May 28 to June 3, 2023, is National AccessAbility Week!
National AccessAbility Week (NAAW) is an annual initiative that celebrates, promotes, and showcases the diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in our country, and highlights some of the important initiatives aimed at creating an accessible Canada. Since 2019, Easter Seals Ontario has recognized the Wednesday of National AccessAbility week as the Red Shirt Day of Action for AccessAbility and Inclusion. Everyone is encouraged to wear a red shirt to raise awareness for accessibility and disability inclusion and make a pledge to help remove physical, attitudinal, and systematic barriers in their schools, workplaces, and communities.
Red Shirt Day is an Easter Seals initiative and was first celebrated in 2019. The 2023 Red Shirt Day takes place on Wednesday, May 31. Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) students and staff are encouraged to wear red on Red Shirt Day to promote messages of support for people and families living with disabilities.
About Red Shirt Day
Red Shirt Day of Action for AccessAbility and Inclusion is a day when people across Canada come together and wear red in schools, workplaces and spaces everywhere in order to create a visible display of solidarity: to show their support for persons and families of those who are living with disabilities, celebrate the achievements of people living with disabilities, and to pledge their commitment to help create a fully accessible and inclusive society that honours and values the contributions of people of all abilities in all aspects of life in Canada. Learn more!
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is gearing up for its annual week-long celebration of Catholic Education Week. This year’s theme is “Catholic Education: We are Many, We are One.” From May 1 to May 5, 2023, Sudbury Catholic Schools will join Catholic schools across the province to engage in a variety of activities and events that celebrate the unique identity and contributions of Catholic education.
The week will be divided into five sub-themes:
When we see
When we listen
When we reflect
When we learn
When we act
OCSTA Resources
The Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) has developed and shared daily resources and lesson plans for classrooms to participate in. With the support of the OCSTA and the Catholic community, Catholic education in Ontario continues to thrive.
You can view the official Catholic Education Week song below:
Board-Wide Celebrations
Catholic Education Week is a special opportunity for the Catholic community in Sudbury to come together and celebrate the unique identity and contributions of Catholic education. From Toonies for Tuition Day to the Catholic Education Week Mass, there are a variety of activities and events that we have planned for this special week.
Toonies for Tuition Day
On May 1st, schools are encouraged to dress up like a bee or wear yellow and black to participate in Toonies for Tuition Day. Staff and students are encouraged to bring a toonie to support Toonies for Tuition, which will be donated to the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association Endowment Fund for distribution to Catholic families in need.
Catholic Education Week Mass
A Catholic Education Week Mass will be held on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, will be celebrating the Mass. Schools across the province are invited to participate virtually in this celebration of the Eucharist.
May 1-5th is also Children’s Mental Health Week. Members of the Mental Health team will be completing activities in schools to engage staff and students. Schools will also be encouraged to wear green on Thursday, May 4, to promote children’s mental health.
Skills Ontario Provincial Competitions
Thirteen secondary students from St. Charles College and two students from Bishop Alexander Carter will compete in the annual Skills Ontario Provincial Competitions at the Toronto Congress Centre from May 1-3.
Ash Wednesday is an important day for the Catholic community, and we are honoured to commemorate it annually at Sudbury Catholic Schools. This year, on February 22, 2023, our students, faculty, staff, and parish partners will come together for Mass to receive ashes on their foreheads, symbolizing the beginning of the Lenten season.
As we embark on this journey together, we encourage our community to concentrate on meaningful themes, such as the gift of life and showing kindness, generosity, and compassion towards others.
During Lent, we place a special focus on “almsgiving,” where we donate money or goods to those in need and perform other acts of charity. Though these acts of service are conducted year-round, we encourage everyone in our community to reflect deeply on how they can show more compassion and generosity towards others during the Lenten season leading up to Easter.
As a Catholic school board, we believe that faith is a fundamental aspect of our lives, and we are committed to nurturing the spiritual growth of our students. We strive to instil a deep respect for Christ’s teachings and inspire them to live according to his values. On this Ash Wednesday, let us renew our faith and commitment to God and unite in love, compassion, and kindness as a community.
