In keeping with the spirit of the “World Day of the Sick” (Saturday, February 11th), a celebration was held at St. John Catholic Elementary School on Wednesday, February 8th,at which time students, staff, and invited guests joined together to take part in a prayer service honouring their community. Reverend Jim Ketzler from St. John the Evangelist Church led the service in which statues and crucifixes that were donated by the Sisters of St. Joseph from the former St. Joseph Health Centre (General Hospital) were blessed and then distributed around the school. As well, there were special blessings for all health care providers and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for all those who were present and in need. “At the beginning of the school year, all of the principals gathered together with Bishop Simard, Senior Administration and our parish partners, to put together pastoral plans for our schools,” Tricia Dowdall-Cerilli, Principal of St. John stated. “We had discussed many options, but we knew that this was definitely something we wanted to celebrate as we were so honoured to be gifted these crucifixes and statues from the hospital. Seeing as in the month of February, we celebrate the virtue of empathy – we knew that the timing was perfect for us to bring our community together, and take part in such a wonderful, meaningful celebration.”
St. John’s Families E.A.T.!
On February 1st, the Sudbury and District Health Unit and St. John Catholic Elementary School came together to offer an informative and tasty evening for families called E.A.T. (Eat Healthy, Anaphylaxis Awareness and Take and Taste). The SDHU began the evening with a presentation on allergies and anaphylaxis awareness. Families then sampled a variety of tasty, nutritious and nut-free lunch items such as egg salad pitas, veggie wraps, snack mix, fennel salad and black bean brownies. Students and their families explored new fruits such as papaya, mango, star fruit and grapples. There were interactive games for the children and recipes for the parents!
St. John Students Celebrate Literacy Day with a Twist
Primary students at St. John School celebrated World Literacy Day on Friday, January 27th with a Fairy Tale twist. Students enjoyed dressing as their favourite Fairy Tale character as they spent the morning engaged in literacy activities. At one station, students played Fairy Tale Trivia, answering questions about some of their beloved stories. Students also listened to and acted out Fairy Tales with their teachers.