On Wednesday May 4, Sudbury Catholic Schools presented a “Music Extravaganza” for students, parents and community at Marymount Academy. This event, organized by Sudbury Catholic teachers Leanne Urso, JoAnne Comisso and Brittany Goldsborough, was held during Catholic Education Week as a celebration of music education. Students from St. Francis, St. Raphael, Pius XII, St. Anne, Marymount Academy, St. Charles College and St. Benedict gathered together to showcase all their hard work and talent. There were several award-winning bands performing, fresh from competition at the Northern Ontario Music Festival and the Kiwanis Music Festival, as well as the cast of St. Charles’ production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. The night was such a great success that plans are already underway to make it an annual event!

Spring is an exciting time for kindergarten students.  It is an opportunity for them to look for signs of spring.  This month,  the Early Learning Kindergarten students at St. Raphael School were learning about the life cycle of these butterflies.  They even made one in art class.  The students learned that monarch butterflies begin to arrive in Canada at the end of May.  The bulk of them arrive in June.

The Spirit of God was alive at St. Christopher School during Catholic Education Week. Teachers and students took part in several activities that reflected the theme, “Celebrating the Spirit.” One of the highlights of the week was a presentation by the entire school to family and friends, which included songs, poems, cards and a video presentation. On Friday, the school created a beautiful depiction of a living Rosary. The activity began with all of our students circling the gym – the lights were turned off. As they prayed each part of the Rosary, candles were lit, and, ultimately the entire gym was illuminated in a representation of the Rosary. It was a glorious sight!

A special thank you to all staff and students for making Catholic Education Week a great success.

As part of their Catholic Education Week activities, students from St. Benedict’s outdoor education program hit the water on Silver Lake early to practice some of their canoing skills on May 5, 2011. In order to prepare for their four day canoe trip later in the month, the St. Ben’s students manned their canoes and worked on their paddling techniques around the lake. Eighteen students will be traveling to Kukagami Lake for their four day trip and Outdoor Education teacher Pat Morris makes sure that each student is confident in their abilities before they leave embark on their excursion. Morris explained how the outdoor education program at St. Benedict really allows students to connect to the outdoor world, and the students learn to become cognizant of their impact on the environment through this program. “ When we are working on our outdoor ed. skills, we look at what we bring to the space and what we leave behind,” Morris stated. “Even when we come to Silver Lake to practice, we do a garbage clean up of the launch site before we hit the water, and make sure that when we leave, the space is exactly as it should be – nothing left behind – this way our students develop a deep respect for our earth.” Catherine McCullough visited the students as they practiced canoeing and spoke to the strength of the program at St. Benedict and its impact on the school and community. “These students really understand the importance of being stewards of the earth,” McCullough said. “This program really develops our students as leaders in the environment, and it is a connection that they bring to the community and beyond.”

On Wednesday May 4, the Grade 3 students from St. Theresa Catholic School went to Chapter’s/Starbucks to recite their recently individually composed poems. Many parents and family members were in attendance and enjoyed the reading done by the students. These students will have fond memories of this outing for years to come.

Students in Mrs. Low’s grade one class coloured and constructed a map of Canada as part of their Catholic Education Week activities.
 
Many students had parents and grandparents on hand to assist with the decorating.
 
Students also entertained the crowd with a class concert comprised of their hit songs from music class such as “Baby Bumblebee” and “On Top of Spaghetti”.

Recently students at Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary School wore green to support the Board’s Gift of Life initiative.

Staff and students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School held a Gift of Life day to support the Board’s Gift of Life initiative. T-shirts with “Life Life then Give Life” are being sold to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.

Students in the Early Learning Kindergarten Program at St. Raphael School professed their love of their mothers with a show stopping performance on May 3rd. The students sang songs and recited poems in honour of their dear mommies. Afterwards they sipped on tea and munched on snacks together. Some students were fortunate enough to have generations of moms together in the room – with grandmothers, and even great grandmothers in attendance.

The presentations left many moms with tears of joy. No one left empty-handed as there were many special crafts and tokens of appreciation.