As part of the “Elders in the School Program”, Elder Vince Pawis (middle) shares his wise counsel and guidance with the students of St. James School. Vince uses the Medicine Wheel to express the meaning of the Four Sacred Directions which encompass all the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers. The students and school Deacon Pat Raymond and principal Cara Soehner participated in a smudging ceremony followed by a hands-on-approach to the Aboriginal Teachings.
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The Little Students That Could Tackle “The Little Engine That Could”
Early Learning Kindergarten students at St. Raphael have been getting hands-on while learning to retell stories in their own words.
This month, the class read “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper. Afterwards, they recreated the story on a bulletin board using elaborate pop-out pictures and words.
Classroom teacher Mrs. Tripodi says “This activity helped them to solidify their understanding of retelling stories.”
Early Childhood Educator Mr. Vicedomini says the lesson had a two-fold purpose because the students also learned the values of optimism and hard work.
New Vice-Chair for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is pleased to announce Jody Cameron as the new Vice-Chair of the Board. At the March Board meeting, trustee Paula Peroni announced that she would be stepping down from her Vice-Chair position effective April 11. At the April 12 board meeting, trustee Cameron ran unchallenged for the position and as a result was elected to the position of Vice-Chair.
“It is once again a great privilege and honour to serve the Sudbury Catholic District School Board in the position of Vice-Chair,” Cameron stated. “I look forward to working with Chair Barry MacDonald, as well as the other trustees as we are committed to ensuring the very best in Catholic education for all of our students.”
Cameron has served two terms previous in the position of Vice-Chair as well as two terms for the Board in the position of Chair.
Poisson d’Avril are swimming at St. Mary in Capreol
Core French students and Mme Aubin at St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol were walking around with paper fish stuck to their backs – on purpose – on April Fool’s Day. Mme Aubin ensured that students were familiar with the French tradition of Poisson d’Avril. In France, it’s called April FISH Day. French children make paper fish and try to tape them to the backs of unsuspecting friends.
Although the origins of April Fool’s Day vary, it is widely accepted that the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century (in 1564 King Charles XIV of France moved the start of the year from the end of March to January 1) played an important role. However, news didn’t travel very quickly at that time and the uneducated lower class in rural areas were the last to hear of the reform. Those who failed to keep up with the change had jokes played on them – paper fish were taped to their backs.
Poisson d’Avril are swimming at St. Mary in Capreol
Core French students and Mme Aubin at St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol were walking around with paper fish stuck to their backs – on purpose – on April Fool’s Day. Mme Aubin ensured that students were familiar with the French tradition of Poisson d’Avril. In France, it’s called April FISH Day. French children make paper fish and try to tape them to the backs of unsuspecting friends.
Although the origins of April Fool’s Day vary, it is widely accepted that the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century (in 1564 King Charles XIV of France moved the start of the year from the end of March to January 1) played an important role. However, news didn’t travel very quickly at that time and the uneducated lower class in rural areas were the last to hear of the reform. Those who failed to keep up with the change had jokes played on them – paper fish were taped to their backs.
Poisson d’Avril are swimming at St. Mary in Capreol
Core French students and Mme Aubin at St. Mary Catholic School in Capreol were walking around with paper fish stuck to their backs – on purpose – on April Fool’s Day. Mme Aubin ensured that students were familiar with the French tradition of Poisson d’Avril. In France, it’s called April FISH Day. French children make paper fish and try to tape them to the backs of unsuspecting friends.
Although the origins of April Fool’s Day vary, it is widely accepted that the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century (in 1564 King Charles XIV of France moved the start of the year from the end of March to January 1) played an important role. However, news didn’t travel very quickly at that time and the uneducated lower class in rural areas were the last to hear of the reform. Those who failed to keep up with the change had jokes played on them – paper fish were taped to their backs.
