Moments worth remembering.

⭐🌟 Celebrating Growth at Catching Stars! 🌟⭐ Today, we’re celebrating a very special milestone for Krissy and Jen, who both completed their Catching Stars Star Cards! 🎉 Throughout their time at Catching Stars, they worked toward earning stars by demonstrating our five core pillars: 💖 Confidence 💛 Friendship 💙 Independence ❤️ Joy 💚 Growth Each star represents much more than completing an activity. It reflects the everyday moments of encouragement, kindness, perseverance, leadership, communication, and personal growth that we have the privilege of witnessing throughout our programs. Watching both Krissy and Jen reach this milestone has been incredibly rewarding. We’ve seen their confidence continue to grow, their friendships become stronger, and their willingness to encourage and support those around them make a real difference within our Catching Stars community. Their hard work, positive attitudes, and commitment to personal growth have truly shined. As a reward for completing their Star Cards, both Krissy and Jen chose a Care Bear as their prize—a choice we absolutely loved! Care Bears have always represented kindness, friendship, caring, and helping others, making them a perfect reflection of the values we strive to nurture every day at Catching Stars. Krissy and Jen, we are so proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Thank you for showing us what it means to lead with kindness, embrace new challenges, and continue reaching for the stars. Congratulations on this well-deserved achievement! 💙⭐

Introducing the Five Pillars of Catching Stars At Catching Stars, growth doesn’t happen all at once. It happens through small moments — trying something new, making a friend, helping with lunch, joining a game, speaking up, laughing together, or taking one more step toward independence. Our Five Pillars are the path we grow through together: Confidence — building courage to try, speak, and shine. Friendship — creating real connection and belonging. Independence — practicing skills that lead to greater freedom. Joy — making space for laughter, celebration, and delight. Growth — encouraging progress, possibility, and becoming. These pillars guide the way we plan our days, celebrate our members, and notice the small moments that become big changes. At Catching Stars, every star matters — and every step forward is worth celebrating. ✨

🌟Welcome to the Catching Stars Team,Jem🌟 We are excited to officially introduce Jem, who has joined Catching Stars as a placement student from Oxford College of Arts, Business, and Technology! As part of her program, Jem has completed months of classroom learning focused on supporting individuals, building inclusive communities, promoting health and wellness, developing communication skills, and learning strategies to support people in a variety of settings. She is now completing the hands-on placement portion of her education with us over the next nine weeks. From her very first day, Jem has been an incredible addition to the Catching Stars family. She arrives each morning with a smile, a positive attitude, and a genuine desire to learn. She has taken the time to get to know each of our participants as individuals, building meaningful connections and creating a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued. One of the things we’re most passionate about at Catching Stars is helping people grow—whether that’s our participants, volunteers, or future professionals entering this field. We’re proud to provide a placement experience where students can develop their skills while experiencing the joy of building relationships and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Jem, thank you for your enthusiasm, kindness, and willingness to jump in wherever you’re needed. We are so happy to have you as part of the Catching Stars family and look forward to the weeks ahead! 💙⭐

⭐ Participant Highlight: Krissy ⭐ This week, we’d like to celebrate Krissy and the incredible growth we’ve had the privilege of watching over the past several months. From the moment she arrives each morning, Krissy brings a smile, a positive attitude, and an excitement that helps set the tone for the day. She genuinely looks forward to seeing her friends, welcoming new members, and making sure everyone feels included. One of the areas where we’ve seen the most growth is in Krissy’s confidence and communication. Through our daily Coffee, Tea & Conversation social circle, she has become much more comfortable sharing her thoughts, asking meaningful questions, and helping keep conversations going. More recently, she’s even begun taking on a leadership role by helping guide discussions and encouraging others to share their ideas. Watching her confidence grow in this area has been incredibly rewarding. Krissy has also become someone we can always count on. Whether it’s helping prepare for an activity, showing a new member where things are, or encouraging friends to join in, she’s often one of the first to step forward. She doesn’t wait to be asked—she simply notices where she can help and gets involved. What makes Krissy such a wonderful leader isn’t that she seeks the spotlight. It’s that she leads through kindness, positivity, and encouragement. She has discovered that lifting others up, welcoming new friends, and helping create a positive environment is one of the best ways to make a difference, and our Catching Stars community is stronger because of it. Krissy, we are incredibly proud of everything you’ve accomplished. Your growth, leadership, and caring heart inspire all of us, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve next. Keep shining! 💙⭐

