In honour of Computer Science Education Week (Dec 6-12), each day, we will put a special spotlight on 1 amazing staff member whose expertise within the fascinating world of IT and computer science deserve to be celebrated!
Learn more about Computer Science Education Week by checking out the #csedweek website.
TRANSPORTATION CANCELLED, SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN – SUDBURY, MASSEY, ESPANOLA AND MANITOULIN ISLAND
BUSSES ARE NOT RUNNING IN ESPANOLA AND MASSEY
Due to snow covered roads and poor road conditions and in the interest of safety, all school related transportation services for English Catholic, English public, French Catholic and French public schools, operating in the districts of SUDBURY AND MANITOULIN (this includes all areas such as St-Charles, Noëlville, Monetville, Markstay, Hagar, Warren, Wahnapitae, Coniston, Killarney, Whitefish, Whitefish River First Nations, Onaping, Chelmsford, Capreol, Valley East, Garson, Chelmsford and Azilda) are cancelled today. All schools will remain open, however, NO transportation will be provided.
Parents who transport their children to school are reminded that they must pick their children up at the end of the school day.
Next week (Dec. 6-12) is Computer Science Education Week!
Join Sudbury Catholic District School Board in our Hour of Code Family Night happening on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Families, you will require a device (laptop, tablet or cell phone) to watch the presentation and an area of space to dance. So don’t forget your dancing feet!
We live in a world surrounded by technology. And we know that whatever field our students choose to go into as adults, their ability to succeed will increasingly depend on understanding how technology works.
But only a fraction of us are learning how technology works.
That’s why during Computer Science Education Week (December 6-12) our K-12 schools are participating in the Hour of Code. More than 100 million students worldwide have already tried an Hour of Code. Our Hour of Code is making a statement that Sudbury Catholic District School Board is ready to teach these foundational 21st-century skills. To continue bringing programming activities to our students, we invite you to participate in our event on Dec. 7th and change the future of education in Sudbury.
TRANSPORTATION CANCELLED, SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN – SUDBURY, ESPANOLA AND MASSEY
BUSSES ARE RUNNING ON MANITOULIN ISLAND
Due to poor road conditions and in the interest of safety, all school related transportation services for English Catholic, English public, French Catholic and French public schools, operating in the districts of SUDBURY, ESPANOLA AND MASSEY (this includes all areas such as St-Charles, Noëlville, Monetville, Markstay, Hagar, Warren, Wahnapitae, Coniston, Killarney, Whitefish, Whitefish River First Nations, Onaping, Chelmsford, Capreol, Valley East, Garson, Chelmsford and Azilda) are cancelled today. All schools will remain open, however, NO transportation will be provided.
Parents who transport their children to school are reminded that they must pick their children up at the end of the school day.
Bullying in all forms is considered a serious issue that affects student learning, sense of safety and overall well-being. Having respect and kindness towards one another is extremely important for our school board because a school should be a place where everyone feels included and everyone is welcome. By providing a safe learning environment, SCDSB can ensure student success and create responsible and compassionate leaders in learning and faith to help change the world for the better.
November 21 – 27, 2021 is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. This week is designed to promote safe schools and positive learning environments and will encourage everyone to play their part in preventing bullying at school, online and in the community.
Yet one of the most important things to understand during these conversations of bullying, is that it’s not just something that happens at school or online – it also happens in your home and in your neighborhood as well as other places where children spend time. This week we ask everyone in our community (students, educators, staff, parents and guardians) to consider how they can play their part to prevent bullying wherever it might happen so that all children and people can learn and grow in safe, positive environments.
To help understand how you can play your part to stop bullying, please review the following resources provided by the Ministry of Education.
Why Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week Matters
Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week is significant to note because it enables schools and community members to promote positive change in student learning, achievement, and well-being for a safer learning environment, which is essential to student success.
Everyone has a responsibility to stop bullying. This week is an opportunity to increase awareness of the available tools and resources that will encourage everyone to get involved with bullying prevention.
To assist in this effort, the Ministry of Education has provided themes that can be focused on each day during this week:
Providing a safe environment ensures student success. Bullying Awareness and Prevention week is about spreading kindness and gratitude and being aware of what’s happening around you. Are you being accepting and inclusive? Can you do something to help someone who is being bullied or could be a bully? The leaders of tomorrow will be impacted by the leaders of today. By acknowledging bullying’s impact and finding ways to stop it, you will help keep our community rooted in respect for all.
