The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Catena Hayden as a Student Trustee for the 2022-2024 term. Catena is a Grade 10 student at Marymount Academy and joins her fellow Student Trustee Jack Gouchie. Together, they will bring forward student voice at the Board table.
Catena is an active community member at Marymount Academy. Since 2018, Catena has been a member of the Student Administrative Council (SAC) and enjoys collaborating with her peers and teachers to organize spirit days and fundraisers to enhance the educational experience for all. She is passionate about helping others and wants to make a difference in her community by inspiring students to get involved in intiatives that deepen their learning and demonstrate service to others. This past year, Catena joined the Sudbury Catholic Student Senate to connect with fellow secondary students in SCDSB’s four secondary schools to help promote campaigns such as Toonies for Tuition, Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving, and the Can Tab Drive. Catena is eager to represent the voice of students at the board table.
In addition to being a devoted student and committed to academic excellence, she is also proud to be in the French Immersion Program and appreciates diverse cultures. Upon her secondary graduation, she aspires to become an aerospace engineer and will start completing the Architecture and Engineering Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) offered through Marymount Academy in the Fall 2022.
While away from school, Catena practices her faith as an active member of her Catholic Community at Our Lady of Hope Parish. In addition, Catena volunteers her time to help causes, like the fundraiser for Ukraine at Immaculate Conception.
“I am honoured that I was selected to serve as Student Trustee for the next two years. I am excited to use this opportunity to grow as a leader, share my ideas, and help represent students from all Sudbury Catholic schools at the Board table.” – Catena Hayden, Student Trustee.
“Sudbury Catholic District School Board welcomes Catena Haden as our second Student Trustee,” said Michael Bellmore, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “Catena is an exceptional student and has demonstrated an impressive commitment to her school and community. We have great faith she will make all voices heard and look forward to her many contributions throughout her term at the Board table.“
In our second Social Justice Club session, Taylor (Cambrian College Social Justice Student) led the students through an activity whereby students brainstormed various social justice issues.
Art and culture have always played an important role in every successful movement for social change. Art can educate and inspire one’s imagination beyond the realm of what politics can do.
Students then watched Artist Activist, Favianna Rodriguez, share tips on how to create a social justice poster.
Her suggestions:
Keep it Simple. People will look at your artwork for less than 5 seconds so using 6 words or less is most effective.
Use symbols from our culture and nature that people will recognize.
Three Social Justice students from Cambrian College created and coordinated a FREE program called Stand Up for Social Justice. This program brings their passion and knowledge on the subject of social justice to our students by creating awareness and discussions in the hopes of inspiring change.
The Stand Up for Social Justice program provides students with the tools to start their own social change conversation by engaging in interactive and educational activities and discussions. In the three workshops, students will be presented with social justice concepts and answer questions about the possibilities of potential career paths through college education.
The Stand Up for Social Justice program is currently being delivered as an after school virtual club for grades 5 & 6 students. Our first session was held on Monday April 11th and the topic was “Food Insecurity”. Using a variety of activities, students developed a basic understanding of how food affects our day-to-day lives (i.e. our physical, emotional and mental health as well as our development). In addition, students learned why nutritious meals are important and the benefits of homemade vs store-bought/take-out. Finally, our students had the opportunity to use their math and problem solving skills while working with a budget.
We would like to thank Cambrian College for their continued partnership and look forward to the next sessions!
Pictured is Cambrian College student Taylor presenting the first workshop.
MLI Homestay is eager to meet new, enthusiastic families to host international high school students in September 2022. Get insight on the benefits of being a host family and how to become one by joining MLI Homestay and Sudbury Catholic Schools onTuesday, April 12 at 7:00 PM for a live info night on Zoom. At this virtual event, Peter Prochilo from SCDSB and Cheryl Lee from MLI Homestay will come together to host a live chat that will allow you to ask questions and learn more about the benefits of being a host family from the comfort of your own home!
If you have a spare room, it may be the perfect opportunity to experience a different culture right in your own home. Sign up now!
When: April 12, 2022, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board Parent Involvement Committee is excited to announce the next session for our Virtual Engagement Series for Parents & Educators. Please see the attached poster to learn more about our upcoming sessions.
