Staff and students at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board raised $1,923.10 to support the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee. Leaves of Change: Binaakwe Giizis is a fundraiser which took place on October 14, 2022, to promote environmental stewardship.
The goal of the fundraiser is to engage in civic and environmental responsibility by bringing attention to climate change and better understand how we can protect the earth for future generations. Throughout the day and the month of October, students and staff are encouraged to make more sustainable efforts. This includes cleaning green spaces by picking up trash and litter, recycling, using a reusable water bottle and reducing day to day waste, where possible.
In addition, October is known as Binaakwe Giizis – Moon of Falling Leaves. The fundraiser also served as an educational opportunity to understand, acknowledge, and respect Indigenous perspectives on caring for Mother Earth (Shkagamik Kwe).
“As a school board, it is our responsibility to create opportunities that teach the importance of protecting the earth for future generations.Environmental degradation affects the health and well-being of all peoples of North America and the world in many ways. By participating in this fundraiser, and the many planned activities, we help our community engage in volunteerism and create hope through environmental restoration,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
The Sudbury Regional Science Fair, which took place virtually during March 21st – April 3rd, 2022, is a meaningful learning experience where Sudbury’s four School Boards, can provide opportunities to students from Grades 7-12 to show case their knowledge in different areas of science. Sudbury Catholic District School Board was grateful to participate once again in the Regional Science Fair and allow our students to enjoy hands-on learning experiences by extending their discovery in biology, chemistry, technology, and other areas.
This year approximately 15 projects represented the Board in the Regional Science Fair. The number of project topics was diverse again this year, with exciting subjects ranging from “Theoretical Gravity Control”, “Hacking an Air-Gapped Computer”, Creating a “Self-Hitting Hammer,” and more. We want to thank our judges and educators for guiding our students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth.
MMA Student, Kate Bouchard – 2022 Best In Fair Winner!
Following the Fair, Sudbury Catholic Schools, students, and families were invited to attend a virtual celebration organized by the Sudbury Regional Science Fair on April 10th, 2022. This virtual celebration highlighted the winners of divisional awards, special awards and celebrated students’ achievements. At this celebration, we are pleased to announce that Sudbury Catholic students collected ten awards, including Best of Fair which was presented to Kate Bouchard, a student from Marymount Academy for her project, “Go With The Flow“. We are also thrilled to announce that in addition to Kate’s amazing project , 4 other projects submitted by SCDSB Students have also been selected to advance to the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) taking place on May 16th, 2022, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
The students and projects that will advance to the Canada Wide Science Fair include the following:
“Each year, our students present unique and creative science fair projects. This year was certainly no exception,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We are very excited to see the number of participants continue to grow, and we are proud of our students who represented us incredibly well again. We thank our judges and our educators for guiding students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth. We wish the students who are moving on to the 2022 Canada-Wide Science Fair the best of luck!”
“Science Fair was so much fun, and I think it’s because I was passionate about my topic.” Says Best in Fair Winner and CWSF participant, Kate Bouchard. “I chose something that I was interested in and genuinely wanted to learn more about. It helped me be more engaged, and because I was interested in what I was learning, I felt like I could explain it better and put forth more effort in making it better. I am really looking forward to be a part of the CWSF in May!”
Some of MMA’s Regional Science Fair students stop and smile with their regional science fair medals! (Middle left Best in Fair Winner – Kate Bouchard)
Dylan Nelson, a Grade 8 student from St. Benedict, will also be attending the Canada Wide Science Fair with his unique project where he created a Self-Hitting Hammer. This idea was inspired by his passion for building things and from wanting to help his grandmother.
“I was trying to think of something inventive to do. I wanted to create something new, and I realized that I like building things, so I wanted to make a new type of hammer that would allow someone who cannot hammer a nail with a normal hammer still perform that task. My experience was fun because I spent time with grandpa, who helped me construct it, and I was able to make my project about making something that would help my grandma.”
Pictured is St. Benedict Student and Regional Science Fair Honouree Dylan accepting his award from the SCDSB Director of Education, Joanne Bénard and Principal of St. Benedict, Laura Kuzenko.
Overall, we are pleased to celebrate the contributions and participation of all our schools and students in this meaningful learning opportunity. We would like to end our post by congratulating all students, educators, and schools on their participation and effort in making the 2022 Science Fair a success! The ten project winners included projects from Marymount Academy, projects from St. Benedict and one project from St. Charles College.
