Author: christina

Last week, our PSW students explored the importance of honouring and respecting the diverse cultures of their future clients.

To mark the occasion of Chinese New Year, the principal led a meaningful activity that combined cultural awareness with career reflection.

Each student received a festive Chinese scratch fortune card, inspired by the Year of the Snake. In Chinese culture, the Snake symbolizes wisdom, adaptability, and transformation—qualities that resonate deeply with the role of a Personal Support Worker.

PSWs must be wise in their decision-making, adaptable to the unique needs of their clients, and always growing in their skills and understanding.

Students scratched their fortunes and reflected on how the messages connected to their PSW education or future careers.

Check out the photo of a few of our students posed with their fortunes alongside a training mannequin, adding a fun and creative element to the activity!

This hands-on experience was a great success—it celebrated cultural traditions, encouraged reflection on professional values, and fostered community among students.

What a wonderful way to tie cultural awareness to the skills needed for compassionate care!

CESBA is a provincial, non-profit professional association that represents, advocates for, and supports adult and continuing education staff working in over 60 school boards across Ontario. This conference brought together educators and administrators to share ideas, celebrate successes, and learn from one another.

At the conference, we were thrilled to hear from three of our amazing students—Faith, Joey, and Audrey—who shared their personal stories through powerful video testimonials. Their journeys were truly inspiring and highlighted the positive impact of education.

Our principal, Christina Raso, was also honored to speak at the event, where she gave two important presentations: one on the value of community partnerships in education and another on using social media to connect and grow.

A major highlight of the conference was the recognition of our Cleaner Program, which was featured in The Updater: The 2024 Revival Edition. This was a great opportunity to showcase the innovative work we’re doing to support students and provide hands-on learning that helps them succeed.

A big thank you to CESBA for 25 years of leadership in adult education. We’re proud to be part of this amazing community!

By popular demand, the Cleaner Program was delivered once again at St. Albert Learning Centre in 2024. We’re filled with gratitude as we celebrate the success of our Cleaner Program and the incredible journey of our students. We couldn’t be more proud of their hard work and the positive impact they’ve made. The cleaning and organization of Spark’s storage room was no small task—but they rose to the challenge, leaving it spotless and beautifully organized. As the CEO of Spark Employment Services, Chantal Maker, shared: “The cleaning done in our storage room was so needed and a big gift to us, just on time for Christmas. Sean and Adebimpe have been such a pleasure to have here with us!” 

We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Kelsi, our amazing cleaning instructor, for equipping our students with the skills they need to thrive in the workforce. We also want to thank the team at Sparks for providing support to our students and providing them with the opportunity to gain real-world experience.

Today, we extend our deepest gratitude to Deacon Rolly for blessing not just the 75 “blessing bags” created by our students, but also each and every one of us. His prayers and kind words filled us with a renewed sense of purpose and love as we continue this mission to serve others.

As part of our year-long religion credit initiative, our students have committed to monthly activities supporting the homeless in Sudbury. Thanks to the generosity of the Michael Monk award, these 75 blessing bags were carefully assembled with a warm hat, mitts, socks, and a $5 Tim Hortons gift card!

These small tokens of care are a way to share warmth and hope during the challenging winter months.

Deacon Rolly reminded us that, true blessings come from what we give with love and compassion. His blessing of the bags—and of all of us—reinforces our mission to bring Christ’s love and kindness to those who need it most.

To our students and educators, thank you for your hard work and dedication to this beautiful project. Together, we are spreading light, one blessing bag at a time.

Let’s continue this journey—each month, one act of love for our Sudbury community.

St. Albert’s students poured their hearts into planning and baking for the Christ the King Bake Sale. Their dedication, creativity, and hard work were evident in every delicious treat they crafted, showcasing the passion and commitment that are the hallmark of our school community. This event was a true reflection of our students’ exceptional spirit of giving and collaboration. We couldn’t be more proud of their remarkable efforts and the lasting, positive impact they’ve made in our community.

St. Albert Learning Centre received the Michael Monk Award and a $4,000 grant from the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario! This award honours a Catholic secondary school that exemplifies excellence and innovation in student learning. St. Albert’s inspiring educational initiative, Strengthening Connections: Engaging At-Risk Youth through Community Outreach and Catholic Teachings reflects that mission by offering students the chance to earn a religious education credit through dedicated community service, transforming learning into meaningful action.

We proudly recognized 114 students as graduates yesterday at Holy Redeemer Church! What an incredible achievement! 

We were thrilled to celebrate with our Director of Education, Joanne Bénard and superintendent Peter Prochilo, Trustee Ray Desjardins, past trustee Estelle Scapputura, and Diane from Cambrian College! The entire education team was there too, including Mr. Scott, who retired in April, Ms. Vandermost on maternity leave, and our amazing clinical team from Compass, Melissa-Sue and Renee. 

A special shoutout to our past cleaner graduate and current adult learning student Joey who volunteered to give out our programs – you truly embody the spirit of our community!

There were lots of tears of joy shed by many – it was an emotional celebration. We are so very proud of each one of you!

We had an Incredible evening at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Employee Recognition celebration at Bryston’s on the Park on June 12th!

The celebration kicked off with the prestigious Chairperson Award, and we were thrilled to see Lynn, our “shop boss”, among the three recipients, accompanied by her spouse, Stephen.

We also celebrated our dedicated employees who have reached the milestone of 25 years of service. Each received a beautiful handcrafted pen, lovingly made by our students from the PEACE Pens & Beyond Business.

The night concluded with heartfelt tributes to our retirees, including the remarkable Michael Scott, whose many years of dedicated service as an outstanding educator were celebrated. Michael was joined by his spouse, Renee, and his son, Jarred.

Christina, the principal of St. Albert Learning Centre, was honoured to sit with these two exceptional individuals who have given so much to our community. She expressed it best:

“Michael and Lynn will never truly know the profound impact they’ve had on our students. It has been an honour to lead alongside them and witness their incredible contributions to our school community. Congratulations Michael and Lynn!”