Upcoming Session: Focus On Numeracy (Kindergarten to Grade 6)
Join us next week on Wednesday, April 13th, from 6-7 pm on Zoom for our next session, “Focus on Numeracy!” During this session, Dr. David Costello will explain how you can support numeracy at home and help your children recognize and understand the role of mathematics in the world around them.
Dr. Costello is a professional learning facilitator who focuses on mathematics instruction and learning. Working in various roles centred on numeracy education, he has the expertise, charisma, and advice you can count on to support numeracy learning in your household! Attend his session and discover new tips, tricks, and strategies to help students dynamically learn and build their critical thinking skills. Sign up and see how problem-solving can be as easy as 1, 2, and 3! Registration is required to attend this event. Register now to reserve your spot and receive the zoom link!
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board Parent Involvement Committee is excited to announce the next session for our Virtual Engagement Series for Parents & Educators. Please see the attached poster to learn more about our upcoming sessions.
Next Session: Focus On Literacy – Kindergarten To Grade 3
Join us on Wednesday, April 6th, from 6-7 pm on Zoom for an interactive session on literacy! In this engaging virtual event, each attendee will uncover today’s best practices for teaching fundamental literacy skills where they start…AT HOME! This presentation is designed to supply parents and educators with helpful advice that will better support them in empowering today’s youth to achieve lifelong success by developing strong literacy skills early.
Expert Literacy Consultant Moyra Bartlett from Pearson Canada will present how reading and writing skills are developed over time and provide you with the top strategies and tools you need to help build reading, writing, comprehension, and more in children in Grades K-3! Sign up today and get ready to light up literacy in your household. Registration is required to attend this event. Register now to reserve your spot and receive the zoom link!
In preparation for Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s annual budget discussions, we are asking members in our community to identify areas that have been working well and those that are their top priorities for the next school year. By supplying feedback, it will provide Sudbury Catholic Schools the input we need to help guide our planning for the 2022-23 budget. The deadline to submit your feedback is April 8th, 2022. To help us gather feedback, we are using the online tool, ThoughtExchange.
It is extremely important that everyone has a chance to share their perspective as it will help us to understand what’s most important to the school community. Please visit the link below to share your thoughts.
Feel free to include as many thoughts as you like. Click the Participate button to share your thoughts and then rate at least 20-30 of the thoughts that others have shared. Please come back often until April 8th to rate new ideas.
Quick Tips:
This exchange is confidential. Your thoughts will be shared, but not your identity.
Please be polite and respectful as you share and rate thoughts.
If you see a thought that is rude, hurtful or identifies a person or group, you can report it by clicking in the upper right corner of the thought.
You do not need to rate all thoughts in this exchange. It is appreciated and recommended to rate around 30 over the time the exchange is open.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board appreciates your input. By helping us today, you make a difference in the planning of our future.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board Parent Involvement Committee is excited to announce the return of our Virtual Engagement Series for Parents & Educators. Please see the attached poster to learn more about our upcoming sessions.
Next Session: Cyber Safety
Join us Wednesday, March 23rd at 6-7 pm on Zoom for our first session, “Cyber Safety,” led by one of the industry’s foremost experts, Danny Pehar.
As the architect for the Cybercrime Equation, Danny works closely with the Toronto Police Cyber task force and the FBI cyber task force to help control cybersecurity. His extensive cybersecurity knowledge, combined with his extensive background as a best-selling author, comedian, and motivational speaker will garner an experience you do not want to miss. Registration is required to attend this event. Sign up now and get ready to laugh, learn, and make a difference for yourself and others. By attending this session, you will learn how to safely protect yourself, your colleagues and your family from digital threats.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board was invited, along with other partners in education across the province, to take a stand on Thursday, March 10, 2022, as “#StandWithUkraine Blue and Yellow Day”. On this day, students and staff were encouraged to wear blue and yellow clothing and, where possible, donate a toonie to the “Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.”
We were grateful we could join together as a Board and take a united stance with our colleagues and students across the province by sharing our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by this ongoing tragedy. We began our day by coming together in a system-wide prayer for peace. Together, we prayed for those impacted by this invasion and for a quick resolution to the conflicts, destruction, and deaths being experienced by the people of Ukraine. We prayed for peace, and we prayed for God’s love to shine through and touch the hearts of everyone on this earth. We invite you to continue to pray with us by using our system-wide prayer.
