We are very pleased to present the Director of Education’s Annual Report for the 2021-2022 school year.
We thank our Board of Trustees, Senior Administration, staff, students, families, volunteers, community partners, and our parishes for their continued support and commitment to Sudbury Catholic. Together we are providing a caring, progressive, high quality Catholic school system that is nurturing our students – mind, body, and spirit.
Starting Nov. 1st, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board will be looking for submissions for our annual Christmas card artwork contest.
Year after year, we have the pleasure of seeing the creativity and imagination of our students flourish through this annual tradition and we are excited to see what beautiful artwork 2022 will bring forward.
Submissions will be accepted until November 18, 2022 at 4:30 p.m.
Please see the attached poster for details.
Staff and students at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board raised $1,923.10 to support the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee. Leaves of Change: Binaakwe Giizis is a fundraiser which took place on October 14, 2022, to promote environmental stewardship.
The goal of the fundraiser is to engage in civic and environmental responsibility by bringing attention to climate change and better understand how we can protect the earth for future generations. Throughout the day and the month of October, students and staff are encouraged to make more sustainable efforts. This includes cleaning green spaces by picking up trash and litter, recycling, using a reusable water bottle and reducing day to day waste, where possible.
In addition, October is known as Binaakwe Giizis – Moon of Falling Leaves. The fundraiser also served as an educational opportunity to understand, acknowledge, and respect Indigenous perspectives on caring for Mother Earth (Shkagamik Kwe).
“As a school board, it is our responsibility to create opportunities that teach the importance of protecting the earth for future generations.Environmental degradation affects the health and well-being of all peoples of North America and the world in many ways. By participating in this fundraiser, and the many planned activities, we help our community engage in volunteerism and create hope through environmental restoration,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
The Sudbury Regional Science Fair, which took place virtually during March 21st – April 3rd, 2022, is a meaningful learning experience where Sudbury’s four School Boards, can provide opportunities to students from Grades 7-12 to show case their knowledge in different areas of science. Sudbury Catholic District School Board was grateful to participate once again in the Regional Science Fair and allow our students to enjoy hands-on learning experiences by extending their discovery in biology, chemistry, technology, and other areas.
This year approximately 15 projects represented the Board in the Regional Science Fair. The number of project topics was diverse again this year, with exciting subjects ranging from “Theoretical Gravity Control”, “Hacking an Air-Gapped Computer”, Creating a “Self-Hitting Hammer,” and more. We want to thank our judges and educators for guiding our students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth.
Following the Fair, Sudbury Catholic Schools, students, and families were invited to attend a virtual celebration organized by the Sudbury Regional Science Fair on April 10th, 2022. This virtual celebration highlighted the winners of divisional awards, special awards and celebrated students’ achievements. At this celebration, we are pleased to announce that Sudbury Catholic students collected ten awards, including Best of Fair which was presented to Kate Bouchard, a student from Marymount Academy for her project, “Go With The Flow“. We are also thrilled to announce that in addition to Kate’s amazing project , 4 other projects submitted by SCDSB Students have also been selected to advance to the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) taking place on May 16th, 2022, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
The students and projects that will advance to the Canada Wide Science Fair include the following:
“Each year, our students present unique and creative science fair projects. This year was certainly no exception,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We are very excited to see the number of participants continue to grow, and we are proud of our students who represented us incredibly well again. We thank our judges and our educators for guiding students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth. We wish the students who are moving on to the 2022 Canada-Wide Science Fair the best of luck!”
“Science Fair was so much fun, and I think it’s because I was passionate about my topic.” Says Best in Fair Winner and CWSF participant, Kate Bouchard. “I chose something that I was interested in and genuinely wanted to learn more about. It helped me be more engaged, and because I was interested in what I was learning, I felt like I could explain it better and put forth more effort in making it better. I am really looking forward to be a part of the CWSF in May!”
Dylan Nelson, a Grade 8 student from St. Benedict, will also be attending the Canada Wide Science Fair with his unique project where he created a Self-Hitting Hammer. This idea was inspired by his passion for building things and from wanting to help his grandmother.
“I was trying to think of something inventive to do. I wanted to create something new, and I realized that I like building things, so I wanted to make a new type of hammer that would allow someone who cannot hammer a nail with a normal hammer still perform that task. My experience was fun because I spent time with grandpa, who helped me construct it, and I was able to make my project about making something that would help my grandma.”
