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.
On Wednesday, March 9, 2016, Olympic Athlete Angella Goran, visited MMA to introduce FitSpirit. FitSpirit is a specialized program solely for women and girls. It is a cardio-based program, alternating between running, calisthenics and fitness. SCDSB teacher Chantal Dagostino hosted the launch, and invited female students from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, St Anne Catholic Elementary School, St. Paul Catholic Elementary School and St. John Catholic Elementary School who will be participating in Fitspirit to the event launch. Fitspirit is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help teenage girls discover the advantages and the enjoyment that come from taking part in physical activity. This knowledge will allow them to develop a healthy lifestyle based on realizing their own potential.
Since 2007, FitSpirit has travelled to the four corners of Ontario and Quebec to create awareness among teenage girls about the various ways they can take part in physical activity. Through the school based FitClub program, FitSpirit provides the opportunity for teenage girls to learn the basics of healthy nutrition and exposes them to activities that inspire physical activity with their friends. In Ontario and Quebec last year, over 10,000 girls participated in Fitspirit.
Last year the Sudbury Catholic District School Board had ten Catholic Elementary and Secondary schools involved with even more participating this year. In the final culminating run that was held at Laurentian University at the end of last year, there were over 286 girls who participated. This year looks very promising with a potential of over 500 girls gathering at Laurentian University on June 5th, 2016 to partake in their final task, completing either a 5 k or 10 k with over 20 schools from the Sudbury Region participating. As well, this 5k and 10 k will be open to all women and girls in Sudbury!
For more information on FitSpirit, please contact Chantal Dagostino at: Chantal.dagostino@fitspirit.ca
In 2015 eight universities in Ontario collaborated with the Ontario Catholic School Trustee Association (OCSTA) to create the OCSTA Certificate Course in Leadership & Good Governance. This is a 12-week online course that is provincial in scope but also includes local Catholic issues specific to a trustee’s own regional district. The course provides a trustee with many benefits such as developing a greater understanding and appreciation of the history of Catholic education in Ontario along with a greater understanding of the role of Catholic social teaching in our modern society. The leadership lessons of Pope Francis are also explored in the course. Topics include youth engagement in Catholic education, the role of the trustee as a public advocate for Catholic education, our support for Ontario First Nations, Metis and Inuit education and an examination of trends in Catholic education throughout Canada and the rest of the world.
Sudbury Catholic Trustee, Nancy Deni took part in this program. As part of the program, trustees are required to work on a practicum project that ideally could benefit their school board. Deni chose to focus on the home-school-parish triad relationship and ways that this triad can be strengthened. As part of her project, she sought and received feedback from parents, principals, priests and laypersons in the Church as she feels very strongly that the strength of this relationship is the key to keeping Catholic education alive and well in Ontario.
“I feel very privileged to be amongst the first cohort of trustees to complete the program,” Deni stated. “It was an eye-opening experience and I recommend the course to all trustees who want to be strong advocates for Catholic education in this province. This course really strengthened my belief that a Catholic education provides students with a really special and unique educational experience. We really do educate the mind, the body and the spirit in our schools.”
On January 25, 2016, 7 members of the Sudbury Wolves took their “off ice” game to the full day Kindergarten class of Mrs. Yasko, Mrs. Gionet and Mrs. Thomson at St. John Catholic Elementary School in Garson.
Encouraged by Coach David Matsos to support and participate in community events, the seven team players played hockey in the gym with students; read hockey inspired stories in small groups; answered many questions from the students and autographed paper jerseys that the children made. In turn, the students proudly gave the players a large hand made “Thank you” sign bearing each of their names on hand drawn mini sticks.
Involvement in the life of a community is something that is beneficial to all. This “Win/Win” play designed by Coach Mastsos and the St John school staff scored well with the players and students! Thank you Wolves!
On Wednesday November 11th, St John Catholic Elementary School in Garson held a service commemorating members of the armed forces put on by the Grade 7/8 class. All students and staff attended the prayer service observing two minutes of silence to remember those who have fought for their freedom. All observed as students expressed a heartfelt gratitude to all those who have worked and fought courageously throughout our history, so that we might enjoy peace.
The goal was to raise 60 thousand cans in five days. The result was astounding. Students and staff, along with the support of its feeder schools and the community raised 125, 452 cans to line the shelves of the food bank heading into the holiday season.
The breakdown is twenty thousand dollars in cash collected and 25, 000 cans. Students will spend the day assisting with the transport of the food to the food bank warehouse.
The St. Charles College food drive started thirty years ago and has been a yearly tradition with its feeder schools – St. David’s, Holy Trinity, Pius XII, St. John and St. Paul schools.
Principal Patty Mardero says “in thirty years this is the largest donation to date. The students really upped the ante for next year.”
Members of the St. Charles College Student Council are selling tees in the main foyer of the school this week to support the Sudbury Food Bank. The t-shirts which are retailing for twenty dollars go to supporting the school’s annual food drive. That means the sale of one shirt equates to 100 cans to line the shelves at the food bank.
The blue shirts were designed by students in teacher Beverly Belanger’s leadership class. Student Jordan Sutton designed the image on the front of the shirt while Tyler Michaud came up with this year’s slogan: “Cards ‘can’ do it! 60, 000.”
The goal for this year’s food drive is to collect sixty thousand cans and they are doing it with the support of feeder schools – St. David’s, Holy Trinity, Pius XII, St. John and St. Paul schools.
The food drive is an annual tradition dating back to almost thirty years ago.
Teachers Miss Bennett and Mrs. Allen, and the grade 2/3 class at St. John Catholic Elementary School helped in organizing the canned food drive for the Garson Food Bank. Students collected cans from the community from Oct 5th-Oct 9th. With the overwhelming support from staff, family and the Garson community, St John collected more than 6 500 cans.
This week, students at St. Charles began visits to feeder schools to get students amped up and motivated about this year’s food drive.
The goal is to raise 60, 000 cans for the Sudbury Food Bank, along with support from its feeder schools – St. David’s, Holy Trinity, Pius XII, St. John and St. Paul schools.
The food drive began almost thirty years ago with the student council at the time initiating the drive. Founder, Jim Szilva continues to help the school each year with the annual mission. The school is also supported by Kiss 105.3 and Q host Melanie Dahl on the airways.
In the past, donations from St.Charles College each fall have made for the largest single donation in Sudbury Food Bank history.
The drive wraps up on October 27th when final results will be tabulated and unveiled at the assembly.
As part of their school’s Catholic Education activities, St. John, St. Anne and St. Paul Catholic Elementary Schools held an in-school Relay for Life on Friday, May 8, 2015. For St. John, this year marks the school’s seventh year hosting the event. St. John teacher and event organizer Irene Raymond was talking to staff at the other two schools and decided that they too would start an in-school Relay for Life event. At each school, students, staff and invited guests started off their day in the gymnasium to listen to speakers from their own school communities talk about their own experiences, as well as local cancer organizations talk about the positive impact the schools’ relays have on the community.
All three schools surpassed their fundraising goals with St. John raising over $4500, St. Paul raising over $6400 and St. Anne raising over $13,500.
Organizer and St. John teacher was overwhelmed with the participation and fundraising efforts at all three schools. “What an amazing turnout for all three Sudbury Catholic schools! I am so very proud of our successes! It was truly an amazing and emotionally humbling experience – we are all so proud of the efforts of all the students, staff, families and community partners that supported this year’s Relay for Life events – it is so very touching and impactful!”
