In like a lion, out like a lamb is the old saying to predict the unsettled weather that March can bring. With huge amounts of snow at the beginning of March, the students within teacher Lois Lambert’s Grade 1-2 classroom at St. Anne School wondered if there would be any snow left once they returned from their March Break. Deciding to take no chances, these students within the Sudbury Catholic System strapped on their snowshoes for their gym class. The children were able to walk the perimeter of the school yard which was quite a distance for these six and seven year olds. Some students fell and some students were wet, but in the end, a good time was had by all. Their classroom teacher, Mrs. Lois Lambert, stated, “I want the children to have a safe March Break and maybe inspire them to find other enjoyable activities to participate in while the weather is nice.” Spring may be just around the corner, but these children proved that winter fun can be very exciting!
The “Dragon’s Den” Hits St. Anne Catholic School
On Friday, February 24, 2012, students in grade 8 at St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer, participated in their annual science fair. This year, the science fair took on a whole new look, and became an inventor’s fair. During the morning, all grade 8 students displayed their inventions in order for the entire school community to view and celebrate their achievements. The inventions were evaluated by members of the community, and ten
inventions were selected to present their inventions to the panel of Dragon’s in the afternoon. The dragons consisted of, Mr. Mathieu, principal of St. Anne School, Ms. Ubriaco, curriculum coordinator at SCDSB, Ms. Langlois, physics teacher at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School (BAC), and Jessica Vaillancourt, grade 12 student at BAC. “It was a very refreshing and innovative way to approach science fair. It was very obvious that the students were totally engaged in their work and were very proud to share it with others. It was a great experience for both the students and
myself as a judge. Definitely a venue worth exploring further for all of our students,” said Connie Ubriaco. Students worked diligently over the past 6 weeks, planning, constructing, interviewing, testing, and marketing their new inventions. Their innovations demonstrated the development and evaluation of innovative devices, models, techniques or approaches in technology, engineering or computers (hardware and software). With the help of their teachers, Jody O’Daiskey and Julie Caissie, students integrated several technologies, inventions or designs and constructed innovative technological systems that could have human and/or commercial benefits.
St. Anne Angels created highly original products that demonstrated resourcefulness, and creativity in design. Some of the top products were the “EZ Carry”, created by Caleb Beland, which aids in the carrying of numerous bags, as well as the “Skaterz Friend”, created by Chris Rowsell, which helps teach children how to skate. “I personally had a great time with the Dragon’s Den. I especially think that the creativity of everyone made
this Science Fair the best of all,” said Caleb Beland, inventor of the EZ Carry. “The science fair at St. Anne’s was one of the best I have seen,” said Jody O’Daiksey, grade 8 teacher at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School. “Students demonstrated engagement from the minute the Dragon’s Den concept was introduced. Their ideas and final products were better than we could have ever expected.” “It was exciting to see student’s applying all of the research skills we have been developing together all year,” said Julie Caissie. “These Dragon’s Den projects were an amazing opportunity for students to really showcase their abilities.” The Sudbury Catholic District School Board held a board wide science fair on Thursday, March 1st, and four projects from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer were among the projects featured.
Angels Donate to a Good Cause
On March 8, Danielle Long, a student from St. Anne School in Hanmer, finally reached her goal. She cut off her 14 inch braid to donate to the “Angel Hair for Kids”. Danielle is a grade 6 student at St. Anne School. She has been working towards this hair donation goal for approximately a year and a half. This will be Danielle’s third time donating her hair to this amazing cause. She was inspired to do this when a family friend passed away from cancer. “It felt good to do this today,” said Danielle. “It’s fun to do. It is nice to give someone my hair for them to feel good about themselves.”
Makayla Bertrand, a grade one student from St. Anne School is also ready to take on this challenge. Makayla has been growing her hair for about 2 years to make sure she has enough hair to donate. She is planning on donating approximately 10 inches of hair in May, Cancer Awareness month. Makayla was inspired by her mom, Melissa Bertrand who donated her hair to this cause 8 years ago.
All of their hair will be sent to A Child’s Voice Foundation, “Angel Hair for Kids”. Angel Hair for Kids is a program that provides wigs and hair loss solutions to financially disadvantaged children in Canada who have lost their hair due to a medical condition or treatment. Using hair that is generously donated to the program, the foundation can create wigs and hair systems and provide them at no cost to the child’s family. It takes 10-12 donated ponytails to make one hair prosthesis and $800 to $1000 is budgeted by the foundation to cover manufacturing and related costs.
Learning Becomes “Magnified” For St. Anne Students
A recent visit to Science North proved to be a real “eye-opener” for students within the English E.L.K. program at St. Anne School in Hanmer. During the fall, the young children within the Sudbury Catholic System began a learning inquiry into the life cycle of plants with a garden harvest. With the arrival of spring right around the corner, the students are continuing to expand their knowledge of plant life through new growth. Before the children actually plant their own seeds, they participated in a session at Science North that discussed how plants grow, their needs and care, common plants around us, and how plants take root in the wild. Their classroom teacher, Cheryl MacRury, knew that her students had a good foundation before planting, but stated, “The children had a lot of fun. The best part of the session was watching them as they learned a lot about how plants reseed and grow in the wilderness. They didn’t know the important roles that people, animals, and insects play in a plant’s life, but they do now.” An inquiry task that involved magnifying glasses and a bag filled with seeds, berries, burrs, and felt allowed the children to put on their thinking caps and have a hands on experience with how pollination occurs. What will the final result be following their Science North visit? Hopefully a new generation of plant growers. It is never too soon to start cultivating a green thumb!
