Pages 6-9 O School

October 2012 ISSN 0384-6636 Volume 40 Number 4 www.wsd1.org

InsideGeneral Wolfe School’s

English-as-an-additional

language (EAL) program

brings a vastly different set

of cultures, languages and

life experiences under one

roof. Page 3

Machray School creates a

colourful tribute for a

beloved teacher – Welcome

to Mrs. Kroeker’s Butterfly

Garden.Page 13

Moments in Time. Students

from across the Division

take part in the Red River

Heritage Fair – with many

taking home awards.Pages 14

Shaughnessy Park student

filmmakers make a big

impression at the 2012

Freeze Frame Film Festival. Page 18

Our Schools

Spotlight on assessmentA map to guide us along the way

Pages 6-9

Students tacklee-waste

Prairie Rose students with MillerEnvironmental Corporation worker JeremyAllard at the company’s Hekla Avenue transferstation.

See story page 4

Welcome to ÉcoleVictoria-Albert School!

Happy New (School) Year!David Livingstone Community School marked the first day of classes

with a special “New Year” celebration on Sept. 5. Students and staff paraded around the block in a colourful display that

included New Year’s hats and horns.

It’s a new year and aslightly different namefor the Division’s newest

dual-track English/FrenchImmersion school.

École Victoria-AlbertSchool welcomed its firstFrench Immersion class—21kindergarten students—thisSeptember.

Pictured are students fromVictoria-Albert’s inauguralkindergarten class; the sign inthe background reflects theschool’s name change.

See story page 2

Page 2 October 2012 Our Schools

Around the Division

Smoke-Free Environment PolicySmoking is prohibited in all school division buildings, vehicles and on

all school division property.All students, employees and visitors are required to comply with this

policy._______________________________________________________

École LaVèrendrye’s hands-on Heritage Classroom is ready forclass bookings.

Why not treat your stu-dents to an authentic early20th century classroom expe-rience? Programs availablefor all ages in both Frenchand English.

Heritage Classroom

To reserve, contact Darcie at 452-5015

or visit:

http://blogs.wsd1.org/laverendrye1

Welcome to ÉcoleVictoria-AlbertSchool!It’s a new year and a slightly different name for the Division’s newest dual-

track English/French Immersion school.École Victoria-Albert School welcomed its first French Immersion

class—21 kindergarten students—this September. A new class will be addedevery year to build the French Immersion track into a full kindergarten-Grade 6 program. The French track meets a growing demand for FrenchImmersion in the Inner City District.

“Our plan is to have two healthy, vibrant language programs at ourschool,” said Principal Paulette Huggins. “This gives our parents anotheroption if they choose.”

For a school that has proudly included students from many differentcountries and linguistic backgrounds over the years, the French Immersionprogram adds an exciting new dynamic to daily life at Victoria-Albert.

“The staff has really embraced this,” Ms. Huggins said. “With the num-ber of EAL (English-as-an-Additional Language) students here, that diver-sity is really alive and well…this program just adds to the possibilities.”

The school was able to use one of its existing kindergarten teachers, RinaD’Ottavio, who gained over 10 years of experience teaching immersion ather previous school, École Lansdowne.

“I’m very excited to help start the kindergarten French ImmersionProgam here at École Victoria-Albert,” said Ms. D’Ottavio, who is one ofseveral teachers at the school who are fluent in French. “The kids pick upthe language very quickly. When they’re very young, they’re open to learn-ing a new language. They’re like little sponges.”

Victoria-Albert has been in existence since the fall of 1877, when itopened as Central School. In 1898, it was renamed as Victoria School, whilea second school building was renamed Albert School (the name changeshonouring Queen Victoria and her husband). A new school building wasbuilt in 1930, combining the two schools under its current name.

Dance instructor Carmen Infante leads Collège Churchill students throughsome Spanish dance moves during the school’s Spanish Day. Students

enrolled in Spanish classes—as well as those simply interested in culturalexperiences—took part in the day. Teacher Griselda Treminio said the eventwas all about creating cultural awareness.

Photo by CiJae Filipchuk

From farm to theplateMichelle Lester—a Newfoundland Agriculture in the Classroom repre-

sentative—serves some pancakes to a St. John’s High School student.Ms. Lester was in Winnipeg for the organization’s recent national meetings.

Agriculture in the Classroom strives to educate students on how food getsfrom farmers and other producers to their tables.

After serving up a wholesome breakfast, the organization gave students aneducational presentation in the school’s theatre.

Photo by Denny Atienza

Together en Español

Robots come alive at FortRouge School!

Grades 4-6 students at Fort

Rouge Schooldonned protectivegoggles and rolled uptheir sleeves for ahands-on, inquiry-based project on robotics.

S t u d e n t sresearched the role ofrobotics in today’sworld, designed

robots and evenbuilt their own

robots from special kits. The young inventors worked individually and ingroups to problem solve and create the motorized robots, relying heavily onmath and science skills to complete the project.

Students were delighted with the final results as they steered their robotsthrough a test course in the classroom. Some students commented on theusefulness of their project in terms of future jobs, especially in the area ofengineering.

“What a great opportunity for students to be involved in such a success-ful inquiry-based project,” commented principal Leslie Maxwell-Joseph.

Photo and files courtesy of Fort Rouge School

Our Schools October 2012 Page 3

Many voices, one worldHailing from distant countries

that include Bhutan, Burma,Eritrea, The Philippines,

Somalia, Uganda and Vietnam, thestudents in General Wolfe School’sEnglish-as-an-Additional Language(EAL) program bring a vastly differ-ent set of cultures, languages and lifeexperiences under one roof. It is aworld where generalities rarely apply.

These are students whose needscan reach far beyond simply that oflearning English—and their numbersare growing.

When Anita Riedl first beganteaching in the EAL program atGeneral Wolfe in 2005, there was oneclassroom of 20 newcomer students.

“When I first started here, I hadmostly Filipino, Vietnamese andChinese students who had consistentprior schooling, and maybe a fewkids that were war-affected,” Ms.Riedl said. “And then, around 2008,we started getting more and morerefugee students. It sort of explod-ed…it isn’t just happening here, it’shappening everywhere. The InnerCity is booming.”

In the 2011/12 school year, theprogram had grown to two class-rooms and supported approximately70 newcomer students; meanwhile,almost half of General Wolfe’s student population lists English-as-an-additional language.

“The needs are very different.These students have come from verydifferent settings around the world,from refugee camps to living dis-placed in urban centres,” Ms. Riedlsaid. “These students are navigating avery multicultural environment. Mostof them come from areas that arequite homogenous, and now there areall of these new cultures and lan-guages. Some of them may be livingin a city for the first time, so evenhaving streets with names is so new.”

Ms. Riedl’s classroom, known as aLiteracy Centre, focuses on studentswho may only have a few words ofEnglish.

“I’ll teach around thematic units,using lots of visuals and vocabulary,”she said. “There are all kinds of waysto teach...oral, listening, learning tospeak in smaller groups and lots ofhands-on stuff. A beginning languagelearner needs a lot of differentapproaches.”

Fellow teacher Jorge Rivero-Vallado, who joined the program in2009, teaches in a second classroomfor students who have a functionaluse of English and varying levels ofintegration with mainstream classes.Through instruction in one specificsubject area—Social Studies—stu-dents not only learn more about thehistory and cultures of their newcountry—they also learn a host ofskills essential in any subject area.

“What we do in my class is look atdifferent ways the students candeploy the English language theyalready have,” Mr. Rivero-Valladosaid. “With every unit, we can work

within spheres of reading, writing,representing, speaking and listening,or get more specific and look atresearching and reporting.”

Along with all the classroomlearning that takes place, EAL teach-ers try to encourage students and theirfamilies to connect with both theschool and their new community in asmany ways as possible.

This can mean simple things likeensuring their students understandthe morning announcements, or tak-ing students to the public library toget their first library card.

“The more attachments the stu-dents make in their new neighbour-hood and school, the less likely ofissues in the future,” Mr. Rivero-Vallado said. “The newcomer parentscan have difficulty because theythemselves are learners and are goingto school. They can be so over-whelmed the first two or three years.But it’s still important for kids tomake connections, attach to the com-munity and feel a part of something.So sometimes we’re connecting stu-dents to groups that can providethings like soccer or swimming les-sons and other activities that studentswill eventually do with their parents.”

The teachers, along with othersupports in the school—such as guid-ance counselor Laurie Miller—workto involve students’ families as muchas possible. Parents are invited forinformation sessions on Internet safe-ty, gang awareness or the differencesbetween the Canadian education system and other countries.

“It’s also about visiting the home,having dinner with parents and talk-ing about their kids,” Ms. Riedl said.

“Every teacher is a social workersometimes, but in this job, the kidskind of become a little family,” Mr.Rivero-Vallado said. “Even oncethey’ve moved on, the students willstill come back to you and ask forhelp once in a while.”

Student Fertun Bare, who original-ly hails from Somalia, came toCanada by way of Eritrea in 2008.She said the teachers have created atight-knit family that helps studentsto adapt: “We are all helping eachother.”

One methodology that has proven

successful in helping EAL students—including those from war-affectedbackgrounds—to adapt is encourag-ing them to share their life stories.

In the Literacy Centre classroom,Ms. Riedl and Ms. Miller recentlyundertook a storytelling project thatencouraged students to orally tell theirstories; students could use any roughguides they wanted, including photos,drawings and symbols—to triggerpoints they wanted to tell others.Families were encouraged to attendthe sessions, which also included cul-tural foods and interpreters from theWelcome Place to ensure that every-one could share their story.

“These kids are so proud to telltheir story,” Ms. Riedl said. “Thisbuilds oral fluency and trust aswell—kids can feel safe in here.”

It’s a colourful canvas of stories,with students such as Koh Plor Say(see sidebar)—who came to Canadavia Thailand after his family had toflee persecution in Burma—andEsperence Shima, who came toCanada from the confusion ofRwanda in 2009.

“When I first came to Canada itwas March; in Rwanda the weatherwas always nice, and it was so coldhere,” Esperence said. “I alreadyknew some English so learning thelanguage was much easier than theweather. But now I really like howthe seasons change and how the treeschange colour.”

Watching students adapt and growis one of the many rewards of the jobfor EAL teachers. For Ms. Riedl,whose parents had to immigrate toCanada from Germany following theSecond World War, and Mr. Rivero-Vallado—who immigrated to Canadafrom Mexico as a 21-year-old—theprogram offers insight into the NewCanadian experience in countlessways.

“What keeps me here is the students…hearing about wherethey’ve lived, their culture and whatthey believe in terms of faith andtheir perspectives of the world,” Ms.Riedl said. “They have a resiliency—at 12, 13 or 14, they have alreadybeen through so much more thanmost adults in Canada have everexperienced…they are survivors.”

From Burma toGeneral Wolfe: one student’s

story

Hi! My name is Koh Plor Say. Iam from Burma and I am Karen.The Karen are a group of peoplefrom eastern Burma. We have beenfighting with the Burmese govern-ment for about 60 years so we maykeep our land and culture.Thousands of Karen people,including my own family, had torun away from our village and hidein the jungle so that we weren’tkilled by Burmese soldiers. Wesurvived with little food and wateruntil weeks later, we made it to arefugee camp in the mountains ofThailand. In the camp, life wasmore peaceful than Burma, but westill struggled to survive by havingenough food and keeping healthy.

I was a happy kid who went toschool every day, climbed big treesand hunted in the jungle for food.Until one day, my mother told mewe were moving to Canada. Whenwe got to Canada, I saw I was in avery different place. The coldweather, automatic doors, comput-ers, stores, cars and seeing andhearing everything in English wereall things new and strange for me.For my first day of school, I could-n’t understand anything or answerwhen the teacher spoke to me.

Being in the EAL program thenreally helps me. We learn a lot ofEnglish and about Canada. Weread, play games and go on fieldtrips. We learn English and havefun at the same time. We also get toknow other people from all aroundthe world. I’ve met people now thatI would never have met if I stayedin Thailand. We are from differentcountries, but we have all becomegood friends. It is also nice that theteachers understand us and wherewe come from. The EAL classroomis a good start to our new life herein Canada. I hope to become apolice officer when I am older, andI look forward to a happy futurehere.

General Wolfe students and educational assistant Greg Tresvalles work on a story-telling exercise.

Photo

unavailable

for website


Get involved in your child’s education

Your child will do better in school if you are involved.The Winnipeg School Division knows how important

you are and welcomes your involvement.

Here are many ways you can get involved:

• Come and talk to us about things that matter to you.

• Volunteer in the school.

• Help your child with his/her homework.

• Read with your child.

• Come to the parent council or advisory group meetings.

You can be involved in decisions at your school: about the budget,the building, school plans, use of staff and goals of the school.Contact your child’s school for more information, or the Divisionoffice.

Cominghome

Grosvenor School students com-pleted a three-year learning jour-

ney with the fine arts extravaganza,Coming Home.

