Launched in 1994 by The Learning Partnership, Take Our Kids to Work Day is an experiential learning opportunity for Grade 9 students across Canada offering them the chance to see the world of work firsthand, explore a variety of careers and sectors, and look at what skills are important to thrive in the world of work. The goal is to ignite students’ curiosity and open the door for them to see what is possible for their future.
On Tuesday, November 3rd, 2021, Grade 9 students had access to both pre-recorded and live virtual content to create an exciting learning experience. Over 200 Sudbury Catholic students participated in the event facilitated by consultant Christina Raso.
Students learned the importance of managing their online reputation and understanding that the internet is a public place and anything posted online is likely to exist forever. A positive online reputation can be advantageous and will likely be seen by future employees so students need to be careful about what they share and how it will be perceived. Students then listened to an inspiring message of purpose and belonging by Sam Effah, RBC Olympian. Watch the video at : Take Our Kids to Work 2021: You Belong Here Following, students joined a live Q and A session on Diversity in the Skilled Trades sponsored by Toronto Hydro. The day ended with sessions hosted by industry experts in the area of innovation & entrepreneurship, healthcare and technology & finance.
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!
This year for Remembrance Day, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) paid respects to the extraordinary men and women whose services and sacrifices will never be forgotten through preparing a virtual Remembrance Day ceremony on Nov. 11th. The service, which used various forms of prayer, readings, music, and video, worked with parish partners to help acknowledge the day’s importance and was a powerful social connection that included various schools participating in its production.
Following today’s events, the SCDSB has provided a clip of our opening video that was viewed at our virtual ceremony.
The following presentation highlights historic clippings and images of war veterans as well as beautiful artwork and visual displays that our school’s students and staff brought forward this year.
In addition to the video, please see the gallery of photos below. The gallery demonstrates wonderful examples of various artistic and faith-based learning activities and lessons school’s had participated in leading up to and on this important day of reflection.
Special thanksis given to the staff and students whose provided contributions enabled us to put together an amazing virtual service for our entire board. Thank you everyone!
Sudbury, ON – On November 9th, 2021, St. Charles Catholic Elementary School students in Mme Lamond and Mme Jorstad’s class participated in a Zoom lesson highlighting Remembrance Day which allowed them to send letters to Canadian soldiers.
With help from special guest Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force Station in Nova Scotia, the class was also led in an exercise that helped our kindergarten students learn about the Royal Canadian Air Force and become more educated about the meaning of Remembrance Day.
Pictured: Captain Amirault of the Royal Canadian Air Force
During the visit, the class was able to ask questions about helicopters and Captain Amirault showed his uniform.
Upon completing this exercise, students then wrote their letters that will be distributed to Canadian soldiers. Students were happy to showcase their letters in a picture taken with Captain Amirault.
“We love creating engaging opportunities that foster strength in student understanding of Remembrance Day. We’re grateful to Captain Amirault for providing these students with a fantastic experience that will help empower their learning on themes like compassion and respect that are important to address every day.” – Angela Polischuk, Principal.
“Recognizing Remembrance Day in schools and remembering those who fought and continue to fight for our freedom is extremely important at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. Learning stems from the experiences we provide to help our children understand the world. We are very pleased to nurture partnerships with the community and beyond to enhance our student experience.” – Joanne Bénard, Director of Education.
Over 75 girls from Marymount Academy and St. Charles College participated in the Jill of All Trades event hosted by Cambrian College with the help of many community sponsors, to encourage girls from Grades 7-12 to consider a career in the skilled trades.
This day-long event was packed with activities and hands-on learning, designed to foster in young women a better understanding and appreciation for skilled trades, and inspire them to consider a rewarding career in skilled trades.
