St. Benedict Junior Boys Volleyball team defeated Chippewa Raiders 2-0 in North Bay for the NOSSA “A” Championship on Friday, November 18, 2011.
Team Members: Nick Filipetto, Rudy Giusti, Curtis Hancock, Jarvis Hill, Bradley Lavoie, Cody Lavoie, Alex Michel, David Portelance, Chase Pressacco, Connor Vande Weghe, Anthony Zanetti, Jonathan Zanini
Team Manager: Harley Hanes
Coaches: Maurizio De Poli, Jeff Mousseau, Sarah Hill
St. Benedict Book Club got the school year off to a good start by taking a field trip to Chapters Book Store for their first meeting. Each student hunted for a book that interested him or her to read for the next book club meeting. Rather than having every student read the same book, students were encouraged to talk about different titles, as it stimulates interest in the others to read the new novels discussed. Nicholas Ryma is keen about history and said, “I bought a book about WWII scientists”, while Matthew Poloni said, “I’m so happy to have something to read for the weekend”.
St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School invites prospective grade 8 students and their families to attend an Information Evening Tuesday, Feb. 15th beginning at 7:00 pm.
Students exemplify many of the programs offered at St. Benedict. The school is promoting their “Getting Connected” program encouraging academic use of wireless technology, Specialist High Skills Major in Environmental Science, competitive extra-curricular sports, French immersion, and Native Studies, as well as students participating in numerous Dual Credits programs at Cambrian College and Laurentian University. For additional
information visit [ http://www.benedict.c ]www.benedict.ca or contact (705) 523-9235.
St. Benedict football player Erick Lessard will be playing in the GTA all-star football game on Sat April 17th at McMaster University. Lessard, who attended an evaluation camp during the Bears bye week, made the Greater Toronto Area top 100 list. Although he had an early injury in another mini-camp, he was selected as one of the top 45 players.
Locally, Erick was an unanimous selection for SDSSAA all-star, at Offensive Tackle and was one of 4 Bear offensive linemen selected as an all star. Emilio Frometa, Spencer Dailey, and Lineman of the Year, Carter Long, were also selected. Erick helped the Bears return to the playoffs with a 5-3 record, ousting defending champs Notre-Dame, before losing to the eventual city champions, Lasalle.
Known as “Lizard” to his teammates, Erick is blessed with pro size (6’7″, 300 lbs) and has a great work ethic. He impressed coaches at the McMaster “Up Front” Offensive Linemen Camp, and scouts at the All-Pro football camp. Head coach Frank Rocca praises his big lineman, “A physical specimen, and an honour roll student, you don’t find that combo too often. The transformation since his Gr. 9 year has been truly remarkable, just scratching the surface of what he can really do.”
Rocca explains that Lessard has benefited from seeing other Bears going off to play university football both in the CIS, and NCAA. “The path has been set by others over the years, so he knows what he has to do to get there. He has written SAT’s, has a personal trainer and travels to compete againstt the best. For us at St. Benedict, he really stepped up as a leader this year.”
Erick agrees, “It’s nice to be recognized for all the hard work that I am putting in. I owe it to my coaches. I’m pretty lucky to have a head coach who has gone off to play DIV 1 in the NCAA, and also play pro in the CFL. Coaches are surprised to find out that I know zone blocking techniques, and all the calls to go with it. It makes me that more marketable.”
Erick has taken the year off from basketball to focus his off season training at T2 Training Systems at The Gym. “Training all summer gave him such a huge advantage with power and strength, coming into this season. This year he lined up on the ball with great confidence. Combine that with solid fundamentals and great technique, and that makes for a very overwhelming figure for the opposition” said Rocca.
Erick will look to add a few more camps over the summer to further increase his stock. Some coaches have commented that Erick could be one of the top recruits coming out of highschool, period. When asked about the amount of schools contacting the well natured Lizard, Rocca replied with a grin, “This is just the beginning for this kid.”
Libby Marinilli, a teacher librarian from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School was honoured on Monday, October 25 by the Rotary Club of Sudbury with a Communnity Leadership and Vocational Award. Libby exemplifies professionalism in the area of education as well as self-development and reflects her expectations of her students which is having them reach their full potential. Over the years Libby has continued to stay current in her profession by taking numerous additional Ministry of Education courses in Guidance, Mathematics, English, Special Education Specialist, Computer Specialist, Principal Qualifications & most recently Library Science just to name a few.
