On March 27th, the band performed at the Kiwanis Music Festival and received a Gold standard! The band has grown over the years, and includes 5 schools (St. Benedict, St. Charles College, St. Anne, St. John and St. James) and over 100 band members!
The band also competed at the Northern Ontario Music Festival on March 1 where they received a Silver standard. Congratulations to all band members!
Congratulations to the St. James Catholic Elementary School Chess Team who won first place at the recent Sudbury Catholic District School Board Chess Tournament. Coach, Ms. Machum has been strategizing with this group of chess players in preparation for the tournament as well as a club at the school to just have some fun! Way to Go Bears!
SCDSB regional science fair winners spent 8 days in Windsor competing at the Canada Wide Science Fair, accompanied by teachers Loretta Cuda and Melissa Talevi recently. They competed againstt 463 students from across Canada.
Marymount students Hailey Mackenzie and Dayna Rachkowski won the Resource Award for developing a better way to use natural resources that provide sustainable sources of food, products or prosperity for their project titled “Aquaponics”
Marymount students Alex Millar and Marika Moskalyk won an Excellence Award – Silver Medal for their project titled “Green Gold: Phytoremediation of the Long Lake Gold Mine”.
St. James student Marina Leblanc won an Excellence Award – Bronze Medal for her project titled “Cold Feet”.
Picture: l-r
Marika Moskalyk, Alex Millar, Marina Leblanc, (teacher)Loretta Cuda, (teacher) Melissa Talevi, Dayna Rachkowski, Hailey Mackenzie
During the month of April, St. James Catholic Elementary School held a “Daffodil Week” to raise money for cancer research. Students and staff brought in over $700! Pictured are members of the student council (C3) with teacher and campaign organizer Tammy Lanci, as they present the cheque to Cathy Burns, a representative from the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board would like to congratulate the following students and schools on their excellent achievements at recent Board-Wide Science Fair on March 26. After the judges had completed their task, thirteen projects were selected to advance to the Regional Science Fair to be held at Laurentian University on April 12th, 2014.
Best of luck to all students in the upcoming Regional Science Fair.
Sudbury Catholic Schools, Science Fair Winners
Marymount Academy
Brittany Thorton – Viscosity: Can it Save You?
Julie Burns – Screen Time and Depression
Sophia Zulich – Electronic Lemons
Mackenzie Bruce – Cotton Cruelty
Emelia Kucyk – Video Game for the Blind
Dana Rachkowski and Hailey McDonald – Aquaponics
Alessandra Kempson – the Effects of WiFi
St. Raphael
Billy Moskal – Does Colour Affect Plant Life?
Emma Dionne – Does Music Affect Your Ability to Memorize?
Colton Gobbo – Hoe Do Video Games Affect Your Health?
St. Ben’s
Laura Rinaldi – Magnetic Spring
Enoch Kim and Max Rizzard – Gauging Gauss and Fluctuating Ferrofluid
St. James
Marina Leblanc – Les pieds froids
Local newspaper Walden Today held a writing contest for their students about helping the environment. St. James Catholic Elementary School was recently notified that four of their students were winners in the contest. In Gr. 2 Lucas Mullaly took First Prize, Gr. 4 Jackson Drigo took Third Prize, Gr. 6 Claire Niemelainen took Second Prize and Patricia Deschenes took Third Prize. The students will attend a formal celebration at Tom Davies Arena to receive their prizes. Congratulations Bears!
The Fantastic Fours and Terrific 4/5’s at St. James Catholic Elementary School got into the Christmas spirit early by packing gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Families went out and purchased items such as: hygiene products, clothing, toys, and school supplies. When all was said and done, the two classes filled 47 boxes. Inside each box was a letter of hope to the child that will be receiving the gifts. The St. James staff is very thankful for the generosity and support of the students and their families. Together they showed the true meaning of Christmas – how it is better to give than to receive!
St. James Catholic Elementary School was recently recognized for its participation in “Our Dreams Matter Too” – a walk for culturally based equity for First Nation children. The walk is organized to say now is the time for First Nation and non- Aboriginal children to work together to ensure all children in Canada receive equitable, culturally based services that help them succeed and feel proud of who they are. The project began as a result of the school’s vice principal, Dan Stargratt introducing the Grade 7/8 FI class to “Shannen’s Dream” which is a student and youth focused campaign designed to raise awareness about inequitable funding for First Nations children, and encourages supporters to write letters to their Member of Parliament, to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and to the Prime Minister of Canada. The students then brainstormed and came up with the idea of getting involved with the “Our Dreams Matter Too” initiative by having all Grade 4- 8 students at St. James write letters to the Prime Minister to look at federal school funding. This past June, the St. James students presented their letters to Member of Parliament Glenn Thibeault to bring to Ottawa. This past October, the students were sent a certificate of appreciation from the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada for their participation in the initiative. The students are Chris White, Katrina Cayen and Enara Iturregui.
St. James Catholic School joined an elite group of schools across Ontario recently that have been recognized by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat as a School on the Move. The School on the Move initiative highlights schools that are making substantial progress in raising student achievement and have sustained this progress over several years. St. James was nominated by the Ministry of Education and after a visit to the school by Ministry officials, was one of only 33 schools selected provincially. With over 4900 schools in the province including Catholic, Public, English and French Boards, Cara Soehner, Principal of the school was thrilled that St. James was selected to be part of such a prestigious group. Only four Northern schools were named as Schools on the Move, and Soehner attributes this to the strength and support of the staff who set strong foundation skills for learning.
Selection for Schools on the Move includes the following criteria:
EQAO scores in reading, writing and mathematics have improved in both Grades 3 and 6 over a three year period
Staff being able to articulate what they did and how they implemented changes
Staff being able to provide evidence of growth in student achievement
Strategies the school identified are supported by research evidence
Collaborative culture, with teachers working together, constantly learning, challenging and supporting each other
Doors being open and parents being partners.
As well as being a School on the Move, an additional accolade for the school includes their receiving the Dr. Bette M. Stephenson award this past year which is an award given to a school that demonstrates leadership, proactive initiatives, positive attitude and sincere efforts to help every child succeed. As well, the school must also be making effective use of the EQAO data and show evidence from other sources to enhance and support student achievement. Again Soehner ascribes the school’s success to the continuous work of the staff. “Our staff works tirelessly to engage and support each and every student at St. James,” Soehner said. “Every single day we collectively focus on the belief that everything we do is for the success of all of our students and that every single child matters.”
St. James is the second school in two years from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board to be nominated and selected as a School on the Move as St. Christopher Catholic Elementary was a School on the Move in the 2008-2009 school year.
The Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is pleased to announce that St. James Catholic School has been presented with the Dr. Bette M. Stephenson Award in recognition of the school community’s dedication to student achievement and use of provincial assessment results to improve student learning. EQAO would also like to acknowledge and congratulate St. James Catholic School’s principal, staff and parents for their leadership, positive attitude and sincere efforts in helping every child to succeed. The award was presented to a contingent of St. James parents and staff in Toronto in early November.
