EastView ~Creating a musical storm in Sault Ste Marie

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Tour

One of the many in-school education events in September included the TSO Percussion Duo performing for students at East View Elementary School in Sault Ste Marie. Don Kuehn and John Rudolph are a great team and never fail to captivate their audience, whether they are aged 4 or 94! At today’s performance, the Junior Kindergarten students (age 4) arrived about 10 minutes early for the performance, which took place in the school’s gym. Don & John couldn’t resist giving them their own special little performance. First John showed the children the Japanese temple bowl, and each one of them had a chance to hit the bowl with the mallet to produce a beautiful ringing sound. Then Don shared the wooden frogs — which were a big hit (if you’ll pardon the pun). When you stroke the back of the frog with a wooden stick, it sounds like a frog croaking. The large, medium and small wooden frogs (which the children immediately referred to as the Daddy Frog, Mommy Frog and Baby Frog), were carefully passed down the line until each one of them had discovered the unique ‘voice” of each frog. And then Don led them in the creation of a rainstorm, starting with gently falling rain (rubbing your fingers together), which led to heavier rain (patting your thighs), thunder (stomping your feet), and lightening (clapping your arms overhead and yelling “KABOOM”!). And then the storm subsided and all of the actions were done in reverse. The children had a great time but — truthfully — I think Don and John had just as much fun.

Student Conductor in Wawa

Visit the TSO blog to find out more about their visit to Sault Ste. Marie!

One of my favourite moments on this Residency has to be when TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian invites a student from the 1,000 student hall to come up and conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra during a Student Concert.
TSO Student concerts are hour long orchestral performances, designed for young listeners. The audience in this morning’s concert at White Pines Secondary in Sault Ste Marie included students from as far away as Wawa and Elliot Lake. I heard from some teachers that students had been travelling since 6am to experience a TSO concert.
One Wawa student’s trip was made especially memorable when TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian invited Tamara to conduct the TSO in Offenbach’s “Can Can”. Peter gave the audience and Tamara a quick lesson in conducting and then she was off!
The orchestra followed her baton closely and changed tempo along with Tamara’s direction – here’s a clip of her grand finale (and TSO debut!)

Check out her performance on the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Blog

http://tsoontheroad.wordpress.com/.

Have a peek at their facebook photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/torontosymphonyorchestra/

Fun Fall Festival

Toronto Symphony Orchestra Northern Tour

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra had an amazing stay in Sault Ste. Marie recently as part of Sault Ste. Marie's Algoma Fall Festival program. Here is an excerpt from the TSO blog:

Right after the concerts in Sudbury, we jumped on the bus to Sault Ste Marie. We stopped at a rest stop along the way with a GREAT ice cream and fudge store – I think the most popular ice cream flavour was triple chocolate brownie, and it was yummy!
Upon our arrival in the Soo, we had an orchestra dinner where most of us ate until we couldn’t eat anymore! The Waterfront Inn even had a welcome sign for us:

Thursday morning was our first student concert in SSM, at the Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre. The kids loved the show – and were especially enthused about having Jim Gardiner as the soloist – born and raised in the Soo!
Thursday afternoon was hectic as Roberta had planned for many in-school performances and masterclasses. Lucky for us, we had some wonderful volunteers from SSM helping the staff to drive musicians to their schools. I went to Rosedale Public School with the brass trio – and the kids loved them! Here’s a picture of Andrew, Gabe, and Megan performing for the grade 7/8 classes:

Thursday night we were ready for our SOLD OUT show in SSM!. Christian Sharpe, Orchestra Personnel Administrator, and I were so excited about selling out the hall:

The show was fabulous and the audience was amazing! Jim Gardiner sounded awesome playing the Hummel Trumpet Concerto and the audience gave him a well deserved standing ovation. After two encores and a whole lot of clapping, we made our way to the Civic Centre for a nice reception put on by the Mayor.
All in all it’s been a great tour. As the last student concert wraps up, and we jump on our plane home, we’re all getting excited for an amazing season opener in Toronto! Special thanks to everyone on tour – the musicians, Peter, the staff, our presenters & supporters, all of the wonderful people we met in the communities we visited, and our super bus drivers Tony and Stan.

