Three Social Justice students from Cambrian College created and coordinated a FREE program called Stand Up for Social Justice. This program brings their passion and knowledge on the subject of social justice to our students by creating awareness and discussions in the hopes of inspiring change.
The Stand Up for Social Justice program provides students with the tools to start their own social change conversation by engaging in interactive and educational activities and discussions. In the three workshops, students will be presented with social justice concepts and answer questions about the possibilities of potential career paths through college education.
The Stand Up for Social Justice program is currently being delivered as an after school virtual club for grades 5 & 6 students. Our first session was held on Monday April 11th and the topic was “Food Insecurity”. Using a variety of activities, students developed a basic understanding of how food affects our day-to-day lives (i.e. our physical, emotional and mental health as well as our development). In addition, students learned why nutritious meals are important and the benefits of homemade vs store-bought/take-out. Finally, our students had the opportunity to use their math and problem solving skills while working with a budget.
We would like to thank Cambrian College for their continued partnership and look forward to the next sessions!
Pictured is Cambrian College student Taylor presenting the first workshop.
On April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day was celebrated around the world. Though this day took place on the weekend, we still saw schools take part. Last week the Learning Support Center students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School organized a World Autism Day activity whereby students in the building signed colourful puzzle pieces.
These puzzle pieces are symbolic of Autism as it reminds people of how little is known about the disability. In 2018, the puzzle piece symbol was recently replaced with a set of circles, but today many students still identify with the puzzle insignia.
In photo: Mrs. Mary Villeneuve, Amedeo Folino, William Speropoulos and Zander Zubal helped to celebrate the spectrum with the signatures of students and staff at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
In addition to signing puzzle pieces, students at the school were encouraged to wear as much blue as possible. In addition to being a beautiful colour, blue is also identified as the official colour for autism spectrum disorder awareness. By wearing blue, students and staff can support those with Autism and help bring further attention to the cause.
Did you know that April is Autism Awareness month?
Like a puzzle, wearing blue is just a tiny piece that makes up a larger puzzle of how we can all support. The United Nations established April as Autism Awareness month in 2008 to bring attention to the cause and help every child reach their full potential. Join us and learn more here.
African American history, contributions, and achievements are recognized annually across the United States and Canada during Black History Month. Sudbury Catholic Schools recognize it as an important opportunity to craft meaningful experiences to allow both the school and Sudbury community to honour the tradition of black culture and understand its importance in our education every day.
Throughout February, students, educators, faculty, social workers, and more have participated in various events, initiatives, and activities centred on bringing awareness towards the impact and infinite legacy of Black History both in and outside the classroom.
We are pleased to share the many outstanding efforts that have been exercised on behalf of St. Benedict’s Diversity Club. The club, which the school organizes, is comprised of students, administration, and St. Benedict Indigenous Support Worker (ISW), Shannon Agowissa.
This vital group has gone above and beyond, planning several events throughout February to help proudly share information on cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation. These diverse and informative events were completed in an effort to teach the student body and the community what is considered acceptable and help them learn more about black-culture.
One of the events they celebrated was “embrace your family heritage and dress in your cultural attire day”. Followed by this event was “celebrating and affirming your identity with your favourite hairstyle.” The goal of these events was ultimately to educate students and staff on the history of hair in African culture and the cultural attire and its significance.
In photo: (From left to right) Hillary Duong, Oseirudute Okojie, Tiara Esan, Olamide Fadahunsi (in the front row) Helen Bao Nguyen and Nifemi Boamah with their artwork representations of what hair and attire mean to them and their cultures.
Nifemi Boamah is a student and member of the club and has expressed the impact on what the days mean to her and what it could mean to others. “If I wear my curls out, I feel courageous.” – Nifemi Boamah
Pictured: Nifemi Boamah
As she displays her breathtaking artwork and showing off the gorgeous curls, we can truly feel the strength of her powerful statement. In the past, curls were deemed untamed and shameful. Though we know this is untrue, we recognize that the past is a part of human history, and it remains influential in our lives today. Having representation, visibility, and understanding of culture is essential for education. By providing these events, schools can cultivate a period of reflection that transforms thinking and grows a school community into being more present, respectful, and culturally and socially aware.