Her dedication to her students & profession included expanding their horizons in this global village by forming an Educational Travel Club. Over the past 20 years, thanks to Libby’s efforts, students have been exposed to the global classroom with trips to Egypt, Russia, Japan & Western Europe. Here, in our own country, she has organized Youth Exchange with students from Saskatchewan, Newfoundland & Labrador. Libby has given of her personal time over the years by providing athletic training of sports teams after school, organizing the annual winter carnival & working with student council as well as the Literacy Across the Curriculum Committee as the staff representative. In attempting to incorporate relevant experiences as a way of enhancing student learning, Libby’s Gifted Grade 10 English class had their full-sized newspaper published by the Sudbury Star. Her passion for literature & the understanding of the importance of literacy in our world has brought her to her latest position as teacher-librarian. In this position, she has introduced e-books (electronic) to the library & students. She has organized authors from the Writer’s Union to speak to students about the writing process which in turn could motivate them to become future authors.
By organizing Chapters book fairs, she not only brings the community into the school, but as a result, this action has lead to the formation of a school Book Club. Libby has also been involved in ESP- Empowering Student Participation in various anti-bullying activities & campaigns.
In addition, Libby has found time to contribute to her community by volunteering as an executive member for the Joe MacDonald Football League for the past 16 years. The league encourages young boys & girls from ages 8-15 to learn skills, develop self-confidence & move on to high school prepared with the skills of the game.
As part of Government Week, Students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School took part in a parallel election and held a student vote on Friday October 22, 2010. On hand was M.P.P. Rick Bartolucci who congratulated the students for getting involved and explained to them the significance of their participation. “Local government includes school board trustees, and that has a direct impact on you and your education,” Bartolucci said. “By learning about your local government, you are learning that voting is something you should take very seriously, and this will be the foundation piece for your future activity as responsible citizens in your community.”
Also addressing the students was St. Benedict Principal Karl Dreger who reinforced Bartolucci’s message regarding the importance of their participation in the vote.
Marli Kicz, St. Benedict student and Sudbury Catholic Student Trustee also spoke to the students about the significance of students getting involved and the power of the student voice. “By getting involved,” Kicz said, “students can have a positive impact – it is very empowering.”
The program run by Student Vote, in partnership with the Ontario government, encourages youth under the voting age to participate in the democratic process through parallel elections, and develop voting habits they can apply as adults.
Over 640 students at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School participated in Friday’s parallel election and Student Vote will share their results after the official polls close on October 25.
Students from St. Benedict’s A.S.D. class had the opportunity recently to try the sport of rowing. They started off by training indoors all second semester at the ILRC downtown with the help of Carla John, who works at the ILRC, and their coach was Thomas Merritt, from the Sudbury Rowing Club. When the weather got warmer and the students felt more confident with their rowing skills, they got to row on the lake. The coach got other members from the rowing club to volunteer so that the students had experienced rowers along with them the first time. The indoor training was very physically demanding as the students worked up a quite a sweat but when they got to go out on the lake, it made it all worth it. The class hopes to continue the rowing next year.
Alison Hunt, a grade 12 student from St. Charles College found out recently that she was the successful grant applicant for a $20,000 French Immersion scholarship from the University of Ottawa. After applying to the University for their International Development and Globalization program, Hunt received news that she was going to be receiving $5,000 a year for the next four years as long as she takes 60% of her courses in French. A French Immersion student for all of her schooling, Hunt didn’t really think about applying for any sort of French Immersion related scholarships. Her teacher, Rick Emond suggested to her that she might want to consider this option. Thankfully Hunt took his advice and her parents couldn’t be happier. “They are really excited for me,” Hunt said. “They know this is a fantastic opportunity for me and are really proud of me, especially since neither of them even speak French.” Hunt attributes a lot of her scholastic succes to Mr. Emond. “ He (Emond) has been there for me right from day one in Grade 9 and has encouraged me to stay in French Immersion right into Grade 12”. Emond says that he has always been very proud of Alison’s accomplishments as she has always been a very mature student who always went beyond what was required and always took extreme pride in her work. “Allison has always seen the importance of the Immersion program and never complained about the work that was involved,” Emond said. “She deserves this and part of me is envious of the opportunities that lie ahead of her as there is no doubt in my mind that she will make a difference in the world – when people talk about our students being our future, Alison will be one of the ones leading the way.” Hunt hopes to eventually work for a global charitable organization such as “Right to Play” and feels that continuing in her French will allow her more successful career opportunities.
On Thursday, January 11, 2010, students at St. Benedicts participated in a traditional smudging ceremony led by Elder Vince Pawis. Afterward, Mr. Pawis shared several traditional teachings such as the medicine wheel and clan names. The students learned how important it is to be respectful of others and of their connection to Mother Earth.
