St. Anne Catholic School students challenged themselves to beat last year’s record of 839 pairs of socks for the Socks for the Soul campaign. The St. Anne’s Angels were more than equal to the task, doubling last year’s donation by collecting a total of 1,650 pairs of socks for the homeless.
Category: Student Achievement
Sudbury’s Elgin Street Mission Benefits from the Generosity of St. Ben’s Students
Frank Rocca, Department Head, Physical Education, St. Benedict CSS, Benny the Bear, (St. Benedict CSS Mascot) and Veronica Summerhill a Grade 12 student at St. Benedict CSS recently presented a $250 cheque to the City of Greater Sudbury’s Elgin Street Mission. The money was raised during the 50/50 draws at the “Bears” home football games. In addition to the cash donation, St. Benedict Catholic School students are also undertaking a “Mitten Drive” to help the Elgin Street Mission in providing winter clothing (mittens, hats, scarves, coats, etc.) for the less fortunate throughout the winter.
Donations will be accepted at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, 2993 Algonquin Road, Sudbury from now until December 21 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Nickels for the North
St. Benedict Science Teachers and Laurentian Students Represent Ontario at National Science Competition
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School students were treated to edge-of-their-seat action and suspense at the Ontario Iron Science Competition which was held at Science North on November 3, 2007. Bearing signs and banners, St. Benedict students cheered on two of their own science teachers, Mr. Aaron Barry and Mr. Michael Sipos, who were competing againstt another local and two Southern Ontario teams for the Ontario championship title.
The Iron Science Competition is held across Canada with the intention of increasing the appeal of science and scientific experiments to students and the general public. The goal was undoubtedly met as the crowd which consisted of both students and adults responded to the scientific displays with incredible enthusiasm. Each ten minute presentation was based on the “secret ingredient” in the human body. The teams were judged by a panel of scientists, teachers, and local media.
St. Benedict Catholic School teachers, Mr. Barry and Mr. Sipos, teamed up with two graduate students from the Laurentian University/Science North Science Communications program, Lisa Lambert and Brandi Chuchman. Together, they formed the “Ferral Nerds” and solved the baffling mysteries of the human body. The sinuses were explained through the use of a “Booger Cannon” and the steps of the Digestive System were demonstrated with a larger-than-life working model. Their presentation impressed the crowd and judges alike, and their supporters were delighted with their scientific antics. After lengthy deliberation, the “Ferral Nerds” were crowned the champions of the Ontario Iron Science Competition for their unparalleled originality, delivery, entertainment value, overall knowledge of scientific principals and general “nerdiness.” St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School received a Smart Board as the top prize which will benefit all students in the science classrooms.
The “Ferral Nerds” will represent the province at the National Iron Science Competition in Calgary, Alberta on November 22, 2007. The entire event will be webcasted live at 12:00 p.m. local time from www.ironscience.ca.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to congratulate the “Ferral Nerds” on their excellent achievement in winning the Ontario Iron Science Competition and wish them the best of luck as they represent St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, Laurentian University, and Ontario on the national stage.
St. Charles College Food Drive a Smashing Success
St. Charles College wrapped up its “Can Dave Mayes” food drive on October 29 by smashing its target goal of 25,000 cans with an amazing total of 61,000 food items! After tireless campaigning by the St. Charles College students and a great deal of support from Big Daddy Radio 103.9, Bell and Sudbury Transit the food drive went over the top on the final days of the campaign by some 36,000 food items and donations combined.
Patty Mardero, Principal of St. Charles College is ecstatic with the efforts of her students and the overwhelming response of the Sudbury community with respect to the recent food drive. “This is the largest donation ever made by a single school in the 20-year history of the Banque d’aliments Sudbury Food Bank,” stated Mardero. “Hundreds of people in the Greater Sudbury community will be helped through the incredible endeavours of all the
St. Charles College students and our event partners.”
St. Charles College would like to thank Big Daddy Radio 103.9, Bell, Sudbury Transit and the citizens of Greater Sudbury for their support and dedication in helping to make this food drive such a tremendous success.
St. Theresa Catholic School Students Fit for the Challenge
St. Theresa Catholic School is the winner of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s 2006-2007 Fitness Challenge. The goal of the program is to lower the resting and exercise heart rates of the Board’s students over the course of the school year. Staff and students in the Junior Division participated in this program under the supervision of Mr. John Tarini, Coordinator of the Fitness Challenge for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
The heart rates of the students were measured three times during the 2006-2007 school year. Throughout the year students participated in various activities such as intramural sports, outdoor exercises and the “School Fit Program” to improve their physical fitness. The school whose students displayed the “lowest average increase in heart rate” from the “resting to the exercise mode” was deemed the winner of the Fitness Challenge.
