On September 25th, students from the French immersion program at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School took to the streets of Chelmsford to share in their Franco-Ontarian pride. September 25th is celebrated across Ontario by many Francophones to show pride and support for their language and to honour the contributions of French speaking Ontarians to society. It is known as ‘La journée du drapeau Franco-Ontarien’ because on this date in 1975, the official Franco-Ontarian flag was raised for the first time to show that the French language is still very alive in this province. The students from grade 2-8 walked throughout their neighbourhood and visited local businesses along the way. They had previously contacted these businesses to inquire as to how many Francophone employees each one employed so that they could present them with necklaces with the words “’Je parle Français” on them – allowing them to let their customers be aware that they speak French. As well as the necklaces, the students also gifted flags to the different businesses. The students plan to also deliver the necklaces and flags to businesses in the neighbouring communities of Azilda, Dowling, Onaping and Levack. Along their route, the students could be heard singing and cheering French songs. According to the Grade 7 and 8 French Immersion teacher, Francois Viau, the goal of this campaign is to help French language learners feel comfortable speaking French in their community. “As the classroom teacher, I am extremely proud of the way the students embraced the opportunity to spread their message,” Viau stated. “Each one of my students has been learning French for 9 or 10 years. They are by all accounts bilingual. I thought it was important for them to spread the word that they too are part of the Franco-Ontarien community. This title is not only reserved for students in French-only schools. Most of my students have at least one parent with French-Canadian roots. This campaign allows them to express themselves and have fun with their second language.”
St. Charles Catholic School JK/SK Students Wonder, “Where is God?”
Kindergarten students at St. Charles Catholic School began to explore the Essential Question, “Where is God?”. They found Him in the trees, the flowers, the sky and in each other. Students discovered that God lives in our hearts, our thoughts and our friendships.
St. Charles Kindergarten Students Prepare for a Safe and Enjoyable Summer!
Kindergarten students at St. Charles Elementary School have been “attending” Camp Wanna-Learn-A-Lot (at school) recently where they have been pitching tents, roasting marshmallows, fishing, and paddling across imaginary lakes. The students are getting a head start to the summer with literacy and numeracy activities centred on camping and learning about the outdoors. Teacher Joseph Snofl says that “creating learning activities that are relevant to the students’ interests and experiences can help parents keep their children engaged in their learning during summer vacation. Such activities can, among other things, greatly help them in their overall growth as they continue to explore the world and enhance their imaginations.”
In Memory of Johnathan
On Friday June 8th St. Charles Elementary School in Chelmsford held its 8th annual Johanthan Hetu Walk. Johanthan was a student that attended St.Charles School 9 years ago before he passed away with cancer. This year St. Charles was proud to present $8 957.64 to the NOFCC in support of other children struggling with cancer. This brings the eight year total for the walk to $43 536.64. Vicky Wilton from the NOFCC was present for the walk along with members of Johanathan’s family. After the walk the Johnathan Hetu Award was presented to Zach Tremblay and Marissa Rayner. This award is presented to students who have a positive attitude towards school and a healthy living.
St. Charles Elementary Participates in Annual Hat Day
St. Charles Catholic Elementary School participated in hat day on May 11th. This is in remembrance of Johnathan Hetu a past student of St. Charles School who passed away from cancer. When Johanthan would return to school he would wear a hat to cover his hairless head, the result of his chemotherapy. Students were encouraged to wear a hat to remember him and all other children who have gone through the same experience. Students paid a dollar to wear a hat. The money that is raised goes to the NOFCC. Hat day this year has raised $154.00. Since Johnathan’s death, St. Charles has had an annual walk and hat day and have raised around $35 000 for the NOFCC (Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer). The annual Johanthan Hetu walk is scheduled for June 8th at 1:30.
St. Charles Students Take a Pledge to Protect the Environment
St. Charles Catholic School has had many Dearness Conservation initiatives this school year. Their focus in April is “stewardship”. Students and staff attended THE LORAX at Silver City. Upon their return, they all took a pledge to do their part to protect the environment and work towards a healtheir world for generations to come.
Understanding Our Carbon Footprint at St. Charles Elementary
As part of Earth Day activities, students in Eileen Harris’s Grade 2/3 class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School in Chelmsford, learned about their carbon footprint. After reading a variety of books and researching ways to help reduce their use of resources, students came up with a number of activities that help lessen human impact upon the environment. Activities as simple as using clothes lines, using reusable shopping bags and riding their bicycles more often to more innovative and ambitious activities such as installing solar panels and roof top gardening were included. “Understanding our carbon footprint helps deepen our sensitivity to the Christian virtue of stewardship celebrated this month throughout Sudbury Catholic District School Board schools” said teacher Eileen Harris.
Earth Day 2012 at St. Charles Elementary
In April, we especially look forward to our role as stewards of the environment to protect our planet. Students and staff at St. Charles Catholic School in Chelmsford wish to thank VALE for their generous donation of seedlings.
The campaign was kicked off with the story “THE TREE” by author Dana Lyons. Each student was given a seedling to bring home to plant in honour of Earth day.
Franco-Fun Day Celebrated at St. Charles School
Things are alive and well at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School. On Tuesday, March 20th, as they celebrated “la journée de la francophonie” and fun was had by all.
The day started with M. Viau’s Gr. 7/8 French Immersion class who presented Improv skits to various classes.
Bags for Beds at St. Charles Elementary
The Dearness Conservation team at St. Charles Catholic Elementary Catholic school challenged their students to bring in milk ‘bags for beds’ and they did – “We can’t believe that the school collected over 2000 milk bags” says Rolande Nault, Club 50 Azilda member, ‘this will definitely make life a lot more comfortable for children and their families, especially those children in the Mariam Centre Orphanage and Outpatient Care in Haiti’.
The ladies at Club 50 Azilda take milk bags, cut them into strips, tie them together and then roll them up into balls just like yarn, then crochet or knit them into finished mats. These mats are very useful in keeping out parasites and can be used as beds for surgeries as they can be washed for the next patient. They become very soft in the heat and are also waterproof. ‘The ladies do an outstanding job creating these mats and then ensuring that that are shipped to Haiti’ says Ms. Giroux, teacher and Dearness Conservation Team member at St. Charles Catholic Elementary School. “This challenge had our students ‘think locally and act globally’ a quote that is said many times to our students to instill lifelong responsible citizenship. This challenge was a great opportunity to partner with a community organization, teach students the importance of reusing materials and teaching them the importance of giving back”.