Since 2009, students wereinvolved in an extensive inquirystudy of human rights and the issuesfacing children in other parts of theworld. The project coincided withthe start of construction for theCanadian Museum for HumanRights.

The project was inspired by DavidJ. Smith’s book If the World Were aVillage. Breaking into four multi-agevillages, students enhanced theirlearning by undertaking a broad variety of humanitarian projects fororganizations such as WinnipegHarvest, Rice Raiser and others.

The school’s annual spring con-certs allowed students to share theirlearning with their families throughvisual art, dance, drama, music andsong.

“Year Three was about the studentssharing their experiences and knowl-edge they’d gained over the yearswith human rights,” said PrincipalBrad Corbett, adding that the nextschool-wide project would continueto focus on sustainable development.

Whereas the past focus was on socialjustice, upcoming work will includefurther exploration of environmentalissues. “All of the work that we dothis year, we’ll be keeping in mindthat idea of having enough for all, foreveryone, forever.”

Students Justin Villeneuve andAshton Bateman said the experienceof learning about world issues andparticipating in humanitarian projectswas worthwhile.

“I think we’re more aware…wecan do things to make this world abetter place,” Ashton said.

“The reason we did this was so wewouldn’t think the rest of the worldwas like sunshine and rainbows,because it’s not,” Justin added.

In an interesting twist, David J.Smith read about the Grosvenor proj-ect online and has been in contactwith the school, commending the students on their work; the author andschool officials are exploring the possibility of working together in thefuture.

“It was really an honour to hearfrom him,” Mr. Corbett said.

It was all dice rolls and smiles for the nursery children and families at EarlGrey School. Parents, grandparents and siblings of students in teacher Santina

Bueti’s classroom enjoyed an evening of fun at Math Night on May 31. A Literacy Night was also held earlier in the year on Jan. 26. Both evenings

were part of a year-long project funded by an Early Childhood DevelopmentInitiative grant.

“Playing games is such a smart way of engaging children in reading andmath, since these are their first steps towards future knowledge,” commentedparent Gentiana Collaku.

The project, “A Multi-Sensory Exploration of the Four Seasons,” wasdesigned to immerse students in a study of seasonal changes through books,hands-on experiences, and parental involvement. Each season was exploredthrough all subject areas including dramatic and visual art, while studentsrecorded their discoveries in journals. Parents joined students on field trips,shared expertise and volunteered in the classroom.

Both the math and literacy evenings were well attended and provided fur-ther opportunities for parents to participate in their child’s learning.

Parent Laure Ghia said, “We loved the math and literacy nights, since it issometimes difficult for our daughter to describe her work. She was so proudto show us what she achieved and to play (the role of) the teacher, explainingthe rules of the games and conducting the night.”

Information sheets with useful websites and ideas and library card applica-tions were available for parents; students also received math bags containingtheir games to play at home with their families.

“It is so important to develop a partnership with parents and involve themin their child’s education,” Ms. Bueti said. “In this way, the teacher and parents are working together towards a common goal.” Courtesy of Earl Grey School

Taking centre stage at Bethel MennoniteChurch.

Photo by Santina Bueti.This parent watches while his daughters place coins in an egg carton ‘ten frame’ dur-ing a subitizing game at the Nursery Math Night.

Parents as partners in seasonal project

Students tackle e-wasteThere is a place for e-waste—and that doesn’t mean clogging up homes

or landfills.Two Prairie Rose School students, Maliya Cruzat and Catherine Dang,

studied the issue as part of a school project.“Before doing this project, I didn’t even know that we could recycle

electronics,” Maliya said. Curious about how much other students knew, the duo created a survey

for students and their families regarding e-waste.“Most of the surveys said that families would like to recycle their

electronics, but they did not know where to return them to,” Maliya said.The students found out about Miller Environmental Corporation, which

has a transfer station/e-waste drop-off point on Hekla Avenue—not faraway from Prairie Rose.

“Miller Environmental is helping out by collecting these things, likeolder computers and phones,” Maliya said.

Catherine and Maliya set up an e-waste collection day at their school, andalso visited each classroom to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on theimportance of recycling electronics.

“We filled three medium size boxes,” Catherine said. “We got things likeold cell phones, video games and chargers.”

The items were dropped off for recycling at Miller Environmental onJune 15.

“Last year, we did a Heritage Fair project on Siloam Mission, and wewere able to make a difference…we wanted to make a difference again thisyear and I think we did,” Maliya said.

The duo also presented their work at the Red River Regional HeritageFair, where they earned a special award for Excellence in Sustainability.

For further information on recycling e-waste and other household items,visit Green Manitoba’s website at http://greenmanitoba.ca/pros/ .


Kindergarten bound!This Earl Grey School nursery student was happy to receive his certificate

of completion from teacher Santina Bueti (left) and principal Gail Singer.“I feel like a hero,” said the student, who was among 27 students taking part

in the Nursery Farewell Ceremony on June 22.The Winnipeg School Division runs nursery classes at 58 elementary

schools. Children attend school half days, five days a week. This school year,1,866 students attended nursery classes. Nursery is a program funded by theWinnipeg School Division via the education special levy on property taxes.

Go Ride aBike!

Over the course of two decades,École Garden Grove School’s

GRAB week has come to representmany things.

“It usually means Go Read aBook—we’ll have book alerts andeveryone will stop what they’redoing and read,” said student ChaseWiwsoniski.

This year, the acronym also stoodfor Go Ride a Bike. GRAB Week,which ran from June 4-8, was alsodubbed Green Week.

“GRAB is really a celebration oflearning,” said Principal PaulSutherland. “We’ve done a varietyof themes over the years, includingmath, and this year it’s sustainabledevelopment…we’re getting themessage out that it’s a big world andwe need to take care of it.”

Activities focused on promotingsustainable living—including acommunity litter clean-up and amassive community bike ride.

“We went all around TyndallPark…there were over 100 peopleriding their bikes,” said studentKiana Fernandez.

Manitoba Public Insurance repre-

sentatives visited during the week topresent sessions on bike safety andmaintenance, as well as a bike training course.

“Students have been learninghand-signals and the safety aspectsof cycling all week,” Mr. Sutherlandsaid.

Two years ago, the school wasapproached by organizers of theTrans-Canada Trail, who were offer-ing to fund the construction ofsecure bike cages for schools thatwere in close proximity to the path.

“That was a nice stepping stonefor all of this,” Mr. Sutherland said.“It got all of us thinking about bring-ing bikes to school more often. Theparents and the kids knew they couldbring their bikes to school withoutworrying about them gettingstolen—and it’s working.”

In keeping with the social/eco-nomic aspects of sustainable devel-opment, the school also held a bakesale in support of Winnipeg Harvestduring the week.

“We have so much, and we canhelp other families when they needit,” Chase said.

This Garden Grove student navigates a bicycle safety course during GRAB.

Red and white:always in style!

On the last day of classes, Kent Road School bid farewell to another yearof learning—and gave a big birthday wish to Canada.

Students, staff and parents took part in the school’s traditional advanceCanada Day parade on June 29.

Page 6 October 2012 Assessment

A map to guide us along the way

In 2006, Manitoba Education,Citizenship and Youth intro-

duced Rethinking Classroom

Assessment with Purpose in Mind.The document was designed to support teachers in assessing theirstudents effectively, efficiently, andfairly, and to serve as a basis fordesigning professional learning.

Assessment is a part of daily lifein the classroom. If learning is

indeed a lifelong journey, then onemay consider assessment as a map toguide us along the way.

Assessment can show learners thesum of their knowledge—in otherwords, where they have already trav-eled on their learning journey. Moreimportantly for young learners,assessment can also show the nextlearning destination—and the precisepathway to that destination.

Today’s students are learning toembrace the notion that we are allunique as learners, with our ownstrengths—and we are all on our ownunique stages of the learning journey.Assessments are simply snapshotstaken along the way.

“Assessment for learning is impor-tant now, as opposed to when wewent to school and assessment wassimply summative in nature,” saidMeagan Mutchmor, Division MathConsultant (K-Grade 6).

“Assessment isn’t testing. Testingmight be one component of assess-ment, but assessment for learningmeans that before you can teach thelearners, you need to determinewhere they are. That way your pro-gramming is authentic, practical andtargeted.”

In Division Schools, assessmentinforms the teaching and learningprocess throughout the school year.

“This process is fluid, with ongo-ing observation and conversationswith students,” said DivisionLanguage Arts Consultant (Grade 7-12) Kathie Kolybaba. “Teachers areusing what they are learning abouttheir students to change the activities,lessons and create the best opportuni-ties for learning. Every child is in adifferent place, so the instruction isdifferentiated to meet their needs.Assessment is not a one-time event.”

Assessment for learning providesdetailed information on each child’sskills, understanding and the strate-gies they use to solve various tasks.Assessment data is collected by eachclassroom teacher for all students.

In nursery to Grade 6, teachersfocus on the following curricular/developmental areas in these assessments: • English Language Arts (N-6);• Mathematics (N-6)• Fine Motor Skills (N-4)• Basic Movement Skills (K-5)• Social/Emotional Behaviour (N-4)• French Language Arts (1-6,Immersion schools only).

Children’s hearing is also screenedin kindergarten by volunteers.

Teachers begin teaching andobserving students in small groups,and on a class-wide basis, assessingearly in the school year. They gatheruseful assessment information thathelps them plan appropriate instruc-tion.

The assessment processes give anindication of where a child’s learningand understandings are at a givenpoint in time. Students, parents,teams of teachers and other educatorsare all critical participants in theprocess.

In mathematics, students followLearning Pathways—written docu-ments where students can mark theircurrent stage of learning and see thenext goals and curricular objectives.

“The Learning Pathway is deliber-ately written in ‘I can’ statements,”Ms. Mutchmor said. “The studentapproaches their learning with themindset of ‘I can count to 20—that’sa point of strength. My next step is tocount to 50. I can do this too.’ And asteachers, we are going to help you asa student to get to the next step.”

That basic learning philosophy isencouraged as the student progressesthrough the Middle Years and intohigh school.

“Students are always encouragedto look at the work they have done, tolook at the descriptive feedback andimprove through reflection and pur-poseful practice,” Ms. Kolybaba said.“We are always building on strengthsand looking to achieve more all thetime. We’re always thinking about

what the next step is, as students andteachers.”

“We’re helping students find their

voice, share their strengths and cele-brate their successes,” Ms. Mutchmoradded. “When students leave Grade

There are three kinds of assessment that takeplace in our schools. These forms of assessmentare supported by Manitoba Education:

Assessment for Learning (Formative Assessment):Assessment helps teachers learn more about each and every student.

Various assessment tools enable teachers to discover what students under-stand and where their strengths lie as learners. Teachers are then able to planand guide instruction to address students’ varying needs. In addition, teach-ers are able to provide helpful feedback to students to help them grow aslearners.

“There is very much an interplay between the teacher and the student,”said Language Arts Consultant Kathie Kolybaba. “Whether the student isproducing a drawing or an essay or other piece of writing, the focus is onthe process, not the finished piece. The student does the work and reflectson their learning, and the teacher is responding and giving specific feedbackfor improvement.”

Assessment for Learning tools include tests such as the Grade 3 provin-cial assessment in mathematics, the Grade 7 provincial assessment in mathand student engagement, and the Grade 8 Provincial assessments in ELAand French.

Assessment as Learning:Assessment helps students gain valuable insight and awareness of how

they learn; where their strengths lie and what their next steps are to achievetheir learning goals. Students gradually take on more responsibility andbecome an equal partner in their learning.

“The student is very much a part of the conversation while they are learn-ing,” Math Consultant Meagan Mutchmor said. “They understand and takeownership for what they are learning...and what they need to learn next. Wewant students to ask questions, to be thinkers, readers and writers...to listenand to communicate, because they will need those skills in the future.”

Assessment of Learning (Summative Assessment):Assessment of Learning informs students, teachers and parents, and the

broader educational community, of achievement at a certain point in time onthe learning pathway. This type of assessment can take the form of provin-cial exams, tests, etc. and offers an opportunity to celebrate successes, planinterventions and support continued progress.

Assessment of Learning tools include the Grade 12 Provincial StandardsTest in Math, Language Arts, and French. The Division also has two Grade8 Common Exams, in Math and ELA.

These assessment tools are summative. Ms. Kolybaba commented that"Senior High ELA and Math departments use the specific, detailed resultsof the Standards Test to inform their planning and adjust teaching for thenext group of students. So although the assessment tool measures studentprogress at one point in time, department heads and teachers use results tonotice patterns, and to strategically and purposefully plan for the next groupof students. Consultants use the data from these provincial and divisionalassessment tools to plan strategically and to inform decision making forprofessional development and allocation of resources division-wide. As theGrade 8 Common Exam becomes more aligned with the Grade 12Standards Test, it enhances our ability to see patterns between the two, andto work more strategically to improve student learning.”

Churchill High School students write the Grade 12 provincial standards test in mathematics.

Assessment practice takes into account students’ different learning styles (such as thevisual style, pictured).