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.
December 18 marks the fourth Sunday of Advent for 2022. Together, we all await the birth of a baby boy, the light of the world, coming to transform us, so that we can transform the world. The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8th. The first 24 days of December fall during the liturgical season of Advent and are represented by the colour purple. During Advent it is fitting that we celebrate the virtue of patience, for we recognize that we are patiently awaiting Jesus’ coming.
Advent Prayer
Dear Lord,
Send down Your Spirit to guide me during Advent this year. May the Holy Spirit help me journey closer to You and lift me up when I feel down and led me when I feel lost. I may stumble at times, but I know my ultimate journey is to draw closer to You and build Your kingdom here on earth–a kingdom that Jesus’s birth, life and death helped secure.
Amen.
Candle The Fourth Sunday of Advent represents the Angel’s candle and symbolizes peace.
December 4 marks the second Sunday of Advent for 2022. Together, we all await the birth of a baby boy, the light of the world, coming to transform us, so that we can transform the world. The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8th. The first 24 days of December fall during the liturgical season of Advent and are represented by the colour purple. During Advent it is fitting that we celebrate the virtue of patience, for we recognize that we are patiently awaiting Jesus’ coming.
Advent Prayer
Dear Lord,
Send down Your Spirit to guide me during Advent this year. May the Holy Spirit help me journey closer to You and lift me up when I feel down and led me when I feel lost. I may stumble at times, but I know my ultimate journey is to draw closer to You and build Your kingdom here on earth–a kingdom that Jesus’s birth, life and death helped secure.
Amen.
Candle The first Sunday of Advent represents the Candle of Bethlehem symbolizes Faith and Love.
November 27 marks the first Sunday of Advent for 2022. Together, we all await the birth of a baby boy, the light of the world, coming to transform us, so that we can transform the world. The month of December is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8th. The first 24 days of December fall during the liturgical season of Advent and are represented by the colour purple. During Advent it is fitting that we celebrate the virtue of patience, for we recognize that we are patiently awaiting Jesus’ coming.
Advent Prayer
Dear Lord,
Send down Your Spirit to guide me during Advent this year. May the Holy Spirit help me journey closer to You and lift me up when I feel down and led me when I feel lost. I may stumble at times, but I know my ultimate journey is to draw closer to You and build Your kingdom here on earth–a kingdom that Jesus’s birth, life and death helped secure.
Amen.
Candle The first Sunday of Advent represents the Candle of Prophecy and symbolizes Hope.
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.
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.
Secondary Highlights
St. Benedict
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 faculty wear blue and yellow in support of Ukraine!
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.
Bishop Alexander Carter
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.
St. Charles College
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!
Elementary Highlights
St. Paul
St. Paul Students take time to snap a shot during #StandWithUkraine Blue and Yellow Day!
St. Charles
St. Francis
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.
St. John
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.
Holy Trinity
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
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.
We all have a responsibility for peace!
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.
Upon its completion, St. Charles College students proudly showed off their Stand With Ukraine poster.
Our Lenten journey began on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022, with Ash Wednesday! Sudbury Catholic District School Board honoured the start of this season with a morning prayer service. Our church tradition shares that on Ash Wednesday, we are invited to be marked with the sign of the cross on our foreheads. This symbolizes our understanding that we make mistakes and that we will take this time of Lent to grow in holiness, so we are prepared to celebrate Easter with great joy. Bishop Thomas Dowd also joined us and reinforced this message, reminding us that Lent is a time to make our hearts a worthy place for the Holy Spirit to live.
The day was also one where we joined in prayer for the situation in Ukraine. Pope Francis sent out an invitation for the world to join together for a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace. He asked that we especially pray for those suffering, be aware that we are all brothers and sisters, and implore God for an end to the war.
For those members of our community who were unable to attend our service yesterday, you can still participate by watching a virtual recording of our Ash Wednesday service. We’ll also continue joining together for prayer on Monday mornings. We invite you to view the following poster to see a schedule of our future virtual prayer services taking place throughout Lent.
