Community

In our first practicum there was a group of teacher candidates (William Grassby, Alessia Sconza, Sheena Vert, Denise Soares, and Kavitha Ramachandran) at St. Agnes that engaged in a winter clothing drive for the St. Vincent de Paul. We had our students produce advertisements in the form of posters, announcements and various other media. In the end, William Grassby's students did a reflective/artwork exercise which we used technology to transform into a video/slideshow. Many of the students used the clothing drive as an example of charity.

Click on the heart below to see our video on the TCDSB's Wave of Charity Website:

In our second practicum placement at St.Gabriel's Catholic School, the group of teacher candidates (William Grassby, Alessia Scoza, Denise Soares and Jenna Mancuso) co-created an Action Plan project which was presented to the superintendents of the TCDSB on April 15, 2015. After exhaustive research, and in consultation with the Government of Ontario's own research "Nourishing Young Minds," we discovered both the need, and importance of having a breakfast program at St.Gabriel's. Everyday of our practicum from this day forward we came to school early, and provided healthy breakfast foods for each and every student in need. This is a project that I would like to bring with me to any school in which I work. Research shows that breakfast is foundational to learning, and for a very small amount of time and money we can make huge academic and social gains in the lives of our students.

On April 8, 2015 a group of 5 teacher candidates visited Romero House for our day of service. We were blessed with the opportunity to meet with several of the refugees and interns who have made this incredible community organization into a vibrant place of peace, friendship and relationship. Abby and Nazra and their daughter Edma told us their story of flight from fear and violence in Dijibouti, to racism and isolation in France, and finally to an agonizing time in a homeless shelter in Toronto before finding their place at Romero House. During our day of service we were treated to a tour of the community, and helped to prepare the afternoon meal. Unfortunately the weather did not co-operate with our plan to plant tomatoes in the rooftop garden, but the day left me feeling like the one who had been served. Hearing the stories of those who had come to Romero House in search of help and those who were there to welcome them and learn from them led me to a deeper understanding of the challenges that so many newcomers to Canada face each and every day. This understanding will absolutely help me to be more empathetic, patient and supportive to those students in my classroom who have experienced  similar journeys to Abby, Nazra and Edma.