Getting on the plane!

A big thank you to Roberta Smith and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra members, as well as the Algoma Fall Festival , Festival Of Learning committee for organizing and providing this amazing opportunity for our students.

Agents of Change!

Sand DalCin has some great news to share about the Grade 3 agents of change at William Merrifield V.C. Public School. The Grade 3 class has been reading books about children who are agents of change: Beatrice's Goat, One Hen, and Boxes for Katje - all books available in every ADSB elementary school book room.

The students have been inspired by these stories to make a difference in the world. A few weeks ago, the Grade 3 students raised $50 at a popcorn sale and then used the money to purchase two mosquito nets from World Vision to help stop the spread of malaria to children in Africa. We have made a list of other items that we would like to purchase to help our world, such as: educate a girl in need; purchase classroom supplies; provide lunches for children for a month at school; purchase a goat or a hen, etc.

After reading One Hen, the students became interested in assisting poor African entrepreneurs to acquire micro finance loans to start up their own businesses and break the cycle of poverty. When students visit the web site http://www.onehen.org/they play online games and earn virtual beads as rewards. The students invest their virtual beads into a community jar and when the jar is full, real financial institutions convert the virtual beads to micro finance loans. Every full jar equals $20 in real loans, and the financial institutions involved have committed up to $100 000 to this very worthwhile cause. Our students have become so empowered by these acts, their enthusiasm has spread to the rest of the school. Every class at William Merrifield is now committed to making a difference in the world. From pop-tabs to shoeboxes to writing letters to soldiers, we are inspired to look beyond the borders of our school to make the world a better place.

Our theme song is, "Together We Can Change the World" - and we already are.

View the video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFy54NmYPyc

Thanks for sharing Sandi !

Kindergarten Character

We thought that you might enjoy this Kindergarten Character story...we have been talking alot about cooperation this month and the different ways you can show that you are cooperating. I compliment the children when they are being cooperative and call attention to what they are doing to show that they are. One of my students went to a local farm last night with his family and told his Mom that he really wanted to get some of the little pumpkins and a zucchini to give away to his classmates as cooperation prizes the next day. He was soooooo excited to come to school this morning and tell me about his idea.


Jane Vienneau ~Teacher
Senior Kindergarten

"Catchy" Character Chalk Messages!

In addition to exhibiting good character, the grade 7 and 8 students at Parkland School found a way to communicate good character to all of the younger students . Teacher Natalie Fawcett and the grade 7 & 8 class found a great way to enjoy our extended summer weather by discussing good character and sharing their ideas about what character means to them.

The intermediate students turned the fresh asphalt into a chalkboard and created catchy messages to support the character traits. We believe that good character is demonstrated in actions, words and attitudes! Great idea Parkland!

Your Best Year Yet

Welcome back to a brand new school year. I love this time of year! Fall is absolutely my favourite season because of its beauty and the cool, crisp rejuvenating air. There is something enchanting about Autumn. It is often a refreshing change.

This time of year is also a favourite for me because it is "back to school" time. For many teachers including myself, Fall brings with it a sense of renewal and the anticipation of a brand new start. "Back to school " is often a time to get back to routines, to set new goals and have high expectations for a successful year.

Students come to school the first day often dressed in their best clothes, with new school supplies and renewed hope for their best school year yet. Together students and teachers alike are happy to be with their friends and colleagues and look forward to the coming year. Best wishes for a successful start to your new school year and achieving your "best year yet".

Students Make A Difference In Honduras!

Brian and Heather Whitley, teachers with Algoma District School Board share their experience as part of a small group that travelled to Honduras and made a big difference. Their caring gifts of time and necessities continue to make a difference to families in need.

Hi ,
Just thought that I would touch base and let you know that we brought our 13 area teens home safely from Honduras. They will present at St. Joe Island, Echo Bay and CASS which are the three schools that took a direct role in partially sponsoring their project. The trip was a real eye opener for our kids as they visited many schools where poverty is rampant. They were able to "perform with their puppets" in every school and we were able to distribute supplies in many public schools as well as in an orphanage.

