On Friday January 18, 2016, Marymount Academy had the pleasure of spending some of their afternoon with special guest Lisa Marie Naponse. Their guest was introduced by two very confident young women, students Tyanna Soucy and Hailey Organ. These two ladies are currently representatives of the Aniisinaabe Cultural group here at Marymount Academy which is organized in collaboration with Carla Petahtegoose, the SCDSB Indigenous Education Support Worker. Lisa Marie is a self-taught singer and songwriter from Atikameksheng Anishinawbek. She shared her art and music which is a blend of blues, folk, and country. During her visit with Marymount she engaged the students in song and rhythm. Lisa shared with the students that as she was growing up, she was surrounded by music and creativity her mother and father played music and her sisters were pow wow dancers and craftswomen. Lisa speaks to people through music on indigenous life and her experiences as an Anishnawbe Kwe(Woman). Lisa quickly embraced the microphone community; which lead her to eventually co-founding an Indigenous Arts Collective that showcased Indigenous performances and art throughout the city of Ottawa. Today Lisa Marie has returned to her community and is working on new music and art. Finally, to finish off our assembly Hailey Organ kindly presented a gift on behalf of the Marymount staff and students.
Category: Marymount Academy
Year 26 for Marymount-S.A.C.Y. Christmas Luncheon Celebration
At 11:15 a.m. on Friday, December 11, 2015, it was organized chaos as the grade 12 Marymount Academy students scurried around getting the last minute preparations done for the annual Marymount-Sudbury-Action Centre for Youth (S.A.C.Y.) Christmas luncheon. For the past twenty-six years, Marymount teacher – now retired – Matthew Wiecha, has organized this gathering which supports the clients of S.A.C.Y. – many who are homeless and dealing with addiction and mental health issues. For the last few weeks, the grade twelve students at the school set up a plan of action to ensure that nothing was forgotten, wanting to ensure that the entire meal was perfect for all that attended the lunch. The group anticipated between 250-300 clients coming out to enjoy the feast. “The need is greater and greater each year,” explained Wiecha. “For many this is the only Christmas meal they will have, and we want to ensure that they are well fed and happy. The Marymount students are outstanding – this year having the biggest group ever get involved in the luncheon. It really is something special for all who take part as our students exemplify the true meaning of Christmas – giving – and the clients recognize that they are part of a community that truly cares about their well-being.”
She Shoots She Scores – MMA Regals Wrap Up Another Successful Goals for Girls Tournament
For the past several years, Marymount Academy has held its annual Goals for Girls Ball Hockey Tournament. This tournament is organized by the school’s Girls’ Athletic Association (GAA) and involves student and teacher floor hockey teams playing ball hockey round robin style with themed teams, creative uniforms and spirit awards. The Goals for Girls campaign is held to encourage young women to be physically active and to help them recognize and become involved in the many activities and opportunities available in their school and community. As well, this tournament is also a fundraiser in which monies raised are used to sponsor young women who cannot financially afford to play sports, and to purchase fitness equipment. This year, in addition to the school fundraising, a portion of the funds raised will go towards the Adaptive Canuck ALS Foundation. Marymount worked with retired teacher Michel Leroux, who was diagnosed with ALS a month after he retired from teaching, as well as a gentleman by the name of Jeff Perreault (who was also diagnosed with ALS about a year ago and is only in his mid-30’s). Together, they are trying to raise enough funds to help provide advanced stem cell treatments for all PALS (People Living with ALS), and the students and staff at MMA felt that this would be a great organization to also support with its Goals for Girls fundraiser. Alongside the one day ball hockey tournament, students also had the opportunity to soak their teachers with a bucket/dunk tank in the school. All teams that signed up to play paid an entrance fee, and that fee allowed each team member to attempt to hit a target that dumped ice-cold water on the teachers. As well, any student could pay five dollars for the opportunity to soak their teachers. Needless to say, the teachers who signed up were cold and wet for a big portion of the day as the final monies raised were over $3200.00 with a portion going to the Adaptive Canucks Foundation, as well as to support students in need. Mia Tullio, Co-President of the G.A.A. was happy that today was about the school and the community. “As Regals we are taught the importance of giving back to those who need support, both close to us, as well as in our community,” Tullio explained. “The culture of Marymount is very unique in that we really try to better ourselves, by helping others. Through this Goals for Girls event, we are able to engage in physical activity in a positive and spirited environment, but more importantly we are able to provide assistance to our fellow students who may need it, and are also supporting an organization that supports families, friends and neighbours right in our own community!”