Bullying in all forms hinders children, teens, and all individuals from fully reaching their potential and discovering the path they want to take. Sudbury Catholic Schools continues to foster acceptance, unity, and kindness in projects and organizations that aim to fight bullying and invite everyone to do their part.
PREVNet is a national research and knowledge mobilization hub that brings together researchers and national organizations to build research capacity, assess youth relationship problems including bullying and dating violence, and promote evidence-based programs and effective policies across Canada to address and reduce youth interpersonal violence and promote healthy relationships.
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation is a small nonprofit that invests resources into making kindness the norm.
Their evidence-based Kindness in the Classroom® curriculum gives students the social and emotional skills needed to live more successful lives. Their workplace kindness calendar shows companies how easy it is to change workplace culture through simple kind gestures.
November 1-7 is Treaties Recognition Week, an important time of year where Ontario students acknowledge and learn about treaties as well as the histories, perspectives, and contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) is celebrating its participation in Treaties Recognition Week. This year, we honour Indigenous histories, perspectives, and contributions through meaningful lessons, presentations, readings, events and celebrations for students and staff at all our schools.
School Highlights
St. John
At St. John Catholic Elementary School, students in Mrs. Galipeau’s class learned about wampum belts in an activity where they could make their own belts out of Lego. Students in Grade 5 and 6 created the 1764 Treaty of Niagara wampum belt. Pictured are Nathan and Olivia, Jaguar students proudly showcasing their class’s completed belt. Wampum belts represent agreements and promises that last “as long as the sun shines and rivers flow”.
On Nov. 2nd, Grade 2 students in Mrs. Child’s class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School read “Dakota Talks About Treaties.” Afterwards, they created a word web to describe what the word “treaty” means. Also, reading a story was Ms. Trudeau and Ms. D’Angelo’s class! “A Family Cookout” was read to help students explore measuring objects. Afterwards, Ms. Trudeau led an engaging lesson on making bannock where students used their knowledge in a real-life context. However, reading wasn’t the only popular activity. Mrs. Blakely’s grade 1 class learned all about the medicine wheel, smudged, made wampum belts and created their very own classroom treaty.
At St. David, a school-wide activity was implemented in preparation for the week. The Grade 5 class mapped the forested area in an educational exercise that touched on Indigenous identity, history, and ways of being. In an abundance of activities, students learned about treaties, promises, wampum belts and what it means to be indigenous. The school listened to “The Drum Calls Softly” and students created versions of the artwork in the video.
Over at Pius, Treaty Recognition Week was in full force. The school’s Grade 6 students took part in a lesson that included constructing their own Wampum commitment string. Wampum commitment string symbolizes an agreement of respect and peace. Collectively, all the strings will attach and form a family circle to honour Treaty Week.
To commemorate Treaty Week, the students in Grade 2/3 FI at St. James explored the significance of wampum belts as representations of promises that were made to last. They recreated the Treaty of Niagara wampum belt with Legos and other materials and mapped out some of our province’s treaties.
St. Benedict’s kicked off Treaty Recognition Week with Smudging available to students and staff. Classes participated in the Treaty Awareness dialogue. For example, Treaty is ‘Legally Binding’ and that there is also a ‘Sacred Element’ to the agreements. In addition, the school’s Life Skills Class learned and designed a Wampum Treaty Belt of their choosing. Tobacco was offered to our Indigenous Support Worker, Ms. Agowissa, for knowledge sharing. “We Are All Treaty People and are in the Robinson Huron Treaty region.”
Other highlights included secondary students participating in the Robinson Huron Treaty “Treaty Talks with Tomorrow’s Leaders”. Students were able to listen to different Ogimaak/Chiefs from RHT communities share treaty knowledge past, present and future about ‘Gweksijigewin’ (making things right). This knowledge was applied on Friday, Nov. 5th, with presentations from the students.
It truly is very exciting to see what beautiful things our schools are doing to honour this essential part of the learning experience. Thank you to all our staff and community leaders, who took the time to capture and share some of the many wonderful things they were able to participate in this week. For more school activity updates, check out Indigenous Education SCDSB.
