St. David Catholic School works diligently to involve parents and the community in the education of our youth. The school recognizes that student achievement increases when parents play an active role in their children’s education, and that “good schools become even better schools when parents and community members become involved”.
The grade 5/6 class at St. David worked with the staff at the Killarney Outdoor Education Center and with school parents and local Aboriginal Elders to allow the students to experience real life learning. Parents, community members, students and staff learned about traditional Aboriginal hunting and fishing practices, scientific states of matter and the food chain and it’s relationship to biodiversity — then they spent a day ice fishing. Although no actual fish were caught, parents were actively engaged in supporting their children’s success at school. Parents and students were motivated to learn as a team, each supporting each other in an active hands on learning experience.
Category: St. David School
St. David Catholic School Welcomes the Magic of “The Amazing Rene”
St. David Catholic School proudly welcomed the magic of “The Amazing Rene” aka Rene Lacourciere. The Amazing Rene captivated the attention of the students of St. David School with his unique style of slight of hand magic. During his magic show, The Amazing Rene integrated the importance of learning through reading and emphasized the valuable resources available at the Greater City of Sudbury Public Libraries.
The Amazing Rene has been performing magic throughout North America for the past 32 years and has preformed at such venues as Canada’s Wonderland and Santa’s Village in Bracebridge, Ontario. He is also a qualified teacher and is originally from the Sudbury area.
“Slight of hand magic allows me to connect with students and teachers and model the importance of effective oral communication” stated Rene. “They see how effective oral communication skills are important in real life situations and in career choices”.
St. David School students and staff enjoyed the interactive magic show, comedy act and hands on learning experience with The Amazing Rene.
Students at St. David School Welcome Messages of Anti-Bullying and Restorative Justice
Chad Solomon, local artist and author of the graphic novel series, “Rabbit and Bear Paws” presented a series of interactive workshops to the students of St. David School. The sessions were based in restorative justice and advocating for a bully free school environment. Chad Solomon is a member of the Henvey Inlet, First Nation. His grandfather Art Solomon, was a traditional healer and justice activist. Mr. Solomon told stories of his grandfather to the students, always with the hint of laughter and his life lessons learned.
The restorative justice sessions were interactive workshops using the puppets, “Rabbit”, “Bear Claw” and “Strawberry”. The students became the puppeteers and were able to discover how to resolve bullying using restorative justice practices. Mr. Solomon also worked with the intermediate students at St. David Catholic School to help them create a graphic novel page based on the Seven Grandfather Teachings of love, wisdom, respect, humility, truth, bravery, and honesty. Mr. Solomon encouraged students to recall their own personal experiences and use their imagination when creating stories. According to Tara Theriault, the school’s Child and Youth Worker, “It was a great day for the students of St. David School. They heard a message that promotes equality, understanding and respect. Mr. Solomon used humour as a tool when he worked with our students and they really enjoyed the day and walked away being inspired to make a difference”.
St. David School and Better “B” Kids After School Program Make Composting a Regular Part of Their Day
St. David Catholic School students not only compost during their school day, but also continue the green initiative at the Better Beginnings After School Program. Originally, this composting initiative started in September 2010 by a small group of students and their teacher at St. David. Today, the students, staff and community members all work together to make composting a daily part of the school day.
The children learn about the value of composting in their classrooms and through Destination Conservation and Green initiative presentations. Food waste that is thrown out is trucked to the dump, and then incinerated, releasing toxic gasses into the atmosphere. By composting your waste you not only prevent this pollution, but create rich soil, which will be used at in the school’s community garden project.
“Composting is a topic that addresses a real-world issue and helps to instill a sense of environmental stewardship in our youth. It can be used for a wide range of scientific projects or experiments and can help students to see the interconnections between science and healthy lifestyle choices”, explains Terri Lynn Lepage, Destination Conservation lead teacher at St. David School.
St. David School Successfully Collaborates as a Interdisciplinary Team
St. David School staff collaboratively works as a team with support from school board personal, Jennifer Connelly, assistive technology teacher, on using assistive technology to support student achievement. The school teachers, principal, educational assistants, secretary and child and youth worker all attended an in-service on a new exciting computer program called Word Q. Word Q helps students develop confidence, improve productivity, increase self-esteem and foster a spirit of inclusion. The program assists by predicting words and providing speech feedback that allows students to hear their mistakes. “I appreciate its simplicity”, said Nancy Costanzi, resource teacher at St. David Catholic School and new WordQ expert.
St. David Enjoys “The Adventures of Sparky the Traveling Fire Dog”
Mitch Theriault, Public Safety Officer with the Greater Sudbury Fire Services visited St. David Catholic School to launch the pilot of a new fire prevention program called “The Adventures of Sparky the Traveling Fire Dog”. The program is geared to grade 1 classes. The students have the opportunity to take a stuffed animal, a talking Sparky doll home for one week. During this week, the children are asked to complete a fire safety checklist with their parents and add a page to Sparky’s journal that outlines his adventures in the homes of different families.
“This is a fun new way to get our safety messages into the homes of young children and families” said Theriault ” The entire family follows a checklist that asks them to do things like test their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, practice a fire escape drill, and make sure candles are in a safe place among other tips.”
McKena Houston in Mrs. Cimino’s grade 1 class stated that when she brought Sparky home, her and her mother started their adventure by reviewing the fire safety tips in the booklet. McKena was quoted as saying “Sparky is awesome!”
St. David School Creatively Encourages Parent Engagement
St. David Catholic School teachers, Terri Lynn Lepage and Eleanor Anderson, volunteer their after school time coordinating the “Roaring Runners Club” two days a week. “The school running club promotes the development healthy habits. and are trying to be innovative, engaging, and most importantly provide our students the opportunity for daily exercise. The club builds lifelong skills including self-confidence, self-discipline, self-respect, integrity and humility. As a member of a team working together for a common goal, the club also helps students improve in the areas of sportsmanship, teamwork, and respect for others”, states Lepage.
As the “Roaring Runners Club” approaches their first official event, the Salvation Army’s Santa Shuffle and Elf Walk this Saturday at 10 am, they decided to invite their parents, grandparents, and older brothers and sisters to attend their last practice before the race. Not only did student families participate in the practice, the teacher’s families also came out and participated in the event. “I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have fun and laugh with my grandchild, learn about healthy choices and meet other families that attend the same school” states Theresa Spencer, school grandparent that attended the practice with her granddaughter. “These opportunities are what makes our school a great place to be. They are filled with laughter and learning for everyone”, said Eleanor Anderson grade 1/2 teacher at St. David School.
St. David JK Students Experience Unique Learning Opportunity
As part of the Math, Science, Language and Religious Education curriculum, the Junior Kindergarten students at St. David Catholic School got the unique experience of hatching their own chickens. Students learned about egg development and growth, watched videos, read stories, sang songs and made crafts all related to the chicks. When asked about the process, Junior Kindergarten teacher Lindsay Michel stated “The students were amazed and engaged in the whole experience. It was really a school wide event. My students have been teaching the older classes about the process; how the chicks grow and how to take care of them using words like ‘incubator’ and ‘humidity.’
The kindergarten class had been making daily announcements counting down the days and relating it to all areas of the curriculum. Michel credits the generosity of local farmers Tom and Leila Zazulak and Matt Peredery who donated everything to make the experience successful. When asked what she learned about the chicks, four year old Mya Giroux-Bryant responded, ‘We turn them and pray for them everyday. They live in the incubator for 21 days and they are called peeps until they hatch then they can play with us. After a while they go back to their farm with their mommy and daddy.’
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.”