Sudbury Catholic District School Board
December 14, 2021

Community Connections

Director's Corner

In December, we celebrate the virtue of patience as we wait for the arrival of Jesus. We light our advent candles with anticipation, recalling the journey that Mary and Joseph experienced as they reached Bethlehem to fulfill God’s plan. December is also a time of giving back to those in our community that are in need. It is a time to be grateful for what we do have, and to strengthen the community around us. At Sudbury Catholic, we value the strong partnerships that we have with our community partners and applaud our schools for cultivating those important relationships. These connections are extremely valuable to SCDSB as they provide social and academic benefits to our students and are mutually beneficial to our schools and the community as a whole. 

We thank all of you for nurturing these relationships and express our gratitude to our many partners, who devote their knowledge and time to building lasting connections with our students and staff. Through your efforts and commitments, our learning environments are enriched, as we empower our students to excel in a changing world and learn the importance of making a difference.  You are helping us to live out our vision of Leaders in Learning and Faith. Thank you! 

Why are Community Connections Important in Schools? 

We believe the quality of education depends on the strong connections that exist between Sudbury Catholic Schools and the community. These valuable partnerships provide the opportunities and experiences children need to learn in and outside of the classroom.  We are called to advance leadership and learning, and these community connections are a critical component to this success.

Partnerships between schools and community groups present many benefits. The most striking is how these collaborative efforts enhance the learning opportunities for our students by providing resources, experiences, and environments they would not otherwise have. 

St. James Students at Atikameksheng’s Indigenous Veteran’s Service

St. James – Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation

This past Remembrance Day, St. James students in Lively participated in Atikameksheng’s Indigenous Veteran’s service and recited the poem, “In Flander’s Field” in Ojibwe. 

Indigenous language and perspectives are critical to our curriculum, and we rely heavily on working with our community partner, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, to connect the education within the St. James classroom with the history that needs to be integrated into school-based events and activities. According to principal David Soehner, working with Atikameksheng Anishnawbek is important to help support the common good and improve student success and the overall well-being at school.

As education continuously evolves, we understand that the  Indigenous knowledge and land based opportunities supported with the assistance of community partners like Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, allow us to help the next generation learn what is necessary to create a better future. 

Marymount Academy – Regals Helping Women 

The Marymount Academy Catholic Charity Council started as a small group of students. However, in a few short months, it has grown to a team of 50! One of the fantastic initiatives we see this Council currently participating in is their “Regals Helping Women” campaign. 

Throughout the fall, the council has helped organize a collection campaign that partnered with The Sudbury Women’s Centre to encourage the school and neighbouring community members to donate essential hygiene products to the Centre to support women in need. 

The Sudbury Women’s Centre is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing information, referral, and support services to women who have been impacted by violence and/or difficult life circumstances. Their organization believes in fostering a safe place to support women on their journey in getting from where they are to where they want to be

The Women’s Centre continues to face a critical demand for necessary items to help struggling women in Sudbury. The Centre has allowed Marymount Academy to bring greater awareness surrounding women’s issues by providing tools, resources, and support. 

Emma Godin is a grade 12 student and the Council president leading the campaign with the Women’s Centre. According to Emma, women’s issues are a primary focus in their all-girls school community, and it is their job as students to understand how they can help. 

Emma Godin, Grade 12 MMA Student & Catholic Charity Council President

I think it’s important for schools or even just younger people, in general, to go out and experience what is going on in the community. With Covid especially, people haven’t realized how much others have struggled. I think that getting involved with the Women’s Centre is extremely important because it gives students the chance to become aware of what is happening around them and at the same time support other people and connect with them.”  

During this project, it has helped me grow my leadership skills. I feel I’m more comfortable delegating tasks, public speaking, and asking for help when I can’t do everything on my own. I always felt I was passionate about helping others, but I think this kind of experience helped me in discovering who I am and what I want to do.” – Emma Godin. 

Donation Gallery

Emma believes that students have a social responsibility to acknowledge the issues going on in the community, and to be involved, as it can also help students discover their identity and develop practical skills.

As Emma mentions, the benefits of school-community partnerships also provides professional development opportunities for students by giving them opportunities to learn from experienced professionals and real-life experts. These partnerships allow students to gain access to mentors and other resources to support their learning. 

