Category: Faith

The tradition to help families in need at Christmas is still alive after more than twenty years at St. Charles College.

This year almost twenty-five families will have gifts to put under the tree for their children thanks to the Cards.

Homerooms pool money together in the weeks leading up to Christmas and then go shopping with the child’s pre-made list in hand.

Deacon Steve Callaghan, the school Chaplain spearheads the initiative yearly, “Each homeroom essentially adopts a child or children within a family attending one of its feeder schools and supplies gifts for the children.” To keep annonymity and respect the families privacy, Deacon Steve delivers the parcels to the parents in the days leading up to Christmas through the help of the feeder school Principals.

Principal Patty Mardero says “The initiative falls in line with the Ontario Catholic Graduate Expectation five which focuses on students becoming collaborative contributors inside of the walls of the school but also helping students beyond that in the greater community.”

As part of a letter writing unit in Literacy studies, students in teacher Sarah Bock’s grade seven class at St. Charles College are writing war veterans. 

The students are writing the letters in an effort to show veterans why there are valued. The unit ties in nicely to the Remembrance Day theme. 

Bock says in the past, her students have written troops in combat but she thought it would be an interesting twist to write veterans who have served in the past. 

Once completed and assessed, the letters will be mailed out to veterans listed on the Veteran Affairs website through a campaign called “Postcards for Peace.”

The grade 7 and 8 Student Council at St. Charles College wanted to find a way to celebrate the fall harvest and give thanks for everything they have at school and home. The council decided to break bread and share a meal together. This meal fed the more than two hundred elementary students enroled at the school.

In addition to dining together to celebrate Thanksgiving ahead of the holiday weekend, the students also contributed a few dollars or a few cans to the upcoming school canned food drive initiative.

Principal Mrs. Patty Mardero says “it was nice to see these elementary students starting their own yearly tradition as they find their niche here at SCC. We, too have to be thankful for these students joining our Cards family.”

The St. Charles College World Issues Club is a student run and founded organization. The students want to encourage other young people to be informed, responsible global citizens who care about timely issues, and who make an effort to do something about it. In spirit of the club’s purpose, they will be hosting their first annual charity gala “Change” to fundraise and promote for charitable organizations such as L’Arche Sudbury and The Junction Creek Stewardship Committee. They will also be showcasing Red Cross in light of the recent earthquake in Nepal. Change will give each organization the chance to address the community, showcase their mission and raise awareness for their cause. The night will also feature musical performances from some St. Charles College music students and dinner will be provided. Semi formal wear is encouraged. For more information, please contact the school at 705-566-9605.