Marymount Regals Step Up Their Annual Food Drive Challenge
One often hears about world hunger, but the reality is that hunger is also in our own community – especially in December and January. Every year, Marymount Academy holds an annual Christmas food drive to help stock the shelves of the Sudbury Food Bank in preparation for the holiday season. The school pairs up with “Kids Helping Kids”, which was founded by Edgar Burton and is the biggest food drive in Sudbury. One quarter to one third of the food received at the Sudbury Food Bank annually is collected from the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive. The founder, Mr. Burton, unfortunately is no longer with us, however his legacy and impact still lives on, especially in our Marymount community. This campaign has a special place in the Regals’ hearts as his wife, Sharon Burton, works in our school cafeteria. Her continuous kindness and generosity on a day-to-day basis has inspired many girls to give back to our community through this event.
Typically, the Marymount Catholic Charities Council (MC3) sets a goal of 5000 cans, but this year we decided to step it up. We set a goal of 10,000 cans and with a combination of non-perishable food and monetary donations, the Regals raised a total of 12,613 cans. This is the largest number of cans collected at Marymount since 2012. Lise Callahan, the teacher in charge of the drive was thrilled with the school’s response to the challenge. “We are incredibly proud of our Regals and know that their efforts in helping to alleviate food insecurity will impact many individuals throughout Greater Sudbury this Christmas season. What has had the most value and impact on our school has been the exposure that we have been able to bring around the topic of local hunger.”
Regals Ready to Wrap the Town in Red
Students at Marymount Academy have been working extremely hard these past few weeks trying to prepare as many red scarves as possible. Several weeks ago, Réseau ACCESS Network contacted local secondary schools to see if they would assist in their “Bundle Up in Red” campaign. According to their press release, the “Bundle Up in Red” campaign “is an awareness promotion utilizing red scarves to capture the attention of Sudburians. Red scarves will be distributed throughout the city. They will be tied around lampposts throughout major city streets and will be attached to trees in both Memorial and Bell Park. Individuals are encouraged to take and wear the scarves which will be tagged with facts about HIV/AIDS.” This campaign is to support HIV Awareness Week which begins November 23rd. Several Marymount Academy students took up this challenge and have been working diligently to get as many scarves as possible in preparation for distribution and already have over 350 scarves ready to go. It is the hope that this campaign will get people thinking and talking about HIV and is a unique way to get this very important messaging out into the community. Scarves can be kept or passed along and any leftover scarves will be donated to shelters. According to Brenda Thompson, teacher at Marymount, her students were onboard right from the first request. “We immediately had students approach us and say they wanted to be a part of this campaign,” Thompson explained. “That is the culture at Marymount Academy. Our students all the way from grade 7-12 are strongly encouraged to get involved in our community, and know that is it very important to give back. The students recognized that this “Bundle Up in Red” campaign was something very relevant for today’s s
MMA Regals Inspired to be Change Agents At Ottawa WEDay
On November 9th, 2015, 35 Marymount Academy students travelled to Ottawa excited for the big event the next day. On November 10, these students had the opportunity to attend the Ottawa WeDay event at the Canadian Tire Centre joining more than 15,000 students and teachers from over 500 schools. Tickets are not available for purchase for this event. Instead, they have to be earned through social justice actions the year before. This is done so that the students can celebrate what they have already done, and be motivated to do more the next year. Students must take part in a local and global challenge, so Marymount Academy students organized a food drive locally, and sold rafiki bracelets made by, and to support women in villages in Africa.
