St. David Catholic Elementary School

Honouring Reconciliation: Sudbury Catholic Schools Participate in Orange Shirt Day

A group of girls wear their orange shirts and stand in a line.

Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Orange Shirt Day recognizes the harm the residential school system did to children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, and is an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters.

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board participated in Orange Shirt Day on September 30, 2019. Staff and students throughout the system participated by wearing these shirts or their favourite orange shirt as a reminder of the importance of this day.

Ash Wednesday celebrated at St. David Catholic School

St. David Catholic School held an Ash Wednesday celebration to mark the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is a time when Catholics prepare for Easter by fasting, repentance and moderation. In the Old Testament, people used ashes as a sign of repentance.
The students and staff of St. David Catholic School spoke about how to better walk with God in practical terms. This means being kind to each other and supporting each other in times of need. According to the school vice principal, Mr. Colin Lapalme, “As a school community, it is beautiful when we can come together and celebrate our faith”.

St. David School runs the Santa Shuffle

The students and staff of St. David Catholic School once again participated in the Salvation Army’s Santa Shuffle and Elf Run. The students and school staff raised funds to support the run. The event assists the Salvation Army support families in need during the Christmas season and throughout the year. All pledges raised for the Santa Shuffle and Elf Run help people in our community who struggle to make ends meet. St. David School raised $634.65 for the Salvation Army.
“The Santa Shuffle is a fantastic way to support those in need during the Christmas season as well as have fun promoting healthy living with our students. Our grade 3 teacher, Terri Lynn Lepage, and other staff members organize an after school running / reading club for the months leading up to the event as a way to train and promote good health through exercise. We are appreciative of all the support and encouragement of our families – and want to thank them for their generous donations. Merry Christmas!” states Lindsay Michel, St. David School FDK teacher.

Pink Shirt Campaign at St. David School

As part of the St. David School and Sudbury Police Services shared commitment for the well being and safety of our children, Krystle Beausoleil, the Police Youth Safety Coordinator attended St. David School. She delivered the message that is takes ‘courage to stand’ up against those who try to bully and hurt others. Her message focused on positive action and standing up for each other. Her message also focused on treating one other with respect and dignity, allas part of the ‘Pink Shirt Campaign’.
All students at St. David School will be standing together against bullying and will be signing the Sudbury Regional Police Services “Pink Shirt” to demonstrate our commitment to “stand up” together.

Bishop Damphousse Blesses Newly Constructed School in the Donovan

Bishop Marcel Damphousse of the Diocese of Sault Ste Marie blessed the new St. David Catholic Elementary School, it’s students, staff and community during the school’s first mass of the year.
Students, parents, staff and members from Christ the King’s CWL and Men’s Club packed the school gymnasium to celebrate the first official school mass of the year. During the ceremony, the Bishop said the homily and blessed the students, parents and classroom crucifixes. He also went class to class to speak with students about their new school and the importance of having God in their lives.
The mass started with the sound of the drum and a light smudge to bring good feelings to the school and all who enter. Special thanks to community member, Lisa Cywink for her drumming and Elder, Ethel Fraser for the smudge.

The sky is the limit for canned food collecting at St. Charles College

Since the mid eighties, St. Charles College student council has been organizing a fall food drive in support of the Sudbury Food Bank. Every year it just gets better and better.
The students were given the task of collecting sixty thousand cans this year. Teacher leaders Paola Gutscher and Bev Belanger were happy to report that the students smashed their goal with raising more than 126 thousand cans. Year after year, it has become the largest single donation to the Sudbury Food Bank warehouse.
The leadership students cannot do this alone. It is supported by all the 7-12 students at St. Charles College along with feeder schools — Holy Trinity, St. Paul, St. John, St. David and Pius.
The wrap-up event today highlighted the accomplishments of the students but also the staff had to hold up its end of the bargain complete with staff pie in the face showdowns, shaved heads, dyed heads and waxed legs.
Principal Patty Mardero says it is also important to recognize the citizens of Sudbury who graciously donated to the drive when the students knocked upon their doors. The food collected over the course of the last week was delivered to the Sudbury Food Bank warehouse today. Mardero says “This visit to the warehouse to unload is critical in helping students see the fruits of their labour as they lift each box of canned food and fill the shelves of the warehouse”.

St. David School Celebrates Catholic Education Week by Focusing on the Value of Empathy

Rossella Bagnato, Superintendent of Effectiveness for Sudbury Catholic Schools visited Mrs. Cimino’s grade 1 class during Catholic Education Week to teach the students about the importance of empathy. “Empathy helps to create a healthy, loving school community. As a classroom teacher, I see the importance of teaching students to be empathetic at a very young age. Mrs. Bagnato used humour and literacy to connect a Inuit story to my students’ everyday life. They discussed how to build trusting friendships and how to support others less fortunate than themselves. This was all done through the lens of humour and it was a wonderful life lesson.” stated Mrs. Cimino, grade 1 teacher.

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.

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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