CLC Wrap-up: News-notes (April 2015) – Mummies and minerals, self-defence courses, show me the money and much more.
The marvels of rocks and minerals
Cycle 2 enjoyed a visit from the Redpath Museum as part of their project on Rocks and Minerals. This is a community-based service learning project involving French second language, English Language Arts, arts and science. Students have already had the opportunity to use the science lab at H.S.B to explore certain rocks prior to the Redpath presentation. The community service learning grant has made it possible for Cycle 2 teacher Ms. Whitteron to find interactive fun creative ways to make this project interesting for the students. School: St. Willibrord
The Double Whammy of Mental Illness and Addiction
The Chateauguay CLC partnered with Ami-Quebec to host a videoconference roundtable discussion on mental illness and addiction. Discussion revolved around the correlation between mental illness and addiction to drugs and alcohol. The floor was opened for community members to discuss and ask questions on the topic. Presenter Dr. Ron Fraser was informative and very insightful.
School: St. Willibrord
Bullying – What Parents Need to Know
An evening video conferencing session on bullying and what parents need to know was held for parents in the community. The conference helped parents to better understand bullying; its influences on the brain, self-esteem and what signs to look for in bullying situations. Parents were also informed on what strategies schools were using to help prevent it.
School: St. Willibrord
Show me the money
HAECC was pleased to have the Caisse Desjardins du Haut-Saint-Laurent give a workshop with their economics class. Many of the students were seeking information about budgeting, investing money, how credits work, etc. The Caisse came in and gave a powerful workshop about the best strategies for managing ones money. The teacher and students were very pleased with the presentation and came out with many useful tips that they will be applying to their own budget.
The Great White North to North Carolina
St. Willibrord grade two classes connected by videoconference with Richlands Elementary Schools grade three classes from North Carolina. Students had the opportunity to develop and ask questions about their respective differences in a multitude of topics: the weather, their school activities, the languages they use in their community and much more.
Community Wednesdays at École de la Rive
École de la Rive opened its doors for the second time ever for a Community Wednesday. “Healthy living: nutrition and physical activity” was the theme of the night. Great student projects were displayed, a percussion show was performed, face painting was offered and free Zumba. The school was filled with life while several parents and community members filled the building. The last Community Wednesday of the school year will be at St.Willibrord School on May 6th. Come join us!
Self-improvement
Self-Defence & Self-Empowerment Workshops for Girls & Women are underway with 21 participants, 18 students and 3 adults. Under the guidance and expertize of Canadian Jiu Jitsu Campion Louis Ho, the group learns to use leverage and new techniques to defend and protect themselves. The participants are becoming more aware of their inner and outer strengths, get a great physical workout, improve their abilities to think strategically and become more self-confident and self-aware to safeguard themselves. Through CLC partnerships with the CALACS and Jeunesse Rurale En Forme, two workshops will help complement the program with one on sexual assault prevention & awareness and the other on body image and nutrition. Check out the quick video. School: CVR
Irish Dancing “Valley style”
Our second session came to a close with a recital in which parents, siblings and extended family members came and enjoyed the “fruits of their labor”. Our group has now risen from 13 to 22 dancers and we are looking forward to starting our next and final session of this year which will finish with the students participating in this year’s Ormstown Fair Parade for the very first time. We are all very excited! School: CVR
A growing Tiny Tots program
The Huntingdon CLC Tiny Tots class has come to the end of its eight week session. The class is an exercise class for toddlers ranging from ages 3-5 teaching them basic stretching, yoga and gymnastics all incorporated into fun games. The class has become a great success with over 15 toddlers participating each week. The class will hopefully be returning in the fall of 2015 and is also looking to expand into other regions in the Haut-Saint-Laurent.
Social Tea and Treats
The Huntingdon SFIS class hosted a social tea & treats afternoon party on March 13th. Families, friends, community members and organizations were welcomed into the centre by the “Sunshine Class”. The goal of the event was to help the students put into the practice the social skills they had learned over the year. The students served the very tea that they grew and dried themselves as well as refreshments they made in class. The party finished off with a film the students created about their day to day life at the centre. The event was a great success bringing tears of joy and sounds of laughter to many of the invited guests.
Horticulture Grant
Through a Huntingdon CLC initiative the Horticulture program received a $1000 grant to make connections with a local aboriginal community. The horticulture class decided to work with the community of Kahnawake and learn about their culture in relation to gardening and plants. The project started off with the students designing and creating a tropical garden inside the Kateri Memorial Hospital and they donated over 67 plants to the hospital. The students also received a meaningful presentation from two local elders who spoke about how gardening is interpreted in their culture.
Gault getting down to business
A big thank you to all the visitors who came to Gault Institute to speak to the students about their career paths: fire department, SQ, Urgence Santé, Caisse Desjardins, Braves Hockey players, Cegep de Valleyfield, along with NFSB’s Vocational Training Programs: Carpentry, Drafting, Hairdressing, Health Care, Horticulture, Interior Decoration, Secretarial and Welding. Students had many questions to ask and showed a lot of interest in the multitude of potential career paths.
A Biting Visit at Gault!
Officer Alex Bleau from the Border Services and his dog, Hunter, visited the Girl Guides during their evening activity at Gault. The crafty canine quickly found the sausage and the apple hidden in some of the girls’ bag. Check out the article in Le Soleil: Guides of Valleyfield
WE DAY in Montreal
Gault Institute had an opportunity to send 13 students and 2 teachers to the festivities in Montreal at Theatre St. Denis on March 24th. There were many inspirational speakers and celebrities. Just to name a few: Alexandre Despatie (a 2 time Canadian Olympic diver and host of BT Montreal), Mustofa the Poet and Jonas & the Massive Attraction (Juno nominated chart-topping rock band). The kids were really inspired by all of the motivational speakers.
We had Mummies in the school
Ms. Matzaras kindergarten class took a video conference trip about ‘Egyptian Mummies – The Myth Unwrapped’ done by the Milwaukee Public Museum. The students experienced a hands-on child-friendly visual tour of Ancient Egypt. This VC explored themes about Egyptian mummies and the mummification process of making a dummy mummy amongst others. School: Gault Institute
Previous CLC News & Notes
– December 2014 – CLC News Edition 3 – Heroes, skating rink and financial literacy and much more.
‘Community Learning Centres’ are partnerships that provide a range of services and activities, often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of learners, their families, and the wider community. Their aim is to support the holistic development of our students, families, citizens and communities.