admin, Author at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School

St. Francis Students Connecting Globally Through Reading

Posted on November 11, 2013 by admin

Students in teacher Lyanne Marion’s grade 5/6 French Immersion class at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School have been involved in the 2013 Global Read Aloud. Students have been listening to their teacher read “Out Of My Mind” by Sharon Draper, and have connected with classes from around the world, such as California, Brazil and India, through Twitter, Kidblog and Edmodo. This global project allows one book to connect the world!

Student also have iPad minis for a six week period, and are creating book trailers and Inclusion slideshows to share with the school community.

St. Francis Teacher – Recipient of the 2013 SCDSB Chairpersons Award

Posted on June 17, 2013 by admin

Lise Malette, the French Immersion Senior Kindergarten teacher at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School is this year’s recipient of the Sudbury Catholic 2013 Chairperson’s Award. Selected by trustees, the award recipient is someone who embraces Catholic values, demonstrates initiative and ingenuity and contributes positively to the lives of students and staff. On June 12, Malette was presented this award by Vice Chair of the Board, Michael Bellmore. Bellmore, who is also a parent of a student at St. Francis told the crowd that he was thrilled that Malette was the award winner as he has seen first hand what an outstanding educator Malette is. As well, he has seen just how much more she does for the students on top of teaching in the classroom.
Nominated by the parents of student Karissa Kruk, Malette spent numerous hours helping her family by supporting them with multiple fundraisers. Kruk was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, and the entire family was able to be with her in Toronto where she received treatment, through the financial support of these fundraisers organized by Malette. According to Terra Kruk (Karissa’s mom) “There are no words to put into perspective the generosity and kindness that Lise Malette has given our family. She has unceasingly demonstrated the Love of God by her continued acts of compassion with never a thought of anything in return. From the moment that Lise Malette found out of our tragedy, she began to pull support together from teachers, staff and parents from St. Francis where our children attend school. Lise Malette has gone way beyond the call of duty of being just a teacher but rather has been lead to be one of God’s servants to help others in our time of need. We are so blessed and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received because of this one very special teacher. Without her we would not have been able to stay together as a family all this time.”
A second nomination for Malette was also submitted by the Parent Council Chair –Cathy Kulos– on behalf of the entire school. Kulos explained, “Personally as a parent at St. Francis for the past eight years, I can attest to Lise Malette’s dedication to the students, staff and parents… Lise is a true inspiration to all who meet her – and I have never met someone more giving of themselves.”
Malette was quite overwhelmed upon receiving the award, and thanked her students, co-workers, family and the nominators for being selected as the 2013 Chairperson’s Award winner.

St. Francis Student Takes Top Honours in 5th Annual Fast Flowing Water Contest

Posted on June 6, 2013 by admin

On Thursday, June 6th, members of the community, as well as several classes from area elementary schools were on hand at Tom Davies Square for a news conference and awards ceremony for the fifth annual Fast Flowering Water Contest. Deputy Mayor Joscelyn Landry-Altmann (Ward 12) who is also Chair of the Junction Creek Safety Committee was on hand to address the crowd and announce the winners of both the video and poster contests. St. Francis Catholic Elementary School grade 6 student Sophia Zulich was the first place winner and had her poster unveiled on a 10’ x 20’ billboard that will be placed prominently in Sudbury. Sophia’s first place win earned an ipad mini for herself, and a smartboard for her class. Coming in third place was Makayla Kruk, another grade 6 student from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School winning a $200 iTunes gift card.
Alongside Landry-Altmann was the contest mascot Milly the Muskrat as well as Adam Dickie’s grandfather Ray Croteau. Adam was a thirteen year old boy who drowned in 2007 in fast flowing water and the inspiration for this safety initiative. Croteau who has been a part of this campaign from its inception, also addressed the crowd and asked the students and members of the community to always remember the motto “Where waters flow, do not go!”
Vicki Mcguire, principal of St. Francis was extremely pleased that her students took two of the top spots in the contest. “I am so proud of both Sophia and Makayla, as well as all of our students who participated in this contest,” Mcguire stated. “This is such an important message for all in our community, and I am extremely impressed with our students in getting this message out so creatively.”

St. Francis Students Celebrate the Month of Mary

Posted on May 27, 2013 by admin

During the month of May, grade 3 and 4 students from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School are celebrating the Month of Mary. Students are learning about Jesus’ mother Mary and the special role she had in His life. Each student was given their own rosary from their teacher, Ms. Graziella Visentin, to keep and use during daily morning prayers on the announcements and prayer after lunch in class. Students are developing an appreciation of the rosary as a special way of praying to God that honours Mary, the Mother of Jesus. As students recite the prayers of the rosary, students will reflect on certain stories in the lives of Jesus and Mary. The class is developing a greater awareness that Jesus will be with them in the joyful times of their lives and in times that are sorrowful. The events from the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries are reminders of this as students learn that the rosary can also be used to pray during Advent, Lent and during Ordinary Time in the liturgical year.