Overall, we are pleased to celebrate the contributions and participation of all our schools and students in this meaningful learning opportunity. We would like to end our post by congratulating all students, educators, and schools on their participation and effort in making the 2022 Science Fair a success! The ten project winners included projects from Marymount Academy, projects from St. Benedict and one project from St. Charles College.
Please visit the following link below to view all the wonderful projects brought forward by Sudbury Catholic Students this year.
Sudbury Catholic Science Fair Projects: LINK
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Catena Hayden as a Student Trustee for the 2022-2024 term. Catena is a Grade 10 student at Marymount Academy and joins her fellow Student Trustee Jack Gouchie. Together, they will bring forward student voice at the Board table.
Catena is an active community member at Marymount Academy. Since 2018, Catena has been a member of the Student Administrative Council (SAC) and enjoys collaborating with her peers and teachers to organize spirit days and fundraisers to enhance the educational experience for all. She is passionate about helping others and wants to make a difference in her community by inspiring students to get involved in intiatives that deepen their learning and demonstrate service to others. This past year, Catena joined the Sudbury Catholic Student Senate to connect with fellow secondary students in SCDSB’s four secondary schools to help promote campaigns such as Toonies for Tuition, Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving, and the Can Tab Drive. Catena is eager to represent the voice of students at the board table.
In addition to being a devoted student and committed to academic excellence, she is also proud to be in the French Immersion Program and appreciates diverse cultures. Upon her secondary graduation, she aspires to become an aerospace engineer and will start completing the Architecture and Engineering Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) offered through Marymount Academy in the Fall 2022.
While away from school, Catena practices her faith as an active member of her Catholic Community at Our Lady of Hope Parish. In addition, Catena volunteers her time to help causes, like the fundraiser for Ukraine at Immaculate Conception.
“I am honoured that I was selected to serve as Student Trustee for the next two years. I am excited to use this opportunity to grow as a leader, share my ideas, and help represent students from all Sudbury Catholic schools at the Board table.” – Catena Hayden, Student Trustee.
“Sudbury Catholic District School Board welcomes Catena Haden as our second Student Trustee,” said Michael Bellmore, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “Catena is an exceptional student and has demonstrated an impressive commitment to her school and community. We have great faith she will make all voices heard and look forward to her many contributions throughout her term at the Board table.“
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
Last month, over 300 Sudbury Catholic School students in Grades 4-6 used their critical thinking and innovation to submit entries in the forms of essays, stories, and poems on the topic of what HOME means to them as part of the Meaning of Home Contest sponsored by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
For every entry a student submitted, Chapman’s pledged to make a $10 donation on behalf of that student to Sudbury’s local Habitat for Humanity organization to help build safe and affordable homes for families in the Greater Sudbury community.
With this contest, our students helped to build safe homes, but they also gained greater awareness surrounding the national issue of Canada’s housing crisis that so many families struggle with all over Canada. By working together to make a local difference, our students were able to see how they can contribute to building a just society for others and grow as leaders in learning and faith.
As a result of the hard work and efforts completed by staff, educators, and elementary students, Sudbury Catholic Schools collectively raised $3350 to be donated to the Local Habitat for Humanity Chapter by Chapman’s Ice Cream.
“It was exciting to provide our learners with a meaningful activity that supported them into becoming more advanced writers. These writing tasks not only challenged our students to make a difference in the world around them by thinking creatively about the topic —the meaning of home— it showed that by working together, a simple action can produce extraordinary results.” – Peter Prochilo, SCDSB Superintendent of School Effectiveness
In addition to helping families in Greater Sudbury, the contest was an opportunity that helped students live out and apply the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations – important principles that support Catholic students in becoming more responsible citizens and collaborative contributors in the community. The success of the contest clearly demonstrated how Sudbury Catholic School students understand these expectations and how to apply them in their life and in their education.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to thank all of our teachers and students for participating in this initiative. Collectively, our actions at Sudbury Catholic Schools resulted in a $3350 donation, but as a country we raised over $130,000 in corporate donations! Please refer to the Meaning of Home Thank You Letter!
We invite you to check out some of the wonderful entries submitted by our students!
When someone asks what HOME means to me one word comes to mind. LOVE. Home is where my mother and brother live with me. What makes our home special is that my mother has worked so hard to design a new home that meets our needs. From the day we hammered the SOLD sign in the ground till the day we moved in we visited it each and everyday to see its progress. When I am older, I want to be an architect, so I helped my mom design the house and worked with the blueprints. I even got to design my very own secret room downstairs. It was a ton of fun!
