St. Benedict C.S.S.

On Your Mark, Get Set… Let the Winter Outdoor Adventure Race Begin!

The scene was set for a perfect Winter Outdoor Adventure Race on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. The sky was clear, the temperature was above zero – and most importantly, there was a lot of snow in Killarney. Compared to past years, this year’s event had more than enough snow for organizer and outdoor education teacher for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, Brad Blackwell, to really focus the adventure race activities on true Northern Ontario winter activities.

“This was our third year running the Winter Outdoor adventure race – and, as compared to year’s past, the abundance of snow allowed us to set up some true northern outdoor programming as part of the race,” Blackwell said. “We wanted to ensure that all of the students taking part got a real feel for adventures in the snow, and how to not only survive it, but excel and have fun in it!”

This year’s race participants included secondary students from St. Charles College, St. Benedict and Marymount Academy. There were fifteen teams of three and each team had to take part in every leg of the race. Upon arrival in Killarney, the students were given race packets and instructions, and were quickly directed to the outdoor start location. Once the rules were established and all safety aspects reviewed, the students lined up to begin the first part of a seven-part challenge. The entire race included a strategic stick toss, a snow-pile build (a scaled-down version of a quinzee), a 1.13 km sprint, a 750 run in snowshoes, a Frisbee target toss, a strategic orienteering challenge and a fire-lighting trial.

The snowshoe run, the orienteering challenge and the fire-lighting components proved to be the most difficult part of the race for the participants. The orienteering section was tricky as any wrong answers on their check sheet resulted in penalties of an additional five minutes added on to their final time at the finish line. Once the snowshoes were on, they had to stay on throughout the orienteering section of the race and the students were only able to remove them once they began their fire challenge. With the fire challenge, the students were given minimal materials to start their fire, and the ultimate goal was to get a metal can of water to come to a complete boil before sprinting to the finish line. In order to get additional materials for the fire, the students had to do a different number of laps around a section of the forest depending on what materials were needed – whether it be more kindling, extra matches, etc.

In the end, one of the teams from St. Benedict was the first to cross the finish line and, despite some errors during the orienteering challenge, they beat the next team by a mere 25 seconds. This team consisted of Kyle Herbert (grade 10), Doug Pitfield (grade 12) and Kayla Huchenski (grade 12). Not only did the first place team take home the banner for their school, but were also each awarded a brand new set of Tubbs snowshoes that were generously donated to the race by the Tubbs Snowshoe Company. What happened after the team was presented with their prize, speaks volumes about the outstanding character of the Sudbury Catholic students. Both Kyle Herbert and Doug Pitfield thanked the organizers for their prize, but as their families are fortunate to already own several pairs, decided to donate the snowshoes back to their school to support the outdoor education program at St. Benedict. “This most generous gesture by these two students really capped off what was already a truly exceptional day,” Blackwell stated. “These students poured their heart and soul into this competition, and in the end they proudly represented their school both during and after the race! All of the students that competed today truly represent the positive Sudbury Catholic spirit and I congratulate each and every one of them for an outstanding job! As well, I thank all of the teachers and volunteers who helped made today such a success!”

After a hearty lunch provided by the organizers, students began to get ready for departure, but were overheard by the teachers and volunteers already strategizing for the next outdoor adventure race in the spring.

Robenedicts are Taking Over…

What does the St. Benedicts Robotics team know about robots and motors? Since October – a whole lot!

FIRST Robotics Canada have granted St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School with money and a starter kit to begin the first ever robotics team at the school. The team, keenly named Robenedicts by Grade 12 Benjamin Nolan, was formed in October 2012 by teachers Julianne Falconi and John Doyon. There are 30 students that make up Robenedicts, including two sections consisting of engineering and business that the students can choose to focus on. “When we first did a call out to those interested – the number of students interested was overwhelming. The club consists of secondary students, with several Grade 7 and 8’s interested in being part of the team as well,” Falconi said.

“This was something new for us to try as a school,” says Grade 12 team member Christian Bastistelli, “the team has really evolved since we first began.” The group’s first competition is the FIRST Robotics Canada Greater Toronto West Regional competition at the end of March that includes competitors from Singapore and the United States. If Robenedicts move on in the competition, they will advance to nationals where they will encounter oppositions from several countries throughout the world.

Grade 12 teammate Benjamin Nolan affirms that “the team has given us all a head start for university. It has been a great learning experience and even though it has been a lot of work, it also has been a lot of fun.” The competition could also help give the students an advantage going into post secondary school, as according to the Union Gas Press Release, the robotics teams from Ontario can qualify for over $16 million in university scholarships. “You are our future leaders, future innovators, and we are very proud to be a part of this process,” says Tom O’Malley, Utilities Manager of Union Gas who was part of the mentoring team supporting the robotics team. O’Malley concluded his presentation with a cheque for $2500 to the team by encouraging the students, “hopefully you’ll kick some robot butt.”

Story by Mackenzie Connelly
St. Benedict Communications Co-op student

St. Ben’s Pulls Out All the Stops!

Members of the St. Benedict Championship Boys Football team recently participated in the 1st annual Crime Stoppers Fire Truck pull. Our Bears sure made quite the impact in the event!