During WEDay, the students were inspired by several outstanding speakers and bands including Rick Hansen, Spencer West, Henry Winkler, Waneek Horn-Miller, Simple Plan and Shawn Hook. A last minute addition to the line up proved to be the most exciting for the crowd as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie took to the stage for his very first large scale public appearance and speech. As the new Minister for Youth, Trudeau spoke to the crowd and told them that they are not to think of themselves as leaders of tomorrow, instead to be leaders today. Marymount Academy teacher Lise Callaghan described the day – “It is so fast paced and the feeling is electric in the space,” explained Callaghan. “The students are bombarded with positivity and are told that they truly can make a difference. They are told they need to become “Change Agents” and to find their spark and take steps forward, no matter how small, to achieve their dreams.” The Regals left the event energized, and have already started discussions to continue the momentum from the day, with plans in place to continue to make a difference at the school, community, and global levels.
Marymount Regals Flag Football Team Captures 5th Straight Division A City Title
It was a perfect season for the Marymount Flag Football team. The regular season champions validated their record with a convincing 32-9 win over the Confederation Chargers in the Division “A” city championship. This is Marymount’s 5th straight city title, an impressive dynasty to say the least! The game was quite a bit closer than the score would show leading up to the middle of the third quarter; however, experience and some incredible game play by both the offense and defence proved very difficult for Confederation and the Regals took control of the remainder of the game. Coaches Dan Bartolucci, Jason Weiler, Julia Boschetto, and Tori Jewell couldn’t be more proud of their team. Marymount’s last taste of defeat was the opening game of the 2014 season and since then, they have gone on to win 13 games in a row.
Way to go Regals, you truly are 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… 1!!!
Two SCDSB Students Named to Minister’s Student Advisory Council
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce that two SCDSB secondary students have been selected to be a part of the Minister’s Student Advisory Council- TiCarra Paquet from Marymount Academy and Laura Rinaldi from St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.
According to the Ministry of Education’s press release, “Students who serve on the Minister’s Advisory Council have many responsibilities. The council meets with (Minister of Education Liz Sandals) twice during the terms and each member is required to participate in at least one regional student forum.
The council also provides:
– ongoing student perspectives, advice, recommendations, and consultations on the Ministry of Education’s policies, programs and practices;
– advice and feedback on the activities more specifically related to the ministry’s student engagement activities; and
– feedback on student-focused communication strategies and products, such as websites, brochures, pamphlets and video clips.
Council members also have many opportunities for leadership and skills development. During their term they learn about strategic planning and the formation of government policy, programs and practices. They also use on-line surveys and other communication strategies to engage their peers and raise awareness about programs and services available for Ontario students.”
Jody Cameron, Chair of the Board states, “On behalf of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, we would like to congratulate both TiCarra and Laura for showing initiative and leadership, and we know that they will make us proud representing the voice of our students and our board provincially.”
June 2015 OAPCE Newsletter
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting our Sudbury Catholic parents, the SCDSB would like to provide a link to the latest newsletter from The Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE).
This month’s newsletter comes in three parts:
Learning About Residential Schools at MMA
On Friday, May 22, Marymount Academy had Elder, Gert Nootchtai come and speak about her residential school experience. Students TiCarra Paquet, and Starr Trudeau, along with aboriginal support worker, Carla Petahtegoose coordinated the event. Students from Gr 9 – 12 were able to shed some light on a very dark part of Canadian history. Elder Nootchtai spoke about how she wasn’t allowed to speak her language, or practice her culture at residential school, there were punishments in place according to what you did. Elder Nootchtai shared most of the time she did what she was told to avoid punishments . She also touched upon the “1960’s scoop,” when aboriginal youth were taken from their families by Indian Agents hired by the government, and then put into the residential schools or child protective services. At times her memory is unclear if her guardians were aware of what was happening or if they just took her to school without consent. On a lighter note she did mention some fun activities for her at Spanish Residential School was when the Native teacher was hired and she took them outdoors for walks a lot and the kids would always sign up for this to get out of school. Following Elder Nootchtai’s shared experience, staff and students participated in an activity that allowed students to experience what it felt like to be removed from a community. of Residential School survivors. In recognizing the trauma and historical truths of Canadian history, it was a very educational day, and Marymount Academy looks forward to embracing more FNMI culture in the school.