On Thursday, June 13, representatives from the Canadian Diabetes Association were on hand at St. Paul Catholic Elementary School to present the St. Paul Panthers Running team with two banners. The students and staff that make up this club had participated in the 2013 Sudbury Rocks race, and were thrilled to be acknowledged for their efforts. The group was presented with the Sudbury Rocks School Challenge banner for Highest Percentage of Participation for an Elementary School, as well as Highest Amount of Pledges raised for an Elementary School. Stacey Vendramin, a teacher at the school as well as a running coach for the team was thrilled with the presentation for the students. “It is a great group of kids that really embraced the running challenge,” Vendramin stated. “They really enjoyed themselves and recognized the importance of being physically active and working together as a group. We are looking forward to future running events!”
Category: Student Achievement
Good Will is “Blooming” at Pius XII
Usually at the end of the school year, classes are winding down, and students are getting ready for summer vacation. Not so in the grade 6 class at Pius XII Catholic Elementary School. For the last week, the class has been quite busy organizing and packing over 114 boxes set to be delivered to Genevra House.
For student Grace Tilbury, learning about inspiring people like Craig Keilburger over the past few months, sparked an idea that she really wanted to make a difference too. After some research, and knowing that she really wanted to focus on helping women and children, Tilbury asked her friend Abigail MacDonald if she would like to help her out with an idea that she had. The two girls decided on creating “Bloomability Boxes” to donate to Genevra House. The boxes would contain basic toiletry items that the women and children would need at the shelter as many of them arrive with absolutely nothing. The term “bloomability” was inspired from a book with the same name that Grace had read. One of the characters is learning English, and connects the word bloomability with the word possibility. Grace liked this idea as she thought that the boxes would give these women and children some new possibilities in life.
After approaching her teacher Wendy Morin, the girls the girls got the go-ahead and recruited the rest of the class to begin collecting items and money donations. A letter was drafted by the girls and sent home and items began to come in. Word spread with the other teachers and classes at the school, and pretty soon the entire school was on-board. As a result, the girls had enough items to put together over 114 boxes to donate.
“Our original goal for the class was to get enough items for 14 boxes,” explained Tilbury. “Many of our friends gave up their free class time and computer time to help us out with this project. We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our classmates, our teacher, the other students, staff, our families and the Pius XII community!”
Teacher Wendy Morin is extremely proud of her students saying, “These two girls have inspired an entire school. They have worked extremely hard on this project and I am very proud of their commitment and determination with this social justice initiative!”
St. Benedict Student Receives the Craig T. Noble Award
On June 19, St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School student Katelyn Ruff was presented with the Craig T. Noble award from ICAN (Independence Centre and Network) Sudbury. Ruff, a student in the lifeskills class was born with a condition called Tetra X Syndrome which is a rare chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of four X chromosomes instead of two X chromosomes. This often results in learning difficulties, joint problems and emotional stress. Ruff has had a number of surgeries over the years and often experiences pain. According to her teacher, Pam Colasimone, Katelyn works very, very hard every day to overcome her physical challenges. At school she is quite independent and extremely helpful towards her peers.
Nominated for the award by her teacher, Katelyn received the Craig T. Noble award in front of a group of her friends, classmates, staff and ICAN representatives. The Craig T. Noble award is named after a twelve year old student – Craig Noble – who was one of the first participants in the ICAN afterschool program. Noble began the program a shy, quiet student and very quickly became a confident role model for the other participants. In 2006, at 15 years old, Noble passed away, and the Craig T. Noble award was established to support youth with physical disabilities to reach their goals of independence. The award is given every year to a teen who demonstrates similar qualities to Craig; an ambition to be independent, a positive attitude, a strong work ethic towards independence, an involvement in the community and record of volunteering and has set goals for independence.
Marie Leon, C.E.O. of ICAN presented the award to Katelyn and described her as a “friend, daughter, student, classmate and a very special person who is willing to help her friends and teachers.” Leon told the group she was proud to know Katelyn.
Colasimone echoed Leon’s comments and described Katelyn as a wonderful student and friend and is involved in a number of extra-curricular activities including taekwondo and swimming.
Upon receiving the award, Katelyn was visibly moved and very quietly thanked the group and ICAN for giving her this award.
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.