My home is not a place. Home has feelings. Feeling like relaxation, comfort, happiness and love. Home is where my family comes to visit, eat and spend time together. A home is where I can build memories and since our home is new the possibilities are endless. I am excited.
My home smells of fresh baking, homemade pasta sauce, a special candle or a fresh load of laundry. When I enter the doors of my home I take a deep breath and smile.
My home is a place where we can all wind down sit on the couch in front of our fireplace and talk about how our day was. My home is where I can be myself. If I want to listen to my Genesis vinyl full blast I can.
I am so lucky to have a caring home filled with LOVE.
Grade 4 students at St. David Catholic Elementary School were thrilled to discover their September video submission was honoured as a national winner in the 2021 Take Me Outside Student Video Contest.
The Take Me Outside Student Video Contest is a national competition aiming to get students outside by encouraging them to submit their best, self-made video, featuring how they like to spend their time exploring the outdoors in Canada.
With a tight deadline of Sept. 17th and less than two weeks back at school, Mrs. Toffoli’s class were up for the challenge and placed second nationwide in the class category. In reward for their tremendous work, the class received gift cards from MEC to help get them outside even more!
“I am so proud of my classmates and my teacher because we won second place in Canada.” Edrea, Gr. 4 Student
“I am so happy that we got second place. Our hard work paid off.” Diymtrius, Gr. 4 Student
Mrs. Toffoli and her teaching assistant Brandon Antonioni ensured students had the support and resources to inspire the creativity needed to create the video and follow the rules.
“When I first heard about the contest, I knew right away St. David School had the perfect backyard. We have such amazing trails and a great outdoor classroom that showcases Canada’s beauty. The students worked hard on this contest and came up with some brilliant reasons why learning from and on the land is important to them.” Stephanie Toffoli, Gr. 4 Teacher
“At St. David School, we continue to work to enhance our teaching pedagogy to ensure that we include not only Indigenous theory and knowledge in our lessons but also ways of being. An important part of Truth and Reconciliation is learning on the land and acknowledging the teachings around us in nature. We thank our Indigenous community partners and Elders that continue to support our learning on the land, as well as thank wonderful organizations such as “Take Me Outside” for the encouragement they offer to all schools to take that step outside and enhance our learning.” Dawn-Marie Wemigwans, Principal
The winning video can be found at: St. David Catholic Elementary School’s Take Us Outside Video.
For more information about St. David Catholic Elementary School, please visit, www.st-david.sudburycatholicschools.ca
Each year on the first Thursday of February, Canadians are asked to turn down their heat and wear sweaters to raise awareness about climate change and energy conservation. Founded by WWF-Canada in 2010, more than a million Canadians have participated in National Sweater Day.
In an effort to combat climate change, Sudbury Catholic Schools participated in this initiative on February 6, 2020. Staff and students at Holy Cross School, St. David School, St. James School, St. Charles College, Marymount Academy, Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S and the Catholic Education Centre brought their warmest sweaters as schools turned down the heat by 1.5 degrees celsius throughout the school day. Though the change in temperature was nominal; collectively, we as a Board made a statement regarding climate change and its impact on our world.
“National Sweater Day gave our staff and students an opportunity to reflect on how rising global temperatures are impacting the planet and how together we can help to reduce climate change by making small changes in our daily live,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “By making a commitment to the planet on National Sweater Day, students and educators better understand the powerful impact that they can have.”
14 schools within the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have registered with the Student Vote Canada program running parallel with the Federal Election. Based on the percentage of schools registered, the Board is in the top 10% of all School Boards within Canada. Student Vote Canada is a program open to all elementary and secondary schools nationwide. Schools may offer Student Vote to a single class or to the entirety of the student body. Students engage in activities surrounding government and the electoral process and are provided necessary tools to stage a mock election in their school during the Federal Election process.
Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased with the enthusiasm that the schools have shown toward promoting student voice.
“Student voice is a top priority within our Board,” she explained. “Student Vote Canada is an excellent opportunity for our students to not only understand the electoral process, but to also practice research and analytical skills and participate in a formal election scenario. We are proud to partner with Student Vote Canada and offer these tools for our students.”
“St Charles College has been involved in Student Vote for many years. We have participated at the federal level as well as the provincial and municipal levels,” explained Rick Emond, teacher at S. Charles College. “The program has had a positive impact on students both academically and in their personal lives. I often receive many messages from former students telling me that because of the program they have voted.”
