Sudbury Catholic District School Board

Category: Student Achievement

Robenedicts are Taking Over…

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What does the St. Benedicts Robotics team know about robots and motors? Since October – a whole lot!

FIRST Robotics Canada have granted St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School with money and a starter kit to begin the first ever robotics team at the school. The team, keenly named Robenedicts by Grade 12 Benjamin Nolan, was formed in October 2012 by teachers Julianne Falconi and John Doyon. There are 30 students that make up Robenedicts, including two sections consisting of engineering and business that the students can choose to focus on. “When we first did a call out to those interested – the number of students interested was overwhelming. The club consists of secondary students, with several Grade 7 and 8’s interested in being part of the team as well,” Falconi said.

“This was something new for us to try as a school,” says Grade 12 team member Christian Bastistelli, “the team has really evolved since we first began.” The group’s first competition is the FIRST Robotics Canada Greater Toronto West Regional competition at the end of March that includes competitors from Singapore and the United States. If Robenedicts move on in the competition, they will advance to nationals where they will encounter oppositions from several countries throughout the world.

Grade 12 teammate Benjamin Nolan affirms that “the team has given us all a head start for university. It has been a great learning experience and even though it has been a lot of work, it also has been a lot of fun.” The competition could also help give the students an advantage going into post secondary school, as according to the Union Gas Press Release, the robotics teams from Ontario can qualify for over $16 million in university scholarships. “You are our future leaders, future innovators, and we are very proud to be a part of this process,” says Tom O’Malley, Utilities Manager of Union Gas who was part of the mentoring team supporting the robotics team. O’Malley concluded his presentation with a cheque for $2500 to the team by encouraging the students, “hopefully you’ll kick some robot butt.”

Story by Mackenzie Connelly
St. Benedict Communications Co-op student

St. Charles Cardinal Receives Prestigious Young Leaders Award

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Students and staff at St. Charles College are confident that when David DiBrina leaves the school doors, it won’t be the last they hear of him.

Grade 12 Cardinal David DiBrina is the recipient of the 2013 Sudbury Community Builders Young Leader Award.

David, who is serving his second term as the Student President graciously accepted his award at the Community Builders Awards Gala February 21st.

David headed up the school’s annual food drive this school year which raised 125, 000 cans to combat hunger in the city.  It was the largest single contribution in history of the Sudbury Food Bank.

David also serves as the student trustee for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.  He is involved in theatre, as well as community projects like the Gift of Life organ donation campaign while maintaining an average of 95 percent at school.

David graduates from St. Charles College this year and hopes to attend Western University in the fall and get accepted to its prestigious Richard Ivey School of Business.

Jeans for Teens at MMA

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Through the organization dosomething.org, the Aeropostale clothing company has initiated a competition for Canadian secondary schools. Trying to make a difference for homeless teens, Aeropostale is challenging schools to collect the most number of jeans to support the teen clientele at homeless shelters across the nation. According to the website dosomething.org, the number one requested item at homeless shelters by teens is jeans. Marymount student Brooke Debassige who works at the Sudbury Aeropostale store was inspired by this contest and knew that her school would step up and take part in this initiative. After talking to both her principal Lucie Cullen and vice principal Lori Holden, the school launched its own Jeans for Teens collection. “It is the least we can do for others who are less fortunate in our local and surrounding communities,” Debassige stated. “At Marymount we are always encouraged to support each other and give back to the community, and I knew this was something that we should definitely be a part of – plus, it just feels good to do something good for others.”
Principal Lucie Cullen was inspired by Debassige’s idea. “Brooke came to us right away with this idea and we knew immediately that it was something that we would support as a school,” Cullen stated. “Marymount strives to support social justice initiatives and we are very proud of Brooke for bringing this forward so that we could participate as a school.”
After counting the jeans already collected on Friday, February 8th, Marymount Academy had over 600 pairs of jeans for donation. The Jeans for Teens collection will be ongoing until February 25, 2013 and the school is asking the community to help them with their collection and to drop off any new or gently used jeans to Marymount Academy located at 165 D’Youville St. before February 25, 2013.
The winning school will receive a $10,000 prize, Aeropostale hoodies with the school logo, and a party for the students.

Marymount Academy Part of Successful World Record Attempt

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Students and staff from Marymount Academy received word the last week of January that their participation in the attempt to set the World Record for the Largest Practical Science Lesson at Multiple Venues this past October was a success. The event had a record number of participants – over 17,000 Canadians at 121 different locations across the country taking part in the science lesson. After reviewing all the information, data and video submitted, Guinness has confirmed that the record was in fact set and the attempt was successful. As some events and data were exempt, the official total of participants is 12, 701 and 88 different locations. Students at Marymount Academy had the opportunity to participate and teacher Lise Callahan organized the event for the grade 7,8,10 and 12 students.
“It was a really unique event for our students,” Callahan stated. “Just at the school level, our students really jumped on board and had a lot of fun working through the experiments and applying their science knowledge. Having learned that Marymount Academy’s participation in such a large record setting attempt was successful, it makes our the event even that much more exciting on a much, much bigger scale! Working through all of the set up, organization and follow-up, being a part of the inclusion into the Guinness Book of World Records definitely makes it all worth while!”

