As part of the “Elders in the School Program”, Elder Vince Pawis (middle) shares his wise counsel and guidance with the students of St. James School. Vince uses the Medicine Wheel to express the meaning of the Four Sacred Directions which encompass all the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers. The students and school Deacon Pat Raymond and principal Cara Soehner participated in a smudging ceremony followed by a hands-on-approach to the Aboriginal Teachings.
Moving through Zumba at St. James
Students at St. James are getting metabolism-boosting, strength-building benefits thanks to parent Jennifer Pattison who volunteers to hold Zumba classes during lunch. But for the students it’s not so much about fitness as it’s about having fun through dancing to hip-hop, Latin and international music.
St. James Holds Family Math Night
In conjunction with School Council, St. James staff hosted a Family Numeracy Evening where students and their parents engaged in a variety of hands-on Math activities. The goal of the Family Math Night was to appreciate the pleasure of mathematics through the power of family interaction. There were a variety of engaging activities to promote mathematical thinking and Math language. The stations included sorting, weighing, storytime, Smart Board lessons, and “3-part problem-solving”. Exploring the interactive use of MacBooks and Math are (left to right) the Orser, Owens and Mayer families.
St. James Catholic School Student a District Winner in the Lions International Peace Poster Contest!
Each year, Lions clubs around the world sponsor the Lions International Peace Poster Contest in local schools and youth groups. This year’s theme was ‘Vision of Peace’. Students, ages 11,12,13 were eligible to participate.
24 international finalists were selected from the work of more than 350,000 participants. Posters will be shared globally via the Internet, the media and exhibits around the world.
Brandon Digby, a grade7 student at St. James Catholic School in Lively captured the A-5 district award and was presented with a cheque of $250. Classmates were thrilled to be part of the award ceremony. His teacher Ms. Swearengen said “Brandon’s poster beautifully captured his vision of world peace, placing Canada as the heart and hope of world peace”.
St. James Student Draws a Winner
Avery Blanchard, a grade 2 student at St. James Catholic School has been selected as a winner in the Draw Your Canada competition. Her drawing depicting what Canada means to her has been published in the Member of Parliament’s calendar for 2011. Avery competed with hundreds of entries across Canada. Presenting Avery with a certificate of recognition is classroom teacher Mrs. Lanci.
St. James Student Proud Winner of “Teddy Bear Colouring Contest”
St. James Catholic School in Lively supported the fourth annual Teddy Bear Picnic– a fundraising event organized by the students at Cambrian College’s Police Foundations program in conjunction with the Sudbury and District Unit of Canadian Cancer Society. The St. James student council donated a bear to the teddy bear auction that raised funds for pediatric and childhood cancer research. Another part of the Teddy Bear Picnic campaign was a colouring contest and Ava Chenier, a Junior Kindergarten student was the grand prize winner of contest. Presenting Ava Chenier with a John Deere bike and a teddy bear is Patricia Clizia from the Canadian Cancer Society.
Getting into the Holiday Spirit at St. James
This past weekend parents and children of St. James Catholic School in Lively were invited to generate some Christmas spirit by decorating gingerbread houses. Proud of his creation is JK student Cole MacKenzie. Equally proud are the cake decorators Alexis Etheir (left) and Kathryn Condotta who provided professional cake decorating tips and an afternoon full of Christmas fun.
“Cell-ebrating Cells” at St. James
The Let’s Talk Science team from Cambrian College visited St. James Catholic School in Lively to “Cell-ebrate Cells” with the grades 7 & 8 students.
St. James and Cambrian College have formed a partnership giving the students the opportunity to participate in exciting, hands-on activities that meet expectations of the science curriculum.
St James Celebrates Hallowe’en
Primary students at St. James Catholic School in Lively were enthralled when parent Mrs. Joanne Leblanc shared her storytelling talents. With expression and actions she visited classrooms with two Hallowe’een Read-a-Louds.
St. James Students Create Portfolios
Just as artists, investment brokers, architects, and other professionals use portfolios to showcase their best work, the French Immersion students of Mme Narozanski’s class from St. James Catholic school are developing portfolios to highlight their best schoolwork. With teacher guidance, every student chooses work samples to place in the portfolio as the year progresses. The content in portfolios is built from class assignments and as such corresponds to all areas of the curriculum.
In this process the students are also learning how to evaluate their own work and how to set goals for future growth. Also two student-led parent conferences will take place before each report card allowing students to share their own evaluations of their work and personal goals for improvement with their parents.