The St. David Catholic Elementary School junior kindergarten classroom has been filled with anticipation and excitement over the last couple of weeks. Lindsay Michel, the school’s junior kindergarten teacher organized the hatching of chickens in her classroom.

Mrs. Michel’s aim was to provide a thrilling educational experience for her young inner city students. St. David School is located in the Donovan area of the city. Mrs. Michel wanted her students to experience the joy of life while learning to build empathy for other forms of life. The students watched patiently as their eggs hatched and new born chicks emerged from their shells.

The St. David junior kindergarten program meets the needs of young inquisitive learners by providing them with the opportunity to participate in hands on, child centred, inquiry based learning. It is through a relationship building focus that the school creates an environment that supports student engagement and real world learning experiences.

The Welcome to Kindergarten Program at St. David Catholic School was held on Wednesday May 21 in the school’s gymnasium. The program was designed for families and their children who will be entering kindergarten in September 2014. Families and children attended mini literacy and numeracy workshops with their new teachers. All families received early literacy resources as part of the “Welcome to Kindergarten Program” and learned strategies for using these resources at home with their children.

St. David School kindergarten teachers and the school principal were very excited to meet their new students. The teachers explained the school’s new full day kindergarten program. In September 2014, kindergarten students will participate in structured play-based learning. As students play, they learn about the world and how it works. They will learn social skills as well as academic skills. All children will have nutrition breaks and opportunities for small group and independent learning. The new kindergarten program capitalizes on student’s natural curiosity and their desire to make sense of their environment. Mrs. Michel, one of the school’s kindergarten teachers said, “through exploration, imagination and inquiry our hope is that our new students will be excited about their learning”.

The Aboriginal Best Start HUB, Better Beginnings, Better Futures After School Program and the Sudbury Health Unit all ran stations during the afternoon session. The Aboriginal Best Start HUB will be running a “School Readiness Program“ starting on June 9, 2014. All students interested in participating in this program are asked to call 705-688-1941and ask for Eileen or Tiffany. Space is limited in this program, so any interested participants are encouraged to call as soon as possible.

“St. David School is proud to host such a welcoming, diverse afternoon for families and new kindergarten students. We hope the hope the community enjoyed it as much as we did” stated school principal, Dawn Wemigwans.