“The Bishop Cup” – BACCSS’s First Ever R/C Car Race
On May 9th, 2013, Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School hosted its first ever R/C (remote controlled) car races. It was a great day for motor car racing. The sky was blue and the temperature was holding study at about 20 degrees. There was an impressive turn out of about 18 cars and approximately 75 spectators. The cars were divided up into 3 different classes, Monster Truck, Stock, and Mod. To wrap-up the day, a no-holds-barred race named “Top Dawg” was held where all the drivers raced at once.
It was an afternoon full of thrills, spills, and speed as racers participated in a total of 16 different heat races. In the end, four winners crowned. In the Monster truck Class, student Liam Mitchel came out on top and student Zander Fortier topped the field in Stock. In the Mod class, teacher Paul Mailloux prevailed and finally in Top Dawg, student James Roque beat out all the other competitors to claim first place. When the dust settled at the end of the day, all of the drivers (students and teachers alike) did an awesome job of keeping the crowd entertained and the cars running strong all afternoon. A special thanks goes out to all the spotters (people who flip the cars back on their wheels after a crash), lap counters, announcers, grillers, and spectators. Without your help and support, none of this could have happened!
BAC R/C club didn’t pop up over night. It actually began way back in September 2012, when a group of teachers (Kirk Mckee, Serge Remillard, and Paul Mailloux) thought it would be great if there could be a club that would interest the schools large population of “Gearheads”. I was decided that R/C car racing would be the perfect club because it’s very hands on, students learn about how cars work, safe, and it’s affordable. Anther bonus is that the racing ties into curriculum nicely. The Manufacturing and Wood Working classes were crucial in the actual fabrication of the track. The Gr. 9-10 Workplace Math class was put in charge of measuring and dividing the track into 10 equal sized chunks. The Specialist High Skills Major class recorded the event from an array of different angles and are currently editing the footage. Numerous teachers are incorporating the cars into physics and math questions. In the future, the club plans on further expanding its membership and possibly team up with some community clubs. While the members aren’t racing, the teachers are showing the students how to maintain and tune-up their machines.
Brand new “Traxxas” R/C cars start off at $200 for a ready to go package which includes the car, battery, charger and radio. Also, all the parts to repair the cars are available at Best Buy and Future Shop. Lots of people think of the old, slow, clumsy R/C cars that they had when they were a kid. Don’t get confused, these aren’t toys. Out of the box, these electric 1/10 scale cars can go anywhere from 35-70mph!
There are all kinds of ways to get involved with R/C club at BAC. Maybe the most obvious way is to buy a car and race, but that isn’t the only way. The club is always looking for members who want to be involved in track maintenance, spotting, lap counting, marshalling, and so on. Without members doing these important jobs, the races are very hard to put on. The club will be hosting several other races this spring. Spectators and new members are always welcome, and remember, no car is needed!
St. Benedict CSS Sr. Boys Soccer finishes 4th at OFSAA
St. Benedict Bears Senior Boys Soccer Team completed a fantastic season June 6 – 8 at the OFSAA “A” Championships in Timmins, Ontario. After an undefeated season locally in Sudbury (winning the “A” division city championship), St. Benedict won NOSSA versus Franco Cite in convincing fashion on May 31st. At OFSAA, St. Benedict posted a round robin record of 2 wins and 2 ties, good for 1st place in Group A. In the Quarter-Finals, St. Benedict defeated Glengarry Secondary School 4-2 on goals from Shawn Wilcox (with 3) and Brandon Moxam (1). Unfortunately, the undefeated season came to a halt in the semi-final (Saturday morning) versus private school Ridley College from St. Catharines. Battered and bruised, the Bears dropped a 4-0 decision to their opponents. In the bronze medal game (with numerous players injured and/or in different positions), the Bears lost a tight 2-1 decision to London Christian private school. The Bears finished their 2013 season with a record of 11 wins, 2 losses (only on the last day of the season), and 4 ties – good enough for a 4th overall ranking in the province of Ontario. This is the greatest result for boys soccer in school history. St. Benedict teacher and coach Giuseppe Politi stated, “All in all, it was a positive result for the team, the program, the school, and the city. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would finish top 4 in Ontario I certainly would been ecstatic. Looking back, in the group stage we ran into some trouble finishing off opponents (gave up a few leads). This didn’t let our starters get the rest they needed to last through 3 days of intense competition (7 games total). In the end, it caught up to us on Saturday morning. We just didn’t have the gas or capacity to keep up to more-balanced and fresh opponents in Ridley College (St. Catharines) or London Christian. Both George Urso (co-coach) and I are extremely proud of this squad and its accomplishments this season. We certainly overachieved in the group stage (considering the number of competitive players we have on our team, compared to the other teams at the tournament). A lot of our students played beyond their means and that should be recognized. It’s a bit frustrating to know that we could have won the bronze if we were a bit more fresh. That said, the boys should be proud of what they’ve accomplished (best result in school history) and it was a great student-athlete experience for the entire team. Hopefully, we’ll get another opportunity to showcase our program at next year’s championships.”