Assessment October 2012 Page 7

12, we don’t know what kind ofworld they will face. There will betechnology and jobs that don’t existnow...so we have to prepare these stu-dents to be critical thinkers, readersand writers. They have to have theability to make choices.”

Assessment @ Clifton School: A new generation of learners

For adults, the term “assessment”may seem intimidating or foreign.

Some equate the word with testing, orfear that it labels students. Students atClifton School already know theseare fallacies; assessment is as com-mon in their world as computers orwhiteboards.

Teacher Antonio Di Geronimo’sGrade 6 students have been learningthrough assessment practices for theirentire academic careers.

“Assessment has been a priorityhere at Clifton for many years,” theteacher said. “It’s always ongoing. Itstarts from the day the student walksin this building until the day theyleave. The child is involved in theprocess right from the start. It’s notjust the teacher asking the questions;the children are assessing themselvesas well. They know where they’recoming from and where we’re com-ing from—there’s nothing to hide.”

Students can also reflect on theirprogress by keeping their own learn-ing journals for subjects likeLanguage Arts. When it comes to askill such as story writing, the teacherwill cover the task, intent and criteriafor learning with the students. Afterstudents produce a piece of writing,they know their work is not com-plete—they will meet with theteacher, have conversations andreflect on how their writing comparesto the established criteria, and then goback and rewrite. The process mayhappen several times, but it is to beexpected as part of learning.

“Assessment is building learning,”Mr. Di Geronimo said. “You may usemany different methods, but there isalways learning happening, not just afinal product.”

That philosophy extends to marksand the reporting process.

“Instead of just showing a parent amark—89 per cent—well, what doesthat mean? With assessment, you canbe very specific with parents and stu-dents...you can tell them whether stu-dents need help with something likepunctuation or anything else. Whenteachers are specific and detailedwith feedback, students can worktowards meeting their learninggoals.”

Principal Mary-Jo Hodge addedthat assessment provides a way toinvolve the parents and allows themto see their children’s growth likenever before.

“Parents can see their student’sprogress and their journey. For exam-ple, in the students’ portfolios, theywill have writing samples from dif-ferent points in the year; it’s a perfectway for students to show parents theirgrowth as young writers.”

Along with addressing students’individual needs, assessment data

also aids long-range planning at theschool level.

“We’ll have team meetings andlook at the data for any big trends. Wecan see areas where students may bestruggling and address that,” Ms.Hodge said.

For example, data from Grade 1assessments a few years ago indi-cated that students were havingsome difficulty with fine motorskills—like holding a pencil orscissors.

“It is becoming a bit more of anissue...their pincer ability isn’talways as developed. That may bebecause they’re more used to holdingelectronic devices,” Ms. Hodge said.“When we noticed the kids were hav-ing some difficulties, we plannedsome parent evenings that focused onthose fine motor skills. We had cen-tres set up in the gymnasium thatgave parents all sorts of ideas forhome activities—even simple, hands-on activities like having fun with playdough—that helped build fine motorskills.”

Ultimately, assessment is all a partof using best practices in the class-room.

“Assessment drives what theteachers are teaching, it drives theprogramming and it drives the stu-dents to become independent learn-ers,” Ms. Hodge said. “The studentsknow why they are doing tasks in theclassroom, what their goals are andhow to get there.”

Assessment @ Norquay School:

Charting the path

When it comes to following theirstudents’ journey as learners—

and knowing where they are headednext—teachers at Norquay Schoolare never far away from a wall-sizedmap.

One of the school’s focal points isa specialized Learning Room, whichfeatures five large charts that trackstudents progress in reading, writing,mathematics, behaviour and a chartwhere the school assesses itself on community involvement andinteraction.

Students’ names are written oncoloured tabs of wood; every time astudent progresses, they are moved toanother slot on the chart. The systemprovides a living, accurate visual thatallows teachers to see where their stu-dents are as individual learners—andit also lets educators see larger trendsby grade level and other groupings.To protect students’ privacy, the roomis closed to the public.

“This room provides a privatespace for adults to meet and haveconversations about students’ learn-ing and progress—and how we arelearning and growing as educators,”said Principal Nancy Dyck.

“We collect information abouthow we are achieving our goals. Ourgoals in reading and writing and mathare very simple—we want everychild to be at or beyond grade level,and those students with individual-

ized or adapted education plans willgrow in accordance with that plan.”

When it comes to student success,community engagement is anotherimportant piece of the puzzle—whether that means how the schooland parents are connecting, or howthe school partners with other keythird-party organizations in the com-munity. As a result, the school trackscommunity engagement in a varietyof ways, such as the number of parentvolunteers or attendance on familylearning nights. There is also muchdiscussion about how to improvethese figures.

“There’s a correlation betweenhow engaged parents are and howsuccessful their children are,” Ms.Dyck said. “That’s proven byresearch. By and large, parents whoare partnering with us in their chil-dren’s learning—who feel safe andcomfortable coming to us and talkingabout things, and bringing issues tothe open—that helps us to grow andbe a more responsive school.”

By the end of September, everyNorquay teacher has completed aclass overview that includes averagereading levels, learning strengths,available supports and materials,goals for learning, and what theirdreams are as a class.

Once students’ needs as a class andas individuals have been identified,teachers prepare and deliver a “gold-en hour” of learning every day. ___________________________Assessmentcontinued, pages 8-9

Assessment in action: Clifton School

Afternoon sunlight is pouring inthe windows of teacher Mariel

Wong’s Grade 2 classroom; with therelaxing strains of instrumentalmusic playing in the background, thestudents—including NathanielReves, pictured—are quietly draw-ing depictions of what happened atthe last birthday party they attended.It’s a simple, relaxing activity that

also happens to be assessment atwork.Assessment activities can be doneas a whole class, in small groups orindividually; teachers can eitherdirectly engage with students andprovide instant feedback, or reviewstudents’ work after completion. “Assessment gives us a lot of infor-mation…it’s a great tool for us asteachers to learn more about thestudents,” Ms. Wong said. “In that picture of a birthday

party—and in the accompanyingwriting component—we can seemany things. We can tell whether ornot students are picking up detail,we can see fine motor aspects andwhether or not a child may needsupport later on. We can also seehow the students use space, howthey follow direction andcriteria…it’s about students beingable to take instructions, retainingthose instructions and then showingme what they know.”

Page 8 October 2012 Assessment

This is an hour of focused learningthat includes the use of a resourceteacher, special education resourceteachers and other teachers as neces-sary.

“The teacher is like the quarter-back in that they figure out whatgroups need to be configured andhow they work together,” Ms. Dycksaid. “They do that for a four-to-sixweek period of time, and then at thatpoint, they come together and have ateam meeting, reassess and regroup.”

Teacher Jessica Peterson saidassessment is a priority in September,as it helps to plan meaningful and tar-geted learning for students: “If youknow where students are at, you canplan very specific, differentiated pro-gramming for them. They can startmaking progress right away inSeptember…instead of waiting forthat goal driven learning untilOctober or November.

“We use that assessment informa-tion from the beginning of the year asa baseline to measure their progress.What did they know, and what dothey know now.”

Grade 5/6 teacher Ryan Buchanansaid these early assessments are tai-lored to the different types of learnersin the classroom, with tasks that usevisuals, reading, manipulatives andmore.

“You can get a feel for how a stu-dent thinks based on the actions theyuse…whether they are using pen andpaper, blocks or vocally demonstrat-

ing their addition, for example.Assessment really does provide stu-dents with an opportunity to showtheir teacher exactly where they are atand how they think,” he said, notingthat assessments are just a snapshot intime, rather than a permanent classifi-cation of a student. “It’s not like theyreceive an assessment score andthat’s where they’ll work for thewhole year. We simply use that infor-mation to measure growth and findout what the next steps are for thechildren.”

Grade 4/5 teacher TiffanyPritchard said assessment is reallyabout meeting the students’ differen-tiated needs.

“No one is teaching to the middleany more...and assessment createsgreat, focused programming,” shesaid, adding that the process givesboth teachers and students specific,realistic goals.

“Sometimes a new goal can bechallenging, but as a teacher, you canalways say to students ‘look at whatyou’ve already done. You thoughtthis was challenging and you did it.You can do this too.’ You’re remind-ing them to be confident…becausethey are learning. That’s why we’reall in school. If you knew everything,you wouldn’t be here.”

Assessment @ Lord Roberts School: It’s all about learning

“How are you doing?” Thisfamiliar salutation has been

replaced in recent years at LordRoberts School with a more specificquestion: “What are you learning?”

From the first day of school, stu-dents are taught that their job is to belearners. By providing the task, intentand criteria for success in lessons anddaily activities, students are able toreflect and assess their learning asthey grow.

“Assessment is huge because itgives feedback not only to teachersand parents, but to the children,” saidPrincipal Roz Moore. “Studentsshould know what they are learningand why. Teachers need to be veryclear as to the learning intentions forthe lesson and the criteria for suc-cess.”

Grade 5 teacher Lindsay Blameylikens the task-intent-criteria strategyto golf because there is a clear andvisible target (the flag) directing youtoward success.

“Kids have the best chance ofbeing successful if they know whatthey are doing, why they are doing itand what success is going to look likein the end,” she said.

In early September, Ms. Blameywas familiarizing students with a toolknown as a rubric. When studentsand teachers compare their resultswith the criteria, descriptive feedbackis an essential part of the assessmentprocess.

“We talked about feedback and

It’s all about learningcontinued from page 7

Norquay teachers Tiffany Pritchard (left), Jessica Peterson and Ryan Buchanan in theschool’s Learning Room—where teachers track students’ progress in areas such asreading, writing and mathematics and plan strategies to meet students learning goals.

Assessment in action: Lord Roberts School

Grade 4/5 teacher Marla Tran anda small group of students work

on an assessment activity—in thiscase, skip counting—while the restof her classroom is engaged in othermathematics activities targeted totheir learning needs.

When it comes to specific tasksand activities in the classroom, stu-dents are told of the learning intentand the criteria for success. As aresult, students are informed andself-guided in the classroom, provid-ing the teacher with the time to focuson individual students or smallergroups of students for assessment orother activities.

“You establish your routines in theclass,” Ms. Tran said. “As long as theother students know what their task is,and they understand the learning intentand the criteria for success, they knowtheir job and what is expected of them.These students can work independent-ly, and it makes it easy to assess onechild individually or a group of chil-dren within the classroom.”

Assessment October 2012 Page 9

how it needs to be specific—just say-ing that something ‘looks good’ does-n’t really tell me anything,” Ms.Blamey said. “The students actuallygave me targeted feedback on howwell I drew my rubric grid on thewhiteboard. One of the students said,‘your lines are nice and straight andyour printing is neat.’ That’s a perfectexample of what we are looking for.”

Ms. Moore said all teachers try toprovide useful, descriptive feedbackto their students: “Our feedback isalways specific and aimed at pushingthe students’ learning forward...so thestudents can improve and grow.”

As students build self-awarenessabout their learning and develop theskills of self-assessment and descrip-tive feedback, they become the bestadvocates of their own strengths andstages as learners. These skills arebrought to the forefront during stu-dent-led conferences; students buildportfolios, picking and choosingpieces of work that best showcasetheir understanding and growth totheir parents.

“Students need to take ownershipfor their own learning,” said Ms.Moore. “It is their responsibility tofully participate in the learningprocess. Teachers need to give stu-dents time to talk about their ownlearning and understanding.Throughout the process, the teacherand students work together to plannext steps, set new goals and celebrateall the successes along the way.”

Assessment @ École

Stanley Knowles School: Many students, many strategies

At École Stanley Knowles School,Grade 8 teacher Lee Van

Cauwenberghe’s students have beennotable for their outstanding success-es in the Division’s Grade 8 commonmath exam—an assessment of learn-ing tool (otherwise known as summa-tive assessment)—for the past sever-al years.

The 22-year veteran teacher saidthere is no single strategy that has ledto these successes; rather, he usesmany different strategies to providedifferentiated, targeted instruction tomeet his students’ varying needs. Butit all starts with assessment for learn-ing.

“When I was studying education inuniversity, assessment was there, butit was something you did on yourown as a teacher,” he said. “Now, wetalk about it all the time...how toreach as many kids as you can. Wehave such a wide range of learners.”

When his students start Grade 8,Mr. Van Cauwenburghe can refer toprior assessment data that has beengathered on every student fromkindergarten to grade 6 to help himget a feel for a student’s currentstrengths and needs.

And then there are the observa-tional assessments, done every day inthe classroom. Early in the schoolyear, the teacher relies on focusedclass discussions about math, alongwith having students do mental mathproblems without the use of a calculator.

“They’ll do ten mental math ques-tions every day, and by discussingthese questions with them, it reallygives me a good sense of where theirstrengths and weaknesses are,” Mr.Van Cauwenberghe said. “By doing alot of discussion-based assessmentfor learning assignments with stu-dents early in the year, I find they areable to get a lot of success under theirbelt early on. The sooner they feelcomfortable, the sooner they’ll beopenly participating and doing thework on their own.”

