St. David Catholic Elementary School

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.

Being Kind at St. David School

“It is all about doing kind things.” St. David Catholic Elementary FDK students have been learning a lot about doing kind things recently. “It is a common theme always in our classroom.” explained teacher Cindy Blinn. As part of their learning, the students decided that they wanted to do a kind thing for someone special in their lives. Together they decided to host a pasta luncheon for their someone special and each student was allowed to invite one special guest – whether it be their mom, dad, grandparent, babysitter, etc. The students prepared by planning out the lunch menu – pasta, buns and juiceboxes, with a special cake for dessert. The class even made the decorations for the room so that their environment was filled with colourful artwork for their guests. “it is a great way to really reinforce the concept of kindness with our students,” explained Blinn. “We always talk about it, but more importantly we always try to model this behaviour with each other and with those who are in our lives. This luncheon was a great day for both the students and guests and everybody was very pleased with the outcome.”

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