Caring For God's Creation

St. Joseph Recognized for Environmental Programs

L to R. Councilor Scott Moffatt, Councilor Jan Harder, Mayor Jim Watson,
Principal Sue Arbour, & Councilor Maria McRae

During an assembly on Friday, November 30, St. Joseph High School was recognized by the City of Ottawa for its outstanding environmental programs, and specifically, for being the first area school to launch a Green Bin program. 

In the opening prayer, Chaplaincy Leader Donna Hughes perfectly framed the school's environmental initiatives within the context of Catholic education, reminding the students in attendance that "by our works we show our faith."  Principal Sue Arbour then spoke.  She listed some of St. Joseph High School's impressive environmental initiatives, which have garnered it Gold EcoSchool status: reusing milk bags to make sleeping mats for developing countries, having bottled water- free days, participating in spring clean up, and creating a unique green space of sugar maple trees on school property. 

St. Jerome School, like St. Joseph H S, recycles milk bags by turning
 them into blankets

After Barrhaven Councilor Jan Harder congratulated the students of St. Joseph, Councilor Maria McRae, Chair of the City of Ottawa's Environment Committee, spoke about the need to separate reusable from non-reusable garbage in order to sustain our landfills longer, including the one across the street from St. Joseph.

Then it was time for Mayor Jim Watson to present St. Joseph High School with a Certificate of Achievement for being a "shining example of environmental awareness".  The mayor acknowledged that St. Joseph was the very first school to have a Green Bin program and that there are now 160 schools in the Ottawa region involved in this program. 

Mayor Jim Watson addresses the students of St. Joseph H S

The grade 7/8 students who attended the assembly enjoyed it very much. particularly when Mayor Watson and the councilors handed out Green Team t-shirts to those students who were first to answer questions related to the Green Bin program.

Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week in Review

St. Francis Xavier students pledge to Take a Stand and Lend A Hand 

Ottawa Catholic schools participated in Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (November 18-24) in a variety of ways.  At St. Francis Xavier High School, students took a pledge not to idly sit by while classmates were bullied, but instead, to take a stand against bullying and lend a hand to potential victims.  Many students also participated in a school-wide initiative to perform random acts of kindness while peer mentors at the school conducted workshops on topics such as cyberbullying, the hurtful impact of words, and the role of bystanders.

St. Francis Xavier Principal Mike Curry & students display their acts of kindness

Other schools had guest speakers.  Holocaust survivor Eva Olsson spoke for the second year in a row at Mother Teresa.  Motivational speaker and magician Jim Jordan engaged students st St. Matthew High school as he highlighted the various types of bullying that exist. He described effectively how the bystander is the solution to all bullying incidents. By speaking up and doing something, students remove "the oxygen" from any bullying incident.

St. Matthew students listen to Jim Jordan

Jim Jordan

At some schools, students responded in creative ways.  At Lester Pearson High School, students in one of Ms Kim Samson's French classes created the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PldplzercX4