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 of the people of Ukraine.
Upon its completion, St. Charles College students proudly showed off their Stand With Ukraine poster.
African American history, contributions, and achievements are recognized annually across the United States and Canada during Black History Month. Sudbury Catholic Schools recognize it as an important opportunity to craft meaningful experiences to allow both the school and Sudbury community to honour the tradition of black culture and understand its importance in our education every day.
Throughout February, students, educators, faculty, social workers, and more have participated in various events, initiatives, and activities centred on bringing awareness towards the impact and infinite legacy of Black History both in and outside the classroom.
We are pleased to share the many outstanding efforts that have been exercised on behalf of St. Benedict’s Diversity Club. The club, which the school organizes, is comprised of students, administration, and St. Benedict Indigenous Support Worker (ISW), Shannon Agowissa.
This vital group has gone above and beyond, planning several events throughout February to help proudly share information on cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation. These diverse and informative events were completed in an effort to teach the student body and the community what is considered acceptable and help them learn more about black-culture.
One of the events they celebrated was “embrace your family heritage and dress in your cultural attire day”. Followed by this event was “celebrating and affirming your identity with your favourite hairstyle.” The goal of these events was ultimately to educate students and staff on the history of hair in African culture and the cultural attire and its significance.
In photo: (From left to right) Hillary Duong, Oseirudute Okojie, Tiara Esan, Olamide Fadahunsi (in the front row) Helen Bao Nguyen and Nifemi Boamah with their artwork representations of what hair and attire mean to them and their cultures.
Nifemi Boamah is a student and member of the club and has expressed the impact on what the days mean to her and what it could mean to others. “If I wear my curls out, I feel courageous.” – Nifemi Boamah
Pictured: Nifemi Boamah
As she displays her breathtaking artwork and showing off the gorgeous curls, we can truly feel the strength of her powerful statement. In the past, curls were deemed untamed and shameful. Though we know this is untrue, we recognize that the past is a part of human history, and it remains influential in our lives today. Having representation, visibility, and understanding of culture is essential for education. By providing these events, schools can cultivate a period of reflection that transforms thinking and grows a school community into being more present, respectful, and culturally and socially aware.
Overall, we are incredibly proud to see the amazing way St. Benedict’s Diversity Club has made an integrative effort to teach and accentuate the history of black culture, by creating events that help other races express other cultures as well. These type of activities show what wonderful global leaders we have at St. Benedict and at all Sudbury Catholic Schools.
Get the latest on what’s happening!
To see how other Sudbury Catholic Schools celebrated Black History Month, we encourage you to check out social media. School social media accounts are available on each school website. To navigate to a school website, please see our List of Schools.
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.
February 23rd, 2022 was Pink Shirt Day, and we were pleased and excited to see our entire community eagerly participating!
Throughout the day, students, faculty, and staff at Sudbury Catholic Schools dressed in fabulous pink shirts, effectively showing their support and solidarity against the issue of bullying and the impact it has on our everyday lives. Below we provide a small a sample of some of the amazing pink shirts worn throughout the day!
Photo Gallery
Pius XII
St. Francis
St. Joseph
Holy Cross
St. John
Holy Trinity
St. David
What is Pink Shirt Day?
Bullying is a major issue and affects everyone from schools to the workplace, to even home life. But no one has enough power to stop it by themselves. On Pink Shirt Day, Sudbury Catholic Schools from Kindergarten all the way to Grade 12 work together to put a stop to bullying by coming together and wearing pink shirts.
Every year, on the last Wednesday of February, schools around the world observe Pink Shirt Day – an anti-bullying campaign that began in 2007 when a boy in Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing his favourite pink shirt to school. When he returned home from being teased, in a show of solidarity, two older students purposely wore pink shirts the following day. This act not only demonstrated the power and choice each of us has to help others, but it was also a conscious decision that allowed them to make a stand against bullying and in the process ignited an important campaign that continues to grow support every year.
How to think pink?
Pink is a colour that symbolizes everything bullying stands against. It’s bright, cheery, and warm. However, on this day it has become more than a colour – it has become a stronger and brighter message. A message that say’s that we refuse to let this issue continue! And while simply wearing a pink shirt might seem insignificant, such an action has the power to spark up conversations and bring awareness for people to take control of their lives and recognize what’s happening around them. Whether you have a pink shirt or not is asides from the point. The message of the day is the most important to remember. By working to be friendly, responsible, compassionate individuals, we ensure we all continue to think pink and grow into strong leaders in learning and faith.
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.
SCHOOL PURPOSE TRANSPORTATION IS CANCELLED, SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN In SUDBURY, MASSEY AND ESPANOLA DISTRICTS
BUSSES ARE RUNNING ON MANITOULIN ISLAND
Due to the 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.
Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce we’re hosting an online virtual career fair on Feb. 17th, 2022 to help interested teacher candidates learn more about Sudbury Catholic Schools and gain insight into areas such as:
The Application Process
Resumes
Interview Preparation
How to Apply on Simplfication.com
AND MORE!
Join Sudbury Catholic Schools at our February Virtual Career Fair for Teacher Candidates!
TRANSPORTATION CANCELLED MORNING ONLY, SCHOOLS REMAIN OPEN – SUDBURY, ESPANOLA, MASSEY AND MANITOULIN DISTRICTS
BUSSES WILL BE DOING THEIR AFTERNOON RUNS ONLY
Due to the extreme cold 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, MASSEY AND MANITOULIN, (this includes all areas such as St-Charles, Noëlville, Monetville, Markstay, Hagar, Warren, Wahnapitae, Coniston, Killarney, Whitefish, Whitefish River First Nations, Manitoulin Island, Onaping, Chelmsford, Capreol, Valley East, Garson, Chelmsford and Azilda) are cancelled this morning. All schools will remain open, however, only afternoon transportation will be running.
Parents who transport their children to school are reminded that buses will pick them up at the end of the school day. Also, we remind parents to verify the website for ALL DAY cancellations due to school bus drivers’ absences.
Supporting Mental Health and Well-Being at Sudbury Catholic January 24-28, 2022
It’s Bell Let’s Talk Day on Wednesday, January 26 and Sudbury Catholic is joining the conversation all week long to raise awareness and encourage discussions about mental health.
One in five Canadians will experience a mental health illness at some point in their life, and most will be cautious about talking about it or reaching out for help. For anyone living with a mental illness, stigma is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome. In fact, it is why two-thirds of people do not seek help. Bell Let’s Talk Day reminds us that talking is the best way to start breaking down the barriers associated with mental illness and accessing mental health support.
COVID-19 is affecting every aspect of our lives including a profound impact on our mental health and wellbeing. The pandemic has magnified historically deep-rooted economic, social, and racial inequities that continue to disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, LGBTQQI2S+ and students living with special needs, in addition to other vulnerable and marginalized communities. We need to be flexible, creative, compassionate, and culturally responsive to support the realities and lived experiences these students and their families face. From helping people to recognize stressors to being there for someone, all these actions support mental health and strengthen our school communities during this challenging time.
During the week of January 24 to 28, educators are encouraged to intentionally pause and take some time to have classroom discussions about mental health and well-being.