The virtual event included:
3-45-minute interactive workshops showcasing a number of skilled trades offered at Cambrian (Build Your Own Motor, Hydraulic Robot Arm & Wiring an Extension Cord)
Keynote address from an amazing guest speaker in the field
A tour of Cambrian College labs
A Jill of All Trades shirt and a backpack filled with tools and PPE for participants
“This event was two years in the making, and after having to reschedule and retool the scope and delivery of activities, we are beyond thrilled to finally have some of our young women take part in such a great experience”, said Dan Levecque, OYAP and SHSM Co-ordinator for Sudbury Catholic Schools.“We were very impressed with the level of participation and engagement with our students throughout the day, and we have received so much positive feedback from both students and teachers. It certainly exceeded our expectations”
These young ladies were so excited to be able to build and complete their projects successfully.
November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) is celebrating its participation in Treaties Recognition Week. This year, we honour Indigenous histories, perspectives, and contributions through meaningful lessons, presentations, readings, events and celebrations for students and staff at all our schools.
School Highlights
St. John
At St. John Catholic Elementary School, students in Mrs. Galipeau’s class learned about wampum belts in an activity where they could make their own belts out of Lego. Students in Grade 5 and 6 created the 1764 Treaty of Niagara wampum belt. Pictured are Nathan and Olivia, Jaguar students proudly showcasing their class’s completed belt. Wampum belts represent agreements and promises that last “as long as the sun shines and rivers flow”.
On Nov. 2nd, Grade 2 students in Mrs. Child’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School read “Dakota Talks About Treaties.” Afterwards, they created a word web to describe what the word “treaty” means. Also, reading a story was Ms. Trudeau and Ms. D’Angelo’s class! “A Family Cookout” was read to help students explore measuring objects. Afterwards, Ms. Trudeau led an engaging lesson on making bannock where students used their knowledge in a real-life context. However, reading wasn’t the only popular activity. Mrs. Blakely’s grade 1 class learned all about the medicine wheel, smudged, made wampum belts and created their very own classroom treaty.
At St. David, a school-wide activity was implemented in preparation for the week. The Grade 5 class mapped the forested area in an educational exercise that touched on Indigenous identity, history, and ways of being. In an abundance of activities, students learned about treaties, promises, wampum belts and what it means to be indigenous. The school listened to “The Drum Calls Softly” and students created versions of the artwork in the video.
Over at Pius, Treaty Recognition Week was in full force. The school’s Grade 6 students took part in a lesson that included constructing their own Wampum commitment string. Wampum commitment string symbolizes an agreement of respect and peace. Collectively, all the strings will attach and form a family circle to honour Treaty Week.
To commemorate Treaty Week, the students in Grade 2/3 FI at St. James explored the significance of wampum belts as representations of promises that were made to last. They recreated the Treaty of Niagara wampum belt with Legos and other materials and mapped out some of our province’s treaties.
St. Benedict’s kicked off Treaty Recognition Week with Smudging available to students and staff. Classes participated in the Treaty Awareness dialogue. For example, Treaty is ‘Legally Binding’ and that there is also a ‘Sacred Element’ to the agreements. In addition, the school’s Life Skills Class learned and designed a Wampum Treaty Belt of their choosing. Tobacco was offered to our Indigenous Support Worker, Ms. Agowissa, for knowledge sharing. “We Are All Treaty People and are in the Robinson Huron Treaty region.”
Other highlights included secondary students participating in the Robinson Huron Treaty “Treaty Talks with Tomorrow’s Leaders”. Students were able to listen to different Ogimaak/Chiefs from RHT communities share treaty knowledge past, present and future about ‘Gweksijigewin’ (making things right). This knowledge was applied on Friday, Nov. 5th, with presentations from the students.
It truly is very exciting to see what beautiful things our schools are doing to honour this essential part of the learning experience. Thank you to all our staff and community leaders, who took the time to capture and share some of the many wonderful things they were able to participate in this week. For more school activity updates, check out Indigenous Education SCDSB.
