Young students at St. James Catholic School were fascinated by a presentation about local frogs and toads that inhabit Junction Creek. In collaboration with the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee the students learned about the different types of frog and toad calls and how to identify different types of frogs and toads both by sound and by sight. The presentation ended with an interactive frog calling session when the students created a chorus of different frog calls using their voices and other objects such as balloons, combs, and elastic bands.
Giving St. James School a BIG Bear Hug
Students, teachers, parents, school staff, clergy and educational partners held hands together to literally form a “human circle” and gave St. James School a BIG Bear Hug on October 26, 2011. Forming a circle by holding hands recognized that everyone makes a difference and plays an important role in the education of the St James students.
Prior to going outside to form a circle, Bishop Noel Simard addressed the students and explained how hugs are a sign of welcoming and acceptance of everyone.
This simple hug created such a positive synergy and was a visible sign of the fondness for St. James School. Giving St. James a BIG Bear hug was a special and memorable moment and as one Grade 8 student summed it up “This is the coolest thing we ever did at school”.
Witchy Visitor at St. James
To the amazement of students at St. James Catholic School, “Cynthia” the Witch from the Walden Public Library landed in the kindergarten classroom. With her “bag of tricks”, Cynthia captivated the young listeners with her “spooky” stories. Cynthia’s interactive storytelling created magic, imagination, and a lot of enjoyment.
St. James School “On Fire”… Truck
Fire Prevention Education starts at a young age and the Kindergarten students at St. James Catholic School had a hands-on approach with a visit with trained personnel, thanks to the Greater Sudbury Fire Department. In bringing the fire truck to school, the students learned about fire safety and awareness. The hands-on approach was the perfect way to get important fire safety message across while still having fun in the process. Very excited to discover how the fire truck works is Senior Kindergarten student, Abigail Delongchamp.
St. James Parents Creating Hopes and Dreams
Parents at St. James Catholic School have the opportunity to write good luck wishes and messages to their child(ren) on the “Wall of Fame”. Located in the front foyer of the school the “Wall of Fame” reflects the Sudbury Catholic Board’s vision “Sudbury Catholic Schools…Creating hopes and dreams through excellence.” Parents can express in writing their personal hopes and dreams for their own children for this school year.
St. James Learns Traditional Art of Pysanky
During the Easter season, the grade 6,7and 8 French Immersion class from St. James Catholic School in Lively welcomed Jan Buley, a professor at Laurentian University who loves to teach the art of Pysanky–Ukrainian Easter eggs. These eggs are a traditional craft in Ukraine, with a history of thousands of years. Pysanky are decorated in many steps using a kistka, beeswax and several colours of dye. The students loved the experience and learned a very short but interesting lesson on the traditional craftof egg decorating and Ukrainian culture. The Ukrainian eggs that were created by the students were amazing and beautiful!
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.
New Life at St. James School
Students at St. James Catholic Elementary school had the unique opportunity this past month to witness the hatching of baby ducks. Grade 5 student, Danielle Battistelli has a love for ducks so her family offered the school a whole kit including eggs, an incubator and all supplies and equipment needed in order to hatch some duck eggs. The school jumped at this chance to show students the miracle of new life and within a few weeks time the first batch of eggs hatched. Everyday at lunch, Battistelli and her friends set up a demonstration and are available to answer questions regarding the new hatchlings. As well, these students contribute to the morning announcements calling themselves “The Hatchers” and give daily updates on the ducklings. There have been eight ducks born so far and some students were lucky enough to witness the eggs cracking and seeing the ducks emerge. All of the new ducklings have been named and some of these names include Bubbles, Twitter and Chezabell. The Battistelli’s have contributed a few more eggs and when the first set of ducklings are ready to bring back to their house to be raised as pets, there will be a whole new set of ducklings for the students to observe. Grade One teacher Sarah Pappin found her students to be positively amazed by the whole process. “My students were absolutely awestruck when they saw the eggs hatch,” Pappin said. “They were speechless at first, and then couldn’t stop talking about how excited they were to see real baby ducks hatch.” Pappin explained that this was a fantastic opportunity for all the students at St. James to work with community partners, and families and have a hands on experience with new life.
Mr. Winegarden speaks to the students of St. James.
The students at St. James Catholic school had the privilege of having Mr. Winegarten speak to them about some of the barriers of being visually impaired and how goals can be accomplished with “good old hard work and to follow you passion”. He stated that the trick to his success in being the first blind person to work for the Canada Revenue Agency in Sudbury where he was a supervisor has been; “to always do my best and help others. If I can do this then my life is meaningful”
St. James Hosts Family Barbecue for Catholic Education Week
Students, family members and staff gathered at St. James Catholic Elementary School in Lively on the evening of May 7 as the school hosted a family barbecue and celebration. In honour of Catholic Education Week, the night kicked off with a performance by the school choir (under the direction of teacher Tammy Lanci), and was followed by a short service that included a student presentation of the Virtues that are celebrated by all SCDSB schools. After grace, the crowd feasted on food that was donated by Perkins, and prepared by the Knights of Columbus. As well, the Catholic Women’s League supplied desserts for the gathering. “It is a great way to come together as a community,” Cara Soehner, Principal of the school said. “It also gives our students and their families the opportunity to meet each other socially and spend some time getting to know one another.”