Team members consisted of from left to right.

Emilio Frometa
Alex Vendramin
Alex Insinna
Assistant Head Coach – John MacLean
Troy Kingsbury
Carter Long
Head Coach – Frank Rocca
Spencer Dailey
Erick Lessard
Tim Coffey
missing from picture – Brandon Sullivan

The Bears were in 3rd place after the 1st heat, but in the second heat, the team posted the fastest time of the event.
The Bears captured the award for most team spirit, but ended up finishing 2nd, only losing the 1st place trophy by two tenths of a second.
St. Benedict’s Principal, Laura Kuzenko, and Benny the St. Benedict Bear, present a cheque at the event for $500 to members of the Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers’ team – Brook Johnston, Office and Event Coordinator and Bert Lapalme, Police Coordinator.

Congratulations goes out to all team members. The Bears hope to make the event an annual tradition.

SCDSB Hosts Third Annual Turning Points Essay Awards Ceremony

Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on May 9, 2012 to take part in the SCDSB’s third annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative which stems from the Learning Partnership which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. As it is the third year, student participation has continued to grow as teachers have continued to encourage their involvement with this rewarding program. The secondary 
students that took part in this contest and authored the winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at Wednesday night’s celebration.
 The students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several of the teachers involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences. 
Allison Cameron, a Marymount English teacher was the master of ceremonies at this event and was visibly moved after the students read aloud their essays. “Even after being involved with this initiative for three years, I am never really prepared for the poignant words our students have written and shared with others,” Cameron stated. “The courage of these students to express their deepest feelings and emotions about their life’s turning point is so powerful – for the student, and their families.” Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Board echoed Cameron’s sentiments. “I am thrilled that the this program once again met with such success, and am so honoured that our students have courageously shared their most personal and meaningful life experiences. We are certainly overwhelmed by their talent and honesty involved in this writing experience.”

St. Benedict Students Take to the Lake

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.

St. Charles College Student Receives Significant French Immersion Scholarship

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.

Sudbury Star Male Athlete of the Week – Garrett Duff – St. Ben’s

Name – Garrett Duff
Grade – 11
Age – 16
Sports – Cross Country Skiing, Track & Field, Soccer, Badminton

Garrett has been a very active St. Benedict Bear since arriving from Timmins. He has competed in cross country skiing, advancing to OFSAA and even the Ontario Winter Games. He still trains regularly with the Walden Ski club.
In Track and Field, Garrett was a sprinter but has now focused more on jumping events. He has qualified for NOSSA in the long, and triple jumps. He hopes to qualify for OFSSA this year.
In soccer, Garrett was a part of the Jr. Boys NOSSA team in 2009.
In Badminton, Garrett won the SDSSAA and NOSSA championships in singles as a Gr. 9 student. In Gr.10 he competed in the Sr. Division in doubles with partner, freshman Hans Agnihotri, and came in 2nd in the district and in regionals. Both Hans and Garret placed 3rd in “C” at OFSSA. Garrett also competed in the Northern Ontario Badminton Association (NOBA) and completed the triple crown in the U16 division. He won in the singles, doubles, and mixed events. Garrett competes regularly all over the province and just finished the Sudbury Invitational where he placed 1st in both singles and doubles. Both Garrett and Hans (playing U19 at age 15) are hoping to advance to OFSAA again. The finals will be held this Saturday.

Garrett is also an avid kayaker and can be found on Ramsey most days of the summer. He says that it keeps your arms in shape for badminton! He is looking forward to the day when he will kayaking in Killarney.
Congratulations Garrett!

No Bull, it’s a “Bear” Market

The St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School Accounting classes, Personal Finance Math classes, and other students interested in the stock market participated in the Nipissing University Stock Market Game. These investors were given a hypothetical $50 000 to invest in stock in four various sectors listed on the TSX as well as one stock, if they wished, from the Dow. Analyzing companies and their stock, examining their own portfolios, learning about various investment styles, and buying and selling stock gave the students an idea of what it would be like to invest in the stock market.

Last year was the first year St. Benedict participated in this game and we were very proud of their success. Province-wide, Michael Cormier placed first, Joseph Toffoli placed second, and St. Benedict placed first. This year, Patrick Sinclair placed first out of 1,635 students participating province-wide in the game. With a hypothetical $50 000 to invest, his ending portfolio was valued at $90 923.49 (a gain of 81.85%). For his efforts, he receives $2 000 towards tuition at Nipissing University or $1 000 cash. The school, as a result of the top ten players’ portfolios averaged together, also placed first and receives $500. Top students were:

1st – Patrick Sinclair
2nd – Zack Rebeiro
3rd – Robert Alemany
4th – Amanda Muldoon
5th – Nathan Battigelli
6th – Katie Morrow
7th – TBA
8th – Megan Jodouin
9th – Maria Griffin
10th – Melissa Cormier

Accounting Contest

On May 25, the Ontario Business Educators’ Association held its annual accounting contest (regional) at Laurentian University in the Commerce Department. In the Grade 11 division, St. Benedict took first and third place. Amanda Muldoon was the first place winner and Elaina Mansour was the third place winner. These students will be recognized for their achievements in September at an Awards Presentation at Laurentian University.

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