Student Achievement Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S.

BACCSS Student Following His Passion to Success

Posted on February 11, 2016 by admin

A teenager’s life is filled with many decisions. Choosing courses and a career destination can cause stressful situations, but as Alex Laurin leant, it is important to choose a career that you love to do. Alex, a grade 12 student at Bishop Alexander Carter, started his grade 9 year in the pathways program. He often thought about architecture and tried to upgrade a few classes but struggled, especially in math he said. Deep down he knew that university and college would not be his destination. It simply was not for him. Alex’s destination was the workplace.

Alex met with the guidance counsellor at the school, Heather Duguay, to explore career options. He loved the thought of being able to design things. With encouragement from Mrs. Duguay and his parents, he enroled in the Specialist High Skills Program (SHSM) in Manufacturing and Robotics in the school.

“I was surprised to find out I was really good at welding”, Alex explained. “I love to create and make things with my hands”.

Discovering his new talent, Alex set his own goals and discussed these with his parents. He felt that his parents were excited that he found his passion.

“My dad was really supportive of my career goals. They bought me my own welding mask and boots”.

Today, Alex is finishing his SHSM course and is completing his coop placement at Belanger construction. He is a registered OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) student through the MTCU (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities) and a registered level 1 apprentice through the College of Trades. Alex has been a valuable asset to Belanger Construction and they encouraged him to write his Canadian Welding Bureau test (at the employer’s cost). Alex was successful in this test and has obtained his welding certificate in shielded metal arc welding. His advice for students, “Work hard and know what you are getting into and do your research into career option. But most of all, enjoy it!”.

BACCSS Students Tops at OTSC

Posted on April 21, 2015 by admin

The Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) is Canada’s largest skilled trades competition, hosting over 65 contests, 1,900 competitors and 20,000 spectators at RIM Park in Waterloo. One of those 65 contests is TV Video Production, and in order to compete at the OTSC, participants must first make it through a qualifying round. On Saturday, April 18th, 2015, Christine Harte and Autumn Millar, two Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) Information & Communications Technology (ICT) students at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, travelled to Canadore College in North Bay to compete againstt other teams from various secondary schools around Northern Ontario. Only the top three competitors who received at least a 60% score in the qualifying round were permitted into the OTSC. The task was to produce a thirty-second public service announcement video on the theme of cyberbullying. Competitors had to complete their filming and editing within a specific amount of time, after which their work would be critiqued, reviewed and evaluated by a number of judges. When the results came in, Christine and Autumn were awarded first place, and will now be competing in Waterloo on May 5th for the provincial title. “Christine and Autumn are excellent students,” says Steven Facchini, the teacher of the SHSM ICT program at Bishop Carter. “Aside from video production, they’ve demonstrated excellence in 2D graphic design, 3D modelling, web development, game programming and various other media production skills I teach in my program. We are all extremely proud of them. They are undoubtedly looking forward to the OTSC in May.”

Staff En Pointe for BACCSSs Rooney and Dechaine Memorial Walk

Posted on October 6, 2014 by admin

As a result of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School’s successful Memorial Walk fundraiser in memory of former student Mackenzie Rooney (a student who died tragically in an ATV accident) and Dennis Dechaine, (a former teacher who lost his battle with cancer), both the principal and vice principal of the school had to honour their part of the challenge. Cassandra MacGregor and James Michaud, the school’s admin team showed up in their best ballerina wear as a result of the students fundraising exceeding their goal of $8000. To date, the school has raised over $9000 so far to go towards several different scholarship funds in both Rooney’s and Dechaine’s names, as well as to support several activities within the school that both Mackenzie’s parents and Dennis’s wife are involved with. To raise the money, the students canvassed the valley area over the past few weeks and the day of the walk involved a live broadcast from KICX radio, a prayer service, a Zumba warm up for the whole school, and an 8 km walk to celebrate the togetherness of the entire Bishop Carter school community. Joining them on the walk were members of both Mackenzie’s and Dennis’s families, as well as members of the Greater Sudbury Police Services. Principal Cassandra MacGregor was thrilled with the efforts of her students and staff. “We are a small school community with an enormous heart,” explained MacGregor. “We set our expectations really high when it comes to our students and staff, and they continually exceed these expectations! We are extremely proud of our students for surpassing our fundraising goal and it is wonderful that we can honour Mackenzie and Dennis, and their families with our outstanding efforts!”

