On Tuesday, November 20, at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board monthly board meeting, St. David Catholic Elementary School teacher Caroline Mansourian was recognized by the Learning Disability Association of Sudbury as Educator of the Year. On hand to present the award was L.D.A.S. Chair Liz Brett-Dickie and Vice-Chair Giulia Langlois. According to Brett-Dickie, the L.D.A.S. selects outstanding educators who work day in and day out to release the power of students with learning disabilities. “This Teacher of the Year award recognizes an exceptional educator who consistently supports, encourages, and advocates for the success of students with learning disabilities.” She goes on to explain that the committee was very impressed with Caroline Mansourian’s nomination letter (of which she was not aware as it was submitted without her knowledge by the staff of St. David) but also the letters from four former students that accompanied the nomination letter.
“The committee was extremely impressed with Caroline’s accomplishments and her efforts to help students with learning disabilities achieve to their full potential by maximizing their strengths.” The school’s nomination letter was scripted by the whole staff and submitted by the principal Dawn Wemigwans. In it, the staff stated, “Caroline always works with her students’ strengths in mind, coaching them to become leaders and independent thinkers. She takes inventory of their interests, stages of readiness and overall social and academic needs…”
After the presentation of the award, Mansourian was visibly moved by the support of the L.D.A.S., the S.C.D.S.B. trustees and superintendents, as well as the full audience of St. David staff that were on hand to share in her celebration, and took a few minutes to share her feelings.
“What a great honour it is to work with a staff that is so understanding and intuitive of one another’s needs, that they don’t just step in with a kind thought or words, but carry out their kindness through compassionate and benevolent acts… One of the best descriptors about working at St. David Catholic School alongside a staff of devoted and tireless advocates, is that we not only provide our students with the knowledge and tools to enrich and build skills, but we also provide them with an overly generous dose of care, compassion, and charity, infused with our genuine concerns for their well-being. We not only teach with our minds, but with our hearts. When we take on this task, we do so wearing many hats… Human relationships are at the heart of all we do in our school. By establishing and building these trusting rapports with our students and their families, we seek to show that the close connectivity in human bonds is the crux of the dignity of the human being.”
The students and staff of St. David also celebrated Mansourian’s award on Wednesday, November 22 with a school presentation of gifts, as well as a short video montage honouring all of her contributions to the school. The event ended with a standing ovation from the entire audience, as they are very proud to call Caroline Mansourian one of their own.
Shoes, Shoes and more Shoes!
Box after box, bag after bag, over 1500 pairs of shoes lined the hallway ready to be sorted. As part of a social justice initiative last year, the students and staff at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board collected a multitude of shoes to donate to other students and people in need in the community. The “Sudbury Catholic Shoe-Drop” was an initiative that was launched in May of 2012 as part of Catholic Education Week and continued until the end of June. To connect with this initiative, the SCDSB also asked Catholic trustees from across the nation visiting Sudbury for the Canadian Catholic Schools’ Trustee Association A.G.M. in June to support this cause. Many came with bags full of brand new shoes that were donated from their local community shoes stores. As well, students and staff from the Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Nouvel-Ontario also stepped up to the plate and sent over numerous boxes from their own shoe drives. It has taken a few months to get the shoes all to one location and preliminarily sorted, and now the task at hand is a doing a more comprehensive inventory of the shoes. Christina Kilby, the grade 8 teacher at St. David Catholic Elementary School volunteered her class to be in charge of sorting all of the shoes by size to make it easier for donation. “I knew that this activity would be a great opportunity to connect to this month’s virtue of justice,” Kilby stated. “Working with my students to service the needs of others definitely speaks to this virtue, and allows my class to be able to connect to their faith through empathy and compassion.” Once organized, the shoes will be sent to those who might need some warm and dry footwear in the Greater City of Sudbury through various charities and outlets. Barry MacDonald, Chair of the Board for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was thrilled with the response to the call for new and gently used shoes. “What an outstanding success this has been to support those in need in our community,” MacDonald stated. “Especially as we are gearing up for the Christmas season, as well as cold and wet winter weather, this considerable donation is a true reflection of the generous and compassionate spirit of the Sudbury Catholic DSB family, as well as its partners both in the community and across the nation!”