The Scales of Justice work in favour of St. Charles College

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The grade twelve law class at St. Charles College is celebrating victory after winning the City Mock Trial Championships January 14, 2013 at the Sudbury Courthouse. There were fourteen teams from all four Sudbury school boards competing for the coveted Justice Patricia Hennessy Trophy.  Cardinal Miranda Goudreau won the Best Defense Advocate Award for her work on the drug possession and trafficking trial.  Goudreau says “I have learned to live and breath Law all semester and it was nice to see all our hard work has paid off.  I have never taken part in anything that has compared to this experience and this amount of work.”  Teacher Jaime Sauve says “the team set itself above the rest because the oral presentation was excellent and the group came up with loopholes in the case that other groups had not considered.”  This is the second time in three years that Sauve’s class at St. Charles College has taken the top prize. There will be no rest for the weary.  The team must continue to work towards competing at the Provincial Championships in Toronto this April.

St. James Students Demonstrate the True Meaning of Christmas

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The Fantastic Fours and Terrific 4/5’s at St. James Catholic Elementary School got into the Christmas spirit early by packing gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Families went out and purchased items such as: hygiene products, clothing, toys, and school supplies. When all was said and done, the two classes filled 47 boxes. Inside each box was a letter of hope to the child that will be receiving the gifts. The St. James staff is very thankful for the generosity and support of the students and their families. Together they showed the true meaning of Christmas – how it is better to give than to receive!

“Our Dreams Matter Too” to St. James Students

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St. James Catholic Elementary School was recently recognized for its participation in “Our Dreams Matter Too” – a walk for culturally based equity for First Nation children. The walk is organized to say now is the time for First Nation and non- Aboriginal children to work together to ensure all children in Canada receive equitable, culturally based services that help them succeed and feel proud of who they are. The project began as a result of the school’s vice principal, Dan Stargratt introducing the Grade 7/8 FI class to “Shannen’s Dream” which is a student and youth focused campaign designed to raise awareness about inequitable funding for First Nations children, and encourages supporters to write letters to their Member of Parliament, to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and to the Prime Minister of Canada. The students then brainstormed and came up with the idea of getting involved with the “Our Dreams Matter Too” initiative by having all Grade 4- 8 students at St. James write letters to the Prime Minister to look at federal school funding. This past June, the St. James students presented their letters to Member of Parliament Glenn Thibeault to bring to Ottawa. This past October, the students were sent a certificate of appreciation from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada for their participation in the initiative. The students are Chris White, Katrina Cayen and Enara Iturregui.

Bishop ACCSS Student Jumps to New Heights

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Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School student Leah Blanchette is quite a busy girl. Not only is she a dedicated student, she is also quite an accomplished equestrian whose dedication to her sport takes up quite a bit of her time outside of school as well. According to her mother, Kate Blanchette, Leah is a quiet girl and “knowing Leah, not many realize her accomplishments as she is so modest about her success.”

Leah completed on the “A” circuit national level the past season and that has meant a lot of time away from home and school with her coach Cathy Inch. Leah and her horse Jinjovan AKA “Joe” train out of Foothills Farm in Chelmsford. Most days involve at least 10 to 12 hours of practice, or showing in the ring and Leah spends at a minimum 5 days a week with Joe and her coach.

Leah and Joe have qualified for the Royal Winter fair, which is the Canadian Equestrian championships, to be held in Toronto starting Nov 2nd. Not only have they qualified, but they have managed to be pinned in all 4 of their divisions (Junior Hunter, A equitation, Junior Medal, and Jump Canada Medal) and they will go to nationals with finishing their qualifying season overall 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place standing. The Royal Winter fair is Canada’s premier equestrian show and is a platform for future Canadian Olympians as well as internationally known champions. Equestrian sport is the only Olympic sport where both men and women compete as equals.

Dave Soehner, principal of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School is extremely proud of Leah. “We are blown away by Leah’s dedication and passion for her sport,” Soehner said. “ We support her efforts 100% as she embodies the true Gator spirit, and wish her the best of luck with her upcoming championship.”

While she is competing, her trips in the ring can be watched on the Royal Winter Fair website, live feed. Leah and Joe will be in the ring on Friday Nov. 2, 3rd and again for Jump Canada finals on Nov 6th.

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