Please visit the following link below to view all the wonderful projects brought forward by Sudbury Catholic Students this year.
Wyatt Jack, a senior kindergarten student at Holy Cross Elementary will cut off his long locks on May 1st, 2022. The five-year old’s hair will be donated to Angel Hair for Kids, an organization dedicated to building confidence and joy in children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments, alopecia, and other medical conditions.
In addition, Wyatt is raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society and will be donating specifically to liver cancer. Wyatt started his Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser with a goal of raising $1200 and if he met his goal, he would cut off 12 inches of his hair. In less than 24 hours, Wyatt met and exceeded his $1200 goal.
The idea for his compassionate gesture is very close to Wyatt’s heart. Wyatt’s two friends lost their father to liver cancer and Wyatt wanted to do his part to raise awareness and funds for the Cancer Society. Wyatt will be letting these two-family friends cut off his hair on May 1st.
Wyatt hopes his school community will rally behind him as he pushes past his goal and continues to raise awareness and funds to fight liver cancer.
Donations to Wyatt’s campaign can be made up until April 30th by visiting the website below.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board was invited, along with other partners in education across the province, to take a stand on Thursday, March 10, 2022, as “#StandWithUkraine Blue and Yellow Day”. On this day, students and staff were encouraged to wear blue and yellow clothing and, where possible, donate a toonie to the “Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.”
We were grateful we could join together as a Board and take a united stance with our colleagues and students across the province by sharing our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by this ongoing tragedy. We began our day by coming together in a system-wide prayer for peace. Together, we prayed for those impacted by this invasion and for a quick resolution to the conflicts, destruction, and deaths being experienced by the people of Ukraine. We prayed for peace, and we prayed for God’s love to shine through and touch the hearts of everyone on this earth. We invite you to continue to pray with us by using our system-wide prayer.
In addition to participating in the province-wide blue and yellow day, Sudbury Catholic students, staff, and families have actively created ways to support and stand with Ukraine. Schools have hopped right in to provide support by developing fundraisers, participating in various awareness activities, inciting prayer, etc. We are proud to take this time to highlight a sample of some of the different types of actions completed by members of our community.
Secondary Highlights
St. Benedict
Students in the learning support program at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, created Ukrainian themed keychains. After completing their keychains, these gifts were hand-delivered to members of their community.
In addition to creating Ukrainian themed keychains, St. Benedict chose to #StandWithUkraine by hosting a blue and yellow dress-down day on March 9, 2022. On this day, they managed to raise $2600 to support Ukrainian Humanitarian Efforts. We want to provide a special shout-out to the student council who originally came up with the idea of this day and members of faculty, including Joanne Burke, James MacNeil and Megan McMillan, who helped organize this effort. Fantastic job, Bears!
MMA faculty wear blue and yellow in support of Ukraine!
MMA regals wore blue and yellow in solidarity with other Catholic schools across the province, and thanks to the donations, the school raised $500 as a school community. Classes also created blue and yellow cranes to show their support.
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Bishop Alexander Carter
In addition to having a dress-down day for students and staff at Bishop Alexander Carter, their school community raised donations by offering pizza concessions to help further their actions and raise even more proceeds to stand with Ukraine. All proceeds from these fundraising efforts will be donated to #HELPUKRAINENOW.
St. Charles College
Cardinals swapped their red uniform to participate in Thursday’s blue and yellow day. In addition to showing support through their clothing, students in Ms. Dzuirban’s class created a beautiful poster supporting the people of Ukraine!
Elementary Highlights
St. Paul
St. Paul Students take time to snap a shot during #StandWithUkraine Blue and Yellow Day!
St. Charles
St. Charles School in Chelmsford paused took a second to pause and show off their blue and yellow attire that demonstrates how they are standing in solidarity with those in Ukraine. Rams of all shapes and sizes were happy to support and make donations to support Ukraine in their school’s worthy cause.
St. Francis
Students and staff at St. Francis School had a Canada Day-themed spirit day. They thought it was imperative to highlight that they stand with Ukraine as Canadians and as St. Francis Flames. Together as a school community, they jointly raised $408 for the families of Ukraine.