St. Francis Catholic Elementary School – Junction Creek Stewardship Committee

This autumn, St. Francis Catholic Elementary School partnered with the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee to explore the community impact on Junction Creek and its adjoining trail system. Students walked along the creek and the trails to observe and collect data about its environment.  They are planning to continue their investigations throughout the changing seasons. 

St. Francis students have inquired about the living organisms in and around the creek and explored further by collecting water samples and participated in a garbage study to understand its impact on the creek. With the support of the Stewardship committee, students will continue to observe and experiment with the changes that occur in the creek over the various seasons.

As noted by Natasha Folino, the Principal at St. Francis “Community partners are important to schools because we help each other create learning experiences that are not just derived from books and pencils. Getting outside and helping kids understand the world around them is and should be a priority. Community partners show our kids all of the opportunities for what they could do with their lives. If students see real people working, it transforms their outlook and makes them consider how they can become more involved in something that interests them. I think it’s critical to have classroom exercises like this in place because it allows students to learn through a hands-on approach. Getting outside is important, and I have noticed that activities with community partners help students understand how to work with others and are important in helping understand how they can make a difference in the environment. Students can see how their actions affect the community and the world around them. We look forward to continuing to learn about the creek and how our actions impact the creek in this year-long initiative.”  

Natasha Folino, Principal, St. Francis School

As education continuously evolves, we understand that the knowledge-based opportunities offered through community experts allow us to better support our students and to also make a difference for others in our community.

Tree of Hope – St. Charles College

Gr. 10 and 11 Technology Class Students at St. Charles College

Recently St. Charles College participated in the first official, Tree of Hope, Tree Lighting for Sudbury, Ontario. This event was held in partnership with the Greater Sudbury Police services to bring awareness and recognition towards the tragic issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit in Canada (MMIWG2S). 

Christopher Kohut’s technology class worked together with the Greater Sudbury Police and their school’s Indigenous Support Worker, Lina Dokis Gagnon to create a traditional Indigenous eight-point star to sit atop the tree in downtown Sudbury. The work conducted on the star was an opportunity for the students to learn more deeply about this problem and to address a complex issue surrounding the current situation which many Indigenous peoples face in Canada. 

Cowan Billard, Gr. 11 St. Charles College Student

According to SCC student Cowan Billard, “I didn’t have a strong understanding of the issue that was happening, but as we were working on the star, I learned more on what’s going on. I would definitely say it has shaped my view in becoming more aware of that particular problem facing our city. I think the presence of the tree will open up our city’s point of view on all that’s going on right now.” 

We have a social responsibility to recognize and make students aware of the issues that are going on in the community. Participating in a project like this is good for our students because they learn more about a relevant topic they might not get to discuss as much in the classroom. We can bridge the gap between learning and action and encourage students to understand that MMIWG2S is happening literally everywhere.” – Lina Dokis Gagnon

Lina Dokis Gagnon, Indigenous Support Worker

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SCDSB – OSAID & Action Sudbury 

This past month, a collection of different students in various schools were part of the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) program. Students from Marymount Academy, St. Charles College, Bishop Carter Alexander, and St. Benedict’s were hard at work with Action Sudbury to raise awareness and address the importance of safe driving.  Action Sudbury is a non-profit community organization comprised of individuals and agencies with a common goal to eliminate the tragedies caused by impaired driving.  

Tracey Adams, Secondary Curriculum Consultant, SCDSB

According to Tracey Adams, Secondary Curriculum Consultant for SCDSB and Arrive Alive’s North Director and Action Sudbury board member, to help students reach their full potential, Sudbury Catholic educators work with outside partners to provide the exposure they need to become aware of their impact on the community and the world. “We need student involvement in these issues because not only does it highlight public awareness, but young minds have the power to influence individual and social attitudes and behaviours surrounding impaired driving in Sudbury.”

In addition to this, allowing students to work with other age groups and individuals that aren’t directly a part of the school community helps them grow into leaders who can work collaboratively with others to help achieve a mission and address issues facing the community. 

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Parish Connections

Christ The King Church Deacon, Roland Muzzatti engages students during a virtual presentation at St. David’s School.

