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

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.