St. John
In addition to wearing blue and yellow in solidarity with other Catholic schools across the province, St. John School ran a “Popcorn for Peace” campaign from March 7 – March 10. With a goal in mind to raise $1000, their school community quickly jumped up, or should we say “popped up,” to meet the challenge. Offering popcorn sacks for a minimum donation of $2.00 per bag, their school community amazingly raised $1250 in just four days. The only thing that makes this news better is seeing so many smiling faces. Knowing this money is being donated to St. Mary’s Catholic Ukraine Church to help Ukrainian people makes us smile as well. Go, Jaguars, go!!
Students in St. John’s English FDK class created blue and yellow flags in honour of the people in Ukraine. They learned that different flags represent different places in the world and that right now, the Ukrainian flag is a symbol of people who need our prayers.
Holy Trinity
Students at Holy Trinity showed their support for friends in Ukraine during Winter Fun Day on March 10. Ms. Skelly’s class made a fantastic sign in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. A donation jar was also created in blue and yellow, resulting in a $331 donation generously brought forward by various students, staff and parents at Holy Trinty. Good job Redbirds!
Holy Cross
Holy Cross has been very busy. Grade 6 students Abigail and Sara approached the school with what they could do to help. Putting their heads together, they decided that they would be able to help Ukraine by constructing and selling blue and yellow hand-made bracelets and pins for their school community. This amazing act not only provided a fun and visible way for the girls to raise money for donations, but it was also a beautiful concept that utilized their existing talents to help Holy Cross School stand in support with the people of Ukraine.
“I really wanted to help the people of Ukraine, and making pins and bracelets is one of the ways I knew I could help”. – Abigail Debruyn, Grade 6 student at Holy Cross
After countless hours of hard work, Abby and Sara’s beautiful bracelets and pins were up for grabs, and their fellow students were quick to swipe them. Both staff and students eagerly lined up in the front-hall entrance to make their donations. The girls also passed around the school at lunchtime to ensure everyone had an opportunity to donate and recieve a pin or bracelet. Thanks to the efforts of these extraordinary young leaders, Abby and Sarah were able to raise $2252.05 that will be donated to St. Mary’s parish, who will, in turn, donate the money to humanitarian efforts.
“I want to help in any way I can because it is the right thing to do”. – Sara Wolski, Grade 6 student at Holy Cross
In addition to Sara and Abby, students at the school continued to support the Ukraine campaign by baking and decorating cookies. The Ukrainian themed cookies were sold door to door and helped raise an additional $450. Holy Cross would like to thank everyone who took the time to generously donate their time, talents, and monetary funds to support Ukraine. Thanks to the efforts of many caring individuals, their community was able to stand with Ukraine during and promote peace. Students and staff plan to continue to stand with Ukraine by wearing their bracelets and pins as support.
We all have a responsibility for peace!
At Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we follow and promote the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations. The Ontario Catholic School Graduate is a responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life. This involves acting morally and legally as a person formed in Catholic traditions, witnessing Catholic social teaching by promoting equality, democracy, and solidarity for a just, peaceful and compassionate society, and respecting and affirming the diversity and interdependence of the world’s peoples and cultures.
There have been countless examples of how different communities exhibit this expectation and stand with the people of Ukraine during this time of need. It is our sincere hope that by highlighting some examples of how our schools have supported Ukraine, we can continue to work together as responsible citizens on this earth and inspire others to stand in solidarity to end the violence and suffering for the people of Ukraine.
Upon its completion, St. Charles College students proudly showed off their Stand With Ukraine poster.
Last month, over 300 Sudbury Catholic School students in Grades 4-6 used their critical thinking and innovation to submit entries in the forms of essays, stories, and poems on the topic of what HOME means to them as part of the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
For every entry a student submitted, Chapman’s pledged to make a $10 donation on behalf of that student to Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity organization to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Greater Sudbury community.
With this contest, our students helped to build safe homes, but they also gained greater awareness surrounding the national issue of Canada’s housing crisis that so many families struggle with all over Canada. By working together to make a local difference, our students were able to see how they can contribute to building a just society for others and grow as leaders in learning and faith.
