On Monday March 29th at 1pm the St. Andrew School junior students participated in the School Junior Spelling Bee. Fourteen brave souls participated in the competition in order to find the one student who would represent St. Andrew School at the CPCO semifinal and hopefully the final Spelling Bee. Pictured are Sydney Sheppard (winner) Hannah Smith (2nd runner up) and Sidney Smith (1st runner up) with the three judges, Mrs. Vervega, Mr. Dagonstino and Mr. Gautheir. Congratulations to all of the participants and the SCDSB wishes Sydney every success in her next level of competition!
Category: Student Achievement
St. Charles College Wins Division 1 City Championship for Boys’ Hockey
St. Charles College won the Division 1 City Championship for Boys’ Hockey on Saturday night (March 6, 2010). The defeated LoEllen 5-2 to win the series 3 games to 1. St. Charles College now hosts NOSSa this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Congratulations to all of the players on the team as well as all of the participating staff and volunteers! Way to go Cards!!!
MMA Senior Volleyball Team NOSSA Champs!
The Marymount Regals Senior Volleyball team achieved their season long goal of qualifying for the girls provincial volleyball championships. The hard work, determination and team spirit displayed by the Regals lead them to become NOSSA champions this past weekend. The Regals finished first in the SDSSAA with a regular season of 8-1. They were silver medallists in the City Championship and earned the berth to the NOSSA “A” championship in Sturgeon Falls. During Round robin Competition the Regals went undefeated, not dropping a single set to their competitors. The Regals advanced to the Championship Final where they faced Algonquin from North Bay. The game was tight but Marymount fought hard, point for point and finally defeated the Barons in two straight sets 25-20, 26-24 to capture the coveted NOSSA banner. Good luck goes out to the Marymount Senior Girls Volleyball Team as they depart on Sunday March 7th for Kenora to compete at the “A” OFSAA championship
Sudbury Catholic School Students Take Part in Student Voice Initiative
Students from all four of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s high schools were in attendance at the Student Voice Initiative on Friday, February 26, 2010 held at Locker by Composite School. This initiative includes three main components which are Speak-Up Projects, the Minister’s Student Advisory Council (MAC) and the Regional Student Forums. The students gathered together to give their input into the review of the Civics curriculum as well as looking at explicit leadership development strategies for students. The day involved larger discussions and presentations and then breaking off into smaller groups to have more focused and in-depth discussions. The Student Voice Initiative was also going on in several other cities simultaneously including London, Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Toronto, with all of the cities connecting via videoconferencing at different times throughout the day. The new Minister of Education, Minister Leona Dombrowsky also connected with the Sudbury student group to be a part of the day’s conversation. Elizabeth Urso, one of the Student Trustees for Marymount Academy as well as President of the English Catholic Board Council was in attendance and spoke about the day’s events. “It gives us a better understanding of the importance of the student voice.” said Urso. “It also allows us to network with people that we don’t normally have a chance to meet or talk to.” Samantha Shewring, a grade 12 student from Marymount Academy was the only student from the Greater Sudbury area selected last year to sit on the Minister’s Student Advisory Council. “The experience was fantastic.” said Shewring. “ It was a great opportunity to get students involved with the Ministry of Education and to be able to go right to the source to make things happen. It is a significant opportunity and being a part of today reinforces the importance of students being involved in their own education.” The Minister of Education’s message spoke to the importance of increasing student engagement and that there was tremendous value in having school guidelines and policies be student driven and be representative of students’ educational needs.
“Gangs and Youth. A Community Action Plan.”
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is proud to be a partner in the “Gangs and Youth. A Community Action Plan” initiative in conjunction with our fellow school boards and community agencies in Sudbury.
Representatives from the Board staff and Trustees participated in a “Gangs and Youth” Media Conference held at the Greater Sudbury Police Service to promote awareness around gang activity. The Board took this opportunity to reinforce the fact the Sudbury Catholic District School Board works hard to engage our students in our educational programs and extra-curricular activities. We believe that our school communities offer the best opportunities for our youth, thus enabling them to become positive members of society. Our Board supports and maintains positive school climates that enhance safety and focus on prevention and early intervention with opportunities for reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration of the community.
