Bishop Macdonell Catholic High School’s design program is assisting St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Elementary School in carrying on a well-received tradition founded during COVID.
To help create community while cohorting was in effect, the St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Elementary School began videoing their morning announcements and projecting this to each classroom.
“This helped us stay connected by seeing faces from each of our classrooms,” said Michelle Nagy, principal of St. Ignatius CS. “We felt like this was one of the things that we learned from Covid that we decided to carry on.”
While the announcements are shared with all classes, it is their intermediate students who take on delivering this important information.
“We have a fantastic group of Gr. 8 students that run our morning announcements. Charlie takes care of introductions and playing a video of O'Canada. Addie introduces the students who say prayer - different students each day and we rotate through classrooms on a weekly basis - Addie also announces birthdays and shares lost and found items on the screen for students to come and collect. Jacen reads out all the announcements that are posted in the Chat,” said Nagy.
Now, to create a separate and engaging space for the students passion for broadcast to thrive, the school has partnered with the design team at Bishop Macdonell CHS.
Amberlea Daigneau, teacher of the interior design class at Bishop Macdonell CHS, was contacted by Wellington Catholic DSB experiential learning teacher, Ryan Lawrenson to help facilitate the redesign.
“Amberlea and her students came to see the space and take measurements,” explained Nagy. “Students then returned to their classroom and submitted their ideas for the design. Once a design was chosen, students came at various times during their semester to prep, paint, and setup the room.”
And the room has been very well received by the school community.
“The room has a much more appealing feel to it now. The team repainted and incorporated decorative designs and used the school colours as part of the theme,” said Michael Breadner, vice-principal of St. Ignatius. “It's not just a room anymore, it's a space that helps students feel like they are working on a unique task, and it shows students and staff who are watching on TEAMS a more professional space that is designed with school spirit in mind.”
“Students are very excited to see the final results and it gives them a sense of school pride,” added Nagy.