As a result of the hard work and efforts completed by staff, educators, and elementary students, Sudbury Catholic Schools collectively raised $3350 to be donated to the Local Habitat for Humanity Chapter by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
“It was exciting to provide our learners with a meaningful activity that supported them into becoming more advanced writers. These writing tasks not only challenged our students to make a difference in the world around them by thinking creatively about the topic —the meaning of home— it showed that by working together, a simple action can produce extraordinary results.” – Peter Prochilo, SCDSB Superintendent of School Effectiveness
In addition to helping families in Greater Sudbury, the contest was an opportunity that helped students live out and apply the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations – important principles that support Catholic students in becoming more responsible citizens and collaborative contributors in the community. The success of the contest clearly demonstrated how Sudbury Catholic School students understand these expectations and how to apply them in their life and in their education.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all of our teachers and students for participating in this initiative. Collectively, our actions at Sudbury Catholic Schools resulted in a $3350 donation, but as a country we raised over $130,000 in corporate donations! Please refer to the Meaning of Home Thank You Letter!
We invite you to check out some of the wonderful entries submitted by our students!
Sudbury Catholic School Entries
Grade 4 Christians Remote Learning School
Grade 6 Max V St. Paul Catholic Elementary School
When someone asks what HOME means to me one word comes to mind. LOVE. Home is where my mother and brother live with me. What makes our home special is that my mother has worked so hard to design a new home that meets our needs. From the day we hammered the SOLD sign in the ground till the day we moved in we visited it each and everyday to see its progress. When I am older, I want to be an architect, so I helped my mom design the house and worked with the blueprints. I even got to design my very own secret room downstairs. It was a ton of fun!
My home is not a place. Home has feelings. Feeling like relaxation, comfort, happiness and love. Home is where my family comes to visit, eat and spend time together. A home is where I can build memories and since our home is new the possibilities are endless. I am excited.
My home smells of fresh baking, homemade pasta sauce, a special candle or a fresh load of laundry. When I enter the doors of my home I take a deep breath and smile.
My home is a place where we can all wind down sit on the couch in front of our fireplace and talk about how our day was. My home is where I can be myself. If I want to listen to my Genesis vinyl full blast I can.
I am so lucky to have a caring home filled with LOVE.
Next week, a Sudbury Catholic District School Board student will generously donate a piece of themselves to help patients in a worthy cause.
Pictured: Jackson Jost-Noob
Jackson Jost-Noob is a fourth-grade student and fearless 10-year-old at Holy Cross Elementary School in the south end of Greater Sudbury. Before Feb. 19th, 2022, his hairdresser will cut off a total of 12 inches of his long, golden hair to then be donated to the Cancer Centre to help patients fighting cancer.
By cutting off his long hair in multiple ponytails, he will definitely be looking like a brand-new student, but his family, teachers and friends say they will all know him to be the same, warm-hearted child eager to help others any way he can.
Although Jackson says he feels a little apprehensive about losing so much hair, he feels really good knowing that it is going towards helping someone on their journey of fighting cancer.
His mother, Monika Jost, said she initially got the idea from a male student in high school who did the same thing and donated his hair years ago. Then when COVID happened, she presented the idea to him.
“I think we all remember that time when everyone was running around with a signature COVID-19 haircut,” jokes Monika. “When COVID happened, and Jackson could not get haircuts, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to do something.”
Jackson hopes that his actions will inspire other people to do the same and rock a new signature look. “I hope other kids will consider growing their hair and donating it because it is a good thing to do.”
“We are very proud of him,” says Monika. “What he is doing is beautiful. We’re excited that we are able to have this positive experience and believe it can encourage other children his age about the powerful act of doing something for someone else out of the goodness of your heart.”
Jackson expressed that he is already considering growing out his hair again and donating it once more. We are so touched by this amazing act of kindness from one of our young leaders.
Please stay tuned for pictures of Jackson’s hair cut happening next week!
Grades 2-12 students across the province were invited to participate in the first-ever Skills Ontario’s Junk Drawer Races! In this program, students had fun while exploring various challenges to build their skills and explore different pathways.
This morning the winners of the Regional round of the competition were announced on Skills Ontario’s YouTube channel.
We are excited to report that a team of BAC grade 7 students placed 2nd in the Air Glider Challenge and three teams of BAC grade 8 students placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the hydraulic crane challenge.
