Recently, intermediate students from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer, participated in a”Tech Day” at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. The St. Anne Angel’s are invited annually to participate in this high school experience as a way of making the transition to high school that much easier. Throughout the day, students were exposed to various programs such as Welding, Wood Working, High Skills major program in computer technologies and AutoCad. The students at St.Anne Catholic School embraced the day, actively participating and asking questions about the programs, routines, and student life. The staff and students at BAC were more than happy to address all of their questions and concerns. The day proved to be an exciting one for all involved!
Category: Schools
Bridging the Gap between Elementary and Secondary School
On February 7th and 8th, teachers and students from St. Anne Catholic School and Bishop
Alexander Catholic Secondary School (BAC) in Hanmer participated in co-teaching sessions to help bridge the gap between elementary school and secondary school. These sessions were sponsored by Sudbury Catholic District School Board in hopes that grades 7, 8, and 9 teachers would create a collaborative inquiry into the questioning strategies used across the three grade levels. Teachers were brought together in a collaboration session and encouraged to use open ended questions to facilitate the teaching and learning process. “This is a great learning opportunity for both students and teachers. The use of open ended questions allows students to use more meaningful answers that support their
previous knowledge,” said Jody O’Daiskey, grade 8 teacher at St. Anne School.
Over the course of two days, teachers from both schools engaged in co-teaching math lessons using similar styles and the same final assessment . Throughout the lesson, various assessments as, for and of learning took place. Students worked together to solve the final open ended assessment question, while teachers circulated to provide guidance when needed. Students from Mrs. O’Daiskey’s classroom at St. Anne Catholic School enjoyed this experience. “I thought it was a great opportunity, and we learned that there were several possible outcomes. This showed us that there isn’t always one right answer when you have an open ended question. I also thought it was fun working with teachers
from BAC so they could see what some of us were capable of,” said Taylor Lawless, student in grade 8 at St. Anne School.
Bridging the gap between elementary school and secondary school is an important focus of the collaborative inquiry. All teachers involved agree that activities such as these lead to greater student success when they reach secondary school. “I think that bringing these knowledgeable teachers together in a co-teaching session, can only lead to better success for all students involved,” said Guy Mathieu, current principal at St. Anne School and founding principal at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. “I believe that given the opportunity to meet with teachers from the elementary panel allows us
to better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This in turn can only benefit the students coming to us in the secondary panel,” said Robert Boucher, a secondary teacher from Bishop Alexander Carter CSS.
Upon completion of the entire inquiry process, the teachers involved will bring all of their findings, including; student artifacts, pictures and video, to a final collaboration meeting with teachers from all elementary and secondary schools in the Sudbury Catholic District school board. These results will be presented and discussed to further bridge the gap and allow for greater student success for all.
Closing the Gap between Elementary and Secondary School
On February 7th and 8th, teachers and students from St. Anne Catholic School and Bishop Alexander Catholic Secondary School (BAC) in Hanmer participated in co-teaching sessions to help bridge the gap between elementary school and secondary school. These sessions were sponsored by Sudbury Catholic District School Board in hopes that grades 7, 8, and 9 teachers would create a collaborative inquiry into the questioning strategies used across the three grade levels. Teachers were brought together in a collaboration session and encouraged to use open ended questions to facilitate the teaching and learning process. “This is a great learning opportunity for both students and teachers. The use of open ended questions allows students to use more meaningful answers that support their previous knowledge,” said Jody O’Daiskey, grade 8 teacher at St. Anne School.
Over the course of two days, teachers from both schools engaged in co-teaching math lessons using similar styles and the same final assessment . Throughout the lesson, various assessments as, for and of learning took place. Students worked together to solve the final open ended assessment question, while teachers circulated to provide guidance when needed. Students from O’Daiskey’s classroom at St. Anne Catholic School enjoyed this experience. “I thought it was a great opportunity, and we learned that there were several possible outcomes. This showed us that there isn’t always one right answer when you have an open ended question. I also thought it was fun working with teachers
from BAC so they could see what some of us were capable of,” said Taylor Lawless, student in grade 8 at St. Anne School.