Memorial Walk Held at Bishop Alexander Catholic Secondary School

Posted on September 30, 2014 by admin

Prayer, celebration and remembrance was the theme of the day on September 25th at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. The school held their Memorial Walk in memory of Mackenzie Rooney, a student who died tragically in a ATV accident and Dennis Dechaine, a former teacher who lost his battle with cancer last year. The day started off with a live broadcast from KICX radio, a prayer service and zumba warm up by Zumbavibe. The 8 km memorial walk was an opportunity for students to celebrate the “togetherness” of the Bishop Carter community. The family members of both Mackenzie and Dennis participated in the event. The afternoon students enjoyed karaoke and a flag football team with the girls team competing againstt the teachers. It was an amazing day! Thank you to all the sponsor who helped in this event including the Sudbury Police, Tim Hortons (Val Caron and Hanmer), Neil Independent Grocer and Kings Sportswear. Proceeds from the walk go towards scholarships in Mackenzie and Dennis’ honour, KICX for kids campaign and other activities that support the interests of Mackenie and Dennis.

SCDSB Award Winning Authors

Posted on June 19, 2014 by admin

Three students from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board have been selected as winners of the Young Authors Award through the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. Ethan Matte, a student at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary Award won for his non-fiction submission entitled “The Art of Fishing”. In the secondary panel, St. Benedict student Nikki Lemieux won for her non-fiction submission entitled “Consumer or Consumed”. The final winner is Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School student Shanleigh Brosseau for her short story submission entitled “La Couleur D’Amour”. Her short story “La couleur d’amour” was inspired by the approaching celebration of St. Valentine. Shanleigh enjoys writing in her spare time, especially “chapter books” on her IPhone. Her enthousiasm of music and writing is what pushed her to create a very metaphorical short story of a broken heart pendant.
All three award winning submissions can be found in this year’s OECTA Young Authors Awards 2014.
Congratulations to all three students for your outstanding writing pieces and we look forward to reading future works!

Award Winning Creativity at Bishop ACCSS

Posted on May 5, 2014 by admin

Bradford Bourque and Scott Istvandi, two grade 11 students in teacher Steve Facchini’s Specialist High Skills Major ICT program at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, were announced the winners of the “Belanger Ford’s Filming for Funds!” contest at the Belanger Lincoln Ford Centre LTD Grand Opening on Friday, May 2nd, 2014 in Chelmsford. As entries for the contest, schools from around Greater Sudbury submitted 30-second videos intended to promote Belanger Ford in a unique an creative way. Bradford and Scott’s winning video featured a Ford truck that could bark, growl, and wag its antenna. As the prize, Bishop Carter received a cheque for $3000 towards promoting and improving creativity within the school, as well as a $500 celebratory lunch party. Much of the winnings will go towards enhancing the new 3D Game Development section of the SHSM program.

“Creativity does not have limits in my class.” says Facchini. “I teach my students everything: video, sound, special effects, 2D graphics, photography, 3D graphics and animation, web development, 3D game programming. If my students want to make a truck behave like a dog, then there would be nothing stopping them. Brad and Scott’s video is definitely proof of that. I’m extremely proud of their awesome work. And I definitely thank Belanger Ford for providing us with this amazing opportunity.”

“The Bishop Cup” – BACCSS’s First Ever R/C Car Race

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin

On May 9th, 2013, Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School hosted its first ever R/C (remote controlled) car races. It was a great day for motor car racing. The sky was blue and the temperature was holding study at about 20 degrees. There was an impressive turn out of about 18 cars and approximately 75 spectators. The cars were divided up into 3 different classes, Monster Truck, Stock, and Mod. To wrap-up the day, a no-holds-barred race named “Top Dawg” was held where all the drivers raced at once.

It was an afternoon full of thrills, spills, and speed as racers participated in a total of 16 different heat races. In the end, four winners crowned. In the Monster truck Class, student Liam Mitchel came out on top and student Zander Fortier topped the field in Stock. In the Mod class, teacher Paul Mailloux prevailed and finally in Top Dawg, student James Roque beat out all the other competitors to claim first place. When the dust settled at the end of the day, all of the drivers (students and teachers alike) did an awesome job of keeping the crowd entertained and the cars running strong all afternoon. A special thanks goes out to all the spotters (people who flip the cars back on their wheels after a crash), lap counters, announcers, grillers, and spectators. Without your help and support, none of this could have happened!

BAC R/C club didn’t pop up over night. It actually began way back in September 2012, when a group of teachers (Kirk Mckee, Serge Remillard, and Paul Mailloux) thought it would be great if there could be a club that would interest the schools large population of “Gearheads”. I was decided that R/C car racing would be the perfect club because it’s very hands on, students learn about how cars work, safe, and it’s affordable. Anther bonus is that the racing ties into curriculum nicely. The Manufacturing and Wood Working classes were crucial in the actual fabrication of the track. The Gr. 9-10 Workplace Math class was put in charge of measuring and dividing the track into 10 equal sized chunks. The Specialist High Skills Major class recorded the event from an array of different angles and are currently editing the footage. Numerous teachers are incorporating the cars into physics and math questions. In the future, the club plans on further expanding its membership and possibly team up with some community clubs. While the members aren’t racing, the teachers are showing the students how to maintain and tune-up their machines.

