The Student Senate was able to collect 127 winter clothing items for their annual winter clothing drive! The campaign ran from October 7 – 21 and all four secondary schools and the Catholic Education Centre participated.
“It was a very successful campaign. Every school was able to contribute something, and we crushed our goal of 86 items by 41, with a final total of 127. It is always great to see what our school board community can accomplish. I would like to say thanks to our Student Senate members and Tracey Adams for helping promote this campaign. Also, a big thanks to those who were able to contribute,” said Jack Gouchie, Student Trustee.
“This coat drive is such an important campaign and is an amazing way for us to give back to our community. I am so proud that the Student Senate was able to donate 127 winter clothing items this year,” said Catena Hayden, Student Trustee.
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 of the people of Ukraine.
Upon its completion, St. Charles College students proudly showed off their Stand With Ukraine poster.
Our Lenten journey began on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022, with Ash Wednesday! Sudbury Catholic District School Board honoured the start of this season with a morning prayer service. Our church tradition shares that on Ash Wednesday, we are invited to be marked with the sign of the cross on our foreheads. This symbolizes our understanding that we make mistakes and that we will take this time of Lent to grow in holiness, so we are prepared to celebrate Easter with great joy. Bishop Thomas Dowd also joined us and reinforced this message, reminding us that Lent is a time to make our hearts a worthy place for the Holy Spirit to live.
The day was also one where we joined in prayer for the situation in Ukraine. Pope Francis sent out an invitation for the world to join together for a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace. He asked that we especially pray for those suffering, be aware that we are all brothers and sisters, and implore God for an end to the war.
For those members of our community who were unable to attend our service yesterday, you can still participate by watching a virtual recording of our Ash Wednesday service. We’ll also continue joining together for prayer on Monday mornings. We invite you to view the following poster to see a schedule of our future virtual prayer services taking place throughout Lent.
Students at Holy Cross and St. Benedict Secondary School in the southend of Greater Sudbury teamed up to make seniors smile this Valentine’s Day.
How? With a simple act of using creativity, imagination, and love, students handcrafted beautiful, heartfelt greeting cards to lift the spirits of residents at Finlandia Village, in the Hoivakoti Nursing Home located in Minnow Lake.
After being created, the cards were hand delivered and distributed to residents at Finlandia on Monday, February 14th, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Upon receiving the messages, Finlandia extended their appreciation for the generous act and shared a huge thank you to students, staff, and volunteers for the coordination of the project.
“Thank you so much for all the awesome Valentine’s day cards. The students did a really great job, and the residents were smiling from ear to ear. They sure made Valentine’s day extra special for our folks!” – Jeanna de la Morandiere, Finlandia
Ben and Bradley from Madame Riutta’s French Immersion class at Holy cross display their Valentine cards.
To protect the health and safety of residents, the ongoing pandemic has forced long-term care homes to restrict visitors, and in doing so, many seniors have been challenged in living in isolation for almost two years.
Laura Kuzenko is the Principal of St. Benedict Secondary School. “This is another example of students showing care and concern for others and embodying the virtue of compassion,” she says.
Sudbury Catholic Schools strives to teach children what it means to live virtuously and give them an opportunity to experience those virtues through their education. The virtues of the month program is created to empower the entire community of students, staff, and volunteers to live out their highest values everyday.
To help this process along, each month we bring our attention to focus on a new virtue so students can learn the meaning of it, and have time to practice it in action. As the virtue of the month for February is compassion, it is with great joy we see our students practicing and understanding the root of what this virtue really means.
In addition to making cards for seniors, all three of St. Benedict’s Learning Support Centre classes worked hard to make Valentine’s Day cards Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). VAC invites Canadian schools, individuals and organizations to make Valentines for Vets and then distributes the valentines to Veterans in long-term care facilities across the country by February 14.
Our Lenten journey begins with Ash Wednesday! We gathered as a system virtually and explored the theme of Nurturing Hope. Throughout the webinar, students participated by completing various readings and prayers and a reflection on Lent was provided by Father Larry Rymes.
We look forward to coming together through virtual services during each week of Lent.