Bridging the gap between elementary school and secondary school is an important focus of the collaborative inquiry. All teachers involved agree that activities such as these lead to greater student success when they reach secondary school. “I think that bringing these knowledgeable teachers together in a co-teaching session, can only lead to better success for all students involved,” said Guy Mathieu, current principal at St. Anne School and founding principal at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. “I believe that given the opportunity to meet with teachers from the elementary panel allows us
to better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This in turn can only benefit the students coming to us in the secondary panel,” said Robert Boucher, a secondary teacher from Bishop Alexander Carter CSS.
Upon completion of the entire inquiry process, the teachers involved will bring all of their findings, including; student artifacts, pictures and video, to a final collaboration meeting with teachers from all elementary and secondary schools in the Sudbury Catholic District school board. These results will be presented and discussed to further bridge the gap and allow for greater student success for all.
St. Anne Angels Beginning Their Transition
Transitioning into high school can sometimes be a difficult process for young teens, but St. Anne Catholic School and Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School make that transition easier on their students. On Thursday, January 12th, 2012, grade 8 students from St. Anne School in Hanmer, visited Bishop Alexander Secondary School (BAC) to continue with their transition from elementary school into high school. This day was an exciting one for all students as they participated in different workshops featuring the arts and sciences that BAC has to offer. Students had the opportunity to explore the music program and listen to the BAC Band, drama and compete with the BAC Improv Team, and make button pins in the visual arts classroom. They were also fascinated with the various stations in the biology lab, and the explosive experiments in the chemistry lab during their visit. St.Anne Angels are always enthusiastic to visit BAC because it is always a fascinating and welcoming environment.
Bishop Teacher Supports Movember
Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School teacher Dave Fabiilli got into the Movember spirit and grew a mustache to support the cause. At the end of the month, he had raised a total of $1320.88. Congrats Dave!
Bishop ACCSS Takes Part in International Stand up to Bullying Day
Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School has a Beyond The Hurt Team of students who address bullying issues within the school through presentations, announcements, and various other activities, such as International Stand Up To Bullying Day. On November 18, 2011, Bishop students either wore wore pink Stood Up t-shirts, or one of their own pink shirts in support of anti-bullying programs. The team presented to our grade 9 students and sold chocolate chip cookies to raise money for anti-bullying programs.
St. Anne Students “Hit The Big Screen”
Many people often dream of hitting the big stage. Students from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer are no exception. Recently, they were able to experience the feel of being in the spotlight with a visit to Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. This Catholic Secondary School is the only high school in Sudbury with a Specialist High Skills Major program in Information and Communications Technology. In this program, the students learn a large variety of media production skills such as: 2D Graphics Design and Digital Image Editing and Enhancement, 3D Graphics Modeling, Texturing, Rigging and Animation, Video and Sound Production, Integrating 2D and 3D Graphics into Film, Special Effects for Film, and Website Development. Students use Autodesk Maya to create 3D models and animations. This is the same software used by professionals to create most of the 3D movies out today. It’s also used to create most of the 3D special effects seen in most action movies.
St. Anne intermediate students, working with high school students currently enroled in the program, began to create their grade 8 graduation video with the use of some media software and a green screen that was built by Bishop’s own tech class. “It was a really good experience and exciting to learn about the about the effects that are used in most movies,” said Olivia Boudreau, a grade 8 student at St. Anne School. BAC also uses their green screen to digitally place student actors in any location, including those created in 3D. The actor/actress simply acts out the scene in front of the green screen and the green is then removed using editing software and replaced with the desired background or animation. BAC has a stationary green screen and two portable ones that can be used outside of the classroom. Who knows? With this taste of “the big screen” under their belts, we may someday actually be viewing some of the Catholic Board students on the larger than life screens around the city. The entertainment business may want to start a new slogan. “Lights, camera, Angels”!