Grades 2-12 students across the province were invited to participate in the 2nd annual Skills Ontario’s Junk Drawer Races! In this program, students had fun while exploring various challenges to build their skills and explore different pathways for their future.
This past week the winners of the Regional round of the competition were announced on Skills Ontario’s YouTube Channel.
We are excited to report our results in the following competitions:
Grade 4/5 Cardboard Car Races
St. James placed 1st & 3rd
Grade 6/7Paper Glider Competition
Bishop Alexander Carter placed 1st & 3rd as well as St. Paul’s 2nd
Grade 8 Paper Hydraulic Crane Challenge
Bishop Alexander Carter placed 1st & 2nd
These teams will be competing in the Provincial Championship round and will have until March 3rd to review their existing blueprints, potentially modify their designs to meet the provincial challenge and construction requirements while explaining their modifications and submit their new submissions. Provincial Submissions will be evaluated by industry volunteers, and the top three teams will be awarded prizes by Skills Ontario. Winning teams will be notified by March 27th. We wish our students the best of luck and thank Skills Ontario, industry partners, the Government of Ontario and Bombardier for giving our students a unique experiential learning opportunity.
Bishop Alexander Carter Secondary School built a custom warming station for the Valley Trailmasters Snowmobile Club. Over 70 students in grades seven through 12 worked on the warming shelter, which took approximately seven weeks to complete. Most of the 70 participating students were students in Grades 7 and 8, with a small group of current SHSM students acting as mentors in their supporting roles. Throughout the course of the project, the grade 7 and 8 students were exposed to Bishop Alexander Carter’s technology courses and trades areas, as well as the Green Industries and Manufacturing Specialist High Skills Major Programs, which Grade 11 and 12 students are able to enrol in.
“There are so many job opportunities in the trades right now. We try to start introducing students to the trades as young as Grade Seven, so that they can see the pathway opportunities with their own eyes. Students designed and constructed everything within the shelter – from the fireplace to the frame. I’m very proud of them,” said Paul Mailloux, Co-Op teacher at Bishop Alexander Carter C.S.S.
Grade 12 student, Noah Brabant throughly enjoyed the experience.
“The best part about the experience was completing the welding. That’s why I wanted to do this, I wanted the experience to learn about trades and experience it first hand!” he said.
See what students experience at the Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fair. Talk to experts about the skilled trades as a rewarding career path for your child.
You’re invited to the Level Up Open House:
November 14, 2022 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Steelworkers Hall 66 Brady Street
Sudbury Catholic Schools was proud to host a professional administration day for education staff devoted to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) on October 24, 2022. The Board partnered with several local organizations to create engaging and innovative learning sessions.
Sessions included:
Cambrian College STEM tour: Educators had the opportunity to learn more about various STEM-based programming at Cambrian College, and how they can support showcasing STEM in the community. This day included a walking tour of the trades/ technology departments on campus, examples of hands-on learning activities and a workshop with Larissa Hoffman, VP of Edge Factor, who will provide an overview of their updated online platform and how Edge Factor can promote STEM careers to students.
Game Design Program at Cambrian College: Educators explored Game Design at Cambrian College with Professor, Program Director, and CBC Radio Tech Talk Host Aaron Langille. Participants got a glimpse of designing and developing commercial-quality game applications for a broad range of industries such as entertainment, health, education, construction, marketing, and mining.
Science North: Participants completed several activities including: SHSM workshops, turtle crossing Demo, Planetarium show and a bit coding workshop.
Connections Between Land and Art: Jessica Somers, an Indigenous Artist, guided participants through a land-based teaching about the Birch Tree and medicines. Participants were also guided through a painting workshop as they learned about the power of the spirit bear.
Outdoor learning at St. David School: Participants learned on the land as they were guided through an outdoor professional development session. Educators spent the day learning outside, connecting with nature, and exploring the various benefits that land based teaching can offer.
STEM Activities with Logics Academy: Educators had the opportunity to learn about robotics and Dash and how to integrate it into their classrooms!
Skills Ontario- Walking Robots Challenge: Katie Cameron, program facilitator for Skills Ontario introduced teachers to Skills Ontario and their variety of programs and services. In addition, teachers learned about the Junk Drawer Races competition. This program promotes sustainability of re-using common items found at home or in a classroom.
Let’s Talk Science : Teachers heard valuable information from Lindsay Shaw. Lindsay is the Program Development Manager for the Professional Learning team at Let’s Talk Science. In her role, she manages the development of the Learning Pathways program. She introduced teachers to Live STEM broadcasts, learning pathways and live events.