Echo Bay School, St. Joe Island School and CASS were able to raise enough funds to be able to support two mothers in Honduras who live on the former garbage dump, in setting up their own micro-businesses. Deana Phillips from the CASS social justice committee was able to go to interview one mom who is already a beneficiary of the program and when the mom was asked what difference the program made to her life her response was simple but immediate...."I can feed my children.".... It was a thrill to watch the CASS teens process what they saw and embrace the idea that things are certainly not what make you happy. I think too that they were able to see the importance of education in helping to break the cycle of poverty and they renewed their appreciation of the importance of responsible parenting.

Many lessons were learned . They are all ADSB students (actually one is a CASS grad now studying at Algoma) who are active in their schools and communities and exemplify "promoting character with pride" and making a difference in their world.

Brian and Heather Whitley

French Orals

Congratulations!

ADSB students will compete in French Orals in Toronto next month
Students from the Algoma District School Board had the opportunity to test their French speaking skills in the annual oratorical contest as part of the French as a Second Language program.

Students from the Core and Immersion programs participated in categories according to their grade level and the number of hours they have spent studying French as a Second Language.

What a great opportunity for young Canadians to learn and use the French Language. Preparing for and participating in « le concours » encourages students to develop and enhance skills such as : reading, writing, research, organization, listening and oral expression. Students and teachers worked very hard to make this event very special and a celebration of success.

Students demonstrated courage, responsibility and perseverance.

First place winners at the Board Level will now participate in the 25th annual Ontario Concours/Festival d'art oratoire 2009, sponsored by Canadian Parents for French and the Ontario Modern Language Teacher's Association. That event will be held on Saturday May 9th, 2009 at Glendon College of York University in Toronto.

This is the largest French public speaking event in Ontario for students in grades 4 to 12 taking French as a second language. Last year, more than 300 students from 31 different school boards participated at the provincial level. At the classroom level, estimates show that over 22 000 students across Ontario took part in FSL public speaking.
Here are this year's winners: (Only 1st place winners can proceed to the CPF/OMLTA Concours/festival d'art oratoire in Toronto)
Grades 4-6 Core French:
1st - Molly Swift, Grade 5 - H.M. Robbins Public School
2nd - Tammy Hill, Grade 5 - H.M. Robbins Public School
Grades 4-6 French Immersion:
1st - Kristopher Langevin, Grade 6 - Rosedale Public School
2nd - Maggie VanLith, Grade 6 - Rosedale Public School
3rd - Emily Gratton, Grade 5 - Rosedale Public School
Grades 7-8 Core French:
1st - Megan Burch, Grade 7 - HM Robbins Public School
2nd - Melissa Dane, Grade 8 - Hornepayne Public School
3rd - Kailyn Morrar, Grade 7 - HM Robbins Public School
Grades 7-8 French Immersion:
1st - Krista Reece, Grade 7 - Rosedale Public School
2nd - Kinsey Smith, Grade 8 - Rosedale Public School
3rd - Avery Cole, Grade 7 - Rosedale Public School
Grades 9-10 French Immersion:
1st - Rachel Graham, Grade 9 - Korah C. & V.S. (IB Program)
2nd - Colin Grim, Grade 9 - Sir James Dunn C. & V.S.
Grades 11-12 FSL Plus: ( Francophone students in FSL programs/or who have the equivalent language experience )
1st - Melissa Cutler, Grade 11 - Sir James Dunn C. & V.S.
2nd - Danielle Roy, Grade 11, Sir James Dunn C. & V.S.

ADSB students (1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners) will also participate in the French Oral Competition hosted by the Francophone Centre of Sault Ste Marie on May 1 st , at the Algoma University.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the success of this event again this year. Thank you to parents and teachers :for their dedication and extra help with the students. Thank you also to our judges: Joanne Atkinson, Maurice Dugas and Donald Nadeau; to our timekeeper: Leslie McCauley and Rosedale PS for being our host school this year. Thank you also to all those involved in the French Oral Competition and that I may have miss.

