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
Check out the poster for more details!
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:
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!
Grade 7 Marymount students Annabelle Richardson, Isabella Palladino and Mila Kidd placed first in the Popsicle Stick House Challenge; an event hosted by Skills Ontario as part of the International Day of the Girl Virtual Challenge Series.
To celebrate International Day of the Girl (which was held on October 11, 2022), Skills Ontario hosted several events including the For Girls, By Girls conference, a virtual celebration, and the virtual challenge series.
Students were assigned the task of building a house entirely out of popsicle sticks. Along with the structure, students were required to list and describe the various trades required to complete a project such as this. They then submitted a video of their project.
“We really wanted to win! It was a lot of fun to work together and build our popsicle house. We worked hard all week on our submission,” said Annabelle.
“The theme of this year’s event was girls can do anything – and I think we proved that! We really like completing these challenges because we’re given the opportunity to work on technical skills and collaborate as a team!” said Isabella.
The three students also agree that partnering with Skills Ontario and participating in experiential learning opportunities helps prepare them for the future!
“I want to be an architect – coming to Marymount has been awesome because there are so many opportunities and programs that focus on trades and technology. I really enjoy completing Skills Ontario Challenges and look forward to completing more in the future,” said Mila.
For more information about International Day of the Girl events, please go to https://www.skillsontario.com/idg.
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.
In honour of International Day of the Girl, Marymount Students attended the ‘For Girls, by Girls’ conference on October 11 at Science North. The conference was designed for girls in Grade 6-8 and provided them with the opportunity to discuss the trades and technology and the various career options available to them.
The conference included a blend of workshops and panel discussions. The keynote speaker was Kendra Liinamaa, a local welder who has completed various apprenticeships with Vale. The panel discussion was moderated by Danielle Robb, a millwright apprentice, and included Marymount students Roselyn Urena-Tejada, Jade Goodson and Heather Walinga. In addition, participants were allowed to participate in three different workshops. Workshop options included:
Students left feeling inspired and motivated by the conference, and are eager to further explore their career options.
“I feel like I know more about jobs that I never would have considered before, “ Alana, Marymount Student
“I thought it was very hands on and interactive. I loved learning and being inspired by the women at the workshop“ Maddie, Marymount Student.
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.
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!”
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.”
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.
Sudbury Catholic Science Fair Projects: LINK
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.
Everyone meet David Hempel!
He is one of the wonderful Computer Infrastructure Technicians we have here at SCDSB and believes that “IT can take you anywhere!”
Thanks David for all that you do and more!
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.
For more information, please visit: Skills Ontario’s Summer Camps
13 projects from Sudbury Catholic Schools will advance to the Virtual 2021 Regional Science Fair. The Sudbury Catholic District School Board held a board wide virtual science fair where projects were judged and scored. Project topics included ‘What foods produce the most biogas”, “The Best Acoustical Set-Up” and “Sturdy Guard – Creating a More Secure Skate Guard.”
The top three Board Science Fair projects are as follows:
• Third Place: Mary Leigh (Marymount Academy) – The Best Acoustical Set-Up
• Second Place: Malachi Slack (Remote Learning School) – Dans Quelle Mesure les Désinfectants Fonctionnent-ils?
• First Place/Best in Fair: Cameron O’Daiskey (St. Anne School) – Snuffed Out
“Each year, our students present unique and creative science fair projects, and this year was certainly no exception. Though this year’s science fair looked a bit different, students were able to participate by showcasing their projects, experiments and visual evidence in an online forum,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “We thank our judges as well as our educators for guiding students and continually finding new opportunities for hands-on learning and growth. We wish participating students good luck in the Virtual 2021 Regional Science Fair!”
Please visit the following link to view all of the Sudbury Catholic science fair projects: LINK. Judging for the Virtual 2021 Regional Science Fair will take place throughout April and the official awards ceremony will be held on April 18, 2021.
On Monday, March 8th over 100 Marymount Students joined Skills Ontario’s virtual conference in celebration of International Women’s Day 2021! This event was dedicated to empowering women through relatable and engaging conversations. This year, International Women’s Day’s official theme was: Choose to Challenge.
“A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.” (IWD 2021)
Students heard how tradeswomen are shattering stigmas and stereotypes surrounding sexism, working in a male-dominated industry, being an inspiring female entrepreneur, maintaining work-life balance, and more. The Skills Ontario International Women’s Day Conference 2021 provided viewers with the opportunity to listen and to engage with women working in skilled trades and technologies. Women who are exploring and entering these careers were able to hear firsthand from women in the industry on their experiences and advice.
Students listened to encouraging messages from highly respected and influential leaders and tradespeople, including former Regal Tessa Gooden, (class of 2009) now a music producer and sing/songwriter, the Honourable Jill Dunlop, Associate Minister of Children’s and Women’s Issues, Jill Timushka, welding instructor/inspector and Hilary Noack, Owner of Ink & Iron an all-female auto body shop.
The conference ended with Principal Cassandra Tenbergen addressing her students. “Today I encourage all girls to reflect on and honour powerful women in their life and who inspires them, as they become our strong, future leaders of tomorrow.”