Students from St. Theresa Catholic School received a plaque and a small token of appreciation from Sudbury Catholic District School Board Vice-Chair, George Middleton during a recent board meeting for winning the Fitness Challenge.
St. John Catholic School Students Help Stock the Shelves of Local Food Bank
Six thousand, five hundred! That’s the number of food items that students at St. John Catholic School raised in support of the Garson Food Bank.
Tricia Dowdall-Cirelli, Principal of St. John Catholic School is very proud of the efforts of her students in helping the less fortunate. “St. John Catholic School students are learning through Christ’s example to be selfless, charitable and champions of social justice,” states Cirelli. “The students are also being empowered through example to make a difference by affecting change not only in their own backyards but in our city, country, and world.”
SCDSB Students Continue to Improve on Provincial Test Scores
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) has released the results of the Grades 3 and 6 reading, writing and mathematics assessments and the Grade 9 academic and applied mathematics tests written by Ontario students during the 2006–2007 school year.
Officials at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board are pleased with the results of their Grade 3 and 6 students with both grades demonstrating gains across the spectrum. With respect to all Grade 3 students that wrote the Provincial assessments, student scores improved by 5 percent in reading (from 51 percent to 56 percent), 5 percent in writing (from 49 percent to 53 percent) and 3 percent in mathematics (from 56 percent to 59 percent). The Board’s Grade 6 students also showed improvement in the reading component (from 66 percent to 68 percent) and math component (54 percent to 59 percent) while maintaining an average of 58 percent in writing.
The positive trend in EQAO results was also demonstrated by the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Grade 9 students, scoring 76 percent in the academic math program
(5 percent above the Provincial average of 71 percent) and 56 percent in the applied program
(21 percent higher than the Provincial average of 35 percent).
SCDSB Results Over Time
Percentage of Students Meeting the Provincial Standard (Levels 3 and 4):
|
Reading
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Writing
|
Mathematics
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||||
|
2002-2003
|
2006-2007 | 2002-2003 | 2006-2007 | 2002-2003 | 2006-2007 | |
| Grade 3 | 45% | 56% | 47% | 53% | 54% | 59% |
| Grade 6 | 61% | 68% | 53% | 58% | 52% | 59% |
|
Mathematics
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||||||
| Grade 9 |
Academics
|
Applied
|
||||
| 2002-2003 | 2006-2007 | 2002-2003 | 2006-2007 | |||
|
71%
|
76%
|
27%
|
56%
|
|||
(Source EQAO website, www.eqao.com)
Media ReleasePaula Peroni, Chair of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is encouraged with the recent test results. “In the last five years our Board has witnessed an increase in the percentage of our Grade 3, 6 and 9 students who have met or surpassed the provincial standards in reading, writing and math,” states Peroni. “Numerous strategies have been put into place this year which we are confident will continue to yield positive results. The overall picture, which includes significant increases in our secondary schools is in line with our strategic improvement plan.”
Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is equally optimistic with the latest data. “Recent test scores of our students writing the
Grade 3 and 6 provincial tests indicate that we are on an upward trend,” states McCullough. “Our secondary school scores exceed the provincial average and we will continue to use our secondary schools as a model for best practices. The strategies that are working well in one school will be used in other schools to yield positive results. The Learning With Laptops program for Grade 9 math was introduced in the spring of 2005. As we enter year 3 of the program, with our new MacBooks we hope to see continued improvement.”
St. Paul Catholic School Students Have a Lot of Heart
Students at St. Paul The Apostle Catholic School raised more than $8,500 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation during the school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart fundraising campaign.
The school’s students attribute much of their success to the tremendous support they received from both family and friends including the Coniston, Minnow Lake and Wahnapitae communities for the fundraising event.
Allison Hall, a Grade 1 student in the French Immersion program at St. Paul was the top fundraiser bringing in a total of $351 in donations.
The money was raised during the school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart.Representatives from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Area Manager, Cathy Macey and Diane Larose, School Coordinator who were on hand for the cheque presentation at the school thanked the St. Paul Catholic School students for their hard work and generous donation. Macey informed the students that St. Paul The Apostle Catholic School was one of the top schools out of 50 schools that raised money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation this year.