Say “Hockey!” because that’s what Ms. Visentin’s Grade 2 students at Holy Cross all love. Many of the girls and boys in our class play hockey and they all know that winning and losing is all about “teamwork”, on and off the ice. Students enjoyed listening to and reading a collection of hockey books, especially Mike Leonetti’s hockey hero series which was based on Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater”, the first book which the students shared in class. It was a wonderful way to bring into our discussions The Leader In Me Habit #4 Think Win-Win, elements of a good story and a lot of Canadian history. While we started with the read aloud of “The Hockey Sweater” , the students celebrated our wrap up by watching the movie based on this very book.

Mrs. Lucciantonio’s Grade 4/5 class enjoyed a beautiful morning of snowshoeing at Kivi Park. The 3 km trail was challenging and fun. It was a great way to start the day. Thanks to volunteers Chantal and Joe for their help.

All Grade 1 and 2 students at Holy Cross enjoyed Winter Carnival activities at Robinson Park. Fun was had by all. The children enjoyed a morning of sliding, skating and snow soccer. They were treated to hot chocolate, provided by “Salute” and all the rinks were cleared, floated and cleared once again that very morning, at the early hours of 5:30 AM by one of our student’s grandfather. (Many thanks go out to Dawson’s grandparents for all their efforts to make this day so successful).

Two classes of Grade 4 and 5 students enjoyed indoor and outdoor cooperative games on Winter Carnival Day! They played Chuck the Chicken, Snowball Relay, Snowball Race, Polar Bear Polar Bear Cross My Iceberg, and many others. They had loads of fun being active and enjoying the beautiful outdoors!

Mme Blais-Callaway and Mlle Henry’s classes combined for an interactive math literacy activity for Family Literacy Day at Holy Cross on Friday January 27th. Students worked together as programmers to write code for their “robots”. They had fun programming real robots and family members as they moved around various maps and activities.

Students were invited to dress up as their favourite book character and they each prepared a presentation (en francais) about this character. Students then played a class game of “Taboo for Kids”, practicing French Literacy skills while having fun! Finally, each student received a family literacy day package to bring home to parents, with information on Family Literacy, tips for literacy at home, and resources for parents. A great day all around!

On Wednesday December 14th, students from Mme Mehes’ 5/6 French Immersion class and Mme Riutta’s 1/2 French Immersion class participated in a fun and enriching language arts activity: Letter Writing to Santa (“en français”). This collaborative activity allowed students to improve their communication, social and handwriting skills, and teach them what they need to know about writing and structuring letters. We look forward to future opportunities for these two classes to work together this school year!

On Tuesday November 22nd, students in Mme Mehes’s 5/6 French Immersion class took part in a poetry workshop with Sudbury’s Poet Laureate, Kimberly Fahner. Students collaborated and created a class haiku on the topic of panda bears. Thank you Kim for sharing your passion for poetry, and for encouraging students to write their own poetry!