Technology provides many tools,both in the classroom and at home.For general class discussions, theteacher uses PowerPoint and interac-tive SMARTboard exercises, as wellas Senteo survey devices (where stu-dents answer questions with hand-held buzzers, creating a fun, quizshow environment).

“The kids are very interested intalking and in technology, so it workswell,” Mr. Van Cauwenberghe said.

Mr. Van Cauwenberghe uses sev-eral different programs to aid stu-dents while they work on math athome. One online math programallows students to practise math athome any time they want. Anotheronline resource allows students to goonline and print assignments theymay have missed if absent; an online

whiteboard allows students toremotely work with Mr. VanCauwenberghe in areas where theymay need extra help.

Mr. Van Cauwenberghe also usesanother program to communicateeffectively with both students andparents. Parents and students canreview grades and homework; theprogram will automatically emailparents if students have missed anassignment.

“It’s very motivating for my stu-dents if they can go home and seetheir grades in real time. If they writea test, they can go online and see theirscores by 8 p.m. that night. They willalways come and ask me the next daywhat mistakes they made and we discuss them.”

These digital tools don’t precludethe importance of real-life interactionin the classroom.

“Sometimes I’ll have studentswork in groups of similar abilities, orsometimes I’ll pair students of differ-ent abilities and some of the studentsbecome tutors. If one of my studentscan mentor and explain something toanother student, so that student canunderstand it as well, then I know thestudent mentor has a perfect under-standing of that concept. Sometimesthe kids will get more out of some-thing taught by their peers than me.”

Mr. Van Cauwenberghe alsomakes himself available to studentsbefore classes, during lunch hoursand after school.

“I don’t force the students to comein for extra help. If they come in ontheir own steam, I know they’reready to learn. I can accomplish morewith them in ten minutes than I couldin an hour if I forced them to stay.

“I always tell the students—I’vedone this job for a long time and I’vegot a handle on it. I know how to getyou there…but I need your help to doit. You’ve just got to put the time andthe work in. If they buy into that, theywill be successful.”

Rethinking Classroom

Assessment with Purpose in Mind

had been produced by the Westernand Northern Canadian Protocolfor Collaboration in Education(WNCP), a partnership ofprovinces and territories with amandate to provide quality education for all students fromKindergarten to Grade 12 throughcollaboration in educational programs and services.

- The ultimate goal of assessmentis to help develop independent, life-long learners who regularly moni-tor and assess their own progress.

(Manitoba Education and Youth 2003)

Assessment in action: École Stanley Knowles

School

Teacher Lee Van Cauwenberghechats with a small group of

students about math during a lunchhour at Stanley Knowles.

Along with more formal assess-ment activities, teachers are oftenable to observationally assess stu-dents simply by having conversa-tions—whether that means listeningto student feedback about theirlearning or providing guidance anddescriptive feedback to students.

“There are a lot of strategies that

we can use as teachers to get an ideaof where our kids are at,” he said.“It’s really important that we get afeel for that as quickly as possible.You can’t take three or four weeks tofigure that out. By now, we’ve beenat school for two weeks and I’ve gota pretty good idea of where everykid is at.”

Whether it’s during class time,lunch hour sessions or before/afterschool, Mr. Van Cauwenberghe andhis students do a lot of talking aboutmathematics. Students who showconfidence in discussing math earlyon usually prove to be strong stu-dents who often mentor their peers;

for students who are less confident,the conversations are an opportunityto enjoy success and build esteem inmathematics as a “team” beforegrowing as individual learners.

“I try to work with them as a largegroup for at least the first two weeks,and do a lot of question andanswers...so students can tell mewhat they know and what they don’tknow. That assessment for learningreally works. I can use small groupsand class discussion, but the more Iget them talking…which is whatthey like to do anyway…it reallygives me some good feedback as towhere they’re at right away.”


Want to getinvolved?

Work with kids?Volunteer Opportunities in the

Winnipeg School Division

Thinking of volunteering to helpkids?

School volunteers positivelyaffect children’s lives in many ways:from inspiring them to do better in school to motivating them to be better citizens.

Who can volunteer?Anyone over the age of 16 who can invest two hours per week, with a

minimum four-month commitment during the school year.

Here are just some of the many things volunteers do:• Tutor one child or a small group of children;• Assist in the school library, computer lab, classroom or with after-

school programs such as Cadets, Running & Reading Club or Homework Clubs;

• Participate in parent councils;• Read to students;• Mentor at-risk students;• Supervise field trips or overnight camps;• Test children’s hearing;• Work with refugee/war affected students;• Play and cuddle with infants;• Coach sports, assist with drama or music classes.

How to become a volunteer

Contact one of the volunteer coordinators to schedule an interview:phone: 474-1513 or 453-1748; email: [email protected].

Students and staff from Principal Sparling School pose with personnel fromthe Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Station #5. The school and the fire

station have been actively involved in a community partnership over the pastseveral years to build safety awareness amongst students and their families.

Friends for lifePhoto by Jeff Miller

Fire safety contestnets student a laptopAn École LaVérendrye student was smiling ear-to-ear after learning she

had won a fire-safety contest conducted by the Winnipeg Fire ParamedicService.

Student Elissa Hall was presented with a new laptop computer after utilizing an online resource designed to reinforce home fire safety lessons.

WFPS officials also visited the school’s Grade 3 students personally in Juneto go over home safety tips with students. WFPS Public EducationCoordinator Marc Proulx returned later in the month to present Elissa with herprize.

“We partnered with a company called Community Safety Net and targetedall of the Grade 3 classes in the Division,” Mr. Proulx said. “Together we’reproviding the students with a book to take home, so students can sit with theirparents and practise a home escape plan, review smoke alarms and other tips.”

A DVD was provided with the book for students to access more safetymaterials online.

Elissa said she was thrilled to receive the laptop. She added that she learneda lot from the presentation.

“One thing we learned is that your family should always have an escapeplan and one meeting place outside,” she said. “If you don’t go to that spot,and say you go to your neighbour’s house instead, your family might thinkyou’re still inside the house.”

Photo unavailable

for website.


King Edward play-structure rally begins in earnest

King Edward CommunitySchool’s annual Celebrationof Culture and Learning has

always been a way to showcase themany great things happening at theschool: Aboriginal education, inquiryprojects and other student learningprojects, cultural diversity, the com-munity/school connection and more.

This year, the event also helpedbring attention to the school’s questto build a much-needed play-structure.

In May, vandals severely damagedthe school’s existing play-structure.As a result of the vandalism, thestructure was no longer safe to useand had to be removed.

“It’s been hard, especially for thelittle kids, because it was theirfavourite thing to play with atrecess,” said Grade 6 student ChelseaOliver. “Whoever did this shouldhelp us build another one.”

Vice-principal Michelle Sacco saidthe community lost an important partof its dynamic when the structure hadto be taken down.

“According to a recent surveyhere, the King Edward playgroundwas the number one safe place in thisentire community to play—and nowthat’s been taken away from thisneighbourhood,” she said.

Costs for a new play-structure andgrounds improvements run from$80,000 to $120,000. While students,

staff and families raised approximate-ly $4,000 in May and June for thereplacement project, there is still along way to go. One student—Serenity Isfeld—even asked fordonations for a new play-structureinstead of gifts for her most recentbirthday.

King Edward students and staff arehoping to partner with other schoolsin the Division—perhaps establishingthe project as a local goal for WEDay fundraising—in the hopes ofrebuilding a play-structure that issorely missed by not just students atthe school, but the entire community.

“We’re looking at this as a chanceto build citizenship,” said recentlyretired King Edward principalSpencer Clements (who is now chair-person for the Manitoba Council ofSchool Leaders). “We have so manyprograms and people that used thestructure—the summer CSI program,Flora House, the Lighthouse and daycares that used it every day.”

At the May 31 celebration, theschool had a silver collection and aswell dedicated sales of bottled waterand popcorn to the playgroundfundraising.

“People can see that we’re work-ing hard at it, but we just need thatextra support,” said community support worker Gary Burling. “Wehave great kids here. They put a greatamount of work into everything they

do. It’s still a good place to be…thecommunity is going to pull throughthis.”

Public donations are being accept-ed for the new play-structure;cheques can be made payable to theChildren’s Heritage Fund (attention:King Edward play-structure) and sent

to the Winnipeg School Division,1577 Wall St. E., Winnipeg MB R3E2S5.

Cheques can also be dropped off atKing Edward School (825 SelkirkAve.) during regular hours. Taxreceipts will be issued for all dona-tions of more than $10.

King Edward students helped provide some of the musical entertainment for theschool’s Celebration of Culture and Learning.

Celebrating new voicesStudents from several different

Division schools gathered toshare their new voices at theCelebration of Aboriginal LanguagesSpring Concert.

The event, which was held at R.B.Russell Vocational High School,included students from nine Divisionschools.

The concert offered music, studentorations, storytelling in Ojibwe andother languages, discussions withcommunity Elders and more.

“We always dreamed of having abig event like this…it’s the righttime,” said organizer GeraldineWhitford, an Aboriginal EducationConsultant and Support Teacher. “Iwas at a language festival at theFriendship Centre in Winnipeg andthought it was a great idea…so webrought it back to the Division to getthese students that are learning thelanguages to share with each other.”

Ojibwe Language Support TeacherSophie Boulanger said the Divisionwas having great success in revitaliz-ing and sustaining the Ojibwe andCree languages. “There are remark-able projects being generated throughinfusing the secondary languages inDivision classrooms. An importantpractical part is having the most

dedicated teaching and enthusiasticstudents learning through land-basedexperiences throughout the year.”

Elder Dennis Chartrand said theconnection to traditional languageswas important for students.

“Language is connected to theirwell-being and knowing who theyare,” he said. “It’s exciting to see this.At one point in my life I didn’t thinkI’d be able to speak my language any-more, or I wouldn’t have anyone tospeak it with. That’s connected towho we are as people. It’s great to seeyoung people experience this.”

Children of the Earth studentsJasmine Seenie and Jennie Morinwere among the many students giv-ing spoken-word performances.

“I feel privileged to be learning mylanguage,” said Jennie. “A lot of peo-ple don’t understand that their lan-guage is being lost.”

Jasmine added that students felt aresponsibility to ensure languagessuch as Ojibwe lived on. “You defi-nitely feel that…it’s really important.It can be hard to learn, so it’s goodthat we’re going to a school where wecan learn Ojibwe every day.”

Both students said they planned onteaching their own children the lan-guage; they added they were

impressed by the work of the elemen-tary students at the concert.

“It’s good to see them learning,”Jasmine said. “Some of the youngerkids up on stage today seem like theyknow more than we do.”

Ms. Whitford was delighted to see

students inspiring each other withtheir stories.

“That is what is going to sustain usand keep us growing,” she said. “Weall need to feel good about who weare.”

A William Whyte student and teacher Sandra Samatte go through the days of themonth in Ojibwe during the Celebration of Aboriginal Languages Spring Concert.


Newcomer parents at SisterMacNamara School havefound support and success

through an international parentingprogram that is being translated into16 languages.

Parents have been studying JoanDurant’s Positive Discipline program, which is based on the UNConvention on the Rights of theChild.

Teacher Jean Tinling said the pro-gram—which is taught in partnershipwith the Mosaic Newcomer FamilyResource Network—was started afterthe school found parents engagingwith earlier parenting courses in theschool’s family room.

“This program also recognizes thatparents have a right to support whileparenting,” Ms. Tinling said. “Itlooks at how we can raise our chil-dren to be kind, caring, healthy, inde-pendent adults…and how we canprovide support to the parents andhow they can support each other.”

The program focuses on the estab-lishing of long-term goals, instead offocusing on the short term stresses ofdaily parenting.

“We try to model how we handlestress, so our children can developthose skills of handling stress andproblem solving,” Ms. Tinling said.

Fourteen parents take part in theprogram on a regular basis.

Parent Ifrah Omar said she hasfound the program to be very help-ful.

“Parenting can be a struggle…sowe have to explain things to childrenin a positive way and in a way theycan understand. If you just get angrywith kids, they are not learning fromthat,” she said. “When the childrenlearn from you, they take that lessonoutside of the house. They learn thebest way to deal with the outsideworld—the school, the street, theplayground…everywhere. They learnto solve the problems that they faceevery day.”

Principal Kim Midford said theprogram—which is open to all par-ents in the community—has helpedto build a strong support for families.

“It’s been great to see the partner-ship growing,” Ms. Midford said.“Just watching the comfort level ofthe families in our school and therelationship that develops…that part-nership has been incredibly valuablefor all the children in this communi-ty.”

Over the summer, Ms. Tinlingtrained Save the Children staff inKenya to teach the program inDadaab refugee camps. The parents

in the Sister MacNamara programthought Ms. Tinling should bring agroup photo with her to Kenya.