In addition to participating in the province-wide blue and yellow day, Sudbury Catholic students, staff, and families have actively created ways to support and stand with Ukraine. Schools have hopped right in to provide support by developing fundraisers, participating in various awareness activities, inciting prayer, etc. We are proud to take this time to highlight a sample of some of the different types of actions completed by members of our community.
Secondary Highlights
St. Benedict
Students in the learning support program at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, created Ukrainian themed keychains. After completing their keychains, these gifts were hand-delivered to members of their community.
In addition to creating Ukrainian themed keychains, St. Benedict chose to #StandWithUkraine by hosting a blue and yellow dress-down day on March 9, 2022. On this day, they managed to raise $2600 to support Ukrainian Humanitarian Efforts. We want to provide a special shout-out to the student council who originally came up with the idea of this day and members of faculty, including Joanne Burke, James MacNeil and Megan McMillan, who helped organize this effort. Fantastic job, Bears!
MMA faculty wear blue and yellow in support of Ukraine!
MMA regals wore blue and yellow in solidarity with other Catholic schools across the province, and thanks to the donations, the school raised $500 as a school community. Classes also created blue and yellow cranes to show their support.
Bishop Alexander Carter
In addition to having a dress-down day for students and staff at Bishop Alexander Carter, their school community raised donations by offering pizza concessions to help further their actions and raise even more proceeds to stand with Ukraine. All proceeds from these fundraising efforts will be donated to #HELPUKRAINENOW.
St. Charles College
Cardinals swapped their red uniform to participate in Thursday’s blue and yellow day. In addition to showing support through their clothing, students in Ms. Dzuirban’s class created a beautiful poster supporting the people of Ukraine!
Elementary Highlights
St. Paul
St. Paul Students take time to snap a shot during #StandWithUkraine Blue and Yellow Day!
St. Charles
St. Francis
Students and staff at St. Francis School had a Canada Day-themed spirit day. They thought it was imperative to highlight that they stand with Ukraine as Canadians and as St. Francis Flames. Together as a school community, they jointly raised $408.00 for the families of Ukraine.
St. John
In addition to wearing blue and yellow in solidarity with other Catholic schools across the province, St. John School ran a “Popcorn for Peace” campaign from March 7 – March 10. With a goal in mind to raise $1000.00, their school community quickly jumped up, or should we say “popped up,” to meet the challenge. Offering popcorn sacks for a minimum donation of $2.00 per bag, their school community amazingly raised $1250.00 in just four days. The only thing that makes this news better is seeing so many smiling faces. Knowing this money is being donated to St. Mary’s Catholic Ukraine Church to help Ukrainian people makes us smile as well. Go, Jaguars, go!!
Students in St. John’s English FDK class created blue and yellow flags in honour of the people in Ukraine. They learned that different flags represent different places in the world and that right now, the Ukrainian flag is a symbol of people who need our prayers.
Holy Trinity
Students at Holy Trinity showed their support for friends in Ukraine during Winter Fun Day on March 10. Ms. Skelly’s class made a fantastic sign in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. A donation jar was also created in blue and yellow, resulting in a $331 donation generously brought forward by various students, staff and parents at Holy Trinty. Good job Redbirds!
Holy Cross
Holy Cross has been very busy. Grade 6 students Abigail and Sara approached the school with what they could do to help and support Ukraine, and together they put their heads together and decided that they would be able to help by constructing and selling blue and yellow hand-made bracelets and pins for their school community. This not only provided a way to raise money for donations to the cause, but it was also a visible way for Holy Cross School to stand in support of the people of Ukraine.
“I really wanted to help the people of Ukraine, and making pins and bracelets is one of the ways I knew I could help”. – Abigail Debruyn, Grade 6 student at Holy Cross
After countless hours of hard work, Abby and Sara’s beautiful bracelets and pins were up for grabs, and their fellow students were quick to swipe them. Both staff and students eagerly lined up in the front-hall entrance to make their donations. The girls also passed around the school at lunchtime to ensure everyone had an opportunity to donate and recieve a pin or bracelet. Thanks to the efforts of these extraordinary young leaders, Abby and Sarah were able to raise $2252.05 that will be donated to St. Mary’s parish, who will, in turn, donate the money to humanitarian efforts.
