Black Excellence Museum at St. Theresa Catholic School

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From the start of 2024, students at St. Theresa Catholic School in Whitby have been researching Black individuals from history who represent excellence in their fields. Students were asked to find people they could personally connect with who embody a personal quality of leadership, motivation, strength, empowerment, creativity, bravery, resilience, strong work ethic, care for others, or determination. Each grade was given a challenge to highlight the historical figures through a specific medium of inquiry. All of these projects were presented for public viewing at the school on March 27, 2024.

• Mrs. Cannata's Grade 8 students flexed their writing and artistic talents to make graphic displays that highlighted profound contributions to culture, politics, music, and entertainment.
• Ms. Bird's Grade 7 class presented language and art activities on Black excellence which highlighted important contributions to the betterment of society.
• Mr. Ronaldi's Grade 6 class were asked to choose a historical figure from a segment of society: Kings and Queens, Political and Proud, Music and Melanin, Brave and Boundless,  Athletics, or Creativity and Culture. They then created an artifact they could speak about that represents that figure well.
• Ms. Boylan's Grade 5 students highlighted famous quotations under the topic: Positive Words Have Power. Students chose an inspirational quote and wrote a paragraph about what the quote means to them and how we can use it as a message to further celebrate Black excellence.
• Ms. Pecchia's Grade 4 students researched a person that demonstrates Black excellence. Students worked with partners to do research on their selected individual, and developed an understanding of who their figure was in history in order to talk to museum visitors about their role and significance in history.
• Mrs. Shewchuk's Grade 3 students studied authors and their challenge was to find a book, poem, or other text by a Black author and draw and write about their favourite part of the text highlighting its message and meaning. 
• Mrs. Brocklehurst's Grade 2/3 students were challenged to choose a piece of famous artwork by Black artists and recreate it. 
• The Kindergarten and Grade 1 and Grade 1 / 2 students also participated by learning and writing about personal characteristics of figures who represent Black excellence through an "I Am" project.