Due to the challenges of the current pandemic, it has not been easy for us to join together. We miss our parish families visiting our schools. We miss our parish partners visiting our classrooms. Yet, faith is present!

As we move into the season of Advent, we are grateful for our parish partners, as we continue to work together remotely to share weekly virtual celebrations that mark our commitment to faith. These virtual services are co-celebrations that allow our school communities, homes, and parishioners to come together each week over Zoom and unite our efforts with a common goal of helping to spread God’s love to all.

The strong relationships we have with our parish partners continually provide opportunities for our children to grow both their faith and their life. The collaborative opportunities organized by the parish and schools build upon and extend the learning that helps celebrate our Catholic faith with students and their families wherever they may be located.

Celebrating the Holiday Season by Giving Back

We are blessed at SCDSB in so many ways. One such blessing are the ways our students, staff, administration, and schools come together to help others at this time of year. Christmas is a season of love and a season of giving. Together we can celebrate Christmas’s true meaning by participating in various charitable actions that focus on spreading cheer to those in need in our community.

St. Charles College

On December 3rd, 2021 St. Charles College concluded their annual SCC Canned Food Drive with amazing success. Their hard work and effort shone in the results, with a final total of 106,623 cans collected and $17,250 raised to help the Sudbury Food Bank. Special thanks to organizers Mrs. J. Demore, Mrs. Humphrey and Mrs. Montgomery and our students for their leadership in continuing to support this longstanding and very important tradition at SCC.

St. Benedict

St. Benedict concluded their staff Diaper Campaign on Friday, Dec 10thwith a total of 44 boxes! Special thanks to teacher John Doyon and school Chaplain Rob Pappin for their organization and leadership! The collected diapers will be donated to Pure Country’s diaper drive and passed on to the Pregnancy Care Centre, Infant Food Bank to go to families in need in our city. 

Holy Trinity & Bishop Alexander Carter

Students, staff, admin, and community members at Holy Trinity and Bishop Alexander Carter Schools filled a crib as part of their participation in the Infant Food Bank “All I Need for Christmas Campaign.” The Infant Food Bank is a not-for-profit charitable organization funded solely by individual donations and food cards from the Sudbury Food Bank. With this campaign, both the Gators and Redbirds filled cribs with baby essentials to assist the Infant Food Bank in providing for families throughout the holidays and all winter long.

Marymount Academy

December 2021 marked the 31st year Marymount Academy has held an annual Christmas dinner for the clients of SACY, aka Sudbury Action Centre for Youth. This tradition holds one of the longest on-going community relationships that Marymount has. Matthew Wiecha, a former teacher who started the initiative in 1989, believed that it taught the true meaning of Christmas to senior students and provided a much-needed service to those who might otherwise not get a Christmas dinner.

https://youtu.be/zlmZ5t0gNLk

SCDSB Student Senate

In November, the SCDSB Student Senate kicked off their Can Tab Drive.

Once a month, tabs are collected from each high school and the Board Office and dropped off at Deluxe Hamburgers. We invite the community to continue donating their tabs to help SCDSB Student Senate and Deluxe Hamburgers in this ongoing campaign. 

All proceeds from the collected tabs will be donated to Health Sciences North to support the continued services they provide to patients and people in need in our northern community.   

As we continue to celebrate how our schools have connected with the community, we thank all of Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s community partners and educators who have worked with us in supporting our students and our community. The relationships we have with our partners in the community provide a valuable opportunity to share meaningful experiences, learn from each other, and help us collectively achieve our goals and to make a difference. This blog only touched upon a fraction of the ways in which our schools contribute to the community and the amazing partnerships that continue to be nurtured.

On behalf of the Sudbury Catholic community, we wish everyone a joy filled Christmas surrounded by family and friends and many blessings in 2022. May the true spirit of Christmas fill your hearts and your homes. Merry Christmas!

2021 Christmas Artwork Contest Winners

Artwork by A. Fisher

Grade 6 Student at St. Paul

Artwork by M. Coutu

Grade 11 Student at Bishop Alexander Carter

Artwork by C. Wrigglesworth

Grade 7 Student at Marymount Academy

Register Now! E-mail Copied to Clipboard