“I want to help in any way I can because it is the right thing to do”. – Sara Wolski, Grade 6 student at Holy Cross
In addition to Sara and Abby, students at the school continued to support the Ukraine campaign by baking and decorating cookies. The cookies were sold door to door and allowed the school to raise an additional $450 to support Ukraine. Holy Cross would like to thank everyone who took the time to generously donate.
We all have a responsibility for peace!
At Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we follow and promote the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations. The Ontario Catholic School Graduate is a responsible citizen who gives witness to Catholic social teaching by promoting peace, justice and the sacredness of human life. This involves acting morally and legally as a person formed in Catholic traditions, witnessing Catholic social teaching by promoting equality, democracy, and solidarity for a just, peaceful and compassionate society, and respecting and affirming the diversity and interdependence of the world’s peoples and cultures.
There have been countless examples of how different communities exhibit this expectation and stand with the people of Ukraine during this time of need. It is our sincere hope that by highlighting some examples of how our schools have supported Ukraine, we can continue to work together as responsible citizens on this earth and inspire others to stand in solidarity to end the violence and suffering for the people of Ukraine.
Upon its completion, St. Charles College students proudly showed off their Stand With Ukraine poster.
Last month, over 300 Sudbury Catholic School students in Grades 4-6 used their critical thinking and innovation to submit entries in the forms of essays, stories, and poems on the topic of what HOME means to them as part of the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
For every entry a student submitted, Chapman’s pledged to make a $10 donation on behalf of that student to Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity organization to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Greater Sudbury community.
With this contest, our students helped to build safe homes, but they also gained greater awareness surrounding the national issue of Canada’s housing crisis that so many families struggle with all over Canada. By working together to make a local difference, our students were able to see how they can contribute to building a just society for others and grow as leaders in learning and faith.
As a result of the hard work and efforts completed by staff, educators, and elementary students, Sudbury Catholic Schools collectively raised $3350 to be donated to the Local Habitat for Humanity Chapter by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
“It was exciting to provide our learners with a meaningful activity that supported them into becoming more advanced writers. These writing tasks not only challenged our students to make a difference in the world around them by thinking creatively about the topic —the meaning of home— it showed that by working together, a simple action can produce extraordinary results.” – Peter Prochilo, SCDSB Superintendent of School Effectiveness
In addition to helping families in Greater Sudbury, the contest was an opportunity that helped students live out and apply the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations – important principles that support Catholic students in becoming more responsible citizens and collaborative contributors in the community. The success of the contest clearly demonstrated how Sudbury Catholic School students understand these expectations and how to apply them in their life and in their education.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all of our teachers and students for participating in this initiative. Collectively, our actions at Sudbury Catholic Schools resulted in a $3350 donation, but as a country we raised over $130,000 in corporate donations! Please refer to the Meaning of Home Thank You Letter!
We invite you to check out some of the wonderful entries submitted by our students!
Sudbury Catholic School Entries
Grade 4 Christians Remote Learning School
Grade 6 Max V St. Paul Catholic Elementary School
When someone asks what HOME means to me one word comes to mind. LOVE. Home is where my mother and brother live with me. What makes our home special is that my mother has worked so hard to design a new home that meets our needs. From the day we hammered the SOLD sign in the ground till the day we moved in we visited it each and everyday to see its progress. When I am older, I want to be an architect, so I helped my mom design the house and worked with the blueprints. I even got to design my very own secret room downstairs. It was a ton of fun!
My home is not a place. Home has feelings. Feeling like relaxation, comfort, happiness and love. Home is where my family comes to visit, eat and spend time together. A home is where I can build memories and since our home is new the possibilities are endless. I am excited.
My home smells of fresh baking, homemade pasta sauce, a special candle or a fresh load of laundry. When I enter the doors of my home I take a deep breath and smile.
My home is a place where we can all wind down sit on the couch in front of our fireplace and talk about how our day was. My home is where I can be myself. If I want to listen to my Genesis vinyl full blast I can.
I am so lucky to have a caring home filled with LOVE.