The virtual Ash Wednesday service was held as an online webinar to the entire system and included participation from various students and Father Larry Rymes.
As the weather gets cooler we turn our attention to the Advent season. We are looking for submissions for our annual Christmas card artwork contest. All students Kindergarten to Grade 12 are eligible to participate! Artwork should encompass our Catholic faith and help us to share in the joy of Christmas.
Artwork can be landscape or portrait and can be created in any medium (such as a drawing, painting etc). Submissions can be addressed and sent to the Board office at:
All submissions (whether in hard copy or e-mailed) should have the following information included in addition to the artwork:
Student first and last name
Grade
School
Artwork must be submitted by November 20, 2020 at 4 p.m. to be considered for the contest. The Board will choose one elementary design and one secondary design to be featured on our annual Christmas cards which are mailed to our Board Trustees, school administration and community partners. The winning entries will also receive a package of Christmas cards featuring their artwork!
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Rosaria Nero as the Student Trustee for the 2020-2021 School Year. Rosaria is a Grade 12 student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
Rosaria has actively participated within her school community from the beginning of her secondary experience with the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. She serves on both the Student Senate and the Student Council. These organizations continue to inspire Rosaria and to help grow in her leadership and to better understand the work that goes into organizing fundraisers such as “Bear’s Crush Cancer” and various other school functions. Rosaria aspires to one day become a Human Rights Lawyer and stand up for those who are unable to advocate for themselves.
Rosaria is involved in many extracurricular activities within the St. Benedict school community such as volleyball and soccer. In addition, she has also participated in many events that played a vital role in igniting her passion for public speaking and working as part of a team.
“It is an honour to be Student Trustee as we navigate a unique school year at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board,” said Rosaria Nero, Student Trustee. “I feel truly blessed that I am able to represent student voice and work alongside the Board of Trustees to help make a difference for my fellow students.”
“We welcome Rosaria as Student Trustee for the 2020-2021 School Year ,” said Michael Bellmore, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “Her dedication to helping others and her strong leadership is truly inspiring and we are so fortunate to work alongside her this school year.”
On Wednesday, February 26th, Student Senate members from all four Sudbury Catholic secondary schools helped wait tables at Tony V’s restaurant to raise funds in support of Australian bushfire relief. In addition to cash donations, a percentage of proceeds from meal purchases will be donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Bushfire Appeal to provide food, clothing, and essentials, and recovery support to individuals and families in need. The students raised a total of $1220 ($500 from the restaurant and $720 in cash donations). Thank you to Tony V’s for supporting this fundraiser event!
Staff and students at St. Benedict School gathered together as a community to celebrate Ash Wednesday. Thank you Mr. Pappin for leading the beautiful mass!
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board has been honoured by the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario. Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School was awarded the Michael Carty Award for their project ‘Inspiring and Developing Christian Leaders.’
Staff engaged students, inspiring them to complete campaigns to better the local and greater community. Students were encouraged to take the lead and complete projects throughout the year. The Student Council brought the school together to organize student groups in ‘villages’. The Villages worked together to create monthly competitions and fun days.
This year also marked the school’s 7th Annual Memorial Walk, where staff and students gather together to remember specifically a staff member and student who passed away, as well as all those in our lives whom we have lost. Students were able to raise over $2000 to support our students in need and community projects. The school hopes to continue the program through Leadership Training with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, fundraisers for their sister school in Tanzania and more student led projects.
The school is thrilled with the success of this initiative and how the school community came together to support local causes.
“The goal of the inspiring and developing Christian leaders project was to align our culture to our vision and values of the school. It also involves a lot of work with parents. Staff and students. Receiving this award not only recognizes their hard work over this past year, but it also allows them to continue their work into this school year,” said Cassandra MacGregor, Principal of Bishop Alexander Carter.
The Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario has also honoured four secondary students as Catholic Student Award Recipients: • Julia Gardener: Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S • Annika Renaud: St. Benedict C.S.S • Amy Godin: Marymount Academy • Katelyn Pichette: St. Charles College
“We are very proud of our secondary students for being honoured by the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “We know that each of them will go on to accomplish great things in the future and we look forward to hearing about their next adventures.”