STEM Storytime: Primary teachers met Ryan Kahue. Ryan is a Program Support Coordinator for the Youth and Volunteer Experience team at Let’s Talk Science. His program of focus is STEM Storytime. STEM Storytime is a weekly series offered on Tuesdays at 1pm! Each week a Let’s Talk Science Outreach student along with Ryan will read a storybook followed by a hands-on activity.
STEM Club: Junior teachers met Nick Butt. Nick Butt is an Outreach Coordinator with Let’s Talk Science. He is manager, developer, and host of STEM Club. Each week, Let’s Talk Science, features a different hands-on activity using minimal, easy-to-find materials. Students will also have the chance to learn from and ask questions to inspire STEM role models.
We would like to thank all partners who helped create hands-on sessions and provided our educational staff with learning opportunities that can be recreated in our classrooms!
During the week of October 11-14, 2022, Sudbury Catholic Secondary students participated in the Trades & Tech events presented by Skills Ontario. The Trades & Tech Truck is a mobile unit equipped with 10 different activities and simulators, allowing youth to explore skilled trades and technologies in an engaging and hands-on experience.
Sudbury Catholic Schools continues to provide innovative experiential learning experiences throughout the year. Experiential learning encourages students of all ages to participate in activities to develop transferable skills and help prepare them for the future. Partnering with Skills Ontario allows the Board to bring unique opportunities such as the Trades & Tech Truck directly to students and schools.
“The Trades & Tech Truck provides students with a safe and hands-on experience. The truck is equipped with a welder simulator, heavy equipment simulator, painting simulator, electrical trainer, and several other interactive stations. Through this experience, we can help properly demonstrate the skilled trades and technologies, along with the message that they are viable, first choice career options,” said Hayley Mackay, Trades & Tech Truck Driver with Skills Ontario.
“I think these skills are important to know not only for academic purposes, but also in our day-to-day lives. Participating in Skills Ontario events is beneficial to show students what career options are out there, as well provide life skills that will be used outside of school,” said Finlee, Grade 10 student at Marymount Academy.
“The experience was very cool and realistic. It’s awesome to learn about the various career options and have an opportunity to try them out first- hand. I feel like I learned a lot at the Trades & Tech Truck,” said Santino, Grade 10 student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
The Sudbury Regional Science Fair, which took place virtually during March 21st – April 3rd, 2022, is a meaningful learning experience where Sudbury’s four School Boards, can provide opportunities to students from Grades 7-12 to show case their knowledge in different areas of science. Sudbury Catholic District School Board was grateful to participate once again in the Regional Science Fair and allow our students to enjoy hands-on learning experiences by extending their discovery in biology, chemistry, technology, and other areas.
This year approximately 15 projects represented the Board in the Regional Science Fair. The number of project topics was diverse again this year, with exciting subjects ranging from “Theoretical Gravity Control”, “Hacking an Air-Gapped Computer”, Creating a “Self-Hitting Hammer,” and more. We want to thank our judges and educators for guiding our students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth.
MMA Student, Kate Bouchard – 2022 Best In Fair Winner!
Following the Fair, Sudbury Catholic Schools, students, and families were invited to attend a virtual celebration organized by the Sudbury Regional Science Fair on April 10th, 2022. This virtual celebration highlighted the winners of divisional awards, special awards and celebrated students’ achievements. At this celebration, we are pleased to announce that Sudbury Catholic students collected ten awards, including Best of Fair which was presented to Kate Bouchard, a student from Marymount Academy for her project, “Go With The Flow“. We are also thrilled to announce that in addition to Kate’s amazing project , 4 other projects submitted by SCDSB Students have also been selected to advance to the Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) taking place on May 16th, 2022, in Moncton, New Brunswick.
The students and projects that will advance to the Canada Wide Science Fair include the following:
“Each year, our students present unique and creative science fair projects. This year was certainly no exception,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We are very excited to see the number of participants continue to grow, and we are proud of our students who represented us incredibly well again. We thank our judges and our educators for guiding students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth. We wish the students who are moving on to the 2022 Canada-Wide Science Fair the best of luck!”
“Science Fair was so much fun, and I think it’s because I was passionate about my topic.” Says Best in Fair Winner and CWSF participant, Kate Bouchard. “I chose something that I was interested in and genuinely wanted to learn more about. It helped me be more engaged, and because I was interested in what I was learning, I felt like I could explain it better and put forth more effort in making it better. I am really looking forward to be a part of the CWSF in May!”
Some of MMA’s Regional Science Fair students stop and smile with their regional science fair medals! (Middle left Best in Fair Winner – Kate Bouchard)
Dylan Nelson, a Grade 8 student from St. Benedict, will also be attending the Canada Wide Science Fair with his unique project where he created a Self-Hitting Hammer. This idea was inspired by his passion for building things and from wanting to help his grandmother.
