To highlight February’s virtue of the month and continue to instil in students the importance of compassion, St. David Catholic Elementary School students from teacher Lindsey Michel’s FDK class, teacher Todd Rayne’s grade 2/3 class, and teacher Terry-Lynn Lepage’s grade 3 class made get-well cards for children across Northern Ontario who are currently undergoing treatment for various types of cancer. “When I contacted the NOFCC (Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer) and explained to them what we wanted to do they thought it was a great idea” Rayne explained. The cards of hope will be given to the Pediatric Interlink Nurse who will deliver them to the children as she travels across Northern Ontario.

To find out how you can help, you are encouraged to visit http://nofcc.ca

Or stop by their head office:

Northern Ontario Families of Children With Cancer
667 St. Clair Street
Sudbury, Ontario
P3E 4G9
Phone Number: 705-586-3229
Toll Free: 1-888-993-9227
Fax Number: 705-673-7715

St. David Catholic Elementary School approached parent -teacher interviews a little differently this year. This year the students in the school led their parents through the interview process. In order to report student progress to parents each year, schools usually host an evening of interviews. This year, the students at St. David School created their own invitations and invited their parents to participate in conferences that were led by the children themselves. Each child created a showcase portfolio that outlined their work throughout the semester and was in charge of facilitating a conversation with their parents that demonstrated individual student strengths, weaknesses and next steps. Student led conferencing and showcase portfolios are an authentic refection of student learning and an effective tool to promote open communication with families about student success and well being. “It was an enjoyable morning. Our school was bustling with activity. All classrooms were filled with families and our students definitely took pride in their accomplishments. Even the youngest students spoke eloquently about their learning. The primary students were able to articulate their reading goals to their parents and were also able to discuss what they needed as support from their parents to accomplish their goals. Overall, it was an extremely successful morning.” stated grade one St. David School Teacher, Maria Cimino.

The St. David Catholic Elementary School Christmas choir, led by community volunteer, Melody Henry recently visited Red Oak Villa, a seniors residence in the heart of Sudbury. The student choir sang Christmas carols and spread Christmas cheer throughout the complex. While sharing hot chocolate and Christmas cookies the students and seniors visited, told stories and enjoyed each others company. Natasha Folino, St. David School teacher said, ” it warms your heart to see the youth of our community be so gentle and caring with the residents at Red Oak Villa. This is what the season of Christmas is all about – giving of yourself and enjoying those people in your lives. This was the perfect pairing of the generations and a wonderful way to celebrate the season”.

Every year at St. David Catholic Elementary School, the staff and volunteers get together to plan an old fashion, traditional Christmas feast for the students. A Christmas meal including turkey with all the trimmings was served to all students at the school. Each classroom assumed a responsibility for the feast. The kindergarten students created the placemats, grade one students baked cupcakes for dessert, and the grade 4/5 class was responsible for serving the meal.

Special guests attended the event and actively participated in the seasonal celebration. Donations from community organizations made this special meal possible. Christmas carols were sung, gifts were received and the spirit of the season was evident everywhere in the school. According to the grade 1 student, Deacon Lucas, “our Christmas lunch was healthy food that tasted great. I liked all the Christmas music and really liked eating with my friends. Christmas is a fun and special time of year and I’m really happy we do special things to celebrate it”.

St. David Catholic Elementary School celebrated the season of advent with a school wide teaching assembly that focused on hope, love, joy and peace. The grade 2/3 and 3 classes hosted the celebration and taught the school population about the importance of advent and the virtue of patience, especially during this busy time of year. The children and their teachers related “being patient for Jesus’ birth” to waiting for an important phone call, waiting for spring to come or waiting for babies to be born.

The assembly was focused on love and how we show love to one another in our everyday lives. The advent wreath was also explained by the students. It is a tradition that began hundreds of years ago in Germany. The wreath is in the shape of a circle covered in evergreen bows, representing eternal life with 4 candles representing hope, love, joy and peace and the four weeks of advent.