The Sudbury Catholic District School Board hosted its Annual Conference for Custodial, Maintenance, and Warehousing Staff at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School recently. The one day conference included workshops on ergonomics, fire prevention, as well as sessions from the Sudbury and District Health Unit on health related issues. SCDSB administration saluted the staff for their hard work throughout the last school year and exemplary staff were also recognized for their outstanding collaboration in the Board’s recently implemented “Attendance Management Program.” The Director of Education, Mrs. Zandra Zubac and the Acting Associate Director, Corporate Services, Mr. Hugh Lee were also involved in the day’s events.

St. Michael Catholic School, Grade 5 & 6 students recently won the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Coed Soccer Tournament. The event was held at the Lily Creek Field with five schools competing for SCDSB championship. St. Michael school went up againstt St. Raphael Catholic School in the final match with the game being decided in sudden death overtime. Tyler Lavallie scored the winning goal for St. Michael’s. The team was coached by the school’s Grade 6 teacher, Ms. G. Visentin.

Over 85 graduates at St. Albert Adult Education Centre received their secondary school diplomas during their recent graduation ceremony. Valedictorian Jenna Brooks was recognized for placing first in eight subject areas and has been accepted into the Culinary Administration program at Canadore College in September 2004. St. Albert Adult Learning Centre offers credit high school courses to adults over the age of 18 who are seeking to complete their Grade 12 diploma. Courses offered include English, math, and computers, with flexible academic schedules allowing for continuous intake throughout the school year. The school also offers a non-credit program to help adults improve their math, language and computer skills to prepare for employment or to obtain credit courses. Students may also enrol in the English as a Second Language program. Attending the graduation this year were Karl Dregar, vice-principal St.Albert Learning Centre, and Mr. Michael Csinos, Superintendent of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.

The latest results of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) have been released by the Education Quality Assessment Office (EQAO). The report includes the results of the test administered to Grade 10 students in October 2003. The percentage of SCDSB students who passed the test seems to have stabilized in the last two years at 75%. Provincial results have fluctuated more over the last several years, and stand at 77% for 2003. Individual school results are available in our EQAO Assessment section.

SCDSB applauds Marlene Lee, Wal-Mart’s 2004 “Teacher of the Year”. Mrs. Lee received the award in recognition of her outstanding devotion to the students and her tireless dedication to school activities such as “Have Ark Will Travel,” a play that she wrote and produced specifically for the students at St. Paul Catholic school.

Several students read letters they had submitted to Wal-Mart outlining the reasons why “Mrs. Lee should be selected as teacher of the year,” during a special presentation in the school’s gymnasium. This is the second year in a row that a teacher from the school has won this prestigious award. Last year, Janet Carscallen was honoured for her outstanding work. In addition to the “Teacher of the Year Award,” St. Paul Catholic school also received a cheque for $1,000 and $500 for being selected as the winning school for “Earth Day” and “Adopt A School Program” from Wal-Mart Canada.

Laurel Broten, Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Parliamentary Assistant
addressed Marymount Academy’s student body on “Women in Politics” at a
special presentation at the school recently. Mrs. Broten’s presentation centred on the “lack of female participation and presence” in today’s political arena and apathy among voters, ages 18 to 24. The key message of her 30-minute presentation focused on encouraging Marymount’s young voters to become involved in politics at the local level and get to know their political leaders if they want to change their world for the better. In her closing remarks, the Parliamentary assistant stated that, “You have to believe that anything you want to achieve is possible, involve yourselves in the political process today, as you may very well be the leaders of tomorrow.”

On Wednesday, May 26th, St. Charles College senior boys soccer team captured their 6th city championship in seven years by defeating Lockerby 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out. The game was tied 2-2 after regular time and 20 minutes of overtime. The Cards scored on all 5 of their shots to claim top prize.

On Saturday , May 29th , both the Junior and Senior teams travelled to North Bay to compete for the NOSSA championships. The junior team, who defeated Lockerby last fall to win Sudbury, played first againstt North Bay’s West Ferris Trojans. The Cards defeated West Ferris 3-1 to capture their second consecutive NOSSA AAA crown, a feat that no other school has ever accomplished in Junior soccer. The senior team then went up againstt Scollard Hall-St.Josephs. In overtime the Cards lost on a Golden Goal with five minutes left on the clock.

St. Charles coaches John Sikora, Lloyd Rebeiro, Ed Sacchetto and Robert Dagotino were very proud of both teams’ accomplishments. Coaches and players had dedicated both seasons to the memory of former student and player, Sam Pisani, who was tragically killed on Lake Ramsey last year.

The nationally acclaimed “Student Success” presentation is designed to help students think about their next steps upon graduation and what they need to accomplish throughout the upcoming years. The program also addresses critical issues such as time management, choosing the right career paths, gaining experience through internships and meaningful work experience.

“Graduation from secondary school is a key transition period in a student’s life,” states Making It Count founder, Patrick O’Brien. “Our goal is to provide and reinforce the positive messages that educators are giving to their students during this critical time and to help students understand that anyone can be successful if they choose to be.” The Making Post Secondary Education Count presentation program has reached over 35,000 students in Canada over the last 2 years.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board in conjunction with the Ottawa Bluesfest organization scheduled a number of presentations in the board’s family of schools during the last week of May. The Blues in the Schools program offers a unique and inspirational opportunity for students of all ages to draw on the energy and experience of award-winning blues artists such as T J Wheeler through workshops and hands on instructional techniques.

The Blues in the Schools program also teaches blues history, and through this history students learn about the injustice of racial intolerance. One of the goals of the program is to promote the use of blues music in other areas of education including art, history and creative writing. T J Wheeler believes that, ”You can wipe out racism and bullying through education and activism. He sees blues as a music of hope and as a means of developing positive social change.”