St. Anne Students “Go Green” For St. Patrick’s Day
The students at St. Anne School enjoy celebrating special days and holidays just like all other children do. This even includes holidays that take place while they are not at school. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17th while students across Ontario are away on their March Break. Just before they left for their holiday, some students in the French Immersion E.L.K.P. classroom within the Sudbury Catholic Board showed their true spirit by dressing up to demonstrate their “love for the Irish”. Anthony Bertrand, Gavin Potvin, and Jacob Carosi had a lot to tell about the costumes they were wearing. “My mom helped me get dressed for St. Patrick’s Day,” said Jacob. “My mom even helped me put on tattoos for leprechauns,” stated Gavin. “I wanted to wear a beard for St. Patrick’s Day, but it is pretty itchy,” was Anthony’s comment. The wearing of the green by some of St. Anne’s youngest students had the entire school body seeing “wee little leprechauns” throughout the day. Way to go Angels!
St. Anne Student “Welds Her Own Heart”
Recently, intermediate students from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer, participated in a”Tech Day” at Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School. The St. Anne Angel’s are invited annually to participate in this high school experience as a way of making the transition to high school that much easier. Throughout the day, students were exposed to various programs such as Welding, Wood Working, High Skills major program in computer technologies and AutoCad. The students at St.Anne Catholic School embraced the day, actively participating and asking questions about the programs, routines, and student life. The staff and students at BAC were more than happy to address all of their questions and concerns. The day proved to be an exciting one for all involved!
St. Anne Student Celebrates Pancake Day With A Homemade Flair
Ava Collette is a student within the English E.L.K.P. classroom at St. Anne School in Hanmer. She celebrated Pancake Tuesday with her classmates and other classrooms throughout the school as a day of celebration before the start of Lent and Ash Wednesday. The pancakes Ava and her Kindergarten friends ate were perhaps a bit more special than most. That is because they were covered in syrup Ava’s father had made from tapping the maple trees at their home. Ava, a student within the Sudbury Catholic Board, told her class “My daddy made the syrup from the trees in our backyard”. Her friends and teacher couldn’t wait to try the homemade syrup and after tasting it on top of their pancakes, everyone agreed. “It was yummy”! The syrup was so good, there wasn’t one drop left. Ava and her dad certainly knew how to put the “topping” on this year’s pancake breakfast!
It All Adds Up To The 100th Day Of School At St. Anne
The students of St. Anne School in Hanmer have been celebrating their 100th day of school in a number of different ways. Teachers within both the Primary and Junior sections decided to have their students rotate from classroom to classroom to allow the children to participate in all kinds of activities that added up to 100. The primary wing had games such as stringing 100 fruit loops, sticking 100 stickers to a crown, racing to pick up 100 pennies, and repeating ten exercises ten times. The junior wing recognized all numbers to 100 as they played Bingo, rolled dice and counted on a 100 chart, played an auction game on the Smartboard with money up to $100.00, and tried to create 100 movements to different styles of music. Both the students and their teachers within the Sudbury Catholic System agreed that there are more than 100 reasons why the number 100 can be pretty exciting!
Primary Students Try To Defy Gravity At St. Anne School
Walking and being able to stand tall are activities the students at St. Anne School participate in everyday. A recent outing to Centennial Arena made doing so just a bit harder for some of the primary students within the Sudbury Catholic Board.
Armed with their skates, helmets, and a lot of padding from their winter snowsuits, classes from the Hanmer school took to the ice with their classmates and family members. During the next hour, some children practiced the basics of trying to stand and move on skates while a few more daring students moved from one end of the rink to the other. Who knew that trying to move on skates could be so tricky? All in all, the students enjoyed the physical activity and the pride that comes from knowing they were mastering the art of defying gravity. “Do we have to leave?” Those were the words that even the youngest children were asking. Their teacher’s responses, “We’ll be back!”
St. Anne Catholic School Student Headed to Provincials for Cadets
On January 28th and 29th, Daniel Caton, a grade 8 student from St. Anne Catholic School in Hanmer, participated in a regional biathlon competition for the Royal Canadian Cadets. The competition took place in Sault Ste. Marie, with approximately 190 participants from Northern Ontario. The two day event invited many spectators and had both individual and relay events.
Caton’s relay team finished second overall and advanced to the provincial championship which will be help in Sault Ste. Marie on February 18th and 19th. Daniel held the best record for targets hit on his own team, hitting 8 out of 10 targets. “I was really excited and proud of my team. All of the training was well worth it. I think we have a good chance to place in the provincial championship,” said Caton. Daniel also participated in an individual event, where he placed 22nd overall.
Daniel is a part of the Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron of the Sudbury Armouries. He has been involved with the Cadets for approximately two years, and has enjoyed the experience thus far. He is also an honour roll student in teacher Jody O’Daiskey’s class at St. Anne School, part of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “I am very happy for Daniel and his accomplishments. He has worked hard training for this event. It was wonderful to see him beaming with pride when he shared his accomplishments with our classroom,” O’Daiskey said.