Best regards,
Nancy Rancourt

Think Pink and Take a Stand Against Bullying

Schools are currently involved in a special focus of taking a stand against bullying. It began with a kick off on Feb. 25th,2009. Students are inspired by the story of two Nova Scotia highschool boys who made a huge stand against bullying after they learned that a grade 9 boy had been bullied his first day of school because he had chosen to wear a pink polo shirt that day. The grade 9 boy was called homosexual for wearing pink and was threatened to be beaten up by the bullies. The two grade 12 heroes responded by purchasing 50 pink shirts from a discount store and handed them out to other students to wear, the very next day. This act of support was so powerful that it stopped the bullies and uplifted the victim. It also united the student body.

At Tarentorus students and staff were involved in a special kick off, working together as a team to focus on taking a stand against bullying.

Teacher Mary Moore writes:

On Wednesday, February 25 at Tarentorus the students celebrated PinkShirt Day.Our school sold 70 black t-shirts with a pink octagon in the front. Printed on the octagon is the quote ‘Bullying Stops Here’. Each Wednesday is designated Pink Shirt Day. It is a day to remind everyone that we will not tolerate bullying. Wednesday, the students met in the gym and watched 2 inspiring videos on Anti Bullying.They were then divided into groups and participated in 3 activities -- parachute play, making pink & black bracelets and banners with the slogan ‘Bullying Stops Here!' on which our students traced their hands and signed their names. This was a great opportunity for our older students to practice leadership skills.Anti-Bullying is not just a one day focus. As a follow up each class will develop their own Anti Bullying Pledge that will be displayed in front of their class. We will also have a book club for Junior age students. The book we will use is Jay McGraw’s Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies. BULLYING STOPS AT TARENTORUS!!

View the article and photos at:

http://www.soonews.ca/viewarticle.php?id=21288

Principal Kelly Cudmore at Manitou Park writes:

At Manitou Park elementary school we are about to turn up our empathy focus with the launch of a three-week campaign called "Think Pink and Take a Stand Against Bullying". Empathy is the "Big Idea" driving our present Teaching-Learning-Critical-Pathway (Point of View). Our Big Idea takes on many forms within our classrooms as well as two big school-wide foci: "The Walk-For-Polar-Bears Challenge" and the "Think Pink and Take a Stand Against Bullying" Campaign. The Polar Bear Challenge concludes with our final walk this Thursday. The Anti-Bullying Campaign began Feb 25th with a kick-off assembly in the gym.
An Educational Assistant our our school, Maria Foglia, just learned of this story last week. She was so moved by it that she spearheaded a Think Pink-Wear Pink Campaign here at our school. Working with the support of WalMart, here is what we have planned :
1. After quickly dying 85 white t-shirts (donated by WalMart) pink, everyone in the school wore a pink t-shirt to the assembly. The gym was decorated with pink balloons, banners and posters.
2. We shared the above story once more with the school body and reminded everyone of our duty to be vigilant against bullying like the grade 12 boys were and like some of our students are on a regular basis, here at our little school.
3. I challenged the students to make the remainder of the year "Bully Free" and to create the best posters that they can on "Taking a Stand Against Bullying" to display at the WalMart Store. I also challenged the staff to find ways to bring anti-bullying into other areas of the curriculum, such as literacy and other subjects, and, to encourage their students to produce creative texts that celebrate their stand against bullying.
Feb. 25th-March 12th : School-wide focus on Anti Bullying, with in-school activities including the poster making contest sponsored by WalMart.
March 5th : We will send all "Take a stand against bullying" posters to WalMart for display and judging.
March 12th : Celebration and Awards Assembly
-WalMart representatives will return to our school with a big cake and cupcakes to celebrate our Three-Week Think Pink-Wear Pink Campaign.
-WalMart will present two new bicycles to the two students who they judged created the best "Take a Stand Against Bullying" posters.
-Staff and Students will be invited to share their specific classroom products, texts or productions on Anti-Bullying.

See the front page article in The Sault Star- Feb.26th, 2009.

"You're Beautiful, Pass It On"

What a super message to share in a time when body image and looks seem to be a focus in our society, sometimes with negative consequences. The girls from Ben R. McMullin are sharing a positive and empowering message that "we are all beautiful"... so pass it on!