We are pleased to announce that the SCDSB’s Monday, October 25th PA day will focus on mental health and wellness.
As we continue in this time of Covid-19, all staff will report to their home school for a combination of small gatherings where public health guidelines will be followed and zoom for portions of our day. See the pdf below for more details.
Schedule of our Day
8:30 – 9:30
Prayer and Reflection
9:30 – 9:45
Break
9:45 – 10:45
Keynote Presentation: Boosting your Positive Outlook (Zoom)
10:45 – 11:00
Break
11:00 – 12:00
School Improvement Planning (Principal led)
12:00 – 1:00
Lunch
1:00 – 3:00
Supporting Minds: An Educators Guide to Promoting Students Mental Health and Well Being (Principal led)
From October 21 to October 24, guest speakers from the Harmony Movement group held workshops for student leaders from all of our secondary schools to talk about diversity and equity in the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
Biju Pappachan and Caitlin Wood led the 40 students through many activities and discussions about such topics as bullying, racism and sexism. The students were engaged as they examined issues surrounding stereotypes and prejudice and to hear about how many biased images bombard us regularly in the media.
“It’s changed my perspective on how to look at different people of different genders and races,” said St. Benedict student Laura Rinaldi.
The students gained a much deeper appreciation for the privileges that they enjoy in our society, whether it’s gender, socioeconomic status, culture or in other ways. It made them more empathetic toward those who don’t necessarily wake up with the same abilities. They were taught that with privilege comes the responsibility to make our world more equitable through examples of student leadership like the pink shirt day anti-bullying movement.
The students who attended the workshops now feel empowered to go back to their schools and work to make their peers more aware of some of the issues that were discussed.
St. Benedict student Breana Mastroianni said, “I really learned how to stand up and take a stand againstt discrimination.”
Superintendent of School Effectiveness, Rossella Bagnato, explained the importance of initiatives like this one. “We can’t predict the future but we can help shape it and a good place to start is with the students. The Harmony Movement and the equity workshop have provided us with a great starting point.”
Congratulations to these future leaders and we look forward to being a part of what you bring back to our schools.
St. Benedict grades 7 and 9 students were treated to the living culture of performance poetry by published poet Tanya Neumeyer recently. At first the students were shy, but after Neumeyer’s spoken-word poetry workshops, she had the students writing and presenting their own polished poems on the stage for her and their classmates. At the end, clearly Neumeyer’s passion for poetry was infectious since the students described their week-long poetry experiences as “amazing,” “fantastic,” and “awesome.” When asked what was their favourite part, many responded with a self-confident “writing” and even “performing”. One student requested, “Can you come back?” Neumeyer said it was “a precious gift to see the students transition from contemplative stillness to fun expressive movements. I was inspired by their courage to take steps forward and stretch their comfort zone.”
Tanya Neumeyer is a Toronto-based poet whose visit to St. Ben’s was organized by Teacher-Librarian Ms Marinilli, and funded by the Ontario Arts Council.
Students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School had the opportunity to buy out of last period on Tuesday, March 7, 2012 to support a great cause. The Sudbury Rolling Thunder basketball team visited the school to take part in an exhibition game involving both a student and teacher team. Proceeds from the buy out went to support local wheelchair athletes. Despite their best efforts, the St. Benedict staff and students who participated in the game weren’t able to sink many baskets againstt the Sudbury Rolling Thunder team, however the school community thoroughly enjoyed watching. One member of the Rolling Thunder, Sarah Lashbrook – a local author and writer, also stayed after the game to sign her latest book “Where the Stream and Creek Collide”.
This book is a fictional story whose main character is a paraplegic as she wanted to “give a relatable character to a minority group that seems to lack just that in the literary world.”
Stephanie Van Druenen, vice principal of St. Benedict was thrilled with the day’s event.
“This was a great opportunity for our school community on so many levels,” Van Druenen stated. “Not only did our students enjoy a lively basketball game, it was also an opportunity for everyone to learn about inclusion and awareness, overcoming obstacles, as well as enhanced understanding of equality in sports. On top of that, we raised almost a thousand dollars to support our community’s athletes.”