Overall, we are incredibly proud to see the amazing way St. Benedict’s Diversity Club has made an integrative effort to teach and accentuate the history of black culture, by creating events that help other races express other cultures as well. These type of activities show what wonderful global leaders we have at St. Benedict and at all Sudbury Catholic Schools.
Get the latest on what’s happening!
To see how other Sudbury Catholic Schools celebrated Black History Month, we encourage you to check out social media. School social media accounts are available on each school website. To navigate to a school website, please see our List of Schools.
February 23rd, 2022 was Pink Shirt Day, and we were pleased and excited to see our entire community eagerly participating!
Throughout the day, students, faculty, and staff at Sudbury Catholic Schools dressed in fabulous pink shirts, effectively showing their support and solidarity against the issue of bullying and the impact it has on our everyday lives. Below we provide a small a sample of some of the amazing pink shirts worn throughout the day!
Photo Gallery
Pius XII
St. Francis
St. Joseph
Holy Cross
St. John
Holy Trinity
St. David
What is Pink Shirt Day?
Bullying is a major issue and affects everyone from schools to the workplace, to even home life. But no one has enough power to stop it by themselves. On Pink Shirt Day, Sudbury Catholic Schools from Kindergarten all the way to Grade 12 work together to put a stop to bullying by coming together and wearing pink shirts.
Every year, on the last Wednesday of February, schools around the world observe Pink Shirt Day – an anti-bullying campaign that began in 2007 when a boy in Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing his favourite pink shirt to school. When he returned home from being teased, in a show of solidarity, two older students purposely wore pink shirts the following day. This act not only demonstrated the power and choice each of us has to help others, but it was also a conscious decision that allowed them to make a stand against bullying and in the process ignited an important campaign that continues to grow support every year.
How to think pink?
Pink is a colour that symbolizes everything bullying stands against. It’s bright, cheery, and warm. However, on this day it has become more than a colour – it has become a stronger and brighter message. A message that say’s that we refuse to let this issue continue! And while simply wearing a pink shirt might seem insignificant, such an action has the power to spark up conversations and bring awareness for people to take control of their lives and recognize what’s happening around them. Whether you have a pink shirt or not is asides from the point. The message of the day is the most important to remember. By working to be friendly, responsible, compassionate individuals, we ensure we all continue to think pink and grow into strong leaders in learning and faith.
Students at Holy Cross and St. Benedict Secondary School in the southend of Greater Sudbury teamed up to make seniors smile this Valentine’s Day.
How? With a simple act of using creativity, imagination, and love, students handcrafted beautiful, heartfelt greeting cards to lift the spirits of residents at Finlandia Village, in the Hoivakoti Nursing Home located in Minnow Lake.
After being created, the cards were hand delivered and distributed to residents at Finlandia on Monday, February 14th, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Upon receiving the messages, Finlandia extended their appreciation for the generous act and shared a huge thank you to students, staff, and volunteers for the coordination of the project.
“Thank you so much for all the awesome Valentine’s day cards. The students did a really great job, and the residents were smiling from ear to ear. They sure made Valentine’s day extra special for our folks!” – Jeanna de la Morandiere, Finlandia
Ben and Bradley from Madame Riutta’s French Immersion class at Holy cross display their Valentine cards.
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!
Sudbury Catholic School Students in grades 4,5 & 6 can make a difference by getting involved in the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream!
The VP of Chapman’s, Ashley Chapman along with the store manager of Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity Restore, Prince Borutski, have created a special virtual joint presentation to launch the “Meaning of Home” Contest for Sudbury Catholic students next Tuesday, Feb. 8th at 10am. The 45-minute presentation will introduce the organizations to students and indicate how their efforts in this contest can result in building affordable housing for families in need.
