catholic School Students for Shrove Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday

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Services were held at schools and school-parishes of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to commemorate Ash Wednesday this week. At St. Mary School, Father Gerry Lalonde of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Capreol blessed the ashes that were used in the school’s service. “The ashes were once the palms that were used during Palm Sunday,” explained School Principal, Mrs. Waszczylo as she lead the celebration and anointed the classroom teachers.

Meanwhile, secondary school students, teachers and staff at Marymount Academy also celebrated the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday service. They were joined by Sudbury Catholic District School Board staff in the afternoon celebration, which included the distribution of ashes. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of forty days of preparation for Easter Sunday, a time when individuals are encouraged to make an extra effort to grow in their relationship with God.

Sudbury Catholic Board Recognized By United Way

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Michael Cullen, Campaign Director for the United Way / Centraide presents Paula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board and Rossella Bagnato, Interim Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board with an Award of Recognition for the Board’s ongoing support for the United Way Campaign. For many years, the Board’s students and staff have continued to donate their time and efforts to raise funds for the United Way through events at individual schools and through the Payroll Deduction Plan.

The SCDSB and its family of schools have raised more than $6,500 for this year’s United Way / Centraide campaign.

The United Way / Centraide, together with its many volunteers and donors such as the Sudbury Catholic District School Board strives to build a healtheir and stronger community.

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