November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
The best way for students to discover Indigenous peoples and treaties is to meet with community leaders and listen to their first-hand perspectives. Students must be exposed to Indigenous history and perspectives, and we must take advantage of local resources whenever possible. This week, several resources and events are available for SCDSB students, staff, and the community to take advantage of.
RESOURCES & EVENTS:
TREATIES RECOGNITION WEEK 2021
Treaty Week 2021, Presented by the Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin
When: Nov. 1-5th (Recorded Sessions Available)
Description: The Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin is hosting a series of online streaming events to bring awareness this week. Attached is a schedule of the events. To view the full schedule and preview recordings, please visit Robinson Huron Waawiindaamaagewin’s Treaty Week Website.
Description: Alongside Dominic Beaudry, an Anishinaabe Language & Cultural Facilitator, Science North is hosting an online session that will look at the innovations that Indigenous people have adapted throughout history and are continuing to do so daily. Students will have a chance to explore how the Ojibwe used STEM to construct canoes, Wampum Belts as hypertext (HTML) and how Ojibwe students are taking the robotics world by storm.
Tree of Hope: Tree Lighting Ceremony
When: Sunday, Nov. 14th starting at 6pm
Description: Police services across the province light trees in honour of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This year’s event will occur at 190 Brady St. (Greater Sudbury Police Service) and include drumming, smudging, guest speakers, and more. For more details, refer to the attached poster.
Treaties Recognition Week was introduced in 2016 to honour the importance of treaties and help students and residents of Ontario learn more about treaty rights, treaty relationships, and their relevance today.
The Ministry of Education works with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs every year to support and amplify its annual public awareness campaign to increase knowledge and understanding of treaties and treaty relationships. This campaign includes resources that teachers in the classroom can use to plan activities about treaties.
International students & their host families enjoyed an evening of food and fun! Each family received a DIY pizza kit. Together, students and their families kneaded the fresh dough and personalized their pizza with their favourite toppings. After supper, international students from all of our secondary schools joined in via Zoom to learn about the history of pizza and to play a Kahoot trivia game about Sudbury! We were ecstatic to discover that our students, although they haven’t been in Sudbury very long, were quite knowledgeable about our city! We look forward to planning more fun nights with our students and families!
Pictured is Lo, a grade 11 student at Marymount Academy from Japan, with her host family members Bella and Tracey.
Pictured is Irene, a grade 11 student at St Benedict Catholic secondary student from Spain with her host sisters Emma and Audrey.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board offers international students an opportunity to achieve a competitive academic advantage while shaping students to be the leaders of tomorrow. Students receive exceptional math, science, social science, and language instruction in first-rate, innovative labs and school facilities. Administrators, teachers, support staff, and students are committed to creating a safe and welcoming school environment to help international students feel at home in our school communities. Extracurricular highlights include championship-winning sports teams, dynamic school clubs and student committees, and outdoor adventure opportunities.
For more information about our international education program, including program options and details regarding the application process, please visit the international education website at Come to Study Interested in becoming a host family for our students? Visit the following Link
Pictured are international students from all of our secondary schools coming together to learn about the history of pizza and play a Kahoot trivia game about Sudbury!
The International Day of the Girl was established by the United Nations in 2012 and is recognized as a day to acknowledge girls and their rights, education, and opportunities.
Skills Ontario offered a series of online events and challenges to celebrate this special occasion from October 4th-11th.
Students at Marymount Academy seized the opportunity to learn about women in the trades and participated in the following challenges put on by Skills Ontario:
The week ended with a virtual conference, For Girls, By Girls! dedicated to empowering girls through relatable and engaging content. For Girls, By Girls provided viewers with the opportunity to hear from girls in elementary and senior elementary to discuss their perspectives of how they perceive the skilled trades and technologies. Keynote speaker Kyara Cabrera Fong, Auto Body Technician Apprentice and Panel Leader Courtney Chard, Pipe Welder led the conference.
Pictured are the creations from Mrs. Rinaldi’s grade 7 class.