St. Francis Student Takes Top Honours in 5th Annual Fast Flowing Water Contest
On Thursday, June 6th, members of the community, as well as several classes from area elementary schools were on hand at Tom Davies Square for a news conference and awards ceremony for the fifth annual Fast Flowering Water Contest. Deputy Mayor Joscelyn Landry-Altmann (Ward 12) who is also Chair of the Junction Creek Safety Committee was on hand to address the crowd and announce the winners of both the video and poster contests. St. Francis Catholic Elementary School grade 6 student Sophia Zulich was the first place winner and had her poster unveiled on a 10’ x 20’ billboard that will be placed prominently in Sudbury. Sophia’s first place win earned an ipad mini for herself, and a smartboard for her class. Coming in third place was Makayla Kruk, another grade 6 student from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School winning a $200 iTunes gift card.
Alongside Landry-Altmann was the contest mascot Milly the Muskrat as well as Adam Dickie’s grandfather Ray Croteau. Adam was a thirteen year old boy who drowned in 2007 in fast flowing water and the inspiration for this safety initiative. Croteau who has been a part of this campaign from its inception, also addressed the crowd and asked the students and members of the community to always remember the motto “Where waters flow, do not go!”
Vicki Mcguire, principal of St. Francis was extremely pleased that her students took two of the top spots in the contest. “I am so proud of both Sophia and Makayla, as well as all of our students who participated in this contest,” Mcguire stated. “This is such an important message for all in our community, and I am extremely impressed with our students in getting this message out so creatively.”
Marymount Academy Student Medals at National Science Fair
Marymount Elementary Academy student Electra Millar competed at the Canada Wide Science Fair held in Lethbridge, Alberta May 11-18, 2013. Her project “Under Pressure” won a Bronze Medal in the Excellence Award Junior Division category, as well as an Entrance Scholarship to Western University.
St. John “Fights Back” Against Cancer
Despite the rain that poured down on May 10th, the students and staff of St. John Catholic Elementary School remained committed to their walk for their 5th annual relay for life with just one tweak – instead of walking outside, they decided to walk inside the school’s gym. Event organizer and teacher Irene Raymond didn’t miss a beat when the weather decided to be uncooperative and quickly made arrangements for each of the classes to rotate their walks in the school gym.
The day’s event was kicked off with a presentation of a banner from the Sudbury chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Cathy Burns who wanted to publically acknowledge the school’s outstanding efforts in supporting their organization. Raymond received the banner on the school’s behalf and spoke to the students before the relay began. “Every single person in this room has been or will be affected by cancer,” Raymond explained. “Today we are honoured to have a group of survivors who will be joining us on our walk and we celebrate their strength and courage to fight back!” The students echoed Raymond’s message “Fight back” and it was the phrase that was shouted throughout the event. The students walked with the survivors as well as family and community members.
The school was visited by the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Cancer Society (Ontario Division) – Martin Kabat a few weeks earlier to kick of the school’s fundraising efforts for their event and he encouraged the students to continue in their support for such an important cause. As well, he thanked them for their fundraising efforts from previous years as they have contributed well over $15,000 to the Sudbury branch.
This year’s efforts have surpassed all other years for the school as the grand total to date is well over $7200 with more pledge money still coming in. According to Raymond, the students really outdid themselves this year and were completely focused on raising the most amount of money they have ever raised with one student raising close to $1000 all on her own. “I am so proud and thankful that the students, staff and parent community of St. John Catholic Elementary School are such giving and generous group,” Raymond stated. “We have shown once again that we care about each other and that we are committed to continuing to fight back againstt cancer.”
The event finished with the entire group gathering in the school’s gymnasium for the annual luminary ceremony.