“The women thought I shouldbring a photo of them all holdingtheir books from the program,” Ms.Tinling said. “They thought it wouldbe a message of hope for the womenin the camps—that they would belearning from a program that wouldbe invaluable to them when they leftthe camps and came to Canada orwherever they were going.”

The Sister MacNamara parentswill resume a second phase of theprogram in the fall.

Positive parenting program a powerful tool

Sister MacNamara parents Amina Mohamud, Ifrah Omar, teacher Jean Tinling, Idil Timayare and Principal Kim Midford in theschool’s family room.

Making foodfor thought

Astudent stirs soup in preparationfor the school’s Empty Bowls

fundraiser. Wolseley students, staffand families raised over $1,000 forWinnipeg Harvest through thehumanitarian art project.

The fundraiser was held with thegoal of building awareness about foodbanks and the fact that many childrendo not have enough food to eat.

Every student created an originalbowl to put on display for the event,as well as making four kinds of soupand bannock. Attendees at the supperwere encouraged to make donationsto Harvest. The students’ bowls weremeant to be taken home and dis-played where meals are eaten; theywere to remain empty as a reminderof those people who do not haveenough to eat—and the mission ofworking toward a hunger-free world.

Photo and files courtesy of Wolseley School

When a Sister MacNamaraSchool student wanted to

voice her thoughts about violence inher community, she turned to thepower of the pen.

Student Roberta Harper-Flettwrote an essay entitled “Dangers”this spring; she expressed her concerns over the lasting effect that violent incidents have on hercommunity.

“I beg all the people doing this tostop so us kids could live with ahealthy mind and a good life,” shewrote. “The mess you created willlive on for some time.”

She later added: “All this negativ-ity will injure us mentally andmaybe physically.”

Roberta read her essay toChicago Bears star Izzy Idonijewhen he visited the school in May.Mr. Idonije served as principal for aday at the school, as he has in previ-ous years, through his foundation’sFirst Down Attendance Program.

The defensive end said that oneperson couldn’t change the problemsin a community, but rather, everyonehas an important role to play.

“Everybody can do their little bit

to help. I pitch in, you pitch in, andevery single person can pitch in tohelp our younger generation…andhelp one another. Because the truth

is, you guys are the future. The thingsyou do now will make a differencefor the future. It starts with you guystaking care of one another.”

Standing up for her community

Photo unavailable

for website.


SummerThrillerBusting a move during Hugh

John Macdonald School’s com-munity feast and street festival.

The well-attended June barbecuefeatured many entertainers, includ-ing the Jazz On Wheels program,hoop dancer Brian Clyne, a studentdance retrospective of MichaelJackson music and more. Studentsand staff also took time to formally

open the school’s massive new 40-ft. by 8-ft. mural (profiled in theApril 2012 edition of Our Schools).

Photo by Jeff Miller

Dance of summer

This Greenway School studentdances to the beat during his

school’s annual pow wow, whichwas held in June.

Mrs. Kroeker’s Butterfly GardenStudents and staff at Machray

School have created a colourful,permanent tribute to their belovedteacher, the late Tammi Kroeker.

Mrs. Kroeker passed away inFebruary after a battle with cancer.During her time at the school, theteacher often taught her studentsabout the life cycle of the MonarchButterfly; she envisioned creating abutterfly garden at the school to con-tinue to educate students and beautifythe neighbourhood.

“This garden was really started byMrs. Kroeker,” said Principal GordonArmstrong. “The garden work hap-pened with the help of students. Staff

and parents pitched in, all under theleadership of Mrs. Kroeker. Her fam-ily even came to rototill and work thegarden as well.”

Students, staff, parents and theteachers’ family and friends havecontinued that vision by officiallydedicating the garden as a memorial.Mrs. Kroeker’s Butterfly Garden fea-tures flowers and plants such as milk-weed to attract butterflies; the entireschool community also paintedwooden butterflies that grace the garden and the rest of the schoolyard.

Student Destiny Pelletier remem-bered being in Mrs. Kroeker’s classin Grade 1, and in particular, the

butterfly project.“We got to see the butterflies

grow…I remember when we finallygot to let them go free,” she said.“Mrs. Kroeker was a fun teacher; shewould always make us laugh.”

The teacher’s legacy was feltthroughout the completion of the garden.

“As we were planting some flow-ers, very often there was a MonarchButterfly in the garden, and wewatched as they laid an egg on themilkweed that Tammi had planted,”Mr. Armstrong said. “We attached thebutterflies along the fences toremember the impact that Tammi has

had on our lives…and to welcomeeveryone into our beautiful commu-nity of Machray School.”

Art teacher Ann Rallison guidedstudents through the project in theweeks leading up to the garden’sopening in June. Students learnedanatomical terms and concepts suchas symmetry prior to painting theircreations; as well, they learned aboutthe joy of sharing their work.

“The students are learning aboutthat whole concept of public art. Thechildren feel an ownership, butthere’s that sense of giving their workto their community,” Ms. Rallisonsaid.

A Machray student 01and Principal Gordon Armstrong with the plaque that will markthe memorial to teacher Tammi Kroeker.

After hearing about the project, students and staff at École secondaire Kelvin HighSchool pitched in and cut almost 300 butterflies out of wooden sheets.

Sharing memories

Salín Beaufoy looks through photos on an iPad with École Garden GroveSchool students.

Studentswere engaged in various activities throughout the year with theseniors of Westhaven Retirement Centre. As part of their Language Arts cur-riculum, which includes: speaking, listening, writing, reading and thinking,students participated in non-electronic games (i.e. Chinese checkers,Crokinole, beanbag baseball and carpet bowling), interviews with the seniorsand using technology (using iPads and laptops) as a means of researching,recording and sharing.

As part of this Intergenerational Project, the children and elders were ableto appreciate one another’s experiences and develop meaningful friend-ships. Students prepared creative and colourful 3D dioramas for the seniors,providing snapshots of the lives they shared during the interview process. Fora farewell tea, the students prepared pieces of witty poetry that allowed themto predict their own future lives as seniors.

Files courtesy Garden Grove, photo by Jeff Miller

Archeologist digs up facts, great storiesStudents from Lord Nelson and

Queenston schools rolled up theirsleeves and dug into a few archeolog-ical mysteries.

Author Gina McMurchy-Barber—creator of the Peggy Hendersonseries of archeology-themed myster-ies—visited with students from bothschools as part of CanadianChildren’s Book Week.

“Archeologists are time travel-ers…as we dig down deeper, we goback in time,” said Ms. McMurchy-Barber.

In the novels Broken Bones andReading the Bones, archeologybecomes a way for Peggy to link tothe past and learn the stories ofhuman remains she finds at dig sites.As a former archeology student, Ms.McMurchy-Barber has taken part insimilar digs, and has even studiedorangutans in Borneo, Indonesia tofind out about our past.

Since then, Ms. McMurchy-Barber worked as a journalist beforebecoming a teacher—a job she con-tinues to balance with her writing

career to this day.“When I became a teacher…that

was when I felt like I had finallyarrived to the job I was meant to bein.”

As a children’s writer, she is ableto continue to work with students inanother capacity.

Ms. McMurchy-Barber met withLord Nelson students at the SirWilliam Stephenson Library. Theschool transported parents and stu-dents to the library to enjoy the read-ing with the author.

“We are doing this to build thehome/school/community connec-tion,” said teacher Louise Snidal.“We’ve partnered with Sir WilliamStephenson in the past to do literacynights for dual languagefamilies…we use any opportunity wecan get to reinforce literacy.”

“The students are pretty excited tomeet a real live author today, and thisreally emphasizes how they areauthors as well in the classroom.”

Meanwhile, at Queenston, stu-dents were able to tie in their human

rights studies with the author, whoalso wrote the non-fiction book WhenChildren Play. The book focuses onthe humanitarian organization Right

To Play, which seeks to ensure students around the world have thetime and ability to access sports andrecreation.

Gina McMurchy-Barber explains the archeological process with Queenston studentsusing a mock-up of a dig site.

Over 320 students explored thevast canvas of Canadian his-tory as part of this year’s Red

River Heritage Fair.The students, ranging from Grade

4 to 11, came from across Manitobato have their projects fielded beforesome 95 judges. In their downtime,they enjoyed historical workshopsheld elsewhere at The University ofWinnipeg’s Duckworth Centre.

“This is our largest fair ever, andwe’ve seen some of the most amazingprojects to date—every year I learnsomething new,” said event co-chairand St. John’s High School teacherMarie Zorniak. “We have over 70Grade 9 projects alone this year, sowe are seeing a lot of older students,and as well there are more ruralschools participating.”

Along with sending students toparticipate in the fair, Sargent ParkSchool also sent 22 student volun-teers. The students helped comple-ment a dedicated group of teachersand other adult volunteers, likePrincipal Sparling School teacherKevin Roberts, who work hard tomake the event a reality.

“We’re 100 per cent volunteerrun…we do this because it’sCanadian, it’s educational and welove it,” Ms. Zorniak said.

On the fair floor, ÉcoleLaVérendrye student Jacob Sanchezchose to explore the story behind theMoose Jaw Tunnels—infamous forbeing used by bootleggers during theProhibition Era.

“The first use for the tunnels wasfor steam engineers to get betweenbusinesses without having to go out-side,” Jacob said. “The second usewas by Chinese immigrants whocould not pay an expensive head taxwhen they came to Canada—so theywent and lived in the tunnels.”

Jacob said he plans on visiting thetunnels as soon as the opportunityarises.

Fellow LaVérendrye student NovaMartin studied the Battle of the Plainsof Abraham for his project.

“This is my first time at thefair…it’s very exciting,” he saidbetween rounds of judging. “Theworkshops are good and I like seeingthe other projects too.”

Nova was ultimately one of threeWinnipeg students who were finalistsin the national Young Citizens videocontest. The contest, which was heldby Canada’s History magazine, hadstudents creating videos about theirheritage projects for the internet.Ultimately, a panel of judges willselect six students to go to theNational History Awards in Ottawathis fall.

The students’ videos can be foundat: www.youngcitizens.ca .

Moments in time Division award winnersfrom this year’s fair:

Bethany Balaktsis, Sargent ParkSchool. Hudson’s Bay Co.Explorer Award. Joshua Caldo, Prairie RoseSchool. City of WinnipegMuseums Award.Gabrielle Cochingco, St. John’sHigh School. Canada’s HistorySociety Medal.Catherine Dang, Maliya Cruzat,Prairie Rose School. KGS Awardin Science/Technology.Madison Durupt, RavenMichelle, William WhyteCommunity School. AboriginalCircle of Educators Award.Gelian Fernandez, Sargent Park.Aboriginal Circle of EducatorsAward.Valentin Lazo, École J.B. MitchellSchool. Manitoba Sports Hall ofFame Award.Alenna Mark, Grant Park HighSchool. Red River Heritage FairAward of Excellence.Nova Martin, École LaVérendryeSchool. Manitoba Social ScienceTeachers’ Association Award.Sky Matheson-Littlechief, St.John’s. Impact of Faith Award.Jack Mulvena, St. John’s. LouisRiel Institute Award.Derelyne Raval, École J.B.Mitchell. Dalnavert/ManitobaHistorical Society Award.Maguire Steingart, ÉcoleLaVérendrye. St. BonifaceMuseum Award.Alexis Waytiuk, École J.B.Mitchell. Manitoba Social ScienceTeachers’ Association Award.Jack Wood, Sargent Park. LouisRiel Institute Award.Vanessa Yalung, Sargent Park.Relocate Reggie the Red RiverRegional Heritage Fair BuffaloAward.

Canadian history is full of colourful characters and places, as these two ÉcoleLaVérendrye students ably demonstrate:



Garden tourManitoba Education Minister Nancy Allan was given a tour of Lord

Nelson School’s thriving sustainable development gardens in June.Ms. Allan helped plant some new additions and also shared some

gardening advice with students.

Students and staff at Elmwood High School enjoyed a day of intercultur-al insights and expression during a May Diversity Day.

The day included a broad slate of workshops from presenters such asSomalian refugee/social advocate Muuxi Adam, Inuit throat singers MelindaTautu and Zeann Manernaluk, Amnesty International, Ugandan musicianGentil Mis, Aboriginal educator Rebecca Chartrand, Manitoba Theatre forYoung People and more.

In the afternoon, students and staff gathered for a school-wide feast andpow wow. Children of the Earth High School, including traditional advisorand pow wow emcee Colin Mousseau, helped the school organize the event.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity to use the pow wow as a chance to cel-ebrate the many cultures we have here at Elmwood,” said teacher JoanneSabourin, who was part of the organizing committee. “It’s great for our com-munity as well; it gives a sense of pride.”

The event also included a feast of stew, bannock and fruit for 1,000 people.“We cooked at Tec Voc for two days continuously to get ready for this,”

said teacher Christine Osztian, who was part of a group of Elmwood teachersand students who helped prepare food. “Tec Voc and teacher Rossita Schauwere very kind to let us use their facilities. The students and staff made us feelso welcome.”

