A group of Sudbury Catholic Administrators, principals, vice-principals, and staff, as well as school faith leads, trustees, parish partners and parental representatives joined together at the Diocesan Centre on St. Anne’s Road on Thursday, September 29 for a common goal – to celebrate and unite as a Catholic community. Leading the conversation was John Kostoff, Director of Education for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and author of “Auditing our Catholic Schools – A Process of Discernment, Discussion and Action”. Kostoff spoke to the group about being the “most authentic, faithful, community that you can be.” The connection between school, home and parish, Kostoff explained, is the triad that allows for this authenticity that is the foundation of the Catholic School system.
To start off the day, the group celebrated mass with Bishop Noel Simard, and then began to dialogue by sharing best practice and positive experiences with each other. Breaking off into groups – which included school administration, teachers, and parish partners – the conversation inspired new ideas and a common focus. “ We are so fortunate to be able to come together as a Catholic community – school, parish and parental partners – and communicate with each other our hopes and ambitions,” Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board stated. “It is inspiring to be a part of something much larger – and have the opportunities to be able to contribute ideas and share our faith – we are truly strengthened as a Catholic community as a result.”

One of the Strategic Priorities at Sudbury Catholic Schools is “WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE A CULTURE OF CATHOLIC FAITH AND COMMUNITY”. To enhance the faith at Corpus Christi School, all teachers,students, support staff and parents met together outside at the flagpole at 9:00 a.m. for opening exercises. Together they sang O Canada and recited the Pledge of Citizenship. They prayed together as a faith filled school community. Each class recited prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude for God’s gifts. This was a special way to share their faith and continue to build school community. What a blessed way to begin the Thanksgiving weekend.

Every year, the students at Marymount Academy take part in a week long Spirit Week Celebration in September. With different themes each day, all the students and staff are encouraged to take part with a variety of costumes and scheduled events. This year, the students had the opportunity to be a part of Superhero Day, Tropical Day, Glamour Day, Rock Star and Pyjama Day. “It is a great way for the students to have some fun and feel a bit more comfortable in the school, “ stated Lucie Cullen, principal. “Especially for the students new to the school – the Grades 7, 8 and 9’s – it allows them to have a few laughs, and lose some of the “beginning of the school year” anxieties that they might have. Many of the staff dress up as well, and this helps the school build and strengthen school spirit – as a result we are a closer school community.”

On Monday, September 19, 2011, all of the Grade 9-12 students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School gathered in the gym to listen to a presentation by MADD Canada. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization creates a new video each year to share with groups about the dangers of driving while intoxicated. This year’s video, entitled “Damages” has the main character living with the emotional, physical and legal ramifications of deciding to drink while intoxicated. It also shows three real-life accounts of families who have had to live with the consequences of loved ones killed by drunk drivers. This hard-hitting, extremely powerful presentation had the entire student body speechless.
Neil Cowan, the representative from MADD spoke to the students after the video, and had them do a few interactive exercises that allowed them to connect to the message, and recognize how devastating the wrong decisions can be. “This presentation for our students is crucial,” Laura Kuzenko, principal of the school stated. “The message is extremely powerful as we know that there are devastating effects when someone makes the wrong decision – at the expense of ourselves or others. Having MADD share with us this presentation is truly a gift – so that we can do everything we can to inform and support our students, and guide them to always make the right decision.”
The MADD organization also shared their presentation with the other secondary schools at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

To mark the 60th anniversary of St. Charles College, students at the school are aiming to collect 60 thousand cans for the Sudbury Food Bank this fall.
The school is collaborating with St. Andrew, St.Bernadette, Pius XII, St. Raphael, St. John, St. Paul and St. David schools. A kick-off is being held at each school to start the drive.

David DiBrina, the school’s Student Administrative Council president says, “The goal is to reach out into the community and get students, parents and teachers involved in feeding hungry families in our city this winter.”

The secondary school has been taking part in a community food drive since the mid eighties.

The food drive brings in upwards of 100-thousand cans for the local food bank each year.

St. Benedict students have been busy in Ms Dumont’s creative writing class after being inspired by Dr. Roger Nash’s poetry workshop at the school last April. Grade 12 student Emma Erikson said “his performance of a poem about a cricket was intriguing”. During a return visit to St. Ben’s this week, students performed a dramatic presentation of their own poetry for Dr. Nash. After each student’s enactment, Dr. Nash gave helpful suggestions such as including gestures, or props and people in their delivery. He stated he “enjoys working with young people, and that it is always good for students to experience poetry beyond the usual study of literature”.

Students in the St. Raphael Early Learning Kindergarten class participated in a very timely writing and drawing exercise. The students have been thinking about what makes their fathers so special in preparation for Father’s Day.

Student responses varied from “my dad takes me to the movies” to “my pops plays outside with me”.

St. Mary students had a first hand glimpse into the celebrations surrounding the recent Royal Wedding of Will and Kate when letters and pictures from their Pen Pals in England arrived. For the past two years, letters, gifts and even school apparel have been exchanged with St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School in Rayleigh, England (a distance of fifty-one kilometres from London, and a distance of 5646 kilometres from Capreol).

Last school year a link was made with Mrs. Lorna Pigman, Headteacher at St. Nicholas. Student letters were soon exchanged. Information about our Pen Pals was displayed on a central bulletin board so that all could read about our new friends. It was interesting to see that both schools have the same school colours, blue and gold.

This last set of letters included information about the Royal Wedding. The school had a street party in the playground. Students all brought food and were able to play party games. Everyone wore the colours of red, white and blue on the national holiday. St. Mary students will soon be writing about the end of year activities and their summer plans.