Bishop Alexander CCSS – Building Bridges and School Spirit Together
Students at Bishop Alexander Carter faced a bridge building challenge this past week in their woodshop class. The students had been given the task of building model bridges and then the completed projects were subjected to weight tests. The rules allowed only for glue and wood 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch to be used. In the end the majority of the bridges were able to remain stable even with a weight of 300 lbs pulling down on them. Savanna Lamoureux, one of the woodshop students said that the day was a lot of fun and it was a great opportunity for the students to express their school spirit. “We really had a lot of fun.” said Lamoureux. “Not only building the bridges, but also destroying them after it was all done!”
Six Bishop Alexander Students Now Published Poets
Six students from Bishop Alexander Carter teacher Lori Roy’s Grade 11 English class didn’t realize that by submitting their poetry assignment, they would end up as published poets in a national anthology. Ms. Roy had asked her students to write a poem based on their independent study novels. The students had 5 different books to choose from that all had to do with “us versus society”. They were asked to write a comparative poem and were given the option at the end of the assignment to submit their work to Creative Communications which is a website dedicated to a “celebration of today’s writers.” Thousands of poems were submitted and only the best are picked to put into their yearly publication entitled “A Celebration of Poets”. Poems submitted by Amanda Phillips, Austin Seguin, Evan Spurrell, Brittany Marmen, Stephanie Thorne and Kaitlyn Charette were all selected to be published in the book. “We were really surprised to be picked.” said Marmen. “I would say that I am definitely inspired to start submitting more of my work to different publications in the future.”
Marymount Academy Announces Advanced Placement Program for September, 2010
Marymount students, teachers, trustees and guests gathered at a press conference held at the school to launch a very exciting and progressive program known as the Advanced Placement Program or AP as it is more commonly referred to.
Beginning in September 2010, Marymount students in Grades 9 and 10 can enrol in the pre AP courses while students in Grade 11 and 12 will be able to register in the AP courses. “Advanced Placement courses offer university level content to our students at the high school level allowing them to delve deeper into the course material and ultimately making them feel more comfortable and gain more confidence when entering university,” says Lucie Cullen, Principal of Marymount Academy. Another benefit of the Advanced Placement Program is that it allows students to accelerate through university as students may achieve advanced academic standing or equivalent credits at universities in Canada and the United States and overseas. According to Dan Bartolucci, Program Leader at Marymount Academy, the Advanced Placement Program is recognized worldwide. “Admission offices regard AP students as high achievers,” states Bartolucci. “Post secondary institutions in more than 30 countries recognize AP in their admission process, including 90 percent of North American colleges and universities.”
Marymount Academy will roll out the Advanced Placement Program in September of 2010 by offering three courses: English, Math and French at the AP level with Geography and Science courses being added the following year. The AP courses will be taught concurrently with the curriculum, and students will write the university exams at Marymount in May. The exams are sent to a central location in the United States for marking and the results are mailed to the students in July. Each AP exam is given a grade point a 5-point scale: Students that score 4 and 5 out of 5 on their exams will receive AP or university credits. Jody Cameron, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District Program is also very impressed with the school’s Advanced Placement Program. “The AP Program is a perfect fit for Marymount Academy,” Cameron told the student body and the media. “Its innovative, progressive and meets the needs of our students by providing them with opportunities and challenges beyond their grade level. As a result of this program they will walk into colleges and universities with much greater confidence and knowledge as well as credits. It is with great pride that the Sudbury Catholic District School Board support Marymount and its dedicated staff in launching the AP Program.”
St. Andrew Elementary Holds a Hats for Haiti Day
Staff and students of St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School have been praying daily during their afternoon Prayer Break for the people of Haiti. On January 19, 2010 the school held their “Hats for Haiti” day. Money was collected to support the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace in their effort to help the people in this devastated country.
Even though they are a small school of 152 they have big, generous hearts as they raised $721.70. The St. Andrew school council then decided to top the school donation to $1000. Quite a phenomenal accomplishment for a small school!