Never the Same Day Twice!

Our Grade One class is likely the happiest place on earth! Our learning takes us in many directions and it is never the same day twice!

Here are just a few unique highlights we recently experienced:

Pani Lynne - Linking Generations 

We welcomed a special senior from our community through the Linking Generations program, which pairs classes with seniors to build meaningful relationships that benefit everyone.

Pani Lynne is a former teacher, active parishioner at OLPH, and all around lovely human! She read us a silly story, and then we read to her individually. She was dazzled by our new literacy skills!

We’re excited to welcome Pani Lynne most Wednesdays this school year for art projects, reading, numeracy games, and so much more. Her heart is so warm and I’m certain this is the beginning of a wonderful journey together!

Pumpkin the Dog

A special furry friend, Pumpkin, visits our school each week with his human, Miss Brittney. Pumpkin is a trained CAWWLS animal and the purpose of his visits is to promote positive mental health. We gently scratched and scritched Pumpkin as we took turns reading. We will learn about how we can take care of our own mental health throughout the year.

Vohon Performance

Today our students and staff attended Svitlo (“Light”), a Vohon dance presentation at the Jubilee Auditorium. We practiced being a respectful audience and were dazzled at the production, costumes, music and dance. This was a beautiful way to learn more about the rich Ukrainian culture and to take our learning into the community.

Grade one is truly a joyful place to learn. We love meeting new people, experiencing new opportunities, and growing together. If you or someone you know might be interested in connecting with our class to share a unique learning opportunity, definitely connect!

That's Where God Is

God is all around. We know He is always with us, but when we slow down and take a moment, we often notice His loving presence in new ways.

This week we read the book That's Where God Is. After reading, we took time to reflect on where we feel, see, hear, and notice God in our own lives.

The students wrote and drew their ideas, then created little posters to highlight the moments when they experience God. Their reflections were thoughtful, creative, and full of joy. It was beautiful to see how aware they are of God’s goodness in everyday life.

I hope these activities help all of us pause and remember that God is near, guiding and loving us in every moment.

Gentle Hands and Grateful Hearts: Remembrance Day

As followers of Jesus, we are called to be His hands and feet, bringing kindness, gentleness, and peace into the world. 

We shared the story Beautiful Hands and reflected on the question, “How can we use our hands to show kindness, gentleness, and peace?”

Then we created meaningful poppy art. The small muscles in our hands worked hard as we rolled and dipped tissue paper to bring our poppies to life.

Through our creativity we expressed gratitude and peace, remembering that we are called to be the hands of Christ. 

Today, our school gathered as a community to pray, to remember, and to give thanks for all who have worked and continue to work for peace. 

I hope that when the children look at the poppies pinned to their collars, they do so with deeper understanding and heartfelt gratitude. May we all use our hands to bring gentleness and peace into our world, for we are the hands of Christ.