These teams will be competing in the Provincial Championship round and will have until February 16th to review their existing blueprints, potentially modify their designs to meet the provincial challenge and construction requirements while explaining their modifications and submit their new submissions. Provincial Submissions will be evaluated by industry volunteers, and the top three teams will be awarded prizes by Skills Ontario. Winning teams will be notified by March 10th .
We wish our students the best of luck and thank Skills Ontario, industry partners, the Government of Ontario and Bombardier for giving our students a unique experiential learning opportunity.
Grade 4 students at St. David Catholic Elementary School were thrilled to discover their September video submission was honoured as a national winner in the 2021 Take Me Outside Student Video Contest.
The Take Me Outside Student Video Contest is a national competition aiming to get students outside by encouraging them to submit their best, self-made video, featuring how they like to spend their time exploring the outdoors in Canada.
With a tight deadline of Sept. 17th and less than two weeks back at school, Mrs. Toffoli’s class were up for the challenge and placed second nationwide in the class category. In reward for their tremendous work, the class received gift cards from MEC to help get them outside even more!
“I am so proud of my classmates and my teacher because we won second place in Canada.” Edrea, Gr. 4 Student
“I am so happy that we got second place. Our hard work paid off.” Diymtrius, Gr. 4 Student
Mrs. Toffoli and her teaching assistant Brandon Antonioni ensured students had the support and resources to inspire the creativity needed to create the video and follow the rules.
“When I first heard about the contest, I knew right away St. David School had the perfect backyard. We have such amazing trails and a great outdoor classroom that showcases Canada’s beauty. The students worked hard on this contest and came up with some brilliant reasons why learning from and on the land is important to them.” Stephanie Toffoli, Gr. 4 Teacher
“At St. David School, we continue to work to enhance our teaching pedagogy to ensure that we include not only Indigenous theory and knowledge in our lessons but also ways of being. An important part of Truth and Reconciliation is learning on the land and acknowledging the teachings around us in nature. We thank our Indigenous community partners and Elders that continue to support our learning on the land, as well as thank wonderful organizations such as “Take Me Outside” for the encouragement they offer to all schools to take that step outside and enhance our learning.” Dawn-Marie Wemigwans, Principal
When he is not inventing a new donut called “The Magnolia” at Beards Bakery, he is a busy Grade 3 student in Mrs. Whalen’s Grade 3/4 class at Holy Cross School.
Pictured: Holy Cross Student and Donut Designer, Nate proudly shows off his “Magnolia” donuts outside Beards Bakery
Why did Nate create a donut, and what does this have to do with school? Well, it all started with an idea and a little persuasion.
This past school year, Mrs. Whalen taught Nate and his classmates about the author’s purpose, which involves concentrating on convincing others and practicing persuasion through persuasive writing.
To help students understand persuasion, Mrs. Whalen had an idea to get each student to design a donut with the goal that once their creation was complete, they had to convince their other classmates why their donut design was the best. This would put their writing skills to the test and make them ponder how they could best convince and persuade their classmates using the skills they had learned from their lessons.
To make this persuasive writing activity a reality, Mrs. Whalen reached out to Beards Bakery, located on Kathleen Street, at the end of August to see if the owner would be interested in helping out.
Pictured: Beards Bakery’s Magnolia Donuts
Jess, Beards Bakery owner, quickly and enthusiastically agreed, and the plan was set in motion!
Under Mrs. Whalen’s instruction, students illustrated and labelled their donuts and then wrote a paragraph to persuade their audience (classmates) to believe that their donut design was the best. Following this, students presented their donut designs, and each student voted for their favourite. The activity was extra exciting because Beards agreed to serve the winning donut at their storefront on Nov. 6th.
Fast forward to this November. Students then worked on designing a donut using nothing but their imagination and a toppings list provided by Beards.
The students all did a fabulous job using their words and illustrations to persuade the class. Nate was crowned the ultimate donut designer and was excited to have Beards Bakery bring his winning donut, “The Magnolia,” to life. What made the occasion more fun was his brother’s 10th Birthday fell on Nov. 6th and was celebrated with a specially designed Beards donut.
Nate’s family ordered many donuts to share with their friends and family. The rest of the class also had the option to visit Beards to purchase a donut on the day. A HUGE thanks to Beards Bakery for embracing this idea and helping us out. ‘Donut’ forget that you’re fantastic!