Dreambox Lunch at St. Charles Elementary School
This year, two classes at St. Charles Elementary School have been working on building their math skills using Dreambox, an online math tool that they can access both at school and at home. This project, funded through the North Easter Ontario Education Network (NEOEN), has provided home and school access to students in these classes, as well as time for collaborative planning and learning for the teachers. On Friday, April 1st, Mrs. Bardswich’s Grade 1/ 2 and Mrs. Harris’ Grade 2/3 classes shared their Dreambox learning with their parents. Parents were invited to the classroom to visit and participate in math learning centres with their children, followed by a pizza lunch. The students shared their experiences, and talked about how they felt that Dreambox was improving their math ability. The enthusiasm and confidence displayed by all of the students was wonderful to see. This lunch was a perfect opportunity for teachers and parents to share their observations about student learning and confidence, and for students to share their perceptions of their math ability and the value of using this tool for math learning. Our thanks go out to all of the parents who participated in this event, and to the staff of St. Charles Elementary School, particularly Mrs. Bardswich and Mrs. Harris, for making this event possible.
St. David Catholic School works with the Community to Celebrate David Suzuki’s Birthday
The staff and students at St. David Catholic School have been working all year to enhance and support the School Board’s Dearness Conservation Environmental Challenge. The school’s “green” initiatives started as a project led by grade 3/4 teacher Terri Lynn Lepage. Lepage stated that, “I started the school conservation project because I live my life within the principles that we all have a responsibility to care for the earth and care for the next generation who will inherit the earth. Once I started to speak with the students about the importance of conservation and how simple things can make a huge difference, for example turning off the lights at lunch each day, our students, staff and community partners jumped on board and have been doing things differently – to make a difference”.
The school now makes environmental responsibility a part of the daily curriculum. Students have banded together to create a “green team”. The school’s “green team” leads the project. According to grade 1 teacher, Maria Cimino, “students teaching students is an excellent way to foster leadership and responsibility at St. David. Kids listen to their peers. Our students teach their parents and families about conservation and environmental issues – they actually teach us. It is a wonderful paradigm shift to be a part of.”
The student “green team” researches interesting environmental facts and strategies for taking care of the planet and then reads it as part of the school’s daily announcements. They promote litter-less lunches and reward~ students who bring reusable containers with pencils and the opportunity to win water bottles, reusable lunch bags other prizes that are good for the earth.
The junior kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 3/4 classes have started vermi-composting in the classrooms. Vermicomposting, or worm composting, is an excellent way to convert student's biodegradable lunch garbage into nutrient rich fertilizer. Composting with specialty worms known as Red Wigglers is a clean and environmentally friendly way to save tones of waste from going into landfill.
Local counsellor, Evelyn Dutrisac graciously donated 2 outdoor composting bins and kitchen catchers to St. David School so that the entire school community can take turns composting food scraps.
The school turns lights out everyday at lunch time whenever possible and teachers and students use natural light whenever possible. According to Lepage, “conservation can be as simple as, we used reusable cups for the winter carnival instead of paper or styrofoam”. Even the school parent council has taken an active role in this project by hosting a monthly ” community closet”. Parent council chair, Clara O’Campo stated, “we feel great supporting our community by offering people slightly used clothing and household items, and feel even better knowing it helps conserve waste in the world”.
Over the past week the school had been preparing for David Suzuki's virtual birthday party. During the party, students wore green to represent and remind them that everyone shares one planet. Several students submitted questions that David Suzuki answered on line during the virtual birthday party. During the party, some students participated in the video component while others planted marigold seeds that will eventually be planted outside the school – and everyone eat birthday cake!
St. David School future plans include working towards starting a community garden in the school yard this spring and harvesting the crops in the fall with a harvest festival. Lepage ended the birthday party by challenging the students to continue to spread their message in the community. She stated that “David Suzuki received a great birthday gift from St. David School – he would be proud their efforts to create a world that cares about the earth and works to keep it healthy.”
Reading Partnerships in Junior Kindergarten
The junior kindergarten students in Mrs.Visentin’s class look forward to reading buddies each month at St.Francis. The students in junior kindergarten have partnered with Mrs. Narduzzi’s grade 3 & 4 class twice a month to listen to award winning read alouds with their reading buddies. The junior kindergarten students have also been participating in a Read at Home Program that encourages reading which is an essential part of children’s education. The students are encouraged to listen nightly to short stories at home.
The Sudbury Public Library will also be present in the class to accept new library card registrations for the junior kindergarten students. Students and parents are encouraged to use the free sign out privileges of fiction and nonfiction children books and other available resources.