Sharon Dion, a teacher from the school shares this story with us:
One of our awesome moms at school contacted the Dove company after seeing their "You're beautiful, pass it on" campaign. Dove provided t-shirts for each of our girls in grades 5-8 along with product samples. Here are some of the photos we took. The parents gave permission for photos to be taken to be sent back to Dove as a Thank you.

A Song With Character!

We Can Make A Difference


Students at Rosedale have been busy talking about character and sharing ideas through songs and raps. As part of their "making connections" critical pathway students were inspired to develop messages about the big idea of " making a difference". These messages were then composed into song form. Students excelled at this task and were engaged to develop songs of their own about character. At a very special school character assembly students presented their songs. Students and staff then voted on their favourite that would become Rosedale's school song. It was a difficult choice...but the winner from many wonderful song choices was "We Can Make a Difference".


Click on the video links below to hear some of the character songs and Rosedale's new school song! (It is the last video)

Bravo Rosedale!

Helpful Hearts

Teacher Christine Hutton shares one of her favourite Character Education activites in her JK class at Pinewood school. Since February has Valentine's Day, I do a Heartful Helpers program that involves the families sending in hearts (that I've sent home already). Families send in hearts stating what their child has demonstrated at home involving sharing, caring and helping. I've been doing this activity for about 3 years now and the families and children just love it!

Christine Hutton
JK Teacher - Pinewood P.S.
Teacher of the Deaf - Riverview P.S.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Caring and Sharing at Isabel Fletcher

The Isabel Fletcher school community demonstrated their caring spirit at two holiday stores held in December. In a unique Breakfast Room Fund Raiser, the community searched their homes for gift bags, tissue paper, household items, decorations and toys that were no longer needed. As the items poured in, excitement for the holiday store grew. A holiday store was set up in the library and students were able to purchase gifts for friends and family members for just a little bit of change. All gifts were beautifully wrapped with tissue paper and put in gift bags by our superb breakfast room volunteers. Students were so excited that a second store was set up the next week. It was a win win win event!! Students thought about other people and experienced the joy of giving, families were able to recycle items and our Breakfast Room received almost $700.00. Students are already looking forward to next year and another opportunity to support a worthy cause.
Submitted by Debbie Kent and Lee-Ann Matteau

Aweres Students Demonstrate Caring, Citizenship,

Aweres Students Demonstrate Caring, Citizenship, and Leadership

The students at Aweres Public School have been examining texts involving the “Big Idea” of stewardship. As part of their examination of stewardship, two workers from Pauline’s Place Youth Shelter came to the school to give an interactive presentation entitled “Youth Homelessness and Poverty in Sault Ste. Marie.” Karen Evans, Pauline’s Place community Outreach Coordinator, and Jeany White, Ontario Works Youth Case Manager, provided our students in grades 5 to 8 with some valuable information about homeless in Sault Ste. Marie. The students had many questions for the two presenters. The students’ interest continued after the presentation and developed into an action plan to assist the youth who need to access the resources at Pauline’s Place. The students decided to collect items that they felt would be needed by the youth at Pauline’s Place. Mr. Kannenberg’s grade 5/6 class and Mrs. Gregoire’s grade 7/8 class collected the items and made a total of 7 baskets. Pictured below is the presentation of the baskets from the two classes to members of the Pauline’s Place team. The Aweres community is very proud of the students involved in this act of kindness.

Korah C. & V.S. Blog

Check out Korah's blog which features many of the amazing
Character initiatives they are involved in.
Enjoy !

http://korahcvs.blogspot.com/search/label/Mustang%20Sally

A New Year

The beginning of the New Year is always a time of reflection and renewel. We often think of the past year, considering our many accomplishments and the things we would like to improve on. We celebrate another year, set goals and discover new things that we would like try.

Our days are a kaleidoscope.

Every instant a change takes place...

new harmonies, new contrasts,

new combinations of every sort...

- Henry Ward Beecher

I look forward to sharing in your 2009 Character Goals.

Best wishes for realizing continued success in 2009!

Yours in character,

Kerry Grbich