In Mme Wissell and Mme Huneault’s FDK FI class, St. Charles Catholic Elementary School students have been doing an inquiry about pizza for the last few weeks. They have been writing menus, ordering sizes from small, medium and large and counting slices. At the art centre, students painted pizzas and decorated pizza boxes. In the dramatic play centre, students created their own pizzeria, where they took orders and filled the order by building pizzas using ‘dough’.
To culminate this inquiry, students went on a field trip to Topper’s Pizza in Chelmsford, where they learned how real pizza is made! Students made their own pizzas and were fascinated as they watched the pizzas they created go into the oven on one side and come out ‘amazingly delicious’ on the other side!
Category: Character Development
St. David Students Make Cards of Compassion
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 Students Lead Parents in Authentic Learning Opportunity
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.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bayou
The Bishop Alexander Carter Improv Team has recently wrapped up an incredible season. Coached for the past 12 years by Kara Larone, this was a special year in Improv action. Although always so proud of her team’s efforts, this year they performed not only in a zone competition in January, but then moved onto the Regionals for the first time this past Friday. It was the team’s Style event, Clown, that garnered the most points, and the team has a year to perfect the style and scene for next year’s games.
The best news? As members of the team range in age from Grade 9 to 11, Ms. Larone will have everyone on the team return in the fall to get back to work on the events.
Goooooo Gators!!
A True Stone Soup Experience at St. James Catholic Elementary
Students in teacher Tammy Lanci’s grade 1/2 class at St. James Catholic Elementary School had a tasty opportunity recently. After reading the classic storybook “Stone Soup” together, the entire class got to enjoy their own bowl of stone soup prepared by resource teacher Sarah Pappin and student helpers Noah Wulff and Hope Nyabeze.
A “Purr”-fectly Great Day to Learn about Pet Responsibility at St. Francis
The students of FDKFI in teacher Mme Lachance and Mme Lynne’s (ECE) class at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School had a special guest recently. Charms the cat came by for a special visit as the students have been learning about the value of having a pet in the home. Although they are cute and cuddly, the children soon found out that owning a cat also requires care and responsibility. A pet is like a family member and it requires special care and love.
Hitting the Trails at St. Paul
St. Paul Catholic Elementary School teacher Lisa Wright’s Grade 2/3 FI students had a wonderful morning with Sudbury Catholic outdoor education teacher Brad Blackwell on Thursday, February 18th. Students learned that creatures in this area have 3 choices to make during winter. 1) hibernate 2) migrate 3) stay and tough it out . Mr. Blackwell delivered an interesting and amusing presentation. He brought some “nature treasures” such as antlers and bones and some replicas of tracks and scat. After the in-class presentation, they ventured outside on the Jean Tellier trail near the school. For almost all the students , this was their first time on snowshoes. They explored the trails looking for signs of animal life. They found snowshoe hare, squirrel and mice tracks. Students even found scat!
“Good Morning Cards” is How St. Charles College Students Start Their Friday
St. Charles College Grade 11 student Brodie Siren has always had a flair for the airways. Since grade 9, he and a friend have been running independent radio shows on You Tube under the names Quantum Beats Project as well as Sync Podcast. They have now turned their attention to Cards Radio. It’s a thirty minute radio show that airs every Friday morning ahead of morning announcements, anthem and prayer at St. Charles College. The program features a game show, news, sports and music that appeals to the dynamic young audience at SCC. Siren is also the school go-to guy when it comes to tech support and electronic set-up. This spring, he will be the stage manager for the schools’ musical production of High School Musical. Siren hopes to pursue a technical field of study when he leaves St. Charles College next year. In the meantime, he is building his portfolio with Cards Radio and is also starting a grocery delivery business based on the Internet.
Immaculate Runs Fun Friends All Year Round
Thanks to our Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School’s Educational Assistant, Moira Swiatek, students in the primary and junior division enjoy the resiliency based program called “Fun Friends.” In their groups, they discuss feelings & emotions, red & green thoughts and how to change the red thoughts into green or positive thoughts. The children also learn relaxation strategies to calm their bodies down. One of their favourite activities is called the “milkshake” breathing technique where students inhale a large breath and exhale through a straw into a cup of chocolate milk which then produces bubbles. Fun Friends is a safe environment where students can learn to be courageous and make life long friends.