Students and Staff support the Elgin Street Mission this Christmas by filling socks for the Mistle“Toes” Campaign. Grade ¾ French Immersion teacher, Dominica Frometa said, “It just warms my heart and gives me goosebumps, because it’s so nice for them to understand that aspect of giving throughout the Christmas holidays and the season. Every day, I’ve been having students bring Mistle“toes” in, and it’s such a beautiful thing to see and for them to learn. It’s such a big learning opportunity for them.”
St. Francis Christmas Video
Join our Virtual Dance Party!
On Tuesday evening, families participated in an Hour of Code while participating in a dance party and learning about coding all at the same time! This session was designed for families to learn the basics of coding without even using a device.
Students learned that events are a useful way to control when an action happens and can be used to make multiple things act in sync. In programming, events can be used to respond to a user controlling it (like pressing buttons or clicking the mouse) and that events can make programs more interesting and interactive.
Following, our teachers taught various dance moves such as the “Star, Dab, High Clap and This & That”. Then, families were asked to create their own unique dance algorithm and to share their finished products in order to have a chance to win a family prize pack.
There is still time for families to join our next Dance Party on December 10th at 6pm. To register go to: Learning Support Hub for Students and Parents.
Father Larry Shares a Message of Connection and Hope during the Christmas Season
St. Francis School Council hosted a parent session with Father Larry Rymes on December 3rd, 2020. Families were invited to join a Zoom session to discuss “Connection at Christmas during Covid Times.” Father Larry led the group in prayer and an interactive discussion about connection at school and with Our Lady of Hope Parish. “We were thrilled to be able to offer our school community an opportunity to connect with other families and our parish to discuss connection during this very unprecedented time. We are always thankful for Father Larry, his insight and comedic relief!” said, Natasha Folino, St. Francis Acting Principal.
St. Francis Student places Third in the Ontario #SkillsAtHome Challenge Series Challenge #14: Build a Fort
Owen Carpenter, Grade 6 student at St. Francis School, placed third in the #SkillsAtHome Challenge – Build a Fort.
Challenge #14 required students to build a blanket-covered structure in their home using household items such as blankets, broomsticks, pillows and couch cushions. Students were to collect and take inventory of the fort materials around their home. Using the materials they collected, the students created a design on paper and then built it. Challengers were marked on their ability to use creative items for their structures, the details within their blueprint designs as well as their overall structure. This challenge involved the following skills: planning, design, creativity, organization and fine motor and promoted the skilled trades of architectural design, ironworker, welder, and home renovations.
Owen and his brother had a fun time designing and creating their own unique forts. Owen created an army base equipped with sleeping quarters, kitchen, war zone and command base. Owen has been participating in several of Skills Ontario’s challenges.
“We congratulate Owen on his third-place finish in this #SkillsAtHome challenge. Sudbury Catholic students continue to achieve success through the series of challenges,” said Joanne Bénard, Director of Education. “We continue to invest in providing innovative and hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students Kindergarten to Grade 12 and we thank Skills Ontario for their continued partnership. The skills being developed support our focus on equipping all of our students with the skills they need for the future.”
We encourage our teachers and students to enter the excitement by joining in the last 2 competitions:
– Challenge #16 Build a Robot: November 30, 2020- December 14, 2020
– Challenge #17 Cake Decorating December 14, 2020 – January 4, 2021
St. Francis Shows their School Spirit on Wacky Hair Day
Students and staff got creative on Wacky Hair Day. Each month we show our enthusiasm by having a fun and silly day of celebration. In November, we creatively styled our hair as a way to come together and build school spirit. “Our students and staff are so creative, it is always nice to have an opportunity to be silly together!” said, Jessica Daggett, Kindergarten teacher.
The St. Francis School Community Comes Together Virtually in Prayer each Month
Students, staff and families continue to come together in prayer each month via Zoom and to celebrate those students who do an exceptional job of exhibiting our value of the month. “We are truly blessed to have Father Larry who continues to build positive relationships with our school community by visiting our school each week to meet with our students and to lead us in prayer each month at our monthly prayer service,” said Meghan Dopson, Acting Vice Principal.