On Friday, May 4th, over 50 students from St James, St Benedict Catholic Secondary School, St Charles College and St David in collaboration with Atikameksheng Anishinawbek participated in a Water Walk. According to Anishinaabe traditions women are responsible for the stewardship of water. Anishinaabe Grandmother, Josephine Mandamin reminds us of our responsibility through her actions of walking around the Great Lakes in bringing awareness and protection for the water. Sudbury holds their own Water Walk annually around Lake Ramsey. This Water Walk is to honour the water and to bring awareness to how critical it is to do our part in protecting it. In May we celebrate Mother’s Day and it is the Month of Mary. Anishinaabe people refer to Mother Earth as Shkagamik Kwe and the full moon as Nookomis or Grandmother Moon. The next day Nookomis was reported at her fullest for the 2012 calendar. Julia Pegahmagabow, Atikameksheng Anishinawbek member, started the morning with teaching the group of mostly young women about their role as women and their responsibility to take care of themselves and the water. The group then started the 7km walk to the Traditional Grounds of the Atikameksheng Anishinawbek located on Whitefish Lake. On the shores of the lake we ended our ceremony and celebrated with a traditional feast. Participants left with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Community Clean Up at St. David Catholic Elementary School
On Friday, May 4, St. David Catholic Elementary students from grades 2-8 participated in the Donovan Elm West Community Clean Up while JK-1 students did their part by cleaning up litter in the school yard. Students did a wonderful job of demonstrating that they really can change the world with their own two hands. This was one of many activities that students participated in as part of the SCDSB Dearness Conservation initiative.
Dog-Bite Prevention at St. David Catholic Elementary School
Sudbury District Kennel Club’s Bite Prevention Program and St. David Catholic School worked in partnership to teach students about fear biting and aggressive biting dogs. The grade 2/3 and 4/5 classes learned how to approach a dog, what to do if they are being chased by a dog, and how to protect themselves if they are ever attacked by a dog. This presentation is highly recommended to all teachers and students.
Celebration of Earth Day at St. David Catholic Elementary School
Jamayla Czaja from the grade 2/3 green team work with community volunteers from the Donovan Elm West Community Action Network to plant seedling for the Victory Park Garden. This is the second year that St. David’s students participate in this program. In celebration of Earth Day, St. David’s will be planting seeds for their school garden that they will share with Better Beginnings Better Futures and Aboriginal Best Start Hub.
Checkmate! – St. David Hosts Junior Chess Tournament
On Saturday, April 14th, St. David School hosted the 2012 Junior Chess Tournament. This event brought players, coaches, and families together from all corners of the city. After an intense round-robin, the results of the tournament were as follows:
1st Place: St. Theresa
2nd Place: St. Paul
3rd Place: St. David
Congratulations to all participants!
Lights Out for Earth Hour at St. David
St. David Dragon Amelia Carter-Jenveau “Turns The Lights Off At Lunch” in an effort to save energy as part of Earth Hour. The Dragons have been working hard to save energy, water and reduce waste through many school wide initiatives including a school wide composting program, waste audits, lights off at lunch, and recycling activities.
St. David Students Take Part in 2012 Roots and Shoots Conference
As a part of a Teacher Learning and Leadership project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education, teachers Jennifer Gran, Leann Laframboise and Christina Kilby have been leading an exciting project. Students from Grade 4/5 and Grade 8 at St. David school have been learning about technology, stewardship and engaging in environmental education in a hands on way. They have been taking their learning outside.
On Monday March 26, 2012, student ambassadors from the project had the privilege of presenting at the Roots and Shoots conference at Science North. Along with their teachers and elders from the project, the students shared their experiences of learning nature photography, visiting Vale’s greenhouse in Copper Cliff to see where they grow seedlings for re-greening and planting trees at Laurentian Conservation area in partnership with the Greater City of Sudbury. These students articulated their sense of ownership and expressed their excitement for the project as well as for the volunteers. The students were inspired by the many guest speakers who came to their school from environmental engineers, Native elders to a Science North scientist. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the project, besides going outside to learn was the relationships that they have developed with Joe Houle (Mrs. Laframboise’s Dad who helped with the nature photography) and Theresa Pelletier (Mrs. Gran’s mom who shared her love of nature on the nature walks).
All of the photography and video documentation of the project was done by the Grade 4/5 and Grade 8 students. The students have learned and enjoyed using iPads, MacBooks and digital cameras for these tasks.
As the students completed their presentations, they offered seedlings to other students and teachers and asked them to help make a positive change by planting trees. Their final message was to encourage students to “ask their teachers to take them outside” because they know first hand that this way of learning is engaging and memorable.
St. David Catholic School Parent Involvement Leads to Greater Student Success and Well Being
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.
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”.