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.
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”.