📸✨ Photography Fun Day ✨📸 Monday was a wonderful day at Catching Stars filled with friendship, creativity, and plenty of smiles! We started the day with our coffee, tea, and conversation circle. With some new members joining the group, our discussions have become even more lively and engaging. It has been wonderful to watch new friendships form and to see participants excited to spend time together. We continue to be impressed by the thoughtful questions, ideas, and conversations that everyone brings to the group each day. After our social circle, we headed out for a community walk. Along the way, we met some friendly dogs (always a highlight!), learned the names of a few new plants, and enjoyed exploring the neighbourhood together. These walks are a great opportunity to connect with nature, learn new things, and enjoy time with friends. Back at Catching Stars, participants got creative by making their own photography props. Once everyone had finished their creations, we gathered at our Five Pillars wall to strike some fun poses and take photos together. There was lots of laughter, creativity, and encouragement as everyone showed off their unique personalities. Days like these remind us that some of the best memories are made through simple moments, shared experiences, and the friendships we build along the way. 💙⭐

🌟 Participant Highlight: Jen 🌟 This week, we’d like to recognize Jen and celebrate the wonderful growth we’ve seen in her over the past several months. Jen has become a valued member of our Catching Stars community, bringing positivity, kindness, and enthusiasm to each day she attends. One of the most exciting areas of growth has been her confidence in connecting with others. Jen regularly engages in meaningful conversations with participants, staff, support workers, and members of the community, showing genuine interest in others and building strong social connections along the way. We’ve also seen tremendous growth in Jen’s communication skills. She asks thoughtful questions, remembers details about people, and actively participates in conversations, helping to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone around her. Another strength that stands out is Jen’s positive attitude and willingness to embrace new opportunities. Whether she’s meeting new people, participating in group activities, or trying something different, she approaches each experience with an open mind and a great sense of enthusiasm. We are especially proud of the self-confidence and independence Jen continues to demonstrate. Her growth has been inspiring to watch, and her positive energy has a wonderful impact on the entire group. Jen, we are so proud of all that you have accomplished. Thank you for being such an important part of our Catching Stars community and for bringing your kindness, positivity, and friendship to those around you. 💙 ⭐ Keep on earning those stars, Jen—we’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved so far!

What a fantastic day at Catching Stars! ☀️🎨🚶‍♀️ Today, we enjoyed a visit to the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, where participants had the opportunity to explore a variety of creative and inspiring exhibits. One of the highlights was Welcome to the Indigiverse, which gave us the chance to experience Indigenous creativity, culture, and storytelling through art. We also enjoyed viewing some beautiful photographs of Scarborough and had fun seeing how many familiar places we could recognize! The walk to and from the Clark Centre was just as enjoyable as the visit itself. The weather was beautiful, and along the way we met some friendly people, adorable dogs, and shared lots of great conversations. These community connections are always such a meaningful part of our outings. After returning, we enjoyed lunch together before taking our social circle outside to make the most of the sunshine. The group had some lively discussions, shared stories, and enjoyed spending time together in the fresh air. To finish off the day, participants decided to play some animal sound trivia. There were lots of laughs as we tested our knowledge, discovered some surprising animal noises, and learned a few new facts along the way! 🦁🐸🐦 Today was a wonderful reminder that learning, friendship, community, and fun can all go hand in hand. We are so grateful for days like these and the memories we create together.

🍓✨ National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day Celebration ✨🍓 Today at Catching Stars, we celebrated National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day with a strawberry-themed treat of our own—homemade strawberry shortcake! Participants worked together to prepare fresh strawberries, make the filling, and whip up delicious homemade whipped cream from scratch. Along the way, everyone had the opportunity to practice important cooking and life skills, including measuring ingredients, following directions, food preparation, and kitchen safety. What made the activity especially meaningful was the teamwork. Participants supported one another, shared ideas, helped with different tasks, and encouraged each other throughout the process. It was wonderful to see everyone working together toward a common goal—and the end result was absolutely delicious! We also enjoyed our morning coffee, tea, and social circle, where participants shared stories about their weekends, talked about the warmer weather ahead, and discussed activities they’d like to see at Catching Stars this July. To finish off the day, participants helped decorate and personalize our program calendar with colouring and stickers. This is always a favourite activity, as everyone gets to leave their mark and take pride in contributing to something that will be enjoyed all month long. From cooking and creativity to friendship and teamwork, today was filled with smiles, learning, and plenty of sweet memories. 💙⭐