Father Mathieu, Parish Priest of St. John the Evangelist in Garson accepted a cheque from Toni Kritz-Roque, the grade 2 teacher from St. John Catholic Elementary School last week. The school raised the money through gift donations from staff and students that were used to make baskets and then raffled off. As well, local business donated gift certificates for the school’s gift tree. Tickets were sold and a total of $1500 was raised to support the parish. The parish is using the money to purchase malaria nets for children in third world countries. Each net costs ten dollars and can potentially protect a small family or groups of children from malaria.
Category: Student Achievement
St. Raphael Students’ Voices Ring Out on the Radio
As in years past, this Christmas many of our elementary school students were invited to sing Christmas carols on Easy Rock with Rich and Gary. It is an event that the students work very hard preparing for and are very excited knowing that their voices will be broadcast all around the City of Greater Sudbury. This morning the Grades 1 and 2 classes from St. Raphael Catholic Elementary School had the honour of singing two songs for the station. The boys and girls were on their best behaviour and sang clear as a bell when they performed their two songs. Rich and Gary took time to ask some of the kids what they wanted for Christmas and then after their performance were treated to a tour of the station as well as Timbits and hot chocolate courtesy of Tim Horton’s. Definitely a nice treat for the classes and a great start to their day! Thank you to Mrs. Low, their teacher and skilled Choir Director and congratulations to the Grade 1 and 2 students for a job well done!
St. Mary’s Students Hit the Bigtime!
The music was blaring as the students practiced for the last time before their big performance at St. Mary Catholic Elementary School last week. Ms. O’Reilly, a teacher at the school organized a lip synch contest for those daring students who wanted to participate in the big show. With costumes covered in “bling” and musical instrument props at the ready, the kids rehearsed their choreography anxious to wow the audience. “It is a nice event for the students just before Christmas.” said Gen Waszczylo, principal of the school. “The kids really work hard to prepare and the rest of the students enjoy the different acts. It is fun for everybody!” As predicted, the performance went off without a hitch and was a huge hit for all of the students and staff!
Sudbury Catholic Board Decides to Build Holy Cross Catholic School, JK to Grade 6
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board unanimously voted to make its newest high-tech green school a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6 elementary school. The Board’s Trustees made the decision at the December 15, 2009 Board meeting.
The trustees decided the new Holy Cross Catholic School in Sudbury’s south end would be a separate Dual Track JK to Grade 6 School, located near St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School. The new school will also include an early-learning daycare facility and a 4,000 square foot gymnasium.
“Holy Cross is going to be a fantastic new school,” says Board Chair Jody Cameron, “It will be high-tech, offering the latest in educational technology – while being an intimate, safe and personable environment for children ranging from our new full-day junior kindergarten program to Grade 6. It’s an exciting time.”
Meantime, the Catholic Board also decided it will offer Grade 7 to 12 programming next door at the existing St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School. This will include the construction of new classrooms and a third gymnasium. The renovations will also include a new “cafetorium” (which is a combination of a cafeteria and auditorium) to serve both the elementary and secondary students. It could seat as many as 500 people for concerts, plays, presentations, guest speakers, and other special events.
“These two projects are exciting for students, parents, and teachers in our Catholic schools,” says Board Director, Catherine McCullough, “It’s a great decision which will continue to enhance our community partnerships. These students who already benefit from programs like our nationally-recognized laptop learning program will now have even more educational tools at their fingertips to help them have a balanced educational experience and go on to succeed in life.”
The Board Trustees made the decision after extensive consultation with the school communities impacted. The new Holy Cross Catholic School will open in September 2011. The new and improved St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School will also be ready for the fall of 2011. Both projects combined are projected to cost $16.2-million with $11.7-million coming from the provincial government – while the Board has agreed to contribute $4.5-million.
St. Mary Catholic Elementary Students Surprised by the Man in Red
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!
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!”
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.
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.”