Our Catholic Faith reminds us that we share a common God and for all our diversity we are one human family. Celebrating diversity in real ways is therefore essential to our Catholic teachings at St. Mary Catholic School. This is why Mr. Merigioli’s class created a wall mural with a picture of every student’s face. “I took a picture of every child with my digital camera because I wanted the school community to recognize the diversity of its population and to support this diversity in both words and action,” said Mr. Merigioli. Our school is a welcoming school and we treat everyone with respect.

The teacher also created “wordles” where every child’s name in the school was used to create an abstract design. These wordles are displayed next to the wall mural displaying all our students.

School Council Chairperson Erin Gauvreau said, “Every time each child passes by this mural they will realize that at St. Mary Catholic School they are valued and appreciated for their uniqueness, their worth and their individuality. It is a wonderful expression of our teachers’ and principal’s care and concern for our students.”

Christian, a Gr. 1 student at Corpus Christi enjoyed the Handwashing presentation put on by the Sudbury District Health unit. He is seen here checking to see how clean his hands are after washing.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board and its community partners are proud to present an evening with Dr. Karyn Gordon on November 21. Dr Gordon, the resident expert for Cityline and Chatelaine magazine, and who is one of North America’s leading experts on families, will be speaking to parents about Generation Y – Motivating your child/pre-teen and teen. This free presentation is open to the public and begins at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Benedict cafetorium. For more information, please contact the Sudbury Catholic District School Board at 705-673-5620.

Students at Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary dressed up on Halloween and the school’s trustee Estelle Scappatura came for a visit. She brought healthy treats and the students had a parade in the gymnasium. A great time was had by all.

St. Mary students Alison Stead, Tucker Brown, Catherine Brown and Jacqueline Brown designed and painted a monster on Hallowe’en. The students rotated from activity to activity on October 31st. They made cup-cakes, created mummies, listened to scary stories and created scary creatures.

Community partners gathered together at the Caruso Club on Friday, October 14, 2001 to share breakfast while learning more about the faces of learning disabilities in the community. The breakfast was organized by the Learning Disabilities Association of Sudbury (L.D.A.S.) which is comprised of a team of parents, educators and professionals all working together for individuals with learning disabilities. The morning’s agenda included the honouring of teachers in the community that support students in reaching their full potential. St. Benedict teacher Kelly Orasi-Leach was one of these teachers. Receiving one of two Educators of the Year awards, presented by Liz Brett-Dickie, Orasi-Leach was overwhelmed as she was presented with her award. “I feel undeserving,” Kelly said. “I am so fortunate that I get to do a job every day that doesn’t even feel like a job.” Presenter Brett-Dickie said that “she knows first hand what a wonderful teacher Kelly is, and what a great job she does for her students.” The St. Benedict teacher runs the Student Success programming for the school and also runs several workshops that help people understand the learning disability profiles. As well, she works with several community partners and builds relationships in order to ensure there is tremendous support for the needs of her students. “We are so proud of Kelly and her commitment to our students,” stated Rossella Bagnato, Superintendent of School Effectiveness for the Sudbury Catholic Board. “Her dedication to our students is outstanding, and we are blessed to have her as part of the Sudbury Catholic staff.”

Fall was in the air, as the second Girls Flag Football and returning alumni players game took place on St. Benedict field on a sunny Friday afternoon.

Coaches Kim Labrosse and Katherine McNamara were excited that this game brought back alumni from all over, which really shows St. Ben’s school spirit. There were many star performers, but players agreed that the final score was not as important as the comradery displayed. Returning player and former coach Olivia Kirkwood said, “I miss playing and seeing everyone”. Alumni Zorisa Prosser stated, “It was fun to be back”, and Emma Meunier thought playing once again “was awesome”!

The St. Ben’s Girls Flag Football team enjoyed the experience of playing the alumni. It’s like family coming together, and the bond amongst the players is one that won’t soon be forgotten.