“I was trying to think of something inventive to do. I wanted to create something new, and I realized that I like building things, so I wanted to make a new type of hammer that would allow someone who cannot hammer a nail with a normal hammer still perform that task. My experience was fun because I spent time with grandpa, who helped me construct it, and I was able to make my project about making something that would help my grandma.”
Pictured is St. Benedict Student and Regional Science Fair Honouree Dylan accepting his award from the SCDSB Director of Education, Joanne Bénard and Principal of St. Benedict, Laura Kuzenko.
Overall, we are pleased to celebrate the contributions and participation of all our schools and students in this meaningful learning opportunity. We would like to end our post by congratulating all students, educators, and schools on their participation and effort in making the 2022 Science Fair a success! The ten project winners included projects from Marymount Academy, projects from St. Benedict and one project from St. Charles College.
Please visit the following link below to view all the wonderful projects brought forward by Sudbury Catholic Students this year.
In honour of Computer Science Education Week (Dec 6-12), each day, we will put a special spotlight on 1 amazing staff member whose expertise within the fascinating world of IT and computer science deserve to be celebrated!
Learn more about Computer Science Education Week by checking out the #csedweek website.
Skills Ontario has officially opened registration for its July virtual workshops so students can explore skilled trades and tech-related workshops, demonstrations, virtual tours and presentations that pique their interest.
Sessions will run from July 5 to 30 and there is no fee to participate. Another session is set to run in August, with sign-up opening June 21. The virtual workshops are being held in place of summer camps.
Virtual workshops are open to all ages however are typically suited to Grades 7, 8 and 9. Each event’s individual registration page provides details regarding difficulty level and required skills and some sessions include a free hands-on kit that will be shipped to registered participants.
Two Sudbury Catholic District School Board students are bringing home gold medals in the 2021 Skills Ontario Competition! Veronica Zulich, student at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, achieved gold in the category of cooking while Isaac Chandler, student at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School, achieved gold in CNC Woodworking. Both students are enrolled in Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) programs at their schools (Hospitality/Tourism and Green Industries, respectively). The Skills Ontario Competition is Canada’s largest skilled trades competition, and traditionally hosts over 2,400 students each May in Etobicoke. This year, the competition took place virtually. A total of seven Sudbury Catholic students competed in the event either presenting live or by submitting their projects to a panel of judges.
Participating Sudbury Catholic students also included:
Brady Van Druenen & Sean Nguyen (St. Charles College – TV/Video)
Kyle Nyereyumhuka (St. Charles College – Graphic Design Presentation)
Kyra Coutain (St. Charles College – Photography)
Rory Lavallee (St. Charles College – Graphic Design Studio Production)
“We are very thrilled with the results of this competition! We are so impressed by the resiliency and determination of all our student competitors, especially considering the year they have endured with last minute schedule changes and change of events,” said Dan Levecque, OYAP and SHSM coordinator for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
“Congratulations to all of our participating students and especially to our gold medal winners! These achievements are a testament to the hours of hard work and determination from our students and their mentors. We would like to acknowledge teacher mentors Kirk McKee, Mike Sipos and Christina Thompson, as well as community partner Mark Gregorini (Verdicchio Ristorante), for continually supporting our students in exploring and pursuing careers in the Skilled Trades. We would also like to thank and acknowledge Cambrian College for their continued partnership and support,” said Peter Prochilo, Superintendent of School Effectiveness for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board.
“We are so incredibly proud of our students, our educators and their mentors for their achievements in this year’s Skills Ontario competition,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “Their accomplishments are a clear indicator of the effort they each put into their projects and the time they spent preparing for this competition. Through our partnership with Skills Ontario, we value the hands-on learning opportunities focused on skilled trades, pathways and career building that we are able to provide our students. We are also grateful to our educators and community partners for their dedication and mentorship to our students. Congratulations to all Sudbury Catholic students who participated and especially to Veronica and Isaac for their gold medal placements. We wish Veronica good luck on her next stage of competition; we know you will represent Sudbury Catholic with pride!”
Veronica Zulich will compete in the Skills Canada National Competition on May 28th which will also be held virtually.
On Tuesday evening, families participated in an Hour of Code while participating in a dance party and learning about coding all at the same time! This session was designed for families to learn the basics of coding without even using a device.
Students learned that events are a useful way to control when an action happens and can be used to make multiple things act in sync. In programming, events can be used to respond to a user controlling it (like pressing buttons or clicking the mouse) and that events can make programs more interesting and interactive.
Following, our teachers taught various dance moves such as the “Star, Dab, High Clap and This & That”. Then, families were asked to create their own unique dance algorithm and to share their finished products in order to have a chance to win a family prize pack.
