The Sudbury Catholic District School Board is supporting learning across the border. Mrs. Gardner’s first grade class at Scared Heart School in Lyndhurst, New Jersey read the book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. It is the story of a boy named Stanley Lambchop. In the story, one night, a bulletin board falls on him and flattens him in his sleep. Stanley lives through the ordeal and makes the best of his new “flatten” state. Stanley discovers that he can be folded up and mailed in an envelope to different places. Stanley visits his friend in California and has a great time.
In supporting the students at Sacred Heart School, in New Jersey, Mrs. Christina Raso, Special Education Consultant for Sudbury Catholic Schools received an envelope in the mail containing Flat Stanley. Mrs. Raso brought Flat Stanley around the city of Sudbury and to the grade one class at St. David Catholic School. Mrs. Cimino’s grade one class read the story “Flat Stanley”, then had the privilege to meet him. Mrs. Raso will soon be mailing “Flat Stanley” back to New Jersey with a journal of his activities while visiting the city of Sudbury, including visiting Mrs. Cimino’s grade one class at St. David School. “It was really neat meeting Flat Stanley. He is really paper flat.” stated Gary Card, grade one student.
FDK Hatches Chicks
Egg-Citing News at St. David School!
For the past 21 days the Full Day Kindergarten students at St. David Catholic School have been doing an inquiry on chickens. Through books, drama activities, art projects, videos and songs the students have been learning about the hatching process of chicks. This week the students were very excited as they watched 14 new chicks hatch from their eggs in their classroom incubator!
“At St. David School, we strive to provide our students with authentic, hands on learning opportunities. This is an inquiry the entire school gets involved in and looks forward to every year” said Lindsay Michel, FDK teacher. “It builds community through learning, fun and hands-on real life experiences”.
“I learned that when the chicks come out of the incubator they are wet and when they dry off they go in the brooder. I like that my mommy can come to my school and see what we are learning” stated Emma Carlucci, St. David FDK student.
Parents and families that live in the Donovan, Flour Mill and Louis Street areas are reminded that St. David School is hosting it’s “Welcome to Kindergarten” morning on Tuesday May 10 at 11 am. All newly registered kindergarten students and their families are encouraged to attend.
St. David School Celebrates Earth Day 2016
The students and staff at St. David Catholic School recognized this year’s Earth Day by “wild flower bombing” the new school site. St. David Catholic School will be moving to a brand new school in September 2016. The new school is located at 549 Frood Road, just a block away from their current school.
Teachers, students and staff members created wild flower bombs to prepare for the Earth Day celebration. Recycled paper, water and flowers seeds were mixed together to create “flower bombs”, then students and staff walked to the new school site to throw their “wild flower bombs” around exterior of the school site.
“We are excited to move to the new school and want to have a hand in creating a beautiful, welcoming school culture. This was a simple, fun way to contribute to the development of a natural setting around the school. We had fun creating the “wild flower bombs” and we had fun walking to the new site and throwing our creations. Now we patiently wait until September to move in.” stated Nancy Costanzi, St. David School Resource teacher.
FDK students learn about the importance of community helpers
Full day kindergarten students at St. David Catholic School expressed a keen interest in learning about their community and the community helpers that keep them safe. The students, with the support of their teaching teams, inquired about firefighters. The students had the opportunity to learn about the roles and responsibilities of firefighters and the jobs that exist at our local fire department.
According to Sam Theriault, the kindergarten early childhood educator, “it is through student inquiries like this, that we are were able to fully discuss and teach about fire safety, home escape routes and the importance fire alarms in our homes. The children have fun while learning with hands on manipulatives and props, but more importantly they learn valuable life lessons that they can share with others”.
The kindergarten community helper inquiry was planned with the support of the Sudbury Fire Department and various volunteer firefighters. “It is when we work together with our local community that we can provide meaningful educational experiences in our school. We appreciate their support”, stated Cindy Blinn, FDK teacher.
To all parents and first time bus riders
The Sudbury Student Services Consortium in cooperation with school bus operators invites all Kindergarten and first time bus riders to a School Bus Safety Awareness session to be held in August at College Boreal at 21 Lasalle Boulevard in Sudbury.
For more information and to register visit http://www.businfo.ca/en/safety/ftr/.
St. David School Learns the Dangers of Fast Moving Water
The students at St. David Catholic Elementary School have been learning about the dangers of fast moving water in their community. Students have been reminded that even city ditches filled with water can pose a danger. As spring approaches and the weather continues to get warmer, the amount of water in our creeks, streams and ditches continues to rise. Students were reminded about Adam Dickie, a youth in the community who tragically drown in Junction Creek due to fast-rising water and about the educational campaign that supports the prevention of such tragedies.
Students were cautioned about playing near creeks and streams and reminded to tell their parents where they are playing and with who. “It is so important for all students to understand the seriousness of being around fast moving water, especially in the spring. We hope that our students become leaders in our community and share this message of safety with other children and family members.” said Ginny Long, St. David School grade 3/4 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.”
St. David Students Learn Valuable Life Lessons from the Sudbury Wolves
A group of very fortunate students in grades 3, 4 and 5 at St. David Catholic Elementary School received a belated Christmas gift this January. The students were surprised with a special visit from members of the Sudbury Wolves, members of the Sudbury Regional Police and Gord Ewin. The members of the Sudbury Wolves included captain Danny Desrochers as well as defenceman Conor Cummins.
During the presentation, Danny and Connor provided students with valuable knowledge about: hard work and training, preventing bullying, as well as a personal perspective of the life of an OHL player. At the end of the presentation, St. David’s students were thrilled to have the opportunity to personally meet Danny Desrochers and Conor Cummins as well as get their autographs.