Alyssa Le Fort-Lynx said the day was worthwhile: “Cultural awareness isgreat, not just for Aboriginal people, but for everyone. So this helps everyoneto be aware and learn more. Cultural identity is extremely important.”

Alyssa is also part of the school’s Aboriginal Leadership Group.“It’s great, we meet every week to provide a strong environment and sup-

port,” she said. “Many of the kids that are new to the community are from upNorth, and the more mature students have experience here and can helpthem.”

Flying the colours

Aboriginal veteran and Order of Manitoba recipient Joe Meconse led the grand entryat Elmwood’s pow wow.


Grosvenor principalreceives libraryawardGrosvenor School

Principal BradCorbett was recentlyhonoured by theManitoba SchoolLibrary Association’sAdministrator’s Awardfor distinguished serv-ice.

“It was nice to benominated and a greathonour,” Mr. Corbettsaid. “I’m a big believ-er in libraries and litera-cy in general is obvi-ously a priority in any-one’s school.”

When Mr. Corbettfirst came toGrosvenor, the schoolconducted an assess-ment of its library col-lection, and included parents in the discussions. This led to upgrades suchas an automated system, a fresh new design and a bolstered non-fiction col-lection to reflect students’ reading habits.

“We took a look and said ‘this is our reality, let’s look at what is possi-ble.’ We’re fortunate to have a parent community that also shares in thatpassion for libraries. We’ve made it a hub and heart of this school. It’s notjust a place where students take a book off a shelf and leave. There are allsorts of learning that happens there.”

The principal also praised teacher-librarian Pat Zealand for her role inmaking the library an important component of daily learning: “We’re veryfortunate to have an experienced, seasoned teacher-librarian who can deliv-er that important programming to students.”

Principal Brad Corbett and teacher-librarian PatZealand in the Grosvenor library.


Students from Children of theEarth High School achievedstellar results at this year’s E-

Spirit National Aboriginal YouthBusiness Plan Competition.

In fact, the school came away withgold, silver and bronze at the event,thanks to several impressive studentbusiness proposals.

The online youth business planprogram, which is hosted by the

Business Development Bank ofCanada, has run for 12 years. EveryOctober, teams start an online component before convening in Mayfor the final portion of the competi-tion.

With this year’s event being heldin Winnipeg, the school sent bothGrade 11 and 12 business students;the students are all participants in thePaul Martin Educational Initiative at

the school.“Students have to create a market-

ing plan and a promotional video, andat the actual competition they have todo a tradeshow and a PowerPointpresentation for their businesses,”said teacher Leigh Brown.

Students Brittany LaPlante,Courtney Johnston, Jestine McKayand Sierra Cromarty won the goldprize for Little Neechies Arts and

Crafts—a business which would supply materials and instructions toconsumers to make Aboriginal crafts.

Justin Harper, Bradley Bushie,Brandon Pottinger and TylerBoulanger earned silver with Rez-zidence: a proposal for safe, afford-able, culturally-based housing forAboriginal students who come fromremote communities to go to schoolin Winnipeg.

Judges awarded the bronze toDanika Phillips, Maria Phillips andDrake Perry for their business planoutlining Euphoric Visions—whichwould share and sell artistic photog-raphy.

The medal prizes also earned theschool cheques for $1,500, $750 and$500 respectively.

“I think it was a good experiencefor us to go and present, it helps youbuild self-esteem,” Bradley said. “Itmakes you more outgoing.”

“It’s incredible when you see thestudents’ progress from the beginningof the year to reaching these competi-tions,” Ms. Brown said.

Leading up to E-Spirit, studentsalso took part in the Manitoba HighSchool Investment Competition inApril. Student Ariel Smith-Mink wasa top finisher for an Aboriginalcolouring book targeted at elemen-tary students and schools.

“We’re proud of our students—they did the work and put in theeffort, and it was very rewarding,”Ms. Brown said. “For any young person who has a business idea, theyshould just pursue it. There are somany supports and people out therewho can help you develop yourideas and take them to market.”

Some of Children of the Earth’s talented E-Spirit team.

Entrepreneurial spirits soar

They’re Sagkeeng’sFinest…and Sislerhas them!Students at Sisler High School were thrilled in June when the winners of the

television series Canada’s Got Talent stopped by for a high-energy performance.


Fundraising the fit way

Cecil Rhodes students get in step during the school’s walkathon.

Cecil Rhodes School students andstaff walked, jogged and ran

their way to raise an impressive totalduring their fundraising walkathon.

Students collected pledges andtook to the sidewalks surroundingthe school in May to raise $7,000.

The school holds a walkathonevery year as its major fundraiser forfield trips, supplies and other specialstudent projects.

“We’ve been doing thiswalkathon for years…it’s well sup-

ported by the community,” saidReading Recovery teacher IanStewart, adding that the activity wasa very economical way to fundraise.“It’s a good way to fundraise quick-ly and you aren’t paying out anymoney to anybody else for costs.”

Student president Norman Relissaid the event was a healthy way tounite the entire school.

“It promotes physical activity andgets you active for a good cause,” hesaid.


Vinyl visions

Agroup of artistically inclined students from Andrew Mynarski V.C.Junior High School and Sisler High School showcased their artwork

during a recent public exhibition.“We’re a feeder school for Sisler, and we thought it would be neat to do

a joint project together,” said Andrew Mynarski V.C. teacher MeghanDavidson, who collaborated with Sisler art teacher Mike Thwaites.

Students were part of a spring exhibition at Ace Art Gallery, which hasshown a commitment to developing artistic talent in the community.

“We’re not only showing students that there are other venues besides theschool to display their work, we’re showing them a community that recognizes and values artwork,” Mr. Thwaites said.

The art project had students painting images on 12-inch LP records,which offered a uniform starting point for students’ wildly diverse ideas.

“We either did random images or juxtaposition, which is putting twoimages together,” said Sisler student Matthew Espino. “For my painting, Ihad a candle and chains, and I called it Chained Enlightenment. The candlerepresented hope and the chains were chaos…I was trying to say that amidstall the chaos there is still hope.”

Andrew Mynarski V.C. student Angela Tan said it was worthwhile forstudents to be part of a public exhibit: “It’s good because if any of us chooseto be artists in the future, we’ll know how an exhibition works.”

When the kindergarten/nursery students at École Laura Secord Schoolexplored the “flower power” decade—the Sixties—as part of the

school’s 100th anniversary year, they jumped into their roles wholeheartedly.The students even had their flower power artwork displayed at the local

coffee house. The Neighbourhood Bookstore & Café featured a display of artwork created by Room 204 in the weeks following the school’s 100thanniversary.

For their art project, students emblazoned CD cases with Plasticine floralscenes.

“It was supposed to be from the Sixties, so the flowers had to be reallybright,” said student Molly Altemeyer, adding that her mother had come to seeher work while it was on exhibit.

Teacher Deenie Lefko-Halas said students looked at Canadian artistBarbara Reid’s work for inspiration during the project.

“This is another form of community involvement for us,” she said. “All ofour children were very proud and excited that their work was here and theycame to visit with their families.”

Café-owner Bill Fugler said the artwork made an impression on his customers.

“It’s had a huge response from adults who don’t even have a connection tothe kids—someone told me they thought it was a really creative idea for anindy band’s CD release,” he said.

“We always try to do a lot with local artists—Wolseley has always been sorich in art and music.”

Right: Laura Secord students and Bill Fugler (proprietor of The NeighbourhoodBookstore & Café) with the display of Sixties-inspired artwork.

Art in the Neighbourhood

Aboriginal celebration


River Elm School students speak to the audience gathered at the school’sCelebration of Legends in June.

Teacher Gloria Giubega said the event was the culmination of a school-wide project—one of many designed to help students learn and appreciateAboriginal culture.

Classes wrote their own Aboriginal legends and made animal totem poles;like many of the totem poles through history, the River Elm totems havebecome symbols of unity, tradition and pride.


What to do if you have a problem at your child’s school

Problems can arise but can be solved by open discussion.The steps to follow:

• Talk to the teacher first.• If you can’t resolve the issue—talk to the Principal.• If you can’t settle the issue—talk to the Superintendent.• If you can’t settle the issue—talk to the Chief

Superintendent.• If you can’t settle the issue—contact the Board of

Trustees.

Elevator named afterinspirational Hornet

Students, staff and administra-tors gathered at Tec Voc HighSchool for a special ceremony

in June to honour an inspirationalalumnus—the late Rodmond Huska.

The ceremony was held to formal-ly dedicate the Rodmond HuskaLift—an elevator that improvedaccessibility at the school for all stu-dents wishing to take part in theschool’s broadcasting program.

Rodmond—who graduated in2008—refused to let a wheelchairstand in the way of participating in thatprogram, or indeed, all aspects of lifeat Tec Voc. The student and his parents,Cheryl and David, were active propo-nents of a lift that would allow studentswith mobility challenges to access thebroadcasting program and studios inthe school’s ground floor.

“You could count on him to bevery giving of himself—I think that’sone of the things that inspired every-body about Rodmond,” said PrincipalGordon Crook. “Here was somebodywho was facing challenges that mostpeople couldn’t comprehend, but hewas always the first person there tohelp other people. He was also theperson who was there at any Tec Vocevent.

“For a young 21-year-old manwho left us too early…he won’t be

forgotten.”Teacher Nicole Bouchard, who

worked with Rodmond in the broad-casting program, echoed those senti-ments: “Who could ever forgetRodmond? Once you met him, hewas forever embedded in your heartand mind. He was one of the mostpositive people that I’ve ever met.”

Cheryl and David Huska were inattendance to unveil the officialplaque, along with Mr. Crook.

The lift is just one of many waysof continuing the legacy of a studentwho taught both students and staff somuch about life. A Rodmond HuskaMemorial Award is also presented toone Tec Voc graduate each year whosimilarly overcomes major obstaclesto attain their diploma.

“Rodmond taught us right from thevery beginning,” Mrs. Huska said.“This will be here forever…anybodywho needs this lift can use it.”

Superintendent of Schools-CentralCelia Caetano-Gomes and formerdistrict superintendent (and laterChief Superintendent) Jan Schubertwere among those in attendance atthe dedication.

Above: Rodmond’s parents, Cheryl andDavid, unveil the plaque honouring theirson alongside principal Gordon Crook.

Right: Plaque dedicated to late Tec Vocalumnus Rodmond Huska.

Riel film earns accoladesAgroup of young filmmakers from Shaughnessy Park School made a big

impression on judges at the 2012 Freeze Frame Film Festival with theirdocumentary on Manitoba founder Louis Riel.

Louis Riel: Son of Red River, Father of Manitoba earned awards for boththe best documentary and best technical achievement at the festival, whichwas held at the Franco Manitoban Cultural Centre.

The Grade 8 students, who were in teacher Mitchell Rygiel’s class, visitedand filmed at locations that included Riel’s gravesite in St. Boniface and RielHouse—which has since closed its doors due to federal budget cuts. Thethree-minute video is narrated by an animated version of Louis Riel, and alsouses historical photos to tell his story.

“We worked on it for months—the effort shows in the movie,” said studentKevin Macauley. “We made the talking Louis Riel in Final Cut Pro…welearned a lot.”

Students Jesse Gomes and Nic Hunt helped shoot location photographs forthe documentary.

“We used still photographs, but you can use computer effects to make themmove and make it more interesting to watch,” Jesse said.

Mr. Rygiel said the film was originally entered into a Parks Canada contest,but it wasn’t until Freeze Frame that it finally found recognition: “The kidswere fortunate enough to be chosen for the two awards at Freeze Frame, andthey’re very happy about that.”

The Shaughnessy Park documentary can be viewed online athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfBzv84jx0c .

Part of the Shaughnessy Park film team that worked on the award-winning Louis Riel,Son of the Red River.

Celebrating at Kaakiyowli moond likol


Teacher and emcee Christa Yeates shares her best wishes with the 2012graduates from the Kaakiyow li moond likol Learning Centre. Joining

students and staff were guests from the learning centre’s parent institution,the Winnipeg Adult Education Centre, as well as Elder George Spence andspecial guest speaker Tina Keeper.


Mini soccer pays big dividendsNursery to Grade 2 students at

Machray School are getting fitand learning valuable teamworkskills as part of a successful after-school mini-soccer program.

“Two years ago, we had a parentinvolvement meeting, and the parentssaid they wanted more sports for theyounger students, and soccer was oneof the sports they wanted to see,” saidcommunity support worker TerriChubala.

Parents play a key role in the program, which runs twice weeklyafterschool.

“The parents help set up and putthe equipment away, they referee andthey coach—it’s a team effort,” Ms.Chubala said.

For the students—who may nothave access to league sports outsideof school—there are many benefits toparticipating.

“This gives the students an organ-ized team sport, where they can learncooperation, taking turns and playingas a team,” Ms. Chubala said.

Students are also proud of theiraccomplishments and developmenton the field.

“I’ve played soccer since I was inkindergarten…I’m good at it now,”said one Grade 2 student. “I’m reallygood at running and kicking the ballinto the net.”