Celebrating Catholic Education Week

Posted on May 6, 2013 by admin

At St. Francis Catholic Elementary School, the students and staff have embraced this year’s theme “Growing Together in Faith” in a very creative way. To bring the school community together as one, teachers Christina Bedoya and Lise Malette took all of the student photos and designed a “growing tree of life” which included a picture of every single student and staff member, including teachers, EAs ECEs, the custodian, administrators and the parish priest, Father Larry – all are all part of the tree. The arrangement was created to match the poster for Catholic Education Week. School vice-principal Krista Sarmatiuk was very proud of their creation. “What a wonderful tribute to our school and our faith,” Sarmatiuk stated. “This tree of life represents us as a school, and as part of the Catholic family – it is a wonderful embodiment of us as the St. Francis community – rooted in our faith!”

What’s Inside My Computer?

Posted on May 1, 2013 by admin

Teacher Karen Healy and Early Childhood Educator Angela Ross’ class use forms of technology everyday, but how does that technology work? Through hands-on investigation, the full day kindergarten class at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School was able to dismantle a computer tower and a laptop to get a closer look at what is inside. Students Aiden Galloway took apart the CPU fan to get a closer look and Violet Smith tried to figure out where the memory chip goes on the motherboard. When Aiden was finished he said, “I can’t believe I took out a piece of the computer!”

Good Stewards of the Earth

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

Grade 3 & 4 students in teacher Graziella Visentin’s class at St.Francis Catholic Elementary School learned about their carbon footprint as part of their Earth Day activities on April 22, 2013. Understanding the effects of our carbon footprint helped the students deepen their sensitivity and connection to a special virtue celebrated this month-Stewardship. Students read a variety of information books and researched ways to be good stewards of the earth by reducing, reusing and recycling resources. The students designed buttons to wear and promote their friendly Earth Day message to others. The class also created a book with student tips on how to reduce our carbon footprint on the earth. Ideas included walking to a nearby destination, riding their bicycles more often, donating used clothing and composting. Grade 3 & 4 students delivered flower seeds to some of the primary classes to beautify the outdoors at home or their school yard. St.Francis students from kindergarten to grade 6 received red pine seedlings courtesy of Xstrata Nickel and College Boreal to take home and plant outside for Earth Day.

RCMP Visits St. Francis FDK Class

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin

Mme Lachance’s and Mme Lynne’s FDK French Immersion class had the pleasure of having a special guest visit their classroom. Sergeant Andre Lecoz shared his duties as an RCMP officer with the students. He explained all the features of his uniform and allowed the children to try on a smaller version of the coat and hat. Although many children thought he was a cowboy at first, at the end of the presentation they seemed to have a better understanding of what an RCMP actually does to help protect our society.

St. Francis Student Wins Poster Contest

Posted on April 8, 2013 by admin

Little did Meagan Ierino, a Grade 6 student at St. Francis Catholic Elementary School know, that five months ago when she entered her poster into the Royal Canadian Legion, Lockerby Branch’s, Remembrance Day Poster Contest, that her poster would win, not once, but three times; locally, divisionally, and now regionally! Art Moore was on hand from the Royal Canadian Legion, Lockerby Branch to award Meagan her medal and prize.
The Royal Canadian Legion conducts their Remembrance Day Poster Contest and Public Speaking Contest annually, and invites students from all Sudbury schools to participate.
St. Francis is very proud of Meagan.

St. Francis Kindergarten Students Take Part in an Explosive Inquiry

Posted on March 26, 2013 by admin

Flowing lava, rocks, heat and explosions were the topic of many conversations during the St. Francis Catholic Elementary School full-day kindergarten’s recent study of volcanoes. Mostly curious about lava and how the volcano erupts, the students, with the help of their teacher Karen Healy, were able to find many resources to answer their own questions. According to the students, creating a volcano in the class was the most exciting part of this inquiry and scientifically testing different types of pretend lava to see which flowed or erupted the best was the highlight of our volcano study.
The students were curious about what their teacher was going to use to make the volcano explode. When they were told that we were not only going to try one eruption but three, the students went crazy and were super-excited!
Upon presenting the materials for the three reactions to the students, they were asked to make a Hypothesis (which the students now know is a good guess), about which materials would make the biggest eruption. The students were able to choose from vinegar and baking soda, Elephant toothpaste (Google it!), and Diet Coke and Mentos. A handful of students picked the first two, with the majority of the class choosing the Diet Coke and Mentos. They put our hypothesis to the test and after doing the experiment and recording observations, the students concluded that the Diet Coke and Mentos was the biggest eruption!
The teacher also took this opportunity for learning to talk about safety in the science lab and classroom and how important it is for all students to follow directions.
Nicole Snow, Superintendent for the school, visited the class during their volcano inquiry. “What a great teaching moment for these kindergarten students,” Snow said. “Taking part in a hands on learning opportunity like this really allows the students to get a deeper understanding of the subject they are studying. This is a really great example of an authentic positive learning experience that will stay with the students!”