Highlights of the 2016-17 School Year: Garden Buddies Share Their Bounty!

To sum up our final months of Garden Buddies, this parent shared her family’s experience with us . . .
"Our child has loved, loved, loved this whole gardening experience! We have had so much information on the process of planting and harvesting, the progress of the group’s vegetables, the challenges of the trellis, the making of the “keep out” signs, etc. And yesterday was clearly the best day of all!  We enjoyed the butter on bread at dinner last night, and are looking forward to picking up some radishes and baguette so that we can experience (with some trepidation!) a French breakfast!  Thanks for providing the students with this rich learning experience – a great combination of group work, problem solving, self-reliance and sustainability."

Highlights of the 2016-17 School Year: The Wizard of Oz

Immaculate Conception’s March 8th production of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz was like no other! The cast was made up of incredibly talented intermediate students, including, Auntie Em, who was played by a Grade 4 student, The Witch of the North, who was played by a graceful Grade 7 girl, The Witch Of The West, played by a lively Grade 5 student, and and The Wonderful Wizard of OZ himself, played by a sage Grade 7 student. Dorothy Gale was played by a Grade 6 girl who wowed us with her likeness to the “real” Dorothy Gale! Finally, Dorothy’s friends, who accompanied her on her journey to Oz were played by a trio of fun-filled Grade 7s who kept us laughing every step of the Yellow Brick Road!

I think the best part of being in The  Wizard Of OZ was getting to know everyone, and making new friends – similar to the Scarecrow’s words to Dorothy. That brings me to the special memories shared by the cast members in our production:

“It was really fun working with people I had never worked with before,” said the Scarecrow.

“I loved getting into character,”  said one of the munchkins.

From others in the crew and cast:

“The sound effects were really cool.”

“My favourite part was getting dressed up in costumes.”

“My best memory was acting in front of people. It made me feel very special.”

“My favourite part was on the day of the performance…there was so much excitement in the pitch black waiting for the curtains to open.”

It was all very exciting, and we were sad that it ended so fast. It was hard work to get ready for The Wizard of Oz, but when work is fun, time flies, just like Dorothy’s journey Over the Rainbow.

Written by Dorothy Gale

Gold performance at the Chancellor Music Festival

On Monday, May 4th, the ICS choir participated in the 34th Annual Chancellor Music Festival at Our Lady of Mercy School in Burnaby. They performed two songs: Shout with Joy! by Mark Patterson and The Beginning of Love by Greg Gilpin.

We are very proud to share the news that our students were awarded a gold! Gold standing is awarded for receiving a mark of 88% or higher. This means that the choir sang to almost technical perfection!

During our time at the Festival, the choir had a chance to work with a trained professional who gave them a 15 minute clinic on choral technique to enhance their already successful learning of these songs. She commented favourably on their singing in two-part harmony, their wonderful energy, and strong voices. What an opportunity for our choir members!

At our assembly next Monday, May 11th, (10:45 in the gymnasium) the choir will be reprising the songs they performed at the Festival.  All are welcome to join us!

First Holy Communion

After many months of preparation, the Grade Two class received their First Holy Communion on Sunday May 3rd. First Holy Communion is considered one of the holiest and most important occasions in our lives – it is a significant milestone in the life of a Catholic. It is the first time that we receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is the eating of consecrated bread and drinking of consecrated wine. Everyone was excited about receiving this special gift from Jesus. Here’s what a few students had to say about their Holy day.

“My First Communion was great. I felt full of Joy after receiving Jesus”

“I felt reunited with God. My favourite part was receiving the Body of Christ for the first time. I enjoyed being with my family.”

“I will always remember receiving the host for the first time.”

“I felt excited. I enjoyed bringing up the wine. I will always remember Jesus.”

Family and friends joined us in celebrating – even from as far a field as Germany.   Thank you to all the wonderful Grade One and Three families who planned and hosted the lovely, delicious reception in the gym afterwards.

Speech Arts at our Little Blue School

UPDATE:  Congratulations to the ten students who represented ICS at the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival in April. Gold and silver medals were achieved by all ten of our participants – we are so proud of you!

Originally posted April 15, 2015

On Friday, April 10th, we held our Speech Arts Competition to determine which students will be attending the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival later this month at St. Joseph’s School. What a talented group of orators we have at ICS! There were two categories for the intermediate students: prepared Bible reading and poetry recitation. The poems ranged from the engaging verse of Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl to the pensive and contemplative verse of Mary Oliver, Robert Frost, and Matthew Arnold. Bravo to all of our competitors! The decision was not arrived at easily; one Grade Four student and one Grade Five student will be advancing in this category. In addition, we have two students representing ICS in the prepared Bible reading category. Best of luck to you all!     

The primary students shared equally fun poems with the audience and also included some Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky gems. One student from Grade Two and one student from Grade Three will be advancing in this category. Theprepared Bible reading is always challenging, as our students must prepare three of the readings but do not know which one they will read on the day of the competition . . . congratulations to our Grade One and Grade Two winners! Finally, the primary students also take part in Prose Recitation and the selections this year were most challenging, ranging from Mercy Watson by Kate diCamillo to Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.  Kudos to our Grade Two and Grade Three students who have advanced to the Archbishop Carney Speech Arts Festival in this category. 

We wish all of our contestants the best of luck and we will be thinking of you on April 22nd!

Gardeners and Artists

Our talented Grade One students recently tried their hands at a combined gardening and art project which has culminated with the creation of beautiful self portrait pots in which are growing micro-greens. The project began with a read aloud of Eric Carle’s story, The Tiny Seed. Under the expert guidance of the parent leaders, the students observed some newly germinated seeds which included broccoli, red radish, alfalfa, and mesculin mix. Next, they tasted each micro-green and determined what to plant. The flavours were all popular and, amazingly, the children wanted to try each one and many asked for seconds!

Once the taste test was competed, the children planted their seeds and now comes the waiting, and waiting, and waiting . . .