Parent Monica Davidson, whoserves as a volunteer coach while herdaughter Haiden participates, said theprogram has been personally reward-ing.

“I came to get to know Haiden’sschoolmates, teachers and the otherparents better,” she said. “It’s beenvery fulfilling—the kids all call mecoach now. And the students are allgetting good exercise.”

Growing seasonEven when school is out for the summer, the work is always just beginning

for the students and parent volunteers who take care of school gardens inJuly and August.

Students Savanna Henn and Eilä Hanson-Leith, who both work on thegrounds at Montrose School as part of a gardening club, said there is alwayswork to do.

“We’re gardening to grow vegetables for soup,” Eilä said. “This is part ofa project to see how we can grow food in a safe, sustainable way.”

“We have gardens at home too…we both like to work with the soil and getour hands dirty,” Savanna said.

Montrose’s parent council plays a major role in the school’s various gar-dens, which includes an above-ground vegetable box-garden.

“Our parent council has formed a sub-committee to focus on maintainingand improving our garden areas around the school,” said parent/committeemember Wendy Love.

She added that while the sub-committee has only formally existed for twoyears, parents and community members have done extensive fundraising overthe years to plan and create the school’s exceptional garden spaces.

“They were the ones who created these garden spaces—the vegetable gar-den is one that has just been introduced in the last few years,” she said.“We’re using this space to tie into the curriculum and also to promote the con-cept of understanding where food comes from…so we’ll be making soup withthese vegetables in the fall, when the children come back.”

Educational assistant Carrie Brown, who has been involved withMontrose’s gardens for six years running, said the experience is invaluable forthe school as a whole.

“The kids love it. Gardening brings the classroom outside, and the parentslike to see the kids active and involved,” she said. “The students are learningskills they can take home and use. When they see something like how lettucecan grow from such a tiny seed—I think that’s a great experience.”

Montrose students plant seedlings in their school’s soup garden.

A Machray student kicks the ball during the school’s afterschool soccer program.

Still smiling

Since starting with one school in1998, the Variety Children’s

Dental Outreach Program has grownto bring great smiles to many children in the Division.

Twelve schools will take part inthe program this upcoming schoolyear. Students are scheduled andbused to appointments at theUniversity of Manitoba’s Faculty ofDentistry every Friday. Prior to thevisits, faculty dentists go to Divisionschools to screen students for anypotential dental issues. Parents areprovided with photographs of theirchild’s teeth and an outline of rec-ommended treatment. Once parentalconsent is obtained, students receivethe necessary treatment at no cost to

families. The partners in the program met

at the Division’s AdministrationBuilding No. 1 in June to share success stories and celebrate anotheryear of helping children.

Prairie Rose School was awardeda certificate for outstanding partici-pation in the program, along with a$500 cheque for school projects.

Pictured here are VarietyExecutive Director Wayne Rogers(left), Variety Director of FundDevelopment Janet McLeod, PrairieRose Special Education ResourceTeacher Anna Fernandes and Dr.Charles Lekic, the University ofManitoba’s Head of PediatricDentistry.


Pixel-perfectTec Voc High School student

Michelle Arnold stands besideher striking fashion shot during arecent exhibition at the Pixels 2.1gallery.

Michelle was among a contingentof Tec Voc photography studentsthat showcased their work at thegallery in May.

Photo by Richard Faveri

Tales of peaceThrough the power of visual art and storytelling, Grade 4 students have

created a lasting message of peace at Robertson School.The school’s Peace Banner Project—which was sponsored by Project

Peacemakers and supported by The Winnipeg Foundation—had students collaborating to write traditional stories under the guidance of storytellerJamie Oliviero.

Art teacher Beth Henteleff then worked with students to create Aboriginaland Inuit-inspired artwork to accompany the stories on the banners.

Ms. Henteleff said the banners were essentially a way of showing “howimportant it is for us to take care of each other…and make this world a betterplace.”

Each story does that in a different way. The Wolf Messengers is a about anorthern village that lives in fear after hearing the howls of approachingwolves. At the same time, they notice their iglooviuks are melting due to pollution and global warning. But when the wolves arrive, they turn out to befriendly and play with the local sled dogs. The villagers ultimately send thewolves to the south as messengers to warn about the dangers facing the planet.

Promises tells of the original peace that existed between all of the animalsand the first people. But eventually, environmental pressures made the small-er animals scarce and people overhunted, causing the animals in turn tobecome aggressive—and peace was lost. Knowing that something had to bedone, the Elders made an agreement with the animals: people would showrespect for each and every creature and only take what they needed. The animals, in turn, promised to give of themselves and share the gift of life.These promises, made so long ago, must be remembered: “Unless we find away to coexist, none of us will live.”

The colourful banners were officially unveiled in late-June; Mr. Olivierowas among those in attendance.

“Look to the person next to you,” he told students. “Now you know what astoryteller looks like. I am looking at a room full of storytellers.”

The banners will be hung prominently in the school this fall.

Students with the Robertson Peace Banners.

If You’re NotFrom The

Inner City…

Pages from their class’s book If You’re Not From The Inner City.

Inspired by the classic Canadian children’s book If You’re Not From ThePrairies, Grades 5/6 students from Sister MacNamara School wrote their

own book to celebrate the Inner City.“We were reading David Bouchard’s book in class, and the students real-

ly liked the way he wrote. They felt inspired by him and wanted to showtheir own community in a class book,” said teacher Michelle Bevan. “Thekids were involved with everything—they emailed Mr. Bouchard and askedif they could use his style of writing and illustration. He emailed them backand he gave them permission to go ahead with it.”

The class also successfully applied for a Manitoba Grant for Citizenshipin Education to fund the publishing project.

The book took almost a year to complete, from the initial spark of inspiration to publication in June.

Each student wrote sections about what made their community and itspeople unique and special.

“I wrote about wisdom,” said Tristen Fontaine. “I said wisdom was theresponsibility to take care of others, using your power for good, choosingwisely between nice and bad, having the courage to just be you and to standup for others.”

Student Shontay McGillivary wrote about the joy of exploring her neighbourhood. Her class toured and photographed the community for theproject.

“Exploring is like magic…feeling the fresh cold wind blowing in yourhair in the shadows, and the garbage on the streets. Walking on the cementit’s like you are a melting popsicle in the blazing hot sun. Searching placeto place looking at the graffiti on the walls.”

Both students said they were proud of the finished book, and planned onshowing it to all of their family members and friends.

“I like this, it feels good to be an author,” Tristen said.

Photo

unavailable

for website.


Welcome aboard!

When it comes to ensuring chil-dren have a safe and relaxing busride, parents/guardians are an important part of the team.

We ask that you review the follow-ing information with your child.

You may also want to share thisinformation with any of your chil-dren’s other caregivers.

Planning to take the bus

• Parents will receive a letter con-firming their child will take theschool bus each day. The letter willgive the time and location for pickupsand drop offs.

• Before your child starts takingthe bus, walk with him or her to thepickup and dropoff locations andshow him/her the safest routes totravel.

Preparing for the bus

• Each day, ensure your child issuitably dressed for any extremeweather in the event the bus is late.

• Your child must leave home earlyenough to be at the pickup locationfive minutes ahead of the scheduledpickup time. If the bus has not arrived10 minutes after the scheduled pickuptime, you should call the Winnipeg

School Division TransportationSection at 789-0452 or First StudentCanada at 586-8800.

• At the pickup location, studentsmust stay on the sidewalk or on theside of the road while they wait forthe bus.

• If children have to cross the streetto get to the bus, they should wait forthe bus to come to a complete stop.The red lights start to flash, the stoparm comes out and the bus driver sig-nals it is safe to cross the street.Children must always cross in frontof the bus.

Getting on the bus

• Students form a line and waittheir turn to get on the bus.

• Being respectful of each other’sspace, children should move up thesteps of the bus, holding onto thehandrail while boarding.

On the bus

• Once on the bus, children shouldgo directly to their seats.

• Students may have to share aseat. In some cases, up to three ele-mentary children can be assigned to aseat. Once the bus driver becomesfamiliar with the students, he/she willassign seats and create seating plans.

• Eating and drinking is notallowed on the bus.

• Students should use their indoorvoices while on the bus, so they don’tdistract the driver.

• All students must remain seatedwhile the bus is moving.

• The aisle of the bus must be keptclear at all times—bags and back-packs must be placed on children’slaps.

• Musical instruments and athleticequipment may be brought on the busas long as they can be placed underthe seat without blocking the aisle.Skates must be in an athletic bag atall times. Students may not bringhockey sticks, brooms, shovels, oroversized athletic equipment or musi-cal instruments on the bus.

Leaving the bus

• Children should watch for theirstop and be ready to get off the buswith their belongings.

• All passengers must wait for thebus to come to a complete stop beforegetting up from their seat.

• When getting off the bus, chil-dren should hold onto the handrail.

• Once they leave the bus, childrenshould take at least three giant stepsaway from the bus so the studentsbehind can also unload safely.

• If students have to cross thestreet, they should walk to the front ofthe bus past the crossing arm.

• Children should wait for the busdriver to signal it is safe to cross.Students should still look both waysbefore crossing.

Behaviour

The Winnipeg School Division ismindful of the need to create arespectful and safe environment thatallows each child to reach his or herfull potential.

Winnipeg School Division schoolbus drivers are expected to maintaincontrol and report students displayinginappropriate behaviour while travel-ling to and from school.

Under the Province of ManitobaPublic Schools Act, the principal ofthe child’s school is ultimatelyresponsible for disciplining studentswhich can range from a verbal warn-ing to a permanent suspension frombus service depending on the fre-quency and type of event.

Bullying and harassment

Your child needs to know that ifthere are any problems with thebehaviour of other students or if anychild requires assistance, he or sheshould report these events to the busdriver. The bus driver is there toensure that all students receive safetransportation to and from school.

If your child feels he or she isbeing bullied or harassed while trav-elling on a Winnipeg School Divisionbus, please contact the principal toreport the incident. The principal willwork with the Transportation Sectionto investigate the matter and deter-mine the appropriate action to correctthe situation.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What are the hours of operation ofthe Winnipeg School Division Transportation Section?

A. The office is open from 7:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. or until the last child isdropped off.Q. Will I be phoned if my child’s busis running late?A. It is not unusual for a bus to runlate. At the beginning of the year,when students are getting used to thebus routine, buses are often a little bitlate. Buses can also run late for avariety of other reasons, includingroad and traffic conditions.Q. What if the bus is very late?A. If a bus is running very late, dueto an issue such as bus breakdown,parents will be contacted.

If you have any concerns about thelateness of your child’s bus pleasecontact 789-0452 or the serviceprovider directly using the followingnumbers:-First Student Canada 586-8800-Wheel Chair Services 982-0799-Handi-Helper 999-5812 -Belle’s Transportation 999-2862-Duffy’s 925-1305Q. Can I ask the bus driver to changemy child’s pick up location?A. The bus driver is not authorized tomake adjustments to pickup anddropoff locations.

Q. Should I meet my child at the bus stop?A. All nursery, kindergarten and specialneeds students must be met by an adult.In the event the parent/ guardian is notable to attend please notify theTransportation Section at 789-0452 toprovide alternate name(s) of peoplewho will meet your child.

If there is no one to meet the child,he or she will be returned to theschool at the end of the run. The parent/guardian can pickup the childat the school.

If your child is not special needsand is in Grade 1-6 and you wanthim/her met, please contact theTransportation Section at 789-0452.Q.When should I call to cancel my child’s transportation?

A. If your child is in nursery school,kindergarten or special needs it isimportant to notify the TransportationSection when your child will not needtransportation.

Parents of all other students shouldnotify the Transportation Section(789-0452) if their child does notrequire transportation for a period ofmore than three days.Q. Who do I contact if I have concerns about the operation of mychild’s bus?A. Please contact the Winnipeg SchoolDivision Transportation Section directlyat 789-0452 if you have any concernsabout any vehicle transportingWinnipeg School Division students. Q.Who should I contact if I have an address change?

A. The child’s school should be con-tacted with any address changes.School staff will make adjustments tothe student’s records and notify theTransportation Section of thechanges.

Are you

interested in

driving a

school bus?

Enjoy working with

children?

• Part time work available.

• Training provided.

• Employment through

Winnipeg School

Division’s contractor—

First Student Canada.

• Must have a clear

abstract and a good

driving record.

For more information: please call

Henry Claeys: 789-0409 •

www.wsd1.org

During the school year, there maybe times when school bus trans-

portation is cancelled due to inclementweather or poor driving conditions, butschools will remain open.

School bus transportation is can-celled when the wind chill reaches -45° C by 6:15 a.m. based on theEnvironment Canada readings atthe Winnipeg Airport. The tempera-ture readings can be found at theEnvironment Canada website(http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca).

When bus transportation is can-celled in the morning, it will notresume later in the day even if weatherconditions improve.