The Meaning of Home Contest is a unique and meaningful way to get children involved in creative writing and giving back to their community. By participating in this contest, Sudbury Catholic students will use their creative abilities and submit either an essay, story or poem on the topic of what HOME means to them.
Each contest entry will result in a $10 donation from Chapman’s to Habitat for Humanity to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Sudbury community. In addition, this contest will also challenge students to think creatively about an important topic (i.e. the meaning of home) that directly impacts their lives and ultimately improves their writing skills!
Teachers have access to a Teacher Resource designed to help incorporate the contest straight into lesson plans. These can serve as standalone lessons or be used to augment existing lesson plans in areas such as language, creative writing, and community service!
Help us track!
Sudbury Catholic Schools would like to track the total number of entries submitted by Sudbury Catholic students to see how a single action makes a collective difference, so please let us know if your class is participating by clicking the button below. Once the contest has ended, we’ll share the total donated amount so that students and families can celebrate with SCDSB!
Our hope is that the contest will be an activity that students will help them reflect on how they can live our Catholic Graduate Expectations. Together, their simple actions will provide funds to support our local community, as they contribute to building a just society. With over 1300 students enrolled at Sudbury Catholic Schools in grade 4, 5, and 6 our collective contributions could result in as much as $13,000 being donated to our local Habitat for Humanity organization.
In addition, the winner for each grade will be awarded a $30,000 grant for their local Habitat organization, with three runners-up per grade directing $10,000 to their local Habitat chapter. The contest has raised $1.7 million to date and, in 2021, it helped 46 local Habitats build more homes. Let’s work together to make a local difference!
If you would like more information about this initiative or have any questions, please reach out to christina.raso@sudburycatholicschools.ca or joan.yawneymatz@sudburycatholicschools.ca
Sudbury Catholic Schools is pleased to celebrate Family Literacy Day with ABC Life Literacy Canada’s National Family!
What Is Family Literacy Day?
Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. Since 1999, thousands of schools, libraries, literacy organizations and other community groups have taken part in the initiative. ABC creates free learning and promotional resources for anyone that wants to get involved. Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development, improving a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well.
Howard Binkow, from Sarasota Florida, is the author of the Howard B. Wigglebottom series. Mr. Binkow will launch our celebration with a read aloud and give Sudbury Catholic students a question and answer period.
Teachers are encouraged to have students join this live session where together they will learn how to make PlayDough with flour, salt, water and food colouring. Teachers can extend the activity into another art lesson and/or invite families to join Barbara Reid’s live demonstration later in the day.
Celebrate Family Literacy Day 2022 with Honorary Chair Barbara Reid
GRADES: K-Grades 6
WHEN: JAN. 27TH AT 4:30PM
Barbara Reid will be doing a demonstration on how to use clay/play dough to create a picture. She will share unique techniques that students can use to make different things. The event will end with a Q&A.
REGISTER: To register, please click here. Spaces are limited, so be sure to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.
That’s why Sudbury Catholic Schools is pleased to invite you to register for our upcoming wellness webinar in January. At this webinar, two outstanding guest presenters will tackle this topic and provide coping strategies for dealing with stress.
Alina Rukkila MSW, RSW and Jessie Jones CYW will lead us through an engaging session on dealing with the different types of stress and provide helpful strategies and tips we can incorporate to help us manage it when it happens.
We all know that not all types of stress are bad. Good types of stress can help you focus, ensure you meet your daily challenges, and encourage you to reach specific goals you have for yourself. However, it’s essential to understand the difference between good and harmful types of stress. Over time, a continued strain on the body put on from stress can get the best of you. It’s paramount to identify the causes of daily stress and manage the intensity of these feelings. By knowing healthy coping strategies, we can enjoy life and learn happily.
