Ottawa Catholic School Board students spent this week learning outside, taking advantage of November temperatures that felt more like summer than the usual grey skies and chilly mornings of late autumn.
In its weekly Friday Feeling roundup, the board said the warm weather was a welcome opportunity to move lessons outdoors, with students exploring autumn colours in French and youngest learners using their sense of sight to discover the world around them.
Even wet pavement became a teaching tool. According to the Ottawa Catholic School Board, colourful chalk drawings added brightness to a schoolyard after rain.
Learning continued indoors
Inside the classroom, the week was just as busy. In gym class, students worked together to keep a giant Omnikin ball from touching the floor. Literacy activities had students racing to build words and identify which words didn't belong.
At the secondary level, biology students practised their science skills in a simulated urinalysis lab. The board described no shortage of learning, laughter and teamwork across its schools.
Traditions and remembrance
Students also spent time learning about different traditions and reflecting on the importance of remembrance ahead of Remembrance Day.
A Día de los Muertos fashion show and dance party gave Spanish-language learners a chance to celebrate loved ones and learn about the tradition. Other students explored the significance of the poppy and reflected on the message "La paix commence avec moi," or "Peace begins with me."
While November has only just begun, the board said rehearsals are already underway for an upcoming Black History Month celebration.
Spiritual theme frames the week
The board's spiritual theme for the year, Nourish New Beginnings, encourages students and staff to recognize the opportunities each day brings.
Whether students were learning outdoors, trying something new in the gym, exploring cultural traditions or reflecting on peace, the board said there was plenty to celebrate across its schools this week.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board acknowledges that its schools are located on the ancestral, traditional and unceded Indigenous territory of the Algonquin Peoples.