The following media outlets arecontacted in the early morning toask that they broadcast and/or postbus cancellation information: 89.3CBC FM; 990 CBC AM; CKSB 89.9FM (French); CJOB-680 AM;Power 97-FM; 1290 CFRW; 99.9BOB-FM; FAB 94.3 FM; 92 CITIFM; 102.3 CLEAR FM; CKMMVirgin Radio 103; QX 104 FM; CTVNews; CityTV; Winnipeg Free Presswebsite.

School Bus Informationfor Parents/Guardians


The rain held off for everyone at River Elm School’s annual communitybarbecue—that is, for everyone except Principal Tom Chan and a few stu-

dents who braved the dunk tank.Mr. Chan took to the plank as a reward for another successful year of com-

munity literacy. The principal has been doing similar outrageous stunts foryears to encourage students to read as many pages as possible. From dancingto firefighting to wrangling with various animals, Mr. Chan has done it all.

“It went very well—it was supposed to thunderstorm tonight, but the rainheld off and the community all came out,” Mr. Chan said.

The principal said that the whole point of his annual reading challenge wasto build a community of readers.

“That’s what this ‘Tomfoolery’ is really all about. The teachers, the staffand the parents are all doing everything they can to get the kids excited aboutreading…and so am I.”

As it turns out, River Elm is not only a community of readers; the schoolalso seems to have more than its fair share of baseball pitchers, given theamount of times Mr. Chan hit the tank.

“He got dunked a lot, it was pretty funny,” said student Shane Cinq-Mars,who added that he knew his principal would not back down from the dunktank. “Mr. Chan would do anything—he’s ate worms before for one readingchallenge, and for another one he kissed a pig.”

Shane said he prefers adventure and fantasy novels when it came to his ownreading; he added that reading is an important life skill.

Eye on the ball: River Elm Principal Tom Chan watches in horror as the ball bouncesoff the target following a direct hit—meaning he’s headed for the water.

Tipping point

Accepting differences

St. John’s player nabs a jump ball against Winnipeg Police Patrol Sgt. Kevin Smithduring a friendly exhibition match; the game was part of the school’s anti-bullyingand diversity day.

St. John’s High School students and staff spent a day embracing differences and campaigning against bullying during the school’s

Diversity Day.The day featured diversity and anti-bullying workshops, as well as a

friendly exhibition basketball game between St. John’s students and theWinnipeg Police Service team, led by St. John’s alumni and futureChief of Police Devon Clunis. Prior to the game, Const. Mitch Rochaalso spoke about cyber-bullying.

“Our main objective is to start off our anti-bullying campaign and tounderstand that we live in a diverse community where everyone is welcome and accepted,” said teacher and organizer Cindy Johnson-Gallegos. “We want to get kids hyped up and joining our student diversity group in September—and have them supporting a safeschool.”

St. John’s student Aleksandra Manchuria said the basketball gamewas a simple way to show how people can get along regardless of differences.

“We can interact with other students, be friends and not bully eachother,” she said. “This shows that we can all get together and play agame without worrying about skin color or nationality.”

Vice-principal Dennis Mogg agreed: “The day is going great—wehave law enforcement and our community all working together andhaving a good time. These teams have people from all over the map.”

St. John’s varsity boys’ team member Nikko Ferrier said the gamewas more than about basketball: “This game is about taking actionagainst bullying. Everyone can take a stand…not just teachers…students can do it too.”

A community gift

In their ongoing exploration of sus-tainable development—and the

concept of having “enough for all, foreveryone, forever”—students andstaff at Grosvenor School had aunique way of demonstrating thatphilosophy to the community.

Students recycled plastic pop bottles to create small planters per-fect for herbs and spices; the fin-ished planters were hung from afence to share the herbs with thecommunity.



Students and educators from allfour districts shared theirAboriginal learning journeys at

the fourth Aboriginal AcademicAchievement (AAA) Gallery Walkand Elders’ Tea.

The annual event—held this yearon May 30 at the Prince CharlesEducation Resource Centre—is away for educators to reflect on theschool year and share their learningsuccess stories.

“This gives teachers the opportuni-ty to share their school projects infus-ing an Aboriginal perspective,” saidAboriginal Education Consultant/AAA support teacher GeraldineWhitford.

The event also provides educatorswith a chance to learn from Eldersand other speakers.

The keynote speaker this year wasOvide Mercredi, the formerAssembly of First Nations nationalchief and the current chancellor of theUniversity College of the North.Other panel speakers included ElderWanbdi Wakita, Manitoba DeputyEducation Minister Gerald Farthing,Marlene Gallagher of the AboriginalEducation Directorate, Greg Pruden(Aboriginal perspectives consultantfor Manitoba Education’s Instruction,Curriculum and Assessment Branch)and R.B. Russell Vocational HighSchool student Nicole Keeper.

Nicole, who is in the landscapingand horticulture program at R.B.Russell, credited several Aboriginaleducation projects with helping toengage her in school.

“The Aboriginal Youth LeadershipProgram this year has taught me tosee who I am, where I come fromspiritually and that I have a purposenot only in my school, in my home, inmy community, but in life as awhole,” she said, adding that herschool’s horticulture and landscapingprogram has allowed her to furtherconnect with her roots. “This allmakes me very connected to myAboriginal background because myancestors lived off the land in theirday and had much respect for MotherEarth.”

Nicole also discussed a project that

partnered the horticulture and land-scaping program with culinary arts totackle the issue of diabetes throughhealthy recipes and gardening:“Many of my relatives have struggledwith (diabetes),” she said. “We did afilm and made posters on the healthbenefits of growing their own gardens.”

Nicole said Aboriginal educationand programs provided tremendousopportunities.

“Many of our young people don’tknow the true value of academicachievement. I feel that we shouldnot take for granted the opportunityto attend school…especially withschools that celebrate Aboriginal cul-ture and have leadership programs.These programs will help us to seewho we are and believe in ourselves.”

A lunchtime feast was held withentertainment from Ed Desjarlais, theWilliam Whyte Fiddle Players, theWeston Hawks Drum Group and theTec Voc Drum Group. Elders wereformally honoured in the afternoon,prior to the gallery walk portion ofthe day.

Mr. Wakita said that ultimately,there will always be a need forAboriginal educators: “We still havea big contribution to make toCanadians who want to know who weare.”

AAA legacy grows

Students at DMCI’s annual Business Mentors Luncheon.

Work experienceDaniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute celebrated the school to work

connection during the 2012 Business Mentors Luncheon.The June event, which was held at the school, was an opportunity for the

school to thank members of the local business community who hosted stu-dents through DMCI’s various career programs. Through internships andother work experiences, students connected with medical and legal offices,engineering and architectural firms, banks, retail businesses and more.

DMCI also has a two-semester Medical Office Clerk program that alsohas students conducting practicum at workplaces such as the ManitobaClinic.

“Students are trying out career areas they are interested in pursuing intheir post-secondary education,” said career internship and education coor-dinator Lynne Hanson. “This gives them a bird’s eye view and they can findout whether or not this is what they want to do. This luncheon is our way ofshowing our appreciation to our mentors for the time and energy they putinto our kids.”

Students Robby Singh and Megan Dava both interned with Dr. TooruMizuno, a medical researcher at the Health Sciences Centre.

“He’s researching insulin and the parts of the brain that are responsiblefor sugar management in the body,” Robby said, adding that he was able topractise advance laboratory techniques. “It made me appreciate what med-ical research is all about, it’s a lot different than looking at it in a textbook.”

Both students said since their internships, they were considering medicalresearch for a career field.

Megan added that the experience was invaluable: “You have to be inde-pendent...with an internship, you are on your own. You have to be able tocommunicate with your mentors and actually show how you can work hardand produce results.”

Choral and dance students take noteAtalented roster of students took

to the stage at PantagesPlayhouse Theatre for Take Note, theDivision’s annual choral and danceshowcase.

The June concert featured studentsfrom: Andrew Mynarski V.C. JuniorHigh School; Daniel McIntyreCollegiate Institute; Churchill, Écolesecondaire Kelvin, Elmwood,Gordon Bell, Grant Park, Sisler andSt. John’s high schools; GeneralWolfe and Meadows West schools;and the Division’s Senior and JuniorHigh Choirs.

Pictured here are members of TecVoc’s jazz ensemble JazzTec, per-forming “Just The Way You Are.” Photo by Jeff Miller

Photo unavailable

for website.

Board of Trustees

1 rita Hildahl, chair

Ward 1, Phone: 414-7706

2 Mark Wasyliw, Vice-chair

Ward 1, Phone: 475-3114

3 Jackie Sneesby

Ward 1, Phone: 489-3277

4 Kristine Barr

Ward 2, Phone: 775-0990

5 cathy collins

Ward 2, Phone: 789-0469

6 Anthony ramos

Ward 2, Phone: 293-8040

7 Mike Babinsky

Ward 3, Phone: 582-9296

8 Darlyne Bautista

Ward 3, Phone: 295-0922

9 Suzanne Hrynyk

Ward 3, Phone: 452-3847

1577 Wall Street East, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 2S5

Telephone: 204-775-0231

Chief SuperintendentP.E. Clarke

Superintendents of SchoolsK. Seiler–Inner City

R.N. Chartrand–SouthC. Caetano-Gomes–Central

D. Persaud–North

Public Relations CommitteeTrustees: Anthony Ramos (Chair),Darlyne Bautista, Jackie Sneesby

Our Schools is published five times per year. Copyright © 2012

Winnipeg School Division All rights reserved.

Editor: Dale Burgos Writer/Photographer: Dan LeMoal

Layout/Design: Diane Skogstad

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The following were elected tothe position of Chairperson,Vice-Chairperson and toCommittees for the ensuing year,effective September 10, 2012:

Chairperson: Rita Hildahl (The Chairperson of the Board isa member ex-officio of all Boardcommittees.)Vice-Chairperson: Mark Wasyliw

Standing CommitteesPolicy/Program: SuzanneHrynyk (Chair), Cathy Collins,Darlyne Bautista, AnthonyRamos

Finance/Personnel: CathyCollins (Chair), Mark Wasyliw,Kristine Barr

Building/Transportation:Darlyne Bautista (Chair), CathyCollins, Kristine Barr

Public Relations/Communications:Anthony Ramos (Chair), JackieSneesby, Darlyne Bautista

Statutory CommitteesPension Fund: DarlyneBautista, Cathy Collins, AnthonyRamos, Suzanne Hrynyk

Children’s Heritage Fund:Cathy Collins, Jackie Sneesby

Sinking Fund: Suzanne Hrynyk

Board AdvisoryCommittees

Central Advisory: KristineBarr, Darlyne Bautista

Inner City Advisory: CathyCollins, Mike Babinsky

North Advisory: SuzanneHrynyk, Darlyne Bautista

South Advisory: Mark Wasyliw,Jackie Sneesby

French Advisory: MarkWasyliw, Anthony Ramos

Student Advisory: KristineBarr, Anthony Ramos

Joint CommitteesJoint WSD/Police Services:Jackie Sneesby (Ward 1), Cathy Collins, (Ward 2), Darlyne Bautista (Ward 3)

WSD/WTA Joint Committee:Mark Wasyliw (Chair), KristineBarr, Suzanne Hrynyk

Special EducationAdministrative Committee:Anthony Ramos

MSBA Regional Director: (termending March/13), Darlyne Bautista

MSBA MUST Fund: (termFebruary 1, 2012 - January 2014),Mark Wasyliw

Paint itsilverAgroup of young artists from

Champlain School recentlyearned a silver medal in an interna-tional art competition on the strengthof a marine-ecology themed mural.

The mural was created for the con-test Painting a New World, whichsupports artists in developing coun-tries. For the contest, students were tocreate a mural that focused on aworld issue.

“This year the issue was protectingour coastal and marine ecosystems,”said teacher Veronique Bedard, whowas involved in the project alongwith teacher Melanie Gulas and eightart club students. “The studentsexplored four issues affecting marineanimals in each section of the mural,like oil spills and garbage.”

Another issue depicted in themixed media mural is the plastic bagsthat clog marine environments.

“For that part we stuck real plasticbags on the mural—they really canharm ocean animals,” said studentEmma Woodford.

Fellow artist Mark Bowman saidstudents also depicted marine ani-mals in the mural to show the cost ofenvironmental pollution: “We painteda whale, a dolphin, a sea lion and aturtle.”

The art club students, who workedon the mural over a three month peri-od, were thrilled to find out they werefinalists in the competition—and thatthey were being flown to Montreal.

“I was so excited at the awardsceremony…I was shaking and Icouldn’t even talk when we had to goon stage,” Emma said. “I felt proudabout what we did.”

Students also raised $500 for theirmural project, while AssiniboineCredit Union provided financial sup-port by purchasing the final mural.The money raised in the competitionis being used to support artists inHaiti and Africa; another portion ofChamplain’s fundraising is beingdirected to Art City, which workswith local youth.

Students with their mural on endangered aquatic animals.


BoArD ElEcTIonS

2012-13

Documents

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