As part of Catholic Education Week, St. David Catholic Elementary School helped proclaim Children’s Mental Health Week alongside Child and Family Centre. The theme of this year’s week is getting back to nature. To demonstrate the importance of this, the group participated in Medicine Wheel teachings and completed a nature walk.
Their Story Begins Here – Kindergarten Registration info night taking place January 24!
Register with our schools during our Board wide information night occurring Wednesday, January 24 at 6 p.m!
These Information sessions are available for parents wanting to register their child(ren) for school beginning September 2018 (For children turning 4 years of age on or before December 31, 2018). If you are unable to attend these sessions at your school, we encourage you to contact the school to register on an alternative date. Both regular (English) and French Immersion programming is available.
Find out more about our Kindergarten program
Coding Crusader saves the day and brings students some coding fun!
The Coding Crusader visited St. David School and St. Anne School to celebrate the Hour of Code Week. The week took place from December 4-December 8 to celebrate computer science and programming. The Coding Crusader brought along games and learning resources to teach the students the benefits of learning coding and how to apply it to their learning.
Sudbury Catholic Schools Contribute Over 175,000 Cans in Annual Food Drive Fundraiser!
The students of St. Charles College raised an amazing 175,533 cans and $25,000 for this years food drive for the Sudbury Food Bank! Throughout the past week, the students visited various homes and businesses in our community to canvass for the annual fundraiser. Feeder schools of St. David, St. John, St. Paul, Pius XII and Holy Trinity also helped contribute to this great cause!
Congratulations on another successful fundraiser, Cards!
"Every Child Matters" at St. David Catholic School
The Native Language students at St. David Catholic School embarked on a campaign of education. Students promoted and educated their peers on “Orange Shirt Day”. This day of remembrance was started by Phyllis Webstad. Ms. Wedstad wore an orange shirt on her first day at residential school when she was six years old. When the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation student arrived at the school, her shirt was removed and taken away.
Webstad began her annual Orange Shirt campaign in 2013 and has since shared her story with thousands of Canadians. St. David School was proud to participate in celebrating the resilience of the families impacted by the residential school system.
St. David Catholic School Takes Advantage of the Warm Weather and Brings Reading Instruction Outdoors
St. David Catholic School has embraced the unusually warm weather by bringing classroom instruction outside. Classroom teacher, Terri-Lynn Lepage believes that “children benefit from being outside not only for physical activity, but also to enjoy the trees, rocks and the natural beauty that surrounds us. When we are outside completing academic work, the students are more focused and are able to work independently. They enjoy being outside of the classroom and are learning to appreciate nature as an extension of our classroom”.
St. David School was fortunate to access a 2016 TD Friends of the Environment Grant to create an outdoor learning space in nestled in nature. The newly build learning environment is regularly used by classes to promote experiential learning opportunities for students from the full day kindergarten program to grade 6.
“Measuring Up” at St. David School
St. David students continue to learn how numeracy is everywhere in the real world. St. David School teaches mathematical skills across the curriculum and this includes the Core French program taught by Mr. Louis Mailloux. “The students have the opportunity to build flower boxes and build their confidence. They have fun, see real world math skills in action and learn a second language all at the same time”. These hands-on opportunities contribute to the development of a broader and deeper understanding of numeracy.
St. David School Uses Cooking and Math to Teach Valuable Life Skills
Authentic experiences that allow students to make real life connections will help them to grasp general mathematical principles and will help develop future math success.
At St. David Catholic School, the Intensive Support Facilitator, Lynsie Royer, leads a bi-weekly math focused cooking club for students in Grades 3 – 6. Each week, students receive a recipe and a math learning goal. Each weekly goal is connected to the Ontario math curriculum. For example, doubling ingredients in recipes, inquiring about ratios and the favourite of most students, using division to share the delicious treats equitably.
“The after-school math and cooking club is hands down the most rewarding educational experience of my career,” said Lynsie Royer, Intensive Support Facilitator at St. David Catholic School. “It joins my two passions – math and cooking and my enthusiasm for both of these activities has transferred to the students. We have lots of fun, laugh a lot, eat a lot and learn a lot.”
The School is proud to not only support the math curriculum in this extracurricular opportunity, but also to help develop a life skill that will ensure student success in the kitchen.
“Cooking Club is super fun. Before cooking club, I really didn’t understand how to divide but Miss Royer taught me how using chocolate chips and measuring them into cups. It turned out that I could divide and it was actually easy,” exclaimed Grade 3 student Ethan Webb.
St. David School is looking forward to continuing this new and exciting initiative in the upcoming 2017-2018 School Year.
Families Engage in the Learning Process at St. David School
Staff, parents and students at St. David Catholic School believe that reading is fundamental to school success. Families continue to support student success by sharing their love of reading with their children at home in the school’s “read at home program” and at school during the “learn together mornings” program.
St. David families were co-learners alongside students during the school’s “learn together morning” which took place during Catholic Education Week (April 30-May 5, 2017). Family members spent the morning learning with their children demonstrating their love of reading and using it as an effective to tool to teach reading.
“It was a wonderful morning. It’s always great to see students so excited to read. Parents and family members were very proud of their children and the children were fantastic hosts”, said Colin Lapalme, the school’s vice principal.
"Me to We – Youth in Action" Award Winner visits St. David's Students to talk about preserving water!
St. David Catholic Elementary School was greeted by “Me to We – Youth in Action” award winner, Autumn Peltier, from Wikwemikong First Nation who visited the Native Language class students.
She and her mother Stephanie talked about her travels around Mother Earth fighting for water, including representing Canada in the Children’s Climate Conference in Sweden, meeting our Prime Minister, and kicking off this year’s Water Walk.
The group then sang Water Song and offered tobacco to the School’s brook, which was named after Autumn. Students enjoyed the discussion and activities and can’t wait until their new friends visit again!