Brand new “Traxxas” R/C cars start off at $200 for a ready to go package which includes the car, battery, charger and radio. Also, all the parts to repair the cars are available at Best Buy and Future Shop. Lots of people think of the old, slow, clumsy R/C cars that they had when they were a kid. Don’t get confused, these aren’t toys. Out of the box, these electric 1/10 scale cars can go anywhere from 35-70mph!

There are all kinds of ways to get involved with R/C club at BAC. Maybe the most obvious way is to buy a car and race, but that isn’t the only way. The club is always looking for members who want to be involved in track maintenance, spotting, lap counting, marshalling, and so on. Without members doing these important jobs, the races are very hard to put on. The club will be hosting several other races this spring. Spectators and new members are always welcome, and remember, no car is needed!

Bishop ACCSS Student Jumps to New Heights

Posted on October 18, 2012 by admin

Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School student Leah Blanchette is quite a busy girl. Not only is she a dedicated student, she is also quite an accomplished equestrian whose dedication to her sport takes up quite a bit of her time outside of school as well. According to her mother, Kate Blanchette, Leah is a quiet girl and “knowing Leah, not many realize her accomplishments as she is so modest about her success.”

Leah completed on the “A” circuit national level the past season and that has meant a lot of time away from home and school with her coach Cathy Inch. Leah and her horse Jinjovan AKA “Joe” train out of Foothills Farm in Chelmsford. Most days involve at least 10 to 12 hours of practice, or showing in the ring and Leah spends at a minimum 5 days a week with Joe and her coach.

Leah and Joe have qualified for the Royal Winter fair, which is the Canadian Equestrian championships, to be held in Toronto starting Nov 2nd. Not only have they qualified, but they have managed to be pinned in all 4 of their divisions (Junior Hunter, A equitation, Junior Medal, and Jump Canada Medal) and they will go to nationals with finishing their qualifying season overall 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place standing. The Royal Winter fair is Canada’s premier equestrian show and is a platform for future Canadian Olympians as well as internationally known champions. Equestrian sport is the only Olympic sport where both men and women compete as equals.

Dave Soehner, principal of Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School is extremely proud of Leah. “We are blown away by Leah’s dedication and passion for her sport,” Soehner said. “ We support her efforts 100% as she embodies the true Gator spirit, and wish her the best of luck with her upcoming championship.”

While she is competing, her trips in the ring can be watched on the Royal Winter Fair website, live feed. Leah and Joe will be in the ring on Friday Nov. 2, 3rd and again for Jump Canada finals on Nov 6th.

SCDSB Hosts Third Annual Turning Points Essay Awards Ceremony

Posted on May 10, 2012 by admin

Students, parents, teachers and invited guests gathered at the Sudbury Catholic District Board office on May 9, 2012 to take part in the SCDSB’s third annual Turning Points Essay Contest Awards ceremony. This essay contest is an initiative which stems from the Learning Partnership which is an organization that champions a strong public education system to deliver innovative programs, credible research, policy initiatives, executive leadership and public engagement across Canada. Turning Points is a character development and literacy program that allows students to reflect on their fundamental values and, through a process of self-reflection and dialogue, write a narrative essay about a significant event, or turning point in their lives. As it is the third year, student participation has continued to grow as teachers have continued to encourage their involvement with this rewarding program. The secondary  students that took part in this contest and authored the winning essays were awarded plaques, a copy of the publication, as well as monetary awards at Wednesday night’s celebration.  The students were honoured for their efforts and several students had the opportunity to read their essays allowed. The audience was visibly moved by these emotional accounts and several of the teachers involved spoke of the courage and strength of their students to be able to write such heart-felt accounts of their experiences.  Allison Cameron, a Marymount English teacher was the master of ceremonies at this event and was visibly moved after the students read aloud their essays. “Even after being involved with this initiative for three years, I am never really prepared for the poignant words our students have written and shared with others,” Cameron stated. “The courage of these students to express their deepest feelings and emotions about their life’s turning point is so powerful – for the student, and their families.” Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Board echoed Cameron’s sentiments. “I am thrilled that the this program once again met with such success, and am so honoured that our students have courageously shared their most personal and meaningful life experiences. We are certainly overwhelmed by their talent and honesty involved in this writing experience.”

Bishop Alexander CCSS – Building Bridges and School Spirit Together

Posted on February 5, 2010 by admin

Students at Bishop Alexander Carter faced a bridge building challenge this past week in their woodshop class. The students had been given the task of building model bridges and then the completed projects were subjected to weight tests. The rules allowed only for glue and wood 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch to be used. In the end the majority of the bridges were able to remain stable even with a weight of 300 lbs pulling down on them. Savanna Lamoureux, one of the woodshop students said that the day was a lot of fun and it was a great opportunity for the students to express their school spirit. “We really had a lot of fun.” said Lamoureux. “Not only building the bridges, but also destroying them after it was all done!”